In my last post, I mentioned that I decided to hastily put together a unit study on snow to carry us through the two or three weeks until we decide to pack homeschooling for 2013 away for the year. This unit is mainly for Jaelyn, as Nicholas is happily writing about birds and is diligently watching his bird feeders for Project FeederWatch.
Jaelyn's reading has simply exploded over the last month or so. While she's typically done a good job of reading the words in her readers, I was never quite sure if she was reading the library books she cozied up with on the couch or if she was looking at the pictures. Now I know that she's reading them word for word and understanding them. She reads to me or to Astrin, and is proud to tell me how many pages she's devoured during her day.
Since this little one loves to read, we started off our unit on snow with the tale of The Snow Queen. We spent a little bit of time each day for a week doing some sort of activity related to this story...reading it, drawing a picture about something from the story, narrating a summary of the story, writing a poem.
We're using blank sketch books to compile all of our work. It's my attempt at a main lesson book used in the Waldorf philosophy. While I have no idea whether I'm doing it "right" and fully intend to do more research at some point, it serves its purpose for now and Jaelyn is enjoying what she's drawing and writing in her "green" book, as we refer to it here.
I'm looking forward to getting into some learning about snow crystals themselves and how they are formed next week. We will be reading Snowflake Bentley (a perennial winter favorite here) and looking at some of the pictures he published in Snow Crystals. We'll be catching our own snowflakes (we're in for a big dump of snow early next week), photographing them and making sketches, making snowflake cutouts to decorate our windows, and creating our own snow crystals inside. There are also a couple of books kicking around here on snow storms and blizzards that could be an interesting treat. And of course there are all sorts of chances for building snow forts and snowmen in the fluffy white stuff. But more on that later - stay tuned!
Showing posts with label Waldorf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waldorf. Show all posts
Friday, 29 November 2013
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Pick up sticks
Our week has gotten off on a good foot! That's always good news to share. While it is still winter-coat chilly in our little patch of the world, the sun burned away the clouds and it's rays felt like streams of joy beaming down from the sky.
Our morning walk (which was sporadic on those grey days where I didn't feel like moving outside of our kitchen) took us to the park on a search for sticks of all shapes and sizes. But more of that later.
You see, I won a Waldorf-inspired kindergarten curriculum from Lavender's Blue Homeschool. And it has come in very handy for the circle time Astrin and I spend together as the other children start on their schoolwork. The winging it on my own wasn't going very well, so new songs and verses, ideas for crafts connected to the stories, and the overall alignment of the activities with the seasons was very welcome!
Astrin has been loving the songs and verses. I love that there is an opportunity for movement with most of the verses, and I love that the package comes with an audio file so I know whether I should be singing or speaking (though I may opt to do my own thing too). She also seems more content to do her own thing after we've spent circle time together, which is great when the other children need my attention.
I haven't done any watercolour painting or modelling with my little ones yet. This is partly because I'm too tired, lazy, adverse to mess, not sure how exactly to do it, or all of the above! Perhaps in the winter though. We also haven't done many of the crafts, mostly because I think they are above Astrin's ability right now. It is a kindergarten curriculum after all, and she has a few more years before that! But today I thought the curriculum had an activity that we could all enjoy.
You see, we've been singing and acting out all sorts of rhymes to do with the wind. Last week, we enjoyed the story of the three little pigs. And thankfully, it dawned on me that we could all do the activity of building a house of sticks. So off to the park we went in search of sticks!
We could be making stick houses for days on end. And it was interesting how we all took a different approach. Astrin was satisfied to simply break the sticks into pieces and cut the string to shreds. Nicholas made walls by weaving larger sticks and is now in the process of figuring out how to connect them all together. Jaelyn made a teepee and is now decorating a paper cover to keep the wind out. And I experimented with weaving many little sticks. Yes, this was a learning project for us all. I was very careful to express that this was a trial and error project, and that there was no "right" way to do it.
I hope your week is off to a lovely start!
Our morning walk (which was sporadic on those grey days where I didn't feel like moving outside of our kitchen) took us to the park on a search for sticks of all shapes and sizes. But more of that later.
You see, I won a Waldorf-inspired kindergarten curriculum from Lavender's Blue Homeschool. And it has come in very handy for the circle time Astrin and I spend together as the other children start on their schoolwork. The winging it on my own wasn't going very well, so new songs and verses, ideas for crafts connected to the stories, and the overall alignment of the activities with the seasons was very welcome!
Astrin has been loving the songs and verses. I love that there is an opportunity for movement with most of the verses, and I love that the package comes with an audio file so I know whether I should be singing or speaking (though I may opt to do my own thing too). She also seems more content to do her own thing after we've spent circle time together, which is great when the other children need my attention.
I haven't done any watercolour painting or modelling with my little ones yet. This is partly because I'm too tired, lazy, adverse to mess, not sure how exactly to do it, or all of the above! Perhaps in the winter though. We also haven't done many of the crafts, mostly because I think they are above Astrin's ability right now. It is a kindergarten curriculum after all, and she has a few more years before that! But today I thought the curriculum had an activity that we could all enjoy.
You see, we've been singing and acting out all sorts of rhymes to do with the wind. Last week, we enjoyed the story of the three little pigs. And thankfully, it dawned on me that we could all do the activity of building a house of sticks. So off to the park we went in search of sticks!
We could be making stick houses for days on end. And it was interesting how we all took a different approach. Astrin was satisfied to simply break the sticks into pieces and cut the string to shreds. Nicholas made walls by weaving larger sticks and is now in the process of figuring out how to connect them all together. Jaelyn made a teepee and is now decorating a paper cover to keep the wind out. And I experimented with weaving many little sticks. Yes, this was a learning project for us all. I was very careful to express that this was a trial and error project, and that there was no "right" way to do it.
I hope your week is off to a lovely start!
