2011-2012 First Day of School

Today is the first official day of the new school year.
We started at 9am talking about the September poem, what tokens we associate with September, and what September fells like to us.

LB started with handwriting.  We're working through  Jan Brett's Cursive pages before we begin the McRuffy Handwriting.  She did two pages, one for her left hand and one for her right hand (we're all working towards being able to write with both hands).  Next, she read and colored the two pages from her McRuffy reading book.  We did the first lesson of Saxon math which went pretty well.  She liked the morning meeting, and the first day didn't have any written work.  I had planned to finish all of the seat work before we did history, but I forgot to do the ETC.  She enjoyed excavating her dinosaur bones from the dinosaur kit. She had done her seatwork and found her first bone by 11am.  She worked on her dinosaurs until around noon then did her phonics.   Afterward, she ran errands with me and bought new shoes for school along with some snacks.

CC started with a cursive page for her left hand then started on a summary for history.  By 11am, she had finished her summary.  Apparently this is a skill that you can forget over the summer.  She kept getting distracted by her sister, Grandma, me, the dog, the wind.....  After she finished her summary, she took a break to help her sister dig for dino bones then dove into the first chapter of Life of Fred Decimals & Percents.  Next she read the papers from the doctor about patellofemoral pain and worked on a section of poetry copywork.  She was done with her work around 2pm.


Our first day of school went really well.  I had planned less work for this week than we will typically do so that we can ease into our full schedule.  I don't think I'd change a thing about the day.  Next, I'll have to see how it works when I'm working and trying to do all of this.  Oh well.  At least today was nice and smooth.

Sometimes I really love Homeschool

Reading Green Eggs and Ham for the second time this week and
Feeding ants to carnivorous plants.

I think one of my favorite things about homeschooling is the chance for my kids to learn together and really know each other. It is such a precious thing.

Earlier this week, CC helped LB read 6 pages of Green Eggs and Ham. This morning, LB wanted to read it to her brother. She is reading the copy of Green Eggs and Ham that I had bought for him when he was just learning to read 16 years ago. They really grow up too fast.

Week 27 - Animals

One suggestion for when you teach animals - please spend more time on invertebrates. Really. I am guilty of this too, but over 95% of the animals on earth are invertebrates, and they usually get 10% of the time in school animal studies. I think I need to plan an invertebrate study because I don't know much about them either.

And for the record - Turtles are vertebrates. Really. They have a backbone under the shell which is fused to it and even part of the backbone is in the neck and tail. Poor CC had to endure kids in her class trying to classify turtles as invertebrates this week.

This picture is a homeschool reality check. This is my table today. See the math book? Can you find a grammar book? How about a pack of curlers (they were for the toy horse). Do you see the well-balanced breakfast (frozen waffle and Ovaltine)? Hair flatener iron thingy - I did LB's hair after CC finished math. I think my laptop is under there somewhere.





I think we took the day off Monday so that we could clean the basement in preparation for next week's Big Change. I'm trying to turn a partially finished basement into at least a non-scary play space for bad weather days without spending any money. I'm pretty sure that's what happened - I was kind of tired.

Tuesday


"No barking during math." "Please hold your pencil with your paw not in your snout."
That's what happens when you take the dog for a hair cut before school

The dowager Queen Catharine died, and Elizabeth was suspected of treason against her brother - young King Edward. We also started a sample lesson from Writing Tales 2 - I'm trying to find something more structured that gets writing done with some practical grammar built in.

Wednesday
I forgot to put the memory card in the camera when we went to the zoo after school. We fed a bearded dragon, a skunk, and watched a barn owl eat. Plus, we saw an orangutan paint and enjoyed watching newborn twin golden lion tamarins. Today our American history lesson was about John Paul Jones - "I have not yet begun to fight."

Thursday
I was late getting CC to school. I had a meeting at work after I dropped her off. After my meeting, LB and I spent some time loving on the puppies in the petstore which is her favorite treat then we went grocery shopping. While I was cooking dinner, the girls spent time outside in the rain training and exercising a pet dragon. We read more about Queen Elizabeth - King Edward is dying.

