Research Reveals Long-Term Harm of State Pre-K Program

Just wanted to share this fascinating article from Psychology Today. It is at the bottom of this week's issue of the Waldorf Today newsletter (below).

"Research Reveals Long-Term Harm of State Pre-K Program"

The researchers followed the children through 6th grade. The summary? "In this first-ever controlled study of public pre-K, the control group did best."

I hope LOTS of education decision makers read this very important study!!!!

Zac playing on the Waldorf School of St. Louis playground when he was 3. ❤️

Week 22 Highlights

Monday, Feb 7

Grade 1 Four Seasons block
• Circle Time
• MLB - add Snow & Ice artwork, write sentences
• "Mama and Papa Mouse and the Ocean" story
• play with needle felted fish finger puppet and coral reef backdrop
• "The Water Bird" game from Games Children Play by Kim John Payne, p.50




Grade 3 Old Testament Stories block

• read The Dreamer by Cynthia Rylant and Light: The First Seven Days by Sarah Waldman
• MLB - use block beeswax crayons, drawing paper, black construction paper, and a tack punch to make art in the style of the cover of Light




Grade 6 Medieval History block

• read the first chapter of several historical fiction options for the Middle Ages and choose a favorite




plus...

Scrabble

playing in the snow outside

an epic sensory bin for Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughn (water, potting soil, feathers, hole punch paper dots for "flies," water beads for "slugs and bugs and creepy crawlies," acorns for "gumnuts," AND... of course... a very nervous stuffed wombat standing nearby)

Tuesday, Feb 8

Grade 1 Four Seasons block
• Circle Time - London Bridge Is Falling Down, skip counts of 2, Row Row Row Your Boat, skip counts of 3, Kookaburra, skip counts of 4
• match pieces on the Coral Reef Habitat Mat by Waseca Biomes
• "Cork Scramble" game from Games Children Play by Kim John Payne, p.38
• MLB - draw Coral Reef artwork, add sentences
• Handwork - knit chicken
• "Mama and Papa Mouse and the Shadows" story
• use a flashlight to experiment and see if shadows happen when the light is in front of you or behind you
• turn the playstands into a shadow puppet theatre and put on a show of The Three Little Pigs

by 2 to 24 -- London Bridge (start at 0:21)

by 3 to 36 -- Row, Row, Row Your Boat (start at 0:49)

by 4 to 48 -- Kookaburra (start at 1:23)

by 6 to 72 -- Happy Birthday (start at 2:04)

by 7 to 84 -- This Little Light of Mine (start at 2:43)

by 8 to 96 -- You Are My Sunshine (start at 3:34)

by 9 to 108 -- Baby Beluga (start at 4:25)


Grade 3 Old Testament Stories block

• read Clarence's Topsy-Turvy Shabbat by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod and Yitzi, the Trusty Tractor by Naomi Shulman
• discuss resting on the 7th day (Christian Sabbath, Jewish Shabbat) and the different interpretations of which day is actually the 7th day
• MLB - write sentences for the Creation




Grade 6 Medieval History block

• biography #1 - "Gregory the Great" chapter from The World of Walls: The Middle Ages in Western Europe by Polly Schoyer Brooks and Nancy Zinsser Walworth - born 540
• listen to selections from The Tradition of Gregorian Chant at snack

Thursday, Feb 10

Grade 1 Four Seasons block
• Circle Time - sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and then do the skip counts of 5 using those same movements (not the tune)
• "Mama and Papa Mouse and the Butter" story
• make butter by shaking heavy cream in a jar
• taste fresh butter on our hot just-from-the-oven Challah Bread!



Grade 3 Old Testament Stories block

• make Challah Bread
• read sections ("The Seventh Day," "In Paradise," "The Fall," "On Earth") from And There Was Light: From The Creation of the World to Noah's Ark by Jakob Streit




Grade 6 Medieval History block

• read "The Rise of the Franks" chapter from The World of Walls
• make list of research questions about Islam


plus...

making handmade valentines!!!!

This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

The Harvest Mouse

I love the idea of a Form Modeling curriculum in grades 1-3 (Basic Sculptural Modeling: Developing the Will by Working with Pure Form in the First Three Grades by Hella Loewe is available at Amazon as well as a free downloadable PDF at the Online Waldorf Library) but clay can be intimidating for a lot of homeschoolers. It feels like a big expense, a big setup, and a big cleanup.

I think for a lot of people modeling beeswax feels more doable, so it is good to have some modeling beeswax ideas handy as well.

We always warm the beeswax in our hands but I have heard that some teachers pop it into a pot of barely simmering water. Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Does it reduce the value of the lesson (which is strengthening the will forces) to hand children beeswax which is already soft and pliable?

I like to have a long story ready to read while they are warming up their wax. An idea which occured to me recently is to introduce the sphere by talking about the perfectly round nest of the Harvest Mouse. So I'm collecting my Harvest Mouse resources. Does anyone have one to add?

The Human Being and the Animal World
by Charles Kovacs
chapter 5, "The Harvest Mouse"

Tell Me a Story
edited by Louise deForest
"The Harvest Mouse" by Denise Kilshaw, p.25
now ALSO available online for free at OWL

We Build Our Homes: Small Stories of Incredible Animal Architects
by Laura Knowles, pp.52-53

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
by Joyce Sidman

Animals Upside Down: A Pull, Pop, Lift & Learn Book!
by Steve Jenkins

This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

Partition of India

I have an older student who has become interested in the Partition of India after reading portions of my India Booklist. I'm keeping some notes here for myself for when I teach this again. In Waldorf, this would be in modern history which is grade 8. It would also go well with a World Religions block.

He read things in reverse chronological order (The Night Diary first and then Ahimsa), which gave him interesting persepective.

Chapter Books

Ahimsa
by Supriya Kelkar (1942)

The Night Diary
by Veera Hirandani (1947)

Picture Books

My Gandhi Story
by Nina Sabnani

Chachiji's Cup
by Uma Krishnaswami

Other Resources

India Partition lesson plan
Stanford History Education Group

UPDATE:

According to this New York Times article (Feb 2 2024), two new middle grade novels have recently come out about Partition.

Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani

The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi

This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!