preschoolbusyness

Genius Baby

2009-06-20T20:36:00.004-05:00

I remember posting a similar story way back when, when Mcclellan learned to dump out and pick up Cheerios...

Here is Verity putting napkin holders into a tall skinny pasta jar...and attempting to replace the lid. This is riveting stuff, folks.

Foreign Language

2009-06-05T20:26:00.003-05:00

So, I've been wanting to start teaching Mcclellan Spanish for a while now. Or at least start teaching him. I plan to also teach Latin and maybe Greek with the planned classical approach. I'm not sure when/how to teach Spanish along with the ancient languages, but I'm gonna stop fretting about it and just start with Spanish NOW. I know some Latin, but am much more fluent in Spanish and use it sporadically around the house. I'd like to do some immersion with him, but get a little foggy with my own use of the language...especially those future tense verbs!

Sooo, we are going to start with vocab, naturally. Verbs can definitely wait. The words I do use around the house everyday, Mcclellan has picked up on really well ("My camisa is red, Mama," or, "I need pantalones."). I'd like to teach him the Spanish word for all the classic preschool busyness: shapes, colors, parts of body, etc. But I feel like he is still so new at learning them in English that Spanish would be confusing. But then, I remember that this is why his age is the BEST age to learn things like these. He won't question why red is also rojo. Or cat is also gato. He loves talking and plays with his words all the time, that I have no doubt he will also love learning words in Spanish. So, colores, numeros, y partes del cuerpo...here we come!

I did order a book off Amazon that I'd been reading about on one of my language sites on the side. For nothing other than to keep me organized and help me remember my own vocab! I'd LOVE to become more fluent and use the language more regularly. I am always wanting to speak Spanish to people using it in public, but am afraid of conversation! "Mas despacio, por favor," is all I need to remind native speakers.

So, maybe with the help of my language-learning children, I too, can become a better foreign language speaker! Sometimes, I wonder why there is such a focus on Latin and Greek in classical ed. Would it not be more practical to teach Japanese, Russian and Spanish? I put a great value in learning the ancients, but wonder why there is such a big thrust for them in today's highly globalized society. We'll see what happens with our own family as we go along, I suppose!

Edited to add: So I came across this article: Why Teach Latin? Granted it's written by Memoria Press, but nonetheless...

Awesomest Train Track Ever!

2009-05-27T10:34:00.002-05:00

This is every piece of track that we own!

Downstairs Spaces

2009-05-27T10:07:00.003-05:00

Until recently, our giant common area in the basement has gone largely unused. A failed moving attempt, lack of furniture, and general neglect of the space has kept us from enjoying this large, basement living room.
There is a space for playing the piano. Which Verity loves to hoist herself up to do.
The white shelf migrated downstairs to be utilized for work. Here we have a basket of vehicles, two shape sorting locking boxes, cookies and cookie pan, two puzzles, large wooden construction machines, and a little can of "baby toys."
The new futon gives us some sitting surfaces. Nearby pachinko machine still goes unused as it needs to be mounted to the wall. I can count flicking the lever on the gambling machine as "fine motor activity," right?
And the chair-and-a-half was moved down as well. Also downstairs are the red tote full of tracks and trains, and a wicker basket full of more baby toys (which, incidentally, the big boy also likes to play with).
This makes our downstairs time during baby's naps and in the late afternoon a little bit more enjoyable! Off to build train tracks!

Massive Sensory Experience!

2009-05-20T13:37:00.001-05:00

(That's oatmeal cereal, there)
Que linda la manita que tiene mi bebe...
que linda, que bella, que bonita es!

Nature Table

2009-05-17T17:41:00.004-05:00

While this isn't Montessori per se, we've decided to incorporate our own little version of a Waldorfy nature table. I think this a great way to be mindful the season we're in and aware of the changes going on outside, bringing pieces of nature indoors. We just have this tiny little table, draped in a playsilk (gonna grab on to three other season-appropriate colors for the future), with some random findings from outside. The flowers are from our front yard! The peonies make the whole house smell the like candy!

