Science at home...

So, the toilet needed new guts.  Papa took care of it, and the big kids watched the whole process.  It's important that they learn how things work.  Kinda like science.  And so begins our explorations into homeschooling after school.  

 Then I devised an experiment that was age appropriate (and FUN!) for a 4.5 year old and a 7 year old.  Here's our Sink or Float chart.  Each child made a hypothesis and then we tested that hypothesis.  Once the sink was full of water, they tested other items as well.  It was fun!

 I am referencing quite a few items for our homeschool adventures.  One is Oak Meadow 1st Grade.  In that curriculum they introduce the moon and phases of the moon.  We can do that!  So here are some things I found to use...

You will notice that this is most definitely NOT Steiner approved or Waldorf related.  That's because R is already in public school and they use a LOT of worksheets in public school.  I am modifying my approach to include traditional methods (like rote learning and worksheets) as well as the creative-artistic approach of Waldorf pedagogy, and I'm throwing in some fun Montessori things as well.  Stay tuned!

Here's how the worksheets turned out:

Some thoughts on public school...

So, at R's first parent-teacher conference they were showing us his grades for reading and math.  He was improving in reading and doing fine in math.  His scores were up on the tests, yada yada.  So after a while she asks us if we have any questions.  I did.  I asked how he was doing in the other subjects like science, social studies, history, etc.  But mostly I was curious how he was doing in science since he loves it.

She got quiet for a moment and said, "We are not allowed to schedule time to teach those subjects."

What the...?  What?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I try to incorporate some of those principles in, but I have to do it in the context of reading or math."  She's obviously embarrassed at this point.

So, just so I'm clear here... "So he's not getting any science?"

"Not specifically, no. But next semester we'll do science experiments on Fridays.  I'll do that instead of Centers." She says.  Since they only get one recess and it's in the morning, Centers is their afternoon break time and it's indoors.  I'm disappointed that he'll miss out on the indoor free play, but experiments sound fun too.

But NO time for SCIENCE... I was horrified.  So I asked, "When are the teachers allowed to schedule science?"

"They are allotted time for science starting in the fourth grade."

So, my kid gets next to no science until the fourth grade.  I'm pretty much speechless at this point.  And a million thoughts popped into my head.

But most especially I thought, well, if I don't want to squash his inquisitive nature I'd better start teaching him at home.

The Letter "E"

Same old thing!  Except we've been busy so we haven't stayed on our schedule exactly.  Tomorrow's post will give you an update on what we've been up to!

But we did find time to make giant E's out of envelopes...

R's is on the left and S's is on the right.

The Letter "D"

I introduced the letter in the usual way (fairy tale, etc) and then we wrote some letters.  While R practiced his letter D's, S drew pictures.

Then we did another fill-in activity only this time we did "dots" for "D".

The following day (or so, we took a couple days off to enjoy the weather) we used the letters "C" and "D" to learn about "coins and dollars".  This activity was a big hit!

I found this activity on Pinterest.  It can also be used as a game, so I placed them in page protectors.  Once they get the hang of the money a bit more we may try the game.  Let me know if you want the link!

The letter "C"

This last week we covered the letters:

We read the fairy tale, then worked on writing some C's.  I served chicken noodle soup and carrots for lunch.  Then we talked about every word that started with the letter "C" we possibly could.

Then we made caterpillars.

Handwork consisted of making a cat toy (another great C word).  One of our favorite activities 'round these parts.  And we have two lovely kitties who really enjoy them.

We start with a square piece of felt, some embroidery floss, a needle, a bell, and a pinch of catnip.

R sews these together any way he sees fit and I tie it off.  They end up round-ish, but the cats don't mind.

The letter "B"

Once again, we read the fairy tale and practiced writing upper and lower case "B's".  Since S is only three, I don't make her participate if she doesn't want to.  She's discovered that she likes to color or draw on her own while R practices writing the letters.

So while R decided to draw a bumble bee (which is amazing because he really dislikes drawing), S worked on a coloring sheet I had printed out.

