Thanksgiving Update

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my darling little sis here from Maine. It is always so nice to have her home since she doesn't get home very often. The girls' have really had fun with their aunt. Yesterday they went to Chuck E'Cheese and then to the mall for some shopping. My little one came home with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer from Build a Bear Workshop and the great thing is.....it sings. At 5:30 this morning, Rudolph started singing and a little hand patted me on the shoulder all accompanied with a little voice that said, "Don't you love this song?!" My reply was that yes I loved the Rudolph song, but she and Rudolph needed to go back to bed. She said ok and pitter pattered off to her bed. I on the other hand was wide awake so off to the coffee pot I went. The only bad thing is that my computer has now totally and completely crashed, so I will have to update the blog from my mom's house. I will update at least once a week until my computer is fixed. So this is this week's update and I will try to cover all briefly.

Sewing and Scrap Challenge
I have finished another Sunday dress and just about finished the pinafore that goes with it. I will put some embroidery on the sleeves and the peter pan collar and then it will be done. On the scrap challenge, I had some linen pieces which I made coffee filters from. I like the linen because it is unbleached and natural. It is also a loose enough weave that the water flows through easily. I took small squares, folded them across into a big triangle. Then I cut the tip to make it more flat and then sewed the seam. Easy as pie and I have new coffee filters. I have a bunch of this linen from my art days (it is used for canvases), so I was thinking of making some of these to sell at the store blog. Do you think anyone might be interested in them? They last a long time and wouldn't cost much at all. Anyway, just an idea. I am now working on a needlework piece that I picked up several years ago, started, put down and never got back to. It is a small piece and I am not really sure what I will do with it, but it is a nice change from cutting and sewing types of things. I will have it finished in a day or two and then need to work on a couple of shirts for my little one to go under her jumpers. The jumpers still fit but the shirts are too small, so I will just make a couple new ones and then we will be set. I think that is about it in the sewing area for this week.

Montessori Preschool
I completed the counting cards and ladybugs that will be a Christmas gift for my little one. The ladybugs were shells that I painted to look like ladybugs. I also got the sandpaper numbers finished so that she can trace and feel the symbols for her numbers. I painted the red rods which is beginning math concept teaching longest, shortest and everything in between. It also teaches that several can equal one. These will later become counting rods which will help her learn addition and subtraction concepts. I have the sandpapers letters written on the sandpaper, but not yet cut out and put on the cardstock. I will get that started this week. She can sing the ABC song, but this will be her first formal introduction to the symbols and have the ability to feel their shape. I am right proud of myself that I free handed the cursive so that they can be cut out and put on cardstock leaving enough of the letter to be traced. We also this week will continue with our geography by painting the flags of our state and the United States. We also plan on doing leaf rubbings of trees and then talking about the parts of the leaves, then continue with tree drawings and talking about the parts of trees. Anyway, I am sure there will be more and of course we will continue with what we have already introduced.

Food
We are getting ready to start our Christmas baking and will get the breads done and in the freezer since the candies need to be done relatively fresh. This will free us up a bit to do some other things. I have a great rabbit recipe that I tried out on everyone last week and they liked it. I thought it was really good and it is a crockpot recipe. So here it is:

Creamy Rabbit and Rice
1 rabbit cut into pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

Places salt and peppered rabbit pieces in crockpot. Then mix the other ingredients in a bowl and dump on top of the rabbit making sure that all of the rabbit is covered. Cook on low for about 6 hours or on high for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. When the rabbit is tender it is done. I served this over brown rice with a side of asparagus and sliced tomatoes. I also served with garlic bread. Super yummy and oh so easy.

Well, that is about all I can think of right now. Like I said I will update once a week at least until I get the computer fixed and then I will be back to normal. Hope you all have a blessed week. Kat

Montessori Homeschooling

Our toddler is now reaching preschool age. This means it is time for a more formal educational approach. While we have taught her her colors and how to count 11-10, etc. we have not really approached these concepts in a formal way. It has taken me some time to decide what would fit her best. The final decision came when our Sunday school classes started up this fall and she moved from the toddler room to the Atrium. Let me explain what the Atrium is. We started the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd a few years ago. It is a Montessori based curriculum for churches. The atrium is a Montessori learning area in which the children are guided in their understanding that Jesus Christ is their good shepherd. He knows them and loves them. It is a place where children develop their personal communication with God. While this is just a nutshell view of the COGS, it is wonderful. The works in the room are based on the Montessori method of learning. I have seen how our little one loves this room and loves learning the new works each Sunday since I am one of the facilitators of the Atrium. Montessori is a good fit for her. Montessori is broken into 4 parts for the primary level of age 3-6. Practical life are what we would think of as homeskills, they are things that we do in everyday life such as folding clothes, baking, cooking, preparing vegetables, cleaning etc. She already does much of this around the house and loves it. Sensorial engages learning through the senses. This is something that our children do from the day they are born. The learn comfort from their mother's voice, language from those talking around them, familiarity in faces from seeing them, they smell and hear their surroundings all from day one. Montessori education takes this natural instinct to facilitate cognitive learning about spatial concepts. Then there are language and math. Montessori approaches these a little differently. Each work in the child's area builds upon skills. Montessori is a progressive step by step ladder of education with each activity building the skills needed for full "preparation for success". We have incorporated a few Montessori activites before now, but since this is the way we have decided to go with her we are transforming the playroom. Montessori stresses order, which means that everything has a place and that place is easily accessible to the child. It is a child guided education in which they choose which of the works available to them. Before the work is made available then the child is presented the work and taught how to use the work. They pick up on this a lot faster than one would think. Montessori is a self correcting type of education in which there is no need for the facilitator to correct wrong answers because the child understands that their work is not right and corrects it themselves. The main concepts of Montessori are to promote the joy of learning, self-reliance and independance. It also is something that engages the whole body in activity as the child moves from work to work, removing it from the shelf and replacing it when finished and moving on. Montessori works are tailored to the child and allow the child to move at their own pace, building skills and knowledge as they are ready. Montessori materials tend to be very expensive since they are geared toward Montessori schools. However, you can make your own or substitute less expensive things to gain the same concepts. We will be making our own and substituting quite a bit. As time goes by, I will be doing posts to show the things that I make and will be adding our materials in the sidebar on the left under our homeschool curriculum. If you are interested in learning more about Montessori here are some great websites to learn more.

Montessori Mom

Montessori at Home

Montessori Education

Montessori Primary Guide

Montessori Science

Of course, if you google Montessori education you will find tons of stuff to keep you busy for hours. Hope this helps those of you looking for a different way to educate your children. Blessings from the farm, Kat