Clean up! Clean up! Everybody, everywhere!

2009-05-12T20:27:00.002-05:00

Mcclellan did an amazing job cleaning up after dinner tonight. He wiped the ENTIRE eating area with his sponges. Even the slats on the backs of the chairs!
I did have to remove that giant bar of soap, as it was just causing a big, ooey, gooey mess in his squishy little hands. Matt promises to bring me back lots of tiny hotel soaps next week while he's traveling.
I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate putting his own dishes away as well. His and Verity's. :) I have two more pink basins like that one in the pictures, and am considering using one as a place for him to bus his own dishes. I don't like the idea of putting the basin on the clean-up table as everything on that station is, well, clean! And dirty dishes would be...dirty! But, for lack of space, and accessible space at that, he may start bussing his own eatingware in the same area.

We also did some rearranging. The white multi-level shelf has paint peeling (not so good, when Verity likes to hoist herself up to gum all over it), and we were in need of a shoe/bag drop-off point by the front door. So, the white shelf (until it gets sanded down and repainted!) is the shoe shelf, and this squat, mini-desk is our other new work surface. Perfect for assisting Verity in her efforts in standing. And, so Mcclellan thinks, perfect for sitting upon, tucking one's little legs under the drawer you see there. We're talking about the table there on the right. Perfect.

Ketchup!

2009-05-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

My machine has been out of commission...again...and here I am playing catch up on hubby's computer while he fixes mine (again) downstairs.

Mcclellan is still as goofy as ever.

He loves the peg board.

Verity helps herself.

Learning the difference between playing the triangle while holding the metal vs. while holding the attached string!

Verity shakin' it.

Ahhh...So tonight we introduced a "clean-up" station. Taken from my uber-yummy Montessori environment link (on the side), I set up this help-yourself area. You can see, from the glowing apples on his cheeks, that Mcclellan LOVED free play (I mean, work) with the soap.

Washing off his chin, post dinner.

(Note the now-cloudy soap tainted water!) At the station we have:
1. our dustpan for cleaning up dry spills.
2. a mirror for...well, looking at yourself.
3. two sponges for cleaning up wet spills.
4. a basin full (2") of water.
5. a drying towel.
6. a washcloth (for faces and hands, not floors).
7. a bar of soap.
I'm thinking about adding our all-purpose and glass cleaner spray bottles somewhere closeby (child safe! and vinegar-based, of course), but I'm afraid my bottles will just be drained daily on the random sprayings around the house. Those and a roll of a paper towels. Looking forward to that magic day that he's three. That's when they become adults, right?

In other news, I clipped lovely peonies and columbine from our front flower gardens. And my sweet Mother's Day rose is blooming in a tiny vase.
And Verity? Yeah, that's her learning how to crawl. Wild.

Ball Tube

2009-05-05T20:59:00.002-05:00

The aforementioned ball tube is up and running! We have this down in the basement, since standing on ottomans and shooting balls out of tubes gets the toddler mighty excited. Can I consider this "work"? Work or play, he's having...a...ball!

New Stuff!

2009-05-04T10:36:00.006-05:00

Sorry, sorry, for my delay in announcing all our new materials. Verity and I had a great vacation while the boys were gone, and blogging was far from my mind. Which was probably a good thing.

I've had to be sneaky in taking my pictures without Mcclellan seeing what the new materials all were. I want them to be new and fresh when we put them out!

Here is the bookshelf that until recently, occupied Mcclellan's north wall. It was chock full of all his books, but since I've decided to just put a few out at a time (10-15), the shelf has been moved to the main living area and houses new work!