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Together again
Despite a rough start to the morning, we found ourselves at 10:00 with our bookwork for the day all done. I felt myself in a place we hadn't been to before, at least in recent memory - two hours left in the morning and nothing really planned.
Nicholas was already occupied on the computer, finding bird pictures for some scavenger hunt cards he was making for a friend. There's a great way to build spelling skills! But the girls were in need of some time with their Mama. And there was that Michaelmas celebration that I had wanted to play with...to see where we could take it, but didn't have time to do at the beginning of the week when I had originally planned it. Late is better than never, right?
We are not a religious family. I had never heard of Michaelmas before reading books about Waldorf education. There is no real significance to the celebration for us, and in that I struggle a bit. But new traditions, especially fun ones, need to start somewhere, and I'm game for building our own traditions. I used All Year Round to inspire the projects we did today.
As the girls were playing, I gathered up the ingredients for making a harvest loaf. As the yeast was proofing, I read them the story of Saint George and the Dragon. Then we made our way over to the kitchen and I read the story of Michael and the Dragon while adding ingredients and mixing them together. I'm looking forward to enjoying our harvest loaf as part of our afternoon snack!
1. Gather supplies and prepare the work area:
~ I used an old vinyl tablecloth to catch any spills or splatters, as hot wax can fly off a paintbrush as well as paint can.
~ We further protected our workspace from spills by using parchment paper muffin papers underneath our candles, and to pour any unused melted wax into. These worked great, as the wax, when cool, simply peeled right out of the paper and we could reuse it again in a matter of minutes.
~ We found a synthetic paintbrush that I didn't mind never using again for paint.
~ We used a small gravy ladle to melt the wax in, again, an item that I didn't mind if we ever used it again. Beeswax is one of those things that I really don't like cleaning up after!
~ A candle and matches, for melting the beeswax
~ Candles for painting on. I found some at a thrift store that were about 2 inches in diameter, and these were perfect.
~ Your beeswax. As I mentioned, we used leftover beeswax from candles. You could also use small or broken beeswax crayons too. I wouldn't recommend using a crayon made of a synthetic wax...I don't imagine it would smell too pretty.
2. Melt the beeswax:
~ This was my job. It's simply a matter of placing a small chunk of beeswax into the spoon and holding it over a lit candle.
~ Be careful not to get too close to the flame - beeswax will start to burn at a relatively low temperature. I gently swirled the beeswax in the spoon to help it melt faster.
~ Oh, and be aware that the bottom of your spoon will likely turn black.
~ Once the wax is melted, it can be removed from the flame and your little one can dip his or her brush right into the spoon. If it starts clumping, simply hold it back over the flame.
3. Let the painting begin!
~ Painting with beeswax was a lot like painting with paint...dip the brush and paint on the surface of the candle.
~ The wax will harden quickly, so use lots of short strokes, which was my children's preferred method. I dotted the wax onto my candle in an attempt to give my dragon a scaled look. It worked great for the red eye, claws, and neck plates.
~ Like painting on a vertical surface, the wax may drip down if too much is put in one spot. Unlike paint though, I imagine that the beeswax could be chipped off after it hardens if it ends up in the wrong place.
4. About changing colours:
~ I poured any leftover beeswax into a muffin paper, then peeled it out once it had cooled and hardened.
~ I was only prepared to part with one spoon, so our colour changes were not absolute or perfect...there was always a little of the last colour getting mixed into the new colour being added. This worked out well, though, because we only had a few colours to work with. Each person had the same but slightly different colours on their candles.
5. Cleanup:
~ It is so much easier to cleanup from painting with beeswax than with paint! Essentially, after the last candle was done, and the remaining wax was poured out and hardened (as in step 4 above), everything we used, from the muffin papers to the paintbrush to the spoon and the leftover wax, was put back into our stash of beeswax stuff. There was nothing to wash or scrub clean, because it was really about as clean as it was going to get.
By the time we got to the end of the day, which was full of singing, tickle kisses, and laughing just for the sake of laughing, I discovered the key for what this celebration will mean to me. I mused to myself that our harvest loaf was the first bread I'd made since the weather started getting warmer in the spring. I feel ourselves moving out of sweltering days and into days where the heat from the stove and oven is a welcome thing. Perhaps the dragon can symbolize our need for fire to warm our toes and noses as the days get chillier. Perhaps the bread can symbolize the change in the rhythm of the seasons. Perhaps the soft glow of the candles can represent moving into quieter, more reflective times.
Nicholas was already occupied on the computer, finding bird pictures for some scavenger hunt cards he was making for a friend. There's a great way to build spelling skills! But the girls were in need of some time with their Mama. And there was that Michaelmas celebration that I had wanted to play with...to see where we could take it, but didn't have time to do at the beginning of the week when I had originally planned it. Late is better than never, right?
We are not a religious family. I had never heard of Michaelmas before reading books about Waldorf education. There is no real significance to the celebration for us, and in that I struggle a bit. But new traditions, especially fun ones, need to start somewhere, and I'm game for building our own traditions. I used All Year Round to inspire the projects we did today.
As the girls were playing, I gathered up the ingredients for making a harvest loaf. As the yeast was proofing, I read them the story of Saint George and the Dragon. Then we made our way over to the kitchen and I read the story of Michael and the Dragon while adding ingredients and mixing them together. I'm looking forward to enjoying our harvest loaf as part of our afternoon snack!
After lunch, while Astrin rested, we decorated candles. The project gave us two options - we could use modelling beeswax and simply roll out shapes and press them by hand into the candles, or we could use melted wax and paint designs on the candles. We used leftover pieces of old beeswax candles as our paint. Here's how we did it:
1. Gather supplies and prepare the work area:
~ I used an old vinyl tablecloth to catch any spills or splatters, as hot wax can fly off a paintbrush as well as paint can.
