organic learning

Organic learning is learning that occurs naturally out of the child's innate sense of wonder of the world and their relationship to it. It is deeply inspired by both Reggio Emilia and Waldorf approaches to learning. Careful attention is payed to the reverence for rhythm and aesthetic by forming environments where learning is spontaneous, seamless and organic and materials can be digested according to the childs own unique rhythm.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

yoga@ JEE


Join us this Friday @ 5:00Pm for the JEE (Jenks East Elementary) Carnival! We will have a yoga booth inside the gym. Come learn about yoga and how it can benefit the whole family. The practice of yoga has been a very important tool in establishing our rhythms for home-school learning, reminding us to take time each day to listen to ourselves, allow our body's to move and explore, and have reverence for our creator and environments (the people places and things that support our health and growth). Learn how to make it a part of your life!
Posted by BIANCA EDEN at 2:24 PM No comments:
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Our little pinecone elves

We had so much fun doing these last week! I got the idea from a Martha Stewart magazine, and some of the neighborhood children came over to help us craft. Though these were intended for our nature table, the kids had a blast playing with them outside and created homes in the rocks for them. This week we are making some stars out of sticks collected from our nature walks. The idea is from "Food Festivals and Family". We are making 6 pointed stars ( Star of David) for our advent walk. The tea lights will be contained within them and the supplies are just simply sticks and jute or string.

Christmas shopping

My least favorite thing about Christmas is shopping. The materialism, commercialism, hustle and bustle of buying senseless things, just to buy them. Granted getting new things is nice, and it seems to be the way our society has chosen to show that they "love " each other. I say Bah HUm BUg! and I LOVE Christmas, but in efforts to keep it REAL and simple and practice using our handwork, we are making our presents this year. My daughter and I will be knitting, jewelery making, making essential oil mixes, sewing buckwheat eye pillows, making cookies and jams,.. and best of all I'm giving out free Thai Massages! My son is drawing his famous "Robot and Invention Machines" and we are binding them to make a coloring book for his cousins. What a wonderful way to spend time together...really think about the receivers of these gifts as we make them with care and attention, and save money AND reduce carbon emissions! ( no traveling, no plastic toys, no racking up debt, and buying things that we don't need or will soon break and fill landfills!)

Don't have time to make things? Aren't the "crafty type?" Consider giving the gift of making someone carbon neutral, or donating to a worthy cause in someones name. Or better yet...just give someone a hug for goodness sake! Isn't that what this is REALLY all about! Show the love that Jesus has for humankind. Be the change!

Preparing for Pre Algebra

We are learning from a bit of an unconventional book for our Pre-Algebra Subject Studies. It is called "Kiss my Math", and it is written by Danica McKellar who used to play "Whinnie" On "The Wonder Years". Turns out she is a Math whiz with the sole purpose of helping preteen girls with Math, self confidence, and demystifying the math nerd stereotype. I am really enjoying this book, and enjoying brushing up on these skills in order to teach them :) If I had conquered the fear of Algebra at a young age, I would have felt more confident to pursue ANY major in college instead of settling for the one with the least amount of Math!! I'm excited to try to develop this confidence in my daughter and further mine as well!

Ballet

Now working on the Ballet Coppelia with performance scheduled for Spring.

Subject Studies Schedule

9/8-10/03
Ancient Egypt
10/06-10/31
Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age
11/03-11/14
Spanish Focus Festivals and Food
11/17-11/28
Pythagoras, Father of Numbers
12/01-12/19
Ecosystems/ Biomes
12/15-1/2 winter break
1/5-1/30
Ancient Greece
2/2-2/27
Poetry and Art of the Romance Era
Chalk Drawing
2/3-3/5
Pre-Algebra
3/9-3/27
Ancient Rome
3/30-4/30
Independent Research Project/ Spring Break
5/04-5/29
Botany/Nature Diary & Watercolor Pencils
6/01-6/12
Mixed Review

Our Trip to San Diego

We are wrapping up our Ancient Egypt studies next week with a wonderful field trip to the Museum of Man in Balboa Park, San Diego! What a wonderful way to put everything together! Also, The King Tut exhibit is coming to Dallas so we are planning a visit in Nov.
The 2nd week of Oct., we will be starting our subject studies on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age. We will be exploring drama/playwriting, poetry, literature, costume making, print making and design of this era. While we are in San Diego, we will also plan a visit to the Old Globe Theater (a replica of the original).

