Science is...well...fun!

When I would hear nature study I would cringe. I mean how do you measure and evaluate such an animal? You don't and that is the beauty of it. You look, listen, enjoy, and just revel. We took a hike through a local park and the things the kids notice now is just, well, a homeschool thing. Here is some of what we saw.

It appears to be an egg sack we think? Cool to say the least. A great variety of fungi and stuff went well with our recent discussions.

Okay so maybe that cute thing holding the leaf was not found out in the woods....but an awesome example of nature anyway! Much to Chickie's dismay, these were not just seeds that she touched, but fox scat. The big eeeewww for the day but educational to say the least. We also encountered a frog, lots of water spots, geese flying overhead in the classic V formation, and showers of falling leaves. Wonderful time spent in the woods!

School so far...

When we started the year I was bent on trying to get Big Mac to be the perfect classical student. WE WILL be a note taking, encyclopedia reading, outlining machine!!! No. Not happening. She is not that type of student. Regroup....
Ok, I am backing down on my classical aspirations and decided that Charlotte Mason is more my style. I rearranged the classroom and am bringing a LOT more living books into our lives. I am making read alouds a priority as well. I have turned back to WWE 3 for Big Mac as well. WWS was not working.
Things that are working are:
Phonics Road
Latin for Children
Horizons math
Nature study
and this week we start Trail Guide Pathways of Exploration! So excited!!

I am letting nature dictate Nature Study and we go with the flow. Since squirrels abound I got a bunch of books on squirrels, including this one which looks really good!

Our rotation schedule seems to be working out well. This week Chickie is off and she does really well at entertaining Mini monster. It is a bit of work keeping track of who did what in history since I run them together, but since Big Mac needs more depth I can use this week to do that with her.

Wildlife pastry? Not quite!

Here are some pretty peculiar nature finds. Since they grew in the leaves under a cherry tree it was safe to assume that they were some form of fungi. But which one? Thank goodness for Google. After searching online and in the Handbook of Nature Study we concluded that there delicate looking things were earthstar mushrooms! The ones shown at left are the miniscule variety. The ones we have are about twice that size.
The small top pouch contains spores that puff out as it dries out. Looks like we will be stopping for some unscheduled nature study tomorrow as we sketch and research fungi! Oh the boundless freedom of homeschooling!

AHHHHH spiders

Quite in line with the current nature theme and the fact that we are nearing Halloween, spiders abound! We have a big, ugly, orb weaver on a bush on the side of our house. I guess to his mom he is pretty-lol. His beautiful web is about 2 feet across. Later in the day we went out to check on him and he was not alone!







He had a meal with him! Stink bug roast to be exact! EEEWWW.
The girls did their own drawings of Mr. Spider in their nature journals and we will keep checking on his progress!

Another peek at nature!

So this past spring Chickie found a bird's nest with some ummm...remains in it. She wanted to examine it and I suggested letting nature take its course and wait until it was just bones. Well last week she decided to dig the nest out of hiding. What we found was pretty amazing. Yes those little tiny things, compared to Big Mac's thumb, are bones!!!

Schoolroom Revamp!

I took the whole day (yes we skipped school!) and worked my butt off to get our school room the way I want it. Not totally done but almost there! I know I should have gotten this done this summer but the mood wasn't there and I have to motivated to get these things done. First I took a big ugly shelf that I hated, turned it on it's side, added contact paper...and voila! It gives me book storage as well as a shelf for Jeffrey's science books. I also cleaned up the bigger shelf and organized the girls individual shelves for their books.

Then I redid the hutch top and cleaned up
an area for play for Tristan. Like I said; still working but getting there.

Oh the weather outside is...delightful!

