Christmas Eve 2013

Thought a bit today about the situation surrounding the account of the birth of Christ and how it was very inconvenient. Inn's were full, heavily pregnant, low on funds (no doubt), oppressive government (not to mention no indoor plumbing, stove to heat water, or medical facilities). They were also very young and just starting out. Neither Mary or Joseph had anticipated their lives heading in that... direction. It's easy at the holidays to see perfect homes and people who have "it all together" (whatever that means) - people with healthy children and spacious homes covered in designer lights and mountains of gifts - and wish that my own life was somehow more like the photo on Christmas cards instead of the messy business it is. But, even in the mess this holiday season has been, I think I have known more of the spirit of God this year than ever before. I try to be careful what I say about this - because Jesus was probably born closer to March than December. Most of our Christmas traditions have more to do with ancient "pagan" practices than any real ties to the account of the birth of Christ. Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas - I just recognize that some of hype is more tradition than truth. But here is the truth I can sink my teeth into this year - I have struggled with my faith over the years and cycled in and out of doubt and belief. As it stands, I have more questions than answers most of the time - but I have seen strange and miraculous things in the past month. Things that can't be explained - prayers that no one knew about that were answered so specifically and repeatedly that I have been amazed - and even a bit frightened - truth be told. To watch a beloved child go through the entire fall in varying degrees of pain and to feel so uncertain of the outcome - that is a soul searching experience. All of that to say, that I have never had a holiday season quite like this one - one disaster after another, but my spirit is peaceful. My soul is thankful for each day - for each affirmation of love. I am surrounded by it - I breathe it in. I still have moments of panic and anger - but, they pass - and what is left behind is peace... and love. Maybe the inconvenience of this holiday season has been more like the account of Christ's birth and less like the modern Christmas - lot's of inconvenience, worry about a beloved son, wondering how to pay for things, and frustration with government policies (in my case, mostly related to health care) But still, a light shines in the darkness, friends brought gifts from afar, and... I am not sure there weren't angels.

There and Back Again

After a two week experiment with trying a different approach to education, we are back to The Rivendell School for both of my children.
The experience of listening, trying something new, expanding our horizons, and finding our place again has been well worth the stress.
I am amazed at how much I have learned in the past two weeks. It is apparent that my children have learned a lot as well. Of course, I am not talking about academic learning - but learning of the spirit. We have had some fabulous conversation, soul searching, and self-examination. All of this has been very tiring, but very productive as well.
We are now ready to meet the bend in the road with new enthusiasm and direction. A lot of growing up, grieving, and letting go has happened in a few short weeks.
And... here we are... together again for a new school year. It feels like we are starting fresh - like we never went to school for 3 weeks in one paradigm and then 2 in another. It all feels new. In a way, it is. We have left our old curriculum behind. We are embracing a new part of our journey together and we are wiser for having spent this time exploring educational options. So, we will take a holiday for some breathing in and then move onward and upward.
A funny thing happened a few weeks ago. The children were in the yard playing on the rope swing and their laughter was coming to me clear and sweet from the window. It felt like a "snapshot" moment - like I was saving up the beauty of that second in time. I remember feeling a bit nervous - like I was experiencing some moment of perfection before a storm. I am often intuitive that way. The very next day, we experienced some educational upheaval that changed things for us and has taken most of our time for the past few weeks.  Today, as the period of disruption came to a close, the children were sitting together on the sofa and I was in the other room. The sound of their spontaneous laughter came to me and I immediately remembered that moment a few weeks ago. It was the first time since that day that I have consciously taken in the sound of their happiness. It is the bookends on this experience. It felt like closure. It also reminded me that laughter goes on. Life will change and seasons will come and go, but laughter lives on.

Brave New World

Sometimes life takes you by surprise. I cannot really go into that much detail on the why, how, and where of this cryptic statement except to say that we are trying a new experiment in our home education journey.

There have been some changes, some life shifts, some truth seeking, and we are dipping our toes into new waters.

The danger of encouraging your children to think for themselves is that they will. Sometimes they may even come up with their own conclusions and want to try their plan their way. Sometimes they even ask nicely and have some thoughts on how to go about it. Sometimes you should listen. This is a big lesson I learned in our first month of school this year. I love that I can still be taught, even if, sometimes, the lessons hurt a little. It is hard to let go of your children - even for their small steps to independence.

I love both of my children so much that I cannot really express it in words. I want to love them in ways that feel like love to them. I know that people feel love in different ways - and sometimes it is easy to love people in the way that you know how - and hard to learn the way that feels most like love to that person you want so desperately to show love to. I hope that I keep learning the ways of love. I hope that I can show love in ways that are meaningful to the people I love, even if it is difficult to figure out and challenging to follow up on.

