Could it be a Storybook Year?

Late last summer, as I was gathering my thoughts on curriculum and trying to plan the year, I hit a wall. Actually, I was probably already flat up against the wall, but the time of year compelled me to do what I'd always done, so I pressed on. But I didn't want to plan. And I wasn't enthused about all the things that had previously sparked so much creative energy. It wasn't exactly burnout. It was more like beaten out. I hadn't wanted to share learning ideas for over a year, but by last summer, I didn't even want to write them for myself. It just wasn't fun anymore.

I thought about just sending off for several boxes of pre-planned curriculum. And then I consulted the budget. I looked around my house at all the resources we own. I didn't order anything. Nothing. That became the plan. Use what we have and just get the job done. 

We have an abundance of picture  books. I love picture books. When I was in college, I'd forego the coffee shop in the Student Union Building and head instead to the tiny corner of the adjacent bookstore that was home to the children's books. I saved my latte pennies for a hardbound copy of The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit. Way better. I loved the small room in the Ed School library that was lined with shelves of children's literature. When we were assigned a semester-long project to compile an index card file of children's books, I filled three boxes. Every card was color-coded and annotated and illustrated. I still have those cards. I loved that project.

For over twenty years, I have been inspired by the art and the literature of picture books. I've thrown my whole heart into creating with books, whether it was bulletin boards in a classroom or fullblown unit studies for many ages. Literature-based learning was where I invested most of my creative energy. Some people love their cameras, some their paints, others their yarn or fabric. For me, it was always those beautiful books and the endless possiblities of things we could do with them.

I recalled a conversation with an old friend. Several years ago, we wondered if everything in an elementary curriculum could probably be taught with a good picture book. This year became my year to test the theory. Sort of.

We read widely from the lists in Real Learning (and more), both as read-alouds and read alones. Sustaining attention for long stories is a cornerstone of how we learn in our home.

The Montessori maps come out for geography review a couple times a week. 

For my fifth-grader, I have a good math text, Rosetta Stone, some art history, nature notebooks, and, at his request, Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. All the rest? Picture books.

For my third grader, math, Rosetta Stone, nature notebooks, drawing instruction, and picture books. 

For my little ones, lots of mama time. And picture books.

I take the week's copywork from the picture books. I take the poem to memorize that week from a picture book. Every night, each of the three youngest girls chooses two picture books for me to read before going to sleep.

What unfolded is not a curriculum. It's a "freedom within limits" plan that works for us. I share it here to tell you what we've been up to, not so much as to suggest you adopt it. It's entirely real learning in the heart of our home. I thought about all the categories of books, all the subjects typical programs of studies will cover. Also, I was sure to leave some grids for me to add in books I love and just don't want them to miss.  I gridded all the different categories in a weekly planning sheet. The sheet has changed several times this year as I add and delete as necessary. I've thoughtfully included the things that are important us, the components of a Charlotte Mason curriculum that I hold dear. 

We read the books together or the children read them to themselves. Sometimes, they have books in common on their charts. Sometimes, they have their own particular books. I sit down the weekend before and plan out the week. I key the saints' picture books to the liturgical year. Usually, I'll ask if there is a book they want to read and let them choose within each discipline. Occasionally, I'll gather up the stack myself. It's important for me to gather all the books before the week begins so I don't spend hours looking under couch cushions or behind beds for the books I am certain I just saw.

Sometimes, there is a theme across disciplines. Nicky might read  A Swim Through the Sea, Man Fish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau, and mom's choice of Night of the Moonjellies. Katie might ask about Manassas Battlefield Park as we drive by it daily, back and forth to ballet. The following week, I'll write in books like Follow the Drinking Gourd, Henry's Freedom Box, Civil War Artist, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War.

More often, though, this is not about unit studies, but about a wide banquet of varied topics. If a child is super-interested in something, it's simple enough to scuttle the written plan and dig deeply with more on-topic books. Two important things about scuttling the plan:  

• There must be a plan to scuttle; this isn't freewheeling and hoping that books thrown everywhere will catch someone's attention.
• If you ditch the plan, it's only to do something better. It's never to do nothing. And we need a written plan for the "something better."

Every day, the children respond in writing to at least one book. They can choose a writing project from a long list of projects or they can propose another. Not every book requires a formal response. Some books, we read, we talk about just a little, and then we close it and put it on the shelf. But every day requires some kind of writing. Every day. They might dictate a simple narration. They might peck out their own narrations. They might take off and create an elaborate screenplay. Whatever they choose, they must write something.

With the time that's left in the day, they can choose from other ways to respond to books and get as creative as they like with any book they've read that day or previously. We're busy. We're productive. We're surrounded by good language and great art. And the creative energy has returned to our educational adventures.

It's all good.

Tell me about your book: 

• Write and tell a friend about the story. 
• Make a detailed map of the setting of the book.
• Is it a circle story? Can you draw it?
• Did something really catch your attention? Want to research it further?

