Free Stories & Thoughts on Grade 3

A reader had written to me asking what Grade 3 stories we were doing and so I am attempting to find some free stories that pertain to this year which have been helpful for us.  I am not someone who does well reading online, so I usually purchase the books (used if possible - borrowed from the library is best), but I have found that many of the fables or snippets from folktales or fairytales have been perfect from these free online sites.  The best one pertaining to stories used in Waldorf homes is from www.mainlesson.com. 

So far, what we've found is that Grade 3 centers so much on the 9 year change (and I am beginning to experience it now with one of my twins, just as they turned 9 a month or so ago).  So the Bible stories from the Old Testament are key and most of the time, can be woven in nicely into the other subjects.  So much else of Grade 3 - with measurements of every sort seems to put us outside the 'traditional' classroom: experimenting with grains, farming, gardening, constructing basic dwellings, weaving together, baking, etc.  It's just a really fun year!

As usual, we are going through and reading lots of books together.  I will link a few of the ones we've like the best below:

Hurlbut's Story of the Bible 

The Red Indian Fairy Book (a nice tie-in to Native dwellings)

The Wind in the Willows (found Toad to be a great 9 year change character for children to relate to - he means well, but has bouts of selfishness where he is concerned with his own ego and takes to fibbing when it serves him well.  He is left feeling very much alone, though his friends continue to flock to his aid.)

The Secret Garden (this is a WONDERFUL book about a little girl who begins alone, hardened and cast out of her home due to circumstances.  She comes to live with her uncle in England and blossoms through the promise of the Secret Garden.  It is leading us into our gardening block now.)

The Jungle Book (works well for basic dwelling and survival skills.)

here is the Grade 3 list from Mainlesson.com
here is a link to Project Gutenberg who offers free quality books online

In Grade 3, you can also tackle cursive, turn your handwork into weaving projects that are practical and useful in everyday life (pot holders, place mats, purses or sacks for boys to carry things in, maybe even a book bag for those library trips), money, telling time, and we started spelling this year, too!

Some of the books we have read or are set to read (aside from Wind in the Willows and Secret Garden) are the following:

The Cat Who Went to Heaven
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Farmer Boy and the Little House Series
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
The Dragon of Two Hearts (from the Dragon Boy series)
Patter~Paws the Fox and Other Stories
Trumpets of Happiness and Other Stories

There is a wonderful post (one of many) on Carrie's blog The Parenting Passageway and she posted an extensive reading list here.  Her blog is a wealth of knowledge that transcends across the board - not just to the waldorf circle!

This isn't nearly as much as I would like to share, but I hope it helps stir your thoughts just a bit as you plan out your 3rd Grade year.  I always find myself getting antsy to start that planning in the spring for the next grade, forgetting that we still have lots of time left until the year's end!

January Calendar & Saving Eloise

"January brings the snow,

Makes our feet and fingers glow."

One of the elements in Grade 3 is learning about time, which includes the passage of...hence the calendar. We are making our own calendar and each month, have learned a little rhyme about that month, and create a drawing that represents it. The girls are contributing more to the creative pallet, as they get older and we decided to draw a figure by a warming hearth.

This gives us the opportunity to introduce measuring, as well. So the girls are becoming more familiar with how to use a ruler and how the metric system works! Any sheet of paper will do, but I didn't want a tear away calendar, so I opted to use our larger drawing paper. We kept the top half for our drawing and in the bottom half, we measured out our ample squares.

This also allows for the writing of the 7 days of the week. Each day, a square is crossed off and the girls tell me what day it is. They take great delight in crossing off another day!

We hung ours in our school room so they are within reach. Over the summer, my husband and I attemped to lazure paint the school room, which was a spare bedroom upstairs that we weren't really using. I am honestly torn between using our kitchen table and having our own room. I have done both and like both for different reasons. But I had found that we had so many crafts and projects out that the kitchen table was never clean, so from that aspect, I like having a room designated to school where we can leave projects out while finishing them. I hope to do another post on our room, how we did it, and how it turned out.

We also made our own blackboard, which I will share, as well. I had a lot of great advice from Jenn of Our Little Nature Nest. Her blog was a great inspiration and I was saddened to hear that she had to close it down. In any case, here are our calendars for January.

And now for Eloise...

This is her impound photo...

While this blog is primarily about our Waldorf-inspired homeschooling adventures, a big part of that is learning about compassion and respect for all creatures, great and small. Yesterday, we were blessed with an extra special rescue that I wanted to share.

Almost two years ago, we rescued a dog who had been attacked and had his eye removed. He sat for 6 long weeks at a shelter and no one wanted him. When we went to see him, someone who was walking by even told us that he wasn't a good dog. We should adopt his kennelmate instead! That sealed the deal for me...With his time running out, we knew in our hearts that he was meant for us! Our Jackie has been the most loving and expressive furbaby. He has been a blessing in our lives. I will always credit him to leading us on this journey, for his save brought us to a wonderful small dog rescue organization who welcomed us with open arms. We not only jumped in with both feet, but we also jumped in with our entire hearts! I couldn't have planned a more important learning experience and life experience for my twins if I tried.

Eloise is one of thousands of dogs that goes through the local shelters where we live. She, like our Jack, had been attacked and Animal Control found her and took her off the streets. Her eye was too far gone to save, so it was removed and she was brought back to the shelter and given a standard 5 day hold to see if her owners would come for her.

They never showed.

