Since I have had so many emails with questions on how to start Home Schooling, how to set up your Home School area, and what structure I am using, I have decided to include it as part of my website.  I have been Home Schooling my sons (2 and 4) for a year now, and it is absolutely wonderful.  To see the success my children have each day is so exciting and sometimes astonishing, I can't say how happy I am that I decided to do it.  My son Gianni, who will be five in January, is reading three letter word books, counting to 100 and doing basic 1 through 10 addition, sewing, cooking on his own (with a little help from me), painting and drawing still life pictures, playing the violin, and he is great at cleaning and tidying!  So, if you are concerned about sending your kids to be taught by others, or you can't afford it, or, like me, you just want your kids to excel faster, and see with your own eyes, then please think about it, it is really great!  I will start this Journal and add to it as things come up, and feel free to post your own home school experiences and tips for the rest of us to learn from as well!

How to set up your Class Room

In Waldorf as in all aspects of Rudolf Steiner education, the approach and activities in the kindergarten are determined by the children's stage of development.

The physical environment is important to the young child. Through the senses it takes in all the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the world. It is important, then, to ensure the environment is beautiful and safe. 

As the teacher and mother, it works to have an atmosphere of reverence for one another and the world around. I don't direct or oversee activities but rather lead by example working with my children. A daily rhythm is established by balancing periods of relaxed free play with those of more directed effort. Mornings may begin with a free play period, followed by a more organised activity such as bread baking or painting.  Another free play or outside play period could follow, before the children help to tidy away the wooden animal, stones, stools, cloths and tables that they have used to build towers, forms, shops, houses, to name but a few of the activities that are played. The children help prepare food and set the table for morning tea or oatmeal which is another focal point of the day. 

In "Montessori" style class room, it  is a bit different, more about Organization and cleanliness.  Here is a list of supplies if you would like to set up Montessori style:

School Table and 2 chairs

Easel and Chalkboard (one from IKEA works great).

Kid clock made of wood where the hands on clock move. ( Even though I am against Wal-mart, I was there gathering information for an article I was writing on Wal-mart and I found a wood one there that rocks, for $10.)

Drapes you can hang to enclose the area, if you have younger kids, or you aren't able to put the area in its own room.  This way you can divide off the area for privacy to work.

A 6 drawer dresser (skinny) and label each drawer with the name and a picture of what it is.  So for the Art drawer, write Art and draw a picture of paint brushes in a jar: 

Drawer 1:  Art Supplies

Drawer 2:  Letter Supplies

Drawer 3:  Number Supplies

Drawer 4:  Paper Supplies

Drawer 5:  Projects

Drawer 6:  Puzzles

*make sure to keep the drawers looking organized so you teach that trait to your children, and so it is easy to find things.

A small bookshelf for the kids to have their reading area.  Place small bean bags or comfortable lounge pillows.

Another bookshelf to hold blocks, wooden letters and numbers, instruments, and whatever else you might be using.  Place each object on the shelf and then draw a thick black line around the object so that your child will know the exact spot things belong in, so they can put it back when the are done.  This makes it easy to teach your kids to put things back in their place when they are done using it, teaches them organization and cleanliness.

Get your child a globe and a map of the United States to teach Geography.  It is important to integrate geography in to weekly

Set up your area so that it creates a cozy space that your kids will enjoy and look forward to spending time in.  If you have a television in your home, be sure to have the tv in a separate room so that your child won't be distracted. 

The Schedule

Depending on what your schedule is like and how many kids you have and what ages, setting up your schedule is entirely individual.  Because I am a stay at home mom we do "our school" in the morning for 2 hours after breakfast, usually involves bread baking, free play together, painting, and then we either go to the park or take a break for lunch for an hour, then after lunch we go for another hour.  I usually do reading and learning letters integrated throughout the day and usually in a playful way or let my children tell me what they want to learn about.  Then after lunch I choose a project like sewing, geography or art class (I have my oldest to still life drawing class twice a week). 

During the two hour morning session, I give 10 to 15 minute breaks where I have the kids do some sort of cleaning.  Each week I choose a chore they will work on, like sweeping, dusting, moping or doing the dishes.  It is important that kids learn to tidy up as part of their daily routine, this will set them up for taking responsibility for keeping things clean and cleaning up their own messes, so you don't end up always cleaning up after them, nor will their spouses.

Do some yoga.  Even if you aren't a yoga master, do a few yoga stretches with your kids.  It is good for their health and for yours.  We do at least 15 minutes every other day!

