Homeschooling in the Methow Valley - Week Five

April 24, 2020

We've kept ourselves quite busy this past week with projects. The girls are so enjoying caring for the chickens as well as our neighbor's bunny Polly (while they fish in Alaska). Marshall and I are converting the back of the barn into the new chicken coop. We had the opportunity to scoop sheep poop from 1966- or at least we think... we found writing on the walls that probably records sheep birthing dates.

We began learning about building...

...and turned the dining room into a library of chicken, other animal, and garden information!

Coco helped Pearl write a letter to her friend back in Seattle...

...and the girls gave Marshall a haircut! Thanks to my mom (Jamma) for giving them tips from her life of being a hairdresser.

We utilized the Trillium Montessori Earth Day materials, then began a unit on dinosaurs and their protective adaptations. This was inspired by my school, Little Star, and their fundraising event that was supposed to happen in May featuring my father in law, an astronomer, speaking on asteroids and dinosaurs while the community came together to share food, fun and learning. Of course, this had to be postponed, but it has spurred our investigations at home.

This event was going to launch Little Star kids learning about the history of dinosaurs. It seems interesting to have planned an event focused on such pivotal history while in the middle of another completely different such time. Now we are creating artwork for Little Star to put into a video encouraging the community and reminding everyone we will once again connect to eat and drink and learn soon.

I've been working hard on applying positive discipline approaches to work with my children. With kids feeling all of the uncertain energy we're experiencing, little eruptions are common, and Sproutable's classes around the topic feel especially applicable. All in all we're hanging in there. And we'd love to hear from you as the country is showing signs of trying to open up again. How are you feeling about that, and what have your children been communicating they feel during this time?

A reminder that we have a rotating set of free materials available on our website. Just add the pdf version to your cart, and they'll be free at checkout.

-Megan and the Montessori 123 Team