Chalkboard Drawings

• The Use of the Blackboard in a Waldorf Classroom by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)

Daily and Seasonal Rhythms

• Forming a Daily Rhythm by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• My Journey: A Waldorf Homeschooling Planner from Waldorf Essentials
• My Waldorf Year: Planning Guide and Workbook by Kristie Burns (.PDF)

The Main Lesson Block

• An Overview of the Waldorf Curriculum (.PDF)
• Planning a Main Lesson Block by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• Considerations When Planning Your Yearly Block Rotation by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• Summer Teacher Planning from The Parenting Passageway
• Planning 101: Planning for Fall - A list of posts by The Parenting Passageway
• Summer Block Preparation Guidelines for Teachers by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• Thoughts on Reviewing a Main Lesson Story by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• How to Plan a History Block by Waldorf Inspirations (.PDF)
• Waldorf Teachers Gallery: Main Lesson Book Pages (.PDF)
• A Rough Guide to 6th Grade from Christopherus Homeschool (.PDF)
• A Rough Guide to 7th Grade from Christopherus Homeschool (.PDF)
• A Rough Guide to 8th Grade from Christopherus Homeschool (.PDF)

I thought I'd post a few pictures of our "school room" (also known as our family room),  even though it's still very much a work in progress! The room contains a couch, a coffee table, our flat screen TV, two recliners, a rocker, a small bookshelf, our geography cabinet and two sets of Ikea Trofast workboxes. What it does not include is a work table, which was initially part of the room, but later removed.

Last year the kids did at least half of their work at the couch, so I figured we really didn't need to have a big table in the room. The school room is connected to the dining room, so there's always the option of using the dining room table when needed.

Every year, there seems to be one subject that I lose my head over. This year it was geography and I spent a good portion of the summer collecting vintage geography games and resources (some of these can also be found on my Pinterest geography board). Ironically, geography was the one subject that I didn't need to plan this year since we'll be using the Geography and Culture Task Cards from Creek Edge Press.


This is probably the ugliest couch ever, but the kids are rather hard on furniture, so I wanted something super inexpensive and durable. It was only $24.99 and looks brand new, though obviously vintage, so it seemed the perfect solution for now.

Behind the couch, to the right of the workboxes, is a huge closet with shelves to the ceiling (there is a staircase on the other side of the wall, so this is the under stair storage area). It looks a mess in the photo below, but is actually fairly well-organized - the left side is mostly games (new and vintage) and the right side contains shelves full of my favorite clear plastic shoeboxes from The Container Store. All of our arts and crafts supplies are stored in these boxes. I have two additional cabinets in the garage which contain extra school supplies, science items, and general overflow.


We two have boring blue recliners, flanking either side of a little table and small bookshelf (see below). The line in the paneling, toward the top of the first picture, is actually a ledge that runs halfway around the room - quite useful for displaying things!


One of the nicest parts of the room is that nearly an entire wall is a sliding glass door. Since wood paneling tends to be dark, I appreciate having such a wonderful source of light in the room! Below is the view onto our patio - and a table so that we can do lessons outdoors when the weather is nice.

Starting very soon, and continuing through the end of the semester, we're going to try something new for "Fine Art Fridays." Rather than trying to coordinate art/music/poetry/etc. with our history studies, we're going to focus on modern Latin American art/music/poetry (thus, my daughter has re-named the day "Fiesta Fridays"). We will continue to study the Medieval arts during history.

Since we're all usually dragging by the end of the week, we needed something lively and fun to look forward to, a break from our usual routine - hence this rather unconventional idea. The idea is that we'll study and discuss a piece of art, read a little about the artist, have some dessert (inspired by Latin American flavors), read some poetry, and then do an art or craft project (while listening to music, of course!). Once in awhile there will be a video segment to watch as well.

I haven't worked out all of the details just yet, but my plan is that we'll have two primary artists to study: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (not going into their lives too deeply since certain aspects wouldn't be suitable for children); we'll also touch on Pre-Columbian art, Jose Guadalupe Posada and study Mexican folk art (a source of inspiration for both artists), especially that pertaining to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Dia de los Muertos.

Below are some of the initial ideas I've compiled; I'll also be borrowing from the resources listed in my posts Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe and El Dia de los Muertos. My hope is that we'll be able to further enhance this unit by a road trip to New Mexico to view some folk art first-hand!


