Tag Archives: grade 5

Lesson Plans for May 2013

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all the links here.

The last blocks of the year! WooHoo! Yippee-yie-yay!! Happy dance, happy dance, happy, happy, happy dance!!! Here is what we are up to this month:

Vincent, 5th grader, 11 years old: Vincent will finish his Greek block by transitioning from Greek mythology to Greek history, again using Charles Kovacs’ wonderful book, Ancient Greece. Our study of Greece will finish with Alexander the Great and we plan to watch the 4 hour BBC production, In the Footsteps of Alexander. I am not much of a movie person and neither are my boys, but I think this will be a fun departure from our normal course of study. After the popcorn-fest, we will delve into A Little History of the World by EH Gombrich, reading up to the beginning of the Roman Empire. Our final project of grade 5 will be a timeline that I plan to have Vincent add to over the next couple of years. To say I have deliberated about how to do this timeline would be the understatement of the year. (I can see Tom rolling his eyes as he reads this.) However, I have made the decision to use these beautiful, hand-drawn figures from Homeschool in the Woods as our base. I will be modifying some of the early dates however, as they are based on a biblical view of creation. We will be coloring the figures with colored pencil, cutting them out and gluing them onto cardstock that I have printed using this free timeline maker. The completed pages will then put into plastic slip sheets and stored in a binder.

Jude, 1st grader, 7 1/2 years old: I have followed the Christopherus grade 1 syllabus pretty much block by block this entire year, but for some reason, I had absolutely nothing planned for Jude to do after April. When I realized my snafu, I looked at my grade 1 bookshelf and came across The Wise Enchanter by Shelley Davidow. We will be reading this lovely story and revisiting the alphabet, which is where we began back in September. Because Vincent will be doing something fun with his timeline, I am going to have Jude make an alphabet book using a set of Mother Goose postcards. There is one for every letter, and on the back I’m going to have him write a few words and draw a picture of something that starts with that letter. We will then bind the postcards into a book of sorts. Jude has also taken a fancy to Tiptoes Lightly, so we will be reading Eggs for the Hunting by Reg Down sporadically throughout these last few weeks of school as well.

Sheila: My brain shuts off around Memorial Day. As soon as the American flags start flying and the red, white and blue bunting appears, this year is officially over as far as I’m concerned. Of course we have loose ends to secure and testing needs to be done, but I feel like I can do this with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. I give myself this little lull, because I know next year’s planning is right around the corner. And this year, the planning will be sooner rather than later. Due to a serendipitous alignment of the Waldorf homeschool planning stars, Jean Miller will be in town visiting her sister who happens to live a mere 45 minutes from me. Andrea and I are having a day-long planning session with her to hammer out next year together. I expect this to be a lot of fun and also very productive. I will still have a bunch of planning to accomplish, but I hope to have the big stuff out of the way, and spend my summer focusing on reading primary materials for grades 2 and 6 and also furthering my art and handwork skills. Crochet, anyone? (You can see the very beginning of my plans for grade 2 and grade 6 under “Planning” beneath my header. Right now, it is basically a list of resources organized per block.)

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Here’s a peek at what we were doing this time last year. (US Geography)

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Grade 5: Botany Block

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The first day of our Botany block was the perfect spring day: the air was chilly, but the sun was warm. All three of us worked together and turned over both garden beds. I was feeling *pretty* proud of myself for choosing the *perfect* month to study plants outside. Mother Nature, however, has a wicked sense of humor. The rest of the month was cold and windy and gave us more snow than we had all winter. I can tell you, studying plants indoors is not fun at all. We did do our reading, although I found the Charles Kovacs Botany book unengaging and The Mary Frances Garden Book dated and tedious. As I had planned on using both of these books as our spines, I was pleasantly surprised by two beautifully illustrated picture books I off-handedly checked out of the library: The Gift of a Tree by Alvin Tresselt and A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long.

The Gift of a Tree by Alvin Tresselt tells the story of the life cycle of a tree, concentrating on what happens after the tree dies. (Incidentally, it was first published under the title The Dead Tree in 1971. Oh, the 70s, what a wonderful decade to be born into.) The tree becomes home to a variety of animals and insects, eventually decomposing and becoming fertile soil that nourishes the next generation of oaks. This little story connected the dots of so much that we have studied in grade 5. Starting way back in September with Ancient India, I gave Vincent the symbol of a circle representing the ideas of life, death and rebirth. We have touched on that symbol throughout the year, but this book let us really explore the idea of reincarnation/resurrection/rebirth in almost every block. This was one of those serendipitous moments where I fall in love with the Waldorf curriculum all over again.

Resources:

  • The Gift of a Tree, Alvin Tresselt
  • Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children, Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac
  • Seed, Leaf, Flower, Fruit, Maryjo Koch
  • A Seed is Sleepy, Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long
  • The Mary Frances Garden Book, Jane Eayre Fryer
  • Botany, Charles Kovacs

Projects:

  • Field Trip to the local botanical gardens
  • Bark Rubbings
  • Botanical scavenger hunt
  • Botanical mobile using items found on scavenger hunt
  • Kitchen seed exploration and collage of seeds found
  • Forced cherry branches inside

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For more posts about Botany, click the images below.

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Lesson Plans for April 2013

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Who am I to argue with T.S. Eliot, but with two separate weeks of spring break, April may be the kindest month. The first week in April we will be taking a break from main lessons, spending a day at the dentist, and (hopefully, fingers crossed, please, please, please) finish all the scouting requirements for this year. On Friday, Andrea and I leave for Hot-lanta to attend the Peach Cobblers’ Waldorf Curriculum Fair. I am really looking forward to this little getaway. The next three weeks will be spent completing our second to last block of the year – unbelievable, but true. The last week in April will find us all at the beach with both sets of grandparents, hopefully catching some rays and eating lots and lots of shrimp.

Vincent: 11 years old, 5th grader Vincent will begin the first half of our 6 week block on Greece that will focus on Greek mythology. This will segue into Greek History for the better part of May. We will be using both the D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths and also Ancient Greece by Charles Kovacs. I am interested in seeing if the Greek myths will captivate Vincent’s imagination as others have spoken about with their fifth graders. We will be drawing a map of Greece, memorizing, drawing and summarizing the 12 Olympians, summarizing the myths we read, and perhaps rewriting one. I hope to continue our form drawing practice with some Greek inspired designs. I’m sure Vincent is planning to research and make some traditional Greek foods. Bring on the spanakopita!!

