Rabbit Trails...

It seems the show Human Planet is rife with opportunities for rabbit trails. We watched episode two yesterday, on people who inhabit deserts, and this is where is has led/is leading so far...

An exploration of matriarchal societies and women's roles in trading, etc., after learning about the Tubu women crossing the Sahara. While not a strictly matriarchal society, it certainly places the women in a very important role.

This discussion makes me think The Girl might enjoy How High Can We Climb? The Story of Women Explorers.

Water collection from fog leads to experimental ideas... we're talking about/planning to try different approaches to this in our backyard to see what works and what doesn't.

 We talked about the transition between childhood and adulthood, without a "teenage" era, after the segment on the Tubu women, and another on cattle herding in Mali, in which a sixteen year old boy was fully responsible for maintaining his family's cattle herd, even taking them days across the desert to a watering hole. In the segment on the Tubu, the matriarch of the group turned the directions over to her ten year old daughter on the final 20 mile trek through the Sahara, both to test her abilities to guide her camel caravan through the desert, and to ensure that future generations will be able to find the tiny well in the middle of nowhere.

We compared our current water use (58 33 gallons per day per person based on our last water bill) against the rates in Las Vegas, which is 199-208 gallons per day, per person. Of course, the average American usage of water (178 gallons per day), and even our own lower total, still far outstrip Africa's general 5 gallons per capita (Water Facts).

We even had an interesting discussion about whether socially permitted extramarital "affairs" were okay or not, after a segment on the Wodaabe people of Niger. When the rains come, which is not every year, they have fertility dances, and then men, married or not, can be chosen as lovers. They are a polygamist culture overall, so these brief interludes don't seem out of character for their beliefs. And we talked about standards of beauty, and how widely varied they are.

The next episode is on life in the Arctic... I can't wait to see where that one leads us!

Gods and Stories...

The Boy has started reading through his Greek myths for the National Mythology Exam. This has reawakened an interest in all things mythological to the degree that the first the first words out of his mouth this morning were about the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet... did I know, that among other things, she was the goddess of perfume?

I've been thinking of project ideas to help him remember everything as he goes, and besides the Waldorf-inspired Main Lesson book idea (which he loves), I think we might make a family tree for the Greek and Roman gods! He will also be studying the Norse gods for his subtest section, which is, I think, appropriate as his middle name is that of a Norse god.

The Girl and I, while waiting for her Kaya book(s) to arrive at the library, have been reading our way through a delightful book of African stories...

 She also watched two of the Families of the World dvds -- Egypt and Kenya. We always enjoy these videos! Each one profiles two children from that country, usually an urban child, and a rural one. They talk about customs, culture, food, holidays, house styles, schooling, and a lot more! I think I might have her check out Wild Africa (she loves animal shows), and/or National Geographic: Africa. Then there is also the series Lost Kingdoms of Africa that looks intriguing (not that my interest means she'll be interested)!

We're also gearing up for some Christmas/winter holiday reading. And we're looking very much forward to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (my birthday treat this year). We decided to go ahead and read the book first, right after we finish our current Oz book, which we should finish up this week.

Now, the question is, do we want to see the digital (i.e. regular) version, or the 3D version?

Anyhow, hope you're all having a good week! I am finding, as I always do, that we seem to actually accomplish more when I relax about things. Now I just need to remember this when I get stressed out that I am ruining their education!

A good Thanksgiving, and now back to reality...

It is nice having a long weekend, although today (Friday), I keep feeling as though it is Monday tomorrow, and that I need to do all my Sunday evening laundry, etc. Thankfully, I still have two full days to go!

We had a very pleasant Thanksgiving. It was just the four of us, and a very close family friend (more like family, an honorary uncle as a matter of fact), so it was relaxed, especially with a day and a half ahead of time to prepare! I made the pies on Tuesday and Wednesday, though Cricket and I starting the mince filling on Monday and cooked it down in the crockpot.

After trading in a couple of mince pies, I ended up with one mince, one pumpkin, and a delicious caramelized apple-cinnamon custard tart.

Cricket was my assistant all the way through. She chopped apples, measured flour and butter, ran the mixer, rolled out the pie crusts, and much, much more.

Here she is making succotash. She did it on her own with only a few verbal instructions from me, and it was delicious!

Bug kept himself busy making aluminum foil "castings" of various Hot Wheels, and then crash testing them. At least it kept him out of the way! He did help clean though.

And here is M carving the very tasty (organic) turkey that graced our table.

So we relaxed, watched movies, ate, did dishes, ate, played a game or two, ate... you get the picture! And I thought about our upcoming three weeks of homeschooling before Christmas break, and what I would like to accomplish. The week off, with no day-to-day planned learning helped give me some distance and get over my grass-is-greener syndrome... phew! I am making a few small changes, but nothing so drastic as I had originally thought. I am feeling mighty organized with all the new binders and dividers I bought! I have some things printed out, a stack of library books at hand, and a tidy, ready-to-go lesson plan for the three weeks. Not anything planned out in little time slots, or anything that organized mind you, but rather a set of expectations for the upcoming weeks. A list of tangible goals. And the reassurance that we are following our particular path.

Cricket and I did decide though to slow down her study of world cultures so that we have more time to explore each one. I thought we'd start taking a month per country, since this is a study we can do indefinitely. I think we're starting with Sweden, since they have lovely winter holiday traditions that Cricket would enjoy. This book is one I really loved as a child, and I think she'll like it too. Bug, in the meantime, has begged off American history for now. Instead, he and I are focusing on Egyptian history and mythology, then we'll move on to Ancient Greece before he takes the National Mythology Exam. Cricket says she'll be more than happy to listen in! She really seems to have very little interest in history in general, so if I can get her to listen in, all for the better.