A quote I have long admired and pondered comes to mind:

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”  - Thomas Merton

This Week in Math

This week we are reviewing addition and subtraction using what we know about place value. We are also brushing up on our times tables and skip counting.
The lessons are very open ended and my son loves working math problems, so this is something that he enjoys quite a lot.
I am hoping to keep the math syllabus neat for the possibility of selling it when we are finished.
I copy the problems on to the blackboard or on to graph paper and he works them with a good will.
He can copy the problems as well, but dyslexia causes this to be a bit of a challenge. The writing is a bit slow and it is difficult for him to keep them lined up well for place value accuracy.
We vary what we use to write the problems on. The white board, the computer, the blackboard, paper, his main lesson book, or even a slip of a napkin at the coffee shop. I find that the math work is very portable and fun to do when waiting about town.
My biggest issue is getting him to add from the ones column over. He tends to do this type of problem in his head and then write it out without showing work and beginning with the highest place value spot. I am happy he can work these using mental math, but, in the interest of making good habits for harder math problems in the future, I encourage him to use the proper order and go from right to left when solving these problems.
He loves math and will do math problems for just about as long as I can keep coming up with them.

Wrapping Up Week One of Oak Meadow 4th Grade

This week we have reviewed our math facts, been on nature walks, sketched fruit from different angles, learned about the seven laws of drawing perspective, read the first five chapters of Stuart Little, examined library books on South Carolina topography, began planning our landscape/topography project by drawing maps, learned about types of maps, reviewed our basic grammar, and focused on some new sounds in our reading program.
I am sure there are other things I could add, but that seems like a pretty good list.
We have made good use of the main lesson book this week. I would like to see us add some daily summaries next week as suggested in our syllabus.
Today, on our second day of The Woodland School co-op, my son's class had some time to play games together. It was raining outside, so recess was on the screened porch with games to play. The weather was unseasonably cool for Columbia in August. I was very grateful for the break from the heat. It made me think of fall and good things to come.
Today we added in the music component of the curriculum. We are fortunate to have a music teacher in our co-op. She is teaching them the recorder, voice, percussion, and other musical lessons.
This week we will be doing some more detailed work on our topography project. I still have not decided if we are going to try and build the box or just use a plastic bin for the assignment. I would prefer the wooden box and the experience of making it, I am just not sure we will have the time to get that detailed with it.

Music class on the screened porch in the August rain.

Game time with friends at The Woodland School

 

Merging Oak Meadow with Materials Created for Dyslexic Students

I have a son with dyslexia. Dyslexia is often misunderstood and causes many children to feel like "aliens" in a world where everyone seems to know the code, but they can't crack it. I know this, because my son tells me all about it. He used to feel alienated and could not understand why he felt "different" from other people. He would say things in unusual ways, was particularly observant, keenly intelligent, but could not seem to remember his letters or how to make them form words. I was perplexed by this. I had been a tutor to children in housing projects in inner cities, taught kindergarten for years, and worked in the children's room at the library. I had read to him in utero.  What was going on?

As time went on, we had him tested. He was diagnosed with dyslexia. If any of you have ever had your child diagnosed with anything, you will identify with the sudden frenzy of reading and studying I did on dyslexia. I read everything I could get my hands on, attended workshops, went to support group meetings, local advocacy groups, watched documentaries, and sought out expert help. I am summing up a few years here, but trust me when I say, I earned a degree in dyslexia from the school of self help.

When you first have to make changes to accommodate special needs, there can be a pendulum swing phenomena. My studies brought me to the Orton Gillingham method. This is a very scientific approach to multi sensory teaching for dyslexics. It is far too much information to go into here, but it involves a systematic approach to teaching reading through multi sensory techniques. I took some training classes and got started right away.

Slogging through phonics is hard work. I knew that in my fervor to help him, my pendulum was swinging towards much more structure and academics than I was really comfortable with for a second grader. He wanted to read so badly. He tried so hard. The work was quite strenuous and he began to say he didn't like "school". This really presented quite a dilemma for me. I am solidly in the camp of delayed academics for children, with plenty of time to enjoy unstructured play, handicrafts, and time outdoors. It had been a shock to me to realize that we needed to embrace the structure of the Orton Gillingham lesson. It was the fear that was driving me now. The fear that this precious child of mine would somehow miss out on crucial things because he couldn't read. I was also missing the gentle pace of the Oak Meadow curriculum and the creative aspects that we had so enjoyed in first grade.

It was in the third grade year that my pendulum began to balance and we finally hit our stride. I was now more of an "expert" at the multi sensory lesson. I felt more comfortable with setting a slower pace. I cut back on the time we spent in reading instruction and added more creative elements and unit studies that he chose the topics for. We began to enjoy "school" again. We were able to use Oak Meadow and substitute the reading instruction with his Orton Gillingham lesson. I was able to come up with appropriate accommodations for the lessons as needed and we began to feel comfortable with dyslexia. I say that we felt comfortable because, for me, it had felt very uncomfortable, very foreign, and very intimidating. The diagnosis of dyslexia left me feeling inadequate and so uncertain about my homeschooling. For my son, I believe that the diagnosis was both a blessing and a burden. He finally had a reason as to why he felt like an "alien" as he describes it. He had a learning difference. His brain saw things just a bit differently than most of us. He also felt the things that many dyslexics go through. He felt like he was "dumb" and that he wouldn't be able to do the things that other children did at his age.  When friends were reading chapter books and discussing them, he was still struggling with very simple readers. On the other hand, his skills of observation were very acute and didn't rely on the written word. He had developed ways around reading.