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader Jude will be completing his final math block of first grade, delving a little deeper into the four processes with some mental math and also a few written problems. We will also be concentrating on memorizing the 2s, 5s and 10s multiplication tables by tossing around our bean bags. (Jude is reading this over my shoulder as I type and just informed me, “I know all those!” So, I don’t know what we’ll be doing with Sir Smarty Pants! Ok, he’s gone.) There will be some fun fairy tales to illustrate these math concepts and keep them from becoming too abstract. I think I will also pull out our jar of wooden shapes and work on some tanagrams during main lesson time. Those things always make my head hurt, but maybe Jude will like them. I also plan to bust out our jump ropes and get both boys jumping outside.

Sheila: This feels like the sweet spot in the year. I can appreciate how much we have accomplished, yet I still have some stamina and enthusiasm left for the last couple of blocks. Contrast this to the previous two years of homeschooling with Waldorf where I can vividly remember wanting to scrap the remainder of the year and just start planning next year’s blocks. Because then I had a clean slate and could get it all right – whatever I thought that meant! I know everybody says this, but I am going to say it too. Coming to Waldorf late is a process that takes time. I may even go out on a limb here and say homeschooling with Waldorf – no matter when you come to it – is a process that takes time. If it speaks to you, if it feeds you, if you can catch glimpses of it changing you, your children and your family for the better, stick with it and give yourself that time. Listen to the whispers that speak to that part of you that resonated with Waldorf in the first place. Focus on that and ignore the rest for now. You will get there. I am so grateful for all that I have learned this year and I plan on recording it like I did for Year 1 and Year 2 of our journey.

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Here’s a look at what we were doing this time last year.

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Knitting with Boys

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all the links here.

Knitting is something I don’t have to remind my boys to do. They both pick up their projects at some point during the day – usually in the morning before school or during afternoon storytime. Somedays, when I feel as though we are accomplishing absolutely nothing, I can usually feel good about the knitting we have done. I find it so interesting how their different temperaments and personalities are reflected in their approaches.

Jude is a still-waters-run-deep, slow-and-steady-wins-the-race kinda kid. His favorite things to knit are little green squares. We have a lot of little green squares. If he is feeling particularly daring on a given day, he’ll cast on with a different color. He’ll knit about 3 rows with this renegade color, stop, undo his work, and return to his beloved green yarn. One day he told Tom about his experience with stripes. Tom asked him what colors he used. He gave him a look as if questioning his sanity and said, “Green. And another green.”

Vincent is a different kid and a different knitter. As with most everything, he is fast, fearless and expansive. He has read all the knitting books we own and most of the ones in our library system. If I have a question about something, I don’t bother looking it up. I just ask Vincent. I know if our stash of knitting needles is getting low to look in his handwork basket where I’ll find several sets attached to a variety of creations. My favorite project he has done this year is a toy he knitted for our music teacher’s cat. I am encouraging him to make a few to sell. They knit up quick (for him) and cats seem to love them.

I am some combination of the two of them – although truth be told, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t knit at all. My favorite thing to knit is pot holders – which come to think of it are really just big squares. I have also knitted a washcloth this year (another square, shown above.) Unlike Jude, I do like to experiment with color. Lately, I have pushed my skill set by learning to increase and decrease thanks to Vincent. I have completed several 3D animals from Barbara Dewey’s wonderful book, Waldorf Handwork for Homeschoolers Grades K – 4. Their resemblance to anything found in nature, however, is open to interpretation.

Projects:

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Green Square #1

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Green Square #2 (could also be Alabama)

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Green Square – Striped

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Kite

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Cat Toy

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Chicken

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Sheep (or a sheep dog or a zebra if you ask Tom)

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Gnome

Our favorite knitting books:

  • Waldorf Handwork for Homeschoolers Grades K – 4, Barbara Dewey
  • Kids Knitting, Melanie Falick
  • Kids Knit!: Simple Steps to Nifty Projects, Sarah Bradberry
  • Kids Learn to Knit, Lucinda Guy and Francois Hall

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To read about the mini knitting block we did earlier this year, click the image below.

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Lesson Plans for March 2013

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March always seems to be the beginning of the end of the school year. Just 3 blocks to go, then testing in June, then yippee!!! It also seems to be the beginning of the beginning of the next school year. I dragged my planning bins out of the attic last week and have started to fill them with resources for second (!) and sixth (!) grade. This is the collection phase. I have next year’s blocks on my radar, so if I see anything on the Used Curriculum yahoo group or anywhere else, it goes in the bins.

I remember when I first came to Waldorf and the internet chatter turned to planning for next year at about this time. I could not wrap my head around the concept. I was having a hard enough time just making it through the current year. But with three years under my belt now, it seems much more manageable and almost natural. I read a great quotation somewhere recently, “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” I wish I had known such things back then. I could have saved myself a lot of grief.

While it may seem tantalizing to look ahead to next year, I try to solidly stay in the here and now. And right here, right now, we are going to be learning about plants. I’ve decided to combine main lessons this month: for Jude, this block will be called “Gardening” and for Vincent it will be called “Botany.” Pretty sneaky, huh? There will be a lot of overlap and collaborative work, but obviously, I will get much deeper and more technical with Vincent. Here’s an idea of what my plans look like:

Vincent: 11 years old, 5th grader We haven’t done any formal Botany this year, despite my best laid plans. I’ve decided to divide this block into 4 one-week mini-blocks. Week 1 will focus on plants in general; Week 2, seeds; Week 3, trees; and Week 4, flowering plants. In addition to traditional lessons in terminology and characteristics, we will be doing a lot of practical work, outside exploration and artistic interpretation. I love this sense of balance so intrinsic within Waldorf pedagogy. I am planning to compile something like a scrapbook for this block, rather than a regular main lesson book.We will be using The Mary Frances Garden Book by Jane Eayre Fryer for a read aloud during main lesson time, and also Seed, Leaf, Flower, Fruit by Maryjo Koch. This is a beautiful book I found at the library that has a nice blend of scientific facts, lovely quotations and gorgeous watercolor illustrations. I may or may not use Botany by Charles Kovacs. This volume has not resonated with me like his others have.

