School

Nora Lee is 4 1/2 and we are in the full swing of things academically. We are using a Waldorf kindergarten curriculum supplemented by other workbooks that Nora Lee and I find interesting. Over the months an entire imaginary school has been created in our household. I am "Mrs. Quiley" and Matt is "Mr. Cashote" (We have learned that Nora is a gifted creator of names). There are usually three or four other students that are in our class and often one of them is a character from a book or movie that Nora Lee is smitten with at the moment. A few weeks ago it was Omri, the boy from "The Indian and the Cupboard" and this week it is Cedric Digory from Harry Potter.

We all come to class at the dining room table and focus on one letter in the alphabet. We practice writing the letter and discuss "as a class" the sound the letter makes and words that begin with the letter. The Waldorf curriculum also includes an old fairytale that connects to the letter in some way. Sometimes we will explore a poem that also connects to the letter. For example, when studying "P" I would recite the "Peter Piper" poem.

After working with letters we move on to numbers and simple math. Nora Lee is working on counting to 100. She's got all the numbers in between but gets stuck on 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90. We've learned that Nora Lee is really good with geometric shapes. She can create cool patterns and enjoys that type of play.

After this study time at the table we go off into the world to explore. We have fallen in love with a library one town over from us. We were given a library card and we can't stay away! They have an incredible children's section with thousands of tantalizing books and movies. We have been enjoying books on CD for in the car when we drive around town. We did the first three Harry Potter books this way and just started The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.