I have been making progress with the kids in using more math on a day-to-day basis. I ask Bug at random to multiply things, or add up groceries while we're shopping, figure out how much x many pounds will count at $x per pound... and Cricket is doing fractions and measuring regularly in the kitchen while helping me cook. I've gotten in the habit of giving her 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 cup measuring cups, and then having her figure out how many she needs to equal the amount needed in the recipe. She's getting really fast at it!

Okay, have to go. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Shifting gears a bit... or maybe a lot...

We are, yes once again, shifting gears a little bit. Bug reiterated this week his desire to study for the ACL's National Mythology Exam, so he'll be focusing on mythology once or twice a week, and at all odd hours here and there! I went ahead and ordered the study packets for him so we have a good general idea of exactly what to study.

Cricket and I finally launched her children around the world study with Hungary last night, reading A Song for Lena, which was a lovely story with beautiful soft watercolor illustrations. We'll also read from a book of Eastern European fairy tales this week, and A Family in Hungary.

I have been perusing Waldorf blogs again, and want to start incorporating more Waldorf methods in our home. At first, I simply thought Oak Meadow, and promptly tormented myself in trying to find older (and therefore cheaper) versions. After a week though, I realized it is not the week-by-week lesson plans that I really want... it is the feeling of the lessons, with Main Lesson Books, main lesson blocks, storytelling, art, handicrafts, etc. I think there is a way I can use my own curriculum choices that reflects these aspects of Waldorf. I also really want more seasonality in our schedule. I may be getting a copy of the Christopherus Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers, which is a book that allows for personalized curriculum choices within a Waldorf context. I'll get a book or two on seasonal crafts and projects as well.

All of this ties in beautifully with Spiral Scouts, by the way. The kids are deciding on projects that include cooking (which in turn involves multicultural aspects), mythology, art, gardening, sculpture, recycling, etc.

So where am I going with all this rambling? I think we're going to try Main Lesson Books, though I'll probably do these as binders with good quality paper. I'd like more art and rhythm in our days. Main Lesson Books would also make beautiful keepsakes! I have plans to set up, once again, a nature table in our home. We had one before and loved it, but then kittens played havoc with it, and we haven't had one in over a year. I think too we might try main lesson blocks, allowing Bug time to delve into and really enjoy Ancient Greece and its mythology, and then Rome... maybe a Norse block as well. And Cricket's world culture studies are easily divisible into blocks, the current one being Eastern Europe. Sciences could involve a gardening block in the spring when we finally will be putting in raised beds and a real vegetable garden. I'd also like both of them to get some hands-on carpentry skills at some point. Cricket was doing well with crocheting and I think I might teach her to knit as well.

Along another line of thought, I'm also looking at moving from A First Book of American History to Time Travelers from Homeschool in the Woods, which are excellent cd-roms with all kinds of printables and projects as well as short lessons. Bug really wants to make a complete lapbook at some point, and I think Cricket will like many of the Colonial projects. IF we go this route, we'll be wrapping up explorers over the next couple of weeks, and then we'll move into Colonial times. My only goal at this point would be to get up through the American Revolution by the end of the academic year, with lots of time for rabbit trails along the way!

We'll see what happens!

Resources for an around the world study...

Cassia has asked, and asked, to study children around the world, spurred on by her beloved copy of Children Just Like Me. Looking at the table of contents, I noticed there are 36 children/countries profiled, and we have 36 weeks planned in our next academic year... couldn't fit more perfectly! So here are some of the resources I am looking at using, although there will probably be additions and subtractions based on our week-to-week needs and desires.

Main text:
Children Just Like Me

Geography:
Children's Atlas of the World
National Geographic's MapMaker (great outline maps)
Crayola's Geography Coloring Pages (flags and small maps)
Enchanted Learning also offers geography pages that may be worthwhile

Cinderella Stories:
Domitila (Mexican)
Adelaida (Cuban)
Smoky Mountain Rose (American, Appalachian)
Little Gold Star (Spanish American)
Perrault's Cinderella (French)
The Orphan (Greek)
Egyptian Cinderella (Egyptian)
The Turkey Girl (Zuni)
Persian Cinderella (Persian)
Yeh-Shen (Chinese)
Korean Cinderella (Korean)
Angkat (Cambodian)
Anklet for a Princess (Indian)
The Golden Sandal (Middle Eastern)
The Way Meat Loves Salt (Jewish)
Abadeha (Philippine)
Tam and Cam (Vietnamese)
Cendrillon (Caribbean)
The Salmon Princess (Alaskan)

Story Collections:
Around the World in 80 Tales
Tatterhood & Other Tales
Golden Tales
American Tall Tales
The Golden Phoenix & Other French-Canadian Fairy Tales
Scandinavian Folk & Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe
Russian Folk Tales
Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault
The Girl Who Married a Lion & Other Tales from Africa
Asian Children's Favorite Stories
Stories from the Billabong

Series:
Various titles from the Families Around the World series, such as A Family in China, A Family in Egypt, etc.
Families of the World dvd series
Enchantment of the World

Geography Stories:
52 Days by Camel: My Sahara Adventure
Jungle Islands: My South Sea Adventure
By Truck to the North: My Arctic Adventure


Crafts, Coloring Books, Animals, and Food:
Janice VanCleave's Science Around the World
Global Art
Kids Around the World Create!
The Kids' Multicultural Cookbook
Kids Around the World Cook!
Multicultural Arts & Crafts from KinderArt
The Multicultural Cooking Network
Around the World Coloring BookHouses & Homes Around the World, goes well with Traditional Houses from Around the World Coloring Book
Holidays Around the World Coloring Book
Expedition Earth Animals (a great, free, downloadable animals around the world study. Not secular, but so easy to adjust!)