Ponderings

Well, for anyone who follows me I am sorry for the absence.. What can I say? Sometimes life with a two year old and a non-sleeping baby doesnt leave much room for anything else. Since my leave taking I have been doing some thinking.

I truly think that part of being a great parent is constantly reevaluating your parameters. Questioning your beliefs & being brave enough to admit that you're on the wrong path.... I have come to a realization over the last few months. I have been WAY over thinking this whole homeschooling thing. I have already posted about my need for further deschooling and I think that I have been making some huge leaps since my last post. I have been thinking, planing (or not planing!), listening, reading, researching and generally overhauling my entire philosophy. Heavy stuff!

Bottom line? Even the title of this blog is wrong. Wrong, wrong, WRONG! I no longer 'teach' my children. My children teach themselves. I look back through the posts on here and while I know that my heart was in the right place I now feel in my gut that what I was doing with all of my little projects is in total opposition of what I was trying to achieve as an unschooler. Alright, a tad mellow dramatic perhaps. I have really made headway with my thinking though and am in a totally different head space than I was when I started this blog - a lot can happen in a short space of time obviously!

So I have been thinking that its time to put this one to bed. To start afresh and begin a new journey. I dont want to get rid of this blog as I think it shows interesting beginnings and will be fun to look back on one day... but I dont think that it will be appropriate to continue with my feelings and ideas as they are at the moment.... SO I AM MOVING! :-) hehe! Feels very exciting actually. I have been putting off doing this as I kind of feel like this blog has been a waste of my time and other peoples. I know that in a way I needed to do this in order to work my head out and find who I truly am as a mother and as a homeschooling parent. I have needed that down time and it didnt feel right to be blogging while I was still so up in the air myself. I now feel like I have a direction. I feel settled and grounded and....happy

So adieu Teaching My Gnomes - thank you for being the catalyst. If your interested, please check me out at http://raptureouschild.blogspot.com/

I'm Back

Its been a hectic couple of weeks! I have sat here over the last few evenings thinking that I really needed to get on here and update, but have been so tired that it just wasnt an option. G (who is now 7 months!!!) has been working on crawling and as a result has not been sleeping with the added bonus of being really clingy during the day. Its actually been great for A as I have just spent the last two weeks on the floor playing with the two of them, so he has been getting heaps of attention. We have also been doing lots in the way of learning although as my previous post suggests I have been sitting back a bit more and taking my cues from him.

SO to catch you up! Well A is seriously into playing make believe at the moment and most of our day involves never ending games of 'going to the store' and A making me 'meals'. Its SO MUCH fun and I am really enjoying his imagination. :-)

He has a little friend named Mousie (who is a mouse). Mousie is black and orange with pink whiskers and accompanies A through most of the day. A has had dalliances with the odd imaginary friend but Mousie is the most complex of them all and is interacting with other people too. I am often left holding Mousie while A is doing something else. :-)

Yesterday we decided to write a book about Mousie for Dad to read at bedtime. A told me how the story should go and then drew the pictures. It was lots of fun and the end product is one that he is very proud of and will be a wonderful keepsake. I hope to make lots of books written by A so that he can have a proper library. I think this is a great way to incorporate language. A was fascinated while watching me writing the words as he was saying them. I made a couple of changes by adding some connecting words but always made sure that I consulted with him first as I didnt want to step on him creatively. I was actually really surprised by how poetic and thoughtful he was with his story. The last page (totally his own wording) was "It was a lovely day. And now its done. Time for bed." I was blown away actually.

Now that G is sleeping better and CRAWLING things are getting back to normal. I will return, and soon. :-)

Soul Searching

I feel like I have been doing some soul searching this last week. Its been an interesting time in my head figuring out where I am at and what I want to get out of homeschooling. I guess you could say I have been reevaluating what I believe homeschooling to be. I am still new at this idea and find that my perceptions and expectations change almost daily.

