Little Homeschool in the Pineywoods

You gotta see this

2010-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

That is an insect. I know it doesn't look like one, in fact I wouldn't have thought it if I hadn't seen it moving. But it is a larva (caterpillar).

We had stopped to get gas and Hubby told us all to come look at an insect he found on the outside of the car. While we aren't doing entomology with 4-H we still are interested in the curious insects that we see fairly often. We managed to capture it and then took it over to the forestry service because one of the men who led our entomology group works there.

He is a real entomologist. I am going to call him Mr Picante.

Anyway, Mr Picante was very interested in the insect. He said it was a Monkey Slug which will turn into a hag moth. He had not actually seen a live one before because they are fairly little (about the size of a nickle) and not something that you would typically notice.

He asked what we were going to do with it and really we had no idea. He said he would be interested in watching it go into a cocoon and then turn into a hag moth so we left it with him. He said he would email us pictures and keep us updated. He said that since it wasn't on a plant it may be very close to making a cocoon and he was right. Two days later the monkey slug made a cocoon, some of the "appendages" were broken off and then stuck to the cocoon by the larva as a camouflage.

I wouldn't want to touch it. It looks fungus-like to me.

Then the next day, hubby brought us a present.

This thing.

Ewww.

It is huge but maybe you can't tell because the picture is small.

Let me show you a larger picture.

That is a penny to give you an idea of the size. It is huge.

Thanks to our friends at the forestry service it was narrowed down to a Hurcules Beetle or a Rinocerous Beetle.

We are going to try to raise it to see what it grows up to be. Then again, if it doesn't live, we aren't really attached to it so we won't be sad.

'Cause we are still kind-of creeped out.

just treading water

2010-04-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Honestly things are better than they were but it has been an incredibly hard couple of months. My father-in-law recently went in the hospital for pneumonia and the kids were pretty sure he was going to die which is understandable after what they have gone through. He is out of the hospital now but still hasn't completely recovered.

We are trying to get back to normal, trying to do normal stuff, but it is still different.

We have been doing kickball and softball - which is great. Some of the homeschool moms are very athletic and are taking it upon themselves to teach the kids the basics. It is very laid back and relaxed and fun, even Mr Negativity loves it - and he can almost always find something to complain about.

Next week is the last week though so it is nearly over.

We had a co-op meeting and I am excited that it will be starting back up in the fall. We are all looking forward to it because we really enjoy co-op.

And we may be getting a good friend to join us, if she can just convince herself that she can homeschool.

On Death and Dying – again

2010-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

I just . . . .

I don’t know what to say other than please pray for my family. My husband’s mother unexpectedly passed away today and we are just stunned. We knew she wasn’t extremely healthy but no way did we think she was this sick.

My heart is breaking for my husband and his dad as well as my kids.

My kids have lost 2 grandparents in barely a month – my husband and I have each lost a parent.

I just don’t know.

When your heart is breaking for your child

2010-03-25T21:54:00.001-07:00

Junior had a meeting today with the local public school speech therapist. He has a problem with articulation – he has had it for years and in fact has been tested before. It wasn’t bad enough for therapy and he would grow out of it according to the previous speech therapist.

(insert snarky comment here)

I have been trying to work with him but to be honest, I don’t really know what I am doing. I think if he had gotten the therapy when he was tested, he wouldn’t have a habit of saying the words wrong. It doesn’t help that I feel responsible too, should I have taken him elsewhere and gotten a second opinion?

Anyway, we did an initial assessment to see if he did have articulation issues or I was a paranoid, over-protective mama.

Well, I may be a paranoid, overprotective mama but he does have articulation issues.

So after that he got a treat (he was very nervous about the whole thing) and then we came home to do more schooling. We were working on reading and sounding out and the word was “last.” He would say “l-a-s-t; l-a-s-t; wask.” We spent some time trying to get him to say “last” instead of “wask” when he knows all the sounds, he just can’t put them together right in a word.

Suddenly he burst into tears and said “This is just how God made me and I can’t fix it!” Y’all, my heart broke. He thought he was the only kid in the world to need speech therapy. He was absolutely amazed to find out that his dad, uncle and a cousin all had speech therapy. He said “why didn’t you tell me?”

I thought he knew.

So now we wait until he can have the real testing done again. After which the speech therapist is going to give me ways I can work with him over the summer - his test isn’t going to be until May and so he won’t be doing formal therapy until next year. But I think he is feeling better about the whole thing.

On death and dying

2010-03-04T06:46:00.001-08:00

We buried my dad today.

To be honest, it was both expected and unexpected. He had end stage cancer but we really thought we had a few more weeks or even months.

For his sake I am so very, very glad that he is no longer in pain and has energy again.

For his sake I am glad that he is in heaven with his precious savoir.

For our sake, I miss him. I wanted him to meet his other grandchildren who are yet to be born. I wanted him to dance with my mother at my daughter’s wedding. I wanted him to call me up a few more hundred times to just say “hi.”

But I would not have asked him to live one more hour in pain.

Posting may be somewhat sparse in the next few weeks but I will be back soon-ish.

The Long Winter

2010-02-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Typically it doesn’t get that cold in East Texas – or at least not the northern idea of cold. We might have 5 nights a year that it gets below freezing but then it pops back up above freezing in the daytime.

It doesn’t snow here. Almost never.

This year I was inspired by our first cold snap – actually a freakish cold snap for us, it stayed below freezing in the day time for a few days – to read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you aren’t familiar with the book, it is one of her longer books in the series and describes the winter of 1880-1881 that seems to be one of the worst winters recorded in history.

This has been a good year for us to read it too, we are on our third snowfall this year. I know that may not sound impressive to some but let me put it this way, in 15 years of living here I have seen 6 snowfalls and 3 have been this year.

Today with the snow falling again, we are going to read more of The Long Winter. It seems appropriate.

Beethoven Lives Upstairs - Live Performance

2010-02-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

I have long been a fan of the Classical Kids series of cds and books that introduce kids to classical composers in a fun way. It is partly because of this series that my 6 year old says his favorite composer is Tchaikovsky.

When I saw that the East Texas Symphony Orchestra would be performing Beethoven Lives Upstairs in Tyler, I thought we just had to go. I even called and found out that if I got a group of 20 or more together, we could go at a much reduced price. The only problem, this was on Tuesday and the performance was Saturday. We did manage to get the discounted rate, and I was supposed to get there a bit early so I could pass out the tickets to our group.

Except that I was running a bit late. And I went to the wrong place.

The performance? It was wonderful. Seeing it live was so much better. Plus afterwords they had a "meet the instruments" with some of the musicians. My son was thrilled when someone from the woodwinds played part of the Star Wars theme. My daughter was excited to recognize some of the animals from Peter and the Wolf. The friend she invited along kept saying that her big sister would love it, and she wanted to go meet the woodwinds because that was her favorite orchestra section.

If you have a chance to see any of the Classical Kids concerts, I would highly recommend them. If not, the cds are pretty good too.

Literature with Charlotte Bronte

2010-01-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

I am a huge bibliophile, I always have been. I read classics for fun and now I am passing on that love to my 10 year old.

Daisy and I are reading for fun Jane Eyre. Ok, I am reading it to her because frankly, it isn't an easy book to read. Even with her just listening I sometimes find myself wondering if she is following the story and then she asks a question or laughs at a funny part. So she is following it, she is even enjoying it. She is wanting to know the solution to the mysteries - why Mr Rochester is keeping Grace Poole in the house, and why Mason wanted to talk to Mrs. Poole - but she doesn't want me to give away any of the plot.

She wants to know if Mr Rochester will choose Blanche or Jane to marry but she is eagerly anticipating the next chapter.

I can't wait until she finds out the answer to the mystery and then I can show her how much richer the hints are that Mr Rochester gives to Jane about what the "error" he made in his youth.

