Friday, January 28, 2011

All Girls/Nur Mädchen

MaryHow Ben Franklin Stole the LightningJonathan went on a shopping trip with his daddy today, which was one of his birthday presents.  When I say shopping trip, I mean grocery shopping, which is always a little bit complicated because we live so far away from everything.  It normally means being gone for a whole day.  So we had a house full of girls today.  Charlotte is finishing up her Ancient India main lessons.  We started a new block today: North American geography.  We will read through an imaginary trip across the United States in My World of Neighbors and then move on to a more hands-on approach.  Miriam and I read about St. Ciaran today.  Veronika and I read Peach Heaven, a story about a real event from Korea.  In the afternoon for religion for a change we read Brian Wildsmith's Mary and also listened to Catholic Songs for Children (normally we study the catechism and the Bible).  Our read-aloud book for everybody was How Benjamin Franklin Stole the Lightning, quite an entertaining book with whimsical pictures.

Jonathan durfte heute seinen Vater beim Lebensmitteleinkaufen begleiten.  Das hatte er sich zum Geburtstag gewünscht.  Lebensmittel kann man hier in der unmittelbaren Umgebung nicht so gut kaufen und deshalb ist ein solcher Ausflug immer ein Tagesausflug.  Also hatten wir heute ein Mädchenhaus.  Charlotte macht ihre Epoche über das alte Indien zu Ende, doch wir haben schon mit der neuen Hauptepoche begonnen: Nordamerikanische Erdkunde.  Dafür lesen wir erst eine imaginäre Reise durch die USA und werden dann mehr Projekte und Aktivitäten machen.  Miriam und ich haben Geschichten über den heiligen Ciaran gelesen.  Mit Veronika habe ich etwas über ein wirkliches Ereignis zur Zeit der Pfirsichernte in Korea gelesen.  Für Religion haben wir heute eine Pause mit Katechismus und Bibelstudien gemacht und dafür ein Bilderbuch über Maria gelesen und katholische Kinderlieder angehört, die gleichzeitig auch lehrreich sind.  Das Vorlesebuch für alle war heute ein ganz lustiges über Benjamin Franklin, dem Erfinder des Blitzableiters.              

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15 comments:

  1. Das ist bestimmt ganz toll für Jonathan, mal "ganz unter Männern" zu sein :)
    Bei uns passiert das natürlich häufiger: immer dann, wenn ich weg bin wg. Sitzungen oder Veranstaltungen. Meine drei MÄnner (vier, mit Hund) machen es sich dann besonders gemütlich und es ist fein zu sehen wie gut sie auch ohne mich klarkommen.
    Schönes Wochenende

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  2. Das ist schön, mal so ein Männer- bzw. Frauentag. Euer Frauentag war sehr lehrreich. Vielleicht postet Peter dann mal etwas über den Männertag?
    Wir gehen nächste Woche übrigens auch - auch imaginär - nach Amerika, da wir den Buchstaben A zum Thema haben.

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  3. Wonderful readings! I will have to take a look at the B. Franklin book.

    By chance I ended up reading a few websites about the four temperaments by R. Steiner. It was so interesting! Then I remembered that you mentioned a personality test which also gave book recommendations. I think I know what you mean now. Was it to help with various temperaments? My son has a good dose of the Melancholic temperament(such self imposed angst sometimes), and I noticed that non-fictions like biographies of people who overcome trials are good for him. The Waldorf sites had some really good information. I did not realize that Waldorf teaches to type - takes them into consideration.

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  4. Hallo C., wenn Peter was schreibt, gibt es aber keine Fotos!

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  5. Alexandra, I also find the temperament readings very fascinating. Children in a Waldorf school classroom are even placed next to a child of the same temperament to help them to "see" their temperament and thus to wish for the opposite or different temperament. This will eventually help them to integrate aspects of the other temperaments into their own personalities. Especially in the lower grades "healing" stories are quite important for the temperaments. A teacher is also advised to try to present his lessons to appeal to all temperaments. May I ask at what sites you were looking?

