Life Is Learning, Learning Is Life, Year-round

The TAG Project

2012-01-05T12:55:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged here in quite a while, but some recent activity on TAGMAX email list prompted me to go to The TAG Project website again.

There are several things about my boys that are challenging. One is education. In many ways I see myself in them. I also see their uniqueness and how they are not only different than me, but also how they differ from each other.

10 Days of Blog Hopping

2011-11-07T20:24:00.000-06:00

I ran across this blog post about 10 days to a peaceful home. Not surprisingly, I can't find the original source again. That's what happens when you follow hyperlinks on the internet. In characteristic "web" fashion, that post has several links of other "10 Days of" bloggers. So here is the list that I want to follow for the next 10 days. Some of them are homeschoolers, which is why I am posting here, on LILLILY.

Heart of the Matter - the organizer.

10 days of Character Studies | Confessions of a Homeschooler
10 days of Christmas Countdown Ideas | Milk & Cookies
10 days of Creative Writing | Chocolate on My Cranium
10 days of Crockpot Meals | The Happy Housewife
10 Days to a Godly Marriage | Women Living Well
10 Days of High School Homeschooling | Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
10 Days of Growing Leaders | Mom's Mustard Seeds
10 days of I Wish I Had Known | Fruit in Season
10 days of Keeping Your Marbles | The Tie That Binds Us
10 days of Kid-friendly Food | Planner Perfect
10 Days of Language Arts Lesson Planning | Jimmie's Collage
10 Days of Learning Apps | Daze of Adventure
10 Days of a Mason Jar Christmas | Cajun Joie de Vivre
10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas | Preschoolers and Peace
10 Days to a Peaceful Home | Raising Arrows
10 Days of Raising a Life-Long-Learner | Bright Ideas Press
10 days of Science with Math | Blog, She Wrote
10 days of Teaching Values | Our Journey Westward
10 days of Winning your Child's Heart | I Take Joy

Boys being boys

2011-06-08T10:35:00.000-05:00

My new favorite blog is Skipping School. A recent guest post titled "Boys Will Be Boys—Even When They’re Unschoolers" caught my attention enough to share it with anyone who actually still reads my blog after almost a year of inactivity. (Hi Cindy!)

I don't like fighting. Or arguing. So when my boys disagree in voices that sound like arguing to me, I get upset. It also bothers me that their favorite Wii game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's a fighting game with Nintendo characters, but you can fight against another player, not just CPU players. Some of the characters use special Nintendo powers, and some use bombs and guns. My boys also like any game that blows up things or creatures. I'd prefer they stick with virtually blowing up things, not creatures, especially not creatures that makes noises and squirt red when they die. But I'm not a boy!

However, I was a tomboy. (Is that term even used anymore? It's certainly not PC.) I pretended a bent stick was a gun. We played cops & robbers, kidnap, and many other imagination filled games as a kid. I was sometimes the bandit/kidnapper/thief and sometimes the cop/sheriff/rescuer and sometimes the victim. We used to tie each other up to the fence, a tree, or the pole in my friend's basement. It was great fun. Even considering my "macho" games as a young girl, my boys are different than me.

Of course they are different than me! They are wonderful unique individuals. In each of them I see aspects of myself. He is his mother's son. He is like his dad. He is who he is!

A Sample of Building School

2011-06-05T23:18:00.000-05:00

DS1 is going to get a sample of "Building School" next week! He is participating in Camp Invention at his cousins' elementary school. (They will both be there also.) It is 5 days of 9:00-3:30 structured science fun. I am very sure that he will enjoy the content, but I'm not sure how he will react to a full day of "school" with so many kids for 5 days in a row.

This spring we were at "Monday School" (WWHM) from 10:00-2:00, an hour of which was lunch and play time. He has been to scout camp that was all day (and overnight), but it only lasted 3 days. I'm actually very excited for him.

DS2 and I will have Monday through Wednesday together, then on Thursday and Friday he will be at Cub Scout day camp with Dad. I'll be all alone Thursday and Friday!

When does school start?

2010-08-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

That question is difficult to answer when you don't ever really stop.

We have less structure and fewer scheduled outside activities in the summer. Today most of the public schools in our area started. The one that affects us the most starts on Friday. So when do we start our new "school year"? Today? Friday? Next Tuesday when PE starts? The Monday after Labor Day when Scouts starts? Or when I get our supplies, plan, and schedule at home set up?

In the past our marker has been HANCK's Not-Back-To-School party. There isn't one scheduled yet. That is partially due to so many different schedules in the area, partially due to the weather being so hot last week, and partially because no one has said, "It is at (this) park on (this) date."

Caterpillars

2010-08-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

We have some swallowtail caterpillars! I got several a few days ago and thought I starved them, but 2 started moving when I put dill in their container. Add today's 2 or 3 and we might end up with quite a flock of butterflies in 3-4 weeks.

The boys seem quite interested. We have talked about their food, the life cycle stages, and different types of butterflies already. We googled to find some pictures and information about how to keep them. (Plastic baggies won't be sufficient for very long.)

It's That Time of Year Again

2010-07-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

Back-to-School sales have been going on for a couple of weeks now, and my year-long discount at Sonlight is about to expire, so that must mean it's time for fall school planning.

The boys have really been enjoying listening to fiction lately. Both audio books and Daddy reading at bedtime have been quite popular. That's good because we will be doing more read alouds this year than in the past. Math has been more formal lately, too. We have some new supplies that will work well with our workbox-like system for organizing our day. And I plan to go shopping for cheap notebooks, paper and markers today or tomorrow.

The only activities that are definite at this point are Cub Scouts for DS2 & ALEKS math. Almost definite are Scouts for DS1, WWHM for pre-Lego Robotics, and PE somewhere. Sonlight will play a big role again; I will attend the monthly fellowship, and I'm sure we'll go on many of the field trips (that will be planned next month).

We have been doing PE with Angels Academy for the past 2 years and the boys have made some friends there, plus Coach Dave is really great. This year they will be in the same class, so we would only be there for 1 hour, and I would most likely have the time to myself. YMCA Homeschool PE is on the same days, and since I don't really want to double up, I have a dilemma. At the Y I will be able to work out, which I need to do, and it is much closer to our house. The cost for the Y even comes out slightly cheaper since it is twice a week all the time for both boys, plus my workouts would mean that our Y membership is getting used (unlike during the past several months).

Also, there is HANCK. I'm sure we will have plenty of opportunities for park days, field trips, and playdates with our HANCK friends. We usually start the year off in August with a Not Back To School party at one of the parks with fountains on the first day of public school.

What we've been doing

2010-04-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

A couple recent discussions have led me to want to make a list of what we have been doing for educational activities. Some of the following are at home, some are with formal outside classes, and some are informally with friends.

DS1's "2nd grade"

Sonlight Introduction to World History, Part 1 (Core 1) for History, Geography, Literature, and Bible
Handwriting without Tears
Sonlight Readers
ALEKS Math (3rd grade Mathematics with Quick Tables)
Singapore Math (1B and 2A)
Math - various other critical thinking, logic, and gifted workbooks
Sonlight science books & other Usborne science books
Science projects & experiments from various sources
PE - weekly classes, Track & Field meet
Sports camps (6 weeks each) - cricket, soccer, dodgeball, tennis, gymnastics
Photography camp (1 week)
Dance - fall - intro to tap, jazz, and ballet, with recital
Music - fall & spring, with recital
Spanish - fall & spring
Chemistry - fall (Real Science 4 Kids - Pre-level 1 Chem)
Global Art - spring
Cub Scouts - Earned Wolf rank & many beltloops, pins, & arrow points
Bowling - spring
Kid Zone (weekly Bible school) - fall
Classical music study
Banking, budgeting, and money management
Technology - typing, word processing, spreadsheets, graphics
Holiday celebrations
Community Service - monthly Grocery Relief / Angel Food distribution
Sleepovers (here, at a friend's, and camping out in a tent)
Treasure hunts, codes, and mazes: both creating for friends & figuring them out
Field trips (some might have been last year (1st grade), I'm going by memory not my calendar): Kansas Air Museum, a tractor factory, a bakery, the zoo, Exploration place, Pumpkin patch & corn maze, Cowtown, Wichita Historical Museum, Boise Discovery Center, Great Plains Nature Center

A mom comments on Davidson Young Scholars Program

2009-12-23T22:51:00.000-06:00

I need to get around to filing our paperwork with Davidson. This past September we had both boys go through some testing at the Gifted Development Center in Denver.

Great Pains Nature Center field trip

2009-11-13T15:40:00.003-06:00

The Wichita Sonlighters group went to Great Plains Nature Center today. We had a wide age range and about 10 families, so the group was split.

While Nathan took the older kids outside, Patty took the younger kids to a classroom for an up close and personal view of snakes and other reptiles and amphibians. (Later the groups traded places.) The kids got to touch the snakes, salamander, and lizard. Did you know that GPNC has no poisonous snakes because there are none native in this area?

Outside, we looked for wildlife. Our group saw a turtle, a woodpecker, a great blue heron, and many ducks. Everything else has started winter preparations. We also learned how to tell a male fir (or was it spruce?) from a female. The female is the one with the little blue seeds.

Inside, my kids enjoyed the Habitat Hall with its many hands-on displays about the great plains. We also picked up the current free "Faces of the Great Plains" poster of Colorful Songbirds.

My boys had been to the trails before, but never inside. This was my first time there. We will definitely come back again!

A positive story

2009-08-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

I found this story, Home schooling the cast of Snoopy the musical : The New Yorker, via a homeschool email list. It's about homeschoolers and it's completely positive, wow!

Plans for this year

2009-08-03T12:50:00.003-05:00

Today has been a big day for prep work! First I ordered Core 1 and LA 1 from Sonlight late last night, then this morning I went to orientation for new Wichita West Homeschool Ministries members.

I've been mapping out our fall schedule, and I can't believe how "booked" it is. But I actually think that is going to be good, especially for me.

* Monday morning is a new co-op for us. DS1 will have RS4K Pre-Chem & Spanish. DS2 will have FIAR & Music.
* Monday evenings are Scouts. DS2 wants to be a Tiger, and based on age we could let him do that. If he were in public school he would be in K this year, but since he will be 6 in September, we might be his First Grade year, in which case he would qualify. This COULD be a really good thing... a quiet evening at home alone for me!
* Tuesday morning is PE.
* Wednesday may be another music and/or art type of class. Last fall DS1 did dance & music at enCompass, but didn't want to repeat the dance. If they had something like music theatre for 7 yr olds, he would love it. They don't have their fall schedule out yet, though.
* Wednesday evening we have church activities
* Thursday DS1 will have sports camps. They are 6 weeks at a time, but he's only doing 3 of the 12 for the year, so most of the time we will be at home. These are with the same coach as PE.
* Friday may be a gymnastics or rock climbing class at the Y. The homeschool schedule isn't available yet, even though the regular Y class schedule is ready.
* Saturday morning is going to be "Science experiments with Dad" time. DH really wants to do it, so I'm good with that. We'll be using last year's Science K from Sonlight for now, then I'll order Science 1 when they either get finished with K or get bored and want new books and experiments.

Other curricula include Handwriting Without Tears and Math On The Level. DS1 is finishing up Math-U-See's Primer, but I think we will forgo Alpha and keep doing real-life math instead. That seems to work well at this point.

I've come to the conclusion that we will do AT MOST one more activity. DS1 took a photography class at City Arts in July, which he really enjoyed, so that's on the table, too. If I'm smart, we'll hold off and add something in the spring if we're itching for more, either art, music, or something at the Y, but certainly not all 3!

We also have Sonlight Family Fellowship field trips once a month. Those have been very enjoyable this past year, and I suspect we will participate in most of them.