Books

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera:

• Getting to Know the World's Great Artists: Frida Kahlo by Mike Venezia
• Frida Kahlo: The Artist in the Blue House by Magdalena Holzhey
• Me, Frida by Amy Novesky
• Frida Kahlo (Artists in Their Time) by Jill A. Laidlaw
• Frida by Jonah Winter
• Frida: Viva la vida! Long Live Life! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
• Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Their Lives and Ideas, 24 Activities by Carol Sabbeth
• Getting to Know the World's Great Artists: Diego Rivera by Mike Venezia
• Diego by Jonah Winter
• Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
• My Papa Diego and Me by Guadalupe Rivera
• The Journey of Diego Rivera (Art Beyond Borders) by Ernest Goldstein

Folk Art:

• Folk Treasures of Mexico: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection by Marion Oettinger
• Posada's Popular Prints by Jose Posada
• Mexican Folk Art Coloring Book by Marty Noble
• ABeCedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs in English and Spanish by Cynthia Weill
• The Crafty Chica Collection by Kathy Cano Murillo
• Guadalupe: Body and Soul by Marie-Pierre Colle

Art Projects

• Retablo-Style Self-Portrait
• Self Portraiture with Pets
• Parrot Paradise: Drawing Project
• Mexican Folk Art Projects: Lots of great project ideas
• Art of Mexico: Projects from Incredible @rt Department

Lesson Plans and Miscellany

• Studying the Biographies of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
• The Legacies of Mexican Artists, Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo A really excellent set of lesson plans
• The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo: Teacher's Guide from PBS
• Frida Kahlo Artist Study: How one homeschooling mom handled teaching Frida Kahlo
• Feeling Like Frida: A story about how one elementary school art teacher taught about Frida Kahlo
• Frida Kahlo WebQuest from NYLearns (worksheet here)
• Frida Kahlo Study (.PDF) based on the book Frida by Jonah Winter
• "Self Portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States" Lesson Plan from PBS
• "The Two Fridas" (.PDF) Lesson Plan
• Frida Kahlo Notebooking Pages: (.PDF) A gorgeous free set from Jimmie's Collage 
• Frida Kahlo Cursive Copywork Pages: (.PDF) Also from Jimmie's Collage
• Fruits of the Earth by Frida Kahlo: Coloring Page
• Roots by Frida Kahlo: Coloring Page
• Diego Rivera: A Three-Week Unit for 3rd-5th Grade Students
• Diego Rivera's Murals (.PDF)
• "The Flower Carrier" Diego Rivera Lesson Plan from Garden of Praise
• "Agrarian Leader Zapata" Diego Rivera Lesson Plan from MOMA
• "Flower Festival: Feast of Santa Anita" Diego Rivera Lesson Plan Diego Rivera Lesson Plan from MOMA
• Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art: Handbook for Teachers from MOMA

Websites

• The Virtual Diego Rivera Museum
• Frida Kahlo Fans: Complete Gallery of Artwork

Desserts

• Alfajores Artesanales (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)
• Besos (Kisses)
• Banana Macarons with Coconut Cream
• Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate and Cinnamon
• Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)
• Chocolate Flan
• Churros with Spiced Chocolate (Adapted here)
• Flan with Caramel Cream Cheese
• Guava Apple Crisp
• Mexican Ice Cream Sundaes with Cinnamon-Chocolate Sauce
• Oaxacan Chocolate Cake
• Oaxacan Hot Chocolate (Can also be ordered here)
• Pastelitos de Boda (Mexican Wedding Cookies)
• Pineapple Muffins
• Rose Petal Flan
• Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie
• Stuffed Pineapple
• Sugared Fritters
• Tres Leches Cake
• Virgin Banana Margaritas

Pablo Neruda:

• The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, Peter Sis
• To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda by Deborah Kogan Ray
• When I Was a Boy Neruda Called Me Policarpo: A Memoir by Poli Delano
• Lesson Plans: Tribute to Pablo Nerudo, Part I (.PDF; 57 pgs), Part II (38 pgs), Part III (25 pgs)

I was startled to realize this morning that the new school year is nearly upon us and I have given zero thought to my plans all summer long (that's a first!). I haven't been on my favorite homeschooling websites or blogs, I didn't attend the local convention, and I haven't so much as glanced at any of the curriculum catalogs that have been arriving in the mail. Yikes!

