| Waldorf Grades Essentials |
| You need these books for any work with Waldorf education from Grade One and up: |
| Waldorf Homeschooling Resources |
|
| My Friends' Businesses |
| Please consider making purchases from these work-at-home Mamas! |
| My New Favorite Blog |
Baking for Britain
Must. Bake. Scones. |
| Sites/Blogs I Read |
|
|
|
| 4.21.2008 |
| Eclipse |
The girls have invented a new game called Eclipse. They would like, someday, for this to be a "real" board game. Sounds like a good project.
For now, though, I think they need to refine the rules a bit. You need at least three players--one person plays the "board", whose mission it is to turn all of the moons (the blue pieces) into stars, thereby eclipsing the sun and winning. At least I think that's how you win. The other two players are defenders, either using their white star pieces to reinforce the sun, or using their blue moon pieces to cover the board's star pieces. And then the board has two red pieces called shooting stars. These can be covered, but if the board is cunning enough, s/he can use the shooting stars to cover the sun and win the game.
And that, ladies and germs, is why homeschooling is just amazing. Here I am, at 10 a.m. on a Monday morning, playing a made-up game with my kids. They have used their imaginations to repurpose stuff around the house (in this case, some old poker chips) to create something new. They have made up their own rules, shown critical thinking and reasoning skills, and the social ability to play within the rules, even arguing about them during the game as they get deeper into it.
So, yes, we've worked on our reading this morning and are planning to take a nature walk this afternoon to look for birds as we continue learning more about California's natural landscape. But this to me is just as important as the learning that takes place during school time, if not more so. Facts can be remembered any old time. This kind of imaginative interaction is what, I think, makes homeschooling stand heads and shoulders above and kind of institutionalized school setting--even, gasp, Waldorf schools.
We are Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers, and it's the flexibility and the imagination to create our own rhythm within our family that allows the girls to have their free periods of creativity. Even in a Waldorf school, where creativity, arts, music--all of this is fostered--it's not the same as just sitting and being and dreaming. Within any school institution, kids just aren't given that freedom. For crowd control purposes alone, you can't have a class of 30 kids with hours worth of free time. Even if the kids did well with it, I don't think the (paying) parents would stand for it!
Our homeschooling adventure continues, following my rhythm and routine, but being sure to leave lots of free time for fallow minds.
In...
 waldorf homeschooling
 homeschooling |
posted by FaerieRebecca @ 10:06 AM   |
|
|
|
| 4.14.2008 |
| We're walkin' |
 Oh yeah, gas prices are high in California. The upside is that the girls and I are able to explore our neighborhood on foot. Within an easy walking distance we have a really nice park, a sports complex (where we've joined a Friday homeschoolers' tennis class), the hugest Whole Foods ever, Target, the bank, Starbucks--I think you get the picture. There really is no reason for us to drive anywhere within our immediate area. So we've made what I am officially calling the One Mile Rule: If our destination is within one mile of the house, we walk.
Today, that meant we walked to the bank (well, I walked, the girls rode their scooters), then hit the Target on the way back for a new toaster and for toilet brushes (I know, our life is so glamourous!). I need to get one of those old lady carts for pushing my groceries back. Dave doesn't want me to look like a bag lady; I don't want to lug bags full of groceries from Whole Foods. We will find a compromise. Maybe a high-end old lady cart ?
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 8:33 PM |
|
|
|
| 4.08.2008 |
| Settling in |
Enjoy the new house! We are surrounded by boxes, though we did actually get school in for the first time in a week yesterday. And today, Daisy is sick :( So, no school today. Just lots more unpacking!
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 10:48 AM |
|
|
|
| 3.21.2008 |
| Homeschooling snapshots |
 Ah, more Mole Sisters. Daisy and I just love them. She wowed Mr. Faerie by reading it to him all by herself tonight.  And poor Mara, trapped in division hell. Nothing brings it home harder that her multiplication tables are very loose than working through long division. Time to finally make Robinsunne's amazing multiplication clock! BTW, Mara decorated her hat with glow in the dark fabric paint. Click the picture to go to the Flickr page to see the notes to read what it actually says!
