Christmas 2009

We had a lovely Christmas so far. We didn't put the decorations up until Christmas Eve which worked really well. We had springy's Birthday and C's birthday as well.

Springy had a number of birthday playdates. We made gingerbread, decorations and so on.

N came round for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and yesterday too. We had some old films to watch like The King and I and Singing in the Rain which was nice.

I just finished sewing up a third gnome sleeping bag from the Wee Folk Art pattern I've been using. The first was a present for Springy for Christmas. I think she wants me to go into fullscale production for each and everyone of her little toys but I think three is enough for now.

Springy had a Brer Rabbit story last night. I'm going to read it to her again later and then tomorrow I'm hoping she will do a picture and a summary.

Pony Morning at the Stables

Happy Birthday C.

Springy had a stable morning today for her Christmas present. She got to learn about hay bags and managed to canter for the first time (she said it hurts and made her feel a bit sick). She also had a go with a hoof pick and groomed Yogie (the pony she borrowed).

Class 2 type year

Well we're not really a class - although I learn just as much as Springy at times.

This year we're going to be focusing on Fables, Animal Friends, Saints/Sages, Nature Stories and so on.

I can really see Springy is fascinated by animals. With our new addition to the household, our lovely dog, I can see how Steiner would have observed the interest in animals. He was really astute with his observations. Springy is totally occupied with animals and wanting to accumulate more pets.

Our doggy is gorgeous - she's lovely temperament and ever so loving and easy to care for (apart from the revolting ticks that I had to remove from her the other day).

So:

Times Tables - keep practising 2x, 1x, 5x, 10x and we need to add in 11x, 3x and 4x
Regular use of arithmetic (Magical Maths books by Letts) and conversations on other mathematical themes
I want to do a recap on Roman numerals which we did cover but I'm not sure how much of this Springy retained.
Learning the spellings of common word clusters e.g. would, should, could and peep, sheep, deep etc
Doing small blocks on the Animal themes above along with Form Drawing to help improve that focus and concentration - simple sentences from the Fable e.g. "The mouse saved the lion" or "Slow and steady wins the race"
Increase the frequency of handwriting use and with practice we hope will come improved writing stamina and appreciation

I'm more aware of doing my research before the fable to ensure that I know enough about the animal concerned. I've always been someone interested in wildlife and animals anyway so that makes it easier. Springy already loves nature so it's not hard to instil that love for the main characters in the fables.