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my Recipe for a Kindergarten at Home

Monday, February 4th, 2013
Homeschool  ChroniclesThis is the season when homeschoolers start dreaming big dreams for the next school year.  Yes, I know it’s kind of early, but I just can’t resist!  It’s so fun to consider curriculum options and to ask my kid, “So…what do you want to learn in third grade?”

Before my mind moves on completely from Liam’s kindergarten year, I want to share my recipe for kindergarten.  Doing kindergarten at home is a great way to enjoy your little one’s childhood just a little bit longer!  Especially for families in transition (moving) or with very young kindergartners, staying home might make more sense.  In many European countries with excellent education results, children don’t start formal academics (how to read, basic arithmetic) until they are 6 or 7.  One reason we do kindergarten at home is to allow for more important learning opportunities (see my blog post from 2009).

Kindergarten at home is easy.   The key ingredient is your loving family.  The action? Just living everyday life together… cooking, keeping house, spending time in the dirt, exploring the great outdoors.  Add some playdates for spice and a generous helping of thoughtfully chosen resources.   Here are some resources I’ve used:

Earthways by Carol Petrash is an excellent Waldorf crafts book with very earthy project ideas and suggestions for creating a positive learning environment.  I’ve used this book quite a lot.  It’s more about doing seasonal projects that allow the child to relate with and appreciate nature than creating anything like art.

For art, I’d recommend Scribble Art by MaryAnn Kohl.  This is a classic!  It has suggestions for all kinds of artistic experiences with lots of mediums.  This art is about the process, not the product, which allows for real learning.

Both of the above books are bare-bones in terms of pictures.  A good inspirational art book is Side by Side: 20 Collaborative Projects for Crafting with Your Kids, which just came out.  It doesn’t have a large quantity of ideas, but they are well-selected and a visual treat.  Hmm… this book might be better for older children, actually, so K-3rd grade.

For science I recommend nature book author, Clara Dillingham Pierson.  The kids loved Among the Pond People when we read it during Aria’s kindergarten (Liam just 4 years old) and we are reading Among the Forest People this year.  These classics have very few pictures, which is a great way to encourage your kindergartner to form mental pictures as prep for chapter books.

Also read lots of lovely picture books, especially seasonal ones.  Your local library should be able to help you put together a good list.  On my old work blog, I posted seasonal book recommendations that my children loved a few years ago.  Here are picture books for Winter, Spring, more Spring, Summer and Fall.  We still check many of these out from the library when the seasons change, and they are welcomed like old familiar friends!

Read simple fairytales and folktales too, like The Gingerbread Man, The Turnip, Three Billy Goats, etc.  I choose to save the more romantic and/or violent fairytales (like Grimm’s) for later.  A good librarian should be able to help you locate a bunch of classic tales appropriate for little ears.  Also, please don’t miss the REAL Winnie-the-Pooh (which I prattle on about here).  It’s one of our favorites!

If you are a Christian, we love The Jesus Storybook Bible.  It’s a beautifully-written children’s Bible storybook that ties each story into the larger story of redemption, getting at the point of it all.

Math in kindergarten will happen naturally at home if you look for opportune moments.  Add a few simple games now and then too to expand math thinking.  Today we had fun practicing counting high while tossing a beanbag back and forth.  Whenever someone dropped it we had to start over again.  So, um, we had to start over a lot.  For ideas, see Family Math (a fabulous longterm resource) and Playful Learning (with projects and games for more than just math).

Toddler Apron in Freebird Ovals
Liam in art area, 2010

In addition to book resources, your at home kindergarten will be greatly enriched by an accessible art area.  When I was setting ours up, I wrote a 5-part blog series on creating an art area for little ones (here’s part 1), including what supplies we like to have on hand.   That was especially useful during preschool years.  Now Liam does mainly drawing and painting and some modeling.  Also, consider simplifying and decluttering the toy shelf with open-ended, classic toys that invite creative play such as pretending and building.  Soon you’ll have a lovely home environment ripe for learning, growing and a gentle opening to all that the future holds.

I hope this list is helpful for those of you who might be considering a home kindergarten.  Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed because the essentials are so doable. You love your kid. You can read to her, give her opportunities to explore the natural world, to play with friends, to make stuff.  That’s a wonderful kindergarten!

And, for those for whom a traditional kindergarten is the family choice, you can of course take advantage of any of these resources to enrich the time you do spend together.  Enjoy!