Third grade continued. We did unit studies on snakes and bugs, we struggled through the Merrill Readers, we went to the museums, we broke out in a sweat over consonant blends. My son discovered Calvin and Hobbes and suddenly, just like that, there was a breakthrough in the code. I could see it happen. It was like a switch coming on and the letters suddenly aligned into something comprehensible. He stayed up late to read Calvin. His light would stay on till we had to make him turn it off. We drove down the street to a constant wonder-filled voice that read us street signs and billboards. It was a miraculous.

Reading is still hard. I don't want to give the impression that he suddenly read on grade level or that he took up War and Peace, but he is READING. Was it the multi sensory instruction, the thousands of pages read to him by his mother, father, and sister, the freedom to choose his own books and topics of study? Was there one element that brought it into focus or was it a cocktail of literature and systematic study?

I strongly believe that dyslexic children need instruction that is tailored to their specific need. I continue using an Orton Gillingham style of reading instruction and provide accommodation as needed. I believe the success we have enjoyed comes from my son's hard work, his determination to read, his thirst for knowledge, and the drive of his family to build bridges for him to travel on. In my work with the public, I see many children who need special instruction, but are not able to receive it. (There are many reasons for that, but this is not a blog post on how we can work towards that end, although it is a fabulous topic and one I spend a lot of time on.)
What I can do here is point you, my fellow traveler, towards some resources that have helped us on our way. I can also assure you that it is possible, and highly desirable, to merge a creative curriculum with systematic instruction.

The program we use for language arts (reading and writing) is called PAF, or Preventing Academic Failure. It is an Orton Gillingham based program. The teacher manual provides excellent information on the layout of a solid lesson. The lessons are laid out for you and easy to follow. The program uses the Merrill Readers, Explode the Code, and Stepping Up books. The program can be used for several years depending on where you start and how long it takes to complete.

I also use pinterest and creative bloggers to find materials to help me practice certain skills. For example, when working on "bossy r", I made games and activities to help reinforce the differences in the ar, ir, or, ur, and er sounds.

Now that we are in fourth grade, we are reading our first book in the Oak Meadow syllabus, Stuart Little. I was delighted to discover that my son can read a page or two at a time of this book without getting too overwhelmed. So, we take turns reading. We have also used audio books for required reading. Journal entries can be dictated. He can tell me what to write and I record it in his main lesson book for him. He can also copy a few sentences or trace things to label. He then illustrates the page. There are many ways to make a creative, meaningful, and scientifically sound program at home for your dyslexic child. It is not always easy. It does require hard work and patience on both the part of the child and the parent.

I hope that if you have a child with special educational needs, that you will find your stride. There are many valid and excellent choices for you to choose from. If you choose to homeschool, I hope you feel empowered knowing that you can find the resources you need to move forward. Homeschooling with learning differences is challenging and wonderful. Enjoy the journey!

Observation and Discovery - Sketching Fruit in Our Main Lesson Books

Today we practiced our observation skills by examining fruit and then sketching it in our main lesson book. We passed around the banana, apple, peach, orange, pear, and kiwi. The children commented on the different ways to describe the fruit. Then we cut them in half and observed them from a different perspective. The children sketched the fruit from the side, the top, and then the middle.
We also took a nature walk and observed the land (contours, plant life, etc.).
We read the book, Seven Blind Mice. It seemed like a perfect fit for talking about observing things with our senses. They are also reading Stuart Little for the next three weeks.
We reviewed grammar terms, practiced for "Battle of the Books" this weekend at the library, did self-portraits in our journals, and had a pleasant first day of school. The children will continue doing activities from the syllabus this coming week at home. Next Friday we will do some more work on the topography project.

August Book List for Fourth Grade

Suggested Titles for the Topography Project:

Be Your Own Map Expert by Barbara Taylor

South Carolina: An Atlas by Kovacik, Charles F., Steinke, Theodore R., South Carolina Geographic Alliance, University of South Carolina. Department of Geography

Topographic Maps by Ian Mahaney

Mapping Your Way by Anna Deboo

How to Draw South Carolina Sights and Symbols by Fein

Literature Selection:

Stuart Little by E.B. White

Other Titles:

Seven Blind Mice by Young

First Week of Fourth Grade - Oak Meadow Style

As I was planning my lessons for fourth grade this year, I came across this in my Oak Meadow syllabus, "This curriculum is not intended to be a rigid set of guidelines. It is a tool to help you enter into the subject matter in a creative, experiential way. Use it accordingly, adding and subtracting as best suits your child's needs and interests." (Oak Meadow Fourth Grade Syllabus, Introduction)

I like to see this kind of creative license mentioned in a curriculum syllabus. I prefer hands-on, experiment based learning, and Oak Meadow offers a perfect blend for our family of prepared lessons and open-ended creativity. So, it is with great excitement that we begin the fourth grade program this week. My daughter will also be doing Oak Meadow, but she will be doing the high school curriculum. I plan to try and post about our progress in each.

