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.

Red Light, Green Light

Its been a busy day with a playdate and visit from Nana, so havent done too much in the way of projects. We played a great game of Red Light, Green Light though. A has recently realized that cars have to stop when the light is red and go on green. We have had lots of discussions while out walking about how to cross with the 'green man' and that seems all fine and dandy, but the idea of the cars having to stop too seems to intrigue him. So while he was walking around I just said "red light!" he said "what are you saying to me Mum?" and I said, "The light is red, you have to STOP!". He LOVED the game and we played it for quite a while this afternoon. I can tell that its going to be a favorite.

Unschooling

I think at this point its probably prudent to explain what I am doing with our 'school' and my philosophy on learning in general.

I plan on unschooling A & G. I wont attempt to explain it fully as I think it really means something different to different families. In essence though unschooling to me is learning through experiences and being motivated by interests rather than a predetermined age or stage in life.

Technically what I am showing on this blog probably wouldnt be classed as unschooling. Because I am setting up activities and talking specifically about what A is getting out of each game, lesson, activity (whatever you want to call them) its me guiding and A following. I however have taken my cues from him in the sense that these games are what he LOVES doing and at such a young age he isnt really able to resource his own materials. I asked him what he wanted to do this morning and he said "shapes", now what he was referring to was a puzzle of shapes that he has so I asked if he would like to play with some big shapes and create a game with them. He said yes. So essentially he lead me in the direction of playing the game that we did. If he had not been interested then we would not have played. When he is a bit older and has more interests we will be following his lead a lot more.

G may be a whole different kettle of fish and not enjoy these kind of games at all.... and that is fine! She may want to play endless games of pretend and not want or be interested in her shapes and colors until she is a bit older..... fine. If this is the case she will still be learning, just learning different things.

I guess this is my whole philosophy. Let them lead you. And I guess we fall under the unschooling umbrella because we dont plan on doing 'lessons' as such.

If you are interested in learning more about unschooling check out the web. There is heaps of info out there by people a lot more eloquent than I am.... A great book if you are interested is 'How Children Learn' By John Holt.

Shapes

We had a ball today with shapes. I drew some BIG shapes on the ground outside and then called "Jump in the Triangle!" "Sit in the square" "Touch your nose in the heart". A raced around laughing away as he played this simple 'Simon Says' game. Then I had to perform various tasks as well of course! By swapping A got to be the 'boss' which is so important for confidence and verbal skills and by doing it himself he was recognizing shapes as well as movements and body parts. A great learning experience all round.

We might come back to it this a bit later on today incorporate G by getting A to tell me which shape to put her in. A is busy in the sand box at the moment busily burying his toys and then finding them again. :-)