On sunny and warm fall days it is nearly impossible to get kids to sit. Thankfully it is also Columbus Day and since the public schools are out we cut off the day and I let them go. That is giving me a chance to finally sit and look through Latin For Children. It appears to be a delightful, home recorded series of lessons featuring a dad and his daughters!
Last year we used Prima Latina but since this uses classical pronunciation we will have to shift things a tiny bit. It is a series of 3 courses so we will be set for Big Mac until the end of 8th grade. I am expecting at that point to move her into HS level Latin or just go on to Spanish. Not sure how this will jive with The Latin Road to English Grammar that I would like Chickie to complete. Hmmmm....need to think on that.
I may just have to see how this goes for the rest of the year before deciding. I did purchase an old version of The Latin Road with cassettes that I need to buy the CD's for if they will coincide. Otherwise I will be hunting for a cassette player! This program is a grammar/spelling program that takes 4 years (1st-4th) to complete. Then you complete the Latin Road so that upon entering high school you have essentially completed Latin altogether. So far Phonics Road 2 looks great and the girls are learning tons about spelling rules. Heck, I am learning spelling rules!

Wordless Wednesday

Nature Study

Science......yuck. I really don't like science which stinks as a homeschool mom. I am trying my best to get in touch with my inner nature girl. Nature study is the best way to just stop and see what is about you. There are several WONDERFUL blogs that can direct you. Here are a few:
Handbook of Nature Study
Backyard Nature

This book is a bit daunting but has everything a person might need to know about nature:







Another great one is this which is much less intimidating

















Sometime the best nature interactions are the unplanned ones. For instance, the other gray and foggy morning I noticed the many spider webs visible on the bushes out front. That's all it took to send them flying out the door in their PJ's. An orb weaver in all its glory has left a real treasure! Another creepy treat is the funnel spider webs which make me shiver...but not in delight!















Ahhhh...there's our sinister little friend! EEEEWWWW.
At any rate they proceeded to draw white spider webs on black paper and now notice every web they get near. Mission accomplished-they got into it.

Our 2011-2012 Curriculum

It has been a burden this year to decide on and stick with a curriculum! I am a tweaker by nature. I also love curriculum in very unhealthy ways! I am always looking for something wonderful to jump out at me. I do the same with diets; obviously to no benefit as I have yet to lose weight...until now. Intermittent fasting. Simple, effective, and so easy to follow. I have no problem declining food. I have issues with staying on track when I CAN eat. This solves the problem. I eat for 5-6 hours of the day and not for the next 18. It essentially becomes a meal and a snack in terms of calories. What does that have to do with curriculum? Simple. I need to look for the more obvious and easy path so I stop the constant wondering, looking, and searching.
For me it has come down to 2 choices. Tapestry of Grace will be my choice for when Big Mac is older so that I am thorough. For now I am incorporating Charlotte Mason with a classical undertone. So far this is what we are planning on carrying through with:

Big Mac
Horizons Math 6
Phonics Road 2 & 3
Writing with Structure
Mr. Q's biology
Nature Study
Latin For Children
American History using Guesthollow's American History 1 with Ambleside added reading
Poetry Study(1 per 12 weeks)
Composer Study(1 per 12 weeks)
History outlining/note taking ala TWTM (just a touch)
Geography with Beautiful Feet Books guide

Chickie
Horizons Math 2
Phonics Road 2
Real Science 4 Kids Biology
Nature Study Fridays
Latin For Children
American History using Guesthollow's American History 1 with Ambleside added reading
Poetry Study(1 per 12 weeks)
Composer Study(1 per 12 weeks)
Geography-through map study and living books

Wildman
Wildman is a puzzle. As an auditory learner he struggles with printed letters yet he knows the sounds and name connection. Odd.
Delightful Reading
Singapore Math
Elemental Science Intro to science
Geography through living books and map study
poetry/fairy tales/Burgess books

Salt maps, and paint, and color wheels oh my!

So having a few free moments when the little guy was sleeping I decided to pull the art stuff out onto the deck and get some messy things out of the way.

First, the girls have been making a salt map of Central and South America to depict where the Mayan, Incan, and Aztec empires were. We haven't done much with geography so I am trying to get it into gear for our light summer work.(Yes they will be working through the summer on a light schedule)

The Andes mountains were part of the labeling so those are actually molded in their map to make them more evident. I thought they came out pretty good for our first attempt!Tomorrow we will add labels for cities and some other things.

Then Chickie needed to explore tertiary colors as part of art. This was done on a wheel copied onto cardstock. That worked well and she was pleased with the results.

That of course led to a bit of "free art" aka mess!

