Something on a Stick Day

Oh I had to laugh when I read this...

http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/somethingstickday.htm

I told my daughter and she was so excited as she's been talking about her birthday and how she wanted Marshmallows. She really wanted this fire to be down on my lawn (its only just recovered from the last fire I thought would be a good idea to have down there.

It was a windy day here and I could not find anywhere to put the fire...so indoors it was. Yes and the heat....but we made it.

My son was very worried about how messy his hands were....and didn't really enjoy the sweetness ( Dave said they are too sweet)

I was really worried that I might of chosen a poisonous plant for a stick so I used tinfoil. Oh sigh we'll see how much sugar I can cope with tonight.

Became stuck in the Natural Child Project

http://www.naturalchild.org/

I've read over this site for a long time and used many of the articles in my other blog but they are so relevant here too.

I tend to get a little stuck or as a Cousin said the other day falling down the rabbit hole of web surfing and following the links

Applying for Exemption

http://hef.org.nz/category/applying-for-exemption/

So what came in the mail?

Son is asleep on me at moment and enjoying the hugs will get to scanner soon

First Readers

When I started reading....I found these books (first readers) now that I look back and understand my emotions... insulting.

I felt dumb, silly, slow and bored.

I've found this web site with heaps of ideas to print out.

Will I use them?

I have no idea....they are all tools are they not?

People talk about reading age....what the heck is reading age? What is it? Who is ready to read? What is reading above your level or below your level?

John Holt talks

"Our professional experts on the teaching of reading have advocated a great many foolish things, but none more foolish than the notion that the way to get children "ready to read" is to show them a lot of books full of nothing but pictures and ask them a lot of silly questions about them.

The proper analogy can be found, as is so often true, with children learning to speak, that extraordinary intellectual feat we all accomplished before the adults got it into their heads that they could "teach" us. Children get ready to speak by hearing speech all around them. The important thing about that speech is that the adults, for the most part, are not talking in order to give children a model. They are talking to each other because they have things to say...."

"....to sit on the sofa, one on each side, was a very happy scene, all the more so because she read these stories with the greatest seriousness, without a touch of sentimentality or condescension, no "cute" inflections in her voice." (oh how our voices change when we try to teach)

"What children need to get ready for reading is exposure to a lot of print. Not pictures, but print. They need to bathe their eyes in print, as when smaller they bathe their ears in talk. After a while, as they look at more and more print, these meaningless forms, curves, and squiggles begin to steady down, take shape, become recognizable, so that the children, without yet knowing what letters or words are, begin to see...."

This is not the look and guess of my era of "being taught"...but just being read too...a good story

I don't know yet what I feel or what is going to work...we will keep an open mind....but also make sure we are not getting swept away with expert ideas or teaching methods of today (yesterday ;-))

Up date and still to read in full http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/0804/reading_with_grace.htm

Books for helping Children to Read

I've been looking at a few books. Playful Ways to Help Your Child Read has been one that grabs my eye because is seems fun and visual and thats the type of person I am and how my brain works.

So some ideas to get the juices flowing

• Rainbow...cut out the colours for each letter...others colours in the same way
• Popcorn...stick popcorn in the shape of the letters ...shells, sticks, sand. paint, wool, cotton
• Make a scrap book with cut outs from magazines which can create a story..eg Our cat Griffin (photo of the cat) loves to catch mice.
• Make a book
• Make mix up cards with words on or a group of words when put together can make a story...or make a odd collection of words
• Word bingo
• The child makes up a story and the parent rights it down....make it into a book.

This all started because a few other homeschool friends recommended Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons I've had a look at this book and while it excites me I don't feel all sold on it yet...it might make it on to my shopping list...but I might like to be more unschooled as that seems to be working out so well.

I do like the idea of the children learning tools to tackle any words though.

Colouring in books

I've started re-reading Pennie Brownlee's "Magic Places" I didn't get very far last time as I was pregnant with my son and a little bit preoccupied reading other books.

This book Magic Places is part of Playcentre's ideas on how we work with children. So full of ideas and tips to look for.

I was talking with a friend the other day about colouring (a.k.a. as color) books about it keeps creativity back. How we should offer paper and pens to watch what our children can do rather than keeping within the lines.

We've been given heaps of colouring in books...so I don't feel that I can take them away.

This morning my daughter started using one of her books in a new way that I'd not thought of. There was a picture of a Giraffe and a Koala Bear (together I'm not sure how that would happen but oh well)....she drew the sun into the picture and some bugs and a tree...so she added to the picture.

We talked about the different animals and where they came from. The Giraffe came from the zoo...oh dear. The Bear she had no clue about and we talked about Australia. We talked about what they liked to eat....hence the tree.

I'm not sure if anything really went in but it was an interesting lesson of colouring in books if anything.

Proud of myself

I really am proud of myself. I have felt fear every time I try reading aloud for as long as I can remember. It probably comes from the 'good old school days' of 1985 (I remember the year so well as we had to write it every time we started a new page in our books or did any new work on a page...oh sigh). We'll just say I have had fear of reading all my life.... especially aloud...must of been that metre (meter) long ruler eh?

Anyway

I read "Were going on a Bear Hunt" to the playcentre group of children and parents....and felt really good. I don't think I stumbled but I don't really care if I did....the kids enjoyed it.

I'm sure they don't do that kind of thing is schools anymore.