Plus, in case we are ever just want to play with a bunch of friends that are not part of Sonlight or WWHM, HANCK (Homeschool Activity Network - Central Kansas) has people organize play dates sporadically yet frequently.

Postcard Swap followup

2009-07-29T10:27:00.001-05:00

Since we are just about ready to start a new school year, I thought I'd post a followup to our Sonlight Postcard Exchange. It was mid-spring before we got the last of our sent out. We received cards from all but 13 states (and DC). It was loads of fun, and I'm sure we'll do it again when we are actually studying US history with Sonlight. :-)

Free Range Kids

2009-06-01T22:16:00.000-05:00

I think I just found a new favorite blogger. This is about Life and Learning, so here's a link to go read -- I think it fits here.

My boys get to play outside without me there, but I do check out the windows often. They go to the mailbox without me to take "outgoing mail", but since they can't reach all the way to the back of the box, I have to go with them when we are getting the mail. We have a small park a block away. I can't see it from my house. So far we all go together, but there are 2 ways home, and I have let DS1 go "the other way" and meet us there. I can see the day when I will let them play at the park without me; maybe next fall when school is in session... it will be "recess" for them. :-)

Roadschooling, day 8

2009-04-23T23:38:00.002-05:00

Day 8 was only on the road when we were returning the RV and running other errands, but we did have a very interesting conversation about language arts. DS2 asked, "What is the subject of Geronimo Stilton? I know that Mr. Morton is the subject of the Tale of Mr. Morton." (Mr. Morton is the subject of the Subject/Predicate Schoolhouse Rock grammar song.) We defined and discussed subject, characters (main characters and supporting characters), setting, and plot. I really think they both understood because we used various TV shows and books as our examples.

Roadschooling - days 6-7

2009-04-22T22:44:00.002-05:00

Day 6

DS1 learned how to "break camp" this morning. He helped Daddy get things ready to go before we left, and he helped with the checklist, also. We spent a lot of time driving today. We had a couple of nice visits with DH's relatives and got 2 free meals, too. DSs got a bit antsy at both places, but they amused themselves fairly well. At DH's aunt & uncle's they invented a card game, using a cribbage "29" score board to keep score. At DH's cousin's, DS1 taught our hostess how to play Black Box, which is a logic/geometry game. Both boys also enjoyed playing a verbal game they call "Guess Why". It's based on the book Q is for Duck by Michael Folsom and Mary Elting. A sample is, "E is for food, guess why? Because you eat it."

Our only touristy activity was stopping at Carhenge, an amusing replica of Stonehenge, near Alliance, NE. After we found our campsite at Enders Reservoir state recreation area, we tried out DS2's telescope. I think something inside was out of place, because we couldn't see anything through the telescope. We could, however, see many many stars with the naked eye. Even without a star chart DH and I were able to identity several constellations. The boys recognized the big and little dippers.

Note to self: If driving an RV, stay on paved roads after dark OR check out the park/campground before spending 2 hours with relatives around dinnertime.
Another note to self: When backing an RV in the dark, on a narrow, bumpy, dirt road (because doing that is less treacherous than going forward), the outside guide needs a flashlight to shine on herself so the driver can see her hand directions.

Day 7

This morning was beautiful. We got to see the campground, too. :-) We ate breakfast outside and took our only family pictures (of all 4 of us) with our camera's timer. DS2 got to push the button because he could run fast enough to get into place. We had a picnic lunch at a rest area in NE and also stopped to run and play at our favorite I-70 rest area near Ellsworth, KS. Entertainment today consisted of Black Box, several different card games, and the CD Rhinoceros Tap.

Now we're happy to be home. The food (of which we took too much) is put back in the frig and pantry. Blankets are back on our beds. Everything else is in the living room, waiting for tomorrow.

Roadschooling - days 3-5

2009-04-20T23:33:00.003-05:00

We are finishing up our 3rd day in the Black Hills, so even though I know Blogger will let me change the date on a post and I could do all 3 days separately, I'm going to write them all together since this is the first time I've had internet access since my last post. (All the campground manager had to do was reboot the DHCP server; I wish he would have tried that Saturday night.)

Day 3
Our morning in Scott's Bluff, Nebraska was rainy. We enjoyed the visitor's center at the National Monument, however the view from the top was practically nonexistent. Now we know what it's like to be inside a cloud (just like fog on the ground, really).

Both AAA and our GPS recommended going through Wyoming to get to Custer, SD, so we took that route. I drove that leg, and activities in the back of the RV included reading about the Pony Express, playing a game about the Pony Express with Daddy, and DS1 doing his new 100 piece (2-sided) jigsaw puzzle. We missed the last tour inside Jewel Cave, but the guys walked the Roof Trail in the drizzle anyway. I stayed inside and looked at the exhibits. DS1 recognized that the blackened tree trunks on the ground meant that there had been a fire. The Jasper Fire was in 2000, and the damage was still very evident. We discussed wild fires and "prescribed burns", one of which likely saved the Jewel Cave National Monument Visitor's Center.

The day ended by finding our campground, a campsite, and the playground. It was very muddy, but they boys had a great time anyway (of course)!

Day 4
Using a rental car, we were able to drive Needles Highway to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. In Custer State Park we saw a herd of big horn sheep. Admission to Mt. Rushmore is free, however you have to pay to park in the garage. We saw a "remote parking" area on a map, however I didn't see any signage on how to get there as we arrived, and I don't know whether it is free or for a fee also. First we had lunch at the cafeteria, then we took the Presidential Trail which goes quite close to the base of the mountain. We left without spending time in the gift shop, due to thinking that the Crazy Horse Memorial would be closing early. It was open until 7, but it probably was a good thing to avoid a gift shop. At Crazy Horse we took a van ride to the base of the mountain and learned a little bit more about how it is being constructed. DH and I were there in 1995. At that time Crazy Horse's face was not complete. The guide said that in 5 years (or so) the general shape of the horse's head would be recognizable. DS2 seemed most excited by Crazy Horse and DS1 really liked Mt. Rushmore. It's really great to see them excited about seeing these places in person after having watched videos and read about them at home!

Day 5
Once again we missed the time for our planned cave tour. The trouble with computers, and in this particular case, a GPS, is that they only do exactly what you tell them to do. We put in "Wind Cave National Park" as our destination this morning, and that's where it took us. However, what we really wanted was the south entrance/visitor's center. So we took the scenic route, which turned about to be great for seeing wildlife, but it got us there past the first tour start time. So in exchange for seeing marmot, wild turkey, deer, bison, pronghorn, and prairie dogs, we got to change the order of the day's adventures.

After buying our Wind Cave tour tickets, we headed to Hot Springs and visited The Mammoth Site. I had packed food for a picnic lunch, but since I forgot the bread we opted for lunch at a local burger joint instead. Next we went to Evans Plunge, the world's largest indoor pool filled by natural warm springs. The springs were originally used by the Lakota Souix, then the pool was built over the springs in 1890 by Fred Evans. It was an expensive hour of swimming, but we only had to share the entire place with 2 other family groups. Ahh, the joys of "vacationing" when most people under 18 are in school! DS2 and I went down the water slide together. Even with a life jacket and practicing "going under", we both still came up coughing and sputtering. It didn't help that we started to lose our mat near the end, so I was more concerned with helping him back to the surface quickly than with keeping water out of my nose and mouth. DH got him up and out before he went down a 2nd time, but it was still more than he liked and he cried for a while. Ever resilient, he was ready to play and go down the kiddie slide just a few minutes later. Finally we returned to Wind Cave for the Garden of Eden tour. DS2 was particularly fidgety during the standing/listening/waiting part of the tour. Our guide let both boys lead the way a couple of times, and he also let them turn on/off the lights when we were in one of the rooms.

Dinner was back "at home" in the RV, then School House Rock DVD, and the last Milly-Molly-Mandy story for bedtime. Tomorrow we break camp and head south.

Roadschooling, day 2

2009-04-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

Day 2 of our RV adventure started with a pajama breakfast, then getting dressed and a visit to the office/store. I think we were the only ones at the RV park last night, and the owner was quite chatty with us in the morning. She was nice enough, but the conversation reminded me of all of the well-meaning unsolicited advice that I got when pregnant the first time.

We packed up and headed west. I started reading Seaman's Journal to DSs to give them a little "westward expansion" background information. We stopped at Great Platte River Road Archway Monument near Kearney, NE and really enjoyed it. Did you know that all 4 of the major westward migration trails followed the Platte River through mid-Nebraska? The exhibit reminded me of Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, OR, except the one in NE has information about the Oregon, Mormon, and California trails, plus the Pony Express. It also has information about the Lincoln transcontinental highway, the railroad, and fiber optic communication. Plus, since the monument spans I-80, there are radar guns upstairs and you can see how fast the traffic is going. DS1 chose a smashed penny for his souvineer, and DS2 bought an airplane.

The rest of our day included driving in rain, seeing Chimney Rock from the road (we missed the visitor's center by about 10 minutes), and meeting relatives in Scotts Bluff for a late dinner. We will spend time at Scotts Bluff National Monument tomorrow before heading north.

Roadschooling, day 1

2009-04-16T22:44:00.002-05:00

We left KS this afternoon for our weeklong adventure in an RV. This is a test run, to see if we all like it as much as we imagine. DH and I have dreamed of travelling in an RV for years. Our boys started asking about it after watching a Caillou episode (on PBS Kids) that included an RV a year or two ago.

This morning they built an electric train track at my sister's house while DH and I had the walk-through at the RV rental place. Then we all met at home and packed up the RV. We had been staging things in one room for about a week, and we all set out clothes last night, so except for the kitchen supplies and food it went very quickly.

We bought some new car games as well as some maps and travel/map games to bring along. We have already spotted 10 state license plates! Each boy chose some books, dvds, and toys, too. Tonight for bedtime we read from one of our Sonlight books, Milly-Molly-Mandy, that is usually a breakfast story book.

Today has been a very good birthday for me!

School Lately

2009-04-11T22:06:00.002-05:00

We have been doing formal "schoolwork" a bit more lately, so I decided it was time to post an update.

We have a daily schedule (no times, just a list) that we use about half of the time. It includes several times of "Sonlight - read books" (which are me reading aloud), handwriting, math, DS1 reading to me, a physical activity break between some of the seat/table work, and lots of play time. We also go to outside PE and dance/music classes for DS1. (DS2 was enrolled but has not participated... maybe next year.)

DS1 seems to particularly like using the list to go through things during the day. He gets to choose which Sonlight books we read, then we often have an "extra" non-SL book, too. Currently he is on a Geronimo Stilton kick.

Having the list helps me, too. I am planning on using the SL Instructor's Guide a bit more and have added a "Sonlight - Mom chooses" item to our list. I don't think we'll completely convert to using the Sonlight schedule (at least not in the near future), but adding a bit more structure is going well for everyone. DS2 is even sitting with us for reading sometimes, and he has done a little in his handwriting book (Pre-K HWT) and Developing the Early Learner.

Life around here was very unfocused for a while after Grandpa died. Adding the school day structure has helped stabilize us and give us focus.

Roads to Learning

2009-04-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

Roads to Learning has craft and activity ideas that are good for supplementing Sonlight cores. If we ever feel the need for things to "do" to go with our Sonlight books, I will take a look here.

Gravity vs. Anti-gravity

2009-02-10T19:38:00.002-06:00

We had a rousing game of "Gravity vs. Anti-gravity" this afternoon in the driveway. To the uninformed bystander it probably looked similar to a make-shift game of field hockey.

