Gearin' up for home learning

I ordered a few things from different places, and it all came on the same day.
Some things we won't use right away, but we'll have it for when we do need it.
By the way, there is a sale right now at AdenaMontessori.com through Aug. 31. They have tons of stuff at 50 percent off. I ordered one shipment from them a couple of weeks ago, and it came yesterday.  When I realized the sale was about to end I shopped around for a box of beads we need and found they are much more expensive at other suppliers, so I ordered some beads before they jump to more than $100.
I'm researching the history of mathematics so I can tell the story with excitement and enthusiasm, and instill a sense of wonder for Sean. I've never been very fired up about math, so this will be helpful for me. I think I'm going to learn more by teaching than I ever did before.
Last week we had a play date. I met Shane through one of the Internet homeschool groups and she incorporates Montessori into her son's Waldorf curriculum. They are heavy on the Waldorf, and we're going to be heavy on the Montessori with a little bit of Waldorf mixed in. (More on that in another post.)
So JJ has many, many beautiful and wonderful Waldorf-inspired toys, and Sean had a very good time engaging in the imaginative play with him. The boys had a great time playing and the moms had a good time talking about all sorts of things, including homeschool.
Today Sean and I took a trip to the science center. We plan to go another day when we can spend more time there, but honestly I think the Children's Museum offers more interesting exhibits for Sean's age group. The science center is great, but I think older kids enjoy it more. However, it did provide a nice segue into our math lesson next week.

We found this nifty water lifter is credited to Archemedes, the Greek mathematician.