Tips & tools to support your homeschooling program.

Teaching cursive is fun, easy, and has great pay-off. Cursive can be especially supportive to those that struggle with forming print, reversing letters, eye-tracking, or reading. Not convinced it’s worth it? Check out these articles that explain some of the benefits of teaching cursive.

Literacy Benefits: Scholastic.com
Biological and Psychological Benefits: PsychologyToday.com

Daily Wonder recommends teaching cursive as soon as grade two, when your child knows all the letters, knows their sounds, and is beginning to understand the rules for encoding (spelling). We recommend that the archetypal forms are brought in order of difficulty rather than letter by letter. Below is a step-by-step guide to bringing the forms that are the basis for the letters. Remember, any new skill needs daily practice to become a capacity. We recommend that once you have brought all the forms/letters that cursive then becomes your expectation for all written work. It can take a whole year to become a natural at cursive but just think of all the brain pathways you will create and strengthen in your child, what a gift!

Lesson 1: loops

You’ll teach your child all the letters/forms in lower case first, they can print the capital letters until they have mastered all the forms, then you’ll bring the upper case. The looping letters are the first lesson in cursive. Have your child practice creating the loops, big for l, small for e, across several lines of a lined book. You don’t need to tell your child that these are the letters, just have them practice the form of the loops. Remember to show the areas for placing letters on the page as in the example. You can have your child join the tall and short loops all together to practice the size of them on the lines for today. They can try eeeelllllll or elelelelelelele across the page in cursive.

Lesson 2:  points
 
Make sure you have practiced the looping forms for a couple of days before you move on to this second form.  The second form is the pointing form as in the letters i and t without the dot or cross.  They’ll be practicing the motion and size of coming to a point, unlike the loop.  They can try iiiiiiiiittttttttt or itititititititit across a couple of lines.   Be sure to indicate the height of each line or loop using the imaginative image of the sky, earth, and sea.

Lesson 3:  bringing letters
 
Take this day to practice cursive that you’ve brought so far.  Show your child how the e loop is an /e/ the l loop is an /l/ the i point only needs a dot to be an /i/ and the t point only needs a cross to be a /t/.  Support them to cursive write all the words they can think of with these letters:  let, lit, tell, till, little, lilt.  Give feedback about the size of the letters in comparison to each other and their form and starting place.    

Lesson 4:  wave
 
Today you’ll bring a new form, the wave.  Guide your child to practice the wave letter form like for ‘c’.  This curving line makes up the base for ‘a’, ‘c’, ‘d’, ‘g’, ‘o’, and ‘q’. Have them try just cccccccc, then switch to cececlclcl and cicicictctctct.  

Lesson 5:  wave, point, loop
 
Today guide your child to practice the wave and point together that form the a in cursive.  They can do a line of ‘a’ and ‘d’ and then combine other practice letters such as ‘cat’, ‘tall’, etc.  Take your time.  If the ‘a’ isn’t making sense, don’t go ahead to adding other letters.

Lesson 6:  down and loop
 
Before beginning, make sure that your child has had plenty of practice with previous forms.  The next lesson is to guide your child to practice the down and loop line, as in j.  Remind your child the difference between: sky, where letters reach way up; earth, where letters always begin; and sea, where some letters reach way down.  Show them the ‘j’ without the dot and notice how your child crosses the line to loop, this can be tricky.  Practice as much as is needed, combining other practiced letters as is appropriate.  

Lesson 7:  point and hump
 
For this lesson, you will guide your child to practice the point and hump as in the h, m, and n.  They can combine skills now to try words such as ‘line’, ‘men’, ‘hen’, etc.  The point of the ‘h’ can transform to a loop if that is the style you choose, either a point or loop is acceptable.

Lesson 8: wave, point, and down loop
 
Remember to ensure you give lots of time for practice before moving on to the next form.  This lesson will have you guide your child to practice the ‘d’, ‘g’ and the ‘y’.  They can create words once they master these two that are a combination of the ‘a t j’ lines.  

Lesson 9:  point
 
Time for practice, then guide your child to try the ‘u’, ‘v’ and ‘w’ lines that are point lines.  Again, they can take some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know

Lesson 10:  loop and backwards wave
 
Today you will guide your child to practice the ‘b’.  This is a tricky one that is a loop followed by a backwards wave.  Provide some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know.  

Lesson 11: point and curve
 
Today you will guide your child to practice the ‘o’ and ‘p’ which include point and curve lines.  As always, once they have practiced and feel confident, they can take some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know.  

Lesson 12:  double loop
 
Today’s form is another tricky one, the double loop.  The letter ‘f’ can be formed with a double right side loop or with a reverse at the center.  In our experience the double right is a bit easier for some children.  You choose what is right for your child.  Once they have the hang of it they can take some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know. 

