...a few weeks makes!
I read somewhere recently about the July doldrums. Apparently that's what I had, because now that it's August, I've got my groove back. At the beginning of this week, I made a list of all the little planning things that need to be done before we start school (two weeks from tomorrow!). And I think I'll have that list pretty much finished by the week's end. Wahoo!
I'm getting excited for school to start. That's a really good sign, because honestly, two or three weeks ago, I couldn't imagine how I was going to do another year. I was seriously wondering if I should just register Dallin for school.
So here's a breakdown of our year:
Dallin will be in fourth grade by Waldorf indications, fifth grade by traditional standards. We'll start the year with 3.5 weeks of state geography and history. The best part of this block will be all the field trips: Antelope Island, the American West Heritage Center in Logan, Temple Square and surrounding areas, and a jaunt down to Capitol Reef by way of Manti. It'll be a tiny bit of geology and a whole lot of history and culture.
Next will come two weeks' immersion in fractions. After that come our first "real" Waldorf science block. (In the earlier grades, science is in the form of nature study). It will be the first of two zoology blocks, the second one coming in the spring. Waldorf has it's own unique approach to science. The two blocks this year will be focused on the relationship between humans and animals. This is NOT a block about evolution, but rather a more symbolic focus on the ways in which animals are like us and the ways in which they are different--and what it is that makes humans special. It should be both fascinating and very fun.
After the Human and Animal block comes the block that I think Dallin will enjoy the most--six weeks of Norse Mythology. We'll do four weeks prior to Christmas and two weeks in January. I think Dallin will love this because Norse mythology is quiteviolent adventurous--and he is a typical boy.
In December we'll be scaling back for a few weeks. Mom needs time to focus on Christmas, shopping, planning, and all the festivities. December will be a kindergarten month where we'll be observing St. Nicholas Day from Germany, the festival of St. Lucia from Sweden, and the Mexican festival of Las Posadas. Dallin will have a bit of independent work each morning, but other than that it will be crafts, baking, stories, fun, and plenty of time to make Christms gifts.
After January's return to Norse myths, and a few weeks in-depth review of measurement from last year, we'll do four weeks of North American geography. This is often done in fifth grade, but we'll be doing one block this year and one next. This year we'll be covering the United States east of the Mississippi through stories, folktales, cooking, music, and art. Then in March, it will be four more weeks of Waldorf-style zoology, this time with more emphasis on individual animals. This will be another block filled with field trips--to the aviary, the aquarium, the zoo, and possible a nature center.
April will bring still more math. (We will be doing math several days a week year-round; we are just taking 2-3 weeks periods several times during the year to make it the main focus of our days.) Finally, we'll have May with a relaxed and fun block on the Four Elements: earth, water, fire, and air. This is basically an extremely gentle introduction to physics. We won't be doing anything technical, just playing around with some fun projects that will allow us to experience some of these most basic principles. Mostly we'll be building things like water wheels, ball runs, and the like.
Dallin will be doing far more writing this year. He'll be keeping a journal several times a week with writing prompts I found online. He'll be writing some longer reports. And the twice-weekly summaries we've done in the past will be varied with things like dictations. Art-wise he'll be graduating to colored-pencil drawings rather than crayon, and dry watercolor painting. In Form Drawing he'll be doing much more complicated drawings involving knots and braids. A big part of the two geography blocks will be mapmaking--we'll be doing drawn and painted maps as well as topographical maps of salt dough and papier mache. Since he complained about math moving too slowly last year, I purchased two grades' worth of math and plan to let him move through it just as fast as he wants, provided he's mastering the skills.
Sariah will be having a split year. At least that's the current plan. I will re-evaluate in December. But for now, she'll be doing "advanced" kindergarten in the fall and starting first grade in January. Waldorf first grade brings an introduction to the alphabet through fairy tales and art. It is really, really neat how it is done, and I can't wait to start blogging about it! She pretty much knows her letters already, but I'm told that even children who are reading already still generally love first grade and are benefitted by the approach. It is very nourishing. She'll also be having a math block--Quality of Numbers, a form drawing block, and a nature block, which will be a Four Elements block to complement Dallin's. We will continue first grade material into the next school year. I still have a lot to do to get first grade ready, but hey, that's what Christmas break is for!
Our advanced kindergarten will consist of some wonderful movement-oriented circle times, more complicated "quest-themed" stories, and more complex artistic projects. She'll be doing lots of finger-knitting, hand-sewing, and things like that.
I am really excited for this next year, albeit nervous about how to fit two children's lessons into the mix. Preston gets to focus on free play and free movement and just being loved by his family. Lucky boy! I am in the process of finding some transition songs and verses for him to use throughout our day, for waking up and bedtime and clean-up and things like that. He'll be welcome to do circle time with Sariah as well, though never forced at this age.
