One Batch of Play Dough

One batch of homemade play dough transformed the moods and actions of my four children this weekend!  I intended to make it for my four year old, but as soon as the ingredients were out, the older kids were calling what color they wanted their portion to be.  Haha!

In a big bowl I stir:
5 cups of flour
1 cup salt
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 Tbsp alum (I was out of alum and used cream of tartar)

To this dry mixture (well, expect the oil) you pour 4 cups of boiling water.  Stir it up and it will come together nicely once it cools off after a few minutes.

At that point I divide up the dough into however many different colors we want to make.  Add the food coloring and knead well.  Presto, all done!  We store ours in Ziploc bags to keep them fresh.

I tell you, all weekend they were rolling, making, building, and pretending with this stuff, and they played together a lot.  Their favorite accessories this time were the rolling pin, plastic knife, toy cars, and Tinker Toys wooden sticks.

The homemade play dough doesn't crumble like the store bought kind, so it's not as big of a hassle, but I admit, there are random pieces of colored play dough here and there around the kitchen floor.  It's ok, this one was worth it.

Ideas for improving Quran Classses

There has to be a way to reform the way we teach people (children) to read and memorize Quran.  Over the past ten years, we have tried at least half a dozen ways.  And each time we run into similar problems and complaints:
* teachers have a heavy foreign accent and the kids have a hard time understanding them.
* they sit around a table left to themselves for the majority of the hour (or hour and a half).
* they aren't given any tools to memorize except to read to themselves over and over.
* they get yelled at.
* they get compared to other kids in the class or to one of their siblings.
* other kids in the class are rude to my kids or just goof off because they don't want to be there either.
* my kids come back with headaches and whine for at least an hour before and after.
* the teacher takes phone calls or texts a lot during the lesson.

These are just a few complaints I have with the experiences we've had.  I'm so fed up with it.  I've tried incorporating memorizing Quran into our schedule, but it is much harder to follow through with it than you might think.  Talking to an experienced Quran teacher once, she told me that she sends her teen son to someone else to learn because it just doesn't happen at home. 

So I was thinking that maybe I could form some kind of format or suggested guide to improve Quran classes.  Since the teachers are usually volunteers with little experience in education or childhood development, they don't have the tools or resources to structure their class time with.  I'm no expert, but I have taken an early childhood development class, I've been homeschooling for over 3 years, and I read up about education as a hobby. 

Off the top of my head I would divide up the hour and a half into 25 minute clusters (or less) and do different things instead of expecting the child to sit for that long supposedly reading and memorizing on his own.  Other things I would suggest (and I might just think more on this subject and come up with a formal packet and present it)
* have a cheerful attitude.
* respect the child.
* take the age of the child into consideration including what skills he likely has and doesn't have.
* realize they are coming to you at the end of their school day and are likely a little tired.
* take advantage of multiple teaching methods: in pairs, have one student read along while another recites that sura from memory, then switch. 
* spend a few minutes actually showing them how to memorize and giving them tips and methods to memorize.
* realize that because they are young, you will want to repeat tips and instruction each time to drill it into them.
* set realistic goals.  or just set some type of goal instead of just showing up each time with no clear direction.
* show up 5 minutes before class starts so that you are there before the students. set the tone and get them busy as soon as they walk in with some type of warm up.

These are just a few of my thoughts.  I've been a little fired up about this topic (again) for a couple of days, and I really want to organize my thoughts so that I might present it to our Quran school.  I don't personally want to teach the classes, and I don't want it to depend on me; rather, I want a successful model to be used by all the teachers so that the students and families can have a better experience.

Outsourcing

This year I've decided to join two homeschool co-ops to take classes from.  Last year we were members in one co-op, but the classes the girls took were mostly recreational.  This year I decided to make better use of our outings and sign up for science classes in addition to the fun classes.  I no longer have to worry about any science while we're home, and they still get some fun classes like gymnastics and logic. 

The pros of being in my co-ops outweigh the cons.

Pros:
1.  I relieve myself of teaching an entire subject.
2.  The girls get to take those classes in a group setting with hands on activities.
3.  We are forced to organize our schedules to accommodate the classes which makes us more organized.
4.  I get to talk to other adults on those days, and my kids get to hang out with other kids.
5.  The kids get to be influenced by other adults of my choosing during co-op.
6.  Being busy and out of the house 2 of 5 days helps us appreciate the quieter days at home.
7.  If I wanted to, I could take some reading or handwork to do while I wait.

Cons:
1.  I have to do a lot of 'sitting and waiting' which makes me a little antsy.
2.  We come home fried.
3.  I can't really think of many cons!

One co-op has been running for many years and is very well run.  The second co-op is in its second year and is still trying to establish its foundation.  In both co-ops parents have simple jobs that help things run smoothly such as basic cleaning up, helping teachers pack up, and running the reception table.  Parent input in welcomed and we hire teachers to teach the classes.  I like that my older children can take challenging classes to keep them engaged and working hard as they get into the higher grades. 

In one co-op, the classes are offered only on Tuesday.  You look at the schedule and sign up for as many classes as you want that day, and that is your co-op day.  I like that it isn't spread out over many days.  That way you aren't ruining your other 'home' days by having to pack up and leave for a few hours. 

