Wishing everyone a...

I am looking forward to starting a new year! We've decided on one more week of vacation (gotta love homeschooling flexibility) to give our library time to re-open and all our holds to come in. Plus, we have a lot going on with friends this week!

Yes, I have resolutions for the New Year, although I prefer to think of them as goals.

1. Keep up with the diet and exercise I've been doing. Today, I haven't been too careful, but it is a once-a-year holiday! Back to South Beach tomorrow. I did do my exercise though - I'm using the Couch Potato to 5K program, and just re-started this week. I'm roughly 17 pounds down since Thanksgiving, which is the absolute best I have done in years! I find that the whole family is eating more healthfully with me watching everything so closely.

2. Keep the housework up. I tend to live in what the FlyLady calls C.H.A.O.S. - "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome", so before Christmas, I cleaned like a maniac! My goal now is twofold: keep it clean, and then tackle another part of deep cleaning once a week.

3. Focus on saving money and paying down debts, which means actually sticking to the budget. We're trying to follow Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace plan in 2012.

4. Getting, and keeping, homeschooling more organized. Since we're trying a more structured format once again, and I work, we have outside commitments, etc., organization is key. I'd like to have a weekly plan, know where all the supplies are, know where all the library books are, and things of that nature. This goal actually ties in nicely to the housekeeping goal.

5. Focusing more on Cricket's reading. We're having her assessed for some issues sometime in January/February. Maybe this will help with her reading, maybe not. Either way, I want to dedicate myself more fully to getting her really reading.

I figure these five goals will lead to a lot of other good things. For example, just 17 pounds lighter, and I have a ton more energy, enough that I played baseball with M and the kids for an hour and a half this week. Having more energy means I can do more. Healthier me also seems to equal healthier family! Having the house cleaner means I can organize it better, which in turn means we will know where that exact art supply is, and I will have time (and the place) to make homemade play dough, or these cool trilobite cookies! Financial peace will allow us to build more of a savings account, and getting more and more out of debt all the time is a great feeling. We can also teach our kids financial responsibility. With homeschooling more organized, we'll be more likely to follow through with it, and we may even get to all the fun projects I am always planning! And if Cricket could really read, I think she'd enjoy it a lot more, plus it would just make so many things so much easier.

I think my goals are pretty realistic. I don't plan to lose a million pounds, do a triathlon, re-make my entire home, or get Cricket up to a college reading level in 2012. Nor so I plan to be completely debt-free, or have a gigantic savings account. Of course, all that is a bit exaggerated, but then I have tended to exaggerate my goals in the past!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

And a lovely Christmas was had by all...

The kids are happy with all their gifts, I am happy with mine, M loves his. We had family over for a delicious meal, we went to see insane Christmas lights....






We read stories, watched a few Christmas movies, ate leftovers. And now back to real life! I am happily planning next week's homeschooling, since I have decided a loose plan is better than no plan. The house is still surprisingly clean, although there are scraps of wrapping paper lingering about, and a few dishes to catch up on. After two days of indulgence, I am back in the saddle with my diet too - sauteed kale and a baked egg for breakfast, a London Broil marinating in the fridge for dinner - and am trying to convince everyone that we need to go for a walk around the local lake this afternoon. I do have to go grocery shopping, but I don't plan on going to any other stores. Oh, and there is laundry to do... all the getting-ready-for-the-week stuff!

How were your holidays? Do you have to head back to normality tomorrow too?

Yule Gifts...

Happiness is a new book

Naturally, the new book is very absorbing. Believe me, I know from experience!

And Matryoshka dolls are very absorbing too!

The hug I got from Cricket, and the squeal of sheer joy? Priceless. (Oh, this shows most of the dolls... there is an even smaller one!)

It was a lovely Solstice... fire going in the fireplace, roasted pork tenderloin and a fantastic salad (salad made by Bug), and we finished up the evening with me reading aloud from The 24 Days Before Christmas before bed (L'Engle is one of my all-time favorite authors). Today we're off for a wonderful winter celebration at our favorite Park Day. Good friends, good food, good times. This weekend, we have family coming over tomorrow, and then Sunday is just for us! I won't be back on my blog between now and then, so I'm

Blessed Yule!

The Shortest Day

By Susan Cooper

http://www.thelostland.com/index.htm

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.

Rethinking and Restructuring...

It seems that a good break of a couple of weeks or so is a perfect time to reflect on what we have done thus far in our academic year, and to look ahead at what we would like to accomplish in the remaining weeks before summer - I am not the only one doing this, as I was in fact inspired by a friend to rethink! For counting purposes, we've completed 16 weeks, and have 20 left to go, more or less.

My thoughts...

