How do we learn numbers?

I thought I'd share a very cool podcast from Radiolab - "Numbers". Definitely worth a listen! I'm kind of a nerd about these things. I love learning about how our brain makes sense of the world. Enjoy!

Turkey Hats and Thanksgiving

Yesterday was our bi-weekly family learning co-op. Unfortunately two families were coping with illness, including the family who was set to host and co-lead with me. So at the last minute I was hosting and leading solo! After spending the morning out at an appointment, I rushed to pick up Daniel from the sitter and arrived home to evaluate the situation. Luckily, my husband was working from home and I recruited him to help me for a half hour. We moved into our home when my son was 1 1/2, so while the house is generally kid friendly it is not babyproof. We did a quick pick up of the obviously offending and tempting items - pets water bowls, art supplies - and did a quick sweep of the floors and got the dishes done.

For our fun craft, we constructed Turkey Hats. In advance of the kids arriving I made patterns for each piece and prepped supplies. This worked out well. If I were to do this again with this age group (3 year olds) I would actually cut out the pieces and creat "craft bags" for each child with the pieces ready to assemble. They were not engaged with tracing the patterns and weren't skilled enough with scissors to do the cutting on their own. They were generally antsy and looking forward to the pasting and assembling part. The glitter glue was a big hit, however I would wait next time until we were ready to used it rather than putting it on the table with the general supplies at the beginning. The kids were all anxious to use it through the time we were cutting out the pieces, resulting in some mild discontent and impatience. I substituted googly eyes for the pom poms. The hats were a big hit. The kids loved the assembly part and looked so cute wearing them!

Once the hats were done, taking about 1 hour to complete, we had brownies and apple juice and read three stories on the theme of Thanksgiving and feasts. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp and illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr was wonderful. "To be a human being is an honor, and we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life." The illustrations, vivid landscapes, fueled imagination and wonder. It is a beautiful expression of gratitude and celebration of beauty and the environment. I highly recommend it. We got it from our local library.

Two hours flew by and 4pm came. Time for everyone to head home. Daniel was sad to see them go. This marked one of the first times he'd had friends over to visit. We usually go to visit others as we have a small common space - only 400 ft2 for a kitchen and living room! Also, our friends all have more than one child, so it is usually easier if we go to visit them. I was very proud with how well he was sharing his toys with the others and how he was eagerly introducing them to some of his favorites. His genune desire to share was very touching. He asked me to invite them back really soon.

Family Learning Co-op - Harvest and the Cycle of Life

When we decided to homeschool Daniel for preschool I knew that I wanted him to have a recurring group of children with whom to have fun learning adventures and camaraderie. I put out a request on Facebook to my friends to see if anyone else was interested in setting up a homeschool co-op or knew of anyone who did with kids ages 2 to 6. One friend replied in the affirmative and she knew someone interested, who knew someone else who might be interested...and on until we had 5 families on board.

The last co-op meeting we had the theme of Halloween and met at one of the families homes. The highlight for Daniel was painting gourds. He distinctly did not like pulling the guts out of the pumpkin – too messy!

Today we had our third meeting. Another mother and I were in charge of the activity for the day. We met at my church and set the theme as “harvest and the cycle of life”. We first prepped apples one of the families had recently gleaned from a local orchard for homemade applesauce and talked about picking fruit and how at this time of the year that is "harvesting" food, relating that to upcoming Thanksgiving. We talked a bit about the ingredients of applesauce as well and added them to the bowl with the sliced apples. We then took the peels and cores and talked about how we could compost them to make good food for the plants in the spring, along with leaves and grass clippings.

Once the apples were on the stove cooking, we went outdoors to look at our church's large compost pile. We were able to see the stratification of the pile; the leaves on top and at the rich soil bottom of the pile. One of the children added our apple peels and cores to the compost pile. Then we put down a large vinyl table cloth and had the kids pile leaves on it for transport to the compost bin – not without a significant amount of jumping in the pile first however!

After the compost pile field trip, we went into the church courtyard and let the kids burn off energy for about a half hour. They enjoyed running around and throwing leaves at one another and playing tag. At one point two of the girls started to run back and forth across the courtyard holding hands. Before long others joined in, forming a long chain. Then it developed into “Ring Around the Rosey”. What was so touching was how they took care of one another. They made sure that they waited for one another if a younger child was a little slower to move around the circle. They also made sure to stop and let a child join in and would then start the song over. The nurturing among the group was touching when taking into consideration they've only been together as a group three times!

Once outdoor play was over, we went back inside and worked on some coloring and craft sheets that were put together (utilizing free resources on the internet) in keeping with the theme and prepped the apple sauce. Part of the serving of the snack included having the children take on jobs of putting the craft supplies away and passing out napkins, spoons, and water. Each child was given a small serving of the applesauce and assured that if they finished, they could have more. While the snack was enjoyed, two stories were read which kept the kids, for the most part, engaged until the end. The kids demolished the applesauce with great relish! We then took care to clean the room before we departed.

All in all, a successful day and the kids and parents, for the most part, had a great time. (Except M, who was very tired when he arrived, poor little guy!)

It is so great working with the other mothers to provide these fun experiences. I had a blast serving the families in this way. It was enriching to get to know the other children and to observe my son developing relationships and learning from them. He had never done “Ring Around the Rosey” before today and loved it! It is also a relief to be able to arrive somewhere with your child and enjoy a fun and educational afternoon when it is not your turn to provide the experience! I am so blessed to be working with such caring and committed mothers!

Applesauce recipe
8 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Bring to boil and reduce to medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
Use potato masher to mash to desired texture.
Allow to cool.
Enjoy!

Resources for Worksheets:
www.familyfun.com
www.first-school.ws