"I Hate School" says Link!

We have officially started kindergarten, though you can't tell by watching our family. I really thought all this time that if I had great activities on the shelves that Link would be drawn to them. And if he wasn't, then getting the work out myself or inviting him to work with me would work. But for some reason he has decided that he does not like anything to do with school. Bumblebee is definitely learning in the school room, Link not so much.

So I've backed off, a little. We go for a walk in the morning. We read lots of stories. I try to sneak in phonics games. Sometimes he'll do some math, but not the three days a week I was shooting for. 

We go to Classical Conversations once a week. Though honestly, as a play date more than anything.  We join a Charlotte Mason (CM) group once a week. We are using Montessori for phonics, math, and geography/cultural studies. We use CM for things like cultural, nature, artist and composer studies. Which, at five years old, means we read stories like Old Mother West Wind, James Herriot's Treasury for Children, and maybe James Baldwin's 50 Famous Stories. 

I am feeling very frustrated with Link right now. Almost to the point where I think "maybe I should just send him to school if he's not going to work with me!"

I have to threaten to put all his Legos up just to get him to work for a little while! I'm tempted to put every toy in the house up, but I think that would just drive me more crazy! I keep saying I'll just give it a little more time, he'll come around. I hope I'm not messing up!

School Break

We are taking a break while I get some materials made and do some major housework.  I'm working on continent boxes and just finished up my bells board.  I still have a ton of things to cut and laminate too.  We've all been unmotivated since our company left. Then Bumblebee decided to fix a broken toy in the school room.  Instead he dumped two bottles of glue on the carpet and I had to steam clean.  Fun times. Hopefully school will start back up next week month!

It looks smaller than I expected

Summer Break

We had two great weeks of school, then we had company for two weeks!  Now we have to get back in our grove (and I need to get my house cleaned!)  I'm also working on getting my bells on the shelf.  I am almost finished making the "board" for the bells (out of felt) but I forgot to get black, so I have to go back to the store.  I am finding that shelf space is becoming an issue, and I don't even have much out yet.  (I cleared the shelves and started fresh.)  Each time I think I have a system of organizing the shelves, I have to move something.  I'm sure it wreaks havoc on my kids sense of order!

I am also feeling the need to revisit my scope & sequence.  I am scared that I'm missing something.  I plan on adding a tab for Bumblebee as well since I need to get him started at the beginning.  He had gotten so used to seeing the pink tower, red rods, brown stairs, and cylinder blocks that he had a tendency to either ignore them or abuse them.  I'm hoping if I wait a while to get them out, they'll be like new again.  They weren't out for him before, they were out for Link.  You would think that the beginning Montessori works would be less stressful for me, but they aren't!

Two weeks in pictures

Material Delivery & Misusing vs Abusing Materials

It is always interesting to the boys when a box is delivered.  It is almost impossible for me to get a package without the boys knowing and wanting to see what it contains.  So, when new school materials arrive they usually help me unpack them.  It gives them a chance to handle the material, check it out, and "sensorially explore" it.  But I wonder, how much of this "sensorially exploring" should I allow for Bumblebee?  I have explained that this particular work is for Link, but he is naturally very curious about it.    I wanted to take a nice picture to show off the new material, but I haven't been able to pull him away.  As you can see from the pictures above, he is "misusing" the materials but not really "abusing" them.

Feeling how big the thousands cube is.

Noticing that he can make a cube out of the hundreds.

Moving the units to the cups.

Pouring the units back in the box.

Matching the hundreds to the top of the thousand cubes.

Sliding the tens down the hundred boards.

The things he is doing in the pictures above all seem very innocent.  But should I allow it to continue?  Check out the video... I was going to stop him here, but then he starting using the hundreds to fill in a hole in the middle of the thousands, and I thought that might be okay.  He told his brother, "I'm building squares."  

