Gentle and Classical Curriculum

 

If you're looking for two small children who are passionate about face washing, they live at our house. Two weeks ago, my three-year-old and two-year-old started Life Abundantly's Gentle and Classical Preschool curriculum, and let me just put it this way: They're here for face washing.

Let me issue this disclaimer though: I'm a firm believer that, at this age, a child's most important work is playing. We spend our days doing just that, reading a lot of good books, helping with real life tasks like pinning clothes on the clothesline and setting the table, taking solid naps, running around outside as much as possible and reading still more. 

I am not the mom who wants my child in every sport by age 3, memorizing his multiplication tables by 3.5, and trying out for Quiz Bowl at age 4. 

Ain't happenin' in this house. 

At the same time, I recognize that my little people are curious about everything (Why? Why, Mom? But why?) and that there is a benefit to learning to sit still, if only for 15 minutes a day. Thus, Gentle and Classical. 

So while you won't find us memorizing Latin declensions just yet or working on trigonometry (ever . . . if it were up to me), you will, for example, find us learning that tadpoles turn into frogs, searching outside for said polywogs, and listening to Frog and Toad. 

You'll find us singing our days of the week and months of the year, looking at the calendar to count down the days until family members visit, and marking out which day is "church day."

You'll find us memorizing Scripture and having deep toddler conversations that go like this: "No, F, you are NOT the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd! That's what John 10:11 says!" and "No, G. Good Shepherd ME!"

And you'll find us counting the rocks we've picked up in the lane and hauled around in a small, dinged up Tonka dump truck. 

Teaching my little people that fish swim in the ocean and that patience is a virtue is one of the brightest spots in my day, and from the repeat question of, "Can C go take a nap so that we can do school, Mom?" it's clear to me that my two older kids love it too. 

Thanks to our little school routine, I now have two happy face-washers. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go see what week we learn how to fold clothes, cook supper and unpack the dishwasher . . .

what I'm eating and listening to

In case anyone is wondering -- after the Great Zucchini Pandemic of 2017 -- yes, we are still harvesting that Energizer Bunny of all squashes. The stuff just will -- not -- stop. Thankfully, kind people are taking it off my hands, because you can only grate so many gallons of it, puree so much for baby food, and make so many loaves of zucchini bread before you have to move on with life.

If I were more Ma Ingalls and less myself, I'm sure I'd come up with a way to do something amazing with it that will save us from starving when the first blizzard hits this winter. But in the meantime, I'm banking on Aldi's low prices and fresh zucchini bread when I remember to thaw some of the grated stuff.

On the flip side, the lovely thing about NOT being Ma Ingalls is that I can listen to podcasts while my toddler calls her grandma on her fake Blackberry and the baby rolls to his tummy and then gets angry when he can't flip onto his back and I grate roughly six metric ton of zucchini.

In case you're in the mood for some listening variety, here are some favorites in our house:

• Issues, Etc. = Obviously. We're Lutheran. We love being Lutheran. We love learning Lutherany things. But Issues isn't just for Lutherans. It's for anyone seeking the truth in pretty much any realm: the media, politics, ethics, the home. I have some favorite guests, so on the days I'm feeling in a history mood or a liturgy mood or an "I'm sick of the media" mood, I pull up their name and go to town. (And yes, if you listen to Issues, we are the "Missouri dairy farmers love Issues, Etc." people whose cows are mooing in the background. Don't ask how I got them to moo. I actually looked both ways down the road to make sure the neighbors didn't see me trying to get the heifers to moo back.)
• Hillsdale Dialogues. From North Korea to the Paris Accord, from the Constitution to the Declaration of Independence, from C. S. Lewis's Abolition of Man to Aristotle on tyranny, it's all here. If you have a half hour and want to be challenged in your thinking, this is for you. These podcasts are funny, historically grounded, timely and always food for thought. 
• Your Morning Basket. I don't think it's a big shocker for anyone that we intend to homeschool our kiddos. And while that's a few years off yet, I'm starting now to read the books that make the case for doing so and listening to other veteran homeschoolers who have good suggestions on what to do and what not to as you begin teaching your children (what not to: get over-eager early on and try to do too much. what to do: read lots of good books with your kids and let them play. I'm in!). This podcast makes the case for time set aside each morning -- with all the kids -- to review or loop through a small group of hymns, poems, ideas, maps, etc. -- just enough books or journals to fit in a basket. This time allows all the kids to work together, regardless of age, to review a poem they're memorizing or a hymn they've working on singing before spreading out to start their day. Because it's based largely on memorization and building on what you know, the repetition not only gives some structure to your family's morning but also allows your kiddos to draw on what they've committed to memory throughout the year and beyond. 

 So if your garden is going gangbusters in the zucchini department, or if you're simply in the mood to listen to something new, if you're in the midst of baking these delish zucchini chocolate chip muffins (recipe courtesy of my sister-in-law) or if you're sitting on your deck soaking up the last of the summer heat, give one of those a listen.

Also, eat muffins. Or carbs of any kind really. Between history, theology, families and schedules, you can't go wrong.

Also also, chocolate chips.

Happy Labor Day!