Beyond Homemaking Daybook 6

Weather: It's pretty reasonable outside right now- around 45 or 50 I'd guess. Sunny, nice, but unusual for the end of December!

 

This Week: We're recovering from Christmas. Well, more accurately we're recovering the house from Christmas. I spent the weekend going through the boys' toys boxing up baby toys for future little ones and boxing toys to donate. We found new homes for the gifts, and their rooms are in order for now. I'm working on getting out the next size clothing for Little Bit, he's fully in 24 month clothes, but also a few 2T shirts and all 2T pajamas.

 

Current Fiction Read: Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. I'm about half through now. :)

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss.

 



Craftiness: The big project of the week is to finish Reed's quilt top.

 

Learning at home:  I pulled everything off the Montessori shelves yesterday and I'm going to re-set the shelves tonight after the boys go to bed. There are a few new things I'm going to put out, and some old things I'm going to present again. I also decided to go ahead and really make 2 of the shelves specifically for Little Bit, 2 shelves to share and the other shelves for Big Kid. 

 

New work: I presented odd and even numbers to Big Kid with the Numbers and Counters yesterday. I'm working on some things for Little Bit also.

Colored Pencils or Un-Montessori

I realized as I was loading these photos that the boys are still in their jammies in every picture! We've been putting off getting dressed in the mornings as long as possible this past week- it's been so cold no one wants to venture into cold (but clean) clothes. Anyway, the real purpose of this post is to show you a totally un-montessori thing one kid did, and the great realization the other had.


I don't let Ezra have any crayons unless I'm able to sit right next to him, reason being that he ate literally half of a purple crayon not long ago in less than 2 minutes. They're non-toxic, but I don't want to have to change another purple diaper. So we always have colored pencils and paper on a clipboard available to him since he really loves to scribble.







I can't leave this kid alone for even 5 seconds because he is creative in dangerous ways. I did a really quick run to the bathroom the other day, came back and he'd pulled out his styrofoam block and toothpicks. Apparently it got boring:









Yes, those are the colored pencils.


Those same pencils inspired Ender later in the morning. We've been talking a lot lately about how many sides different shapes have. He's been able to use manipulatives to make all kinds of shapes up to an octagon (hexagon is his favorite for some reason) but he has not been able to make a triangle on his own. He tries to make it like a square missing a side and then doesn't seem to understand why they don't connect. It suddenly clicked with those colored pencils for some reason. He grabbed them out of the cup and formed his first triangle completely on his own.







I did notice that he brought a fourth pencil though- maybe in case the triangle didn't work out? I don't know, but he was so proud of himself that we left his triangle on the floor for everyone to see (and of course took pictures!) until he said it was okay to put it away.

Beyond Homemaking Daybook 5

Weather: This has been a bitter December! It's so cold out that your skin seems to freeze instantly, not to mention your eyeballs, lips, nose . . .

 

This Week: I'm working most of today, we're spending Christmas Eve with my inlaws, and Christmas morning is just the four of us. Christmas afternoon will be spent with my family. The rest of the week we're just at home catching up on things and hanging out together.

 

Current Fiction Read: Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. I'm about 1/3 of the way through- I've been heading to bed early instead of reading at night this week.  

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss.

 



Craftiness: The kangaroo for Little Bit just isn't going to happen. I've run into a major snafu and I don't think I'll finish it in time. But I picked up a board book for him the other day that I'll add to his presents in place of the kangaroo. Maybe it will be a happy new year present. :)

 

Learning at home: I'm working on a short bone unit for Big Kid since he's very interested in bones ever since our conversation a few days ago. He had a look at some xrays my mom has and was really fascinated with them. As far as their actual work this week, all their usual materials will be available to them, but I think we'll be so busy with cooking and presents that those things will be the last thing on their minds.

 

New work: I finished collecting the spooning and pouring works to introduce over the weekend, so we'll be starting those. Also Big Kid received his moveable alphabet on Saturday and that was the first thing he asked to do on Sunday morning. I'm sure that will be his main work for the next little while.

