Platt Discovery Cottage

Slow & Steady - review

March 31st, 2008

Since Fuss was very small, I’ve been using a ‘curriculum’ called Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander.  I don’t remember how I first found it, however it is listed as the suggested preschool curriculum in The Well Trained Mind which I read long before I had children!  So, perhaps someone mentioned it and it triggered my memory.   It is hard to find up here in Canada, so my mother brought a copy up from her Florida library.  It looked easy enough, so I purchased a copy.

We’ve been using it, and neither Fuss nor Bug have missed a week, although it’s not always when we are supposed to be doing them. We will skip some weeks and then do a couple for a few days to catch up.

I find the book really, hmmm….I’m not sure of the word I should be using.

 The book is set up so that each week the parent does a developmental activity with the child.  So, it starts at year 0, week 1 and continues until the week prior to the 5th birthday.

Usually the activities are things I would have come up with on my own just through regular play.  Sometimes they are things that Fuss or Bug come up with on their own during play.

Then, sometimes, the amount of work involved to set up an activity is so time-consuming -  for an activity that might last 5 minutes - it’s just really not worth it.  But, I persist. 

For a while it was nice because it was not much of anything and I could feel as though I had accomplished something.  Then, I noticed that the book on occasion expected way too much of a child at the particular age.  For example, a child should be able to say ‘marble’ at 10 months.  Well, not in my house.  Nope.  I don’t know if Bug is even able to say marble at 24 months.  Fuss couldn’t and he has the largest working vocabulary of almost any four year old I know - with one notable exception….a little girl friend of his who has a remarkable command of the language and has from an exceptionally early age.

Also, there was an activity once that had Fuss walk on a line I had taped to the floor (or chalked on the ground, I can’t remember what season this was).   Then he was supposed to walk one foot in front of the other.  At his stage at the time there was nooooo way this was going to happen.  So it didn’t.  I set it up, put it to him, he looked at me and walked away.  That was that.  I think sometimes my lack of enthusiasm contributes to the luke warm reception on the part of my children.

However, a few months later, Fuss hopped up on a high, narrow ledge and walked the entire length of it unassisted - one foot in front of the other.

There are some lovely activities - one in particular dealing with shadows.  Suggested are various ways to make them on the wall, also to do a drawing of the profile of your child using his shadow, and to do a chalk drawing of the child’s shadow outside - each hour from the same place so that it’s obvious how the body is blocking the sun, and also how the sun is moving.

Fuss loved these sorts.  Plus anything to do with lacing, sewing, etc….

The fact that the hands on activities, particularly the nature-based ones, spoke to him most strongly has furthered my resolve to maintain (and enhance) our waldorf-inspired homeschool.  I’m really excited to get even more into this next year. 

However, to finish summing up S&S:  I somehow, despite all my negativity, would recommend it to someone new to homeschooling and looking for something.  I wouldn’t recommended it without being prompted, though.  Again, it gave me some sense of direction while being really, really slow and non-pressure (at least the way I used it).  The prep was far more time consuming than the actual activity most of the time, but at least I felt we were doing something worthwhile (or I was).

I’m decidedly neutral on the curriculum!  Will I use it for future children?  I can’t say for sure.  We’ll have to see.  It’s harmless, for sure.  But, at the same time, perhaps not worth the effort.  However, I have a cupboard with all the prep work done (I saved them from when I did them for Fuss).  If I had to go back to when Fuss was tiny, I think I might pick it up again.  It certainly didn’t do any harm, and it left lots of time for play.  It’s actually presented as play - and since they take about five to ten minutes, if one does not feel they are playing, it’s not taking too much away from play time. 

I would definitely say it wont do harm if one feels like they are not doing enough with their child.  Pick it up, do what speaks to you and leave the rest - no need to be as anal as I am and get every activity in!!!

So there is my long winded review of Slow and Steady!

Enjoying the journey (with or without this book),  Amanda

Entry Filed under: curriculum