Tangled

Week 1 – Tangled Results

by

Dragon’s first week of Jr Kindergarten went well. There were some hiccups with technology for her virtual classes for her real school on the first day, but after getting a new link (and downloading new firmware for the camera) the second day went much smoother – other than several meltdowns from a very tired Dragon. We’re trying to figure out how to have her be part-time (one day a week), with the teacher’s assistance.

As for the part of her week taught by me, that also went well, for the most part.

Dance

Ballet was a big hit

Music

We listened to a bunch of French music. Coeur de Pirate was the favourite.

Crochet

We managed to get a few stitches in.

Printing words

Worked really well. The blank sheet was used on the second day with the filled in sheet as a guide for spelling.

Writing words

Counting objects/math-type activities

The download sheet worked really well. She got to practice writing numbers and she counted well.

Counting

Storytime

She enjoyed the books, but I’m not sure she understood them

Activity

Baking – cake – talked about mixing colours and measurements.

  • The cake!
  • How do we make purple? Red and blue food colouring (and blueberries).
  • Stuffing yellow icing into the piping instrument
  • Piping the yellow sun
  • The sun!
  • Look what I made!
  • We had leftover yellow icing, so Papa added to the design.
  • Perfect cake.

Painting – free-style with Crayola washable paint on paper – talked about mixing colours.

  • The sky
  • Adding grass…
  • Rapunzel’s tower
  • Rapunzel’s hair
  • I’m finished, mum!
  • Completed picture

Make a paper lantern – need construction paper, paper bag, stencil (in download material), cardboard box, paper towel folded in fourths, and screwdriver thumb tack, and pen (instructions are Number 11). Put the paper bag over the cardboard box, and slide the folded paper towel in between the box and the bag. Place the stencil over-top of the bag/paper towel. Use the screwdriver to punch holes in the stencil/paper bag. Be careful not to move the stencil, or you will mess up your design. (Edited in italics after attempt.)

  • First attempt at the lantern – the push pin was too small for her to hold, and the cardboard too stiff to push into. She pushed on my fingers as I made the pricks – not as much fun for her.
  • It worked REALLY well, but better for an older kid.
  • Attempting to get a good picture of the lantern without the mottling of the construction paper.
  • Using the screwdriver and a paper bag was much easier for her
  • She did the whole thing by herself! (I held the paper in place.)
  • Completed paper lantern!

Week 1 – Tangled

by

The first week, we will be focussing on Tangled, the DIsney movie released in 2010. We are starting on September 7, even though it’s a holiday, because we’re just watching a movie on the first day. So her first real day of school will be the 8th.

I thought it was fitting after several months of quarantine to watch a movie about a girl locked in a tower for 18 years.

Here is the link for the downloadable materials. (I hope this works…please let me know if you have any problems so I can fix it!)

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
Watch movieBakingPaintingPaper lanternsFlex
Summary of the week

Dance

Ballet and martial arts on alternate days

Music

Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano

Crochet

The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)

Basic Information

We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.

Printing words

Download material

Counting objects/math-type activities

Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –(in download material)

One Stabbington brother plus one Stabbington brother equals how many?

Three people stole the crown, but one had a change of heart. How many are still bad guys?

Storytime

Activity

Baking – cake

Painting – free-style with Crayola washable paint on paper (please note that this might be a good outdoor activity – check weather in advance and move days if necessary)

Make a paper lantern – need construction paper, paper bag, stencil (in download material), cardboard box, paper towel folded in fourths, and screwdriver thumb tack, and pen (instructions are Number 11). Put the paper bag over the cardboard box, and slide the folded paper towel in between the box and the bag. Place the stencil overtop of the bag/paper towel. Use the screwdriver to punch holes in the stencil/paper bag. Be careful not to move the stencil, or you will mess up your design. (Edited in italics after attempt.)

Next week: Cinderella (the 1950 edition)!

Let’s get Cynical

by

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

By reading this blog, I’m sure you noticed I’m a rather optimistic kind of person. I tend to assume the best of people and believe hope is important.

That being said I have my cynical moments. Last night as we were getting the little Dragon to sleep, I came to the realization that there are two kinds of cynical. When things don’t go your way or go badly, you can fall on two extremes of cynicism; Conspiracy or Stupidity.

Borrowed from https://www.instagram.com/_12drawings_/
Borrowed from Kenzie AKA _12drawings_ on Instagram

Conspiracy

Let’s say, for examples sake only, that your baby doesn’t seem to be going to sleep (just an example, I swear…). If your cynicism leans towards conspiracy, you’ll assume that the baby is trying to stop you from sleeping. Possibly for some sort of nefarious plan where she steals all your energy.

This is the extreme that you see a lot of with big businesses or with government. They’re all out to get us/me/you! It makes us feel special, because someone wants to get us, and makes us feel like there is purpose in the world.

Stupidity

This is absolute opposite side of cynicism. Instead of assuming the baby is trying to stop you from sleeping, you assume the baby has no idea what it’s doing and has no sinister motives. It’s just a baby that hasn’t developed enough to realize that it’s time to sleep and that you haven’t abandoned her in a crib for ever.

This is the harder form of cynicism. It assumes chaos and it assumes you have nothing to do with what happened. Humans tend to assume everything that happens around us is about us; we are a self-absorbed race. It is freeing to realize that everyone is just blundering about trying to get to their goals.

 

I’m trying my best to be hopeful and grotesquely optimistic, but the times I am cynical I lean towards the second option. I’ve worked in government, retail, big business, tourism, etc (seriously, I’ve done a lot) and one thing I’ve noticed is how, as a society, we are extremely hard to organize. It’s always more likely to be incompetence or stupidity rather then maliciousness. (That’s Hanlon’s Razor)

Where do you fall on the cynicism spectrum?

Éric