Our Week : 6.18.11

Homeschooling mama is back! I'm sure everyone could hear the weeping and groaning from my house this week. No more lazy days of Netflix and Roblox. I'm kidding. The reality is that this past year has been incredibly stressful for my kids too. They've had to become very self-sufficient and learned a ton of life skills. They all help me so much and help take care of their baby sister. Thankfully, as I've gotten stronger, they've had to do less but that means it's time to get back to our studies.

I just learned about a free curriculum site, Lesson Pathways, from a new friend. I am such a huge fan of Charlotte Mason style homeschooling and this is not CM at all. But, we need something a bit different right now. So, we're giving it a try and so far are really enjoying it. It's so nice to have a bunch of links to information on the internet all together in one place. We made it to the library this week so I did get some books to supplement the online information as well.

We also squeezed in some craft time. My two middle kids have been begging to sew something on my sewing machine. We opted for some pillows for their first project. They traced a square washcloth onto their choice of fabric. Then they sewed and stuffed.

They came out great, funny faces and all! 

And the littlest one has been hard at work too. She has learned to clap this week. This is significant because it's one of the milestones that we haven't been able to check off the list. I wasn't worried because she was using both hands and passing toys back and forth, but it's good to see her figure it out. We still can't convince her to try crawling though. Here she is mid roll. That's her preferred form of transport right now. 

And I thought I'd share the poem that Boog wrote this week. He was supposed to make a list of things that bother him and he turned it into a poem. It made me chuckle just a little...

The Things that Bother Me

My brother’s a nuisance

My sister’s a pain

My dog’s a nut-brain 

And dishes are just LAME!

Bees i dislike

Whining i just hate

Spiders make me sick

And headaches make me shake.

All of these thing fill me with rage

I just wish i could make them go away!  

Homeschool Planning 2009/2010

I'm finally starting to figure out our plan for this coming school year. As I mentioned before, we've been going along fine with AmblesideOnline, but I felt like I needed to make some adjustments for our family. One of the things that I feel isn't really working very well for us is the history component of Ambleside. It really bothered Boog that we started kind of in the middle of history. It didn't help that I haven't been very good about making sure that we are doing timeline work to make that more understandable. So, I've decided that we are going to put more emphasis on history this year. Since we already own A Child's History of the World by Hillyer, we are going to start at the beginning and work our way through the book together as a family. I'm going to add in supplemental readings from the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History book as well as from books that I check out from the library. I also found this site that had great suggestions for activities and supplemental reading. For now, I'm going to put the history that AmblesideOnline has scheduled on hold. I want to give my ideas a try and see if it works any better for us. I'm also excited to start with prehistory because my 1st grader loves dinosaurs. I think this will be a great way to draw him into school this year.

I've decided to keep almost everything else as-is and go forward with the AmblesideOnline curriculum. So far, we've really loved the classic literature that is scheduled. My oldest said his very favorite book from last year was The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and he even wants to dress up as Robin Hood for Halloween. That makes my geeky heart proud. heehee We're still going to use MEP for math and since we never got to Real Science 4 Kids Pre-Level Chemistry last year, we're going to do that in the coming weeks. After I get it down on paper and have a few weeks to settle into our new routine, I'll post how it's going.

Homeschooling Update

working together to create a go-kart out of a cardboard box

It's that time of year again...when I look over what we accomplished last year and sigh. Somehow we never seem to make it through all my crazy lists - goals, books, projects. So looking over the past 12 months, we did accomplish a ton, just not what was on my list. I realized that we had so many extra things scheduled that we really struggled to get our "book work" done. Not that that was a bad thing, just that that's what happened. Also, the stress of Brad's layoff really did affect us as a family. I wasn't as focused on school as maybe I should have been and adjusting to having Daddy home all day every day maybe did affect us. After a couple of months, we did get into the groove and he was great working with the kids too. It's just that it interrupted our rhythm a bit.