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader Jude will be doing a lot of digging in the dirt, listening to stories, painting, drawing, modeling and handwork – really just a continuation of what we have done all year. I plan on reading A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, The Gift of a Tree by Alvin Tresselt and because Easter is this month (March 31) I also want to read a few chapters from The Burgess Flower Book for Children by Thorton W. Burgess, narrated by none other than Sir Peter Rabbit himself. I hope both boys will have our garden beds ready for planting by the end of the month. We’ll see.

Sheila: I have admitted before in this space that I am not a gardener, so I think I may have been unconsciously avoiding this block. I am striving to teach out of my joy and find what energizes and inspires me with each and every block we do. I have had to dig deep on this one – pardon the pun, but it is apt. If you looked around our property, you would be under no illusion that anyone with a green thumb resided inside. We have 2 good-sized garden beds, a scraggly, struggling “orchard” of fruit trees, and in the spring and summer a bunch of plants and flowers in pots that when I remember to water them, look half-way decent. But if I take the act of gardening to a spiritual level, that is where I am able to find my joy. The potential of a seed, the tenacity of plants to grow, the symbiosis between the sun, the rain and the soil – I could go on and on, marveling at the sheer glorious wonder of it all. That is what I hope to impart to the boys. There is no unbelief: Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see it push away the clod. He trusts in God. – Kate Douglas Wiggin

 

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Look for links and the recipe of the month in subsequent posts.

 

Ancient Mythologies: Egypt

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all the links here.

I had a hard time with Egypt. The whole time I was preparing to teach this block, I kept thinking, “What a bunch of weirdos!” Not exactly the correct mindset to impart a soul connection between the ancient Egyptian culture and my fifth grade child. I postponed this block once, thinking we needed a break from Ancient Mythologies, having done 3 in a row (India, Persia, Babylon). It seemed no matter how many times I read those myths or looked at books on Egypt, I just could not find a way in. I was thinking of postponing the block a second time when Tom said, “Sheil, it’s Egypt for God’s sake. Mummies! Pyramids! What’s the problem?” He can be so eloquent at times. Some days I think he should stay home and teach the lessons. Anyway, we got on with it.

We began, as usual, with the geography and then moved onto the myths in Charles Kovacs’ book: “Ra and His Children,” “Isis and Osiris,” and “Revenge of Horus.” There is a section in the Horus myth that talks about the judgement of the dead and the scales used to measure the worth of a person’s life. On one side of the scales is a feather and on the other a heart-shaped vessel. As I was reading the story aloud to Vincent, I could see this image so clearly in my mind and finally found a way to connect to the rich and enduring essence of these people. The question still haunts, several millennia later: “How does one measure the worth of a life?” I love the symbols of the heart and the feather. I was inspired to do the chalkboard drawing above and also a little beeswax modeling of my own.

After studying the gods and their myths, we moved on to look at the lives of everyday Egyptians using Voices of Egypt by Kay Winters. We also planned an Egyptian meal and spent some time drawing and writing with hieroglyphics on papyrus. We serendipitously ended the block with the story of the Bennu bird or the Phoenix as it later becomes known. Talking about what is essentially reincarnation was a nice way to connect back to India, which is where we started way back in September.

Story Resources:

  • Ancient Mythologies, Charles Kovacs (Just like the other works of Charles Kovacs, I loved this book. He repeatedly ties together all 4 cultures studied in grade 5. His storytelling is just magnificent.)
  • Ancient Mythology: India, Persia, Babylon, Egypt, Donna Simmons
  • Voices of Egypt, Kay Winters
  • Tales of Ancient Egypt, Roger Lancelyn Green (I did not like this book at all. I found the myths to be confusing and much too detailed. I read the introduction and the first story, “Ra and His Children.”)
  • Hieroglyphs by Joyce Milton (This book came with a stencil that Vincent really enjoyed using.)
  • The Cat of Bubastes, G.A. Henty (I hope to get to this book sometime before grade 6. It is a Mama recommendation, so I know it will be good. Trust this woman where books are concerned!)

Projects:

  • Drew map of Egypt using the technique I describe in our India block.
  • Wet-on-wet watercolor painting of the rising sun and the horizon to represent Horus
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I did this painting last year when I was still using much too diluted paints. The texture in the grass is made by scribbling with the hard end of the paintbrush.

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My painting during the lesson, using the painting above as a guide.

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Vincent’s painting during the lesson, using the painting above as a guide.

  • Wrote summaries of the stories we heard. After Vincent retold the story we heard the day before, we condensed his verbal retelling down to a few sentences. I wrote this summary on the board and he had to copy it into his main lesson book before the next morning. Example: “Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris. He gathered an army to fight against Set. This was to avenge his father’s death. In the end, Horus was victorious. He then became Pharaoh of Egypt.”
  • Beeswax modeling of a heart.
  • Block crayon rubbing and watercolor painting of a phoenix. (We used the cover of Egyptology for this project.)

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  • Corresponded with another Waldorf homeschooler using hieroglyphics and papyrus. (This was so much fun. Thanks Andrea and Logan!)

Additional Resources:

  • The Multicultural Cookbook for Students, Carole Lisa Albyn and Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students, Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme, Heather Thomas (There are wonderful poems for all the ancient cultures in this book.)

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For more posts about grade 5 click the image below.

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Doubt

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all the links here.

When I hinted about my January panic, I ended with the line “and then, we move forward.” Well . . . not really. It didn’t turn out to be quite so simple. That post did give me an appreciation of our accomplishments so far this year, but I still had a nagging doubt. And it wasn’t a little doubt, it was a Big Doubt. The kind of “what the heck are we doing?”-”does it really matter that my kids can knit?”-”who really cares if they can cook and bake?”-”Penny whistle? Really? Penny whistle?”-kinda doubt. Which, when I could catch my breath, all boiled down to “Is Waldorf the way? Is it enough?” And if it is the way and if it is enough, was I up to the challenge of bringing it all to my boys.