And the mirror area with our old shelves, including Verity's main work.
I've had these magnetic balls for quite some time. I acquired a magnet wand from M&M (THE amazing M&M) and added it to the collection of magnetic and glass balls. This one is not out yet.
Another one I've not put out yet, the eraser sorting. I got two of each of these tiny erasers for pairing up and sorting. Mcclellan loves tiny things. Which means he always needs to be watched, double closely! He's gonna love these little guys.
Cardboard shapes. Each shape has the name written on it, and they drop nicely into a slot in our recycled yogurt container.
My favorite! Mcclellan just kinda likes picking up and fingering the marbles, or dumping them out into the tray, but what they hey...they are fun and I actually like doing this work! I cut different pieces from an old suction-cup-bottomed bathmat. The marbles fit so nicely, and look really pretty atop each little cup. A great fine-motor activity!
Here are two baskets with locks & keys (two sizes) and nuts & bolts (again, two sizes; one with a wing nut). Mcclellan loves the locks but hasn't quite cared about the bolts yet.
OK, so Jennifer will flip when she sees these. I had bought some lacing cards from aforementioned M&M which served their purposes fine for the fine motor, hand-eye coordination activity that is lacing. BUT THEN, at one of my favorite thrift stores (Vaughn-Trent!), I descried these Noah's Ark lacing cards! Two of each of 4 animals, Noah and the ark? All for $1!!?? They are much sturdier than the M&M version, but I will hang on to both, just for variety and...well, I paid $4 for the new ones!
M&M also offered these pegs with a foam pegboard. The classic. You know this one. Mcclellan has not seen this one yet either, but I'm excited to introduce it to him!
And, in the mail, fresh off ebay, I got these tesselating shapes. I was slightly miffed at myself for not noticing on the auction that these WERE NOT wooden (when I thought they were) and a little disappointed when I opened up the package to this foam variety. Nonetheless, we will forge ahead with these slightly inferior shapes. Until I find some wooden ones at the thrift store!
Verity got these new napkin rings. They stack well, don't roll away (they kinda roll in a big circle on our hard floors), and they make a fantastic sound when chucked against the floor! She loves them. I may put them out later with scarves for Mcclellan to do some "lacing" type work.
Mcclellan's favorite: The Funnel. I don't know why our household does not contain a funnel, but this thrift store 0.25 purchase suffices well. The pitcher and mini carafe I also thrifted from Good Shepherd.
I do have one more online purchase coming in the mail: colored baby bears. There are 48 mini bears, in 6(?) colors for sorting and pre-math activities.

I'm thinking of dividing our work into stations. Math station. Language station. Sensorial station. Not sure yet. Not sure if I have enough space for stations or enough work for each! As it is, we now have a good 8 surfaces for putting out work and working on it. Mcclellan's getting really good about setting his work rug on the floor when he wants to do something too! He's doing a super job of rolling his (and Verity's) up when we clean up. I'm Digging (with a capital D) this whole Montessori set-up we got going on right now!

Works in Progress

2009-04-26T13:55:00.005-05:00

Here are our plans for the week, making more work materials while Mcclellan is out of town with his daddy:
Make playdough (I gotta be doing this every 2 weeks!)
Different sized jars w/ lids for screwing lids on and off
Beads and bath mat (w/ and w/o tongs) :: bath mat
2 locks with keys
Sponge water transfer :: sponges, two cup pet bowl
Funnel :: funnel, small pitcher, vases (2?)
Eyedroppers
Lacing cards
Art frame
Ball tube
Bathe doll :: small plastic doll, easy-squirt bottle
Sorting smallest to largest
Button bracelet
Acquire tessellating blocks and color baby bears
Make Lambkin...one day...

And that's just a start! We'll see how much I actually get done while also baking and cleaning the house for showings!

Work Rugs

2009-04-25T19:26:00.002-05:00

7.99 each from World Market via Jennifer = SUPER work areas.

Focus: Verity

2009-04-25T15:13:00.004-05:00

While, Mcclellan and Matt are out of town this week, I am looking forward to making some new materials to stock up on and catering to everything that is my daughter, Verity. I set out work just for her today. She has been going a little nutzo on the shelves. It is so fulfilling to see her helping herself to the things she wants to work on, at her level, in her interest. She just gets mad when she chucks a toy a little too far and still can't crawl to get it back!

Among her work: a basket with the jingle-bells-on-sticks (requiring assistance, of course), the shape sorter cube and ball; at her discretion is a small mirror, fabric beach ball, rattles, a bean bag, a basket with felted balls and wooden books.