~ We further protected our workspace from spills by using parchment paper muffin papers underneath our candles, and to pour any unused melted wax into. These worked great, as the wax, when cool, simply peeled right out of the paper and we could reuse it again in a matter of minutes.
~ We found a synthetic paintbrush that I didn't mind never using again for paint.
~ We used a small gravy ladle to melt the wax in, again, an item that I didn't mind if we ever used it again. Beeswax is one of those things that I really don't like cleaning up after!
~ A candle and matches, for melting the beeswax
~ Candles for painting on. I found some at a thrift store that were about 2 inches in diameter, and these were perfect.
~ Your beeswax. As I mentioned, we used leftover beeswax from candles. You could also use small or broken beeswax crayons too. I wouldn't recommend using a crayon made of a synthetic wax...I don't imagine it would smell too pretty.
2. Melt the beeswax:
~ This was my job. It's simply a matter of placing a small chunk of beeswax into the spoon and holding it over a lit candle.
~ Be careful not to get too close to the flame - beeswax will start to burn at a relatively low temperature. I gently swirled the beeswax in the spoon to help it melt faster.
~ Oh, and be aware that the bottom of your spoon will likely turn black.
~ Once the wax is melted, it can be removed from the flame and your little one can dip his or her brush right into the spoon. If it starts clumping, simply hold it back over the flame.
3. Let the painting begin!
~ Painting with beeswax was a lot like painting with paint...dip the brush and paint on the surface of the candle.
~ The wax will harden quickly, so use lots of short strokes, which was my children's preferred method. I dotted the wax onto my candle in an attempt to give my dragon a scaled look. It worked great for the red eye, claws, and neck plates.
~ Like painting on a vertical surface, the wax may drip down if too much is put in one spot. Unlike paint though, I imagine that the beeswax could be chipped off after it hardens if it ends up in the wrong place.
4. About changing colours:
~ I poured any leftover beeswax into a muffin paper, then peeled it out once it had cooled and hardened.
~ I was only prepared to part with one spoon, so our colour changes were not absolute or perfect...there was always a little of the last colour getting mixed into the new colour being added. This worked out well, though, because we only had a few colours to work with. Each person had the same but slightly different colours on their candles.
5. Cleanup:
~ It is so much easier to cleanup from painting with beeswax than with paint! Essentially, after the last candle was done, and the remaining wax was poured out and hardened (as in step 4 above), everything we used, from the muffin papers to the paintbrush to the spoon and the leftover wax, was put back into our stash of beeswax stuff. There was nothing to wash or scrub clean, because it was really about as clean as it was going to get.
By the time we got to the end of the day, which was full of singing, tickle kisses, and laughing just for the sake of laughing, I discovered the key for what this celebration will mean to me. I mused to myself that our harvest loaf was the first bread I'd made since the weather started getting warmer in the spring. I feel ourselves moving out of sweltering days and into days where the heat from the stove and oven is a welcome thing. Perhaps the dragon can symbolize our need for fire to warm our toes and noses as the days get chillier. Perhaps the bread can symbolize the change in the rhythm of the seasons. Perhaps the soft glow of the candles can represent moving into quieter, more reflective times.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Autumn harvest
Welcome, welcome, this season of the harvest, yellow leaves, crisp evenings, shorter days and longer evenings. Welcome, this season of soups and chilies and soul-warming food that we look forward to reacquainting ourselves with. Welcome, apples, pears and plums and simmering kitchens of sweet-smelling goodies. Welcome migrating birds, who are stopping only long enough to fill their bellies before continuing on their long trek south.
We welcomed autumn as a family this afternoon. Shortly after lunch, we uncovered some very simple window art I had drawn up the evening before and the branch gnomes that stood guardians. My hope is that these sweet gnomes will act as guardians for our nature bowl as well and that their little felt hats will change colour with the seasons. We read We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season.
We did a little harvesting of our own as well this afternoon. We read the story of Benjie and the Turnip (from Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour), where Benjie learns to ask permission from the root gnome to pick the turnip he's tended all summer and would like to make a lantern with. Our gnomes joined us in the carrot patch, and the children repeated the root gnome request...
Now, the soup pot is simmering with chicken vegetable soup. We'll enjoy a simple harvest meal of soup, cornbread, and applesauce tonight, followed by warm baths and a story by candlelight before bed. While the children slumber, I'll continue my own harvest work...checking on the onions and peppers dehydrating, making what is hopefully the last batch of pickles, checking the ripeness of the pears and perhaps making a batch of pear chips tonight. Tomorrow the work of the harvest will continue...tomatillo salsa, pasta sauce, canning pears, sourcing some plums for plum sauce and more canning. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed by all the work that lies ahead and that must be balanced with the needs of my little ones. I'm optimistic they will be eager to help, as we continue to read, write and draw about the changing seasons around us and all they inspire.
We welcomed autumn as a family this afternoon. Shortly after lunch, we uncovered some very simple window art I had drawn up the evening before and the branch gnomes that stood guardians. My hope is that these sweet gnomes will act as guardians for our nature bowl as well and that their little felt hats will change colour with the seasons. We read We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season.
We did a little harvesting of our own as well this afternoon. We read the story of Benjie and the Turnip (from Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour), where Benjie learns to ask permission from the root gnome to pick the turnip he's tended all summer and would like to make a lantern with. Our gnomes joined us in the carrot patch, and the children repeated the root gnome request...
Gnome, Gnome, good Gnome,
May I take your carrot home?
Now, the soup pot is simmering with chicken vegetable soup. We'll enjoy a simple harvest meal of soup, cornbread, and applesauce tonight, followed by warm baths and a story by candlelight before bed. While the children slumber, I'll continue my own harvest work...checking on the onions and peppers dehydrating, making what is hopefully the last batch of pickles, checking the ripeness of the pears and perhaps making a batch of pear chips tonight. Tomorrow the work of the harvest will continue...tomatillo salsa, pasta sauce, canning pears, sourcing some plums for plum sauce and more canning. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed by all the work that lies ahead and that must be balanced with the needs of my little ones. I'm optimistic they will be eager to help, as we continue to read, write and draw about the changing seasons around us and all they inspire.
