Lala and Punkin

Our homeschooling style is very eclectic. Basically, I get ideas from a myriad of different places and try to be ready for whatever is going to pop up as a learning experience. So, although a lot of my ideas stem from Montessori, Playful Learning, Raymond Moore, Ruth Beechick, and Charlotte Mason, our school is really led by whatever you girls are interested in at the moment, which may be a form of unschooling. I don't really want to peg ourselves as unschoolers, either. It seems to me that everyone tries to belong to or push everyone else in to boxes, and I don't want you girls to be pushed in to boxes of any sort. 

The cool thing about homeschooling is that it makes me more aware of what is going on and it being a learning experience. For example, a neighbor just moved in to our front yard, under the pine tree. She (we don't know for sure if it is a she, but that's what we're going with for now) is a little rabbit that eats our dandelions. Punkin, you decided to call her "Lala." You decided to get as close as you could to her by being quiet and going slowly. I caught this picture, which is as close as you got to her. She started to move, so you went faster to get close to her. She went around the tree, you chased her around the tree. Then she went under the tree and we lost track of her. I'm sure we'll see her again soon, being that her buffet is in our front yard.

This wasn't the first time we'd seen her. Grandpa saw her in the neighbor's front yard the day before Easter. He pointed her out and said, "Hey, Punkin, look! It's the Easter Bunny!" It was so cute! Since then, she's moved into our front yard. Daddy isn't so excited, but I think it's a wonderful learning opportunity!

Yesterday, Punkin, you were asking about steam when I got out of the shower. Then, we were driving home from my cousin's house during a thunderstorm and you asked why rain comes out of the clouds. So I got to explain the water cycle to you. I'm sure we'll talk about it again, as I'm pretty sure you didn't totally understand it. You'll need a few more exposures before you get it. But we have plenty of time for that! 

First Birthday!

It's been a full year since you, Apple and Blueberry, were born and, to be quite honest, that year was quite a blur! We had a small, but fun, birthday party to mark the occasion. Some friends came, including the neighbor girl who is one year older than you, and three friends who's dad works at a place your dad buys from. Punkin, you helped Grandma make the cupcakes. They were in pretty, little tulip cupcake papers and had chocolate frosting. You wore top hats that looked like cakes, had one candle sticking out of the top, and said, "Birthday Girl" on them. You also had on matching onsie outfits with large, brightly colored flowers on them. For a while, we stayed inside and played with balloons, which you thoroughly enjoyed. We then put you outside in your high chairs, right next to each other, to eat your cupcakes. Blueberry, when yours was gone, you grabbed Apple's. Apple you didn't seem to mind. You then opened presents and seemed to enjoy the paper more than the gifts. We all had a great time, and you took naps immediately afterward!

Writing Center

So, we finished our first center, the writing center, and it has been a huge success! Even better than I could have imagined! It was kind of improptu and I haven't really even finished it. But here is a picture of it. The first day, I introduced it to Punkin after her nap. She decided to get to work immediately and stayed there for about an hour before coming up to eat her snack quickly, then run back to it! The next morning, the very first thing she did in the morning was run to her writing center. Today is the third day and, so far, she's been at the writing center for two and a half hours! The second day, she ran to the kitchen and said, "Mom, look!" It was her full name, which she'd written by herself without me telling her the letters or what they look like. The e's were upside down (think 6's), but today, she did it again by herself with the e's right side up. Also found- this paper with the ABC's up to F, a page with her name in stickers, paper "computers" (folded paper, basically), "telescopes" (rolled paper with tape), and "binoculars" (paper rolled up on each side and taped). Can I just say that I am utterly amazed at Punkin? Who'da thunk that she'd find inspiration and begin learning everything ON HER OWN? Ha!

In your writing center are:

markers

pencils

pens

paint

paintbrushes

crayons

alphabet stickers

glue

tape

a ruler

construction paper

blank page notebook

lined page notebook

preschool-lined on bottom half, blank on top half notebook (I think they call it a story notebook)

paper roll.

I can't wait to get started on the next center! I'm thinking a reading center.

Playful Learning

I was recently introduced to a book called Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder. It is a great book and really fits with our homeschooling style, despite the fact that it isn't written specifically for homeschoolers. The author is a teacher, curriculum developer, trainer of teachers, and helped open a school. Her book gives immediate implementation ideas for Montessori, Reggio Emelia and Harvard Project Zero styles of education for use in the home. It is written to help parents encourage learning in a fun, no pressure way in the home. The subjects covered are reading, writing, math, science, art, social studies, geography, and social skills. A chapter of the book is dedicated to playful learning spaces. The subsequant chapters are how to set up these spaces for each subject and projects to have available for learning at a moment's notice. The end of the book is full of useful printables to aid in the learning.

I wanted to tell you girls about this book because I think it will help form your schooling. I've always struggled with the idea of having a "school room" because this seems to convey the message that learning occurs only in one room, mostly while sitting at a desk. The reality, I believe, is that learning occurs in every place and at any time.

We've been putting some of the ideas in the book to work already! The picture above is of you, Punkin, sorting beans. You started using one of the printables in the back, but ran of room for your "pink" beans (AKA pinto beans). So we made our own graft! You sorted anasazi, pinto, and white beans, as well as lentils.

We are also working on putting together writing, bird watching, reading, music, and art spaces. Eventually, you will also have a science experiment space, but I have to figure out where and how. I love the idea of having several places that you can "do school" in. I also love the idea of you being able to do it whenever you like. But, most of all, I like the idea that learning will be fun for you, not a drudgry. Learning the parts of a flower won't be based on memorization, but on pulling flowers apart and analyzing them. This isn't lazy homeschooling, though, to be sure! It is thoughtful and planned out. I have to watch for your personal tastes, make inviting areas that are simultaneously not distracting, and be on the lookout for what you are doing so that I can present you with projects when you seem interested in something specific. If they are to be good projects, I will have to plan them! And that, my daughters, is where this book comes in! I hope it is the springboard for our schooling that it seems to be!

whoa!

