More Uppercase Lowercase and Name Spelling

So I tried the same time of day as yesterday: at the end of breakfast while she's strapped into her highchair. I got all the letter cards I made her yesterday, Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee..., and laid them out over the kitchen table.I put them in alphabetical order, then naturally started with Aa, wrote the lowercase a on the opposite side of the card and asked Svea, "What letter is that?" She was kind of participating, but acting like she didn't want to be there. By the time we got to letter i, I had changed my plan. I finished writing all the lowercase letters on the back of their appropriate card, as I sang the alphabet song. Svea was happy with that. She sat there and watched me write the lowercase letters, and requested we keep singing whenever the song was over, and even more often requesting we sing the alphabet song backwards. She loves the backwards alphabet.

She stay strapped in while she watched me make a bubble bath in the kitchen sink.  We talked about all the things you need for a bath. Our list: bubbles, "Buuubblessss!" shampoo, "Ampoo.," towel, "tal," "crab book."  We have a set of big foam letters, so I also grabbed 4 big foam letters, S, V, E, A.  She loved playing with them and sticking them to her body and setting them on the outside of the sink. I kept asking her, "How do you spell Svea?" and "What does S, V, E, A spell?" and we played with and talked about the letters. She could answer "Svea," when I asked her "What does S, V, E , A spell?" but she was more confused when I asked her to spell her name. She is best at spelling her name when we are writing.  She definitely knew that those 4 letters made her name, but she thought that those 4 letters in any order also made her name, only a few times she knew to put the letters in a special order to spell Svea.

We read her bathtub crab book she got when she won the costume contest in her octopus costume for her age group at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I read it once, then held it for her to read. The story is about a crab who hides in different places all over the beach. Each page ends with, "...and lie very still," and while Svea read it herself, she said, "very still," then turned the page, each page. I'd never heard her read this book to herself, very cute.

I saw a spider in the kitchen window above the sink. I stood her up to get a good look. He was dropped down and hanging low, checking things out. He was small, but for his size, his body was big. We watched him swing and sway, and eventually climb up his web back to safety in the window sill outside. This led to a few rounds of Itsy Bitsy Spider, always fun.

After getting out of the sink bath, sitting on the toilet, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and getting dressed, we came back into the kitchen. I made some number cards, similar to the letter cards. On one side are each number 0 - 9, and on the other side, the words zero - nine. I laid them on the kitchen floor in one long row, and counted them a few times. Svea said/asked, "Letters?" and looked for the letters cards on the table. I grabbed them all, and asked her one by one, in no order, what each letter was, showing her only the lowercase letter. She was so uninterested earlier that I assumed it was because I was asking more of her than what she knew, but she knew these lowercase letters. She got most of them right; she probably missed around 7 total. I was completely impressed with how many she knew, she would not have been able to do that so good yesterday.

She is learning things everyday. It is so fun to teach someone that is so willing to learn and learns so fast. She is a dream.

Then I sat her at the table with the letter cards and a pen. So after being quizzed on every letter and getting most of them right, she's now having fun writing on the cards. The morning had come full circle. It ended exactly how I wanted to start it. The whole of it took about 2 hours and it was time well spent.

Uppercase Lowercase

Yesterday was Svea's 19 month birthday. I'll work on having her answer "1.58," when people ask her how old she is.

She was almost finished with breakfast. All happy and strapped in and sitting high above the table and eating what was left of the apple and drinking water out of a yogurt container, I thought it was a perfect time to play with letters.

I grabbed a stack of light blue index cards cut in half and a blue sharpie. (I knew to make sure the pen wouldn't bleed through the paper. Svea plays with some letters I made her that also teaches her the 'this pen is too strong for this paper' backwards version of every letter. Poor girl; confusing.) I sat down at the kitchen table and scooted her back slightly, so she had a good view of everything. She consistently knows all of the capital letters, and is just starting to understand that two different things are the same letter. I've been referring to letters around her world as 'uppercase' and 'lowercase,' but she needed this. (Sitting here writing this, I think, should I be calling the capitals 'capital' instead of 'uppercase.')

