The Rowdy Pea

seasons of joy: thoughts on week one, or finding our way

So wrapping up our first week of Seasons of Joy, hmmmm . . . what can I say about this . . . it was good, we had some definite strong moments there.  We also fell off the wagon a few times and failed to complete our entire plan.  Our "daily rhythms" need some practice, but heck we are new at this, we're doing our best, and we did have fun.  Also, we are not aspiring to be a world-class Waldorf family, which takes the pressure off considerably.  Here are a few more projects we completed:

A gnome-themed counting game that we made together and have played with every day since:

The little bag is full of flat glass "gems" that Ivo counts out to the gnomes after they sing their song.  We are working on the concept of cardinal numbers (I think that's the right way to say it, what I mean is the numbers as they relate to "how many", as opposed to ordinal numbers such as counting 1-10).  Ivo has been able to count ("chant" would be a name for it) for a while, but is only starting to understand that those words refer to specific amounts.  So the gnomes are helping us with numbers one through five using this very goofy made-up song:

A gnome went walking down number lane,

And he stopped at number (three),

"Please give me (three) gems from your bag,

Ivo give me (three)."

There are little cards in the bag also, each with a number from one through five.  We line the cards up to make "number lane" and the gnomes sort of boogie down the row until they hop onto a number.  This is a simple, silly game, but Ivo adores it and has really learned a lot from playing with it.  Ivo is a very hands-on, tactile learner (maybe that is true for all three-year-olds) so the textures of the gnomes and the gems really keep him interested and tuned in.  Taking the gems out of the bag one at a time has also been a good fine-motor activity, which is the other area (besides language) where he is a little delayed, according to his last assessment.

Another activity was painting rocks that we collected from the yard.  We used metallic acrylic paint so they would look like gold treasure (gnomes' treasure).  After they were dry we took turns hiding them and looking for them.

So our first week was good, Ivo liked the activities and the stories.  Our biggest challenge I think will be creating and maintaining a daily and weekly rhythm that works for us.  Ivo thrives on routine, and it's no wonder.  Our daily routines offer security and predictibility in a world that must seem topsy-turvy at times.  Here's a perfect example: yesterday afternoon we were a little low on laundry so when we came in from playing outside I took off Ivo's muddy pants and gave him some pajama bottoms to wear.  He put on the pj's and thought it was time for bed, even though we had just eaten lunch an hour ago. There really is no concept of time for him, and even verbal reminders seem to leave him perplexed.  The routines are what anchor his days and tell him what's coming next. And that is a nice thing to know when you are three years old and have very little real control in life. They are also my most effective discipline tool, because in following our routines we are both relaxed and cooperative.  So establishing our daily and weekly rhythms is one of my top priorities for the upcoming weeks . . . I am optimistic about it, not expecting perfection but hoping to be able to meet everyone's needs in the process.  My official report on week one is that this is fun, thought provoking and beneficial to our family, even if I do sort of stink at it sometimes.  We are, after all, doing "Seasons of Joy", not "Seasons of Guilt."  That is certainly not a plan I would sign up for.  So now it's on to week 2!

ivo's skink

It started with rolling several snakes.  At some point Ivo picked up a snake and said, "I'm making a skink", to his friend, who was paying no attention.  Getting back to business, Ivo took a piece of dough, rolled it into a ball and carefully stuck it to one end of the snake.  The other end of the snake he gently split into two pieces.  According to Ivo, a skink is a snake with a round head and legs. 

And I never would have noticed at all if I hadn't been watching and listening at that very moment.  Ivo seemed satisfied with his work but was about to lump it back into the rest of the dough before I swooped down to rescue it.  It wasn't about creating a sculpture to him, it was about thinking skink-y thoughts.  It wasn't about having a skink, but making a skink.  But we both have needs,  and so for my sake the skink is now proudly displayed on our seasonal table.  It's not only an object of great beauty to me, but a reminder of how much of Ivo's learning and growing is flying under my radar every day.  If that ball of playdough could talk, oh my.  What it could tell me about my child. And the blocks, the play kitchen, the dolls.  Every play scenario is infused with its own meaning, it's a world I can catch glimpses into but of which I can never really be a part.  I imagine same could be said of Ivo looking in on the grown-up world I inhabit these days.  So we go on working side-by-side, with so much lost in translation along the way. 

wordless wednesday: chinese moonlight festival (at josh's school)

A great big thank you to the China Club at SCSU for sharing this special holiday with us!

seasons of joy: day one!

Today was our first day of "doing" the Seasons of Joy (SOJ) autumn curriculum.  I went back-and-forth for a while about purchasing the e-book and I am so glad I did.  It really exceeded my expectations--it's over 70 pages long, and full of ideas that I am so excited to try with Ivo. And there are so many ideas for each theme that I was able to pick out the ones I thought would work this year, and make a note of the ones to leave for next year.  All weekend I walked around with my binder and notepad, making this week's schedule.  I felt like I was playing school the way I used to as a little girl.

Here is a glimpse of what we did today:

Our handwork for the week is weaving. I had the idea of using popsicle stick looms, which is not actually from the SOJ book but was a nice fit for Ivo's rather limited fine motor skills.  We made up a little verse to sing as we did our weaving:

(to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down)

over under, back and forth,

back and forth,

back and forth,

over under, back and forth

that's the way the weaving goes

In the Waldorf pedagogy, hand work encourages the child to engage head, heart and hands to create an object that is functional as well as attractive.  In practicing handwork the children learn to conserve materials, to work efficiently and to respect the efforts of others. I especially like the thoughts about handwork presented here.  We will be working on our weaving for the rest of the week, as advised in SOJ. Today we worked 15 minutes before Ivo moved on, which seems like a decent amount of time for his age.  Most of the time was spent singing the song and cutting yarn although he did do a few weaves, too. 

Here is one more thing to share today: A gnome flannel board set to accompany a poem from SOJ. Ivo just loved the little counting poem but I will refrain from posting it here so as not to infringe on SOJ copyright. I know the black background is not very "Waldorf", but we are not doing everything 100% perfectly.  That would so not be like us.  We muddle along!

happy equinox!

If you are in my hemisphere . . . happy autumn! If you're not, then I hope you have a spectacular spring season!  At our house we like to celebrate the first day of the season with a special meal and a few handmade treasures for Ivo.  I made him another book-related playset because enjoyed the Little Red one so much.  This time the story is Owl Babies, and the only crafting I did was to whip up three baby owls. I used a free Japanese pattern I found a while ago on craftster. 

Owl Babies is exactly the kind of book that appeals to Ivo--a small and vulnerable protagonist, high anxiety and drama, and a gentle, happy ending. Corduroy, Kitten's First Full Moon, Harry the Dirty Dog, and Knuffle Bunny are among other favorites that seem to bring him a similar emotional satisfaction. I really think he is going to love being able to act out the story with props, but tonight he fell asleep on the chair before I had the chance to give him his present. So, tomorrow he will have a surprise at the breakfast table.

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the season!  We are starting the Autumn Seasons of Joy curriculum tomorrow, so I hope to be blogging about our progress.  Please take a look later this week if you like. I need the accountability :)

our fall art party

Our party was really fun! We used our apartment building's community room, which had a nice big work table and folding chairs, and also a kitchen for making lunch.  We draped sheets over the floor and sofas and let the children have at it.  Here's what happened . . .

Art activity #1: Homemade playdough, lots of natural materials (leaves, pinecones, acorns, sticks, seed pods, leafy twigs, etc.), rolling pins and leaf cookie cutters in many sizes (oak and maple).  I set out the materials and let the children explore them and use them in a way that was meaningful to them, with really interesting results.  This activity kept them happily busy for over twenty minutes.

Art activity #2: Painting with tempera on paper and stretched canvasses.  In addition to paintbrushes, we used apples to stamp, and corn to roll paint on the paper.  The children also experimented with painting the leaves, twigs, and pinecones from the first activity.

(Ivo is eating the stamping apples.)

Party favors (notice I did not say "goody bags". I gotta stick to my budget!): Three of the four children had 3-letter names, so I embroidered their names onto oak leaves cut from wool felt and then used a metal eyelet and punch to make it a tag.  I just used a scrap of ribbon to tie the leaf to a mini-gourd (from the Farm Market I talked about here, three for a dollar--wowza.) The kids really liked their "pumpkins" and got a kick out of seeing their names in stitches. The total cost was only $1.33. Which I got a kick out of :D

After all of the adventures in art, the children and moms were pretty hungry.  Lunch was potato leek soup (again, all from the Farm Market field trip), apple slices from one of the guests backyard apple tree, and tiny sandwiches cut into leaf shapes with cookie cutters.  We also had really yummy pumpkin-banana muffins that were also very healthy.  I'll happily share the recipe if anyone wants it.

After lunch, the children played with toys in our apartment while the moms chatted, and after a while everyone went home for naps.  It was an awesome morning with lots of creative, youthful energy to inspire and delight! Kids are so cool :)

breakfast table fun

"Granola Bar" has been Ivo's favorite breakfast for about a month now, a switch from his usual pancakes that I was happy to make, because Granola Bar is a snap to put together and very wholesome.  It's a bar like a salad bar, only with granola and fixins.  Homemade granola is cheap, easy and sooo good.  I'll share our basic recipe below:

Basic Granola Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups of rolled oats or oatmeal (we use quick oats)

1 cup of wheat germ

1/3 cup of sunflower seeds

1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup

3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted butter

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish.  Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl.  Combine wet ingredients (I microwave for about 10 seconds to make them thinner, this is optional).  Drizzle the wet ingredients onto the dry and mix well.  (Doesn't have to be perfectly uniform.)  Pour granola into the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after every ten minutes.   After baking, cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.

For granola fixins, we use almonds, pecans, raisins, dried berries, a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and rice krispies.  Or anything else we may have on hand. 

We line up all of the jars and Ivo uses a spoon to put on the ingredients of his choosing.  Then the lids go back on and back on the shelf the granola bar goes.  It's been a good breakfast for us so I just felt like sharing it here :)

(Ivo's party today was a lot of fun.  I will post pictures tomorrow. A sneak preview would be the party-related mess behind Ivo's head in these photos!)

our autumn nature table is here

I love this time of year.  Tonight, in the spirit of the season,I made a chicken pot pie from scratch with a top and a bottom crust. The crust turned out a bit wonky but the house smelled so yummy.  Josh and Ivo had two helping apiece, with Ivo leaving a tidy pile of peas, carrots, and parsnips at the bottom of is bowl.  Tomorrow we are having friends over for a fall art party so I hope to post pictures of that later this week.  Happy almost-autumn to everyone (unless you are expecting spring, that is.  I love having bloggy friends from around the world!!)