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschoolingLabels: homeschooling, math, reading |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 10:59 PM |
|
|
|
| 3.20.2008 |
| Green Hour: Lesson #1 |
Today was our first Green Hour lesson. It was a gorgeous day here in Northern California, so we had no trouble at all getting outside and taking a nature walk. Well, maybe one trouble: we're currently living in an apartment complex. it's a nice apartment complex--don't get me wrong--but it's not exactly rural.
Lucky for us, though, there's an island between two cross streets (they're more like kitty-corner to each other, making a large triangular green space) right across from the complex. We sauntered over this afternoon and were quickly engulfed in an oasis of pine trees. There were tons of pine needles underneath our feet, pine cones galore, and some very neat patches of grass growing in the places where the sun was able to sneak through the branches. The girls quickly found a couple "object of interest" to write about and sketch. All in all, we spent about 20 minutes walking and sketching outdoors.
We came bak, and Mara got to work with the actual lesson--more identifying and sketching, as well as determining what she was going to research further before our next lesson (she wants to know what kind of pine tree her pine bark came from, as well as what kind of tree shed her odd little pods). Daisy was happy to glue her observation sheet into her Nature Study book and call it a day!
 
In...
Waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling
 Green HourLabels: green hour |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 8:12 PM |
|
|
|
| 3.19.2008 |
| Can you spell R-E-A-L E-S-T-A-T-E? |
 Oh, school is really getting caught up in our home hunt. Dave and I have decided that renting for the first year or so is probably the right route to take. Our VA home hasn't sold (not that I expected it to in a mere three weeks--but a gal can hope!), and CA real estate prices are so over-inflated, we can't afford to buy without that house selling first. It just seems prudent to rent now, get our bearings under us, and then buy in a year or so.
the girls and I have been doing school stuff, but it's been the bare minimum. On our routine, we have been taking Mr. F. to work, then coming home and doing a math exercise. Daisy and I are happily reading Little House in the Highlands while Mara has free reading time. Then the girls get a break and play for a bit. It's getting back on the horse after "break" for main lesson that has been falling off a bit. I want to finish Gilgamesh with Mara, and as there are only two chapters left in the book, I'm going to go ahead and interrupt geometry with finishing up this main lesson (which started waaaay back in January and is long past due for finishing up).
Daisy and I have checked the last three Mole Sisters book from the library and are enjoying working our way through them. She's also enjoying hearing any book Mara is willing to read to her, most especially Martha Speaks or any of the books about Martha the talking dog (amazing what alphabet soup can do!).
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 6:03 PM |
|
|
|
| 3.14.2008 |
| The Green Hour |
I was just over at Poppy & Mei Days and saw her post linking to the Green Hour Challenge.
One of the big aspects of Waldorf education is a close contact with nature. Science is taught through nature stories which then progress to natural science as the child gets older. The first typical science block is the one that Daisy and I are doing now--just called Nature Stories. We're using it as a way to move into writing, then reading, but she's getting all sorts of natural science out of it. Mara, of course, is in her second "formal" science block (the first being Human Beings and Animals in fourth grade)--fifth grade botany.
One of our constant companions in this journey is the absolutely wonderful Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock. I bought it years ago (according to Amazon, I bought it in December of 2002, which is the first month we began homeschooling!), and I still find it relevant to our studies to day. In fact, we pulled it out in the fall when we were doing our first botany block and did some of the tree lessons out of it.
The Green Hour Challenge takes this wonderful book and gives weekly activities and assignments. Many thanks to Barb at The Heart of Harmony for performing this wonderful service for the rest of the homeschooling universe. I think sometimes people are intimidated by nature study--what if I can't draw? don't know the Latin names? don't like nature? Barb has taken a huge step forward to make nature study accessible to the average homeschooler. Don't be fooled by her "Green Hour" title--she's made most of the lessons a very doable 10-15 minutes long. All you need to participate is a copy of Handbook of Nature Study, a blank piece of paper (or a camera or modeling clay--really, how you actually make your projects is up to you, IMO, as long as you get outside!), and 10-15 minutes to walk around each week.