Naturally, I started with A, then asked her which letter that was. She, of course, knew that already; then next to the A I wrote a little a, and asked her which letter that was. C was the first easy one, the uppercase and lowercase look the same. Other than c, e was the first lowercase she got right. I helped her by singing the alphabet song. "A B C D E F...," then I'd show her the written G, "Geee!" As I made each card, Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee..., I lined them up in a long strip on the table. At the beginning of the alphabet, when I'd ask her what the lowercase letter was, she'd guess some random letter. But by letter Ll, she started to understand what was going on, and the lowercase letter has the same name as the uppercase version, and she started getting them all right. I sang the alphabet each new letter, and I discovered that Svea can sing the alphabet up to letter K, and when I sang the alphabet to V, she chimed in "X Y Z." After half way through the alphabet, Svea wanted to touch the letters, but I wouldn't let her until we had finished the whole alphabet, and the letters were laid in three rows on the table. After I cleaned her sticky breakfast hands, I set her down in a chair at the table. She picked up letters, I asked her what the letter was. She just moved letters around and we talked about letters.

She wanted more. She wanted me to write more letters and make more cards. Instead, I gave her a pen and paper. She wrote a little on the separate sheet of paper, but she wanted to write on the cards I had made.  I thought she would want to write over the letters I had written, because we have done that before, but she wanted to write on the blank side. She'd grab a letter card off the table, and turn it over to write on it. I'd pick it up, ask her what letter that was, then suggest she write that letter on the blank side. And so she did.  After showing her the letter, she'd turn the card over and say, "Write E," or "Write V," or whatever letter it was. Her writing was very purposeful, she wasn't scribbling. I never touched the pen. We did that all the way through about 12 random letters, until Svea said, "Finished." She hopped off her chair, ran to her room, then ran right back, and got back up on the chair. She wanted to take the letters off the table, but I wouldn't let her. She decided her freedom was more important, so I had her put all the letters away into a ziplock bag.

And now, 40 minutes later, she's brushing her teeth standing at the front window watching our neighbors get out of their cars. She's talking and singing to herself. She's singing about letters.

More Mister Rogers Song Lyrics

I love Mister Rogers. He is a great teacher. Creating a lesson around one of these songs would be an awesome idea. I'll work on that.

     I Love You
There are many ways to say I love you.
There are many ways to say I care about you.
Many ways, many ways,
Many ways to say I love you.

There's the singing ways to say I love you.
There's the singing something someone really likes to hear.
The singing way, the singing way,
The singing way to say I love you.

Cleaning up a room can say I love you.
Hanging up a coat before you're asked to.
Drawing special pictures for the holidays
And making plays.

You'll find many ways to say I love you.
You'll find many ways to understand what love is.
Many ways, many ways,
Many ways to say I love you.

Singing, cleaning, drawing, being understanding,
Love you.

     I'm Taking Care of You
I'm taking care of you,
Taking good care of you
For once I was very little too.
Now I take care of you.

     What Do You Do?
What do you do with the mad that you feel
When you feel so mad you could bite?
When the whole wide world seems oh, so wrong...
And nothing you do seems very right?

What do you do? Do you punch a bag?
Do you pound some clay or some dough?
Do you round up friends for a game of tag?
Or see how fast you go?

It's great to be able to stop
When you've planned a thing that's wrong,
And be able to do something else instead
And think this song:

I can stop when I want to
Can stop when I wish.
I can stop, stop, stop any time.
And what a good feeling to feel like this
And know that the feeling is really mine.
Know that there's something deep inside
That helps us become what we can.
For a girl can be someday a woman
And a boy can be someday a man.

     You're Growing
You used to creep and crawl real well
But then you learned to walk real well.
There was a time you'd coo and cry
But then you learned to talk and, my!
You almost always try.
You almost always do your best.
I like the way you're growing up.
It's fun, that's all.

CHORUS
You're growing, you're growing,
You're growing in and out.
You're growing, you're growing,
You're growing all about.

Your hands are getting bigger now.
Your arms and legs are longer now.
You even sense your insides grow
When Mom and Dad refuse you. So
You're learning how to wait now.
It's great to hope and wait somehow.
I like the way you're growing up.
It's fun, that's all.

CHORUS
Your friends are getting better now.
They're better every day somehow.
You used to stay at home to play
But now you even play away.
You do important things now.
Your friends and you do big things now.
I like the way you're growing up.
It's fun, that's all.

CHORUS
Someday you'll be a grown-up, too
And have some children grow up, too.
Then you can love them in and out
And tell them stories all about
The times when you were their size,
The times when you found great surprise
In growing up. And they will sing
It's fun, that's all.

CHORUS

     It's You I Like
It's you I like,
It's not the things you wear,
It's not the way you do your hair--
But it's you I like
The way you are right now,
The way down deep inside you--
Not the things that hide you,
Not your toys--
They're just beside you.

