New Beginnings

It has been a long time since I have contributed to this blog but I think I might give it a go again to be my place of documentation for our new homeschooling journey. 

That's right, we finally decided to give the homeschooling thing a try. It didn't happen without many hours of stress, research, stress, worry, stress, crying, stress, guilt, stress, and second guessing.  

Maybe that can all be in another post, but for now, I wanted to do a quick post about how it has been going.  We are still trying to get the groove of our schedule.  It's been all over the place and a little crazy, but overall, I have been really enjoying it! The fun outweighs the stress and I've been very happy.  I think the kids are too! I keep bracing myself, waiting for a really bad day, when I will have a meltdown or something, but it hasn't come yet.  :) 

Feather Imprints

The primary aged children at our school made feather imprint shirts that we could all wear to match after a big festival we were going to be having.  A lovely mom in the classroom suggested the idea and then was able to round up some parents to help the children make them.  Every child brought a shirt then they got to choose feathers, put paint and/or glitter on them and make imprints onto the shirts.  I loved watching them work on them and my favorite was seeing the variety of them all as they hung up on a line outside.  Is there anything cuter?

Yea for volunteer parents!

Teacher's really could not do half the things we want to without parent support!

I love how the beauty of nature comes out in them. How special would a shirt be to a child that they knew they created the design?

Reading cards

Here is an example of (just) some of the reading cards that can be seen in a classroom of 3-6 year olds.  Most five year olds and some four year olds can read these words.    

Snack table

In our classroom, we would occasionally have a group snack, but on most days you will see a table prepared similar to this one.  Children can choose to come and have their snack at their leisure throughout the work period.  The table should have cups, plates, and napkins so the child who is ready can just wash their hands and then sit to eat.  There are usually two dishes with the snack and the needed utensils to serve themselves such as a pair of tongs or a large spoon.  There is always a pitcher of juice or water on the table as well.  The amount of snack varies depending on what the snack is for the day and the child can ask other children, ask a teacher, or sometimes there will be a sign at the table.  Once finished the child is to clear up his/her area by throwing away the cup and napkin and washing the plate in the sink.  Once done cleaning the dishes the child gets a new plate, cup and napkin ready at the table for the next child. 

As perfect as it all sounds, these steps didn't always work like clockwork.  It takes a lot of time and practice to get children in the classroom used to taking care of themselves and setting up a new place out of respect to their classmates.  Some children often spill or make a mess at the table, and they learn that they need to get a sponge and clean it up before they can proceed with their snack.  They learn eventually.  :)

Apple work

Our classroom's apple work was set up right by the sink for easy access to water.  This work is done with an apron.  The apples are all sliced in circles as pictured, and the child uses the tongs on the right to choose a slice and put it on the cutting board.  The child uses the apple slicer to cut the apple into pieces and then tongs those pieces into a bowl as well as putting the core piece in the bucket for composting.  The child then gets some water in the provided pitcher on the left and pours the water over the apple slices to clean them.  With the strainer on the left, the child strains the apple pieces from the water and places them on a serving plate, which in the picture is an orange square plate.  Before the child can eat and enjoy his/her labors, the child must clean up.  All leftover pieces go in the compost bucket, all dirty water goes in the other bowl, the pitcher goes back into it's place, the tong and strainer go back on the tray on the right, and the apron gets hung up or folded and put away.  This work might vary from classroom to classroom in details, but when the lesson is presented, all steps, with clear details are included.  Once the area is clean and ready for another child to work, the child may then go share apple pieces with friends or find a spot to sit and enjoy the fruit.

This lesson is a favorite one of the children.  It is made available after the parts of an apple lesson has been given to the class.  I remember being told when my oldest was in the primary classroom that he LOVED to this work and share with classmates.  When I first had to prepare this work for the classroom, I really found the small detail of how it was cut fascinating.  It sounds silly, but if you really think about it, a lot of children might not know what the parts of an apple or even a whole apple looks like.  It is so easy to buy pre-cut and packaged apples in the stores.  Sometimes those packages don't even have the skin of the apple on it anymore.  Some children might have always had their apples cut by their parents into pieces, so they never had a chance to see a seed or the brown stem.  These really are small things that bring knowledge to children that we tend to rob them of without knowing it.  From my experience, children love to look at the beautiful design of the inside of an apple.  They find it fun to pick out the seeds and save them so we can plant a new apple tree.  They like to see the different colors of the skin.  Such simple joys.  It's beautiful.   

Subtraction Finger Board

This is the subtraction finger board.  There are a few types of fingerboards.  In this lesson, the child has some prepared problems, as pictured in the top of this picture.  They write those problems on their paper, which is cut off but pictured at the bottom.  Then the child looks at a problem, places one finger on each hand on a red and a blue number(from their problem), and brings/slides the two fingers together both vertically and horizontally.  Where the two fingers meet up is where they will find their answer.  I know what you might be thinking, "but they're not really doing the math", and I say that because that is what I thought when I first saw the fingerboards.  While that might be partly true, the children love working with this material, and as they choose this work over and over, they do end up learning all of their math tables, in and out, and they even start to recognize patterns in the math and on the board.  In the end, their math skills are much more concrete than the old rote learning that we all had to do.

Polishing

In the classroom there are three different types of polishing lessons: glass, metal, and wood.  Polishing is one of those things that is/seems pretty outdated in our modern times.  I remember when my oldest was in the toddler program and I was told by his teacher that he LOVED to do the shoe polishing work.  Shoe polishing? Who does that still? At least that's the way it can seem sometimes.  From my experience of observing children in the classroom, they LOVE to polish things.  They would/will do it for hours.  My mom is one of those people who just don't get why we would have children do work that is so outdated and unrelated to our everyday lives, but I think it's hard to not understand once you've watched a child do the work, really concentrate, and show off what they've done.  The children are always fascinated with how clean and shiny they can make the object.  They love to look at the dirty cotton ball and show everyone in the room how much dirt they got off.  I took this picture when we noticed this child and his intense concentration on what he was doing.  It is just so fun to watch them in those moments! 

Sewing Bean Bags

We are studying about reptiles, snakes, frogs, etc. this month.  I wish I could show you more pictures of the process, but there's only so much time to take pictures in the classroom.  :)  This type of work might take a child up to an hour or more of work.  The older children can do it faster, but by older I mean five years old.  We have three-year-olds doing this work.  It takes a lot of patience, but oh is the pay off good!  They are so excited once they finish sewing and stuffing one.  All of that work is worth it to have bragging rights and then to play with it.  You'd be surprised how well children can sew at a young age. (at least I always have been)

JJ came to visit

JJ came to our classroom and read a story during group time.  He read Fly Guy.  He had practiced a lot and did a good job reading.  He didn't realize that younger children need you to read slowly, loud, and pause to show the pictures off so everyone can see.  It was cute to see him looking so big reading the book in the same classroom that he used to sit around the rug and listen to books.   

I don't know why, but I love that his legs are crossed. 

Dismissal

We have group time right before lunch.  Once the tables are prepared and the group discussion is finished, it is time to dismiss the children to go and wash their hands, get their lunch boxes, and find their chair.  One of the ways that we dismiss in our class is by having the children sit with their legs crossed, backs straight, and eyes closed as we turn quiet music on and walk around the group with a feather.  We have several types of feathers, and if a child is quiet and showing control of their body, we tickle them on their neck, hands, or face.  Then they may go and wash their hands.  They love this and are always so excited that they have a hard time sitting still.