Knife Wielding Tot

2009-04-24T09:36:00.005-05:00

Today, we practiced cutting! I don't know if Mcclellan was more excited to use a knife or to have a banana all to himself! At any rate, cutting was to be done, banana was to be devoured. Work and snack, accomplished all at the same time!

And while we're talking about practical life skills, here is Mcclellan's new pitcher I picked up for him to practice pouring with. He loves serving himself his own drinks! Such concentration...

A Veritable Art Gallery

2009-04-20T12:41:00.003-05:00

Inspired by the lessons in practicality that I receive on a regular basis from my good friend and fellow Montessorian, Jennifer, I have decided to instill our own museum of paintings in our halls. The idea is to take classic works of art (in this case, all paintings) and display them at levels that may be observed and studied by the child. I'm not sure yet as to how and where I'm going to place them yet, but have just finished cutting out 20 different pictures of paintings that I got from a book called The Story of Painting. I picked it up for 0.75 at the library book sale yesterday and its my latest TREASURE. I harvested the pictures I want for our collection and am passing it on to Jennifer so she can add to hers.

I have paintings from da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and Raphael; to Van Gogh, Degas, and Manet; to Miro, Matisse, and Modigliani. How's that for timelining it, Auntie Jo? My sister, who is an art appreciation afficianado, will love what we are setting up for the kids. Most of these are works that anyone who has even a slight interest in art will recognize (Mona Lisa, Road with Cypresses, Still Life with Fruit), but there are a good number that will hopefully invoke some discussion as well. When asked, "What do you see in The Harlequin's Carnival, Mcclellan," I'm curious as to what he will say! I was impressed that when he was shown Madonna and Child Enthroned, he identified the Baby Jesus upon Mary's lap. I mean, its all Byzantine and Middle Age-y, but that kid knows who is who! I can't wait to get these laminated (possibly framed if I can find enough that will fit from the thrift stores) and set them out!

MORE! TSBVI Activities

2009-04-19T14:06:00.004-05:00

I lurrrve the TSBVI website. It has all these Montessori activities, that are particularly helpful for small children who are blind or visually impaired. Mcclellan is neither, but the sensory/auditory activities that help blind children be aware of their environment are also GREAT for those toddlers who happen to be very sensory and auditory learners!

This one, I'm so proud to say, was built from the findings of my husband's well-stocked garage. When I read that this activity required 25 washers, 5 sets of 5, in graduated sizes, I was like, "Looks like a trip to Ace Hardware!" But no, Matt had all of these, the wood and the nails in the garage. Yesssss! I think Mcclellan's really going to like the eye-candy that this work has to offer.
Shape sequencing...as I've shown. There are four cards, each with two foam shapes glued to them. There are corresponding loose shapes to finish the "sentence" on the card.
My favorite is this one with puff paint and bottlecaps. Sure, I could've used just a marker, even a colored one. But the tactile funness of the puff paint is going to be super to encourage the one to one number matching. And bottlecaps? What kiddo doesn't love bottlecaps?
And another fun, toddlercentric one: jingle bells! Here the goal is to match the two that sound the same and are of the same size (and happen to have the same color ribbon!). But even to match the opposite bells is a good lesson in differences and opposites. Multi-functional!
This week is well stocked and I'm excited to see what Mcclellan has to do and say with his work! Verity is digging our shape sorter cube and a box full of sensory balls I've laid out for her. We also went on a nature walk yesterday and filled a tray full of shells, flowers, and rocks we found while out and about. Depending on how the flowers look, midweek, we may or may not keep this work out!

Week of April 20

2009-04-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

Plans for the week!

Teaching Moments

2009-04-16T16:14:00.003-05:00

We did our "Color Areas" activity today. I'm finding that doing focused, specific activities is proving to be a little more challenging to get started. After putzing around a bit, needing some guidance from Mom, and a lot of "watch me do it...now YOU do it," Mcclellan finally catches on and gets interested. We collected yellow and orange materials from around the house today. These included a yellow banana peel that he spied on the counter in the kitchen...
Then, in the middle of hunting for an orange something, he has been dragging a costume-jewelry necklace of Grandma W's when I heard, "Ker-chattle!" The string had broken and black and grey squares were scattered about. We paused our orange hunt and picked up every last bead. There were 48 in all...

