Where We're At,...

I think we're slowly wandering out of the strictly Waldorf aisle of homeschooling and into the eclectic section. This is really a difficult thing for me to admit. I love the beauty of Waldorf, as well the pedagogy and even some of the spirituality. I am not, however, married to a strict interpretation of the curriculum sequence.

The problem is, I see so much beauty and truth in many different approaches. I love the orderliness of Montessori, and I love the nature-centeredness of Charlotte Mason. I love the freedom to follow a child's interests found in the Project Approach and Emergent Curriculum, and I went to grad school when Developmentally Appropriate Practice standards were being developed. I love the short lessons in The Well-Trained Mind, as well as the respect for the fact that if a child wants to learn, they can and should learn. Waldorf probably resonates with me most strongly, but I don't feel like following a strict Waldorf path--at least as interpreted by some of the "Steiner-Says"-gurus of today--works for our family.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not rushing out to buy workbooks for every subject or a computer curriculum or anything. But I'm giving myself permission to follow the lead of my children and to, as I tell mamas at La Leche League meetings, take what we can use and leave the rest.

That said, we had a lovely first week. We're getting back into a rhythm, and I've managed to work in time for everything I wanted except a nature walk each day. I suspect that's going to be something that is catch as catch can. Maybe one day we'll walk to the corner grocery to pick something up and notice that Mother Earth has changed her clothes, maybe another day we'll walk to pick up Big Brother from school and see an interesting flower. Whatever we do, I am sure we'll find a way to make it work for us!

Back to School!

We're back into a school rhythm. I can't believe Katie Grace is in first grade! And Nicholas desperately wants to do "preschool," which sounds entirely too academic for my taste, but he has been resistant to my attempts to call our special time "nursery time."

I hope to have more pictures, details, etc later. I actually meant to have them up Monday, but it just hasn't happened. It's a good sign, I suppose, that we're so busy actually doing school that I don't have time to write about it.

Natural Childhood Newsletter for the Week of June 9

*reposted from my mailing list, found here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Natural_Childhood/

A Note from Me to You
Oh, it feels so good to be writing to this list again! Looking at the archives, I realize that I've been writing this ever since my first little guy, Michael, was a baby. He's a big eight-year-old guy now! It's hard to believe. I haven't always been faithful in writing to this list, but I do notice than when I write, it helps to center and ground our routine. Thanks for sticking with me! And remember, when the list has dry spells, there's always the archives, found here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Natural_Childhood/messages

I'm going to start off slow this week!

Circle Time Fun
We've planted our garden, but we seem to be plagued with cabbage-eating bunnies. Katie Grace, however, is fearless, and we often hear her out in the yard yelling at the rabbits to move on. In honor of her, we've been having a summer garden/bunny munching story time. Some elements of this circle include:

Oh, John the Rabbit--a call and response song
Oh, John the Rabbit! (Oh yes!)
Oh, John the Rabbit! (Oh yes!)
You have a mighty bad habbit (Oh yes!)
Of jumping in my garden (Oh yes!)
And eating all my cabbage. (Oh yes!)
You ate my potatoes (Oh yes!)
And sweet potatoes (Oh yes!)
And if I live (Oh yes!)
To see next fall (Oh yes!)
I won't plant (Oh yes!)
A garden at all. (Oh yes!)

Bunny, Bunny
Bunny, white bunny
With ears so tall.
Place pointer fingers beside head.
And your two pink eyes
And a mouth so small.
Make a small O with mouth.
Wiggle goes one ear,
Wiggle one finger.
Wiggle goes the other.
Wiggle the other finger.
Hop, hop, hop, hop
Home to your mother!
Hop away in four hops.

Sing a song of sunny hours,
Dreaming with the bees and flowers.
Sing a song of babbling brooks
Dancing on by shady nooks.
Sing a song of softest breeze,
Blowing gently through the trees.
Sing a song of joyous light,
Making all the world so bright.
Sing a song of happy praise,
Thanking God for sunny days!
from the Wynstone Press Summer book

Also some of the gardening songs found in Mary Thienes-Schunemann's This Is the Way We Wash-a-Day.

What Can You Do with a Fairy Tale?
Not exactly a fairy tale, but we've been keeping with the summer bunny theme by reading the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit stories. You can see some of her earlier sketches here:
http://www.peterrabbit.com/beatrixpotter/beatrixpotter1b.cfm

Make a pom pom rabbit with directions here (just add bigger ears and a different tail):
http://www.peterrabbit.com/images/POMPOM.jpg

Make felt bunny ears for dress-up play.