The two books above are what we've used to introduce the letters.  The one on the right is the book of Fairy Tales and the one on the left is the Waldorf Alphabet Book which shows the letter in pictorial form (so "B" looks like a baby on a blanket) and other words that start with that letter.  Excellent drawings/depictions for visual learners like R!

Here's the man with his proud bumble bee!

And here's a little girl who looks as if she may need to take up the "nap habit" again.

"A" in review

For the letters, we've been reading the fairy tale in the Oak Meadow book, then drawing a couple examples.  The following day we do a craft or drawing inspired by the letter.

So here's A:
After the drawings, R wanted to try watercolor painting the letter.

Then we collected acorn caps while discussing the long "A" sound in "acorn" and the short "a" sound in "cap".  Setting the acorn caps aside, they cut out large letter A's (they each did this) and then glued them to construction paper.  The final step was gluing the caps onto the A's.  (Cutting, squeezing the glue, and placing caps are all good fine motor work for 3 year olds).  

While not "Waldorf", I still think I did a good job of getting us outdoors and using nature for crafts.  

Homeschoolers to Afterschoolers

This has been a difficult year.  With both of us grown-ups working and going to school we've had to make some tough decisions and I don't just mean financially.  We pulled R out of preschool in the winter as we knew we'd need the nanny more to cover my ours teaching and working.  R didn't love his preschool, but I was sad to see him leave.  So for the entire Spring semester we just "maintained".  The kids played together and very little learning occurred.  When N got the full time instructor position, it was a huge relief to us.  Our savings were pretty much as depleted as our home rhythm.  Not to mention the exhaustion I've felt by being 34 and pregnant, taking care of the entire family, graduate school, working, etc.  Too much!

So when I brought up the idea of homeschooling the kids, N was not crazy about it.  We did a lot of talking and I even purchased some super cheap (used) homeschool curriculum.  But N couldn't be convinced.  So I reluctantly took my baby to Kindergarten Roundup in April.

Up to this point, I intended to homeschool in a Waldorf-inspired manner.  Saving intense academia for another year or two and just focusing on childhood and fostering creativity.  So starting in August we'll be Waldorf-inspired Afterschoolers instead of homeschoolers.

Then I started to have some anxiety.  With sending him to public school Kindy in the fall, it's become more clear to me that I need to "bring him up to date" so to speak with expected academics.  Here's where that used homeschool curriculum comes into play.

We are loosely following the Oak Meadow First Grade program.  And this week we started with "A" and will soon move on to "B".

As you can see in this last picture, R is distracted by something happening in the backyard.  That's because Daddy is doing a bit of his own learning.  He's attempting to filter rocks out of our soil with one of the trays from my worm bin (what? doesn't everyone vermicompost?).  This is only the beginning.  Huge muddy mess ensues...

And I'm okay with this sort of lesson too.  We still have another activity planned for when they get cleaned up and come inside.

A Waldorf Inspired Craft: Getting Ready for School

Since we haven't worked on letters much around these parts and it looks like we'll be Waldorf "Afterschoolers" I figured it might be a good time to work on the alphabet.

Also, on our double Graduate Assistant Income, we've got to be as frugal as possible.  Here's what I started with:

The little treasure boxes were a facebook trade.  I traded some modeling clay for theses boxes and some fabric.  So cost involved was only shipping.  The little chalkboards are from a resale group called The Waldorf Tag Sale (also on Facebook).  Cost with shipping was about $12.  The two boxes of chalk were purchased from a co-operative called Cedar Ring Circle.  I think they came in at less than $2 a box.

The little treasure boxes were rough hewn wood and needed a good sanding.  After the sanding and a quick woodburned letter, I "stained" them with some instant decaf (my favorite wood stain) and topped off with a nice coat of my homemade beeswax polish.  S had a good time painting the coffee on and helping me seal with polish.  Perfect messy craft for a 3 year old.

Coffee stain and wood polish can make any cheap wood look richer!

Here's how they turned out:

And here's a shot of our "homeschool" complete with Stitch sitting there in the window: