Author Archives: Carrie

Weeks One and Two of Fifth and Eighth Grade

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Hard to believe we are finishing up the second week of school.  After eight years of homeschooling the grades, and I guess more  years if you count in the last kindergarten year, I have come to a few conclusions regarding scheduling that could be helpful to other parents:

1.  Schedule your school year and have your blocks cover LESS time than the weeks of school you have available.  For instance, if you have 35 weeks for school, plan blocks for 32  weeks.  This way, you can take advantage of being a homeschooler and go visit places around you, go to neighborhood farms, or whatever it is in your area that you would like to visit and do during the school year and  not feel guilty about “losing days”.  This is not as big an issue in grades 1-5, as these experiences work into the curriculum and there is less “bookwork”,   but I think it does become more of an issue in the upper grades.

2.  Schedule your starting date carefully.  For quite a while when my oldest was little, we always started after Labor Day.  Then I adjusted and started when the children in our neighborhood were starting .  This year, our start date was around then.  One child in the grades was enthusiastic to go back and the other child was decidedly not.  So, you may not make everyone happy, but I feel like this year we could have started a few weeks after we actually did.

Six Year Old Kindergarten – It is so much fun having a little kindergartner in the house!  We have worked with the stories of St. Herman of Alaska, St. Mary and this coming week St. Aidan as part of our family religious life.  We have had a very long circle with foot plays, fingerplays,, and songs based upon the them of the garden, especially sunflowers and insects.  I have taken the story of “Hans and the Beautiful Flower” and modified it for our season and geographic area and told it with silk marionettes, with wooden figures, and without props.   We have baked, painted, made seasonal crafts, and modeled with beeswax.  Kindergarteners,, at least mine, are such willing helpers around the house too, so all the cleaning and sweeping is part of our daily lives and tasks.  Our little guy is just naturally counting forwards and backwards as part of life, and picking out letters and sounds by himself.  So, I think when we get to first grade next fall it will be a fun year.  I already have an idea for a theme for first grade circulating in my head!  Other than that,  he is busy playing and being active.

Fifth Grade –  We started this year with a good, solid rhythm.  We have two opening verses, several tongue twisters and then math games with either bean bags, a ball or copper rods, along with a botany verse and sometimes a tie-in with grammar.  Then we normally review math, cursive writing and/or some spelling, and have a brief break for a read-aloud .  These past few weeks we have read Holling C. Holling’s “Tree in the Trail” and “Paddle to the Sea” and got acquainted  with maps of the United States… Then we have a little verse for  beginning our main lesson and we have been diving into botany.  Our first week of botany felt a little unsettled and rather lukewarm, but this second week focusing on fungi and moving into algae has been very good.  We had a mushroom hunt and  have been doing drawing, wet on wet painting, and clay modeling of mushrooms.  We have practiced quite a bit of shaded drawing.  Next week we have a field trip planned to a local garden, and I hope to keep things active the rest of this block.  I have more to say on this block since it is our second time through the material, and I hope to write a post on this topic. 

Eighth Grade – Our eighth grader was not ready to go back to school, so rather an unenthusiastic first week…although the work itself has been fine.  Our eighth grader really enjoys geometry and geometric constructions, but I am still really thinking about this Platonic Solids block.  One of the main pieces of this block that I learned in a workshop from our local Waldorf School is the transformation in clay from one Platonic Solid to another.  Both my daughter and I found this rather daunting and difficult.  Constructing these solids  through the construction of paper nets and making models was more successful, and I think working with dowels and  beeswax would be another way to approach this, although neither of these approaches has the fluidity of transforming one solid to another.  We tied each element into one of the elemental forces (air, wind, water, fire and finally the cosmic force) and into where it generally appears in nature, but it all still felt rather flat to me.  The resources we used  including “Making Math Meaningful”; “Mathematics in Nature, Space and Time” and the little book “Platonic Solids” by Sutton, plus my notes and experiences from the workshop I attended. We moved into Loci toward the end of this week – constructing curves from straight lines, such as the Parabola, etc.  “Making Math Meaningful” was helpful in this endeavor, although sometimes I find their instructions less than clear for non-mathematician me.

We have also been reviewing math, doing vocabulary, and reading “Across Five Aprils” and digging into literary analysis of this book.  We have also spent some extra time discussing some life skills – great conversation skills and personal finance.  I had grand plans to do World Geography for two afternoons a week to tie all the geography we have been doing since fifth grade together, but that hasn’t come together.  I will see if we can get that started next week.