Friday - CC was running on the treadmill when I got up and LB was asleep on the couch with hubby. Once she finished running, CC made herself some tea and started on her math. I got some coffee and put on our Music for Concentration to help with the distractions. She completed chapter 54 of Saxon with no fuss or help from me - I just checked her work as she went and kept the others from bothering her too much. Next, I read the first chapter of Woe is I Jr with her. We are enjoying this. I'm reading it with her for a quick run through of grammar before we do standardized testing. It is high-interest, so far, and pretty funny. I think it is going to be great since we've not managed to complete a formal grammar program, ever. Today, I am trying to work on organizing our science supplies and building blocks. It will be great to have them all together in labeled containers so that they can be found more easily. Today's my last Friday leaving the girls for my long swing shift. They're watching Popular Mechanics for Kids and eating Mac'n cheese. After I left, they took their dad for a short walk to exercise the dragon. It lasted two hours and involved a stop at the new tea shop.

LB participated in math almost everyday this week. She chose the BJU K math. I think that she likes having a workbook since it is more like what her sister uses. She did copywork one day for school, but on the day we went for groceries, she made her own list and then used it in the store.


CC did much better in math this week. There was peace again. We stuck to Saxon all week. She finished Little Women and was just as happy about Jo's marriage as she was sad about Beth's death. I was surprised that she had started reading it again. She also read The Care and Keeping of You which I highly recommend for girls this age. She said it answered questions that she had thought about but was unsure of how to ask, and it opened up discussions for us that will help us in the future. She started reading the Elizabeth book from the Royal diaries series. She likes these since they give a peak into the everyday life of the time and place we are studying. They are pretty light reads but entertaining.

This is the last week of the old homeschool. Next week will be different.

Homeschool Bliss

Shhhh. I have to note this date as one of those perfect homeschool days.

I awoke this morning to find CC doing her math and watching Popular Mechanics for Kids
on itunes. She'd already eaten breakfast and was almost ready finished with her math lesson. LB was still asleep and didn't awaken until after the coffee was finished and I had checked CC's work. Hubby made breakfast for us while CC and I buddy-read her reading assignment then we ate while CC did her writing. She started working on her history reading while LB and I did her copywork and I read her a story.

Okay, school was over by 10am, and I didn't even wake up early. While I was out feeding the chickens, the girls pulled out more history books. Weird kids, but I like them. Right now they are playing, snow is blowing outside, hubby is driving back from the airport with BB home for the holidays, and there is a big pot of beef stew simmering.

I'm pretty sure this is a perfect homeschooling day.

It is Wednesday with hives

I like weekly summaries because over a week, I can get a lot done, but it comes in small bits some days.  On any giving day, very little may get done.  I try to keep the priorities straight so that even on days when my student breaks out in hives (today) or her long-lost friend who moved out-of-state comes for a visit (yesterday) that at least the important stuff gets done.  And that does depend on what is "important" to me.

Today, it was hives, and all we got done was a math.  It happened like this.


We ate breakfast in my bed this morning and watched Krypto which is some superdog cartoon, then we went down for me to get more coffee while CC went for a mile run on the treadmill.  After her quick run, she sat down for math feeling great but couldn't sit still.  She was itchy and quickly breaking out in hives.  After 4 of her 30 math problems, I gave her an antihistamine and put her in the shower.  My mom and I decided the new fabric softener could be the culprit so we stripped her bed and gutted her closet and drawers so that all of her clothes could be rewashed.

After her shower, she sat down again for math and finished 20 of her problems before the second antihistamine I gave her started to kick in - Uh - OH.  Too much medicine.  I let her tell me the rest of the answers, and I wrote them for her.  Then I tucked her into the couch with a supply of 5 hours worth of Popular Mechanics for Kids and started to make lunch.  By this time, LB is quite tired of getting no attention and asks if I can do astronaut training with her outside.  I make lunch for her and me while her sister's lunch is cooking.  When everybody has food, blankets, shoes, jackets, water, anti-itch cream and such, LB and I go out for astronaut training and lunch.