In the midst of my Doubt, I talked to Tom who let me babble on and on one night until I couldn’t even hear myself talk anymore. I talked to Andrea who patiently and empathetically listened to my crazy chatter. Finally, I reached out to Jean Miller, who is a Waldorf homeshooler, friend and consultant that I met at Taproot. Jean sent me a consulting form that included three questions asking how I came to Waldorf, what inspires me about Waldorf and what exactly I was looking for in our consulting relationship. Answering these questions allowed me to quiet my mind and listen to my heart. Below you can find my answers to Jean’s questions. If you are feeling unsure about your own way forward on this path of Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, I would encourage you to answer them for yourself. Talk to your spouse. Talk to your supportive friends. And, maybe if it feels right, contact Jean. I’m talking to her tomorrow night.

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How did you find your way to Waldorf Education?

When Vincent was 8 (2009), I was having a crisis of parenting. I honestly didn’t know what to do, and it was a mess. For some reason the title Simplicity Parenting jumped out at me on a homeschooling yahoo group. I NEVER blindly order hardcover books – but for some reason, some little whisper told me this was the way forward. That is really how I discovered Waldorf and Waldorf homeschooling.

What inspires you most about Waldorf?

I love the holistic approach and the quest towards balance. Vincent is so geared in his head and possesses that kind of intelligence that can be seen as “the goal.” When I was first reading about Waldorf, I had this image of him (and more of him seeing himself) as just a walking brain. It broke my heart because I knew he was/is/can be so much more than that enormous pile of facts that resides under his hair.

I also love the stories, the art, the methodical progression of the curriculum and the emphasis on beauty and reverence. I have seen first-hand the healing possible with this kind of education. I think it is holy and true and right.

Please list your questions and describe the help you are looking for:

You are a light to me. You know this. When Andrea and I left Taproot in August, I had such a desire to take my understanding of Waldorf and Steiner to the next level. I honestly think you can help lead me.

The impetus to email you came out of the January panic that I know every homeschooler feels. I know my children are learning. I know they are doing great things by knitting, cooking, hearing stories and having lots of time to play outside. However, fifth grade seems to be some sort of threshold. All our friends have children who will attend traditional middle school next year, and they are trying to make the right decision as to where their children should go. These conversations have found their way into my head until I couldn’t see the forest for the trees as to what the heck we are doing every day and if it all really matters. Does the fact that Vincent can make yeasted cinnamon rolls from scratch really make a damn bit of difference when all of his traditionally educated friends are going to come out with printed transcripts that look normal and make sense? These are the panicked and not-so-pretty thoughts that have been in my head lately. They are NOT what I believe in my heart, but they are there nonetheless.

I am coming up to that crossroads where continuing down this path feels like a statement. Not a big “hey-look-what-I-am-doing” statement. (I left such loud pronouncements behind in my thirties.) But more of this is what I believe is best. I am going to continue down this path that I cannot see the end of, but one on which I want to keep quietly walking forward.

Plans for February 2013

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IMG_3139I have come to think of February as something akin to the “Room of Requirement” in the Harry Potter series – whatever I need homeschooling-wise, February will provide the space and time. It’s one of those things I don’t question; I have actually come to count on it. When I am planning like a mad woman in June and July, and thinking there is no way we will ever, ever have enough time to accomplish everything, I remember, “There is always February. And it is endless!” I try to use this month to solidify current math concepts, concentrate on something that was given short shrift and really sink into a nice long novel.

As you might guess, choosing the novel is my favorite part. Last year at this time, we read Anne of Green Gables. If you ask my boys about it, they will moan and groan and tell you it was the worst book we ever read. However, I have never seen a character so fully enter our home in an honest-to-goodness living and breathing way. They talk about Anne as though she is someone they know intimately. Ramona comes close, but Anne holds a special place in their imaginations. This year I’m thinking of reading Anne of Avonlea (the second in the series) or The Secret Garden. I’ll let you know.

Vincent: 11 years old, 5th grader Vincent will be reviewing and furthering his work with fractions, using the Key To workbook series. We will also be tying up some loose ends with Egypt, cooking a traditional Egyptian meal, introducing and practicing cursive writing and doing a few formal grammar lessons in verb tenses, homonyms, antonyms, synonyms and punctuation. This feels slightly choppy, but I think giving time to all of these things this month will make a big difference during the second half of the year.

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader Jude will spend the month listening to fairy tales and continue to work with drawing, painting and modeling. I think these stories will nourish him on a deep and soulful level and also give him lots of practical experience with retelling them. We have had some modest success with him acting out the math stories we did last month by incorporating simple props. I plan to continue this. We will also work on the lowercase letters and differentiating them from the uppercase letters we worked with in September. Vincent will be attending these grade 1 lessons, except he will be working with the letters in script. He has not heard many of the Grimm’s fairy tales and can always use more practice with drawing, painting and modeling.

Sheila: Do you know Jean Miller? If you are homeschooling with Waldorf-inspired methods you should. She is one of the magical teachers who make Taproot so special. I am beginning a consulting relationship with her this month. Our first phone call is Thursday and I can’t wait. I highly recommend her planning guide and also highly, highly recommend attending Taproot’s homeschool teacher training. Dates for this year have not been announced yet, but you can bet I’ll be registering as soon as they are. I have some Valentine’s Day crafts planned for this month and hope to get a jump-start on a little Easter/Spring crafting. You’ll never guess what I’m hoping to make? Oh yes, more fabric buckets and bunting: think pastels, bunnies and eggs.

Links and other things I have loved this past month:

  • I have an absolute weakness for rabbits of all kinds. Alicia Paulson has promised kits of these little guys soon.
  • The comments I received on my Grade 1 Numbers Block post are far more insightful than my original post. I would encourage you to read them if you are struggling to shake off the January panic.
  • This was an interesting post about blogging and time management.
  • I try hard not to get sucked into Pintrest, but her board of quotations was a wonderful way to waste some time.
  • This interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn about mindfulness offers some profound insights on parenting, technology and cultivating an awareness for everyday life. Absolutely worth an hour of your time.
  • Working my way through her Year of Bread series. 52 different bread recipes – a new one each week! Love and inspiration.

