Thursday, November 29, 2007

Zome

I recently ordered Zome's Naked Structures Bundle for DS1 for Christmas. It's recommended for age 6 & up, and I think he will really enjoy it. He plays with our Magnetix-like set quite a bit, and often builds things that fall down because they get too heavy.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What a great couple of days!

Yesterday afternoon we had an adventure riding the city bus. We walked 1.5 blocks to the bus stop, rode to the downtown transit center, walked about 3 blocks to the Central Branch of the city library, spent 30-45 minutes browsing and doing puzzles in the children's room, checked out, walked back to the transit center, rode the bus back to our street, then walked home. Total time, just under 2 hours. The boys were very excited, handled being around strangers quite well, and stayed with me (with 1 exception) without running off or fussing. DS1 commented about the bus not having seat belts, so I explained that the poles were to hold onto if it got bumpy (we were at the back where the seats are in a U shape).

Today we made a treasure hunt for DH for his birthday. It started by DS2 playing with a roll of unused tan wallpaper and calling it a treasure map (a la Backyardigans and/or Dora). I suggested that we make a treasure map for Daddy for his birthday, so we discussed how many places (Dora style) and what would be at the "X" (Backyardigans style treasure). We settled on 4 places between starting in the living room and finishing in the kitchen. Each stop would have something hidden for DH to find. We chose the rooms and drew the map, then we went shopping for a present. They chose a package of animal balloons with a pump. DH likes making animal balloons, but we have misplaced our squeeze-ball pump, and our balloon stock is old so they break often, so this was a great choice (plus it was inexpensive). Then they each chose a bag of candy, DS2 selecting candy corn, and DS1 selecting Smarties. At home we wrapped those 3 presents in left over confetti pattern kitchen wall paper. They hid them in their room (stop 1), we took all the birthday cards and hid them in the basement (stop 2), I "hid" the DaVinci Code on the boys' library bookshelf (stop 3), and put DH's gift from me on our bed under a blanket (stop 4), the treasure was in the kitchen... pizza in the oven and a brownie birthday cake with a powdered sugar message.

When DH called to let me know he was on his way home from work, I warned him to expect to be greeted by 2 very excited boys and not to plan on any downtime immediately. As the boys explained the map and treasure hunt, I put the pizza in the oven. It was very hard for DS2 to not spill the secret locations, but he did pretty well not telling what was hidden in each room. It was a birthday that will not soon be forgotten!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Unwrapping the Gifted

I stumbled across this blog, Unwrapping the Gifted, today via a list on someone's blog, via a link in someone else's blog, via a forum post. [Don't you just love how hypertext linking leads to interesting things?] Although she is coming from a teacher-in-the-public-schools perspective, I can really relate to many things I have read so far. Her blog is young, having only been started this past August, but it is full of a fabulous perspective on education for gifted children.

It's very timely that I found this today. We went to a playgroup that my neighbor hosted this morning. I dropped the boys off as a babysitting trade. When I returned about an hour later I was able to chat with three of the moms present. DS1's age came up, and I told them he was 5, that we homeschooled, and that he was in kindergarten. That answer was accepted without the shock that I was expecting, which was nice. One of the moms asked what led us to decided to homeschool. I answered that the primary reason was so that we could individualize his education, with traveling any time and enjoying being with my kids being secondary reasons. I didn't want to say, "because I don't want them to be bored stiff in school or become tutors for the other kids just because they already know stuff (like DS1 was practically doing in his daycare class when he was 3)," but I could have. Then the hostess interjected that she had been bragging on them to her friends (the other moms). We talked a little bit about educational styles (Montessori, Waldorf, and even unschooling), the co-op we're in, the magnet elementary school that is 2 blocks away, and the hostess admitted that she is considering homeschooling her son (who is almost 3). It was great to be able to talk casually about homeschooling in a completely new environment (meaning not at a co-op meeting or homeschool park day) and not feel like I needed to defend myself.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Music is great for memorization - and fun

I didn't buy the CD to get DSs to memorize Bible verses. Really, I didn't. However, repetitive listening to enjoyable songs results in learning the music and words. A couple of months ago I got tired of "Daycare songs," and "Choo Choo LaRoo" and a couple of other CDs that we've had for years, so I bought Sing the Word from A to Z from Sonlight. It's part of the Core C Bible program. (We sort of use Core B as our reading materials, although we don't follow any sort of planned structure or schedule.)

