Weekend of 4/28 - 4/30... Chickenque & more...

Saturday - we caught up on some homeschooling seatwork... C.O. did 2 pages of math, 2 pages of spelling/vocabulary work, and a coloring page on U.S. geography, while C.J. sorted shape tiles by color and then counted by group. She also practiced writing her name (still trying to get her library card!). Then, we baked a gorgeous cake for the 4-H Chickenque: dark chocolate with orange buttercream frosting, chocolate sprinkles, and mandarin orange slices spiraling on top. I spent some time in the evening going over lesson plan ideas for next fall, like looking at library books on prehistoric people, looking through Story of the World, and glancing over Story of the Orchestra (library copy). C.O. has decided to finish out this school year with a study of dinosaurs, so I put 14 dinosaur books on hold at the library, both fiction and nonfiction. We already have Eyewitness Books Dinosaur, so we can use that for reference. I was reading over some of my older posts last night too, and realizing that some of the fun we used to have isn't there right now, partly due to my lack of organization, and not having new topics to get excited about. The dinosaurs got C.O. eyes lit up again!

Sunday - Chickenque day! This is the big, yearly 4-H fundraiser. C.O. wore his outfit for the first time, and looked very spiffy. Anyhow, we arrived a little after 11, went to turn in our cake, and C.O. was thrilled to see his buddy Cameron.


So, they played together for a few minutes, then Cameron went off to get in parade formation, and the rest of us played until the parade started. Just after it started, a really nice dad from our 4-H club asked if C.O. would like to join the parade, so off he went! He looked great marching for the few minutes it lasted, helping hold our club banner (which by the way was the most attractive banner there!).


After that, we went off to meet my dad, had lunch and cake with him, checked out all the booths and the animals. C.J. had to climb into the haybale pigpen. Both kids made felt beads too. Eventually, my dad tired out, but then my MIL showed up, so while Grandpa went home, we stayed.... and stayed. C.O. had trash duty late in the afternoon, so we ended up being there the whole day. Needless to say, the kids were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was a good day!

Today was much calmer. I had work, the kids slept in. When I got home, we watched an episode of Planet Earth, and the kids colored in pictures of safari animals. C.O. played with some Learning Wrap-Ups for math, and his Phonics Notebook again for an hour while I finished a paper for my anthropology class and C.J. watched Little Bear. After that we ran off to Aikido, where C.O. got to be the 4 elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - loads of fun! He never stops smiling in that class. Now, C.J. is replanting some weeds on the back patio, and C.O. is at my mom's house for a sleepover. I have leftover chicken in the oven heating up, so it looks like a relatively peaceful evening.

Ballerina girl...

Second ballet class today, and C.J. really adores her classes.



She even got picked out to show the class proper toe-pointing-while-jumping! (Yes, I know I'm bragging like every typical mom, but she's so proud I can't help it!) Isn't she cute?



C.O.'s Aikido class was canceled this week, as the building its in was being used for a major conference - he was really bummed, but he'll be back in class on Monday. Other than that, we've been bad about school. Barely any seatwork all week, but, C.O. has been playing with his old Talk & Learn Phonics Notebook, a hand-me-down from a cousin. He's been spelling words on it like crazy for the last 3 days. He also helped me figure out prices and weights at the grocery store. So he's learning!

C.J. has been on a weird kick this week - she's been telling, with some accuracy, the story of her birth to anyone who will listen. Her main inaccuracy is in her description of her brother clapping and yelling "yaaaay" when she appeared! I think she's basing that off pictures of him looking at his new baby sister with a rapturous expression - he was the first person she reached out for and grabbed onto. I just wish they were that thrilled with each other now. They do still play together, don't get me wrong, and they do love each other, but you know how kids can argue!

That's about it from here....

Give me a title...

other than "update" or something along those lines.