I read ahead a few weeks in my syllabus to get an idea of how to plan the first weeks of school. This program uses the main lesson book, a blank book for capturing the written work of each student. We have used main lesson books for many years and I LOVE having a written record of the student's work in book form. It is a portfolio that builds itself. I ordered some of the main lesson books Oak Meadow sells for this purpose. I like the onion skin between the pages to keep the work safe from smears. I also like the size of the pages and the quality of the paper. The information in the syllabus about journaling is excellent. I plan to have journaling time daily that will go into one of these main lesson books.

The first big assignment is the topography project. This idea lends itself to studying maps, your local landscape, and a bit of local history. Because I work in the Children's Room at our local library, I can always find fantastic books to bring home on the topics we study. I will try to remember to post our book lists as we go along.

Friday is our first day of our Oak Meadow co-op. The 4th graders will be going on a nature hike of the property to observe the land. This is the beginning of their topography project research. We plan to examine some books about physical and topographical maps. We are going to look at a tray of items and then draw a "map" of the items on the tray. Hopefully this will help them think about how it might feel to "look down" on something and draw what you see. We have plans to look at google maps of the area to give us an idea of what an aerial view would look like.  There is much more going on this week, art, music, math, geometry with fruit, cursive practice, reading practice, etc., but this gives you a little peek into the fourth grade life. It looks like it will be a great year! Here is a sneak peak of the fourth grade co-op class for Friday:

Book to read aloud to the group for discussion: Seven Blind Mice by Young

Journal topic for Friday: perspective

Book to read at home and prepare a book report project (3 week project): Stuart Little by White

 

 

 

That Moment Before You Reach the Top of the Hill on a Roller Coaster...

I have always loved the "back-to-school" season. I love the school supplies. I love the end of summer when your thoughts begin to turn to picking apples and buying new pencils with fresh erasers. I usually feel energized and excited. So, it is with a sense of bewilderment that I write this entry. Our co-op starts back this Friday and the overwhelming feeling I have is that of being on a roller coaster that is about to crest the hill and begin the free fall. Is it really true that the older you get, the faster time flies? I am beginning to wonder. Can it really be August already?
I am not depressed that school is starting back, but I am not my usual excited self about it either. I am seeking some source of inspiration to help me get my mojo back.
Maybe the weather still feels too hot and muggy. Maybe I need some more down time. Maybe I just need to increase my coffee consumption.
Sometimes when I read blogs and facebook updates, everyone else's life sounds so lovely and uncomplicated. Glossy photos of special moments, well-written descriptions of crafts and special projects - I know that I also post these moments. Most of us do not post the pics of our family in disarray, the dirty dishes, the scattered unopened mail, the laundry pile up. I will admit that I like to stay positive online. Reading depressing commentary is not what I like to take in when I have free time to spend on the computer. However, maybe it is alright to mention that our lives aren't always an endless parade of Kodak moments and creativity. Sometimes we are tired. We are uninspired. We have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Sometimes life is like that. So, I am taking this opportunity to claim my feelings - to own up to feeling not quite ready for the coming school year. I wish I had a month to organize my home. I wish I had some vacation time to take off of work. I wish I had some more funds in the larder to create possibilities. I wish all of these things, but I know that, somehow, things will work out, even without wish fulfillment. Even in the writing of this, I feel better. Sometimes the fear you feel before the drop on the other side of the hill is worth the exhilaration of the free fall on the other side. So, here it is, August 5, 2013. Who knows what is to come this school year? Sometimes it is in the letting go of the ideal that we find out what we really need and what we can get by without, and this is not a bad thing. So, I wait for the free fall and hope for inspiration.

Homeschool Portfolios

 

It is time to get the portfolios cleaned out and ready for a new school year. Portfolios are our record keeping method of choice. Keeping samples of projects and papers is perfect for charting progress as well as providing well documented keepsakes. I suggest ordering address labels from a site like Shutterfly. I ordered those shown above when they were running a special and I got one sheet free. Simply choose a template, put in a photograph of your child, add your school name and the year and/or grade. This gives you a set of stickers to label items for your portfolio. If your child does a shoebox diorama, label it with your portfolio sticker. Not only will you have them labeled for display at homeschool fairs, library exhibits, or wherever your homeschool group showcases their work, you will also always have it labeled for your homeschool records. It is amazing how much children change in one school year. I enjoy having the photo on the sticker to go with the project. The children can also use their stickers to decorate notebooks or items they take to homeschool co-op. Of course, these stickers are great for children who attend traditional school as well. What better way to label their belongings and keep track of the artwork that comes home? You can always make these at home with your printer, but when they are on sale, Shutterfly is a good deal and I like the quality.

