It's realistic to expect that Norah will go at least a few weeks without "school" when the new baby arrives. She's going without school here and there already as often I get the urge to prepare for the baby and clean and organize the house. So, right after the baby comes, I'll be depending on everyday activities to teach Norah what I'm not teaching her with the help of textbooks during that period of time. It's comforting that as I've been thinking about this, I've also been noticing just how much everyday things really can teach her (when I make her turn off the television and computer screens). Here are a few things I noticed just today.
We ran out of salt water for Norah's hermit crabs today. Last time we needed salt water, I just made it myself. But today, I made Norah mix one teaspoon of salt water conditioner to one cup of spring water to make the solution. Using 1/2 a teaspoon, she had to double that to get enough of the conditioner in each cup.
Later, I walked by her room and caught her counting and sorting her money from largest to smallest value. As she saw me pass, she asked how many cents a dime was worth just to be sure she was right.
She reads chapter books like this every day. These are the ones I found on her bedside table today, so she might be in the process of reading more than one, actually. And when she finishes a book, she always claims it's the best book yet and runs in to tell me the plot beginning to end. I give her a few minutes of my attention and dialogue with her about the book. She has no idea she's doing an "oral book report."
Norah made a simple tent with an old bed sheet and a towel when we went out to play in the yard today. I found the book A Kid's Guide to Building Forts at the thrift store a few days ago, bought it, brought it home and only remembered it today. She read it and we are planning to make one of the forts in the book when we get all the right supplies.
Late in the afternoon, Avril found a craft in a book and asked Norah to help her with it meaning she pointed at it and said, "Baby! Help me? Make a ha-me?" Norah gathered what they needed to make these shark puppets and built one for each of them.
That's only a sampling of the kind of stuff she does when we don't do lessons and the television is off. I think she'll be just fine without "school" for a few weeks. Of course, we'll start up again when the baby is settled and I've recovered.
We ran out of salt water for Norah's hermit crabs today. Last time we needed salt water, I just made it myself. But today, I made Norah mix one teaspoon of salt water conditioner to one cup of spring water to make the solution. Using 1/2 a teaspoon, she had to double that to get enough of the conditioner in each cup.
Later, I walked by her room and caught her counting and sorting her money from largest to smallest value. As she saw me pass, she asked how many cents a dime was worth just to be sure she was right.
She reads chapter books like this every day. These are the ones I found on her bedside table today, so she might be in the process of reading more than one, actually. And when she finishes a book, she always claims it's the best book yet and runs in to tell me the plot beginning to end. I give her a few minutes of my attention and dialogue with her about the book. She has no idea she's doing an "oral book report."
Norah made a simple tent with an old bed sheet and a towel when we went out to play in the yard today. I found the book A Kid's Guide to Building Forts at the thrift store a few days ago, bought it, brought it home and only remembered it today. She read it and we are planning to make one of the forts in the book when we get all the right supplies. 
Late in the afternoon, Avril found a craft in a book and asked Norah to help her with it meaning she pointed at it and said, "Baby! Help me? Make a ha-me?" Norah gathered what they needed to make these shark puppets and built one for each of them.
That's only a sampling of the kind of stuff she does when we don't do lessons and the television is off. I think she'll be just fine without "school" for a few weeks. Of course, we'll start up again when the baby is settled and I've recovered.
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