Monday, 25 February 2013
Division
While the moment looked quite ordinary, it felt momentous to me. Today, my son took his first step to mastering division.
I don't know why I felt apprehensive as I sat on the floor of his room waiting for him to finish up a language lesson he was working on. Perhaps it was because I remembered division from when I was in school. In fact, forget division - what I likely remember most acutely was my difficulty with doing any math operation fast. We would have timed tests that would give me fits. I didn't know my math facts cold, and it seemed that my brain froze when I was up against the clock. For some reason, I didn't develop a dislike of math and went on to do algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus quite well. I just disliked doing 100 questions in 5 minutes or less.
Anyway, while multiplication felt quite intuitive to me, there was something about division that seemed a little more daunting. My default is to figure out the answer a division problem by using multiplication. But I wasn't sure that logic would help my son to understand the concept.
I decided that I would try a Waldorf approach to introducing division. My beloved book, The Waldorf Book of Poetry, had a poem that I read to my son. It is intended to be read in a classroom, where the students are the "manipulatives" that move around to form different group sizes and demonstrate multiplication and division. Since we didn't have 12 students in our classroom, we simply used some beads and moved them with our hands into different group sizes.
After that, I read Nicholas a story that illustrates how to do division from Understanding Waldorf Education. It describes what each of the three numbers in a long division problem mean. It is simple, yet brilliant.
Lastly, we tried some division problems on our own. And he did it! In fact, the page of division he did today was completed faster than any other math page he has done this year. I was amazed. Rationally, I know that he has been doing division in his head for about a year now. He's had exposure through simple division in verbal problems we would do while doing dishes, as well as solving equations in his Life of Fred books. He tends to naturally pick up new concepts.
Still, even with all that...Nicholas' achievement today feels special.
I don't know why I felt apprehensive as I sat on the floor of his room waiting for him to finish up a language lesson he was working on. Perhaps it was because I remembered division from when I was in school. In fact, forget division - what I likely remember most acutely was my difficulty with doing any math operation fast. We would have timed tests that would give me fits. I didn't know my math facts cold, and it seemed that my brain froze when I was up against the clock. For some reason, I didn't develop a dislike of math and went on to do algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus quite well. I just disliked doing 100 questions in 5 minutes or less.
Anyway, while multiplication felt quite intuitive to me, there was something about division that seemed a little more daunting. My default is to figure out the answer a division problem by using multiplication. But I wasn't sure that logic would help my son to understand the concept.
I decided that I would try a Waldorf approach to introducing division. My beloved book, The Waldorf Book of Poetry, had a poem that I read to my son. It is intended to be read in a classroom, where the students are the "manipulatives" that move around to form different group sizes and demonstrate multiplication and division. Since we didn't have 12 students in our classroom, we simply used some beads and moved them with our hands into different group sizes.
After that, I read Nicholas a story that illustrates how to do division from Understanding Waldorf Education. It describes what each of the three numbers in a long division problem mean. It is simple, yet brilliant.
Lastly, we tried some division problems on our own. And he did it! In fact, the page of division he did today was completed faster than any other math page he has done this year. I was amazed. Rationally, I know that he has been doing division in his head for about a year now. He's had exposure through simple division in verbal problems we would do while doing dishes, as well as solving equations in his Life of Fred books. He tends to naturally pick up new concepts.
Still, even with all that...Nicholas' achievement today feels special.
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Solstice lantern
Last year, we attended the Solstice celebration organized by our local Waldorf-inspired school. We loved the solstice spiral and all it represents. We will not be able to attend the school's celebration so we will be creating our own special, quiet celebration in our backyard on December 21.
The solstice spiral represents several things to me. First, it represents the return of the light on this longest night of the year. Second, and perhaps more profound, is that it represents the light within each one of us and how it can glow and bring warmth to those we touch.
We started preparations today by making felt solstice lanterns. I found this project in the Fall 2011 issue of Living Crafts magazine. I found this to be a challenging project to make with little ones - I don't think I would try it with someone younger than Nicholas, unless I knew what I was doing (which I didn't). But we did learn a couple things along the way. Some were practical learnings - like that the lanterns felted better when all the wool roving went up-and-down as opposed to horizontal and vertical, and exactly how thin a layer of wool was needed to start off with. We learned little life lessons too - like not giving up, patience, trying again if it didn't work out the way it was supposed to.
The solstice spiral represents several things to me. First, it represents the return of the light on this longest night of the year. Second, and perhaps more profound, is that it represents the light within each one of us and how it can glow and bring warmth to those we touch.
We started preparations today by making felt solstice lanterns. I found this project in the Fall 2011 issue of Living Crafts magazine. I found this to be a challenging project to make with little ones - I don't think I would try it with someone younger than Nicholas, unless I knew what I was doing (which I didn't). But we did learn a couple things along the way. Some were practical learnings - like that the lanterns felted better when all the wool roving went up-and-down as opposed to horizontal and vertical, and exactly how thin a layer of wool was needed to start off with. We learned little life lessons too - like not giving up, patience, trying again if it didn't work out the way it was supposed to.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Baby chicks
One of the barnyard animals I made last year was a pom-pom baby chick. It was constructed simply by making two pom-poms out of yellow yarn and sewing them together. I discovered, however, that this wasn't the most sturdy chick for a soon-to-be toddler. This year, I set out to find another way to create a sturdy, yet natural and lovable (and recognizable) baby chick. I think this year's attempt is a winner too, as everyone I flashed it in front of could identify it as a bird of some kind (some said "canary", others said a "chick", and Astrin herself called it a "hen"). Here's a quick tutorial:
Materials needed:
- Yellow wool rovings
- Large bowl with dishwashing soap and warm water
- Felting needle
- Sponge
- Optional: black or blue wool rovings (for eyes)
1. To make the body:
- Take a handful of the yellow wool rovings and wrap it tightly into ball form
- Dip the wool ball into the bowl with dishwashing soap and water
- Roll the wet wool ball in your hands, applying gentle but steady pressure. Think of the action you use to roll play dough into a ball. As the wool ball cools, dip it in the water and continue to roll it until a ball forms to your desired firmness.