P.S.  For Liam’s kindergarten we’re also using the Explode the Code primer series (Book A, B, C) to work on consonant sounds and the Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting Series Book A to encourage proper letter formation patterns.   Liam is an “older” kindergartner (already turning 6) and he’s interested in letters, as well as has great fine motor skills.  For a younger kindergartner or any kindergartner resisting bookwork, I would definitely suggest holding back on bookwork until first grade.  You can offer these things without requiring them.  A child will WANT to do this kind of work when they are developmentally ready, so long as they haven’t “learned” that school is something to resist.

P.S.S.  Some of these links are affiliate Amazon links, which means I will earn a small percentage if you purchase anything after clicking over.  You might want to use Amazon to learn more about these resources in the way of reviews and previews and such. That’s how I consider books, anyways!   Don’t forget to check your local library too and save those pennies!

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All in one Bassinet + Cradle + Moses Basket

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

When I was pregnant for the first time, I thought a moses basket was a definite luxury.  They’re so pretty, so sweet… aren’t they more for looks than anything else?  After baby was born I could see soon enough the benefits of a movable bed.  Not just in the house or in the garden, but able to come to grandmother’s house as well.  A familiar bed just makes everything easier.

That said, I never had a moses basket.  We couldn’t buy “everything”, so we only had a bassinet.  When I wanted to calm a fussy, but fed baby in the middle of the night, I would reach out and gently jiggle the bassinet beside my bed to approximate a rocking motion.  Not the easiest thing to do, but a tired mother will go to great lengths to remain in bed.

A cradle rocks.  A bassinet is just the right height by the bed.  A moses basket can be carried from room to room.  All helpful features and all to be found in our organic moses basket and rocker set made in the USA by Little Merry Fellows.  When we came across this lovely, natural design years ago, I knew it was just what I had wanted as a new mom.    And since baby’s bed is where she spends most of her time, it’s a great place to start with choosing organic, non-toxic materials.

Because sometimes the beautiful choice is the wisest choice too!

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Fall Farm Festival!

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

This is a post originally posted at Stitched in Color – my sewing blog. I think you will enjoy it too!

This weekend we made memories at the Ovis Hill Farm Festival. The festivities are held on a real, old-fashioned sheep farm in Timmonsville, SC. Skilled artisians, story tellers, muscians, local farmers, bakers, painters and more converge in a little-known and much loved fall festival.

and lots of smiles

Each year is a little different. This time around the kids got to play tug-o-war..

Tug-o-war

Ok, so did I.

Farm animals galore

We enjoyed our usual favorites like the hayride, boarder collie sheep-hearding demonstration, and petting zoo. I wanted to take one of these sweet calves home, but we don’t have things ready for that – yet. Our first farm animal just may be a pig this November. But, you never know these things until they happen, so don’t get your hope up (Rachel).

Games

Besides the fun and games, there was a storyteller who shared an old American version of a traditional Baba Yaga fairytale. My kids were mezmerized, of course. Storytelling is their favorite part of our homeschool. There’s something magical about hearing a tale spun straight from the lips of a real live person.

First Snowcones ever

I was a little sad that we missed out on the square-dancing this year, but on the upside Aria and Liam had their first snowcones ever. I cautioned Liam not to eat the paper cup.

What was my favorite part of the festival? The color of course! Take a look at the children getting crafty. These are pumpkins and a few of the gourds made by visitors throughout the day.

Pumpkin Painting

Festivities

Birdhouse-Making

And here are some wooly treasures hand-spun and plant-dyed. This rainbow takes my breath away. I don’t own any real, lovely yarn – but someday, someday!

And,yes, they do spinning demonstrations too!

Handspun Treasures

Spinning Wheel Demos

Plant-dyed Wool Yarn

This is the one family outing that the kids and I look forward to most every fall. Maybe next year, if you live near South Carolina, you could join us at Ovis Hill Farm!