found him reading in his bed today

But, for all that we missed, we gained so much. My oldest may not have read all the books I wanted him to read, but he did jump the hurdle to advanced reader. In fact, he's in the middle of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy now. I think that's a pretty amazing thing. My middle guy and I have made a lot of progress towards figuring out how best to work with each other. He's on his way to being a reader too. And my girl is chomping at the bit to start preschool this year. I think we are on track (whatever that means) and I'm not disappointed by our progress. Over the weekend, I plan on coming up with a plan for next year. I have some ideas for things I want to change to better meet our family's needs. I love AmblesideOnline and it will still play a huge role in our home learning, but I've had this nagging feeling over the last couple of months that I need to make some adjustments to make it a better fit for us. Hmm, I need to think about this some more. I'll post my plan soon!

Slugs on Mars

Since October, my kids have gotten together with a group of homeschool kids once a week to create and rehearse their very own opera. It's a program sponsored by the Santa Fe Opera. They match up a group of kids with two artists-in-residence to create an original work. Here's a press release about the 2009 student produced operas. We were so privileged to be a part of the program this year. Our artists-in-residence were incredible! The husband/wife team that led our group really brought out the best in all our kids!

The theme for this year was "life by the river." All the groups were to start with that theme for inspiration and then create their own story. I believe that all of the other groups were based in schools. We were really lucky to have a group for homeschoolers so close. The kids, through brainstorming exercises ended up with Slugs on Mars. (Yes, all of our kids have great imaginations!)

Here's the basic storyline. Slugs and snakes are happily living by a lake looking for food. (My youngest was one of the snakes. Isn't she cute!!) Aliens swoop down from Mars and suck them into their spaceship. Once back on Mars, the Aliens suck the slime out of them for slug and snake shakes and have a big party. The poor slugs and snakes cry for help. Many of the aliens feel badly for what they have done and seek the help of Mr. Sand.

B was Mr. Sand. The aliens ask him a bunch of questions like "Do you have purple underwear?" That one got quite a laugh from the audience. Then they ask if he can help. He gives them magic water that creates a river to heal the snakes and slugs and take them back to Earth.

Once back on Earth, the slugs and snakes think they're safe. But, the aliens come back looking for them. The aliens can't find the slugs and snakes so they go to Mr. Sand to ask him. Mr. Sand won't talk, so they say "You're fired!" Mr. Sand says "Maybe." And the slugs and snakes peek out from their hiding place and sing, "Maybe not today!!!!" The End!

They did such an incredible job! At the very last moment, my daughter decided she couldn't go on stage. The performance was held in a really large performance hall. It probably sat a couple of hundred?? There were three groups performing their operas on the same night, so it was really full, too. I ran her back to our seats. Once we were seated and the show was about to begin, she started wailing that she wanted to be with her brother. She wanted to be in the show. So, I jumped up and ran her back just in time for her entrance. Once she was on stage, she did great! C chose to sit this activity out. He felt like he would be best suited for the audience. ;) And he was a great supporter. He knew all the songs, but performing just wasn't his idea of a good time. In addition to being Mr. Sand, B also got to add to the music with some sound effects before his part on stage. He worked something that made a ratchet sound effect and something that made a great alien "wocka wocka" sound. It was such a wonderful night and great experience. I love that they saw the creative process through from the very beginning to the end. On the ride home, B was already asking if we can do it again next year!

Quick Update

Here's just a quick update on everything going on around here. I've been having problems with my computer for a couple of months. I finally took it in to the Apple Store last week, and they have it there now. I'm really hoping it gets fixed soon! Thankfully, it's still under warranty since we bought the extended warranty when we purchased it a couple of years ago. So, that's why I haven't been posting much. It just kept crashing on me. Not good! Last update was that the part it needs has been received and it's in the queue. I should have it back early this week. Yay!!!