Bug:
In language arts, I am happy with The Sentence Family, and I like Igniting Your Writing very much. However, we need more consistency with IYW! I also need to be more consistent with spelling... The Natural Speller is a great resource, and I need to take more advantage of that. I am debating if I should use Spelling City... I am reluctant to add to his computer time, or if I should simply work with him on paper each week in this subject.

Mathematically, I think we need a little more consistency too. We've hit a block in Life of Fred, while we brush up on division skills. I'd really like to be more organized with the living math approach. I am thinking maybe a Monday Library/Living Book math day, Tuesday and Thursday worksheet/workbook days, and Wednesday for LOF or perhaps Murderous Maths, then Fridays for Family Math.

He's doing well with studying for the National Mythology exam, so I have no concerns there.

I think he's ready for a little more challenging work when it comes to history and science. He is very much intrigued by prehistory, so I think we'll start off January with
The Early Human World.
the Big Bang, evolution, and a bit of earth science (fossils and all), maybe dusting off an older book/video list, then move into The Early Human World and archeology. I'd eventually love to work with him right through the entire Oxford World in Ancient Times set, since it covers civilizations we have barely touched on, like Ancient China and India, South Asia, and more. I would really love to start using The Story of Science at some point too. Science and history all tied together! We could even tie in our living math with something like this program.

Yes, I am trying semi-organized history and science again. I can't help it!

Cricket:
We're still making slow progress with reading, but I have a feeling that something is about to happen with this. She finally said, just yesterday "I want to be able to read"... something I have been waiting for the past 3 years to hear! So again, consistency (that seems to be my word of the moment, doesn't it?) After the holidays, we'll be moving to the second level in her box of leveled readers, at long, long last. So daily practice. And daily practice with Word Families, and/or Explode the Code.

Mathematically, she's doing well. She even took her Developmental Mathematics book with her to bed the other night, crazy girl! I think she'd thrive with the more organized approach I mentioned above. And I want to do more LOF with her, since there are a number of the elementary level books, and she does well with them.

We're still covering world cultures to some degree, but I'd like to bring her in on the science and history studies I am considering. I am considering the best way to do this, since I think some of the materials Beetle and I will be using might be above her head a little. Hmmmm... any suggestions? I'm reluctant to use Story of the World, but it might be the best option, along with supplemental library books. It is just that the Oxford books will offer so much more depth than SOTW does. Maybe just supplemental books for Cricket? I don't know.

So there you have it... my rethinking and restructuring. It will be interesting to see what the new year brings!

An award!

I am thrilled to get the Versatile Blogger Award, so thank you Pam over at Everyday Snapshots! Now, in accordance with the rules, here are 7 things about me, and then 7 blogs (new to me) that I'd like to nominate also.

1. We don't have cable, so I watch TV through Netflix. I had heard a lot about the show Glee when I still worked at a grocery store, and was constantly bombarded by magazine headlines, but never watched it. Now I've finished season 1, and I'm hooked! My other "embarrassing" show is Grey's Anatomy, which I watch online each week.

2. In winter, my fingers are always cold. Through a co-worker, I discovered these lovelies, and now my hands stay remarkably warm! I wear them all the time. It is honestly an addiction.

3. I am a terrible housekeeper. I am a great cook, and I think a very good mother, but housekeeping? It tends to fall by the wayside far too often. I am one of those people that rushes around cleaning like a mad fiend when people are coming over. And I dislike it very much. I wish I were a better housekeeper, and I strive to be... I just get so busy with other stuff.

4. Coffee is my all time favorite beverage, with tea coming in at a near second. I love coffee... the way it smells, the way it tastes... I drink it strong, with no sweeteners, just a dash of half and half. I am loving a couple of new-to-me teas that I discovered though.. both from Stash - the Meyer Lemon (so, so delicious with a little stevia!), and the Licorice Spice, which is like dessert in a cup (without having to add any sweeteners).

5. One of my favorite things about the holidays are all the pretty, twinkly lights. I love Christmas lights (my favorite term for them is fairy lights). The kids and I love to get in the car with a thermos of hot chocolate for them, and a travel mug of tea for me (sometimes coffee) and just drive around to look at all the pretty lights.

6. I've been on a fairly strict diet for just over three weeks. No grains, no gluten, almost no dairy, very limited fat, and very limited eggs. Partly to clean out my system, but as a side benefit, I'm losing weight. 16 pounds right now to be exact. I plan to start incorporating more foods at the end of the week, now that my system seems pretty well cleaned out. That way I can see what my trigger foods are - those that make me gain weight, or simply not feel as well as I should. For some reason, this diet is easier than I thought, and I'm sticking to it better than I have to any diet in years! I feel tons better too.

