Alphabet Cards: A Preschool Project

Did anyone else hoard stickers from their childhood? I got stickers in stockings and birthday cards and then always just wanted to save them for a special time.  Well, turns out it’s a good thing I did, because that special time turned out to be 25 or 30 years later.  I have now amassed- what with childhood, my teaching career, and now with children (and my grandma sending me her hoard of stickers she’s accumulated in her 90 years)-quite a collection of stickers. Just in time for it to be very helpful in the education of my children.

My sticker collection

Preschool is a simple affair around here.  Lots of free play.  Plenty of time outside.  Nature walks. Good books. Puzzles. Free form arts & crafts.

We also do a little bit of alphabet learning.  Leapfrog videos on Netflix are a wonderful resource.  We read alphabet books sometimes (Doodling Dragons from Logic of English is one of our favorites). We create alphabet books. One project we started last year and finished this year was Alphabet Cards. It was a simple and easy project which was very important for the goal of ever finishing it.

It was Z-urchin’s project (and Shortstop will do it next year), so anytime that he asked, “Can we do the next letter?” I would respond, “Yes!” Then I would pull out an index card and a marker and write the next letter on the card. We’d pull out the big box of stickers and look through them to find stickers of things that started with the letter on the card. Simple and fun. That’s my kind of preschool project!

Alphabet Card Wall

 

 

 

Babies Don’t Keep

My fifth child is 2 months old now. How can that be?   She likes to cuddle and snuggle and rock. So that’s what we do.  As I look around my house- the floors covered with crumbs, dishes piled in the sink from the weekend- I think about a few poetic lines about dust, cobwebs, and rocking babies my mom had embroidered in a frame on the wall when I was growing up.

My mom actually told me recently that these lines were actually part of a longer poem called “Song for a Fifth Child.”  How appropriate!  I hunted down the poem and what do you know?  The whole poem was written for me!  A mother with her new fifth child- a baby girl.

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shoppings not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

 

So I’m not worrying about the fact that my dishes don’t get done every day or that the floor gets swept only when company’s arrival is imminent. Instead, I am enjoying my baby’s soft skin and sweet breath and squishy, cuddly body as I hold her close and rock her.

And I think, as I rock her in the dark stillness of night, of my mom’s words of wisdom that she bestowed upon me when my first was born, “Make friends with the night.”  I enjoy the peace and quiet that rarely reigns in my home and think that these moments are fleeting and this season will pass far too quickly.  So I am content.  To sit and rock my baby, for babies don’t keep.

 

How to Keep on Keeping On: Ideas for Motivating Struggling Students and Tired Teachers

The Day is nice. The sun is shining. Flowers are blooming. Summer is coming!  I am reminded of a poem by Richard Le Gallienne-

I meant to do my work today—
   But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
   And all the leaves were calling me. 

And the wind went sighing over the land,
   Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand—
   So what could I do but laugh and go?

Homeschooling is a marathon.  And while it is wonderfully flexible, able to bend and bow with life’s ebbs and flows and seasons, you also do have to actually do it.  Mostly every day.  Whether you (or your kids) feel like it or not.

I’ve been faced lately with many temptations to forget about school.  A couple of weeks ago, it was Easter and we had company.  The six weeks preceeding that, I was recovering from a C-section and caring for a newborn.  The few weeks before that I was dealing with preeclampsia and being nearly nine months pregnant.  And before that it was Christmas.  Now I have a 2 month old and with all the activity of the last few months, I am tired out.

With summer break just around the corner, it can be hard to be faithful to finish well.  It has been many months since the enthusiasm of beginning a new year has worn off.  With the end of the year in sight, it is a challenge to keep the motivation for doing school every day alive.

So, how do we keep on keeping on when faced with chaos and fatigue and students who’d rather have full days of free time all of the time?

First of all, I pray.  I beg the Lord for strength and the motivation to keep going.  The Lord says in Isaiah, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

After that it comes down to two principles:  change and choice.  Here are a few ways this plays out in my house:

1.  A Little Scheduling Autonomy– My (schooled) kids are in 2nd and 3rd grades, young enough that I need to be involved in much of their schooling.  Most of the time, I order the day’s lessons.  This ensures that we are following Charlotte Mason’s very wise principle of short and varied lessons. However, when I just don’t have it in me to drag the kids from their own pursuits to do their lessons, I will list the children’s tasks and lessons for the day on a card or white board and put them in charge of fulfilling their tasks.  Some tasks are independent and some require me (to read to them), so with the latter, they must confer together and decide when they want to ask me to read the lesson.  I have found that when given the power of choice, their attitude and willingness is much improved. And then I am not in charge of initiating school and I have found that to be a very nice break.
2. A Project- The other day for math, instead of doing workbook pages of review, I assigned X-man a project.  He was to look through the grocery store ads that came in the mail, cut out pictures of things he wanted to purchase and paste them on a piece of construction paper.  He had $100 and he needed to use it mostly up without going over.  I gave him a scrap paper to work out his sums, the ads, scissors, construction paper, and glue and he went at it enthusiastically.  He barely recognized that he was doing math.  In January, we did a flower dissection project.  The evening before, my husband had come home with flowers.  My kids asked what they were for and my response, “A project for tomorrow,” engendered much anticipation and cries to know what it was!  They were so excited. A project is a change of pace that fosters interest and therefore, motivation. So when I have the energy for it, it is a good thing for getting my kids excited.
   

