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Natalia
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 4:24pm | IP Logged
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I was just reading the Gnomes posts at Serendipity. I love the idea! I think it would be perfect for my math loving 5 yo ds. BUT, I don't have the time to read Waldorf or learn a new way of homeschooling. Is anybody following the activities without knowing anything about Waldorf? Has anybody adapted some of the activities without buying a whole bunch of new supplies? How is it working for you?
Thanks,
Natalia
PS I hope it is Ok to post this here.
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folklaur
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We are! We are! Our gnomes are here!. Serendipity Homeschool has been the name of our homeschool, and then when I saw the Serendipity site, I was so excited. It fits us so well  !
With the craziness of moving, we aren't as involved in school stuff right now as I would like, but hopefully soon, we will be - the the Serendipity site is like my backbone right now. I am getting everything all ready (and my kids ask daily to use the gnomes!)
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Courtney
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 4:59pm | IP Logged
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Hi, Natalia. I have been following this. My ds(7) does enjoy it. What we've done so far is the first story with the Roman numerals. He didn't know roman numerals before, so he's enjoyed this. He does know his addition facts and many of his subtraction facts, but I plan on using the stories and just focusing on what he hasn't totally grasped (like place value). I did buy the materials to make the gnomes. Both my ds and my dd(10) loved doing this. Dd had to have her own set, of course. I have not read Waldorf. I'm just gleaning what I can from Elizabeth and Katherine and Serendipity. We've been following the other plans as well (we're a bit behind Along the Alphabet Path...we're on C). I don't do all the activities, but my dc have really enjoyed what we've done so far. I have really like the language study with Ruth Heller's books.
All that said, I don't think you HAVE to buy a bunch of supplies. I found the gemstones (from the gnomes story) at Walmart in the floral section for about $3.00. I did also make the tray with the rainbow b/c both my dc could use some help with place value. Hope this helps!
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Courtney in Texas
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PDyer
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Natalia wrote:
| Is anybody following the activities without knowing anything about Waldorf? Has anybody adapted some of the activities without buying a whole bunch of new supplies? How is it working for you? |
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:::Raising hand::: I am using the gnome activities for math with my 6 year old. I don't see myself as 'doing Waldorf'; what I am doing is using colorful characters and stories to make math enjoyable for my daughter. My daughter has a need for creatively presented work and a mother who isn't good at creative presentations, so the Serendipity lessons have been....serendipitous!
I've purchased wooden doll bodies to make the gnomes, "jewels", a wooden tray for the place value work and some sticky felt. Oh and I bought some little baskets and beeswax crayons and modeling beeswax. The modeling beeswax still scares me, but you know what? I've found I love beeswax crayons and God willing we will never go without them again. 
I had felt already, craft sticks (for the Roman numeral work), a set of base 10 blocks and some Montessori base 10 materials. I used glitter glue to label the gnomes and decorate King Equals' hat. We are all about simple here. I am not at all crafty and putting the gnomes together was easy, even for me.
We are working on the place value lesson now and my daughter loves it. Thumbs up!
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
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PDyer
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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Aren't they cute!
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
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Mary G
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 5:04pm | IP Logged
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Natalia ... we're doing the gnome math too. I like that Elizabeth and Katherine have set it up so you can do it really inexpensively if you want .... all made manipulatives that you can make or not depending on what you and your kids are in for.
I like that there is Roman numeral work (which is fun as we're doing ancient cultures this year) and the odd/even distinction and the place value rainbow and how to add, etc. Much of it is review for my 8 yo, but it's till fun and a great way to explain larger concepts too .... the gnomes are right up my 7yo daughter's alley! the stress on art/craft by making the manipulatives and doing the work in the "main lesson book" is great too. And you don't have to get another notebook ... just use blank paper -- even printer paper -- and have them do their pages -- you can always make a notebook later.
Hope this helps.
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MaryG
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PDyer
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Mary G wrote:
| And you don't have to get another notebook ... just use blank paper -- even printer paper -- and have them do their pages -- you can always make a notebook later. |
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Yes, we're using regular printer paper, page protectors and binders to store my daughter's work.
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
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Courtney
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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We've really enjoyed using modeling beeswax. My dd made a set of numbers for ds to use on the rainbow tray. She also made some people for her dollhouse.