So, get out there! Don't worry that they're on Week #5. You can either catch up (which I'm planning on doing), or just jump in. The point is to get outside and enjoy the wonderful world in which we live but rarely stop and really observe and marvel at.
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 11:56 AM |
|
|
|
| 3.13.2008 |
| Daisy's new favorite books |
 Daisy and I have discovered a new series of books at our local library. We have checked out many (many, many...) books trying to find that right mix of interesting story, easy-to-read words, yet not straying over into pablum (or, in the words of Miss Mason, "twaddle"). We have found a few books that fit this category (and most of our "finds" are already part of a standard Waldorf curriculum...), but I've never seen this series mentioned before.
Yep--the Mole Sisters. I had never heard of these charming little gals, but when I stumbled across them in the library, I knew they were for us! First of all, one of Mr. Faerie's nicknames is "mole" (please do not ask--it's all about burrowing under the comforter). Secondly, the text is simple and sweet while being challenging at the same time (words such as "question" and "surprising" next to words like "then" and "mole"). And thirdly, they're just the right size to fit into Daisy's hands. Oh, and she actually likes reading them--always a bonus!
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 10:52 PM |
|
|
|
| 3.12.2008 |
| "Typical Homeschooling Mom" meme |
Several ladies on the CaliforniaHS list have been talking about homeschooler stereotypes. What a great meme, I thought. So I'm putting it up here on the blog, and I'm tagging...., um, I'll figured it out by the end!
There's a bit of a long-standing stereotype that homeschool Moms :
drive mini-vans
Never no never! I wouldn't part with my hybrid Ford Escape ;-)
wear denim jumpers
I have never owned a denim jumper. I did wear denim overalls when I was pregnant with Mara. Don't ask--it was bad. My homeschooling mama uniform? Jeans and a t-shirt. Capris and a tee in the spring/summer.
Turtlenecks
Not with this double-chin!
Sneakers
If by sneakers you mean little Coach ballerina flats, flip-flops, or sandals with a cute little kitten heel, then I'm afraid you've got me. Oh, do the sneakers match my Kate Spade bag?? Then maybe I'll wear them...
and have long hair
It's growing out, but I'll probably get frustrated and cut it before it qualifies as "long" again.
often in braids or ponytails
Drat--you got me. I am currently wearing pigtails. I think they're cute.
I've also heard that we are all vegetarians
Hmmmm, I eat meat most days. Some days I don't eat meat. Other days my daughters are vegetarians. I dunno. Nothing wrong with vegetarianism, but I don't fit here.
strict fundamentalist Christians
How about goddess-loving pagan?
Hippies
If by hippie you mean "against the establishment," I suppose I qualify. But you rarely see a hippie with my matching bag and shoe thing.
wear dresses to our ankles
Dresses make me look fat. 'nuff said.
never watch TV
Oh man, I'm embarrassed about how much TV I personally watch. The kids definitely watch much less than I do--but that's not hard.
don't allow our kids out of the house during school hours
Then how on earth did I get all of that "car schooling" done in Virginia?
keep our drapes closed during the day
I think this is supposed to go with the "lock them in the basement/closet" school of "typical homeschooler." My drapes are only closed against the glare on the computer monitor!
OK, I'm tagging Merriconeag (even though she has a new baby...), Dawn, Stephanie, Melissa, and Mrs. Darling.
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 12:26 PM |
|
|
|
|
| Natural geometry |
 The lovely iris!