- Wrap additional wool around the ball, if necessary, to achieve the proper size. Something about the size of a ping-pong ball is good.
- Let the ball dry (likely overnight)
- You could likely needle-felt the body, I just chose to go with what I knew for my first attempt!
- Take a slightly smaller handful of yellow wool rovings and wrap it tightly into ball form
- Select where the head will be placed and start to needle-felt the head into place, starting with the neck. Use the sponge as a base for your work, so that you can pierce through the head and not damage the counter-top or table underneath. Experiment with using different angles when using your felting needle.
- One the head is attached, needle felt around the rest of the head to shape it more and make it firmer.
- Select where the beak will be. Place the beak position against the sponge and concentrate your needle-felting on this spot. Consider felting on both sides, as well as the top and bottom of the beak, to give it further definition.
- Optional: Take a very small amount of black or blue wool rovings and wrap them tightly into a ball. Put the ball into the eye position and needle-felt the ball in place.
- Take a small handful of yellow wool rovings and wrap it into a tight ball, square or triangle - either of these will work.
- Select where the tail will be placed and start to needle-felt the tail into place, similar to how you attached the head to the body.
- Use different angles with both the needle and the tail on the sponge to create a pointed tail.
And you're done!
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Minding our B's and D's
I rarely write about the formal bookwork we do here at home. While I'm not worried about how well my children read, our adventure into reading is important to me. My son is a very strong reader, and he doesn't need to be motivated to read on his own. I often find him reading in the morning, before he's even saddled up to the table for breakfast.
Jaelyn is just learning how to read. She has a pretty firm foundation under her. Our first small steps on the road to reading included saying letters by their sound and not their name. We also had an alphabet placemat that listed the letters and pictures for each letter. Any time that Jaelyn showed interest in writing, like creating birthday cards, she would bring out her placemat and we would help her write the words. If she was writing "love", we would say the letter sound ("lllll"), then refer to the picture on the placemat ("like 'leaf'").
Somehow, we took a jump from these first steps to her trying to read on her own. We've used several sets of books so that Jaelyn has some choice in the books at her reading level. We started out with Bob Books, which are short, fun books. For the beginning reader, there are very few words on a page, the words are easy to sound out, and they give that thrill of success because the whole book can often be read with little stress. We also used Dick and Jane books, because we liked the repetition - once she sounded out a word, she could read it several more times in the same story. Lastly, we've been using Primary Phonics books and the accompanying workbooks. The workbooks introduce the new sounds and the books bring it all together.
Lately, I've been noticing that Jaelyn is mixing up her "b's" and "d's". I'm not pushing the panic button, but I wanted to find a way to reinforce what each letter looks like. So today, when she mixed them up, we talked about it. I wrote "Dad", and I told her that the bumps on the letters face one another because dads and their children look at one another when they talk to each other. Then I drew faces on the "d's" to show them looking at one another. Jaelyn surprised me by sharing a rule that she learned in kindergarten. First, she drew a big "B", then she drew a smaller "b" inside, and said that the small "b" was a baby inside the big "B". So, now she has a couple of tricks to keep in mind when reading and writing.
Going forward, I'm going to look into a few Waldorf books to see if there are any stories and pictures I can share with her to help her integrate everything together.
Jaelyn is just learning how to read. She has a pretty firm foundation under her. Our first small steps on the road to reading included saying letters by their sound and not their name. We also had an alphabet placemat that listed the letters and pictures for each letter. Any time that Jaelyn showed interest in writing, like creating birthday cards, she would bring out her placemat and we would help her write the words. If she was writing "love", we would say the letter sound ("lllll"), then refer to the picture on the placemat ("like 'leaf'").
Somehow, we took a jump from these first steps to her trying to read on her own. We've used several sets of books so that Jaelyn has some choice in the books at her reading level. We started out with Bob Books, which are short, fun books. For the beginning reader, there are very few words on a page, the words are easy to sound out, and they give that thrill of success because the whole book can often be read with little stress. We also used Dick and Jane books, because we liked the repetition - once she sounded out a word, she could read it several more times in the same story. Lastly, we've been using Primary Phonics books and the accompanying workbooks. The workbooks introduce the new sounds and the books bring it all together.
Lately, I've been noticing that Jaelyn is mixing up her "b's" and "d's". I'm not pushing the panic button, but I wanted to find a way to reinforce what each letter looks like. So today, when she mixed them up, we talked about it. I wrote "Dad", and I told her that the bumps on the letters face one another because dads and their children look at one another when they talk to each other. Then I drew faces on the "d's" to show them looking at one another. Jaelyn surprised me by sharing a rule that she learned in kindergarten. First, she drew a big "B", then she drew a smaller "b" inside, and said that the small "b" was a baby inside the big "B". So, now she has a couple of tricks to keep in mind when reading and writing.
Going forward, I'm going to look into a few Waldorf books to see if there are any stories and pictures I can share with her to help her integrate everything together.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Dreamland
The night treasures come.
Owls hoot in the dark night sky.
Beautiful night sky.
~ Nicholas, October 18
Somehow, our family has started to get into a poetry groove. In fact, my son has requested that all of his writing work be poetry. So, we've had a sprinkling of poetry around our house - from reading rhyming stories, to books filled with poetry, to writing our own poetry. Lately, our children have headed off to dreamland with the words of a poem leading them. I'm attempting to resurrect our evening tradition of reading a poem or short story outside the children's bedrooms once they are tucked into bed.