We have been doing some handwork in the afternoons, and busy in general with horses, 4H, and swimming.

Hope you all have had a good start to your school year!

Blessings,

Carrie

Triumphant Families

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I was reading an article  today about how some children recover from autism.  The article detailed the struggle in the journeys that the families go through in order to try to help their children reach their full capacities.  On the surface, it seems as if some families are “successful” because autism in their child is cured, and other families are not successful because their child’s autism persists (and the article also gives the standpoint that some autism advocates do not consider autism a condition needing to be cured – read the article and see what you think), even though often the same exact therapies were used.  Why do the therapies seem to work for some children but not the other children? That is a major question experts are asking. 

But what brought a tear to my eye in this article was reading these stories and thinking oh, these triumphant families!   These families who worked so hard on this journey of parenting their children with differing abilities,  and who were doing everything they could possible to help their child develop functional capacities.

And I thought about all the parents who struggle every day – whether it is with a sick child or a child with a chronic condition and how they balance all of that with all of that other family  members need; parents who are ill or who have a disability themselves and still give parenting everything they have; parents who might be struggling with normal developmental milestones; parents who are struggling with educational choices and options – the list goes on.

And what I see are beautiful parents who triumph in life and in parenting.  Life will always throw curve balls.  Life has things no one imagined in store for them when they started out in a relationship, in marriage or in parenting.  Yet, we learn to love ourselves, lean on others, and make it through.  I call that triumph.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the start of school or close to the start of school for many of us.  Here is wishing all families a beautiful year of goodness, beauty and truth.  Here is to having a triumphant year!

Many blessings,
Carrie

Nimble Feet in Waldorf Education

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The tasks of the first three years (to be upright and walk; speech and then thought) are intricately tied into Waldorf Education.  We see that the legs are connected with gravity and the surface of the earth, and as the feet move it is often with an inward swing in relation to the joints of the knee and the hip even when we walk in a straight line.  The right foot is seen as moving counterclockwise and the left foot moves clockwise as archetypal patterns.  You can read more about this in the book “Foundations of the Extra Lesson” by Joep Eikenboom.  As our hands become “free”,  and no longer needed for locomotion as we stand and walk upright, they become useful as tools, for expression, for work, for caring for another in lifting gestures as we react to sensory impressions.  Feet  remain in contact with the ground, for the most part, in a stretching movement for walking. Stretching and lifting provide a counterpoint for each other within the development of the body.  One is as important as the other; one is the balance for the other.

There are many books containing hand gesture games, fingerplays and other verses and songs involving the hands.  Yet, the development of the nimbleness of the feet is an important component of the stretching of the body and the development of the will.

There are many ways to incorporate feet into verses, songs and rhymes.  Almost any rhyme typically used for the hands can be used for the feet in some capacity with a little creativity and incorporated into circle time.  Stomping, being on tip toes, patting the soles of the feet are all wonderful.  Autumn brings to mind horses having horseshoes put on, cobblers mending and tending to shoes, giants stomping, gnomes stomping and walking up and down stairways to the inner earth, all manner of forest and farm animals trodding softly or loudly.   Traditional rhymes such as “Shoe a little horse, shoe a little mare” and “Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe” work well for foot plays and combinations of toe and foot wiggling, bearing weight on different sections of the foot, and using the feet across midline.

Older children can work with some of the exercises suggested in the book “The Extra Lesson”.  Some of the foot exercises tie into remedial work for children who are restless or children who have trouble sleeping or who suffer from nightmares and challenges with writing.  Foot dominance is tied to the dominance needed for writing and for a sense of spatial awareness in general.  The nimble foot, the nimble mind!

Blessings,
Carrie

Pondering Homeschooling High School

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So, we are at that summer between seventh and eighth grade with our oldest child and we need to start looking ahead and figuring out options regarding homeschooling high school (or maybe we don’t need options and that is an option!)…It has always been our plan to homeschool through high school, but sometimes it is hard to figure out how that will look, and I find there are not a lot of people to even talk with about the options as so many homeschooling parents in my area or whom I know personally plan to use a public or private high school.