But it's you I like--
Every part of you,
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new.
I hope that you'll remember
Even when you're feeling blue
That it's you I like,
It's you yourself,
It's you, it's you I like.

     You Are Special
You are my friend
You are special
You are my friend
You're special to me.
You are the only one like you.
Like you, my friend, I like you.

In the daytime
In the nighttime
Any time that you feel's the right time
For a friendship with me, you see
F-R-I-E-N-D special
You are my friend
You're special to me.
There's only one in this wonderful world
You are special.


     Let's Think of Something To Do

Let's think of something to do while we're waiting
While we're waiting 'til something's through.
You know it's really all right;
In fact, it's downright quite bright
To think of something to do
That's specific for you.
Let's think of something to do while we're waiting.

     I'm Proud of You
I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud

And that you're
Learning how important you are,
How important each person you see can be.
Discovering each one's specialty
Is the most important learning.

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud of you, too!

Feelings and Emotions

We want Svea to be able to recognize her feelings, and to also be in control of her emotions. These are hard things to teach a one year old. This is what we do:

Well, what we don't do is tell Svea how she's feeling. I hate when people do that to me, and it's just silly to tell someone else how they feel. We don't say things like, "There's nothing to be scared of," if she is scared, there is something to be scared of. Instead, we want to acknowledge her feelings, then try to make her feel better if she's scared. If she's whining and disobeying, her feelings aren't considered, but if she's truly sad or scared, we talk all about it.

For the past week or so, I've been trying something new with Svea. When she is sad or upset, possibly crying, I tell her I know what it's like to feel sad, and I validate her feelings and let her know it's ok to feel them, and then we brainstorm about some things that make her happy. It works. I ask her, "Do Grandpas make you happy?" "Do bubble baths make you happy?" "Does Bunny make you happy?" She pulls herself out of the rut by thinking these happy thoughts. She starts to get super smiley and excited to think of more happy things. She tries to answer me fully, "Grandpas....happy," but sometimes she does says, "Do."

Svea has a different technique for calming herself down from being fussy and cranky. When she is whining and fussing, I tell her, "Svea, be still," or "Svea, no fussing." If she continues to fuss or disobey, she is disciplined. But if she tries to calm herself, she says, "Good," and claps her hands. Most of the time, she is saying, "Good," through her crying. After a few "good"s, she is over whatever it was and is moving on. She also uses this "Good" technique when she's practicing physical restraint, and when obeying us. For example, if I tell her not to touch the super shiny awesome thing that is totally within reach, she'll do one of two things: Touch it anyway, which she is immediately disciplined for, or not touch it and tell herself, "Good."

She didn't learn this technique overnight. About 6 months ago, when Svea would get frustrated with herself or with us or something she might have thought is unfair, she would say, "Bop!" then go in for the bite. I always guessed that Bop meant Stop, and she would go to bite anything that was close to her mouth, her toy, her sleeve, my leg, whatever. We were totally surprised when she started doing this. She had never seen us react like that, where did she learn it; how embarrassing. I've read my share of parenting books, but I don't remember reading about what to do when your 13 month old yells at you and bites you when they get frustrated. I wasn't going to get mad at her for getting mad, that's ridiculous. So, I did what felt natural; I told her I know how she feels, but when she feels like that, she can come to me and say, "Mom, I feel frustrated," and I'd try and help her. Whether or not she understood what I was saying, she'd listened to me, she'd begin to calm down, and as she calmed down I'd say, "Good. Good. Good. Good...." until she was still. I'd guess she went through that for a couple of months, but now, she is a pro and gaining and regaining control over herself.

Mister Rogers was onto something. Mister Rogers, have you heard of him? Children love him, he knew how to talk to them, and he was a great teacher. I love his approach to Whole Learning. Here are some Fred Rogers song lyrics regarding feelings and learning self-control:

 

What Do You Do?
What do you do with the mad that you feel
When you feel so mad you could bite?
When the whole wide world seems oh, so wrong...
And nothing you do seems very right?

What do you do? Do you punch a bag?
Do you pound some clay or some dough?
Do you round up friends for a game of tag?
Or see how fast you go?

It's great to be able to stop
When you've planned a thing that's wrong,
And be able to do something else instead
And think this song:

I can stop when I want to
Can stop when I wish.
I can stop, stop, stop any time.
And what a good feeling to feel like this
And know that the feeling is really mine.
Know that there's something deep inside
That helps us become what we can.
For a girl can be someday a woman
And a boy can be someday a man.

