Homeschooling - A Life

Homeschooling Change

2010-11-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

Since I last posted on this blog, life changes have made it necessary for me to send my kids back to school. Lucy is attending the local public school, and Matthew goes to preschool at a Lutheran Church. Lucy loves school, and has said she likes it more than homeschooling. I'm not really sure how to feel about that. I'm glad she's thriving at school, but part of me wants her to miss homeschooling! What she seems to like most about school is being around the other kids, and being able to participate in things like the radio show and after school art. She wants to be involved in everything!

In any case, I continue to supplement Lucy and Matthew's education at home, and I still think of myself as a homeschooler, even though I'm only able to do it part-time right now. At home Lucy and I are continuing to study history with the Story of the World series. Right now we're learning about the Renaissance, and are about to read about Martin Luther and the Reformation. I found a great picture book about Luther to supplement our Story of the World reading, Martin Luther: A Man Who Change the World, by Paul Maier. We'll continue to read about church history with the book Courage and Conviction, by Mindy and Brandon Withrow. We're also continuing Latin studies at home with Prima Latina. Last year Lucy did Latin through Rosetta Stone for free with a homeschool group. That was great, but no longer available to us without that group!

Lucy has also been working through division in Math U See Delta. She loves division, though she hasn't been very interested in math previously. And we're doing grammar with First Lanuage Lessons, by Peace Hill Press. Lucy does a lot of writing of stories and art at home as well, and we read together nearly every night.

We don't have a lot of time for our studies at home, with school and all the school activities Lucy wants to be involved with, but we work our way slowly through these, and will do more in the summer. So far Lucy has held on to her love of learning. She enjoys what she learns at school, and the teacher says she is the best student in class! Lucy is highly self-motivated and I think the years of homeschooling established that in her.

Meal Plan Monday: March 29

2010-03-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

My time in the kitchen has gotten much more complicated lately, ever since I decided to make everything I possibly can from scratch. This seems like a good way to bypass any unwanted, unnatural ingredients. But it's also immensely satisfying. I feel proud of myself for being able to make my own ketchup and salad dressings, and for trying more and more difficult recipes. And there's just something about using my hands, making things for myself that makes me happy. Why is that? I don't know!

Anyway, I've been spending a lot of time on either Saturday or Sunday baking and cooking for the week. This past Saturday I made homemade butter and buttermilk, deviled eggs (Lucy and I like to snack on them), homemade ice cream, and homemade bread (well, in the bread machine, so that was pretty easy.

Here's the menu for the week:

SUNDAY: went out for dinner and a movie with girl friends

MONDAY: pastured, local chicken dipped in homemade buttermilk then dredged in homemade bread breadcrumbs and fried in olive oil, served with brown sugar carrots and broccoli

TUESDAY: pasta with homemade sauce, salad with homemade dressing, bread from the breadmaker

WEDNESDAY: leftovers

THURSDAY: Pasta with Garlicky Roasted Broccoli (a new recipe), salad, bread

FRIDAY: Chicken with Pecan Crust, corn pudding, mashed potatoes

Click here to participate in Meal Plan Monday.

Weekly Wrap-Up: March 26

2010-03-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

This week was so much fun. It was full of so many activities, that the kids and I barely had any time at home. Lucy did a bit of math and some grammar, and she read a lot of supplemental history literature, mostly in the car to and from activities. We went on two field trips this week with our homeschool group. On Monday we saw a play of the book, Are You My Mother? and then toured a local newspaper office. And on Thursday we saw a play of Charlotte's Web, and then went to a local children's museum where we got to ride on their new carousel! The kids had all their usual activities as well: preschool, swim and gym, dance, and playdates.

Then today we went shoe shopping, which ended up taking several more hours than I had planned. As the kids and I sat in a local hamburger joint and ate lunch together today, I felt (probably too puffed up with) pride at how good their manners were, and pleased by how much fun we've been having together. This is one of the biggest reasons why I homeschool -- as we get to know each other better and better as the years go by, we enjoy each others company more and more. I wonder if this would be different if the kids spent most of their time at school. Of course, it also helps that my youngest is almost 4 years old now, and I don't have to worry about changing diapers or chasing a toddler around museums any more!

2010-03-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Outside my window... sun! It seems that spring has come early to the Midwest. I'm not complaining!

I am thinking... about getting on the treadmill and watching a show on HULU while I work out.

I am thankful for... my homeschool group. We get to do so many fun things through this group. Just this week we are seeing two plays!

I am wearing... jeans, gray hooded sweatshirt.

I am going... Matthew had preschool and Lucy had homeschool art class this morning. Now we are at home for the rest of the day.

I am currently reading... The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt

I am hoping... to plant seeds this week. It's my first attempt at seed starting indoors.

From the kitchen... apple meatloaf tonight. Also an oats and buttermilk snack cake to have around for snacking.

Around the house... setting up my new iPhone, lots of phone calls to catch up on.

From our studies... This is a light week this week, because of the above mentioned field trips. We don't have a lot of time at home this week, in between the field trips and our regular activities.

Listening to... the kids performing experiments with magnets. They tie a magnet to a string and hang it down over the 2nd floor balcony. Then they put a bunch of magnetic stuff on the floor of the hallway downstairs and see what they can pick up.

From my picture journal ... for some reason the button to add images has disappeared from my new post pages, so I can't add any pictures. I hope it reappears sometime!

Visit here to learn how to create your own daybook.

Weekly Wrap-Up: March 19

2010-03-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

Spring has come early to the Midwest, and we had a gorgeous week! We spent lots of time outside. We even walked to the beach on Tuesday. We did have to wear jackets, but we weren't cold and the kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand. We also tried out a new playground nearby, which will have a small splash park once the weather is consistently warmer (I see snow in the forecast for this weekend).

Lucy had her usual assortment of activities (dance, Girl Scouts, art class) and we had plenty of playdates too. Somehow we managed to squeeze in some schoolwork! We learned about the Diaspora and and about Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Lucy read lots of books: some on these history subjects, and others just for fun. She's trying to read 100 books this year. Looks like she won't have any problem with that!

Lucy has been working hard on math lately, and she's nearing the end of 3rd grade math, finally! It's taken about 2 years to get through the Math U See multiplication book, but I feel as though Lucy really knows the material well and she'll be well prepared to tackle division. Meanwhile, she's flying through 4th grade spelling and grammar. One of the best things about homeschooling is that Lucy can work at her own pace. I love that she's noticed that herself! This week she said something about how hard it would have been for her if she was in school, and she'd had to move ahead in math before she was ready.

For some reason blogger won't let me post pictures today, so later on I'll try to add a picture of our trip to the beach.

Click here to participate in the Weekly Wrap-Up.

Everyday Learning

2010-03-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that learning only takes place when we sit down and "do school." In reality, my kids are learning all day long. I'm trying to be more aware of this, to notice all the wonderful things they do on their own! The projects, the artwork, the pretend play, the reading, the outdoor play ... I suspect all these things contribute just as much to their education as the more deliberate learning times that we have. Today before we sat down at the school table, Lucy had already read an adaptation of a classical novel (Dracula) and worked on putting together a crane with her erector set. Before lunch she went up to her room and worked on some art projects, and now she's out on a bike ride with daddy. I'm looking forward to seeing what she decides to do this afternoon, before she heads off to dance class.

10 Random Questions

2010-03-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hello sorely neglected homeschool blog. I've been spending a lot of time writing on my new books blog, and apparently keeping up 2 blogs at once is a bit too much for me. But here's a fun quiz I thought I'd participate in:

1. What time is it right now? 11:14 a.m.

2. What are you wearing? jeans, black shirt, sweatshirt

3. What is your mood? Peaceful. I'm in the library by myself while Lucy is at homeschool art class and Matthew is at preschool. The sun is out and it's supposed to be warm today. The kids and I are planning to visit the beach later. The water won't be warm, but the sand will be fun!

4. What is one thing your children learned today? Not anything from me, yet. But probably something from preschool and art class!

5. What did you (or are having) for dinner? Trying a new recipe for Marmalade Chicken tonight.

6. What's one book you are currently reading? Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. I'll be writing a review of it later on my book blog.

7. What behaviour (in people) is the most common but also the rudest? Right now, talking loudly in the library and answering your cell phone in the library.

8. What can you see out of your nearest window right now? Lake Michigan

9. What are you currently praying for? friends who have lost their jobs

10. What is your favourite hot beverage? hot chocolate

Weekly Wrap-Up: January 16

2010-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Our week started off with the heat breaking on Monday morning. This has been an ongoing saga for over a year now, and at the end of the day we were informed that although the heat was working for the moment, we really should replace the entire system because it's just too old. AAAHHH! Not good news.

The rest of the week we had a lot of playdates and our usual activities, plus eye doctor and dentist appointments for Lucy. Compared to our first 2 years of homeschooling, we know a lot more homeschoolers now, and I've got to figure out how to manage all the potential playdates with the necessary time we need at home. I think I've gone a bit overboard with the social activities, but it's so exciting to have all these social opportunities all of the sudden!

We did manage to squeeze in some school work this week. We've started our new grammar curriculum, First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind. So far I'm loving this book. I've got a scripted teacher's book, which is helping me explain grammar concepts more effectively, and then Lucy has a workbook to go with it. Since it's published by the Well Trained Mind folks, it has a classical focus, which fits in so nicely with our other studies. For example, in the chapter about proper nouns, we're also learning the Greek and Roman roots for the days of the week and months of the year. So far we are flying through this curriculum, so I think the run-of-the-mill grammar workbooks we've been working through up to this point have done a fine job, but I love that First Language Lessons is complimenting and reinforcing our classical curriculum.

Lucy decided this week that she wants to say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "My Country Tis of Thee" each day before we start school. So she made a flag out of paper and we wrote down the pledge and taped these on the wall over our school table. I love it when Lucy comes up with something on her own that she wants to do for school. I'm hoping she'll do more and more of that as she gets older, and take more responsibility for her own education.

Lucy reached an important math milestone this week -- she finished memorizing her times tables through 12. She was very proud of herself. We'll continue to practice them, though, since she tends to forget some if we don't. This means we've nearly finished 3rd grade math. There are just a couple more chapters left in our 3rd grade Math U See book, and then we'll move on to division.

In history Lucy wrote down her own narration for the first time. She did a great job, though the narration was a lot longer than the exercise is supposed to be. I know that part of the point of narration is to learn to express your thoughts succinctly, so next week I'll have her work on editing it down to a couple sentences.

Wow, even though I felt like we did a lot of running around this week and didn't have much time for school, I'm amazed at what Lucy did accomplish. Sometimes I don't realize how much she's learning until I write it down like this!

The Simple Woman's Daybook: Jan. 11

2010-01-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... yes, you guessed it, it's still snowing! We've had only one or two days without snow since New Year's Day. Plus plenty of it in December. It's beautiful, but it's already getting a bit tiresome to have to drive around in it.

I am thinking... about trying to write a new poem this week.

I am thankful for... my fireplace. My heat stopped working sometime in the night, so we've had the fireplace on most of the day today while we're waiting for a guy to come fix the furnace.

I am wearing... workout pants, T-shirt, sweatshirt, sweater, hat, 2 pairs of socks, slippers.

I am going... we went to the eye doctor to get a new lens for Lucy's glasses this morning.

I am currently reading... see my book blog for this.

I am hoping... that our heat gets fixed tonight so we don't all have to sleep in the family room by the fireplace.

From the kitchen... see my Meal Plan Monday posting for this.

Around the house... laundry to put away, dinner to make

From our studies... We're reading The History of Counting this week, and learning about Australia during the Middle Ages, along with the usual assortment of math, writing, grammar, etc.

Listening to... the fireplace blower and the kids watching "Ice Age."

From my picture journal

Visit here to learn how to create your own daybook.

Meal Plan Monday: Jan. 11

2010-01-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Here's my Meal Plan Monday for this week. This is a loose plan, which I always end up changing a bit as the week goes on.

SUNDAY: Leftover homemade chicken soup that I ended up making on Saturday night, with homemade bread from the breadmaker.

MONDAY: Chicken Salad: chicken breaded with egg and panko and fried in olive oil, put over lettuce with blue cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, red onion, and a homemade vinaigrette. Serve with homemade Amish Cinnamon Bread. I received a starter batch for this bread from my sister. Boy is it delicious!

TUESDAY: Having dinner at a friend's house.

WEDNESDAY: Southeast Asian Stir Fried Rice. This is a new recipe I'm going to try out.

THURSDAY: Probably leftovers of the above fried rice. If there's not enough of that left, we'll have breakfast for dinner.

FRIDAY: Out to eat on a date with my husband. My parents are taking the kids for the whole weekend, so we'll most likely eat out on Saturday as well.

Tortellini Stir Fry

2010-01-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

SmallWorld at Home is looking for some new recipes. Here's one that I make it pretty often. It's delicious and very easy. Enjoy!

Tortellini Stir Fry

Ingredients
1 package tortellini, cheese-filled, refrigerated or frozen
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2-3 cups fresh chopped stir fry vegetables
1/3 cup prepared peanut stir-fry sauce
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
1/4 c. green onions with tops, sliced

Directions
Cook and drain tortellini. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetables; cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in pasta and peanut sauce; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Sprinkle with nuts and green onions just before serving.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Jan. 8

2010-01-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

We got back into schoolwork this week after taking most of December off. I think we were both ready to start back into a routine. Well, probably me more than Lucy! But there wasn't much complaining, in any case. The hardest adjustment was having to wake up early on Tuesdays and Thursdays again to get Matthew to preschool. And it doesn't help that we've been getting A LOT of snow here. It's snowed almost constantly since New Year's Day. We've got about a foot on the ground, and now we're expecting another 10-20 inches today and tomorrow. Whew!

