Monthly Archives: June 2010

The De-Escalator

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Do you frequently come into a situation in your home in which a conflict needs to be worked out?  (Uh, every parent on the planet nods their head here).  Okay, so then do you typically escalate the situation or do you de-escalate it?

I ask this because many times we are in the midst of a situation in which our children require our guidance, and we think we are offering guidance, but we are doing it in the heat of the moment and in such a way that most likely all the child will remember afterwards is not the situation, not the “lesson” to be learned, but the way you made him or her feel.  Remember, you cannot guide the situation or have the child learn anything from the situation if everyone is crying, screaming, yelling or hitting.  You really  have to wait until things calm down until you can guide.  And then the piece after that is in the activity of doing, of restitution.  Save the lecture!  Work on the doing!

This is also true in any relationship where there is a conflict.  I remember finding this 45 record (remember those from oh so long ago?)  amongst my mother’s things – The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out.”  Here it is to get you in the mood for some conflict resolution:

 

Love this, and what a timely reminder in conflict.  This phrase also happens to be the title of a nifty little NonViolent Communication book entitled (yes!):  “We Can Work It Out:  Resolving Conflicts Peacefully and  Powerfully:  A presentation of Nonvionent Communication ideas, and their use” by Marshall B Rosenberg, PhD.  This little booklet is only about 22 pages long, but I think it is very valuable in helping decipher what to do in conflict. 

The minute we start thinking, “Well, the problem with my child is that they won’t do “X”” that is really not expressing what we NEED.  We also do this with our spouses as well:   “Well, if my husband didn’t do “X” everything would be fine.”  I find that often mothers don’t really know what they need, but they sure know what they don’t like when they see it. 🙂  However, in order to have someone help you get what you want, you have to know what you need.

Dr. Rosenburg has a wonderful sentence in this book:  “At the point where either party hears themselves being criticized, diagnosed, or intellectually interpreted, I predict their energy will turn toward self-defense and counter-accusations rather than toward resolutions that meet everyone’s needs.” 

So, I think if you can define what you DO want, and then think of a strategy that meets what your need is, then you  have a much better chance at guiding your child.

The other part that can be very challenging but necessary in parenting is what Dr. Rosenburg calls “sensing the needs of others regardless of how others are expressing themselves.’ 

This is very hard with children if they are yelling or hitting or screaming.  But they are telling you something with this behavior if you can look underneath all that and then try to meet that need that they are showing you.  They need action from you, not a lot of words or questioning.

So, when you walk into a situation that requires conflict resolution, a situation that requires you to be “The De-Escalator”, know that you can do this. Children and family members give us the chance to practice this every day.

Many blessings,

Carrie

Kidscapes, Nature In The City and More!

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A dear reader from Down Under recently passed this link onto me:  http://www.greenheartsinc.org/Parents__Guide.html . 

This site really has wonderful suggestions for creating nature “kidscapes” – and even if you don’t have your own yard,  this section has valuable ideas for the types of experiences in nature that would be helpful in developing the twelve senses for young children.  This website also has this document:  http://www.greenheartsinc.org/uploads/25_Easy_Nature_Play_Ideas_for_Preschool_Yards.pdf which is more specific to preschoolers.  I suggest printing out both and putting them in your Homemaking Notebook (if you have one) for planning purposes for fall and also as just general good reminders! 

In this document: (http://www.greenheartsinc.org/uploads/Green_Hearts_Design_Principles_for_Nature_Play_Spaces.pdf ), I found this terrific quote: 

“Think Small. A nature play space for you and your adult friends can be a 50,000-acre wilderness area, but for kids you have to think and plan on their scale! To best engage and excite young children, keep play area paths, structures, plantings, and challenges all significantly smaller than what you might normally envision for your typical visitors. It really doesn’t take much to delight a five-year-old, to whose eyes the world is incalculably larger than it is to yours! More small delights will keep kids playing longer than fewer large-scale ones.”

All I can say is, OH YES!  I have fielded this particular  question many times over the years: Is Waldorf only for people who live in the country? What do I do since I live in the city?