• If historical, add it to your Book of Centuries. (we do this with every historical book)
• Write a letter from the main character to you.
• Choose a character you’d like to have as a friend.  Write him or her a letter. 
• Plan & cook something to go with the book
• Tell why it would (or wouldn’t) make a great movie. 
• Describe an incident from it as though you were an on-the-scene TV reporter.
• Create a collage.
• Make up a rhyming poem about it
• Illustrate w/drawings or photos
• Explain its funniest (or saddest or most exciting) incident.
• Make a new book jacket for the book
• Do a puppet show.
• Read the book aloud as radio theatre and record it.
• Write 3 paragraphs in a diary as if you were your favorite character. 
• Design and draw costumes for some of the characters.
• Design quilt squares to go with the book
• Tell what your home would look like if you were one of the main characters. 
• Write a biography of one of the characters.
• Write a human interest story about one of the characters in the book.
• Write a letter to the editor about an issue in the book.
• Create magazine ad for the book.
• Create a television ad for the book
• Draw it into newspaper cartooning squares.
• Play charades w/themes from the book
• Pretend a character had made an important decision differently. Write a new ending.
• Make a list of facts you learned in the book
• Write an Amazon review.
• Plan a field trip inspired by the book
• Compare versions of the same story.
• Compare the book to the movie version
• Make peg dolls to go with the book.
• Compare it to another book the author/illustrator has written. This might be a comparison of art or of the story.
• Use its title to write your own story. 
• Write a letter to the author
• Pretend you are the author. Write a publisher, pictching your book.

 Picture books make me happy. This blog is for sharing what makes me happy. I can't promise you a book a day. There's no way I'm going to post big plans for every book. I do hope to share a little of our picture book love on a regular basis here. A quick review, a picture or two, some ideas on where the book took us--little snapshots of books we all love. I know that not all my readers are homeschoolers. I'm certain, though, that these books can enrich the lives of all the children we love.

The Ideal Early Childhood Education

In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother's first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.

~Charlotte Mason

I hesitate to call this post "the kindergarten post." There have been lots of notes requesting "The Kindergarten Post." So, if you've been asking, this is it. Sort of. But more accurately, this is the starting to think through "Learning at Home with 3-6-Year-Olds" post.

I had several opportunities to observe and teach in many different settings while in college and right after graduation. The three that I look upon most fondly all had quite a few things in common. One of those things stands out: they considered the "kindergarten year" to be more than one year.

In the two private school settings (each of a different philosophy), children were grouped in "family groupings" and a class was composed of children who were three to six years old. In the public school setting, I taught in a "transitional first grade," a class specifically designed to give children a three year kindergarten and first grade experience. In all three settings, there were very bright children who were still "technically" kindergartners during their six-year-old year. And in all three settings, children were peaceful. These were three settings that considered the integrated development of the child and weighted social and emotional growth equally or more heavily than academic growth.

Karoline has been talking incessantly about kindergarten.  A couple of months ago she asked her daddy if she is in kindergarten now. He shot me a quizzical look and I nodded. We pay very little attention to "grades" around here. If she wants to say she's in kindergarten, she certainly can. And she is. She's four. In this house, kindergarteners are between three and six years old. {Interestingly, one of the big indicators for first grade readiness in all three of the programs above was the loss of baby teeth, also called the change of teeth. Not sure why I put that there. Couldn't find another place to mention it.}

So, Karoline is officially in kindergarten. And since Sarah Annie will be three in late October. (Can you believe it? Yeah, me neither.) She will soon be in "kindergarten," too. I asked Karoline early last week what she wanted to learn in kindergarten. She was sitting all curled up on the blue chair in the room that has become our craft studio. I was sewing. The reply came quickly, "I want to learn to sew." Well, ok, we can do that. We'll learn together.

I had a hunch. So I did a little experiment.

The next time I asked Karoline what she wanted to learn in kindergarten, I was cooking. She wants to learn to cook.

I began to futher test my theory.

I'm knitting. She wants to "knit better."

I'm dusting. She wants to polish furniture.

I'm doing laundry. She wants to learn to fold socks "the tricky way."

If I'm doing it, she wants to learn to do it. And if it has to do with bringing order and beauty to her environment, all the better. She is sensitive to order and beauty in her world right now. 

And so she shall work alongside me, both of us using our hands. Whether we call it "practical life"  or  "life skills," little ones should be spending lots of time doing meaningful activities with their hands. They should learn to use real tools (whether knitting or sewing or cooking or woodworking or vacuuming dust bunnies) carefully and to return their environments to order every single time. And those environments? 

.

Those environments, the ones in which peaceful children thrive, are thoughtfully prepared. They don't have to be special child-sized rooms; they just have to be rooms where children are welcomed and considered. They have to be spaces where children come alongside an adult who cares and learns what it is to be a compassionate, empathetic, to respect space and boundaries, to care for the small environment that he shares with his immediate community.