What am I????

I have struggled with my religious beliefs, or lack there of, for many years. As a kid I remember doubting even the best "miracles" in the bible. I remember memorizing the church service to the point that I could recite it along with the priest. Did I feel anymore than boredom? No, never. As an adult there have been many times that I stand in the church thinking, "Seriously? All this pomp and circumstance is so unneeded. Why go through all of this?"
I don't believe the bible is anymore than a novel. I don't believe in miracles. I think organized religion is a control device and political machine originally designed to gain power back in early times. I don't believe in judgment day or the second coming. I don't believe prayer works in terms of a godly intervention.
Here is what I do believe:
We should live our lives honestly and truthfully and as good people.
There was some sort of higher something that put the universe into action but does not take any role in the day to day living of beings throughout the universe.
Organized church is a crock and the catholic church is the most hypocritical of all.
Dead is dead.
I believe prayer may have worked because of the positive vibes it brings the people being prayed for(power of positive thinking).

Please take some time out of your day to let me know just what you think I am.

Spelling Woes

Some people are natural spellers. I am one of those people so I really have trouble relating to those who can't spell. I actually cringe when I see obvious spelling errors in adult writing/typing. My sweet girls are opposites. Big Mac really has a hard time while Chickie spells everything I throw at her so well that she is currently spelling on a 4th grade level at age 7. What do you do for an older student who has these issues?
First I got the eyes checked. Fine. So I started to look at overall academic work. Seems to be all about par except for reading and spelling. The former is a result of simply being a reluctant reader, but I did notice that she often guesses at words prematurely. Now what?
Off to consult with a real authority, Susan Wise Bauer. One of her audio lectures discusses this problem of reading and spelling that shows up at about 4th grade. Voila! I think this may be it.
Here is the solution I came up with using her suggestions. I took Phonics Pathways, which is a reading program, and looked through the rules that it taught. Wasn't I shocked to find that it actually had a section in the back called, "Spelling Strategies". The instructions are straight forward and easy to follow. This week she copied the rules for C, K, and -ck usage in words, copied several words and wrote them 3 times, had a few small tests with words from these categories and did well. It outlines how to set up your notebook and what to do each step of the way. I can't comment on how well it works as of yet, but will be more opinionated in about 2 months or so I'm sure. You can find the book on Amazon and it retails for $29.99, but they often have discounts on books.

Spring Break 2011

Well last week consisted of a lot of this! Sand, sun, surf, pool!
Easy living on Hilton Head Island at our Marriott timeshare, Surf Watch. We fell in love with it years ago and are sure to get there at least once per year. I tried really hard to bring educational books with me that pertained to the beach but I found that I was enjoying some downtime and didn't get in all I wanted. We did do a nature walk and wrote down trees, flowers, and bushes that were marked. We had a lovely family of ducks in the resort pond that entertained us as well. An Earth Day trash pick-up proved to be a great morning of finding ocean wonders, although this excellent find happened completely by accident when the tide was waaaaaay out. We have another fall beach trip planned that I will be more prepared for so I hope some of the books I got will be of use then. All in all it was a great week and I brought home some tan and happy kids! Now back to work-ugh!

Life rolls on.....

It seems that finding time to blog is nearly impossible! I have started TOG (Tapestry of Grace) and will blog on my results later. As for today......Wildman turns 5!!! We did his birthday on Sunday and Soccer Star designed him an Angry Birds cake! I have to say that it really did look amazing. While he spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's the girls took to decorating and organizing games for him. He was very surprised to be the celebrity when he got home that night. He is such a unique and crazy little guy. I have discovered that he is an auditory learner which makes the alphabet a bit of a challenge for him but we are about 3 letters away. He has most of the sounds though, which is great. I am waiting for all of the signs to start active teaching but he is still just a little boy who would rather throw balls and play with dirt. Sigh. Like I said....life rolls on!

Science abounds!

We are studying Earth science and have recently talked about earthquakes and volcanoes. No by no means did I need the Pacific Plate to cooperate for demonstration!
The girls made a homemade salt dough volcano.
We shaped it around a water bottle on a cookie sheet, then let it dry and painted it.