It all started when G decided that she is incapable of sleeping without movement. I wrapped her up in the soft carrier and duly paced the house to keep her asleep. This got a bit much after awhile and I was getting sore and tired so she got put in the hammock and I bounce her instead. It means that I am kind of stuck in one spot while she sleeps. I initially felt very sorry for A who really had to get on and find something to do on his own unless he wanted to draw at the table with me or just chat. I felt like I was neglecting him and the poor wee man being only two should be getting MORE of me!!!

Then something interesting started to happen. He started asking more and more questions, questions on topics that would never have been covered if I had been around to 'help'. He has seriously and with great earnest started his OWN learning. I know, I know! DUH say all of the unschooling people out there! But I guess I had not done enough 'deschooling' myself yet. I have been working so hard on setting up learning that I had missed all of the learning that was happening around me.

So for the last week I have left him alone (not literally of course) and been amazed at what he has been getting up to! He has been doing a lot of outside stuff and we have had such cool questions as "what do spiders eat" and "why does rain wash the chalk away" "how do you tell time?". He has conducted his own experiments by doing things like putting a piece of chalk in a bowl of water and making mud out of the sand and then noticing the next day that it had dried out. These things have lead to many discussions about spider webs and bugs. How other spiders catch bugs in other ways. This has lead onto talks about how we dont eat bugs but some people in other cultures do... and then onto those cultures and the people in them. In theory I knew this is how it worked. In theory. But I just couldnt switch my brain off and the 'learning potential' in everything we did was foremost in my mind. I guess it still is in a way, but its kind of different now. More relaxed. And the funny thing is that I think that he has learned more in this last week than in all of the weeks before when I was trying! Yes, once again, I know! DUH! :-)

Books. Books. Books

I thought I would take some photos of A and his books... I forgot to take one of his bedtime books with Dad and I was too afraid to set the flash off to show how lovely he looked fast asleep on his books after about an hour of reading. I have only taken a few photos of them, but there are many, many more little piles around the house.

A loves his books and spends a large part of his day 'reading'. He has started to run his fingers along the words when he is reciting the story from heart and recognizes a few words by sight. We all love going to the library together and I cannot wait for G to get excited by all the books too.

A has also started to show an interest in reference books, specifically ones on space.

We try and have as many books scattered around the house as possible. A is allowed to look through any of the books any time he likes. He loves to read our books, especially the cooking books.

Mr Clean

A has been talking about having a job. He keeps telling me that its Dads job to make money and Mums job to look after him..... then asking "and me? Whats mine job?" I told him that his job was to be a little boy and to have lots of fun, he looked at me like I had lost my marbles and said "no Mum, whats mine joooooooob?"

I found an old spray bottle and cleaned it out really well. I then put a solution of water, vinegar and baking soda into it. I leave the bottle along with a cloth under the sink and its his job to clean the table after he has finished eating. He insists on doing the whole table and spends AGES playing with the spray. He feels so very grown up and makes a real meal out of putting the bottle and cloth back away again. Its obvious that he really enjoys feeling like he contributes to the family.

No pressure of course, if he never wants to do it again then I wont be bothered in the slightest. So far though he has been doing it after every meal for the last three days.

I cannot believe he is only two!

Using Tongs

We try and get our project ideas from A as much as possible. Well today he was racing around the house with the kitchen tongs so I suggested he try and build some towers using only the tongs. He spent ages stacking them up and taking them back down again, all with such precision. Great for hand eye coordination and he was really having to work with his hands to get the tongs moving correctly. He also came up with the idea of putting the blocks in different containers.

Dominoes Towers

Its been awhile since my last post, its been busy with my birthday and family. We have been doing our projects though and as always been having fun. I guess its good in a way because I now have a bit of a backlog of posts so that will mean I dont run out if we have a few quiet days!

A found the dominoes the other day and started building some rather impressive towers. I was surprised how steady his hand has become even in the last couple of weeks. He did his first tower and then made another until he had a few and then he called it his 'city'. WE also talked about the dots on the dominoes and how each piece had different numbers of dots. We did some simple multiplication by talking about the dots on either side of the line and how if we 'added them together' we got a different bigger number. He got the idea pretty quickly and can now do the smaller numbers pretty quickly in his head..... He seems to have a mathematical mind which is fantastic, if a little daunting as I am NOT known for my prowess with numbers. I guess if he gets into numbers in a big way we will have to look into a mentor of some description, although lets not get ahead of ourselves. :-)

Ice.