In two of the three environments I mentioned above, the schools strive as much as possible to create "homelike" spaces. There is intentional "family grouping," which means classes of children aged two-and-a-half up to and including age six. Those of us who educate at home already have the underpinnings of the best early childhood school environment. We have a home atmosphere and we have family groupings.

The goal within the environment probably should be clearly defined in our minds, though, even at home, maybe especially at home. We must be intentional, lest the opportunities slip through our fingers. And we must be patient. This is not about barreling through a checklist of academic proficiencies. There is a movement afoot to accelerate through academics. Is he reading yet? Can he work equations? Is his handwriting clear ? What grade is he in?

Those are not the questions of my intentions in the early childhood years. I close my ears to them. Because they are not true to my own sense of what is valuable for our family. When I first started homeschooling, a generation ago now, I was primarily motivated by the opportunity to spend our days learning together as a family.  I had taught in classrooms. Some quite good, some really awful. The idea of  family groupings so appealed to me in college that I did a senior honors project on it. Little did I know back then that the idea would grow organically in my home. We were creating our own family grouping in our own nurturing environment. We wanted to teach them to think creatively, to pursue their passions, to wonder and watch. And Mike and I both firmly believed in providing the time. Time. The desire to homeschool grew out of a life-changing experience. I talked at length in this old piece on preschool about what cancer taught me about time and young children. Really, none of this will make much sense unless you read that. 

Our primary goal in this home, with these children, is not academic excellence. It is time. 

Our primary goal is living a life of faith wholeheartedly together as a family. Our primary goal is to give them time for intimate relationships--with God, with nature, with art, with literature, with science, with us. This is what we have chosen. It is what is right for our family--for this husband and wife and the children God has given them.

Please don't misunderstand. I think academic excellence is a worthy endeavor. I just don't think my children need to get a leg up on algebra in the second grade at the expense of time in relationship to other significant people. Instead of the academic questions above, the questions framed in our home are, "Is he managing his time well?" "Does he listen to his siblings when they talk or just barrel over them?" "Is he orderly?" "Does he respect boundaries?" "Does he ask thoughtful questions?" "Is his speech sprinkled liberally with familiar references to God?" "Can he still himself and listen and watch with ears and eyes wide with wonder?" "Does he care?"

I believe that if I can work towards the affirmative in those questions in the early years, the academic success will come. And it will come with social, emotional and spiritual peace. 

Can he read? It matters not just yet. And if he can, well, then, good for him. Let him read--just don't cram stories down his throat with endless required booklists and a hurry-up demeanor.

Can he wonder? Is he curious? Do we have time to just sit and watch and ponder aloud together? We will read to him, yes, and that sense of story will serve him well when it is time to learn to read. But even more importantly, just now, that world of books will pique his curiosity. He will be motivated to learn. He will care that he can find in books what he wants to know.

I live in the most highly educated corner of the country, according to some studies. The pressure on children to excel academically is real and palpable. From very young ages, some local children are carted from one "opportunity" to the next by intellectually eager parents, all with the primary intention to assure admission to the finest universities. How they will be presented on a college application is buzzing in the minds of children before they even enter grade school. It's all about getting in--even in preschool. It's all about proving oneself smarter and more accomplished. It's all about getting ahead of the other guy, jostling for position, one-upping academically. 

I'm not anti-competition. Ahem. I think we can all agree that my kids compete. And I totally think we should nurture gifts. The real world is full of competition. But I'm adamantly opposed to sacrificing innocence and wonder and childhood joy to the grown-up agenda of beating out the other guy. I'm opposed to sacrificing family life to the building of a child's academic curriculum vitae. A child has an opportunity to be a child just once.  I don't think we should squander childhood by thrusting children into the competitive marketplace too soon.

My friend and college study buddy, Jan, was here last week and we were reminiscing about former students. There was a little boy who was in one of the 3-6 programs mentioned above when he was pre-school age. He was my student. And he was incredibly bright. Brilliant. His parents were academics and it was clear that the priority for his education was to be the smartest. Blessed with abundant natural intelligence, he was very, very, very smart. But he couldn't remember to replace his coat on the hook after time outdoors. He never played with the other children. He rarely would look me in the eye when he spoke. 

He left the 3-6 program to begin official kindergarten in another school. Coincidentally, he was in Jan's first kindergarten class. He was younger than most of the other children and she still remembers that he asked her if they were going to study plate tectonics. His intellectual achievement had so outpaced his social and emotional growth that he was seriously out of balance. Her major goal for him that year was to get him to play without awkwardness and to carry on conversations with his peers. 

.