Waldorf Education and connection to nature is for everyone! I encourage families in the city to think about “adopting”  a tree on their block,  feeding the birds and putting out a bird feeder or feeding the pigeons.  You can also bring nature inside your home. For example, having and observing the lifecycle of caterpillars into butterflies, tadpoles into frogs, worm composting and ant farms,  keeping snails in a jar for a day or so so you can closely look in wonder at this fascinating creature. All of these things are wonderful and can be done in any setting – urban, suburban or rural.

Other ideas include container gardening, going a few places annually year after year like apple or berry picking, growing herbs in a windowsill garden, going outside to really feel the rain or the snow, looking for Jack Frost’s paintings on your window…all can be done wherever!

So I guess my thought is so long as you show wonder and reverence for the spot of nature where you are, ants and dandelions count!   Nature crafts are also wonderful for the smaller crowd to work hands-on with nature in an artistically pleasing way.

Please do be sure to check www.mainlesson.com for some simple nature stories or make them up! The other resource you might like would be Donna Simmons’ From Nature Stories to Natural Science available here:  http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/bookstore-for-waldorf-homeschooling/essential-christopherus-publications/from-nature-stories-to-natural-science.html

This back post on nature is near and dear to my heart; if you have not read it before perhaps you would enjoy it:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/24/connecting-your-children-to-nature/

Many blessings,

Carrie

Another Word on First Grade Readiness

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This article is by Donna Simmons and can be found on Donna Simmons’ Christopherus Blog.  Please see Donna’s blog for more wonderful articles about topics near and dear to your heart as a parent here: http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/home.html  
Here is a link for this special article:   http://christopherushomeschool.typepad.com/blog/2010/06/musings-on-school-readiness-and-older-children.html  

This article addresses not only the six-year-old year but other transition years/grades for older children.  This article is really wonderful, and I encourage you to read it.

For the Early Years section of this article,  I especially and wholly agree with the idea that we are starting children much too early in Waldorf Kindergarten at school.   At home,  we have the opportunity to make the “Waldorf Kindergarten” years the “five-year-old year”  (ie, starting at  the ages of four and a half/five years old) and  the “six-year-old year” (ie, starting at five and a half/six years of age) with first grade starting at six and a half or seven years of age based upon your individual assessment of your child.  I have posts on this blog about the one and two –year- old in the Waldorf Home, the three and four- year -old in the Waldorf Home, and many articles about the six-year-old kindergarten year.  My perspective on the five and six-year old years will be forthcoming.

For those of you with older children, I encourage you to read this article as Donna shares candidly about her high school experiences from her perspective as a Waldorf Educator, now a high school teacher, and as a parent.

I hope you find this article as wonderful as I did…  Donna Simmons has many wise word regarding children and their needs.  Thank you Donna!

Many blessings,

Carrie

A Summer Parenting Project For You

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Some adults say they are not religious, but that they are spiritual.  So, my question for all of us to ponder today is how we make our religion and/or our spirituality evident to our children through  ACTIVITY?  A child is about DOING.  How does your child see you express your religious and spiritual views?  Do you even know what these are?  And, if not, can you figure them out?

I like what Donna Simmons has to say in her Third Grade Syllabus regarding festivals:  “It seems right to me that as a child develops a new relationship to authority and to his sense of self and place in the world, hallmarks of the Nine Year Change, he needs opportunities  to deepen his relationship to the spiritual worlds.  And what is most important is that this take place via you, your family and your community.  Your child needs to see his parents and significant adults standing strongly in their beliefs.  It might be that some day your child’s path takes her quite some distance from your beliefs, but her first steps need to start from standing firmly beside you.”

I urge you to make one of your projects this summer to explore your own religious and/or spiritual beliefs – really figure out what resonates with you!  Then, can you use the summer to explore places of worship or other venues where you can be with people who have the same spiritual beliefs you do?  But the catch is this:   that place, that venue should  also  be a community  in which your children can participate.  Yes, this has to be something the family participates in, the child participates in, and something the child can see and do. 

The other catch is that you cannot bring your adult perfectionism to the table or your past experiences.  Pick what resonates with you from a clean slate and leave your baggage behind!  Try it! 

