A Day in our Life

 Creative Play


Michael's imagination has been creating such fantastical stories I decided to get out the forest mat with the gnomes and wildlife so he could create.  He spread out the animals and trees and placed the gnomes right to sleep.

 As I watched him he added bears and beavers to the scene. Beavers are a favorite topic right now.  He had the animals talk to the gnomes and it was delightful to watch his play life grow.  His stories are filled with good  versus  bad and has many elements of the fairy tales he so loves to have read to him.

I would like to make some continent mats with wildlife and elements of the cultures from each place to share with him the many different ways that people live.  He is interested in Antarctica and  Australia right now so that will be my  next focus.  Penguins and Kangaroos are waddling and hopping around as we play!  Katy Kangaroo is a favorite book as well.




MATH


In the afternoon we got out a counting activity for Michael to use.  He was excited to spread them all out
on the table and begin the counting and matching process.

He is improving with counting correctly. He is solid on his counting up to ten.   He still counts from one on for each problem so we need to work more on counting on from the first grouped number and then adding the second one in two steps.

Here is a close up of the counting activity.

The other day I was talking with Michael about going to see a school that we may have him go to, he
shook his head and said, "Why would I go to school somewhere else, I have you and a classroom here."
He does, and I do love to teach him.  We have one more year to decide the best place for Michael.
For now it is on our journey here at home, exploring and making moments count.

House of Solitude

Spent last weekend in Quebec on a spiritual retreat.  The House of Solitude sits right against the base of a mountain with a brook flowing beside it, and rolling fields of apple trees and meadows along side of it.

  It is a place of quiet to grow your own prayerful life.

To nurture your spiritual life alongside of nature's beauty.

To kneel before God and let your soul be opened to His words.

  Consecrated laity of Notre Dame De Vie gather for prayer and spiritual growth and also to share their way of life with others. It is refreshing to be among people of the same faith.

I think I am most struck by the silence of my  mind, the stirring of my soul to want to pray, and the warm peace that comforts myself.

 As I walked the grounds I stopped before the brook as it conversed to the rocks, watched it laugh in bubbled excitement as it raced past me, and I just was there in that moment, living.  Perhaps that moment was a prayer that I found, a few seconds of contented peace, an awakening of a sense beyond my worries and stress. 

Something just beyond my understanding is right there for me to take hold of, I just can't seem to grasp how to reach it.  So now as I am back to my regular days, my mixed up moments of success and failures, I close my eyes and  bring myself back to those prayerful moments.  A pause in  thought and then courage to face my own way of life with the beauty of prayer a renewed grace.

Sharing the Day With A Friend

"Little Buddies"

Michael's "little buddy", as he calls him, came over to share the day with him.  They were both filled with smiles and lots of ideas.  Discovery in the backyard took most of the morning.  Through exploration they discovered much more than the objects they handled, they discovered the joy of each other.

                                   Attempting to blow bubbles took much focus and a lot of breath.

                             They were both curious as to how the other one figured out the blowers.

Laughter and bubbles mix well together.

After bubbles they climbed up into the fort and pretended to drive a pirate ship.

      

       They played really nice and before they  went down the slide I waved and snapped a picture of them.

                                                 Okay, I snapped more than just one.
 

                                        They went on the see saw for a long time, up and down
                                         for a long while.  Quiet but with lots of momentum.

 


                                          They discovered puddles and by the puddles....worms.

                                  Digging was a big part of the day, both in and out, of the sandbox.

The boys did really well together.  Fridays are their day to explore together.  I am exploring

right along with them in delight as I get to watch 

their time as "little buddies."

Giving Michael the World

Giving Michael the World

I painted this globe in the Montessori color scheme where each continent is a specific color for him to  recall.    The cards that I am making for each Continent are glued onto the coordinating color so he can match what continent he is learning about.  So for example everything that is about North America is in the Orange color. 

The continent boxes I made sit below the globe on the shelves.  Here are the outsides of the boxes:

In each box there are items that represent something from each continent.  For example North America has the American Flag, cards with animals from all of North America, landmark cards from different places in North America, miniature animals, and maps.

In each box there are items that represent something from each continent.  For example North America has the American Flag, cards with animals from all of North America, landmark cards from different places in North America, miniature animals, and maps.

In the Australia  box we now have an actual postcard that came to Michael from a friend who lives there.

We used the globe to show how far it the postcard traveled in the mail to be deliver to Michael here in North America.   Here is the card:

 
We would like to collect more postcards from all around the world.

