Ecclecticmum
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Posts posted by Ecclecticmum
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Yes and No. My family are just so far up in the clouds its not funny, but they all do have their own talents as well. They tend to be genius in their particular fields, but outside that, the lightbulbs don't shine rofl. I love my family, though, of course.
My mother is a financial whiz (where I get my mad math skillz from :p ) and learnt sewing/housekeeping/knitting skills from her mum (which sadly she never passed onto me), she lives inside her own head, and is rather selfish, so general pursuits or self-education is rather out of the question. I try to have a general laymans intellectual discussion with her and she'll zone out/talk about her complaints or start playing solitaire.
My bioglogical father was an artist. He definitely lived in his own head, and other than the beautiful pieces of art he used to make, theres nothing else going on (I honestly think his genius hand belonged to someone else, lol).
My brother is a few pennies short. Not by biological means, but by laziness. I think he works harder at not working than he would if he actually worked. He managed to receive his gift from my fathers side, he was a very good cartoonist who got some sort of full scholarship acceptance to a Disney based art college? and my father said one thing to him about it not being a real job (can I just say ha! when he used to do it?) and he just flopped, gave up, and squandered away anything he had. He's rude, mean and selfish, and a lot of animals seem to die or disappear at his hands :/
I love to create/paint/make things, I guess I inherited that love off my father, whilst I'm okay at doing things, I don't think I have anywhere near the talent of my father/brother. Maths I breezed through, I seemed to somehow know everything before the teacher taught it (no idea how, if someone figures out how this works, I would love to know, it confuddles me!).
My talent I suppose is something of a philosophical/wisdom/pyschology bent. I see patterns where nobody else does (LOL! now I'm starting to sound like a TV program, but I'm not sure how to explain it), it allows me to help people, give advice, ponder about the workings of the mind/brain etc, and look like I'm telling the future (when really all I see is a predictable rhythm most people follow, no matter how you "change" in your life, you never tend to step outside this certain circle, it supports your reactions, how you think, what you do, down to the most minutest detail. This can allow me to say answer the door, say some greetings, have that person reply, and generally know their particular "circle". I've been able to successfully determine about a 20 domino effect "future" based on one person I met, and several people I never had, and several more I had never really heard of. When It gets late I also tend to spiral more into these workings & meanings of the mind and the body, because my body tends to like to push the information out before I bed (so I definitely need quiet "me" time of an evening). Also poor DH sometimes interrupts me that time of evening, and has to listen to a 20 minute ramble on the "meaning" of something :laugh: Mornings though, I'm pretty much a zombie, brain dead.
So in short, Do I think I'm an intellectual? Nope. I'm a pihlosophising Psychologist (probably why people instantly dislike me :leaving: :laugh:
I suppose the intellectual in my family would be my stepfather, he's very science nerdy and has read a lot of the great books, will star talking and you just go :confused1: *What is he talking about? Is he speaking spanglish again? :bored: * He's also the one if you dare ask a simple question like "Why is the sky blue?" Instead of the steretypical fathers answers of "because it is" or "because...planet....world blah blah" NOOOOOO. He would proceed to give a college thesis worthy THREE HOUR explanation on exactly 100% why the sky is blue that will somehow get all the way down to atoms, physics, and cover the WHOLE K-12 SYLLABUS on science. :svengo: Although this made me learn very quickly the art of tuning out and still looking completely like I am listening for the entire lecture. :ph34r:
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I'm heading further and further down the road into anthroposophcal & biodynamic spirituality land, so I am probably no help. Their are a number of people who have done Math by Hand threads if you search though. It wouldn't be good if you were not into crafty things, or need a "set out" curriculum, or disliked manipulatives, I believe someone also said something about weird font. It leads in the way of Kitchen Table Maths and similar in that it has "subjects" of maths, and not a set out lesson by lesson curriculum (although I think someone said she was looking into that)
If your looking for a set out curriculum, but don't mind the fussiness of setting up and lots of manipulatives, Right Start Maths is a possibility. Perhaps if looking for a cheaper alternative along the lines of Math by Hand, look at Gnomes & Gnumbers (free I think, at least it will give you an idea) or A Little Garden Flowers Math. Then if you like those, it would give you a better understanding of whether you wanted to purchase Math By Hand or not.I
I am not against them (quite the opposite, I am in love with it and looking to purchase it as another supplement alongside the rest of my waldorf maths) but I know what I would be getting, I just don't want you shelling out the $$$ without understanding waldorf maths. :)
HTH xxx
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We use the folded up piece of paper - waldorf method - to work out yearly rhythms. Then I use loose paper from umm....A Little Garden Flower I think? Its weekly planning pages (since we use an eclectic method of stuff to remind me of what to do) then I have a pro-click bound book I printed with food & diabetes log charts and Learning Alongsides Natural Learning Journal as a log book.S
So:
Beginning Rhythms, Festivals, & Birthdays Calendar (schooling around these events) - A Little Garden Flower's Folding paper method (as seen in Hunters link I presume)
Planning out the week - We use a basic curriculum as a foundation and add on and change that as neccesary on a weekly planning bases, So I use the Planning charts from one of A Little Garden Flowers ebooks (as well as her festival planning pages, and monthly calendars to look a little ahead)
Weekly Logbook - Contains meals we've eaten, the kids diabetic levels, a notes pages and Learning Alongside Natural Learning Journal: http://learning-alongside.com/record-keeping-free-printable this is all a logbook (for after the fact) it allows me to look and see if we're honing towards a particular subject and ignoring others, and as a record of diabetic levels and meals for the doctor, so all our logs in one place, and the notes page, I put any problems with the kids, stuff I have to buy, or reminder things.