Yesterday we had main lesson outside. I refuse to hide in the house (I have heard a lot of California home educators talking about staying indoors between 9 and 2--bollocks). In fact, I'm enjoying explaining to neighbors and groundskeepers that yes, we're homeschooling, and yes, this is a geometry/botany lesson they're observing. Now stop asking me questions and let me get back to teaching, please ;-)
So, our outdoors main lesson was an extension of our geometry block. We had started geometry with our homeschooling group back in Virginia, but we didn't get to finish the block with our friends. We're using two books for the basis of our geometry block:I have had the Schuberth book for two years now. I have flipped through it. I have attempted to use it. It wasn't until I got the Diggins book this year, on the recommendation of a friend and fellow home educator, that I really got teaching geometry at the 4th and 5th grade level. I can honestly say we wouldn't be doing what I knew I really wanted geometry to be for Mara without using these two books in tandem.
 Yesterday's lesson was a nature walk combined with sketching and finding shapes in nature. According to Diggins:Everywhere in nature are shapes we call "simple geometric forms." These shapes seem endless. The simple divisions of the circle, by 3, 4, 5, and 6, are infinite in their variety and beauty in nature's constructions. We were able to find many examples of this, from the triangle hidden in the iris (it really is a triangle--Mara's drawing makes it look more hexagonal, but the inner petals are actually much smaller in nature) and in ivy leaves, to the squares in pansy blossoms, to the true hexagon in a lily's blossom. Today we will expand on this lesson, making interesting discoveries about triangles. At least that's the plan!
Daisy got to expand on her nature study book, drawing several plants and flowers that she saw on her nature walk. We turned it into a writing lesson, too, but writing the names of the plants and flowers she saw using blue for the consonants and red for vowels. We also had a bit of a review as to why vowels are important (you try saying "dandelion" without those magnificent heart sounds we call vowels!). We're also working on math together, as well as reading. Daisy's catching up on what we missed over the last few months, that's for sure!
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 11:22 AM |
|
|
|
| 3.10.2008 |
| Rediscovering rhythm |
Ah, rhythm. My old friend, my constant nemesis. I have a love/hate/love relationship with rhythm. When we're just floating along, I think of rhythm as so restrictive. I watch my children run off, explore their interests, learn without "doing school," and just be. I also watch them argue, scuffle, hear lots of, "I'm booooooored...," and feel like I have to work harder to entertain them--not my job!
Rhythm came to my rescue this morning--well, more like my rediscovery of rhythm. Being in a new place and having a fresh start means that I have a chance to implement a new homeschooling rhythm with minimal fuss. Here's my idea; we'll see how far it goes.Morning Rhythm
- Get up with Mr. Faerie (now that he has a job, he's up early). Most days we'll take Daddy to work, meaning we have to be up, showered, dressed, breakfasted, and ready to go by about 9 a.m.
- Back home, we'll do a math exercise--work in a workbook, some beanbag math games, mental math, etc.
- Free reading time for Mara while Daisy hears a chapter in our new read-aloud, Little House in the Highlands. This is one of my favorite books--I remember reading it with Mara. The whole Martha series is just wonderful, and I'm so mad that the publisher has hacked this series to bits! Thankfully, we have the original paperback series with the lovely illustrations and every one of Melissa Wiley's words.
- Break
- Main lesson work with Mara
- Main lesson work with Daisy
- Fin
Afternoons will be reserved for handwork, recorder practice, parkdays, etc.
I started this rhythm this morning, and am already seeing happier girls. Why can I never remember the wisdom of rhythm? Some days it seems easier to let rhythm slide, but man, are we happier when we find our rhythm and stick with it!
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 11:04 AM |
|
|
|
| 3.07.2008 |
| Homeschooling in CA |
Well, it would appear that I picked an interesting time to begin homeschooling in California. Seems there's a court case out here that's getting a lot of attention. I am not too sure of the details, but I know that several of the mamas I met at the park on Wednesday seemed pretty confident that this is not going to be a big deal.
This link was passed on to me this morning via the ParkHoppers email list. Reassuring, no?
In my completely uninformed mopinion, the California school system is unprepared for this ruling, and, in the end, nothing much will change. What it really drives home to me is how fortunate we were in VA to actually have homeschooling written into law instead of being something that's interpreted out of existing schooling law. They don't actually have homeschooling laws in CA.