Our family lives in a big metropolitan area that is in a relatively friendly-to-homeschooling state, so these are some of the options I have found so far:

  • Some people do hybrid homeschool programs, where the student goes to class two or three days a week and the off-days the student works at home.  At the end, the student “graduates” high school  from the hybrid program.  However, we don’t feel as pulled to the hybrids, because unfortunately for us, almost all of them use very conservative Christian curriculums, including science. So for our family that is out.
  • Some just use selected classes that they find locally, on-line, or distance,  to round out classes.
  • Some find accelerated private programs that are labeled “homeschool” programs but run three days a week or so 8-noon and contain an entire high school program (usually geared toward athletes or musicians who need to do their thing and still finish high school). 
  • Some homeschool at home with no outside classes or support.
  • Some homeschool with help of outside classes or not until the child is age 16 and  then does dual enrollment, which is where a student enrolls at a local college and earns both high school and college credit.
  • Some homeschool high school with an emphasis on real-life experiences, internships, etc and translate that into a transcript as needed – unschoolers do this all the time of course, but I find some families are drawn to this in the high school years – especially if their child has a certain passion!

So, for this eighth grade year we are homeschooling at home and using Oak Meadow distance learning for high school credit for Spanish I.  That is about as far as we have gotten, and I guess the rest will unfold over time.

I would love to hear your homeschooling high school experiences, thoughts and plans.

Many blessings,
Carrie

Monthly Anchor Points: August

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Anchor:  a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay: Hope was his only anchor.

When we work to become the author of own family life, we take on the authority to provide our spouse and children and ourselves stability.  An effective way to do this is through the use of rhythm.  If you have small children, it takes time to build a family rhythm that encompasses the year.  If you are homeschooling older children and also have younger children not yet ready for formal learning, the cycle of the year through the seasons and through your religious year becomes the number one tool you have for family unity, for family identity, for stability.

I love August.  August reminds me of beaches, sunflowers, picnics, going back to school and therefore less crowds at all our  favorite outdoor spots.  August is beautiful sunsets and lapping waters.  And birthdays – there are two in our family this month!

This month we celebrate:

August  9th  – The Feast of  St. Herman of Alaska  – for this feast, we plan on reading this lovely book.

August 10th – Our first day back at school (we have camping trips in September and October, plus a wedding in November, so might as well start when the counties around us are starting this year and get going!)

August 15th –  The Dormition of St. Mary –  August 15th  – on this beautiful day, we tell the story of the Dormition of St. Mary and read this little book.

August 31st  – The Feast of St. Aidan  — we plan to tell the story of St. Aidan and the horse he was given by King Oswim

Ideas for Celebration:

  • Making beautiful triptych to celebrate the life of St. Mary.  There are many wonderful ideas regarding this on the Internet.
  • We have about another month of tubing, swimming and water park availability to us, so we hope to take advantage!
  • Camping
  • Gazing at the stars
  • Walking in the mornings
  • Celebrating the back to school with little things to use during the school year

The Domestic Life:

I always find this a good time to take stock of needs for fall/winter in clothing, shoes, outside gear. 

I also think this a great time to go back to manners.  My older children seem to be in an expansive place and forgetting their manners with each other and me, and while that seems common for this time of year (but worse this year!), I think it is a good time for all of us to be kind to each other and sink into some structured rhythms

Rhythm is the key word for this month.  The structure does us all good!

Homeschooling:

Kindergarten:  We will be celebrating the festivals above.  Our circle will be centered around the garden and sunflowers and our story will be modified version of Hans and the Wonderful Flower (adjusted for the season and where we live).  I have plans for steps toward jumping rope, fingerplays and foot plays, baking bread and cookies,  creating a “painting” with sand and shells, modeling snails and dragonflies,  making walnut boats, make lavender sachets,drawing, painting, and more.

Fifth Grade:  This month will be a review of all four math processes, estimating and fractions and measurement.  We will also be continuing work with spelling and grammar and looking at what makes a good sentence.  Our main lesson will focus on Botany, one of my favorite fifth grade blocks.  We will have a number of lovely painting and drawing experiences, along with modeling out of plastilina and modeling beeswax.  We also have a number of botanical gardens in our area which we are excited to experience.

Eighth Grade:  We will be using this month to focus on math review of everything we have learned in grades one through seven, and looking specifically at platonic solids, loci and volume.  There will be lots of drawing and modeling transformations to go through sequences.  We will be diving into the book “Across Five Aprils”  in preparation for our American History block and I have some activities planned to go through this book. 