Gravity defended the garage, and Anti-gravity defended the street. (I was back-up to Anti-gravity to reduce the time-outs needed to retrieve the ball from the street.) Tennis rackets were used to hit a soft ball back and forth on the driveway. A line going across the driveway divided it into sides. The grass was out-of-bounds. No score was kept, but each side rejoiced when a goal was made. Good blocks and good shots were also celebrated by both sides.

My boys came up with the names based on the slope of the driveway and who had gravity on their side and who had to hit against gravity. I thought it was so clever!

Death

2009-01-20T22:52:00.004-06:00

Our last week has been spent in a field study of Christian American customs surrounding death and funerals. My dad, who lived with us, died last week. The funeral service was today. I spent a lot of time the past 2 weeks at the hospital, and the boys came up for a visit the morning that their grandpa died. We have had local family over a lot, many friends have brought food, and out of town relatives stayed with us last night.

When we went to the mortuary for a viewing Sunday, both boys wanted to see Grandpa's body. (I wasn't sure they would since DS2 did not want to see him in the hospital, and DS1 just looked in from the doorway.) DS1 asked where his legs were. (The casket was closed at the foot half.) DS2 opened it to check; I guess he didn't believe me when I told him they were down there in the rest of the box.

DS1 seems to understand in a little more mature way than DS2. DS1 asks about which parts go to heaven and which parts go in the ground, trying to get a grip on what death means for body and spirit. On the way back to the church from the cemetery DS2 said, "I want Grandpa to come back," so at least he understands the part that Grandpa isn't coming home again.

My sister told me that she used an analogy of an empty turtle shell to tell her girls about our dad's body in the casket. It looks mostly like the person, but it's not the same because they are not inside anymore.

I think we will be taking up the many offers from our local homeschooling friends for play dates. Some will be for all of us, and some will be just for the boys since I am executor of my dad's estate and will have some business to do in the next few weeks/months.

Subjects and schedule

2009-01-14T23:01:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since my last update, but of course we have all still been learning!

Today we worked on labeling some magnets that came with a schedule board. It had some pre-labeled subject magnets, some blank subject magnets, and a lot of blank white "time" magnets. We are going to use the time ones after the fact. We labeled one "daily" for things DS1 or I want to do everyday, one "Monday" for Scouts, one "Tuesday" for PE, and one "Wednesday" for Kid Zone (our church program).

Our plan is to put all of the non-specific ones in a column, then work through it at our pace (using the arrow). When we get to the bottom we will perhaps change the order, perhaps not, then start again. This way we will have a little more structure and be sure to touch on everything in some time frame. DS1 had lots of fun coming up with other "subjects" to put on the colored magnets and also in deciding how to arrange them on the mini-frig in our basement.

His first REPORT

2008-11-12T23:27:00.002-06:00

Today several homeschooling families that we know went to our local zoo. We were later than the set meeting time, but we happened to find some of them anyway. After we got home, I asked DS1 to write a report (or story) about our trip. This was his first ever report. He dictated it to me, and I typed it in Word. It was difficult for me to not correct some grammer and sentence structure, but I didn't. The parenthesis are all at his direction, and most of the sentence ending/beginning places are also. I tried to make paragraphs as he was dictating, but he didn't like that. He said I could change it when we were finished, but by then I had decided to leave it as one. Names have been changed because it was just to awkward to use initials or something else as a privacy measure.

The Things We Saw At the Zoo

By Jack Smith
November 12, 2008

We saw some of our homeschool friends, Laura, Vic, Donna, Doug, and Lisa. We saw them on the bridge to the Children’s Farm. We went to the penguins. Brad was a teeny bit taller than the King penguin. I was taller than the King penguin but shorter than the Emperor penguin. After the penguins we went to the Reptiles and Amphibians (it was really Amphibians and Reptiles). I saw green A’s (with a frog hole in it) and red R’s (with another strange hole that I can’t remember). We found buttons that made mini movies and sounds. We saw some flaps to see what was different and the same about humans and reptiles. Mindy and Brad went outside before me and the others did. Brad got to climb and play on the Komodo Dragon statue while me and the others looked around a little more. We stopped by some things that we have already seen before. A little while later we finally went out and found Brad on the Komodo Dragon statue. Then me and the others got on (not the grownups, though, they were too big anyway). There was no room for Brad once all of the other kids got on. Mindy suggested he could sit next to me on the tail, but he didn’t want to. It looked like there was no room on the tail anyway. Next we went to the jungle building it was right next door to the reptiles and amphibians (just like the reptiles and amphibians was next door to the penguins). We saw a giant hole in the ceiling with water coming out of it like it was raining (the hole was not the whole ceiling). Under the hole there was a rock. There was the most water falling in the middle. When Brad went through the exit he went straight to the entrance without waiting for Mindy to come and him telling her. Me and Mindy went looking for him. I ran and he started to walk so I caught up to him and held his hand so when he got to the exit he wouldn’t go through again. I tried to make him sit on the bench after I let go of his hand, but he ran too fast and almost went outside, but one of the other moms caught him. A little while later Mindy came through the exit of the jungle (that was not the exit of the whole building). After the jungle we went to North America (it was not far but not next door). We saw the grizzly bear statue. I almost climbed onto the head but the back was too slippery and I couldn’t reach its ears to help me. Next we found ourselves at the boat dock. Vic and Laura had a snack. I thought we could feed the ducks and fish. Mindy didn’t have a quarter; Donna had a quarter but only one and she used it on the box on the left bridge. We walked past the giraffes. The others went through the Australia and South America exhibit while we headed toward the playground. Mindy and Brad looked at the hippos while I looked at the map. After a little while I stopped to see the hippos. Mindy told me that Brad had seen the hippos over the water and under the water two times. Then we started to go to the playground again. We saw that there was a dead end. When we came back we saw the elephants just coming out of their indoor home. The others were probably at the lions (because Laura wanted to see them). Mindy didn’t want to go to the lions but we went to the orangutans and chimpanzees anyway. After that we went to the exit (or you could call it a gift shop). We looked for a get well gift for Grandpa. We found some grabbers but Mindy suggested we better get one next time we go to the zoo.

Records

2008-11-08T23:25:00.002-06:00

It's a good thing that we live in a state with few homeschooling requirements. If I had to document everything (like the box-checker side of me wishes I did), then we'd be in trouble. I have 4 places that I sometimes use to describe school: here, my Sonlight Instructor's Guide, Home School Tracker + software, and our A Record of the Learning Lifestyle book. My last post here, on 10/23, was the most recent documentation that I have done. But never fear, we have been doing some awesome learning! Life has been interesting, exciting, and yes, sometimes even boring, but a day hasn't gone by where at least one of us, if not all 5 of us, haven't learned something.

In no particular order, here are some recent activities and topics of conversation:

Homeschoolopoly - money counting, financing (borrowing & interest), percentage
vocabulary - often from listening to books on tape such as Geronimo Stilton and Magic Tree House
a 1880's county fair
science (particularly physics) on a playground (several times)
reading (them, not just me)
School House Rock Jr live performance
Tiger Cub Scouts
"What's a coffin?" which led to quite a discussion about death, the body and soul/spirit, and heaven
"Is heaven in outer space?"
dancing
a Halloween party
making music with various household items not originally intended to be musical instruments
watching plowing and planting
watching houses being built
meeting and welcoming new neighbors
creating a maze
trip to a pumpkin patch with a corn maze and a milo maze
decorating pumpkins for Halloween
coming up with a "not scary" costume
trick-or-treating
helping Grandpa with his wheelchair and walker regularly at his weekly outpatient appointment and at the dentist
standing in line for 20 minutes (and staying fairly calm and well behaved!)
recycling
calling a friend on the telephone
memorization
discussing even and odd numbers
building levels in a computer game
taking photos
having our portraits taken
eating out at a fancy restaurant
measuring and pouring ingredients for lunch
discovering a new channel on TV (Discovery Kids)
helping at a book fair
staying in church instead of going to the nursery
Wednesday night Kid Zone (without a parent anywhere near)
jigsaw puzzles
printing
I Spy books and computer game
creating elaborate train track layouts
loading and unloading the dishwasher
setting and clearing the table
putting away clean clothes
finding a lost remote control
playing well with kids they'd never met before
Speed Stacks (stacking cups)
negotiating with each other (to avoid Mom taking the toy, TV, etc. away)
picnic on the trampoline in the basement
movie night
spelling
creating a Game Club (with rules and signs)
teaching an uncle how to play Sorry!
inviting people to eat with us
P.E. class
video games
wishing on the first star of the night
dismantling the bedroom furniture (We're still working on putting it back together and making the bed!)
Giving Mom the best hard job in the whole world!

Food Pyramid

2008-10-23T00:24:00.003-05:00

This evening at dinner, DS1 taught me about the food pyramid. He learned about it at Tiger Cub Scouts Monday evening. We hadn't talked about it since DH and he discussed it on the way home Monday night. DS1 told me the names of the different food categories, how many servings were suggested in each, what foods went in the categories, and what the shape of the category was on the pyramid. I asked him to draw it for me, so he did, including labeling each place with the initial of the category as he told me the category name. He also analyzed dinner, telling us in which category each food on the table belonged.

I am so pleased and impressed that he remembered so much detail from something that he learned 2 days ago and hadn't discussed since. I'm also very impressed with how well he articulated that knowledge, both to me and to Grandpa later in the evening. I am pretty sure that this was his first exposure to the food pyramid. If I am wrong on that, then it was at least 2 years ago when he was attending daycare when he was 4.

When dinner was over, I told him that we had just had a science lesson, and he had been the teacher! I wrote on the back of his food pyramid diagram, describing the discussion, and I will save that one for his "records."

P.E. class

2008-10-08T10:36:00.002-05:00

DS2 participated in PE class today! The past few weeks we have had PE outside at a park, and DS2 was more interested in the playground equipment than the class. However, it rained very hard on Monday, so the coach decided to go to a gym this week. We were the first ones there, so the boys had a chance to just play around before class. I asked DS2 if he wanted to play games in PE class with the other kids or stay over to the side with me, and he chose games. I reminded him that he needed to listen to Coach Dave, do what he said, and play nice. I was so proud of him! He was a little distractable at the beginning, but by mid-class he was playing well, following directions, and no more distracted than any of the other 4-6 year olds. Yea!

What a great day

2008-10-03T23:50:00.001-05:00

We went to Old Cowtown for a 1870's style county fair this morning. The boys liked the midway games, bowling, water pump, sack swing, and May Pole the best. They also noticed/saw an organ grinder, the blacksmith, a seamstress, the saloon, upstairs bedrooms over a shop, the carpenter shop, a hand-pump train car, the telegraph office, the Wheel of Fortune, the Tent of Wonders, and the modern fire trucks.

We had a map and used it to find a few specific things, then the boys circled all of the places that we visited. Before we went in, they did a good job of staying close to me and out of trouble while I was collecting money and checking in the other homeschoolers in our group. After we were finished we stopped by the funny airplane/cow "barnstorming" sculpture near the parking lot.

We drove through McDonald's to pick up lunch and ate a picnic in the basement. In the afternoon they taught me how to play SuperCow, which is a pc video game that we got from Nick Arcade. Later in the afternoon we played outside, drawing in the driveway, then shooting hoops, then we created a bowling game. The target was the bricks between our 2 garage doors. Then scoring rings (expanding diameters) were added. The scoring and rules became more interesting and complex as we went along. The best part was that they were cooperating! They were being active and creative and cooperative, all at the same time.

When Daddy came home, they explained the game to him, and all 4 of us played a round. DS1 wrote down the scores in columns (some individual scores were several added together because if you got a double digit hit, then you got another turn), then added all 3 numbers together.

After dinner we had "movie night" with Toy Story and popcorn.

If we were a "subject area" focused HS, I bet there wouldn't be an area that wasn't touched today.