7. I go through phases where I don't read a lot, and then I read heavily, like a book a day. I am one of those people who can't set a good book down. I would rather read sometimes than sleep, although I usually regret that in the morning.

And now for the seven blogs...

1. The Firefly Files - while it hasn't been updated in a while, it is truly a lovely blog, and is new to me!
2. Sage Parnassus - I like the tone of this blog, and the variety of resources used, plus it is very pretty!
3. A Small Tribe - fantastic photography (and more)!
4. Fairly Odd Mother - I like her humor, and her honesty in writing.
5. Freeflowing Ways - I like the relaxed approach, and all the lovely photos.
6. Almost Unschoolers - I like this blog because of all the hands-on, and well, because we're almost unschoolers!
and finally,
7. I Capture the Rowhouse - an eclectic blog that is fun to read!

Dickens Faire 2011...

A delightful time was had by all! The kids, M, and I think we might go again next year, in full costume, for even more fun!

And I got a lovely birthday gift, compliments of M...

Weekly Wrap-up of Sorts: 12/12-12/16...

It has been a lovely week. Each day we are up early, since I work mornings, and so we get to see amazing sunrises like the one in this picture from my phone. I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful area! It has also been a cold week--frosty ground; icy car; kids layered up in mittens, scarves, and jackets for their morning car ride to their Nonna's house.

What have we been up to this week? Well, Bug has been reading away. He's now reading Redwall, which I think he'll really enjoy, and he is about to start The Early Human World, which I think we'll read together. He was looking through an old book of my dad's about prehistory, and I remembered we had The Early Human World tucked away in the bookcase, so I think it is time to bring it out! I know he'll be excited about his upcoming gift books: The Throne of Fire for Yule, and the Percy Jackson set for Christmas. Yes, we celebrate both holidays... the more the merrier!

Cricket and I are enjoying her books as well. We read some more in Erik and Britta, we read Peter and Lotta's Christmas, and we read a very interesting and clever book of poetry, Mirror Mirror. Each poem is read twice, once from beginning to end, then with all the lines reversed.

Together at bedtime, we have been very much enjoying this book...

It is well written (naturally... I mean look at who the author is!), and full of loveliness and goodness without being saccharine. I am sorry we're almost done, especially since I haven't yet chosen our next book, although I'm thinking maybe The Squire's Tale? Any suggestions?

Besides all the reading, we're getting ready for the holidays. I did most of the shopping already, primarily online, though tonight M and I are going out, sans children, to pick up a few last gifts. The kids made their gifts for their dad and I this week... tie dye shirts! We have an awesome friend that set up a park tie day afternoon. I'll have to post pictures. The kids did a shirt each for themselves, and then did a shirt each for us. We also need to finish cleaning the house, which, being that we're home so much and using everything, always looks cluttered. And we want to make gingerbread cookies. We're watching Christmassy movies and things, like The Simpsons Christmas Special, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the Boris Karloff version), a few versions of The Christmas Carol with this one being the favorite, and more. Beetle had another piano lesson this week, and is on the last two songs in his third book! He has gotten a lot better about practicing lately too.

I feel really good about my decision to drop any formal science and history studies. I'd rather read to the kids, or have them watch a documentary on a topic they're really interested in than try to have them follow someone else's dictates. This week, they've been watching a series of science videos that's pretty fun: The Science of Disney Imagineering. And we're learning a lot about the Victorian age, gearing up for this weekend's trip to the Dickens Faire - very exciting! I remember loving it as a child, and am hoping they'll enjoy it as much as I did. Both are dressing up for it, so I'll be sure to get some good pictures.

Let me see, what else did we do? Well, Cricket read another reader to me, the last one at this level and then she moves up. I am having her read them each 4-5 times during the week to build fluency. We did some math-- hands-on measuring after reading Measuring Penny, and a bunch of pages in their Developmental Math books. The kids basically have four points each to hit daily... Bug needs to read (never a problem!), do some math, write, and practice piano. Cricket has phonics work, reading, handwriting, and math. Everything else, and there's a lot of everything else, is gravy! We haven't made much progress with our Spiral Scouts projects lately, so I am planning to really ramp that up after the holidays. We're also planning a New Year's camping trip with a friend. It'll be very cold, but what better way to start a new year than on a mountain, outdoors?

Hope you all had a good week too!

A Bi-Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/28-12/9...

It has been a good, and fairly full, couple of weeks. I decided to stop pretending that we were (or are for that matter) going to do organized history and science studies, so we have felt more relaxed. With just reading, writing, and math as basics, they have found plenty else to occupy themselves! I did adjust my Curriculum Page to reflect reality.

