Field Trip

Today we went on our first homeschool field trip. It is monarch butterfly tagging season at Botanica. The Sonlight Mom's fellowship group organized a trip. We had about 30 kids. DS1 didn't want to go in after we got up to the gate, but I talked him into it after he saw the rest of the group gathered around a table watching something going on. It was butterfly tagging. Our group tagged 4 butterflies. Then we split into age groups, each with a separate guide, and had an hour (or so) tour. Both boys did really well holding my hand all of the time, staying on the path, and not touching the plants. By the end, DS1 was eager to "follow our leader" ahead of me and DS2, and talked with her some also. They both liked feeding the fish, too. Interestingly, after our tour guide dismissed us and we were on our own, DS1 started acting up a bit and didn't cooperate when it was time to leave.

After finding our car using the emergency button because it was in a different section than I remembered, we went to United Methodist Urban Ministry's Klothes Kloset to donate a lot of clothing. It was 80 pieces of kid's clothing from me and my sister, plus about 10 pieces of adult clothing from my dad. Then we played at Hyde Park. I'm trying to get us to visit all of the local parks that have playground equipment. The city's web page says there are 76 playgrounds located in city parks. I think we've been to 14 so far.

SouleMama

SouleMama ... file this under "Blogs I Like".

Unschooling in People magazine

Ren's Family in People Magazine May 2006 is a scan of the People article entitled Is This Any Way to Learn?. It explains unschooling fairly neutrally. It includes two positive unschooler references (Ren Allen's family and Aidin Carey who attends Harvard). It has some comments from education administrators about their concerns, particularly for kids without family and community support. Overall, it was quite positive toward unschooling.

Gifted Kids Speak Home

Gifted Kids Speak Home... for future reference to read.

Photo Periodic Table Posters

Photo Periodic Table Posters ... very pretty posters of the elements. Wow! Save this one for later (when we have wall space, not necessarily when the boys are "older").

My "Roll Call" on SLUnschoolers

I have 2 sons, ages 4 and 3. I have the Pre-K IG and most of the books. I also have Math U See Primer and many many other books.

Primarily we play, read, watch cartoons, and play computer games. Both boys are quite proficient at finding "their" websites (Nick Jr, Playhouse Disney, PBS Kids) and navigating around to a wide variety of games, in addition to the CD games we have. Last night's favorite was Reader Rabbit Thinking Adventures.

We go to a playgroup most Mondays and some Wednesdays. I try to take them to a park on days we don't go to playgroup. Our homeschool group has half hour "Enrichment Classes" on Fridays and there are some preschool level ones, so we are trying that. The boys were excited to go but sat and watched most of the time. I think as they get used to that group of kids they'll participate more.

A few weeks ago while I was watching the MUS teacher DVD, DS1 came over and watched with me. So I got out the blocks and his workbook and he did 2 or 3 lessons. We haven't gotten it out since, though.

States and Capitals

50states.com - States and Capitals is a resource for information about all 50 US states. I got the link from an ebayer.

Enrichment Class

Friday we went to our first "Enrichment Class" with WIHS. The first one was called "Music and Movement" and was doing actions (including running around buzzing like bees) to some pre-school songs. Both boys watched from the sidelines. The second class was "Shape Man Pete" where the kids were given a piece of construction paper for the background, glue (stick - in our case), and a variety of colorful construction paper shapes to make whatever they wanted. DS1 wasn't interested, but DS2 made a nice abstract piece. We could have left it to be hung on the wall next time, but he decided to take it home to show Daddy.

Even though neither boy participated much, they didn't want to leave. I suspect next time will be better. They are still getting used to this particular group of kids.

Bembo's Zoo

Bembo's Zoo makes animals out of the letters of their names. It's really cute.

Educational Philosophy

"Every education teaches a philosophy; if not by dogma then by suggestion, by implication, by atmosphere. Every part of that education has a connection with every other part. If it does not all combine to convey some general view of life, it is not education at all." (G.K. Chesterton, The Common Man ).

First day of school?

