Here is a sample of a day in the curriculum for Rhythm of Grace K6 Curriculum -this day comes from January.
I. Light Candle & Recite Psalm 8
II. Storytelling
Parent-Teacher tells story “Runaway Shadow” by L. Frank Baum with props, add more Spanish words to replace the English ones in the story.
- Winter – invierno
- Snow – nieve
- Cold – frio
- Itś cold – Hace frio
- Iḿ cold – Tengo frio
- The prince is cold – El príncipe es frío
- Shadow – Sombra
III. January Circle Time
Hear the sledges with the bells – March with bells
Silver bells! Shake bells as march
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, Shake one each side of body
In the icy air of night! While marching
While the stars that oversprinkle Shake on each side of head
All the heavens, seem to twinkle while marching
With a crystalline delight; Shake on sides of body
Keeping time, time, time, while marching
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells Stop marching – shake at
From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Feet,Knees,hips waist
Bells, bells, bells- Shoulders, ears, overhead
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells. Shake overhead
It’s the coldest day of the winter – King Winter’s Birthday! Speak
¡Qué felicidad, el invierno llegó! Arms out – spin around
¡Qué contento estoy pues no tengo frío hoy!
Ropa muy gruesa me he puesto yo, Touch toes, touch neck
botas, bufanda y abrigo de lana. Wrap arms around body
Las florecitas secas están, Arms over head like flow – droop
Over to floor
los pajaritos emigraron ya. Fly like bird around circle
Porque el sol no ha salido, Hold arm in circle above head
ya no ha salido, Bend waist – sun toward ground-
Roll sun right
ya no ha salido Roll sun left
MÁS. Roll sun middle of legs
What bliss! Winter has come! Arms out – spin around
How glad I am, for I’m not cold today!
Jack Frost’s playing pranks to his heart’s content – nipping ears and noses, pinching toes and fingers
Use a large white silkie (preferably long and skinny like a long scarf – throughout the song, run, jump, twirl – pretending the scarf is snow covering the ground)
Little Jack Frost tripped ’round and ’round
Spreading much snow on the frozen ground,
Nipping the breezes, icing the streams,
Chillin the warmth of the sun’s bright beams. Scarf down on ground in heap
“I’ll freeze their shadow” Jack laughed
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, Go in and out
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; Touch head & toes
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. Jump
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow— “Grow” slowly
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, “Grow fast”
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all. Grow small
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play, Patty-Cake
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, Move close
he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up, Sun over head
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; “Pick” flowers
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Rest head on hands
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
(Finish out circle time)
Only with his shadow back could Prince become a King.
The world is so full of a number of things
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings
Circle TIme is over, Candle’s almost gone
Blow it out so gently, let’s finish with our song
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden,
he made them every one.
He gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God Almighty,
who has made all things well.
IV. Art/Modeling
Play-dough
Play Antonio Vivaldi, “Winter” 1st Movement from Four Seasons as you play with play-dough.
V. Read Aloud
Winter Story (Brambly Hedge) by Jill Barklem
VI. Handwork: (Cashmere) Quilt for baby doll
Supplies
- 3 or 4 100% wool sweaters (preferably cashmere)
- Embroidery thread in contrasting color to sweaters
- Large embroidery needle
Preparation for Parent-Teacher
- Pick up 3 or 4 100% wool sweaters at the thrift store – cashmere is the best because it is the softest, but other wools will work.
- Wash the sweaters on the hot cycle of the washer machine. Dry in dryer. You want them to shrink as much as they are going to.
- Cut the sweaters to quilt squares.
- Cut off sleeves (use these later for leg warmers)
- Cut off collar and button band
- Cut at seams
- You can leave the ribbing or not depending on how you want the quilt to look and feel
- Make 5X5 inch squares.
- Don’t worry about small holes. You can patch these with a small square of fabric and the quilt looks even better.
Teach Child how to hand sew
- Practice on two pieces of leftover sweater fabric before beginning quilt.
- Thread the needle – (do not separate out the embroidery thread – use its full strands)
- Tie a knot at the end of the tread.
- Place the two pieces of fabric together
- Put the needle through both pieces.
- Go back to the first piece (the one you originally put the need through) about two fingers away from the first stitch.
- Put the needle and thread back through both pieces of fabric.
- Continue sewing until the two fabrics are sewn together.
Making the Doll Quilt
- Your quilt will be either 3 by 3 (15 square inches) or 4 by 4 (20 square inches)
- Allow your child to arrange the quilt squares any way they so choose.
- Take a picture (you don’t have to leave the squares out to remember the order)
- You are first going to make 3 (or 4) rows across
- Start by sewing the first two squares together
- Sew the third one onto the same row (the forth if doing four)
- Sew the next row
- Sew the third row
- Sew the rows together
- Sew row one to row two (Parent-Teacher – it helps if you sew one or two stitches into each of the hem lines – this keeps the quilt straight while sewing)
- Sew the next to the two rows
- Sew the third (and forth) to those
- Use scissors to cut off any loose threads.
Parent-Teacher
While your child is sewing the quilt – either make a baby quilt yourself, make leg warmers out of the sleeves, or learn to needle felt.
V. Bible
Read Son of Laughter from The Jesus Story Book Bible
The curriculum is arranged by season. Each season includes supply list, nature table, celebrations, storytelling (one fairy tale per month), circle time, art (Autumn/drawing, Winter/Modeling,Spring/Painting, classical art and music appreciation), seasonal read-aloud books (picture, chapter, and poetry) handwork (Autumn/cooking,Winter/fabrics, Spring/gardening) Bible, and Forest Day Ideas. Spanish is incorporated into story time and circle time. Each “subject” is a different booklet – so there is lots of choice in how to arrange your families rhythm.