   Math Project

   

   Flower Dissection & Pollen on the Nose

3. A Craft or Creative Endeavor– Today when I was listing the day’s tasks, X-man sighed in discouragement.  The last task I listed said, “Craft or Something Creative.” Instantly he perked up- you could see it bodily and in his face.  He was intrigued as much by the idea of a project as by the fact that he could choose what to do.  We discussed options- building a lego creation, inventing something outside, making a game or a book of mazes for his siblings.  He ended up being intrigued during our history reading about the introduction of new numbers to Europe during the Middle Ages that made math easier to do (these were the Arabic numerals we still use today) that he decided to create his own set of numbers.
   

   Math in a Bucket

4. A Change of Scenery- History reading on the trampoline, math on the back porch or in a bucket.  Reading while all snuggled up in bed.  A nature walk around the neighborhood.  A trip to the local park- maybe bring bikes or a ball and call it P.E., or just enjoy all enjoy the fresh air together.  A change of scenery- especially when it is outside- can be fun and refreshing and invigorating.
   

   Math Outside

5. A Change of Method- Similar to the idea of a project, using different methods than usual for your daily lessons can help add interest and motivation.  Using new manipulatives for math, an art print for history, a visual aid for science, or a movie, a puzzle or a board game in place of regular lessons can be very exciting for students.  Lately, we have been using new math manipulatives and we’ve been watching the Acts Visual Bible for our daily Bible lessons.  The kids have been really into Bible especially, begging to watch more every day.
   

   Pretty Math Manipulatives

   So change things up or give the kids some extra choices and see if that helps inject a little enthusiasm to keep on keeping on so you can finish out this school year strong. What other things do you do when your motivation is running low?

Delightful Chapter Books for Read Aloud Time

Read Aloud Time!

It is good to read aloud to your children.  It is good for their vocabulary and reading skills.  It is entertaining and it develops relationships and creates beautiful memories.  I have wonderful childhood memories of my mom reading us tales of adventure and excitement to us every night before bed.

I started reading to my children when they were babies.  I read all of those counting books and word books and started hating reading to my kids.  There were a few good board books- as opposed to ‘bored’ books (thank you, I’m here all week)- but so many made my eyes glaze and just put me right to sleep. I did get rid of a lot of the really boring books and kept the good ones (you can read about those here), but I also rejoiced when my kids got old enough for chapter books!  Books with interesting characters and actual plots!  I was so excited.

Listening to Five Children and It

So here is a list of chapter books I’ve read aloud to my children that we all loved:

1.  Five Children and It– This story is our current read-aloud.  I saved it for just after I had my fifth baby- I figured the kids would really identify with the children in the story and thus really get into it.  I was right.  It is about four siblings (and their baby brother) who find a Sand-Fairy and get wishes.  So far, their wishes haven’t turned out so good.  And their adventures are quite amusing.  X-man and Princess K wish that this was all we did for school and they never want me to stop reading, even though the chapters are quite long.  I highly recommend it!
2. Detectives in Togas–  This one (and its sequel, below) is one of the favorites of my oldest son.  He and Princess K both always objected when the chapter ended and I put down the book.  They couldn’t handle the suspense!  It is a great story- a mystery set in Roman times- with all kinds of surprising twists.
3. Mystery of the Roman Ransom– The sequel of Detectives in Togas and its equal in fun and twisty mystery.
4. Mr. Popper’s Penguins– A delightful and very funny tale about a man who dreams about the poles and gets penguins sent to him by post.  It is an outrageously ridiculous story and all of my children absolutely loved it.
5.  Trumpet of the Swan– My five year old’s favorite story was this one.  He even has a little stuffed swan he named Louis.  It is a story about the adventures of Louis, a trumpeter swan who learns to use a musical instrument to win the affection of his love, Serena.
   

   Z-urchin & his swan Louis

6. Ginger Pye– We like funny stories around here and this is another one.  The kids were drawn in by the story of Jerry and Rachel and their intellectual dog, Ginger, who gets dognapped and how they find him again.
7. Pinky Pye– The sequel to Ginger Pye sends the Pye family on an island vacation where a cat joins the family and learns to typewrite and discovers a secret in the attic.
8. Charlotte’s Web– This one was one of my daughter’s favorites.  The story of the pig who doesn’t want to end up as Christmas dinner and the spider who helps him is well-known.  We also watched the modern movie with Julia Roberts as the voice of Charlotte and we really enjoyed it.
9. Little House in the Big Woods (and others of this series)- Another well-known story about the life of the Ingalls, a pioneer family who lived in the midwest United States, as recounted by the second oldest daughter, Laura.  It is charming and sweet and has great detail about life in that era.
10. The Boxcar Children– This is a tale about the adventures of four children who end up living for awhile in a boxcar in the woods.  We only read aloud the first & second stories of the famous series, the subsquent books can be read by my children themselves for independent reading.
11. Happy Little Family (and the rest of the series)- The Fairchild Family Series is a charming series of four books about the Fairchild family who have five chidren- four girls and a boy.  They live in the mountains of Kentucky in the early 1900s.  The adventures revolve mainly around the youngest daughter, Bonnie, who goes ice skating, raises ducks, feeds lambs, visits far-off neighbors and goes to school in a one-room schoolhouse.
12. Betsy-Tacy– I read this book to my daughter last summer and she loved it.  This is her favorite book I have ever read aloud to her.  She enjoyed it so much that she recieved this and the three following books of the series for Christmas and has devoured them all- on her own.  It is the story of the friendship of imaginative Betsy and shy Tacy and the fun they have in their little town of Deep Valley (also in the late 1800s to early 1900s).

*The Chronicles of Narnia -the Focus on the Family Radio Theater version of these books is amazing (as is The Christmas Carol done by them). We listened to this series a couple of years ago and plan to revisit the series again when the kids who were too young to remember get a little older.  We really enjoyed their dramatization of this excellent, classic series.

Getting the Betsy-Tacy series for Christmas