I found the most adorable little houses and trees made out of yogurt cups and paper. You can look at them HERE. There is a really simple tutorial with really cute pictures. Hop on over there and have a look.
Note: My husband was reading this and noticed that I forgot to mention that the blog was in French. The blog may be in French, but the pictures tell the story.
I found this ADORABLE WREATH in my hunt for simple Christmas gifts this week. It is a great way to use up that leftover cardboard and create something pretty in the process. I definitely want to try this.
I have been on the hunt for simple things to make for Christmas. I stumbled on this really cute tutorial to make CEREAL BOX HOUSES. I absolutely love this idea and the tutorial is really straight forward and easy to follow. I haven't decided yet it they will be under the tree, but I am really want to try them.
I have always had an unschooling (learning through living) kind of streak in me. I have to keep restraining it to get school done. hehehe. I have been to the Living Math page before and been quite intrigued. A comment was left on my website from Four Little Penguins with a link to THIS PAGE. I read her post and went to visit the original post on Jimmie's Collage called, "Set the Manipulatives Free." They were both very interesting reads and resonated with my inner longings to follow the natural learning and curiosity of my kids.
I am not sure quite what I am going to do for our homeschool, but for this weekend... I have set the manipulatives free.
Elisha created patterns with geoboards. He compared 1 gram blocks on the scale. The scale is out.
Moses did weight comparisons with 1 gram blocks on the scale. He used the geoboards and created patterns. He created patterns on the 100's chart. He used tangram pieces to create various shapes.
Malachi did weight comparisons with plastic teddy bears. He used the 100's board to practice counting with the plastic bears. He did one to one comparisons with counting squares and the plastic bears.
It is amazing how much learning happens when we aren't trying. If only they knew they were doing school on a Sunday afternoon. hehehe.
I really hope to explore this idea more. I like the idea of the manipulatives being free. It made for a very peaceful couple of hours.
What do you do with your math manipulatives? Have you set them free?
One of our traditions every year is to attend the Christmas Truck Light Parade. We have been doing this for the last 5 years (at least). It is a 15-20 minute long parade of trucks covered in lights. The trucks are so beautiful. My only complaint is that the trucks move too fast, but this year it was so cold and stormy (really windy) that I was glad it was short.
Does your family have any special Christmas traditions? I would love to hear about them.