Truth in the Tinsel

For the last 2 years I've been reading about a Christmas craft curriculum on one of my favourite homeschool blogs 1+1+1=1  called Truth in the Tinsel. Every day there is a clue, scripture, a ornament to make and something to talk about with your kids. 

Rocket Boy knows Christmas is Jesus's birthday but it is all about the presents and what he's going to get.  He spends all year thinking about what he's going to get and gives us suggestions with every toy catalog he reads.  

I want to steer Rocket Boy away from all the consumerism in this season and return to what we believe is the true meaning of Christmas (although I acknowledge that not everyone has the same beliefs as we do, and while we are raising our children within the Christian faith, and we focus on the birth of Jesus, we also teach our children that this is a time for Family.)

As Ladybug has been unwell we've only managed two days so far, but two is better than none.  I also plan to only use craft supplies I already have on hand, so some crafts may not work at all, or need to be changed a little to work with what we have. 

The following Christmas ornaments represent Light (made by Ladybug) and Kingdom. (made by Rocket Boy) and are now proudly hanging on our tree. 

Weekly Wrap up

Two weeks to catch up on in one post.  Hope you haven't missed me, although at times I do wonder if anyone reads this apart from two friends, *waves* Hi Lisa and Tania, if there is anyone else please say hi. 

The last week of November started off with a phone call from Grandma to let Hubby know his Aunt had decided to end her own life that morning, this was very upsetting news for Hubby and took him a couple of hours to process before deciding he wanted to drop everything and head for Auckland (about a 2 hour drive away) to be with his family.  After a few phone calls, we were packing the car and on our way.

We stay with friends who have many kids so our 3 fit right in.  While the reason for the trip was unwanted, it was great to spend the time with Hubby's family, and our Auckland friends. 

We ended up staying in Auckland from Monday until Friday, and in our rush to leave I didn't pack any of Rocket Boys work books, or Ladybugs packs.  So while no formal work was completed there was still plenty of life learning.

Playing with the Dads old Lego at Grandmas

On Sunday Ladybug came down with a fever and took several days to recover, She just wanted to cuddle with Mummy for most of the week and was to unwell to attend Kindy during the week. This made getting back into any routine was difficult and although I did manage to complete some book work with Rocket Boy.

Reading Eggs - Rocket Boy completed Map 10 and the test, while he got 2 answer incorrect he did unlock Map 11, which he'll start on next week

Handwriting without Tears - Rocket Boy completed a Poem, Letters X and Z, then without me even asking Rocket Boy started on an animal story.  Rocket Boy has almost finished his current work book and I have yet to purchase his next book.  I plan to wait until the new year before buying the book, so will find other ways for Rocket Boy to practice his handwriting, such as Christmas cards, and post cards, maybe even a penpal. 

Math U See - Rocket Boy learnt to skip count in 5's, and about tally marks, both of these concepts were completely new to Rocket Boy and while he's grasped skip counting, I don't think he completely understands tally marks, I have plans to go over this again with a packet of lollies which I'm sure will help him learn. 

Next week is Swim Safe, the last session for the year, while I do want to push to cover the work we've missed these last few weeks there is really no pressure to.  As we don't have anyone we have to answer to and no deadlines we have to meet, as long as Rocket Boy is progressing it doesn't matter how fast or slow we go. (I just have to keep reminding myself of this)

Weekly Wrap up

It's good to look back at the end of the week to see what you've managed to accomplished, especially if you feel like you haven't really managed to do anything.

Ladybug as been unwell all week, turned out she had picked up a parasite, so while she wasn't grumpy or feeling bad she was still stuck at home all week.  Usually having Ladybug around all the time means little to no book work is completed, this may have been true in the first couple of days, he ended up surprising me and completed days of work in just two days. 

Monday we still attended Rocket Boys swimming lessons, I didn't know what was wrong with Ladybug at this point, while I kept her out of Montessori, as she only had one symptom I thought she would be ok as the private pool where there are only 2 other children who will be swimming with Rocket Boy.

Rocket Boys swimming is improving so much this summer, after months and months of lessons and no improvement showing it seems to have finally kicked in.

Ladybug helped me make buttery flaky delicious scones, which were served up with homemade strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream.