My hope is to show Michael the world beyond little Vermont.  There is so much to see and do and experience to have; while we can't jump on a jet and actually go off to other continents, we can hold little bits of places in our hands and minds through objects, maps, and books.

Button Rock Hunting With Michael

               Michael is a fun loving boy.  He wakes up ready to explore and find adventure in his day.

Today we took Michael  to Button Bay in Vergennes to search for Button Rocks. Button Rocks are hard to find amidst all the other rocks but have perfect circles in them from the limestone in the rock having been dissolved possibly hundreds or thousands of years ago.  So finding one of the gray almost clay-like rock is like discovering a long and forgotten time that you can hold in your hands.

 We also wanted to throw rocks in the water, feel the breeze off Lake Champlain and let the sun shine smiles on our faces.

Out of the car Michael shot, running towards the shore.  A smile on his face, anticipation bouncing from every muscle as he skipped and danced down to the shore.

             There was such a smile on his face.  The bounce in his step is so much more livelier then before.  He is getting so much better at running and moving his body.  My little man is growing.

             He was so excited to see the lake that he raced on ahead of us to be the first one there.

The water greeted the  beach with a slurping sound and Michael asked why it made such noise.  I told him it was saying hello to us.  He chose rocks and threw them back into the water with loud plopping sounds.
He tried so hard to do the step and throw toss, he is getting much better at it.

Then we searched the rocks, noticing the differences in textures and colors, ever looking for the Button Rocks which can be so hard to find.  But we did uncover some.

Here are the ones we found:

     Finding Button Rocks reminds me of happy times as a child combing the shorelines for them to take home and make into necklaces or  to put into treasure boxes.  It is indeed an experience that takes me back and calms my soul.    I hope Michael will recall carefree days in the sun, running, combing shores for treasure, smiling in the happiness we create.

 I always had such fun with my two young best friends, Jenny and Toni, as we searched with delight for those precious Button Rocks.  Perhaps some will read this and want the adventure, want to hold onto a bit of the past in their hand.  Maybe some will sift their fingers through the rocks on a quiet beach and find the magic of moments that can be treasured when shared with a friend.

Woodside Nature Park

Jim and I took Michael exploring through the trails by the Winooski River.

  We listened to the wind talk through the trees, the birds call, and watched butterflies flutter.  

We jumped over fallen logs, put our hands on bark and in holes left by woodpeckers, and discovered fiddleheads.

We noticed flowers waking up, felt how soft they were, and smelled the freshness of spring findings.

Around the bend we came to the beaver's lodge and the trees they felled.  Some of the trees had fresh cuttings beneath them and others were still standing, ready to come down with just a few more bites.

Michael walked the whole time, his legs are getting stronger. He is enjoying running through the woods, stopping and exclaiming, "I've discovered something!"  It is a joy to watch him experience things for the first time. 

A New Writing Tray

Thrift find

Being a thrift store junkie  I do so enjoy looking at ordinary objects and transforming them into extraordinary uses.  And so as a thrifter as I spotted this on a shelf for only $2 I could not pass it up for it looked like the beginnings of an activity for Michael.

Wood is so beautiful to look at.  This tray is smooth and is great to touch.  I knew I wanted it to be something sensorial for Michael so he could explore an area of study with his senses.

With my purchase and of course some more books for under $1, I headed out of the store and went across the way to the craft store.  (Jim if you are reading this I didn't spend too much.)

I walked along and went through the sticker aisle and looked at the different alphabets but none appealed to me so I walked over to the craft wood and spotted these:

Alphabet Tiles

Now they were on sale for $3 so I scooped them up.  I thought they would be great in the little glass cup and then he could have a writing tray.  Now all I had to think of was what to fill the tray with for him to practice writing his letters.  I wanted him to be able to use his fingers and really have a tactile experience so I decided to get out the salt and see how that would work.

Here is the result:

Salt Writing Tray

So all Michael has to do is select an alphabet tile and place it on the top of the tray and then use his pointer finger to practice writing the capital letter.  I chose all capital letters so he could work on one size formation at a time.  If he wants to do both he can.

Here is a look at the activity:

 

 

M is for Michael

In a montessori catalog this would be a very expensive tray work to buy.  The salt was $.50 for a whole box so our grand total was $5.50 plus tax.  We can also change out the salt and try writing in rice, beans, seasonal inspirations, sand, nature finds, and even popcorn seeds.  I like for him to have experience using all of his senses and this would focus on his sense of touch.  It might make it easier for him to retain the formation of  the letters.  We could also work on number formations too. 

 Now don't you feel like writing some letters?