Last year, I had optimistically assumed that we would school year-round, straight through the summer, yet once again that didn't happen. My husband lost his job in May and having him home all day, plus dealing with the garden and having to work extra hours, etc., has made school work rather impossible. We've done some Math this summer, and lots of other little 'odds 'n ends,' but we'll clearly have a bit of catching up to do next month. 

We'll be returning to school full-time on August 17th; since I'll have two back in public school this year, it seemed easiest to plan according to their schedule.  In many ways I'm anticipating an easier year, since I've relinquished my two more challenging students. I'll have Maddie and Jaymon home with me - in fifth and sixth grades, respectively. Nevertheless, I wanted to keep our work as simple (for me!) as possible, with very little pre-planning required - though room to plan if I should so choose. You see, I've come to the conclusion that I cannot be trusted to plan consistently. Sometimes, I'm very enthusiastic about it (too enthusiastic perhaps, and not entirely realistic!) - other times, it's just a big headache and I want something easy. Too often, I leave myself no room for "easy." I think, or at least I hope, that this year I've found the perfect solution, at least for our core subjects.

Religion

• Our Holy Faith, Book 5
• Schuster's Bible History
• Baltimore Catechism
• Angel Food for Boys & Girls (coordinated w/Baltimore Catechism here) 
• Lives of the Saints by Fr. Hugo Hoever

Language Arts

• Voyages in English 5
• Voyages in English 6
• Handwriting 5 for Young Catholics (5th/6th GR)
• These Are Our People and Book of Gratitude (5th GR)
• This is Our Heritage and Book of Valor (6th GR)
• Word Power for Spelling 5/6

History

Science

I'm going to force myself to do a formal science program this year. It's my least favorite subject (well, aside from math), and the one that is most often neglected - yet my kids love it. Last year, I fell in love with Real Science-4-Kids at a homeschool convention, so I've decided to use their Chemistry Level I. I'm not sure how many of their "Kogs" we'll realistically be able to manage, but I'm going to try to utilize all of them.

Math

• Singapore Math (the only thing that has remained constant!)

"A culture of peace will be achieved when citizens of the world understand global problems, have the skills to resolve conflicts and struggle for justice non-violently, live by international standards of human rights and equity, appreciate cultural diversity, and respect the Earth and each other." – Hague Appeal for Peace, Global Campaign for Peace Education Statement

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter From Birmingham Jail", in Why We Can’t Wait, by same author.

"Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience." - Thomas Merton

Core Texts

• Great Peacemakers by Ken Beller and Heather Chase: Tells the inspiring true life stories of twenty great peacemakers from around the world and offers insights for creating peace in your own life. The website includes a free study guide. An alternative option would be Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World by Jane Breskin Zalben (GR 4-8).
• The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace by Howard Zinn. (I've already purchased the Zinn book, but have since learned that Approaches to Peace: A Reader in Peace Studies by David P. Barash is a better option.)

Supplements

(The titles marked with an asterik* are books that I am certain to use, while the others are under consideration.)

• Being Peace* by Thich Nhat Hanh (I will be reading selections from this book.)
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World...One Child at a Time (The Young Reader's Edition)* by Sarah Thomson (Adapter), Greg Mortenson (Author)
• Peace Tales: World Folk Tales to Talk About by Margaret Read MacDonald
• Lines in the Sand: New Writing on War and Peace by Mary Hoffman (GR 4-6)
• Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky (I will have to pre-read this, but I believe it is typically a high school/college text)
• Books That Teach Peace: A (long!) list from the Peace Study Center

Other

• Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel
• Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
• Americans Who Tell the Truth by Robert Shetterly (The really excellent companion website contains curriculum + helpful reading lists)
• The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference by Barbara A. Lewis
• The Kid's Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems You Choose-And Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action by Barbara A. Lewis
• Skipping Stones: An International Multicultural Magazine
• For Mom/Older Students: Passion For Peace: The Social Essays by Thomas Merton, William H. Shannon

Curricula

• Peace Lessons From Around the World from the Hague Appeal for Peace - Lesson plans designed for high school students, could be adapted for younger students.
• Learning to Abolish War from the Hague Appeal for Peace - Lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school.
• Americans Who Tell the Truth
• Peacemakers and Biographies of Peacemakers at 42Explore
• Peace Education at United Nations Cyberschoolbus
• Family Peace Workbook ($15.) from Zen Homeschool

For the past few days, I've been busy around the house trying to get everything organized and ready for school next week. Today I decided to take a few pictures: