At Home Classroom: Winter Wonderland

When N was little, before I had L, N and I used to do every kind of activity imaginable.  The first year of L's life though wiped me clean.  I finally feel like a human.  N is in his first year of preschool so I didn't feel so horrible laying off the learning activities but lately since L has become more manageable I've made it a goal to start doing more lessons at home.  I am a big follower of the play to learn approach.  Even Nick's preschool is play based.  At this age I feel that is the best way to approach learning.  The near mention of teaching something to N scares him off...so I have to disquise it.  I can see I am going to struggle with him in school! 

This week we are working with a theme.  I figured I should start with this before it is too late!  Our poor daffodils have already been fooled into thinking it's spring!  Our focus is on the letter W and the number 2.

Our first big activity for the week was our winter sensory table.  I used cotton balls and twigs...I sprinkled some cinnamon and ginger in there to make it smell nice and kind of bring in more of the senses.  The kids, especially the little guy, are having a blast.  We also went went on to making a snowman out of cotton balls, singing some snow flake songs, and today, tracing the letter W and the number 2.

We have a chalkboard wall in our kitchen where I wrote the letter and the number and I have N trace it using a wet paint brush.  He enjoys watching the paint turn to water...and then disappear. 

In the end, my play based approach is paying off!  Nick was able to spot the letter W in the alphabet today!  He calls it the triangle letter!  It's a start!

Here are some pictures.

I've also included an idea I got from Pinterest.  We made a roadway/town(with a land for dinosaurs) on craft paper.  It was a big hit!

Toddler Transitions part I, continued...I Lied

I utterly lied.  This toddler transition thing can be even tougher than I had originally anticipated.  It could be that or it could be the fact that I am the most indecisive person/mother on the planet.  Not only did I think I made a decision, but I also told the whole world I had made a decision.  Enter a few days later, this unmistakable feeling that I did not make the right one.  I am sure you are all too familiar with this feeling.  My very decisive husband thinks I have lost my mind and that this whole preschool debate is just an ongoing obsession of mine and clearly I will do whatever I want anyway so why continue to go on and on with the choices.  Whew, sound familiar?

We all have our weaknesses, aleit, I may have more than the average person.  I overanalyze every little thing in my life, why should the choice of sending my first son to preschool be any different?  So, before I tell you that I have changed my mind and I have officially picked a more formal preschool setting than originally chosen, I will just tell you that is my newest development.  I hope to send my payment in this coming week and secure a spot. Yes, N will only be 2 when he enters, turning 3 in December but the program that I am enrolling him in seems to be more play based and not so over the top into academics.  Of course there will be the incidental learning through play but I thought long and hard about how much our child's brain grows and learns in the first few years of life, why not have him absorb as much as possible.  I don't want an Einstein child, but I do want a child who has the chance to develop himself individually outside a 20 foot raidius of his mother.  I have absolutely adored these 2 and a half years of having him by my side 24/7, but I am ready to allow him to feel confident with me not by his side.  He still has some anxieties with being away from me, and this program is a co op, so I am hoping that this can foster his growth while still giving him the time and love to do it.  Also, this will give L, my second son, some of the love and added attention that his older brother got for so long!

On a side note, we are finally getting over our bout of what I would like to call a failed flu shot.  I am convinced what we have could have been nothing other than the flu.  Who knows?  See you this week to talk about the pacifier fairy, some cute finds I found at the J Crew outlets, and some other fun things.

Toddler Transitions Mini Series Part I: Preschool, Not for the Faint of Heart

For the next few weeks I hope to do a little mini series on the transitions that our toddlers face and the way we as parents can make these transitions a little easier for our children and ourselves.  The first transition I want to deal with is preschool.  Preschool is not a mandatory transition as some of the others are.  All children eventually have to learn how to use the potty, sleep in a bed that no longer offers the security of a side, and get rid of their beloved pacifiers.  Most children will inevitably go into a school setting at some point, but not all will go to preschool.  This is a decision in itself.  We always knew that we would send Nick to preschool.  Being that he has a December birthday and the cut off in Connecticut to go to kindergarten is December 31st, we already had a difficult decision to make.  Will we send him when he is 4 turning 5 or wait an extra year?  As of now we are pretty set that we will wait the extra year.  Because of this, we now have to decide whether to send him to two or three years of preschool.