I'll save the rest of details, but we ended the day with pasta e fagoli and homemade basil pesto crackers for dinner and homemade shortbread cookies for desert.  CC still has hives.  LB is back from outerspace.  My mom has washed all of CC's clean clothes.  Hubby managed to work from home all day with us all here.  We did math.  I think I have my priorities straight.  I'm not going to mark this as a day of school, but school isn't everything. It isn't even the only reason to do math.

What is antagonize? It is a good opportunity.

This morning after cleaning a raspberry soda explosion off the wall, I finally settled down for a my cup of coffee. LB started setting up her little toy kitchen, and CC starting to try to see how quickly she could get her sister to go from a whine to an outburst. I asked to please not antagonize her sister.

CC: "What is antagonize?"
Me: "It's a good opportunity."

So I got up and dug out the student Thesaurus (note to self, I really do need a Dictionary). I showed CC how to look up words in the dictionary/thesaurus using the guide words. I also pointed out that it shows the parts of speech to help her with Mad Libs. She spent the next half hour reading the thesaurus. I remember doing that when I was a kid. Now she wants a dictionary for her birthday - a big one.

We were expecting thunderstorms for the afternoon so I packed up the Ray's math books and lunch and spent the next couple of hours at the park.

Right now they are trying to learn to Flamenco dance from an animated character on Kid Pix. Is that music, art or computer time? Does it matter? Probably not. Life around here just seems like a good opportunity to learn.

I Spy Something Green

We played I Spy while drove the 20+ miles through a national forest to find the Lost Campground. Here is a sample of I Spy in a national forest.

"I spy something green."
"A tree"
"Right!"
"I Spy something tall and green."
"A Tree"
"Right!"
"I spy something tall and green with needles."
"A tree."


It turned into a game of who can describe a ponderosa pine in a new way. The campground had much more to see than could be seen from a car including: trees, flowers, boulders, a stream, rocks of every color, animals, birds, and millions of trees. One of the things I love even more than a national forest is a national wilderness area.

By the way - When you find the Lost Creek are you lost or are you found?

The sun came out and we took a spelling test

After a blizzard and several days of blowing snow and cold, the sun came back so our short morning walk ended up at the park with an added nature walk. I love our parks and trails.

CC took the first step of the placement tests for Spelling Power today. She enjoyed the process.


She has been wanting to become a better a speller, and I have been struggling to accommodate that since she is a great speller and still very young. She scored a 25 on her placement test, which puts her current spelling level around grade 5.5. It also explains why I've been having trouble finding challenging material for her at a second or third grade level. Hopefully, This will be the spelling program for us.

Today she also happily worked through two lessons of MEP math. I still love this stuff. Now she's watching the funny part of Home Alone and eating a late lunch before we go out to run errands. I think we've all gotten a little out of shape this winter - a simple two hour romp in the woods and half mile run to and from the park shouldn't wear out such young kids. :) I love spring time and fresh air and exercise and sunshine and sunshine and fresh air.

Today at my school table

There was no school. I called an emergency "Unseasonably Warm" day.


It was too nice outside and I just couldn't justify sitting inside doing the same things when the weather demanded us to be outside. At Girl Scouts in the afternoon, three other mothers complained that they couldn't get their girls to focus and had a terrible day of school. Sometimes it is good to know when to throw down a picnic blanket instead of a gauntlet.

Hmm, now how many days until that magic number of 180? It is almost good that tomorrow is supposed to be 15 degrees colder than today.

Learning New Ways to Play

After being a mom for more than 19 years, you would think that I have played every variation of Hide-n-Seek that there is. Guess what? Apparently there is still a lot for me to learn. LB taught me a new way to play hide-n-seek tonight. It was sweet and fun.