I think each time I read it, I enjoy it more than the previous times. If you haven't read Jane Eyre, you really should because it is very worthy of being called a classic.

New Year

2009-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

I am so looking forward to schooling in the new year. I have been finally feeling better with my new diet (gluten-free dairy-free). The kids have been doing well on it and it is giving us the opportunity to learn so much new about cooking and the science of cooking.

We were sick so much in the fall that we didn't get as much as accomplished as I hoped but the new year is full of possibilities.

Have a Happy New Year!

homeschooling according to their bent

2009-09-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

While teaching my daughter is not always easy, I understand her. I know when she is not doing something because she has decided it is too hard. I can tell when her frustration level is about to reach tears. I understand her and while my response may also carry ~~vast amounts~~ tiny bits of frustration, I know what makes her tick.

My son ~~is weird~~ is very different. I am learning him, I am figuring out what works for him but it makes absolutely no sense. None.

I am using hooked on phonics with him and we are going over letter names and sounds but we are not using the program the way it is designed to be used. Hooked on Phonics is great for visual & auditory learners but not for kinesthetic learners. On a scale of 1-10 for kinesthetic learners, Junior would hit about 500. Or maybe 572.

So yesterday we took the cards apart and I laid out 3 rows of 3 cards and played a game with Junior. He had to pick the card that went with the letter or sound and when he did so correctly, it was swapped for a new card.

HE LOVED IT ! !

The ~~correct~~ regular way, was boring to him and there wasn't enough movement. With the game he was moving all around, fell off the bed twice, and had a great time.

He called it easy.

With Junior there are 3 ways to teach him: 1)Invest in a ton of duct tape and super glue - not really worth it 2) Medicate him - Ummmm no, I am not going to do that 3) Work with his busyness, allow him to learn the way God designed him to learn.

I chose to teach both my children the way they learn best - even if it makes no sense to me and even if that includes them falling off the bed.

Check out other Thirsty Thursday thoughts at Five J's

Wizard of Oz

2009-09-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

We have been reading Wizard of Oz as part of our literature and the kids love it. If you have never read the book, it is vastly different from the movie. Not only are there things that have been left out - such as in the book they cross a river and the scarecrow is almost left - but there are things changed and things added - Dorothy doesn't run away in the book and there is no Elmira Gulch.

In some ways, it is almost like a completely different story.

Daisy had a vague memory of seeing the movie but Junior didn't remember seeing it at all but luckily it came on TV on Sunday. I have to admit, watching Junior watch it is almost as entertaining as the movie itself.

He will sit mostly still for tv or a movie but is in constant motion when listening to me read. In fact, I would think that he is not listening at all except his narrations are very in-depth. Today I asked him to tell his dad how the poppy field escape is different.

Here is a summation: They tried to run across the flowers but they couldn't and the tin woodman and the scare crow carried Dorothy and the dog but couldn't carry the lion because he is so big and so they were going to leave the lion and they saw a wildcat chasing a queen mouse and the tine woodman took his ax and cut off the woldcat's head and the queen mouse thanked him and and more mice thanked him and asked if they could do anything to help the tin woodman and the tin woodman told them to help with his friend the lion and they didn't want to but the tin woodman said the lion was a coward and so the woodman built a cart and the mice pulled the cart and they had to work very hard to get the lion on the cart and then the mice pulled and the woodman and the scarecrow pushed and they were able to get the lion out of the poisonous flowers and the lion woke up and they told him that the little mice had saved him. and yes I am pretty sure there was not a comma or period in his entire narration.

Through the entire narration he was spinning and bouncing and moving much like he was during the reading. Hubby asked him if he could tell the story without moving so much and he said "let Daisy tell you."

Considering I was expecting something more like "the mice helped them" I was very impressed. Hubby was impressed as well at how long the narration went on, even if he understood very little of it because of all the movement.

He learns best while he moves and trying to keep him still ensures that he will learn nothing. It is so difficult for me to understand why or how but if he has to be still, then all of his attention is on trying to stay still and he has none left for anything else. My rule for him is that he can squirm and wiggle or play with blocks but he must do it quietly.

Well, and that I don't want to be kicked in the head during a headstand on the bed.

We are also reading Treasure Island, Redwall, The Phantom Toll Booth and The Borrowers.

While we were at the library, Junior found The Phantom Toll Booth and told another homeschool mom that it is a good book (although I don't think he is getting as much out of it as Daisy.) I love it when they get excited about what we are reading.

More murderers of imagination

2009-09-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Check out Thirsty Thursday for ideas on educating your children.

I guess I may have made it sound like my children were paragons of imagination and all because they aren't in school. That they spend all their free time building forts and playing pirates and knights and . . . etc.

Not so much. They do play that way some, but not as much as I would like. Not as much as I did. I spent most of my free time either reading or "imaginative play" - which means I had no one to play with except lizards who didn't follow the rules of the games very well. The reading gave me ideas of what to play, and which character I wanted to be.

That my kids don't do that is not the fault of the school system because they have never gone to public school. The school system is not the only imagination killer.

I wish.

Another is tv and video games. (gasp!) I know! Now I am stepping on toes including my own.

I really don't like how much tv and video games my kids watch but since Hubby is also a fan of the one-eyed monster, it is difficult to reduce their tv time much more. The rule is no tv before 3, which still sounds like a lot but we frequently aren't home after 3. And sometimes they don't get to turn the TV on at 3 anyway because I won't let them.

In the time that we have had this rule (about 1 1/2 years) I have seen their creativity grow. It still isn't where I want it, but it is improving. I have seen forts, board games, card games and the like. I haven't seen pirates because Daisy declares "pirates are for boys" - boy was she shocked when I told her there were girl pirates.

We read living books all the time - right now we are reading Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Perloo. There has got to be some imagination fodder in those, right? They just haven't made the leap from the books to play.

How do you foster your kids creativity?

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2009-09-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have seen the commercial,

There are some that hate it, some that love it . . . .

I admit, it makes me a bit sad. I love back to school shopping and all that stuff but the idea that our kids make us so miserable that we look forward to sending them back to school . . . .

The problem isn't really with our kids, it is what we have done to them.

When I was younger, I had a room-mate that worked at a bank as a teller. One day they were robbed by an older man who looked like he had a gun in his pocket. He was caught within a few blocks (if I remember right) and while he had the money, he didn't have a gun but a donut in his pocket. He had gone to jail originally when he was a young man (late teens early 20s) and he had gotten out for the first time in his 50's or 60's. He had spent his entire adult life in an institution and didn't know how to function in the outside world. So he robbed a bank.

What does this have to do with our kids?

Think about their days, early they get up and get dressed for school. They spend over 6 hours at school with their entire day planned out for them - sometimes even down to when they go to the bathroom. Then when they get home - if they are lucky they stay home and get to be kids for awhile but they have homework and they have other activities like sports, 4-H, church, etc. And home in time to finish homework and fall into bed.

Their entire day is planned out for them or at least the vast majority of the day. Five days a week. for 9 months out of the year.

And then comes summer where we expect the kids to know how to entertain themselves. And siblings who really don't spend very much time together during the school year except in the car are expected to be friends and get along.

They might even be told to turn off the video game and go outside to play because it is summer and that is what you should do during summer.

Only they don't know how to come up with something to play because that isn't how they are taught to be creative during the school year.

So before long, mom is tired of the "I'm bored"s. And that is why she is so glad to ship them back off to school so she doesn't have to entertain them.

But it is just sad.

WFMW - planner

2009-08-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

I make my own planner - because I do things the hard way.

And then because I haven't yet found the planner design that works for me, I keep changing the planner style. So if I print out 32 weeks worth of one design and then decide on week 3 that I hate that design - I get irritated with myself. Don't ask how I know.

So this year I made my planner and I picked a few different designs for the weeks and printed out about 4 of each. I printed out almost everything else I wanted in the planner and took it to my local copy shop. I had them put a spiral binding on it and so I can use it that way for the next few weeks.

