School
I don't have pictures at the moment due to computer issues happening yet again. (I'm having to borrow James' work computer because our other one is currently dead. Hoping a new cord will solve the problem. This is the one replacing the computer that crashed last fall... Sigh.)
We started first grade five weeks ago. Preston was determined that he did not want to be in first grade; he was sure it would ruin his ability to play all day, whenever he wanted. However, he has adjusted quite well and while he is not quite ready to openly admit that he loves first grade, his actions and attitude during lessons tell me that he is generally having a good time.
We follow the Waldorf educational philosophy, and "school" looks rather different that what you'd seen in a mainstream situation, but I love it, and it works really well. Every day starts out with 45 minutes to an hour of poetry/verse, songs, and various movement activities such as hand-clap games, bean bag exercises, jumping rope, rhythm sticks, rhythmical counting activities, mental math, and lessons on our wooden pentatonic recorders. Preston especially loves jumping rope and playing his recorder. He loves the songs we've been learning. (Singing first, then playing them on the recorder.)
Next we move into an hour or so of whatever subject we are currently doing. We work in lesson blocks lasting 3-4 weeks. For the first three weeks of school we worked on a uniquely Waldorf subject called form drawing, which is a method of therapeutic drawing where he works on being able to draw different patterns using straight lines and curves. This is in preparation for handwriting. I will post some examples when I am able to post pictures. It is more than just drawing; we work with the patterns through movement and through sensory activities like tracing them in rice or peanut butter prior to drawing them in a special book. During this block we also painted in watercolor once week (with a focus on experiencing the individual primary colors and then learning to combine them) and did modeling once week with beeswax. The modeling helps improve his fine motor skills/finger dexterity in preparation for writing. Each day I told a part of an ongoing story about two children preparing to be in first grade, and each portion of the story introduced one of the patterns. He really loved this story and was sad when it ended after 12 installments.
Right now we are in the middle of our first language arts block. In Waldorf education we don't do *any* formal academic teaching until first grade. (Kids can pick up things on their own earlier, but we don't encourage or discourage it.) So because of this approach, Preston is just starting to learn the letters and sounds. But we will be bringing 2-3 letters per week in three blocks, with the last one being in February. (They will be interspersed with lesson blocks focusing on math. This method uses the idea that subjects need to "go to sleep" for a period of time, so we don't go full on out with either language arts or math, we spend a few weeks on it, then switch to something else so the other subject can take a rest.) I just love the way the letters are introduced--through fairy tales and pictorial images. At the beginning of the week, I tell a fairy tale. The next day he has a drawing lesson where he draws a picture from the story that incorporates the letter shape into one of the parts of the picture. For example this past week we told the fairy tale The Water of Life, which has two mountains next to each other. I had a drawing ready of two mountains in the shape of the letter M, and he drew a similar picture. Then on the third day, I revealed the letter M hidden in the shape of the mountains. We do lots of fun activities to consolidate the sounds of that letter, and he practices moving the letter and then writing it. We still paint weekly. This method is completely arts-integrated, which I love. Art is the vehicle through which every academic concept is taught.
Math really seems to be Preston's thing. He can count to 100 easily (mostly taught himself this before starting school). He can solve simple addition and subtraction problems on his own, pretty much without being taught. We are working on a one-to-one correspondence in his counting. (He can recite quite well but when asked to count a group of objects, he often will mis-count because his mouth is going faster than his fingers.)
His lessons are lasting about 2 hours a day. I'd like to figure out how to cut that down, since Sariah's school takes quite a bit of time as well, but I don't want to leave anything out. He is really fun to teach and usually cooperative (though sometimes he has a hard time with the transition into school time).
I started a homeschool group, and he has met a couple of little boys that are now his friends. He is such a friendly kid, he makes friends with just about anybody he meets.
We started first grade five weeks ago. Preston was determined that he did not want to be in first grade; he was sure it would ruin his ability to play all day, whenever he wanted. However, he has adjusted quite well and while he is not quite ready to openly admit that he loves first grade, his actions and attitude during lessons tell me that he is generally having a good time.
We follow the Waldorf educational philosophy, and "school" looks rather different that what you'd seen in a mainstream situation, but I love it, and it works really well. Every day starts out with 45 minutes to an hour of poetry/verse, songs, and various movement activities such as hand-clap games, bean bag exercises, jumping rope, rhythm sticks, rhythmical counting activities, mental math, and lessons on our wooden pentatonic recorders. Preston especially loves jumping rope and playing his recorder. He loves the songs we've been learning. (Singing first, then playing them on the recorder.)
Next we move into an hour or so of whatever subject we are currently doing. We work in lesson blocks lasting 3-4 weeks. For the first three weeks of school we worked on a uniquely Waldorf subject called form drawing, which is a method of therapeutic drawing where he works on being able to draw different patterns using straight lines and curves. This is in preparation for handwriting. I will post some examples when I am able to post pictures. It is more than just drawing; we work with the patterns through movement and through sensory activities like tracing them in rice or peanut butter prior to drawing them in a special book. During this block we also painted in watercolor once week (with a focus on experiencing the individual primary colors and then learning to combine them) and did modeling once week with beeswax. The modeling helps improve his fine motor skills/finger dexterity in preparation for writing. Each day I told a part of an ongoing story about two children preparing to be in first grade, and each portion of the story introduced one of the patterns. He really loved this story and was sad when it ended after 12 installments.
Right now we are in the middle of our first language arts block. In Waldorf education we don't do *any* formal academic teaching until first grade. (Kids can pick up things on their own earlier, but we don't encourage or discourage it.) So because of this approach, Preston is just starting to learn the letters and sounds. But we will be bringing 2-3 letters per week in three blocks, with the last one being in February. (They will be interspersed with lesson blocks focusing on math. This method uses the idea that subjects need to "go to sleep" for a period of time, so we don't go full on out with either language arts or math, we spend a few weeks on it, then switch to something else so the other subject can take a rest.) I just love the way the letters are introduced--through fairy tales and pictorial images. At the beginning of the week, I tell a fairy tale. The next day he has a drawing lesson where he draws a picture from the story that incorporates the letter shape into one of the parts of the picture. For example this past week we told the fairy tale The Water of Life, which has two mountains next to each other. I had a drawing ready of two mountains in the shape of the letter M, and he drew a similar picture. Then on the third day, I revealed the letter M hidden in the shape of the mountains. We do lots of fun activities to consolidate the sounds of that letter, and he practices moving the letter and then writing it. We still paint weekly. This method is completely arts-integrated, which I love. Art is the vehicle through which every academic concept is taught.
Math really seems to be Preston's thing. He can count to 100 easily (mostly taught himself this before starting school). He can solve simple addition and subtraction problems on his own, pretty much without being taught. We are working on a one-to-one correspondence in his counting. (He can recite quite well but when asked to count a group of objects, he often will mis-count because his mouth is going faster than his fingers.)
His lessons are lasting about 2 hours a day. I'd like to figure out how to cut that down, since Sariah's school takes quite a bit of time as well, but I don't want to leave anything out. He is really fun to teach and usually cooperative (though sometimes he has a hard time with the transition into school time).
I started a homeschool group, and he has met a couple of little boys that are now his friends. He is such a friendly kid, he makes friends with just about anybody he meets.
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