Farm and the Library

Our Junior Farmers Program at the Center in Palos Park has been just wonderful. The first three classes Jared was very clingy. In fact, I had to carry him for most of the time. But he's beginning to warm up and while he doesn't talk with the other kids, he doesn't hang on me that much either.

On the 4th a woman in the class who has recently hatched baby ducks brought them to class. I think they're a week old. We really want to do this next spring when we can buy and incubator. It was soo adorable to watch the baby duck swimming around in the pool for the first time. They didn't really like the water that much, yet.

Someone left a baby gosling at the farm, so we all took turns holding its fuzzy body. It was amazingly soft.

Ms. Kay showed the kids how chickens take a bath by flapping around in the gravel. Hmm. Something I didn't know either. We met a girl, who was probably around 10 or 11, who helped with our group. Ms. Kay made it a point to tell us she is home-schooled so she has time to help out on the farm. It was nice to talk to a girl who seemed so self-assured and said she really loved being home-schooled. I don't know if she is able to be a self-directed learner, but it looks like she at least has the freedom to participate in program like these for long periods of time during the day.

After the farm, we drove over to my mom's house. She only lives about 5 minutes away, so it's a great chance to see her, my dad, and grandma. Also, my mom usually does something fun for a few hours with the kids while I get a chance to work on this blog, practice my Greek or even do a little reading.

This day my mom and grandma took the kids to the library near their home and to the park next door. She took my camera, so I'll just let the pictures below speak for themselves.

And the ended the day with their grandma and great grandma their favorite way - with an ice cream cone!

Last Week of March

Pretty much anything can be made into a guitar as you can see from the picture above. The kids think of the garage as their stage and put on concerts. I'm not sure how much the neighbors appreciate their loud singing, but I guess I don't much appreciate their loud stereos in the summer, so I guess we're even.

We've been trying to get out every single day and pretty much accomplish that goal, even if it's just playing in the backyard. This week we went to a small playground next to the library. They did some of this...

...and this

and this...

We usually try to get to the library once a week, especially in the colder weather. Sometimes it will be a quick stop, but more often than not, we head towards the children's section, and sit around reading on the couch, or play with the legos, kitchen set or puzzles. Even if we can do all that at home, just the act of getting out of the house helps when we seem to be getting on each other's nerves.

Sunny days has also brought about a drawing with sidewalk chalk craze. Large pictures now decorate the asphault in the back. The buds are on the trees, we can see the birds begin to build their nests, and the breeze flows through the windows in the house. How I love spring!

Trick Dogs, Barefoot Hawaiians, and The Mean African King

We've gone to quite a few library programs in the past two months, so I'm going to lump them all together in one post.

One of our favorites was a dog show at the LaGrange Public Library, where we also met my friend and her son. The dogs jumped through hoops, zipped and unzipped jackets, climbed ladders and did dozens of other tricks. Then, the kids were invited to pet the dogs after the show.

Even with all that excitement, I think my kids had the most fun pushing their little friend around in his stroller after the show.

Alexa danced on stage with other girls in the audience when we saw the Barefoot Hawaiians at the Oak Park Library. Jared was a little too nervous to get on stage with the other boys. Both kids really loved watching and listening to dances from French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Fiji. Plus, it made looking at those places on the map much more memorable.

We've also visited the Oak Park library in the past month for an arts project where they created a winter collage, and we've seen a theater/music performance on Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday. A two person acting team put on several short skits based on legends from different parts of the world, performed a dragon dance from China, and other dances from around the globe.

There are so many awesome free library programs in our area. We can usually go to at least three a month if we want to. It's an incredible way to show kids things they may have never been introduced to before, a chance to be with other kids, and also to see what new things might spark their interest.

It's also just a great chance for pretend play, checking out new books and even watching some fish. And best of all, kids can choose whether or not to participate and what they want to dig into even deeper.

Downers Grove Day

My mom had wanted to take my sister and I along with the kids to Downers Grove before Christmas, but with all the illness between our two families it didn't work out. So, we finally had our special Grammy outing the second week of January, although my sister still couldn't meet up with us.

First, we checked out the Downers Grove Library.  Some people play thousands and thousands of dollars for their children to go to private kindergartens, but if they simply frequented their public library and surrounding public libraries and took part in the rich resources they offer, their children would receive a far more authentic, individualized education. There are so many opportunities for self-directed play, storytelling, arts/crafts, theater performances, magic shows, dog shows, books, magazines, audio tapes, DVD's.....

We had never visited the Downers Grove Library before, but we were very, very pleased. Jared headed straight for the train table, and Alexa grabbed a book and read it to Grammy.

They also had a wonderful time pretend playing with the doll house, dinosaurs and airplanes. I'm always looking for different places to take the kids indoors during the winter, and it's often difficult because I still need places that are fairly contained. If I go to museums downtown or to larger children's museums, I still need someone with me because the kids, particularly Jared, still have moments where they like to dash away from me. This library was the perfect size. We definitely want to come back.