I still love tucking each of them in - making sure the covers are just where they need to be - and then giving them each a hug and kiss goodnight and wishing them sweet dreams. Each child is just a little different from the others. Astrin needs to give everyone a kiss goodnight before I take her upstairs to get into her sleepsack, while I recite The Going to Bed Book and cuddle her. She needs the door closed too and will shout until it is closed! Nicholas needs everything in its right spot. Jaelyn typically just needs the challenge of a race to be scurrying up the stairs and diving head-first into bed.
We've discovered a real gem of a book to keep the bedtime poetry fresh - The Waldorf Book of Poetry. While we've only had it in our book collection for a few weeks, I have a feeling it will make its way into many of our days, and perhaps even activities throughout our day. The collection is organized into different themes - imagination (think fairies!), the seasons, fables, animals, history, numbers, grammar, and more!
I find that story-time and poetry reading before bed is such a nice way to spend the final moments of the day with my children. I aspire to start our days - once we're all ready to face the day - with a story that we can be mindful of as we head out into the world. We did this well for about a week, and I'd like to pick up where we left off now that the mountain of food to be preserved has dwindled. And I'm so thrilled to have another resource that can speak to their imaginations, hearts, and souls.
Monday, 1 October 2012
The Root Gnome
There was a light frost again last night, so Nicholas and I went outside this afternoon to pick what was left of the garden at our house in case it were to freeze tonight. The peppers and tomatoes looked fabulous. The remaining few sunflowers looked ready enough to take off. A couple of smaller corn were ready to come in too. And then there was that one carrot, that stubbornly grew where the rest of the seeds we planted (twice) didn't even manage to sprout. Yes, we wanted to see what was under that leafy top. So we decided to pull it, even though we knew the frost wouldn't damage it.
Before Nicholas reached down to grab around that green top, I asked him if he would like to ask the root gnome to let us pick the carrot. But he's too old to believe in root gnomes and went ahead without asking for the gnome's blessing. And he pulled. And he pulled. And eventually the leafy green top came off and the carrot remained firmly rooted in the ground.
I asked him if we should ask the root gnome to let us pick the plant, and again he ignored me. For now, a couple of friends had arrived to oversee the fun. Nicholas pulled and he pulled. This time, the carrot broke in half.
I went to fetch the gardening fork and he went to get the spade. Eventually, we got the rest of the carrot out easily - it's the biggest carrot I've ever grown in my life (which really isn't saying much)! And now, it sits proudly in our kitchen, waiting for us to eat it tomorrow.
Now you may ask, who is the root gnome? The root gnome is a character in a story about working together cooperatively that we've told to our children. The original is in Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour. Here's our version of it:
"Mama, will you help me pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? I've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Of course," replied Mama. Mama put her arms around Benjamin's waist, Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip and they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. Just then, Grandpa came out to the garden.
"Grandpa, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," answered Grandpa. Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. As they collapsed to the ground, exhausted, Rabbit hopped into the garden.
"Rabbit, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," replied Rabbit. Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. As they released their tired arms, Mouse skittered into the garden.
"Mouse, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," replied Mouse. Mouse grabbed hold of Rabbit, Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. They released one another in despair, wondering how to get the turnip out of the ground. Just then, Caterpillar crawled into the garden.
"Caterpillar, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my fall lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, I will help," replied Caterpillar. "Have you asked the Root Gnome to give you the turnip?"
"The Root Gnome? Who is the Root Gnome?" Benjamin wondered out loud.
"The Root Gnome holds all the plants in place. Ask him and you may get your turnip in time for the fall festival," Caterpillar responded.
So Benjamin knelt down and tapped gently on the turnip. Soon, the earth beside the turnip opened up and out popped the head of a tiny little man. "Yes," the tiny little man said. "What would you like?"
"Are you the Root Gnome?" asked Benjamin.
"Yes, I am. And I'm right tired. I've been working very hard to keep this turnip here right where it belongs. It's felt like elephants have been trying to pull it out of the ground!" the Root Gnome responded.
"I'm sorry, Root Gnome," Benjamin replied. "It has been me pulling on the turnip. I'd like to use it to make my lantern for the fall festival. Can I please pull it?"
"Of course!" the Root Gnome laughed. "All you had to do was ask. Here, let me go back, and I'll help you."
"Thank you," said Benjamin. The earth closed in where the Root Gnome had been. Then, Caterpillar grabbed hold of Mouse, Mouse grabbed hold of Rabbit, Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and the turnip popped right out of the ground! Caterpillar went tumbling backwards. Mouse landed on Caterpillar, Rabbit landed on Mouse, Grandpa landed on Rabbit, Mama landed on Grandpa, and Benjamin landed on Mama, holding the prized turnip in his hands.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Benjamin anxiously, still holding the turnip in his hands. And yes, everyone was indeed alright. Benjamin thanked all those who had helped him. Then, he and his mother went inside and made the turnip lantern. It was the loveliest lantern Benjamin had ever seen and he proudly carried it to the fall festival.
~~~~~~~~~~
Before Nicholas reached down to grab around that green top, I asked him if he would like to ask the root gnome to let us pick the carrot. But he's too old to believe in root gnomes and went ahead without asking for the gnome's blessing. And he pulled. And he pulled. And eventually the leafy green top came off and the carrot remained firmly rooted in the ground.
I asked him if we should ask the root gnome to let us pick the plant, and again he ignored me. For now, a couple of friends had arrived to oversee the fun. Nicholas pulled and he pulled. This time, the carrot broke in half.
I went to fetch the gardening fork and he went to get the spade. Eventually, we got the rest of the carrot out easily - it's the biggest carrot I've ever grown in my life (which really isn't saying much)! And now, it sits proudly in our kitchen, waiting for us to eat it tomorrow.