Here they are working together to disassemble a wireless router (yes, an old one)

I think they worked on this for an hour or so, carefully sorting each piece into a divided plastic tray. Although they never did get it apart all the way!

There has been math. This week we used Life of Fred and Developmental Mathematics. I like the simple and clear layout of the latter, as do the kids.

Here Bug is working out a Life of Fred set of equations. He had to find the number of seconds in an hour, a day, a year, and 31 years, which, in case you're curious, is nearly one billion!

We started using The Sentence Family. That's Bug's work above, with great sentences like "I ate three green beans today." (declarative) and "Did the aardvark ever dance the polka?" (interrogative)

And Cricket wrote things like "I have a dog." (declarative), and "Do you know where the train station is?" (interrogative). I did notice that her sentences focus more on the story and the artwork, while Bug seems to write fairly random things.

Cricket drew some leaves on the whiteboard, outlining real leaves and then detailing them.

And of course we read a lot!

Besides all that, Bug is still working on learning computer animation. He also formed a Greek Mythology Club at our Park Day, complete with little booklets that he handed out with Cricket's help. Cricket has been a constant helper in the kitchen, and we're enjoying learning about Sweden as our country of the month. Both wrote letters to Santa, Bug worked on spelling, and Cricket read another reader to me.

We have one more week before winter break... some more math, some more reading and writing, more phonics for Cricket, and of course more fun!

Don't forget to go check out other homeschooling blogs at the...

A reason to clean...

Yesterday we were cleaning the family room, getting prepped for the holidays and company. Under Cricket's desk, there is a large box, where I had stored a miscellany of books that I had scored a few years ago in a Craigslist deal. I bought several bags of books when another mom stopped homeschooling, sorted through them, sold a few things, donated a bunch, and put these away for someday use. Anyhow, Bug asked me if we could go through the box, to "see if there's anything exciting in there", so sort through it we did, and I found all kinds of books I had stocked away, books that were ahead of them then, but perfect now.

Among other finds, we came across:

Several levels of Developmental Mathematics
A nice, simple little grammar guide/workbook called Practice Exercises in Basic English
Several grade levels of a guide/workbook called Science Made Simple
Top Secret Guides to about ten different countries, which will be handy for Cricket's world culture studies
A McGraw Hill middle-high school workbook on biology

So I started thinking about how we could use some of these resources. I really like the simple, one-topic approach of Developmental Mathematics, so I may have the kids do a page or two a week to boost their basic skills. With the biology book, I'm going to use it as a reference guide to enhance our nature studies. As for Science Made Simple, again, a guide to various topics, and maybe a few hands-on experiments, a worksheet here and there. I think I might hand off the English book to Bug and see what he gets out of it.

Lesson learned? If you have boxes of books "waiting", go ahead and go through them! I did put some of it back for upcoming years too, so we'll have another treasure hunt through the box in a year or two.

A product rave...

I can't tell you how much we are enjoying these books! I feel very good about moving into math where I am more involved with the kids than math that they do with a computer.

Bug and I did lesson 2 in LOF: Fractions yesterday. It was a lesson on billions, with Fred trying to calculate how long it would take him to list a billion reasons against buying a bike at one reason per second. While Bug has done multiplication, it has never been at this scale. He first found the number of seconds per hour, then per day, then per year, and then the total number of seconds in 31 years, which, in case you are wondering, is still just shy of a billion. It was only 5 problems, but they were a challenge! I had him do them on graph paper for easier number placement. When I get a chance, I'll scan the page and you can see all of his painstaking work, which he got 100% on! We also learned about onomatopoetic words, the word "onomatopoetic" not being any too easy to pronounce repeatedly, but still an awesome word at 7 syllables!

This is such a different math program. Such a different approach. I really wish they had had math like this when I was a kid! The story lines are funny, yet informative. I like how math is woven in throughout. And 5 problems is a good amount to see if they understood the ideas in each chapter.

Today math will be something different. Maybe Math Mammoth, or a library book followed by activities. We'll just have to see what strikes us!

Win a Kindle!

Freely Educate is giving away a Kindle. There are four ways to enter the contest, with a November 28th deadline. Go check it out!

Win a Kindle!

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!

Jumping on the Menu Monday bandwagon... and more...

Menu Plan Monday

Now that I don't work at a grocery store, I try to shop only once a week, so menu planning is key! This week we'll be lucky enough to have two Thanksgivings, one at my mom's house, and one at home. Here's what we'll be having this week...

