Last month we started getting together with a home school group that meets about 10 minutes from our house. This group established themselves last school-year, but I never managed to carve out the time to check it out. I'm so glad I did this year! They have a beautiful meeting space at one of the organic farms along the river, so it is a pleasure for the Moms to sit and talk as well as for the kids to enjoy stretching out a bit. A nice big space allows that to happen. There is usually a combination of free play/hide-and-seek and tag along with some more directed circle type games to help settle things down before project time.
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| Burning off some winter kid energy |
The point of the group is to just let the kids be social and to do some sort of art/craft project together. Last year the kids even wrote a play based on Elsa Beskow's The Sun Egg. I hear they made costumes and a set... the works.
Today's venture in craftiness was a bit less involved than a whole play, however. The kids got to dig their hands into some papier-mache. For this, we headed downstairs to the work space. How I wish I had this kind of a set-up for all things messy and crafty!
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| Stirring the goop |
The older kids chose to make bowls...
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| William's masterpiece in progress |
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| The almost finished product which I very nearly dropped as this photo was being taken |
.....while the youngers made snowflakes.
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| Charlie's snowflake |
It was good tactile fun.
Ben, being the oldest kid present, helped me out by taking photos. Including this cuuute shot of me and my girlfriend April.
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| April and Me |
And after the crafting there was, of course, more running around.
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| Charlie runs like he means it |
During which time Ben reclined on the comfy couches with the moms.
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Ben feels a bit awkward playing circle games and doing crafts with the little kids, of course, but really this group is all about Will and Charlie. Ben has many activities that are only for him, so it is important that I remember that the youngers deserve their own special time as well, just like Ben had when he was their age. It is fun for me to be a part of this group made up of younger kids, babies and toddlers, which meets early to accommodate nap times, as it puts me in the mind of those early home schooling days when my boys were all little, and everything was all fun and games. We're looking forward to many more mornings at The Farm.
3 comments:
This looks like a great space! Is this someone's home? It is huge! What farm is it? I am starting to get this response from Charlotte when we go to story hour at the library. I remind her that it is their turn now, just like it was once hers.
Hey Ang,
It is actually the community space at Community Homestead Farm. I'm sure you encountered them in some capacity while here...they're at the farmers market, sell wares at local stores, have a big pig roast once a year, craft fairs.... I put a link in on the blog if you want to check them out.
Remember our Pac Man papier mache in 8th grade? So very 80s!
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