End of the School Year Wrap Up

My new best friend:  the paper shredder!

I used to hate this time of year.  I've always looked forward (with trepidation!) to the kids being home from school all summer, but I hated it when they dumped all of the contents of their lockers, messenger bags, lunch boxes and backpacks on the floor.

All of that changed once I got a paper shredder and began to treat the "Coming Home" process like a video game.  Except for the sweet art portfolios that came home at the beginning of the summer, I treat all foreign objects that spill forth from the minivan as ENEMIES that must be dealt with.

Nine months of hard work all shredded and ready to become fuel for summer bonfires!

The kids stripped their bulletin boards of school-related papers.  Here, Peel finds a homework pass she forgot to use.  "Awww, man!"

Really big poster-sized projects slide between two shelves.

Art that would fit in this nylon zippered family portfolio was stored here.

Finally, we dumped out backpacks and messenger bags.  Old Valentines and name plates were placed in the "circular file" (that is, the trash!)

For the older kids, textbooks went to the school's used book sale and AP Exam review books will go to a good home.

The Organized Student is a great book that suggests ways to go through your child's stuff and figure out what worked well in terms of being organized.  The last step it suggests is going through computer files and zapping items you're done with.

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Reading to Your Child

Alleluia was being really hyper until Peel sat down and read to her yesterday morning!

Parents often tell me that they wish they could do x, y and z with their young toddlers, but there's no time.  I thought I'd post this photo of our 8-year-old reading to our 2-year-old to remind you to to put your older children to work!  Can't your older child be given the job of 15 minutes of "teaching time" or "reading time" or playing or babysitting?

As soon as your children can read aloud (or even do a good job narrating picture books), let them be the big brother or big sister and read to the youngest.  Even infants can learn to look forward to time spent together with a book.

Only have one child?  If they are older, look for opportunities for them to be a mother's helper for a neighbor who is home making dinner or sorting laundry.  If your child is younger, seek out a child in the neighborhood, church or school community who might be that mother's helper for you.

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How to Make an Ellipse on the Floor

It's easy to create shapes on the floor with tape.  Duct tape leaves a lot of gummy residue, so I prefer vinyl tape.  Shapes such as the ellipse are ideal for gross motor activities (e.g. marching to music) or for group time "on the line" at the beginning, middle, and/or end of the school day.

Many classrooms--in school settings or at home--have large shapes on the floor.  The ellipse is a traditional Montessori shape.  One day you might see children walking along the ellipse heel-to-toe, with or without music.  Another day you might see a child walking along the line with a glass full of water, practicing balance and control.  On another day you might see a child walking on the ellipse while holding a bell, trying not to let it make a sound.  These kinds of activities are great for children 2 1/2 and up, when the child is perfecting his balance and control of movement.

An ellipse is easy to create on a floor, first with chalk and then with tape.  Here's all my son, "Tesla," needed to make one tonight:

Duct tape, chalk, vinyl tape, and string are all you need.

Start by taping two ends of string down to the floor -- each of these two spots is called a "focus" of the ellipse.  Make sure that the length of the string is a good deal longer than the distance between the two foci.  Then use a piece of chalk to stretch the string taut, and, keeping the string stretched, use the chalk to trace out a shape - this will give you your ellipse! This is easier to see than to describe in words:  here is Tesla in action.

Tesla substituted standard chalk with sidewalk chalk because it marked the carpet better.

Both Alleluia and the dog were trying to help....

Figuring out where to put the two foci at the beginning requires a bit of trial and error.  We started by determining how big we wanted the finished shape to be, and then played around with the string to figure out where the two foci of the ellipse should be.  Here, Tesla has guessed where the first foci should be by taping one end of the string down.

Once he was done marking out the ellipse in chalk, Tesla uses the vinyl tape to go around the chalk.  We  tried to put the tape directly over the chalk, but it just wasn't adhering well enough.

Ta da!  Ready for movement, learning and play!

Vinyl Tape

White Duct Tape

Chalk

String

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Raising Saints

Just read this and loved it!  Had to share....

An Average Day in the Pew -- with Toddlers and Babies!

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Making Connections: Noticing What's Similar

Earlier today Alleluia found an interesting seed pod in our driveway and asked what is was.  Since I didn't know, I led her to the part of the yard adjacent, where the Crepe Myrtle grows, and we figured out it was from that bush.

Afterwards she seemed primed to find similarities around her, so when we went inside to put the seed pod in our "Nature Center" (really just a collection of junk we've found outside!) she grabbed this strange rock and a bouncy ball (which didn't belong there, but I think I stuck it there during a cleaning frenzy).

Isn't this rock cool?!?

Turns out this is a desert rose and the "petals" are flattened crystals.  This is a great example of material in the classroom that could be interesting to children of various ages (and interesting to us adults as well!).

More info for the interested:  Desert Rose (Crystal)

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Zig-Zags and Eggshells

I've written before about the importance of observation in my Observation in Montessori post.   But we not only want to be good detectives, we want to be receptive to the beauty and humor around us.

This morning Alleluia and I were heading up these steps to my Legion of Mary meeting, and we stopped when we noticed the zig-zag pattern of the hand rail's shadow on these steps.

Later, we saw this beautiful blue robin's egg in the grass.  

Sometimes being with children helps you to notice things that you would otherwise miss.  Be receptive to the unexpected, the surprising, the funny and the tiny all around us!

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Basil + Toddler's Pincer Grasp = Caprese Salad!

How does your garden grow?  Are you ready to pick anything yet?  We noticed the basil was hot to trot, so we got out the little colander-bowls I bought years ago, gave one each to Daddy and to Alleluia, and sent them out foraging.

Toddlers don't need anything but a good pincer grasp to pick the leaves (hat optional).

Alleluia's..........

...and Daddy's!

Voila!

Caprese salad--otherwise known as tomato, mozzarella and basil with a vinaigrette--has been popular with our kids in the summer months.

For an example of the many Caprese salad recipes out there, check out Rachel Ray's Caprese Salad.

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