Since the return from London, our family has been kept very busy. In thoughts, in resolution, in understanding how we as Christians are to live in the world which God placed us in. June Camp provided me a precious opportunity to work out my own personal manifesto of work. The process itself was revelatory. And at the end of the week, I was impassioned with what I needed to do with the life that God gave. And in doing so, work out my priorities in life as well as consider more concretely, what my secular education as well as spiritual education has "undone" me for.
Believe it or not, we were almost ready to uproot ourselves from our four wall flat to an open area where the children could explore and run freely. That is another story at another time. Well, although that eventually didn't work out [much to my disappointment] but it hasn't really squelch our resolve to live our life as we ought to.
One of the more significant manifestations of the manifesto has been to relook at School of Tots. We had so much fun and the kids all learnt much. But, as I grew to understand my physical limitations all over again and my priorities and my focus, it seems like for the time being, School of Tots will take a long recess. And like all forms of recess, I think it is time to undertake some reform until we are all ready to take it up again and perhaps relaunch with new vision and goals to support our children's education for the long term as well as financially.
But in the meantime, Sarah and Sammy is walking along their journey of learning.
A note on learning the Alphabet - The kids have been learning their alphabet through various sources. For one, thanks to Auntie CC, Leapfrog Letter Factory has made learning phonetic sounds a painless and fun process. I think the kids mastered the sounds after a quick 2 weeks. This phonetic learning is reinforced very effectively with www.starfall.com. This is an interactive and free resource I stumbled upon searching for resources that teach kids how to learn to read. The kids enjoy their computer time with this site and I try to schedule computer times during the waiting times, such as in between baths and in between bedtimes. Besides phonics, sight words are also important. For that, I use Peter and Jane as well as suggestions from "The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading" and Meet the Sight Words DVD from the National Library Board. Sammy was able to read the words "my", "to" and "go" unassisted much to my astonishment. As for Sarah, she was able to figure out "pat", "fat", rat", "hat" and "mat". But of course, this was done with continuous practice. And for the past few nights, Sarah has been trying to read Peter and Jane 1A and 1B on her own. I do look forward to the day, when the kids can read independently because that would mark the start of their own learning.
Lapbook and the Letter B: Blueberries for Sal
In the meantime, I have started Sarah and Sammy on some lapbook and unit studies [in the loose sense of the word]. We call it Lapbook Time and they like the opening song cos they get to be whirled around, and I become dizzy after whirling them around. I decided to continue with the use of award winning children's literature, and we have moved on to "B" - Blueberries for Sal. The book is readily available in our National Library and there are plenty of free resources from the net. I will post some links soon. My most useful craft material are adhesive felt sheets from Daiso. So for this book, I concentrated on counting from 1-5, number recognition and the letter "B". Along the way, we looked at the life cycle of a bear [triggered off by hibernation] and we did a blue and letter B collage for the front cover of our lapbook. It's still pretty art and craft at this stage and I hope to move on to engaging the kids in some simple discussion. I am convinced that learning is not rote but understanding, questioning, clarification and engaging one's mind. At the least, Sarah could engage me in a very simple discussion on hibernation.
The next book we looked at was "Corduroy". We looked at the letter C and it was good to continue with the bear theme. Only this time, we played "toy shop". Sarah was given 5 coins which she had to use to buy toys. Flashcards of numbers 1-5 were used to connect her sight and sounds of numbers. At the end of our 15 mins of play, I must say, she was pretty competent in numbers 1-5.
A Study of Africa
This week, inspired by the free concert of Watoto Children's choir at Trinity Christian Centre, we looked at a study of Africa. The continent of Africa is made up of many countries and Uganda, where the choir came from was one of them. It was an educational study because we learnt that there are many kinds of children that God created and He loves every child. Sarah and Sammy learnt how to make the flag of Uganda, they learnt how the map of Africa looks like and they stuck safari animal stickers onto their brown felt strips of dessert. The climax of the choir concert was a very enjoyable one. The children literally turned their praise and worship session into a song and dance concert. God's word "I will never leave you nor forsake you" was an anthem of hope and life for the kids, many whom were orphaned by HIV. At the end of the concert, sammy was moving to the beat and so was Hannah.
Here are some good books that were picked out at the NLB that I found particularly engaging because it made use of a narrative as well as shapes and alphabet to introduce the kids to a new foreign culture.
Special Note: Lest any young mothers are getting stressed over my posts, take heart because these posts are not meant to do that. During my lapbook sessions which I have with Sarah and Sammy, it's always intersperse with Sammy running off and trying to dig out his cars or lego, Sarah saying she is tired or some other distractions. It is definitely challenging but those bursts of learning and sparks of ingenuity that they emit unexpectedly have kept me keeping on.
On a lighter note, our usual Friday trip out was thwarted by the heavy rains in the morning last week. So, at the prompting of Sarah, we went out to play with the puddles. A new dimension was added to their puddle fun - Toad Hunt. The croaks by the bullfrogs were unmistakable that morning. So, decked in their raincoats from Lyme Regis and wellingtons, they went on a Toad Hunt. And I think we all secretly pleased that we didn't see any jumping out into our faces, although we heard a few really loud toads.