Monday
Beef & 2-bean chili with salsa, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, and tortilla chips

Tuesday
Pasta with a good marinara sauce; garlic bread; salad

Wednesday
Thanksgiving #1 at my mom's

Thursday
Thanksgiving at home - turkey; cornbread stuffing; homemade cranberry sauce; mashed potatoes & gravy; green beans with brown butter and chopped hazelnuts; succotash; a big green salad; pumpkin pie; apple-quince-mince pie

Friday
Leftovers cleverly disguised as open face hot turkey sandwiches with gravy; salad of some sort

Saturday
I am thinking we'll need a break from turkey, so Cricket and I will be cooking a dinner to reflect our country of the week - Poland. We're making perogi to be served with chives, sour cream, and bacon. The side dish will be beets and cucumbers with vinegar (almost pickled!)

Sunday
I have some leftover wild rice, so I thought I would make roasted squash/veg and wild rice, and serve it with some homemade bread, probably rye since we all like that one. I had found a recipe for the soup on a blog recently, but now I can't for the life of me figure out whose blog it was!

On another note, we're looking at making some fun ornaments in early December for our Christmas tree/home. We do have store-bought ornaments, but homemade ones are special, and fun. Some options...

Glittered, Wax-dipped Pinecones
I really like these toadstool ornaments
Trying to think of an icing lid substitute for these lovely felted ornaments
Felt Shooting Stars
And I have a book with instructions for straw star ornaments like these
And cinnamon dough bird ornaments

Most of these don't look that difficult, though some might be time consuming. I don't know that we'll get a chance to make them all, but even a few homemade ornaments would be nice!

The week of Thanksgiving...

We're officially taking a week off from homeschooling, but what does that mean? It means reading, crafts, games, and a chance for me to plan for the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Break!

Books I plan to read this upcoming week include:
Three Young Pilgrims (partly because I own it)
More of Oliver Twist
The Leaf Man and Why Do Leaves Change Color?
Start reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Multiple selections from Cricket's library pile!

Crafts:
I'd like to make Leaf Men/Women, inspired by The Leaf Man book mentioned above
And we'd like to make Nature Collage Suncatchers inspired by Jessica and Ben, which incidentally means we'll have to go for a good nature walk! I also have a book of nature crafts on loan from a good friend, and plan on digging through that for more ideas.

And on a side note, today is my sixteenth wedding anniversary! We're having a lovely dinner with this (including the wild rice side dish), and then a pear-gingerbread upside-down cake. And we have a movie to watch, since it is one we haven't seen yet.

Weekly Report 11/14-11/18, changing over...

It has been an interesting and eye-opening week. First, I discovered math journaling, which is simply fantastic! Then I read The Christopherus Waldorf Curriculum Overview from cover to cover, and it was lovely. I have come to realize, through my research and in-depth conversations with everyone in the house, that while we're chugging along just fine, we're not experiencing the joy of homeschooling as we used to (I also re-read some of my earliest blog posts, and we had so much fun!), and when there is a lack of joy, there is a lack of real interest. So I am making every effort to switch to a richer, more hands-on, homeschooling style with more living books, even for math! And I want my blog to have more pictures again, so for the next Weekly Report, you can expect a few changes. On a side note, I realized in reading the Waldorf book that according to their principles, my kids are ahead a grade! While I certainly don't plan on dropping them back, I feel more relaxed with where we are in things.

Alright, having said all that, here's this week in review, which for the most part, actually followed my desires for our homeschooling...

Bug has been working on writing his novel on the computer, and he wrote a quite funny fable based on the style of fables in Squids Will Be Squids. He built more 3D models on the computer and then demolished them, watching how and pieces fall, and how falling/loose pieces affect the integrity of the whole. He did 2 chapters in Life of Fred Fractions, giggling like a maniac the entire time. He finished re-reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and moved on to The Red Pyramid. He studied Greek and Egyptian mythology, using select titles from the Ologies series and the D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. He worked in writing in hieroglyphics using the Egyptology Code-Writing Kit. He worked on shading geometric shapes for art. I also read to him from The Magic of Reality - a wonderful and accessible science book by Richard Dawkins.

Cricket worked in The Reading Lesson this week. She is getting steadily more fluent, and is picking up on blends and letter combinations like "ee" and "ea" quickly. She also completed two chapters in Life of Fred Apples, and made up more problems for herself. She helped with cooking, and got hands-on lessons in fractions and measurement as a result. We read from Understood Betsy, and Russian Folk Tales. And we read Pippo the Fool, Uncle Blue's New Boat, and Pelle's New Suit. She did a little needle felting, drew a few pictures, and helped fold laundry. She also watched, twice, a video called Families of Russia.

Together, we learned about John Cabot from A First Book in American History. We read some more from the Nurse Matilda stories. We ate a delicious Russian meal, with baked fish, potatoes, mushrooms, and dill. We visited the Russian Orthodox Church near our home during their Christmas Bazaar, and tried piroshkis. We also visited the church itself, which was full of gorgeous art and many, many icons. We listened to a story told in alternating Russian and English. We cuddled up on the couch and watched movies a couple of evenings this week as well. I am really enjoying my afternoons and evenings at home with my new job!