The other co-op offers classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but I chose to only take Wednesday classes because of the time it takes me to get there and get home.  If it were closer I might consider taking a class on a different day, too, but as it is now, the whole round trip out makes us all tired.

The workload is very light on co-op days as far as what I expect from them at home.  Math is done daily, and then I usually tack on some type of grammar or writing on co-op days.  They can usually bring their work with them to do in their down hour so that they don't have too much to do when they get home.

All in all, I am so happy we have these options here. I didn't have this network while living in Plano.  We were home all day every day unless I took them on a field trip.  Here in Seattle I have a huge network just by being a member of these two groups.  It's so good to be with moms of a similar mindset.  We help each other work through decisions and issues while benefitting from each other's support.  I'm really thankful for this great set-up.

this is a marble run made  out of foam tube during physical science class

and she reads!!!

It was an unexpected moment.  Randomly this evening my not-yet-5-year old daughter came to me while I was preparing dinner in the kitchen.  She was enthusiastically waving a little reader book from a box I keep in the school room saying "I know, Mom, let's read this one!"  I glanced at it and saw that it was Book 7.  We are still on Book 2 and going through phonics lessons very slowly and casually, so I told her we could look at it but that I wasn't sure she knew how to make all the sounds.  Well, it felt like the right thing to do to leave the kitchen and go sit with her on the couch.  After stumbling over some of those words I asked her to try Book 2.  She nailed it!  She sounded out and read a book all on her own.  It was a surreal moment.  She's the only child I actually taught how to read.  My older three were in preschools and kindergartens, and I wasn't really paying attention.  But now I am. 

It felt like when your baby takes his first steps.  You drop everything and keep doing it over and over and you're laughing and smiling and clapping.  I couldn't believe she just floated into the kitchen like that out of the blue and BAM read a book.  She's been putting many words together for a while now, but this was an official 'sit down and read a book'.  She hasn't shown any interest in doing that yet.  I am so proud and thankful for this little bonus that came to me at the end of today.  I'd had a rough day, so this really, REALLY cheered me up. 

This successes make me realize that all the little steps I take along the way are worthwhile.  All the book reading, letter recognition, finger activities, and other games we play were so worth it.  I love how natural and easy it is for her to become familiar with letter, words, and finally with reading. 

She was so happy that she said she could read any book from the bookshelf!  Well... ok, we're not quite there yet.  Had to stick to our little readers.

Friday recap

This school year has a nice rhythm and schedule that we've never had before.  I'm enjoying the days we spend at home because they come after 3 days of being out of the house and running.

Today is Friday and is a 'stay at home' day.  The girls and I (we are currently the homeschoolers) know it is a home day start the day with a calm tone.  Today I put in a load of darks shortly after I got dressed, but not right away because I knew one of my kids wanted a morning shower.  Breakfast wasn't rushed, and my youngest could take her time eating and getting herself dressed. 

Luckily the two older girls got started pretty close to 8:00 on their first subject (always Math) while I tidied up the kitchen, straightened my hair, and helped the littlest with a fashion emergency (it happens).

I joined the schoolroom around 9am to make sure all was well.  It was.  Youngest One took down the October calendar so that we could change it over to November.  She put the dates back up while naming the numbers and me showing her how they looked on the calendar.  We then talked about the months, how her birthday month is next after November, and then she did the weather chart by pointing the arrow to 'cloudy' (big surprise for Seattle).

 



Like I mentioned earlier, I like the predictable rhythms our weeks take this school year.  On Fridays I can take care of household work, sit by the girls while they focus on work, and I can spend some good, quality time with the youngest in some educational interactions.  I won't call them 'lessons' because they're not really that formal yet with her.  She won't be 5 years old until the end of December, so we just talk about all things preschool such as colors, numbers, patterns, songs, stories, and letter recognition.  I've been using a book called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but in all honesty we've done all of 12 lessons since starting in July.  How's that for laid back?  She is learning how to read from exposure to letters and books, so this book is kind of a guide for me and not The Standard by which I must sit my 4 year old down and drill daily.  She actually read an entire Bob Book today with little help from me, so something is working.

The older girls will be done with most of their independent work soon (plus some time with me during grammar), and then we'll get into an hour-long history lesson.  I read aloud from The Story of the World and then we do map work, place events on a timeline, and read extra books I've already checked out from the library.  After that we'll have lunch and then the girls will spend some time reading from the 'required reading' list (which I make). 

We had been in the habit of attending Friday Prayers at the mosque, but we haven't been in a few weeks.  One masjid is holding a later service at 3:30 to accommodate the school aged kids, so we went to that one time.  The only down side is that it took half an hour to get there after spending 20 minutes picking up my son.  So adding up travel time and prayer time, that outing took us 2 hours which kind of wore everyone to the point of crankiness late on a Friday afternoon... I'm not so encouraged to repeat that.

As for the remainder of the day, I made up some pizza dough for dinner tonight.  I also cooked up some taco meat last night which I'll probably use for Saturday's lunch.  Broccoli is also waiting  in the fridge to be turned into soup.

Have a great day and take it easy.