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Leaf Art for Littles

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Tomorrow at playgroup, we’ll be doing some leaf-inspired art.  Not that the leaves are changing much yet here in South Carolina, but it IS fall.  I’m sure the leaves will catch up any day now. Here are some ideas for you to enjoy with your littles:

from 5 Orange Potatoes

If the leaves haven’t changed where you’re at, consider making polkadot leaves a la 5 Orange Potatoes. Place a white sticker on green or yellow leaves and let the sun do the rest!

from Chasing the Goose

The mama at Chasing the Goose has a simple idea for celebrating the change of seasons.  Pick up a leaf from your favorite tree every day or so over the course of a few weeks.  Press and save them until you have a nice set for a colorful banner.   The subtle progression of colors is so lovely!

from Filth Wizardry

And speaking of banners, we’ll be making this one from Filth Wizardry at playgroup this week.   It’s a perfect collaborative project for our age range and makes use of our yet-to-change leaves.  I plan on rolling out a large, long piece of paper and taping it to our floor so that they’ll be room for all!

from Mackville Road

If your leaves have already started changing, collect some to preserve!  Mackville Road shows how pretty even green leaves can be when pressed with crayon shavings between waxed paper.  I think this project would be even more spectacular with fall leaves!  Maybe for next playgroup?

Enjoy the fall!

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Welcome, Fall!

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

Leaf mask by 5 Orange Potatoes (free download!)

When we arrived home from Nashville, Aria exclaimed, “Mama, the first dogwood is turning colors.  It’s fall!”  While temps this week remain near 100 degrees, fall is coming.  September is always one of my favorite months.  Cool weather starts to sneak in, the trees just barely begin to change and it’s my birthday too :) .  Here are some fun traditions to anticipate as you welcome fall:

*  Apple Picking.  We take an annual journey to the apple orchards to pick our own and enjoy apple cider doughnuts.  Look for an orchard near you at Pick Your Own.

*  Leaf Art.  All the beauty and fire of autumn leaves makes for endless art possibilities.  I hope to let the kids play with some of the many beautiful leaf projects on the Crafty Crow this season.

*  Harvest Party.  Somehow it’s become a family tradition to host a harvest party complete with costumes, pumpkin carving and homemade food.  Last year we did a pictorial scavenger hunt for the children.  The Halloween Hunt was sooooo much fun, I have a feeling we’ll just do it again!

*  Farm Festivals. If you anywhere near an agricultural area, do some searching to locate a farm that hosts a fall festival.  We travel to visit Ovis Hill Farms.  In the past their festival has included live music, square dancing, butter-making, crafts, tractor ride, sheep dog herding demos, sheep shearing demos and spinning wheel demos too.  Such a wonderful experience!

* Costume Making.  Costumes are a Halloween tradition, but they don’t have to be consumer or media-driven.  If you’re thinking of making your own, don’t forget to start early with ideas and experimentation.  I wonder what Liam will be this year?

Enjoy the season!

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Myself in Balance

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

I recently exchanged a series of emails with an old friend, a mother, who is going through a big transition right now.  She senses her 3-year-old’s need for more time with her.  She wants to work less, but is pursuing more education in her chosen career.  A familiar, conflict, right?  She said, “I need to take lessons from you…you seem to have such a nice balance. How do you do it!!! Tell me your secrets :) ”  So, on the heels of a post recognizing I was “Out of Balance“, I’ll share my email to her:

Balance is the key, isn’t it.  On the one hand, I enjoy and value my personal pursuits (Euphoria, sewing, socializing with friends, dancing); on the other hand, I feel strongly that my role as a mother is the most critical one right now.  If I could, I would not work at all.  At all.  A “career” is something I don’t value in it’s own right.  What I do doesn’t make who I am.  In terms of personal fulfillment, I feel that a business is something I can do later, like the ballet school you think of opening again someday. 

Motherhood, on the other hand, doesn’t wait for anyone.  It’s so precious and so fleeting.  What can be more worthwhile than loving and shaping a new person to go out and make their mark on our world?  I haven’t found anything more fulfilling than those little moments when I am perfectly present with my children – reading aloud book, watching them paint, doing some mindless chore while I smile at their pretend game.  I believe that this is so for me because I am where God wants me to be.  God calls people to different paths, and I am not here to outline the path for someone else.  But, for me, I know my work for right now, and it’s in the home. 

Unfortunately, our finances do not permit me to stop working.  We have and will continue to find ways to simplify our life, to spend less money and to make more of our own.  Little by little I do believe we are working towards me working less.  In the meantime, I am blessed to have a work I enjoy at Euphoria.  To protect my mothering, I set up boundaries between work and home.  I don’t take business calls just anytime at home.  I don’t do Euphoria emails or blogging unless I am at work.  To protect my mothering, I also set up boundaries between “my time” and home.  I don’t do computer (facebook/email/blogging) until my children are in rest time or in bed.  Being with the computer is being absent to my children.  They feel the withdrawal and try to pull me back, rather through little requests or bickering.  It’s not worth it for either of us. 