I also did one for Daisy but she only has 2 styles of weekly pages.

So I can use the planner and try out the different styles of pages until I find the one I really like. I can then print those off and have the holes put in it and add it to my planner.

This gives me the planner that really works for me instead of one that I make do with.

Art or something like it

2009-07-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Art is typically one of the first things to go because . . . well, it makes a mess. And I have been lax in doing it, partially because Junior treats art as most dreaded torture.

How can kiddie art be torture? Well, I suspect in the nursery at church and mothers-day-out some well meaning little girls told him he was doing it wrong. I don't know this for a fact, but I do have a little girl and I know how they can be.

Plus, I know most of the pictures brought home by him, were not in fact done by him. I would gush over a picture he brought home and he would say "Oh, G (or S or another girl) colored it for me." *

sigh

So when I saw this idea at Deep, Space Sparkle I thought we should try it.

It is supposed to be a lesson in symmetry (which I did go over with Daisy). For Junior, it was a lesson in self confidence.

This is the first picture he has ever done (by himself), that he is proud of.

I know. You are thinking "what the heck is that!?" To be honest, I don't really see what it is either but with all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that went into producing it, he is proud.

See Daisy and I kept encouraging him. We even went so far as to say he was the only one who made something that looked like an alien. Daisy's resembled an insect and mine . . . a person with really bad hair. I googled E.T. to show him how his kind-of resembled E.T. (like a bust of E.T.).

We drug him, kicking and screaming (almost) along every step of the project.

But now he wants it to hang on his wall.

So you can see his vision, here is his picture with the parts labeled. I don't know what the big blob at the bottom is, he hasn't said and I couldn't even guess.

The top arrow points at the teeth.

The left arrow points at one of the eyes (the other is on the opposite side)

And the right arrow points to the nose.

I don't "see" it either but I also don't get Picasso.

* I don't resent these little girls, I just know that sometimes they can get too caught up in "doing it right."

A lot of action here

2009-07-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

It may look like I have been a very, very busy mom to have gone from 7 posts to 30 but I went and pulled a bunch from my main blog and put them up over here.

And I imported them.

So really the whole process took maybe 30 minutes (and it wouldn't have taken that long except the export/import thingy takes all the posts (200+) and moves them and I didn't want the non-homeschool ones here so I had to go through and get rid of those and then publish the ones I kept.

And yes I know that was a run-on sentence but that is how I felt about the project.

But now I have them moved (Yeah me!) so I can focus on something else.

One thing that is cool is that it also moves the comments, which explains how I have posts and comments from before this blog was started.

Our Curriculum for this year

2009-07-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Kris at Weird, Unsocialized, Homeschoolers is doing a Share your Curriculum Edition of the Weekly Wrap-up. This is my first time doing Weekly Wrap-up and I am pretty excited about it.

I don't have the curriculum for this year 100% ironed out yet, but I do know what some of it is going to be.

Right now what we are thinking is

Math on the Level

Janice Van Cleve books for science although I am not sure which

Handbook of Nature Study

Bible study we are just using the Bible and one of those lists of the Harmony of the Gospels

Tatras for our phonics

We are thinking of Story of the World for History

Literature will be various books throughout the year. Right now we are going through Treasure Island and Wizard of Oz. After that, I don't know exactly.

We might be adding or changing, I am not 100% sure. We will also be participating in our local co-op which meets every other week.

Without a plan(er)

2009-07-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

I am a genius at making lists and charts to keep me organized. Unfortunately, I am also a perfectionist and so I tend to get the chart or whatever the way I want it, and then keep tweaking it. Ad Nauseum.

Last year I made myself a lovely planner. It was basically everything I could possibly need.

After about 6 weeks, I stopped using it because the lesson plan pages didn't work as well as I thought they would. I don't remember now what was wrong with them, I think maybe schedule envy - you know when you see someone else's schedule system and suddenly yours is . . . lacking.

Anyway, I am trying to make my planner for the upcoming year. Why can't I use a ready made one? Because that would be entirely too simple. I apparently can't do simple.

This year though, I am making a mini version (only 6 weeks or so of weekly scheduling but with the calendars and such) and I will see how it works in the light school that we are doing now.

Right now, we are doing math and reading. Partially to keep them from forgetting anything, and to make some progress but also to keep us in the habit of schooling. It is so stinking hot outside now that we might as well do school in the heat of the day.

Plus this lets me try out my planner. My planner comes from various sources, some from Donna Young, some from the Tanglewood and some from the Old Schoolhouse Planner. Most of them I almost liked but ended up retyping so I could customize. Now obviously I can't share the pages I didn't retype and customize but I will try to give you an idea of where I got various things.

After I get the planner designed, I am going to print out a good portion of it (except for the weekly pages and just a few of those) and then take it and have it spiral bound. Taking the spiral out and having the new pages added won't be a big deal once I get the pages I will use.

I also made Daisy her own so she can check off what she has done each day and can keep track herself. With hers, we are also doing the small version with two completely different weekly pages so she can see what works for her.

I will try to keep you updated on how it goes.

Math on the Level

2009-07-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

After a year of Saxon - which I hated, ok maybe not but if we did it all we would hate it - I thought I would try something else. Actually a month ago I was going to do Saxon again.

Instead I found Math on the Level. First I had gotten one of their 9's Down Math facts ebooks (also available in print).

Daisy is a bit shaky on her math facts - like her mom did for years, she counts with her fingers - and this offers drills but in an unusual way. The first worksheet is full of problems 9+1, 9+0 and 9+9 and your child does this one daily until he/she can do the whole worksheet in a short amount of time, and then moves to the next one that adds 9+8 to the mix. By the time your child gets to the smaller numbers (and easier) they have had alot of practice with the larger numbers. Most books start out with 1's and then 2's and so on and have very little (comparative) practice with the larger ones. They offer 9's down addition, subtraction, multiplication and division each separate if you do the ebook version where you just print out the worksheets you need.

So after thinking about it some more I ordered the Starter pack with the Math on the Level. In some ways, this will be more challenging than Saxon because I actually have to teach it instead of just reading the book and pointing out the math problems in the book. Yet in others it will be much easier to do.

Today for instance - the first day we have used it - we discussed Roman numerals. I first made up a story about how Roman numerals were invented - to rivaling farmers with the same names as my kids, fighting over who had more sheep. There were hand motions involved and so I think it will make V, X, and L easier to remember. Then we discussed the other numbers and some mnemonic devices to help remember the larger ones - we settled on "Learning Causes Dad Migranes", or maybe it was "Lucky Cat Dines on Mice." Anyway, it was actually fun. We didn't spend very long with it and will do some more with it tomorrow.

Then to keep it in her mind, I put it on her 5-A-Day sheet.

What is a 5-A-Day? Well it is 5 math problems on different things to see if she remembers how to do a math concept. That way I can know if she "gets it" or if she has forgotten it. If she misses Roman numerals for a few days I know she needs it reviewed or retaught.

Since this is the first day we have actually used it, I will review the curriculum again for you after we have used it more.

What we think we know

2009-07-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I really love these TED talks. What is TED? According to their website

TED started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

The talks on their website (and on youtube) are short 10-15 minute things and are usually something that will make you think but not something boring. Here is one I just listened to What we think we know where he asks 4 questions that most people think they know the answer to, but might completely be wrong.

What is the hardest part of homeschooling?

2009-06-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

What I love about homeschooling is the flexibility.

It's a pretty day today and tomorrow is supposed to be awful. I think we should stop early today and do a little extra tomorrow.

What I hate about homeschooling is the guilt. I think every mom deals with some level of "Mommy guilt." We seem to see every bad thing that our kids do as a reflection on ourselves as mothers. "My kid eats crayons-I am a horrible mother. My kid won't eat her veggies - I am a horrible mother. My child wasn't the first to be potty-trained in her class - I am a horrible mother. My kid said a bad word in front of the pastor - I am a horrible mother." And on and on and on . . . .