Enjoy! 

A Visit to Seven Acres Farm

Some dear friends of ours have a lovely fledgling farm in the mountains of North Carolina. It was Whit's birthday wish to go spend some time with them (and their animal friends). It was a quick trip over the weekend, but the children enjoyed making S'mores, camping out in the barn loft, sliding down the mountain in a muddy waterslide, running with the dogs and goats, and making friends with the chickens.
Even the big girls enjoyed playing in the mud! It was a great chance to let your hair down and get good and dirty.

 Getting clean was a lot of effort after sliding down the mudslide.

Here is Whit making friends with a chicken. Whit has wanted to own chickens for years, being able to play with them on the farm is the next best thing.

 

 

This was a perfect fit for a birthday weekend after reading Farmer Boy. Whit got to help with the chickens and goats and experience life in the country. Many thanks to our sweet mountain friends who made this weekend possible.

 

 

Parenting Books Part Two: The Young Child

The previous post contains my favorite parenting books to read when you have a baby or toddler. As your child grows and changes, here are a few more titles to consider.

Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing Our Children from Birth to Seven by Patterson and Bradley


This book is a delight to read. It is full of ideas on how to provide your child with a wonder-filled, nurturing, early childhood experience.

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
This title was a life-saver when my daughter was two and three. She had intense mood swings and tantrums that seemed to come from nowhere. I felt powerless to help her with her "big feelings". I credit this book with teaching me some emotional coaching skills that have served me in every age and stage since. Mary Sheeda Kurcinka also has other titles to explore. If you are struggling with how to deal with your child's emotions or intensity, this may be just the thing.

I have linked the titles of these books to Amazon. I hope that helps you read more reviews or buy a copy for your personal library. Speaking of libraries, your local library may have these titles on tap, so check there first. I hope these titles inspire you towards gentle and conscious parenting. Enjoy the journey!

Baby Steps: Returning to the Cradle, Parenting Books Part One

Working in a library, I get many requests for book recommendations. This week, I have had several people ask me about parenting books. I am always a little hesitant to recommend parenting books. As someone once said, "The problem with parenting by the book is that you would need a different book for each child." I believe this is true. There is no book that will give you every piece of wisdom needed for parenting your little one. Your heart wisdom, a deep knowledge of your child, and a little common sense goes a long way. That being said, there is a selection of books that I found helpful at different ages and stages along my parenting journey. I caution you to take each book with a grain of salt. I am not saying I did everything these books suggested - some may even contradict each other in places. But, I believe there are nuggets of genius in these titles and a wealth of things to add to your parenting toolbox. So, here are a few of my favorites from my baby years. I hope you can be encouraged and inspired.
The Attachment Parenting Book by William and Martha Sears

You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen

Farmer Boy

As a child, I had an obsession with the Little House books. I read them repeatedly and dreamed of petticoats and covered wagons. We played Little House all the time. When I did my chores, I pretended to be Laura Ingalls. It made the chores much more fun.
When my daughter was younger, we read the Little House books together. I even made her a prairie dress, bonnet, and pinafore. It was over the top cute.
I have a long time love affair with the books. (Though I must admit, my obsession is only with the originals. I have tried, but can't get into the series books that were written later. I am a sucker for the originals only.)
So, it is with great pleasure that I picked up Farmer Boy to be the next read aloud for my son. This is another book that gets high ratings from me to be read during the nine year change. Almanzo begins the book as an eight year old and turns nine right away.  His adventures and struggles are perfect for the third grade Waldorf child and they fit so well into a main lesson about farming.
The detailed descriptions of life in this time are charming and addictive. You find yourself wanting to eat pancakes and make things by hand!
This book is chock full of opportunities to blend in handiwork with literature. From making a tin can lantern to braiding a whip - from making homemade candy to growing a pumpkin - there is no shortage of activities to tie in to the story.
As I write this, we have tin cans in the freezer. We are going to use a hammer and nail to punch designs in the side. You simply wash out a can and fill it with water. Take the label off. Put it in the freezer till it is frozen through. In the meantime, use the can label to cut yourself a piece of paper that will fit around the can. Draw a simple design on the paper. When the water is frozen, tape the paper around the can and use a hammer and nail to poke holes in the can following your design. The ice should keep the can from becoming misshapen. Also poke two holes near the top so you can add wire to make a handle for your lantern. Allow the ice to melt and you have a lovely punched tin can lantern. Add a tea light candle and enjoy!
Farmer Boy is full of opportunity for history, crafts, and life lessons.
I have been delighted to discover that the Little House books can be just as much for boys as for girls. Give it a try!

