Shadows and Reflections

We just finished week 2 of July's Mother Goose Time camping theme. Week 2 was about camping at night, we learned about raccoons, stars, flashlights, the moon, and bears. Our favorite day was the flashlight day because it was all about shadows and we got a shadow journal. We started flashlight day with our suggested story from the Teachers Guide and we read this months included story Camping Shadows. After this we wrote a story about how we would feel about camping at night. My son drew his own picture and then I wrote his story for him.

We decided to take our shadow booklets to the park. First we had to play because well its the park. But while we were playing we pointed out shadows and paid attention to our shadows. I took some fun pictures of their shadows, they remind me of Peter Pan's pesky shadow. I feel like this could be made into a fun story or art project.

After they had plenty of time to play we hunted around the park for things that had interesting shadows. We used our books and the black crayon that was included and we traced the shadows onto our books.

We talked about the sun and the position of the sun to try to figure out the best way to position the shadows on the page. We talked about sundials and telling time by the suns position. I think a sundial project is in our near future. We had a lovely nature walk focused on the sun and shadows, it was a really nice afternoon and we got to use our Mother Goose Time to learn a little science and encourage great conversations.

Every month as a blog ambassador Mother Goose Time asks us to blog about a specific subject. One of the things that we were asked this month was about our Mission and Vision as an educator and why we have decided to dedicate our time and energy to teaching young children. I have been thinking about this a lot because we just finished my daughters second grade year and my sons first official year of preschool. As I am preparing for having a third grader and a kindergartener next year I have been doing a lot of soul searching about why I am doing this and what my goals are for them not only for the upcoming year but as they grow into beautiful well rounded adults. I think days like the flashlight day are why I do this. I love the slow pace we can go at. I love that when something sparks their interest we can explore it for as long as we want. I love that education comes naturally and gentle, most the time they don't even realize its a lesson. I want them to ask questions, seek answers, and truly love learning. I want them to push themselves to be the best they can be, yet be gentle and kind to themselves and recognize when they need a break. I want them to not be afraid of different people and experiences and to celebrate otherness because not everyone is like them and had the same opportunities and experiences and they can learn from everyone. Most of all I want them to go into adulthood with love, compassion, and the drive to be great at whatever it is they have chosen to do. I am going into my 5th year homeschooling and this has been a journey for me as well. I read books about education and child development, my homeschool now looks nothing like it did the first year we started. I have learned so much about myself and my children and how we work and function as people individually and as a unit. It has been an amazing journey and I know as we grow and change our homeschool will grow and change with us. In 5 more years it will be completely different then now and meeting different needs. I am blessed and lucky to go on this journey with my family. Mother Goose Time has really helps me to accomplish these goals and supports me in this part of our journey because it is a very gentle curriculum that can be used in so many different ways and in so many different places. We've taken lessons outside, to the park and the doctors office. We've made lessons easier or more challenging depending on the need at the time. And what I find the most helpful is that everything is planned out and ready for me. I need to add minimal supplies and find some library books and that is it. This makes less stress for me because I know all the important early education lessons are being taught, I only need to spend a few minutes the night before planning and prepping, and I don't need to be searching for projects and supplies to go with the months theme. We have learned so much this year and I am really looking forward to next years themes and learning even more with Mother Goose Time.

  

*Mother Goose Time has generously provided this curriculum to us in exchange for our stories and honest opinions*