We just love gnomes (big secret!) my mother in law was being silly the other day and made the comment that she bet we had fairy blood in us somewhere - I countered with "Speak for yourself, I think I might have gnome blood!" I fell in love with gnomes years ago and when I created the first math gnomes (back when I owned The Spiral Garden) I knew they would be a hit - I think the first month we sold about 200 sets. They were so easy and now I look back and have the mind set that I would love parents to make these on their own - they are so much fun and can be a great handwork project for moms beginning to knit or needle felt. We put together a few kits that we thought our readers would enjoy. The great thing about math gnomes is that they can also double as punctuation gnomes and we have a great little story we are including in the kit that will show you just how much fun it is to stretch this set. These are cute little kits and ready to ship now.
The knitted set includes: 4 mini skeins of wool Peace Fleece yarn in red, yellow, green and blue, 4 natural cherry wood buttons, knitting instructions and two stories, one for math gnomes and one for punctuation. You will need, stuffing and knitting needles in a size 8 or 9 (we carry them in our store) $18.50
Prefer to needle felt them? This kit includes: 5 colors of wool roving (red, blue, green, yellow and cream for the face), our DVD Needle Felting Fun, 2 felting needles, a sponge, instructions for putting them together and two stories - one for math and one for punctuation. $8.50
If you are using our math book then these will be a perfect addition to your grade one or grade two math stories. These are also available in our store along with our other handwork products, including gnomes in many colors.
Guardians of Time – a verb tense lesson for grade four
Teaching verb tense can often be maddening!You know with a sentence like that, we have experience in this department! The Norse myths give a perfect opportunity to cover verb tense, especially by using the Norns, the guardians of time.Urd is the guardian of the past, Verdani the present and Skuld guards the future.The Norns are probably the equivalent to the Greek fates.In the Norse world, with divine power, the Norns twine the threads of destiny for mankind.They live in Yggdrasil (the World Tree) at the base. Sometimes the Norns are seen as good (when life is going well) and sometimes they seem evil (when things aren’t going the way we’d like.) If you are using the D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myth, then a great story to pair this lesson with would be the one on “Yggdrasil, the World Tree” as this discusses the Norns and also gives a great picture of the tree.
Writing to go along with this lesson:
“When we write, we need verbs to help us tell time.Verbs help us to understand if we did something in the PAST, are doing something in the PRESENT or if we plan to do something in the FUTURE.When we use verbs to keep time, it is called VERB TENSE.”
Another great book for Norse myth is Thorkill of Iceland by Isabel Wyatt – this book has a bonus because it is also paired with a book by the same author The Dream of King Alfdan” under the same cover – both are appropriate for grade four.
To reinforce tenses, take a passage in your child’s current reading (which should have something to do with your main lesson) and write it entirely in the present tense.Have your child re-write the same passage in the past tense one day and then to carry on the lesson the next day have them write it in the future tense.The same sorts of language arts lessons can be given by writing a passage with no capitals or punctuation and then have your child rewrite the same passage correctly.
I have noticed that this is the time of year that I tend to get emails from parents anxious that their children are not reading yet or wanting to start teaching a 5yo to read... I came across this great Steiner quote today that I wanted to share. Really, to me, it comes down to whether or not you have a strong testimony of this method of education - do you believe Steiner's work to be inspired... if your answer is yes then trust nature. If however you do not have a testimony of his work, then you may need to stand back and evaluate things for yourself. Now I don't believe that in this text he is addressing those who naturally read on their own, only the abstract nature of teaching a young child to read before giving them an artistic, living background through writing and pictures first. Plus one other VERY important thing to remember when you begin comparing your child to Johnny down the street is that reading is a process. Johnny's teacher might say that he can read... but at what level? Children really don't spontaneously read, it is a process that takes time, just as potty training and weaning... it is a process. Let the process unfold.
Steiner's lecture 4 from "The Child's Changing Consciousness and Waldorf Education"
"But if one adopts this method in order to work harmoniously with human nature, it can become extraordinarily difficult to withstand modern prejudices. Naturally, pupils will learn to read a little later than expected today, and if they have to change schools they appear less capable than other students in their new class. Yet, is it really justified that we cater to the views of a materialistic culture with its demands concerning what an eight-year-old child should know? The real point is that it may not be beneficial at all for such a child to learn to read too early. By doing so, something is being blocked for life. If children learn to read too early, they are led prematurely into abstractions."
This will likely ruffle a few feathers and it was written nearly 100 years ago! Having seen this at work in my own home with a child determined to read early, we have our work cut out for us even more so than the child who reads late. The child that reads early will have many challenges... first - what do we let them read? There is not a lot of material suitable for a child under 6 to read alone, story books maybe, but once this sense has been awakened then story books will only satisfy them for so long. Before you know it they will be ready to read adult books and there will be nothing suitable for them to take in where they are developmentally. Of course, again speaking from experience, we will say "not my child, I will make sure they are balanced!" So your task is just that... you have to make sure the amount of time spent reading on their before age seven is small - fill their days with art, with play, with movement. A child that awakens this sense early will often, but NOT always have blocks with drawing and creating in other areas so it is your job to make sure that you work to bring that out. Cultivate art by doing - remember they are imitators, you draw, they will draw.