    The test from Mercy Academy deals more with learning style types (which could be reflecting your temperaments). They are a good addition to the knowledge of the temperaments.

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  6. Thank you for the information. It was Steiner's speeches on Google Books, OpenWaldorf(chart), and another I cannot find again.

    Here as well: http://www.homeschool-living.com/Temperaments.html

    and

    http://waldorfparents.blogspot.com/2010/09/children-and-four-temperaments-what.html

    My son is Phlegmatic, but also has a strong does of Melancholic. My daughter is still young, but I'm guessing Phlegmatic with Sanguine. She is so much easier to teach! My son would sit back and do nothing if I didn't poke and prod him(gently due to Melancholic sensitivities) along like Eeyore. He is very responsible and self directed with workbook approach, so we continue with this. Still he is interested in the minimum(learning) required.

    Do you have any experience with this type of student?

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  7. I guess one of my daughters is somewhat like this, but she can sit for hours in nature and observe her surroundings very closely. She also likes to read. Does your son have any deep interests for anything?

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  8. He likes reading, but is very selective(Tolkien, Harry Potter, M Engle, Hardy Boys, and other popular contemporary readings), and knows his Bible very well. Other than that he has no real deep interests - he just shuffles along like Eeyore. He has an active imagination(all in his head). Maybe his interests will blossom as a teenager. I used to worry, but now I just embrace his personality, and pray, mostly for myself to have faith and wisdom. His strong suit is character. He is a very honest and well behaved person. He says he dislikes learning(gasp) - all forms of learning. I don't push with this scenario...just gently give him assignments. It's a shame because he is very intelligent, and not lazy, or a procrastinator - he gets his work done independently.

    Thanks for letting me share. I guess we all(homeschool mothers) have our challenges.

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  9. Alexandra, he will find his place in the world, I'm sure! Does he like to be outdoors? Does he participate in any sports?

    Your description of him reminded me of the boy in The Neverending Story. If he hasn't read it, it would be the perfect book for him. It's a mix of all the type of books he likes. I read it several times as a young girl and am now reading it to Jonathan and Charlotte.

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  10. Thanks, Eva. He read up on the book on Wikipedia, and requested it from the library. I remember the movie well, but have never read the book.

    No and no to outdoors and sports. He still likes to get outside - swing and run around for fresh air, but that's about it. We go on nature walks in warmer weather, and he only enjoys it if we pretend there are snakes, and I scream(eyes rolling - boys!). He's a jokester.

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  11. I never saw the movie, I think the author, Michael Ende, was very disappointed with it, though. I think that it is almost impossible to make a movie out of the book.

    I really had to chuckle at the snakes! He must have a very vivid imagination. Has he ever tried swimming? Does he like music? Is he passionate about anything? Does he like to cook or eat? Is he very talkative? (All my children talk all the time, at least at home).

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  12. We got the book from the library today, so he'll be reading it soon. :)

    He used to take swim lessons when he was younger. He is not very talkative - more of an introvert. He isn't passionate about anything yet, but he does live for alone time(quiet time) where he can read, think, or dream. He has a friend next door, and the two of them think up the funniest stories together(act them out with funny voices). He has always had a wonderful imagination.

    He has never liked music much, or cooking, crafting, eating, etc. He's not very hands-on or particularly observant of things. I have to remind him to use his five senses.

    My husband is giving him "man lessons", or at least this is what we jokingly call it. They work on carpentry, home repair, and things that men traditionally do around the house. Today he learned to measure and saw trim pieces for the house. I wouldn't say he loves this, but he enjoys doing things with his dad, and he does a pretty good job.

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  13. I hope he will enjoy the book! I read a chapter to Jonathan and Charlotte tonight while they were working on handwork.

    I think your son sounds like a very nice and sensitive boy. I think it's great your husband is teaching him some practical skills. You never know what all his time alone might lead to. I had to think of another book about a very slow and introverted boy, the explorer John Franklin. It's called The Discovery of Slowness. I read it many years ago in German, and found it very interesting. It's not written for children, though.

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  14. Thank you. That looks rather interesting! I enjoy reading about explorers.

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