Space unit day 4: What Sam Needs is a Spacesuit We tried using playdough instead of fidgets today to keep their hands busy during story time. This worked very well. They stayed focused on the stories, and we ended up reading twice as many books as usual. After circle time, I pulled out the vacuum … Continue reading “Spacefaring Sam: Overcoming the Vacuum”
Author: eilonwy902
Spacefaring Sam: The Unforgiving Vacuum of Space
Space Unit day 3: Space is a Vacuum AKA: Whoops, I accidentally traumatized the children I usually set out fidgets on the table for the kids to play with while we sing songs and read them stories. Today though I figured I’d change it up. Instead of fidgets, I pulled out trays and a box … Continue reading “Spacefaring Sam: The Unforgiving Vacuum of Space”
Spacefaring Sam: Rocket ships
Space Unit day 2: What Sam Needs is a Rocket Ship During circle time, the kids were engaged and excited about the books and songs. Normally, Leslie plays guitar while we sing but this time Maya asked if we could get out the instrument box so everyone could play an instrument. We pulled out the … Continue reading “Spacefaring Sam: Rocket ships”
Spacefaring Sam: Trapped by Gravity
Space Unit day 1: Trapped by Gravity After our usual start to ‘circle time’ – singing songs and reading stories, I pulled out a sheep puppet and introduced him as Sam, a new member of our class. The kids were enthralled. They jumped up and ran over, giving Sam hugs and welcoming him. We always … Continue reading “Spacefaring Sam: Trapped by Gravity”
Spacefaring Sam
First task of planning our school: Figuring out our topic. I talked the question over with Leslie, and she requested that we start by focusing on space. Cat’s cousin Maya had just developed a fascination with space and was excited about learning more. Cat has been fascinated by space for a good while, so I … Continue reading “Spacefaring Sam”
Time for School
My sister and I are ‘unschooling’ our kids, which means that under normal circumstances we don’t bother with things like lesson plans or curriculum. Play is the best way for our kids to learn, so we allow, promote and encourage free play, and a lot of it. Ideally, this play would happen in a … Continue reading “Time for School”
Kitchen Table Marathon
Cat sat herself down on the living room floor yesterday morning, and read herself a book. Out loud, and with very few errors. To my knowledge this was the first time she’d found a book and decided to just sit down and read it to herself, and I was pleased. I didn’t say anything to … Continue reading “Kitchen Table Marathon”
More to do than can ever be done
The universe. It is large. As far as my conception of it goes, it is infinite. It is infinite in size, in complexity, and in depth. Fractals. Repeating patterns in every direction, each line stretching to infinity. And ideas. Those are infinite too. There are an infinite number of ideas we can explore, and … Continue reading “More to do than can ever be done”
Why Do We Educate?
While driving somewhere in a car, I make decision after decision about which turns to take. As a general rule, I do not choose the roads that are the prettiest. I do not simply try to go the direction that the majority of the other cars are going. I make my decisions based on my … Continue reading “Why Do We Educate?”
Exploring Excess
“A little dab’ll do ya!” Most of the preschool teachers I’ve worked and volunteered with used this catchphrase, or something similar, in their efforts to guide young children in their use of glue. A little dot of glue is adequate to secure a square of construction paper, or a googly eye. Using more is wasteful, … Continue reading “Exploring Excess”