Since we don't have a television in our home, it isn't hard to regulate tv watching.  I do allow one "education" show a week that the kids can watch on our computer (my son like Popular Science for kids).  But since it isn't tv, they are subjected to the commercials and such.  I think it is important to keep your kids away from the television/video games and doing projects or just playing, using their imagination, digging in the dirt, being kids!

Daily Life Experiences to "teach"

In order to have a well rounded, communicative, and responsible child, I believe it is important to teach them how to function easily in his/her own environment and be able to deal with what is going on around them, without having to rely on you.  Teach right and wrong ways to do things, and don't get mad at your kids when they do something wrong, or not the way you would like, instead, teach them the right way to do it.  And if you show them over and over politely and methodically, your child will do it.  It is important to teach your kids to be orderly and clean, and since they learn best by observation and by action themselves, then have them do chores with you to learn, which they will think is fun because kids love to imitate adults!

Make your kids take responsibility for their lives, give them simple chores weekly which is important in their development.  My kids are expected to get up, make their beds, pick up the bedroom if needed, get dressed, brush their teeth, and then come downstairs for breakfast.  Of course my two year old is a bit shabby at all the tasks, but he is learning an important habit, that he will carry with him throughout his life.  It is important NOT to reward your child for doing chores like this, these chores are simply just expected and they are to do it because it is their responsibility!  Plain and simple.

Miscelaneous Activities

• Pouring:  teach your kids how to pour starting at age 2.  Set a cup in front of them, with a small pitcher or liquid measuring cup half full of rice or small beans.  Teach your child how to hold the pitcher with her first two fingers and pour the rice in the cup she is holding with the other hand.  Make sure she knows to make contact to the lip of the cup with the pitcher to teach how not to spill.  Repeat many times.  This will teach your child how to be able to get his or her own glass of water, milk, juice, etc, and no rely on you.  Teaching independence!
• Dusting:  Show your child what dust is and how to dust it away.  Have your child have dusting as a weekly chore, and teach how to nicely move things out of the way to dust, and then put it back the way it was when they are done.  This will teach them how to be tidy and clean.
• Washing Dishes:  I remember washing dishes when I was four years old, and I have passed that chore on to my children.  Set them up on a chair, and fill one side of the sink with clean warm water for rinsing and the other side with soapy warm water.  Teach them how to clean the dishes then rinse them and set them in the dish rack.  This will teach them coordination, achievement in finishing a chore, and it will teach them to conserve water which is good for the environment, by filling the sink with the water instead of just keeping the water running while washing.  You may end up cleaning up water, the possibility of a broken dish here and there....but it is worth it for the valuable experience!
• Sweeping:  Have your child sweep as one of his chores, alternate each week concentrating on a different chore and then cycle around. (sweep, dishes, washing windows, moping etc., then cycle back again)  Teach your child the correct way to hold the handle of the broom, call attention to the particles on the floor, and teach how to sweep in to one big pile and then use the dustpan to gather it up.  Make sure to help them move furniture and "do it the right way" so they learn what it really means to clean the floor.  Remember to teach putting the debris in the trash can and then putting the dust pan and broom away when finished.  This teaches your kids to care for the environment of their home and to once again be responsible for helping to keep it clean.
• Stringing beads:  Buy some multi-colored beads from the craft store, and show your kids how to string on to an old shoe lace, or some sort of string.  Kids can do this starting at 1 1/2 yrs, and depending on what age you can have them string all same colors, or have them alternate two colors, or have them pic out 5 colors and tell them the order to put them in and see if they can follow a pattern.  If you need to put the beads in order to show them for them to copy, then do it.  Let them make up their own patter, 2 of one color, 3 of another, but stress they keep a pattern and not just string randomly.
• Bottle tops:  This is a good activity for younger children.  Take 4 or five different bottles w/caps out of the recycle bin and set in front of child.  Slowly unscrew the top on and off showing them how to do it, and then take them off and place in front of each bottle and let them pick it up and screw it on.  Then place the tops in a bowl and let them pick out the tops and find which one it goes to and screw it on.
• Cutting with scissors.  Show how to properly hold scissors and have your child cut small strips over the trash can.  As they get older have them cut out circles, squares and triangles, as well as help you with other projects that involve scissors.
• Gardening:  If you don't have a home garden, it is important to start one.  If you don't have the space, start a small container garden and have your child sew the seeds and watch them grow and care for the plants.  You can do an herb garden, a tomato plant and some greens, whatever you like and will work in your climate.  Once the garden gets going and you can eat from it, your child will take pride in eating things that he/she grew!
• Sewing:  Starting at 3 years, introduce sewing to your child.  Buy the largest needle you can find, so yarn, and make flash cards from cardboard or construction paper with written letters on them and punch holes in the letters for your child to sew.  This will teach him no only the letters, but sewing teaches them hand eye coordination.  Show them the proper way to string the needle and tie the knot, and then how to string it through so it doesn't get jumbled up!  Other projects you can do is, sewing buttons on, sewing a stitch along a and old shirt or a burlap sack, and draw animals on construction paper and punch holes along the line and have them sew around the picture.

