Fossils, Rocks, Minerals and Crystals

Currently on our shelves




I thought gathering and setting up materials for the Insect focus was great fun, but setting up the Science and Nature room with Fossils, Rocks, Minerals and Crystals, was just as exciting. The room is overflowing with beautiful items for the children to explore and investigate. I don't have photos of all the goodness yet, but will share those soon.


Agate



Fossils






We even have Rock Soap in the restroom!

In the Atelier

What do you do on *off-school* days?

One of the things I enjoy about our program is that we have a part-time schedule, which gives the children and their families time to do different things outside of school hours during the week. When we meet people and they ask Sophia where she goes to school, we get to tell them all about our schoolhouse and the unique opportunities our schedule gives us.


Sophia reading on a Monday morning. Duke enjoys storytime and is quite the literary cat now too.

Today is Friday, which is a "homeschool day" since we're not at school. Sophia and I enjoy our slow morning, head over to swim lesson (no crowds during weekday morning, win-win for us both!), then I dropped her off at a friend's house where 3 of the girls from our co-op gathered to practice their trio for their upcoming piano recital and then have a playdate.

I enjoy hearing about and seeing the other things families do on their off-days.We've been learning about Ancient times in history and Alaira's been doing these terrific projects at home with her mom.

A Nomad Tent, by Alaira


She made this Egyptian crown and brought to school for show and tell.


Homemade Egyptian Bread. Alaira brought some to school for me and it was delicious. (These parents are going to make me overweight, with all the yummy treats they bring to school!)

Moving Along Beautifully...

Making a Ten


Thank you Lora for lending us the Double Nine Dominoes. We'll be able to stretch the game even further with those dominoes next week!



A peek into the science and nature room. What do you think we'll be delving into in geology?



In the Atelier




Any guesses as to what the children are making here?





Hint: It has to do with Ancient Egypt...






Scarab Seals!

We learned that the bottom has to be absolutely flat in order to create a proper stamp. The children enjoyed the process and using the special tools Ms. Karen brought from home too!

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A note about the Atelier:

Sometimes we bring in ideas for the children to work on. This is tremendous fun especially when tied into something the children are learning about, and in history, it's about Ancient Egypt, which they're enjoying immensely. Since families rotate through and spend a lot of time in the Atelier, I wanted to share some thoughts that I had when visiting the school on a weekend. I  took a moment to look around at what was created only a year ago. I was reminded how amazing our little schoolhouse is, stood in awe looking at our environments, especially in the atelier.

The atelier is full of materials and abundant media.
Wire, clay, paints, pastels, liquid watercolors.
Tons of textures, papers, fabrics.
Stones, feathers, shells.
A mammoth light table that would make any artist drool.
Books for inspiration. Goldsworthy, Matisse, O'Keefe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Escher...  
Opportunities for open-ended exploration and creation. 

The atelier is the heart of our school.

Yes, the children are receiving a great foundation in academics too. I work hard to make sure they're armed with everything they will need to succeed. In reading, they're soaring. They're learning about the process of writing. Getting an in-depth understanding of math concepts. And then there's science, and nature, and history... all that good stuff. However, nothing makes my heart sing more than seeing inspiration and the open-ended self expression that comes from this space.

This quote below resonates so well with me.

Inspiration, hunger: these are the forces that drive good schools. The best educational planners can do is create the most likely conditions for them to flourish, and then get out of their way.

-Ted Sizer

ASNC: Insects!

We're so excited to be back at the ASNC for their monthly homeschool classes! Their first session was on Insects and we observed insects and their arthropod kin up close in their classroom. We also discovered characteristics of insects that help them to adapt to their environments, had fun using field nets to collect insects from different habitats, and learned to identify and classify them.










It's exciting to see all the homeschoolers/alternative-schoolers in our area.















Some of us finished off our field trip with lunch at Phil's Icehouse and topped off with Amy's Ice cream. A fantastic Friday indeed!

Create an Insect: Roaches and Wasps, oh my!

On our shelf the first few weeks of school...



The children's take home project was on an insect of their choice. They researched, answered questions about their insect, and either made a model, or brought one in.





















A snippet of what our mornings look like. Small groupwork in reading while others are exploring at stations throughout the schoolhouse.



Number bonds continue...



We have a little architect in the house.


And Ms. Karen storytelling...

Number Bonds and Nomads

We're learning the number bonds for numbers 1-10. A number bond is related to a family of four basic addition and subtraction facts. A child can use number bonds to add and subtract. Later, number bonds can be used to show different ways a number can be split up to facilitate mental math or other operations or concepts. Cool stuff, right?




In the Science Center




In the Atelier. Cave Paintings!




We're learning all about Ancient History and we started with the Nomads. Learned all about how they lived, what they ate, and what the word 'Nomad' means and the children did some cave paintings. Next up, Ancient Egypt!