Children need this place of religious and spiritual orientation to start from.  Give them that boat to start in and show them which way to paddle.  If in the future, if they decide to throw away the oars and jump off the boat, that is okay – but you at least are giving them a place to start. 

A great meditative summer project!  Would love to hear what happens!

Many blessings,

Carrie

The Foundation Years of Ages 9-12: Decreasing High-Risk Behavior in Teens

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Many of you have been following along chapter by chapter the wonderful book,  “Discipline Without Distress:  135 Tools for raising caring, responsible children WITHOUT time-out, spanking, punishment, or bribery” by Judy Arnall.

The last chapter we reviewed was the chapter regarding the teenaged years.  There were some very sobering facts in there, such as suicide is one of the top three causes of death in teens, that the average marijuana use in the US is age 14, that many children have tried alcohol by age 12.  This really has hit home  for me personally as I know three mothers  who have really struggled with their teens in the areas of addiction issues and sexual promiscuity.  One of the teens recently overdosed, was the victim of a crime,  and lost his life.  This is a heart-breaking tragedy and I have felt so sad about this.  As parents we always wonder what we could have done differently in a situation like this, and my heart hurts for this family.

Judy Arnall, in this chapter about teens, goes through some of the things parents of teenagers need (for our teenagers to respect themselves and others, to have their teenagers feel successful in their relationships, school, work and community).  She lists some of the reasons that teenagers try high-risk behaviors such as curiosity, unhealthy self-esteem and want to feel good about themselves, lack of coping skills to deal with their problems and needing to escape, not understanding that they can say “no” to a sense of obligation or pressure from peers or  partners, needing to feel grown-up, needing to rebel, needing to fit in and win approval of peers, needing to escape uncomfortable feelings, feeling invincible and not understanding the risks/benefits/ consequences, not being able to communicate their needs to their family.

I would add a few things to this list:  besides curiosity,I think  boredom coupled with  a lack of guidance by caring adults to channel this boredom or curiosity into healthy things, and also I think there is a   lack of something bigger than themselves to worry about.  I think this is extremely important.

I was talking to a dear friend about this chapter and she was saying one thing that really helped her in her teenaged years was that she was very into horses and horseback riding and that she had a horse who depended upon her every day to take of it.   That is something bigger than yourself.

I talked  about this book regarding  rites of passage  ( https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/06/30/rite-of-passage-parenting-four-essential-experiences-to-equip-your-kids-for-life-heading-up-to-the-nine-year-change-and-beyond/), and part of the book asks essentially “what does your child do around the house that you could not be without if they were not there?”  There it is again:  what is your child involved in that is bigger than himself or herself?  How is your child tied to you, your family, your community?

If the average age of marijuana use is 14, and the average child has tried drinking before age 12, I believe the foundation for decreasing high-risk teenage behaviors HAS to start around that nine-year change (and before, of course.  Attachment and security and so many things are laid during that first seven year cycle)  But in many ways, I think because that nine-year change is a watershed where your child starts to feel separate from others, separate from you and the family, different, is noticing things about how different families and people do different things,  now is the time to start.

I have an almost nine-year old, and I am trying to formulate some thoughts in my head as to how to create responsibility for my child that is bigger than her, how to keep time together,how to keep  communication open, and how to best answer her questions about life.    I am thinking hard.  I have four years until the teenaged years, and this time is precious to me.  Is it to you?

It is NOT enough to just talk about drugs and alcohol and sex.  Yes, those conversations have to be there and they have to keep going throughout these years.  But, there has to be ACTION.   How will you help your child/teen structure their time, their environment, so these behaviors are less likely to occur?  What are the top three things in your house that your child KNOWS is not negotiable?  What freedoms can you give, but also what RESPONSBILITIES go with these freedoms?  WHAT does your child have to look up to , to participate in, to take care of, that is bigger than himself or herself? 

