Red Birds and Future Sightings
Pretty red birds and other winter visitors; More Grinch; a glimpse of the future; and another AI prompt
Winter Birds
Cardinals are big symbols in winter, but we are blessed to have them year-round.
They are some of my favorite birds to watch and listen to. We have dozens of pairs that nest around us, and they are always flitting around.
Their vibrant cheerfulness is a really nice sight during winter around here. We might not get snow, but it's usually drizzly and dreary. We've been getting some crazy temperature and humidity swings the past few years, so watching those bright red specks flitting around is nice.
Our area is also known for being warm enough for many songbirds to stop, though I haven't been able to get out and listen for a few days. My phone picked up a song from a Scarlet Tanager the last time we were at the big park, supposedly, but I couldn't actually see the bird.
And just today, there was a little woodpecker up in one of the neighbor's trees, testing for bugs. We've got a variety of those around here too, from the big Pileated Woodpeckers to the little Downy's. I think what I saw was a Downy, today - Aurora wanted to swing so I couldn't get my phone out.
I'm looking forward to spring and trying to get out to do some actual birdwatching this year. Or at least being more intentional about paying attention to what's around me again.
Merry Grinchmas
So last week I got some interest about our Grinch-themed "curriculum" for this month.
Since I only really have Monday to work on formal "schooling" and Aurora has the attention span of a gnat, I broke this down into four simple, easy to implement "lessons" - simple tasks that we can do together and talk about the deeper themes of the season, or incorporate discussion about the craft or activity we are doing.
The first week - we just watched the Grinch. Not the new ones, those got weird. The original, the OG, the only. Like I said, she's seen it before, this was just a refresh. And we actually talked a little about the imagery and symbolism used; how the Grinch was feeling before, during, and after stealing the Who's Christmas and why his heart grew.
I also whipped up a quick coloring outline for her. I just used one of her big drawing pads and drew out a couple of activities that we worked through together.
The second week - I was pretty low energy last week, just had little motivation to get much done. But YouTube to the rescue, and we had a phonics lesson watching Ms. Rachel videos (because why reinvent the wheel every time?)
This week - the glitter slime, as a STEM project. And also, because slime ??
So, if you missed the recipe last week, here it is:
Pour the glue into a bowl and add the water; add a drop of food coloring ( or more for darker color), stir well. Add Baking Soda, stir well. Add glitter, more is better; stir well. Add contact solution and continue stirring as the slime forms. Mix until it all comes together, then finish by kneading with your hands until it isn't sticky.
Next week we're doing the cookies; if those premade stamped ones didn't taste so bad cooked I'd cheat...
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Future Goals
Not gonna tag her again, she knows who she is ???? But I had a friend ask for a newsletter centered around the homeschooling ideas I have.
Keep an eye out - I'll aim to post one next week, to give me time to further develop some ideas. This will be a monthly newsletter for those interested, and will include the core lessons I'll be implementing, with some ideas for continuing lessons throughout the week. I'm developing a loop schedule, so the subjects will be focused on a repeating basis.
With that - I am also working to develop my own website, featuring a fuller version of this content. I would love to know what kinds of themes, activities, or subjects you need help with and where you need help developing.
My focus is on helping busy moms, either experienced with homeschooling and struggling or trying to start out, or those looking to transition, to have access to tools and resources they can adapt to their own needs.
A lot of the curriculums I see are nice, but are hard to plug into a busy schedule. I am working to, and want to show others how, to utilize the new tools we have to develop easy, quick activities, lessons, and curriculums and what all resources are out there for learning.
And that learning doesn't have to be as institutionalized as it has become. It can be interesting, and fun, and freeing.
Another Prompt to Ponder
For getting AI to help build lesson plans:
"I want to design an easy schedule for a [age of child] for [month]. The theme is the [what is your theme for the month?] - there will be [length of lessons] sessions every [date or days of the week]. Rotate activities or lessons between [chosen rotation of subjects]."
I was able to populate the next 6 months worth of lessons for us in about 15 minutes, with a few minor tweaks. The suggested activities were easy to implement, sound very fun, and will be easy to tie in with our overall lesson plan in the coming months.
And we're done!
Thanks for reading again. Let me know if there are any topics you'd like to discuss further, or if there is anything I need to add in next week's newsletter.
Stay wyrd!!
K. Mace