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Uh. Hanging Rock is in Victoria. It was in perfect health when I looked at it last October, other than invasive weeds. The story is fiction, but let's not allow truth to get in the way of a good story. ;)
Oh....poop :( Maybe thats why I blanked out that the rock was still around, it was one of my favourite movies (unfortunately I didn't know about the novel, or I would of read that first, I have trouble reading the book after reading the movie and prefer to do it the other way round). I guess I'm going to vist it some time soon then!
Next your going to be telling me the last cottingley fairy photo they insisted was real (see-through one) isn't.....no don't tell me! :leaving:
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Okay, first of all, you can come help me purge and clean my house. :laugh: On your way to Ulupna Island. Ulupna Island is beautiful, and considering how close we are to it, we haven't been there, ridiculously enough. A while back (I think the 70's perhaps?) they relocated a whole bunch of Koala Bears there. Americans seem to adore the Koalas (for reasons unknown to me, perhaps because they haven't actually had to deal with one rofl. Koalas are HEAVY, like a lump of metal, they have sharp claws, their fur is rather rough, and they STINK to high heaven rofl. All those eucalyptus leaves seem to make for a stinky diet. Anyhoo you may see some playpus' up there in the creek too. Its like a natural zoo, and its definitely off the beaten path for tourists (most have never heard of it). Tasmania - it depends how soon you go, Aus is in big dramas at the moment. Tasmania is having huge bushfire dramas, and Queensland is having huge floods (even in the middle of the city people are kayaking around) :bored: I just wouldn't suggest straying too far if you only have 2 weeks, a lot of people tend to think Australia is much much much much (jusy imagine "much" for about a page) smaller than it actually is. If you plan to jump from state to state, you'll end up spending most of your 2 weeks in airports, ferries and cars. There is about 3 Melbourne Museums (we went to the kid one, theres also another two in the middle of the city) Aquarium, two zoos, a homeschooling community, craft recycling shop that has some cool stuff, strange arty clubs, theatres and a kalamazoo of other things. (seriously I could spend 3 days listing all the sites to see in Melbourne and another 10 days on Sydney (Sydney is longer because I lived there for quite a while, so know many off the track adventures).
A fun thing to do would be to get a backstage pass to the Aquarium if you and your kids are interested in it, they have different backstage passes (feed penguins, swim in shark tank etc). The zoos are brilliant too. Tasmania unfortunately I don't know much about. If your planning on travelling for whatever reason from melbourne to adelaide I think theres some sort of rock water formation called the singing sisters? or something. There also was Hanging Rock somewhere in Australia (I think maybe up near Sydney) but I think they blew it to bits (look up the based on a true story movie - Picnic at Hanging Rock, a bunch of schoolgirls were on a school trip there, one girl disappeared during break, never to be found, and all their watches stopped :bored: always wanted to see that place, sadly they tore the rocks down or something (probably because of the locals insisting it was a "bad place" and stories of hookie alien abductions :confused1: :closedeyes: Anyway happy travels!!!! :driving: :hurray: :hat:
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Someone mentioned waldorf (how I found this post rofl)
Have you tried "Math Lessons for a Living Education" by Queen Homeschool. These are Charlotte Mason inspired living Math books, they have both Book 1 & Book 2.
LivingMath.net I think it is also has math book recommendations and parts of a living math curriculum to go along with WTM history cycle, f you want that.
Other living-math-style curriculums/books:
A Little Garden Flower - Math Book/Curriculum Overview. Waldorf Style.
Life of Fred - Story books, they now have Elementary ones (Apple, Cat, Dog etc)
Someone on here is making or has finished a teddy style one similar to Life of Fred.
Making Maths Meaningful - Jamie York I think it is (There are two Making Math Meaningful curriculums, this one (lesser known on here) is waldorf style math.
Teaching Textbooks - Computer Based, but when children get bored of textbook styled books, this is a good alternative, seems to work with a lot of kids, and helps out parents who are less mathy.