Today when we got to the end of track 26 on Sing the Word from A to Z cd in the car, I ejected it to go back to track 1 quickly. (Tracks 1-26 are with words, tracks 27-52 are instrumental only.) DS1 said, 'No mommy, I wanted to see if I could guess the songs and sing them.' So I FF'd to 27 and he did! He sang 'All have sinned,' 'Believe in Jesus,' and 'Children Obey Your Parents' before we got home!

Last night, during the first 26 tracks DS2 was even singing along some of the time.

I know they don't understand all of the words, and some of them even get pronounced wrong, just like learning a song from the radio, but it makes me feel good to know that 1) they like singing, 2) they can sing in tune and with the right rhythm, 3) they are learning some Bible verses, and 4) I'm learning some Bible verses also.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Secular Homeschooling Magazine

I found Secular Homeschooling Magazine on the internet today. Issue #1 has sold out but is having a 2nd printing. There are 2 full articles online, as well as the table of contents. The editor has a blog, Diary of a Mad Editor, which is enjoyable to read also.

"Secular Homeschooling Magazine is a non-religious magazine that reflects the diversity of the homeschooling community. Its readers and writers are committed to the idea that religious belief is a personal matter rather than a prerequisite of homeschooling.

This magazine is for any homeschooler, religious or not, who is interested in good solid writing about homeschooling and homeschoolers."

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

YEA today

This is the 2nd week in a row that we have intentionally gone to YEA! late. If DS1 is not signed up for a 9:30 class, then I am going to continue with this timing. I have been able to keep up with watching DS2 so much better, and both boys seem to enjoy the time more and not get so crabby by the end. Last week we arrived right at 10:30 for DS1's class. Today we didn't arrive until about 11. They played for about 40 minutes, then we had lunch. At 12:00 DS1 went to his cookie baking class, and I facilitated "construction and demolition" (building things with giant cardboard box blocks, then knocking them down). I was really pleased to see the kids cooperating and helping each other to build a really tall tower by the end of the hour.

During our lunch time, after DS2 was finished eating, he went over to a chalk board and WROTE HIS NAME! This is the first time he has ever done that without any help (or any prompting). I was so excited! The letters were very clear and neat, even the 'R'. And me without my camera. :-(

DS1 also made a "growing up" step. (Or maybe this was a mommy "letting him grow up" step.) While the cookies were in the oven, his class went out to the playground. He stopped on the way out and told me he was going. I let him, even though I thought there was not going to be an adult with them. Most of the kids in the class were 7-12. I think there was one other 5 year old. The playground area is fenced. After a few minutes, I went out to check. I was right, no adult. The girls were all outside the fence playing an "untangle" game, and the boys were all inside the fence climbing on the equipment playing some kind of make believe adventure. DS1 was on the slide. He hasn't joined the bigger boys in their adventures yet, which is fine with me. I asked him to promise to stay inside the fence (and not run laps around it, like he likes to do) unless an adult was out there also. The next time I saw him, he was bringing me a sample cookie from the kitchen.

DS1 is also becoming more outgoing in regard to speaking to others. He asked one of the moms to watch DS2 for us while we got the boxes out of the car; he told his teacher "thanks"; he asked her to push him on the swing after I said I was going inside; and he asked an older girl to push him later, too. DS2 interacted with the other kids on the playground more, too. It's really nice to see them interacting with other people more instead of clinging to me or even playing alone.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Leaf Collection

The leaves in this photo are labeled as the boys described them to me as we collected them playing in the park and on our walk home. Left to right they are yellow, pinkish-orange, red, greenish-brown, yellowish-white, green, orange, looks like a cocoon, yellow with brown spots, brown, pink on back and yellow on front, small, biggest of all. (Color distortion is due to camera with no flash.)


I love homeschooling... this afternoon we did things that could be classified (if one cares to classify) as seasons, botany, colors, physical education, safety, recess, math, music, weather, language arts, and social interaction.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Jump In The Middle Monkey

Today's fun included trampoline jumping, dancing in Spangles (a fast food restaurant), and learning to play Crazy Eight.

For lunch after church we ate at Spangles with a friend. The boys like to dance to the 50's music, so if it's not crowded we let them dance around the big round table they usually choose as our dining location. The one other group of diners were quite entertained!