Tiger Cub Scout

2008-09-09T00:13:00.002-05:00

DS1 is now a Tiger Cub Scout.

He and DH went to their first pack meeting tonight. (We went to a picnic this summer to meet some of the other people.) Apparently there were quite a few more people there than the leadership expected: 47 boys plus parents. Tigers always have a parent attend with, but the older boys attend den meetings on their own.

There are 8 boys in DS1's den. We were told that they like to keep it around 6, so if any more boys join they will probably split into 2 Tiger dens. The den leader is a man. Several of the Tigers had moms with them. I'm glad it was a mix.

DS1 was very excited to show me his new neckerchief. He seemed to have had a good time tonight even though the first 30-45 minutes were announcements and awards that didn't really interest him. The next several weeks will be den meetings. The pack meets as a whole once a month, usually.

I remember attending pack meetings with my dad and brothers when I was quite young. My dad was the Cubmaster at that time. He has served the Boy Scouts in just about every role in the troop, I suspect. I hope there are some things that are appropriate for younger siblings to tag along. I'd like to introduce DS2 to Scouting a little more over the next 2 years as DS1 gets going.

P.E. Class

2008-09-03T23:19:00.000-05:00

We had our first day of PE yesterday. Coach Dave of the Wichita Angels seems like a great guy. Both of my boys were signed up for the 4-6 year old class. DS1 was eager and happy, and he particated very well. DS2, on the other hand just wanted to play on the (very) nearby playground. So I let him. The 9 boys and girls in the class had fun learning about soccer, while DS2, and some older and younger siblings played. I remembered to have sunscreen (class was at a park), but I didn't think of bringing water. At least I had an empty bottle in the car and was able to get tap water from the restroom. Next time we'll have fresh, filtered, cold water from home.

Science art...

2008-08-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

Billed as "artwork & nursery decor for serious science nerds", this site has some really cool geeky art. This is a great site for people like me. Cindy, you were the first person I thought of when I saw this! That's a compliment. :-)

"Well, technically...If you have ever started a sentence with those words, then you are officially a nerd. And studies conducted using statistically invalid sample sizes show that nerds do NOT stop being nerds once they have kids."

Kinetic Energy

2008-08-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

Today while playing a modified version of croquet (just the hitting and sending part, no wickets) we had a little lesson on kinetic energy. I pointed out to DS1 that is was science and physical education, and even math, too (when the wickets and posts are set up).

We all took turns sending each other's balls by holding one with a foot and hitting it to transfer the energy to the next ball. We even did it with 3 balls, so the last one in the line got almost all of the energy. Then we did it without holding the first ball and saw that only some of the energy transferred because both balls moved.

ART and Letting Go

2008-08-26T12:31:00.003-05:00

Or should that be The Art of Letting Go?

"Mommy, this is the nicest you have ever been to us!"

It's a lot easier to let go when I realize that I'm not in control anyway.

It started out as a simple sponge painting craft, with one paintbrush.

Then finger painting was added. Then painting a big piece of white paper, and hands, and arms, and the picnic table, and the deck.

Then feet were okay, and another piece of paper, and a bucket of water, and another piece of paper. The small original sponge paintings are taped to the deck railing to dry but not blow away

What a wonderful morning! When the paint was gone, they took off wet painted clothes, washed in the bucket (the 4th refill -- it had been turned into "water colors" and dumped several times), and went to the hall bathroom for a quick bath.

(The only downside was the DS2 threw some things off the deck, and since we had a weed treatment about an hour earlier, I did not want the boys to retrieve the items.)

Sonlight Postcard Exchange

2008-08-19T17:38:00.004-05:00

We have received 10 postcards so far in our Sonlight Postcard Swap. It is for the Cores (1, 2, 1+2) that are focused on Introduction to US History, but DSs like maps and geography so much that I volunteered to send the Kansas postcards. We have only sent out 2 because I can't find my stash of Kansas map cards (or other KS postcards) and we need to get a stamp for the one going to England. They really had fun today coloring our poster-sized map and taping the postcards to the wall.

"Our" first formal multi-session class

2008-07-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

At the homeschool convention in May I signed up for information on a rhythm class by a mother and daughter team that teach music lessons. One thing I liked about it was that it was for ages 4 and up (grouped by age). Another thing I liked was that it was only 6 weeks long, either summer or fall.

The teacher followed up with a phone call about a week later, asking which day(s) of the week and time(s) during the day would work best for us, if we were still interested. At that point I was still interested but not committed. Sometime in the last 2 weeks she called again; the message got lost for a few days, so I'm not sure.

Yesterday she called to remind me that the class was that day, in the afternoon. She was planning on us. Oh. I had intended to discuss the class with DH before enrolling but decided to go ahead with it anyway since he was at work. I told the boys about it. Neither wanted to go. They wanted to stay home and watch TV. They watch too much TV.

Reluctantly, they got dressed (earlier than usual), and I packed us a lunch. We went to our old house (we're getting ready for a moving sale) where they played, and I worked for a while. We had a picnic in the car in the rain outside the teacher's house. By this time they were interested in the class but not necessarily enthusiastic. The class was scheduled for 1:15, so we went up to the door at 1:00. (It was my first time there; I wanted to make sure the boys were comfortable; and I wanted to take care of payment.) She had just finished up with a private music student and was not ready for the rhythm class kids yet. (I'll know better next time.)

One of our co-op friends is in the class also. She came up to the door right after us. Those 3 got to play with a box of instruments while waiting for the rest of the kids. All of the other moms left, but I sat on the staircase, out of sight, during the class. I wanted to eavesdrop both on the teacher and on my boys. They loved the class! About half way through, DS1 asked if they could come back again. Yeah!

That evening they excitedly told Daddy about the class. This morning DS1 asked how many days there are until next Tuesday. I'm glad we are doing this. It might lead to more music lessons of some kind, or it might not. Either way, I think it is going to be a good experience of all of us!

What's in a Name?

2008-07-06T23:56:00.001-05:00

Since DS1 will meet the Kansas age of compulsory attendance this school year, I will have to stop procrastinating and register our non-accredited private school. One of the required fields on the form is School Name. I don't want to be "(OurLastName) Homeschool". I don't really want "homeschool" as part of our name. Part of my reasoning is because homeschools aren't recognized as such legally. I'd like to be so satisfied with our name that I use it until DS2 graduates from high school. However, I would be content to keep the same name for 8 years, then create a new high school name.

As much as I like the name of this blog, I don't want to use it. It's just too long. I had a t-shirt made last year with "Life is Learning, Learning is Life, Everywhere, All the Time." That's a bit long for a school name, too, but since I like it even better than this blog's name it's going to be our motto.

When I registered with Scholastic Books as a homeschooler, even though I used our co-op name that ends with "academy" they still added "homeschool" to it. So what are we... to us? A school? An academy? A center? An institution? A homeschool? An adventure?

A month or two ago, I came up with the following list:
Center for Life Learning
Life Learning Center
Life Learning Academy
Learning Is Fun Everywhere
Learning Is For Eternity

Now I'm leaning toward
L i f i s S c h o o l
Is there a better way to spell the first word? Life-Is? Lifeis? Please leave a comment telling me how you pronounced Lifis the first time you read it.

I'd like it to be something that sounds "normal" at first, then you "get it" (or at least other homeschoolers would get it).
Not At Home
At Home Plus
Home And Away
Wherever We Are
Brains In Gear
Learning Is
We Learn
Nottin (Not In)
Okay, these aren't very good. I'm getting sleepy. But you understand, right?

If I ever want to compare my kids to the official Kansas public school standards, Kansas Education Resource Center is the website I will use. It used to be very cumbersome to find the state standards on the KSDE website. Now this website has a very usable chart with links to the standards by curriculum area and grade.

Geocaching

2008-06-19T16:09:00.002-05:00

While on vacation with a borrowed GPS, we have tried out the "sport" of geocaching. We have found 3 caches so far today. I think we have found a new family hobby. What a blast!

Life Is Learning...

2008-06-02T16:37:00.002-05:00

It's been over a month since I blogged, but it certainly hasn't been that long since anyone in our family learned anything!

My dad got out of the care center and came to live with us in late April. Life's priorities got turned upside down. It didn't make quite a 180 degree change in our house, but it was huge. I was able to be on the computer very little. We left the house seldom, because he wasn't able to be home alone. Hopefully my boys learned a little bit about how people and relationships come before schedules and appointments. My dad is back in the hospital now, so we are freer to go places, but there are certainly drawbacks again, not the least of which is the health concerns that precipitated him going back.

My in-laws were here for 4 days last week. It was also the weekend of the local homeschool convention. The time was okay with me; we were able to spend some time together, but not too much time.

I bought the next level of Math-U-See, even though we aren't ready for it yet. I'd rather buy it now and save shipping charges than wait until we are ready to start it. I also got a set of 4 audio books. They'll be good for in the car on our vacation later this month. And I got A Record of the Learning Lifestyle for record keeping of non-curriculum stuff. The author noticed my shirt (Life is Learning, Learning is Life, Everywhere, All the Time) and said that was her philosophy, too. We chatted for a while, and I decided that her record keeping book would be more useful than the menu planning board I was going to buy at a different booth.

Since yesterday was the beginning of a week and the beginning of a month, I decided to start our official First Grade year. DS1 is now a first grader. We started keeping track of things again yesterday, and we even read "school books" and did some MUS today. Now I just have to get around to becoming official with the state and registering. I told DS1 that he can help me and DH pick the name of our homeschool.

Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids

2008-04-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids - this site was recommended by a homeschooling friend. I want to check it out later.

Farm Life: 1880s style

2008-04-24T10:41:00.005-05:00

We went on a field trip to Old Cowtown Museum with our Sonlight group last Friday. DS1 really absorbed the information in the farmhouse. When we were outside, he kind of got the short end because some of the taller kids in our group didn't step back and let the smaller ones up close to the table where "Mr. Farmer" was showing the different kinds of grain, before and after grinding. He got a good look at the farming implements, animals, and in the barn, though.

DS1's favorite parts were looking in the magnifier at the shells "from back east" and playing cat and mouse. DS2's favorit part was seeing the "giant claw" in the barn that was used to lift bales of hay, straw, and grass. My favorite part was seeing the 1880s toys.

By the end DS2 was getting pretty wiggly and inattentive, but DS1 was still with it. One of the other moms commented that she could just see him soaking up the information like a sponge.

I think the group really enjoyed the trip. Next year I'll offer to organize one again, and we can see "Daily Life: 1870s City Living."

Socializing

2008-04-11T01:05:00.001-05:00

For the second day in a row we have had some another homeschooling family over to our house for small group interaction. Both days went well overall and included lunch here. Yesterday's family was an 7 yr old girl, a 5 yr old boy, and their mom. Today's family was an 8 yr old boy, a 5 (almost 6) yr old boy, a 4 yr old boy, and their mom. Today was much louder.

We have also met a single family at a park recently. They were a girl who is older than my boys, a boy younger than my boys, and their mom. That went well, too, even though it was a little chilly.

Even though I like the park days with the big group, I like the one on one family get-togethers better. My boys will play with the other children more instead of just playing on their own or with each other. It's really nice that I'm starting to feel like we have friends instead of just acquaintances within our homeschooling group.

So much to discover!

2008-03-30T20:52:00.004-05:00

DS2 said that today while watching turtles in the Amphibian and Reptile house at our zoo.

DH took the boys there last Sunday afternoon while I napped, for my "Easter present". He considered applying the admission price to a membership but didn't do it because he wanted to check with me. It can be done after the fact, but only the same day. Oops. Today after church we went again. This time we went straight to Member Services to get a "household" membership. $85 for 2 adults & all the kids in the family for a year. Perks include free admission, some members-only events, discounts for the store & educational classes, and 50% off at reciprocal zoos (including Boise, where Grandma & Grandpa live).

