"Mommy, may I help?"

Young children have a naturally inquisitive side. They want to explore the world around them. And, they love to help!

Joey and Ezra are quite quick to say, "Mommy, may I help?" While a part of me wants to accomplish a task as quickly as possible, another part of me wants to include my children in the activities I do. By doing so, the child fulfills a love of curiosity, learns life lessons and skills, and recognizes his own value in the family (and in the world). Me? I learn patience, rediscover the excitement of my tasks, and bond with my children by completing activities together.

When we allow children to help direct some of their learning by engaging in activities of interest, children learn at an accelerated rate. For example, both Joey and Ezra have learned a lot about harvesting food and seeds by helping to glean seeds from okra, scoop and separate seeds and roasted meat from pumpkins, cut up apple chunks for boiling into sauce, as well as gathering an assortment of food from the gardens: potatoes, green bell peppers, scallions (their favorite to harvest), basil and oregano, tomatoes, etc. Joey would sit for hours popping popcorn kernels from the cobs.

But, here's the catch. I did not ask or demand my children to do any of these things! Either Russell or I started working on a project and the boys merrily joined in. As Joey gets older, he's asking to do more and more: gather eggs from the coop, help carry firewood (especially when we're loading up the stoves), vacuum dust from the floor, even cleaning the bathroom. It surprises me every time Joey expresses such interest in exploring the world around him. However, I am certain that if I did not allow him to help, but denied his desire to help, he would stop asking.

Now there is a caveat. While allowing my children to perform the tasks they want, I also set boundaries to help them be safe while learning about the necessities of life activities. For example, they know to only handle blunt butter knives when helping with cutting fruits or vegetables, and only when they ask Mommy or Daddy first. Similarly, while Joey and Ezra can help carry wood to the fireplace, they know they are not allowed to put wood into a burning stove. Both boys know they have to wash their hands with soap and water before helping prepare food. There is a plentitude of opportunity to gently teach children what such boundaries are, as well as why they are important. Setting such boundaries takes time and consistent reminding, but over time beneficial boundaries will stay with the child.

So, the next time your young (or older) child asks to help, consider it an opportunity for learning. Learning is not restricted to "academic" subjects and even the academic subjects - reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, etc. - are evident in the simplicity of day-to-day life. Consider what your child will need to know and how the routines in everyday life are just as important to master as correctly pronouncing phonemes as a basis for reading. 

Let your child help! And, take a moment to post about it in the comments section below.

Paper, paper, everywhere

Paper infiltrates our lives. In our household, there are piles of newspaper and junk mail, a box for recycling paper-based containers that once held store-bought food, in addition to the construction paper and graph paper and lined paper bought new from a store. It can be overwhelming, this amount of paper that seems to slither from under baseboards in the dark of night; and yet, with a little creative effort, this commodity can not only provide an immense amount of educational tools, but also tons of fun in the process.

Previously, I mentioned the use of recycled containers for practice in pinpointing particular letters of the alphabet, perhaps by using stickers to plop on a letter or markers to circle them. Magazines and newspaper are useful for the same purpose. In order to practice cutting skills, preschoolers can cut out specified letters, pictures for a glue-stick created collage or decorated notecards, etc. Perhaps you could have your child hunt for pictures that start with particular letters; write out tangible nouns on slips of paper and have the child match those words to their corresponding pictures; or create your own word-picture game for plenty of fun learning.

Most children love the art of folding newspapers. Airplanes, kites, and hats are perhaps the most well-known creations from folded papers. But an Internet search on origami will also yield folded lilies, swans, and myriad shapes that can also be painted or decorated and given as gifts. Perhaps you could create unique ornaments to hang on trees, walls, and even as pendants or earrings or headbands or button-hole additives for people you love. Or, and especially if you are averse to cut flowers or know someone with allergies, you could fold flowers from paper that is painted and plopped into a vase for a lovely arranged bouquet.

The boys love to doodle and draw, write letters, and copy words and phrases. Papers with such colorful and unique patterning make excellent gift wrap, writing paper or cards, scraps for future crafts and projects. Some people use paper as starter for their wood stoves, others shred it for package stuffing; some, drench it for weed control in their gardens; others, sort if for recycling or composting. So, instead of pitching your pile of paper in the trash, consider creative ways to make that paper an educational tool for your children. And, share your creative tips with others!

With or without glycerin?