The "finder" puts on a buff ( like one of those round stretchy bandannas they use in Survivor,  but much cooler), while the "hider" goes to another room and hides in an easy place to walk past. Once hidden, the hider calls "READY", and the finder goes to find her using her other senses. If the finder is having trouble, she asks "Are you here?" and the hider makes a noise. This continues until the finder finds the hider. I've played lots of hide-n-seek in my days, but it is a treat to be taught a new way to play.

I love playing games like this with kids. They end with everyone giggling and help us to enjoy the simple joys of life.

A day at my school table

As I was downloading pictures for this week's report, I decided to make a separate post for a Day in the Life. This is a picture of what we used on Tuesday. As the girls were finishing breakfast, I pulled out the books for the day. On this day, I was focusing on science.

I put the books out then went back for more coffee. When I came back, CC had confiscated the space book. She wanted to know more about Jupiter because one of the boys in her Thursday school had told her something about it that she didn't agree with. I let her read the book while I drank my coffee and read email. I find it hard to pull her away from reading something she is interested in especially if it is something we were going to do anyway. She decided to use a paragraph from that book about the formation of the gas giants for her copywork instead of a poem.

After copywork, she did two word problems from the CWP book and two pages from Miquon of her choice then we played with the Judy Clock for a few minutes. We don't have an analog clock in the house and apparently I have managed to skip the time telling lessons in every math program we have used.

After math, I read from the other space book which is also by Sally Ride. It has lots of pictures about living on the space shuttle that the kids thought were great. They had never considered that it would take two people to make a peanut butter sandwich if you lived in outer space. They also thought the pictures of the astronauts sleeping weightless were hysterical.

CC did her cursive practice next. She worked on one set of strokes from the Spencerian book. She enjoys trying to make perfect marks in those tiny boxes. It drives my crazy, but I do it in my own little book too. Maybe it will make my handwriting better. Since she has started writing with the fountain pen for cursive, she prefers to do all of her writing with it. I won't let her use it for math, but she uses it for everything else. She thinks that she writes better with it.

We retired to the couch while I read a chapter from the book by Thich Nhat Hanh. We are learning about different relgions and this is one of the books I am using for Buddhism. We are using One World Many Religions as a base and then studying each religion in more depth.

We never did get to The Story of Clocks and Calendars or to the poetry book on Tuesday. Our day seemed to have a good flow the way it was, and we were ready to stop after our relgion section.

The kids went off to play, and we enjoyed the rest of our day. Before bed, I read books to LB of her choice. CC read to me a section from SOTW2 about how the English language changed over time as England was invaded while I braided her hair then I read a section about fuedalism in Europe. After that I read the first chapter from the book on Norse mythology that we are finally starting. I think we are really going to enjoy this book.

By this time, LB was deep asleep. The girls share a room and have the same bedtime. CC is allowed to stay up later to read. She read for about an hour from the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights then turned on her ipod and feel asleep to Grandmothers' Stories.

And that was our Tuesday school day.

Week 18 - planning - how did it get this busy

The girls got to enjoy the beautiful, unseasonably warm weather with the-best-hubby-ever this weekend. Wow, the things I miss.

Anyway. I was mentally going over my list for the week and needed to write it down before I forget.


Monday -

• I have a meeting at work from 3-4; we are getting reorganized again.
• CC has art class at 5.
• I need to get LB signed up for ballet.
• I have to go to the bank and get some money to BB - the weak US dollar hurt us. All of the paperwork for college was done with an exchange rate of about 110 yen per dollar. By the time tuition came due, the exchange rate had dropped to 85 yen per dollar. Ouch. I guess the boy is getting a lesson in international economics.

Tuesday

• I was supposed to take snacks for girl scouts, but I need to change this. ( should probably do something about this before Tuesday)
  
• We are taking my mom to the airport. Gma is going back to Florida.

Wednesday

• Meeting friends at the park.
• Need to buy LB clothes for ballet class, and there is some urgent thing I am supposed to get for CC which I hope to remember.

Thursday

• CC is at cottage school.
• Lb going to first day of ballet, hopefully.
• Meeting another homeschool mom at her judo class to preview a book I have been interested in buying.

