Tag Archives: homeschool

a book leads us on a learning adventure

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Today we read “Where Did My Clothes Come From?” by Chris Butterworth with illustrations by Lucia Gaggiotti. It is a book we checked out from the library and it was super informative. We enjoyed the pictures very much and talked about our favorite clothes. This is the type of book that is a great jumping off point to explore more after reading. This time we found ourselves inspecting a pair of jeans and googling videos about shearing animals.

clothes

On YouTube we found many videos of people shearing sheep, goats, alpacas and angora rabbits for their fur. This also led to watching other goat videos- like goats that climb trees and how baby goats have to be awesome climbers at one week old. Lastly we ended up watching all of Block Shop’s process videos of their block carving, dyeing and printing by master artisans for their scarves made in Bagru, India (which can be found on their Instagram account).

Next time we read this book we may want to learn more about silk worms or making rubber or traditional clothing worn in other cultures. I love how this organic kind of learning unfolds for us. I always find that my curiosity is piqued just as much as Clover’s. I appreciate our opportunities to take time and to have the resources to find out about anything we can think of.

pelle

Another excellent (and relevant) read is “Pelle’s New Suit” by Elsa Beskow. We have checked it out many times and I remember grabbing all of my wool sweaters down out of the closet to feel the fabric one time after reading. It was a great first story about where clothes come from and how garments used to be made more or less by hand. It has also been on the book shelves of every early childhood program that I have worked in which I think is a sign that is a good book for children.

eating strawberry pancakes

eating strawberry pancakes as fast as I can make them

Eating strawberry pancakes as fast as I can make them this morning. We were both super excited when we found strawberries in our CSA. Super excited. We talked about how we could use them. She suggested just eating them all right then and there and I thought about putting them in pancakes. So we compromised.

Clover helped make the pancakes and stayed near as they cooked. Using her step stool she can ever the pour the batter in the pan now. We have tried in the past to let her flip them but she always manages to lightly graze the side of the hot pan with her hand so we are both fine waiting to go any further. At four and a half I can trust her near me in the kitchen but she talks so much that I can get easily distracted and find myself sending her away so I can collect my thoughts again. We have a nice groove with pancakes. Pour this flour, whisk these ingredients, smell this cinnamon, taste this bite.

Today we used the rest of the eggs in the carton and I asked if she wanted to use it. She was so happy at the prospect and I wondered why I never thought to offer one before. We have a coffee can of dry beans that she has been playing with since she was about two years old. They are great for little hands to pour into containers and sort. Clover loves this so much and has always been careful not to spill the beans all over. At first we used a towel which makes for easy clean up as well as define the space (where they should stay). Today beans and the egg carton were the perfect pairing. Together we can make preschool at home easy and fun.

beans