As a homeschooling mom, there is all the normal guilt plus the added guilt. If Daisy's friend doesn't know how to read in 4th grade than all her teachers have failed her. If Daisy is a struggling reader and her only teacher is me . . . .

So we are afraid to admit our struggles as teachers because then it feel like we have a scarlet letter "F" on our chest.

A year and a half ago Daisy's reading level was about at 1st grade and she was going into the 4th. I felt horrible, like a failure, and I only told 2 people about it. If I said anything it was more just that she was "struggling." Now she is 4th grade 4th month level. While I have given her props for her improvement, I still see the F on my chest.

So what are we doing now with her reading? She is reading a chapter (or so) a day from her choice of chapter books (she just finished a Magic Treehouse and is starting Beezus and Ramona). In addition to that, we spend time with her reading aloud to me, and going over the phonic rules.

She doesn't do well with pressure and it is still fairly easy to get her in deer-in-headlights mode. While she no longer says "I can't read" she doesn't have as much fluency as I would like for her to have. But she is attempting so much more on her own. A few months ago she would hand me her fortune from the cookie, now she tries to read it all and only asks for help with the big words.

Why do I think she has had such a hard time? I think that the first reading program that we purchased was too hard and I pushed too hard. She was left with feeling that reading was too hard and she wasn't smart enough. We tried program after program and didn't have very much success with those either. She was bored with the part she knew (or felt like I thought she was stupid because it kept being re-taught). She would make progress and I would think "yeah! a breakthrough" but then the progress would be gone. We have finally made progress and are no longer seeing the progress disappearing. It just took a long time to knock down the walls she had built up.

Our Homeschool experience

2009-06-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

I suppose first I should say that not everyone should homeschool - which is completely different from the "anyone can homeschool" that is usually proclaimed.

Anyone can homeschool - although the barely literate may need some outside help.

But I am not one of those that thinks that only horrible parents send their kids to public school. My thought is, if a parent isn't committed to homeschooling then they shouldn't bother. More on that later but I completely respect people knowing their limitations.

I also think that there are some excellent public school teachers out there (including my sister), there are some that make the classroom fun and kids learn alot. I just don't know that those teachers are the majority. I am afraid that many teachers are overworked, underpaid, under-appreciated and under-supported. We throw them in a class of 20-30 kids, some who belong in reform school, and expect them to work with a largely apathetic group of kids.

That said: Why do we homeschool?

I could give you a laundry list of reasons but the main one is that I feel like this is something God called me to do. Before I got pregnant, I was already getting books to share with the children I would have. Hubby and I were discussing homeschooling even while I was pregnant. Ten years later, I am still pulled to homeschooling in a way I can't describe other than I feel like this is what I am supposed to be doing.

Those of you that know me, know that I have never stuck to anything else that long (other than my marriage). My usual modus operandi is to immerse myself in learning about something (knitting, crocheting, CSS, HTML, etc) until I get bored and move on to something else.

I can give you statisics and studies - many of which reinforce that I am doing the right thing for my children - but I don't think that you are here for that. If you homeschool, I am preaching to the choir; if you don't homeschool they mean very little.

I wouldn't say it is a "religious reason." In fact if I was filling out a survey on why we homeschool, I would check the box marked "academic." Because of being in classes of 20-30, I was either bored (in the classes I was good at) or confused (math). I left school with the idea that I was pretty stupid and then proceeded to prove it the next several years.

My goal with my kids is that they don't feel stupid because of getting behind in a subject (not that I do that perfectly). Also for them to able to research and learn something that they don't know about. For example if I somehow manage to completely miss teaching them anything about WWII, they would know how to find out about it in the library.

Why is this one different from my other blogs?

Well, I am once again going to try to have a blog that is just homeschooling and then one that is personal/family. The difficulty is so much of the family stuff has homeschool applications and visa-versa. Many of my other blog followers are not homeschoolers so a discussion of curriculum or my latest planner design will not interest them. On the other hand, I haven't been posting very much about homeschooling so homeschoolers don't have as much to interest them.

I have been wanting to post more of the info I am finding about homeschooling but as I said, many of my followers are not homeschooling.

So we shall see how this experiment of (yet another) blog goes.

Do schools kill creativity?

2009-06-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was interesting and thought provoking. Ok, and this guy is also pretty funny.

Reason 261 I love homeschooling

2009-04-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were able to eat lunch with my parents as they drove through town. They were going from the Houston area up to Oklahoma and decided to take a bit of a detour through our little town.

We met at H*bby L*bby and then went to have a wonderful lunch together.

I hadn't told the kids who we were meeting - or that we were meeting anyone - so the look of surprise and joy on Juniors face when he saw "Grandfather" was priceless.

As a side note, we read Heidi last year which started Daisy calling him Grandfather and then Junior picked it up. So it isn't that he chose a stuffy sounding name.

And this is something we couldn't do if they were in school . . . or at least I would feel guilty about it.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

2009-04-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go to a star watching party on Saturday night. It was amazing.

We have had a telescope for awhile but neither Hubby or I can figure out how to use it.

Well, we know how to use it, but it is difficult to find what you are looking for when you aren't very good at it.

We got a star wheel and learned how to use it, directions to make an astrolabe and other tips. The two astronomers leading had brought 3 good telescopes and then would focus them on some amazing sights.

The moon with its craters is beautiful, it was like those pictures you have seen, but this was not a picture. Hubby and I had seen Saturn before in my Dad's telescope, but his doesn't give as close of a picture. Saurday, we saw the line of rings and one or two of the moons.

It gave us more ideas on how to get out there and watch what is going on in the sky. They are planning on doing it again in June and we are hoping to be there, as well as one in July.

There are more tips and tricks we learned and will hopefully be able to keep learning more. I will post these as I get time.

Cooking lessons

2009-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

One of the things I like to do with the kids is that they get one meal a week. One meal to plan, making sure it is at least somewhat balanced, and then they prepare it with my help.

So I asked Daisy and she wanted to make "noodles that look like a shell, with the white sauce on it."

Ok, pasta with alfredo sauce, that's fairly easy. What protein?

Her first idea was ranch style beans. Now I love ranch style beans, but I don't know about loving them with alfredo sauce. After some more thought, she decided on chicken.

And mushrooms.

And onions.

(I know there was also a vegetable but I have forgotten what it was.)

It turned out well, she enjoyed it except it took so long to cook. Possibly it took so long because she kept bumping the burners down to low.

Then for Junior's meal he chose spaghetti with meat sauce. And Broccoli as a veggie.

Before we started cooking, I sat down with him and asked if he liked how I made spaghetti sauce. Then "are you sure you like it? Do you want to make it just like Mommy always makes it?" He said yes, and then I told him I always cook it with onions. Always.

He burst into tears because he "hates onions." He did decide that if I always cook it with onion and he likes it, the onions can't be completely evil. Sometimes I also use bell pepper, but I thought that would be pushing too much.

So we got out the mandolin and he put in the onions that were then fried up with ground beef. The pasta was boiling in a separate pot and he asked if he could put in the sauce.

Yes, I confess we use jarred sauce. Specifically Ragu Super Chunky Mushrooms (don't tell Junior, he also "hates" mushrooms).

So I tell him sure he can pour in the sauce.

And he did. Right into the pasta water.

I stopped him before he got very much in there but . . . apparently he really needs the cooking lessons.

Then the broccoli was just frozen broccoli cooked in the microwave, then we sprinkled salt and real parmesan cheese (not that stuff in the green can, real parm yumm).

Both meals turned out beautiful, and so each was satisfied with their efforts.

Try letting your kids cook, they might enjoy it.

And maybe even learn onions aren't completely evil.