What community OUTSIDE the family is your child involved in and accepted in – is it one that you have helped create or one that just happened along the way?  I am sure both can be okay, but it is important to know what is going on in that community.  For example, how well do you know your child’s friends?  Judy Arnall brings up the point of creating a “secondary community” away from the school environment if your child is in school – through church or other religious outlets, through Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, through volunteering .   There HAS to be something bigger than themselves for these children.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Teenagers and “Discipline Without Distress”

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Ah, we are down to the LAST two chapters in this book and then we will be ready to start “Hold On To Your Kids:  Why Parents Ned To Matter More Than Peers” by Neufeld and Mate.

This chapter is an interesting one from my perspective because I have a few things to add from  not just an attachment parenting perspective but also from  a Waldorf parenting perspective. 

The title of this chapter is “Discipline Tools for Teenagers 13-19: Negotiate”. (Which okay, I have to admit, when I first read the title, I sort of thought, yes, negotiate, but not just negotiate!  But let’s see what Judy Arnall says first).   The author starts the chapter by saying, “I believe most rebellion and power struggles among teenagers and their parents result from the lack of change of discipline techniques that should occur when children grow, particularly the use of non-punitive discipline from the time children are born….The problem occurs when parents use punishments and bribes liberally through the school-aged years, and then find out those methods aren’t working anymore with the children who are more resourceful and bigger than they.”    Agreed!

Another quote:  “…there are plenty of studies that also show teen rebellion, risk behavior, and crime are linked to harsh physical punishment and neglect.”  Agreed.  I have also seen this first-hand in my  work with children and families.

“Some anecdotal evidence comes from the home-schooling community.  It’s interesting to see the peer pressure that engulfs school teens is relegated to the sidelines in homeschooled teens. Family is still front and center in their lives.  I’ve noticed that influence and warmth of family togetherness is still a priority in some home-schooled families’ lives with teenagers.  …..Even in families whose children attend school, I’ve seen close parent-child relationships if the parenting style was nurturing and democratic.  It’s even more important in non-home schooling families due to increased peer pressure.”  Yes!  And this is another reason for the “Hold On To Your Kids” book study coming up!  Attachment can benefit all families, no matter what age the child!

The author talks about how much of the moodiness, sensitivity, etc of the teen years are due to hormones.  This, of course, not being that kind of book, does not take into account the four-fold human being (head back to this post if you need refreshing as to what the four-fold human being entails:https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/05/27/the-four-fold-human-being/    )  Yes, teenagers have hormones, but that only takes into account the PHYSICAL body.  We know that teenagers are in the midst of the  astral body – the seat of emotions, passion, antipathy and sympathy.  Even if you don’t believe in Steiner’s view, how about this idea that something else is developing besides just the  physical body’s progression toward different hormone levels?  The teenage years are about individuality, about discovering one’s identity, one’s likes and dislikes, where one fits.    It is a wild ride!

The author Judy Arnall lists the following parenting techniques that would be helpful for this stage:  listening,  making sure your teenagers knows no topic is off-limits, sharing fun, talking about your days together, being comfortable with disagreeing, offering your advice as an option and not the “ONLY” answer, using humor, telling them what they can do as opposed to what they cannot do, rehearsing strategies with them for situations that would involve risk-taking behavior.

She talks about the development of teenagers, that they do go in and out of the stages of childhood (and therefore are not completely mature), that we must  recognize that their body clock does want to stay up late and sleep late, and many more tips.  This list is on page 125.

She has a whole wonderful list of “living together issues” and “values collisions” and what to do.  There are things such as “Be prepared to seek community support and information should sexual activity, drug use, or other risk taking behaviors go beyond teen experimentation.” 

The next part is sections is negotiate your “no”, focus on the child’s strength, speak respectfully (and insist on being spoken to respectfully), offer a one-time consultation, reflective questions (and I would add NonViolent Communication can be a good tool for those 14 and up), keep communication lines open, reconsider the situation with new information, have a few clear rules, decide what you will do, take a parent time-out, separate the big issues from the small issues (and mentions figuring out the three things you will uphold  no matter what), reduce the reasons for rebellion, respect privacy, change the environment, stimulation, model behavior, decide on problem ownership (this reminds me of Barbara Coloroso’s book), connect and then direct, problem-solve, use I-statements, active listening, spend time together, don’t lecture over a casual question about a “hot”topic, encourage capability, contracts, welcome your teenager’s friends,  developing humor and acceptance, and holding, cuddling and hugs (still important!).