Today, we did some reading, did some math, got the turtles settled in their new tank (thanks to Barb for shipping them across the country to us!!), and then had lunch and swimming with a new friend. All in all, a good day.
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschoolingLabels: california, homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 4:12 PM |
|
|
|
| 3.06.2008 |
| We've made it! |
 And the boxes containing the computer, monitor, printer, and all of the homeschooling books have finally come off the UPS truck, too. Hooray! Well, I don't know if you'd call four out of nine boxes looking like they were run over by said UPS truck "making it". I mean, what could they possibly have wanted so badly inside the box marked "school books"?
Wait--you didn't know we were moving? What an absolute slacker I have been on this blog. Sigh. I shall have to back up.
Five years ago, the Faerie Family picked up and moved from Orange County, CA to Northern Virginia (aka the D.C. 'burbs). The Man wanted Mr. Faerie in Virginia, so off we went. We had a great time living in Virginia--loved it. You can read about most of our journey in the archives of this blog, as we started homeschooling pretty soon after we moved to Virginia, and that's what this blog documents.
 About 18 months ago, Mr. F. got sick of working for The Man and became his own Man. Well, and played a lot of eGolf. Things were going on well--we got some play on lots of homeschooling blogs and had our little widget adopted by about 200 people. Nice, but not enough for things like health insurance. With COBRA rapidly approaching its expiration date (please oh please vote this year and make fixing our Byzantine health care system one of your issues--please), it looked like it was time to get reacquainted with the Man again.
 We had lots of interviews and finally made the right choice for us--Mr. Faerie is now a noogler, and we have left Virginia behind for the sunny skies and fine weather of Santa Clara County in Northern California. So really, we have come full circle--well, maybe 345 degrees, as we're up north instead of back in Orange County.
The kids and I are settling in--the biggest change, really, is that Daddy goes to work every morning. We kinda got used to having him around. And who is going to do the music theory and computer programming classes now?? We found a couple of park days groups here in our county, which is about what we're up for right now. I'm sure we'll get more active once we find a real house (we're in temporary housing for now until our VA house sells [please pass the link around and help us sell our house!!]). Girl Scouts, dance classes, and co-ops can wait, though--we are just enjoying being here right now.
So, yah, we moved...
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 2:01 PM |
|
|
|
| 2.15.2008 |
| Must post more |
At least until I get the picture of Dad off of the page. Man, his 58th birthday is on Tuesday. This has been really hard. I miss my daddy. I would like to call him and talk to hi about all of the changes going on in our lives right now--the move to the Bay Area first and foremost. How disappointed I am that we're not off to London. I can just hear him telling me, "Don't worry, daught. You'll get to live overseas again. And you'll be happy in San Francisco." He's right, and I'd give anything to hear it from his lips, not my imagination.
 So, school. The girls have set up their own Etsy shop to sell their creations. I'm looking at this in several ways:- They're totally imitating their mom, who spends many of her waking hours on her own Etsy shop.
- They'll be getting a crash course in microeconomics and entrepreneurism.
- It's just fun to sell things. I remember being Mara's age and trying to hire myself out as a "rent-a-kid". Babysitting, dog walking, yard work--al for 25ยข an hour. Don't you miss the late 70's when that was actually a bit of money? Of course, I collected cans from the side of the road for recycling, so take it for what it's worth.
All that aside, I am proud of the girls for wanting to try something new, for putting themselves in the form of their art out there for public consumption, and for just giving this a shot. I don't know if anyone will buy their things--I mean, they're endearing because they're made by kids, but not really that useful or anything. But the larger lessons for them will be worth any disappointment in not selling their stuff. And honestly, they usually do better at craft shows than I do. Maybe I'm the one barking up the wrong metaphorical tree.
P.S.: Mara's assignment for the weekend is to write me a paper on how to create a banner for an Etsy shop ;-)
In...
waldorf homeschooling
homeschooling |
| posted by FaerieRebecca @ 9:46 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
