Library ForgivenessWeek Plus New Card Equals Lots of Learning!

Thanks to our local unschoolers group, I found out that this past week is fine forgiveness week at our local county libraries in exchange for non-perishable foods to be donated to the local food banks. So, we went shopping and brought in some food donations and got my oldest daughter's slate wiped clean! Yay! It wasn't entirely her fault. She was much, much younger when she got her library card. Her dad and step-mom got it for her, then there was all this confusion as to whether what she checked out was at her dad's or my house. Anyhow, it was so many years ago now, that there is no way of knowing.
Seneca and I spent a little time at the library. She found a puzzle in the kids' section and was only all too happy to work on that. She chose out a book on Jaguars. So, I had to get a library card. Even at 35, I'm actually excited about getting a library card. :) I picked out a book for Liam on Film.  He says he wants to be a filmmaker.  He was reading his book last night and loving it. 

          I read the Jaguar book to Seneca last night. It is full of beautiful photographs of Jaguars. Many of the photo captions in the book identify exactly where the photo was taken. After reading, Seneca and I went over to our map on the wall. She pulled up her little stool and stood on it. I pointed out Belize, Peru, and Brazil to her. My goal isn't for her to know where Belize is, but rather to give her a sense of place and a feel for the essence of geography. She can point out Florida on a map. In fact, she saw how close Belize looks to Florida that she asked if we could drive there. (LOL) I showed her that the blue on the map meant water and that we would have to fly. (Ok, I know we could, in theory, also take a boat. However, our reality is that we would fly in a plane IF we were to go to Belize.)
Speaking of maps, Seneca can point out Florida, Maine, and Saudi Arabia on the map.
Seneca spent some time drawing a picture using both block crayons and stick crayons. The picture itself was very abstractionist. There was no set object or person, but rather an experience in colors. Seneca is not used to block crayons and she was experimenting with technique. I am very excited to use block crayons with her next year for her Waldorf curriculum, but for now, it is more appropriate that she becomes comfortable with the medium itself.

The day before yesterday, Seneca and I played shopkeeper. She helped me to cut out squares of paper for play money. I then wrote $1, $5, $10 on different squares. I was the customer and I would buy a shell or a crayon from her. A shell might cost $5, I would give her $10, and would instruct her to give me a $5 that she was holding. In another scenario, the shell is $3, I give her $5, and I instruct her to give me back two $1s. The idea is not to teach her subtraction, but to show her math in action. The point is for her to be able to relate subtraction to something real and tangible to her own life when she does start to formally study it.