Now you may ask, who is the root gnome? The root gnome is a character in a story about working together cooperatively that we've told to our children. The original is in Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour. Here's our version of it:
Benjamin's Turnip
Benjamin wanted to have a turnip lantern for the fall festival. So, he planted the turnip seeds, watered them carefully and weeded around his turnip so it would have room to grow. And grow it did! It was a fine-sized turnip by the time autumn's leaves began to fall to the ground. The turnip was just the right size for his lantern. So he went out to the garden to pull it out. He grabbed hold of the turnip and pulled and pulled and pulled. But the turnip wouldn't budge. Just then, Benjamin's mother came out to the garden."Mama, will you help me pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? I've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Of course," replied Mama. Mama put her arms around Benjamin's waist, Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip and they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. Just then, Grandpa came out to the garden.
"Grandpa, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," answered Grandpa. Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. As they collapsed to the ground, exhausted, Rabbit hopped into the garden.
"Rabbit, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," replied Rabbit. Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. As they released their tired arms, Mouse skittered into the garden.
"Mouse, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, of course," replied Mouse. Mouse grabbed hold of Rabbit, Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, it would not budge. They released one another in despair, wondering how to get the turnip out of the ground. Just then, Caterpillar crawled into the garden.
"Caterpillar, will you help us pull my turnip so that I can make my fall lantern? We've tried but it just won't budge," said Benjamin.
"Yes, I will help," replied Caterpillar. "Have you asked the Root Gnome to give you the turnip?"
"The Root Gnome? Who is the Root Gnome?" Benjamin wondered out loud.
"The Root Gnome holds all the plants in place. Ask him and you may get your turnip in time for the fall festival," Caterpillar responded.
So Benjamin knelt down and tapped gently on the turnip. Soon, the earth beside the turnip opened up and out popped the head of a tiny little man. "Yes," the tiny little man said. "What would you like?"
"Are you the Root Gnome?" asked Benjamin.
"Yes, I am. And I'm right tired. I've been working very hard to keep this turnip here right where it belongs. It's felt like elephants have been trying to pull it out of the ground!" the Root Gnome responded.
"I'm sorry, Root Gnome," Benjamin replied. "It has been me pulling on the turnip. I'd like to use it to make my lantern for the fall festival. Can I please pull it?"
"Of course!" the Root Gnome laughed. "All you had to do was ask. Here, let me go back, and I'll help you."
"Thank you," said Benjamin. The earth closed in where the Root Gnome had been. Then, Caterpillar grabbed hold of Mouse, Mouse grabbed hold of Rabbit, Rabbit grabbed hold of Grandpa, Grandpa put his arms around Mama, Mama put her arms around Benjamin, and Benjamin wrapped his hands around the turnip. Together, they pulled and the turnip popped right out of the ground! Caterpillar went tumbling backwards. Mouse landed on Caterpillar, Rabbit landed on Mouse, Grandpa landed on Rabbit, Mama landed on Grandpa, and Benjamin landed on Mama, holding the prized turnip in his hands.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Benjamin anxiously, still holding the turnip in his hands. And yes, everyone was indeed alright. Benjamin thanked all those who had helped him. Then, he and his mother went inside and made the turnip lantern. It was the loveliest lantern Benjamin had ever seen and he proudly carried it to the fall festival.
~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Allowance day
Today is allowance day, and I'm reminded of when my daughter was first learning about money. She was having a difficult time remembering how much different coins were worth, and couldn't remember how many quarters made a dollar. So, we pulled ideas from different teaching methodologies to help her out.
First, I planned an activity based on the Montessori methodology. Jaelyn and I found a quiet corner. I pulled out one of each coin, named it, pointed to the picture on the "tail" of the coin, and the amount. She held each coin and repeated the name an amount. Then, we played a silly little game, where I would ask her to put the coins in different places - say a penny in a shoe, a nickel under a mat, a dime by a door and a quarter on a table. After that, I would ask her to move the coins to different places, in random order. So, she would need to remember the name of the coin and where she put it. Once we had ran out of places to put coins, we huddled together again and I asked her to name each coin for me. This stuck.
To help her learn the number of quarters to make a dollar, I turned to the Waldorf methodology. I thought that if I could make up a story that would be relevant and interesting, it might click for her. I remember laying awake in bed one night coming up with this story. When it was allowance day, I gathered up four quarters and a dollar, as used them as props. To understand the story, it might help to understand what our coins look like. A quarter has a caribou on it, and our dollar is a gold-coloured coin.
Once upon a time, there was a lone caribou herder living far north in the frozen tundra. He had a herd of 25 caribou (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). He would always make sure that his herd had enough to eat, so he was always needing to wander the north looking for more food. Because he was always moving to different places, it was hard to make friends.
But one day, as he was moving his herd, he met another caribou herder! They were both glad to meet someone else! They chatted for awhile and really enjoyed one another's company. The second caribou herder had 25 caribou in his herd too (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). The first caribou herder said, "Would you like to travel with me? I've been so lonely and I really like having someone else to talk to." The second caribou herder agreed, and the first herd of 25 and the second herd of 25 became 50 (bring the two coins together into one hand, representing that they are the same herd).
The two caribou herders and their herd of 50 roamed the tundra, and as they roamed, they talked and shared stories. One day, they met another caribou herder! He had 25 caribou in his herd (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). He was moving his herd to a place that only his family knew about, because there was much for the herd to eat there. He invited the other two caribou herders to join him, for he liked their company. So the 50 caribou joined the 25 caribou and they became a larger herd of 75 (bring the three coins together in one hand).