Seven Quick Takes

Go check in with Jen to see other Quick Takes.

 

1. Today was a long day. It's technically 12:30 A.M. and I haven't been to bed yet. It started with getting up at 7 in order to get everyone dressed, fed and out of the house by 8:10 to take Superman to physical therapy for a 4 hour session today. After that was the last of the Christmas shopping (Big Kid shopping for Little Bit and Daddy), gas for the car, a trip to the library and a trip to the thrift store in hunt of a better sized pitcher for Big Kid to work on pouring. Home for a bit of play and some lunch, then back to pick up Superman, naptime/rest time for the boys while I caught up on laundry and Superman rested, then to my parents house to see family in from out of town. Home in time to bathe the boys and put them to bed then try to finish up chores, make brownies for tomorrow's very big family Christmas, and collapse. But now my mind won't shut off with the amount of stuff going through it. Hence the post. :)

 

2. I've been working in little pieces on a general plan for Big Kid for the next year. It's mostly notes to myself- We want to plant flowers out front for him to help water and care for, and we're going to try to grow just a few edible things on the back porch in pots. We have no space for a real garden, so that will have to do. I made a list of a few presentations I want to do in the next few months as he shows interest.

 

3. Big Kid announced to me today that he doesn't want to drink soy milk any more (he's intolerant of cow's milk, so he drinks mostly soy milk), only water and orange juice. I told him he should still drink soy milk to stay healthy and keep his bones strong. Then he looked really confused and asked me what a bone was. I realized we'd never really talked about that! So I held out my hand and told him to feel my fingers and wrist and arm for the hard parts.

"Those are the bones." I said.

"Can I see them?"

"You can't take bones out of your body." I said. "You would have to cut your skin open to see them and that would hurt."

"But we could just cut yours and I could look just real quick."

He's so quick to give me up in the name of science! I finally convinced him that his grandmother had several x-rays he could look at, and that made him happy. My mom has x-rays of my hands, my knee, the knees of 3 of my siblings (bad knees are a family trait apparently) and my pelvis (complete with a zipper down the middle because they said that thing they were looking for didn't matter if I kept my jeans on... weird, I know, but they figured out the problem, so I suppose it worked out okay!)

 

4. Little Bit is hard core teething again. Hopefully these last four teeth will come in all together and we can be through with the madness! Last night was fever, drool, diahrea, the whole nine yards. The only thing that seemed to help was chewing on an icy cold wet washcloth. He cried and cried all night and he was miserable all day too.

 

5. I'm only teaching in the studio 1 day a week for the next two weeks. Hooray for a break!  We've had some bad weather here that led to lessons needing to be rescheduled, so I have 2 short work days over break and the rest of the time to hang out with my boys.

 

6. I still have to wrap presents. STILL. Like as in they must be wrapped before we leave for the big gathering tomorrow morning. And there's laundry still in the dryer...

 

7. I need Superman back. We all do! This back problem of his has been terrible. He's home all the time but he can't really spend a lot of time with the boys- they basically think of their daddy as a giant climbing toy full of great sound effects and lots of hugs and tickles. Of course, Superman can't be climbed on at all right now and all the great chasing and hiding games they usually play are on the back burner. Big Kid understands that Daddy's back is hurt, but he doesn't understand why it isn't better yet. Little Bit has not a clue!

Superman isn't a sit around kind of guy, so all this laying down is really getting to him. He's read a lot, watched a lot of movies, and generally just been bored. He had a lot of time to study for his finals this term, so that was good! He started a different kind of therapy this past Wednesday. It concludes on Tuesday, and as long as he's met his goals he can return to work on Wednesday. We're hoping that his back continues to heal so he can get back on his feet.

Montessori in our Home (Part One)

I had a question asked of me the other day: "Why Montessori?" There are many many methods of education out there, but we landed on Montessori. I thought I'd write today about the why behind our choice.