My boys love to bubble their milk. Whether that cup of creamy white drink was just used for dipping cookies or accompanies their favorite food, the meal usually ends with opaque bubbles rounding off the top of their cups. Joey and Ezra also love chasing soapy bubbles through the front garden or blowing them from the top of their play tower.

Recently - when the weather warranted short-sleeved shirts - we took soapy bubbles, repurposed styrofoam trays, and straws outside, so that they could create bubble mounds. Needless to stay, the boys loved this sticky mess (and I was glad we did this outside). We made observations about the bubble making process and the fluids we used, and even compared the result from soapy water to the results of trying to bubble milk, plain tap water, and honey. Although our "discussion" was low-key, as my oldest is only 4, this project could reveal some insightful scientific and mathematical conversations for older children. You could discuss the surface area of a sphere, for example, which is the shape a bubble takes for purposes of minimalization; the layering of a bubble's "skin" - including the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions of a soap molecule; the hexagonal structure that bubbles make when they prolificate (this includes discussion of the 120 degree angle formed when bubble walls meet); etc. You can observe, journal, or draw the prism of color that forms across a bubble's sheen and discuss the physics of light. There are so many opportunities waiting for you in the common bubble!

I incorporated this love of blowing through straws with another of the boys' loves: paint (or in this case, food-coloring-tinged water). Joey and Ezra blew paint across paper, which we used for homemade thank-you and note cards once the paint had dried. They explored the saturation of color by dipping bright white cotton balls into the painted water and splotching the paint in trails across the paper, too. The boys quickly noticed the difference between blowing glycerin-infused water and colored tap water. And, this artistic endeavor can hold a wide-range of creative twists. Consider trying these projects and share how you incorporated it into your day.

And, have fun learning!

H is for Hike

Each week we devote ourselves to a different letter and use the senses to explore that letter. We discover tangible objects throughout our house that start with the noted letter, take a trip to see or experience something with that letter, eat food that starts with the letter, etc. Several weeks ago, we learned the letter "H." After reading some children's books devoted to H, as well as my go-to books: "Dr. Seuss's ABCs" and "My Spiritual Alphabet Book," the boys had to sort objects into two different piles. One pile was devoted to objects starting with G, for reviewing; the other, with H. The objects mingled in a bag and one by one, Joey or Ezra delved elbow-deep into the bag to claim an object. Although Joey was the main sorter, Ezra managed to help, too. In the G pile, glasses, a giraffe, glue, and a game were placed. The H pile grew to include: a heart, a helicopter, a hotpad, and a hat.

Later in the week, we took a hike on one of the myriad trails along Skyline Drive. Getting the boys in nature any time is important, but connecting letters with experiences is a great way to making the alphabet real for them - so H for hike made an impact. Not only were the boys enamored with the Limber Lost trail we took, but they were even excited to point out items along the way that could be identified with the letters they knew. Rounding a bend in the path, we came upon the short remains of a chopped tree trunk.

"Look!" Ezra pointed with great exuberance and in his little boy accent, "a heart!"

"Ezra, heart starts with the letter H," Joey said in his big brother way, as if he had just centered new meaning in the galaxy (which in some ways he had for himself; and which is also apt as we have been reading Madeleine L'Engle - so his mannerism seemed to come from the pages of her books).

"Oh!" said Ezra, "okay!"  Then, he proceeded to run ahead to the next interesting spot on the trail.

Besides a heart-shaped tree trunk, the boys found a hole, which was the escape route of a chipmunk they were frantically stalking on the hike. They also found some non-H bits of nature that were just as fascinating, and all along the trail, Joey finger-drew his name in the fine gravel of the trail. Letters abounded.

And, they can abound for you, too. If you decide to run through the alphabet, consider cooking foods that start with or can shape the letter for the week. Plan activities with that letter in mind. Perhaps hopscotch or horseback riding would round out your H week. Read books that start with the letter H or have main characters whose names start with H. Listen to music by bands or composers with your proclaimed letter. Look for youtube videos that incorporate the letter, too (such as a good video of juggling for J - I would highly recommend Juggling Charlie at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfJM1I9hFRs). Or, browse books at the library or the Internet for good images of a non-native animal that begins with your letter. We researched hot air balloons recently, because Joey wanted to know how hot air balloons descended (more on that later). We found a great book at the local library, a Curious George book that included a hot air balloon, and saw some videos on youtube to help with this research. 

Learning should be a life experience and it should be based on student interest. If you can make a child's learning relative, fun, engaging, and contextual - as well as child-focused and not teacher-focused - then, you're looking at a great recipe for encouraging life long learners. And, more importantly, life long learners that engage the community around them and work toward making a difference in the lives of others.

