Harvest Time Week One: Tops and Bottoms

This is our first week of Harvest Time Homeschool Preschool curriculum and I'm really excited!  A few weeks ago I put a request in to our library system for the books and began to prepare myself mentally, spiritually and environmentally (organizing our resources).

This feels very organic to me.  Like many of our parenting choices homeschooling just feels right.  Just like home birthing, nursing and our conscious choice to use methods of gentle disciple (even when ghosts of our childhood pop into our heads and we want to wag our fingers and say "If I would have done that in MY house my Mom/Dad would have.....").   Sophia is only 3 so we have several years to really work out what works best for our family, but since the beginning of our parenting journey, Geo and I have discussed education and "schooling."  We both agree that the style of education in our local public schools doesn't feel that it would truly address the needs of our girls.  (Local schools have 15 minutes of recess on three of the school days per week...hardly what I think kids require!)  One of the options we discussed was a then-local-to-us Kimberton Waldorf School.  But, Sophia's love of reading has nudged us toward homeschooling.

So, this journey led me (the craft-addicted-blog-reading-midwife-mama) to Wee Folk Art along my internet travels.  Their site is packed full of beautiful projects, most of which include free tutorials, guidance or instructions (true altruism!) and is build on an amazing foundation of love and compassion.  Just overflowing with heart.   I immediately connected with their nature based values.  It was natural that I'd find the homeschooling curriculum that they developed a nice fit for our family. So, this is our experiment....Come along for the ride!

Sophia and The Dadder checking on our Marigolds

Week 1: Tops and Bottoms

Primary Book:  

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

Enrichment Books:  

The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons

When Autumn Comes by Robert Maass

Four Seasons Make a Year by Anne Rockwell

Field Trip: 

Scranton's Cooperative Farmer's Market

Poem: 

Little Boy Blue

Flower Fairy

Apple Blossom Fairy

Art Activity: 

Salt Dough Vegetables


Misc:
A child's seasonal treasury compiled and written by Betty Jones
I'm using Circle Time seasonal songs and fingerplay activities.
(I took it out of our library and am so sad that I can't find a (reasonably priced) copy for our family library.)
Discover the seasons by Diane Iverson