[jenny_islander]

Noticing when kids are very interested in something and offering an interesting tidbit geared to their age level covers a lot of ground for little ones. Sophia's favorite tree is a big cottonwood in the heart of town that has a tiny rowan growing in its fork. We stop by periodically to check on their progress and I also point out things she and Eva might not have noticed on their own, such as the scent of the unfolding cottonwood leaves (I pull a branch down so they can examine it closely) or the way that cottonwoods tend to drop twigs everywhere while other local trees do not. In the process they are learning to observe and learning two of the six trees recommended on the Formidable List of Accomplishments.

Sitting down at the end of the day and thinking, "Well, what did we practice? What did we learn?" can help you track your progress. Sophia helps me make bread; as part of this, she is practicing manual dexterity by filling cups of flour with a spoon and leveling them with a chopstick and doing simple math when I have her track how many cups have gone in vs. how many we need. She is practicing the good habit of cleaning up after herself when she fetches the whisk broom and dustpan and helps clean up the spilled flour. Etc.