Not really much going on here! C.O. has been doing his language arts and math most days, which are the only books we haven't finished yet for this school year. He spends a lot of time drawing and/or coloring. C.J. finally has the entire alphabet song down pat, but only if you yell "H" when she hits "g", otherwise she just continues on to "w x y and z... now I know my ABC's etc.". Speaking of C.J., she had her first ballet class last week, and loved loved loved it. She looks really adorable in her little leotard, skirt and tiny ballet slippers, and she enjoyed all the twirling and toe-pointing. I think, like C.O. with Aikido, I may have found my child's physical activity of choice (besides bike riding, ball throwing, running, spinning, tag playing). She hasn't been overly interested in sit-down, worksheet-type homeschooling lately, which is fine at her age.

Took C.O. to the dentist again yesterday for his second-to-last filling (poor guy seems to have inherited his daddy's weak tooth enamel). He was so brave, and good, the entire time. One more filling next week, and then we should be out of the woods. I have also been calling around looking for a dr's office for their checkups, etc. When we moved out of county 2 and a half years ago, I found another dr's office through word-of-mouth. I filled out all the paperwork to have the kids' records sent. The out-of-county dr's office claims, to this day, that they never recieved the records from our original pediatrician (wish his office took our insurance). Original ped's office claims they sent the records certified, so someone had too sign for them. Then, a year ago, we moved back to this county. Anyhow, to make a long, convoluted story a little shorter, I finally got ahold of an immunization record copy for C.O. last year, and didn't get anything for C.J. until about a month ago, which puts her about 2 years behind on immunizations. Considering we vaxed on a delayed, selective basis anyway, that would put her maybe 3 years behind average children her age. So, now the whole finding-a-doctor thing is starting again.... aaaarrrggghhhh!

On my birthday...

Go to Wikipedia and type in your Birthday Month and day only: December 18

1. List 3 Events that occurred that day:
*1793 - Surrender of the frigate La Lutine by French royalists to Lord Hood; renamed HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
*1892 - The first performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker is held at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg
*1966 - Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

List 2 important Birth days
*1626 - Queen Christina of Sweden (d. 1689)
*1856 - Sir J.J. Thomson, British physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
Gee... I also share a birthday with Brad Pitt.... hmmmmm


List 1 Death
*1848 - Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1781)


List a Holiday or Observance. (if any) Here are a couple
*Roman festivals - Feast of Epona (during Saturnalia)
*Greek Orthodox Church – Feast of Sebastian the Martyr

Tag 5 people
Hmmm. well, I don't know. I'll have to think of 5 people to tag!

Just some cool stuff....

I found while browsing around today...

Storybook Art: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of 100 Great Picture Book Illustrators

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Style of the Great Masters

Art Is...

Oxford First Book of Art

Piano for Preschoolers - which I assume could be used for a 6 year old ;)

Nearing the end...

of our first "official" homeschooling year (it ends the first week of June). C.O. has finished HWOT, and Maps, Graphs, Globes. We are most of the way through Saxon Math 1 now as well. We'll be about halfway through the spelling/vocabulary/phonics book, and Easy Word Families, so we'll start up with those next year, along with book 2 of Maps, Graphs, Globes, Saxon Math 2, and maybe the next book in HWOT. I'm glad it's gone as well as it has so far. Yesterday, we did our bookwork out on the back patio, and when we finished, C.O. stood up and started yelling "I love homeschool!". It was so cute, and rewarding! He also took his first spelling test yesterday. It's not a part of the HM language arts book, but I thought I'd try it, so I read the words out loud to him, and he wrote them down - up, us, cut, but, fun and run. He got them all right on the first try!

Today, as we had a meeting with his IST, I told him we'd take the rest of the day off from homeschooling. So, what did he do when we got home? Pulled out set 2 in the Bob Books, read 4 of them aloud to me voluntarily, and then amused himself with Boggle Junior for an hour. (Maybe there is something to unschooling/child-led education?) C.J. has been practicing writing all afternoon. She's determined to learn to write her own name so she can have her own library card. I could sign for one for her, but she wants to be like her big brother and sign her own name on the back. By the way, here's a useful link for those of you who use the library as much as we do - Library Elf. It alerts you to books on hold, books due, etc., and you can add more than one card to your account. Not all libraries are on the system, but luckily ours is, which will save me money on overdue fines, oops!

