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.