I am also often asked "my child can read, what is the necessity in teaching them the grade one material?" First you must remember that the material is suited for the age and development of the child, not the "grade level" they would be in with their reading abilities. So a child of six going on seven still needs the fairy tales. It would also do them wonders to learn to write the Waldorf way, through picture... so I would still introduce each letter as described in the method, it will provide review for them but more importantly, it will provide the artistic soul connection they need with each letter - it will also strengthen their writing skills - remember writing should be a beautiful act. If you have an older child who may have missed all of this early work, I would go back and do the letter introductions in a beautiful artistic way and let them feel each letter being born from the drawing and with consistency, you will see their handwriting improve.
For many families, even Waldorf ones, learning to read can be a stressful time for both parent and child.The Waldorf approach to reading lends far easier than other approaches but there are still times when we want to do a bit more to reinforce what they are learning.
I have been asked many times what I recommend for readers, my answer usually depends on where the child is on their reading journey.If they are beyond the new reader status then I love the readers that AWSNA puts out under the titles Fee Fi Fo Fum, As My Heart Awakes, When I Hear My Heart Wonder and Sun So Hot I Froze to Death – these are written by Arthur M. Pittis.I like these especially for secondary readers because they can also serve as great main lesson material for children who are reading well – Fee Fi Fo Fum has a selection of fairy tales, As My Heart Awakes and When I Hear My Heart Wonder have a selection of fairy tales, animal tales, fables and some saintly tales, while Sun So Hot I Froze to Death has some great hero tales and wild stories.They are listed for 2nd to 4th grade, but depending on your child, they could be read in 1st through 3rd as well.My oldest son (he has ASD) got to a point where he wanted to read on his own very early and finding appropriate reading for his level proved to be challenging so when these books were published it was a happy day in our home!We own them all and my children have really enjoyed them.
Now when you are just starting your reading journey you need something far more simple!If you want to buy readers, there are time tested ones like the Dick & Jane series (my daughter loves these) or the good old McGuffey’s readers, but if you want more Waldorf flair, lol, then there are some great little readers by Shelley Davidow, published by Whole Spirit Press.They are fun and easy with cute drawings.
For those wanting to take things even further or wanting to work on their own books (saving some pennies,) I recommend a couple ideas – of course the main lesson books of a child are a great place to start if you can make the sentences simple enough and you can also make your own readers.Jodi M. from
Georgia
on our list shared the idea she used for making her own readers, we liked it so much that we went another step.I remembered how much my daughter loved The Seven Year Old Wonder Book by Isabel Wyatt and the imagery of the little girl setting out the wonder book for the fairy folk to draw and write in.I thought we’d take that idea and run with it a bit – only Mommy is the one doing the writing!Our video clip explains how we put it together.I started with very simple words that my daughter could build on, turned the words into a story and each day she gets a new portion – even more fun, she gets to illustrate the story as she is working on reading.This has worked wonderfully, she’s been excited to see what I’ll write next.
Here are some simple word lists to get you started:
Of course, use your child’s name!
Start with short vowel sounds:
A – cat, hat, sat, fat, rat, ran, Sam, and, swam
E – jet, set, then, get, rest, slept, pet
I – it, sit, his, did, swim, big, pig
O – top, stop, mop, soft, got, not, dog
U – up, jump, just, tub
Suggested sight words (add more if your child is ready):
Saw, was, of, a, the, onto, he, into, so, go, they, by
Our first little story looks like this:
“Ellie had a cat.He was soft.He slept a lot. He was fat.Ellie had a soft, fat cat.” (pg1)
“The cat got up and ran. STOP CAT! Ellie saw a rat and got up to run.” (pg2)
“Ellie saw the cat stop.Ellie sat to rest.Ellie saw the cat, he crept up on the rat.” (pg3)
“No rat, just the cat and Ellie.” (pg4)
We added to it with this:
“Ellie has a big dog and a soft cat.” (pg 1)
“The dog swims in the mud.Is he a pig? NO! He is a pet dog.” (pg 2)
“Ellie went to get a tub to wet the dog. The dog swam and swam in the tub.” (pg3)
“No mud.Just the dog in the sun.” (pg4)
Once your child has mastered these short vowels, you can introduce the idea of “E Helper Gnome” and her friends.That is in a different blog post.
As Ellie moved through learning the short sounds into those that needed “E Helper” we also tackled “ay” and “ai” – there are so many words you can make from these.If you are having a hard time coming up with them on your own, ask one of your older children to help you – I’ve got older boys that just love shouting out the answer to their sister’s work (like it makes them look smarter! LOL)
Most parents, especially those who are avid readers, are mortified if they can't raise children who have a love for reading. They try - they poke and prod and try to get their children interested and they may get their child to read their school books but not anything for enjoyment - then they worry about them developing a love for it. I would first look at your child's age - I think that while some children seem to be born to read and look comfortable curled up with a book from a young age, not all children are like this - no matter how much mom and dad are. Of course with Waldorf, being in their head from a young age is not looked at as a good thing - we want to keep them playful as long as we can, so even if your child of 10 or 12 isn't an avid reader that doesn't mean that they won't be. It might mean that they haven't found yet that spark to light their deep desire. Steiner himself was a late reader and look at what he accomplished! Give it time - also, let your child be an individual... perhaps being a non reader in a house full of book worms is your child's desire! Fear not... I strongly believe that most children will take off when they are ready - at some point they will want to learn to do something and they will find a way to like reading about that subject - it could be when you least expect it and about something you never dreamed... who knows you could have a nine-year-old Jeep expert... I do.
