little hands

Been trying to be more mindful of the younger pair in my home these days. So much of what we do for our homeschooling is geared toward those who are either fully or partially engaged in formal academics.

Balancing the spectrum of ages and phases within this family of mine is the toughest challenge for me, personally, as a mother and an educator.

In addition to our trusted stand-by's of salt dough, thick Lyra colored pencils, picture books, blocks, train tracks, and simple games, I've been adding in some other simple activities to feed the minds and souls of the littlest members of our family.

Here is a basic Montessori activity involving transferring, that all of my children have simply adored right at about this age (2 1/2 years old) and even younger (and older!). It is stunning how much concentration this activity calls out in a young child and the focused delight of taking care of one's spills is just so satisfying.

Watercolor painting is always a favorite activity, and one that all the children eagerly join in on whenever possible. Our painting boards and sturdy brushes make this experience even that much more functional and beautiful.

It has been such a blessing to have solid blocks of time this weeks when all four of the children have sat and painted together in between lessons.

Making bird feeders was the highlight of our weekend as we put to use the empty rolls of paper products that we had saved and covered them with peanut butter and bird seed. The boys were so delighted to put on their boots and coats, trudge out into the cold, damp night air, and help me hang our feeders on the tree branches!

It has often been said, that if the mother is not happy, then the children are not happy. Personally, in my home, in this moment, I am finding it quite the other way around!

busy hands, busy minds, busy hearts

Handicrafts or handwork is an integral part of our homeschooling and one that is sadly the first to get 'crossed off the list' when life gets ahead of me.

What Charlotte Mason had to say about handwork was...

1. The end-product should be useful. The children should not “be employed in making futilities such as pea and stick work, paper mats, and the like.”
2. Teach the children “slowly and carefully what they are to do.”
3. Emphasize the habit of best effort. “Slipshod work should not be allowed.”
4. Carefully select handicrafts and life skills to challenge but not frustrate. “The children’s work should be kept well within their compass.”

(taken from Home Education, p. 315)

The point of handwork is not simply to keep children busy. It is not crafts as we know it. It is something bigger- the ability to employ body (using one's hands), mind (planning and implementing the method, using focused attention, practicing coordination) and soul (thinking of how one's work will make the home more beautiful or thinking of whom they will give their work to as a gift of love).

I have kept a running list of the handicrafts we have experienced in our homeschooling over the years. Some of our best afternoons have been spent busily working on our handicrafts as a family!

making salt dough
whittling
watercolor painting
nature sketching with pencil
origami
woodworking
doll making
sewing
embroidery
practicing handwriting and cursive
beading
clay sculpting

wet-on-wet watercolor painting
wool felting
finger knitting
traditional knitting
corking
jewelry making
calligraphy
gardening
flower arranging
quilling
robotics
rubber stamping
spinning fibers
quilting

It is so easy to let this part of our education fall to the wayside in favor of making more time for 'real academics' like math, writing, grammar, literature and the like. But I must remember that there is more to education than these and really stay true to the philosophy of Charlotte Mason when it comes to spending weekly time with handwork, folk songs, hymns, artist study and foreign language.

I hope this post has inspired you as much as it has re-inspired me!

wet paint

Happy New Year, Happy Three Kings Day and Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas! It is bittersweet that today is the last day of Christmas, but I feel we are ready to take on the new year and all that it holds for our family.

This week we started back to school. Even though we loved having several weeks off with no real agenda other than to relax, celebrate, feast and be merry, it felt splendid to get back into our routine again.

We have spent several days this week doing some wet-on-wet watercolor painting, a technique that we had never tried before. After acquiring some of our supplies over the Christmas season we were ready to give it a try.

I have ready many tutorials explaining this technique of wet-on-wet watercolor painting. This one is really useful.

This week the children are painting with only one primary color each time. Next week we will combine two of them and see what the results are.

They have been loving the process of wetting the paper, watching the paints get mixed and sliding their smooth brushes across the glossy, textured paper to see what intensities of color arises from their applications.

One element of our homeschooling is handwork- making something with our hands that is beautiful and useful. This certainly falls under that category. We plan on stringing up the paintings in our schoolroom to decorate one of the big, empty walls!

pauses

One of the benefits of a home education is the opportunity for breaks in between lessons. Today it felt as if we paused in between each one and that it was much appreciated by each child in their own way.