Math By Hand - Waldorf Maths. Think of it like Rightstart Maths in Waldorf style. Her stuff comes with binders and kits for the real life waldorf maths items. I love her stuff it looks brilliant. If didn't already have a curriculum that wouldn't mesh with hers, I would use hers for sure (I still look enviously at it ;) )
Enki Education - Is another option, but unfortunately, she no longer sells stuff seperately (apart from teaching guides) so you would have to buy the grade package (which would make it expensive for just using Maths).
Arithmetic Village - Waldorf inspired Living Math books. she also has extra activity sheets to download for free. Her stuff is more of an updated way to introduce the four processes (instead of the knob-made gnomes, you have characters : Polly Plus, Linus Minus etc. I've got some bendy doll bases coming to make the characters and found some teardrop faux diamonds perfect for the jewels that were uber cheap.
Gnomes & Gnumbers - Online free curriculum?
Sir Cumference Books - Everyone seems to be nattering on about these, I haven't read them so you would have to look to another for any views.
Kitchen Table Math - Not sure how open and go it is, but on helping with any problematic areas I think it would be great. I have it, I only just got it out of my storage closet for this year, so haven't looked through it yet, but I believe its set up by types (addition, subtraction) so good if you want to concentrate on a particular area.
Family Math for Young Children +other books - I don't know much about this, but I thought it would be good to add, as a lot of people seem to talk about it.
Math Games for Learning by Peggy Kaye - A lot of people tend to have this as a good backup/helper/aide for maths. When the child is getting frustrated or you need an alternative way to show them, this would be a handy book.
Theres probably heaps more, but thats all I can think of at the moment, and covers most learning styles (WTM, CM, Steiner, Alternative Unschooling, Natural Learning, etc)
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Thanks OhM, thats what I thought. I still may look into a daylight bulb for the Atelier (when the kids want to do art as its getting dark, its harder for them to judge the colouring, current lightbulb is a bit to yellow IMO), but I'll just concontrate now on back to the lamps lol.
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We have a LOT of fluorescent long shopping centre type tubes in our house (perhaps the last person thought it was cheaper to get them rather than glasses or was afraid of his own shadow? who knows), its complete overkill, like being in a supermarket 24/7. And definitely not good for DS, so....
I was looking at Lamp bulb costs, energy efficiency etc (I want to create that lovely homey feel of just lamps in the home, but not drain too much on electricity) and anyyyywayy, whilst I was researching, I came across a waldorf school that replaced all their fluorescent and incandescent with full spectrum lightbulbs. Reading about it on Wiki is pretty much saying its a gimmick (at least thats what I took away from it)
WDYT? Are they a gimmick? Are they worth it? Do they work with dimmers? I was thinking it would obviously not be good for all over the house for the lamps (they look exxy from what I can tell) but was thinking it would be perfect for the normal overhead lights in the kids bedroom, toy room and Atelier to replace the current room bulbs if they are that good.
P.S. If anyone here has an ideal solution for being energy efficient with lamps and creating that subtle warm atmosphere, I'm all ears (we already have one of those push on hand lamps that require batteries, don't want anymore of them or fairy lights. And definitely no candles, im talking non-supervision lamps here, I can't leave the children playing with a flame somewhere nearby obviously)
I know its an unusual question, but most people here are quite knowledgable :) Thanks!
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I think I have quite a number of the blue series in PDF (why? no idea. I seem to collect PDFs rofl) the only one I want is the Australian Money one. But I keep forgetting to get it, rofl. And since I'm on a buying ban till my OM arrives, I can't get it (and *whinge* its only $3!! And if I don't get it now I'll forget!) Oh well. Thats what happens with a self-imposed buying ban, something always comes up when you do it. I guess I'll just wait for the next reminder, or make do :p
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Elemental Science - Its WTM inspired. She has a new series which looks pretty cool too, using a story book, and lessons.
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Simplicity Parenting Book - Your Answer. lol.
I just did a big curriculum book clearout/donation. Other than that, plans are (hopefully implemented in the coming weeks):
Back Room - Storage of Rarely used stuff & Mom and Dads Books (Philosophy homeschool guides, Homesteading, Homemaking, Gardening, Car Manuals etc).
Backroom Closet - Any curriculum for later years. Kids Portfolios, books that kids aren't developmentally ready for (Oliver Twist etc)
Kitchen Cupboard - Few favourite cooking books I refer to (little booklet type ones with "basics", bigger cookbooks are in storage room).
Atelier - Cupboard in there houses most of the currently in use curriculum, Art & Craft books. Anything I use reguarly with the kids, my teaching guides, weekly planner
My Bedroom - Cupboard has a few mom books that I plan to read/am currently reading, and compilations/treasury kids books for lounging on my bed, snuggling with kids and reading to them. I don't have bedside drawers.