Whole Learning Core Subjects

My husband made a diagram of subjects. Imagine each subject in a circle, and all the circles linked and interconnected. (In no particular order of importance.)

Writing/Composition
Critical Thinking
English/Literature
Practical/Business
Social/Friendship
Personal Interest
Languages/Culture
Physical/Emotional/Health
Arts/Creative
Applied Technology
Religion/Contemplative Life
History/Current Events
Math
Science


He also notes that we will:
Explore and list avenues for experience, instruction, and tutoring,
Keep track of student and teacher accomplishments,
Keep records of projects and grades,
Keep portfolio: arts, written composition, projects, community service.

What is Whole Learning?

I like the name Whole Learning.
Whole means to be complete and undivided. There are so many things to teach our little growing people; there isn't anything I  don't want to teach Svea about. The other day at Grandma Jeanne's, I started writing a list of all the things I want Svea to know how to do. It was so hard because obviously, this is a huge list. I'm still adding to it, everyday. I want her to be able to write a great letter to a friend, appreciate music, find beauty in strange places, and everything beyond and in between. Whole is the perfect word to fit my idea. Right now, I'm not only teaching Svea capital and lowercase letters, spelling simple words, and counting, but I'm teaching her to help me do chores, interact with all kinds of people, to recognize her feelings, to come when I tell her to, to not kick the table while she sits in her highchair, how to dance with rhythm, and everything beyond and in between.
Whole is appropriate for us, because we don't usually take shortcuts with Svea.
When we talk to her, we're talking in complete sentences, and we always tell the truth. We don't baby talk, and neither does she, and she never did. My personal UN-favorites include 'owie', 'go bye bye', any animal that has an 'ie' for no reason, (horsie, doggie, fishie...), and any time people refer to themselves in first person like Jimmy on Seinfeld. I have never referred to myself as Mom, I say 'me' or 'I,' like grown ups do in real life, and Svea gets it. Svea uses 'you,' 'me,', and 'I.' I'll ask her, "Do you need help?" and she answers, "I need help," she is 19 months 7 days old.
She always feeds herself, even though it takes longer and makes a big mess.
When we're reading a book, either initiated by her or us, we read the entire book. We don't let her start a book, read two pages, then move on to something else. When we start a book, we finish it, every time.
She knows words like hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and alphabet.
She puts her own toys away before bed, even though it would just be easier if I did it.
Everywhere we go and with everything we do with Svea, we are always trying to teach her something. She has the whole world and everything in it to learn about still, we don't want her to miss a thing, or give up an opportunity to learn something.
We are patient with her, always. We take time to listen to her, to try and understand her, and to guide her lovingly.
We've never ever thought of Svea as a lumpy, dumb, blob baby. She has always been a whole person to us, and we have always treated her like the smart, growing girl that she is.
We take her everywhere we go: Music concerts (with protective ear wear, of course,) front row seats at plays, a hike in the rain, to the swimming pool at 9 pm, every restaurant ever, church, and the place where 50 goats try to eat her clothes and face. And she always has a good time.
She does what we do, just slower. I often apologize to people who have to walk around me and Svea holding hands and walking, "Sorry; we're slow motion."  We don't leave her out and we want her to do it all. Plus, everything's more fun when I'm doing it with a 1.58 year old.
Right this minute, she's playing in a mud puddle in the rain.

Yeah, Whole is good.

Who Am I? What is This?

I am a Mom, and my husband and I think we can educate our children, (we only have one so far,) better than the public school system. We'll be homeschooling her, and we have the entire world and everything in it to teach her what she needs to know. We won't be stuck in a classroom, we'll be out in the world.

Even though our daughter is just 19 months, we believe that in order to do a great job as her teachers, we need to start now because there's a lot for us to learn. Knowing that we are responsible for her education definitely lays on the pressure. We want to do an awesome job and we want to be organized.

Organization, one of the purposes of this blog. I will have a daily record of what we did each day for school. Along the way, I will learn and write about what worked, what didn't, what sources I can trust and turn to, among lots of other things. I will be learning how to be a better teacher all the time. Learning from the past, another purpose.

My Plan: to basically build my own curriculum. I want to be a source to myself for when other kids come along, and a source to other parents looking for ideas.

At the risk of sounding negative, I also want to introduce the world to a type of homeschooling that is far from the stereotypes that are associated with it. Not too conservative, not too liberal. Parent-guided, structured, whole learning. Just an average family wanting our kids to get an excellent education. I want to prove that home-world schooling can produce intelligent, well-balanced, social, healthy children.  

This is going to be fun.