Charlotte's Web: The Right Book at the Right Time - Stories for the Nine Year Change

Bedtime story time has evolved from year to year at my house. My children are now 9 (almost 10) and 14. I believe that bedtime rituals are still just as important as ever - including the bedtime story. During the school year, we used the Oak Meadow Folk Tales book for most bedtime stories. I wondered if my son was still enjoying the nightly ritual or if, at nine years old, he was growing out of it.
Imagine my delight when a mother of one of his friends came by to see me one and day and asked if I could tell her what folk tale book we had been reading. She had heard my son telling her son about it in the car when she was taking them on an outing recently. She reported that my son had gone into great detail about the stories and the candle we lit when we sat down to read. Her son had later asked to begin this ritual. Apparently, nine year old boys still love bedtime stories!
I was amazed that he had shared this with a friend. Not only did he love the ritual, he felt confident about sharing it. I have to admit that my storyteller heart rejoiced.
As the school year wound to a close, I realized that there were several books that I had hoped to read aloud that we just had not been able to squeeze in. With the farming theme present in the third grade year, I decided we just couldn't leave off without reading Charlotte's Web. I knew he had heard it read aloud when he was younger and his sister was listening to it, but I love that book so much, I decided to try it and see what happened.
Thus began a sweet and tender time for a mother and son in the midst of the nine year change. Each chapter is so real and so in tune to this time in a child's life. I could feel the authenticity of it as we read aloud each night before bed. As Wilbur matures and understands the facts about life, as Fern changes and leaves her barnyard friends behind - thus is the life of the nine year old. There are so many parallels in this story to the struggles of being nine. Children feel keenly this "dying" of early childhood and rebirth into the older child. Something about turning "double digits" is a rite of passage. I know that he had heard the basic story before and even remembered bits and pieces from hearing it read aloud years earlier. But, there is a magic in hearing the right story at the right time, an affirming of your inner life that you do not get from other tales. I felt privileged to watch it unfold. I urge parents not to push children to grow up too soon. Do not rush to read a book just because they "can" read the book and do not give up on bedtime stories. There is a magic in a story candle lit in a darkening room. A spell that weaves around the child when the story is a perfect match for the age and stage. This is the "sweet spot" of children's literature - bibliotherapy at its best.

Magical Math the Waldorf Way

Math has a bad reputation. For many of us, the memory of math class is not something we recall with fondness. There are a few math nerds out there (my sister, for one), and I salute them. But, for the vast majority of homeschoolers I know, math is, if not the enemy, at least an uphill battle.

When my youngest was in first grade, I got a taste of Waldorfish math when I ordered the first grade curriculum from Oak Meadow. This curriculum included charming stories about the math gnomes and their adventures. Each gnome had a name (add, multiply, subtract, and divide) and a symbol. I made my son a set of plush math gnomes from some felt and wool. They were cute and cuddly and a huge hit. I bought a bag of glass marble type things from the local Dollar Store to be "gems" for the gnomes. He loved this arrangement and was quite happy to play with them and do the hands-on math the curriculum suggested. I can't say enough good things about the story approach to math.

My son is dyslexic and has struggled to master reading, but working with the math gnomes helped him explore math and make sense of it in his way and time. I have spent time online looking at Waldorf math stories. There are many fantastic stories available as well as making up your own. As a storyteller, I love to memorize or make up math stories to use in lessons. Christopherus curriculum uses math squirrels instead of gnomes. I love the idea of woodland critters as math story characters!

So, what is meant by a "math story"? When I first came to Waldorf education, I can remember wanting to know what a math story looks like. Here is an example of a math story and how you might use it to teach the concept of Roman numerals.

Once there lived a very young shepherd. He was a very responsible boy and had been chosen by the villagers to take care of their sheep. Each morning he would take the sheep to the pasture to graze. The sheep would wander all over looking for the choicest bits of grass to munch. The shepherd was very careful to keep a close watch on his sheep. He would stand on the little rise and look to the left and right keeping a constant count of how many sheep he could see. There were 12 sheep in his care and one day he devised a game to keep up with them. He took a little handful of sticks and made shapes to count his sheep. When he counted the sheep to the left of him, he would put the symbol he had made to his left. When he counted the sheep on his right, he could put the symbol for them on his right. In this way, he was able to keep track of his sheep from morning to night. The symbols that he used are I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII.

After telling this story to your child, you could provide a peg person shepherd, 12 cotton balls for sheep, and a little handful of sticks. Your child could then expand the story by making the Roman numerals out of sticks and acting out the shepherd and sheep story by putting a handful of cotton balls on each side of him and then make the number with the sticks. Your child could then copy the numerals into their main lesson and possibly add a picture of the story. Using stories to teach math is a brilliant way to help math concepts "stick". This example was only one of many ways that Waldorf math is magical. Waldorf Essentials also has a wonderful geometry resource that we use and love. Make an appointment with yourself to explore the world of Waldorf math. Rediscover math with your children and make it magical!

Whelmed

Today I pulled out the curriculum for the fall and took inventory on what I need to do before school starts back the first week of August. It seems it is barely summer and it is time for me to start with lesson plans again.

I love lesson plans, school supplies, and organizing activities, but I will admit to a great feeling of being "whelmed" today. With a month to go before we start back up again, the task of putting all my ducks in a row seems a bit daunting.