Spire - (I originally called it the inspiration room, my daughter just repeated it and said "spire", it stuck lol) A few carefully chosen childrens books to go with their current school theme/unit (this room is their toy room, waldorf-inspired)
Kids Bedroom - Guttering/Poles behind door with most of the childrens picture books/novels on it.
Car - A few of each childs picture favourites, ocassionally swapped in and out.
So, in short. Everywhere. But orderly ;) They all have a home, and in places where they are the most used.
If you want to talk crafts & supplies, well most of those are in the Atelier, set out for the kids, they have good quality pencils, crayons, paints, glitter, paper (and scrap paper) recycling and all sorts available there. Any stuff I need specifically for projects are kept in my bedroom in archive boxes under my computer chair. "Special" school supplies (all the exxy stuff just for mumma-led school stuff) is locked in my little art supply cabinet. The rest is free reign for the kids. I also have a filing cabinet on the verandah with more messy art supplies and a cabinet filled with backup supplies.
HTH xxx
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Hmm...I skimmed through it.
I'm a big believer in being "well-rounded". I did find some of the points interesting, but on the whole, its not my style.
A child should be encouraged to do things that they are good at or make them happy yes, but I think they should also learn new things; focus on something they don't like, or aren't good at.
I read an article somewhere that I love. Imagine the child is excellent at mathematics. You greatly encourage this and nurture his talent, focusing more and more on the mathematical side of things. The child grows up, has a good job, but at the age of 25 is living the life of someone much, much older. Boring, predictable. We ask what about socialization. Well what about that child's socialization when he's 25?
Imagine a different point of view. You encourage and nurture his talent for Maths, yes, but also encourage him in other areas, art, music, camps, just "being a child" let him be silly, in fact, encourage it (to a point anyway lol). He's still got that love for Maths, still get the enrichments he wants, but he also learns to stick through things he doesn't like (perseverance) and maybe get that accomplishment from being able to play a certain song on the piano or copy Monet, even create his own original (maybe he finds something else he's passionate about, even if he's not as good at it as he is with maths, maybe its something that would make him happier in the long run). Let him take a year to backpack around the world before college. At 25 ,he may still have that job, but that job isn't his whole life, he "lives" life, is grateful for everyday, tries something new every-now and again, perhaps he found during his backpacking trip the job he originally wanted wasn't for him, he instead creates a company from the ground, or becomes a Painter in Iraly, gets a job in Stockbroking and becomes a millionaire etc.
Yes. All completely made up stories ROFL. But it gives a good view of what I'm trying to say. Being "well-rounded" these days isn't about the nabbing of a husband/wife, nor a showing of the persons class level. Its more about experiencing, perseverance, unpredictability, and seeing the world through new eyes. Its about creating curiosity and a love for life.
I hope I said that all right, its late and probably makes diddly-squat no sense to anyone but me :laugh:
P.S. Edited this to fix the spelling errors (my keyboard is breaking physics, which means it probably needs to be pulled apart and cleaned :p )
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Depends on how ahead they are.
I'm an advocate for delayed learning, but in some cases (like my 4yo, since she was 2) the child is interested, then it becomes for of a child-led environment based on their interests (after all, you don't want them to hate school before you start it).
I have responded to a couple of similar posts in the past, but given the age of your child, and that only you know what they are ready for, I'll just put what I remember from the other posts.
Better yet, I found my posts, so I'l just quote them
Posted 30 June 2012 - 04:22 AM
Sounds good. I always try and add in "safety" as a subject as soon as I can, since my daughters diabetic, we also add in health.
Safety for stuff like (in case they don't know):
- Address, phone number
- What to do in an emergency (911)
- What is and what isn't an emergency
- Fire safety and what to do in case of fire
- First Aid (just general basic stuff)
- Local dangerous wildlife & insects (and what to do when encountered/bitten)
- And since we're rural and don't have "everyday" abilities I also add in all the local "safety" people, and what their uniforms/vehicles look like (so in case of the police/fireman/SES etc people coming they know who they are and that they are there to help)
Usually this stuff is taught either automatically by mums and/or schools, but when your homeschooling, since no real curriculums are available for them, some times they are skipped over.
Your K list is great, nice and simple :001_smile: The best thing in K is just to get them reading and start their love of maths ;)
:grouphug:
Posted 28 June 2012 - 01:10 PM
The Social Studies K book I used was one of a series, so the K book starts with:
- All About Me
- All about my Family
- My Street
- My Neighbourhood
- Family Tree
- Clothing/Seasons
That sort of thing. The only reason I use it is as a base "gap" measure to cover anything I might miss, and we only have to do 1-2 pages a week to finish it. It also works up to "all about australia" etc so, since its hard to find good curriculum with australian forefront, i decided it was a good choice.