 

I've been a music teacher for a long time now, and one of the things I learned early on was that there is no one method that works for everyone. I maintain a full studio of 40 students ranging in ages from 3-adult and there is no possible way for one method to meet the very unique needs of a preschooler as well as the needs of a middle school student or adult. For my music students I know exactly what needs to be taught and the methods I choose from stick with my criteria, but within that range I can account for different kinds of learners. It is more complex than aural, kinesthetic, or visual so once I've chosen a method that fits I still need to tailor the method to the individual. Montessori is our base; it is the very closest thing to our educational goals for our children, but as in the music methods I described above, not a perfect fit. I'm trying to tailor to the boys needs, adopt a bit of other methods that we think are just as important, and to follow to a certain extent where the boys might take us in their educational desires.

 

There is no one way for everyone, but I do believe that there are certain paths that suit each of us better. Big Kid is a pretty quiet boy. He would sit still to read with us at 15 months old and that is still his favorite part of our day. He was very verbal early on and is constantly trying out bigger and better words in his vocabulary. He wants to read very badly on his own- I think he believes that it's one of the most important and exciting things to do with your day. We sit and read many separate times a day, I read or study material while the boys play, Superman is in college again so we rarely see him without a text book open these days. Little Bit, on the other hand, is quite a handful at 17 months. He is constantly moving, climbing, exploring, opening, closing... you name it, he's into it! I've started really trying to teach him to sit  for a short board book- the kind that has one word per page for maybe 6 or 8 pages. I've been holding him on my lap for the length of one short book so that we can start to increase his attention span second by second. He has no verbal vocabulary yet, but he is very good at getting his point across by pointing and signing. These boys are very different already, and I knew that when I started looking into different options for their education. It is important to me to provide a structure in our home that works for all of our children without forcing anyone to conform to a lifestyle that isn't really in their personality and I feel that Montessori provides that for us.

 

There are a few things about Montessori that called out to me above other things. I also find great appeal in Charlotte Mason and Waldorf, and we will probably include elements of those methods along our journey, but Montessori really fits with me and the things I was already doing with my boys (specifically Big Kid at that point, but as Little Bit is getting to be 18 months he will really join us as well!). As I've been reading more and more about the method I find myself saying, "we already do this, this and that, Big Kid knows all of these..." and feeling like it was a natural fit with what was already working really made me feel comfortable with calling Montessori home. The more I read the more I find that this fits our whole family and that is just as important. I as the director of their education have to be able to actually follow and complete my part of the bargain- if I found something that was perfect for my children but completely clashed with my own personality that would not work for the boys either!

 

I love that work time is a structured thing; when it is time to work you must choose work to do and it is as simple as that! But also there is great flexibility- if Big Kid wants to choose the binomial cube over and over each day he can do that, or he can switch to whatever is most attractive to him that day. I personally like to know what I have to accomplish in a day but then have the flexibility to arrange those tasks however I'd like. Big Kid would like every single day to be the same as the day that came before it, so having to choose his work has been a really good skill for him to build on. For Little Bit I can already see that learning to stay with his work through completion will be a good step for him when he is able to get to that point.

 

We have a certain rhythm to our day now that we did not have before, and I dare say a bit more peace as well. The boys know what to expect next each day and in turn it has given me a better schedule and routine as well.

Beyond Homemaking Daybook 4

Weather: Let's just say I can't wait for spring.

 

This Week: This is my last work week before a nice 2 week vacation for the holidays! We'll find out later this morning from the doctor whether or not Superman can get back to work and we have piano lessons this morning too. I need to finish up Christmas gifts and of course try to get everything wrapped. I also have baking and some extra house things to do before my family's big get together on Saturday.

 

Current Fiction Read: Still on Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. It's a gigantic book.  

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Don't laugh but I'm reading Catholicism for Dummies. Just trying to answer some of my questions and thoughts.

 



Craftiness: I finished up Little Bit's mittens last week, and I'm racing like crazy to try to get his kangaroo done in time for Christmas morning! I was also gifted some fabric from my mom the quilter so I'm thinking about what I can do with that over my holiday break. I've been thinking about these pencil/crayon pouches, and maybe something in the same vein to better organize my knitting needles.