There is a healing, a growing, a creating that happens in a child's play and in meaningful work done with his hands alongside a nurturing adult. They can catch up if they fall behind in math. I'm not sure you can ever restore to a child what is lost if they are not allowed the innocence of non-competitive, wholehearted play. If they miss out on plenty of unplanned time in a thoughtful environment. If they are too busy for large quantities of time with adults who love him unconditionally. If no one safeguards freedom within limits to learn about himself first. I'm not sure a child ever recovers from intense academic pressure that can lead them to think that their value is directly correlated to their proven, measurable academic conquests. There is so much more to the education of a child. There is a weaving of the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual that comes of plenty of time with quality materials, working with their hands, absorbing the good from a nurturing environment. There is a value unmatched in an imagination fed by quiet wonder.

Unhurried childhood is a window of opportunity and it is much, much more valuable and much, much smaller that many people recognize. It's irreplaceable. So we don't skip it.

Gosh, I've gone on for a long time and still not gotten to the nitty gritty. I will, in God's time, no doubt. No rushing;-)

Actually, if you're eager to read more right now, there is this series from five years ago (oh my goodness, how cute was Katie when she was three?!):

It's a wonderful thing!

The Art Box

Language Arts for Little Ones

Number Fun

Leading Little Ones to the Good Shepherd

Practical Life

Oh, and then there is that matter of more than four years worth of books and such for the 3-6 bunch, all organized alphabetically over at Along the Alphabet Path. More suggestions for warm activities and stories at home than anyone would ever need:-)

~~reposted from the archives

~A~ is for Apple (picking and pies)

First, there is apple picking.

 

 

And then,

~Apple Crisp~

Grain-free, recipe:

In a greased 8X8 pan, toss:

• 6 - 8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/2 c sugar (substitute  2 TBS maple syrup if you want sugar-free)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 T arrowroot powder
• 2 T almond flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Toss all ingredients together well and put in greased 8" X 8" pan. 

Mix together in a medium bowl:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp coconut oil or unsalted butter
• 1/3  cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Crumble over the top of the apple mixture. Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes.

 and

~Apple Pie~

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 pounds firm, tart apples  peeled, cored, and sliced 
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in an iron skillet saute pan over medium heat. Add the apple wedges and saute until slightly softened, but holding their shape, just 3 to 4 minutes. Don't overcook. They're going to be baked. Add the 1/2 cup of sugar and stir to combine. Add the sugar and spices and stir.

In a bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Stir  into the apple mixture and remove the pan from the heat. Let cool completely.

Use refrigerated pie crusts. They usually come two per pack. For the bottom crust, follow the package directions to put it in the pie pan. Fill with the cooled filling. Dot the top with the other 3 tablespoons of butter, cut into little pieces.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the other refrigerated crust and help your little learners cut the letter "A" with cookie cutters. Arrange on top and lightly brush with egg wash and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of sugar.  

Put the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any dripping and bubbling. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Rotate the pie 180 degrees to move the front edge of the pie to the back of the oven. Bake until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Watch carefuly throughout to ensure that the crust doesn't burn. Cover loosely with foil if it seems to be browning too quickly.

Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. If you slice and serve to soon, it will be runny.

~Happy Appling!~

Along the Alphabet Path: Loving Learning with Little Ones

What follows is the original story Katherine, Mary Beth, and I wrote several years ago to introduce the alphabet, the saints, and some wonderful stories to our little boys. We wove lessons of all sorts around an alphabet theme: science lessons, readings from childhood favorites, an author study for every letter, hands-on art and art history, and much more. Now, we have a new crop of 2- to 7-year-olds and some bigger sisters who are reluctant to be left out of the fun we have planned. So, it's time to dust off the Alphabet Path and to fondly re-tool it and bring it to life again. Below, will find enough to keep you and your little one busy for two weeks, working and reading at leisurely, cozy pace. I plan to use these lessons and revise them as I go, all in real time, about every two weeks or so. All the older lessons are catalogued here, every letter from A-Z. We've noticed some dead links and we're going to add some bright, new things, too. We'd be happy to have you along as we skip down this path and I hope you'll let me know what you are doing in your home. You'll find all the books recommended in the 52 weeks worth of lessons, organized and catalogued here. 

 Once upon a time there was a little boy named Michael who lived with his family in a cabin at the edge of a beautiful woods.  One day Michael's mother was having a birthday and he set out in search of the perfect present.  "What shall I give my mother for her birthday?"  he wondered.  He began to walk, searching for just the right thing.  He looked in the flower beds that wound their way around the front of the cabin and saw beautiful tulips, roses and daisies.  They would make a lovely bouquet for his mother, but he knew that he wasn't allowed to pick flowers from the beds. 

    As Michael continued to walk along the flower beds he heard a soft rustling in the woods behind his house.  "What was that?  Probably just a squirrel" thought Michael as he went about his search.  Suddenly from behind an Apple Tree there appeared before him a beautiful lady.  She wore a flowing dress decorated here and there with plump, red apples.  They were so beautiful that Michael had trouble telling if they were real apples or only pictures.  But whatever they were, there was definitely something familiar about her dress.