For K, I would suggest the following (IMO):
Beginning Geography: Focus on the World, and the Seven Continents. Get it so she can recognize any of the continents even if they are a mess of "puzzle pieces".
Community Workers: I don't really care much for that. Children learn that in everyday life, so what I did was intermingle it with the health, safety & manners program I made up, which includes (but is not limited to, since my brain is fried right now :tongue_smilie: )
- SES (State Emergency Services - What the uniforms look like, what they do, then covered flood preparedness (floods are a must know in our area) this is so if it happens, they would understand the process we would have to go through, and know what to do)
- Fire Safety (A look at parts of a fire engine, the firemans uniform (again so if they see "that" uniform on big scary men, they won't be afraid), science parts about what fire "needs" to survive (so how to cut off the source), fire "plans" and checklists, emergency exits etc
- Doctors: What doctors do during examinations, what various machines are for, some stuff about diabetes (my daughter has diabetes type 1)
-Police (the car, the uniform) what they do, stranger danger etc, mini "neighbourhood" plan, so if they get lost they known there way home, also helps to teach their address etc
- Car & Road Safety (how to be a good & safe passenger, how to be safe on the street)
- First Aid (making own first aid kit, going through the basics of "emergencies and not emergencies" learning what to do during emergencies (learning to make mergency phone calls, and learning their phone number), basic first aid for various things, local dangerous wildlife/insects and what to watch out for
There's probably other stuff, but thats the basics off the top of my head. Most of the "community worker" stuff is really fill stuff IMO, they just go "this is a fireman, he drives the firetruck reee---awwww" "this is the mailman, he delivers *wait for it....totally amazing* the mail!!!!!!!!! :lol:
My daughter knew about the mailman from the moment she saw him "whats he doing?" "delivering the mail" "ok". I go and collect mail from PO box "mummy, where does the mail come from?" "blah, blah blah *explanation* most of the community worker stuff does not have to be written in to school unless the child is *extremely* sheltered. Children have natural curiosity and commonsense, so learn as they go about their everyday lives. The only reason I added any "community workers" in was part of learning about safety, and thats so they would know in case of a fire, if a big man in the "fireman" uniform comes up to them, its fine to be taken out of the house (we are more rural, so its harder for them to "See" the uniforms during their daily lives, and I don't want them to runaway during a emergency, from the men trying to help them (especially when the fireman have the masks on, they can look frightening lol).
I love the book (and supplement books off the series) of "children just like me", all my children love the book too. it gives them an overview of childrens lives in various countries.
Hope those ideas help. For most subjects on those lists, there are usually beautiful fun little picture books (with either illustrations or real life photos of fireman, children etc) so using this list and the library computer to search topics (like fireman, firehouse, firetruck etc) you could find some lovely little books to gently introduce the topics.
And learning their address and mobile number (if you get them to remember your home phone, not good if they get lost when your out and about) is good at any age.
Explaining mechanics of "don't touch" places are good too (a lot of parent just say "don't touch - its hot!" but never explain why its hot. An example of what I did (when my daughter was around 2-3 (when you plug this cord in here, it heats up this metal bit here *I then allow them to feel the metal bit* see how its cold? brrr. When its plugged in, it gets hot! Very hot, and if you touch, you'll get burnt, which will hurt lots and lots and lots, for a long time. So remember not to touch it. And if mummy yells at you or shrieks when your near it, thats why. Mummy gets scared and doesn't want you to get hurt. VERY, very simpified version first-time, of course. I use more intricate words when re-explaining when they are interested later and with my 7 yr old when explaining things (after all shes learning how to use the toaster etc, so has a fairly good understanding of electrics, she was actually trying to teach my 5yo the other day about how to fix the computer and what not to touch when rofl.
So basics for me are personal hygiene & safety. Making sure the child stays safe and healthy. Its easy to introduce with kids through themes, hence the community workers. Doctors - where you could slip in personal hygiene, firetrucks - fire, police - address & phone number, stranger danger etc; dentist - teeth, Hospitals - First Aid, Dangerous local Wildlife, if you have pets the Vet - keeping pets healthy; Environment - Chores, cleaning, recycling etc
Thats a lot of info, so hopefully you can pick out a few items :)
HTH xxx
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I've got some stuff in my Pinterest somewhere......back in a sec
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OK, I have a couple of things relating to human body
Life Size Human Body Printables: http://pinterest.com/pin/171910910746220065/
Lesson on the Digestive system (hands on and videos): http://teachinginroom6.blogspot.com/2012/04/digestive-system.html
Lung Model: http://pinterest.com/pin/171910910746219931/
esophagus demonstration (using pantyhose etc)/digestive: http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/body-systems-digestive-system.html
Found a whole bunch on this persons Pinterest as well (Body Organs foldable, Q-tip X-Rays, Lifesize Body Map etc): http://pinterest.com/ticiam/anatomy/
This life size Body is pretty awesome: http://pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/2011/06/smart-summer-challenge-week-1-life.html
And Lastly, Homeschool Creations did a Life Size Human Body Puzzle: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2012/08/life-size-human-anatomy-activity-3.html?ref=nf
HTH xx
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I LOVE Core Knowledge Preschool Book & the accompanying activity books. They are so much fun, only take a few minutes, and some of them allow the kids to play on long afterwards.