Recipe of the month:

Damp Gingerbread Surprise! I love books that include recipes. Laurie Colwin’s 2 volume memoir Home Cooking and More Home Cooking are among the best. Her recipe for damp gingerbread is one of my absolute favorite things to make on a cold Saturday afternoon in February. It is delicious warm from the pan and absolutely divine topped with fresh, softly whipped cream. I could eat the entire thing by myself. (The recipe calls for Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which is a British product, but I have had no problem finding it in our regular supermarket. It comes in a dark green can and is usually by the honey and molasses.)

  • 9 tablespoons butter
  • 1 can Lyle’s Golden Syrup (recipe calls for a 12 oz. can or 1 1/2 cups – The can I buy is 8 oz, so I make up the difference with molasses.)
  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk

Melt butter and golden syrup (and molasses if needed) together. Sift flour, salt, soda and spices together. Add syrup mixture to the drys and mix well. Add egg and milk. Beat well. The batter will be very thin. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pyrex and bake at 350 for 45 – 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Second Semester Adjustments

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all the links here.

This is the point in the year where I second guess everything we have done so far. Actually, I don’t know if that’s accurate. Because if I am being honest, this is the point in the year where I feel like we have done absolutely nothing, so really what is there to second guess? The boys are behind. I am behind. I’ve been too lax. They can’t do this. They don’t know that. Yikes!

One would think these hyperbolic thoughts would get my butt in gear, but rather they make me think ahead to next year. Greener pastures and all that . . . sad, but true. This happens every January. I let myself have my little panic, maybe even take a peek at next year’s blocks and then I force myself to look at the evidence: all the paintings we’ve done, the main lesson books we’ve completed, the books we’ve read, the handwork we’ve created. The facts are we’ve done a bunch, had some great successes and learned a lot. Yes, there are some adjustments that need to be made, but nothing enormous. Some plans need tweaking, some things have been skipped and some struggles have come to the fore. This is real, live homeschooling, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Below you will find a listing of our first semester’s accomplishments and also our second semester’s adjustments. Seeing everything in list form allows me to view things objectively, without the baggage of what went wrong, what could have been improved, what someone pitched a fit about, what I thought I was going to poke my eyes out over. A simple list. Just the facts. A thorough assessment, and then, we move forward.

Vincent: Fifth grade is vast. We will not accomplish everything – not by a long shot – and that is ok. The first half of the year was devoted almost exclusively to Ancient Mythologies and Math, specifically fractions. We covered India, Persia and Babylon. We reviewed carrying, borrowing and double-digit multiplication. We introduced long division. We reviewed basic fractions and started adding, reducing and multiplying fractions.Vincent has extended his pennywhistle repertoire and knits everyday. He is able to follow simple knitting patterns and has taught himself to increase and decrease. His agility in basketball and football has improved greatly. He is almost swimming. He is on track to earn his Arrow of Light in cub scouts.

Some adjustments we need to make include adding daily math practice, assigning independent reading related to main lessons and imposing a 2 handwork project limit. My grand plans for Botany have gone by the wayside. Somehow, we all shut off on Thursday night – me most of all. We still bake on Friday and have storytime, but that is about all we seem capable of. I’m giving myself a pass on this, and sometime in March or April we will do a Botany block. I have also decided to finish up our US Geography block from last year where we never made it west of the Mississippi. Plus I saw this state quilt in a magazine, and it made me swoon. I showed it to Vincent (Mr. No Fear!) and he was confident we could do it. Hmm . . . we’ll see.

Jude: Jude has taken to school like everything else in his life: slowly and steadily. He is (mostly) agreeable during main lesson, but would still prefer to be outside playing ball. I keep his lessons short, with lots of art, stories and movement. We have completed our letters block, introduced all the numbers from 1-12, and completed 2 mini nature blocks on fall and winter. Jude has become a confident knitter. He can cast on, cable cast on and do the knit stitch. He has made lots of squares. Just this past week he has started knitting with brown yarn, whereas previously he would only knit with green yarn. I’m seeing progress where I can and viewing this as pushing some sort of creative boundary. He continues to improve on the pennywhistle and is becoming more assertive during his lesson time. He loves Tiger cubs and has achieved several belt loops.

With Jude, my tweaks will be minor. First grade is just getting your feet wet. I do want to incorporate a little more writing, such as Jude copying a summary sentence from the board into his main lesson book. Trying different tactics (anything!!) to encourage him to retell the stories he has heard. I made a storytelling basket full of props that will hopefully assist in this goal. A little more pennywhistle practice and tackling a larger knitting project.

Is it June yet?

Plans for January

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IMG_0524Oh, right, I homeschool these kids and apparently write a blog about it too! We all enjoyed our hiatus from main lessons in December – me most of all. It is always great to take a break, but at the same time, getting back to a normal rhythm feels good too. I have started looking at our school year as having two semesters, with December as a winter break – similar to a university schedule. There will definitely be some second semester adjustments – look for those in a future post. Because I completely disconnected from anything related to homeschooling last month, I will need a couple of weeks to get myself in order. Returning to our school day rhythm will also need a couple of weeks. It works out and is something I expect and allow for come January. For the first two weeks, I will do only one main lesson for both boys. It will be a combination of form drawing and Nature Study/Winter crafts. After that we will return to separate main lessons. Here are some more details:

Vincent: 11 years old, 5th grader  Vincent will begin his main lessons by reviewing India, Persia and Babylon. We will do a review technique that I came up with for the Old Testament stories in Grade 3 that also reinforces grammar in a fun way. I put up big pieces of paper and we make lists of people, places, things and actions associated with each culture. Because the majority of Vincent’s main lessons don’t allow him to use his prodigious ability to recall facts in isolation, this gives him a chance to shine. I’m sure he will remember much, much more than I do, and that is a good thing. After that, it will be onward to Egypt. Mostly we will be following Donna Simmons’ recommendations as laid out in her Ancient Mythology guide. I have a few other fun resources and also some papyrus that I will need to figure out what to do with. Any ideas?