Today we are hoping to go to the park, but with a fifty percent chance of rain, who knows? If it does rain, we'll bump tomorrow's planned library trip up to today.

Next week, we're simply focusing on getting ready for Thanksgiving. I have a multitude of pies to bake, including the family favorite, an apple-quince mince pie from Local Flavors. We celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom on Thursday, and then a second celebration at home with other relatives (my dad, my MIL, etc.) on Friday. I plan to spend the weekend cleaning, then I work Monday and Tuesday, make pies on Wednesday, and enjoy the rest of the week! I'm planning on a week off from any official homeschooling, though we know the learning never stops, and I am sure I will be reading aloud a lot!

Don't forget to drop by The Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

Is my head in the sand?

Seriously, with all the research I have done on various homeschooling methods, how did I not know about Math Journaling? A few links in case you are unfamiliar with it as well...

Why Math Journals?
Math Journals & Other Math Ideas for Primary Teachers
Blog, She Wrote's fantastic math journal posts
Math Notebooking

Okay, you probably get the idea by this time.

We've been using Teaching Textbooks, and yes, it works. And, until recently, both kids liked it. I have been having some trouble getting Cricket to sit down for it, but I just chalk that up to her being Cricket. Then, last week, we didn't do any TT. And yesterday, I got Life of Fred Apples and Fractions in the mail. It was as if TT didn't even exist! Cricket sat down with me, and we went through the first two chapters of LOF Apples. Then she spent half an hour making up additional problems for herself, telling me "Look Mommy, I am good at math!", while Bug and I got through the first chapter in LOF Fractions. It was marvelous! There were giggles galore, and lots of problem solving. Once they were in bed, and I had my hot cup of tea ready, I snuggled down in my bed and flipped through Family Math, which I have owned for years and never made use of (ducking head in shame). So many cool math ideas!

So now I am thinking... math journaling! Math journals, using LOF, Family Math, and other fun living math books as jumping off points. It is definitely worth a try. We don't use any other textbooks - math has been our last sticking point, and I would like to encourage real-life, applicable, hands-on, creative mathematical thinking! I'd highly suggest reading through Blog, She Wrote's wonderful math journal posts to see living math in action. I love too that she is able to make similar math activities work across a range of ages. I'll hold onto TT in the meantime just in case, but truthfully, it was getting that I kind of resented the program for taking away that time with my kids... And as a backup for more problem sets, I do own the entire Math Mammoth Blue series (topical downloads).

Weekly report, 11/7-11/11: And the rain is coming down...

And down and down. It is pouring here, of course, because Fridays are generally Park Days. So much for that! Instead, our plans involve finishing Dinotopia at long last, with a big bowl of popcorn. And then Bug is off to his first ever sleepover, and Cricket and I will go see Puss in Boots.

It has been an unschooly kind of week. We are 10 weeks into our school year (eeek!) and still making adjustments. But then, I am not so sure adjusting ever ends in homeschooling. Next week we'll be back up to speed in math and language arts, etc.

What We Have Done...

Math
The kids played Sum Swamp, and Payday. We read Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday, and Bug double checked the math. We read Pigs in the Pantry, and Cricket compared quantities of ingredients while Bug figured out how many cups of beans there were in the cans used, and how much excess the father pig had compared to the recipe. Cricket also helped with actual measuring this week as she helped me cook dinner every night.

Language Arts
Bug is writing a story on the computer, working on it right now as a matter of fact. I just taught him how to use the spell checker, and he noticed that he has a tendency to spell the same words, or similar ones, wrong over and over, usually more simple ones! He also continued re-reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Cricket read two Nora Gaydos Now I'm Reading books to me this week, and read the words she could in a Frog and Toad story. She sounded out the word "wonderful", which was indeed wonderful! We spent a lot of time reading this week.

World Cultures & Mythology
We started our study of world cultures this week, with Hungary. Cricket and I enjoyed reading A Song for Lena, A Family in Hungary, and a couple of stories from an Eastern European book of fairy tales. Cricket made, with very little help, a delicious Hungarian Goulash for dinner last night, which she served with mashed potatoes and a super yummy cucumber salad. Next week we're off to Russia!

Bug started reading about Greek mythology this week. He picked up a copy of the D'Aulaires' Greek Myths at the library. I am going to have him make a Main Lesson Book on mythology starting next week. I'm also ordering the study packets from the American Classical League.