 

Learning at home: Big Kid has narrowed his work day down to three activities. First, he dictates a list of words to me (usually about 5) and then he copies them on the white board to his little heart's content. Second, he is really mastering the pink cards. When he gets his moveable alphabet set for Christmas we'll need to move on to putting the picture in front of him and having him spell out the word. That's the part he's more interested in anyway, rather than the reading. Third, he is really enjoying painting for the first time ever.

I've been trying to entice this child to paint since he was probably 16 months old. He just hates a mess and that has kept him from being interested. He's attempted a few times, but it has always been j ust a few brush strokes and he's done. FORGET finger painting! He produced 5 papers in one sitting last week and at least 2 in all the others. I think now that he has better fine motor skills and can control the "mess" it's easier for him mentally to think about painting.

Little Bit has been plain old mischevious so some of his items have been put away for now. He wants to dump 5 different things out all over the floor 50 times a day and then ignore them. For certain items that's okay, but not for the binomial cube. We've only had the poor thing for 2 months but it has taken such a beating! He's been really busy with a sponge and spray bottle wiping the tables, and he's enjoying the place setting work I set up for him a few weeks ago.

 

New work: Nothing until after the holidays. I have a few new things I'll be getting ready for both of them- different types of pouring activities for both and some spoon and tong work for Little Bit.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Check in with Jennifer at Conversion Diary to read all the other quick takes there. Or just stay awhile and read... I always do.

 

1. I haven't baked much of anything in the last week but cookies. I only really bake cookies in December and I think I've baked too many. Is 25 dozen really too many cookies? Big Kid says no.

 

2. Check out all the awesome toddler ideas over at Chasing Cheerios! Melissa has been sharing her ideas for fun felt activities for awhile and I know both of my boys would enjoy them. So maybe I should ask Santa for a big pile of felt this year?

 

3. This morning Big Kid jumped into our bed around 6:30. (We prefer he come in our bed rather than wander the house like he's tempted to do) I woke up hearing him whisper to his daddy that he needed to go potty, so Superman helped him take care of that. When they came back Big Kid crawled under the blankets, put his freezing cold toes on my legs and snuggled up to me. He sighed and started to relax as he fell asleep. I put my arm over him and he said, "Mama, I love you so much." And just as I was about to say how much I loved him too, he said, "but your breath really really stinks." Thank you, son.

 

4. Superman has promised me time to marathon sew this weekend! I want to get Reed's quilt top finished by Sunday night so that it can get it to the quilter as soon as possible. It's been sitting around in half-pieced piles all week since last weekend's bit of sewing, and it needs to be finished.  

 

5. I am so behind on Christmas things it's ridiculous. I need to finish the quilt so that I can finish sewing the boy's things for Christmas too! We put our little humbug tree up at Thanksgiving, and we got the stockings hung just a few days ago, but that's as far as we've gotten. Nothing on the door, no extra lights or decorations. And my shopping isn't done either! I still have a sister-in-law to buy for, and we still have gifts to make for the grandparents. Someone please tell me we're not the only ones this far behind!

 

6. There is apparently a leak around one of the sliding glass doors in my studio because I have been freezing my tail off in there this week! I've already been mentally consumed by knitting lately, but now that I spent an entire week shivering I can't stop thinking about this little cardigan. I added it to my favorites list on Ravelry awhile ago, but I just can't get it out of my head! Maybe I'll start it after Christmas...

 

7. I have never been so thankful to work from home as I have been the last few weeks. Superman hurt his back at work two weeks ago and has been home since then, making several trips to physical therapy. Thankfully he's on the mend and might go back to work as early as Tuesday. But if I worked a more traditional job with a more traditional schedule we would not have been able to see so much of each other the last few weeks, and I wouldn't have been available to take him to therapy and help him with his exercises at home. This week was also his finals week for the semester and the unexpected time off certainly helped him prepare for his exams.

Flashback

Ender at 6 months old...




Ender now:

Stewardship

I read Jennifer's post on stewardship yesterday and didn't post here because the post I was working on wasn't relevant after reading her article. Head over there and read for a minute. I'll wait.