The brilliant new idea had struck me by then, but not wanting to deter from our regularly scheduled programming, we finished up our Color Areas. Then, "Mcclellan," I said, "We are going to sort." After the same putzing about, he was well into sorting black squares onto one plate, grey on another.
"I'm sorting, Mama!" he called. And he got 24 grey squares on one plate. 24 black on the other! This teaching moment brought to you by an accident and a broken something turned into a beautiful, purposeful work activity!
Again, this was something that just can't be planned! I'm getting better, really I am!

Workspaces

2009-04-15T12:25:00.004-05:00

Two babies playing happily? Yes, its niiiice.

Anti-art and Sniffing

2009-04-15T09:14:00.003-05:00

I've come to the saddening, undeniable conclusion that my son just does not. like. to. paint. Ever since he was a baby, finger painting, he's not been enthused about the messiness, the gooeyness that is painting. He would just give me a look that said, "This stuff just does not belong on my hands, Mom." The same holds true today. He seems to love to get messy just so he can go wash up. Crazy kid. We painted our cans for our chimes and he was not a fan. We'll see how the actual assembly goes later this afternoon.

On a positive note, he did love the playdough (and always has) he was left to while I prepped his sniffing jars. Maybe a sculptor?

Our sniffing jars are a hit! I used cleaned-out sprinkle jars with the little shaker caps on them, and filled each jar with a cotton ball doused in something smelly.
Butter, wine, coffee, mint, vanilla, and smoke (each from a flavoring or the direct source). My favorite is when he grabs the butter scent, smells, and says, "Kropsu!" Kropsu does have a considerable amount of butter in it...
His little toddler fingers are having fun with the screw-off lids too. Success!

Carpe diem

2009-04-14T12:19:00.004-05:00

My plans for storytime at the library were foiled by a too-late morning nap! Mcclellan and I were reading a poem from his High 5 that goes something like this:
"Pizza, pizza, pizza, we like it hot or cold...Pizza, pizza, pizza, fun for young and old..." and so on.

After he insisted I read it 100 times, I decided we should make pizza for lunch. And having none of those oh-so-convenient Rustic Crusts on hand, I ventured that we make our own dough. What?! Make our own pizza crust? With yeast?!

These are the teachable moments one just cannot plan for on a weekly calendar. "Tuesday: teach Mcclellan all about how yeast works, and hope against all hopes that he will be enthralled and absorbent." After two risings and our toppings of availability (we used swiss cheese and chopped olives because that's just what we had...), we had something that looked like this:
And yummy, it was! Between the two of us, we ate about half of this tomatoey, turkeyroni-y masterpiece. So while library time was deviously thwarted by the mischievous toddler and his antinapping sister, we did get some SUPER lessons in, and yummy lunch to boot!

Week of April 13

2009-04-13T12:44:00.002-05:00

Plans for this week!

"Hiatus"

2009-04-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm at it again. With our extremely successful garage sale last weekend and the move happening in two weeks, I'm just no good at housekeeping. Let alone lesson planning. The only solution? Hiatus!

So my only official plans for the next two weeks include getting out of the house at least once a day (even if that just means to the thrift store or to buy eggs), and doing at least one "work" activity daily. Today we borrowed from the TSBVI site's "Poke and Peek." POKE & PEEK
Focus: encourages fine motor development and eye-hand coordination.
Materials:

colander
tin bowl
coloured toothpicks

Procedure: Invert the colander. The child will insert the toothpicks into the holes. Add a tin bowl underneath the colander and it will give auditory feedback to the child.