Self-Care:

Self-care is so difficult for me.  It really wasn’t too bad up until I hit forty or so, but then all the children were older and had things going on and there just seemed to be no time in the day. So, one thing we are doing is looking at combining the nature pyramid and the physical fitness pyramid for children so I can also work in some physical exercise.  And, then my plan is to also have my own time to exercise at the gym or walking on the trail by my house.  I am also re-working our menu planning.

I would love to hear from you and where you are in this most expansive time of summer.

Blessings and love,
Carrie

Connecting With Young Children: Educating the Will–Week Seven

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We are up to page 34 of the wonderful book “Connecting With Young Children:  Educating the Will” by Stephen Spitalny.  We begin with the physical development of the child.  In Waldorf Education, we see the development of the young child as the most important task for the years of birth through age 7.  And, this task is the child’s to hold and own, not for us to push and force. We, as parents, help this unfold by providing a safe environment, physical warmth and by assisting with protection of the nervous system because an infant’s nervous system is not fully developed at birth and it continues to develop throughout the early years.  There are many neural connections that are forged in the first three years of life, and in Waldorf Education, we feel protection and repetition, as the way to enhance this development.  From page 35:  “Repetition is a key element in neurological development, in the development of neural pathways and their myelination. There is a faint neural path at first, through repetition it becomes more distinct, and then becomes covered with an insulating sheath of myelin.”

Random physical movements of the infant give way to the development of the brain that allows for the control of movement.  Controlled movement leads to developing capacities for speaking as finer and finer motor activities are developed – speaking involves motor activity of the  tongue, mouth, larynx and lungs.  Out of speech develops thinking, because thinking is in words. Flexibility in movement during the early years leads to flexibility in thinking in the later years.

The first three years especially are the time for walking (movement), speaking, and thinking – in that order.  All of this comes from the child himself or herself, watching the example of human beings engaged in movement, speaking, and thinking.  Thinking is founded on the development of speaking because after the early years we speak in words, not images.  It is essential for the child that they not be “pushed” into walking, sitting up, etc  and that child accomplishes this on his or her own.  Therefore, baby walkers and such as not seen as helpful.  Sometimes additional support is needed to help children who are struggling to overcome reflexive patterns by professionals, but many children would just be helped by spending less time in car seats, bouncy seats, baby walkers, and more time in movement.  The step after learning self-directed, self-achieved movement is to learn how to care for his or her own body – self-feeding, washing, toilet training, basic hygiene and then learning how to take care of the garden and home as an extension of the body.  All of this is learned through imitation,  and not so much verbal instruction.  Verbal instruction is the hallmark of the grades, ages 7 and up.

From page 44, “Play has the utmost importance in the development of the young child.  For him, there is no difference between work and play…all varieties of play are the essential avenue by which the young child comes to grasp the physical and social worlds.”  Play, not being instructed, is how a child’s brain develops.    Direct connections and interactions between adults and children and children and children in play, develops the brain.

Blessings,

Carrie

Biography: 45

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This is what I know for sure:  the decade of the forties, of which I am quite almost half-way through, are enlightening, entertaining, joyful but also heart-breaking in so many ways.  My husband and I were discussing the other day how the calls and conversations we have with friends and family is no longer about weddings and babies (although we do have a few weddings to attend this year!), but more about other things – disease, death, caregiving, divorce.  What  are these  mid-40’s really about?

It might be:

not being where you thought you would be

about some marriages crumbling and some staying through storms

about elderly parents needing care and love and still having small children at home

about teenagers and young adults  and the things that happen along the way to growing up

about learning to love yourself and the relationships in your life in a deeper way

about giving yourself the gift of supportive people and letting go of people and relationships that no longer serve you and not feeling guilty about that – it just is.

about learning to give yourself space and time

about understanding you are more than a parent or a spouse

about finding time for you and you alone and finally understanding the importance of that

about finding joy  and sheer fun in the ordinary moments and being more willing to spend your time to create those moments

It might also be about learning  boundaries.  It is about what you can and cannot solve for someone else.  It is about what you can and cannot solve for yourself,  and learning what people and ideas and things fuel you in you life and making that the priority and being okay with saying no to other things – you finally learn it is okay to not scatter your energy every which way but to focus on the truly important. I think it can also be about hanging on to what matters most, even if it isn’t as perfect as you thought it was going to be when you were younger – whether that is your career, your relationships,  your marriage, your values, your homeschooling – and finding the joy that exists in the imperfect, and the fun and joy that can be there if you choose to put it there and be open to that.