On day 6, she had to get out or she was slated to walk the Green Mile and would be killed the next morning. Yup - they give most of the dogs at this particular shelter only one day to get out. Not only was her eye an issue, but Eloise was deemed, 'rescue only'. That meant that her only hope of getting out was through an approved rescue organization. Luckily for Eloise, she had several Guardian Angels.

In the usual scramble that is the rescue world, the director of our rescue said she had an open spot for her, after another dog got adopted to a wonderful family. One rescuer drove over an hour to get her out. The clock was ticking and her time was running out. By 2pm Sat, she was safe in Tammy's car and the girls and I were on our way to meet her. Tammy drove two hours to get her to a meeting point and we drove two hours to get her from that point to our Saturday adoption event. From there, she would go home with the Director and begin her rehabilitation process.

The girls named her Eloise...and held her the whole way to adoptions. She gave them kisses of thanks and ate treats from their hands. Once at adoptions, it was Charley's turn to hold her and she refused to put her down. The looks on my girls faces as they hold these forgotten and unwanted babies, I shall never forget. It is the 'juice' that keeps me going, when I am tired and overworked. 'Just one more life,' I tell myself...yet one more always turns into yet another.

But you know, I really wouldn't have it any other way...look at how relaxed Eloise is, compared to her impound photo. The worst is behind her. She will not die in the morning. Her new life is just beginning. She has been given a second chance at life. She may never know how many people it took to save her, how many animal lovers prayed for her when her photo was circulating, the individual people that gave pledges for the vet care required to heal her injury, or that she has helped form my girls into the next generation of rescuers, who will save more lives when they are grown because of dogs like her...

But the one thing she will know, is that she is...

LOVED

If anyone has the interest or passion to help rescue shelter animals, good people are always needed. Even if you can't foster, transporters are always needed and appreciated. Many dogs don't make it out alive because the rescues don't have a way to get them the distance they need to go, so if you want to make a different in the life of a dog, cat, rabbit, horse, goat, chicken, pigeon, rat, hamster, guinea pig, you name it - even turtles and iguana's turn up at the shelters, research a good rescue (sadly, not all are good) - and see if you can help transport :) I promise you, the feeling you get on the way from the shelter is one you will never forget, and the lessons you teach your children through example are priceless...

Friday Book Review: Circle of Seasons

This is an absolutely gorgeous book by Gerda Muller called, "Circle of Seasons". It is currently out of print, but was originally published in the Netherlands as four separate books (one per season). The board books are available at many waldorf bookstores, as well as amazon (see links).

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

The books are beautifully illustrated with just few words, allowing the imagination of the parent and children to tell many different stories from the gorgeous pictures. And there is always something new to discover. It is easy to get lost in these pages and I would have loved to have known about these when my girls were toddlers. Highly recommended books for little ones! A few of these pictures can give you the idea better than my words could :D

These books (or "Circle of Seasons", if you can find a used copy) would be wonderful to have on your permanent bookshelf for generations of appreciation. They help usher in the seasons and add a wonderful sense of rhythm to our children's lives!

Summer Bees Needle Felting Tutorial

Bees

Buzzing bees, buzzing bees,

Buzzing and bumbling from flower to flower,

Suckling sweet nectar out of the bloom,

To fill with gold your honeycomb bower.

~Paul King

This tutorial goes out to Honey from Mondorfment for her wonderful Sunshine Award nomination :D I haven't done a simple craft tutorial in far too long, so here's a fun and easy one for summer!

Supplies:

- needle felting needle

- needle felting pad or a sponge

- three colors of wool roving (black, yellow, white/cream)

- optional: string or yarn, sewing needle, scissors, twig

Step 1: Take the black roving and roll it tightly with your fingers, securing it with the needle felting needle by jabbing it in several times. The barbs on the needle with help the wool grab onto the other fibers, thereby binding it into your desired shape.

Step 2: Once you have the size/shape of your bee, take a little thin bit of the yellow wool roving and wind it onto the bee in stripes. Needle felt into place. The needle does not need to go *all the way through*, as the barbs are on the very tip. That will also push some of the wool through to the other side and can discolor your project a bit.


Another fun and easy needle felting tool which I highly recommend is the Clover needle felting tool. It has five needles and a safety guard, which makes it a nice tool for younger needle felters. It comes with fine pointed needles, but you can also purchase thicker needles, as well. Shop around for better prices - often found in your local crafting shop!

Step 3: Take your white or cream colored wool and round the edges with your needles, making it into the shape of little wings.


Step 4: Needle felt the wings on.

Voila!

If you have younger children, you can make the bees bigger to make them safer and easier to handle.

***Remember that the wool can be a choking hazard, so please don't give these to little ones under 3 or even those who still put things into their mouths***

Here is a larger bee I made for a 3+ little one from my shop.

Now for a fun *optional* project using your lovely needle felted bees...

Have your child find some nice sticks or twigs on a nature walk. You can sand and polish for fun, if you'd like. These ones are in their natural state...

Thread a sewing needle with some thread or yarn and attach to the bees.

Tip: I like to come in through the top of the bee, hidden by the wings, and then pull it through to the bottom, and come back up again through the wings to make it extra secure. If you just come up through the bottom, your knot might not be tight enough to hold and your bee will literally go flying off the string (probably to the delight of your child - lol)!

These are wonderful as puppets, for plays, free play, nature/seasonal tables, and gifts. The simple shape is a wonderful place to start for beginning needle felters :D

This would also be amazing to add to Grade 3 curriculum when studying the bees!

Hope you enjoy!