Lesson 13: wave, point, loop
 
This one is my favourite!  The full wave followed by a point on the earth, followed by a waving loop!  The letter ‘z’. When they feel confident, take some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know. 

Lesson 14: point table, point curve
 
Your next forms make the letters ‘r’ and ‘s’.  Again, they can take some time to practice any words they can spell with letters they know.  

Lesson 15: final forms
 
There is no easy combo for the remaining letters x, q, and k so we’ll practice them as the final and most challenging letters.  The x requires a lift of the pencil, the k requires a switch in direction, and the q also requires a switch in direction.  Take it slow, follow your child’s lead.  If you need to do one each day to avoid confusion, take that time.  After these final letters, they should be able to form all the lower case letters and will need lots of support to keep practicing.  You can bring the upper case letters as needed when your child is writing.  If you embrace cursive as the way to write, they will too:)

Content warning.  This post, which addresses the painful history of residential schools, may be distressing to some readers.

Canada has declared that September 30th will be a National Day for Truth & Reconciliation fulfilling the Truth & Reconciliation Commission's call to action #80. This call to action means that the federal government in collaboration with aboriginal peoples, established this statutory holiday to honour Survivors, their families and communities and ensure that the history and legacy of residential schools is never forgotten.

This has created another opportunity to find meaningful ways to connect to this important part of Canada's history.  Below we share some ideas for how you can honour this day.

Appropriate for Grades 1 and up:
Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a residential school survivor, shares her personal story which inspired Orange Shirt Day. 

After you share this story, here are three simple craft ideas for the young child, to build meaning and connection with the story:

• Garland of Goodness: Create orange hearts from whatever material you have on hand.  Ask your child to come up with kind words for Phyllis and write each word on a heart.  String the hearts together to form a garland that can be hung in a tree or in your window.
• Rocks of Reconcili-Action: Gather rocks from outside.  Paint them orange then add words of positive action to promote reconciliation and leave them in your community for others to find.  Some examples could be; Be Honest, Show Compassion, Love your Neighbour etc...
• Creative Colouring: Have your child colour this 'Every Child Matters' colouring page.'  If you enjoyed this activity, there are lots more colouring pages here.

Appropriate for Grades 3 and up:
This video is a gentle reminder of what residential schools were and why it's important to learn about them.

After watching the video you could have your child do the following activity:

• Compassion Collage: Have your child consider the question; what is reconciliation?  Watch this short video if needed, then have them create a collage that answers; "what is my commitment to reconciliation?"
• A Poem for Phyllis: Have your child create a concrete poem in the shape of a meaningful indigenous artifact from your area. 

At Daily Wonder, our goal is to connect parents with heart-felt, age appropriate activities to bring meaning to being human in our world.  We hope to inspire you to build community and take a moment to reflect and connect on this new national holiday in Canada.  We'd love to see your ideas.  Be sure to share with us how you built connection on this day.

Rosh Hashanah translates to mean 'head of the year' and is the Jewish New Year.  This year Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on September 6th and is celebrated with sweet symbolic food like apples and honey.  This 2 day festival marks the anniversary of human creation and the special relationship between humans and the Creator.  The Jewish calendar differs from today's Gregorian calendar.  The Jewish calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and this Rosh Hashanah is celebrating the year 5782.

Here is a traditional Rosh Hashanah verse or song to share with your children as you enjoy a sweet snack of apples and honey.

A good year
A year of peace
May happiness
And joy increase.

Rosh Hashanah is the first night of the 'High Holidays' or the 'Days of Awe,' which last 10 days. Rosh Hashanah begins with the sounding of the shofar, an instrument made of the ram's horn.  The sound of the shofar is a call to wake up and reexamine your commitment to God and to correct ways of living.

Daily Wonder Home Learning honours religious and cultural diversity. We love to share about traditions from around the world and we wish our Jewish community a sweet New Year.  Chag Samaech!!

Whether you welcome routine, or resist it, we're here to tell you why you should embrace it.

At Daily Wonder we talk a lot about rhythm and routine.  That’s because we know that young children feel a sense of good health when they are held by boundaries, including the lay-out of the day, week, month…. Children are meant to learn through play and doing until they reach high school.  This means we need to provide them with lots of activities that spark their creativity and provide space for wonder.  When they know what is expected of them children are freed up to be in the moment.  It is up to the adults to create the boundaries to free the children.
 
A friend recently told us that she was not expecting the freedom that came with building a fence around her property.  It sounds kind of backwards, that a fence creates freedom, but think about it…she has a dog that had to be tied up or managed all the time.  Once the fence went up, the dog knew how far it could go and the people trusted that the dog would just do dog things. We aren’t comparing children and dogs, but we are comparing the freedom fence to boundaries.
 
Rhythm – this is your wide level organization such as your year, when you start school, what holidays or celebrations you participate in, what time you get up each day, what time you start and end your morning lesson…
 
Routine – these are the details within your rhythm such as singing a song to begin the morning lesson, lighting a candle before story, and how you end the day.  Routines are kind of like the rules for ‘how we do things’. 

