Flexibility Rocks...to a Point

Today was one of those days (back to a structure after several weeks off) where I was able to keep on task with the kids and still stay flexible. Personally, this is a real achievement and required me to be in a good mood, well-rested, and most of all, flexible.

When A.J. started wandering over toward his little sisters while we practiced knots, I reminded him that I wasn't teaching him knots so that he could tie up his siblings. However, when he tied the rope to an empty soda can to make a "can whip," I let him go with it, providing there was no contact! (Those YouTube videos were a lifesaver, let me tell you!).

I also added the element to Science Wednesday of watching one video from The Happy Scientist. We get a free subscription as part of our membership with The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers. I let A.J. pick the video and watched it with him--polarized lenses turned out to be much cooler than it sounded ;)

With the girls, we drew on the whiteboard instead of in our lesson books and when Lily showed no interest in drawing 4s and instead wanted to draw trash bags, I improvised. "Oh, no!" I said with plenty of drama. "Look, someone threw away all these fours!" I also drew Fourbots because Lily wanted to make robots this morning.

Then, we dug into our box of recycle materials and made fourbots out of old Chinese food containers and paper and tissue rolls. A.J. even joined in.

Then, Lily made herself into a robot, just like Curious George did.

We had lots of fun, stuck to the topics (we certainly experienced the number four in a very physical way, which Oak Meadow recommends for learning letters and numbers), and practiced flexibility. I wish most days could be like that.

A Day in the Life of Our Homeschool: We Have a Visitor

Today, we had a guest in our homeschool. The kids' friend Riesling got to come for a sleepover, and they had a blast. They squeezed every moment for life and fun. Riesling decided to join us this morning for school (the girls' Oak Meadow Kindergarten studies, Lesson 5). We did circle time with songs, rhymes, and games, and then moved onto a craft with the number 2. Then, we moved outside to do tree rubbings (leaves and bark) and just to have fun. Finally, we had our second tea party this week (to go with the story The Pie and the Patty Pan by Beatrix Potter but tons of fun in its own right).

Here are some pics of our great time.

We had a guest this morning for school: Riesling! She joined us in making the number 2 with glue and glitter and colored sand.

Lily's glue and glitter (and sand) 2s.

Riesling shows off her 2 while Lily works on hers.

Ginny trying her hand at a rubbing on the clothesline pole outside. We also did tree and leaf rubbings all over the yard and experimented with rubbings on other surfaces, such as the brick on the house.

Our neighbors dogs kept barking at us in the backyard. So fierce.

Girls in Trees. We talked about getting to know the tree so we could be more comfortable climbing it. Lily still holds some fear, even though she loves climging.

Riesling and Lily in the Dogwood.

Ginny got up on the lowest branch all by herself. It helped when I told her to ride it like a horsey.

Another Tea Party! Two days in a row!

Homeschool Mother's Journal 3

The Homeschool Mother's Journal is a linkup via www.TheHomeschoolChick.com.

In my life this week…

We kept busy as usual, this week, although I'm always busier than everyone else, it seems, since not all of our activities involve all of our children. My husband does his fair share, too! We skipped a field trip because my plantar fasciitis was really acting up. I went to the podiatrist Thursday for a shot and am vowing to keep up with all the things that I am supposed to do to help it heal. I really hate not being able to walk. I let this go on too long before the initial treatment, and now, I'm afraid I psychologically associate so many activities with pain (walking, the grocery store, basically anything that involves standing around or walking for more than a few minutes). It's something that I'll have to deal with for sure.


In our homeschool this week…

My husband officially started the Oak Meadow 5 History and English curriculum with DS (10) this week. As I sort of expected, there was much gnashing of teeth, after which lessons were done. I am hoping this smoothes itself out soon. They are both much too independent (and maybe just a bit stubborn ;)) to do what the other wants, and it can be stressful on those of us who just want everyone to get along!


My favorite thing this week was…

Okay, three favorite things: (1) seeing DS take a real interest in Scratch and start to do some work with it independently, (2) milk painting together, an idea that I got from the web and pinned on Pinterest (see below for picture), and (3) taking DS out to the Japanese steakhouse to eat at the Hibachi and celebrate his 11th birthday a little early.