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader The math gnomes will return to our schoolroom this month. I honestly wanted to use math squirrels, but Jude was insistent. I did make new little figures, as our dog found Plus to be a yummy treat last year. Poor Plus! I still need to finish their tiny hats, and also start leaving notes from them. I did this with Vincent when we first came to Waldorf and he loved it. Jude has always had an aptitude for anything related to numbers – we are not sure where he gets this from, probably from his Nana, because it’s definitely not from his parents. Like all of first grade so far, he will not be learning anything he doesn’t already know, however the rhythm of a lesson, the stories, the art forms and all the movement we do are so much more important than any actual concepts at this point. For me, first grade has been laying a foundation of how we do school. This is good. This is enough.

Sheila: 43 this month! Our post-holiday trip was so, so restorative. Walking on the beach, reading a whole book in one day, working on a bunch of mail art projects and going to bed even earlier than usual helped me to clarify how I want to spend my personal time this coming year. In order to make more room for (non-homeshooling related) reading and (non-homeshooling related) art, I have decided to completely unplug on Saturdays. I am not on the computer a lot, but even popping on to “just check something real quick” can squander a nice block of time that could have been spent doing something much more fulfilling. I have also set my alarm for 30 minutes earlier (5:30 am) because by the time I got my butt downstairs, made the coffee, fed the cat, cleared the table, remembered what day it was and what it was I wanted to focus on during my precious time alone, I had about 20 minutes before Vincent came bounding down the stairs. Hopefully these two changes will help me to be more intentional and more productive.  

Links and other things I have loved this past month:

  • Andrea’s honest and open-hearted post about the new year has stayed with me since I first read it.
  • It is not too late to make some Snowflakes for Sandy Hook!
  • Melisa Nielsen had a great post about self-care – something we all need to remember.
  • If you have a fifth grader and/or an eleven year old, read this. It is spot-on! Thanks Carrie!
  • I find the free weekly e-newsletters from Math by Hand to be informative and inspiring.
  • Thinking about signing up for this photography e-course. Any input? She also has a very cool, free workbook for distilling your vision for 2013.

Recipe of the month:

I made this butternut squash casserole for New Year’s Day. It is yummy, yummy, yummy and easy, easy, easy.

  • 3 pounds butternut squash, roasted and scooped out of skin
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • salt and pepper

Caramelize onion in butter. Combine with squash and coconut milk in food processor until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes until brown on the top and bubbly. Especially delicious with pork!

PS. We will announce the winner of the giveaway on Friday. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Plans for December

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In all my years of homeschooling, I still can’t figure out December. I have tried everything from keeping formal lessons (disaster) to having no lessons (disaster). My goal is somewhere in between. This year I am trying something new and having a calendar to count down the days until Christmas. (I took some heavy inspiration from this one, this one and this one.) I wanted to sew a fabric calendar with little pockets, but instead used shipping tags that I had in my stash of craft supplies. I’m keeping the activities a secret from the boys and revealing a new tag each day. Below you can see details of what I have planned. It’s a mixed bag for sure – some secular, some religious, some crafty, some just plain fun. I am hoping these activities will carry us through the morning. Our afternoons will remain steady with handwork and storytime. In addition to Christmas, December also brings Vincent’s birthday and Tom’s birthday – lots and lots of merry making will be happening at our house this month.

Vincent: practically 11(!), 5th grader Vincent turns 11 this month! Rather impossible if you ask me. This boy has no trouble keeping himself entertained. I expect lots of holiday projects started and a few even completed. Right now he is knitting hot and heavy. He is also busy planning our holiday meals with Christopher Kimball, the editor of his beloved Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I try to ride the wave of the 1,001 suggestions he has for Christmas dinner, knowing we will probably end up having lasagna. That is the tradition in Tom’s family and the boys like hand-cranking out the long lasagna noodles on the old pasta maker.

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader Left to his druthers, Jude would be outside all the time with a ball of some sort. Our winters are relatively mild here in the mountains of western NC, and he still gets out for a good part of the day. I try to get him in as many layers as possible while he is outside, then wind up finding piles of these same layers scattered around the house. (Oh what I would give for a mud room!) He has been knitting steadily, as is currently working on a rug (!).

Sheila: We have a beach trip planned for after Christmas and I have been trying to decide what I am going to read for literally months now. Top of the list is Louise Penny’s new mystery, The Beautiful Mystery. I have read this series from the beginning and it only gets better and better. Second on the list is another mystery, Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear. This series is set between the wars in England: hands down, my favorite time and place ever. (If you like mysteries set then and there, I would also recommend Charles Todd (who I just found out has a new book – add that to the list too!), Laurie R. King and Alan Bradley (although Bradley’s mysteries are set a little later in England, 1950 to be exact.)) If there were world enough and time, I would also read Barbara Kingsolver’s last two novels, Terry Tempest Williams’ latest non-fiction, Reed Farrel Coleman’s final 3 books in his Moe Prager series (love that man!) and  . . . the list goes on and on.

Links and other things I have loved this past month:

  • Do you know the book, Unplug the Christmas Machine? If you are looking to simplify your holiday season, it is a good place to start.
  • I have been enjoying Maya Donenfeld’s new book, Reinvention. Lots of fun sewing projects using recycled materials.
  • Barbara Dewey’s little book Waldorf Handwork for Homeschoolers Grades K-4 is a gem. It is now available via ebook.
  • My new favorite non-Waldorf, non-homeschooling blog? Posie Gets Cozy  – so much goodness going on there.
  • With all the knitting happening at our house, I may have to make this knitting basket made out of an upcycled wool sweater. It would be great for Vincent who is rapidly outgrowing his handwork basket.
  • I don’t remember where I read this but, put a heating pad under your bread as it rises. If your house is as chilly as mine, it cuts rising time in half during these winter months. (It also a great place to soften butter at the same time.)