Shooting sports

2009-03-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Since I knew nothing about what "4-H shooting sports" is, I am guessing that most of you don't either.

So I'm gonna tell you.

Pretend you care.

The kids learn weapon safety (i.e. don't point the gun at anybody, don't carry a loaded gun, stuff like that).

Then depending on their age, they have different positions to shoot in. Daisy's age they only do prone, which is laying on their belly. In a couple/few years she will be able to do all three: prone, kneeling, and standing.

Sounds pretty simple huh?

Except the targets are little. They are about the size of a silver dollar. The grown ups use binoculars to see if the kids are hitting the target.

And not just good binoculars. They use high powered binocular.

And you want to hit as close to the center of the target as you can (think of a dart board with its bulls eye. Except the bulls eye is smaller than a pencil eraser.)

And you are 50 feet away.

Wanna see?

I circled her targets with red. They have 3 sheets of paper with 12 circles - 2 practice targets and 10 real targets.

I am not telling you all this so you think "WOW! Daisy must be a great shot."

Cause she isn't.

She is ~~awful~~ a pretty bad shot on these targets.

Then again, I suppose being able to hit the piece of paper means she could hit a deer.

Never say quit

2009-03-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

I am pretty sure that this February was the longest month ever in the history of the world. At least it sure seemed that way because of how packed it was. Some was good (wedding), some was bad (cancer and death), some was just busy (youth fair), some planned, some unexpected.

Which reminds me, I have posted the recipes for the baguette bread and pineapple bread pudding. They are over at my recipe blog. I don't yet have Junior's applesauce bread up, hopefully that will be up soon.

Anyway . . .

Our busyness continued until the very last day of February. Junior had a tae kwan do tournament down in Houston. We had to be there at 8:30 and it is a 2 hour drive (Hubby had to work the night before). So the kids and I got up at 5, Hubby got home at 5:30 and we were out the door by six.

But the tournament went well, it was a real confidence booster. For Junior's age group - tiny tigers, how cute is that - they all get first place for something. Junior got first place for "fastest kicks and punches" which is a polite way of saying he was hyper. So Junior came home with a medal. And Mr. Negativity actually told me it was fun. He said he was scared but it he had fun.

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Then today the other kid, the one who ~~never~~ rarely complains gave a huge sigh when I said she had shooting sports today. I asked what was wrong and her answer was "I don't like shooting sports."

She doesn't like the practicing, she doesn't like shooting in the prone position (the only one she is allowed to shoot in for her age), the gun is heavy and hurts her arm, the strap that helps hold the gun hurts . . . and so on.

So whats good about it? Getting to touch a gun.

Hubby and I discussed letting her drop out since she is usually game for any project and rarely complains. He wanted her to learn gun safety which she had, I wanted her to quit nagging about trying it. We agreed that she could drop out if she wanted.

So we called her in and gave her the choice.

She doesn't want to drop out.

I don't know why.

I am not sure she knows why.

But she is staying in shooting sports.

Even though she doesn't like it.

I dearly love booklists

2009-03-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

As a confirmed bibliophile, I have to admit one of my favorite things is booklists. Children's booklists, adult booklists, Christian booklists, I love them all.

So when Ang over at Hanging Out The Wash posted a booklist of classic children's literature, I had to look it over. She got the list from Best Children's Literature.

I am going to italicize those that we have already read and bold those I have read. If it is bolded, I will probably read it to my kids, or have them read.

Classic children's literature - Kindergarten through Grade 6

* Recommended children's literature for K-3, either for reading by children or for reading to them.

Adamson, Joy * Born Free

Aesop * Fables*

Alcott, Louisa May * Little Women

Andersen, Hans Christian * Fairy tales

Atwater, Richard and Florence * Mr. Popper's Penguins*

Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin * Miss Hickory

Barrie, J.M. * Peter Pan

Baum, L. Frank * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Bemelmans, Ludwig * Madeline series*

Bond, Michael * A Bear Called Paddington

Boston, L.M. * The Children of Green Knowe

Brink, Carol Ryrie * Caddie Woodlawn

Brown, Margaret Wise * Goodnight, Moon*

Brunhoff, Jean de * The Story of Babar*

Burnett, Frances Hodgson * The Secret Garden

Burton, Virginia Lee * Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel*

Butterworth, Oliver * The Enormous Egg

Clark, Ann Nolan * Secret of the Andes

Cleary, Beverly * Henry Huggins series

Coatsworth, Elizabeth * The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Dalgliesh, Alice * The Bears on Hemlock Mountain*
* The Courage of Sarah Noble*
De Angeli, Marguerite * The Door in the Wall

De Jong, Meindert * The House of Sixty Fathers
* The Wheel on the School
Dodge, Mary Mapes * Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates

Du Bois, William Pene * The Twenty-One Balloons

Edmonds, Walter D. * The Matchlock Gun

Estes, Eleanor * Ginger Pye
* Moffats series

Farley, Walter * The Black Stallion

Field, Rachel * Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Fritz, Jean * The Cabin Faced West

Gilbreth, Frank B. and Ernestine G. Carey * Cheaper By the Dozen

Gipson, Fred * Old Yeller

Godden, Rumer * The Mousewife*

Grahame, Kenneth * The Reluctant Dragon*
* The Wind in the Willows

Gray, Elizabeth Janet * Adam of the Road

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm * Grimm's Fairy Tales

Hawes, Charles * The Dark Frigate

Haywood, Carolyn * Betsy series*

Henry, Marguerite * King of the Wind
* Misty of Chincoteague

Keith, Harold * Rifles for Watie

Kelly, Eric * The Trumpeter of Krakow

Kipling, Rudyard * Captains Courageous
* Just So Stories for Little Children*
* The Jungle Books

Kjelgaard, Jim * Big Red

Knight, Eric * Lassie Come Home

Krumgold, Joseph * ...and Now Miguel
* Onion John

LaFarge, Oliver * Laughing Boy

Lamb, Charles and Mary * Tales from Shakespeare

Latham, Jean Lee * Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

Lawson, Robert * Ben & Me
* Rabbit Hill

Leaf, Munro * The Story of Ferdinand*

Lear, Edward * Book of Nonsense*

Lenski, Lois * Strawberry Girl

Lewis, C.S. * Chronicles of Narnia series

Lindgren, Astrid * Pippi Longstocking series

Lofting, Hugh * Doctor Doolittle series (I remember reading one of these on a drive from Sydney to Melbourne, so it is hard for me to think of these without remembering the Aussie countryside)

London, Jack * The Call of the Wild
* White Fang

MacDonald, Betty * Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

MacGregor, Ellen * Miss Pickerell series

McCloskey, Robert * Blueberries for Sal* every year when we go pick blueberries

* Homer Price
* Make Way for Ducklings*

McSwigan, Marie * Snow Treasure

Meigs, Cornelia * Invincible Louisa

Milne, A.A. * The House at Pooh Corner*

* Now We Are Six*

* When We Were Very Young*

* Winnie-the-Pooh*

Minarik, Else Holmelund * Little Bear

Montgomery, L.M. * Anne of Green Gables

Mukerji, Dhan Ghopal * Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon

Norton, Mary * The Borrowers series

O'Hara, Mary * My Friend Flicka

Pearce, Philippa * Tom's Midnight Garden

Perrault, Charles * Cinderella*

Potter, Beatrix * The Tale of Peter Rabbit*

Pyle, Howard * The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Rey, H.A. * Curious George series*

Richter, Conrad * The Light in the Forest

Selden, George * The Cricket in Times Square*

Seuss, Dr. * The Cat in the Hat*

Sewell, Anna * Black Beauty

Sorenson, Virginia * Miracles on Maple Hill

Speare, Elizabeth George * The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Sperry, Armstrong * Call It Courage

Spyri, Johanna * Heidi

Steinbeck, John * The Red Pony

Stevenson, Robert Louis * A Child's Garden of Verses*
* Kidnapped
* Treasure Island

Travers, Pamela L. * Mary Poppins series

Van Loon, Hendrik * The Story of Mankind

White, E.B. * Charlotte's Web
* Stuart Little

Wilder, Laura Ingalls * Little House series

Williams, Margery * The Velveteen Rabbit*

Wyss, Johann * Swiss Family Robinson

Zion, Gene * Harry the Dirty Dog*

how differences can work for us

2009-02-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

After the first day of competition we went to a late breakfast at Ihop and Daisy wanted to try something new, so she got the cheese omelet. She really liked it, but was interested in trying one of the fancier omelets (specifically the spinach and mushroom with hollandaise sauce, yep my kids eat weird).

