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"A baby needs not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to the world."
- G. K. Chesterton
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What We Did, August 1-20
Bible: Exodus and Numbers (up through Moses striking the rock the second time).
Hymn: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Memory: Psalm 23
Poetry: Little, by Dorothy Aldis
Song: Baa, Baa Black Sheep
Stories:
Samuel Eaton's Day, Sarah Morton's Day, Tapenum's Day This series is the type of book I am always looking for: a great deal of information about real life to satisfy their curiosity, woven into a good story to bear repeated readings. Another great thing about this series is the attitude of each of the children toward their work, their parents, and the other adults in the community.
The Little Airplane, The Little Auto, Policeman Small, Papa Small, by Lois Lenski. I wish I could find a modern equivalent to these. I will admit the writing is a little over-simple. However, the combination of information in a story line is again what captures the ducklings' interest. And the information is not so simple; The Little Airplane in particular is so technical I have trouble following it, but they ask for it again and again.
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Hungry Bear, by Don Wood. Adorable and hilarious. Also, since half the story is in words and half is in pictures, it's great to stop and discuss what is happening, how the characters will feel and how the story will play out. This is supposedly an important factor in reading aloud, but I always want to stick to reading the story.
Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup, Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish. by Cynthia Rylant. Early readers that we are just reading for fun now. Not quite Frog and Toad, but still very enjoyable.
Dr. Seuss's ABC. I've had to find a compromise position with using the letter names, because some books just don't work with sounds alone.
Activities
Watching road work (our neighborhood is having its gas lines replaced).
We managed a couple of trips to our neighborhood park and one lovely evening in Sharon Woods while Wondergirl was still here.
Amazingly, I've even managed trips to the backyard in the mornings solo. It requires careful orchestration, but it can be done. They've gotten good and muddy, scraped, and bug-bitten, as befits children in August.
Rubber stamps.
D1 is obsessed with the coloring book a neighbor gave her.
We tried making some mobiles last week. There's a reason I don't try ambitious craft projects very often.
On the other hand, D1 and I had a great time making silly hats. Maybe I should stick to craft projects as a one-on-one activity.
Pattern blocks (they've really enjoyed these).
D2 worked on puzzles matching numerals and one matching different shades of butterflies.
D1 visited their great-grandfather in the hospital, and they both went to see him at the nursing home on his birthday.
Observations
D1 can (finally!) pedal D2's tricycle. D2 still rides it with his feet on the ground.
They are pulling ideas out of books or life and into their play much more readily now. It's very fun to watch them shift from policemen to surgeons in the hospital to shark-watching divers.
I commented one morning that we were all together, just the six of us, and D1 observed, "We can be in rows of three, or two, or one."
She also made a comment on D2's counting that made me realize she now expects repeated countings of the same objects to come up with the same answer.
D2 is counting accurately groups up to five or so. He does his job of sorting the silverware much more readily if I give him specific numbers of different items to look for.
D1 talks a lot about what is true versus not true. We have encouraged her to allow for the category of silly, where everyone knows it is not true. |
Posted: 5:50 AM, Aug. 20, 2008 |
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