So, happy learning - and have fun!  And, do share the fun ways you engage a letter in your home.

Patterning prompts possibility

Lately, Joey has become fascinated by various kinds of colorful pattern blocks.  On the one hand, my four-year-old maneuvers wooden wedges into mesmerizing arrangements that mimic quilt squares, but brighter than his subtle blues, greens, and creams. He selects a card and with a determined spirit, sets to work until the square platform is complete.  With a glee-filled smile as wide as his face, Joey shares the design with us, disassembles the pattern, and starts again.

On the other hand, Joey loves our large tub of plastic shapes, which he manipulates into creative images, determines ending patterns to sequences, and engages in other imaginative play with the blocks. I am usually amazed by his created concoctions. Of course, he is equally enamored with the incorporation of items such as mini-marshmallows, candies, and vegetable chips; however, these do not stick around very long - as you can imagine - and so, pattern play with edibles does not last.

Recognizing patterns does not have to include special equipment.  Ezra enjoys sorting socks, which I also line up to create patterns that he imitates by placing sock mates below my array of mismatched socks. When we hike, Joey collects acorns, small rocks, and autumn leaves, which we arrange in patterns, too. 

Regardless of age, patterns and sequences are a great tool at any age. These tools translate well into early reading strategies, and compliment learning skills such as memorization.

How does your little one enjoy patterns while playing? Is there a favorite pattern-based activity or game that you enjoy (of course, our votes would be those like Simon, Cryptoquips, and even the chaotic patterning of Twister). What materials do you use for patterns?

The allure of shadow

Shadows are fascinating! I still recall the first time Joey and then Ezra discovered the play of shadow and light on the floor - they were mesmerized. Children's books, such as "Bear Shadow" by Frank Asch and a segment from Ezra Jack Keats' "Whistle for Willie," display imaginative play with one's shadow at its best (although, I don't think I will give my little boys nails and a hammer for unguided play any time soon).

Recently, we explored the shadow in another way. Since we do not own a television, but are fortunate enough to own a projector, we used the latter technology to simulate the sun's rays in a dark room. Joey and Ezra grabbed object after object, put them in the blue light's way, and watched the resulting shadows as they danced across the wall. Some objects were transparent or translucent, like a water glass, and seemed to sparkle even on the screen. Other objects were opaque, blocking the light and casting black forms, like Joey and the trumpet. With each ebony-etched pattern, we oohed and aahed.

Although my boys are too young to understand certain concepts, like Shadow Blister Effect or Rayleigh scattering, as well as analyzing the proportionality of the cotangent of the sun's elevation angle and the length of a shadow, these are concepts they can learn one day. And, it will all begin with the childlike delight at flashing shadows across a screen.

Simple shapes formulate fun learning!

Joey & Ezra, grueling away, hard at work in their homeschool room.

The boys, bleary-eyed and frizzle-headed, wander to the kitchen every morning with a happy "good morning" and warm hug. Even before we eat breakfast, they are asking what we are going to do today. Sometimes, I'll place something on the table to give them a hint for what to expect - like an assortment of items that start with a certain letter or a game that they will learn or a gazetteer which symbolizes a hike for the day; other times, I will actually fashion their breakfast into the clue (like pancakes made in myriad shapes or whipping up some delicious egg-and-bread bird nests).

Recently, while Joey was creating patterns with some of his shaping toys (anticipate an upcoming blog topic), I gave Ezra some miniature shape-cutters to use in creating stars and hearts out of his apple slices. Since Ezra loves food, this was a perfect activity to keep his interest, to help with developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and to encourage imaginative play.  It is also highly adaptable!  

Any sized cookie cutters and a wide assortment of food material can be used for this activity: try bread or cheese, other fruits or thinly-sliced vegetables, luncheon meat, etc.  Use this for breakfast, snack time, lunch, or even dinner.  If you do not have miniature shape-cutters, use a blunt knife to make basic squares, triangles, rectangles, etc.

Great versatility exists, too, in how the shapes are used for learning. At the most basic level, Ezra learned the names of shapes he did not know before and showed his understanding of naming the shapes he did know. For Joey, I made a pattern line of shapes and asked him to add the next one to the chain. For example, following a star, a star, a circle, a star, a star, a circle, he would thoughtfully position a star-shaped apple chunk. Older children can create an elaborate pattern or you could create a pattern, have the child study it for one minute, and then mix up the shapes and ask the child to recreate it.  The ideas are endless!