She remarks, “Teens still want  two critical elements of attachment theory:  freedom to explore and a secure base.”  “Teens still need and want  their parents very much but in different ways than in the past.”

She delves into handling “attitude” (both your child’s AND yours!), how to influence a behavioral change (which, always ironically, means to start with changing yourself), dating, driving, school problems, teen pranks, teen peer groups and then high-risk behavior:  sexual  behavior, drugs, suicide, crime, weapons possession, eating disorders.  One sobering statistic noted is that the “average age of first marijuana use in the US is age 14, and many teens abuse alcohol by age 12.”   Also, the US, the UK and Canada, suicide is one of the top three leading causes of death for 14 to 19- year -olds.   Another sobering fact.

The high-risk section was most interesting to me, and I would like to talk about it a bit more in my next post. 

We are almost through this book and I highly encourage you to read this book if you have not been reading along with us before now!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter if you do have the book!

Many blessings,

Carrie

A Plea For Summer Vacation

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In Waldorf Education, we have vacation in the month of December, we have two whole weeks around Easter, and we take a true Summer Vacation.

Summer Vacation in the United States seems to almost be becoming a thing of the past.  The shelves of Barnes and Noble are crammed with workbooks so your child will not be “ left behind”; every parenting magazine I pick up talks about reading and summer contests for reading so children don’t lose the ability to read; so many homeschoolers I know homeschool  through the summer months….

Ah, but I think in so many ways it is productive to focus on things other than the eyes as connected to the brain during Summer!   Summer is this time when we gloriously live in our senses and take in Nature and all of Creation in this beautiful running stream!  Why would we not work with this time of year instead of trying to work against it?  Growth occurs in the Summer in the body, in the way we process things through those twelve senses!  There are so many things to be learned in the Summer that  one cannot learn from any book and there are  so many skills to develop!

Here are a few examples:  picking fruit from thorny vines and having the sticky juice run down your arms, traveling to the lake, the mountains or the beach and walking barefoot over the sand or tree roots, weeding in the garden in the hot, canning, building, bonfires on St. John’s Tide, camping, fireworks, eating watermelon, swimming in a really cold lake.

If you must focus on something, my plea is to focus on the physical, the practical.  If your child is over five, can they swim really well?  Ride a bike?  Roller skate? Climb a tree?  Traverse the monkey bars by themselves?  Do they help with canning?  Can they clean?  How can they  help with camping?

Most of all, whilst the children play, this is your time to get your house in order for fall, your time to plan your fall homeschool year, and also your time to be outside making joyous memories with your family.

So, my plea is to make this a true vacation, but also to have a balance.  Please speak with your spouse and have at least once a week (or more!) in which you can plan for fall.  Sit down with a calendar and don’t plan to be out every single afternoon – also plan some time to get your house ready for fall.  Slow and steady wins the race for we adults…

But please let the children be on break!  They will come back tan and tall and ready to learn!

Many blessings,

Carrie

How I Adapted “Along The Alphabet Path”

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So I wrote a bit about the use of  saints to teach letters in a Waldorf-style for mothers who had asked this question about how to work in Waldorf elements of teaching with a predominantly Roman Catholic/Orthodox focus.  

Now I would like to share a bit about what personally I did when my oldest was in first grade.  Perhaps it will spark some ideas for you and your summer planning!

My oldest was a fluent reader prior to when she turned seven and started first grade.  And by fluent I mean she could read whatever she wanted, so beyond Frog and Toad and all that…People freak out about a situation like this frequently on Waldorf boards and forums, because they don’t realize that the content of Waldorf first grade so speaks to the soul of a seven-year old and the academic skill level can be adjusted up or down.  Also, early readers frequently need the balancing and harmonizing Waldorf first grade provides. 

At that time, I really liked the  “Along The Alphabet Path” that Elizabeth Foss created (see link at end of this post).  I loved Saints, I loved the flower fairies,  but I also liked that archetypal imagery of the fairy tales.  What was a homeschooling mother to do?