    The beautiful lady held out her arms, bidding him to come.  Slowly he began to walk toward her. "Who are you?" asked Michael in a small, shy voice.  The beautiful apple lady lowered her head and Michael could see a band of green leaves holding back the loose curls which framed her lovely face.  "I am Mrs. Applebee.  I live here with my children in this magical woods."  Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing.  How could she live in the woods?  There was no room for a house within all of those towering old trees.  And what children was she talking about?  Michael had never seen a child anywhere near the woods. 

 "I don't understand," Michael replied politely.  "How could you live in the woods and where are your children?  I've never seen any children around here."   Mrs. Applebee smiled and answered, "That's because you don't know where to look."  Suddenly there was a gentle flutter of what sounded like wings up above their heads.  The soft sound came from the branches of the Apple Tree. Michael looked above and saw two tiny little creatures sitting on the branch among the apple blossoms.  At first look they seemed to be beautiful butterflies, but as he focused his eyes he saw that they were tiny children with fairy wings and they sang a beautiful song. [editor's note: You'll find the song in the  The Flower Alphabet and the Flower Fairy Alphabet CD . 

    "These are my children the Apple Blossom Fairies.  They live in the Apple Tree and protect the sweet baby blossoms from the wind and cold" said Mrs. Applebee, before Michael had a chance to ask.  The older of the two fairies flew down to Michael and when she landed on the soft ground, made a little curtsy and said in a high, sweet voice, "I am the Apple Blossom Fairy and my name begins with the Letter A.  I am the first of my mother's children."  Suddenly Michael knew what was familiar about Mrs. Applebee's dress.  From the tip of her collar down through the lines of her dainty apron, the form of a Letter A was visible through the folds of her apple dress.

    The little fairy handed Michael a beautiful Apple Blossom.  "This would be nice to add to your mother's birthday bouquet.  I'm sure my brothers and sisters will offer you many more if you like."  Michael smelled the sweet, fragrant blossom and looked at Mrs. Applebee with hopeful eyes.  "Of course I will take you to meet my other children" Mrs. Applebee agreed.  And as she nodded her head her apple earrings bobbed up and down against her golden hair. 

"But wait!"  The Apple Blossom Fairy crossed her ankles, spun around and sat down gently on the mossy ground.  "Before you go, first let me tell you a story about a special friend whose name also begins with the Letter A."  The Fairy reached behind her wings and pulled out a red book.  "This book is where we keep letters from our heavenly friends and the first letter is from the grandmother of Jesus and mother of a Blessed Mother. She's your heavenly grandmother and her name is St. Anne. "

    Apple Blossom Fairy began to tell Michael the story of good St. Anne, who with St. Joaquin prayed for a child to raise and dedicate to God.  The fairy smiled and said, "You know Michael, she is your special grandmother too and she likes to hear what' s on your heart. Talk to her often."  Michael looked down at the sweet flower in his hand as it shone with the fairy dust, and the joy in his heart welled up into a great smile. 

    "Come along, Michael," sang Mrs. Applebee, "we have many more children to meet and flowers to collect.  And this bouquet will be a most wonderful gift for your mother because five of the flowers are very special."  Michael looked down at his Apple Blossom and realized that the stem of the flower was pure gold.  "Five of my children have golden stems and the first is the Apple Blossom.  A is a very special letter, you know."

    With a wink Mrs. Applebee turned and as she stepped her dainty foot onto the floor of the woods, suddenly a grassy green path appeared.  "Follow me and we'll greet my other children and you'll have a gift for your mother before the end of the day."  She held out her graceful hand and Michael took it, one hand holding Mrs. Applebee's and the other holding the Apple Blossom for his mother.  And all the while he was wondering who they would next meet along the grassy path.

Lesson Plans

Presentation:  You can download the watercolor of Mrs. Applebee here (Download mrs_applebee.pdf ) and use it as a visual when you tell this story.( Download meet_mrs. Applebee.pdf) 

Language: Use the Letter A on Mrs. Applebee's dress to teach letter formation to a beginning writer. Let the child trace the letter with a finger.  Maybe the child would like to practice the Letter A by drawing a Mrs. Applebee of his or her own.  (It's a fun artistic challenge for older children as well.) Use the song as copywork for the week. And learn the song from the CD.