First we hit the restrooms, then watched the flamingos, then to the children's farms (Asian, American, and African), then to the penguins during feeding time (great zookeeper commentary!), then DS2 announced that he wanted to see the reptiles. Going into the Amphibian and Reptile House is a pure act of love for DH. He really dislikes that place, especially the snakes. I stuck with DS2 and DH stuck with DS1. As we rounded a corner to a glassed in dessert, I pointed out a salamander to DS2 and he commented about seeing the turtles. Then he said, "So much to discover!" I couldn't stop grinning after that!

I haven't been enthusiastic about getting a zoo membership because going involves a lot of walking, and it is usually hot or rainy or crowded (if the weather's nice) or I just get tired. However, I'm really glad that we did. It will certainly be a great bonding time for the fellas, and if I tag along once in a while, that will be good too.

This and that

2008-03-16T23:17:00.004-05:00

Several times in the past month I have thought, "I ought to blog about that," but I haven't. It's been a crazy couple of months.

We bought a house Feb. 1, after seeing it for the first time on Jan. 14. Those two weeks included lots of "field trips" to businesses to take care of the paperwork. Phase 1 of moving happened on Feb. 9 with a moving truck, 2 pickups, a jeep, and a trailer, and a second trip with the moving truck (and about 10 wonderful friends). We have been making trips to "our old house" and "Grandpa's house" to sort, toss, and move things, as well as picking up Grandpa's mail. We have met a multitude of contractors for estimates for some repair and remodelling. Last week the boys got to watch "the builders" (as they call most construction workers, contractors, and laborers) remove and replace a door at Grandpa's house. Except for the electric hack saw being too loud, they enjoyed watching that project. When we finally get a contractor chosen for the renovations here, I think they will be interested in watching that transformation, also.

I talked with DS1 about me wanting to have some "school time" each day. He liked that idea and chose after breakfast, before play time. So I wrote out an untimed schedule for us. We haven't had any "school time" yet though, because something has preempted our mornings every day since we made the schedule below.

Wake up time
Get dressed
Breakfast
School time
Play time
Lunch
Play time
Snack
Play time
Supper
Play time
Put on pajamas
Story time
Sleep

We have it rough, don't we. :-)

A few of the interesting things that have happened lately include:

Zome

Watching a St. Patrick's parade in person

sidewalk chalk

playing on the sand hill and dirt hill next door where they are building a house

following geese (with a duck call) into a wheat field and getting 2" of mud caked on our shoes

30 minute free trial games on nick arcade

putting together an entertainment center (using a screwdriver and a hammer)

playing with complete strangers at a playground

playing soccer in Grandpa's back yard

climbing a chain-link fence without assistance

shopping

reading the first 4 books in Fun Tales without assistance, on the first try

Reading & Counting

2008-02-20T00:30:00.000-06:00

Both boys are reading quite a bit now. DS1 prefers to have me read if I'm sitting with him, but today he read Can You See What I See (it's like "I spy") without asking for help even with me close by. I pulled out Everyone Poops and read it to them this afternoon for the first time. DS2 read it after dinner, only asking me a few words. DS1 helped with some of the words, which was great! Some of the time they both read the page aloud at the same time. That was fun to hear.

DS2 and I counted to 1000 today. I started by saying, "Let's count by tens." Me:10 Him:20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1and10 (a pause) what comes next (a smaller pause) 1and20 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 100and100 what's 100 and 100 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390 400 500 (a pause) what hundred comes after 500 600 700 800 900 10-hundred what's another name for 10-hundred 1000! Mom and son were both happy at the end of that exchange!

Measuring, Math, & more

2008-01-16T21:10:00.000-06:00

Today we did a lot of measuring. We're looking at houses, so I had the tape measure out to measure furniture here and rooms when we go looking. DS1 measured many things around the house and learned about inches, feet, and combining them. We also talked about ages of babies being in months or years or a combination.

In my last post, I commented about YEA changing structure. As it turns out, YEA is changing a little, but the format is still almost the same. Several of the founders and original "leaders" will be stepping out of leadership and into member status. They have gotten burnt out somewhat, and YEA doesn't match their dream any longer, but it does fulfill a purpose for those involved. Thus HANCK (Homeschool Activity Network - Central Kansas) was born. It's the umbrella/resource group now, and YEA is still for weekly classes, with occasional parties and park days.

Other than the measuring today, homeschool has been primarily "life skills" for us for the past month. We have visited relatives out of state, which included 4 airplane flights, going through security twice, visiting with seatmates, sharing video games (DS1 and an 18 yr old boy), and almost a week at Grandma's and Grandpa's. We have visited a relative in the hospital several times, which involves attempting proper hospital behavior and extra personal hygiene. And we have visited 9 houses in our house hunting adventure; some were empty, but some were still occupied, so we had look around while still respecting their things.

YEA is evolving again

2008-01-01T11:12:00.000-06:00

Every semester that our co-op, Young Explorers' Academy, has been in existence, it has changed. I believe this is good, because it gets better each time. Some things need to stop and others need to start. For the past few days, we have had an online discussion about changing things again (even from what the new 2008 plans were). Today, someone posted a link to Our Non-directed Support Organization in Home Education Magazine's online edition. This appears to be very close to what we are working toward right now. It is less group structure and more "Hey, I'm going to do this, who wants to join me?"

Chess

2007-12-22T00:29:00.000-06:00

The boys played a game of chess against each other today. Originally DS1 and I were going to play, and DS2 was going to help me, but really they were playing and I just helped DS2 if he tried to move a piece illegally.

Some interesting observances:
DS1 wanted to put his white queen on the right, instead of on the left (on the white square). I don't know why.
DS2 called the knight a "jumping horse."
DS2 called the rook a "castle tower."
They correctly use the term "capture."
They know that a pawn captures diagonally but moves only straight forward 1 square and that it can move 2 squares only on its first move.

The game ended in a draw because a new Wonder Pets Christmas episode on TV became more interesting than the game. We moved it with the intent of continuing later, but a game of "rolly catch" knocked over too many of the pieces, so I put them away.

Mind The Gap

2007-12-15T16:19:00.000-06:00

This article, Mind The Gap: Watching For 'Holes' in Your Child's Education points out that everyone's education has gaps in it compared to someone else's education. As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to ignore "the gap" and just enjoy learning.

She suggests making a list of the things you want to make sure your child doesn't miss. She states that if your goal is to allow your child to become an autonomous, self-directed learner, then following a curriculum and agenda created by the state (or anyone else) is counter-intuitive.

She believes that the essentials are learning to read, learning to write, and learning (consumer) math and how to manage money.

I liked this article and will be reading more from Local Homeschool.com!

High Achiever, Gifted Learner, CreativeThinker

2007-12-05T22:19:00.000-06:00

A discussion on the Sonlight forums led me to this article, High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker, which distinguishes characteristics of the three groupings of learners listed in the title. I can see how I fit into all 3 of them at different times in my schooling years. There are some good points to consider regarding the different perspectives. It will be good to keep this information as a reference as our homeschooling progresses.

Zome

2007-11-29T01:25:00.001-06:00

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.

What a great couple of days!

2007-11-28T23:50:00.000-06:00

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!

Unwrapping the Gifted

2007-11-27T22:09:00.000-06:00

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.

Music is great for memorization - and fun

2007-11-16T12:12:00.000-06:00

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.

Secular Homeschooling Magazine

2007-11-14T23:47:00.000-06:00

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."

YEA today

2007-11-13T14:19:00.000-06:00

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.

Leaf Collection

2007-11-12T17:13:00.000-06:00

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.

Jump In The Middle Monkey

2007-11-11T21:12:00.001-06:00

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.

What we have done lately

2007-11-08T21:48:00.000-06:00

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.

Unschooling Voices #10

2007-11-01T23:35:00.000-05:00

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.

Locals

2007-10-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged lately because we've had a lot of illness at our house. First DS2, then DS1 and I. We finally went to the doctor yesterday, so DS1 and I are both on antibiotics for strep. DS1 tested positive on the screen, and the doctor didn't even bother testing me. DS1 got asked his age and if he was in Kindergarten. He was pretty shy for the nurse (and extremely uncharacterictly reluctant to be examined), but did hold up 5 fingers and nod in the affirmative to the "K" question.

We've not gone to YEA! for 2 weeks in a row now. I actually miss it, and the boys definitely miss it and seeing their friends. Last week we had to cancel because there was a big funeral at the church. We had a park day instead and played with some of our YEA! friends. Yesterday YEA! still happened, but we stayed home. Now that I know we had/have strep, I'm really glad I didn't send DS1 with one of the other moms.

Even though I haven't been posting, I've still been keeping up with some local homeschooling friends' blogs. Here they are...
The Mandala Page - Becky,
Muddling Through - Cindy, and
geminig3 - MySpace Blog - Steph

Math Fun

2007-10-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

The past week has included several fun unschoolish math experiences. DS1 found DH's abacus in the basement while helping me put up some shelves. I've never used an abacus, so DH taught DS1 how to use it. He got single digit addition and subtraction very quickly, but the place value of "tens" tripped him up. Since I remembered that our next lesson in Math-U-See was on place value, I told DS1 about it and asked if he'd like to learn something that would help make using the abacus easier. He was interested, so yesterday we got our Math-U-See stuff out and talked about place value of tens (Lesson 9).

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Board Game Club meeting at a fellow homeschooler's house. One of the games they played was Sorry! I had Sorry! as a kid, so we went to my dad's house to try to find it. It wasn't in any of the places I expected, so I suspected that I had already claimed it. DH found it in the basement yesterday while I was gone, and they all played. The boys and I played some more this morning. It is a game of mostly the luck of the draw, but there is some strategy for choosing which piece to move and selecting which way to use the card (some have options, like 7 can be split between 2 pieces, and 1 and 2 can be used to start a new piece or move a piece). We also played with "Imaginary Daddy" to have 4 players, so we took turns drawing, choosing, and moving Imaginary Daddy's pieces.

Giant Telescope field trip

2007-09-28T00:19:00.000-05:00

We went on a field trip this evening to Lake Afton Public Observatory to view Earth's moon and Jupiter through their big telescope. The view of the moon was close to this photo. (While looking for a good picture to use, I found EduGraphics.net which has lots of great science posters.) Jupiter and 3 of it's moons lined up were really cool to see also.

There were several displays inside the observatory about planets, the earth, stars, and meteorites. There were also computer games, including one that was simply alphabet letters with pictures of something astronomy related starting with that letter. DS1 also played with a light spectrum display and a refraction display. One display that I liked was a box with the Big Dipper inside. From the end, it looked like it does here on earth. From the side, it looked like it would from a different planet, since the stars are in 3-dimensional space, not on a plane as they appear to us here. There were binoculars and small telescopes outside for viewing also. Even before our group went inside, we got to see Jupiter through a telescope. There was a guy set up in the parking lot, and DSs went over to him and asked if they could take a look; he was really nice and said "yes."

They both fell asleep on the way home. (It started at 8pm, and we got home around 10:30.)

7 Day Virtual Field Study of Kansas

2007-09-26T23:18:00.000-05:00

While looking for Lake Afton Public Observatory teacher resources for tomorrow night's field trip, I stumbled across this wonderful virtual tour of the geoscience features of Kansas. Each day in the 7 day trip has its own page, with an itinerary, photos, maps, and plenty of informative and interesting commentary.