Nick is a pretty smart little man.  Well, that's what we think...don't we all think that of our children?  He knows many a song, knows how to count to 13 (why he stopped there we have no idea), knows a few colors etc.  On the other hand he is also very tiny for his age, shy, and really really loves being around his mommy.  If we started him in September he would be going to preschool with children who are almost over a whole year older than him.  I was always dead set on sending him the day that they allowed me.  That was of course before the decision was imminent and I thought of my little boy being devoured by a 4 year old who was double his size!  Of course this is quite the exxageration but is definitely something to consider, aside from him actually being eaten by a four year old.  My little guy barely knows how to defend himself against a nonsharer on the playground let alone a whole class of children who are most likely further along socially and academically because of their age and their advanced degree of pottyhood.

After months of going back and forth on this issue we have decided against sending him to a formal preschool in the fall.  Two years seems like it is plenty enough.  There are also numerous programs in the area that are similar to a preschool where we will send him.  There is a local children's museum that offers a drop in preschool class a few hours a week and the local high school has a preschool class taught by the high school students every once in a while.  This will give us the time we all need to adjust to the idea of preschool and take our time with potty training, separation anxiety, and of course, growing.  Everytime I hear another mother talking about their child starting in the fall, though, I still wonder if we are making the right decision.  Maybe he would excel and learn more at school than he would at home?  Maybe he would learn how to better control his emotions and develop better socially?  The truth is I have no way of knowing any of this.  None of us do.  As with all decisions that we have to make for our children, we just have to go with our gut and what we think is best for them and hope for the best.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that this decision will not make or break my son's future.  He will be fine either way.

Next Wednesday we'll talk about the transition of potty training where you get to learn all about my son's regression and what we plan to do about it.  Hopefully I have some idea by then!

A Look into the Waldorf Education

My playgroup has started to do some new playdates revolving around the Waldorf Education so I decided to look more into it.

This type of learning is based on the understanding that, a young infant will learn not through a formal educational process, but rather through just being, how to walk, how to talk, how to interact.  All of this learning takes place through imitation and watching those around him.  The Waldorf curriculum is based on this process.  The child learns through exploring  The arts, literature, music, and other subjects are not learned through a formal education but rather through experimenting with it.  Instead of reading books about specific artists, you listen to their music.  Instead of reading about nature, you go out and find it.  I think this is so very important, especially in the first few years of life.  The main purpose behind this way of teaching is to inspire a desire and love for learning in the child that will span through out their life.

The curriculum is different depending on the age range.  For young toddlers and preschool children the teaching may consist of:

•storytelling, puppetry, creative play


•singing, eurythmy (movement)

•games and finger plays

•painting, drawing and beeswax modeling

•baking and cooking, nature walks

•foreign language and circle time for festival and seasonal celebrations
 
A Waldorf Education does not hold a child back from fitting in with "normalized" society as some may think.  Although the schools are different in many respects, children are still learning to read, math, science, history, and writing.  In addition, these children are also exposed to playing instruments, woodworking, the arts, drama.  It inspires individual talents within each child.  The thing I like best is the interaction between the teacher and student.  One teacher may continue on with children all through their elementary years.
 
TV is something that is not appreciated in the Waldorf schools.  It is believed that such electronics hamper the imagination of the child to learn through experimentation and exploring.  That is why a lot of the toys used are all natural, or even just things that you can find in one's own home.
 
To find out more, visit: http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/
 
I don't know if we would put my son into a full Waldorf school after first grade, but I would love to find one for preschool and kindergarden and see how it goes.  It seems like it is limited though in the state of Connecticut.