After the library, we met my mom's friend at the Choo-Choo Cafe.  I highly recommend it. It was a little pricier than I'd like to spend for lunch, but the train delivers your food right to the table, and there's a cute mechanical horse for the kids to ride on. Jared's favorite part of the lunch? The sprinkled cupcakes.

We then walked over to a place where kids can pick out their own stuffed animals, and fill them up in a machine. My mom really wanted to take them there, but I think the kids were disappointed. Jared thought there was going to be more to it, that they were going to decorate the animals or put the stuffing in themselves instead of having a machine do it. They did like picking out different costumes for the animals (Jared chose a giraffe, and Alexa  a bear), but when I had to pay the $55 when we left, I knew it definitely wouldn't be worth it. After two days, I don't think they picked up the animals again. Other kids might be different, but my kids' idea of a good time is to put bits of pulled up playdough, an egg, flour, and dish soap in a bowl, stir it up and then proceed to dump most it on the floor. Somehow stuffed animals can't compare to that.

Before we headed home, we stopped in a shop called Glazed Expressions.  This place was a bit pricey, too, but the kids really loved painting their ornaments. The ornaments were $5 each (very small, too), and then there was a $6 per child charge just to paint. Still, we'll have something they painted when they were 3 to keep forever. It was an exhausting, but wonderfully, memorable day. 

 

Library Story Time

Our kids don't attend preschool. Of course, when they hit official school age, they will not attend school either. They funny thing is even now, at age 3, I get so many comments from others about where they attend school. Not IF they attend school, but WHERE they attend school, like it's just a given. When one woman asked me that question at my daughter's ballet class, and I told her they don't attend school (it's not even called preschool now by many, but SCHOOL), she just gave me a little sad smile, and said,"That's ok. Some kids just aren't developmentally ready for school yet." It took all my strength not to shout at her, "They're just fine developmentally. Development has nothing to do with it. I want them free to explore the larger community, not just one building, without having what they do so directed at such a young age."

People, though I can't imagine why, have concerns that if kids are not sitting for six hours a day in the same room with same age kids, they will somehow grow up to be socially malajusted. While I will not write in this post why this thinking is so fundamentally off-base (kids growing up living in the real world among a diversity of different-aged people are years and years ahead of their peers socially), I will say that I don't belive all types of more structured programs are harmful for young children, if, and this is a big IF, the child has a choice in attending the program,and it's for a short amount of time.

While the stories in the library story time program are ones I would have read the kids when they were closer to twelve to eighteen months and much different than the novels we have started reading together, they do get some pleasure out of sitting near other kids and sharing a common experience, although for the most part, they still want to sit in my lap during this time.

Alexa particularly loves singing, so she loves the song time the most. After stories and songs, the librarians have a small craft project for the kids to do. During this time, it is so interesting to see how focused parents (or in this case mostly nannies and grandparents) are in making sure thier child does the craft in the "correct" way. I admit even I have had a hard time in this respect. I was a kid who loved paint by numbers. I wanted to do things the "correct" way. Just now, as an adult, I've been able to see how hindered I was in creative expression as a child. I've been very careful to always, always give my kids art and craft materials and let them play with them as they will. I curb my desire for having a "correctly done" craft project by doing one for myself at the same time the kids are working on theirs. I've allowed myself to get more creative and move beyond the "safe" boundaries of the directions, and they kids have also seen how I am making my craft project and have asked me to help them paste things or draw things in a more conventional manner from time to time, too.

*The picure at the top of the post shows the ghost hangers the kids made at the library program the week before Halloween.

Summer Music Fun

Ok, so in real time it's July 31st and I'm about a month behind in my posts. I have a lot to catch up on and share! The kids are at Grandma's house for the next five hours (something that hasn't happened in months) and my goal is to spend the time playing catch up on this blog. I'll be resorting to a lot of pictures and short text, although I know I'll probably get a little long-winded at times.

The above picture is at one of my sister's friend's house. Alexa LOVED this keyboard with a real mic attached. She is really into singing and will do so most every day. Jared doesn't seem to care that much. He's toned down a bit on his drum playing, too, which makes me a little sad. I know as they grow up they will have interests that come and go, but it seemed so much a part of him for so long that it's wierd when he will go a week without banging on something with his drum sticks.



Libray programs are really one of the greatest things for unschoolers. I've been learning more and more that it's not just about checking out all the free books, DVDs and even puzzles and games, but it's all the fun free programs as well. My mom went with us on June 12th to the Oak Park Library for a free music class. A teacher from one of the Wonder Works music class gave a free demo class for the kids. Now, I personally wouldn't pay that much money for my kids to attend a Music Together class when they can do the same thing at home and not be told when to play and what instrument to play, but for a free thing to do and a chance to be around other kids, it was great.

Jared definitely still loved the drums the best, and you really couldn't get him to stop playing them when it was bell time or they were supposed to be playing another instrument.