How am I able to balance it all?  Besides being very conscientous about what I am doing and where I am supposed to be, I have rhthyms of support.  Little things, like a daily “rest time” where the children spend an hour in their room, a weekly laundry day, bi-weekly playdate and meals  planned in advance (with grocery shopping) every Sunday help our life flow smoothly.  When everyone knows what to expect (myself included), we can just get on with our day.  Another tremendous aid is the help of loved ones who live nearbye.  When I am working, my mother, mother-in-law or best friend have my children.  They are still being mothered.  They don’t return to me feeling empty.  I know life would be incredibly different if I didn’t have this support.  In my opinion, many modern mothers don’t value the importance of real community in parenting highly enough.

One last thing, I do invest time in myself.  Taking ballet class once a week is like yoga or meditation for my soul.  Such a release – so refreshing!  I aim to spend time with God everyday.  And, I do something creative nearly every night.  All that stitching has the pleasant effect of resulting in something beautiful that I can be proud of and giving me a social outlet that can wait until after bedtime, and doesn’t even remove me from the home.  Lately I’ve started leading a charity sewing bee through Flickr.  Being able to give back with this pleasurable craft is the icing on top of my late night cake ;) .

Well, I do hope that some of this might be helpful.  Again, this is my path, my balancing beam and I don’t push it on any other.  Take with you what may enlighten your way, and leave the rest.

Blessings,

Rachel Natasha

Today at home

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Out of Balance

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Ever since planting began in April, I’ve felt chained to the garden.  Planting took f-o-r-e-v-e-r.  Then there was weeding, mulching, harvesting (digging up carrots), preserving and agonizing as some plants succumbed to disease and/or bugs.  Yes, we’ve gained an abundance of tomatoes and carrots, and a decent crop of onions, but was it worth it? 

Sweat aside, there’s one thing that has suffered this summer besides my time and muscles, and I think that may be my kids.  So often, I couldn’t convince them to join me in the garden.  Yes, they did enjoy the mud play at first, but soon enough they were ready to move on.  At ages 3 and 5, I guess the outrageous heat outweighed their interest in plants.  I get that.  My garden is full sun; I mean FULL sun, and lots of gardening work is rather repetitive.

So they did other things:  a little sandbox time, some bickering and lots of bike riding.  I don’t know if they noticed what we didn’t do: hardly any book reading, virtually no fun art projects and fewer playgroups.  In the last 2 weeks I’ve about thrown in the towel with my gardening.  The carrots and onions are out, I’ve already sauced tomatoes twice, the corn is a lost cause and the pumpkins don’t need me.  As a result, I’ve been able to refocus my energy on planning for our next homeschool year (which begins early August), restocking our library stash and busting out this fun art project, inspired by The Artful Parent.

This is the largest collage Aria’s done, and she enjoyed every minute.  I traced her body on butcher paper and let her have at it.  Liam, who was feeling a little under the weather, cuddled with me as we watched.  It felt so gooooood to support her this way.  Look at this funky hand!

I know that many moms can find a balance between gardening and investing time in their children.  Maybe it’s because I work part time (5 days a week) or maybe it’s because this was my first garden, but I just didn’t.  I’m thinking I need a MUCH smaller garden next year or maybe none at all.  The garden can wait; my children won’t.  And, honestly, I enjoy parenting much more!

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Mayfair Celebration!

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Skipping, ribbons, flowers, painting, garlands, flutists, singing, sunshine and fresh squeezed lemonade!  Mayfair was an incredible experience.  One we’re sure to repeat next year! 

My dear friend Laura and I drove our children up to the Asheville area for a Mayfair celebration benefiting local Waldorf schools.  When Jean of The Artful Parent blogged about the upcoming event, Laura and I just couldn’t resist.   As Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers without a local Waldorf community, the chance to join in on such fun sounded like heaven. 

Flower printing

Braiding garlands with fresh flowers

First dance around the Maypole.

Skipping, smiling, laughing!

Everyone had a turn.  Our children danced thrice and all together!  Parents sang along.

And then, when offered a chance, mama had a turn!