It appears to have been written by Randall Mousley at Mississippi State University in the summer of 2003, for a Field Methods class in the Teachers of Geoscience Masters Degree program. He currently teaches 7th grade science at Stucky Middle School in Wichita, Kansas. If his classes are anything like his virtual field study, then his students are fortunate! (If my deductions are incorrect, I would appreciate receiving correct author information.)

YEA! Today

2007-09-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

We had a good day at YEA! today, but I'm exhausted. DS1 was signed up for a class every time slot. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, but it turned out to be very good. He has really matured since last spring regarding being able to go to a class without me, participate in the class, then come find me (with a helper) when the class is over. It is a big relief to me, allowing me to only have to watch DS2 like a hawk, instead of both of them.

Class time 1:
    DS1 was in "Painting without brushes". They used things that rolled to make 2'x4' creative pictures in purple and blue. DS1 came to me afterwards, saying he was done. He had not told the teacher he was leaving, so I escorted him back there, to tell her.
    DS2 was in "Social Hour" which is basically free play for those not in classes. It is also a place for teachers to take their "littles". The gal normally in charge was absent. I'm sure someone else was "in charge," but it was not evident to me who that was. At one point, while all of the other adults were sitting around a table talking, I stopped a toddler from escaping. Her mom was teaching another class, so I know that the "in charge" person should have been watching her. While I was doing that, DS2 escaped out the other end of the room. (It's a long multi-purpose/fellowship hall type room.)

The "Social Hour" class used to be in a smaller classroom. I liked that a lot better. Now it's almost like at our previous place where chaos reigned in the big room the whole time. We have "Social Hour", then "Little Explorers", then lunch, then "Exploration Stations" in the fellowship hall. They all need the big space; it is just very stressful for me.

Class time 2:
    DS1 was in the kitchen making noodles. The planned teacher was absent (same gal as "Social Hour"), but her 2 helpers did the the class anyway. Thanks! It was great. DS1 even liked the chicken noodle soup after I convinced him to try one taste. I'm sure he would have liked the spaghetti noodles also, if he had tried them.
    DS2 did one of the circus crafts with "Little Explorers", but he doesn't like to sit for the stories with a big group of kids. He likes being read to at home, so I think it's just the bigger group and overstimulation that causes him to want to stay away. LE seems to get done in about 30 minutes, or maybe it's just that we get done with it that quickly. Then there is 30 minutes to kill before DS1 is back from his class for lunch, or like last week, he's ready, too, so we eat early. Then there is a lot of time to kill before the afternoon class.

Lunch:
    Both boys have been eating well at lunch. I'm glad because sometimes they didn't last spring. I've brought cheese sandwiches, chips, applesauce, and lemonade the last 2 weeks. I think I've discovered our standard Tuesday lunch. :-)

Class time 3:
    DS1 was in the kitchen again, making "no bake cookies." Again, this went very well. He came out to ask me if he could go to the playground with his class and teacher. I'm very glad he asked! He says he remembered that he was supposed to ask first, not that his teacher told him to.
    DS2 and I were in "Exploration Stations." I brought big cardboard blocks for a "construction and demolation" station. It took a little while to get the other kids warmed up to building and knocking down towers, but overall it was a HUGE hit. We even had one tower that was taller than me. I held the girl up over my head to put on the last few blocks. The main problems were keeping DS2 from knocking over other people's towers, telling kids to use hands not feet, then when the bigger kids came in after their classes it was too much and we had to put them away. It was clean-up time anyway, but I was letting them continue to play for a few more minutes. The kids were good at helping pack the blocks away, and I think they will be excited to see them again the next time I facilitate that station. If I can figure out what to transport them in, I will bring more next time. The blocks certainly went over better than the puzzles did last week. Several of the other moms commented on the blocks also.

Afterward:
    I "lost" DS1 for a short time. After his cookie class went outside he came back and brought me his cookies. I told him to take them over to our stuff. He didn't come right back to me. I looked around and didn't see him, so I thought he went back outside to play. DS2 and I took the blocks out to the car, passing the playground, but DS1 was not there. So I left DS2 with the playground mom (although we don't have an assigned "playground adult"), with explicit instructions to make sure he didn't escape, particularly when someone else opened the gate. I went back inside looking for DS1 and even asked if anyone had seen him in the last 10 minutes. "No." Then we found him playing in the tent. It was in the same area as the blocks, so we just crossed paths. He and I had a little talk about Mommy always needing to know where he is. He said he was playing with our magna-doodle earlier, by our stuff, then he came over to play in the tent. We gather up our bags and headed back to the playground. It was beautifully cool this afternoon, after being drizzly and muggy this morning, so they played and I watched while talking with another mom. Then DS2 fell from the monkey bars. Everyone heard the thud! Then the crying. I even saw him fall but couldn't get to him fast enough. He had dirt all over his face and even a little in his mouth. No blood, though! I asked if he was hurt or just scared, and he replied, "just scared." After a few minutes of brushing off and snuggling, I encouraged him to climb up one more time before we left. He whizzed up to the top again and asked me to catch him this time! :-) All is well. He's one tough cookie!

So that's today's YEA! report.

Computer innards

2007-09-21T23:58:00.000-05:00

DH and the boys took apart a computer this evening, and put it back together again. Now the boys will understand more about what Daddy does at work. DS1 said it was the most fun he had today.

Old computer... $0
New computer... $900

Failed system board (looks like a city), memory cards, power plugs, CD drive cables, CPU slot (looks like a ball park), resisters (that move), the back (pokey), and comparing a 10-12 year old computer to a brand new one... priceless!

Kaleidoscope Fun

2007-09-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

It wasn't fun (for me) at first, because DS1 dismantled a kaleidoscope that I had made many years ago. The tiny pieces of cut glass that made up the colors were scattered on the kitchen floor. I calmed myself, asked him to be very careful while picking them up, and got some other things that we could put in the viewing end.

The kaleidoscope was made from a Pringles chip can, with a triangular mirror inside, a viewing hole (with rubber grommet for safety) at the bottom end, and the colorful glass baubles at the top end. It was similar to the one described in this kaleidoscope building webpage, but with the ends of the can intact. The clear plastic Pringles lid was taped back on to keep the tiny items in place.

Since DS1 took the tape off and opened the top, we had the opportunity to try other things inside it. Beads from a broken necklaces made nice black and white patterns because they were interesting shapes and completely opaque. Some semi-transparent beads and things with interesting silhouettes made fun patterns, too. The colored glass drops are the prettiest, in my opinion. We also looked through it (as a teleidoscope) at things around the house. This was quite fun also.

Make Your Own Timeline

2007-09-18T18:20:00.000-05:00

A link to save on the Learning is Fun site for a blank write-on/wipe-off timeline. $12 for 32 pieces, finished timeline is 12' long by 6" tall, plus the arrows, bubbles, and boxes.

Freedom Within Structure

2007-09-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

Freedom Within Structure by Michele Hastings is an article about blending the freedom of unschooling with the structure of having some specific expectations for your child's education. Mrs. Hastings gives examples from her family's life in the areas of math, language arts, science, and social studies.

I can really relate to this article. Her introductory paragraph begins, "So...you long for structure but your kids have a mind of their own. And although you appreciate the concept of unschooling or interest-initiated learning, you can't relax that much! " She goes on to describe the middle ground between "dictatorship" and the "hands-off approach" that she calls "freedom within structure."

Both this article and the one blogged below were links from a homeschooling e-newsletter, the online version of The Link. I remember getting a trial of the print version and deciding against subscribing. (It's free, so it was either because of the advertising or the general political/philosophical leanings, I don't remember.) I do like the e-newsletter because I can be selective in what I choose to read without having to wade through all of the things that don't interest me.

Unschooling Writing Skills

2007-09-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

Writing Skills the Unschooled Way by Alison McKee is a great article about how children can learn to write without formal instruction. Ms. McKee compares it to how children learn to talk and walk, by "babbling", copying, trial and error, and asking for assistance and/or instruction when they are ready for it. Her article describes how her 2 children learned to write, and how she and her husband learned to stay out of their way and help them in the appropriate ways.

Reasons We Homeschool

2007-09-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

On the Sonlight forums, in the New Instructor area, there is a thread asking WHY we homeschool, for us newbies to get to know each other a bit. Here is my post:

Originally Posted by kittie313 : "we don't do mornings LOL"
SSSHHHHHH! I try not to let people know that this is one of my big reasons.

I started thinking about homeschooling when my older son was less than 2 years old. I started my blog 2 months after he turned 2. I was working full-time and missed him so much, even though it was a very good daycare and I visited everyday his first year to nurse at lunch. Even in the 1-2yr old class the teachers were telling me he was "smart", "advanced" and similar adjectives. In the 2-3 yr class the teacher was borrowing puzzles & toys from the pre-k room for him. Both DH and I excelled in school, so we had a good idea what was ahead for him in a regular classroom (or even gifted program). One of our babysitters when he was 4 was a K teacher. She told us he already knew most of everything that she would be teaching her K kids. And now we can tell DS2 is a very quick learner also.

The academic individualization is our most publicly known reason. However, my DH and I love to travel around the US on vacation. We were married 10 years before kids and really enjoy vacationing in Sept/Oct and April, when all of the families with school kids AREN'T on vacation, too. So the family flexibility is a biggie for us. DH likes the idea that every vacation can be "educational". I try to remind him that we don't have to make it like "lessons" when we go somewhere, just going and experiencing the new places and things is educational in and of itself.

And my other reason seems selfish, but I suppose it isn't really: I like my kids and I want to spend time with them. I don't want to miss out on their joy of learning.

ETA: Things I don't like about our local PS system: I think homework for early elementary kids is ridiculous. My PS system does not have 1/2 day K anymore. (The suburban district does, though.) Fortunately we live 2 blocks from "our" elementary school so we would have been able to walk, but many K'ers have to be driven by parents or ride a bus for 30-60 minutes EACH WAY around here. School fund-raisers (daycare even had these) -- yuck.

ETA (edited to add) again: Another thing I remembered I don't like about PSs in general: Random drug testing. Not just for kids in activities (which isn't fair), not for kids with behavior problems, not for kids with unexplained dropping grades, not for truant kids, not for kids seen with drug paraphernalia, but RANDOM of ALL kids. No "just cause", completely RANDOM. I'm so glad they didn't do that when I was in school. It annoys me so much that I quite likely would have refused and been kicked out of all of my extra-curricular activities and maybe suspended from school. That would not have been a good thing for the valedictorian.

Real school? Mean teacher?

2007-08-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

A strange conversation took place in my kitchen today. An acquaintance (she cleans house for us bi-weekly) was here today. We usually leave before she come because DS2 freaks out and crys when she arrives, even if she doesn't bring in the vacuum right away. I overheard the following:

Her: Is your mommy a mean teacher?
DS1: No, she's a good teacher.

Huh?

(It might have been "mean teacher or nice teacher" answered with "nice teacher". I kind of did an audio double-take, except it wasn't repeated.)

So while we were in the car, on our way to run errands, I asked DS1 about the conversation with her.
DS1: She asked me if I was going to real school or home school.
Me: What did you say?
DS1: I said home school.
Me: Home school is a real school, too. It just doesn't have lots and lots of kids.

Double huh?

I need to have a talk with this lady. She used to go to our church. We've known her about 3 years. It's nice that she talks directly to DS1 and will have a conversation with him (some adults don't talk TO kids, they talk AT them or act like they're not there). It just dumbfounds me that she'd ask if I were a mean teacher (I actually heard that part clearly) or if he was going to "real" school. Many non-homeschoolers that I know will question me about homeschooling, but this is the first time that I'm aware of that DS1 has been put on the spot. At least I know that he understands that he "goes to homeschool". I guess that's good, right?