We've changed our style to more waldorf-inspired instead of classical, but I'm going to still continue to do them, they are fun!
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We use Science Play & Sandbox Scientist. They are both based around exploration play. Either you give them the raw materials and let the play, or some other ones where you set them up and then just let them go at it
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Happy Scientist? You watch it online (him doing the experiment) then the kids do it. Simple. My kids love it. They always want to go try whatever he does. Its mostly all simple stuff too (meaning simple ingrediants, like one just needs a jar and cream, another needs an umbrella etc) To me thats the most open and go you can get, and it can be minimal teacher involvement (you can do nothing, let them watch and figure out how to do it, to getting books from the library on the subject, printing out some lab experiment sheets for them to write down as their doing their experiment etc etc)
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Pretty much what my signature says lol.
I now lean towards Waldorf-inspired for its arts-centric outlook, and Montessori for Cosmic Education and most of all, their practical life stuff. So Oak Meadow, A Little Garden Flower, Alan Whitehead, New Child Montessori would be the mix of it. We use a local phonics program though thats more something like a mix between jolly phonics & All About Reading. We also follow a lot of the Project Based Learning by Lori Pickert (have my dog-eared well worn copy right near me now) which is partially inspired by Reggio, which I like the look of (haven't looked much into Reggio though, so not sure of the exact similarities.
We still have tech as a big thing in our house though, its just limited to "worthy" time (stuff like Happy Scientist, Magic Schoolbus, Leapfrog Letters, phonics etc). They don't watch live TV due to the ads and ability to change channels, but I put on movies for them (non-school movies would be things like Moses, Princess and the Pea, Polar Express etc).
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I love the AG! Possibly more than SOTW! lol.
It has so many interesting crafts, and with a second of thinking, there are many ways to make even the most time-consuming and gross crafts (mummified chicken anyone?) into something easy (lift the lid on mummies - easy purchase, replacing with an apple - Satori Smiles blog - Wrapping a barbie in ribbon then decorating baby food jars as organ jars - What my daughter did before we even began SOTW lol).
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Hmm....what about just creating a Pinterest board and linking to interesting crafts? That way you have a folder of items that cost you nothing, and you got to choose it.
My Pinterest board (look in the DIY & the Enrichment/Ideas folders): http://pinterest.com/missed/
Hawai'ian Dreaming blogs about Oak Meadow, Waldorf etc: http://closeacademy.blogspot.com
A blog called Teaching Handwork: http://teachinghandwork.blogspot.com
Rockin' Granolas Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/simplekids/
Queen's Lace Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/queenslace/
Syrendell's blog has all sort of free waldorf lessons: http://syrendell.blogspot.com/
Wee Folk Art's Blog is always filled with lots of Crafts: http://weefolkart.com/
New child Montessori has an Art Manual: http://www.newchildmontessori.com/
Rhythm of the Home is an online digital Waldorf Magazine: http://rhythmofthehomeblog.com/
Magic Onions is a waldorf based blog with lots of crafts: http://www.themagiconions.com/
Crafty Cow is a children's craft collective: http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/
The Wonder of Childhood: http://thewonderofchildhood.com/
Alphabet Glue E-Mag for Families, has a theme for each mag, book reccs and craft & art ideas (quite a few nature based):http://birdandlittlebird.typepad.com/blog/alphabet-glue.html
Ancient Heart Blog has free lessons: http://ancienthearth2.blogspot.com/
Mama Moontime has crafts & tutorials: http://www.mamamoontime.com/
Passengers on a Little Spaceship blog has a lot of cool ideas: http://passengersonalittlespaceship.blogspot.com
Theres heaps more, but those were just the accessible ones in my bookmarks to do with art/craft lol. It would only take a few minutes to pin and few crafts, then you have something to do for the next few weeks, instantly and free (except in the case of digital mags & art manual lol) ;)
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Deee - Thanks so much, I wasn't aware there was more than one Aus based curriculum.