When it came time for it to explode we made sure that all the kids were home to enjoy. Red food coloring added a great touch and the salt dough, which had dried for 3 days, really held up against the liquid. On a second attempt we had a worm-like thing erupt which created more laughing than science!

Next we will be ordering some ladybug eggs to hatch in our habitat for a spring activity. Right now we continue with rocks and fossils as our study.

The time has come America!

As I sit and read Little House in the Big Woods to my girls I can't help but wonder if we will be returning to the time where simplicity and hard work are the standard? We Americans are disgustingly spoiled. Some of our biggest choices are whether to get a latte or a manicure! How did we get so shallow and lazy?
As the girls and I study history I keep thinking of the latin phrase they memorized. Historia Magistra Vitae. History is the teacher of life. Why have we not yielded to what history has taught us? Hasn't every strong and unbeatable empire in history fallen at some point? Do we REALLY think that our very young country is immune to invasion, civil war, and total upheaval? It is not ladies and gentlemen. It isn't. The direction we are headed is scary to say the least. Our history of excess and greed has set us up to fall in a VERY big way. The question is, "Are you prepared?" I am not but I am planning.
What does planning for imminent disaster require? Well simply we need to stop depending on meeting our needs from outside sources. We need to start, even in the smallest way, to begin to reclaim independence. I just read an article that stated simply that 3% self-sustainable is a far cry from 0%. We all know what needs to be done and here is the short list:
1. Garden and can. That simple. If grocery trucks stop running for 1 week the effect will be devastating. With gas prices soaring and no rest in sight it is a real probability that groceries could go up by as much as 300%. What will you do? I have a plan for deck boxes and more garden space that I will add to each year.
2. If possible have chickens. They aren't allowed in my neighborhood but if the shit hits the fan I will be getting some regardless.
3. Have an alternative source of energy. Not a generator but solar power. If a major grid goes down, which it has already done, we could be without electric for weeks. I would love to get 2 or 3 panels on the roof to compensate.
4. Water source. Do you have a backup source if you live off town water? I don't actually have a back up source but I do have 30K gallons of water in my back yard that could be cleaned and used to drinking.
5. Stock up. Slowly I will be stocking the essentials that last awhile. Batteries, canned goods, sanitizer, bleach, meds....you get the picture. There are many people who are collecting silver coin and gold because they may be the go-to barter item in the event that banks go down.

Does this sound nuts? Maybe. Is Glenn Beck nuts? He may be but he has also been very right many times. Will I need to supplement my family's food? Maybe. Will walking to the grocery store be an essential? Maybe. Tough times are ahead my friends and we are kidding ourselves if we think that this country is going to fix itself. Just think and make a few changes. That's all I ask. Some day soon lattes will not be the luxury, but toilet paper and milk will be. Review history and you will see.

Hats off to the New Year!

So we begin a new year and with that comes many resolutions. Mine is to NOT make one and then feel bad about letting it slide. This year I have a few goals.
The first is to institute a chore chart system for ALL of the kids in order to track who does what and who gets paid what. I spoke with DH about the fact that it seems the kids are always in need of money for this or that. If they had set chores with allowance then we can lay the expenses back on them. By doing this we control how much money they get and they learn the valuable lesson of budgeting! I think in the long run we will actually save money.
The list of chores I believe they are capable of doing is a simple one:
1. Put away clothes.
2. Wipe down bathroom sink.
3. Dust a selected area.
4. Unload the dishwasher.
5. Swiff the kitchen floor.
6. Wet swiff the bathroom floor.
7. Collect garbage from all bathrooms.
8. Vacuum a specified area.
I don't think these are unreasonable or particularly hard to do so we shall see who gets what done. Obviously there will be limits to what the smaller kids can do but they give every job they get their best efforts!
On a personal level I need to do a few simple things.
1. Drink more water.
2. Walk a certain number of times per week for a specified number of minute(will increase over time)
3. Eat fruit/veg daily(more)
4. Cut down on caffeine and bad carbs
5. Cut back gluten

BABY STEPS is my motto for this year. I have learned that jumping in too fast only lasts for maybe a month. I hate exercise and that will never change!