Weekend fun - Mazes & Stacking Cups

2007-08-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

Both boys did a lot of the mazes in their Kumon books. DS1 even finished his so I searched the 'net for maze generating sites. I found 4 or 5 that seem good and flexible enough to make ones at his level, then progress to harder ones as he is ready.

We also got out the "Speed Stacks" sport stacking cups that DH and I bought at the homeschool convention in June. I will be teaching a class to the co-op in October, so this will give me practice teaching the technique, as well as giving the boys some time to have fun with the cups, either stacking the right way (for racing) or just playing around and having fun with them.

This week in review - Aug 13-17, 2007

2007-08-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

Monday started out with both me and DH home with the boys. I had been on a trip and was expected back on Monday, but I drove 11 hours on Sunday to get home early. The "big event" this week has been going to the park on Wednesday and playig in the water instead of "going back to school" as most other kids in the city did that day. I wore my new t-shirt that I got from VistaPrint. It says "Life is Learning, Learning is Life, Everywhere, All the time." Five other homeschool families from our group were there, along with others that I didn't know.

We have also played a lot of games this week: Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Tic Tac Toe, Toss Across, Uno, Millie and Bailey Kindergarten (software), and Jumpstart Advanced Preschool (software). We have played Smash Hockey, made a tent with the couch cushions, played with the giant floor puzzle number tiles (including DS1 learning to correctly read 4 digit numbers), put together at least a dozen 12-25 piece puzzles and 3 different 100 piece puzzles, and smashed aluminum cans for recycling.

We also went to Genesis for my yoga class, so the boys played with other kids there. We stopped at the grocery store to mail 2 packages afterwards. Also, two neighbor kids came over for about an hour on Monday when their parents needed some kid-free time.

I feel like a rebel

2007-08-15T15:55:00.000-05:00

This is how we spent our first day of truancy.
Okay, we're not really truants... even though public school started today, and DS1 is 5, because although it is the norm here to send 5 year olds to kindergarten, the legal age of compulsory school attendance is 7. We don't even have to worry about filing the paperwork to be legal for another year or 2, depending on whether 7 year olds have to start the school year they will turn 7 or start the year they are 7 when school starts.

The Day

2007-08-14T16:49:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow public school starts here. DS1 would be going to kindergarten at the Culturals Arts and History magnet school 3 blocks from our house, from 9:00am to 4:10pm. Instead, if we get going in the morning, we are going to a park with interactive sprinklers with some fellow homeschoolers.

For some strange reason, this afternoon I had the urge to check out the local public school website. That's how I know DS1 would have been in full-day K, in 1 of 2 classes at the school. The school's individual website has sections that are quite out of date (newsletters & calendars from spring 2006!). They must have done something different last year, but the links off their main page still point to the old stuff. I know I don't update this blog very often, but at least I'm in the right month!

Why am I nervous? Tomorrow will be no different than today. I got a new t-shirt which says "Life is Learning, Learning is Life, Everywhere, All the time". I think I'll wear it tomorrow. :-)

National Geographic MapMachine: Student Atlas

2007-08-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

National Geographic MapMachine: Student Atlas lets you print mosaic style wall maps - in color - of continents, countries, ocean floors, and Asian regions. Just print and assemble on your wall.

Sunset

2007-07-28T10:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, while driving home in the evening, the following conversation ensued:

DS1: The sun is setting in the west. (As we are driving into the setting sun.)
Mom: Yes, it is.
DS1: Why does the sun set in the west?
Dad: Because it comes up in the east.
DS1: The sun doesn't move, the earth moves.
(Mom pumps her fist "Yes!" and grins from ear to ear. )
Mom: It looks like the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west because of the way the earth rotates.
DS1: Like this? (As he makes a fist and twists his wrist to rotate his hand.)
Dad: Yes, like that.
DS1: So why does the earth turn and go around the sun?
Dad: That's just what they do.
DS1: But why?
Mom: (Hmmm?) Because that's how God made the sun and earth to work together.
Mom considers getting a flashlight and basketball when arriving home and experimenting, but it's well past bedtime (and people are yawning) so Dad talks her into doing it some other time.

I wish I had a more detailed explanation for him, but now my 5 yr old son knows as much about the relative movement of the sun and the earth as I do.

Adventures in Odyssey

2007-07-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

For future reference: Adventures in Odyssey, Whit's End, website. They have podcasts of the radio shows. I'll need to figure out how to listen to a podcast, first, though.

Science

2007-07-21T19:55:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I ordered Sonlight's K level science from another homeschooler. It came last week, but we waited to open it until tonight. My purchase included the instructor's guide, activity worksheets, Usborne's Science Activites Vol. 2 book (experiments), SL's non-consumable science supply kit (used several years), the K science kit, and Sonlight's Discover and Do DVD of all of the experiments in the book. DH and the boys watched the DVD introduction and several experiments in the "Science with air" and "Science in the kitchen" sections. DS1 and DH were both very engrossed in the DVD. It looks very fun! I think DH will want to do this part of our homeschooling. :-)

Here is another good experiment website that was recommended on the SL forums:
Easy Science Experiment Projects at Steve Spangler Science

Wikki Stix

2007-07-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

DS1 discovered our Wikki Stix today. I bought them at the homeschool convention last year. I tried to get him to play with them once last summer, but he didn't like how sticky they felt. So they have been sitting on top of the divider between the living room and the dining room since then. Today we're making flowers, faces, letters, and silly shapes.

Mazes

2007-07-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

DS1 found our bag of goodies from last month's convention. We bought two Kumon maze workbooks, one for him (Amazing Mazes) and one for DS2 (My Book of Easy Mazes). DS1 enjoys mazes and practically wouldn't stop when it was time for dinner. He did the first 24 mazes and the last 3 (of 80). After dinner, DS2 did the first 12 in his book. I tried to get him to use a pincer grip, but he preferred a fist. We tried a stubby crayon, but even though he held it right, it didn't work as well as a pencil. Next time I'll try to find a very very short pencil to help work on his grip.

Schools Are For Fish

2007-07-14T01:46:00.000-05:00

I first saw Jason Holm's artwork and sense of humor when a friend posted this link http://www.venamous.net/socialization.jpg to our local yahoo homeschooling group back in April. Now he has a domain, weekly comic Schools Are For Fish, and sells stuff with the "Fishy" comics. I intend to buy a shirt with the "Homeschooling" half of the "Socialization" comic http://www.inflatablestudios.com/saff01.htm (it's called Style B).

I've been thinking about this for several weeks, but I couldn't remember the guy's name, or his domain name. So I searched for the cartoon. I finally found the black and white version several places, with links to his Geocities page. That got me his a first name (but it was Jay, not Jason). After seeing the cartoon again, I searched with different terms and finally found Inflatables Studios. So now I'm blogging it, so I won't lose it again. It's a great comic! He has missed a couple of Mondays (the most recent is June 25), so I hope he is able to continue producing it.

Stories on CD

2007-07-08T14:28:00.000-05:00

Jim Weiss, at Greathall Productions, was recommended to me for audio stories for bedtime. DS1 is usually ready for sleep much sooner than DS2, and I asked my Sonlight-forum friends for help. There are many recordings of classic stories and two that look great for bedtime for us. Hopefully I can try them out from the library first.

Tracking

2007-07-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

I've purchased Homeschool Tracker Plus. I've also set up our first school year, as DS1's kindergarten year, starting July 1, 2007, ending June 30, 2008. I am keeping these records just for us, we don't have to show anybody anything. He doesn't even have to enroll in school until he is 7, and I don't have to register our homeschool (oops, "unaccredited private school") until that year also. It's for the "box checker" in me, and to remind me and show DH that we aren't "just playing" all year. (Not that playing is bad, we will play a lot, but he's not sold on unschooling, and I have spent lots of money on books, so I want to keep track of the fact that we actually read them.)

Maybe between this blog, my other blog for my boys, and HST, I'll have enough descriptions and pictures of activities and learning that I'll be satisfied. I go back and forth between wondering why I want to keep track and wanting to savor and save every memory of everything they do. That's part of why I go for so long between posts here, too, I suppose. Then when I do post, I can't decide between trying to catch up and just talking about today (or this week). So I'm going to compromise this time; here is a list of Life and Learning that I remember from the last month:
* fireworks tonight to celebrate the country's birthday
* making friends at the park on Monday
* meeting our new pastor last Wednesday
* DS1 asking why we didn't drink the juice like Jesus did after reading the Bible story about The Last Supper
* DS1 can do 6 somersaults in a row
* playing in the pool in my sister's backyard
* vacation to Colorado
* driving through Greensburg, KS, which was practically flattened by a tornado on May 4, 2007
* Cave of the Winds (with DS1 wearing his headlamp)
* Santa's Workshop at North Pole, CO
* Hiking the Alluvial Fan trail in RMNP
* DS1 & DH hiking the Toll Memorial trail at Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road
* the beaver talk
* DS1 doing the giant trampoline / bungee jumping thing (and DS2 almost doing it... twice)
* the rocket park in Burlington, CO on the way home
* DS2 got another haircut, short like DS1's this time
* playing in the rain and sand at a park with Steph's kids
* going for a walk around the block, in the rain, barefoot, with umbrellas (that were often not covering us)
* DS2 missing YEA! and wanting to wear his YEA! shirt and "go to YEA!" to see his friends
* getting compliments on their manners because they say "please" and "thank you" readily
* DS2 choosing The Lost Sheep as his Bible story and DS1 choosing "the next one after last night's" every night for a week
* finishing the New Testament and starting at the beginning of the Old Testament
* vacation Bible school - Avalanche Ranch
* listening to the Avalance Ranch CD all the way home from CO, for 2 days

Explaining Homeschooling

2007-06-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

I often find great insight on the Sonlight forums. Recently, on the "New Instructors" area, one thread was discussing how we have been doing. Jill, the moderator, wrote something that really "clicked" for me.

I felt that I came to realize that homeschooling is a lot like faith. People won't really understand and will question and so on, and you really can't explain it to everyone--but you can live it out, day by day--live it out in such a way that others will come to respect you for it, if not understand.

This week

2007-06-09T21:51:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy week.

We went to Vacation Bible School. This is the first time we've gone anywhere other than our own church. The first day the boys were very shy at the beginning. I stayed with them during the opening singing, but when their groups departed (they were in different age groupings), they each went with their own group. I stayed around and read a book. The second day they were still a little shy, but went to the singing without me. I took a nap in the car, went to QT for a snack, then read in the hallway. The third day I went home and came back for them 3 hours later! Every evening they had fun telling Daddy all about "Avalanche Ranch". Our bedtime Bible story reading matched up with the story at Avalanche Ranch when possible, and the boys both noticed and enjoyed that.

One day this week (Wednesday?) I read the entire Almanac section of Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature to DS1. I also read the first 9 pages of the Nature Guide section. The next day we read about 10 more pages before we got distracted by DH coming home and needing to fix dinner.

Thursday we visited Grandpa (my dad) for a little while. Today DS1 went with DH to the AAA office to get a kid's map for our upcoming trip. Then they took the car to be serviced. DS2 and I walked about a mile to a friend's house to check on her cat. On the way back we stopped at a little pond in a park and saw tadpoles. They were about the size of a dime, had legs, and still had their tails! I scooped one up and DS2 held it for a little while before throwing it back in the pond. A little closer to home we stopped at a garage sale where DS2 got a toy train (just like 6 we have at home from Kid's Meals). The guy asked DS2 for some money to pay for it, so I have him a quarter. DS2 gave it to the man, who said, "Now I have to give you your change." and gave the quarter back to him. It was a nice way to give the toy to DS2 but still have him learn that you have to "pay" for things.

Unschooling Voices #9 is up

2007-06-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

An Unschooling Life: Unschooling Voices #9 is up. The themes this time are "How has unschooling changed you?" (the parent) and "What unschooling looks like." I sent pictures.