We have had the best two days...

Yesterday was park day, the last one at the best park. The "starting time" was earlier than before, and we were running a bit late when we arrived, but we were still the first ones there. Straight to the sandbox, where the kids started playing with other kids right away for once. After a short while, Jenny and her gang showed up, which my kids were thrilled with! They stayed in the sand for a while, then wandered in and out, exploring other favorite parts of the park. I was really glad that we had a good stash of sand toys in the SUV for all the kids that wanted to dig and build. C.J. went to check out the ducks, bumming bread off another family, while C.O. played like crazy on the swings. Then C.J. called me over to the pond to "see the little fishies", which turned out to be a squirming mass of tadpoles in various stages of growth - really, really neat. Eventually we played "Duck, Duck, Goose" and C.J. also played "Red Rover" with the other homeschooling kids and parents. On the way home, both kids talked endlessly about how much fun they had, although C.O. has cried a few times over the park being torn down. Poor boy. C.J. is mainly indignant over the whole thing, which reminds me - she's got the weirdest new habit... I'll announce something, like "We're going to the park", and she repeats me, turning it into a very incredulous question "We're going to the park?" Very strange, and funny (though she does not like being laughed at, as she is "very serious").

Today, we (the elflings, my mom, my sister and I) went to a sheep-shearing event at the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, despite the nasty rain that tried unsuccessfully to ruin our plans for the day. So there! C.O. on the way up the path to the building. Loads of prickly pears all the way along the path

For about the first hour, we just wandered around the building, looking at all the rooms, taking a million pictures. I haven't been there since the class overnight when I was in 4th grade, so it was kind of like being a kid again. Both kids looking in the giant pot, used mostly, I think, for making soap, candles, etc.

C.O. touching the mud (adobe) brick walls - before he actually touched them he was sure they weren't made of mud

C.J. checking out the ovens, part of a very cool outdoor kitchen

Then we tried carding wool, and spinning it, both of which are harder than they look when done by someone with experience, i.e. the ranger!
C.J. trying, somewhat successfully, to card wool - spinning didn't go quite as well

Finally, we watched a sheep being sheared, which none of us had ever seen before, though my mom and I have seen steers being butchered (one of the many joys of growing up on a ranch - my sister was too young at the time to watch). The man doing the shearing showed both modern (electric razor) and traditional (hand shears) methods, which, surprisingly, took about the same amount of time. We learned all kinds of odd tidbits and facts about sheep shearing, including that somewhere in Ukiah, you can take a 5-day course in sheep shearing! Now the kids are hoping to go to the Old Adobe (as I've always known it) again for more events. It was tons of fun, so I'll gladly go again.

Coloring book mania...

My kids (like other kids I can think of) are in a major art phase right now, everything from coloring books to some awesome clay I got at the teacher supply store. I've been, as posted below, eyeballing some coloring books for my 2007-08 "school" year, to supplement history and science, figuring I could make copies for both children. Now the question is this, is $52 too much to spend on coloring books (not including shipping)? Now granted, I don't have to buy a lot of the other curriculum stuff (thankfully), but it does seem like it might be a lot for coloring books, even really nice ones. Hmmmm.

We spent yesterday running errands, so we never got around to sitting down for any lessons. Oops. I am counting our trip to the farm stand - the CSA where we picked up our veggie box - as a learning experience though, because we actually took the time to wander through the fields, looking at all the lovely vegetables, and the loads of strawberry plants, all in different phases of growing. We discussed fertilizer (manure), watering needs, etc. We smelled the veggies, picked some pea shoots, I watched the kids run through the cover crops on twisty little paths made by the people that work there. So that counts for school, doesn't it? It's funny, my kids love vegetables anyway, but they're always particularly excited about those from the farm stand. Maybe it's the fact that they smell like real food? The dirt still clinging to the beets? The free purple carrots they each get? I don't know, but we did have some GREAT asparagus last night.

