The stupendous surprise? A new (used) Wii with a small stack of motion-oriented games. Need to beat those winter doldrums!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Alliterative Action
We had a very alliterative to do list one day:
The stupendous surprise? A new (used) Wii with a small stack of motion-oriented games. Need to beat those winter doldrums!
The stupendous surprise? A new (used) Wii with a small stack of motion-oriented games. Need to beat those winter doldrums!
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Rebalancing
The last couple months have been a bit of a struggle in trying to balance The Kid's desire for more, more, more learning and input with her struggles with perfectionism and tendency to get stressed out.
I don't talk a whole lot on here about her intensity or her giftedness. They're parts of who she is, and we're constantly trying to figure out how to manage the intensity.
If something is too easy, she has no interest. If something is too hard, it can cause full scale meltdowns.
She wants much of her time filled with structured activities, but really needs downtime or she burns out quickly. She wants to learn everything, and she wants to learn it all right now.
She is five years old. She would be in kindergarten by age, but her academics aren't. If we covered all the subjects she wants in a day, we'd have 3-4 hours of academics daily. I aim for 2 hours.
We've tried very relaxed school days. We've tried very structured school days. They were both disasters. We're now back to our previous routines - math, handwriting, and Spanish daily in the morning, with other subjects generally once a week or wrapped into our project time.
I don't talk a whole lot on here about her intensity or her giftedness. They're parts of who she is, and we're constantly trying to figure out how to manage the intensity.
If something is too easy, she has no interest. If something is too hard, it can cause full scale meltdowns.
She wants much of her time filled with structured activities, but really needs downtime or she burns out quickly. She wants to learn everything, and she wants to learn it all right now.
She is five years old. She would be in kindergarten by age, but her academics aren't. If we covered all the subjects she wants in a day, we'd have 3-4 hours of academics daily. I aim for 2 hours.
We've tried very relaxed school days. We've tried very structured school days. They were both disasters. We're now back to our previous routines - math, handwriting, and Spanish daily in the morning, with other subjects generally once a week or wrapped into our project time.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Splatter Painting
We found a Jackson Pollock painting during a trip to an art museum this fall. Finally, an artist I can help The Kid mimic! We actually did this project a few weeks ago during a warmer fall day.
First, we gathered supplies for practicing:
A few colors of paint in bowls, some water to rinse brushes, a large variety of paintbrushes, and a towel to wipe hands on. Plus several large sheets of paper.
Then The Kid practices what types of marks she could make flicking different paintbrushes in different ways.
Finally, I broke out the great surprise: a real art canvas!
The final product is now hanging above our dining room table! She is so proud of it and talk about her favorite parts of it when we sit down to eat.
First, we gathered supplies for practicing:
A few colors of paint in bowls, some water to rinse brushes, a large variety of paintbrushes, and a towel to wipe hands on. Plus several large sheets of paper.
Then The Kid practices what types of marks she could make flicking different paintbrushes in different ways.
Finally, I broke out the great surprise: a real art canvas!
The final product is now hanging above our dining room table! She is so proud of it and talk about her favorite parts of it when we sit down to eat.
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