I filled a large pot with ice cubes - including a few with food coloring added. I let A play with the ice for a bit and we talked about how the ice would melt a little and then stick together. He was talking about how cold it was and noticed that the pot was getting cold too. I then gave him a jug of warm water to pour in so we could watch the ice melting.

A tried swirling the water and noticed that the ice would melt faster if it was moving around in the water. He had a spoon as well and played until the ice was getting small, I then added some new ice so he could see the size difference.

I introduced a journal today as well. I was not sure how this would be received so its not something that 'has' to be done, but I thought that now he is drawing pictures it would be a fun way to talk about what we have just done and get in a little extra learning if the conversation headed that way. Its also going to be a great way to keep a record of what we do and also watch his progress and understanding.

He loved the idea and we got a chance to talk about how the ice had melted, temperatures and change. We talked about how the water was turned into ice and then back into water when it melted.

So I asked A if he wanted to draw a picture of what he had just done and he drew some ice and some water pouring over the top. I intend to do this every project we do, I am sure there will be times that he doesnt want to draw and thats no problem. I will date the entry and do a quick summary of what we did.

Should be interesting.

Birthday Cards & Hexagons

Its my birthday next week so A and Dad made a card for me for A to give next week. I caught a glimpse of the work in progress. DH (Dear Husband) took photos of the project for me and caught a rather interesting development in A's understanding of shapes (and drawing skills)

DH just let A loose with some pens, paper, crayons, pencils, stickers and glue. About half way through DH asked where A would like to place one of the little buttons and A said "just there on the hexagon" and sure enough A had actually drawn a hexagon complete with six sides (two of the points are under the top button)! OK, so the number of sides I would assume was a fluke, but I am still blown away.

He can draw circles, straight lines and squiggly lines with purpose but up till now we have had no success with any other shapes as angles seem to be a bit more difficult to pull off.

I have not seen the end product of my card yet and am looking forward to it. There is nothing cooler than getting something made with such love from someone so small. I am so proud of him

Growing Fast!

A is growing so fast its amazing. I sometimes cant help but wonder where my little baby has gone. Today we had a great learning opportunity as A wanted to make his own lunch. He wanted a sandwich and he wanted to make it "all by mine self". We do a lot of cooking together so A does know his way around the kitchen so I grabbed a chopping board and let him find everything he needed and take it to the bench. I really didnt want to take away from his excitement so just stood by ready to help if asked. He decided that he wanted a Marmite sandwich, he needed some help to take off the lid as it was a bit tight. He then put the knife in and started to spread the marmite. He got frustrated very quickly as the bread kept tearing so I showed him how to lay his knife in its side to spread a bit easier. He then put the two pieces of bread together and cut his sandwich in half. He was SO PROUD of his sandwich that he wanted to call Dad at work to tell him all about it.

Playdoh Mosaic

I have been holding onto our old playdoh just knowing that I would come across a use for it! And I am glad I did. All of those old crusty bits that have hair and sand on them turned into a lovely picture for the playroom wall.

I wrote A's name in big block letters, told him what I was wanting to do, handed over the glue and the playdoh pieces and it kept him amused for AGES. He was so proud of himself.

Glitter!!!

We had some fun with glitter! I love glitter, but it does make a bit of a mess so I have to be in the mood for pulling it out. It was a great distraction for a grumpy two year old with his molars coming in! I simply got glue and let A go to town on a piece of paper. I also drew some pictures although most of them got mushed around in the name of science. We sprinkled it on, dumped it on, painted it on.... well really we just made a lot of a mess!!! When we were done I picked up the drop cloth and emptied it in his water table just to add a bit of spice for the afternoon.

Enjoy your sparkly mess!!!