Friday

• Assuming I still have a job after the re-org, I am back at work.

Other stuff that needs to get done but not on any particular day.

• I need to update the credit card number on my insurance and remove BB from the car insurance. I am sure it will be cheaper without the teen driver.
• I need to cancel the old phone service since hubby had the new service installed.
• I must get started on the income tax since I have all the forms. I have to get it filed so I can do the FAFSA - which is the WORST form EVER! - I will make a whole post about that one after I fill it out again.
• Need to mail BB's latest care package.
• I promised CC we would fill out adoption forms at the local husky rescue.
• I need to make reservations for Valentine's day dinner.
  

And least I forget - I am supposed to school the kids and take care of the house.

Homeschooling Is Like Windsurfing - A simile or an Analogy

Last week, I had a really tough day schoolin' CC. At the end of the school day, I leaned back against the counter and took a deep breath, exhausted. My mom had witnessed the whole day and gave my a sympathetic look. I tried to explain and mere words failed me. I needed a simile to make her understand.

The first thing that came to my mind was "Homeschooling is like Windsurfing."

Since she had never been windsurfing, she just looked at me and shook her head and suggested that I go take a nap or a walk. She didn't see the relationship between me dragging her granddaughter through the school day and windsurfing so I had to explain.

Way back when I was younger and lived someplace warmer, I learned to windsurf. One day, I had been out too far from shore and misjudged the wind. I fell off my board in open water and had to pull myself back onto the board. I was already tired from being out too long for a beginner. Picture little me, in open water balanced on a surfboard trying to pull my sail up out of the water (and not with as much skill and power as the lady in the picture who is demonstrating the correct way to pull a sail out of the water). It was hard. I teetered on the board and pulled with all my might against the weight of the water in my sail. I fell back into the water more than once. I felt like I would never get the sail back up where it belonged.

I would have given up if I could have, but I had no choice except to get my sail out of the water so that I could go home unless I wanted to roll it up and paddle back in defeat. That was how my day of schooling had been. Homeschooling is like windsurfing.

The more I thought about it, the more my simple attempt at a simile turned into a really good analogy.

You can read books and talk to experts and take classes on it, but you really don't know anything about until you try it.

To some people it looks like fun, and to others it looks terrifying.
Some days, you have the wind in your sail, and you seem to just fly, and everything is easy.

Some days, there isn't any wind or surf.
Some people spend a lot of money on equipment.
Some people can manage on a shoestring.
Someone always seems to make it look easier than what you are doing.
Someone always makes it look harder.
Some people give up, roll up their sail and paddle back to shore.

Sometimes, you feel like you are in over your head.

Sometimes everything works out perfectly anyway.


Homeschooling is like windsurfing. The longer you have been doing it, the easier it is to get back on your board and get your sail up out of the water. You know that your board doesn't have to be the newest, and your sail doesn't have to match your wetsuit, and the wind doesn't have to be perfect. You learn to trust your equipment and yourself.

I still don't have a simile.

This is scary isn't it?

If you look closely, you can see my girls up there. The little one on the left in pink with kitty ears is 4. The one in teal with long hair on the right is 7. Hubby took them for a much needed hike today. I think it did them all some good. However, this picture is a good example of why we go to nice woodsy areas when we all go hiking together. I just can't watch them climb like that. It is good that they have two parents and that we are different - they get a very good variety of experiences.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween and Happy New Year and Happy Samhain

Profiling the Home Educator

In celebration of Home Education week, Principled Discovery is hosting a week of reflection on homeschooling.
Today's writing prompt is:
Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

I try to educate my children in a way that respects who they are and the fact that they have amazing potential. I am a basics type of person. I think that math, reading and writing are the most important subjects in the early years. With these skills, kids can learn about the things that excite them, and the things that excite them can be used to teach these skill. I don't like to waste time, mine or my kids'. I want everything we do to have a purpose.

