Posts
To make a long story a little shorter ...
Six year old Rachael had been talking a lot about wanting to go to school. She was with a dear family we are friends with from church, and she told them that she really wanted to go to school. When they asked her what she wanted from school that she couldn't get at home, her answer was:
Homework.
[Which is really funny if you know me personally, because you probably know I am very anti-homework.]
So the members of this family suggested they make their own school and give her homework. Rachael was so excited! They named the school The ___ Institute of Higher Learning.
That was over a week ago, and Rachael no longer says she wants to go to school.
Here is one of her first homework assignments:
Write Seven Words With Five Letters and What They Mean
(we looked through the Pippi book together to find the words)
1. Girls - A person that wears pretty dresses
2. Stood - When you are walking, you are standing too
3. Their - If you had a book that you got for your birthday, it would be your book, another way of saying their
4. Asked - If you ask somebody "Where is your friend?" or something like that
5. Horse - Something that is in a barn
6. Money - Something that you buy stuff with
7. Fight - If somebody wants a toy and you want it, that's fighting
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
How many toys?
A parenting author I liked years ago, but am starting to disagree with more and more over the years, is John Rosemond:
He claims that when he was five years old, he had exactly five toys (which he wasn't even allowed to play with unless it was raining or dark outside.)
I believe he recommends that kids have less than five toys -- or perhaps it's less than ten, but you get the idea.
A few years ago, I actually thought this sounded like a good idea. For one thing, I'm not a fan of clutter. And also, I bought into the idea that "too many" toys kills creativity and resourcesfulness. (By the way, is there any evidence of this, or is it just a convenient excuse?)
He also says that children should watch no television and not play any computer games.
Which leads me to wonder ... what in the world did he (and children in families that follow his advice) spend their days doing???
I kept track of what toys my girls (ages 4 and 6) played with in a 48-hour period, and it included the following:
- toy farm with animals
- wooden xylophone
- big indoor slide
- Playful Patterns (from Discovery Toys)
- Play-do
- Tea Set
- Aqua Doodle
- Blocks
- Hi-Ho-Cherrio
- Barney floor puzzle
- Air hockey table
- Toy jewelry
- Various stuffed animals
- Ball and bat
- Scooters and bikes
- Swing set
And yes, they were also read to, and they watched TV and they played on the computer. And no, they were not even home all this time.
Five toys??
Playing outside is great -- in fact, we're all outside as I type this -- but for eight or nine hours a day?? Every day?? And not by choice, but because they're "not allowed" to play with toys until after dark?
And why would I want that for my kids anyway?
He claims that when he was five years old, he had exactly five toys (which he wasn't even allowed to play with unless it was raining or dark outside.)
I believe he recommends that kids have less than five toys -- or perhaps it's less than ten, but you get the idea.
A few years ago, I actually thought this sounded like a good idea. For one thing, I'm not a fan of clutter. And also, I bought into the idea that "too many" toys kills creativity and resourcesfulness. (By the way, is there any evidence of this, or is it just a convenient excuse?)
He also says that children should watch no television and not play any computer games.
Which leads me to wonder ... what in the world did he (and children in families that follow his advice) spend their days doing???
I kept track of what toys my girls (ages 4 and 6) played with in a 48-hour period, and it included the following:
- toy farm with animals
- wooden xylophone
- big indoor slide
- Playful Patterns (from Discovery Toys)
- Play-do
- Tea Set
- Aqua Doodle
- Blocks
- Hi-Ho-Cherrio
- Barney floor puzzle
- Air hockey table
- Toy jewelry
- Various stuffed animals
- Ball and bat
- Scooters and bikes
- Swing set
And yes, they were also read to, and they watched TV and they played on the computer. And no, they were not even home all this time.
Five toys??
Playing outside is great -- in fact, we're all outside as I type this -- but for eight or nine hours a day?? Every day?? And not by choice, but because they're "not allowed" to play with toys until after dark?
And why would I want that for my kids anyway?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Pippi Wisdom
The girls just discovered Pippi Longstocking today.
I got two books from the library today; one is the original PL (which Rachael likes) and the other is a picture-book version called Do You Know Pippi Longstocking written by the same author (which Rebecca likes).
Since my kids don't go to school, and since I'm beginning increasingly cynical toward school in general over recent years, I was amused by this excerpt from Chapter Three, when word gets out that Pippi lives without any adults and two policemen come to her house:
**************************************************************************************
"But don't you understand that you must go to school?"
"Why?"
"To learn things, of course."
"What sort of things?" asked Pippi.
"All sorts," said the policemen. "Lots of useful thing -- the multiplication tables, for instance."
"I have gotten along fine without any pluttifikation tables for nine years," said Pippi, "and I guess I'll get along without it from now on, too."