I read somewhere recently about the July doldrums. Apparently that's what I had, because now that it's August, I've got my groove back. At the beginning of this week, I made a list of all the little planning things that need to be done before we start school (two weeks from tomorrow!). And I think I'll have that list pretty much finished by the week's end. Wahoo!
I'm getting excited for school to start. That's a really good sign, because honestly, two or three weeks ago, I couldn't imagine how I was going to do another year. I was seriously wondering if I should just register Dallin for school.
So here's a breakdown of our year:
Dallin will be in fourth grade by Waldorf indications, fifth grade by traditional standards. We'll start the year with 3.5 weeks of state geography and history. The best part of this block will be all the field trips: Antelope Island, the American West Heritage Center in Logan, Temple Square and surrounding areas, and a jaunt down to Capitol Reef by way of Manti. It'll be a tiny bit of geology and a whole lot of history and culture.
Next will come two weeks' immersion in fractions. After that come our first "real" Waldorf science block. (In the earlier grades, science is in the form of nature study). It will be the first of two zoology blocks, the second one coming in the spring. Waldorf has it's own unique approach to science. The two blocks this year will be focused on the relationship between humans and animals. This is NOT a block about evolution, but rather a more symbolic focus on the ways in which animals are like us and the ways in which they are different--and what it is that makes humans special. It should be both fascinating and very fun.
After the Human and Animal block comes the block that I think Dallin will enjoy the most--six weeks of Norse Mythology. We'll do four weeks prior to Christmas and two weeks in January. I think Dallin will love this because Norse mythology is quite
In December we'll be scaling back for a few weeks. Mom needs time to focus on Christmas, shopping, planning, and all the festivities. December will be a kindergarten month where we'll be observing St. Nicholas Day from Germany, the festival of St. Lucia from Sweden, and the Mexican festival of Las Posadas. Dallin will have a bit of independent work each morning, but other than that it will be crafts, baking, stories, fun, and plenty of time to make Christms gifts.
After January's return to Norse myths, and a few weeks in-depth review of measurement from last year, we'll do four weeks of North American geography. This is often done in fifth grade, but we'll be doing one block this year and one next. This year we'll be covering the United States east of the Mississippi through stories, folktales, cooking, music, and art. Then in March, it will be four more weeks of Waldorf-style zoology, this time with more emphasis on individual animals. This will be another block filled with field trips--to the aviary, the aquarium, the zoo, and possible a nature center.
April will bring still more math. (We will be doing math several days a week year-round; we are just taking 2-3 weeks periods several times during the year to make it the main focus of our days.) Finally, we'll have May with a relaxed and fun block on the Four Elements: earth, water, fire, and air. This is basically an extremely gentle introduction to physics. We won't be doing anything technical, just playing around with some fun projects that will allow us to experience some of these most basic principles. Mostly we'll be building things like water wheels, ball runs, and the like.
Dallin will be doing far more writing this year. He'll be keeping a journal several times a week with writing prompts I found online. He'll be writing some longer reports. And the twice-weekly summaries we've done in the past will be varied with things like dictations. Art-wise he'll be graduating to colored-pencil drawings rather than crayon, and dry watercolor painting. In Form Drawing he'll be doing much more complicated drawings involving knots and braids. A big part of the two geography blocks will be mapmaking--we'll be doing drawn and painted maps as well as topographical maps of salt dough and papier mache. Since he complained about math moving too slowly last year, I purchased two grades' worth of math and plan to let him move through it just as fast as he wants, provided he's mastering the skills.
Sariah will be having a split year. At least that's the current plan. I will re-evaluate in December. But for now, she'll be doing "advanced" kindergarten in the fall and starting first grade in January. Waldorf first grade brings an introduction to the alphabet through fairy tales and art. It is really, really neat how it is done, and I can't wait to start blogging about it! She pretty much knows her letters already, but I'm told that even children who are reading already still generally love first grade and are benefitted by the approach. It is very nourishing. She'll also be having a math block--Quality of Numbers, a form drawing block, and a nature block, which will be a Four Elements block to complement Dallin's. We will continue first grade material into the next school year. I still have a lot to do to get first grade ready, but hey, that's what Christmas break is for!
Our advanced kindergarten will consist of some wonderful movement-oriented circle times, more complicated "quest-themed" stories, and more complex artistic projects. She'll be doing lots of finger-knitting, hand-sewing, and things like that.
I am really excited for this next year, albeit nervous about how to fit two children's lessons into the mix. Preston gets to focus on free play and free movement and just being loved by his family. Lucky boy! I am in the process of finding some transition songs and verses for him to use throughout our day, for waking up and bedtime and clean-up and things like that. He'll be welcome to do circle time with Sariah as well, though never forced at this age.
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