Read the story "Meet Mrs.Applebee" to your child and use it for reading practice.  Download meet_mrs. Applebee.pdf   of the story and add it to your personal Alphabet Path Storybook

Poetry: Memorize Apple Song by Frances Frost  Download APPLE SONG

Nature Study:

(Don't try to do it all--these are options for science and nature study)

• After the story has been told, spend some time on the Flower Fairy site. You can research the botanical information and plant idenification and record them in a sketchbook or main lesson book.  Or perhaps you would prefer flower storybook paper for letter writing practice and copywork.  (An older child can do this independently, but a younger child can give an oral narration which you write or keyboard for him or her.)
• With your older child, you might choose to work through Apologia's Discovering Creation with Botany. Read a section and then ask your child to narrate the information in his main lesson book.  Always encourage your child to illustrate his narrations.  Work on the experiments that you feel would be most beneficial for your child.  Take a picture of the finished project and add it to his main lesson book. The pace at which you move through this book is not as important as the child having an opportunity to really understand the material.  Go at your child's pace. I highly recommend the notebooks to go with the botany book, for both older and younger children.
• We've had great success encouraging older children to take their flower narrations well beyond what is provided at the Flower Fairy site. These children are able to truly appreciate the vast varieties of flowers and to see God's creativity when they consider the lilies of the field.
• For some children, a living books/picture book approach seems to resonate and be more meaningful than any other approach. Consider choosing meaty picture books to teach the same concepts. If you choose to pursue this course of study, here is a science-themed picture book study for this letter:

Storybook Science: A is for Apples:

How Do Apples Grow?

Apple Picking Time

Life and Times of the Apple

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Rain Makes Applesauce

Applesauce

Apple Cake

Art:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a wonderful online story and lesson for all ages that further elaborates on Cezanne, the author introduced with this letter. 

Using the illustration in  The Flower Alphabet , ask the child to sketch the The Apple Blossom Fairy in the main lesson book.  A younger child can color the The Apple Blossom Fairy in the Flower Fairy Alphabet Coloring Book . Perhaps on another day the child could model the fairy or flower with modeling beeswax.  (Sources of excellent quality modeling beeswax can be found on the right sidebar.)

For this week's picture study, Museum ABC focuses on APPLE on the A page.  

It's interesting to look carefully at just one segment of the painting in the book. The children can discuss what they think the rest of the painting might look like before you show them the print. The full image of Paul Cezanne's Apples is here .

Really look at the picture.  Soak in the details.  Ask your child to narrate with a prompt such as, "Pretend that I am going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time and want to find this painting.  What details could you give me so that I could more easily find it?"  Keyboard the narration and ask your child to sketch the work of art.  A younger child can copy the painting while an older child can narrate from memory and discover how much detail he remembers by attempting to sketch it from memory. Over the course of this unit, consider collecting the narrations and sketches in a single album and create your own family art history book. 

(The goal of Picture Study is to train the eye toward the beautiful. Biographical information about the artist is secondary. Set the work of art as your family computer's wallpaper or screen saver or print the painting on card stock and display it on the refrigerator.  After spending time with a picture and really taking the time to look at it, your child will make a connection.  There is no need to explain a great deal, especially to a young child.  Allow the child to make his own connection with the art. )

Faith:

An Alphabet of Catholic Saints: St. Anne. Learn the rhyme this week. (This book is temporarily out of stock as it is being reprinted to include the beatification of Kater Tekakwitha.)

An Alphabet of Mary: This lovely book is a new addition this year. We're so excited to create a Mary notebook, with the children making a page for every letter, learning titles of Our Lady and how to love her more as we go. Angel's Joy is the title for <<A>>.

Read about Guardian Angels in Letters from Heaven.  Letters from Heaven offers a scripture verse at the bottom of the page.  Look it up with the children and commit it to memory. (Letters from Heaven introduces saints from the Eastern Orthodox tradition.)

Each week we will be making a Wee Felt Saint or two.  Or perhaps you'd prefer to paint saints as Jessica did.

There is much opportunity for narration and notebooking for all ages in reading lists of the Faith section. Read the selections aloud to all ages of children. Assign chapter book biographies to older children. Draw pictures and record narrations of the lives of each saint. Then, when the feast of that saint is celebrated in the life of the Church, revisit an old friend and have a a little party at tea time. These are stories to read and read again.

Read:

Angels, Angel Everywhere

Alyosha's Apple

Sister Anne's Hands

Brother Bartholomew and The Apple Grove

Read about these saints in the Loyola Kids Book of Saints:
St. Anthony of Padua
S.t Augustine
St. Ambrose

Read about these saints in the Loyola Kids Book of Heroes:
St. Albert the Great
St. Ambrose

Augustine Came to Kent

St. Anthony and the Christ Child

You might enjoy the biography of Cicely Mary Barker and a look at some of her Christian art.

Suggested Books for Read-Alouds and Narrations

Childhood Favorites
Angelina Ballerina
The Little Auto
The Art Lesson
The Little Airplane

Amber on the Mountain

Meet the Author--Allen Say:
  

Grandfather’s Journey

Under the Cherry Blossoms

Emma’s Rug

Allison

The Bicycle Man

Tea With Milk

How My Parents Learned to Eat

Fairy Tales, Tall Tales and Hero Tales:

In The Children’s Book of America, read:
Johnny Appleseed
The Bravery of Abigail Adams
    
  In The Children’s Book of Heroes, read:
Honest Abe

Writing Instruction:

Young children are encouraged always to narrate aloud the stories which have been read to them. Occasionally, keyboard those narrations as the child tells it and allow him or her to illustrate the printed narration.