We have a large trampoline in our backyard (that actually belongs to our neighbor). This afternoon's weather was so nice that we went outside for some jumping. DS2 was running around the edges a little too close for my comfort, so I got a piece of chalk and drew a circle my arm's length in from the edge. Then I wrote JUMP IN THE MIDDLE between the circle and the edge. That made the jumping target easy to see and fun for them. Then DH added MONKEY to the words. We had fun playing with the order... jump in the middle monkey, or monkey jump in the middle, or the middle monkey jump in, or jump in the middle monkey jump in the middle monkey jump in the middle monkey jump....

Later, DS1 wanted to play a card game with me. Instead of picking one of our "game" decks, he chose a regular 54 card deck. I suggested Crazy Eights since it is much like UNO, which they know. They picked it up very quickly, even calling the suits by the correct name. When DS2 needed a club, DS1 suggested that he look for a "3 clover club" in his hand. We have the added twist in games with jokers that when you play a joker, you have to tell a joke. Since I'm not too good at thinking of jokes on demand, DS1 pulled out his joke-coloring book for this game. After playing a joker (or 8), you read a joke to the others, then you pick your suit. I won the first 2 hands and was glad that each of them won a hand also before we stopped playing.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

What we have done lately

Even though I haven't posted recently, we've been having fun and learning together quite a bit lately. Here is a list of things that I can remember from the past couple of weeks:
  • Visited the Kansas Cosmosphere
  • Played Scrabble, Chess, Candy Land, Black Box, Checkers, and many computer games
  • Played with the marble maze, trains, puzzles, magnetix, the piano, and each other
  • Read 27 books so far (for our 100 books for Scholastic's Classrooms Care)
  • Listened to and sang with Sing the Word from A to Z (Bible verses) many times
  • Listened to The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid audio book even more times
  • Watched a multitude of Backyardigans and Magic School Bus video episodes (repeatedly)
  • Went to MOPS, YEA!, the local elementary school playground, 2 parks, and our neighbor's house to play
  • Made Amish Friendship (cinnamon) bread
  • Visited Grandpa
  • and talked about rhymes, homonyms, "Is God bigger than the galaxy?", what to have for meals tomorrow, Daddy singing opera, how long a half-hour is, telling time, and which day we should trim fingernails

At YEA! on Tuesday, DS1 partially colored a map in the "Reading without words -- Maps" class. He wanted me to write "colored by I...." on it, but I just wrote "by I....." instead. When we got home, he reminded me what I was supposed to have written, and DS2 told me "You need to write C O L O R" (spelling out the word "color"). I have suspected that he is "really" reading already, not just repeating back memorized sections of books we have read a zillion times, and I know he can spell "stop," "zoo," and "exit," but since those are usually in a context that is familiar, his spelling "color" with no helping visuals or hints just blew me away. I don't think we're going to need a phonics curriculum. :-) As much as that delights me, it makes me nervous, too. I've spent the past year deschooling myself, but I still have a long way to go.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Unschooling Voices #10

An Unschooling Life: Unschooling Voices #10 is now up. I didn't make a submission this time. The prompting questions were "What advice would you have given to yourself early in your unschooling journey?" and "Ask your kids to take pictures of their favorite ________ and share them." Since I'm still early in our unschooling journey and our good digital camera is broken (and the other doesn't have a flash), I decided to pass this time.

I've skimmed some of the submissions already, and they look very good. Two "answers" that jumped out at me were "say 'yes'" and "relax." I would add "don't make excuses when people ask questions." I tend to say something similar to "mostly we play, it is just kindergarten after all". That really does a disservice to DS1 and everything that he is learning in his "kindergarten year." I really want to stop saying that. Maybe I can modify it to be "mostly we play, I'm amazed at what they learn when I don't try to control what they do." This line of thought goes along somewhat with next month's subject prompt Unschooling through the ages: How, if at all, does unschooling look different as your child ages and grows. Is it different now than it was a few years back? What role does age play in unschooling? . It's easy to say "it's only kindergarten" to people, but that won't work so much when my boys are 9 and 10. Hopefully I will have more confidence by then. I'll certainly have more experience! Maybe I'll be able to come up with something for the next Unschooling Voices issue.