Learning Together
Since we finally have beautiful weather, we've been going on lots of neighborhood walks. This has led both Katie Grace and Nicholas to try to re-create our neighborhood in various ways--through dramatic play and dress-ups, by drawing "maps," creating various landmarks with blocks and other building materials. We take the time to stop and visit and chat with the various community helpers. Visiting with the corner store owner led to several days of playing "shopkeeper;" chatting with the mail carrier has caused the children to write or draw letters for one another and deliver them to each other's bedrooms, always a great surprise.

We might try a TREASURE HUNT!
On index cards, draw freehand, glue pictures from a magazine, or print computer-generated pictures of things in your home. Make about a half a dozen for youngest players and a dozen for kids ages five or older. Draw on each clue a directional arrow to indicate on top of, under, beside, etc. Wrap up the first card to give to your child as the first clue. Hide the second clue near the item pictured on the first card. Hide the third clue near the item pictured on the second card, and so on, until all the clues are hidden. Make sure to hide a treasure (a gift, a coin, small toy, food treat, etc.) near the final item. Send your child on the hunt with the first clue! You may need to help a young or first-time hunter "read" the clues and follow the directions, but soon, she or he will become an expert.

Arts, Crafts, and Handwork

Stir Up Some Sidewalk Chalk

It's easy to make your own sidewalk chalk in a rainbow of colors.

Ages: 3-10

Time Required: Less than 1 hour to make; overnight to dry.

You'll need:

· Several empty toilet paper rolls

· Aluminum foil

· Plaster of Paris mix

· Dry tempera paint

· A small disposable container that will hold about a pint (such as an empty plastic margarine tub)

Making the Chalk

1. First, take several empty toilet paper rolls and tightly cover one end of each roll with aluminum foil.

2. In a small disposable container (such as an empty tub of margarine) mix one cup Plaster of Paris with one cup of water and several spoonfuls of dry tempera paint.

3. Carefully pour the mixture into the open end of the toilet paper roll. Let the mixture sit undisturbed overnight.

4. When the mixture is completely dry, peel off the cardboard and use as sidewalk chalk.

TIP: Save clean up time (as well as eliminating the risk of a clogged drain) by just throwing away the container used to mix the chalk.

Cooking Up Some Fun
Make a summer salad!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	2 tablespoons olive oil
	1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
	1/4 cup chopped cilantro
	1/4 teaspoon salt
	1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
	2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 5 ears)
	1 1/2 cups diced avocado (1/2-inch pieces)
	1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
	1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

2. Add the corn, avocado, tomatoes, and onion and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature. Serves 4 to 6. Tips: Choose ears of corn with bright green husks that are tightly closed. The ends of the corn silk should be golden brown, not pale -- an indication that the corn was picked too early.

To easily remove corn silk from the kernels, hold the ear in one hand and rub downward with a wet paper towel.

To remove corn kernels for a salad or salsa, stand an uncooked ear in a shallow bowl and use a sharp, thin-bladed knife. For chowder, add another step: reverse the knife and run the dull side down the ear to press out the rest of the corn and its milk.

Summer Nature Table

We have a fussy baby

Daniel is seriously not all that pleased to be earthside. Oddly enough, it's generally not a big deal. It's not that he's colicky. Katie Grace was colicky, and she was just a very prickly personality. But he sometimes seems so sad and desperate and bewildered by the great big world. He's happiest when he's in the sling or swaddled. He even seems to like it if he's in the swing and we turn it on to the high speed. I took the obnoxious light-and-sound-making toy bar off. I feel guilty enough using a swing! But he just seems to be having a very difficult time getting organized.

I am so glad we try to follow Waldorf recommendations (although to us, they just seem to be common sense!) for our babies. Hold them tight, protect their senses, rock them, sing to them, give them all the rhythm we can. Because honestly, if he was in a world filled with big loud noises and bold patterns and bright colors and flashing lights, I think he would tweak. Either that, or he would just shut down completely.

On a happier note, Katie Grace learned this poem today, and it just tickled her:
I never saw a purple cow.
I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow
I'd rather see than be one.

Daniel James is here!

He's been here for a while, actually. He was born at home on April 29 and weighed 9 pounds and was 20 3/4 inches long with a 14 1/2 inch head. He's doing great, but is a tad bit high needs, which is why I haven't been posting a whole lot.

Here are some pictures of his first week:





And Daniel today!Katie Grace called him a "freaking little gnome." I found this oddly amusing.

Still here... still pregnant.

Happy Spring!

Still gestating, but I did get some pictures of our spring nature table I wanted to share.

