i have neglected many of my online stomping grounds lately, as life is happening all around me and i am trying - sometimes better than other times - to let it unfold but also harness the power of routine and schedules. it is beneficial and for the past several weeks, our home preschooling has sputtered and stalled, sputtered and stalled.
i am taking a relaxed approach to it all because it dawned on me that my middle son is not a year away from starting kindergarten, but two years away, and i totally deserve to relax. although some people still tease that they can't understand the way he pronounces everything, his vocabulary is so advanced that i find it hard to believe that he's not even four years old. just tonight, while allowing him to watch some scrubs (we just got seasons 4, 5, and 6 on DVD), he not only impressed me with his ability to fully understand the DVD menu by recognizing which episode we were on, but also wowed me with his use of synonyms when he said, "we're on the episode with elliot in the middle, or rather the center". and earlier today, while helping him get on a pair of bothersome jeans, i buttoned them and started to zip them when the zipper got stuck. i began to explain the importance of zipper safety when he informed me that, "i usually zip them and
then button them and it's actually not that difficult."
well, okay, then.
of course those are just two very recent, easily recalled examples and may not be indicative of just how much this kid amazes me. i'm tired, forgive me. the point is, he often does incredibly grown-up or thoughtful things. much to my mother's delight, i imagine, i cannot say that and not also mention that he definitely has his three year old moments but mostly he's amazing and i'd been desperately trying to get my hands on the oak meadows kindergarten materials (on the cheap) so we could get a jump start on some kindergarten level activities. i know, that goes against waldorf philosophy but i am not adhering strictly to waldorf methodology, by any means. however, i am also now not in any rush whatsoever. he's THREE!
last month we started going to a park with a group of homeschoolers on tuesday mornings but as autumn has now arrived, the mornings are often cool and crisp, so the time was adjusted to later in the day. this has it's advantages, however, i was getting used to leaving the house earlier than normal, twice a week (we also do a preschool movement and music class) as it set a nice precedent for the rest of the day. going to the park before lunch worked well with the baby's schedule but after lunch, not so much. needless to say, we missed the first park day after the time change. the library near our house has story time on the same day and i'm thinking of making that a more regular thing, anyhow. this also has it's advantages - we live so close that we can walk - excercise is good! finding any excuse to use my mountain buggy double jogger is also good! there's a park right next to the library so we can still get some park play time in! the only downside is the early start time (incidentally, story time is at the same that we used to meet at the park) but as the weather gets colder, we can just layer on the jackets, hats, and scarves!
but first things first: we'll see if we can make it out on tuesday. it's that sputter and stall thing. motivation. momentum.
