Here is the Queen's birthday present.
It is also her math
manipulatives for Kindergarten (
shhh, I won't tell if you won't :)
Take a look at who will be joining us for math lessons this year!
As I have mentioned before, I am planning to teach the Queen her math lessons this year through Waldorf storytelling. I have been studying several resources, including
Serendipity's wonderful
Gnomes and Gnumbers lessons and the
Christopherus math lessons. After reading these and getting a feel for the stories, I decided the Queen simply had to learn math with her favorite friends: Peter Rabbit, Squirrel
Nutkin, Old Brown the Owl, Chippy
Hackee, Mr, Jeremy Fisher and of course, Mrs.
Tiddlemouse. I purchased
the animals over the summer (these would make great stocking
stuffers!). Now, our little animals needed a home for the year, and I have been in love with
this fairy house for years, but could not bring myself to spend that much money. Then my mother said she would get it for the Queen's birthday. We ordered it, and it was enchanting, but a piece was broken, and it was rather large for the spot where I had envisioned keeping it in our schoolroom. As I prepared to send it back for an exchange, I just kept thinking, surely I can make something similar for a whole lot less. The next day I happened to see
these pieces at H*
bby Lobby - so, I sent the lovely but very expensive fairy home back, and decided to make one myself. It was not too hard - other than the hour my husband spent cutting the tree limbs (and the small argument it caused over trying to cut even lines on a curved tree branch :), I spent an hour drilling the holes and pegs to put the whole thing together - all in all - 2 hours of work, one fight and $15 - I think it was worth it :)
I added a silk we already had, glued two of the crocodile hunters
tree blocks together to create a table, and spent $10 on fall leaves, flowers, a nest and a fall garland to decorate (the M*
gic Cabin decorations are $40 per season :). Our fall counters are acorns from the back yard and those little seed pods that look like
pumpkins. She will be getting the winter and spring decorations as a Christmas present this year.
So, now we are well supplied with those all important math
manipulatives(and I must say I rather prefer our set to
these , given my
great love for Sax*n).
Illustrations include sun & moon, eyes, ears, hands, feet, disembodied arms and legs :), and Christ, representing His two natures man and God. Another idea for 2 would be Adam and Eve, we just ran out of room!
Three includes an icon of the 3 angels symbolizing the Trinity, the crosses at Golgotha, the myrrhbearers at the tomb, and
the three wise men.