Create her own story, of course, in a three day rhythm. 

Here are examples from my story (PS, the Saint book I used was the original one Elizabeth used before she switched to a different Saints book.  I used  “Letters From Heaven: An Illuminated Alphabet” by Susan Kelly vonMedicus.  There are essentially poems to go with each Saint for each letter of the alphabet). 

The Beginning: (we started with Circle Time and alliterative verses for the letters A and B)

“Once upon a time there was a little girl named Lily who lived with her mother and father and her little sister Tess in a far away Kingdom. Today, Lily was very excited – Lily had turned 7 just a few weeks earlier, and in her family, once you were 7 you started training in order to be able to wear a crown…You see, Lily’s mother and father were the Queen and King, and Lily was a princess. But there was no crown to be worn until one was seven.

The King and Queen called Lily into their chambers and told her, “You are now 7, which is a very important age. You will be the Keeper of Knowledge and you will be learning all kinds of things to help you be a kind, compassionate Princess for all the people in our land.

We have a special task for you to complete before you can be crowned. You will travel with the wisest woman in our land to meet 26 of our most loyal fairy subjects. You will learn much about our world and we are proud of you as you undertake this task. We wish you much luck.” And they kissed her.

Lily could hardly believe her ears! What an adventure to be had! 7 is such an exciting age, she thought, and she wanted to be the very best princess she could be and learn a lot. She looked up with her eyes full of wonder and who should she find standing there but Queen Bluebell, the Queen of all the fairies.

“It is time, my dear, to come with me to start your very special task,” Queen Bluebell said. Lily’s eyes shone and then she grew sad. “I will miss my little sister so much,” said Lily to her mother and father and Queen Bluebell.

Queen Bluebell smiled, “And she shall miss you. Please go say goodbye to your little sister and then we shall start our journey.”

Lily ran outside to give her little sister Tess a big hug. She loved Tess so much. Tess looked up at Lily and said, “Take this, and if ever you are scared or lonely, look at this and think of me.” She pressed a tiny sack that fit inside her hand into Lily’s hand. “I shall be happy to see you return once your journey is over, and see you crowned as a princess!”

And so Queen Bluebell and Lily started off on a pathway that went through the Palace Gardens — there were many beautiful flowers there. Lily wondered if that was where they were stopping, but Queen Bluebell continued on, toward a large meadow in front of the woods that surrounded the castle…

“Princess Lily, I would like you to meet a friend of mine – This is the Bugle Flower Fairy.” And there, standing before Lily and Queen Bluebell was a small clump of herbs with purple flowers growing in the shade.

“Umm, excuse me, Queen Bluebell? I do not see a friend anywhere,’” whispered Lily politely. Suddenly, up from the clump of purple flowers rose a tiny purple fairy, a boy with a small purple bugle tucked into his waistcoat.

“Queen Bluebell and Princess Lily,” said the boy, bowing. “Let me be the first to welcome you to your journey. May luck and peace be with you.” Lily fingered the small sack Tess had given to her.

“And every good journey should have a song and story to begin by. “ and he settled himself on the ground cross legged and began to sing the song that all Bugle Flower Fairies sing :(This is from the Flower Fairy Alphabet Book, this is not original by me!):

“At the edge of the woodland

Where good fairies dwell,

Stands, on the look-out

A brave sentinel.

At the call of his bugle

Out the elves run,

Ready for anything,

Danger, or fun,

Hunting, or warfare,

By moonshine or sun.

With bluebells and campions

The woodlands are gay,

Where bronzy-leaved Bugle

Keeps watch night and day. (A Flower Fairy Alphabet, page 165)

And then he said, “Now you shall have your story as well!”

“Once upon a time (Tell story of Snow White and Rose)

** So, there were other things on “DAY ONE” to do in school, but that was essentially the Main Lesson Story.

DAY TWO:

Re-visit  Snow white and Rose Red with child helping tell it in parts, dress up and dramatize it.  Practice writing “B”s in words – BEAR, BED, BET, BEAT, BABY etc.  on chalkboard.   Draw a picture of a bear and the “B” hidden within the shape of the Bear. 

Write a simple sentence on the board such as “The bear was brown.’” and such and have child copy.   A poem about a bear  to orally recite would be nice here as well.  (TYPICALLY, we would only do artistic work here and do a summary of the story or saint for the third day, but I feel it can be a bit different whilst learning letters).  🙂

We baked because it was baking day for my kindergartener and  we made B’s with  the dough

DAY THREE:

Recite poem from yesterday, go over b words and read sentences with “B”.  Re tell Snow White and Rose Red  with silk marionettes

Skip the first two pages of the Main Lesson book and on the second page of two page spread, design border with bugle flowers.  On a golden path with stars between the letters, practice writing a line of big B and little friend b’s , think of words from yesterday and add new words that begin with “b” and write on blackboard or sheet of paper.

(Further along in grade, this would be time to draw the picture and if you have an already fluent reader and writer, the child could already be writing short summaries.  You are the teacher, you assess and decide and execute your plan for that particular child.)

Wed – toward end of lesson:  new story – Have ANGEL puppet ready!!

The fairy was very proud of himself for being the first loyal subject to tell a story to the Queen and the Princess. He was puffed up with pride! He put his bugle to his lips, but as he went to blow, suddenly a great light illuminated the area and an Angel, a messenger from God appeared. The Bugle Fairy bowed so low that the point of pointed hat touched the ground. 

“AAAH,” said Lily, who was amazed at the sight of the angel. The light was brilliant and wonderful.

The angle unrolled a scroll and from the scroll he read,  “There has been a heavenly decree that Princess Lily shall hear the story of Saint Brendan for the letter “B”

(Story of Saint Brendan) Use drawing of Saint Brendan with a B for the sail.  There is also a verse that goes with this story from “Letters From Heaven”, recite together and can be left on the board to look at next week and perhaps write in Poetry Main Lesson Book. 

When the Angel was finished with the story, he pulled a beautiful Apple Blossom from his robe and handed it to Lily. It had a golden stem! Lily was again amazed and said “AAAHHH.” Then the angel was gone.

Lily wiped a tear away from her eye. “Those are wonderful stories! Especially Snow-white and rose-red, who were never to be parted…and the Bravery of Saint Brendan! How I wish to be brave as well!” Lily had a lump in her throat as she missed her sister, but as she looked down she saw a bugle-flower in her hand and brightened.

“I will collect a whole bouquet of flowers for my sister” Queen Bluebell patted her on the arm. “I feel amazed at all I have seen! An angel of God!” (Have paper flower with gold chenille stem ready to press in main lesson book)

And she and Queen Bluebell went a little further on…

In Main Lesson book, on first two skipped pages, draw picture of an Angel with Big A and little friend a in one corner and on opposite page, write a sentence to caption the angel picture….. think of A words, write on board, think of sentences with a, such as:  Lily was amazed to see an angel.

Look at b spread on next two pages and be excited and proud. 

**Carrie’s note:  Okay, so there were other things for school on this day, but that was much of the main  lesson story.  

I know a bit more about the three-day rhythm now, and I am not certain this is the best way to divide this up, but it gives you an idea of how to start and create something for your own family.  I have another child coming up to first grade not this coming fall,but next fall, and I am planning on writing her her own story – probably something involving animals and Saints and the fairy tales, unless she falls in love with flower fairies by then..:)

Also, this probably would be WAY too much for many children,  too many tangents of flower fairies and saints and fairy tales, but for a quiet-already-reading- at a high level little girl, it was well-received, and well-loved.  🙂

Don’t you all want to know what happened, and how it ended? LOL. 

Thank you to Elizabeth Foss, whose “Along the Alphabet Path” became an inspiration for me to write my own.  Please visit Elizabeth here: http://elizabethfoss.com/ and see her other Learning Ideas at Serendipity.  Readers looking for a direct link to The Alphabet Path, can find it here: http://ebeth.typepad.com/serendipity/along-the-alphabet-path-1.html

Many blessings,

Carrie