I have been asked by several people lately how I manage to work thirty plus hours a week outside the home, homeschool two children, run a homeschool co-op, help take care of aging relatives, and deal with food allergies, ongoing health issues, and the other slings and arrows of everyday life. I told them I had no idea how I do it, but if I figure it out, I will let them know.

Somehow things tend to work themselves out - but I do spend a lot of time planning and consulting calendars and lists! Today the energy level was low and the pity party was a bit high. I have a good friend that is moving out of the country this week. I was diagnosed with diabetes two weeks ago, and I have some inner ear problems that are causing dizziness, headaches, and some other issues. So, the truth is I probably need to give myself some space. This is my only day off for another week and I kept feeling like I needed to get my list of things accomplished for the day. Maybe what I really need to accomplish is just being still. The past few weeks have been so intense and busy. My inner work has been sadly neglected and I feel the lack of it. I know that when my spirit is troubled and frantic, very little can be accomplished well - or at least from a place of peace and wisdom. Today is about letting the tidal wave of responsibility wash over my head. It is about struggling to find a foothold in the craziness of this time and it is about giving up and letting myself float. I just need to float to the surface of all this intensity and be still. Then I can revisit my priorities and shift what must be done, what can be done differently (and with less stress), and what I need to let go of.

Right now I let myself be present where I am and not where I am going. It is a good place to be.

Gummy Snakes, Water Parks, and Hamlet

It is the last week of June. Summer solstice is upon us, the days are long and warm. Whit has been participating in STEM camp this week. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) He has been building bridges, making snap circuits, learning about robotics, fishing, hiking, building rockets, and doing archery. Yesterday he was named, "the fish champion", after catching four fish in the camp pond!

Addie has occupied herself reading Shakespeare. She decided to take the opportunity to turn some of her fall classes into honors classes by adding on assignments. So, she has been cozied up with Hamlet and is currently working on her essay.

The Woodland School met last Friday for the high schoolers to go to their "business lunch" to discuss a documentary they want to make about the coming school year and to brainstorm about the cooperative blog they are working on. The younger students walked around downtown and went out for frozen yogurt followed by a trip to the local candy store to spend their allowances. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans were a big hit along with the three foot gummy snake... ahhhh, the thrills of childhood.

Two weeks ago we took a trip to the local water park and hit the waves with our friends, the Block family. The children and I loved the lazy river and floated around for hours. I can't tell you how restorative it was to just let go and ride the current for awhile. The big water slides were a bit hit with the kiddos as well.

June has been full of sweet moments. We went to a family wedding and Addie read a passage of scripture. Her sweet voice reading I Corinthians 13 was a treat for me. She looked so grown up and so beautiful and poised.

The children have played outside on the rope swing that Papa put up for them. There is nothing like a rope swing in the summer!  I stand at the window and watch them soar above the earth and remember what is was like to be a child (and not get seasick from swinging). We have visited my brother and his wife in Charlotte, took my husband to Ikea for Father's Day, and visited the State Museum.

We plan to start back to school early this year. The first day of The Woodland School Cooperative is August 9. In the midst of all of this summertime frolic, I find time to plan lessons for the upcoming year. We will use Oak Meadow curriculum for both children this year. I hope to be able to blog more consistently about the experience. Memory is fleeting, but being able to look back on the blog is priceless.

Once Upon a Woodland School: A Visual Blast from the Past of Co-op Days Gone By...

Enjoy these photos from The Woodland School back in January 2012...Has this really only been a year ago? Back then we met in a church building and met weekly. This past year we met monthly in a city park. This coming year we are meeting in a member's home. Each year things change to accommodate the organic nature of our co-op.




   

Co-Op Mom Guidelines

Say yes as often as possible * Let them express themselves, but keep a guiding hand * If they are crabby, offer a hug *If they act unlovable, love them anyway * realize how important it is to be a child * read books out loud with joy* remember how really small they are * say no when necessary * laugh a lot * surprise them * teach feelings * learn about active learning * think about different learning styles when planning your lesson * eat snacks and offer coffee (or water) to yourself and the students * make school safe for shy children * plan to build things and do it * imagine possibilities * make forts with blankets * search out the positive * keep the gleam in your eye * encourage deep thoughts * stop yelling * express your love * speak kindly * remember we all have special needs * pray for the students * teach them the way you wish you had been taught * remember to hug the other moms * model the fruit of the spirit * expect great things from our teens and tell them so * turn the other cheek and surprise the one who wrongs you * be the change you want to see * assume positive intent * share your hurts, maybe another mom can help * enjoy this season of life – it passes quickly

Peace, Love, and The Woodland School Cooperative

For several years we have been involved with The Woodland School Homeschool Co-op. I cannot say enough good things about the wonder of bringing people together to learn in community. It is messy, it is difficult, it is tiring, and it is a many splendored thing.

My husband and I used to want to move to a communal living farm and hug trees and other people on a daily basis. A homeschool co-op can be kind of like this, minus the farm animals (though in some places, you could keep this aspect as well!)