What’s working/not working for us…

Not working: My feet, obviously. :) Also, my four-year-old seems to be having some self-confidence issues, at least when it comes to guided art. Whenever we try to draw a certain picture, she seems to think that if it doesn't look like mine or even a simple line drawing, it's not good enouogh, and she wants me to "help" (aka draw it for her). I try to be encouraging but so far, no dice. I'm seeking advice and may just stick to free drawing or even "why don't we draw a picture that reminds us of what we read about." With free drawing, she's happy and imaginative. I'm not sure why she compares herself to me or others so much, as I have tried not to do that. Maybe just natural human behavior. One step at a time, I guess.


Things I’m working on…

There is not much time beyond work, but I just bought UDraw game tablet for the Wii, and I hope to play around with it a little this week. DS's birthday is Monday, so it's gonna be a busy one!

I’m reading…


I haven't started anything new yet, but I just finished reading Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden book 1) by Charlaine Harris. It was my first e-book checkout from the library. I have a ton of both paper and e-books in my stack to read, so I'm sure I'll find something new.


I’m cooking…

Plenty this week! DS and I cooked American apple pie for World Cooking. The girls and I made homemade whole grain crescent rolls during school time. The girls also helped me with some baked apples, which I burned by leaving them in the crock pot too long (who knew you could do that?).


I’m grateful for…

A couple of weeks where we've gotten most of our lessons done (thanks to handing over history and English to DH) so that I can at least see how Oak Meadow really works for our kids and how we work together. I already know I need to schedule in a little more free time (for myself as much as anyone), even if it means other busier days.


A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

One of our milk painting examples. They changed constantly. You get the most color when you put all the drops of color in that you want before you stick in the soap-covered toothpick.

One: A Meme Post

I was tagged by Steph over at Confessions of an Erratic Homeschooling Mom for this one. Tag me back if you continue it. I'd love to read your posts.

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed: Homeschooling: The Early Years by Linda Dobson. This gave me a great start and talked about the different philosophies and encouraged us to go our own way.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without: The Internet :)

3. One resource you wish you had never bought: Science kits from The Young Scientist Club. I really need to not buy things like this unless I have plans to use them immediately. My oldest at least generally doesn't have the motivation to get them out and use them on his own, not when the computer is sitting right there. We have remaining a stack of about 20 of these kits (it was a monthly subscription) that we have yet to use, and it was a bit difficult to cancel once I decided to end it. Maybe someday we'll get to all of them...

4. One resource you enjoyed last year: Gleamer at Raw Learning for planning so many great field trips.

5. One resource you will be using next year: I'm adding "New" to this since we'll still be doing field trips with Raw Learning. This year we're adding curricula from Oak Meadow. I'm looking forward to continuing to explore and learn with it with the kids.

6. One resource you would like to buy: Oh, I can't just stick to one here, but some of the things on my wish list for homeschooling are a butterfly garden, Horrible Histories, and The Waldorf Book of Poetry.

7. One resource you wish existed: A group of secular homeschoolers in my small hometown. I've been able to hook up with homeschooling parents of younger kids (my daughters' ages) here in town (although not too many secular ones), but we have had to drive to meet up with kids any older, enough so that I often wish we moved closer to them, even though I like my town for the most part.

8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading: Rainbow Resource Catalog. Are there any others? Honestly, if there are, I don't get them. The one marketing thing I could use, and I somehow missed the mailing list.

9. One homeschool website you use regularly: Facebook and Google probably give me all the information I need. I really don't use any one regularly, although I might be visiting the Oak Meadow web site more as the school year rolls on. Now, e-mail lists, I have plenty of those!

10. Tag six other homeschoolers: I'm still exploring the homeschool blogosphere, so I'll be sure to tag some friends as a note in this post  as a note on Facebook :)

The Homeschool Mother's Journal 1

This is my first go at an entry for The Homeschool Mother's Journal, a linkup through www.TheHomeschoolChick.com, but I'd thought I'd give it a try. It seems like a great way to stay connected with other mothers on the homeschooling journey.