So, grab some shape-cutters, a delectable medium, and have some fun fashioning home learning.  

Comment on how you use shapes and how this inspires other ideas!  For example, Joey was so enamored with shapes and patterns that he used bits of lunch to form the letters of his name.  (I did help him with the E.)

Where do you see ABCs?

The letter C found in nature.

Over the past year, as Joey has become more and more familiar with his alphabet, the letters have become more predominant in the world around him.  On our nature walks, he sees an L-shaped rock or Ys running down tree bark.  Sometimes I will ask him if he sees any letters in the landscape, but most of the time, he looks for them on his own. 

A is for acorn.

As Joey more formally learns the ABCs, I have tried to use activities to help him point out letters in a way beyond pencil and paper.  Long yarn pieces and cooked spaghetti noodles make great tools for shaping the curves and lines of letters.  With fun music playing, we dance and use our bodies to shape more than just Y, M, C, and A.  We match objects with initial sounds, not with pencil and paper, but with real candles, combs, cars, and carrots, which are intermixed with a shoe, a button, a pencil, and a star.  Or, if we want to highlight other letters, we choose objects that allow us to do that.  Other times, I display four objects and four small letter cards, then ask Joey to put the letter with the correct object based on the initial sound.  

Right now Joey picks out letters, but before too long, he'll be able to manipulate the letters into words or even phrases.  A lunchtime bowl of alphabet soup is perfect for assessing what he knows, because it allows him to pick out and name letters.  Older children could practice spelling words or creating phrases with letters swimming in a cup of alphabet soup.  Often, a sales flyer or outdated magazine provides a means for circling letters with a marker or cutting out letters for pasting on a collage.  The possibilities really are endless and benefit from a pot of creative simmering.

Stars indicate the letter A.

One activity Joey enjoys uses recyclables and stickers: two things he loves!  Rummaging through the recycling bins, I pick out three or four items for him to use in finding the letter of the day.  For example, when we are talking about A, I give Joey a yogurt top, an aluminum foil holder, and a cookie box.  He uses the stickers to place on all the As, upper and lower case, he can find.  I am always amazed how well he does and he usually runs out of stickers before he can star every letter he finds!  Meanwhile, Ezra (not to be excluded from any activity Joey does) uses stickers to create a Dali-inspired bit of artwork.

Joey finding A on some recyclables.

In what ways does the alphabet creep up in your home learning environment?

A truly rollable cookie recipe for learning ABCs

Clay is a great manipulative for coiling into shapes like letters and numbers, as much as it is a means for creating functional pottery.  The smooth, soft feel of clay fascinates most people, who are not squeamish with getting a bit dirty, and especially children.  Joey and Ezra are quite fond of folding their hands around a blob of turning clay on a potter's wheel; shoving carving tools into a patted ball of clay so as to create a porcupine or pincushion or other needly object; sponging water rings through the clay-covered wheel as it turns and splatters. 

Joey forming a cup at the potter's wheel.

Both boys thoroughly enjoy playing with miscellaneous doughs inside the house as much as in the pottery studio.  But, it is difficult to find a yummy cookie dough that is as much fun to make and manipulate as it is to eat once it's baked.  So, after studying several recipes from Greek cookbooks (who doesn't love "The Complete Greek Cookbook" by Theresa Karas Yianilos), the Internet (which largely provides a plethora of options for roll-out sugar cookies and tons on inedible baker's clay or play-dough), and a mass-letter producing recipe from a Good Apple Teaching Resource book entitled "Rainy Day Fun," in which their ABC "Mud" Cookies (1987:22) inspire more attention, I decided to make my own recipe for Chocolate Alphabet Cookies.

Chocolate is a much loved treat in our household; so, too, are finding letters in everyday items.  Of course, my Alphabet Cookies provide a good helping of all-natural cocoa, in addition to some healthier alternatives for baked cookies.  But, an even more admirable characteristic of this dough, is that it really is a dough.  Perhaps if your preferred method is rolling out and stamping shapes from cookie dough, you could still do that, but the elasticity present in the unbaked state of Chocolate Alphabet Cookies provides the manipulative factor that allows my boys to roll coils that then become alphabet letters and numbers.  Their hands (and a baking sheet or four) are the only tools needed, once the dough is made.  No cookie cutters (and, not everyone owns an array of alphabetic cookie cutters, anyway), no rolling pins, no flour or powdered sugar to cover the surface, just the soft and pliable wad of cookie dough and two imaginative boys (and their mommy and daddy).

