MommyPants
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« on: February 03, 2011, 03:05:38 pm » |
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Hey everyone! What have you been up to? Things have been slow here lately, so I'm guessing they've been busy elsewhere! We are doing well. Sofi got a hearing aid in December and it has made a great difference for her. We took Walter off gluten at Thanksgiving and that is making a great difference for him. They are both outgrowing their winter wardrobes too fast and had to have new clothes in January. I'm doing well, and over half way through this pregnancy! We are having a little boy - Elliott Wade - in May or early June. I've been tired - really tired - these last few months and we haven't been doing much structured preschooling. Nice part about Waldorf - my kids haven't really noticed! So, what about everyone else? Chime in!
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Kellie
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kelly s
Wise Trees
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Posts: 191
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« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2011, 03:25:39 pm » |
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I've discovered that Owen knows letters and most of the numbers, all colors and shapes. I haven't taught this to him...where did he learn it? So...I guess this means that we'll just skip kindergarten since he's got it all we've been hanging out at the grocery store, community center and library. We went on vacation for 10 days to California.
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MommyPants
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« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2011, 03:33:38 pm » |
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That sounds awesome, Kelly! Sofi did the same thing with just absorbing the letters. We were sitting one day with my pill sorter and she pointed at the F and said, "What is this letter?" I sort of evaded her and she said, "This one is S, M, T, W, T, and S, but what is this one?" It was so crazy! I try to not even bring the letters up with her, because she does focus on them so much. And she has learned how to write H, so she writes it all of the time. I am giggling because she drew a picture yesterday and wrote "Ohio" although she doesn't know that she actually wrote something!
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Kellie
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kelly s
Wise Trees
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Posts: 191
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« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2011, 07:42:05 pm » |
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I didn't set out to teach him letters. We usually don't check out the letter books from the library or have many in our house. I just happened to get a really cool one once, thinking he would like the illustrations. He started catching on to the letters. He would ask and I would tell him. I suppose that's more of an unschooling approach than Waldorf. I figure if he's motivated to learn, he'll find a way. It's probably best that it comes from me...
Strangely, he has no motivation to color, write or draw. He once wrote a "W", but Scott and I couldn't tell if it was a scribble that he recognized as a letter or not...
Should I be worrried about him not wanting to use the beeswax crayons?
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MommyPants
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« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2011, 10:30:34 pm » |
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Meh, I don't worry about much. When he's ready for the beeswax, he'll use them. Many parents reserve the beeswax for the serious craft/drawing time and just leave out the regular crayons for everyday.
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Kellie
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kelly s
Wise Trees
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Posts: 191
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« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2011, 10:32:13 am » |
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he won't use regular crayons either...i guess if that's the only thing I have to worry about, then I shouldn't worry...
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itsrtimedownhere
Jr. Member
Posts: 25
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« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2011, 10:36:57 am » |
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nicholas learned the alphabet from reading the gashlycrumb tinies. he was obsessed with that book for like a year and a half.
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kelly s
Wise Trees
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Posts: 191
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« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2011, 10:41:00 am » |
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just googled that book--I'm not sure Owen's ready for that one...
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itsrtimedownhere
Jr. Member
Posts: 25
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« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2011, 10:42:57 am » |
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lol steven's cousin got it for us for christmas one year. it's... gothic...
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kandice
Wise Trees
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Posts: 22
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« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2011, 01:28:01 am » |
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Will learned his letters like that too. Just from...taking in his surroundings, occasional questions, listening, that sort of thing. Now Kate is telling me the colors of all these things and she's right! It makes me believe in unschooling We are in the midst of simplifying. I just did a giant toy/art supply purge. I filled up a black trash bag and a box. The kids didn't even notice anything was gone. It's so much nicer. I'm not done yet but it's a good start. I've got big plans for the coming months. I'd like to get rid of a bunch of junky things and replace with a few quality things and call it good. I've always been bothered by clutter but excess in general is really starting to put me off. We're planning on putting our house on the market but we have so much to do first. I'm trying to get DH on board with homeschooling. He's reading the books that are inspiring to me and I think he's coming around...which is exciting but a little daunting. We'll see what happens with that soon enough. If we do decide to at least begin homeschooling we can stay in our house for another year or two and get things done right. So many things are up in the air right now! ETA: I just googled that book and I love it! Maybe not for my littles quite yet but it could definitely go in my book pile!
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« Last Edit: March 17, 2011, 01:30:47 am by kandice »
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MommyPants
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« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2011, 09:48:18 am » |
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Oooh, Kandice! If you guys homeschool, there'd be a few more kids the same age as my kids when we get to the academics!!!
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Kellie
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kandice
Wise Trees
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Posts: 22
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« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2011, 05:36:28 pm » |
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That would be great! We were talking about it over dinner last night and he did say he's coming around to the idea. He talked to a guy he works with, who was homeschooled, and that has also influenced him. I am so excited!
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MommyPants
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« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2011, 10:02:27 am » |
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Wonderful, Kandice! What have been his concerns about it?
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Kellie
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kandice
Wise Trees
Jr. Member
Posts: 22
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« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2011, 08:24:02 pm » |
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He's had a lot of the usual concerns you hear about regarding homeschooling: socialization, ability to teach complex subjects, etc. But as Will gets older and we see the kind of personality he has I think Josh is also concerned about how Will will fare in public school. He will either be labeled a "bad kid" or his spirit will be broken-and neither of those is a good thing. He's also seeing how many more subjects we can cover, how we can dig deeper or tweak things and generally just do what wouldn't be possible in a large classroom setting. Our children will have the chance to grow into really interesting people. Another thing, I think, that helped him was when I told him about the compulsory school age. That gives us an extra year to "practice". With Josh you have to plant the seed and just step back for awhile. He usually comes around but he takes some convincing and you've got to move slowly. It's just how he is It worked with homebirth and it's working w/ homeschooling. I'm gradually molding my mainstream, conservative man into a crunchy
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« Last Edit: March 21, 2011, 08:25:45 pm by kandice »
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