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Courtney in Texas
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Natalia
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
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Thanks everybody!
It sounds so cool. Now for some questions:
Did you order all your supplies online or were you able to find some at Hobby Lobby or Michael's? I was already planning to order some beeswax crayons for Christmas so I'll order those. But, what about the gnomes bodies? did you have to order them online?
And talking about crayons, which set did you order?
How long do you invest on these lessons every day?
Mary, I am glad you mentioned about not necessarily using a Main Lesson book per se. That is what I was thinking.
I probably do as Patty is doing and use a binder and page protectors.
This is exciting!!
Natalia
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Mary G
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 6:28pm | IP Logged
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Natalia,
First, I'm a firm believer in doing what works for my family -- and I'm cheap , so keep that in mind.
Yes, you can get the felt, the wooden bodies, the fleece for beards and the trays/baskets (we keep our "gems" in a wooden "treasure chest") all from your local craft shop. The only thing I've never been able to find is the beeswax for modeling or crayons .... I don't much care for the modeling beeswax (but we'll continue to use it) and I LOVE the beeswax crayons, but don't think they're really worth the money -- my kids prefer to use the colored pencils!
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MaryG
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my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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PDyer
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| Posted: Nov 13 2007 at 6:53pm | IP Logged
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Natalia wrote:
| And talking about crayons, which set did you order? |
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On this page, I ordered the item in the upper left hand corner of the page labeled Stone Natural Wax Crayons (in the blue cloth wrapper) and also (paging down a bit) the item labeled 12 Stockmar Block Crayons.
Keep in mind I have two kids and one of them touches art supplies only under duress, and I bought only what I thought we would be sure to use.
Natalia wrote:
| How long do you invest on these lessons every day? |
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I introduced place value to my daughter yesterday. We read the story and worked with counting jewels for quite a long time. I'm not sure how long, really. An hour? Much longer than she's had patience for in the past. We ended up counting every jewel we own, working with roman numerals again, correlating base 10 materials to jewels...you get the picture. We got carried away. But she was happy. We didn't do any math today. We talked about and colored a picture of St. Brendan the Navigator instead.
Hope this helps.
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
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8kids4me
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I'm really curious to know what age range this would be good for. I have a 9 yo and 12 yo. They are using MUS, but I think this would be a great way to reinforce their skills. Is anyone out there using this for the slightly older child?
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Cindy B, mama to 8 great kids, and 5 grandbabies!
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JuliaT
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We are doing the Gnomes, too. They are a huge hit! I just used supplies that I had around the house and what I could find at WalMart (we don't have a craft store in our neck of the woods.) For baskets, I just used tiny Rubbermaid bowls. I had a container of jelly beans hidden away so we use them for jewels. I did make the place value tray but I used a wicker tray instead. A wooden one would have been better, but you do with what you have.
We are implementing more of Waldorf into our days. One of the elements is the main lesson block. Right now we are in the last week of our math block. We use the Gnomes as a go--along with our living math activities and curriculum. We have two hours every day for math so we can squeeze alot in during that time.
I just recieved our Waldorf supplies today. We got some more modelling beeswax. My kids love this. We also have the 16 set of block crayons and the 16 set of stick crayons. I have three children and two of them love to draw so I bought lots to tide us over for a long time.
My oldest is 8 yrs. old. She can do all that is in the lessons so far, but I use this as a review. She loves listening to the stories and the artistic aspect of doing math in the mainlesson books.
Julia
mom of 3(8,6,4)
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stefoodie
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I'm following the gnomes! They are wonderful (Thanks, Katherine and Elizabeth!)!! But we haven't really done anything yet.... still mulling and figuring out how we can incorporate it into the New Year's plans and budget... my 5-yo is excited!
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stef
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hereinantwerp
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8kids4me wrote:
| I'm really curious to know what age range this would be good for. I have a 9 yo and 12 yo. They are using MUS, but I think this would be a great way to reinforce their skills. Is anyone out there using this for the slightly older child? |
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I attempted using it for my 8 year old. He loves it, actually, but the concepts are things he really already knows. I really wish I could find something just like this (with the wonderful stories) for an older kid!
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Angela Nelson
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: Is anybody here following the Gnomes?
