So Much to Do So Little Time To Do It

Oh the times they are changing....

I have been missing in action due to lots of fun travel.  We went to a wedding celebration, to our land in Homer, and then to teaching inservice.    I found out the last week of August that I was heading back into the classroom.  We had to hustle to recreate our family schedule.  Now I have the funny combination of teaching part time in a classroom and part time as a homeschool coordinator.  I thought it would be an odd mix, but after 1 week I am really liking the combination.  They both fit well together and the in classroom time keeps me fresh and excited about how young children learn.

Our school was renovated this summer, well I should say, it is still under construction.  I was able to get into my classroom the day before school started, and had to hustle to get things moved back in.

Here is a photo of my clean slate.  The windows were not even installed yet.

The room used to be a highschool room and now it is my multiage K-2 room.  All the bulletin boards and white boards are too high for the kids to reach.  That is a bummer, and even more so since the construction crew rehung everything without asking for our opinions as to height etc... I am going to make some stepping stools so the kiddos can reach.

We are kicking off the year with a David Shannon Author Study. I love incorporating author studies into our day.  It is such a great way to learn how to analyze books.  I am amazed at the level of analysis that even the youngest child can do when they compare books by the same author.  David Shannon has some hysterical (well K-3 hysterical) books.  My students are loving them already.

This is one of my favorite books to use for author studies.

Iditarod

The  ceremonial start of the Iditarod took place in Anchorage on Saturday.  If you are interested in following the race here is the official Iditarod web page.  It is fun to have your child or student choose a musher and follow along.  There are so many great learning opportunities in the area of geography, health (dogs & mushers), literacy, math, social studies, and science.

Here are a few links if you are interested in learning more.

Iditarod web page link for teachers & parents.
Teacher on the trail blog
Fun Iditarod journal paper, coloring pages, musher bio page, and lots more.
Dog Sled 101
PBS Iditarod Page

Have fun!

Swallowed!

Help I have been swallowed by my work obligations.  Will be coming up for air tomorrow.  Heading to Fairbanks for an adventure in community based science projects.  Hope to have some cool resources to share.

Brrrr.......

This morning our homeschool group met at a families house to make healthy holiday treats to sell at a local bazaar.  Although I am the homeschool coordinator I was more of a student today.  The families in our group are very health aware.  The father of one of the families chose the recipes for the treats we made which were RAW and so super yummy.  Raw food is a new topic for me.  Our family eats healthy, but we do not focus on raw foods.  After tasting raw chocolate chip (not really chocolate chip) cookies cooked in the dehydrator and gluten free brownies I am hooked!!

It is 0 degrees.  That just seems wrong!!!

Learning Environments

I am working on a presentation for our early childhood teachers in my school district on learning environments.  I was revisiting one of my books that I love on what to look for in a learning environment, but was feeling like the text was just not as exciting as the message it was sending. There were no photos.

I then stumbled upon the book Designs for Living and Learning, by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter.  It is such a beautiful book filled with magical learning spaces.  The majority of the photos are from classrooms, but the ideas could easily inspire learning spaces in the home. I am already thinking about how to redesign my son's play area.  

You can check at your library to see if they have it, but if not, try your local Universities library, you never know.  I prefer this route because our small, small house just can't take any more books.

The environment that you learn in whether you are a child or an adult has an effect on your experience.  This book is inspired from many different approaches including Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio, Greenman, Prescott, and Olds (not sure who that is).  I am just starting to read the text after looking at the beautiful photos for the past 4 days.

Having been a classroom teacher for the past 11 years I have come to the conclusion that pulling what you love from many different places is a good thing.  There is no one answer to education, it is what works for the child, and you as a parent that mattters.   I love that this book went to many different programs and found beauty, not just one program.  I am in love with beautiful learning environments.

Homeschool and Fire

This weekend my school district hosted a homeschool workshop with Adam Andrews from the Center for Literary Education. We had 100 participants and everyone seemed to get a lot out of his presentation.  Lots of great literary discussions ensued through his questioning methods.


Andrews is a dynamic presenter.  Our school district had him as a presenter last year at one of our inservices.  He presents a curriculum that teaches comprehension strategies and how to analyze and interpret literature.  It includes using the Socratic Method for discussion with your child (student).    Andrew enjoys using the classiscs, but I feel the process he teaches can be used with any book.  He promotes starting with chidren's books.  It is worth checking out his web page.


On another note there is termination dust on the ski mountain.  Termination dust is the first snow that representst the end of the warm (ha if you call it warm) weather.  That means it is time to get ready for the winter.

Last year I took our dried out brush pile and made fire starting bundles tied with jute.  When I wake up in the morning, and our house is really cold, I don't mess around.  I want to be warm right now.  These bundles were so great last winter in a crunch. I could start a fire super fast.  I think my husband thought I was a bit wacky when I was making them, but then came over to my side and I ended up having to cut him  off last winter because he was using two at a time.  


*** here we go again on the wild font changing ride, my blog has a mind of its own***

Feeling Groovy

** We are experiencing technical difficulty in the form of the blog having a mind of its own creating weird font patterns.  Paragraphs not saving as I typed them.  Anyone ever have that happen? **

"Slow down, you move too fast.

You got to make the morning last.

Just kicking down the cobble stones.

Looking for fun and feelin' groovy."

Simon and Garfunkel

I love my new job as a homeschool coordinator.

I love the rhythm of the homeschool day.  There is no rushing to get things done.  There is time for play and play can be work.  I love being able to share cool science lessons that I used in the classroom like the force and motion study using this kit.  I love that I understand how children learn and help families gain confidence in their process.

I love that learning can happen based on the child's energy, taking breaks to eat homemade bread when focus wanes, and the excitement of a child knowing that when the lessons are finished, Lego play can resume.

The rhythm of the homeschool day is a rhythm that i cherish and hope to incorporate into my teaching whether it be in or out of the classroom.   Doot-in' doo-doo,  Feelin' groovy.....

I don't love that the fonts on this post will not stay the way I type them and that they keep changing as if they have a mind of their own.  Doot-in' doo-doo,  Feelin' groovy.....

Homeschool

After working as a classroom teacher for the past 11 years I have a new job.  Well two 1/2 time jobs that were put into one full time job.  I work as a homeschool coordinator for my school district 1/2 time and on an Early Childhood Grant 1/2 time.  I love my new job, although  I surely do miss my students.  I am growing to love the parents who care so deeply about their children's education that they choose to homeschool.  So different from what I am used to.

Today we had a gathering in the park to celebrate the start of the year.  We ate, played games and the parents laughed about how cute our children are.  The day ended with the dads playing frisbee golf with the children, while the women talked about health, learning and life.

I forgot my camera today, so here is a parting shot of just something worth celebrating.

The low tide on a warm day 3 hrs south of where we call home.