For more structured writing lessons for children who are in the 3rd-5th grades,  IEW Fables, Myths, and Fairytales Writing Lessons dovetail nicely with the Alphabet Path theme.

 
Serendipi-Tea Time Recipes
Letter A Apple Pie served with apple juice or apple cider (recipe forthcoming;-)

Fun for the Little Ones

Visit Jessica for more "A" ideas

Stamping Apple Slices
Bake and Paint Letter A's 
Kim's Friday Funschool A

The Not Really Kindergarten Post

In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother's first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.

~Charlotte Mason

I hesitate to call this post "the kindergarten post." There have been lots of notes requesting "The Kindergarten Post." So, if you've been asking, this is it. Sort of. But more accurately, this is the starting to think through "Learning at Home with 3-6-Year-Olds" post.

I had several opportunities to observe and teach in many different settings while in college and right after graduation. The three that I look upon most fondly all had quite a few things in common. One of those things stands out: they considered the "kindergarten year" to be more than one year.

In the two private school settings (each of a different philosophy), children were grouped in "family groupings" and a class was composed of children who were three to six years old. In the public school setting, I taught in a "transitional first grade," a class specifically designed to give children a three year kindergarten and first grade experience. In all three settings, there were very bright children, who were still "technically" kindergartners during their six-year-old year. And in all three settings, children were peaceful. These were three settings that considered the integrated development of the child and weighted social and emotional growth equally or more heavily than academic growth.

Karoline has been talking incessantly about kindergarten.  A couple of months ago she asked her daddy if she is in kindergarten now. He shot me a quizzical look and I nodded. We pay very little attention to "grades" around here. If she wants to say she's in kindergarten, she certainly can. And she is. She's four. In this house, kindergarteners are between three and six years old. {Interestingly, one of the big indicators for first grade readiness in all three of the programs above was the loss of baby teeth, also called the change of teeth. Not sure why I put that there. Couldn't find another place to mention it.}

So, Karoline is officially in kindergarten. And since Sarah Annie will be three in late October. (Can you believe it? Yeah, me neither.) She will soon be in "kindergarten," too. I asked Karoline early last week what she wanted to learn in kindergarten. She was sitting all curled up on the blue chair in the room that has become our craft studio. I was sewing. The reply came quickly, "I want to learn to sew." Well, ok, we can do that. We'll learn together.

I had a hunch. So I did a little experiment.

The next time I asked Karoline what she wanted to learn in kindergarten, I was cooking. She wants to learn to cook.

I began to futher test my theory.

I'm knitting. She wants to "knit better."

I'm dusting. She wants to polish furniture.

I'm doing laundry. She wants to learn to fold socks "the tricky way."

If I'm doing it, she wants to learn to do it. And if it has to do with bringing order and beauty to her environment, all the better. She is sensitive to order and beauty in her world right now. 

And so she shall work alongside me, both of us using our hands. Whether we call it "practical life"  or  "life skills," little ones should be spending lots of time doing meaningful activities with their hands. They should learn to use real tools (whether knitting or sewing or cooking or woodworking or vacuuming dust bunnies) carefully and to return their environments to order every single time. And those environments? 

Those environments, the ones in which peaceful children thrive, are thoughtfully prepared. They don't have to be special child-sized rooms; they just have to be rooms where children are welcomed and considered. They have to be spaces where children come alongside an adult who cares and learns what it is to be a compassionate, empathetic, to respect space and boundaries, to care for the small environment that he shares with his immediate community.

In two of the three environments I mentioned above, the schools strive as much as possible to create "homelike" spaces. There is intentional "family grouping," which means classes of children aged two-and-a-half up to and including age six. Those of us who educate at home already have the underpinnings of the best early childhood school environment. We have a home atmosphere and we have family groupings.

The goal within the environment probably should be clearly defined in our minds, though, even at home, maybe especially at home. We must be intentional, lest the opportunities slip through our fingers. And we must be patient. This is not about barreling through a checklist of academic proficiencies. There is a movement afoot to accelerate through academics. Is he reading yet? Can he work equations? Is his handwriting clear ? What grade is he in?

Those are not the questions of my intentions in the early childhood years. I close my ears to them. Because they are not true to my own sense of what is valuable for our family. When I first started homeschooling, a generation ago now, I was primarily motivated by the opportunity to spend our days learning together as a family.  I had taught in classrooms. Some quite good, some really awful. The idea of  family groupings so appealed to me in college that I did a senior honors project on it. Little did I know back then that the idea would grow organically in my home. We were creating our own family grouping in our own nurturing environment. We wanted to teach them to think creatively, to pursue their passions, to wonder and watch. And Mike and I both firmly believed in providing the time. Time. The desire to homeschool grew out of a life-changing experience. I talked at length in this old piece on preschool about what cancer taught me about time and young children. Really, none of this will make much sense unless you read that. 