We're continuing our study of the Middle Ages. History is Lucy's favorite subject, and she likes to come up with her own projects about whatever we're studying. Yesterday she made a diorama of a monastery, complete with monks and little Bibles, and even a desk for the scribes to work at.

Lucy went to a Girl Scout meeting this week, and then next week her dance class starts back up. Our new homeschool classes begin at the end of the month, with art, field trips, and we'll be doing some Rosetta Stone languages online. I'm just hoping the snow isn't too thick for us to participate in the classes!

Oh, and I did something I've been thinking about doing a long time this week. I started a book blog: http://marcijohnsonbooks.blogspot.com/

The Simple Woman's Daybook: Jan. 4

2010-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... snow, snow, and more snow. Living east of Lake Michigan we get a lot of "lake effect" snow. This is one of those winters where it seems to snow most every day!

I am thinking... about writing a review on my book blog. It's the first review I'm attempting to write, and I keep procrastinating!

I am thankful for... inter-library loan. My library is so small, it's hard to find all the books that I want to read. But I can order them from other libraries all over my state and have them delivered to my library.

I am wearing... jeans, funky socks, brown sweater, an extra sweater over that sweater to keep me warm!

I am going... we were supposed to go to a pizza party for our the homeschool group we just joined, but it got canceled because of the snow.

I am currently reading... My Life in France, by Julia Child. I just saw the movie "Julie & Julia" so now I have to read Julia Child's memoir.

I am hoping... that it won't snow too much for us to get to our homeschool classes this winter.

From the kitchen... leftovers!

Around the house... I need to mop the kitchen floor, but I keep putting it off.

From our studies... We're learning about China during the Middle Ages.

Listening to... a Glen Miller CD.

From my picture journal

Meal Plan Monday: January 4

2010-01-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here's my Meal Plan Monday for this week:

SUNDAY: Asian Appetizer Salad. I added chicken to this to make it a main dish.

MONDAY: Spaghetti with leftover homemade sauce. I make a simple sauce by sauteing garlic in some olive oil, adding a can of crushed tomatoes and some herbs, and a bit of sugar and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I top it with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. I'll serve it with a side salad and bread.

TUESDAY: Cheddar-Ham Oven Omelet. I don't have any ham, so I'm going to substitute bacon for it, and serve it with a green salad.

WEDNESDAY: Leftover Cheddar-Ham Oven Omelet.

THURSDAY: Chicken Salad. For this salad I coat strips of chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, and fry in olive oil. I add the chicken to a mixture of torn greens, dried cranberries, red onion, blue cheese, and sliced apple, and serve with a homemade vinaigrette.

FRIDAY: Noodles with bottled peanut sauce and stir fried veggies, frozen potstickers.

Out with the Old, in with the New

2010-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

While reading through the blogs that I follow, I came across this question in a survey, "What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?" Oh, ugh! What a depressing question! I felt like the year had been just like any other, with nothing new in it. We were supposed to sell our house and move to another state this year. Now that would have been new! But instead, we're still here in the same place, doing the same old stuff. The usual routine.

But the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that I had tried a lot of new things this year. None of them earth-shatteringly huge, as a move would be. But still, new. And they add up. Together they're getting me closer to the more simple and deliberate life that I want to live. Here's a sampling:

1. I made bread. Not just quick bread, but bread using yeast, and not in the bread machine. For some reason the idea of kneading and rising had intimidated me for many years, but this year I conquered my fear and made some delicious foccacia.

2. I ate grass-fed beef. After reading the book Real Food, by Nina Planck and watching the movie Food, Inc. I decided that I needed to buy meat and dairy products from animals that don't come from factory farms and instead are raised humanely on pasture. I found a grocery store nearby that sells grass-fed beef from a local farm, and then I found a local farm coop that I can join to buy directly from the farmer!

3. I bought a lot of local produce. I know local produce is the way to go for freshness and flavor (and for supporting local farmers), but I usually get lazy and prefer to buy all my food the easy way. In one place, at the grocery store. But this summer I stopped off at the farmer's market on my way to the grocery store, and bought whatever I could from the local farmers. Yummy!

4. I invented a recipe. I'm pretty proud of it. I've been watching "Chopped" on the Food Network, and it's given me some ideas about how to make my own creations in the kitchen. Sorry, I'm not going to post it here because I'm thinking of entering it into a cooking contest if I can find one.

5. I started using the classical method in my homeschool. I'd been thinking about it for a couple years, and I finally took the plunge. I'm glad I did. It's strong emphasis on history has turned Lucy into a history lover!

6. I finally joined a homeschool group. Classes start this month. The classes are through a public school district nearby, so everything is free. Lucy's taking a field trip class, an art class, and she gets to do 2 Rosetta Stone languages online!

For 2010 I'm starting a new blog, where I'll blog about the books I'm reading. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time and I'm finally taking the plunge. Visit me at Marci's Book Blog. There's nothing there yet, but there will be soon. My resolution is to update both of these blogs more regularly in 2010.

What new things did you do last year? What are you hoping to try this year?

The Simple Woman's Daybook Dec. 14

2009-12-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... very cold rain, that is supposed to turn to ice then snow

I am thinking... about the homeschool enrichment classes I just signed Lucy up for. She's doing a field trip class, 2 Rosetta Stone languages (Latin and Spanish) and art classes -- all for free through a nearby public school district.

I am thankful for... Facebook. Seriously! A friend from college just found me on there. We'd lost touch over 15 years ago and I'm so happy to be in touch with her again.

I am wearing... my workout clothes, which I never changed out of after exercising this morning.

I am going... we went to the library this morning. The library has an ongoing used book sale, and I bought 3 books and 3 magazines for less than $2!

I am currently reading... Ambition and Survival: Becoming a Poet, by Christian Wiman; Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin; Great Books, by David Denby

I am hoping... to bake some Christmas cookies this week.

From the kitchen... hamburgers for dinner tonight, with grass-fed beef.

Around the house... finishing up Christmas projects and wrapping presents.

From our studies... we've taken most of the month off school, but are continuing with multiplication, since it's taken quite a long time to get through that. But the end is in sight! Lucy knows all the times tables except the 8s and 12s. We've also continued this month with our history read-alouds, because the kids love them. We're reading books about the Middle Ages, along with The Story of the World.

Listening to... rain on the roof.

From my picture journal

Simple Woman's Daybook, Dec. 7

2009-12-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... gray clouds. We had about a 1/2 inch of snow this morning, then the sun came out and melted most of it. Now we're supposed to have our first winter storm of the season tomorrow through Thursday!

I am thinking... about trying to write some new poems.

I am thankful for... homeschooling friends who live very close by so that I'll be able to get out of the house and see people even in the middle of winter when the snow is piling up

I am wearing... gray fleece pants, black sweatshirt, my new slipper-boots

I am remembering... my first winter homeschooling, when there was so much snow I thought I'd go stir crazy stuck in the house with the kids all the time!

I am going... to take Matthew to preschool tomorrow morning. Not going anywhere today.

I am currently reading... "Saint Maybe," by Anne Tyler. Just finished "Real Food," by Nina Planck

I am hoping... to find out whether or not I'll be moving away from here soon.

On my mind... Christmas!!!

Noticing that... now that Matthew is 3 1/2 Lucy and he play together a lot more. Which means I have more time to myself. Wonderful!

Pondering these words... "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ..."

From the kitchen... leftovers. But this weekend I made up a new recipe, Fortune Cookie Encrusted Salmon with Hoisin Sauce. It was fabulous!

Around the house... I cleaned today, so things are looking good. I need to vacuum upstairs, though.

One of my favorite things~ listening to Christmas music by the fire while reading a book.

From my picture journal

To Do Tuesday

2009-11-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

Crazy Adventures in Parenting hosts a regular "To-Do Tuesday" where you're supposed to post your to-do list for the week. I thought I'd try participating this week.

PROJECTS
-Send out review copies for the new book that just came out from the publishing company I work for. This is a multi-step project that involves writing and printing letters, writing address labels, stuffing envelops, etc.
-Work on Christmas projects: cross-stitch, family recipe book. The to-do list will be very Christmas heavy soon!

ERRANDS
-Mail my poetry book to publishers.
-Take Lucy to the doctor.
-Take the kids for their second dose of the H1N1 vaccination.

PHONE CALLS
-Mammogram appointment
-Buy Nutcracker tickets

GENERAL DAILY TO-DOs
-exercise
-school work
-reading
-keep the house relatively clean
-do a load or two of laundry
-cook and bake
-blog (well I don't usually get around to this every day!)
-take the kids to play dates and their usual activities (dance and Girl Scouts for Lucy, preschool for Matthew)

The Simple Woman's Daybook Nov. 16

2009-11-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... cloudy, but not too cold.

I am thinking... about going to library school and becoming a librarian once the kids are older

I am thankful for... a quiet day at home with no scheduled activities!

I am wearing... gray fleece sweatpants, a black sweatshirt with the name of my friends' band on it, striped socks that my mom knitted for me

I am remembering... how much I love fall weather

I am going... nowhere at all next weekend. Seems like a weekend at home is a rare thing lately!

I am reading... Just finished Ladder of Years, by Anne Tyler. I'm also in the middle of reading Great Books, by David Denby.

I am hoping... to finish all my Christmas present projects in time

On my mind... Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. I love the Christmas season!!

From the learning rooms... Lucy's writing her own chapter book

Noticing that... my favorite slippers from Austria are missing

Pondering these words... "My soul find rest in God alone."

From the kitchen... chicken thighs, stuffing, broccoli, Michigan-grown organic squash

Around the house... listening to Matthew's little voice singing Bible songs in his room during his rest time

One of my favorite things~ Christmas music

From my picture journal..

One of Lucy's spider webs made out of yarn.

Tortellini Chowder

2009-11-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

Small World at Home is looking for soup recipes today ... so here's one of my favorites:

2/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped red sweet pepper
2 T. minced garlic
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 T. olive oil
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. cubed peeled potatoes
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 T. butter, melted
1 15 1/4 oz. can whole-kernel corn, drained
2 c. half-and-half or light cream
2 c. refrigerated or frozen cheese-filled tortellini, cooked and drained
Tortilla chips, broken

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven or kettle, cook the chopped onion, the red sweet pepper, the garlic and jalapeño pepper in the 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not brown.

2. Carefully stir in broth, potatoes, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.

3. In a small bowl, stir together flour and melted butter; add to soup mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute.

4. Reduce heat and add corn, half-and-half and torellini. Heat through. Ladle into bowls and top with broken tortilla chips.

Weekly Wrap-Up: November 6

2009-11-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

Wow was this week busy! We had a bunch of play dates scheduled this week, along with our usual activities, Girl Scouts and dance for Lucy, and preschool for Matthew. It was one of those weeks where I was longing for a little more home in our homeschool! We all had a great time hanging out with friends, though. And we did managed to get a fair amount of school work done as well. We read the "Christianity Comes to Britain" chapter in The Story of the World. This piqued Lucy's interest in England, so we got a book about England from the library with nice pictures, which I've been reading aloud. We also got a DVD called "Families in the United Kingdom," and another from Netflix about traveling to England. I'm excited that Lucy's interested in England because I love England and have traveled their twice. I got out all my England photos and Lucy and I had fun looking through those. We also read some stories about St. Patrick, and Lucy read a kid's version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, along with about 15 or 20 other library books. I got a huge stack of books for her Saturday and she's already read through them all. Her appetite for reading is huge!

Lucy did the usual assortment of other subjects: Spelling, Grammar, Memory Work (she's memorizing the helping verbs), Writing, Handwriting, Latin, Bible, Music, Church History, Art, Science, and Math. We've been using a game for learning multiplication tables that's working really well. It's called Timez Attack. It's a bit of an investment ($40 for the full version), but it's really improved Lucy's memory for the times tables, so it's been great! Matthew and I have started The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, from Peace Hill Press. He's really interested in words and letter sounds right now, so I figure I'll work with him a bit on it as long as he's interested. He's been watching phonics DVDs from Leap Frog, and those have done a great job of teaching him letter sounds.

The highlight of the week is today, which is Lucy's birthday. She's turning 9 at 7:45 p.m and she's very excited about it. She's having a friend sleep over tonight to celebrate, and then we're having a Harry Potter party tomorrow. I can't believe I have a 9 year old!!

Simple Woman's Daybook, Oct 26

2009-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Simple Woman's Daybook, Oct 26

Outside my window... a huge flock of birds in the soybean field beside my house

I am thinking... about the Christmas presents I'm working on making: photo books, a family cookbook, and a cross-stitch

I am thankful for... the fact that my 2 kids get along with each other so well!

I am wearing... jeans, blue sweatshirt, wool slippers from Austria

I am remembering... that I need to change the laundry

I am going... to an open mic, a poetry reading, and a concert this week. I don't usually get out that much!

I am reading... Beverly Cleary's autobiography, A Girl From Yamhill It's fabulous!

I am hoping... my knee stops hurting soon so I can get out for some walks this week.

On my mind... a friend's nephew who was hit by a car last week and is in critical condition

From the learning rooms... phonics for Matthew; early church fathers for Lucy

Noticing that... there aren't many leaves left. It's going to look like winter soon. I'm not really ready for that!