Brad is still searching for employment. He seems to have phone calls and interviews nearly every week, but nothing more than that. I'm really proud of how he has stayed persistant with sending out resumes and following up on interviews, etc. It's been incredibly stressful, but we're hanging in there. We've had such generous gifts from friends and from people in our church who we have never even met. It's definitely been a humbling experience.

The kids have been doing well. B has been reading like crazy lately. I plan on posting reviews of some of the books over the next couple of months. I finally had to make a deal with him that he had to read some "school" books every day before his fiction. Right now he's in the middle of The Eldest written by Christopher Paolini (who was homeschooled by the way.) He's finished the first five books in the Harry Potter series, the first two books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the first two Leven Thumps books, the first three books in the 39 Clues series (all that's out so far) and the first Paolini book, Eragon. All of this over the last couple of months. I've been trying to pre-read the books (he is only 8 years old), but am having a really hard time keeping ahead of him.

Reading and sounding out words is starting to really click with C. I don't really push academics much for Kindergarten, preferring to wait until the First Grade to start formal work. However, we've been working through some phonics teaching and occasionally some math, mostly through games. I was shocked when C went shopping with me a few weeks ago. I was telling him how much I wanted to spend and how much a couple of items cost when he, without hardly even thinking about it, told me how much money I would have in change. I was shocked because I didn't know where in the world he learned how to do that. I knew I didn't teach it to him. ;-)

We have finally convinced A that she is in preschool and doesn't need to keep up with the boys. She loves to have her own school work. She really cracks me up. Lately, she's taken to sitting next to Daddy with one of her workbooks every morning. Apparently, he's much more attentive than I am. Last week, she saw that one of her friends could write her own name without help. She was very put out by that (a little competitive I think.) So I gave her an index card with her name printed on it in Sharpie. She kept practicing her name until the whole family room seemed to be covered in papers with her name on them.

Well, this update sure didn't end up being quick! Hopefully, I can post some photos of a recent knitting project this week. I also want to post how we made the coffee filter butterflies soon too since I think they came out so cute and are perfect for spring. Aaahhh, it all depends on when my Mac is back home. Is it unhealthy to miss a computer???

Tree Planting in the Bosque

I just love our Roots and Shoots group! Again, the kids and I had an incredible opportunity to do something really good for our community.


Yesterday we participated in planting 100 trees in the Bosque in honor of the 100th year since Aldo Leopold came to New Mexico. Here's a short article in the newspaper about the event.


It was hard work. As I was thinking about it today, I thought that the most inspiring part of the day was that our kids would have been happy to be out there even if there hadn't been news crews and dignitaries.


That's why I love this group so much!


And here's my sweet girlie girl after sliding face first on her belly down this dirt hill just before we were getting ready to leave. While I usually don't mind dirt, that's a lot of dirt!

Takin' the Bus

We had a really fun morning today. The kids have been bugging me for awhile to take the bus somewhere, anywhere. But, it just never worked out. Today it finally did! Yay! A friend and I with our kids took the bus down to the university to watch a fantastic performance. I love the shows that the university's theater puts on for kids. The shows are geared towards kids and the audience is filled with kids. It's a great way for me to teach my kids about seeing performances without the pressure of an adult-focused show. Today's show didn't disappoint! The New Shanghai Circus was a show of Chinese acrobatics. The kids loved it although A was getting annoyed with me oohing and ahhing. It was a really fun way to celebrate the Chinese New Year!


After the show, we had to hustle back to the bus stop to catch our ride home. This time the bus was nearly empty. On the way there, the bus had been crowded with people heading to school and work. For $1 each way, it was definitely worth it. I was able to chat with my friend and the kids had their friends too. Even the bus driver came back to find out why we had taken the kids to the university (he thought they were a little too young for college) and tell them the most fun place to sit on the bus - the accordion section in the middle.