So, it's been two months since I last posted, and here is why: two babies who are mobile is a LOT of work! In early January, Blueberry, you started pulling up on things, then started army crawling. Apple, you started pulling up on things a couple days later, but didn't walk around them for a few weeks. You also didn't start crawling until late January. But when you did crawl, it was on your knees, and Blueberry saw that what you did was more efficient and crawling on her knees, too. I never thought I'd have kids that crawled, since Punkin didn't and none of your older cousins on my side did. You must get that from you dad's side of the family.

Also, you grew, and are still growing, a whole mess of teeth. You both got your bottom front teeth at 5 months. But you now have three bottom teeth and four top teeth. It seems like one is popping in each week! So two teething babies doesn't always make things easy, either. Your teething patterns are the same, but opposite, for every tooth and the timing. Apple will pop a tooth and a few days later, Blueberry will pop the same tooth on the opposite side.

Your favorite things to do include shredding paper, unrolling toilet paper, rifling through the cabinets, eating Bob's food and playing in his water, and generally exploring your world. You both love to talk, but are different in your talking. Blueberry, you try your best to pronounce words and sound like you are saying something. You say "Da da da da," when your daddy walks in, or "Ma ma," when you're ready to eat or sleep. Apple, you can say "dada," and "mama," but you are more concerned with voice inflection and usually sound you are singing. Right now, you're saying, "Uh oh," over and over. I think you like the sing-songiness of it.

You both need the other close to fall asleep, as evidenced by the attached picture- Apple sleeping ON TOP of Blueberry. You also take things away from and bite each other and pull each others hair. I think those things are appropriate for your age, but you get in trouble for doing them. Truth be known, I usually let you fight it out when it comes to taking things away. I think you learn to work things out on your own that way, even at this age.

Just to be fair, here is a picture of Blueberry sleeping on top of Apple! I think I'll be writing more soon, since I seem to have gotten the hang a bit more of having two mobile babies and we've been doing a lot more homeschooling that I want to write about!

Christmas 2011

Today was the twins first Christmas. Yay! We really had a whole Christmas weekend, though. Daddy couldn't work because it snowed on Thursday. So we've been celebrating for four days in a row. Tomorrow (Monday) will make it five days.

Punkin, you were in a Christmas play at church. You were the CUTEST sheep up there! You said, "We are warm and cozy. We are the sheep. Our wool makes warm blankets to help baby Jesus sleep." It was, honestly, hard to see you, mostly due to your standing directly behind one of the shepards and the sheep not being on the stage. However, once everyone started singing "Away in a manger," you climbed up on the stage to look in to the manger. You told me later that you wanted to see baby Jesus. In fact, just now, without my mentioning what I'm writing about, you spontaneously sang a song with the lyrics, "I saw baby Jesus. Hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm. I saw baby Jesus." I think you were so excited because I told you that it was Jesus' birthday and you kept asking me if he was coming to our house for His birthday party. So now you put a name with a face, albeit not the actual face of our Lord and Saviour. It was very heartwarming to see you so involved in the real spirit of Christmas.

This morning, we opened presents. Blueberry and Apple were very excited to play with the wrapping paper. You both loved playing with the silver cups that great grandma Bonnie gave you. You are both learning to drink out of cups, so you probably thought there was a drink in them for you. But you didn't seem put off by the fact that they were empty.

Punkin was very entertained with the new vacuum cleaner's box. In fact, you took a nap in it!

I'm going to have to put away the decorations soon. I'm tempted to leave the spiral Christmas tree up in the living room. Blueberry and Apple, you both love to roll over to it and shake all of the ornaments off. The tree is anchored to the fireplace grate, so it won't fall on you, and the ornaments are plastic. So it's not dangerous in any way. However, I love watching you of you roll over to it, shake it until an ornament falls off, then play with the ornament. We'll have this tree around for a while, I think!

That's about all I can think to put here. We really had a great Christmas, with just you girls and daddy and I. It was mostly quiet, but it really was happy!

Faithfulness

Pastor Jay was talking about the faithfulness of God a couple of Sundays ago. It got me thinking about how faithful God has been to me in my life. It also made me think that I'd really like you girls to know some of those times, especially the miraculous ones. So I think I will start adding them here when I think of them. So here is the first, and probably the one that stands out the most.

When I was 8, we moved to El Paso because Grandpa found a job at the refinery there. It was a hard transition for all of us, especially because we were so far from family. When we were in Farmington and grandpa lost his job, great grandpa Clarence would bring us groceries. But when we were short on funds in El Paso, there wasn't anyone we could ask for help.

One day, we were really short on food. When I say really short, I mean it! I remember looking into the refrigerator and seeing mustard and ketchup. And that's all. Nothing else. So grandma really had absolutely nothing to make for dinner, not even beans. At dinner time, we all sat down around the table and grandpa prayed like this, "Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the food that you are about to provide for us."

About the time he finished praying, the doorbell rang. Marie, our neighbor and friend, had had friends coming for dinner who had canceled at the last minute. God had put it on her heart to bring us a lasagna, salad and bread sticks! She was a fantastic Italian cook and we all ate like kings!

This is a story that you might hear a lot or not at all. But it's one I remember distinctly. It left an indelible impression on my young mind that I never forgot. I knew, from then on, that God could be counted on, quite literally, to "supply all [my] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)."