We kept coasting on bare bones this month: read-alouds, composer study, and picture study. Sometimes I would throw in a game or a math lesson but mostly, I just didn't bother. There have been more important things to do this month. Like adore a newborn. And buy a house.
In Kindergarten
The Bremen Town Musicians - In spite of the fact that I wasn't doing much for 1st grade and Soren, I was eager to get back into the swing of things with Kindergarten this month. For my first post-baby unit, I chose the Brothers' Grimm story "The Bremen Town Musicians". The kids loved it, maybe more than any other story we have done this year. They were rolling on the floor with laughter every time I told it. To accompany it, I shared silly rhymes about animals (like "Hey Diddle Diddle") and taught the kids to sing "With Songs of Praise" (Hymn No. 71). If you can't tell from my lovely fingerpainting, the artwork above is of the thieves' house in the story.
The Boy Who Went to the North Wind - The second story for this month was, apparently, also hilarious. At least, that's what Megan tells me. She said this Scandinavian story really tickled Carl's fancy. It features a magic stick that will beat whoever is holding it when the owner shouts "Lay on!" You can imagine how that played out in the kids re-enactments.
In First Grade
One of the things we have been working on lately (although not as much as Soren would like to) is continuing The Story of Sunshine, the container story we have been using to explore mathematics this year. Since finishing up our unit on the quality of numbers just after Christmas, the story has taken an interesting turn. Sunshine was able to enter the Land of Numeria where he is seeking the Enchanter's Tower; the enchanter is the only one who can help him get back home. I began this portion of the story by having Cypher tell Sunshine the Grimms' fairy tale "Mother Holle", which is about a girl who falls down the well and her adventures there. The important thing about her story is that she is always helpful and kind; this was meant to be a hint to Sunshine that he should always be helpful and kind while in the Land of Numeria.
With that clue, Sunshine set off. And he has met many people who needed his help so far, all of them in the form of some logic puzzle. Right now, Sunshine is in the Fractured Forest, where Soren is learning to manipulate fractions and also (more interestingly) a little about fractals. I told my neighbor about this part of our homeschool and she said that it was kind-of like a DnD campaign. And so it is. I hadn't made the connection but it totally is. Sunshine is Soren's character and by solving the logic puzzles, he can move his character through the Land of Numeria.
Soren loves the story of Sunshine and has asked me several times if I would turn it into a real book so that he can keep it. I am thinking about it, although it would be a lot of work.
In Kindergarten
The Boy Who Went to the North Wind - The second story for this month was, apparently, also hilarious. At least, that's what Megan tells me. She said this Scandinavian story really tickled Carl's fancy. It features a magic stick that will beat whoever is holding it when the owner shouts "Lay on!" You can imagine how that played out in the kids re-enactments.
In First Grade
One of the things we have been working on lately (although not as much as Soren would like to) is continuing The Story of Sunshine, the container story we have been using to explore mathematics this year. Since finishing up our unit on the quality of numbers just after Christmas, the story has taken an interesting turn. Sunshine was able to enter the Land of Numeria where he is seeking the Enchanter's Tower; the enchanter is the only one who can help him get back home. I began this portion of the story by having Cypher tell Sunshine the Grimms' fairy tale "Mother Holle", which is about a girl who falls down the well and her adventures there. The important thing about her story is that she is always helpful and kind; this was meant to be a hint to Sunshine that he should always be helpful and kind while in the Land of Numeria.
With that clue, Sunshine set off. And he has met many people who needed his help so far, all of them in the form of some logic puzzle. Right now, Sunshine is in the Fractured Forest, where Soren is learning to manipulate fractions and also (more interestingly) a little about fractals. I told my neighbor about this part of our homeschool and she said that it was kind-of like a DnD campaign. And so it is. I hadn't made the connection but it totally is. Sunshine is Soren's character and by solving the logic puzzles, he can move his character through the Land of Numeria.
Soren loves the story of Sunshine and has asked me several times if I would turn it into a real book so that he can keep it. I am thinking about it, although it would be a lot of work.
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