Calendar Details:

December 1: let the Christmas carols be played throughout the entire house; take holiday books out of the attic
December 2: cub scout holiday party; light first candle of advent (stone/mineral)
December 3: advent painting (mountain scene); write letter to Santa (both my boys still believe. love that!)
December 4: cut paper snowflakes
December 5: tell story of St. Nicholas by Jakob Streit
December 6: string popcorn and cranberries; fingerknit garlands; make button garlands
December 7: holiday baking; attend a holiday sing-along in town
December 8: holiday craft making at our library; go to Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree
December 9: celebrate Vincent’s birthday; light second candle of advent (plant)
December 10: advent painting (trees, grass); make origami evergreens
December 11: make decorations for birds and squirrels
December 12: collect evergreens; make salt dough or beeswax ornaments
December 13: celebrate St. Lucia; bake buns; make these clothespin dolls
December 14: holiday baking; make candy cane hot cocoa
December 15: celebrate Tom’s birthday; make watercolor paper lanterns
December 16: light third candle of advent (animal)
December 17: model animals out of beeswax; perhaps knit some as well
December 18: have hot cocoa in the afternoon; snuggle on the couch and read Christmas books
December 19: make straw ornaments
December 20: roll beeswax candles
December 21: holiday baking; celebrate winter solstice by having dinner and going to bed by candlelight
December 22: drive around town to see all the Christmas lights
December 23: light fourth advent candle (human)
December 24: add crèche figures to Advent table; Christmas Eve
December 25: Merry Christmas!!

Ancient Mythologies Block: Babylon

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This part of our ancient mythologies block was a departure from how I presented India and Persia. Taking the advice of Donna Simmons, we read Geraldine McCaughrean’s retelling of the epic of Gilgamesh. It is a fabulous book, and I would highly recommend it as a read aloud for anyone 9 and up – Waldorf homeschooling or not. McCaughrean is a new discovery for me, although now that I know her, she seems to pop up everywhere. Her writing is beautiful, deep and true. I have read Gilgamesh the Hero three times now, twice in preparation and once aloud during the block. It honestly gets better each time. She carries a theme of light and dark throughout the book that is a worthy study in and of itself. I reigned in my penchant to discuss these types of things to death (!) and just touched on it – linking the symbols of light and dark back to our study of Persia and also anticipating our study of Egypt come January.

I had planned (hoped) that Vincent would read this book on his own, but in the end I gave him the choice. He is a very quick reader with excellent recall and retention, however he never savours a book unless it is read to him. The reason he gave for wanting me to read it to him was “I read too fast.” So, I read it to him, and it was a wonderful shared experience. Gilgamesh personifies so much of what I see in my not-so-little boy. The bigness, the brashness, the fierce loyalty are all represented in broad strokes, but McCauhgrean’s story also captures the subtle undercurrents of this age: fear, tenderness and a longing for home. Once again I am thankful for the soul-synchronicity of the Waldorf curriculum. During the block, we also did some map work, touched on cuneiform and talked a little bit about Babylonian architecture, but mostly we kept to the story.

Story Resources:

  • Gilgamesh the Hero, Geraldine McCauhgrean
  • Ancient Mythology: India, Persia, Babylon, Egypt, Donna Simmons

Projects:

  • Constructed a ziggurat out of styrofoam bricks and another one out of legos.

  • Painted necklace of Ishtar.

Additional Resources:

  • Uncle Josh’s Outline Map Collection (This is a CD that I bought when I first started homeschooling. It is not Waldorf, but it is a great resource for all kinds of map work.)
  • A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme, Heather Thomas (There are wonderful poems for all the ancient cultures in this book.)

Ancient Mythologies Block: Persia

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Leaving the fog-like, dreamy consciousness of India, we have moved westward into Persia. We studied the sharp lines of duality associated with the Persian culture through weather patterns, religious belief and myths. These polarities took the forms of light vs. dark, good vs. evil, farming vs. hunting. In order to capture these themes visually, I dedicated a literal black and white, double-page spread in Vincent’s main lesson book to them. Vincent painted a piece of paper with black acrylic paint that provided great coverage and a good writing surface. We listed the words and concepts associated with Ahura Mazda on the white side, and the opposing words and concepts associated with Ahriman on the black side. My struggle in teaching this was not bringing in a modern consciousness and inserting any sense of nuance into this particular part of the block. I kept reminding myself I was not teaching Vincent personal morality here, but merely presenting a way of thinking associated with the ancient Persian culture.

I did not give any historical information during this block, but just kept to the stories themselves. Throughout the entire Ancient Mythologies block, I am stressing a trajectory of thought that will ultimately end with the Greeks in the spring. Seeing these stories presented as a philosophical continuum is really beautiful. Does it give all the facts? No. Is it historically accurate in a strict chronological sense? No. And I’m not presenting it as a linear, logical narrative. In order to balance this and give an introductory historical narrative to what are studying this year, I am planning on reading the first few chapters of A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich in May. By then Vincent will be 11 1/2 years old and ready, I think, to begin to grapple with ancient peoples and cultures in an actual historical context. Until then, we will focus on the stories – just the stories.

Story Resources:

  • Ancient Mythologies, Charles Kovacs
  • Ancient Mythology: India, Persia, Babylon, Egypt, Donna Simmons

Projects:

  • Wet-on-wet watercolor painting of a golden star (Zarathustra)

  • Beeswax modeling of Ahura Mazda’s sword of light

  • A yummy Persian dinner that we ate sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Additional Resources:

  • The Multicultural Cookbook for Students, Carole Lisa Albyn and Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students, Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme, Heather Thomas (There are wonderful poems for all the ancient cultures in this book.)

Featured Recipes:

Date Nut Bread This is one of those handwritten recipes that has absolutely no reference as to where it came from. It has been in my collection for a long time, and resurrects itself every couple of years. It is especially good with cream cheese.

  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped dates
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds are good)

Pour boiling water over dates and butter. Let sit until lukewarm. Puree about 1/2 of this mixture. Combine both pureed and non-pureed dates and add sugar, molasses and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning loaf onto cooling rack.

Simple Strawberry Syrup We mixed this with club soda during our Persian dinner. It was fine, but this morning I put some on my pancakes – bliss!!

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water over medium heat until thickened – about 5 minutes. Add strawberries and vanilla. Bring back to a boil and mix continuously until syrup thickens again, about 5 to 10 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.

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Similar Posts from the archives:
Ancient Mythologies: India

Plans for November

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This post is a part of Waldorf Wednesday. See all links here.