Writing and Reading and Stuff

2007-05-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

Writing:
When we play outside with chalk at home, I often draw "stop lines" (with the word STOP) on the sidewalk where the boys are not supposed to go alone. They are approximately one house away in both directions. I also draw a stop line on our driveway to remind them to not run out into the street.

Yesterday we took our chalk to the park when we went to play with our YEA! friends. DS1 asked me how to spell "stop". I told him, then he asked me to spell it slower. I spelled it slowly. A few minutes later he beckoned me to come see what he wrote. He had drawn a line across a sidewalk that connected the playground area to the nearby building. He wrote "STOP" with a bunch of vertical lines after it. The S and P were both backwards, but one of the other kids recognized that it said "stop". This is the first time that I am aware of him writing something completely of his own accord.

And Reading:
We have a book from the library called Clifford's Riddles. I have read it to the boys many times. Now DS1 reads it to me. He and DS2 have memorized the riddles and the answers, but I think DS1 is actually reading not just reciting the riddles because sometimes... he... says... one... word... at... a... time. Also, sometimes before reading a riddle, he will ask me one of the words.

Two weeks ago my nieces spent most of Saturday with us. The older cousin just finished kindergarten. She can read. I noticed something different between how she read the book and how DS1 read the book. She read almost the entire thing by herself the first time she picked up the book. However, when confronted with a word she didn't know or couldn't sound out, she skipped the riddle and went to the next one. She didn't ask for help. It happened twice, on the same riddle. This difference might be due to personality differences, but I wonder if it might be related to her having been in a school classroom for 9 months.

And Stuff:
My two sons are between my sister's two daughters in age. We trade babysitting, we trade parenting tips, and we trade kids' clothes. When we go out to eat after church with them, my DH jokes about his harem. I think DSis and I are particularly close because our mom died before either of us had kids, so we can't call Mom for advice. We have found other moms for support and advice, including each other.

It is very rare that I mentally compare our children. I remember when DN1 got a bike at her 4th birthday party, thinking that DS1 wasn't any where near ready for one. He's 5 & still doesn't have one, but I think he is actually physically big enough and strong enough for one now. DN2 is 6 months younger than DS2, but she is practically toilet trained (DS2 isn't). She also weighs so much less than him that she feels like a feather when I pick her up. The physical differences are pretty easy to ignore and attribute to "everyone grows and matures at their own rate". But the reading difference struck me. Not that DS1 might be "ahead" (compared to DN1 at his age) but at the reaction to an unknown word. I don't like thinking "It's because she's in school", "Is she already afraid of being wrong?", and "Is she embarrassed to need help?", but those are the thoughts and questions that popped into my head. It's really hard to not judge and not think "our way is better."

Repetition is good, right?

2007-05-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

We're going on a vacation to Colorado in the near future, so at our last library visit we got a book on Colorado and one on caves (Cave of the Winds is on our agenda). Yesterday I read the cave book to DS1 at least 4 times. Actually I started it 4 times. We never got to the end, but each time we restarted he wanted to start at the beginning instead of where we left off. I thought I might get to the end of it today because the last time we started it, he said I could restart in the middle on the same day but I would need to start at the beginning on a new day.

However, we didn't touch the books today. Today we watched videos a lot. The boys call them "Kids Singing." Two of the 3 are from Cedarmont Kids and the other is a Bible Action Songs video that is similar but from someone else. I think those 3 videos were watched a total of 5 times, but I may have missed once or twice. DS1 will sometimes do the actions along with the kids in the video, but only when he thinks I'm not watching. We also watched at least 3 of our Baby Einstein series videos. (Last night we misplaced the TV remote, so changing channels was time consuming today. I'm not sure the boys know we can change the channel from the front of the TV. The DVD/Video player has its own remote.)

The Young Scientists Club's Online Store

2007-05-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

The science kits at The Young Scientists Club's Online Store have been recommended by some of the folks on the Sonlight forums. Both the "Young Scientist" Series and the "Magic School Bus" series look great. The Young Scientist series can be bought 3 kits in a set, or as a monthly or semi-monthly subscription. There is also an online "clubhouse" for kids. When we are ready for more science experiments, I definitely want to look into this further.

Sonlight Box Day

2007-05-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I placed a big order from Sonlight for the rest of the books we will use for "kindergarten", as well as books for the next year. The "Core" is history, geography, and literature read-alouds. It also has language arts, readers, and science. There are other electives available, too, but I didn't get any of them this time. The Core, Language Arts, and Science each come with an Instructor's Guide. It is primarily a schedule, but there are also activity sheets, teacher notes, and other resources.

The box arrived this morning. It came by FedEx and weighed 30 lbs. I had considered waiting to open it until DH was home, but DS1 said, "Let's see what's in the box!" So we opened it. It contained 52 books to read, 2 CDs, 4 instructor guide/schedules, 1 calendar, 1 set of time-line figures, 1 game, 1 binder, and 1 necklace (the free gift for mom).

It was funny today, when I was putting the IG together (into the binder), DS1 asked what it was. I told him it was something for me for his school. He said, "I don't go to school." I said, "Well, you're homeschooled." He replied, "I know that." He was still confused about what the IG's were for. We've never used a schedule of any kind. The only time he's been in a school building is when we go to Parents As Teachers playgroup, that we call "playgroup at the school". We also go to "the homeschool church" where our small co-op meets. Poor kid, his mom should just pick some vocabulary terms and stick with them.

Visitors

2007-05-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

We had a playgroup at a park today. But it rained. So I invited 2 of the moms (and their 3 kids) to our house. It's the first time in YEARS that I have spontaneously invited people over. I honestly cannot remember the last time. (I have a very close friend who comes over on a planned weekly visit, though.)

I had lots of fun, and I think the kids and other moms had fun, too. :-) When they left, I felt great and thought "Wow, I feel like I have friends!"

After an interesting, in depth conversation with DS1, one of the moms said told him something to the effect of "you're pretty smart, aren't you." Those weren't her exact words, but close enough. He responded basically with, "As I get older, I get smarter." He just turned 5 last week, but he understands that he is learning new things all of the time and that he knows more now than he used to know.

I don't think he comprehends the implied comparison to other kids his age when an adult comments to him like that. Since we socialize with a wide age range of children in our homeschool circles, I'm pretty sure that he doesn't compare himself to other kids his age yet.

Startwrite Handwriting Software

2007-05-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

Startwrite Handwriting Software was recommended to by many people on the Sonlight forums as software to create your own copywork / printing worksheets in the Handwriting Without Tears font (since Sonlight's writing worksheets use a "ball and stick" font, even though they do have it on the HWT 2-line paper).

US Heritage Award

2007-05-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

I just found out about this US Heritage Award that kids (ages 6-18) and adults can earn through by learning a few things about US history and patriotism. The amount of requirements and difficulty seems about equivalent to a Girl Scout badge (from what I remember from my youth).

Home-School - A Family or a School? | TheHomeSchoolMom.com

2007-04-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

Home-School - A Family or a School? | TheHomeSchoolMom.com

Noeo Homeschool Science Curriculum

2007-04-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

Noeo Homeschool Science Curriculum was recommended by a person who uses Sonlight but doesn't particularly care for Sonlight's science curriculum. Sonlight has asked their customers for comments because it is looking at revising their science area next (language arts got a major overhaul this year). Noeo looks quite interesting... keeping this link for future reference.

Which Card Is Biggest?

2007-04-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

Today I taught the boys a new card game. I called it Which Card Is Biggest?, but most people I know would think it was called War. I didn't want to have to explain the word "war", besides, now the title matches what we ask every time new cards are turned over.

It took a little practice for them to remember that A/ace was like a 1, and that J,Q,K were bigger than 10, in that order. We decided that Jokers were the biggest of all. DS1 added a rule that you had to tell a joke when the Joker card came up. I ran out of cards first and suggested that the boys keep playing. They wanted to stop, so we counted their cards to find the winner. It was a tie! Both boys had 27 cards and were very excited to both win.

Color Bottles & taxes

2007-04-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

I taught a class at our co-op today. When I signed up I was very nervous. Last night, around midnight, I finished up doing our taxes and remembered that I needed to go buy supplies. It's a good thing that one of the nearby grocery stores stays open 24 hrs! Our nearest FedEx/Kinko's copy place isn't even 24 hrs anymore. :-(

Anyway, I got the supplies, DH finished reviewing taxes, and we e-filed at 2:00 am. Yeah! I didn't have to file an extension for the first time in 4 years.

Class went fairly well. I had 6 signed up, plus one tag along sibling. That was okay because his mom stayed and assisted, which I really appreciated. Another class was in the same room, but we did that intentionally, so the other teacher's kids would do better in my class. The craft/experiment I had was clear plastic bottles, half full of water, adding food coloring, then adding oil. Shake well & watch the bubbles mix then separate again. (Tape the bottle cap on with duct tape to prevent spills/leaks.)

It was basic color mixing and solubility together. Earlier there was a class on solubility for older kids, and a class on color mixing (with frosting & vanilla wafers) for any age. My class took the whole 30 minutes, which was longer than I expected, but that was because we did one step at a time one bottle at a time all around the table, instead all 3 bottles at once. The first 2 were just water, color, and oil (which was yellowish). On the third one the kids had the option of using Italian salad dressing instead of plain oil (much yellower with sediment), adding hand sanitizer, or adding alcohol.

Between my previous three bottles, the three DS1 made in class, and the one extra that I made at home afterwards, we have a full rainbow of oil/water color bottles to play with at home!

I had fun, and I think the kids did, too. They were very cooperative. I only made a big mess once (poured Italian dressing too fast). Next time I do something potentially messy I'll remember to bring paper towels to class. Yes, things went well enough that I am thinking of facilitating something again next semester. :-)

Life Is Learning, Learning Is Life, Year-round

The TAG Project

10 Days of Blog Hopping

Boys being boys

A Sample of Building School

When does school start?

Caterpillars

It's That Time of Year Again

What we've been doing

A mom comments on Davidson Young Scholars Program

Great Pains Nature Center field trip

A positive story

Plans for this year

Postcard Swap followup

Free Range Kids

Roadschooling, day 8

Roadschooling - days 6-7

Roadschooling - days 3-5

Roadschooling, day 2

Roadschooling, day 1

School Lately

Roads to Learning

Gravity vs. Anti-gravity

Death

Subjects and schedule

His first REPORT

Records

Food Pyramid

P.E. class

What a great day

Tiger Cub Scout

P.E. Class

Science art...

Kinetic Energy

ART and Letting Go

Sonlight Postcard Exchange

"Our" first formal multi-session class

What's in a Name?

Geocaching

Life Is Learning...

Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids

Farm Life: 1880s style

Socializing

So much to discover!

This and that

Reading & Counting

Measuring, Math, & more

YEA is evolving again

Chess

Mind The Gap

High Achiever, Gifted Learner, CreativeThinker

Zome

What a great couple of days!

Unwrapping the Gifted

Music is great for memorization - and fun

Secular Homeschooling Magazine

YEA today

Leaf Collection

Jump In The Middle Monkey

What we have done lately

Unschooling Voices #10

Locals

Math Fun

Giant Telescope field trip

7 Day Virtual Field Study of Kansas

YEA! Today

Computer innards

Kaleidoscope Fun

More good articles from The Link

Make Your Own Timeline

Freedom Within Structure

Unschooling Writing Skills

Reasons We Homeschool

Real school? Mean teacher?

Weekend fun - Mazes & Stacking Cups

This week in review - Aug 13-17, 2007

I feel like a rebel

The Day

National Geographic MapMachine: Student Atlas

Sunset