Main Lesson Monday

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

These are a smattering of the notebook pages the kids have created this month. Not perfect, but perfectly delightful to me.

Hours

So one of my favorite lessons grew out of our recent thrift store find of Classic Poems to Read Aloud. We memorized All Things Bright and Beautiful last week. It was actually memorized in a matter of hours once I bought packs of gum as a reward. I am nothing if not pragmatic, y'all. So after that I had pulled out Hillaire Belloc's Mathilda for a hilarious contrast. They thought it was a little gross and creepy so we discussed satire, parody, and cautionary tales. They recorded the definitions and we found the rest of his tales here. Each picked out one to record in their notebooks. They still they are gross and creepy and I am still amused.

Some math pages:

Hours

We print out the free puzzles of the week for each grade level from Critical Thinking Press. I truly believe that never before has critical thinking been more………critical. These puzzles sometimes hurt my brain but they get everyone talking and working together, especially this week when they DID NOT INCLUDE A SOLUTION. Don't worry. I'm not bitter or anything. We are just still hashing this one out. Go ahead. Download. Then tell us who you think stole the headphones 'k?

And some random real life practice finding nouns in a magazine article. It is often easy to figure out a pattern in a language exercise book. Then they are at a loss when faced with actual text someplace else. This practice got us discussing abstract nouns since the mid elementary student who underlined in blue found most of the concrete things quickly, but missed the abstract – which is totally age appropriate per the whole Trivium age group delineations. This was a quick game and isn't perfectly checked either btw. There are more anchor charts and grammar pages to help springboard discussion over on my pinterest board here.

This next page just makes me laugh. Every time. (yes, I know it is misspelled)

Your life lesson of the day is right there. That "slightly downhill' part? It's a concept to live by if ever there was one hahaha! Working hard on that over here. Just gonna leave that there and wrap up now lol.

Starry, starry, school days

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This has been a stargazing sort of summer. We have studied constellations before and I will tell you straight up I am NOT very good at finding them in the sky. That may change this year given some of the books we have found and the projects we have done. My first favorite is the Stikky Night Skies book (link below) which is every bit as awesome as the Stikky Trees book was. It leads you along step by step into trickier configurations. Somehow it breaks down this wild spattering of white dots into something you can begin to sort out. Or maybe most normal people can sort this out? I definitely needed extra help.

As always, Pinterest is my BFF, my bestie, my personal assistant, my teacher's aide. "Hey Pinterest, what have you got for constellations?" Pinterest shot back with marshmallow and toothpick constructions and some flash cards. I was also beside myself to find this chart by Alice Cantrell. I have loved her work forever and am so pleased she has something that works for this unit.

Upside? You can eat the leftovers.

Here are a few standouts in our stack:

Stikky Night Skies

Find the Constellations

Child's Introduction to the Night Sky This was another fave. Chock full of trivia and history to include the stories of the constellations. These work well for narrations and notebooks. A keeper.

The Stars

Zoo in the Sky

in color

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Art Projects for Kids is one of our favorite how-to sites.

We have been enjoying several recent tutorials using the new brushes and paper Santa brought.

Flag Work – DIY

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Can we make the flag game?

Hey Mom? Can we make the flag game today?

Third time's the charm. We made the flag game today, a very not professional DIY Montessori flag work board set. It consists of a blank map poster glued onto foam board, a poster of world flags (to cut), a box of long pearl head straight pins, and packing tape.

It made for a long work period spent pouring over the atlas and trying to match everything up. I expect we will see quite a lot of it in the days to come.

Spiritual Preparation of the Teacher – Montessori

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

While rereading one of my favorite old books (here) I found this gem that went into my commonplace/quote book (housed in 99 cent composition books):

"He must rid his heart of pride and anger. He must learn how to humble himself and be clothed with charity. These are the virtues he must acquire and this inner preparation will give him the balance and poise which he will need…We insist on the fact that a teacher must prepare himself interiorly by systematically studying himself so that he can tear out his most deeply rooted defects, those in fact which impede his relations with children." - Maria Montessori The Secret of Childhood

On Keeping the Bridge

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Revisiting some thoughts from a long time ago. Namely, that you don't have to slay all the dragons, just the next one. Overwhelmed much? Maybe you will be reminded too over here.

summer thoughts

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"For most American children summer break is at hand, bringing with it the promise of cloudless, blue skies overhead, sprinklers spraying, and fireflies to chase before bed. There are ball games, freshly cut grass, and leisurely mornings to sleep in.