"Yes, but just think how embarrassing it will be for you to be so ignorant. Imagine when you grow up and somebody asks you what the capital of Portugal is and you can't answer!"
"Oh, I can answer all right," said Pippi. "I'll answer like this: If you are so bound and determined to find out what the capital of Portugal is, then, for goodness' sakes, write directly to Portugal and ask."
"Yes, but don't you think that you would be sorry not to know it yourself?"
"Oh. probably," said Pippi. "No doubt I should lie awake nights and wonder and wonder, 'What in the world is the capital of Portugal?' But one can't be having fun all the time," she continued, bending over and standing on her hands for a change. "For that matter, I've been in Lisbon with my papa," she added, still standing upside down, for she could talk that way too.
I got two books from the library today; one is the original PL (which Rachael likes) and the other is a picture-book version called Do You Know Pippi Longstocking written by the same author (which Rebecca likes).
Since my kids don't go to school, and since I'm beginning increasingly cynical toward school in general over recent years, I was amused by this excerpt from Chapter Three, when word gets out that Pippi lives without any adults and two policemen come to her house:
**************************************************************************************
"But don't you understand that you must go to school?"
"Why?"
"To learn things, of course."
"What sort of things?" asked Pippi.
"All sorts," said the policemen. "Lots of useful thing -- the multiplication tables, for instance."
"I have gotten along fine without any pluttifikation tables for nine years," said Pippi, "and I guess I'll get along without it from now on, too."
"Yes, but just think how embarrassing it will be for you to be so ignorant. Imagine when you grow up and somebody asks you what the capital of Portugal is and you can't answer!"
"Oh, I can answer all right," said Pippi. "I'll answer like this: If you are so bound and determined to find out what the capital of Portugal is, then, for goodness' sakes, write directly to Portugal and ask."
"Yes, but don't you think that you would be sorry not to know it yourself?"
"Oh. probably," said Pippi. "No doubt I should lie awake nights and wonder and wonder, 'What in the world is the capital of Portugal?' But one can't be having fun all the time," she continued, bending over and standing on her hands for a change. "For that matter, I've been in Lisbon with my papa," she added, still standing upside down, for she could talk that way too.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Rebecca, the four year old novelist!
November is National Novel Writing Month!
http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
Rebecca did some of the activities with Rachael. She only created a hero for the story, and here it is:
AY-THEE THE ELEPHANT
Ay-thee the elephant lives in the jungle. She loves it. She looks like a normal elephant and she has hair that's straight and brown and lipstick on her lips. Her clothes are kind of jungle clothes. A pretty dress and a crown hat.
She doesn't like dreaming.
Her favorite food is lettuce, and her favorite dessert is candy!
Rebecca's elephant does ballet and now she's in a recital. She's very good at picking up stuff. She can even pick up persons, Rebecca bets.
After she's had a bad day, Rebecca's elephant would do anything to cheer up. Of course making somebody say Wow.
She gets angry whenever somebody says, "I can do that better than you!"
She loves to play, loves treats, and loves to do games with her father. Her favorite princess is Ariel, and her second favorite princess is Cinderella.
She has an elephant mother and elephant dad and they have a little baby sister with a necklace over her.
When she first met her grandmother she was shy so she didn't do anything with her. She didn't even ask for stuff; she just did it all by herself. She did stuff like getting drinks herself, and getting food herself, and anything.
She can do lots of stuff, and she's not afraid of anything.
http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
Rebecca did some of the activities with Rachael. She only created a hero for the story, and here it is:
AY-THEE THE ELEPHANT
Ay-thee the elephant lives in the jungle. She loves it. She looks like a normal elephant and she has hair that's straight and brown and lipstick on her lips. Her clothes are kind of jungle clothes. A pretty dress and a crown hat.
She doesn't like dreaming.
Her favorite food is lettuce, and her favorite dessert is candy!
Rebecca's elephant does ballet and now she's in a recital. She's very good at picking up stuff. She can even pick up persons, Rebecca bets.
After she's had a bad day, Rebecca's elephant would do anything to cheer up. Of course making somebody say Wow.
She gets angry whenever somebody says, "I can do that better than you!"
She loves to play, loves treats, and loves to do games with her father. Her favorite princess is Ariel, and her second favorite princess is Cinderella.
She has an elephant mother and elephant dad and they have a little baby sister with a necklace over her.
When she first met her grandmother she was shy so she didn't do anything with her. She didn't even ask for stuff; she just did it all by herself. She did stuff like getting drinks herself, and getting food herself, and anything.
She can do lots of stuff, and she's not afraid of anything.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Rachael, the six year old novelist!
November is National Novel Writing Month!
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
I downloaded the Young Author workbook and did some of the activities with Rachael (and Rebecca joined us for some of it.)