In my life this week…


It's been busy, getting started with our new curriculum (Oak Meadow with some modifications) and running around a lot, to appointments and even a Mom's Night Out, followed by lots of work. Sometimes, it feels like I never stop going. My Aspie continues to present challenges, of the good and not-so-good kind, but I try to take it one day at a time.

In our homeschool this week…


We jumped in on Tuesday and did some work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday was full of driving and appointments and work, so that was kind of an off day, although I did do circle time with my younger ones before I left and gave dad a project to do with them while my son and I were gone (making "bodies" out of modeling clay). I am not holding much hope for next week as it's a short week followed by a trip out of town for the weekend.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…


I've started using the basic/free version of Homeschool Tracker software. I was using some online software, but it was getting rather cumbersome. Although it would be ideal to have almost everything put in ahead of time, I can put in assignments after they're done, which is helpful, and it also has a handy "daily journal" section that I can use for short notes. I can also post a copy of my blog (sans pictures) there. I'm not sure yet what the full version entails, but the basic version is pretty handy on its own.

I am inspired by…


Why can't I think of anything/anyone? Guess I'm not feeling that inspired lately. I am just really focused on getting by and finding something that works on a more long-term basis for our family. I guess I admire those that have found the balance, or at least some semblance of it.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…


My oldest goes to karate twice a week. Other than that and doctors/therapist appointments, we haven't been "going" that much this summer, partially because of work and also for me to heal my plantar fasciitis up somewhat. However, next week, a two-hour drive to Boxerwood Gardens in Lexington, Virginia, is on the calendar, as well as a drive to New Jersey to visit my in-laws, where I will be taking my oldest to Six Flags Great Adventure. He has recently developed a real interest in roller coasters. Now, if only my nerves can take them!

My favorite thing this week was…


Gathering leaves and flowers with the kids to press and Mom's Night Out. Nothing like an evening out with the girls to perk you up. :)

What’s working/not working for us…


Cooking breakfasts ahead of time lately (pancakes and/or egg casseroles) has really helped get my mornings off a little faster so that I can get my "me" time (to work out and shower) and still get homeschooling done before work in the afternoon.


The scheduling is still a challenge, though, and I continue to wish that I could afford and have a trusted child care provider for just a little time each week so that my life had a few breaks and wasn't just a schedule of work-sleep-kids-work-sleep kids. The pockets of "family time" or just "relax time" have to be stolen from one of those items, and it never works out well.

I’m reading…


Just finished some of my happy fluff reading (Nora Roberts, Happy Ever After) and am reading the current edition of Voice (the magazine of VaHomeschoolers), in which I have an article, and Freezer Pleasers, which I picked up at the Green Valley Book Fair.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…


My son and I really enjoyed this video of the rarely seen African Golden Cat, not much bigger than a house cat:


National Geographic: African Golden Cat

First Day of School

On a whim, we started school today. After I realized that planning was getting overwhelming, I thought that that maybe we should start things a little more slowly instead of jumping in headfirst with all subjects at once. I also haven't gotten all the supplies we need for every subject for the first few weeks, and it might be a while before I can. So, I thought why not start with what we can do?

The kids all agreed, so off we go!

I started Monday evening reading Peter Rabbit to my girls. Then, we did circle time while breakfast was cooking, and I made a grand discovery! I've got a budding singer on my hands. Lily (4) loved doing the rhymes Lucy Locket and Little Miss Muffett. She had the first memorized before the morning was over.

Ginny (3) tried them, too. They both sounded adorable! I had to really watch our candle, which we light at the start of circle time and blow out when it's done. Ginny is still a bit too young to realize that she needs to be careful, but it went all right. A.J (10). even joined us to blow out the candle together.

Ginny, posing while we did our drawing. She's a ham for the camera.

 After breakfast and cleanup, we did the drawing exercise, focusing on the letter A. My drawing was of a garden gate, as in the Oak Meadow Kindergarten Syllabus. Lily seemed a little intimidated by it at first, but I encouraged her, gave her a few tips, about filling up the page and drawing the A in the gate, and told about how the word gate has the long A sound. I love it that she took what I said and still put her own spin on it, filling up the page with A gates. Forget the garden! Well, the point of this exercise is to make the letters real and tangible to them, which her practice was certainly doing. Also, in the evening, we took a walk on our town greenway and looked for As in nature and made As with sticks. She brought home bunches of dry leaves and sticks to add to our yard. It seems we don't have enough :)

My version of the A gate, as a guide.