I told her that her dad makes awesome omelets. So while he was telling her how (cuz she asked), I started thinking about our drastically different cooking styles.

Hubby excels at stuff like omelets, chicken fried steak, one pot "throw togethers," hamburgers and stuff like that.

My omelets look like scrambled egg, I am doing better at the throw togethers but its not my comfort zone.

But I made my first loaf of yeast white bread at 13 (Mom was out of town and Dad had no idea what a mess it would make). Baking is still one of my favorite ways to cook.

Until recently a good portion of the meals I cooked used pasta in some way (hubby didn't really like pasta that much in the beginning).

I do stuff with the odd tools in the kitchen, I do canning, pressure cooking, and alot of stuff in the crock-pot.

I love experimenting with new recipes. Hubby will look up a few versions of a recipe and then go in the kitchen and make something up.

These drastically different cooking styles are great when looking at our kids. Hubby can teach them how to flip stuff in the pan (he says he can teach me too) and I can teach them how to bake, not just following the recipe but if it looks right.

I can teach them how to make an amazing homemade gravy (hubby uses a mix) but he can teach them how to do the chicken fried steak.

By the time we have taught our kids what we each know, they will be amazing in the kitchen and will hopefully be fearless.

And that is one way differences can work for us and not against us. What about you?

Classical Christmas music

2008-12-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I just have to brag for a moment.

I was listening to XM classical Christmas (through our satellite) and Nutcracker came on. Junior was excited and said "It's the Nutcracker!" I asked who wrote it and he said "Tstashtotkee"

(In fairness Tchakovsky is very hard for many adults to say)

Then he said "He wrote some really good songs before he died."

Yes he did, Junior.

I might should mention Junior is 5. Kind of cool that he likes Tchaikovsky at 5.

100 species challenge - Sweetgum and Greenbriar

2008-11-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

I am finally doing my first 100 Species Challange post. With dead camera batteries and too much other stuff going on, this has taken longer than I thought.

Sweetgum

Greenbriar

Name: Sweetgum

Also known as redgum, american sweetgum, starleaved gum, gumtree and alligator wood. A deciduous tree with leaves that are deeply palmate, or star shaped. When crushed, the leaves have a very strong fragrance, kind of peppery, minty, mentholy. The leaves somewhat resemble maple but are alternately arranged rather than opposite.(see below for an explanation of alternate and opposite)

Sweetgum has a fruit that you would recognize if you ever stepped on one, looking more like a weapon than a fruit. It’s a spiny ball that will clutter up the yard.
Except for the messy balls, it is a beautiful landscape tree and is one of the top producing hardwoods. It is used to make flooring, veneers, furniture, paper pulp and basket making.
The sweetgum sap has been used by oldtimers to make a chewing gum. Supposedly, the leaves when chewed and applied as a paste will releive fire ant bites. I have tried this on Junior and he said it helped, but it took awhile before I had the taste out of my mouth (think really, really strong mint gum). Since I avoid fire ant beds, I haven't tried this on myself. Yep, I am a wimp.

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Name: Greenbriar

Also known as as horsebrier, catbriar, stretchberry, tramps troubles, blasphemy vine and hellfetter.

A common woody vine that grows in the same area as sweetgum. The leaves are very glossy, almost waxy looking and are broadly rounded. It is the only vine in the United States that has both thorns and tendrils.

The vine can form a thick thicket that is home and food to a variety of wildlife. The deer graze upon the leaves, birds eat the berries and cottontails make their home in its thick cover.

The berries can be mixed with the sap of the sweetgum tree, to make the gum stretchier. I have broken open these berries and there is a thin, clear stretchy membrane that really is elastic-like.

The young shoots, tendrils and leaves can be cooked as asparagus, ro eaten raw. The roots when crushed, washed and strained produce a red powder that can be used as a gelatin. This powder can be added to soups as a thickening agent or mixed with tannic acid as a soothing salve for bites, minor burns, or abrasions.

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While looking this information up, I found this book which looks like a wonderful resource. I love the look of this book, I was able to veiw some of it and found it a huge wealth of information. That is where I got alot of the info on the Greenbriar.
Ok I must confess, I just borrowed the graphic from Amazon. So if you want to see inside the book, you have to go to Amazon. You can just click here.

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I promised to explain alternate and opposite. Here goes. Then you look at a branch that has leaves they will be either alternate or opposite. Opposite leaves would be like your 2 arms. They are on opposite sides of the body. Alternate means they are not opposite. They can be very close to opposite, but if they aren't even, it is alternate. Here is a little diagram I threw together to give a visual.

God's World of Extremes

2008-11-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a way to enrich our geography lessons, make them more than just places on a map. The October Old Schoolhouse module is what I was looking for. God’s World of Extremes is full of amazing facts, such as the most rainfall happens in India with 500 inches! You will never guess what amount is the least average yearly rainfall.

God’s World of Extremes has learning opportunities such as maps of each continent; coloring pages for the younger ones; price comparisons for things like bread and gas; games kids play around the world; and a “which continent are we on” worksheet.

There are also loads of links:

Easy foreign language
More about countries such as Greece, Mexico, Chad and even the United States
A penpal website
An extensive resource list
And more

In God’s World of Extremes my favorite is the copywork pages, one for each continent with a fast fact section that includes things like land size, largest river, and number of countries. These would be wonderful for lapbooking or notebooking.

My daughter can’t wait to start this one. This is a fabulous module that can be used with the Old Schoolhouse Planner; however, owning the planner is not necessary.

God’s World of Extremes will get your kids excited about geography.

100 species Challange

2008-11-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

I was over at the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival at Jimmie's One Child Policy blog (well worth checking out even without the carnival) and found this entry:

Faith Alterton shares a most creative post at Blessed Quietness -- And yet another use for mud. That got your attention, didn't it?

Of course I had to check it out, and then I looked around and found the 100 species challenge.

What is the 100 Species Challenge you ask?

Well, it seems the person who came up with this challenge had read a book that mentioned most people nowadays cannot identify 100 species of plants within walking distance. So she took the challenge and has challenged others to do the same, identify 100 species of plants in your area.

You can do this on your own or you can blog about it. If you blog about it, these are the official rules.

The 100-Species Challenge

Participants should include a copy of these rules and a link to this entry in their initial blog post about the challenge.

Participants should keep a list of all plant species they can name, either by common or scientific name, that are living within walking distance of the participant's home. The list should be numbered, and should appear in every blog entry about the challenge, or in a sidebar.

Participants are encouraged to give detailed information about the plants they can name in the first post in which that plant appears. My format will be as follows: the numbered list, with plants making their first appearance on the list in bold; each plant making its first appearance will then have a photograph taken by me, where possible, a list of information I already knew about the plant, and a list of information I learned subsequent to starting this challenge, and a list of information I'd like to know. (See below for an example.) This format is not obligatory, however, and participants can adapt this portion of the challenge to their needs and desires.

Participants are encouraged to make it possible for visitors to their blog to find easily all 100-Species-Challenge blog posts. This can be done either by tagging these posts, by ending every post on the challenge with a link to your previous post on the challenge, or by some method which surpasses my technological ability and creativity.