Seeing my children have these pauses during their school time each day makes me realize just how much they need them. Their desire to play, build, draw, knit, jump, ride bikes, go for a walk, build a fort, write (or e-mail!) a friend and simply be a child is so very strong and it is with great joy that I am able to afford them with this 'luxury'.


I have to remind myself that this homeschooling journey that we've started on cannot be rushed. It takes time to learn and to love learning. One of my favorite quotes about education by William Butler Yeats reads:

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

It takes time to light a fire. It too cannot be rushed and must be met with just the right amount of resources, time and patience. If we want a fire to burn long and with strength than we must tend to it very carefully, stocking it when needed, being careful not to simply 'throw just anything' into it's flames but instead to choose what will enable it to serve it's purpose.

Sometimes I fall back into my old habits of wanting to be a 'list checker'. There is something so very satisfying to me to put that 'check' next to the assigned task and just be done with it. I have had to remind myself that we are homeschooling so that we don't have to check everything off of a list and that we are doing this so that each child can learn what he needs, when he needs and how he needs.

Following the lead of a very dear friend, I have begun praying for each child and asking what they need most right now in life- from their parents, their siblings, their environment- that will help to fulfill their deepest and most significant needs. I pray that I am able to stifle my own intentions and motivations and perceptions long enough to hear what is truly needed.

modelling beeswax

A bit more about the modeling beeswax that we used yesterday.

It was our first experience with modeling beeswax and it did not disappoint. I used the Stockmar Modelling Beeswax from The Wooden Wagon and was thrilled with the experience.

Beeswax has several advantages over playdough or clay including it's wonderful sweet smell, the mess-free area after use, the non-staining factor, the ability to use it over and over again and the fact that it requires nothing more than a child's warmth and patience to create what they'd like.

To use it, take a small bit of the beeswax and hold it between your palms to warm it. This can take several minutes and can be a good time to tell a story or just sit and enjoy the feeling of the beeswax in your hands.

It was so interesting to see how each child responded to the beeswax and the emotions and creativity it brought out in each.

Elias was most impressed by the sweet beeswax aroma (as seen in the below photo). He spent a bit of time simply pinching and stretching it and came to me to warm his pieces for him.

Nicolas had the most patience with warming his beeswax and set out from the get-go with the idea of creating a dinosaur in mind. He knew just what colors he wanted to use for which parts and really spent some time daydreaming as he warmed his beeswax (as seen in the below photo!).

Sophia did not have a bit of patience for the beeswax at first. She tried to warm it in her hands and quickly grew frustrated when it did not bend and give as she hoped it would. After a bit of encouragement and a little demonstration she gave it another try and set out to make Pippi Longstocking. I think she got as far as the peach-colored face and the bright orange pippi braids.

Our first experience certainly won't be our last. I just love that this simple toy brought so much joy to our morning!

hands and yarn

Sophia has recently begun to finger knit. And although this is typically a kindergarten activity in Waldorf education, this soothing form of handwork has this eight-year old completely captivated.





I taught Sophia how to finger knit last week and she has since spent time during the morning, afternoon and evening hours practicing. She even came downstairs the other morning sleepy-eyed with her blue skein of yarn tucked snugly under her arm ready to start knitting a chain. It was her first instinct of the day.

Last year we had the pleasure of following the process of making yarn from sheep to scarf in one of our homeschooling co-op classes. Sophia was able to see the entire process from shearing the sheep to skirting the fleece to washing, dying and spinning the wool and finally making yarn.

It's always great to get right to the source of something and to allow children the experience of actually being a part of the process.

Finger knitting is an easy introduction to knitting (with needles) and requires no equipment other than hands and yarn. Once a child masters finger knitting it can become a soothing activity that allows children to create their own bracelets, necklaces, belts and scarves.

I find it has a very calming effect on Sophia who tends to be highly energetic and always looking ahead to the next activity. It has been wonderful to see her sitting still, concentrating and working contentedly with her hands.

For those of you looking for a good tutorial on finger knitting you may want to watch this video. I also found this instructional which offers another method of finger knitting along with a little story to teach the process.

Next week I will introduce the spool knitter to her and let her have at it with a few more skeins of colorful yarn!