We haven't gotten to the actual plot yet, but we came up with two characters, a hero and a villain, and here's a composite of the questions Rachael answered about hers:
HERO - SIX YEAR OLD VERA
Vera lives on a island, like Sal. (From a Robert McCloskey book). She likes it. She sometimes even visits the birds.
She is the same height as Rachael, with reddish-dark hair, straight and long.
She is scared of centipedes.
Her favorite foods are rice and potatoes. Her favorite dessert is ice cream with sprinkles.
He hobby is being a helper at an ice cream shop.
She's really good at swimming.
After Vera has had a bad day, what makes her happy is just knowing that she survived through that day.
What makes Vera angry? Sometimes she goes to school and there's usually somebody she doesn't like. Vera doesn't get angry, she gets worried when the person walks in, looking a little vain.
Sometimes Vera's parents are mean, and sometimes they're up for anything.
Vera has one secret. If she ever tells somebody that her parents think she's moving to another house, they would feel really sad, and she doesn't want to make her friends sad.
Vera is kind of pretty and pretty smart. She always likes playing with her Grandma. Her favorite princess is Ariel, and her next favorite is Jasmine.
Sometimes she's a tattletale.
She's afraid of spooky forests and spooky trees and stuff like that.
More than anything else in the world, she wants puzzle games. She really loves puzzle games like tic-tac-toe. Something you write on a board or piece of paper.
Sometimes, for vacation, her family goes down to the beach on the island they live on and set up beach things and pretend that it's a far-away vacation.
The best thing that's ever happened to Vera was being picked by the teacher to be the leader during music time at school. She thinks that's the best!
The worst thing that's ever happened to Vera was one time she got lost and couldn't find her mother til lunchtime.
Hanging on her bedroom walls are a few pictures of ballerinas and a few cross-stitches she made.
VILLAIN -SIX YEAR OLD EMMA
Emma is a kid from Vera's school. She lives close by Vera, on the edge of the same island.
Emma has frizzy, red hair and is a little vain. She has olive-green eyes.
She hates it when she makes fun of Vera and Vera makes fun of Emma back.
Emma loves to make forts with her dad.
Her favorite foods are rice, potatoes, and lettuce. (They don't have grocery stores on the island.)
Emma has a secret: She wants to move closer to Vera's house so she can make fun of her more.
The only likeable thing about her is that she's nice to Vera's best friend, Day-shee.
More than anything, Emma wants to be the best at everything, like Sharpay from High School Musical.
She's not very good at painting. Whenever she tries to paint her dollhouse, it just makes more blobs.
The best thing that ever happened to Emma is that she was picked at the queen in the Christmas play that is coming up.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
I downloaded the Young Author workbook and did some of the activities with Rachael (and Rebecca joined us for some of it.)
We haven't gotten to the actual plot yet, but we came up with two characters, a hero and a villain, and here's a composite of the questions Rachael answered about hers:
HERO - SIX YEAR OLD VERA
Vera lives on a island, like Sal. (From a Robert McCloskey book). She likes it. She sometimes even visits the birds.
She is the same height as Rachael, with reddish-dark hair, straight and long.
She is scared of centipedes.
Her favorite foods are rice and potatoes. Her favorite dessert is ice cream with sprinkles.
He hobby is being a helper at an ice cream shop.
She's really good at swimming.
After Vera has had a bad day, what makes her happy is just knowing that she survived through that day.
What makes Vera angry? Sometimes she goes to school and there's usually somebody she doesn't like. Vera doesn't get angry, she gets worried when the person walks in, looking a little vain.
Sometimes Vera's parents are mean, and sometimes they're up for anything.
Vera has one secret. If she ever tells somebody that her parents think she's moving to another house, they would feel really sad, and she doesn't want to make her friends sad.
Vera is kind of pretty and pretty smart. She always likes playing with her Grandma. Her favorite princess is Ariel, and her next favorite is Jasmine.
Sometimes she's a tattletale.
She's afraid of spooky forests and spooky trees and stuff like that.
More than anything else in the world, she wants puzzle games. She really loves puzzle games like tic-tac-toe. Something you write on a board or piece of paper.
Sometimes, for vacation, her family goes down to the beach on the island they live on and set up beach things and pretend that it's a far-away vacation.
The best thing that's ever happened to Vera was being picked by the teacher to be the leader during music time at school. She thinks that's the best!
The worst thing that's ever happened to Vera was one time she got lost and couldn't find her mother til lunchtime.
Hanging on her bedroom walls are a few pictures of ballerinas and a few cross-stitches she made.
VILLAIN -SIX YEAR OLD EMMA
Emma is a kid from Vera's school. She lives close by Vera, on the edge of the same island.
Emma has frizzy, red hair and is a little vain. She has olive-green eyes.