Today we're off to the park. The sun is shining, the kids want to be out-of-doors, and I wouldn't mind the fresh air myself. Our lesson plans for the day are: Saxon Math lesson 91; 2 pages in unit 7 of our language-arts book; and diagramming/drawing our strawberry plants. By the way, grocery stores in our area have very yummy strawberries right now - we know they're yummy because we eat them with nearly every meal!

On another note, since we go through a charter school (at least for now!), we may eventually have to show that we are studying some of the items listed in the California Education Content Standards, so I spent some time looking at the framework, and comparing it to MY plans. As far as math, language arts, fine arts and P.E. go, we're above standard. Then, I was looking at history and science, to see how far off WTM is from state standards, and guess what, I can easily make it all work! In first-second grades, there's very little actual history being taught, and C.O. has already done much of the work required for first grade science. By third grade, there is history, focused on Native American cultures, which I can tie into the early modern period of WTM. Fourth grade is more California, and some U.S. history, which fits in nicely too. Then, starting in 5th grade, we'll be a year ahead in state standards for history, since we'd be starting cycle 2 of WTM, and 6th grade in California is Ancient History. It's all about the same with science - I can adapt the state standards and WTM quite easily, all the way through. Ha! So, I can have it my own way, and if we stay with the charter school for the long haul, their way too!

Well, here they are...

My official plans for next year. I’m posting them now in hopes of feedback – is it too much?

For C.O. – first/second grade:
Math, 4-5x weekly:
*Saxon Math 2
Language Arts, 4-5x weekly:
*Houghton Mifflin Spelling & Vocabulary - Phonics in Action (2nd half of book 1, then move into book 2)
*Reading aloud (moving through Bob Books and then?)
*Copywork
*Assisting in writing penpal letters
*I’ll be reading aloud too – books like The Wind in the Willows, Magic Treehouse series, Frog & Toad, Aesop’s Fables, etc.
History, 2x weekly (one reading day, one hands-on day, 1-2 “projects” a month):
*Story of the World 1 - The Ancients
*Activity guide for SOTW, plus various coloring books & other creative activities, mapping, and maybe a timeline of one sort or another
Science, 2x weekly (one reading day, one hands-on day, 1-2 “projects” a month):
*Biology (animal, human, plant) through hands-on experiments/projects (growing plants, hatching butterflies, muilding model of human body, nature walks, etc.)
*The series Lets-Read-&-Find-Out, as well as coloring books, Zoobooks and more (still considering MPH, but need to look at it first!)
Art, 1x weekly (plus history & science art):
*Lots of hand-on projects, experimenting with various media
Music, 1x weekly:
*Continue listening to classical music, focusing on music from the regions of the world we are studying in history. We also listen to a lot of classical music in the car! Also thinking about The Story of the Orchestra as a sort of spine, adding in more music from each period/instrument covered in the book.
P.E., 1-2x weekly:
*Looks like it will be martial arts of some type!
Extracurricular (Social studies, community service, etc.):
*4-H: Community Service, Arts & Crafts, other projects as desired
*Park days, homeschooling association field trips...

For C.J. – pre-K (K4):
Math, as desired:
*Saxon Math K
Language Arts, as desired:
*Letter of the Week
*Printouts from Enchanted Learning, and activities at Starfall
*Assisting in writing penpal letters
*Story-time with C.O. (see above)
History, Science, Art, and Music:
*See above. I plan to have C.J. do a less intensive version of the history and science than C.O., as she desires!
P.E., 1-2x weekly:
*Ballet, martial arts or gymnastics
Extracurricular:
*Some 4-H participation, field trips, park days, and so forth!

So, that’s it. What do y’all think? Am I missing anything? Is it too much for a 6 year-old and a 4 year-old? I have considered adding in, very lightly, English from the Roots Up, but am still debating. Also still under consideration is First Language Lessons.

Aikido...

