3/24/2012

        Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss was read to Seneca. She then worked on a Fox in Socks 24 piece puzzle.  Playtime in the park and playtime at home with her friend Aiden.  We reviewed some phonics words together.  She was about to try to write some words, but the task of writing in lines is a bit daunting for her. She traced some three-letter words onto tracing paper.  She did write out "cat," but other words will wait for another time.  Painting today with homemade paint. This time the paint was from baking soda, vinegar, corn syrup and flour.  The recipe calls for cornstarch, not flour, but we just went with what we had in the house. Oh, and food coloring.
  At the park, Seneca climbed on some boulders and we felt the texture of the rocks together.  I showed her an embedded shell in one of the rocks.  I wish I knew more about identifying types of rocks.  For now, all I can give her is a sense of observation through sight and texture.  I think at this age this is appropriate, but I am unsure of how to guide her in nature observations as she gets older.  I can't tell what most trees, flowers, rocks, etc. are myself.
    Later in the evening, Seneca took apart and reassembled her puzzle. We also read Horton Hatches An Egg by Dr. Seuss, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and Time For Bed Elmo. We read from our phonics books featuring the short vowel u.

3/19/2012

For phonics tonight, we read letter u books from the Starfall series.  Tonight, we are roasting marshmallows!  And Seneca worked on her puzzle too.

Lowery Park Zoo

  Seneca and her siblings went to Lowery Park Zoo as part of a local homeschooling group.

Stories Told to Seneca

The Queen Bee
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Little Red Riding Hood
Snowdrop (aka Snow White)
Rosebud (aka Sleeping Beauty)
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Six Swans

Strawberry Picking and Jam on 3/13/2012

Seneca and her cousins went strawberry picking at Eden Farms today.  She also pet a pony and fed a goat.  This was an outing from the Manatee/Sarasota Unschoolers.

We made strawberry jam the next day. It turned out too syrupy, but it was a first try.

Below are pictures from our family outing to Eden Farms on March 9 2012

Fairy Tale for 3/10/2012

Tonight's fairy tale was The Queen Bee.  Nursery Rhymes: Hey Diddle Diddle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider
She has heard all of these before and joined in on reciting the nursery rhymes. She requested The Queen Bee tonight.

Puzzles

 A few months ago, Seneca was given a puzzle to work on. Much to my surprise, she sat and concentrated on it for over an hour.  She has been given more puzzles since then and she loves them.  She is now getting to where she can figure them out much faster, even brand new ones.  Once she has finished a puzzle, she breaks it apart and does it again.  I don't require her to sit until the puzzle is done. She does this on her own. If a puzzle is frustrating her, she is encouraged to take a break from it.  Sometimes I offer to help her with one or two pieces. She also enjoys doing floor puzzles with her 8 year old cousin.

  Here are some pictures of her with the most recent puzzle that I bought for her. It is a 24 piece puzzle. She figured it out in about ten minutes. Now, she loves to put together again and again.  In a world of hand held video games, I'm so glad that she loves this.  Funny thing is, I was never good at puzzles myself.

Emergent Curriculum

This is perhaps the best way to sum up our educational philosophy. We are more emergent learners than unschoolers.  Thanks to Rachael at http://gotkiddos.blogspot.com/ for sending the link below to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent_curriculum

Homemade Paint Day

Thanks to my friend Rachael at Gotkiddos.blogspot.com for showing me this link on how to make paint from condensed milk.  http://ecemadeeasy.com/posts/painting-with-condensed-milk/

We've been using an old egg carton to separate the colors. Tonight, we only painted in one color, green. It was Seneca's choice.  Waldorf education often has children at this age painting in only one color at a time.  However, it is usually one of the primary colors.  I did think it great that Seneca would choose green just over a week away from St. Patrick's Day.

At GWIZ Science Museum

Go Fish and Earthworms

 Today, Seneca learned math skills by playing Go Wish with a six year old child.  She made use of matching skills, listening skills, and counting when she counted up how many cards she had matched up at the end of the game.  Science lessons came by spending time in the garden and finding an earthworm.  Social skills were built by playing in the garden and Go Fish with her friend.

Civil War Re-Enactment at Fort DeSoto in St. Pete