I'm actually using OMK&1 as the basis, and using A Little Garden Flower for Inspiration & Extra help for stuff thats a bit hazy. I did purchase a fair amount of Mr Whiteheads stuff, and he does seem quite nice :) I figured using his stuff exclusively wouldn't be for me, it was really a choice between Enki and OM. I found OM to be more understandable (whilst I may spend my spare time researching into things and looking at medical books, I do not want to be trying to understand how to set out stuff for school. Plus Enki had a few too many do's & don'ts and rules regarding purchasing of their curriculum, plus pre-puchasing interrogation. That said, if I managed to come across a homeschool teacher manual from someone I would probably nab it :)
I'm using his stuff more as an extra thing, if I feel a certain area requires more depth. The basic ideas of anthroposophy appeal to me, as well as some of steiners quotes on education, but whenever I look closer (I looked into a course on anthroposophy) it looks too weird. I like the "brochure" but not the "manual" for anthroposophy, so to speak. And I like the architecture he produced, beyond that, I think it gets a little hazy & weird.
But I just tend to take what I want from a curriculum and ignore bits that are kooky (to me) or don't work.
Hopefully I can find some sort of sample for path of discovery, I don't need anything else for the moment, but I always like having guides like that, it inspires me, re-perks me up about school, and helps me find my ground.
I decided I will be sticking with Oak Meadow for the long haul. Which means I'm doing a big clearout of stuff I purchased for this year and stuff from last years curriculum as well. I have to go through the storage room and figure out what to keep and what to sell, I keep jumping all over the place on Atelier. Oak Meadow is a pretty much Arts-Centric curriculum, and I want to get the New Child Montessori Art Manual towards the middle/end of 2013 too. If I start Atelier, unless we don't like it, I would want to continue with it through the years, and I'm not sure whether its worth it? I'm definitely keeping my lentil science, but other than that, I probably have tons and tons of stuff to sell. A pity I'm not in the US, yes? WTMers would have a field day with my haul of goods!
I like the rhythms & colors of the day (Monday-purple-baking all through to Sunday-White-Mommy Planning (Quiet Day). I think having a colour for the day allows the child to get into a rhythm of knowing what will happen, and hopefully kickstart some new healthy routines (not doing the grains or wearing the colours though) I was thinking of purchase some more face paint markers (I ran out, the kids love me doing up their face), and using them for colours of the day. At the beginning of circle time, they could choose a simple small shape/symbol that they can have in the days color on their face (beside eye or on cheek, middle of forehead etc), I think they would love that. Not doing blackboard drawings either, instead I'll do more cartoony whitboard drawings (we have a huge classroom whiteboard thats in the family kitchen, and I have a whole bunch of whiteboard marker colours, so I'm not spending more than I have to lol.
Another reason waldorf-inspired suits us is because its what my children do anyway, and its what I do (i'm always looking for handcrafts to do and new things to try. I used to do personalized 30-40 cm felted 3d sculpture dolls of peoples kids. And I dabbled at doing doll reborns when I was pregnant with DS, before the children I used to paint and sculpt a lot too. Unfortunately my sewing, crochet and knitting skills (I can hand sew fine and I make felt sheet stuff as well) are nil. So I'll be learning alongside the kids with everything (including the penny whistle this year apparently, and the two young 'uns will probably want their own ones, so 4 tin whistles going off.....people in town should be thanking me that I purchased a house out of town ROFL!
Hopefully I can find a simple laymans terms of full anthroposophy as relating to education. Even when I went to the course site, it started using spritual sentences that left me wondering which way is up, and not leaving any more knowledgable than when I entered. Maybe I should try reading it of a day instead of at night! Theres some common sense.
Yep. I ramble. Specially when I am excited, I get verbal diarrhea. Many apologys :closedeyes:
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Sandals with socks is pretty normal here.
I'm not sure how hard it is with older kids (at least they are more aware of what's going on I would think) DS has other issues besides SPD.
Trying to talk a child who has a limited understanding, they must take off the shirt for their own health is fun. He decided he would be wearing a longsleeve thick turtleneck on, on a 43degrees C day, and refused to take it off, even though he was sweating up a storm. In these cases, it unfortunately is neccessary to get it off, which requires lots of cajoling, bribes and tearing the wardrobe apart to find another suitable top that he'll agree to, along with meltdowns. Then, because of this, the other two think they can get away with it *sigh*
He's also taken to folding the bottom of his shirts up over one arm (arm is interchangable, one arm one day, another the next) like a sling, because he has a non-noticeable sore finger. Thats fun to explain in public, and its hard to do any school with a one handed boy.