Thank you to those that were able to attend our Zoom information session.  For those that couldn't make it, please watch this hand dandy recording.  We think we covered it all, but if you have a question about something we didn't cover, please let us know.

The recent discovery of the mass graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School site has spurred us to want to engage in conversation about how we can support truth & reconciliation. To that end, we share some thoughts on how to talk to your children about Residential schools. The below excerpt is from our Grade 4 Wonder of Local Geography unit.​

Geography demonstrates the interconnectedness of our world: the people, animals, plants, climate and geographical locality and how each aspect supports and influences the others. It is a time of experiencing the wholeness of life and how we all belong together on the earth. It isn't easy to separate Geography from the history of an area, so it makes sense for us to combine them. Your child will have opportunities to take their developing critical eye and apply it to form opinions and judgements around the historically unfair treatment of Indigenous populations in the province/state where you live. As your child is still young and immersed in the feeling realm, we must bring this history in delicate and age-appropriate ways. Stories with perspectives of Indigenous youth are helpful when wanting to relay more adult facts. It is also necessary to remember that there are many years for your child to learn some of the more difficult and disturbing facts around Residential Schools and Reservation life. From our experience as teachers of elementary school-aged children, when choosing what topics to address about the mistreatment of Indigenous people, it is very impactful for your child to hear that many children were separated from their parents, or had their hair cut, and were forced to stop speaking their language and had cultural traditions stripped away. Depending on your child's age and family history, you can decide when it is the right time to address sexual abuse and violence. ​

HOW WE HEAL FROM THE PAST

Whether one individual has been hurt by another or an entire culture was hurt by another culture, the process of healing is the same. First, the painful action has to be acknowledged. That means that the person/group that made the mistake must acknowledge or admit that a mistake was made. They must admit that they did something that hurt another. This is the first step. It helps the person who was wronged feel better. After the acknowledgment, there is the truth about the situation, the truth of what the action was that was hurtful, and the truth of how it made the person/group feel. From this point, there can be a heartfelt apology. This can make the person who was wronged feel heard. This is an important step. After the apology, the hurt person must find a place to forgive the other. If we hang on to the hurt for too long, it is not healthy. We need resilience to heal. Do you know what resilience means? It's a quality that helps you bounce back from bad experiences. We all face bad experiences from time to time, and we all need the ability to return to our peaceful and happy place. This takes resilience. With all these parts in place, healing can begin. 

Share with your child about the steps that your province is taking in the process of healing from this cultural trauma. Explain what stage the province is at regarding fair treatment now and apologizing for the past decisions. What are the challenges, hopes and dreams for the future of your province?

It can feel paralyzing when we don't know what to do to help or to heal.  Here are some helpful websites to learn how to be part of positive change.

• ​Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Settlers Take Action
• 11 Books to Teach Kids About Residential Schools

We encourage families to recognize the passage of time and the seasonal rhythms through festival celebrations.  Festivals provide an opportunity for your community to unite and share wonder, reverence and gratitude.  May Festival celebrates the awakening of the earth, the lengthening of days, and the rebirth of nature around us.  We celebrate this time of growth with joyous song and dance, playful games and a community picnic.

Traditionally May Festivals are celebrated on May 1st, but we have always found that using the early weeks of May to prepare and then holding the festival later in the month works too.  And if you're homeschooling, you can be as flexible as you like.

Here are some ways you can bring a May Festival to your homeschooling community.

• Connect with others in your area, for example, on the Daily Wonder Facebook Group to organize your festival.
• Plan to safely meet at a park and have everyone bring a picnic lunch.
• Gather ivy, braided wool and flowers to make May crowns.​

Earth who gives to us this food,
​Sun who makes it ripe and good,
​Sun above and earth below,
​Thanks for all that you bestow.

Thank you dear earth for the ground that I stand on.
​Thank you dear sun for your warmth and your light.
Thank you dear wind for your pleasant cool breezes.
Thank you dear rain for the cool of the night.

The silver rain, the shining sun,
The fields where scarlet poppies run,
And all the ripples of the wheat,
Are in the bread that I do eat.
​So when I sit for every meal,
And say a grace I always feel,
​I am eating rain and sun, 
And fields where scarlet poppies run.

2. Yes, it's not your own dog's poop, but pick it up anyways if you see it on your walk.
3. Ditch the paper towels, use a cloth instead.
4. Refuse the plastic straw and carry your own reuse-able ones.
5. Donate old clothing and household items to your local thrift stores, free stores or shelters.
6. Buy local, support local businesses and cut down on environmental shipping costs.
7. Choose sustainable products.
8. Grow a garden, even just one pot with a plant on your window sill if you don't have a yard.

More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. For more information, visit www.earthday.org