Arts and Crafts

We have been doing a lot of A&C things the last couple of days. A mix of giving A the materials and letting him go to town and actually making something. We have played with glitter and glue, paper and scissors, paper and glue. We have made some pretty cool things. Snowflakes for the window, valentines for Dad, pictures. I got most of the ideas from http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

First off we made a Valentines for Dad. A insisted on giving it to him straight away it was fun and he kept saying "ooooh, Dad is just going to love it!"

First I cut big heart out of thick paper. Then we tore little bits of colored paper up and scrunched them up. Glued them to the heart and viola! A lovely (and easy) valentine that a toddler can do most of on their own.

Colours and Shapes

We used the computer today and with the 'paint' application we drew pictures and shapes. A chose the shapes that he wanted me to draw and then the color that he would like. We also got the chance to talk about opposites and introduce some different shapes like a right triangle and pentagon. We have done a bit of drawing today too. He is really into drawing people at the moment. The picture above is of a man thinking about a rabbit...... in case you didnt know. :-)

Drawing

A drew his first 'scene' today. We have had lots of individual people, trees, animals and other items, but they have always been standing alone. Today A drew a picture of "people taking a swim". His people have heads, faces, hair, legs, arms and big smiles "because they are happy swimming" apparently the picture is of no one in particular, "just people"

I find it interesting looking at his artwork as it says a lot about his personality. He isnt much of a color user, unless painting. No matter how many colors he has at his disposal. He pretty much went straight into drawing representational drawings after a brief time scribbling. He loves drawing now but when he was really little he wasnt too interested or only liked us to draw pictures for him. This seems to be his way of tackling new things. He watches and waits until he can do it to his satisfaction. A bit of a perfectionist.

Toy Room

We made the decision of setting up a room just for the toys and have the children sleep in the same room (although at this stage G is bedsharing with us). We thought that for one it will help keep the rest of the house clean and two it will be a good place to set up games/projects that dont have to be taken down. As well as being a great place to display art work. Its proving to be a great place to just hang out as a family and A is kept busy with lots to do.

I am still setting it up and we dont have it like we want it yet. But the plan is to do it in a Montessori inspired way. I want to have 'stations' where the same kind of toys are all together. So you would have all the musical instruments together, art supplies, building materials, puzzles, nature etc. Now I by no means intend to follow through on Montessori principles and expect each station to be used independently from the next. I do however like the idea of A & G being able to find everything in its rightful place and for things to have a category. I guess thats just how my brain works. If however A wants to build a city with his blocks and then use his pretend play animals to live in that city while using the pens and crayons as trees than the more power to him. :-)
The one thing that we will be keeping separate are the instruments though. A & G will have full access to the instruments when ever they feel the need to make music, they will be expected to pack them away when they are finished though. To me an instrument is more than a toy and deserves respect due to its delicate nature. Not only do the cost a lot of money but they can lose condition and tone through neglect. I still want music to be fun, but with the respect that it deserves. I feel the same way about books. All of A's books are in his bedroom on a book shelf or next to his bed which he reads when he is falling asleep. Ever since he was very little he has been allowed full access to his books but they have never been allowed to be used as toys (of course baby board books are a bit different).

So, yes still more to do. I want to build shelves and get some more boxes and containers to keep everything. At the moment most of the toys are in the ottoman all just thrown in there, and of course they never get played with because you cant find things. I also would love to set up an art room where art work can be left to come back to.

Toddler Civil Engineering & Music

Due to being sick the last couple of days we havent done much at all... but that is alright. Children do their best learning through play, and with this in mind its easy to just sit back and watch what they come up with themselves.

Its summer, and HOT so we have been either hibernating inside or doing lots of playing with water and the sand pit. I added food coloring to the water as well as some dish soap, just to make it a bit more interesting. A used egg beaters to make the bubbles and spent ages mixing the colors until it was all just brown. He has also spent time digging in his sandpit, hiding toys, making towers and channels for his cars to drive down.

We have also spent a bit of time in the play room out of the heat. A is interested in building "cities" at the moment. Its also a mission to build a tower as tall as he is.

We have reintroduced music too. We started learning the Ukulele and then got busy with other things, so we talked about what the parts of the instrument were called and how to treat an instrument with respect. I was very impressed that he had remembered what most of the parts were called. It has been a few months.