We're talking a good ten minutes of one happy, focused toddler. And when he suggested the use of his new tongs, I brought out more little Dixie cups, as the pincing of toothpicks wasn't so much easy for a 2-yr-old...
And then to up the skill level, little steel sorting cups. We're talking another good ten minutes or so. (The addition of the silicone mat was solely for the purpose of sound damping during Verity's nap.)
Now, if only I could come up with something motivating to get us out of the house on this gray, wet, 40-degree day...

Not Feeling It

2009-04-09T14:17:00.003-05:00

Well, sadly, and as good a curriculum it really is, I think we're going to retire Little Hands to Heaven to a shelf. For now, anyway. I'm just not liking the set-up, or the content, or the activities, or something. Maybe its me. Maybe its Mcclellan. But its just not a very fun addition to our school time. This is the second (third?) time I've tried to introduce LHH to Mcclellan, probably because I just feel like since I spent all of $18 on it, I should use it. Maybe in another 6 mos?

Speaking of curriculums and dropping the $$ on them: next weekend is the MPE homeschooling conference. Its a big one, because it combines all the homeschoolers imaginable from Eastern KS and Western MO; those include Topeka, Lawrence, JoCo, KCK, KCMO and all surrounding small towns. Which sometimes have more HSers than the big towns. At any rate, its a big deal around here and we plan on going again this year. But this time, just to the curriculum fair.

Jennifer and I went last year for both days, attended workshops, observed the crazy thing that is families of 12, homeschooling in all their long-denim-skirted glory. It was fun, but at this stage in our homeschooling life, not something that I feel is absolutely necessary every year. At least not this year. Matt and the babies are going to join me for the fair, where we stroll up and down aisle by aisle, perusing programs and trying out educational "toys." I have a few specific things I'd like to check out and consider for this year, especially since Mcclellan has a little more of a personality and learning style. In any case, any curriculum or materials we do purchase, I really want to be sure we'll use. I've heard this is an all-too-common malaise that homeschoolers experience: buying everything that looks fabulous and then setting it on a shelf until 10th grade rolls around you realize you never even broke the seal on the box.

I'm really into art and literature, especially during this fun preschool season, so I think we might try to embrace unschooling for a while, just learning about what comes along. And with the impending move, we will have access to so many things that the children can learn from experience, not a curriculum. Wanna learn about mermaids? Done! How about steam engine boilers? No problem! The sun? Yep, we can study that too. I suppose, in that sense, we might be doing a little bit more a unit study format, but hey, we are a growing, evolving, never static, ever learning homeschooling family unit here.

Classical education? Yeeekes. May be a little too organized for me. Good thing we don't start that whole "formal education" thing until 7! Phew!

Staying on Task

2009-04-08T16:56:00.004-05:00

Using the amazing Letter of the Week curriculum (online, see side), we have opted to do the learning poster each week. It give a great visual of what we are learning about, we post pictures of new vocab words, and well, it just helps me (and Mcclellan) stay on task with what we are learning.

This week, we are learning about eyes.

Regular Scheduled Programming

2009-04-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the lists of links on the side. Not so much is this a resource for any readers I might have, as it is an ongoing "Favorites" list for myself. With consecutive computer crashes under my belt (each one with the re-compiling of documents, pictures, favorites lists), I've decided to just log my lists on here, should another Blue Screen of Death surprise me. Okay, its not so much a surprise. My laptop is about 5 years old and has been on the out for a while now. One day the husband will realize he can no longer fix it himself.

I digress...

The one-stop-shopping of links and plans in one superstore (a.k.a. this blog) is super. If you're looking for a great online resource for spreadsheets, I highly recommend Google Docs. I started with the editgrid online software, but it slowed my machine and eventually froze it up a few time. Google Docs allows you to publish a webpage which can, happily, be linked from here!

And I've gotten several people asking about leaving comments on here. I think I'm going to continue to make this blog a comment-less one, but happily welcome discussions and comments at my email listed on the side. ;) wink.

We got through our first day of returning to school. It was a decision that had to be made after a few weeks of no school, endless packing, and Mcclellan walking around chanting our call to schooltime. Yes, I am the definition of slacker mom. I had put us on...er, extended Spring break...to allow more time and energy to pack and move. But then, I couldn't just ignore Mcclellan's pleas for some schooltime. Even if, after Spring break ended, he still had a typically two-year-old reaction to sitting on his school spot; Oh well, at least he has good intentions, right? Kinda like his mama...

