Teenagers need time. We often hear parents say that their teenagers don't DO anything, but is it really that they don't do anything or is it that they don't do anything that the parents see as a valuable use of their time. My son is deep into viking and British/Norse history right now. He found … Continue reading Teenagers Need Time
“The young child is both individual and universal from the very beginning.” Cynthia Aldinger Childhood is a unique time in the greater picture of human development. It is a time of total openness to the outside world. A time when magic lives around every corner and the world and all its seemingly mundane (to us … Continue reading Individual Yet Universal
I think if there were to be a mascot for grade one handwork, it would be the humble knitted square. Quick to create and endlessly versatile, that first blessed square to come off those knitting needles is an accomplishment indeed! It is the first big step into the new world of building purposeful skills for … Continue reading The Humble Square
Many parents wonder when a child is ready to move to the work of grade one. A standard goal post for Waldorf schools is that the child has celebrated seven springs/Easters in their lifetime and has started to lose their baby teeth. That means that a child who was born between January and Easter will … Continue reading Readiness: It’s More Than Just Age and Teeth
Painting: Steiner style. It's a mountain many first time Steiner inspired homeschoolers think they are going to die on. If that sounds a bit dramatic, it might be the lingering memories of feeling like I didn't know what the heck I was doing when I first started. There seemed to be so many rules, so … Continue reading The Joys of Painting
The changing of seasons is subtle. Birds flying south, leaves slowly changing, mushrooms growing, squirrels scurrying, Michalemas daisies blooming, that first hint of crisp morning air, pumpkin patches bursting. A recent post about "calendar time" and preschoolers by Kristen Peterson from Play Based Learning had me chuckling. The post highlighted the struggles teachers have in … Continue reading Feeling the Passing of Time
I recently saw a quote by Sonke Ahrens, the author of How to Take Smart Notes (an amazing book, by the way, highly recommend) that said: “If you want to learn something for the long run, you have to write it down. If you really want to understand something, you have to translate it into … Continue reading Real Understanding
Aren't bird nests amazing? Until recently, we assumed nest building ability in birds was innate, an instinct that needed no lessons. But recent observations have uncovered other factors that go into a bird's skill in building a nest. Some learn from their own success raising chicks in a specific nest, using the same materials to … Continue reading What if We Trusted?
Middleschool math roundup! These are the resources we've been using, and will continue to use, for our middle school years. One thing I always look for in mathematics curriculum is that it builds on concepts, doesn't jump around, and that it is hands on. Daily Mental Math: I added Daily Mental Math by Hana from … Continue reading Middle School Math Roundup
Early elementary math roundup! I'm cleaning out our cupboards and thought I'd share the math resources I used in our earlier years, grades one through three. They are pretty basic and except for a few books that I purchased used, we had all the supplies in the house already. Math in the first three years … Continue reading Early Elementary Math Resources