It can also be NOT hanging on to what you thought it was all about and letting it all go and starting anew.  Different people I know have chosen different paths. Some have had different paths forced upon them. This is a time where some of my friends have already lost their spouses through death, for example.  Not where we thought we would be in our forties! What the mid-forties has forged for them is new strength, new courage, bravery, flexibility and hopefully new happiness to eventually be found.

I have heard it said that the 40s can be about healing your demons.  Perhaps, but I think it can also be about realizing those demons are part of you and who you are and your journey and they are okay where they are, because you are okay.  It is not black and white, but grey.  So perhaps that is healing in and of itself to be able to see the grey more clearly than ever before and still be able to move forward and not be mired or tethered to the negative.

I would love to hear your perspective!

Blessings,

Carrie

The Two Things That Stymie Waldorf Homeschoolers The Most

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I find the two areas that stymie Waldorf homeschoolers the most are actually not areas unique to Waldorf homeschooling, but are areas that differentiate homeschooling from a school setting:

1.  How do I teach multiple ages?

2.  How do I have a life?  How do I get things done around my house?

I would like to offer some suggestions and you can choose what resonates with your family life and values. 

In regards to teaching multiple ages, I feel this has been thoroughly addressed in many back posts.  The things that will assist you in this endeavor is to NOT create a Waldorf school in your home.  You will need a new and different way of looking at the curriculum through an idea of blending.  This post takes a good look at that.  You will need a steady and nourishing rhythm to accomplish that.  There are many back posts I have written from the time I had all children under the age of 7, one child in the grades and other younger children, now two children in the grades and one in the last year of kindergarten, and next year all children in the grades.  Because of our large age gaps, I feel certain if I can homeschool a kindergartener, fifth grader and eighth grader, any variation in between is feasible!  Be up for the challenge of rhythm in your home!  Here is one post detailing rhythm for three children in the grades, as this is the rhythm that will serve us through the last year of kindergarten and into grade one.

Next we must learn to set boundaries on our time and energy..  As a homeschooling teacher, teaching multiples ages, you will need your energy for preparation and follow-through,  self care and inner work, and your important relationships.  So I feel a very important piece of teaching multiple ages is not to take on too much outside your home unless you feel very steady about that.  Think very carefully before you commit yourself all over the place.  Your home is your priority during the school year.

As far as homemaking and homeschooling, I would like to suggest a simple rhythm of practical work including children, providing  older children with chores to do that  you have shown them repeatedly how to  do and checked in on their work, and using small bits of time.  Laundry, for example, can be done as Flylady recommends – one load in the morning before breakfast, hang up to line dry at lunch, fold and put away around the dinner hour.  Or, some mothers will save up all their laundry for Saturdays and enjoy doing a bulk laundry day.  Cooking can involve small children, but with multiple grades I often find myself without two hours to sit and cook one meal – that is the reality!- but you can chop many things at once and store, you can double batch cook, you can use a crock pot, or you can bulk cook on a weekend.  Cleaning can be done much the same way – you can choose to clean on a weekend day, or you can choose to clean one area deeply in different ways throughout the week.  There are a variety of approaches parents use, and one size does not fit all.

Sewing, mending, baking, handwork, getting ready for festivals can be brought in during an afternoon session and many parents seem to find this feasible.  Having a rhythm to your cleaning during the week is such a blessings and bonus. 

Self-care and care of relationships with your most significant others also requires time and energy.  Please be sure to put this on the list before you worry about homeschooling multiple grades or cleaning.  These things are the foundation of all other things in homeschooling.  Again, there are many back posts about self-care, but this one about burn-out in Waldorf homeschooling is one of my favorites.

Would love to hear from you.  What is holding you back?

Blessings and love,
Carrie

Monthly Anchor Points: July

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Anchor:  a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay: Hope was his only anchor.