Pondering these words... "Maybe we can grow raisins in the ground and make new raisin trees" -Matthew. He also wanted to plant a peanut today.

From the kitchen... easy meal tonight: tacos

Around the house... laundry, the huge mess the kids are making in the family room, which includes a ball pit made with some plastic balls and the baby pool

One of my favorite things~ Matthew's belly laugh

From my picture journal...

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 24

2009-10-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

I spent much of this week trying to get over a nasty cold that had aggravated my asthma. Since H1N1 is in full force here, (and I didn't want to get it with the asthma already aggravated) the kids and I hid out at home until we were able to get vaccinated on Saturday. One of the hidden benefits of homeschooling: avoiding the plague! The vaccination clinic was an interesting experience. A lot more people showed up than we expected, and we ended up having to wait in line for 3 1/2 hours! Much of that was outside in a cold rain. The kids did really well. It seemed like an interesting experience, hanging out with all the people in line. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, lending coats and umbrellas, letting other people's kids warm up in their cars. It was an experience in the best of humanity, really. Everyone was helpful and cooperative. Even the kids, for the most part, were well-behaved.

Anyway, we did managed to get some schoolwork done this week too. We've started the Middle Ages in history, and we learned about the Celts this week. Lucy read a Beowulf adaptation for kids, and we listened to someone read it online in the original English. That led to a discuss about how language changes over time. Lucy also read a book of traditional Celtic tales. We did the usual assortment of subjects: grammar, spelling, dictation, math, etc. and read about the Cappadocians and St. Ambrose for church history. I had a writing assignment planned about creating a good sentence, but Lucy ended up creating her own writing project. She decided that she could write a good paragraph, so one evening she wrote 5 or 6 of them, and did research in a children's encyclopedia for them. With moments like these I'm amazed at how effective homeschooling is! Not only could she indeed write a good paragraph, with very little previous teaching, but she wanted to do it. She loved it! I'm beginning to see how immersing children in good literature really does make a difference.

Matthew has apparently been learning a lot by osmosis. Over the last week or so I realized that he actually knows all his letters pretty well, both upper and lower case. So we've started working on The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. It appears that Matthew already knows quite a few of the letter sounds too, so I think that part of the book will go quickly. He's been watching Leap Frog's "Letter Factory" video, and I assume that's where he's picked up the letter sounds. I like how the Guide is organized, but it's a little overly scripted for us. Matthew picks up on the lesson quickly and gets impatient if I go through the entire script, so I'm just shortening it and adapting it for him. It's really fun to see his enthusiasm. He is always asking to "do school," because he sees Lucy doing it and he wants to do whatever she does! He's also started preschool at a local Catholic school, two mornings a week. He loves hanging out with the other kids, and it gives Lucy and I some uninterrupted school time.

A Bunch O'Questions

2009-10-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

What was the last thing you put in your mouth? My toothbrush.

Can you play Guitar Hero? No, I don't own a video game system.

Name someone who made you laugh today. My old neighbor Gina, who I visited today. We were talking about Sienfeld episodes.

How late did you stay up last night and why? Matthew kept waking up last night, so I didn't fall asleep until after 4:00 am. Yuck!

If you could move somewhere else, would you? I'm going to. My house is for sale. Moving either closer to Chicago, or to the Indianapolis suburbs.

Name one thing you love about your body. My skin, which doesn't have any wrinkles yet! Thank you Oil of Olay!!!

Which of your friends lives closest to you? My painter (as in art, not house painting) friend Kelly.

Do you believe ex's can be friends? Only if they weren't dating very seriously.

How do you feel about Dr Pepper? I like it okay, though I drink it only a couple times a year.

If you could do any job in the world what would it be? Poet, which I am, though I'd really like to get my book published.

Who was the last person you took a picture of? Matthew

Was yesterday better than today? Only because I didn't have a sleep deficit.

Can you live a day without TV? Yep. If I didn't have a TV at all, I'd be okay.

Are you upset about anything? Not at the moment.

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Yep.

Are you a bad influence? Rarely.

Night out or night in? Depends on my mood, but if a friend asks me to go out, I'm always up for it.

What items could you not go without during the day? My glasses/contacts

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? It's been awhile, I can't remember. Maybe my sister when she had her last baby, over 6 years ago.

What does the last text message in your in-box say? I don't know how to text and I don't have a text plan. I wouldn't be averse to it in the future, but that's how it is right now.

How do you feel about your life right now? Pretty happy, but rather unsettled. I'd like to know where/when I'm moving.

Do you hate anyone? Um, possibly Hitler.

Do you like your wedding ring or do you secretly wish it was different? I picked it out myself and I love it. It's a second hand ring from an antique store, with a teeny tiny diamond and in white gold. I'm not a big jewelry person, so it's nice and small, just right for me.

Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? LOL, yes!

Would you ever get some plastic surgery? Nope, surgery of any kind freaks me out. I'd only get surgery if I absolutely had to.

What song is stuck in your head? A piano song my daughter composed about our Beagle, who we had to put to sleep recently.

Name something you have to do tomorrow. Drive home from a long visit with family and friends, unpack, do laundry, get ready for the week.

Do you think too much or too little? Way too much.

Do you smile a lot? Not as much as I used to. Not that I'm unhappy, but it seems like I don't have as many opportunities to laugh and be silly as when I was younger.

I'm Still Here

2009-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, the never ending quest to update my blog regularly. Things have been busy lately. Here's a sampling. I found out Lucy needs glasses, so I dropped about $400 more at the eye doctor than I expected. Lucy's getting over a cold and I'm getting it. Fall has arrived (with tremendous winds and less than 60 degree temperatures). Matthew is potty trained, and has decided he wants to go to preschool. A homeschool group may be starting in my little town!!!

I know, I'm not too articulate today with this head cold, so enjoy this wonderfully well-written article on Salon.com.

Meal Plan Monday

2009-09-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

I usually grocery shop on Saturday, so my meal plan for the "week" goes from Saturday to Friday. Here it is:

SATURDAY - Wendy's burgers, after a long day of house cleaning and projects

SUNDAY - Apple Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Scalloped Corn, tossed salad with crumbled bacon, fresh tomatoes from the garden, red onion, and homemade blue cheese dressing.

MONDAY - Leftovers from Sunday. There's still some left for lunch tomorrow too!

TUESDAY - Tortellini Stir-Fry. This is rather spicy, so I usually keep some of the tortellini out for the kids to eat just with marinara sauce.

WEDNESDAY - Chicken baked in a little lemon juice (covered), then topped with a can of diced tomato and some mozzarella cheese, served with pasta, tossed salad with homemade vinaigrette, and garlic bread

THURSDAY - Leftovers from Tuesday/Wednesday.

FRIDAY - Homemade macaroni and cheese, served with whatever fruits and vegetables are left in the fridge.

Weekly Wrap Up: September 11

2009-09-11T12:26:00.001-07:00

This was a short, but eventful week of school in that I have a newly potty trained little boy! He's been using the potty on his own, with no prompting from me, and it's wonderful! He's so proud of himself, every time he uses the potty he wants me to come and see it, which is very cute.

So the week was short because of Labor Day on Monday. We had a party with some friends and family for Labor Day, and as we were getting out the grill we realized that was the first time we had grilled all summer! Where did the summer go?

We stayed close to home (and the potty) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and got quite a bit of school work done. Thursday Matthew had his first dentist appointment, and he did very well. He climbed right up into the chair and opened his mouth for the dentist, no problem. He seemed to have fun, and he loved riding up and down in the chair. Lucy's dance class also started back up on Thursday. After the class, Lucy's friend and her mom come over and have dinner with us and hang out every week. Don't you love it when you get along great with your kid's friend's parents?!?

Today we're visiting my parents, who live about 40 minutes away from us. We ran some errands this morning, and now are just relaxing at my parents house for the afternoon.

How was your week?

Psychology Today Blog

2009-09-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a post from a psychologist who's been posting some interesting anti-public school stuff on Psychology Today.

Potty Training

2009-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't been updating my blog regularly lately, because I've been in the throes of potty training. I've been using some of the methods of Booty Camp, which a friend told me about. I'm not following everything in this method, just a few things. It's been working really well for Matthew. We've been potty training for about 9 days. He's had a couple days of being dry all day, and hasn't pooped his pants in quite awhile. This week we're working on staying dry at rest time, and next week we'll attempt to get out of the house some and use public potties, or potties at other people's houses. Here are some of the methods:

1. Matthew is in control. He decides when to sit on the potty. I don't force him to sit on it. I don't even ask him if he wants to our remind him too. He also puts on and takes off his own pants and underwear, and he takes off his pull-up in the morning and throws it away. I taught him how to dress himself before we started potty training, so that helped a lot.

2. Instead of asking and reminding and nagging, I simply keep reminding him about what he needs to do when he feels like he needs to pee or poop. I ask him "what do you do if you need to go pee-pee" and he says "sit on the potty." I ask him this repeatedly throughout the day, to keep him thinking about it.

3. Matthew has to clean up any accidents. This can be very messy, but boy is it working. It goes along with keeping him in control of his potty usage. If he decides not to sit on the potty, he has to deal with the consequences. (Of course, I have to clean up after he's cleaned up!)

4. Lots of candy. The first couple of days I gave Matthew a jelly bean every 15 minutes or so that he had dry underwear. That's not necessary anymore, but he does get a candy of his choice every time he successfully uses the potty. Eventually that will fade away as using the potty becomes more of a habit. Now, I normally give my kids candy very rarely, so this wasn't something I was thrilled about doing, but it really is giving him extra motivation. He even stayed dry in the night last night, and woke up talking about getting a lollipop!

With Matthew, the fact that he is in control is what's making this method work so well for us. I'd guess this would work for a lot of kids -- most 3-year-olds like to be in control! Plus, it makes him feel like a very big boy to be in charge of this. He's proud of himself.

Not Back-to-School Hop: Day-in-the-Life Week

2009-08-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Not Back to School Blog Hop topic for this week is A Day in the Life. So yesterday I kept track of what we did all day. It was pretty typical day at home, with no outside activities planned.

7:50 I get up, My alarm was set for 7:00, but I kept hitting the sleep button this morning. I read my Bible and eat a breakfast of leftover omelet and homemade bread toast. Exercised with a 15 min. abs workout video.

8:30 Lucy and daddy get up and have breakfast together (it's one of daddy's work at home days) while I walk 1.5 miles on the treadmill. Lucy empties the dishwasher. She forgets to clear her dishes from the table, so she owes me $.25. I'm charging her each time she forgets this chore, since it's been a chore for years and she can never seem to remember it! After paying me, she counts the money she has left in her bank. She's saving up to buy a hamster. I owe her $3 of allowance money, so I give her a 10 dollar bill and she has to make change (math!).

9:30 Lucy wants to practice her babysitting skills on Matthew (she's only 8 1/2 years old, but she's dying to be old enough to babysit). I tell her I'll pay her $.60/hour, or $.1 a minute (more math!). They play quietly in the playroom while I dye the roots of my hair and shower and clean up the breakfast dishes.

Lucy and Matthew are still playing quietly (miracle of miracles!), so I do some internet research on freezing chili peppers and tomatoes. I have to do something with my harvest soon.

10:45 Matthew wants me now. He's pooped his diaper and it's a huge mess, so he has to take a bath. He's really getting too big for diapers, but has been very resistant to potty training so far. I send Lucy up to get dressed and do her hair. While she's been playing with Matthew in the schoolroom/playroom she's made an airplane out of a paper towel tube and construction paper, from a craft book I picked up at a used book sale (art!).

11:00 Lucy does some grammar and math while I keep Matthew busy and answer her questions. Matthew does: markers, cutting, gluing, and then a computer game that's too hard for him, so he needs a lot of help with it. I manage to give Lucy her spelling pre-test.

11:30 Everyone is getting hungry, so I head to the kitchen to make Annie's Mac & Cheese. Matthew snacks a bit, then heads back to the computer. Lucy's involved in some pretend play while the mac & cheese cooks. I check my email and respond to a fellow poet who had a question about a poem I sent to her yesterday.

11:45 At lunchtime I read aloud from The Golden Children's Bible, The Story Book of Science, and The Book of Virtues while the kids eat. Then they play while I eat lunch.

1:00 For daddy's lunch break we all head outside. I push Matthew in the stroller and Lucy and Daddy ride bikes. It's a beautiful day, one of the hotter days in this unusually cool summer. Matthew finds some acorns for his nature collection.

2:00 Matthew watches a short video about using the potty while I go through the mail and finish up the lunch dishes. Then he wants to read a toy catalog before his rest time. Then I put him in his room for his rest. His rest involves making a big huge mess with toys in his room, and listening to stories on CD. At rest time Lucy finishes up her schoolwork that she can do independently, while I have some time to write poetry. I'm working on writing my second book of poetry, while shopping my first book around to publishers.

4:00 After rest time Matthew watches another short video (Kipper) and has a snack while I go over Lucy's work from the afternoon, and then make dinner. Dinner is easy tonight: pasta with bottled sauce and mozzarella cheese, garlic bread, and ice cream for dessert.

6:30 After dinner daddy takes the kids to play outside while I clean up the dishes and around the house, and change my clothes. At 7:30 I head out to an open mic, where I read some of my poetry to an audience of about 25-30, and hang out with some friends.

12:00 I get home past my bedtime, but I'm starving so I have a quick snack and then head to bed.

