Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore

I drove out to the bookstore yesterday morning while the kids were in school. This is a nice bookstore---very peaceful and full of Waldorf resources. Most of my visits there can be characterized as bouts of "intoxicated hording". But, today, I exceeded my homeschooling resources budget by only $1, which felt good---centered and with intention (is that a northern CA phrase, or what?)

My time was limited and I was able to flip through some first grade language arts books. I decided not to get the Margaret Peckham books. They were slim volumes of fairy tales and nature stories. I did pick up an Eugene Schwartz book about pedagogical stories. I have Nancy Mellon's Storytelling for Children on my Amazon list. The Mellon book reminds me a bit of Katrina Kennison's Mitten Strings for God. It is nourishing and lilting. The Schwartz book, though, spoke to my intellectual side. It will hopefully give me a meatier version of the "why".

I looked at and picked up Dorothy Harrer's Math for the Elementary grades. The section for first grade is less than 20 pages, but it looks like it will be useful in giving me an understanding of the "why" and to a certain degree, the "how", of Waldorf math. Introducing all four math processes and conceptualizing the processes via gnome stories is what I am expecting to understand through this book. I am planning on creating lessons based on this book, the Miquon Math materials, and the book, Family Math---eclectic homeschooling.

I looked at Hollyhocks and Honeybees and put that on my Amazon list, too, though it had gotten a very low rating from an Amazon user. It's been a week since the kids planted their seeds and so far, we have no activity above the soil. I still need to pick up some containers to plant my seeds. I've been wondering what our "garden" will look like in NJ. Things have been slow moving on finding a new place and I am trying to keep an open mind about what kind of space we'll be living in. I take some comfort in the words of these gardening book writers, that one can grow something, anywhere.

I started the book Making Peace with Autism last night. It's written by a woman, about her son and family, who lives in Brookline. Teresa used to work with the family and Sam S.'s family used to be friendly with them. It's already brought tears to my eyes once. I finished Veronica Mars last night, so I think I will plow through this book. Then, maybe, pick up Raising Cain again.

One of the days this weekend will be devoted to grading some papers and some tedious accounting of student participation in the discussion forums. I feel like my Autism hat has been put on a back burner and it's a little singed from neglect.