Tuesday was a mix, as we had managed a trip to the doctors I knew we were stuck at home until Ladybugs stomach had settled.  Rocket Boy completed his book work in the morning, we coloured in a pirate, melted white chocolate and made strawberry and marshmallow Santa.  I also introduced Rocket Boy and Ladybug to some movement videos on youtube, Rocket Boy and Ladybug were so into them we ended up doing them every day. 

   

Wednesday is a blur, I know that Rocket Boy completed his book work but that's about it.  It must have been one of those days where you just get what needs to be done and move onto the next thing.

Thursday was fun, Rocket Boy really wanted time on video games so I gave him half an hour after completing all his book work, once that was up he wanted more time so I gave him the option of completing more book work in exchange for more time on his game. He learning another 2 hours all up.

After a quick trip to the supermarket for some missing ingredients Ladybug helped me pull together a meal of chicken and vegetable tortellini and a dessert of chocolate fondue.

 

Friday was a repeat of Thursday, Rocket Boy completing more and more book work to earn more video game time, although I made it clear that this was only for today and he can't expect extra video game time next week.  Ladybug, Jellybean and I hung out in the backyard with the bunnies while hiding from the sun.

Reading Eggs - I got tired of Rocket Boy not fully understanding what he was doing, most of the games within the lessons are multi choice so he ban just keep clicking answers until he gets it right without even knowing what he's doing.  As our subscription is managed through the a National homeschooling group I emailed the coordinator to reset his account back to the placement test.

The placement test is 60 questions long, a child can get 3 answers wrong before the test ends.  Rocket Boy surprised me and got up to question 50 before the test ended, and was placed at the beginning of map 10, only 2 maps behind were he was.  Rocket Boy has completed 5 of the lessons of Map 10.

Handwriting without Tears - Rocket Boy was very busy with his handwriting this week, and completed letter p, r, n, m, h, a poem, and paragraph, b, f and q, that's the amount of work I would expect over 9 days.

Math U See - This week Rocket Boy covered skip counting by 10, Additions of Hundreds, and solving for an unknown. 

Next week is swim safe, so I'm unsure of how much I can push Rocket Boy to complete any book work during the week, I will let Rocket Boy lead the way, maybe if i dangle video game time in front of him to see what he chooses to do. 

Home educating with preschoolers

The hardest part of home educating for me is juggling the needs of all three of my kids, every one is very different, all at different ages and stages and all require my time and attention. 

Rocket Boy is only starting to be able to do some independent work but prefers to have me with him most of the time - except when he's rushing his work and doesn't want me to see him doing things incorrectly.  He's also easily distracted, this means Ladybug can not be at the table working at the same time as him if he's actually going to retain anything. 

Ladybug must be included in everything, she can not be left out.  If Rocket Boy is doing 'school work' she must have her own.  She likes to be kept busy, but you can not tell her how an activity must be done, she will do it her way.

Jellybean is... well a baby, she needs constant care, and all her needs have to be met by someone else.  She can not do anything for herself - as expected. 

So how do I manage my day and still meet the needs of all of my kids.  I'll start with the youngest and work my way up.  

Jellybean spends a good amount of the day in a baby carrier sleeping, or in my arms.  She's with me almost every hour of the day.  I feed on demand and as she's gotten bigger I've been able to put her in the bouncer for some of the day while I do things like hang out the washing - with her watching.  She also tries to roll around on the floor.  I try to get her to sleep on the bed at least once a day, but if it's a busy day then I know she'll sleep in the carrier, when I can't guarantee she'll get much sleep anywhere else.   As she gets older I'll work around her nap times, she's moving to around 3 a day, her large sleep in the morning, so this is when I spend most of my time with Rocket Boy. 

Ladybug currently goes to Montessori 5 mornings a week, this is when I get to have one on one time with Rocket Boy.  Although there are days she doesn't go for many reasons such as sickness, or just needing a day off, below are the ideal ways to keep Ladybug occupied and happy. I say ideal as most require forward planing, and energy on my behalf and I don't always spend that time of energy and end up playing catch up or just wing it as I go. 

• Do 'school' with Ladybug, using Letter of the Week, or her Handwriting without Tears workbook.  Any themed preschool packs, or work sheets.  Even just paper and pens for her to write or draw with.
• Spend time with her first, Ladybug will most likely let me have the time to work one on one with Rocket Boy if she gets her one on one first.
• Include her in any activity I have planned for Rocket Boy.  Several of the activities or resources I use with Rocket Boy can also be extended to Ladybug such as little passports or any science experiments.
• Play dough, cloud dough, baking, washing dishes, painting, anything tactile Ladybug LOVES.
• Toys, I try to rotate the toys in the lounge so there is always something new that can hold Ladybugs attention, the down side of this is it usually holds Rocket Boys attention as well when i'm trying to work with him on other things.
• Last but not least... the TV, there are days where the only thing that works is putting the TV on with Ladybug in front of it.