Music Will Never Be the Same in Our House

Today we went on a super fun field trip to the Apple store. One of the moms in one of our homeschool groups organized a class for our kids. It was complete with Apple field trip t-shirts. The kids brought in a favorite song to mix in GarageBand. Since we have a Mac, navigating the program was really easy for B. But, somehow we hadn't played with it at home. A and C were not as impressed with the class as B and I were. A kept asking, "Where are the apples?" LOL


I think B has found his calling. ;) He was the only one brave enough to actually record his own voice singing with his song. The guys working there loved him. My cute little computer geek! :P


When we got home (after stopping at one of mommy's favorite restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen, for lunch), the boys ran to the computer to "upgrade" more songs. B was playing a song that really didn't sound like one of our kid-approved songs. When I went to look, it was Kid Rock. He said he was looking through the list and it was the only one he could find that said "kid." I explained that it was not kid music. He couldn't understand why a guy would pick a name with "kid" in it if it wasn't for kids. Good question! Like I said, I may never hear my favorite songs again. At least without extra drums, sound effects and who knows what else.

First Presentation!

I am so proud of B today. He gave his very first presentation to one of our favorite homeschool groups. We're part of our local homeschool Roots and Shoots group. Roots and Shoots is part of the Jane Goodall Institute and it's founded on the belief that young people can change the world. They focus on three areas - human community, environment and animals. Everything really is about service and how to make a difference. I really couldn't say enough good things about the organization and our specific group. We have the most amazing leadership. These moms keep challenging the kids and giving them such incredible opportunities to serve. They have started having a day for the kids to give presentations about something that means a lot to them or something they've researched having to do with the Roots and Shoots mission. This time B did a short presentation on Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.

He was a bit nervous to get up in front of everyone. There were about 25 or so parents and kids there today. He wasn't even feeling very good. He woke up congested (probably got my yucky cold.) But, he was determined to go today and share with everyone about the ranch. He talked about their mission and the horses. He passed around some photos I had made into 8x10's of the kids riding at the ranch. We're getting a chance to bring our Roots and Shoots group out to Galloping Grace next week to work, so he shared with them the kinds of projects we'll be doing next week. He did such a great job! Even A got up at the end to tell how to give the horses treats. So cute! (I don't have a picture of that because she needed some mommy help.)

Halloween is Almost Here!

Here's a preview of this year's costumes. B is Indiana Jones. C is a Texas Ranger. And A is a Flower Fairy. Just before I took the picture she handed me her wings and told me she didn't feel like flying anymore today. ;) We had a Halloween party with our homeschool group today at the park. The kids had fun wearing their costumes and filling up their trick-or-treat buckets. They can't wait for Friday!!!

New School Year

Well, we are in the midst of gearing up for the new school year. Over the last two years, we haven't really followed a schedule very closely. We were still finishing up some reading from last year's list over the last couple of weeks. However, I'm going to really try to get through our first term of Ambleside by the beginning of December so that we can take December off. My plan is to start Monday. B will be doing AmblesideOnline's Year 2 and C will be doing Ambleside Year 0. Year O is really just a reading list so we're going to try to work through the list, with a little bit of math and phonics mixed in. I plan to keep it really light for Kindergarten. But, I did want to start to get C into a good routine. I think it will help him to know that every morning we sit down to do something "schoolish" together. If they only knew how not "schoolish" we are here. lol Of course, A really wants to do school because of her big brothers. I ordered her a Lauri Preschool Pack from Rainbow Resource. I put that in her school basket along with a new book of fairy tales and some of the Year 0 books.

I think we're almost set. I have some things to print off this weekend for their notebooks - maps, copywork, Bible story checklist. But, I think we're pretty well prepared. I'm actually getting excited. It's going to be a challenging term as far as outside activities. I'm having a hard time saying no to things that sound so fun! ;-) So far we have both boys in AYSO Soccer, A is in gymnastics, they are all doing baseball club, B is starting swim lessons, the boys are taking science classes from the children's science museum, Roots and Shoots, Opera Class...yikes! It will definitely not be a boring year!