Sciences
Cassiaricket has been assisting her dad daily in the greenhouse where he keeps his bonsai collection. She helped transplant one little tree, and trim a couple of others, as well as watering, etc. She is learning a lot about plants and seems to have a real affinity for gardening. This is great because we are in the midst of planning out a real vegetable garden , raised beds and all, for next spring. I placed on hold at the library a few books on gardening - some for me, and a couple for the kids. Oh, and I ordered this catalog.

We also brought home a caterpillar from the farm where we get our milk. Cricket and Bug made it a habitat in a jar, and this week it cocooned itself! So cool! We think it will hatch into a tiger moth.

The kids watched another episode of Walking With Dinosaurs and have been comparing what they actually know about dinosaurs to the movie Dinotopia.

Literature
We continued reading from the Nurse Matilda stories this week. Cricket and I also started Understood Betsy, which I think she will really enjoy. I decided they need more poetry, so I am going to have them each memorize a poem. Cricket's will be The Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti in honor of our caterpillar, Bug will learn something from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, and I have decided to memorize The Morns Are Getting Meeker Than They Were by Emily Dickinson.

Other, and Spiral Scouts
In regards to my post on incorporating more Waldorf, I think I have figured out how. I plan to continue with American history, using Time Travelers and lapbooking, along with good books, but then for mythology, cultural studies, and gardening/botany, we'll use main lesson books. We're going to set up a nature table, and during our Charlotte Mason-inspired nature walks, we can collect things for the table. may felt a few fairies and the like for it.

We also decided on our Spiral Scouts projects for the time being! Both kids will work on their Gold Stars and Super Me (both more or less required), and then they will both do Cooking and Gardening badges. Additionally, Bug will be working on Art and Mythology badges, and Cricket will work on Fiber Arts. We can also log hiking and camping times to our Hiking and Camping badges. There are literally over a hundred choices in badges, so I am glad they will be at this level - Spiral Scouts - until they are 14, when they can go up a level, to PathFinders. I'm sure we'll add in more badges here and there as their interests broaden, but I think this is plenty to work on now. We're aiming to get the required ones out of the way by Yule, then start the others in all earnestness after the winter holidays. The badges actually require a lot of learning and work, as you can see from the Gardening Badge sample here.

And there's our week! Hope you had a good one too.

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!

Relaxing a bit...

We're taking a week off from "formal" math and writing, I think, but I do have plans! Basically the idea is to switch things up a bit and try different approaches.

Ideas for Bug:

• Going through Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday and checking the math as he goes
• Some work from Math Appeal
• Playing Totally Tut (which unfortunately I don't think Cricket is quite ready to play)
• Various math puzzles and pictograms from all the "Dollar Days" eBooks I bought from Scholastic
• Mad Libs
• I put his spelling words on Spelling City so he could play games
• Writing and illustrating his own fable since we're reading Squids Will Be Squids - yes, he'll have to do a rough draft and then a final draft after I help him correct spelling and punctuation
• We're going to start The Sentence Family, and learn about Mr. Declarative

And for Cricket:

• We'll read Pigs in the Pantry and then I'll have her double a recipe since she loves cooking
• Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (which Bug will probably listen to as well)
• Tangrams (good geometry practice!)
• Probably some Scholastic printables as well
• A word family grab bag and matching game (homemade)
• Spelling City with word families and/or words from Explode the Code
• Various interactive phonics games

For both:

• Sum Swamp Addition & Subtraction Game
• Pizza Fractions
• Payday

I think it will be a good week. Gives us a break from the general Teaching Textbooks/Primary & Intermediate Language Lessons thing. We also will be studying dinosaurs and Explorers this week, with good books and some nice hands-on. I did go ahead and order Life of Fred Fractions for Bug, and Apples for Cricket... can't wait until they get here!

Oh, we're also starting up a gentle study of other countries/cultures. Our first country is Hungary. I have Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe on hand, A Family in Hungary from the library, and a good recipe for Hungarian goulash. The following week we're "going" to Poland, and then off to Russia!

Hope the upcoming week is a good one for you all!

Before midnight gets here and it is too late...

Week 8: 10/24-10/28... Pumpkins to Acrobats to Bugs...

We started our week with a trip to a nearly Pumpkin Patch/Fall Festival. There the kids got to pet goats...

And really cute little donkeys...

Hold some starfish...

Pose as a farmer...

Pose in front of a mountain lion...

And of course, pick out some pumpkins...

There were also live birds (a barn owl and a red tailed hawk), all kinds of insects, snakes and lizards, a Native American village, a hay-bale maze, and the hayride out to the pumpkins! Not to mention crafts, music, and so forth.

Other than that...

