Fable poem - the Lion and the Mouse

From the same site I found this poem:

 Der Löwe und die Maus

Der Löwe fing die kleine Maus:
„Ach, lieber Löwe lass’ mich aus!
Bist du in Not, so helf’ ich dir.“
„Du kleines Mäuschen mir?
Der Löwe hilft sich selbst allein.
Spring kleine Maus, magst frei nun sein.“
Doch bald darauf der Löwe fällt
In Netze, die der Jäger stellt.
Wie er sich reckt und streckt und beißt,
das starke Netz er nicht zerreißt.
Er brüllt so laut er brüllen kann,
da kommt die kleine Maus heran.
Mit scharfem Zahne unverzagt
Das kleine Mäuschen nagt und nagt,
und Masch’ für Masch’ das Netz zerfällt,
bis es den Löwen nicht mehr hält.
Der große Löw’ ist wieder frei!
Verachte keins so klein es sei.

Here is the translation:

The Lion and the Mouse

The lion caught the little mouse:
"Oh, dear lion Let me go!
If ever you are in need I will help you in return. "
"You little mouse help me?
The lion helps itself alone. Ha.
Off you go little mouse - be free now. "
But soon after, the lion was caught
In nets, which the hunters had set.
He stretches and stretches and bites,
but the strong net he does not tear.
He bellows and roars loud as he can,
and the little mouse passes nearby.
With undaunted sharp teeth
The little mice nibbling and gnawing,
breaks and tears the net,
Until the lion breaks out.
Lion is the great free beast again!
Helped by one so small.

Fables block

We finished up our Fables block with a re-enactment using models of The Mouse and The Lion. Springy made them using Fimo modelling clay which we baked. It's not the same as using beeswax, as in Steiner style education, because you can stick bits together rather than form from a whole piece but she really enjoyed it and they look really good.  We also recited the poem from Sigi De Francesca's Fables book.

 we also had some harmonica time and our dog joined in (hilarious when she howls along ).

I was reading www.patchofpuddles.co.uk today.  The lady who runs it, Merry, is a home education hero of mine.  She lost her son in the spring and it's sad to read through her experience of his loss.  I remember how long it took for me to be able to go near a baby again.  When you lose a pregnancy or a child, I think it's quite common to develop an aversion to holding babies or toddlers.  I held a 13-month old the other week and it was such a lovely experience but I got very broody and inside, although it's much easier now, I felt that deep longing for little ones lost.

OT and Waldorf

I've been making gapped paragraphs for Springy.  The idea is say you are working on a Fable, you tell the story, but a very expanded version (Sigi De Francesca has a brilliant book on the Fables) and then I wrote a simpler version out of the story but left spaces in the text and a list of words my daughter had to use to fill it in.  That way she got to do some spelling, copywork and so on but tied it into the Fables.   Then after she had done quite a few of these gapped summaries (so she's not having to write out the whole summary herself) she then copied them out into her main lesson book and illustrated them.

I think one of the points of Grade 3 thinking in Waldorf is that the child is going through the 9-year change.  They're coming out of their dependency on you as parent but not yet independent.  The OT stories are to do with authority - the Garden of Eden, Noah having to build an Ark - big boss parent authoritarian figure saying "Do as I say...or else you will pay consequences." I've done a few of the OT stories but I have to say that spiritually (I'm an atheist) I was concerned and morally I had concerns too because God in OT stories from an outside perspective comes over as a complete and utter bully.  However, I have a few books by Margaret Mayo and Usbourne bible stories that have made me review my relation to the stories, not spiritually, but as a parent I have an understanding of how our role as passive or authoritative or authoritarian person changes depending on context etc e.g. safety issues.  There is a certain wisdom in them as stories (although I still don't understand why anyone would want to be in a religion that had such an aggressive, mean, authoritarian, death-loving deity). I've used the stories without putting them into a religious context, other than mentioning they are from the Jewish, Islamic and Christian traditions of religion so she can place them amongst her friends who believe in those faiths. 

My daughter has said quite a few times things like, "Oh he's so mean, why did he have to flood the Earth?"  However, she's also picked up on how mean the other people were.   However, she's also picked up on how mean the other people were and asked "Why couldn't he have saved all the nice things and not just some?".  I haven't answered as such but she's been left with some big questions and it is these big questions that work on us through our lives.  As a parent I often find myself questioning how I parent.  In the children's versions of the Old Testament the deity is diluted somewhat so I can relate to him as a "parent".  He created his children and he's trying to look after them, even though they go astray.  If he created them does he have the right to destroy them if they disobey?  It's not going in like that to Springy now but it locks into the synapses for a later date.