The 3 caribou herders and their herd of 75 followed inuktuks (rock formations laid by Inuit people) until they came to a valley that had enough food for the herd. They lingered in this spot for many days, and the three caribou herders told stories by the fire and laughed lots. They enjoyed being together. Eventually, the caribou needed to move on to more food, so they packed up camp and set out to find more food. As they came out of the valley, the met a fourth caribou herder, and he too had a herd of 25 (point to the caribou and the number on the coin). When he heard about how the caribou herders helped one another, he asked to join them. And they agreed heartily. The 25 caribou joined the 75 caribou and they became one large herd of 100 caribou.
Eventually, the Queen heard the story of the 4 caribou herders who helped each other out, and their herd of 100 caribou. She asked to meet them. When they met, she gave each of them a gold coin (show the gold coin) to celebrate how they shared and helped one another. She told them, `The gold coin is worth 100 cents - 1 cent for every caribou in your herd. But 100 cents sounds funny, so when you hold this coin, you can also call it 1 dollar.
The end.
I haven`t told that story to Jaelyn for some time. I was reminded of it today, though, so I asked her to retell it, just to see what she remembered. Here`s what she told me:
And the other one said, "Sure". And then they had 50 caribou.
And they were walking along and the caribou were eating and then another caribou herder came along. And so they said, "How about we get together?"
And the other one said, "Sure". So they went together and he also said, `I know where to go to get food for our caribou`. So they went along. There were 75 caribou in their herd.
And so they were eating and walking along and then another caribou herder came along. And so they all three said, `how about you come with us? We know where to go.`
So he said, `Sure I'll come along`. And how many caribou were in the herd? 100.
Then the queen called them over and they came over and she said, "Because you were being so generous by letting people into the herd, and you have lots of caribou and were sharing, you deserve having a gold coin, which is a dollar. Instead of saying 100 cents, you can call it a dollar."
The end.
First, I planned an activity based on the Montessori methodology. Jaelyn and I found a quiet corner. I pulled out one of each coin, named it, pointed to the picture on the "tail" of the coin, and the amount. She held each coin and repeated the name an amount. Then, we played a silly little game, where I would ask her to put the coins in different places - say a penny in a shoe, a nickel under a mat, a dime by a door and a quarter on a table. After that, I would ask her to move the coins to different places, in random order. So, she would need to remember the name of the coin and where she put it. Once we had ran out of places to put coins, we huddled together again and I asked her to name each coin for me. This stuck.
To help her learn the number of quarters to make a dollar, I turned to the Waldorf methodology. I thought that if I could make up a story that would be relevant and interesting, it might click for her. I remember laying awake in bed one night coming up with this story. When it was allowance day, I gathered up four quarters and a dollar, as used them as props. To understand the story, it might help to understand what our coins look like. A quarter has a caribou on it, and our dollar is a gold-coloured coin.
The Four Caribou Herders, original version
Once upon a time, there was a lone caribou herder living far north in the frozen tundra. He had a herd of 25 caribou (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). He would always make sure that his herd had enough to eat, so he was always needing to wander the north looking for more food. Because he was always moving to different places, it was hard to make friends.
But one day, as he was moving his herd, he met another caribou herder! They were both glad to meet someone else! They chatted for awhile and really enjoyed one another's company. The second caribou herder had 25 caribou in his herd too (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). The first caribou herder said, "Would you like to travel with me? I've been so lonely and I really like having someone else to talk to." The second caribou herder agreed, and the first herd of 25 and the second herd of 25 became 50 (bring the two coins together into one hand, representing that they are the same herd).
The two caribou herders and their herd of 50 roamed the tundra, and as they roamed, they talked and shared stories. One day, they met another caribou herder! He had 25 caribou in his herd (point to the caribou and the number 25 on the coin). He was moving his herd to a place that only his family knew about, because there was much for the herd to eat there. He invited the other two caribou herders to join him, for he liked their company. So the 50 caribou joined the 25 caribou and they became a larger herd of 75 (bring the three coins together in one hand).
The 3 caribou herders and their herd of 75 followed inuktuks (rock formations laid by Inuit people) until they came to a valley that had enough food for the herd. They lingered in this spot for many days, and the three caribou herders told stories by the fire and laughed lots. They enjoyed being together. Eventually, the caribou needed to move on to more food, so they packed up camp and set out to find more food. As they came out of the valley, the met a fourth caribou herder, and he too had a herd of 25 (point to the caribou and the number on the coin). When he heard about how the caribou herders helped one another, he asked to join them. And they agreed heartily. The 25 caribou joined the 75 caribou and they became one large herd of 100 caribou.
Eventually, the Queen heard the story of the 4 caribou herders who helped each other out, and their herd of 100 caribou. She asked to meet them. When they met, she gave each of them a gold coin (show the gold coin) to celebrate how they shared and helped one another. She told them, `The gold coin is worth 100 cents - 1 cent for every caribou in your herd. But 100 cents sounds funny, so when you hold this coin, you can also call it 1 dollar.
The end.
I haven`t told that story to Jaelyn for some time. I was reminded of it today, though, so I asked her to retell it, just to see what she remembered. Here`s what she told me:
The Four Caribou Herders, as retold by Jaelyn
Once there was a caribou herder going along. There were 25 caribou in his herd. He was walking along and he found another caribou herder. And then they started talking and one said, "Why don't we go together."And the other one said, "Sure". And then they had 50 caribou.
And they were walking along and the caribou were eating and then another caribou herder came along. And so they said, "How about we get together?"
And the other one said, "Sure". So they went together and he also said, `I know where to go to get food for our caribou`. So they went along. There were 75 caribou in their herd.
And so they were eating and walking along and then another caribou herder came along. And so they all three said, `how about you come with us? We know where to go.`
So he said, `Sure I'll come along`. And how many caribou were in the herd? 100.
Then the queen called them over and they came over and she said, "Because you were being so generous by letting people into the herd, and you have lots of caribou and were sharing, you deserve having a gold coin, which is a dollar. Instead of saying 100 cents, you can call it a dollar."
The end.
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