Today was a 'normal' day for us. We homescooled during and after lunch. Before lunch, the younger kids played with stuffed animals, read some books, watched a nature show and made a big mess with art supplies. We had sushi for lunch while my oldest and I discussed Descartes' mind / body dualism. After lunch, the youngest cut pictures from a catalog while I did math with the first grader. After math, the youngest declined to do her math which is very optional still and chose to have me read a science book on dolphins. While I was reading, the first grader was copying a recipe into her cookbook (using my back as a table). Next, I read a couple of chapters from Paddle to the Sea. That was all of our formal schooling for the day. The rest of the afternoon, the first grader spent making a badge for her stuffed German shepherd; she has asked me to spell police and station so far.

How is that for a profile and for normal? What does it say about me as a home educator? Dunno. I always planned to be more structured and require more from the younger ones. I just can't make myself believe that grammar is more important than making a badge for a stuffed police dog if you are in first grade.

Ear infections and Tongue Twisters

LB is still sick.  It has been declared a virus and and ear infection.  CC and I both got to see the difference between a normal ear and an infected one.  Five days and she is still running a fever.   It is no wonder she sleeps lightly and wakes up crying.  Poor baby.

We spent the morning before going to the doctor reading tongue twisters.  CC had to read some of the longer ones a couple of times before she could do them with out mistakes.  These are wonderful for reading fluency.  She still sometimes guesses at the words when she is reading instead of reading carefully.  Tongue twisters are great at "fixing" these, and they are fun.

The Week that was not

I should have suspected this would be one of those weeks, when I didn't make a Plan for the week. Here was my week - Monday, CC wakes up with a fever and an icky throat. Tuesday, My throat starts to hurt and CC still has a fever so we go to the Doc. It isn't Strep, which is good. Wednesday, Hubby has to go to the office in th4e morning and can't work at home; CC and I are both sick and fevered; Lb is lonely; BB has class most of the day. Thursday, CC and I feel better but not great; LB starts running a fever; BB decides to go to college in Tokyo; Hubby is in the office instead of home. Friday, I call in sick from work as I still feel bad; CC is better but her cough is worse; LB feels "terrible". Friday night, Hubby and I sleep lightly as we watch LB to see if we need to take her to the ER. Her fever is higher and requires Tylenol and Ibuprofen alternated every two hours to control. Saturday morning, I am tired; Hubby is tired; LB finally breaks her fever, but it comes back. I have to go to work and still feel sick. It was one of those weeks.

CC did discover that she loves the Singapore Challenging Word Problems. She is in Chapter 4 of BJU 2 and just started CWP 2. It was the only thing resembling school that we did all week besides a little reading unless Zoo Tycoon really is educational. My throat was sore and nobody felt well.

BB's newest plan is to stay home next fall to finish Japanese 4 with his current teacher then transfer to an American university in Japan for the next 3 1/2 years. He is excited which makes me happy. It is very far away, but I think it will be a great experience for him.

My kids said...

"Back in the Twentieth Century...."  My seven year old said that.  I was just shocked to realize that my youth was spent during a different century and that it can now be viewed in historical terms.

"Rock and Roll!  What is rock and roll?"  My three year old said this at lunch today.  She had heard the phrase on old Scooby Doo cartoons, but had no idea what it meant.   

"I have been taking my notes for Italian class in Japanese."  My eighteen year old son said this last night after Italian class.  He is finding that the beginning level language class moves too slowly for him so he started taking notes in Japanese (this is his fourth semester) to challenge himself.  I think he is amazing.

Weekly report - Week 25

Beautiful, isn't she? Don't they all look angelic when they are asleep.

This week started off nicely. CC did a great job with writing; we were both impressed. Math went smoothly - one lesson a day. We finally had to return our Andrew Lang book of fairy tales, but it was much loved. We are marching toward the fall of Rome which is scheduled at our house for the Idus Martiae. We put bones on paper bodies for science. All was going well until LB came down with a little fever Tuesday after co-op. Now it is Friday night, and I have two girls in bed, covered with chicken pox. CC had the pox shot and her case of pox is not milder than her sister's at all.

They should be all better in a few days.