Participants may post pictures of plants they are unable to identify, or are unable to identify with precision. They should not include these plants in the numbered list until they are able to identify it with relative precision. Each participant shall determine the level of precision that is acceptable to her; however, being able to distinguish between plants that have different common names should be a bare minimum.

Different varieties of the same species shall not count as different entries (e.g., Celebrity Tomato and Roma Tomato should not be separate entries); however, different species which share a common name be separate if the participant is able to distinguish between them (e.g., camillia japonica and camillia sassanqua if the participant can distinguish the two--"camillia" if not).

Participants may take as long as they like to complete the challenge. You can make it as quick or as detailed a project as you like. I'm planning to blog a minimum of two plants per week, complete with pictures and descriptions as below, which could take me up to a year. But you can do it in whatever level of detail you like.

Because of 4-H wildlife this year, we do have a bit of a head start. This is going to be a fun challenge for us, and may make it easier to study for Wildlife contest next year, a contest that 8 & 9 year olds compete with highschool kids. To be honest, I am not quite sure who is at the disadvantage, LOL.

The first plants will be posted later today. Because of wildlife, and because I believe the original author complaining of the lack of botanical knowledge was referring to wild species, I am going to attempt to limit us to stuff we have not planted. For instance, I have a lovely rosemary bush but I know what rosemary is, I know what it does, etc.

I don't specify native because . . . there are many, many invasive plants that are non-natives, not just kudzu but also pretty things like honeysuckle, which would be useful to know more about. Also, to be honest, with plants you don't know, you don't know if they are native or not until you research them. I don't want us to research and then find out they are non-native and tell the kids "oops, we can't use this one." Besides on the wildlife contest there are non-natives like honeysuckle.

Any one else care to join me on this challenge?

Amusing Mathematics Old Schoolhouse November Module

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Amusing Mathmatics. which is pretty amazing since I have never really liked math.

Ok, the truth is I hated math.

I am still not too fond of math but I really enjoy Amusing Mathmatics. My daughter liked it too. In fact, I didn’t get to read through the whole thing at first because I had to stop so she could play with the tangrams.

Amusing Mathmatics. is a great ebook, even for confirmed mathophobes like me. There are activities such as

tangrams - ancient Chinese puzzles of shapes
jokes and riddles
Pattern Blocks
math puzzles
sodoku.

Tips are hidden throughout, like an easy way to figure out the answer to 9 x any other number.

I love the copywork for Amusing Mathmatics.! It has rhymes to help remember the difference between coins; the difference in measurement between cups, pints, quarts, and gallons; and other math rhymes.

If you want to add a little fun into your math studies, look no further than Amusing Mathmatics.

One Random Thing I am Grateful for about Homeschooling

2008-10-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is going to sound silly but I am so glad my children will not have to experience P.E. sports. Its not the athletics I object to, it's the way teams are divided up.

Choosing two captains and letting those two captains take turns picking who is on their team.

Well, someone has to be last.

Guess who that was at my school.

I blame my sister. She got all the athletic ability in the family. I don't care if she was born 7 years after me; she took more than her fair share of athleticism.

Music Mania Module for September

2008-10-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, The Old Schoolhouse September Planner module is wonderful! I love music and the classical composers but my children have looked at music as a chore. Music Mania will help me get them excited about music.

Music Mania has a brief biography of some of the major composers; my children will be able to pick which musician they are interested in studying during music. The information on the orchestra will help them understand how the music is performed, the difference between the 4 types of instruments, and where they are located in the orchestra. I didn’t even know the seating order for an orchestra was standard.

Music Mania has even more! There are links to research more of the top composers, games, word searches, coloring pages, directions for making your own musical instruments. I love the yummy sounding recipes, especially the Inside Out Green Peppers.

If you like your children to do copywork, there are pages of it. Each one is a quote by a composer, with a Fast Facts section which includes a space for their birthday, interesting facts, type of music and major compositions. If you do notebooking or lapbooking, these copybook pages would be an excellent addition to the lapbook

Best of all, Music Mania has stirred up my imagination on what to do for music. I plan on bringing out Benjamin Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf so we can listen as we are learning the different parts of the orchestra. Music Mania has helped me think of ways to make music more fun and educational.

Now if I can find something to make math fun . . .

Homeschool Freebie of the Day

2008-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

What an amazing resource ! ! !

They find or produce a freebie for every day of the week, some are audio, I have seen some videos, and many, many ebooks. Its well worth the time to stop by every day, but you can also sign up for their "heads-up" mailer where you get an extra freebie each week. Don't wait till the end of the week though because then it's gone.

This week they have an Emergency Preparedness ebook which is on our minds with the aftermath of Ike.

Check it out here.

They are also offering the freebies missed last week to people who lost power due to Ike. How cool is that ! ? !

Holiday Celebration July module

2008-08-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

If you want an ebook packed with facts about the holidays, then the July module is exactly what you are looking for. Celebrate the Holidays is packed with all sorts nuggets of information about many of the major holidays. For instance, did you know that South and Central America also celebrate some version of Columbus Day? They call it other names such as Día de la Raza, Día de las Culturas, and Discovery Day but it is still Columbus day.

In Celebrate the Holidays there are also several fun worksheets, adorable coloring pages, family activities such as bugs on a stick, and 2 delicious sounding recipes. There are also 14 pages of copywork, a wonderful collection of quotes about the holidays from presidents and musicals and everything in between. The copywork will be put to good use in our home and my daughter loves the coloring pages.

In my opinion, this module is not nearly as good as the others I have looked at. I loved God’s World of Extremes, Music Mania and Amusing Mathmatics (I haven’t looked at All About Inventors). They just seemed to have more than this one. I liked Celebrate the Holidays. I just didn’t love it like I loved the others.

I just found out that the person who wrote the July and August Modules is no longer writing them. So if you looked at either of those and didn't really care for them, check out the newer ones. September, October and November were written by someone else who will be continuing to write them. You can look at my reviews of those and other things by looking at the Labels section on the right.

4-H

2008-06-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

This year 4-H was great. We thouroughly enjoyed entomology, so much that I will be the adult leader next year. Wildlife was fun, and Food and Nutrition was great. This fall we will be doing those, plus maybe rabbits and shooting sports. I have so many ideas for fun activities for entomology. I do have to share an amazing resource The Gloworm I accidentally found it while researching Luna moths. Anyway, if you or your kids are remotely interested in insects, there is alot of fascinating info.

I was talking to a friend about 4-H and she asked if the kids actually learn anything or if it's just another babysitting activity. My first response was "absolutely not!!" but then I begin to think about it.

4-H like any other eduational activity, can teach you an amazing amount or almost nothing. It depends on what the student puts into it. There are wonderful 4-H learning resources, and projects but if you or your child attends but doesn't listen or read anything outside the meetings, then they will get absolutely nothing out of it.

To be honest, we didn't get a whole lot out of Wildlife, (we learned some but not that much) BUT that is completely our fault. All we did was attend the meetings. There was some interesting information learned, all of us can now point out the American Beauty Berry, favorite snack of deer,as well as some other trees.

I must admit though that I have become one of THOSE mama's, I push my kids into doing something because I am interested in it. So I don't normally leave them at the meetings, or sit in the car because I am interested in what they are learning too.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Charlotte Mason Tea -- Bravo to homeschooling

2008-04-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, the CM tea was great. Both of mine had learned their poems and did pretty well, although Junior mumbled.

One of the girls, (I guess she is 14) had written two poems that she read. When I say written, I don't mean something like "roses are red, / violets are blue. / I hate this, / and you do too." I mean a poem like you would expect to read published.

In one of the poems, 2 words caught my ear, "azure" and "lapis." I wonder how many college kids know what those words mean. Yet a young homeschool girl knows what they are, and can use them correctly. It was one of those small things that made me glad I homeschool.

I love 4-H ! ! !