It's been a nice, relaxing day, and the evening out was a nice break. Lucy got quite a bit of schoolwork accomplished, though I didn't get to some of the things we do together, including history. I'll add it to the list for tomorrow.

Weekly Wrap-Up: August 21

2009-08-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

This week we got into our full schedule, which means four days of school. It's our first year using a primarily classical approach (though we've used elements of it in the past), and Lucy loves it. We do a lot of subjects, but many involve only a small amount of work per week. I got this from the Charlotte Mason method of having short lessons in the early grades. Even if we only do, say 20 minutes a week of Church History, that adds up over time! We spend lots of time on the basics: math, language arts (grammar and spelling), reading, and writing (including handwriting, copywork, dictation and narration), and then just a bit of time on our other subjects: memory work, Latin, Bible, Music, Art, Church History, and Nature Studies. We get a lot of history too, since much of our reading and writing is history based. This week we focused on Julius Caesar.

This week I received my new science curriculum in the mail, which is Real Science 4 Kids, Chemistry Level 1. This is one of the few science curricula for younger kids that is discipline-based, that is, it involves studying Chemistry one year, Physics another, and Biology another. Most science at this level is pretty piecemeal, but I wanted something more systematic, and Lucy had asked to study Chemistry this year. I'm hoping to get started with it this coming week.

The fifth day of our week (often Fridays) is reserved for playdates, field trips, etc. This week we visited Grandma and Grandpa's house on Friday. Lucy spent much of the day sewing with grandma, while Matthew made a big huge mess with the fabrics, buttons, etc.

Not Back-to-School Hop: Student Photo Week

2009-08-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some photos of my students, for the Not Back to School Blog hop. It's been kind of a tiring week, mostly because I got off my sleep schedule last weekend, when I had a little poetry writing retreat at my house. I was up way too late, then slept in all weekend, and trying to get back on schedule has put me into a bad bout of insomnia.

Here's Lucy reading a Harry Potter book on the train, on the way to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This was one of the field trips we did this summer.

And here's Matthew looking out the train window, on the same trip.

Here's Matthew playing on a playground, on vacation this summer.

And Lucy, on top of Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Northern Michigan.

Weekly Wrap-Up: August 15

2009-08-15T12:53:00.001-07:00

Once again we had a week of easing into school with three days of school work. We are doing all of our subjects (which seems to be quite a large list this year), but just less of them, until September. We're trying to pick up piano again, which we neglected the second half of the year last year.

So far Lucy has been quite enthusiastic about her work. She seems to have taken a big leap forward recently. I'm not sure how to describe it, but things just seem to come to her more easily, her handwriting has gotten neater, and she's becoming more independent. It's so amazing to me to watch her blossoming and maturing. And I'm so grateful I get to witness it all up close, by having her with me at home.

I also spent some time this week baking and preparing food for my weekend guests (who are here right now, taking naps). I'm having a small weekend writing retreat at my house this weekend, and have been hosting two friends who are poets. I also happen to be editing both of their books for the small press I work for (WordFarm), so it's been nice to have some time to go over their books with them, face to face. We've also spent time reading and writing this weekend, and just hanging out and talking about poetry. It's been incredibly refreshing.

On that note, I'm off to do some reading.

Weekly Wrap-Up: A Few Days Late

2009-08-10T19:19:00.001-07:00

My weekend was too busy for me to sit down and write the wrap-up on Friday, so here it is now! As per our slow start-up into school, we spent 3 days, Monday through Wednesday, on school lessons. Wednesday night Lucy spent the night at her cousins' house, and played there all day on Thursday. It's cute how much Matthew misses his big sister when she's gone. I guess I'm not as much fun to play with!

I spent Thursday and Friday packing for our weekend camping trip. It's amazing how much stuff I had to pack for a 2 night camping trip! And Matthew didn't even come with us. I guess the problem is that you have to bring everything, since there's nothing there waiting for you but a spot of grass and some trees. Thankfully, the internet had some good ideas about what I should pack. There's a good packing list here. We were supposed to arrive at our campground on Friday evening, but it was pouring rain and storming. We'd planned on dropping Matthew off at my parent's house for the weekend, but we all ended up staying there Friday night, and we headed to the campsite Saturday. So just one night of camping for all that packing, but we had a wonderful time with our friends we met there. Lucy even made it on a 2.2 mile hike that was mostly uphill.

So now we're home, having 3 days of school again, and preparing for guests this weekend. It's challenging starting school back up, when everyone else is still on summer vacation!

Green Living Tip #3 Eat Local

2009-08-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how what we eat can help or hinder the environment. And eating more local food can go a long way towards helping the earth. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. Food that has traveled a long way to get to your local grocery store has spent a lot of hours on the road. Read, lots of gas used. Not only do gas fumes pollute the air, but we're also running short on oil.

2. Local food needs less pesticide, since the farmer doesn't have to keep it looking fresh as longer, for transportation purposes. Not only are pesticides bad for our bodies (and even more so for the bodies of our children), but it also pollutes the soil and ground water, and threatens to destroy various species of insects.

3. Fresh food tastes better! This isn't exactly a direct link to helping the environment, but it's as great way to get your kids to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. So you're training your kids to eat local, which means they'll be helping the earth too!

I highly recommend Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, if you're looking for more information on the subject (and inspiration). It's the story of how she and her family spent a year eating only local food, much of it from their own garden.

It's tricky to find a lot of local food, but I've been trying to do it as much as I can. Farmer's markets are springing up all over the place, which is a great place to start. And if you live in a farming community, you may be able to find farming families who offer meat for sale as well as other items (I've been able to buy locally produced soap this way.). And check labels and stickers at your local grocery store. I've been able to find many local or somewhat local items this way, or I can at least pick the food that's traveled the least amount of miles to get to me. It also helps to eat fruit and veggies when they are in season, and available at your local farmer's market. I've been buying up bigger quantities of these in season items, and freezing them for the winter, which is good for my wallet, as well as for me, and the earth!

Our School Room

2009-08-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

Kris, at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers posted some pictures of her schoolroom yesterday, so I thought it'd be fun to do that too.

Our schoolroom used to share space with the family room, but I've since moved it to it's own spot. Here's the new room:

It's now located in what is supposed to be the master suite. It's a nice big spot with two connected rooms. The smaller, connected room is flanked by two nice sized closets where we store supplies and crafts, and my scrapbooking stuff. Here's the playroom:

I love the connected playroom. It helps Matthew stay busy while Lucy and I are working, yet he can still be close to us (which is a must, at age 3!).

I've never understood the purpose of the gigantic master suite, since our bedroom furniture consists of a bed, two dressers, a nightstand and an old trunk. And really, I don't spend much time in there except at night. It's perfect for the schoolroom and playroom. All of the kids stuff is now in one place!

Meal Plan Monday

2009-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here's my meal plan for the week. I don't usually follow this exactly, but it gives me a good plan to go on.

MONDAY - create something with chicken and cream of mushroom soup, sweet corn from the farm market, mashed butternut squash (with a little butter and brown sugar), tossed salad with homemade blue cheese dressing (1/4 c. mayo, 1/4 c. sour cream, 1 T. red-wine vinegar, 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese, salt and pepper).

TUESDAY - Taco Salad with lettuce, green onion and tomato from the garden and jalapeno havarti cheese

WEDNESDAY - Simply Great Chicken, boiled Yukon Gold potatoes from the farm market, other veggies from my fridge that need to be used. I'll boil the chicken carcass to make chicken broth for Friday's soup.

THURSDAY - Leftovers. The above chicken recipe makes quite a lot.

FRIDAY - Wild Rice Soup, homemade corn bread

LUNCHES/SNACKS - Apple snack cake, smoothies, homemade mac & cheese, pesto pizza with homemade crust, ham and cream cheese roll-ups, bagels with cream cheese.

Weekly Wrap-Up: July 31

2009-08-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

At the request of Lucy, we started school back up this week, but just for 2 days, since my mother-in-law came for a visit the rest of the week. So Monday and Tuesday we started into our new curriculum, and a new approach for us this year: the classical method. I feel like the Charlotte Mason method, which we used last year, started us toward this, with the emphasis on great books, dictation, copywork, and narration. I bought The Story of the World to try out for history last year, because it seemed to fit in well with the Charlotte Mason method, and Lucy and I absolutely loved it. In fact, Lucy's decided that her favorite subject is history. So that got me interested in looking into the classical method more, since it's primarily history based. Also, I decided to read the Well Trained Mind, which is written by on of the authors of The Story of the World. I actually read it about 3 times before I was convinced to try it. It's a more rigorous method than Charlotte Mason, but I feel like it'll give my kids a very thorough education. It's also very systematic and organized, which appeals to my organizational side. While it seems like it's going to be more work for us both, the fact that it's so systematic seems like it'll actually cut down on the planning aspect, in the long run.

So anyway, we jumped into our new method and curriculum (see my July 24 post for our curriculum list) on Monday and Tuesday, and it went pretty well. Of course, Lucy's always excited at the beginning. It's much harder to keep up the enthusiasm a few months in! Wednesday through Friday we enjoyed a nice visit from my mother-in-law. Wednesday we visited a town a bit to the north of us, but the rest of the time we hung out at home, and the kids had fun playing with grandma. Grandma also helped me with some yardwork, which was wonderful.

Next week we'll attempt to do 3 days of school (starting up slowly), though we also have playdates with some school kids to fit in. The schools here don't start up until after labor day, so by then we'll be into our schedule full time.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... sky with fluffy white clouds (the only window in my home office is a skylight)

I am thinking... about trying to fit in more time for writing poetry

From the learning rooms... slowly starting up our homeschool after taking most of the summer off

I am thankful for... fresh local produce!

From the kitchen... homemade corn bread and Summertime Corn Chowder

I am wearing... jeans with a white strappy top that looks kind of hippy-like

I am reading... Admission, by Jean Hanff Korelitz (novel)

I am hoping... the kids won't whine and complain about the above mentioned dinner

I am creating... basil paste to freeze for winter (1/4 c. water for each 1 cup fresh basil leaves. Puree, then pour into ice cube trays and freeze. To store, pop out and put into freezer bags)

I am praying... that someone will buy my house, which has been on the market almost a year now

Around the house... whining 3-year-old who wants to be done with his rest time, beads and pieces of Play Doh on the floor, kids artwork, a tired old dog, some sort of structure build with kids chairs and tables

One of my favorite things... homemade chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven

A few plans for the rest of the week... visit from my mother-in-law, reading poetry at an open mic, editing a book of poetry for the small press I work for, gardening

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you..

Weekly Wrap-Up: Share Your Curriculum Edition

2009-07-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the curriculum we're planning to use for the upcoming school year.

History & Geography
-The Story of the World: The Middle Ages, Susan Wise Bauer
-Children and Games in the Middle Ages, Lynne Elliott (and others in the Medieval World series)
-Geography from A to Z, Jack Knowlton and Harriet Barton
-Geography Songs CD
-Continent puzzles
-Various books related to our history study, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry

Spelling
Spectrum Spelling Grades 3 & 4, School Specialty Publishing

Grammar
-Finish Language Lessons for the Elementary Child
-Daily Language Review Grade 3, Laura B. Williams
-Better Sentence Structure Through Diagramming Book 1
-The Complete Book of Grammar and Punctuation, School Specialty Publishing

Writing
-Penmanship: A Reason for Handwriting, finish book C and move on to book D
-Dictation: Spelling Wisdom
-Narration/Composition: Writing with Ease, by Susan Wise Bauer
-Letter writing at least twice a month
-Creative Writing as Lucy wants to

Math
Math U See, finish multiplication and move on to division

Bible & Character
-read aloud from The Golden Children's Bible
-read aloud from The Book of Virtues, William J. Bennett
-A Virtuous Girl workbook
-Bible story coloring pages

Church History
-After Jesus: The Triumph of Christianity, editors of Reader's Digest
-An Introduction to the Liturgical Year, Inos Biffi
-Various books about important people in church history

Latin
-Prima Latina

Art History & Appreciation
-Art of the Middle Ages, Jennifer Olmstead
-How Artists Use Shapes, Paul Flux (and others from the "How Artists Use" series)
-A Child's Book of Prayer in Art, Sister Wendy Beckett
-Various books about artists, related to history study

Music
-Hymns for a Kid's Heart, Bobbie Wolgemuth
-History based music study: Early Music CD, Thomas Tallis CD
-Piano instruction

Science
-Real Science for Kids, Chemistry
-reading aloud from The Storybook of Science, Jean Henri Fabre
-Various science books as Lucy desires and related to history study

Green Living Tip #2: Reusable Bags

2009-07-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Reusable bags are a great way to help the environment. Returning your plastic bags to the store for recycling is a good idea too, however, it takes oil to make the bags in the first place, so it's a better goal to just stop using them altogether.

Most grocery stores sell reusable bags now, for a very reasonable price. I got lightweight canvas bags from Meijer for just $.99 a bag. Sometimes I hear an audible groan from the cashier, because they do take a bit longer to load, however, the stores prefer that you use them. It saves them money.

For a long time after I got the bags, I would forget to bring them with me. I started to keep them near me in the car, so they would catch my eye more easily, and now they've become a habit and I nearly always remember to bring them in. I use them not only for groceries, but for purchases I make at any kind of store. They're also handy for toting library books, packing for trips, etc.

I'm going to be gone on vacation for a bit over a week now. So I'll talk to you again when I return!

Weekly Schedule

2009-07-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

The latest post at The Homeschool Classroom asks: "What does your schedule for the week look like?"