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Preparing for Ancient Egypt:

To prepare for our subject studies of Ancient Egypt, I've decided to start with a short play. It will be a one person play of which I will narrate and my daughter will play different characters, and change costumes and props (which we will make) accordingly. We will experiment with paper-making for our props and talk about the scribes of Ancient Egypt and explore numbers and the alphabet through hieroglyphics. The play will decidedly have to convey the rituals and customs of the era, and of course, I'll have to throw in a few Mummy's! My daughter loves to perform so we will have our performance at the end of the first week.

Next. I thought it would be a great idea to make a model of the ancient city, going through architecture, agriculture and farming. I also thought it would be neat to discover the medicinal plants of the time and essential oils and cosmetics as they were made and used in that time.

Our third week will cover the Treasures of Egypt. We will go "tomb raiding" to look at some of the most important discoveries in the pyramids and temples. We will cover upper, middle and lower Egypt, and talk about the major cites and cities along the way. We will construct an Egyptian style model boat and take a simulated boat ride down the Nile.

Our next week will try to weave together the historic time lines and explore how to integrate biblical history and the story of Moses/ Exodus. We will review the biblical text and also watch a few movies that may help to illustrate a more tactile image of our studies thus far. Then put it all together with a time-line!

Week 5, our final week will discuss the last Egyptian rulers and the emerging Greek and Roman Rule.We close with setting the scene in the Ptolemaic era and the eventual fall of the Egyptian culture and emergence of Roman Christianity.This is the perfect set up for our studies in Ancient Greece later in the year. It also blends right into our next subject studies on Shakespeare where I will narrate the story of Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Caesar, and we will look for other forms of Shakespeare's work to look at historical views through "tragedy" and drama.

What I am preparing for:

  • Ecosystems
  • Mathematics/Pre Algebra
  • Botany/ native plants

About Me

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BIANCA EDEN
Bianca is a Holistic Lifestyles Consultant and Professional Makeup Artist. She holds certifications as a Yoga Educator, Thai Massage Bodywork/Energy Work Practitioner, Raw/Living Foods Chef, and Makeup Artist. She has two lovely children and enjoys creating beauty from a palette of fine foods, art, design, and natural living.
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Goals for the Fifth Grade

With "back -to -school " soon approaching I've been researching on what types of things we would like to learn this school year. I had my daughter give me a list of things she was interested in and from there I looked at Waldorf Education and Charlotte Mason for appropriate learning for the 5th year. In addition to her "Arts" infused curriculum of Ballet, Yoga, Piano, and Choir, here is what we've chosen to cover for this year:
Ancient History ( Studies of Greece)
*Architecture
*Geometry & measurements
* Greek Mythology
* Planetary & Lunar cycles
Botany
 * Latin names of Native Plants
* Identify, sketch(colored pencil) and label
* Nature walks
Mathematics
*Fractions and decimals
*Pythagoras: Father of Numbers
* Pre-Algebra
English Literature/Grammar
*Poems of the Romance Era
* Read & report (book list)
* Selected Plays of Shakespeare
Art Studies
*Classic Paintings of the Romance Era
*Drawing with colored chalks
Spanish
* Latin Celebrations
* Corresponding vocabulary
Ecosystems
* Biomes
 * Bacterias (under the microscope)
* The Food Chain (dissect an owl pellet)
Ancient History (Studies of Egypt)
*Culture and rituals
* Hieroglyphics ( alphabets and numbers)
* Fractions
Handwork
* Knitting
* Felting
* Woodworking