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Taliesin has been so proud of himself lately for his reading. His reading endeavors began with Peter Rabbit. Here lately, he has been reading a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine books and even some readers (all his choice, of course). I always considered him more of a sight word reader. Phonics has never been his thing. That is, until he discovered alphabet cookie cutters and Playdoh.

I bought a big box of cookie cutters to use with Playdoh a few days ago - 110 cookie cutters that includes the alphabet, numbers, shapes, sports themes, flowers, you name it. Taliesin discovered his love of making words with the alphabet Playdoh creations. He is getting to be quite the pro at sounding out words that he has not memorized by sight. Nathanael is even getting in on the action by making his own words. It's amazing what a little Playdoh can do.

Kandy

Planting Snapdragons

A couple of days ago, our neighbor was riding her bike and we were outside planting our flower garden in our front yard. Taliesin, the night before, had picked some snapdragons to plant; and Nathanael had picked some petunias. We also planted rose bushes, a wild flower mixture, forget-me-nots (another of Taliesin's favorites), zinnias, and morning glories (another of Nathanael's favorites). As our young neighbor rode past our house, she stopped to talk; and she proudly told me, "Kandy, I got an A and a B!" I, of course, told her that I was proud of her. Taliesin, without missing a beat, told her, "I got snapdragons!"

Maybe it sounds crazy, but that made me so proud of him. Those two statements just epitomized the difference between the school mindset and the unschool mindset. What most kids are striving for is a letter grade - that "A." That is what they know. I have school-age children in childcare who, it seems, only talk about what grade level in reading they are at. It has been pounded into their heads since they were old enough to think that what they live for is going to school and getting good grades and staying ahead of the rest of the kids in their grade.

I am almost finished with my education degree. In fact, other than a couple of core classes for my religion degree, some gen. ed. classes, and scholarly writing for teachers and my practicum; I have taken all of the required education classes. And, don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed them all and have learned a lot. I'm glad it was something I pursued. But the more I learn about the education system, the stronger I believe in unschooling. I just cannot wrap my mind around a child's whole educational existence being based upon standardized testing and grade level. When Taliesin does something more academic - like reading to me or making pictures and putting sticker letters at the top to title the picture - I do not place him at grade level. Half of the lapbooks that he does are, according to the front, at fourth or fifth grade level. I don't care! What I care about is he enjoys what he is doing. That is the important thing to me. He plantssnapdragons. What more could I ask for?

Kandy

Pre-Easter Fun

I love Easter! We have been having so much fun with pre-Easter traditions - Easter egg hunts, coloring Easter eggs, making Easter art. This year, Taliesin and Nathanael have also been working on Resurrection lapbooks. And, of course, tonight they'll be leaving carrots and vegetable juice for Easter bunny. Tomorrow, we have church. And then the fun will continue on Monday evening with a BBQ (Kelsey was unable to get off of work tomorrow; so we had to postpone our BBQ for Monday).

I have to admit these monster Easter eggs turned out very cute! And I cannot believe how many Easter eggs Nathanael gathered at the Easter egg hunt this morning. He was working hard! I think tomorrow after church, we will use the Resurrection eggs (one of Nathanael's favorites) and watch an animated DVD about the crucifixion and resurrection (one of Taliesin's favorites). I am very proud of Taliesin and Nathanael. They enjoy the fun stuff; but they truly understand the spiritual meaning of the holiday as well.

Kandy

Nathanael's Tithe

Recently, I posted that Taliesin gave his first tithe. Well, Nathanael has also been saving quarters. He keeps them in a small box - a "tooth fairy" box, actually. Today we were getting ready to walk out the door for church. Before we did, he ran into the bedroom and grabbed his box to get some quarters to give as offering. So we counted his quarters and then took 1/10 of his money to give in tithe today. He even went to his children's church class late so he could put his tithe in the offering plate. I am very proud of him. I am just amazed at how he and Taliesin understand the importance of giving to others.

Kandy

Compassion Week in Honor of St. Patrick

This year, we tied in the story of St. Patrick with our study of Biblical compassion. Taliesin and Nathanael had so much fun studying St. Patrick via books, a video, drama, and lapbooking. On St. Patrick's Day, we made Irish walking sticks, had an Irish lunch, and had our annual St. Patrick's Day parade!

What is compassion? Taliesin's and Nathanael's Biblical Compassion/St. Patrick lapbooks answer that question.

My own, personal leprechaun.

Making Shillelaghs

A St. Patrick's Day parade with friends

Kandy

Challenge vs. Irritation

As I've written about before, Taliesin and Nathanael are both in dance class. They both love it! I have been having some concerns recently, though. This last week, Taliesin's teacher told the parents of children in the class that the kids need to work on their timing for their recital routines. Fair enough. However, when she added that all of the other classes of this age group have it down and she's a perfectionist; I have to question that. I see no problems with challenging the children (ages five, six, and early seven) to work on their routines and be the best that they can be. I do see a problem with making children this age feel not good enough.

Maybe it has nothing to do with dance, but I have noticed that Taliesin has been becoming extremely frustrated the past few weeks. He does practice his dance a lot, which I'm glad that he enjoys doing that. But he is getting increasingly frustrated with things that he usually enjoys. For instance, today he was making an art project. He became angry and frustrated because he could not get it to look the way he wanted it to. This has never been an issue for Taliesin. He usually works and allows the project to direct itself. I do not want him to become a perfectionist. I want him to enjoy what he does.

So I guess that is the questions for this post are: There is a fine line between challenging our children to be their best and causing irritation at expecting perfection. How do we know when we have crossed that line? What do you think? Am I being too picky? Is it just the unschooler in me that is too relaxed by others' standards?

Kandy

Newest Additions to the Family

Meet Taliesin's and Nathanael's newest pets: hermit crabs! They are having so much fun learning about how to properly care for them - lots of sand, fresh water, natural salt water, hermit crab food (including fruits and veggies), humidity, sponges, and extra shells. Their pets certainly teach them a lot about creating habitats. These guys (or girls) are now added to their list of pets - dogs, cats, rats, a guinea pig, a tree frog, fish, and sea monkeys.

Kandy