2008-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I don't know why I didn't do 4-H, if it was offered in my area. I guess because of the idea that it was for country people.

With Daisy, we tried Girl Scouts, and in our area, it just wasn't a good experience.

Then we tried 4-H. Oh, Wow! 4-H just has so much to offer! There is a wide variety of projects, and most of them are not limited to "country stuff" like cows and goats.

Our 4-H club is made up of homeschoolers, which is great. It helps the kids be more connected with their homeschooling peers. Daisy is involved in Food and Nutrition, Entomology, and some with wildlife. Both kids have gotten enthusiastic about the bug collecting/ nature walk for entomology. To be honest, I didn't realize that entomology could be this interesting. We have gotten to see tiny little insects that we collected in our yard under a microscope.

Food and Nutrition was a lot of fun too. Daisy made a bread and won first prize in our county and was able to go on to district. She didn't win at district, but we learned alot. Junior has been planning what he wants to make for Food competition next year, and I think he is leaning toward a bread, because that is what big sis did. Wildlife was interesting, we just didn't do a whole lot with it because this was our first year in 4-H and we were a bit overwhelmed.

I am looking forward to next year and what we will participate in.

I encourage any of you, if you are looking for something to add to your curriculum, look into 4-H. Beyond the educational benefits, 4-H encourages leadership skills (even in the younger ones) and community service. Not to mention, there are scholarship opportunities. Not that I am worried right now about scholarships but if I wait till Daisy is older, it will be more difficult to get scholarships.

Anyway, 4-H is a great opportunity that I encourage everyone to look into.

Poetry Month

2008-04-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, April is National Poetry month in the U.S. and Canada. Even though I love poetry, I do find we are not as consistent as we should be in studying it.

Jimmie has some wonderful ideas at One Child Policy Homeschool on how to bring poetry into your homeschool. She also gives some of the benefits to poetry. One she didn't mention is that parts of the Bible are poetry. If you don't "get" poetry then the book of Psalms is pretty much closed as well as the other bits of poetry through out the Bible.

Another great resource is poets.org they have a FAQ full of ideas for poetry including 30 ways to celebrate, Lesson Plans and a tip sheet.

I would also say, have your kids write poetry. Even before they can write they can dictate a poem. In my opinion, writing poetry gives a better appreciation when listening to poetry; the same could be said of music, art and that sort of thing.

This month, my local Charlotte Mason support group is doing a Poetry Tea for the kids. For the poetry tea, the kids each pick a poem and then get to recite it in front of the group. Its a great confidence builder because all the kids are supportive of each other.

This is our second year to participate, last year Daisy didn't want to do it but I made her memorize a poem. I knew that when she got there and saw all the other kids reciting, she would want to do it too. She was convinced there was no way she would want to recite but on the way to the tea she was thinking maybe reciting would be ok. After she did it, she was so proud of herself!

Both kids are going to recite this year, and the nice thing is that their Daddy will be able to go to this. I found their poems in the poetry book we are reading Poems Every Child Should Know by Mary Burt. Because of its age, there is no longer a copywrite on it and so it can also be found at Project Gutenburg and Internet Archive . One of our favorite modern children's poets is Jack Prelutsky.

For the poetry tea, Daisy and Junior are going to recite this together:

Love Between Brothers and Sisters

Whatever brawls disturb the street,

There should be peace at home;

Where sisters dwell and brothers meet,

Quarrels should never come.

Birds in their little nests agree;

And 'tis a shameful sight,

When children of one family

Fall out and chide and fight.

----Isaac Watts.

I bet you can't guess who picked that one out. Is it subtle enough? I may make them recite it every time they bicker LOL

Junior may not do one on his own, I haven't really talked to him about it. He still doesn't talk very clearly, but OTOH it's more of a confidence builder.

Daisy has two poems she likes equally as well, so she is planning on learning both and then deciding. She might recite both.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star!

How I wonder what you are,

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

When the glorious sun is set,

When the grass with dew is wet,

Then you show your little light,

Twinkle, twinkle all the night.

In the dark-blue sky you keep,

And often through my curtains peep,

For you never shut your eye,

Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark

Guides the traveller in the dark,

Though I know not what you are,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star!

The Nightingale and the Glow-worm.

A nightingale, that all day long

Had cheered the village with his song,

Nor yet at eve his note suspended,

Nor yet when eventide was ended,

Began to feel, as well he might,

The keen demands of appetite;

When, looking eagerly around,

He spied far off, upon the ground,

A something shining in the dark,

And knew the glow-worm by his spark;

So, stooping down from hawthorn top,

He thought to put him in his crop.

The worm, aware of his intent,

Harangued him thus, right eloquent:

"Did you admire my lamp," quoth he,

"As much as I your minstrelsy,

You would abhor to do me wrong,

As much as I to spoil your song;

For 'twas the self-same power divine,

Taught you to sing and me to shine;

That you with music, I with light,

Might beautify and cheer the night."

The songster heard his short oration,

And warbling out his approbation,

Released him, as my story tells,

And found a supper somewhere else.

-----William Cowper.

Errand day and homeschooling

2008-04-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I feel awful. We did no schooling today. It was one of those long days full of errands.

First we dropped Junior at Mother's Day Out, then Daisy had piano lessons. After piano we went to the teacher supply store in town to see if they had insect pins, for pinning an insect collection. They didn't but they did have this cool thing to look through so you could see how it would be to see with an insect eye.

I called over at the college town nearby and one store said they had them. They didn't, it was the wrong kind of pins. Since we were there, we tried every college bookstore and none had them, although one did have a great book on Rembrandt clearanced.

So then we drove back to town, went by the forestry department and talked to the guy doing our 4-H. We found out what the caterpillars we have been collecting are, more about the mole cricket,saw some cool looking Harlequin bugs, and some other cool info. He mentioned that he had done a insect collection in college and that is what lit the spark that told him what to do for his career.

We picked up Junior and then came home. The kids caught more insects (the freezer is full of them), until it was time for Daisy's softball practice.

Hmmm, I guess on thinking about it, we did science, geography, art, and physical education. Not as bad as I thought. We did alot more than I realized.

And Daisy practiced her poem for our local groups Charlotte Mason Poetry Tea.

More about that later.

Oh, and the insect pins will have to be ordered online, Grrrrrrrr

new ideas -- insects

2008-03-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have to say our homeschooling has been fairly uninspired lately. We have just been plugging through day to day, and that hasn't even been completely regular.

We are involved in the 4-H entomology that we find really interesting. With it we are reading The Insect Folk by Margaret Warner Morley a sweet book published in the early 1900's. Some of the taxonomy has changed but for the most part, none of it would be anything I was worried about except if Daisy goes to contest for entomology, she needs to know the correct classes and divisions. The kids are collecting insects and spiders for a bug collection, so everytime we go outside we have to carry something to put insects in. Luckily for them, their momma is not the squeamish type so I will help with most of it (I don't do roaches, crickets and grasshoppers but the rest of them don't bother me).

I have been inspired though. I liked the idea of lapbooking but I couldn't figure out how, especially since (to my perfectionist mind) you couldn't really plan it until you knew everything that would go in it. The only way to know all that would go in it, is to finish the unit (or book or project). So I have bought the folders but that's as far as I had gotten. I was reading Jimmie at One Child Policy Homeschool when I realized that I was mistaken and you can do minibooks on the various things and then put those in the lapbook. So I think we are going to try a insect lapbook to go along with the entomology project, which will also give her something to reveiw for contest.

I am also inspired to dust off my copy of Handbook of Nature Study (by Anna Comstock) by Barb at Handbook of Nature Study . I felt I needed to start at the beginning and do it "right" and I just really didn't want to study birds, specifically chickens. (We had just gotten through a difficult homeschool experiment of raising chickens.) I never thought of skipping to something we did want to study, like right now would be insects.

I will keep ya'll updated on how it goes.