Our primary goal in this home, with these children, is not academic excellence. It is time. 

Our primary goal is living a life of faith wholeheartedly together as a family. Our primary goal is to give them time for intimate relationships--with God, with nature, with art, with literature, with science, with us. This is what we have chosen. It is what is right for our family--for this husband and wife and the children God has given them.

Please don't misunderstand. I think academic excellence is a worthy endeavor. I just don't think my children need to get a leg up on algebra in the second grade at the expense of time in relationship to other significant people. Instead of the academic questions above, the questions framed in our home are, "Is he managing his time well?" "Does he listen to his siblings when they talk or just barrel over them?" "Is he orderly?" "Does he respect boundaries?" "Does he ask thoughtful questions?" "Is his speech sprinkled liberally with familiar references to God?" "Can he still himself and listen and watch with ears and eyes wide with wonder?" "Does he care?"

I believe that if I can work towards the affirmative in those questions in the early years, the academic success will come. And it will come with social, emotional and spiritual peace. 

Can he read? It matters not just yet. And if he can, well, then, good for him. Let him read--just don't cram stories down his throat with endless required booklists and a hurry-up demeanor.

Can he wonder? Is he curious? Do we have time to just sit and watch and ponder aloud together? We will read to him, yes, and that sense of story will serve him well when it is time to learn to read. But even more importantly, just now, that world of books will pique his curiosity. He will be motivated to learn. He will care that he can find in books what he wants to know.

I live in the most highly educated corner of the country, according to some studies. The pressure on children to excel academically is real and palpable. From very young ages, some local children are carted from one "opportunity" to the next by intellectually eager parents, all with the primary intention to assure admission to the finest universities. How they will be presented on a college application is buzzing in the minds of children before they even enter grade school. It's all about getting in--even in preschool. It's all about proving oneself smarter and more accomplished. It's all about getting ahead of the other guy, jostling for position, one-upping academically. 

I'm not anti-competition. Ahem. I think we can all agree that my kids compete. And I totally think we should nurture gifts. The real world is full of competition. But I'm adamantly opposed to sacrificing innocence and wonder and childhood joy to the grown-up agenda of beating out the other guy. I'm opposed to sacrificing family life to the building of a child's academic curriculum vitae. A child has an opportunity to be a child just once.  I don't think we should squander childhood by thrusting children into the competitive marketplace too soon.

My friend and college study buddy, Jan, was here last week and we were reminiscing about former students. There was a little boy who was in one of the 3-6 programs mentioned above when he was pre-school age. He was my student. And he was incredibly bright. Brilliant. His parents were academics and it was clear that the priority for his education was to be the smartest. Blessed with abundant natural intelligence, he was very, very, very smart. But he couldn't remember to replace his coat on the hook after time outdoors. He never played with the other children. He rarely would look me in the eye when he spoke. 

He left the 3-6 program to begin official kindergarten in another school. Coincidentally, he was in Jan's first kindergarten class. He was younger than most of the other children and she still remembers that he asked her if they were going to study plate tectonics. His intellectual achievement had so outpaced his social and emotional growth that he was seriously out of balance. Her major goal for him that year was to get him to play without awkwardness and to carry on conversations with his peers. 

There is a healing, a growing, a creating that happens in a child's play and in meaningful work done with his hands alongside a nurturing adult. They can catch up if they fall behind in math. I'm not sure you can ever restore to a child what is lost if they are not allowed the innocence of non-competitive, wholehearted play. If they miss out on plenty of unplanned time in a thoughtful environment. If they are too busy for large quantities of time with adults who love him unconditionally. If no one safeguards freedom within limits to learn about himself first. I'm not sure a child ever recovers from intense academic pressure that can lead them to think that their value is directly correlated to their proven, measurable academic conquests. There is so much more to the education of a child. There is a weaving of the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual that comes of plenty of time with quality materials, working with their hands, absorbing the good from a nurturing environment. There is a value unmatched in an imagination fed by quiet wonder.

Unhurried childhood is a window of opportunity and it is much, much more valuable and much, much smaller that many people recognize. It's irreplaceable. So we don't skip it.

Gosh, I've gone on for a long time and still not gotten to the nitty gritty. I will, in God's time, no doubt. No rushing;-)

Actually, if you're eager to read more right now, there is this series from five years ago (oh my goodness, how cute was Katie when she was three?!):

It's a wonderful thing!

The Art Box

Language Arts for Little Ones

Number Fun

Leading Little Ones to the Good Shepherd

Practical Life

Oh, and then there is that matter of more than four years worth of books and such for the 3-6 bunch, all organized alphabetically over at Along the Alphabet Path. More suggestions for warm activities and stories at home than anyone would ever need:-)

Be back in a bit with more on what life with little ones is like in the heart of my home these days.

~~reposted from the archives