I'm pretty much done planning our fall schedule, (we've done a bit of math and history over the summer but otherwise have been too busy for much schoolwork). I've been moving gradually from the Charlotte Mason method to the classical method, so I'm adding some things suggested by The Well Trained Mind. So here's the plan. (Of course, we never ended up following the plan strictly, but it's good to start out with a plan!)

DAILY
**get up early to read my Bible, pray, eat breakfast and exercise. I have mixed success with the whole getting up early thing, but am working on training myself to get up earlier and earlier. 6:00/6:30 is the ultimate goal. I might even be able to squeeze in a shower too!

**kids eat breakfast: read Bible and other reading aloud to them. Morning chores, kids get dressed. (The times on these depend on what time the kids get up.)

**school time! work with Matthew first while Lucy does some independent work: penmanship, grammar, Bible coloring, devotional reading and/or workbook, possibly start on math. Matthew doesn't need instruction, really, but he likes it. He's working on learning lower case letters and letter sounds and I like to get plenty of time to read aloud to him and do puzzles with him.

**school time with Lucy -- help her with any questions from her independent work time. Finish math, do spelling, Latin, writing, dictation or copywork. The challenge is to find something for Matthew to do. I'm hoping if I work with him first, he'll be happier to play on his own for awhile. He's learned how to use the computer mouse, so he does pretty well playing preschooler games on the computer with the headphones on.

**lunch, lunchtime chores.

**history 3 days/week; art and music the fourth day. Sometimes Matthew will listen for these subjects, or he may watch a video during this time. He loves the DK Eyewitness videos right now -- especially The Planets and Skeleton.

**naptime -- Lucy has freetime once she's done her assigned reading and finished up any stray work from the morning. This is my writing time, as I'm a poet and I'm also working on a novel right now.

**afternoon activities or freetime -- Lucy participates in a few after school activities

**dinner, dinner time chores, bedtime eventually. Lucy will do science with daddy 2 nights a week.

I try to get all our schoolwork down on 4 days, so we can have one day a week free for activities, or just relaxing around the house. I'm planning on joining a homeschool group this year, so I'll have to see how that ends up changing our schedule.

Kid Safe Chemical Act

2009-07-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

The Kid Safe Chemical Act will be introduced to Congress this summer, and would require companies to prove that all chemicals in their products are safe. Write to your congresspeople and senators to let them know you support the bill. If you'd like a template for your letter, you can visit http://www.parents.com/kidsafe for one.

Weekly Wrap-Up: July 10

2009-07-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

This has been a week of not much sleep, but lots of fun. For 4th of July weekend we visited grandparents in the Chicago area and got rained on at the parade. Lucy went to the fireworks with everyone, but I stayed in with a very sleepy Matthew. Maybe next year he'll make it to the fireworks. We also went to a 4H Fair one afternoon this week. Lucy convinced me to ride a small roller coaster with her. I hadn't been on a roller coaster since high school, which I didn't enjoy then. And I'll admit I didn't particularly enjoy it this time either. We saw lots of animals, and Lucy decided she wanted to raise sheep. I'll consider it, if the sheep could function as a lawnmower! Lucy went back to the fair at night with grandpa, and didn't get home until after 11:00. That evening was definitely the highlight of her week. She even went on some sort of bungee jumping trampoline thing which, after hearing the description of it, I was glad I didn't see.

The highlight of my week was Lucy's dentist appointment. Seriously. I've been taking her for cleanings for 5 years, and every single time she would cry and refuse to open her mouth. Last time the dentist managed to clean 3 teeth, and that was real progress. But this time, miracle of miracles, she got the entire cleaning plus the X-rays. And not only that -- they didn't find any cavities!

We worked a bit on math and handwriting this week. I'm feeling like we're behind in math and also in history, but I'm still trying to change my mindset about that. We don't have to follow any sort of grade level schedule. And anyway, it's better to learn multiplication thoroughly, than to rush through just so that we can move on to the next thing. After two years of homeschooling, I'm still trying to get out of school-thinking and into homeschool thinking.

Green Living Tips

2009-07-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Before my first child was born, I didn't think a whole lot about pollution, household chemicals, preservatives and pesticides in food, etc. I mean, I may have thought about it a bit, but not enough to make any real changes in my life. But having that first baby made me worry not only about what was going into her little body, but also about what kind of world she would be living in as she grew up. So I started making some changes in the way I was living, not only to benefit Lucy's health, but to benefit the state of the world. I know that my small changes don't make a huge difference in the world, but if everyone made some small changes, what a difference that would make!

Since I first got interested in green living 8 years ago, there's been a slow but steady surge of interest in the subject in America, and now it seems like it's everywhere! We're all becoming increasingly more aware of the importance of living a "greener" lifestyle. With that in mind, I'll be posting a weekly Green Living Tip, along with a brief commentary on how well I'm doing with that particular tip. And please comment with your ideas -- I'm always looking for more.

GREEN LIVING TIP #1
Eat exclusively natural foods. This is a challenge in our society. It means a lot of label reading at the grocery store -- at least until you find products you know you can count on and grab every time. My grocery store trips end up being probably 95% natural. There are some things that are nearly impossible to find natural, unless you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's nearby, which I don't. Cereal is particularly difficult, as the preservative BHT is put into nearly every cereal. Kashi brand is all natural, and has shown up recently in my local grocery stores. Unfortunately I haven't been able to convince my kids to eat them -- yet. Packaged snacks like granola bars and crackers are also hard to find. Quaker has a new line of natural granola bars, though I can't always find them and they are more expensive. Regular Goldfish crackers are natural (not the colored kind) and the whole grain have some fiber. Kashi's TLC crackers are a good option too, but are also more expensive. Due to the expense of packaged snacks, I've been trying to make more homemade snacks. This has had mixed results with the kids, as they are addicted to crackers and granola bars.

In my mind, buying natural also means avoiding Bovine Growth Hormone. Luckily a lot of national milk brands have stopped using milk with this hormone, so it's easy to find the milk. And Kraft now makes a hormone free cheese line. Other dairy products are harder to find, at least around here.

It's also really impossible to eat only natural foods if you ever want to go out to a restaurant. We've cut down how often we eat in restaurants, but sometimes its necessary (especially on long trips.) And the occasional piece of (very) unnatural candy does find its way into my house.

Weekly Wrap-Up

2009-06-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

(Note: I meant to post this last weekend, and then forgot.) I'm trying to get back to blogging regularly, so I thought I'd start out by participating in the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Every morning this week, Lucy went to architect camp at a local university. This involved driving 45 minutes each way, but it was worth it. The camp was fantastic -- Lucy learned a lot and she loved it! She brought home a bridge that she built, and a bunch of drawings. Due to my husband's somewhat flexible work schedule, he was able to drive Lucy up there 3 days, so that I didn't have to wake up Matthew and drag him up there everyday. The other 2 days, I woke Matthew up, and we spent the morning wandering around the nearby bigger town, doing things like eating bagels at Panera, looking at the fountains at Lowe's and going to the library.

Our afternoons were quite busy as well, with things like playing with friends, art class, and dentist appointments. We're continuing to work on few subjects in the summer as we have time, so Lucy did a bit of math (we're still trying to get through Math U See multiplication), some handwriting, we read out loud quite a bit, and Lucy read lots of books as she does most every week. We also continued with history (The Story of the World) because Lucy loves the subject and she asked to keep doing it. One of Lucy's school friends is coming over for history class this summer. It seems that public school doesn't teach much history, beyond the major events of American history. Rather, they teach "Social Studies," and I'm not exactly sure what that is. It seems to be a lot of talk about communities and neighborhoods, but I wonder why, if you live in the world, you would need academic instruction in that sort of thing! It seems strange to me that schools don't think children need to learn much history, and that they don't learn it chronologically. History is a story, after all, and stories only make sense when they are read from beginning to end. But anyway, more on history in another posting.

Weekly Report: Week of April 20

2009-04-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

MATH - Math U See skip counting by 4s. Lucy also practiced her times 6s on the Math U See website drill page.

SPELLING - Spelling Wisdom dictation: "The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Proverbs 12:19

CURSIVE - A Reason for Handwriting. Lucy's done practicing letters in cursive now, and is writing words and sentences.

Grammar - Language Lessons for the Elementary Child alphabetizing; Abbreviations in Spectrum Language Arts workbook; Read and Understand Folktales "Momotaro, the Peach Boy."

Latin - finished Lesson 6 in Prima Latina; reviewed vocabulary from the previous 5 lessons.

Geography - Asia and Africa and the Middle East puzzles; Spectrum Geography workbook

Copywork - from A Virtuous Girl

Science - Read and Understand Science: My Senses; Lucy also spent a lot of time catching and studying frogs at grandma's house, and also running around in our yard and in the freshly plowed corn field next door.

Writing - Lucy's writing a play based on an Aesop fable.

History - Story of the World: Ancient Times chapter on Early Greeks; coloring in Life in Ancient Greece coloring book. Lucy also made a helmet, sword and shield out of cardboard with daddy.

Reading Aloud - some poems from Emily Dickinson; part of Life in Ancient Greece by Lynn Peppas; part of Ancient Greek Art by Susie Hodge, one story each from The Book of Virtues and The Story Book of Science.

Lucy read - a few stories from A Child's Treasury of Mythology; Arthur and the Sword by Robert Sabuda; Betsy and Mr. Kilpatrick by Carolyn Haywood; Snake Hair, the Story of Medusa by Stephanie Spinner; Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne.

More Reasons to Homeschool

2009-04-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

It's stories like these that make me realize that the world of public school really is much harsher than when I was in school (and I thought it was pretty harsh then). Kids simply are too young and unready to have to deal with these kinds of issues:

My Bullied Son's Last Day on Earth

Supreme Court Hears Strip Search Case

Planning for Next Year

2009-02-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

Since there's not a whole lot going on in January and February, and I'm stuck in the house often with snowstorms going on outside, I've been spending some time lately thinking about school for next, and beginning to plan what we'll do for Lucy's 4th grade year. Here's what I've got so far.

HANDWRITING - We've been using A Reason for Handwriting for cursive practice this year, and are going through it rather slowly. I'm guessing Lucy will still be working her way through it next year. This program has children copy Bible verses for cursive practice. Lucy will also continue to work on her typing. I like this free website from the BBC for typing practice.

MATH - Lucy has enjoyed the Math U See curriculum this year, so we'll continue with that series. This year we're doing multiplication, which we'll probably finish over the summer, and then begin division in the fall. The program focuses on one math area for each year, but it includes tons of review and also manages to slip in some other concepts in a way that's related to the main concept. I love all the review that Lucy gets, so she doesn't get rusty in other areas.

LATIN - It looks like we'll finish Prima Latina this year. We're going through it pretty quickly, because Lucy loves to do it. So next year we'll move on to Latina Christiana. These are from Memoria Press. I'm planning on having Lucy review her vocabulary over the summer periodically, so she doesn't get rusty.

SPELLING - Lucy and I are both enjoying Spelling Wisdom, a spelling through dictation program from Simply Charlotte Mason. We'll continue with this program next year.

GRAMMAR - We'll finish up our Language Lessons for the Elementary Child Vol. 1 (from Queen Homeschool Supplies) and move on to Vol. 2. This is a nice series that introduces grammar gently to elementary students, in the manner of Charlotte Mason. It includes some nice art for picture study and some copywork too.

COPYWORK - Also from Queen Homeschool Supplies, we'll finish up our Lessons in Manners for Copywork book. I periodically assign prayers and Bible verses for copywork as well.

WRITING - If we like the Imitation in Writing series, from Logos School, that we're going to try out, we'll continue with this writing program. The idea is for younger students to narrate, learn from, and imitate great writing from the past. Then as they get older, they will be able to write well out of their own experiences. We're going to start with imitating Aesop this year, and will probably still be working on that part of next year. Then there's a Medieval Legends book that will fit in nicely with our history study to move on to, as well as one for poetry. Lucy likes to come up with her own ideas for creative writing, and she periodically decides to write a report on something we've learned in science.

POETRY - We'll read history related poetry, like Beowulf for Kids, plus we have several nice CD's of contemporary poetry for kids that Lucy likes to listen to. My favorite is Poetry Speaks for Kids, where the poets themselves read the poems. And then the Imitation in Writing poetry book for practice.

ART & MUSIC HISTORY AND APPRECIATION - Once again, will be related to history. We'll study some composers and artists from the historical time period we're learning about, and Lucy likes coloring books from historical time periods. Also, Lucy takes a homeschool art class, and she's working on learning the piano. She doesn't take formal lessons yet, since I know the piano pretty well.

SCIENCE - So far we've done random science topics that Lucy is interested in. We have a couple workbooks, a big yard in the country, and lots of library books to go along with our science and nature study. I'm thinking about trying some more formal science study next year, and I've heard good things about Real Science for Kids, so we might try that. Lucy is interested in any and every science topic, so I figure a more organized program will give us plenty of ideas about what to study! Also, we'll continue exploring outside and writing and drawing in the nature journal. We do more of that in the summer, since winter is so long and nasty here!

LITERATURE - Some of our reading is history-based, and then the rest is whatever Lucy feels like reading. Lucy's a voracious reader, and reads hundreds of books every year! Since we'll be doing the Middle Ages to Renaissance in history next year, here are some of the books I'm thinking about assigning: Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, A.E. Nesbit; King Arthur and His Knights, Howard Pyle; some kind of intro to Chaucer; Robin Hood; Saint George and the Dragon, Geraldine McCaughrean; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Favorite Medieval Tales, Mary Pope Osborne; Don Quixote of the Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes - or Don Quixote and the Windmills, Eric Kimmel; The Midwife's Apprentice, Karen Cushman.

HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, BIBLE, CHURCH HISTORY - We've been using The Story of the World for history this year, and I like it a lot, however, I'd like to integrate Biblical history and church history more than this series does. So I just ordered one unit from Tapestry of Grace to try out. I've heard a lot of good things about it, and it sounds like it integrates geography, Bible, church history, and fine arts nicely. I've been doing a lot of that myself, and it'd be nice to have a program where it's already done for me!

Weekly Report: Week of Jan. 25

2009-02-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've been busy cleaning my house for a bunch of showings, and also not feeling well with sinus troubles, so I haven't been updating much lately. But here's what we did last week.

MATH - Math U See, Lucy finished memorizing the x9s quickly. 9s went more quickly than the other times tables we've done so far, because of the cool patterns they make. We started on x3.

SPELLING - This week's Spelling Wisdom was tricky. We're still working on spelling "concerns" and "people" correctly.

NARRATION - We didn't do narration this week. For some reason, I don't feel very inspired to do narration with Lucy. I just ordered a new writing curriculum that includes written narration, called Imitation in Writing, which is based on Aesop's fables. We'll see if that inspires me to do more.

LATIN - Learned 6 new vocabulary words from Lesson #4 in Prima Latina. I'm loving this Latin curriculum so far. It's not too intense for Lucy's age -- just 6 vocabulary words a lesson, plus a line of a prayer. (We're learning the Sanctus right now.) We can usually fit in a 1/2 a lesson a week, so we take 2 weeks to learn all the words. Even at that pace, we should finish the book by the end of the year. I also like that the book includes English words that derive from our Latin vocabulary words, and it also talks about some grammar basics.

GRAMMAR - Language Lessons for the Elementary Child: possessive nouns. We also did some extra adjective practice, and a bit about prefixes from our Spectrum 3rd Grade Vocabulary book.

COPYWORK - Started copying "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost; continued to work on cursive in A Reason for Handwriting. We got a new book called Lessons in Manners for Copywork, which for some reason Lucy was so excited about, she had to start using right away!

SCIENCE - We researched cats, and then Lucy dictated a 2 paragraph mammals report to me. She gets very impatient with writing longer pieces, since she can't write as fast as she'd like to, neatly.

ART - Homeschool art class was canceled this week because the teacher was sick. Lucy got out some canvas and acrylics and painted on her own. Also we read a chapter from The Art Book for Children.

MUSIC - We continued to listen to the music of Handel, and Lucy practiced some, but we're finding it hard to remember to practice daily.

HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY - We read about the Assyrians in The Story of the World: Ancient Civilizations. Did some mapwork and coloring associated with that. Did our Africa and the Middle East jigsaw puzzle.

READ ALOUDS - Story about Balaam from the Bible; "The Mermaid," Hans Christian Andersen; a few poems from A Child's Garden of Verses; a chapter from The Storybook of Science.

LUCY READ - A biography of Juliette Low (the founder of Girl Scouts); Tut Tut, Jon Scieszka; Once a Mouse, Marcia Brown; Tom Thumb, Richard Jesse Watson; One Grain of Rice, Demi

Meal Plan Monday

2009-01-26T13:41:00.000-08:00

Here's my meal plan for this week, for Organized Junkie's Meal Plan Monday.

SUNDAY - Sour cream chicken, rice (I prefer Basamati rice), steamed broccoli

MONDAY - leftover chicken and rice from Sunday, glazed carrots with pistachios

TUESDAY - Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes (a new recipe I'm trying out), fruit

WEDNESDAY - Quick and Easy Broccoli Chicken, tossed salad, probably some homemade bread from my breadmaker

THURSDAY - eating at a friend's house

FRIDAY - spaghetti with bottled sauce, tossed salad, homemade bread from Wednesday

SATURDAY - might go out to dinner, or else scrape something together from whatever ingredients are left in the house

Weekly Report

2009-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

This was an unusual week, because we were away visiting friends until Wednesday. Lucy had tons of playdates, and we also got to have a private tour of Fermi Lab, a particle accelerator locate in Batavia, IL. We saw scientists at work, learned all sorts of interesting things about the experiments they do there, and got to play with some machines at the education center. We saw the control room for the new accelerator in Switzerland (which is currently controlled from Fermi Lab). We also attended the lab's afternoon snack time, where we were informed that we were in a room with several noble laureates!

Here's the schoolwork we did the rest of the week:

MATH - Math U See, multiplying by 9; x9 flashcards

SPELLING - our Spelling Wisdom dictation this week was a poem from Robert Louis Stevenson, "It is very nice to think/the world is full of meat and drink/with little children saying grace/in every Christian kind of place."

NARRATION - from Aesop's Fables

LATIN - continued practicing our vocabulary words and the line from our prayer that we started working on last week, in Prima Latina

GRAMMAR - Language Lessons for the Elementary Child, by Sandi Queen: homophones, using to-too-two, and writing an acrostic

SCIENCE - researched mammals, organized ideas for a report on mammals

ART - homeschool art class

MUSIC - practiced the piano, also Lucy started writing her own classical composition!

READ ALOUDS - chapter from The Story of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre; piece from The Story of the Orchestra, by Robert Levine; The Art Book for Children; started "The Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen

LUCY READ - Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson; The Adventures of Johnny Chuck, by Thornton Burgess

Active Parts of Speech

2009-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

We've been doing some short workbook exercises on verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in Language Lessons for Little Ones, but I felt like Lucy needed more in order for the information to really stick. I have another 3rd grade grammar workbook, but Lucy was very resistant to the long exercises in them, and I wasn't so thrilled by the quality of them either. So Lucy and I invented a new way to practice parts of speech. Lucy wrote the word "verb" on an index card and taped it on her shirt. She then ran around the room and performed with her body a variety of verbs, which I wrote down on a piece of paper. Lucy came up with all sorts of verbs this way, whereas she had a very hard time coming up with any at all by using just pencil and paper. We're planning on trying the method out with adjectives next.

Homeschool Book Wish List

2009-01-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

If I had an unlimited budget for books for our homeschool, here are the things that I would want to buy. Post your own list and comment here with a link!

BOOKS ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING
-Family Matters, David Guterson (I read a copy from the library and want a copy of my own)
-Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families, Nancy Lande
-For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
-The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling, Rachel Gathercole
-Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves, Alison McKee
-A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, Oliver Van DeMille

BOOKS FOR THE KIDS
-Two of Everything, Lily Toy Hong
-Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church, Mindy Withrow
-Haiku Picturebook for Children, Keisuke Nishimoto
-Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, E. Nesbit
-The Burgess Animal Book for Children, Thornton W. Burgess
-The Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks, F. J. Gould
-Among the Farmyard People, Clara Dillingham Pierson
-Among the Pond People, Clara Dillingham Pierson
-Among the Night People, Clara Dillingham Pierson
-Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock
-Fabre's Book of Insects, Jean Henri Fabre
-Stories from the Opera, Husain Shahrukh
-Latitude and Longitude, Rebecca Aberg
-START EXPLORING Masterpieces: A Fact-Filled Coloring Book, Steven Zorn

Update to Friday's Post

2009-01-12T05:00:00.001-08:00

For a nice ending to my crazy day on Friday, the next day my husband went to the grocery store and asked about the missing $50 bill, and someone had found the bill. They had it behind the counter and gave it back to us!

Lists

2009-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

I love to make lists, so this one, which I found over at Small World, appeals to me. The items in bold are the things that I have done. Play it yourself -- copy and post on your blog.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (elementary and middle school band)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (a small one)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I'm learning Latin, with Lucy)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (does a non-profit count?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (do books I've edited count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

A Day in the Life

2009-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

My day today has gone SO not as planned, I just had to share it. The plan was to drop my kids off at my parent's house today for free babysitting, so that I could finish up an application I'm doing for a writing retreat for this summer, which is due in a few days. Instead, I woke up to yet another winter storm (we've had more than our fair share this winter), complete with dangerous driving conditions. So driving 45 minutes to drop the kids off was out of the question. It was already snowing pretty hard when we got up, despite the fact that the winter storm wasn't supposed to start for a few more hours.

Pretty soon after getting up, I noticed that I only had a few diapers left. So after breakfast I bundled up the kids and we went out to the local grocery store to pay a high price for diapers, since driving 30 minutes to get to a Walmart or Target, where diapers are reasonably priced, was out of the question. We stopped at the local video store/laundromat/Radio Shack (don't ask) to rent a couple videos, since the storm is supposed to last for the next 24 hours. The roads were nasty, but we drove slow and didn't have any trouble. Everyone else drove slow too, since we're used to snow here. However, the bad part about this little trip out was that I appear to have lost a fifty dollar bill somewhere during it. I'm imagining it buried beneath a bunch of snow in the grocery store parking lot. Sometime this spring when the snow melts some lucky person will find it.

So we made it home and the kids watched one of the movies while I did some cleaning. Then, as I was making lunch, Matthew fell and bumped his mouth and managed to cut his lip pretty well with his teeth. Once I was able to see through all the blood, I noticed that all his teeth were still there, so that was a plus. Much crying ensued, and wiping of blood, and administering of tylenol, and wondering about calling the doctor. The blood stopped pretty quickly, and after about an hour he was able eat some soft foods like yogurt and applesauce.

So now with Matthew sleeping and Lucy playing quietly with her sewing box, I'm ready to tackle that application. Or maybe not. Maybe ready for a nap myself. I'm hoping the rest of the day is very quiet uneventful.

Oh, and when I was putting Matthew to bed, I noticed a whole unopened box of diapers in his close!

Homeschool Memoirs: Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

The Homeschool Post's Memoir theme for this week is: "post about what you did for New Year’s and what your traditions are each year.'

For quite a few years now, my parents have watched all the grandkids (my two kids, and my sister's two) so that we can celebrate the new year with my sister and her husband, and any friends who are available. We often end up going out for a fancy dinner and seeing a movie. We saw all the Lord of the Rings movies in this manner. This year, there was a threat of snow, so we made a fancy dinner at my house with my sister and her husband, and our friends Kelly and Tim. After dinner we played games until late at night. It was lots of fun! Our fancy meal was Raclette, which is a very tasty meal with European origins. Visit Raclette's Wikipedia page for more information about it. For dessert we had chocolate fondue.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-01-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Menu Plan Monday from the Organizing Junkie:

SUNDAY: Out to dinner after the movies, with my sister. We went to Steak & Shake.

MONDAY: Omelet with tomatoes, onion, cheese, and herbs; apples fried with cinnamon, sugar, and butter.

TUESDAY: Pork roast with carrots and potatoes cooked in bottled Sesame Ginger Teriyaki sauce from Meijer; steamed broccoli.

WEDNESDAY: Leftovers

THURSDAY: Walnut Crusted Tilapia, steamed broccoli, brown rice

FRIDAY: Linguine with bottled sauce, tossed salad, homemade bread (from the new breadmaker I got for Christmas!)

SATURDAY: Pork chops (not sure what I'm doing with them yet), whatever veggies I have left in the house

Books I Read in 2008

2009-01-02T05:55:00.000-08:00

Reading is my favorite hobby, and I've read as much as I possibly can, ever since I first learned how to read. In 2008, I set a goal for myself, which was to read more books than I ever have before in one year. (I've been keeping track of the books I've read every year since 1988.) I'm happy to announce that I met my goal! I read 5 books more, and about 1500 pages more than I have in any other year, for a total of 67 books and 21,592 pages. For anyone who's interested, I've listed the books below. A "*" denotes a book I've read before, that I re-read in 2008. My top favorites for the year (that I hadn't read previously) are:

FICTION: The Road, Cormac McCarthy. This book is very disturbing, as futuristic stories about the end of the world usually are, but for some reason I love stories about the end of the world. And this one is probably the best one I've read, because the writing style is utterly beautiful. The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is a close second for fiction. It's wildly bizarre and well written.

POETRY: National Anthem, Kevin Prufer. A book of poetry about the end of the world. I'm seeing a theme here! Kevin Prufer, in my opinion, is one of the best up-and-coming poets out there.

HOMESCHOOLING: Family Matters, David Guterson. This books is really, really well written. David Guterson is now a best-selling novelist, but he wrote this book before he was known in the world of fiction. I find many homeschooling books have pretty mediocre writing, so it's refreshing to read one by an excellent writer!

MEMOIR: The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls. Not only is this well-written, but Jeanette Walls' childhood was so bizarre, it makes for a fascinating read.

GENERAL NONFICTION: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver. This is a fascinating book about where our food comes from, and one family's quest to grow their own and/or eat only locally. And of course, Kingsolver is a fantastic writer.