It is only the first few days of November and I find that I am already bracing myself for the impending holiday season, which makes me sound like a big Bah Humbug! (However, I find myself in good company. Hi Andrea!) But this is the point in the year where I feel like time starts to speed up. It seems from Halloween through New Year’s, there is a vibe in the air where things tend to go from fun and exciting to crazy and overwhelming almost instantly. In order to counterbalance this, I try to be very judicious with our outside activities and commitments. When there are too many events on the calendar, I can feel myself start to twitch. So I make sure there are lots of blank spots, with ideally one weekend day completely free each week. I also strive to keep a tight rhythm, early bedtimes and full bellies. If I can concentrate on these three priorities, our days tend to flow much better. This will be our final formal homeschooling block for the calendar year, and it will go through the first week in December. Here is what we are up to this month.

Vincent: practically 11(!), 5th grader I had planned for Vincent to wrap up his Ancient Mythologies block with Egypt this month. In retrospect, I think I planned too many myths in a row. Even with taking a break and having a week of math in between, I don’t have the enthusiasm for Egypt like I should. Therefore, I am going to swap out a fractions block I had planned for January. Math sounds good right about now, and hopefully Egypt will sound fun and exciting come the new year. We are using the Key to workbook series that Donna Simmons recommends. Vincent has been busy with knitting, needlework and penny whistle. I think these activities are just as important as his main lessons and have adjusted the length of our school day to accommodate them.

Jude: 7 years old, 1st grader Jude will spend November doing his first math block of grade 1. He has always had a head for numbers and computation, but I am still going back and starting at the beginning. We did this with our letters block and it was a great success. We will make a main lesson book for the numbers 1-12, continue with skip counting and do lots of drawing, painting and modeling. Jude will also continue with his knitting and practicing the penny whistle. Both boys have resurrected our long-ago banished Playmobil sets. We took them out of the attic and their imaginative play has really taken a new turn. In our house if something comes out of the attic, something must go in the attic. The boys chose their legos – which is absolutely UNBELIEVABLE to me. I think it is the first time they have had a break from those little bricks since discovering them on our trip to Legoland in 2009.

Sheila: This is the point in the year where I turn up my inner work. It is easy for me to lose my footing and feel like everything is crashing down around me. I know that getting up early and going to bed before 10 pm helps me to maintain a sense of balance and peace in my daily life. I also try to make sure I get my walk in everyday and not overdose on too much sugar. November seems to be my last chance for any real holiday crafting. December is too much of a blur for anything except baking. My sewing machine will be on the kitchen table most weekends. I have some grand plans, but we’ll see what actually gets accomplished. Look forward to some holiday crafting posts soon.

Links and other things I have loved this past month:

  • This is a fascinating podcast about people and media – both children and adults. It explores why, in this age of hyper-connectivity, we are so disconnected.
  • Read this little post by Maya over at MayaMade about giving yourself permission. Then linger around her blog for a while. It’s a good one.
  • As we head into the shopping season, this post from Rachel over at Clean is a timely reminder.
  • Kelly Rae Roberts is one of my favorite artists. There are some really big, beautiful and important thoughts in this post.
  • Needle felting is something I want to do more of and this post about how to construct a doll figure is inspiring. She makes it look not only doable, but relatively easy.
  • Here is a link to Barbara Dewey’s newsletter. It’s not too early to start thinking about the homeschool teacher training held at her farm in August every year.

Recipe of the month: My parents will be visiting my brother in San Diego for Thanksgiving this year. We don’t know what we are doing yet, but whatever it is, this sweet potato dish will grace the table. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it.

Mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole

  • 3 cups sweet potatoes, baked, mashed and cooled
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup milk

Mix thoroughly. Pour into baking dish. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make topping:

  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle topping on potatoes and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Ancient Mythologies Block: India

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I could have spent all year on India. I personally love contemporary Indian fiction, Indian food and Indian fashion. However, I feel like we did a lot in 3 weeks. During the first 2 weeks, we studied geography, religion and myth. The essential image I wanted Vincent to associate with Indian culture was the endless circle. We revisited the cyclical nature of the weather, the gods, reincarnation and karma throughout our study. I also tried to highlight the gesture away from the earth, with the repeated theme of people removing themselves from society to live unaccompanied in the forest or in the mountains. During the third week, we studied Indian festivals and cooking. That was really fun! We have an Indian feast planned, but we are still trying to pin down a date that works for 3 special friends to join in.

One thing I learned about myself during this block is that I am not a cartographer – this was no surprise. However, because I do think actively drawing something provides a different sense of space than passively looking at something, I am always trying to figure out how to do this when one’s drawing skills are such that India might turn out looking like a boiled ham hanging off the bottom of Asia. One way I have compensated for this in the past is through embroidery. The method I used for this block was to print out a map of India, carefully cut it out and then trace the outline onto a piece of paper. Vincent did the same for the map in his main lesson book. Cutting and tracing are both good ways to impart a sense of space into the body. The resulting drawing is accurate and clean; two details I think are important in studying geographical relationships.

Story Resources:

  • Ancient Mythologies, Charles Kovacs
  • Ancient Mythology: India, Persia, Babylon, Egypt, Donna Simmons

Projects:

  • Wet-on-wet watercolor painting of “Manu and the Flood”

Additional Resources:

  • Uncle Josh’s Outline Map Collection (This is a CD that I bought when I first started homeschooling. It is not Waldorf, but it is a great resource for all kinds of map work.)
  • Cooking the Indian Way, Vijay Madavan
  • The Multicultural Cookbook for Students, Carole Lisa Albyn and Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students, Lois Sinaiko Webb
  • Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Luka and the Fire of Life, Salman Rushdie (These are children’s books by the famous author. I plan to use them as read alouds later in the year.)
  • A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme, Heather Thomas (There are wonderful poems for all the ancient cultures in this book.)

Featured Recipe:

Chicken Curry (This is a regular lunch and/or dinner at our house. Somehow it turns out slightly different every time we make it. It has only been bad once. That was the time Vincent thought he would add a teaspoon of every type of curry we had in the spice drawer: eight different curries in one dish was NOT a good idea. (The original recipe comes from The Kids’ Multicultural Cookbook: Food and Fun Around the World by Deanna F. Cook)

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1-3 tablespoons curry powder (depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups canned coconut milk
  • Optional: raisins, chopped apple
  • Garnish: chopped nuts

Brown chicken and onion in oil for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan. Melt butter and add garlic and curry powder. Cook for about a minute. Add coconut milk and raisins or apples, if using. Return chicken to pan, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with chopped nuts, if desired. Serves 4.