We are very excited about our upcoming homeschooling classes in Davis, CA! Winter term begins January 26, 2016. Registration is available online at www.wholisticlearningresources.net.
We also travel and teach workshops for homeschooling groups, parents and teachers! Contact us for more information on scheduling workshops near you.
WLR is pleased to announce our new classes in Davis, California!
The new classes will be taught by two outstanding teachers and Waldorf enthusiasts: Rick & Jennifer Tan. Please join me in welcoming the Tans to Wholistic Learning Resources!
I met the Tans a number of years ago and Jennifer was actually one of the teachers at WLR during our first semester of classes in 2010. Soon after, however, the Tans relocated to Davis. I am excited to be working with them again at our new location at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis.
The new classes include Nature Notebook Journaling, Art, Handwork and Music. The Tans are talented, experienced teachers who bring a wealth of knowledge, joy and beauty to everything they do. In addition, they are experienced homeschoolers themselves and are flexible in their approach to education.
Classes will be held on Tuesdays, beginning September 15 and will run for 10 weeks. View the schedule for more details.
Wilson wanted to make a Christmas gift for his violin teacher. We decided to make a treble clef ornament. Originally, we were going to crochet, but Wilson had the idea to use the double lucet so that we could string a piece of wire down inside of our cord. Double lucet from Sister Maide.
Once the lucetted cord was done, we strung a piece of wire through the inside until it touched the knotted end. We cut the wire, took the loops off of the double lucet, and then tightened up and tied the open end. With a weaving needle, Wilson wove in the ends. Carefully, we bent the wired cord into a treble clef shape, and then added a metal hook. The project took a couple of hours. We used yarn and wire leftover from previous projects. The violin teacher loved the gift!
A fun way to learn geometry is through handwork. Crocheting basic shapes leads to discussions and observations about numbers, patterns, fractions, and so much more!
We started with some lovely alpaca yarn that came straight from Upstream Alpacas. They handspun and dyed the yarns from their own alpacas.
Our 5th grader Wilson then wound each skein into a ball.
We played with geoblocks, figuring out which shapes can be used to form other shapes, such as using 6 triangles to make a hexagon.
Wilson then learned how to crochet granny triangles. He had made granny squares before, so he understood the concept of starting with a circle to create another shape.
The rainbow-colored triangles were done! Now, time to crochet edging and lay out the triangles.
One thing that we learned, is that the triangle points wanted to curve. Wilson made sure to single crochet three times into each corner.
The triangles were sewn up with leftover yarn.
The 6 triangles, when sewn together, curled up a bit, looking like a circle.
Wilson blocked the triangles using water, a foam board, and push pins to encourage the yarn to hold a hexagonal shape.
The end result is a beautiful, rainbow hexagon! We use it in our homeschooling bookcase and place special calendar gnomes on top.
Jennifer had the pleasure of attending a felted fairytale tapestry workshop at Davis Waldorf School, taught by the wonderful Suzanne Down of Juniper Tree Puppets. Jennifer decided to choose a scene that represents elements of a new pentatonic song that Rick wrote for his first graders. Song words, below (and an audio clip coming, soon!).
Inspiration from Suzanne included looking at felted scenes and also postcards of felted scenes.
After many layers and some extra work at home, the scene is finally finished!
We are very fortunate to coordinate and teach at the Davis Waldorf School Summergarden Camp in Davis, California. This summer was our 4th year. Children entering grades 2-6 attended for one-week sessions. Older students could attend as Jr. Counselors. We have highly qualified teachers for handwork, gardening and cooking, and a host of amazing high school and college volunteers who help the program run smoothly. Children come to us from the Davis Waldorf Schools, and also from the local public schools, Waldorf schools from other cities and states, and homeschooling families. Some families travel from afar and stay in Davis for a week or more on vacation while their children attend camp.
Children rotate each day through the kitchen, garden and handwork room/woodworking area. The calendar provides breathing in (learning) and breathing out (playing) times throughout the day. Gardening includes planting, harvesting, weeding, composting, learning about herbs, and garden crafts.
Week 3 - Wood Toy Boxes, Flower Essences, Herbal Cheese
Children help prepare their own snack and lunch made mostly from local and organic ingredients. This summer, we were fortunate to have produce from Good Hummus Farm in nearby Capay Valley. Live musicians perform for the children during lunch once per week (harp, guitar, fiddlers, flute, clarinet). A beautiful aftercare program is available for children who want to stay longer than 1pm each day.
Each morning starts with circle time: Good morning song, gardening song, yoga stretches, summer song. Each learning session includes an opening and closing verse. Eating times begin with a meal verse. By the end of the week, children learn 8 verses and 3-5 songs. Children watercolor paint a cover for their journals which includes the week's recipes, songs, verses, and drawings.
Summergarden 2015 information will be on the website around February, 2015!
So fortunate to have incredible teachers -- Jennifer Tan, Par Duncan, Bill Critchfield, Robyn Wolfe, Jan Plotkin, Dahlia Haberman, Hue Thao, and Aftercare providers Karen Hansen-Downey and Misty DeGennaro
Below is a photo album that we created featuring our 5 weeks of summer camp adventures!
