A Hug in a Mug

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Kindness

Oh the comfort,
the inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person.
Having neither to weigh thoughts
nor measure words
but to pour them out
just as they are,
chaff and grain together....
and a faithful hand
will take and sift them....
keep what is worth keeping
and with a breath of kindness,
blow the rest away.

George Eliot

Friday, January 13, 2012

Our home school room Part #2

OK...this post is a biggy, but I know that if others are like me, when I read blogs I want to know where certain ideas came from....and I love seeing how others live :) Kinda freaky I know.

Yesterday I posted pics of our school room. When we moved into this house, this room was being used as a living room. So crisp and clean. Loveseats to visit, and a little bar in the back corner. If these walls could talk what would they say now! Oh how it has been transformed.

So, here goes the tour. I am going to start when you walk in the front door, starting on the right.

First you will find this:

A place for Rachel's art smock. Yes, one of those pull over the head vintage numbers. Goodwill find for $.50 So cute! The bag beside is her nature bag. This is for adventuring outside. Inside I have included a magnifying glass, small art sketch book, pencil crayons, paper leaf stencils, North American animal tracks guide (another Goodwill find) and mini Usborne nature books.

Next up is Beatrice's space:

Beatrice has CP. She can't sit up on her own. So I rigged up this toddler sized play station with a 'learn to ice skate' support thingymabobber. I have used the baby links so that we can interchange sensory toys. She is going to be getting a stander to test out in the coming month so she will be able to come to a table and work with us while standing!

Circle Area is next:
Here we have Rachel's Chore Chart, seasons list, weather template and calendar. I got the template for the seasons list and weather template from Confessions of a Home schooler. A great resource for those looking for preschool ideas. Currently on Rachel's Chore Chart: make bed, brush teeth, clean her place setting, stay in her chair for meals!, and 'read' one story to each sister.
Next is Ruth's area:

Ruth is ON THE MOVE! Days from walking, so really all areas are open for her. But here is where I rotate toddler toys and board books for her to investigate.

Literacy Corner #1:

OK I LOVE this part of our school room. I got the idea here:
One of my fav, fav, fav books! If you are interested in supporting learning at home you MUST buy it. This literacy area has pockets with the following: story paper (with the box for pictures and lines for writing), letter paper, blank paper, envelopes, list paper etc. Rachel can simply go there when she wants/needs to do one of the above tasks. In the book they have the templates, and they have them in four stages adding more details to story writing and letter writing as the child gets older!
Storage Unit #1:

Here is where I store alot of our learning resources. ALL are thrifted finds. Goodwill, Once Upon a Child, Salvation Army...you name it! I have organized them by topic: Geography, Math, Science, Literacy etc. That way I can just go to an area when we need something to support learning in that area. The book cases are second hand Billy's from Ikea (thanks Lisa...yes all those years ago) and to make it look a bit neater I took vintage sheets from the Value Village (which already have the seam in them) and ran a tension bar across the top.

Bookshelf #1:

Now, this is where you are going to say she is really TYPE A! But really, there was a total simplifying measure in what I did here. I have been collecting children's' books for quite some time now knowing that we were going to home school. In trying to decide which method we are going to use, I know that it is going to be focused around literature. All of our books I wanted to be accessible to the kids, and I wanted to also be able to find something if I needed it to supplement something we are learning or a question that comes up in the day. So, I needed a system. I have organized the books by topic: Africa, Europe, Asia, N. America, S. America, Oceania, Literacy, Geography, History, Black History, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Arts, Social Skills....I think that is it! Each topic has a sticker which is on the spine of the book. Now Ruthie can pull off whatever she wants, and I can VERY quickly put it back where it goes. When Rachel asks me what the little ridges are on the roof of our mouths....I can head to the science section with her and find the book where it should be!

Above Shelf #1

Our sandpaper numbers, Montessori numbers 1-10, and abacus. I missed the middle bookshelf, but on top of it is out Montessori globe, science notebook, and science basket (magnet, magnifying glass)

Bookshelf #3:

These are letter boxes. Each box has a letter assigned to it. The contents inside are items that start with that phonetic sound. For ex. A - apple, astronaut, antelope etc. They are just mini items from the dollar store, Christmas crackers, craft stores. This is a good project to split with a friend. Split the alphabet, purchase double of each then swap.

Yoga corner:
Poster with different kids yoga poses. A place to store her mat, and a large enough space to practice.

Geography/Map wall:
Here I have highlighted some places near and dear to our hearts. This is one of the things that I am so grateful for with transracial adoption. I would like to think that I would have focused as much on inclusiveness if my children weren't from another race, but considering they are, we make a very large effort to celebrate all cultures. To show diversity in all forms in the classroom (ie., holidays, children's books etc.)
Montessori corner:

Here I have the pink tower, dressing frames, and number rods.

Storage shelf #2
This is where I store other Montessori materials, art supplies and my teaching resources. The kids aren't to get in here. But it is only a matter of time until Ruth comes over to play with the curtain!
Storage Bins:
Here is where I put my teaching/office materials: paper, pens etc. I also have three baskets for practical life, art, and math/literacy materials (ie. calculators)
Piano & Music area:

Rachel has decided she wants to learn violin, so this is where she will practice. I also keep the CD player here so we can listen to the radio or music while we work!

That about sums it up!!!

Our school room Part #1

Oh this room as been in the makings for quite some time. This is the vision I had of it for some time, but it has evolved over the past few years. Since Rachel was about 18months I have had a space that was set up more Montessori style. Things were on shelves, and she/we could take them off together and work on them. Now with the littles in the house, it just wasn't happening. So we progress to this....a space where Rachel and I can work at the table, and the littles can explore the floor and activities geared at their level.

I am going to do a photo tour of each area today.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Going for a skate.....

It was unseasonably warm in December. This meant that our rink, which was fully functional by Christmas last year, was framed but without ice. Over the last few days we have had colder weather, and with that, a great base for the rink. Last night daddy & his buddy headed out for a pre-World Junior Semifinals Game skate. Apparently they should have stayed out for the night...as Canadians didn't win :( Today, Rachel had her first skate of the year.