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Affluenza

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Photo by Luigi Diamanti

“Affluenza is a state defined by social critics as a ‘painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.’ (Radical Homemakers, pg. 94)”

It’s not keeping up with the Jones’ anymore, it’s keeping up with celebrities nowadays.  We’re house-sitting for my in-laws who live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in our town.  I litterly groan “ugggghhh” as I drive by house after sprawling house, complete with manicured lawn and no person in site.  This is what Americans strive for.  This is what it means to have “arrived.”  No thank you.

And yet, it’s not so easy to keep a perspective.  It’s not as if these houses are unnattractive.  Not at all.  And, last night as I stitched away in my mother-in-law’s beautiful sewing room, I reflected “wow, this would be so nice!” more than once. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with “things” in and of themselves.  What is wrong is that “dogged pursuit of more” referred to by author Shannon Hayes in her book Radical Homemakers.  Pursuit and acquisition don’t make anyone happy because there’s always more to be desired, and the state of desiring more, more, MORE isn’t nice at all. 

“Sociologist Juliet Schor points out that just as happiness is often relative, so too our personal sense of adequacy is often comparative – that we are likely to define our self-worth in terms of how we measure up to everyone else… when our societies encourage perpetually rising expectations, and those expectations exceed our ability to meet them, ‘we feel either aggressively resentful or depressed’ (pg. 97).”

Don’t you know what she means by “aggressively resentful or depressed”?  I do.  And, that’s one reason why I don’t enjoy driving through fancy neighborhood or browsing at the mall.  Why fill my vision with things that

1.  I can’t afford

2. I don’t need

3.  Won’t make me happy

Let’s go home, make something and be content.

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Renouncing

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

In Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture, author Shannon Hayes shares the story of a new domestic lifestyle emerging across our country.   Shannon’s call for firsthand accounts from radical homemakers received over 200 responses.  She visited and studied 20 different families, whose quotes and insights are sprinkled throughout the book.  I can’t wait to get to the end, where she includes a profile of each family.  But no racing ahead for me; I’m along for the ride.

In chapter 1 Shannon notes that every radical homemaker begins their journey with “renouncing.”  This first stage is characterized by free thinking, which sets the stage for a different way of life.  These people,

 “were fluent in the mental exercise  of rethinking the givens of our society and coming to the following conclusions: nobody (who matters) cares what (or if) you drive; housing does not have to cost more than a single moderate income can afford (and can even cost less); it is okay to accept help from family and friends, to let go of the perceived ideal of independence and strive instead for interdependence; health can be achieved without making monthly payments to an insurance company; child care is not a fixed cost; education can be acquired for free – it does not have to be bought; and retirement is possible, regardless of income.” (pg. 16). 

Though some of these ideas sound radical, even to me, it’s refreshing and exciting to hear about real people who have chosen a path that gives them the freedom to live simple, authentic and meaningful lives.  I’m interested to hear more of the “why” and “how” to see if their choices might spark new change in my life (Confession:  I skipped ahead last night to the health care section  and it was very thought-provoking.  Definitely ripe for discussion). 

I identify very closely with this “renouncing” idea.  I feel like I’ve been choosing option “other” for a long time now.  Moving from our expensive hometown in CA to an affordable area of South Carolina, was a renouncement of sorts.  We said “no” to a happening, affluent place and “yes” to an area that allows us to make a living.  Fortunately, much of our extended family came along.  Other renouncings:  opting to audit college courses rather than purchase a degree; choosing to homeschool our children; starting/struggling along with my own part-time business; buying organic foods and raw milk on our tight budget; selling our nice house in the suburbs for a fixer-upper on land; going TV-free for our children; and the list could go on.

The trouble with renouncing is clear for anyone who’s been on this side of the story – it’s quite uncomfortable.  Yes, there’s an amazing sense of freedom and excitement, but there’s also droves of people (many whom you love and respect) who don’t understand your choices at all.  Those who take the time to understand may feel a sense of rejection and distance inherent in the process of renouncing.   I wonder if Shannon will touch on this tension in her book. 

I find it immensely important to nurture relationships with other men and women who approach life a little radically.  Playdates and sewing nights in like-minded community are essential oasis of encouragement in the flow of my week.  On the other hand, I also greatly appreciate those friendships with more “mainstream” women who know a good bit about my lifestyle, and yet are able to continue the relationship with comfort, happy disagreement and a dash of curiosity.

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