He made a new arrangement, and was very pleased with himself.  I showed him how to put them back, and he did for a while, then said "No, I want to stack."  He proceeded to stack up all the hundreds that would fit under the shelf.  Honestly, he never spent this much time with the pink tower or brown stairs. I guess they weren't new enough.  (That's why they are put away for now.)

Re-organizing

In the end he was willing to put them all back right, but had a hard time getting them to fit.  With help, he finished up and we went to make donuts!

Soooo, anyone have any thoughts on this?  Should I allow him to explore materials as long as he doesn't abuse them?

Leaf Rubbings & Repeating Works

I think I've mentioned a few times that Link doesn't really like to repeat works.  Well, now I'm starting to think I just didn't have the right work for him! A few days ago I decided to make him a nature journal for collecting leaf rubbings, drawings and pressed flowers.  We watched a video on how to do leaf rubbings and it really peaked his interest.

First we spent a good bit of time making notebooks.  I got the idea from Counting Coconuts, but decided to use my new binding machine so that we could add pages and so that it would lay flat.  Link was so excited that he didn't want to wait for the rain to stop.

Leaves from the yard.

Decorating his nature journal.

Rubbing the leaves.

In the video, she used copier paper to make the rubbings, then taped them into her journal.  Link could rub his directly into his book, but that would take away the fun of the taping :)    He did a few directly onto pages, but then he decided to cut them out and use the neat little tape dispenser that I bought just like the one in the video.

I am trying to teach him about taking notes about what he sees.  So I ask him questions to give him ideas, then ask him what he wants to write.  He dictates very specifically what he wants.

We finished making the books late in the day.  Even though it was late I decided to let him do some rubbings.  The next day, he wanted to do more!  I have a feeling this is one work that he'll repeat often, especially when we start collecting leaves on our morning nature walks.  (So far he has just done the trees in the yard.) 

We also pressed some flowers, just like in this video.  I'm sure Link will enjoy gluing those into his journal as well.  

I have noticed that he likes watching videos of things before we do them.  Its almost like it gives the process more credibility.  I may have to think about doing that with some of the Montessori presentations, then following them up with an identical presentation from me.  

Purchasing Bells

My newest dilemma is bells. I'm so irritated with myself for not doing this a year ago as I had planned, when it would have cost me $30, plus about $10 for paint. I had printed my coupon, confirmed inventory at the store and everything. I just didn't make the time to do it. Now Hobby Lobby doesn't carry them and they are $50 each (I need two) plus shipping everywhere else.  **Edited to add** I just found this set for $35 with free shipping!**

So to make them would now cost ~$120. Not to mention the time I would invest taping and painting 16 bells. I could scream!  $40 if I had done it when Hobby Lobby had them!!  It may seem crazy, but now I'm at the point where I think this $190 set of Montessori bells would be my best bet.  So I've gone from spending $40 to (thinking of) spending $190. Nice job slow poke!!

So, roughly $120 for homemade bells or $190 for Montessori bells?   Hmm, they look so nice... But, I have no experience with this company, nor have I heard of any other bloggers buying from them.

If I made them, I think I would get the desk version since they are the same price as the handbells.  I'd want them to use mallets since I think my kids are not normalized enough to not go crazy shaking them.

Is it worth it?  Should I even do the bells now that its going to cost me so much?  ....... I think so.  Link will hopefully be starting piano lessons in the fall and I know he'd get some of this there.  But I don't have a piano (he'll have to practice down the road) and I want him to get as much experience with it as possible.

**EDITED TO ADD**
When I explained to my husband that I was thinking of painting the bells to save $70, he insisted that I get the montessori bells.  So I did!!  They'll only take a month or two to get here :)

**EDITED AGAIN TO ADD**
Two of the bell sets don't match.  I'll update when I hear from the company :)

**EDITED AGAIN TO ADD**
Well I contacted the company about 3 months ago, and never got a response.  Guess I'm stuck with bells that don't match :(