In my last post I suggested a new set of “R’s” to guide our homeschool philosophy, particularly in the early grades. I proposed A relaxed approach based on relationships and real experiences. I then encouraged us all to take a deep breath and relax. Today, I want to think about the role of relationships in our homeschools….
Continue Reading“Hey, mom! Want to color in Cutielicious?” Yes, I do. I love Cutielicious. It’s a super fun doodle book with just enough structure for the creatively challenged (me) and more than enough freedom for the artistically inclined (Helen). One of the best purchases I’ve ever made, it makes me happy to color in this ultra…
Continue ReadingA long while back I wrote about wanting to create some sort of masterpiece of a timeline to hang on my dining room wall. I promised to update with pictures when I’d done so, but I just didn’t. The conversation has come up recently in a number of homeschooling circles, so I am finally sharing…
Continue ReadingHenry has been deeply immersed in two different “unit studies” of his own design and choosing. One is a study of ancient Egypt, which I’ll blog about in another post. The other is a unit on crypto zoology, specifically the search for Big Foot. I’m not sure what sparked his interest in this topic, but…
Continue ReadingSummer vacation officially started this week for all of the kids on our block. Since we basically unschool, the school calendar means little to us. But having the neighborhood kids home has certainly changed our days. We are so very blessed to live on a block with a bunch of really great kids ranging from…
Continue ReadingWhen my oldest, now 7, was a baby, I was very excited about creating a Montessori atmosphere in my home. I love Montessori’s philosophy and the beauty of Montessori materials. But at some point I realized that what many of Montessori’s “practical life” and “sensory” activities are trying to replicate occur quite naturally in the…
Continue ReadingHenry has declared that he was born to cook. Today he decided to bake a cake. He didn’t ask for permission, he just went for it while unsupervised. Ryan “caught” him as he finished the batter and prepared to bake it. So Ryan helped him pour it in a pan and bake it. The mess…
Continue ReadingMy kids have been up to some interesting stuff. Really interesting stuff. Like self designed experiments in which they come to the conclusion that the only way to kill a zombie is to crush his brain. Here is Henry with his cup of zombie brains. Helen’s experiment was about rotten eggs. Apparently if you leave…
Continue ReadingWe decided to head out for a little family fun today. I highly recommend the Edgewater Celtic Harvest Festival to those in the area with small kids. It was really, really low key and fun. And the only thing we paid for was $1/person for the sword play. This kid was mean. I had to…
Continue ReadingIn my last post I explained a bit about what the ZPD and scaffolding are and what scaffolding looks like when “teaching” babies how to roll over. In this post, I’ll provide a couple of examples of scaffolding the writing process. I’d like to start by pointing out that writing is not a single skill,…
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