First, here's a picture of the whole nature table. The root children have come out from underground, King Winter is gone, and Mother Earth has taken off her velvet cloak. Under the rust-colored silk is a light green "grass" silk. We'll slowly pull back the "dirt" and reveal the "grass".This is a close-up of Mother Earth. The Mother Earth and large seed baby doll were made by another Waldorf mama, but I forget who. The little "pocket babies" are from A Toy Garden (I think) and the two tiny babies are from a Ryan's Room play set. Katie Grace had the idea to cut up scraps of felt for the seed babies' clothes, and she wanted to add the ladybug we made from a rock as well. We might try to add some other rock insects to the mix. I made the shroom from wool felt.
The wooden tulips are thrift store finds. We made the snails the day we set up the table. (I have pictures to explain how we made them. They're much simpler than the technique I described in my curriculum, and I wish I had thought of this way first, LOL!) and the Blossom Baby I made at a workshop at the Susquehanna Waldorf School. I really miss that place.

How we made the snails:
First, we cut two pieces of felt that tapered inward.

Second, we laid one on top of the other and then folded them in half lengthwise.

Third, we began rolling them up, starting with the thickest end.

Finally, when they were all rolled up, we pushed in a straight pin to hold it all together and cut trimmed the snail's head.
And finally, apropos of nothing, the funky monkey cake we made for Michael's Scout cake auction. We ended up buying it back and Michael took it to school to share as a snack. He took great joy in telling everyone that "everything under the icing is organic, but nothing from the icing up is."

Spring Seasons of Joy is DONE!

I haven't updated here for a while; between gestating and writing the spring book and homeschooling, there's been little time for anything else.

But, the spring book is finished! 90 pages, 10 weeks of ideas, and full of flowers and fairies and fun.

It's available here:
http://naturalfamily.50megs.com/custom_1.html

Things are good, but exhausting here. Katie Grace is loving homeschooling again. She actually picked up a book and started reading for fun today. She's also getting ready for her ballet recital. Nicholas is just crazy and three. His latest obsession is making airplanes and shuttles from torn up scraps of paper. Which actually means he tears up paper and throws it around the room, LOL! Michael is doing well in school and is going to do a flag football workshop at the Y, which he is really excited about. I'm nesting like crazy, and am more than ready for Babymort to be born.

H h

7:00 Wake up to Michael thanking me for leaving him a note on his door. We've been having some issues with him roaming about the house, so we left him a note reminding him he could make himself some toast and then read or play in his room til a grown-up woke up.

7:15 Hubby woke up and went downstairs to read Lord of the Rings to Michael. I snuggled with Nicholas and listened to NPR.

7:45 Got Nicholas dressed and realized Michael had a two-hour delay. We had an inch of snow! Got myself dressed, tidied the bathroom, and put clothes away. Helped supervise the kids' morning routines.

8:30 Put in a load of laundry and ate breakfast. Got Katie Grace started on her daily work and set Michael up writing a long overdue thank you note to his Mimi and PeePaw for their birthday gift. Nicholas built with blocks.

9:00 Did snap circuits with Michael while Katie Grace did her copywork. This week it's

All outside is dark and cold
But just beneath the earth
Sleep seeds from which new life springs
Bringing Nature's gifts to earth.

We've been taking it very, very slowly, one line at a time.

9:30 Michael read a story to Nicholas and built with blocks with him while Katie Grace and I finished up. Today we did H, for Mother Holle's house.

10:00 Michael and I worked to pack his lunch and make sure he was ready for school. We also all had snack (organic fruit leather and honey sticks--holy sugar, Batman!)

10:30 More laundry and a little decluttering. Katie Grace and Nicholas disappeared upstairs and played. While they were occupied, I worked on writing out some music for the spring book.

11:00 Kids were still playing nicely, so I did a little planning for next week, when we focus on St. Patrick's Day. I should have cleaned, but the baby is sitting on my tailbone and I'm having a lot of ouchies today.

11:30 Kids were STILL playing nicely, so I went upstairs to be near them. Finished cleaning out the hall closet.

Noon Heated up beef stew for lunch.

12:30 Katie Grace and Nicholas helped scrub sweet potatoes. I put them on to boil for dinner. While they cooked, we tidied the kitchen a little. Meanwhile, the rescue workers showed up with the truck and collected a month's worth of decluttering from the porch. Nicholas was very sad--"Dat man is taking all our books!!!!"--so we stopped watching and went back to the kitchen and played with play dough for a bit.

1:00 When the potatoes were done, I drained them and popped the peels off. We added butter and brown sugar and Katie Grace and Nicholas used the potato masher to smoosh them. We sang an impromptu potato smooshing song.

1:30 One of the toys I found while decluttering was a wooden telephone. We added it to the play kitchen and Nicholas and Katie Grace made some very important phone calls while I cleared the playroom table.

2:00 Little Bear and Little House

2:45 Quiet time, including Bob the Builder.

3:30 Michael came home. We made popcorn for snack.

4:00 Played in the snow. Well, the kids played in the snow. I watched.

4:30 Warmed up and cleaned the downstairs.

5:00 The older two went to choir and Nicholas helped me make dinner.