 

Seriously.... go read it.

 

I used to scrapbook a lot when my oldest son was born and I read all kinds of scrapbooking magazines. I remember a particular article about a woman who was trying to put together a scrapbook of her mother's life. Her mother had died awhile ago and she wanted to put something together for her own children to have as a keepsake of their grandmother. She was posing a question to the scrapping experts about how to create a keepsake like that when you can only find a handful of pictures of that person. That day I realized that if something happened to me, we had only a few pictures of me with my son. And since then I've given my camera to someone else to take pictures for me. I want to be the one actually in the pictures and being a part of the birthday party, rather than always the one behind the camera.

I've been feeling really stretched lately. Between the regular demands of mothering, working and being a wife, I've been trying to meet many other expectations as well , and I think that's why I've been feeling like there is just so much to do and never enough time to do it all. Jennifer's post has been on my mind since I read it and I've been sorting out in my mind the distinction between my true priorities and the things that I say yes to that threaten my priorities. I've never thought about it that way- that when I say yes to too many things I'm actually stealing from the commitments that are far more important to me, and I can't do that anymore.

 

Superman and I have a tradition of going to lunch together without the kids a few days before the beginning of the new year and sharing our wishes for the new year. One of mine is to learn to say "no" to new commitments if they take away from my priorities, and to have a good plan in place about which things need to go and which ones need to stay. I suppose I'll hang on to Superman and the boys . . .

Vacuum? Sweep?

I'm busy today with work and house stuff, but here's a great little picture for you....



It's one of those things you never even imagine having to say: "DON'T VACUUM YOUR BROTHER!"

Both of my boys absolutely love the vacuum cleaner. So I vacuum first and then let them take turns pushing and pulling the vacuum. It's a great way to wear them out before nap time!



Do you Vacuum or do you sweep? I use vacuum and sweep interchangeably, but Superman insists that  sweeping is when you use a broom or dustmop and vacuuming is called "hoovering" (even though our vacuum is not a Hoover). I know this is a blistering hot topic, but does it matter? What do you say?

Marshmallow Building

I was inspired by Angela's post a few weeks ago about building with marshmallows, so we did our own. We started out with just shapes and it was a great reinforcement for Ender about how many sides it takes to make each shape.





He built the same triangle over and over for a long time before asking me what else he could build. I suggested other shapes and he tried a few but figured out pretty quickly that he could build taller things . . .





But I didn't catch a picture of his taller building before he started eating them!

Beyond Homemaking Daybook 3

Weather: Still cold, but I'm starting to get used to it. :) We had our first little bit of snow yesterday, so that was exciting for the boys!

 

This Week: Back to our regular schedule. Superman is getting ready for finals this week so he'll be studying more than usual after work. I've been fiddling with the housekeeping schedule to try to get us through my two longer teaching days, so we're going to try out some new things this week.

 

Current Fiction Read: Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. I'm giving up on Twilight. Sorry, but I just can't get into it.

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard. It has been such a great read and has explained a lot about why my toddler does what he does and what materials to provide for him to help him through these stages.

 

Craftiness: Still working on Little Bit’s knit kangaroo AND his mittens. I want to finish those tonight! I'm cutting blocks from the strips for Reed's Quilt, so that's another step forward. Hopefully I'll get those done and pieced this week, then into the home stretch on the quilt. :) 

 

Learning at home: This week we're still working with the new 3 part animal cards. Big Kid is only interested in doing 2 or 3 at a time and then puts everything away, so that's been curious. I'm also wondering why he keeps getting them back out if he only wants to work with a few of them. He really enjoys the pink cards. We've been working with 1 short vowel at a time, but I think that he's guessing by the first letter instead of really reading, so I'm going to try putting them in groups by beginning letter. I know he can read 3 letter words, but I want him to get used to working like this before moving on to more difficult things.

 

New work: Practical life for Little Bit- Setting the table, and folding napkins. We started a little bit yesterday and he's in love with the placemat I made for him.