I saw these at Target yesterday in the $1 section. I can’t pass up that section. EVER! Sometimes I find nothing of use there but sometimes I find useful gems. I’ve never been so happy to see blocks in my whole life. Mr. J tends to have a hard time looking at the numbers on a page & I noticed day one that he gets frustrated doing his math because of it. Enter the Counting Blocks.
He did his math pages today with a smile. He & I sat on the floor while he showed me how to do math problems with the blocks. I think he relished feeling like he was teaching me something, I let him have that moment (I know I’m generous like that). Seriously though I had forgotten about how kids really do need hands-on at this age & stage. I had planned to get some manipulatives for him & the other kids to use. I just hadn’t done it yet.
With the blocks he could stack, sort & count without feeling stressed while looking at the math problems. He laughed. He relaxed during math. I laughed & relaxed with him.
While he worked on his math. I noticed Mr. G & Mamacita hard at work on their own project. They were building pyramids. Talking about the colors in their pyramids, the shapes of the counting blocks & the pyramid all being triangles, & they counted out how many counting blocks it took to make different sized pyramids.
They then used the counting blocks to create patterns. The patterns started simple & became more complicated as they played. They also sorted through the blocks matching the colors into piles. I really enjoyed these because they had so many uses & that the uses emerged without a lot of me forcing it. As the kids all were doing their work I’d hop into the conversation every now & again, to help or offer a gentle correction if needed. Really, I just love when kids are learning without realizing it. I also think these are a a great thing to have in your home regardless of where your kids go to school because they are so versatile. I’m wishing I had bought some sooner.
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We started school yesterday. At home. At the kids request. They wanted to start NOW. They apparently really like learning, crazy I know.
It went really well. We found a good rhythm. We did some things in the morning, then we ate our lunch & after had our outdoor time in the beautiful weather that has rolled into town this week. After our outdoor time we did some of our other learning activities & the day moved smoothly with more outdoor time in the later afternoon. Everyone worked well together & I was able to work with each of the three kids who are schooling one-on-one. I also was able to have my own down time carved out through out the entire day.
Overall, it was a big success. I know that it won’t be a perfect day everyday, but it started off on the right foot. A big plus for any school experience. I’m sure we’ll tweak & change things as the year moves forward especially as the kids activities start up again. But I’m happy about the first day going so wonderfully.
Yet, I have to admit that I am sad that the next two weeks isn’t unpacking school uniforms, taking care of back to school lists & getting ready for the back to school gatherings at our parish school. Even though I know this is the best decision for our children & our family after considering all the other options available this year (the kids talk about it as an adventure!), I’ve come to realize that I’m also having a hard time saying good-bye to the year that isn’t happening.
But then I remind myself I’m getting to say yes to the year that is going to happen & that is a pretty good thing. Spending time together, learning together sharing those moments as a family & I get to do it barefoot with a cup of coffee in hand if I want. That’s pretty sweet.
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Mamacita has taken to singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” ALL.THE.TIME. at our house.
Except her four year old self appears to be doing her own thing.
Her version is more like this:
“Gahh—Gahh—God loves a salsa table.”
After I attempted to tell her the correct words, thinking maybe she had misunderstood what the words were, she just starred at me blankly. Then she shook her head at me & said “Um, no God does love salsa. He loves it so much He has a table full of it.”
I have no idea what to do with that except that I’m thinking she may be right. God might just love a good spread of salsa, an entire table full of salsa in fact. I mean salsa is pretty tasty.
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