For their parents it may be a different story…"

Stressed over summer break? Feel like you should be doing more? You can jump over here for my take over at Tan Homeschool today. (hint – if your summer is looking anything like this, I think you're probably doing just fine.)

I hope you are scooping up joy by the bucketful this summer. : )

Story Stretchers – Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Years ago when our adult sons were small we had a couple volumes called Story Stretchers. (here and here – they are a PENNY today. Still find that stunning. I saved so long to buy books pre-amazon days) Like the outstanding Five in a Row volumes that would come later they took a children's book and created activities based on the story's location or language or illustrations. We haven't done full-out units in a while but I always find some element in a story we can build on a little. Once you work through Five in a Row you just start to see all sorts of potential rabbit trails inside a book.

We read Joseph Had a Little Overcoat last week. I love this book and like the best picture books there is so much happening in the illustrations that goes over children's heads but is totally engrossing for the grown-up reading. Shortly after we got the book the little girls ran through the knees of a couple pair of leggings. This is a rather regular event. Tough girls, we have. Before we tossed them we talked about Joseph and looked to see if there was potentially some more life in them.

Cotton knit headbands are a favorite of Tess and Alannah right now since they don't pinch behind the ears and can hold back heavy hair. (and don't crack in half when small people overextend them…) When I looked at them they were seriously just a tube of t-shirting. For a dollar or two a piece? So before tossing the trashed leggings we cut a tube off across the tops between the waistband and legs. Quick work to turn right sides together and sew a seam, leaving a bit for turning. You don't really even have to bother with a seam if you fold the band when you put it on or cut it into a strip and tie it instead.

Not the world's most glamorous tute. Just a little practical 'stretcher.'

these came from pants like these…

Now if someone can point me to some girl proof leggings I'd be a happy woman. : )

taking notes

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

There has been a lot of notebook love going around here. I am loving it too in this latest incarnation. The younger children all got simple bound sketchbooks just for lesson time. Unlike the millions of drafts and doodles on printer paper, only the very best work gets done in the notebook. Unlike the millions of pieces of printer paper, the work stays together.

Bound books for the win.

The girls picked up Grandma Chickenlegs during our long awaited first library trip locally. I probably wouldn't have picked it up myself but it ended up being a good read. Tess was quick to tell me the story had elements from both Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella. We talked about story elements and found some printables. My heart isn't in printables at the moment, partly because there is no printer and partly because of those millions of pieces of paper thing. We ended up making our own simple pages including those things mentioned on the posters.

We've made a page a day since and I hope to share some more.

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

On our road trip to Leeds for a dance competition we squeezed in a few field trips. The big surprise was the Thackeray medical museum. We planned very last minute and the museum randomly pulled up in a list of local sights. I am glad I clicked on that link because this sleeper attraction was worth every penny.

The first part of our tour was the "Streets of Old Leeds" which I expected to be much like the much loved "Streets of Old Milwaukee" from my childhood museum. Yeah, but no. Truly this was one of the most realistic and disturbing recreations I've ever been through. Unique to this place was the smell. They piped in exceptionally realistic stench which had us a bit gaggy. There was audio too. Wailing animals and chopping sounds at the blood stained slaughter house, moans of the sick, vendors hawking their wares. At several points the little ones jumped or gasped or turned for an exit and Moira and I were half-tempted to do the same. We are glad we pushed through though. It made an impression few book explanations could have. If you are interested there is a virtual tour here. Without smell-avision you will have to take our word for the rest.

There were fabulous displays of vintage medical equipment and medications, complete with explanations of the procedures and how they've evolved. Lots of film footage was available. Just truly fascinating even for kids.

My only gripe came while I was completely engrossed in the maternity section reading the stories and seeing all the apparatus used over the years. The exhibit closed with huge quotes on the displays which led one to the conclusion that "people who love children only have one or two because you could never do enough for more." To which I just reminded children of mine – numbers 5, 8 and 9 – that love multiplies, it does not divide.