Week of April 6

2009-04-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

Lessons for the week!

I did a weird thing today...

2009-04-04T20:34:00.001-05:00

I talked to someone else (gasp!) about educating my son. For some reason, just the simple thought of turning him over for two half-days a week at the local Waldorf school really kinda freaked me out. What? Pay someone else to teach him things that I won't be part of? I mean, I don't even set him in front of a television without being there with him to talk about what we see and hear. Call me overprotective (he is only 2 for crying out loud!) and controlling. No really, I am. And why shouldn't I be? That's another "philosophy of homeschooling" post for you. Not this one.

At any rate, I was freaked. I love the activities, the environment, even the subject matter taught in a Waldorf setting. I love the idea of getting some minimal exposure of my child to other kids his age. I love the idea of getting involved with a parents-of-preschoolers community. So where does my anxiety come from. I mentioned to the enrollment coordinator at Prairie Moon that it was weird considering education for my firstborn; sending him off to someone else for the caring and feeding of my spawn. She smiled and nodded. "Silly young mama," I'm sure she thought. "We do have a lot of homeschoolers who come here around 3rd grade, either because its just not working for the kids...or the parents," she casually explained to me when I told her of my plans for part-time schooling and aspirations to educate mine own at my home. How silly indeed, I must be.

Digress as I may, I still have a weird, uneasy feeling about sending Mcclellan off (not even until 2010!) to another school (and this one is even private!). I guess it comes down to me just not being ready (fine, I still have like, 10 months), and needing to do more research in when/where/if to put my kids for any outside-the-home education. There is a Montessori I still want to check in to, and I really need to explore Prairie Moon specifically to see if it will fit in with a Biblical worldview; if it would be edifying, supplemental, or just downright distracting. Oh, yes, I plan on spending days with these preschool classrooms to see if they are right for my kids.

How do public schooling parents do this? Yes, I know I am an overachiever and an idealist. But, seriously: How do parents plan to send their kids off to public schools. Judgments and arguments for or against public/private/homeschooling aside, I really do want to know. A discussion on our philosophy of homeschooling? Oh, you can bet there will be one of those eventually!

What's Up?

2009-03-31T12:46:00.001-05:00

So, in another attempt to get myself blogging again, I'm going to be chattering about something of essential practicality in our family. Preschool. I have two kids, one 2-year old, and one 6-mo-old. Needless to say, we're always looking for things to do. Not just anything though. Edifying things. Educational things. Things that make us better people. Not just stuff to fill the time up and make the day go by.

We're aspiring homeschoolers, so this may help to explain some of this obsessiveness. I'm a planner and an organizer, which in many ways is very useful and helpful. And in others? Well sometimes its just a burden when I feel like I must blog just keep these plans and organizations well...planned and organized. Hence, this blog.

At preschoolbusyness, we're going to post weekly lessons plans. Fun, individual activities and ideas. Homeschooling preparedness. And any other education, play and schooling busyness we come across along the way. Oh, and don't be surprised to see lots of pictures of my adorable kids. Yeah; I mean, they are why I'm doing this in the first place!

On the sidebar, you will notice that my favorite preschooling, curriculum, homeschooling and play sites will magically appears. And they will probably change over time. And when my kids are out this super preschool phase? Then I guess you can look for another blog to come. For now, and at least for a few more years, we're busy about preschool. After all, formal education in our state doesn't become mandatory until age 7. So we have quite a few years of preschool busyness to go!

I'm going to tag each entry with the type of entry it is, the age that it applies to, and any specific topics/ideas the post addresses. I'm hoping this will help keep me organized too: "Where is something fun we can do with a 24-mo-old..." or "I want to do something related to frogs," and etcetera. I figure if I'm going to be obsessive about something, it might as well be about something that is mandatory in our family. Learning. Being busy about learning, and always learning.

Be busy!