C.O. had his first Aikido lesson yesterday. We bought his uniform at the end of class, so he wore his "I do all my own stunts" t-shirt, which he thought was very appropriate. Anyhow, he loved the class. His teacher is a woman who has been doing Aikido (and other martial arts) for nearly 30 years - she was very gentle, but firm, with the kids. They learned about proper mat behavior, like bowing when they enter or leave the mat, sitting in a proper "mountain" pose, and general good class behavior. Then they worked through a series of animal movements. C.O. had a big grin on his face the whole time! Then, he couldn't wait to get home and try on his uniform, just the top and pants, since he has to earn his belt. I'm really glad he enjoyed it. We may start karate in the fall if C.O. keeps enjoying this! C.J. starts ballet next Friday, and is also very excited, especially since we bought her ballet shoes, which she is dying to wear.

After we got home, and C.O. showed M the uniform, we sat down to do some school work. C.J. played with her puzzle book while C.O. finished Maps, Graphs, Globes, did 2 pages of math, and the final 2 pages in unit 6 of his language arts book, which included drawing, and labeling, a picture of his cat Donovan. I was thrilled when C.O. figured out the spelling of "My cat" himself - I only has to coach him through "Donovan". Today, I hope for another 1-2 pages math, a couple of pages of social studies from Enchanted Learning (we're doing the "Where I Live" print-out books), and the first 1-2 pages of unit 7 in language arts. We also have 4-H today, and will be volunteering for our club positions today - C.O. wants to be the youth leader for Community Service (in which case I'd be the adult leader), plus he's interested in being a Sargeant-at-Arms. We thought we might also volunteer for the Take Down crew. We'll see...

On Spring break...

Since we didn't do anything "educational" this week, we've decided this is Spring Break (ah, the flexibility of homeschooling). Next week, when the charter school is out for the week, we'll get back into the swing of things.

We're celebrating Easter with family tomorrow, since my sister has to work on Sunday... the joys of working for a large chain grocery store. ;) Then, Sunday, when everyone else is running around, doing the Easter thing, we get a lazy day at home! M and I decided that we would only allow the kids a little candy in their baskets this year, and instead we're concentrating on small toys - crayons, sidewalk chalk, little squirt guns, etc.

I've finally got next year all planned out, for both kids, though C.J.'s curriculum will be definately lighter than C.O.'s still. I decided to just go with the series Let's Read & Find out for science (from the library) although I do still want to browse through Jenny's copy of MPH! I have started getting great coloring books from Dover and Bellerophon to supplement history and science. There are probably a million coloring books I'd love to have, but am trying very hard to limit myself.

C.O. is riding his bike like a pro now, still free from training wheels. It's amazing how quickly he picked up on this one. But then, I am constantly amazed by him. Oh, and to share something a little funny, when is the last time you heard a 4 year old and nearly 6 year old arguing over who gets to look at the pictures of the austrolopithecus afarensis? And yes, they both pronounce it quite well.

Sick since Saturday.... plus a milestone...

C.O. and I have been sick, sick, sick, since Saturday. It seems to be that stupid norovirus again, but I can't figure out why on earth it keeps coming back (not just us - nearly everyone I know that has had it, has gotten it again, at least once). So, we have not been doing much of anything.

Friday was fine - we went to park day, the sun was shining, it was lovely. The kids brought their toy tractors and played in the sand for a couple of hours. I had a great, and very interesting, discussion with another mom about homeschooling in general, and unschooling in particular, while my little girl played with her little girl, and C.O. built sand caves. Then we came home, and wrapped up the evening by watching Disney's Peter Pan together.

Sickness hit at about 3 am on Saturday. It's weird, because we have bouts of feeling fine, and then we're horribly sick again. C.O. felt good for about an hour yesterday, which brings me to the milestone - we took the training wheels off his bike! After only 2 passes with my help, he got it! My little guy can ride like crazy now! He was out there doing loops, going fast, going slow, using his brakes. It was absolutely great to watch! He's anxious to show off for everyone, but then he got sick again, poor little boy, so he'll have to wait. I tried to go to work this morning after another miserable night, got through all of about 10 minutes, and got sent home. So, I am missing my anthro class today, we're missing arts and crafts at 4-H, and we've managed to miss another community service meeting. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Teacher-of-the-Year - John Taylor Gatto...

Here's a link worth following:

Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech by John Taylor Gatto