Sensory Activities

Montessori style educators believe that the development and refinement of the five senses are extremely important to sharpen a child's intellect and prepares them for advanced exersises.  Here are some of the activities that we do in my home.  Remember, some of the actives may seem simple and too easy, but put yourself in your child's shoes, and you will realise they are indeed new and sometimes difficult.

Button Game (2 1/2 yrs and up):  Gather up six buttons in four different colors so the total number of button is 24.  Get a muffin tin, or four separate containers and show your child how to place all the buttons of one color in one dish.  Repeat with the different colors, and be sure to teach the name of the color of the button as well as work on counting as they put them in.  This teaches your child to differentiate between the colors. 

Stacking a tower (2 1/2 and up):  Get building blocks of graduated sizes.  Select the largest block and place on the floor in front of child, and then slowly teach them how to select blocks to build a tower from largest to smallest.  If they are colored name the colors, and count the blocks as you stack them.  This develops coordination pf movement and visual perception of dimensions.

Touch and Feel:  Get a basket or box and put a variety of textured fabrics cut into squares (2 of each) the basket (linen, terry cloth, corduroy, silk).  Show your child three pairs of fabrics that vary the most.  Mix them in the basket and have them pair up the fabrics by feeling them.   When they understand the activity, add more fabrics.  Try this blindfolded or with eyes closed as they get older.  This develops and refines tactile sense.

Walking in a straight line:  Take masking tape, and tape a straight line about 6 feet long on the floor.  Show your child how to walk in a line, one foot in front of the other, and stress balance.  Have your child do it a few times, and once they get good at it, make different shapes for them to walk on, like a big circle, square, figure eight, letters etc.  By stressing good balance you are teaching your child to have good posture and graceful movements.

Fun Mystery Bag:  Fill a bag full of difference size and textured objects (like a brush, shoelace, teddy bear, flashlight, etc.)  Have your child close their eyes and reach into the bag and identify the objects by feeling its parts.  Each time you play this game, change out the objects and depending on the age you can make the objects more difficult.  For the next step, choose objects that start with the same letter, probably the letter that you are working on for that week.  This helps develop familiarity with objects and develop a tactile sense.

Sound bottles (3 yrs and up):  Purchase twelve glass or plastic bottles (I like to used old spice bottles) of the same size.  Gather six sounds (like beans, sugar, rice, sea salt, pasta etc.).  Get some colored contact paper, and cut out the size of the bottles and wrap around the outside of bottles.  Cut red contact circles and place on top of half of the bottles, and blue for the other half.  Fill two bottles, one red, one blue, with the same sound.  Repeat with the other 5 pairs.  Place the bottles in a small shoe box or container.  To do the activity, take out one bottle and shake it, take out other bottles and shake them until you find the matching sound.  Pair the matching sounds next to one another, and have your child do the same.  This develops auditory sense.

Scent Bottles:  Follow instructions for Sound bottles but place spices in the bottles, or cotton balls soaked in liquid flavorings.  Show your child how to take the lid off, smell the scent, and then search for the matching scent in the other bottles.  This develops your child's olfactory sense, and makes him aware of different and like smells.

Geometric Insets:  Cut out strips of construction papers about 5 by 11 inches.  Cut out circles, triangles, squares, of graduated sizes.  Place the cutouts in a bowl and have your child(ren) pick out a shape and place it in the right spot.  This will help your kids learn geometric forms and become aware of gradations.

Color Circles:  Cut a large Circle from 8 different Colored construction papers.  One each circle, paste a white strip with the name of the color on it in Upper or lowercase.  Punch a hole in the top and join them together on a string, so you won't loose them.  Present the color circles one at a time, point to the written name and say "red" or "blue".  Have them repeat you, and go through all the colors.  After they become familiar, have them hold the color circles and teach you the names.  This will teach your child name associating with the color it represents.

I hope this helps, email me if you have questions!