Rocket Boy is pretty lucky, I work hard to ensure I get one on one time with him every day to help him complete his reading, writing and math.  If I don't get this time then he gets to play instead, so it's a win-win for him.  I do need to find time with him that's not focused on school work only which we do with monthly Mummy/Son dates.

Do you home educate with preschoolers?  How do you ensure you meet the needs of all of your children each day?

Why Montessori

It's a big decision choosing to put your preschooler into childcare when you plan to home school.  There are many Pros and Cons and you have to decide on what works best for you and your family.

When I was pregnant with Ladybug I decided to put Rocket Boy in the local Kindergarten where my friends also had their children.  The Pros for me was, time to myself to rest while pregnant, Rocket Boy got time with this friends, it was in walking distance which was important as I didn't drive back then, and it was what everyone I knew did, after all when your child turns 3 they start kindy - at least in my circles they do.
Unfortunately the Cons started appearing thick and fast after Rocket Boy started, the staff didn't understand of seem to accept my decision to home school Rocket Boy, and put a lot of emphasis on going to school when you turned 5, and when I decided to pull Rocket Boy out at the beginning of the term break, rather than the 2 weeks after the 2 week holiday when he turned 5, the staff refused to allow Rocket Boy a birthday celebration.

After our experience at this Kindy I put a lot of thought into if Ladybug even needed to go to a kindy, and if I did where would she go?
I was pregnant with Jellybean and needed time out during the day just to rest, also time to have one on one with Rocket Boy to attempt some kind of school work, although I wasn't pushing this until Rocket Boy turned 6 (which happened after Jellybean was born)

I knew I wanted to try a center for Ladybug but it had to be a philosophy that worked well with continuing into home schooling, to me this meant Montessori or Steiner.

From Wikipedia

Waldorf (Steiner) education is a humanistic approach to pedagogy based on the educational philosophy of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. The first Waldorf school was founded in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany.
Waldorf pedagogy distinguishes three broad stages in child development, each lasting approximately seven years. The early years education focuses on providing practical, hands-on activities and environments that encourage creative play. In the elementary school, the emphasis is on developing pupils' artistic expression and social capacities, fostering both creative and analytical modes of understanding. Secondary education focuses on developing critical understanding and fostering idealism. Throughout, the approach stresses the role of the imagination in learning and places a strong value on integrating academic, practical and artistic pursuits.
The Waldorf approach has achieved general acceptance as a model of alternative education.


Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development. These elements are essential in a Montessori classroom.

• Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common
• Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours
• A constructive or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
• Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators
• Freedom of movement within the classroom
• A trained Montessori teacher

To be honest at the end of the day the decision between Steiner and Montessori came down to location, Montessori was closer, Ladybug started at the beginning of 2013 and there's been no going back.  She has moved from her first center to a closer center and her confidence has increased in many ways.  Simple things like using a glass to drink out of rather than a plastic cup and doing up buttons which why may seem so little they are huge development milestones.

I'm very happy with the results of the decision to try Montessori for Ladybugs early childhood education and I'm now looking at ways to continue her education at home following the Montessori approach.

Weekly Wrap Up

Not every week goes to plan, and this week was one of them.  It started off well, Monday Ladybug spent the morning at Montessori, Rocket Boy completed all his book work at home, then off to swimming and the afternoon of playing with Lego. 

Tuesday was busy, with Montessori, appointments in town, a home school social group meet up at a park, and then Legofest in the afternoon.  This is pretty much were things went off the rails,

Wednesday was a slow day, with some pushing Rocket Boy completed some book work but not everything that I would normally expect of him, typically distracted by Lego.  Ladybug also had a friend visit in the afternoon, I made some shaving foam paint - shaving foam and food colouring, and Ladybug and her friend painted the fence.  When visiting the bathroom later I found petals which Ladybug had been pulling off a rose floating in the sink.  Jellybean also had some tummy time outside while I made the most of the sunny weather, hanging out ashing. 