The Road, Cormac McCarthy
Missing Mom, Joyce Carol Oates
*Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher
Run, Ann Patchett
Ethan Fromme, Edith Wharton
The Finishing School, Gail Godwin
The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler
National Anthem, Kevin Prufer
Body Surfing, Anita Shreve
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Circle of Three, Patricia Gaffney
Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld
Elephants & Butterflies, Alan Michael Parker
Dreams from My Father, Barack Obama
The Alchemists Daughter, Katharine McMahon
Mad Dash, Patricia Gaffney
Half a Life, V.S. Naipaul
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
The Saving Graces, Patricia Gaffney
An Indecent Obsession, Colleen McCullough
Generations, Pattian Rogers
*Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
Real-Life Homeschooling, Rhonda Barfield
*The Price of Priviledge, Madeline Levine
Generation Me, Jane Twenge
*Seventh Son, Orson Scott Card
*Red Prophet, Orson Scott Card
*Prentice Alvin, Orson Scott Card
*Alvin Journeyman, Orson Scott Card
*Heartfire, Orson Scott Card
*The Crystal City, Orson Scott Card
*The Other Side of the Sun, Madeleine L’Engle
Home School, Charles Webb
Chang and Eng, Darin Strauss
The Mending Worm, Joan Houlihan
Hold On To Your Kids, Gordon Neufeld & Gabov Mate
Leaping Poetry, Robert Bly
Change of Heart, Jodi Picoult
Carpool Diem, Nancy Star
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
Best Friends, Martha Moody
The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls
Love Walked In, Marisa DeLos Santos
Light on Snow, Anita Shreve
A Charlotte Mason Companion, Karen Andreola
The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, Ann Packer
Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv
Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto
Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch
Family Matters, David Guterson
Teach Your Own, John Holt & Patrick Farenga
Slam, Nick Hornby
A Nation of Wimps, Hara Marano
*Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot
The Half-Finished Heaven, Tomas Transtromer
Raising Cain, Kindlon & Thompson
Help for the Harried Homeschooler, Christine Field
Homeschooling the Teen Years, Cafi Cohen
Endangered Minds, Jean M. Healy
Too Much of a Good Thing, Dan Kindlon
*The Folk on the Fringe, Orson Scott Card
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Taking Back Childhood, Nancy Carlsson Paige
Consuming Kids, Susan Linn
Night, Elie Wiesel
*The Small Rain, Madeleine L’Engle
*A Severed Wasp, Madeleine L’Engle
A Sense of Self, Sheffer
The Plug-In Drug, Marie Winn
The Third Angel, Alice Hoffman
*A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel
*She Got Up Off the Couch, Haven Kimmel
*A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle

Classic Children's Books

2008-12-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

Lucy has a couple of science books for kids that she particularly loves to read, because they present facts about science and nature in story form. One is called The Meadow People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson, and the other is The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre. Both of these books were originally published about 100 years ago, and have recently been put back in print by a publisher named Yesterday's Classics. Not only are these fun to read, because of the story form, but they are also well written, they don't talk down to children, and they're not afraid to use big vocabulary words that most modern publishers would deem "too difficult." The high literary quality of these books make them perfect "living books" to use in a Charlotte Mason course of study. I bought the ones I have on Amazon.com, but the other day I discovered that The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project has many of them available online for free. There are many other great children's texts on this website as well! I've found that it's often just as cheap to just buy the book, rather than print them out (Lucy and I aren't big fans of reading on the computer). But I'm using this site to print out a chapter in order to decide whether we really want a book before we buy it.

Blizzards, Winter Storms and Cold Fronts, Oh My!

2008-12-22T04:21:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry it's been awhile since my last post. Apparently the weather has frozen up my creativity. Living about a mile east of Lake Michigan means we always get plenty of lake effect snow, but this year has been over the top. We've had one winter storm after another, since before Thanksgiving! The photo is from that first snow. Yesterday was the worst one yet, with the winter storm notched up into an official blizzard, and temperatures into the negatives and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour! And now there's another storm watch for tomorrow and Wednesday -- this time freezing rain and snow. I'm just glad the heat is working again.

On the homeschool front, we've been taking the month of December off, and have spent lots of time making Christmas art and craft projects, baking cookies, wrapping presents, etc. Though we're not officially "doing school," Lucy certainly hasn't stopped learning. She's reading a lot of books, continuing to learn Latin, which we just started recently, and has decided she wants to memorize the periodic table. (Thanks to A Wrinkle in Time on tape for this one. There's a scene where Meg, the main character, starts rattling off the elements, and this has inspired Lucy to memorize them.) The periodic table started a conversation about atoms and molecules, and morphed into some research on the Hadron Collider, which Lucy has enjoyed drawing pictures of. Lucy has also spent a lot of time entertaining her little brother, which he loves.

Christmas List

2008-12-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers posted the following quiz today. If you decide to play, post a comment and let me know!

1. Real tree or artificial? Real. When December rolls around I always look forward to a real tree, though every year after I get one, I say I'll never get a real one again, because of the pine needles all over the house. But I love the way real trees smell.

2. When do you put up the tree? A weekend early in December, when there's time in between all the other Christmas activities!

3. When do you take down the tree? When I get really, really tired of cleaning up the pine needles. Usually by New Year's.

4.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both, but mostly wrapping paper. I like wrapping gifts.

5. When do you start Christmas shopping? I shop year round, but most do most of it in October and November. My goal is to be done by December, so that I can enjoy all the other festivities. I almost made it this year.

6. Who is the hardest person to buy for? My father-in-law.

7. Easiest person to buy for? My kids, my mom, and my sister.

8. Angel on top of the tree, or star? Star.

9. What is the worst Christmas gift you ever got? Pajamas with a giant bunny on the front from my grandma. I was 24 years old!

10. What is the best gift you received as a child? I don't remember! My family didn't have much money, so I don't remember any really big, expensive gifts, but I always liked whatever it was that I got.

11. What is your favorite food to eat at Christmas time? Cheeseball, water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, meatballs, shrimp with cocktail sauce. Yes I know, not very healthy, but it's tradition!

12. What do you want for Christmas this year? I'd be really, really happy if someone would buy my house, which is for sale right now. Also, a bread maker.

Homeschool Memoirs #15: A Thankful Heart

2008-11-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

This week's Homeschool Memoirs asks us to list 27 things we're thankful for.

1. My husband and kids
2. Living pretty close to both sets of grandparents, my sister and her family, and one of my grandmas
3. Wonderful friends
4. My husband's stable job
5. Homeschooling
6. My laptop computer (even though it's on the fritz right now!)
7. Book, books, and more books
8. The upcoming Christmas season (my favorite time of year)
9. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate
10. A good church to attend
11. A warm home (the heat is finally fixed)
12. The Internet - the Internet makes homeschooling so much easier!
13. A sunny day
14. Music (especially Christmas, at the moment)
15. Magazines
16. My whirlpool bath tub
17. Thanksgiving meals (I get 2!)
18. Pumpkin pie
19. Trees - even though they are bare now, there are so many of them by my house, the landscape still looks lovely
20. The Bible
21. A good night's sleep, more than one night in a row!
22. Writing. I love to write, in most any genre. Even blogging is fun.
23. Paper and pens
24. My fireplace
25. The variety of seasons
26. Email - so much easier to keep in touch with people
27. Seeing how great my kids get along with each other!

Meal Plan Monday

2008-11-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Menu Plan Monday from the Organizing Junkie:

SUNDAY Use up the leftovers from last week

MONDAY Fresh Vegetables with Pasta and garlic bread made from hot dog buns with butter, salt, and garlic powder, then toasted in a hot oven

TUESDAY Chicken with Cornflake Crust (Dip chicken in melted butter, then in crushed cornflakes mixed with powdered garlic and Italian herbs; bake), brown rice, Glazed Carrots with Pistachios

WEDNESDAY Baked pasta with spaghetti sauce and fresh mozzarella, homemade garlic bread, tossed salad

THURSDAY my contribution to Thanksgiving at the in-laws is Apple Tea Bread

FRIDAY Dinner at my parents house

SATURDAY Thanksgiving at my parents house

My made up pork loin recipe last week turned out great. I made a sauce with orange marmalade, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, and Dijon mustard, spread that all over the roast, and baked it at 350 until it was done. I added some sauce to it periodically while it was baking. It was very tender and flavorful.

Marketing to Kids

2008-11-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of books I've read this month talk about how corporations market to kids, and about the detrimental effects of this: Taking Back Childhood, by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, and Consuming Kids, by Susan Linn. Taking Back Childhood doesn't spend a lot of time on the subject, as it has a more general purpose, but does have some good things to say about it. But Consuming Kids is an in-depth study of the issue. I highly recommend the book, but beware, it's very disturbing and will make you wonder whether you should get rid of your TV altogether, and never, ever eat at McDonalds! I'll never look at Ronald McDonald the same way, as, according to this book, his sole purpose is to pit children against their parents, and teach them that things such as school and trips to museums are boring and that McDonald's is a thrilling antidote to them!

Reading these books has made me want to DO SOMETHING about the problem. I protect my own children pretty ferociously from advertising, which isn't too hard to do when their young. We watch primarily videos and DVDs, and if there's something we must watch on TV, we tape it and skip the ads. Also we talk about ads we happen to see, about how they are trying to get people to want what they don't need. However, as my kids get older and spend more time away from me, this will be harder to do. And what about the millions of children who are exposed to this stuff constantly? As Consuming Kids says, people who grow up constantly bombarded with the message that buying stuff makes you happy, are not the sort of people who will be capable of thinking for themselves and thus contributing to a vital democracy.

But what can be done? Both of these books spent some time talking about that, which I thought was fabulous. So many books of cultural criticism I read leave me feeling hopeless, as though there was nothing I could do to help the problem. But apparently there are many groups out there who are campaigning for rules that would keep corporations from marketing to children. One good group is Commercial Alert. You can click on the the "Take Action" button to see how you can help. One other note: Marketing to children used to be prohibited by law, until it was deregulated in the 1980s. (Thanks Reagan!) Perhaps these organizations can help convince the next administration to regulate marketing once again!

Here are some other websites that are working against commercialization of childhood:
1. Media Education Foundation
2. Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
3. ACME

Meal Plan Monday

2008-11-17T14:00:00.001-08:00

The Organizing Junkie does a Menu Plan Monday every week. Since I love to cook, and I always make a menu ahead of time, I thought it'd be fun to participate in this. I'm only putting down dinners, since lunches tend to be leftovers or pretty simple fare, like grilled cheese sandwiches or mac and cheese.

SUNDAY Cheese and Corn Chowder, Pumpkin Bread from Trader's Joes mix

MONDAY Leftover Cheese and Corn Chowder and Pumpkin Bread

TUESDAY Country Omelet, toast, applesauce

WEDNESDAY Tacos topped with tomatoes, cheese, sour creams, salsa, and lettuce

THURSDAY Boneless Pork Loin with potatoes, with some sort of marinade/sauce I'm going to make up. (I'll let you know next week how it turns out.) With butternut squash, steamed broccoli

FRIDAY Leftovers from Thursday

SATURDAY Possibly more leftovers. The pork loin is pretty big! Or Fresh Vegetables with Pasta and garlic bread made from hot dog buns with butter, salt, and garlic powder, then toasted in a hot oven

Good Habits

2008-11-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

When you think of the word "habit," do you immediately think of something that is a bad habit? I know I do. Usually I think of the bad habit I had as a child and young adult of biting my nails. Or my bad habit of worrying about the future. But I've been thinking a lot lately about how some habits can be good. Like my new habit of getting up early before the kids to have some quiet time. I know it's become a habit now, because I usually don't have too much trouble getting myself out of bed in the morning. Whereas before the habit was established, it was pretty painful to drag my body out of bed at 7:30 a.m. I don't think of myself as someone who's very good at establishing good habits. It's so much easier to get attached to the bad ones. To get stuck in a rut. Or to not even notice bad habits, because they become so ingrained. But the fact that my new early morning quiet time habit has been so beneficial for my day-to-day state of mind has gotten me thinking about good habits in general, and more specifically: what good habits can I add to my life? Some of the ones I've come up with for myself are watching less TV, surfing the Internet less, and reading more books.

Encouraging good habits in my kids is also on my mind. I'm looking at it in a more positive way, trying to establish GOOD habits, rather than trying to get rid of the BAD. I'm guessing some of the bad will naturally slip away as the good ones take over. Charlotte Mason, in her educational philosophy, wrote about how important it is to establish good habits in children. While her list of habits is quite extensive (and thoroughly overwhelming), her advice was to pick a few of these, or even just one, to work on at a time with your children. For Lucy, I started out with the habit of attention. The first year of homeschooling often dissolved into frustration on my part because Lucy had such a hard time paying attention to the lessons. So this year we've been talking a lot about attention, and polishing her skills of attention using narration, and by having shorter lessons during which I encourage Lucy to focus her full attention for just a short period of time. There are many other habits that need polishing as well, but that one has been most important for us this year so far, because it's making school more relaxing and enjoyable for both of us!

In the book Endangered Minds, which I quoted from extensively in an earlier post, I came across a good quote about habits. "For children, habits of mind soon become structures of the brain -- and they absorb their habits, either directly or indirectly -- from the adult culture that surrounds them" (138). I'm sure Charlotte Mason didn't realize it would actually effect the growth of their brains, but according to recent brain research, she was onto something! It's the second part of this quote, though, that really strikes me. That children learn their habits, either good or bad, from the adults around them. Wow, that puts a lot of pressure on me to be a good example, doesn't it. Now I'm more determined than ever to start working on increasing my own good habits, because the little eyes are watching my every move.

To inject a little more Charlotte Mason here, she also talked a lot about how important a child's environment or atmosphere is to his or her development -- not just academically but also for the development of character. I'm trying hard to provide this atmosphere, though I still have a long way to go. I'm grateful to the Charlotte Mason method for making me more aware of habits and their effects.

For more information about the importance of atmosphere and habits, visit Simply Charlotte Mason. There are some great free books you can download.