September and what we've been doing

We've been utilising the Christopherus Second grade curriculum as our scaffolding.  Although Springy would be in Third Grade I feel that because we deviated from the traditional Waldorf curriculum last year that I want to back track a bit and go over things until January. 

We've started with a mini maths block and have been using Four in a Row maths games.  Springy has done some lovely pictures in her Main Lesson book so far including squirrels for maths (as outlined in Christopherus). 

The Christopherus package is quite pricey but the plus side is I enjoy the way Donna Simmons writes.  She's like a warm cup of cocoa with her words - comforting and friendly.  The downside is there is still quite a lot of working out to do at times and I wish the material were all together, rather in separate books at times as there is quite a bit of fiddling back and forth.  That said, I'm beginning to understand more on Waldorf again to the Class/Grades approach.

End of August

Since I last posted Springy has had another maths lesson with a private tutor.  Sometimes it's hard to be objective when you're are home educating so C and I decided that a series of three lessons over three weeks would be a good idea.  We certainly found a great tutor and Springy has progressed in a positive way.  It also helped that the tutor had a puppy at home.

Today we went out in our little rowing boat which was great fun.  We saw 3 egrets and a very big black-backed gull.  We had to be careful not to get in the way of some of the yachts that were about and their wakes.

I've got several books lined up on Native American buildings for reading (as usual here, one has gone missing in the collage of chaos).  We also have Farmer Boy and Schoolhouse in the Parlour by Rebecca Caudhill as read alouds.

Springy finished her Magic Book so it's time to move onto a new one.  I'm feeling a little more confident and have been reading various educational materials to keep inspired.  We never stop for summer holidays so we're not really about to start a new year as such.  I feel we're still in the Class Two zone for some things developmentally but that also Springy responded well over the summer to many of the Class Three elements that were introduced.

This morning in her maths lesson she was asked about solving a puzzle.  She had to get four people across to an island by a boat.  There were 2 men and 2 women.  The rules were that the boat could only carry up to two women or one man so she had to work out the sequence.

Planetarium - Star of Bethlehem

We went to see the Star of Bethlehem show at the local planetarium. It was well done and there were lots of "oohs" from Springy. The bit I think she liked best was when they projected an image of Orion over his constellation.

December 2009

St Nicholas is going to be our theme this month because we're doing Class 2 Steiner Waldorf in our approach anyway.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=437

St Nicholas stories in the Waldorf tradition

Lovely blog with bee feature

http://naturenest.wordpress.com/category/animals/bees/

and this:

http://web.me.com/meaningfulmathbooks1/Site/Lower_School_Math.html

and this article:
http://opencreativity.open.ac.uk/assets/pdf/strathclyde/Learning%20to%20think%20in%20Steiner.pdf

And this on rainbow writing:

http://faeriedust2001.blogspot.com/2005/11/rainbow-sentences.html

The Merry Month of May

This last month we've done lots of things. We did the Jamboree on the Trail (a walk with the beavers and cubs), visited Ikea as a family for the first time (we love lingonberries), Springy and our puppy took part in a dog show (Springy wants to be a dog groomer and dog trainer when she grows up now), I took my First Aid Appointed Persons course again (just a 1-day one), went to the Mind/Body/Spirit event in London (had an amazing Indian Head Massage) and enjoyed the lovely weather outside. We've been going on lots of walks with our lovely dog.

I'm now planning for the next stage in Springy's education - we're slowly integrating animal stories in as per the indications of Rudolf Steiner. We have 3 new paints which we are going to be working with (not because of developmental reasons but because I never could afford 3 new paints before). I feel that we have achieved a lot (with support from friends who have encouraged me to be positive) in our education this year. We've been working on our times tables and so on but we're past Aries and Taurus and into Gemini now so the Zodiac is whizzing by and I like to work my year from Aries to Pisces.

It's already June and we need some rainy weather to stay inside a bit more and do some more academics. Springy and I have been discussing how to use question marks, exclamation marks and periods (full stops).

We're still doing swimming lessons - we got a new teacher this term and he's been great so far. the last few terms were a writeoff but he has made up for it and Springy is now able to dive underwater to collect objects off the bottom (she's better than me).