On Thursday it didn't matter how much I pushed, Rocket Boy just wasn't interested in following any instructions and if he's not in the mood then there is no learning happening, even if we did complete any book work it wouldn't be retained and we would just have to recover it again later. 

The afternoon was spent at sports group, we arrived half an hour early as we came straight from Montessori so had a picnic beside the courts. Ladybug made a scone at Montessori and wasn't interested in eating it so I was lucky enough to have it, and it was delicious.
Last time Rocket Boy was attending sports group he didn't want to be there and I was having to bribe him every week just to get him to stay on the courts.  This term he's in there and playing with the rest of the group, sometimes he's mucking around but he's no longer trying to get me to leave, or even not go each week.

Friday there was no books to be seen, Ladybug had the day off from Montessori as our car was at the garage and the center is in the country so there was no walking there.  While it's only spring here in New Zealand, the summer weather has appeared this week, every day has been beautiful and sunny.  We've had meals outside in the evenings and played outside as a family each night before bed.  Even Jellybean joined in with the fun and bounced on the trampoline with Daddy and Ladybug.

Reading Eggs - Rocket Boy is slowly working away on the final map.  He has rushed through many of the previous lessons so there are some parts he doesn't fully comprehend and tries to hide from me by turning the sound off on the computer so I don't hear the sounds it makes when he clicks on a wrong answer.  I'm trying to make time to sit with him when he completes these lessons, but it's difficult balancing time with Rocket Boy and still meeting Jellybeans needs.

Handwriting without Tears - This week Rocket Boy completed letter y, j and some copy work with double lines triple lines and single lines. Rocket Boy is now officially halfway through the book.

Math U See - Only completed one lesson this week, additions of 10's 

Next week hopefully we'll be more onto it, but with this beautiful sunny weather we might be out and about taking advantage of the sun before it gets far too hot!

I Love Baby Wearing

When we first became parents over 6 years ago we bought a buggy as that's what everyone used and was listed on all those long layette lists.  It was supposed to be one of the most important items on that list, right up there with the cot.  Even though we went out almost daily for walks it just didn't feel right having my baby so far away from me, So I bought a cheap front pack from the local baby shop and carried Rocket Boy around like this.

I used to spend a lot of my time on forums and learnt about a baby carrier called an Ergo, this was supposed to be better supportive for both me and the baby, disrupting the weight of Rocket Boy over my hips rather than on my shoulders.  I decided I wanted this carrier and sold our buggy to raise funds for this (my parents ended up buying the buggy as they didn't agree that a carrier could replace it, but that's a whole other story)

Rocket Boy was almost 6 months old when I got the Ergo and wasn't a small baby, I carried him everywhere and loved it.  I always had him in reach, he slept so well in the carrier and it helped his reflux being upright all day as well.

As soon as he was to big to carry on my front he moved to my back (which is so much easier) Rocket Boy lived in the Ergo, even when he could walk he would prefer to be carried.

When Ladybug was born I knew so much more about baby wearing and knew I wanted to completely skip the buggy entirely.  I got some cheap stretchy material from spotlight and made a stretchy carrier.  While this was great for my budget, if you're going to do this make sure you don't get material with too much of a stretch which I did.  While the carrier is still safe to use, it can sag during use.

When Ladybug got bigger I sold the Ergo and picked up a Keonislings New Zealand made Mei Tai which Ladybug then lived in, carried around on my back every where.  

Now with baby number 3 I know even more and I'm totally addicted. Jellybean started out in the same stretchy as Ladybug, but then I got more adventurous and tried a woven ring sling at the local baby wearing group, then borrowed it for the month between meetings.  During this month Jellybean would have all her day sleeps in the sling, allowing me time with her older two siblings but still able to carry her all day.

After a month I knew I wanted one of my own so I checked out Keonislings and fell in love with two different slings.  As I couldn't choose I had to have both.  As I couldn't afford them then and there I made a payment arrangement and managed to borrow another sling from the baby wearing group to see me thru another month.

Now I own two carriers you can find Jellybean in one of them several times a day, usually during nap time, or when we're out.  As you can see they all come with a thick layer of sleepy dust.

 

Still feeling adventurous I knew I wanted to try wrapping in a woven. I had borrowed one from a friend, and another from the owner of Keonislings and ordered a wrap thru Keonislings from Girasol.  So far I've tried two different ways to wrap Jellybean and I'm totally loving it.  I see more carriers in my future as and when I can afford them.