He had an accident a while ago (can fell on his toe) it cause the toe to turn blue, swell and the nail to fall off (this happened about 6 months ago, its been fine for the past 4 months (nails grown back all looks fine, but nothings changed in his attitude towards it) . All it took was the two others getting scared by his toe, and that started a whole new catastrophe. He refuses to take his socks off, ever, and has to wear each pair of socks at least two days in a row. He won't bathe, that requires taking his sock off, not happening, I've tried getting him to bathe with the sock on at least, doing sponge baths. I am ending up having to give him a bath once or twice a week, these "baths" take 2-3 hours. Again cajoling, bribes, toys to play with, at least 2 people needed to help with certain parts, meltdowns, I have to get the sock off and thoroughly clean his foot (it gets filthy inside the socks), then replace the sock with a new one, bag the foot/sock/leg, like he has a cast, run the bath, I have to hop in and sit down, DH has to help me get him in (like putting a cat in the water), then DH has to go away (he doesn't like anybody else but me there), he calms down as long as I have him in my lap continually hold with one arm, his bagged leg out of the water, then I have to use my other arm to clean him. Then if he has a tantrum for any reason, mid-bath, I take the brunt of it (he straightens, kicks out flings etc) and my head ends up hitting the back of the tub. joys.
He has inconsistent SPD with sensory stuff. One day he'll like an activity, next day not. One minute he''ll be having fun with the shaving cream, the next second he'll be freaking out because he got one dot on his knee/shirt or figuring out after 10 minutes of play that he hands are filthy, other times wanting them to stay filthy.
He'll like only a certain pair of trousers, then the next day have a melltdown if I offer those ones to him. He's woken up in the middle of the night before having a meltdown because suddenly his pyjama trousers/shirt/socks or whatever he doesn't want anything to do with. A pair of trousers will be fine "yes! want those!" later on the trousers will "hurt/itch/etc" and he'll chuck a wobbily till they are out of his sight.
He wears his sandals with socks and his rainboots without socks (thus causing blisters that he then freaks out about, but still refuses to not wear the rainboots or to actually wear socks).
And he has the type of SPD that always means he tries to be superman. He jumps from the furniture, he climbs the tree near our house thats taller than our house and I have to rescue him (climbs up it in a few seconds flat) he climbs/jumps the backyard gate and manages to get all the way up our country drive and towards the street within a few seconds. This unfortunately means I cannot take the kids out into the yard. Outside play is a 2 person job to watch over the kids (one person to watch over the 2 girls, one to watch him). So yard is weekends only, elsewise they are allowed on the verandah (more closed in, so I can sit and watch all three kids at once.
It probably all sounds a lot worse than it is (it always seems to when you type things out lol). I'm just happy to have a little place to vent for a minute. I feel much better now.
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www.montessoriathomeebook.com - Very Thorough, ebook, only $8.95. I love this book! Really, its all you need.
If planning to keep going with Montessori through elementary, a suitable source is newchildmontessori.com - they have teacher guides that are very thorough, according to season, plus an amazing art manual and a supplementary guide for information on how to do it.
montessoriforeveryone.com - is where I usually buy my pdf stuff (I use the comprehensive lists to have a end of year check and see what I need to put into the next years curriculum.
http://www.alisonsmontessori.com/Montessori_R_D_s/125.htm - Is another place (supplies, teachers guides & curriculum manuals) I know nothing about them, I just happened to come across it when looking for stuff.
For things I usually look at Melissa & Doug first, and for supplies I can't help (I'm international).
HTH xxx
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What about oak meadows craft books? Each grade usually has some sort of craft book, plus the k-3 process of learning manual has how tos on a lot of craft/art stuff I believe. Or look up steiner/waldorf crafts/handwork/art, they are usually seasonal & nature based so easy to get supplies for.
Weefolkart has craft instructions and ideas on her blog.
Or perhaps make their art program accessibility. Have a little area where there is everything available to them (glitter, toothpicks, glue, paint, masking tape etc) and keep some bags/boxes with recyclables available. This is the main breakdown for Project Based Learning (I have her book and love it).
Or the Maryann Kohl books? These are funny, arty/crafty and are about process not product. She has plenty of different books.
If you like the nature idea, but need a book, something like Earthwise or Festivals Together? Earthwise concentrates on green/nature crafts, outdoor kids building, greening your house etc. Festivals Together has craft etc ideas for international festivals (wesak, easter, divali, chinese new year etc)
There is also new child montessori, they have an art/craft guide that looks very thorough.
Curriculum Planner? Did you make your own? What's your set up?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
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Oh, and even though I am not using it anymore (although, I am thinking of tweaking it to use this year), I should add my previous planners:
BABS the Binder System - Obviously a binder based system, sonlight-inspired planner pages
Planning & Organizing - File Crates - Based on Dawn's System
Lesson Planning (with Sonlight P3/4 & P4/5) - Not sure what the new Sonlight cores for those are called
SOTW Correlation Chart - Correlates SOTW, Child's History of the World, Little History of the World, History Odyssey Ancients L1 & Myths, Maps & Marvels. Downloadable file.
I tend to forget the stuff I put on my blog, lol. I realized I also have the HWOT cheap alternative, links & downloads, and a DIY Health & Safety curriculum I could of been linking people to in the past when I answered questions *rolls eyes*.