She hates it when she makes fun of Vera and Vera makes fun of Emma back.
Emma loves to make forts with her dad.
Her favorite foods are rice, potatoes, and lettuce. (They don't have grocery stores on the island.)
Emma has a secret: She wants to move closer to Vera's house so she can make fun of her more.
The only likeable thing about her is that she's nice to Vera's best friend, Day-shee.
More than anything, Emma wants to be the best at everything, like Sharpay from High School Musical.
She's not very good at painting. Whenever she tries to paint her dollhouse, it just makes more blobs.
The best thing that ever happened to Emma is that she was picked at the queen in the Christmas play that is coming up.
Productive Day or not?
It helps to think of each day as having its own personality.
I'm constantly going back and forth between trying to be ultra-efficient and get plenty done, and letting myself relax a bit and just do whatever comes up. And I tend to judge my worth as a person by how much I accomplished or whether I'm doing enough.
I ALWAYS feel like I'm not doing enough.
My husband is an ultra-doer. He is never without his clipboard with his to-do list. His idea of a good weekend is cleaning out the garage or spending 3 hours doing yardwork, so I feel like next to him, I seem really lazy!
Anyway, it occured to me this morning that it helps me to accept that the days are different and both are good in different ways.
Monday felt like a productive day. By 9:00 am I was pleased to see that I was showered and dressed, bed made, everyone fed (except me, oops!), dishwasher unloaded, had actually cleaned out and scrubbed the shelves inside the fridge (!), and I had just put in a load of laundry.
Yes, 9:00 am is hardly early, but I do have three young children, and for me this was doing well.
At 9:40 am all three of us were the out the door for the girls' dentist appointments, after that we hit the library and Chik-fil-A for lunch. (I had a coupon, so lunch for the four of us was less than five dollars, yay.)
Now today, on the other hand...
At 9:20 am I was still unshowered, in my pajamas and glasses, and finally sitting down to have a cup of tea and Eggos while Baby Ben rummaged around in the cabinets and the girls watched "Waiting for Guffman." [Um, you let your four year old and six year old watch R-rated movies?? Well, they only watch the ending, and anyway that movie is extremely tame for being rated R.]
It's 9:45 as I type this, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to showering and getting dressed. I don't think today will be a laundry day. The only tangible things I've accomplished so far are making the bed, unloading the dishwasher, and bringing the trash to the curb (with Rebecca's company). So hey, I guess that's not too bad either.
I'm constantly going back and forth between trying to be ultra-efficient and get plenty done, and letting myself relax a bit and just do whatever comes up. And I tend to judge my worth as a person by how much I accomplished or whether I'm doing enough.
I ALWAYS feel like I'm not doing enough.
My husband is an ultra-doer. He is never without his clipboard with his to-do list. His idea of a good weekend is cleaning out the garage or spending 3 hours doing yardwork, so I feel like next to him, I seem really lazy!
Anyway, it occured to me this morning that it helps me to accept that the days are different and both are good in different ways.
Monday felt like a productive day. By 9:00 am I was pleased to see that I was showered and dressed, bed made, everyone fed (except me, oops!), dishwasher unloaded, had actually cleaned out and scrubbed the shelves inside the fridge (!), and I had just put in a load of laundry.
Yes, 9:00 am is hardly early, but I do have three young children, and for me this was doing well.
At 9:40 am all three of us were the out the door for the girls' dentist appointments, after that we hit the library and Chik-fil-A for lunch. (I had a coupon, so lunch for the four of us was less than five dollars, yay.)
Now today, on the other hand...
At 9:20 am I was still unshowered, in my pajamas and glasses, and finally sitting down to have a cup of tea and Eggos while Baby Ben rummaged around in the cabinets and the girls watched "Waiting for Guffman." [Um, you let your four year old and six year old watch R-rated movies?? Well, they only watch the ending, and anyway that movie is extremely tame for being rated R.]
It's 9:45 as I type this, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to showering and getting dressed. I don't think today will be a laundry day. The only tangible things I've accomplished so far are making the bed, unloading the dishwasher, and bringing the trash to the curb (with Rebecca's company). So hey, I guess that's not too bad either.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Girls' Crafts
Here's another cool use of Aunt Donna's digital camera: taking pictures of things the kids make!
This is a picture of a butterfly cross-stitch that six year old Rachael made.
These are fuse bead patterns that the girls did together. I haven't gotten around to "fusing" them yet. The lighter ones are supposed to glow in the dark.
The girls got "Halloween money" from Grandma and Grandpa Blaske and bought these mosaic kits. Rachael made this mermaid.
Rebecca, age four, wanted to be in this picture with her mosaic princess. Whoops, the princess has no depth perception here! We've since given her a second eye ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)