Joey with his JOEY chocolate ABC cookies.

Joey has become a master of forming J - O - E - Y in the clay-inspired cookie dough. Ezra needs more help, but he can already pick out some of the letters.  We can create their names, the entire alphabet, and still have enough dough leftover to make fun shapes and objects, like stars, snakes, spirals, geometric shapes, et cetera.  The recipe even lends itself well to variations and your imaginative additions: try frosting the baked shapes and donning them with sprinkles, use a flavor other than chocolate as the base, push white chocolate or peanut butter chips into the shapes before they bake, use coconut shavings or walnuts or myriad other additives to create textures or interest (both in taste and sight) to your letters and shapes.  The ideas really are endless, but at the core of it is a fun dough recipe you can use as a manipulative to teach your children the alphabet, numbers, basic shapes, and a variety of rudimentary knowledge (e.g. older children could roll out important dates and create an image that represents the important event they need to know, such as 79 AD and an image of Herculaneum covered in mud at the base of Mt. Vesuvius or an array of elephants crossing over the Pyrenees into Italy for 218 BC during the Second Punic War when Hannibal crossed the Alps to attack the Romans).

Ezra displays his EZRA chocolate ABC cookies.

And, without further ado, the recipe...

CHOCOLATE ALPHABET COOKIES

Ingredients:
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of nutmeg
2 hard-cooked egg yolks (see step 1)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  After covering two eggs with water in a small saucepan, bring them to a gently rolling boil.  Continue boiling for 10 minutes.  Turn the stove's burner off and let set for 2 minutes.  Then, drain the water and spray the eggs with cold water for a minute or so.  Then peel the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites.  Let your children eat the whites while you, after acquiring a small bowl and a fork, mix the egg yolks into the brown sugar.  Set aside.

Dry ingredients mixed with hard yolks, sugar, & butter.

2.  In a large bowl, add the flours, flax seed, ground almonds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Stir together.  Then, cut in the butter until it is well incorporated.

3.  Add the oils, sugar with yolk, honey, eggs, and vanilla extract, mixing together well.

4.  Knead the ingredients together, starting out in the bowl, then turning the dough onto a clean tabletop.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6.  Once the dough is formed, pinch some off, roll into a coil, and shape accordingly.  Nota bene: it is easier to shape the letter or number on the baking sheet rather than transferring from the tabletop to the sheet and especially so if the shape is particularly large.  Coils should be about the size of your little finger, unless you want giant shapes.

Shapes before baking.

Wet ingredients ready.

7.  At this point, you can add any extras to the designs, such as chocolate or peanut butter chips, various nuts or candies, shredded coconut, etc.  Or you can wait until they are baked and decorate with frosting and other additives.

8.  Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes (adjusting bake time based on thickness of coils).  Then, cool.  You can store these in an air-tight container or zipper bag, preferably in the refrigerator for longer lasting use. 

Once your Chocolate Alphabet Cookies are cool, use them to spell words, practice visualizing the alphabet song, or just to see what letters your child knows.  If you made upper and lower case versions of the letters, play a scrambled matching game to see if your child can match the big and little letters.  If you made numbers, use them for addition, subtraction, multiplication tables, a number line, or a wide array of mathematic considerations.  Let your imagination soar and introduce your cookies into aspects of education you may never before have considered!  And, please do share how your family uses this recipe.

Homeschooling Two Vibrant Boys

In societal standards, homeschooling is not natural.  I, myself, grew up attending the public school system, so perhaps it is more accurate for me to say that homeschooling feels unnatural to me.  And yet, there is the allure of educating one's own children, which is completely natural.

Joey, currently 4 years of age, and Ezra, currently 2 years of age, are my focal points, in addition to the continuous self-polishing inherent to a life full of learning and relearning.  Hopefully, when Joey and Ezra are my age, they will mostly be learning and not doing too much relearning.  But, I digress.

So, as you may be able to tell, I have two vibrant boys.  They are extremely energetic, unremittingly mobile, and need a plethora of planned and sporadic activities to keep them happy.  Otherwise, the whirlwind chaos they create is on par with the aftermath of a derecho storm.

My old, wooden, ink-splattered desk provides a key spot for me to brew up the activities that Joey and Ezra need for a happy homeschooling life in the Shenandoah Valley.

Put your feet up, friend, and enjoy the zany antics, the seldom-fused eureka moments, and consider how our earnest attempts at letting life discipline us might inspire your day, too.