When we work to become the author of own family life, we take on the authority to provide our spouse and children and ourselves stability.  An effective way to do this is through the use of rhythm.  If you have small children, it takes time to build a family rhythm that encompasses the year.  If you are homeschooling older children and also have younger children not yet ready for formal learning, the cycle of the year through the seasons and through your religious year becomes the number one tool you have for family unity, for family identity, for stability.

July is my most hated month after February.  There.  I have said it out loud!  I feel as if I start with a good amount of energy at the beginning of the month, and then by the middle of the month it is just so hot and whilst we are happy in the lake and pool, we are also a little tired of going to the lake and the pool.  That part hasn’t been so bad for me this year, but there is still always the challenge of children’s behavior in July.  It seems as if after awhile the expansiveness of the month just catches up to children, and bickering or other unpleasant behavior begins. 

So, my efforts this month have really centered on not overdoing.  Which was challenging, as both older children had a jumping camp for horseback riding and it was our month for Vacation Bible School as well.  Overall, however, I think we have fared better than previous years and did a good job taking it slow otherwise  with our hot steamy days at the barn, beach and  pool.

We had some beautiful festivals to anchor us, including:

4 July- the beautiful celebration of America.  I hope my American readers did celebrate!

11 July- St. Benedict of Nursia.  I love this book by Tomie dePaola  here .

19 July – St. Macrina .  There is children’s book about St. Macrina here

25 July – St. James the Apostle

Ideas for Celebration:

  • Swimming at the beach or in lake or rivers
  • Grilling and barbeques
  • Catching fireflies if you live in an area where there are fireflies
  • Finding a place to pick sunflowers – sunflower fields are just, just starting to bloom here
  • Having a lemonade stand
  • Camping and going to National Parks

The Domestic Life:

I always find July a great time to take stock of linens and items we might need for winter.

Homeschool Planning:

I am done with fifth grade planning and rapidly finishing kindergarten planning. I have most of the fall semester done for eighth grade and a good portion of the spring semester planned for eighth grade.  I also went ahead and laid out blocks for sixth and ninth grade so I can collect resources as I go along this year, especially for ninth where I don’t really own any resources yet.  I have also done that already so I can start thinking about high school credits and how that will go – giving myself the year jump. 

Since here in the Deep South, school starts back in August and some outside activities will start this week or next in preparation for the school year, I am also thinking about choosing my time outside the home wisely.

Self-care:

I have a lot to say about this..I always took great care of myself until my early 40s, and now I am feeling the drive to return to that now that I am nearing 45.  More about those impulses soon.

I would love to hear what you are up to this month and where you are in life!

Many blessings,
Carrie

Planning Kindergarten

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This is my third and last time that our family will be doing a six-year old kindergarten year. At this point, if you count “nursery” years being when a child is ages three and four, and “kindergarten” years being ages 5 and 6, I have done 12 years of kindergarten planning!

So, with that many years under our belts, it may seem as if there would be nothing new to plan or do but there always is!  Every year is new!   Every year our children are different, each child’s temperament is different, each child’s interests are different.  The rhythm of the year and the seasons remains constant, but each year is new and builds upon that foundation.

If you have a good idea of your seasonal changes and how you and your family feel during the months of the year, your festivals throughout the year and such,  then you are down to picking out stories and song, making up circle times, using fingerplay and foot play and figuring out simple work for each day.

Our  daily rhythm for kindergarten this year will look essentially like this:

  • Opening Verse/ Seasonal Songs
  • Circle
  • Nursery Rhymes with gesture or gross motor movements with rhyme
  • Fingerplays and footplays
  • Our Story
  • Work of the Day.  (We have drawing/cutting/pasting materials out during the Main Lesson time of the older children, so I don’t have a day specifically devoted to drawing.  On Mondays we usually paint or model, Tuesdays we bake, Wednesdays we have handwork/crafting or preparation for some seasonal festival or Feast Day, Thursdays we have a Nature Walk and Fridays are either painting, free play or a field trip day for the older children that my little one gets to tag along upon…Fridays are flexible).
  • If there is a special Feast Day related to our religion, then there may be a book for our older children to read to  our kindergartener on that day as well. 

Right now I have everything about the months August through March planned out, except for the stories… I am still in the midst of picking out stories for those months and then I need to go back and finish up April and May.

How is kindergarten planning coming along for you?  Don’t make it too difficult – keep it simple.  In the home environment, simple is best. The rhythm of life  is the kindergarten.

Blessings,
Carrie