Today, DS1 asked me when his first day of school would be. I think he may have been thinking about his cousin who started kindergarten a few weeks ago. I told him it was a long time off and talked about how now that he doesn't go to daycare because Mommy is at home, that we might have school at home also. He really threw me off guard. A little while later I asked him if he would like to have a "first day of school" soon, and he answered, "no."

I have a lot of books from Sonlight's Pre-K program, and some Math U See stuff, too. But we don't "do preschool". The closest thing we have to structure is our weekly playgroup dates.

Hillbilly Housewife

Hillbilly Housewife is primarily about low cost home cooking, but since I heard about it on a homeschool site and there are links to homeschooling information, I decided it was worth blogging in LILLILY.

Videos of John Taylor Gatto

The site says, "Meet John Taylor Gatto
We have reviewed a number of Mr. Gatto's books, and they were so absorbing that we decided to invite him to our film studio for a series of interviews."

It has begun

Yesterday was our first day as a family with mom and kids at home. (I was home the week before, but they boys were still in daycare. I got a lot done some days and watched a lot of TV and rested some, too.)

Saturday we went to a picnic for families using Sonlight curriculum in our area. We planned the monthly field trips for the kids and the moms meetings. A few of the field trips will be appropriate for my boys, but some will not. As we introduced ourselves, I said I would be using the PreK "very loosely".

I have signed up for enrichment classes with WIHS for 7 Fridays this fall. I wasn't planning to do that since my boys are preschool age, but for some reason I looked at the class list. There were classes for little ones, middle ones, and older ones. So we will be doing things like "Gentle Yoga," "Stories & Rhythms," and "Music-n-Movement" that are targeted to kids 6 and under. (Thanks Steph.)

Yesterday we went to a Parents As Teachers playgroup. My sister has been taking her girls there once a week for a couple of years now, so we were excited to see them. This morning DS1 came into my room while I was still in bed (already awake) and told me to hurry so we could go to playgroup again. I had to tell him it was just on Mondays. We will have WIHS playgroups on Wednesdays, though, but those will be a much more diverse age group, not just preschoolers.

It's Official

I'm officially unemployed. I'm a Stay At Home Mom! I'm "retired." Soon I will also be a consultant for my former employer, but for now it's just me and my boys (all three... 2 toddlers and DH).

At the reception at work on Friday afternoon and at the party at my manager's house in the evening I tried to emphasize the SAHM and minimize the Homeschooler. The reason is that although I do intend to homeschool, the purpose of my retirement/resignation was to stay be at home to raise my children. Being at home already will make homeschooling happen more gradually, but if that were the only reason I would have waited until next fall, when DS1 is "kindergarten age" and the mortgage will be paid off.

Yippee!!!!!!

The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling and other homeschooling resources at FamilyEducation.com

I got this link from TAGMAX, an email list that combines the interests of homeschooling and being gifted. This article was recommended because the cons are realistic and well thought out.

Living Math!

Living Math! -- a math page I want to save.

DS1 had some addition fun with a Lite Brite yesterday at daycare. He gets to the room before I do because I drop off DS2 first. When I got to DS1's room, he said to me, "Mommy, four plus four is eight." On the Lite Brite he had a row of 8 pegs, 4 of one color and 4 of another. Then he added 1 of a different color to the end and said, "And one more is nine. Four plus four plus one equals nine." Then he added 2 more of another color and said, "Two more equals eleven." My side of the conversation consisted of "yes, it does" and "that's right," then a kiss on the forehead and "have fun, bye bye I love you!"

Read, Click and Win with BookAdventure!

Read, Click and Win with BookAdventure! is a website that has quizzes about many many books. It is also an incentive plan. The child can take quizzes, win points, then "buy" things with the points.

Connections ezine of unschooling and mindful parenting

Here is a fairly new website Connections ezine of unschooling and mindful parenting.

Home Education Magazine: The oldest and most informative homeschooling magazine.

Someone on a thread on Sonlight's Forums mentioned that Home Education Magazine: The oldest and most informative homeschooling magazine is an unschooling magazine. I think I've seen the website before, but I'm want to make sure I have the reference. It appears that they select 2-4 articles from each magazine to post online, so there is fresh content at least every 2 months.