Lily's completed picture. It's hard to see, but it's covered with yellow A gates.

A.J. and I also began our exploration of Scratch, MIT's free software for kids to teach them computer programming. They have some videos on their web site that help kids get started. A.J. learned how to choose and delete "Sprites," how to change their colors, and how to use effects on them, such as swirl and brighten that are initiated by mouse movement or space bar clicks. He really seemed to enjoy it and had a big grin on his face. The videos really only served as a starting point; once he got the idea, he was off and running.

A.J. getting his first taste of programming.

Ambitious

Whew. I finally got a draft of the first week's K and 5 schedules, based on the Oak Meadow curricula, written up for the kids. I am going to have to keep reminding myself to relax, breathe deep, and just see how it goes. I wonder if I shouldn't change it from a schedule to more of a checklist, moving on to the next area when we've finished the first? Maybe ease into it more? As I said, I'm just going to relax and see how it goes. It does look fun. And I'm sure we'll be spending more time outside and doing fun things like making letters out of bread :)

Well, this is what we're looking at for week 1 (which will probably be the first week of September). I want to have 2 or 3 weeks planned ahead of time. It's important, especially since I figured out today that the first reader was missing from my fifth grade set, and I had to order it. These things are bound to happen. As you can see, there is a blank or two to be filled in, as well.

Kindergarten Week 1:

Subject	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Notes
Circle Time	Opening verse Songs/fingerplays	Field trip day	Opening verse Songs/fingerplays	Opening verse Songs/fingerplays	Opening verse Songs/fingerplays	Start seasonal table
Morning Main Lesson (LA/SS/Math)	Review story/draw A Do A tongue twister		Do A tongue twister Go outside and gather sticks to tie in bundles and make As	Do A tongue twister Find tree branch As and tie a string to make As.	Do A tongue twister Walk and run the letter A Look for other As.	Creative play stations
Afternoon Hour (Arts, Crafts, Science, Music, and Health)	Recall summer/draw a picture of summer Press flowers to recall summer		Make bread snakes	Music/Movement: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and another song or finger play.	Health: Parts of the body.
Bedtime Story	“The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter

Notes

Supplies: crayons, flowers, recipe ingredients, Wee Sing CD, start gathering fall items for seasonal table.

Grade 5 Week 1:

Subject	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Notes
History/English	Vocabulary/grammar review Read Lesson 1 ("Explorers")	Field trip day	Intro to writing assignment/research	1. Plant shadow stick/measure 2. Observe North Star and night sky and note impressions	Spelling
Science	Read Science Lesson 1 (“Scientific Inquiry”)		Bird observation/ hypotheses/design experiment		1. Conduct bird experiment 2. Night sky poem/picture
Math				Lesson 1 to Skill A ("Common Denominators")	Remainder of Lesson 1 ("Lowest Common Denominators"
Computer Science			Scratch
Cooking					Pick a recipe or do bread with girls
Independent Work/Reading/ Writing/ Projects	Collect bird pictures and arrange by beak type	Read CC	Writing assignment

Notes

CC: Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz

Supplies: Bird pictures, encyclopedia, globe, stick, measuring tape, colored pencils and/or watercolors, recipe ingredients

I'm also stopping to tell myself right now to not be upset if the kids don't appreciate the work I put into this. They have a different perspective about this. I put this together for me, anyway, the schedule, that is. I don't want to be grasping or grossly unprepared when it's time to start. I am also open to spending more time on some topics and less on others, depending on the kids' interest. I'm already worried that DS will be bored with the math, even though we're using Oak Meadow Math 7 (7th grade). We may have to skip ahead to the more complicated stuff, depending on how he does.

I am also willing to take the very un-Waldorfish approach (from the little I know of Waldorf, anyhow) of using an Internet encyclopedia and letting DS do some of his writing on the computer if he wishes. We'll take things one step at a time.