I know this because we have experimented with communal living in several different ways over our 20 years together and I have experimented with homeschool co-ops for the past 13 years. I have a lot of experience with this "community" thing.

First of all, people are beautiful and complicated.  We all need each other to make good things happen here on earth. Recognizing and appreciating our individual geniuses can be a joyful discovery in a co-op. People are also messy and have a lot of baggage. All people, regardless of creed, nationality, political leanings, religious convictions or whatever have their "stuff", myself included. Not to mention personality types, levels of commitment to the group, ideas about education, ideas about parenting, ideas about everything. Throw in hormonal changes in children, teenagers, and the mom's and you pretty much have a perfect storm. I remember a song that I learned at Koinonia Farm, a communal farm we spent some time at in Georgia. It goes like this:

"Turn the other cheek and surprise the one that hits you, turn, turn, 

Turn the other cheek and surprise the one that hits you, turn, turn, turn.  

First the log and then the speck, first the log, and then the speck." 

This pretty much sums up the best rule of co-op life. Surprise your co-op sisters and brothers with an amazing capacity to turn the other cheek. I have never had anyone hit me at any homeschool co-op (unless, do toddlers count?), but the message of being able to turn away from misunderstanding or anger in the face of something you may take personally is a priceless piece of wisdom for co-op life (or life anywhere).

 

Which brings me to my second gem of wisdom about living in community. Assume positive intent. Always. These are three words that my family lives by. Do this and you may save nations - I am not kidding.

 

These little lessons with big implications are a bigger deal in terms of learning than any lab experiment or group project. We do the group projects and lab experiments, but the entire experience of learning as a community is the experiment. My daughter often says, "The journey is the destination." (I know she didn't make that one up, but she says it a lot.) Part of taking the journey in community is not being threatened by another person's ideas and values. You have to be strong enough in your own thinking to entertain other ideas without having to absorb them as your own or criticize someone else for holding them. This is crucial to a co-op experience that does not just scratch the surface of human relationships. We can all hang out with people just like us. It is boring, but we do it all the time. We tend to surround ourselves with people who think, act, dress, and talk just like we do. But, the gift of living in a true community is to get past that.

 

I know that the group we are in for this coming school year will look different at the end than at the beginning. The group may stay together, some may come and some may go. Some may have life experiences that take them elsewhere and some may love it and some may not. All of that is okay. The coming and the leaving, the loving it and not loving it are a part of the experience.  All of this and the way we react or don't react is an education.  The Woodland School is an experiment in community - a community with boys and girls, grown-ups and children, democrats and republicans (and some who don't know what we are), Christians and Jews, Evolutionists and Creationists, right and left, up and down, and some in the middle. This, my friends, is socialization at its finest. Just don't forget to turn the other cheek and assume positive intent.

 

 

Rain Clouds and Sunbursts

This week has been a bit of a storm. We have weathered health concerns, financial woes, the car turned off on me... in the middle of traffic, all in the same week.
I felt like I was going to cry this afternoon, like everything was coming down on me at once.
Thankfully, I was able to pull myself together, rally, and get on with the program.
I thought this was something that I do on the inside and that no one notices, so I was so touched when we got home from a birthday party tonight and my daughter hugged me and said, "Thank you for taking the time to take us, Mom. I know you were tired and had a hard week. It means a lot to me that you always press on and stay strong and take us to be with friends."
Wow. My fourteen year old daughter is such a sweetheart.
Later, I was tucking everyone in for the night and it hit me how precious that time is - just the few moments before bed when everyone takes the time to hug, to cuddle, to have a few minutes to connect.
I started reading, Charlotte's Web to my nine year old son tonight. I sat in his room and read him a few chapters. He smiled and I smiled and we enjoyed Fern taking care of Wilbur and enjoyed the simple pleasure of a book and a moment to be together and the power of a great story.
After leaving his room, I went to my daughter's. She had a few things to chat about - growing up and the changing friendships with some of her friends as they get to be teenagers. I sat on her bed and braided her long, beautiful hair into two braids - one on each side. I thought about how mother's have been doing this forever into the past - the moments before bed that we take to connect. I thought about the difficult week and that here, on Friday night, my family is safe and together. We had food to eat, we had each other. Maybe the troubles of the week aren't so insurmountable. I thought about the beauty of the lake tonight. The birthday party was out by Lake Murray. The sun was beginning to dip down and the colors of sunset were spreading across the sky as we were packing up. The sun rays were distinct and lovely. I came home to see that another party attendee had photographed the sky and posted it. I thought about our shared experience - that without any words - someone else had seen the sky with the same appreciation of that moment.
I thought about all of this and I felt content. I hope my children remember that the sun comes out again - even if it rains a long time.

Medieval Feast at The Woodland School Cooperative

Our monthly homeschool cooperative met for a medieval feast. This was probably the high point of the fall semester. We ate chicken legs like barbarians, jousted with pool noodles, and generally had an amazing time. Here is a group shot of some of the merry-makers. I can't say enough about this fabulous group of friends.