Language Arts
Cricket read two Nora Gaydos books this week, worked on two lessons from her word families book, did 8 pages in Explode the Code, and did 2 lessons in Primary Language Lessons, focusing on observation and a picture study! Her reading is coming along nicely, at long, loooooooong last. Phew! I have also noticed an improvement in her handwriting.

Bug did three lessons in Intermediate Language Lessons, mostly learning about proper use of is/are and was/were, as well as I/her/him/hers/his/ours/us. He did work a bit in his Spectrum Spelling book, but has asked to switch back to a combo of Natural Speller and Spelling City next week, so I'll set up his word lists there on Sunday. He also made a couple of entries in his journal.

Both kids also wrote short poems for free entry to an insect event (see Science below).

Math
Both took and passed their quizzes this week, Bug with 100% and Cricket with 95%, which she only got because on the last question she was looking over her shoulder talking to the dog and clicked on the wrong button! They both completed another 2 lessons as well. I decided to go ahead and order Life of Fred: Fractions for Bug as a supplement/fun math book, and am still debating which of the elementary level books to get for Cricket. I think the author recommends just starting at the beginning for any kid under 4th grade... I'll have to double check his website.

History
We started reading from Year of Columbus: 1492 this week, and really enjoyed it. We also looked up images of the artwork mentioned, specifically da Vinchi's Last Supper and Michaelangelo's Pieta. We talked about Copernicus and what people thought about the shape and size of the world at that time. We've decided also to start some "social studies" again, focusing on world cultures, and finally putting into use my plans for Cricket for the year, since she is less involved in history than Bug. I think since we don't do tons of history, she could do both, and Cyrus can start integrating more mythology into his history studies. I also ordered a copy of Social Studies Through Children's Literature, which looks intriguing. Our library has Science Through Children's Literature though, so I placed that on hold.

Science
We learned a lot about farm animals this week, since we went to a friend's farm on Thursday. This was in addition to all we learned on Sunday about insects and snakes! At the farm, we got to hold one-week old-chicks, see a big cow that was a tiny little calf just such a short time ago! Cricket actually helped bottle-feed it as a calf. We learned about a few different breeds of chicken, and in the car on the way home, we discussed family versus factory farms, proper chicken care, and vegetable gardening. Tomorrow, we are off to an insect-fest hosted at the local university!

Geography
We started reading from Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels this week. The first chapter is about the Bay Bridge, stretching 8 miles from San Francisco to the East Bay. The kids were recently on that bridge when we drove across it on our way home from Disneyland, so they could picture the bridge quite well. Mr. Halliburton's descriptions are awesome, and I think we will really enjoy this book! I had a hard time setting it down when skimming through it before reading aloud. Even M came to listen in on this reading, and really enjoyed it.

Literature
Family reading this week was mainly Nurse Matilda, which sets the kids off in riots of laughter. Bug is still re-reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and The Children of Green Knowe, as well as Calvin & Hobbes. I read from Squids Will Be Squids to the kids several days this week, and I read from All of a Kind Family Downtown to Cricket.

Other
Bug continued working on computer animation and physics. Cricket continued to be the cook's assistant for most dinners. We also went to a show at the local center for the arts... The Golden Dragon Acrobats! It was awe-inspiring, and we had a great time.

And that's really about it! Have a good weekend... I think we will!

Wordless Wednesday...

Through the car window (hence the water droplets) on my way to work.

Homeschool Resource Meme

Saw this on another blog, and she said to play along if I liked, so here we are!

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.
The Relaxed Homeschool by Mary Hood. This is my go-to book when I am feeling that we might not be doing enough, or I find myself overplanning.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without.
The library! We can put books on hold from three counties, check out movies and audio books... if I didn't have the library we'd be broke from homeschooling alone!

3. One resource you wish you had never bought.
Hard one. I think I have learned something about what works and what doesn't from every purchase I have made, and I have managed to resell the things that didn't work.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year.
Explode the Code. It is straightforward, easy to use, and works! Besides, the kids like the humor in it.

5. One resource you will be using next year.
Teaching Textbooks. It is a great program for us this year, so we'll definitely be continuing with it.

6. One resource you would like to buy.
A really good microscope, specifically this one: Ultimate Binocular Microscope for Home Use. However, the price is well beyond my range, so I think we'll stick with the very good one that we already have.

7. One resource you wish existed.
An inexpensive machine that would correctly print and bind ebooks right here at home.

8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.
Home Science Tools and Acorn Naturalists. Don't make me choose between the two!

9. One homeschooling website you use regularly.
Well Trained Mind, specifically the forums. There are so many people on there with so many different approaches! While I don't follow the WTM approach, I still get a lot out of the forums.

10. Tag other homeschoolers.
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Our Homeschool Journey
Two Kid Schoolhouse
Wild Roots