Homeschool Memoirs #13: “Mom” Help!

2008-11-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the Homeschool Post Memoirs theme for this week: "This week I’d like to invite you to share what YOUR “Mom” help is. Some drink coffee, soda, or chia-tea. Others check email or read their favourite blogs. Some talk a walk…. what do you do when you need to clear your head and take a breather?"

One thing I do most every day to keep myself from getting too stressed out is to get up early before the kids and read my Bible, pray, drink some hot chocolate, and if I have time, work on a writing project (poetry, fiction, blogging, whatever project is at hand). And I try to fit in a little exercise each morning. I find I'm much happier and calmer on the days I get up in time to do this.

I also make a little time each evening for other things that are relaxing to me, such as playing word games with friends on Facebook, reading blogs and magazines, watching a TV show I recorded, or a movie. And I always, always read for awhile before bed, and often take a hot bath. Sometimes both at the same time! (I've only lost one book to the tub so far.)

More rarely, I might go out to dinner and a movie with a friend, or leave the kids at my parents house and go shopping by myself, or browse in a bookstore.

If I'm very stressed out, I often clean the house. The illusion of control over my environment, coupled with the physical activity is very refreshing!

World Atlas

2008-11-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post on Charlotte Mason Geography I talked some about map drills. I recently found a great website called World Atlas.com where you can get all sorts of blank maps to use for map drills. Check it out!

The Plasticity of Brains

2008-11-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot of books lately that provide interesting criticisms of how we raise children in our culture. While most of them don't even mention homeschooling as a possible solution to many of these problems, that's what I keep thinking as I read these books.

One interesting book I've read recently is called Endangered Minds, by Jane M. Healy. The author begins by talking about the fact that our brains actually physically change shape according to our learning experiences. Then, her premise is that children's brains have been changing physically for the worse lately, evidenced by attention spans that are "noticeably shorter," and "reading, writing, and oral language skills [that] seem to be declining" (15).

While there's a lot of technical stuff about brain research in the book that bogged my reading down now and then, overall I found it fascinating, and yet another good reason to homeschool my kids. And also another reason to continue to cut down on time in front of the screen, not just for the kids, but for all of us.

Here are a few quotes from the book, to whet your appetite.

"For all students, steady increases in television viewing and less time spent reading are accepted as negative influences on verbal scores" (18).

"Our society is becoming increasingly aliterate ... 'An aliterate is a person who knows how to read buy who doesn't choose to read" (23).

"Most people are unaware that there has been a major 'dumbing down' of reading tests since the 1960s" (27). Apparently instead of getting our children to be better readers, we dumb down the tests so that they look like they are still doing okay!

"Parents, themselves overwhelmed, abdicate to the peer and popular culture much of the shaping of their children's mental habits" (45).

It is possible that "the pace of our contemporary life, when many children are constantly being stimulated from outside so that they have little time to sit, think, reflect, and talk to themselves inside their own heads -- could ... make a physical difference in their brains" (55).

"Even if the linguistic quality of television were upgraded ... the one-way nature of media talk makes it a poor teacher. Good language, like the synapses that make it possible, is gained only from interactive engagement: children need to talk as well as to hear.... [Children] also get little conversation training at schools" (88).

"Clearly, to be well prepared for reading, writing, listening, and speaking, children need to interact with increasingly advanced language during the years of childhood" (115).

"Even 'normal' students show increasing difficulty keeping their brains focused long enough to learn in traditional ways" (137).

"To the extent that children commit time looking at TV, they're not spending time reading. When a child reads a novel, he has to self-create whole scenarios, he has to create images of who these people are, what their emotions are, what their tones of voices are, what the environment looks like, what the feeling of this environment is. These self-create scenarios are important, and television leaves no room for that creative process" (214).

American Materialism: Suzy Orman on Oprah

2008-11-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

There's an interesting discussion going on at A Homegrown Life blog that I wanted a little more room to talk about, rather than just in the comment box. The basis of the posting is an Oprah show featuring Suzy Orman. Suzy apparently told a woman who was expecting her second baby that she wouldn't be able to afford to stay home with her kids, even though the husband would be making over $6500 a month, and they had plenty of money in savings.

If you click on the link above and read the rest of the post, this advice has gotten we stay-at-home and/or homeschooling mom types pretty riled up, since most of us do it with a significantly smaller budget. But I think the posting and follow-up comments bring up some very important points that ought to be explored further. One is that parents have an instinctual desire to provide materially for their children. The second is the danger of this instinct when it careens out of control. And then the third is the fact that material comforts and quality time with kids are often viewed as an either/or situation.

Obviously, parents have an instinctive desire to provide materially for their children. Without that instinct, children wouldn't survive to adulthood! We all want our children to eat well, have clothes, a roof over their heads, etc. But the problem is, how far do we go with that? Should we buy the more expensive, organic food? Should we get the house that has enough room for a playroom, or a school room? Should we buy brand name clothes, or clothes from Wal-Mart? It's hard to know where to draw the line. To figure out which things are really important to give to our children, and which are extraneous. It's particularly difficult to do so when we live in a culture that says more is always better -- more and more money, and more and more possessions. And the message is not only that more is better just for its own sake, but that we must buy the latest and greatest products or we will cause irreversible harm to our children. This message is particularly insidious because it attempts to hide the blatant materialism by preying on our most basic instincts to protect and care for our children. So we buy the latest products because they are educational! Or because they will make our children healthier! Or because they will keep our children safe! I know these messages work on me. For example, when we needed a new car, we bought the newest Honda minivan, rather than a cheaper, used vehicle, because the new one had more safety features. It's not bad to want to protect our kids, but how do we know when we've gone too far?

There are quite a few books being published lately that talk about the negative influence of extreme materialism on family life. (Some good examples include The Price of Privilege, by Madeline Levine; Too Much of a Good Thing, by Dan Kindlon; Generation Me, Jean Twenge.) These books all talk about how children who come from wealthy families and who have many material possessions experience extremely high rates of problems such as depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. They also talk about the fact that along with material possessions, the parenting style of many wealthy families has parents protecting their children from any sort of failure and disappointment. I'm guessing this is something many of us do to some degree, whether we believe ourselves to be wealthy or not -- due partly to the fact that we are mostly all wealthy compared to families in other countries and in the past, and also due to the fact that we live in this culture of over-protectiveness and materialism and it probably rubs off on us whether we want it to our not. I know I'm guilty of this from time to time, and I'm trying to do better at being aware of it.

BUT the thing that strikes me most in these books is that most of the children and adolescents who are being showered with gifts and protected from disappointments are spending very little time with their families. And this bothers children. Even teenagers, who in our culture are supposed to despise their parents, instead of wanting to spend time with them. According to Dan Kindlon in Too Much of a Good Thing, "the number one concern expressed by kids was not having enough time together with their parents" (91). And many parents don't seem to notice this, since "adolescents were three times as lively as their parents to say that this was a problem." Kindlon goes on to say that "other research shows that if teenagers don't spend time with their parents ... they're at double or even triple the risk for sexual activity at a young age, drug use, and emotional problems." And research shows that parents really do spend less time with their children these days. According to a University of Michigan study, "between 1981 and 1997, the amount of time families spent talking with one another declined 100 percent" (94).

These are just a few examples from one book. There are many other studies which show how important time and attention from parents is on the mental and emotional health of children. Why then, are we as a society, so bad at paying attention to our kids? Why do quality time with kids and basic material comforts have to be mutually exclusive? I think the answer is pretty obvious. We believe that we need way more money than we actually do need. Certainly, this isn't true for everyone, and there are families who struggle just to put food on the table. But those of us who are middle class or above are often guilty of this. I know I am. Even though our family has chosen to live on one income in order to give our children more time and attention, I know I'm still guilty of buying way more than I really need too. Of thinking that I need things that I really don't need. I'm aware of it. I know that culture is giving me this message. I try to do it less. And yet I still do it.

I don't have a solution for the problem, really. If anyone wants to comment with suggestions of what has worked for you, please do! I think being aware of the problem does help. As does a commitment to try and live differently from the culture. As a homeschooler, I do this every day. And the longer I homeschool, the more aware I become of just how differently we our living our lives. I'm hoping it will keep changing me more and more for the better!

Homeschool Memoirs #11: Field-trips

2008-10-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the homeschool memoirs theme for this week, from The Homeschool Post: "This week I’d like to invite you to share your favorite field trip that you’ve been able to go on since you’ve started homeschool. I’d encourage you to include photos, but you don’t have to."

By far my favorite field trip was the 10 day trip Lucy and I took to South Dakota this summer. See my South Dakota trip post to read more about our trip and see some pictures.

Some other great field trips we've done include The Field Museum in Chicago and Chicago's Millenium Park, the South Bend Zoo, The Curious Kids' Museum, and the Morton Arboretum.

Above, Lucy poses with "Sue" at the Field Museum.

A Charlotte Mason Education: Geography

2008-10-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

For geography, again, living books are of utmost importance, because living books allow children to learn about the people who live or lived in different parts of the world. This is much more interesting than learning just the dry facts about locations. It makes these places come alive!

The Charlotte Mason method doesn't dictate any sort of order to follow for geography, so I've been feeling at loose ends, trying to come up with a plan for our geography study this year. But a book I've been reading recently called Endangered Minds, by Jane M. Healy is inspiring me to start connecting our geography study with our study of history, for the author talks about the fact that contemporary children tend to get information in bits and pieces and have trouble connecting things together. So in history right now, since we are studying Ancient Egypt, my plan is to take a look at some maps from that time period, and then to do a brief study of contemporary Egypt. We are also tying in our study of art and poetry with history. And Lucy's writing practice will center on it too.

The Charlotte Mason method also suggest doing weekly map drills, to help children memorize maps. I picked up a pad of blank continent maps from United Art and Education, and once a week I had Lucy write in the names of the continents and major oceans from memory. Anything she didn't know, she left blank, and then filled in with an already labeled map. This worked great! She had all these memorized within a couple of weeks.

Homeschool Memoirs #10: 10 Timely Facts

2008-10-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

This week's Homeschool Memoirs at The Homeschool Post website is about 10 timely facts about you. Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you! Include facts about you as a woman, a wife, a mommy, a homeschooler, a homekeeper, a taxi-driver, a cook, etc . So here are mine:

1. I love science fiction and I own a bunch of Star Trek novels, which I hide behind the other, more respectable books on my bookshelf.
2. I've written my own science fiction novel (as yet unpublished).
3. I have an MFA in poetry writing, an MA in theological studies, and I've always wanted a Ph.D. in something.
4. I was 21 years old the first time I flew on an airplane.
5. I will only write with certain kinds of pens. Mr. Sketch scented markers or Pilot Precise rolling ball pens.
6. I don't like most vegetables and I hate white milk.
7. I love playing word games on Facebook.
8. I love vacuuming.
9. I can't go to sleep unless I read for awhile first.
10. I read theoretical physics for fun.

Unschooling

2008-10-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

While we normally use the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, now and then we take a week off from that and do a week of unschooling. If you don't know what unschooling is, look at this website, or Google it to find lots more information. But basically it's learning that's completely child-directed. The parent functions primarily as a facilitator, helping the child to find things related to their interests.

I'm always amazed by how much Lucy learns during these unschooling weeks. Here's an example of what she did during a recent week off:

1. Read two classic books: Cinderella, and The BFG, by Roald Dahl
2. Created a Vivaldi notebook page
3. Made a garden in the driveway, which involved dumping a bunch of dirt in the driveway and planting weeds and nuts in it.
4. Played with Legos a lot
5. Made a pioneer journal
6. Invented a game which involved me hiding addition flashcards and her answering them when she found them.
7. Figured out that she already new her times 10 and times 11 facts

A Charlotte Mason Education: History

2008-10-15T04:50:00.000-07:00

And now for another installment in my Charlotte Mason education series. Today I'm going to talk a bit about history. Here again living books are of great importance for Charlotte Mason's history method. In any time period we are studying, I supplement general information about the era with primary source material, biographies, historical fiction, poetry, art, etc. The method also suggests creating a Book of Centuries, which is basically a timeline that you and your child create, but in book form. Simply Charlotte Mason has free pages that you can print out that have the time period on the top while the remainder of the page is blank. I printed these out, 3-hole punched them, and put them into a three-ringed binder. Now every time we study a historical period or concept, or a historical figure we add it/them to our Book of Centuries.

This year we've been using the book The Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer as our main history text. We're starting with the Ancient Times book, which is the recommended book to begin with. I love this book for several reasons. The history text is very well written, and includes many stories to illustrate particular information about each time period. I bought the Activity Book too, which includes review questions and narration exercises, lists additional living books to read, plus crafts and projects to go with each chapter, and in the back it includes fun activities like maps, coloring pages, and crossword puzzles. There's so much information in this book, we can delve as deeply as we want into each chapter, depending on Lucy's level of interest. I also bought the audio book version, and Lucy and I enjoy listening to each chapter together. I'm learning a lot too! I'm hoping that Lucy will listen to the audio book on her own too, so the information will really stick in her head.

The Ancient Times book starts out with the concept of history in general, archaeology, and prehistoric times. Along with using some of the suggested reading in the activity book (many of which I've been able to find at the library), I bought a wonderful series of art books, the Art in History series by Susie Hodge. Right now we are reading Prehistoric Art, which has wonderful color photos and includes a couple activities to try for yourself. Lucy recently made her own cave painting. I highly recommend these books!

Voting with Kids

2008-10-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

If you're like me and your homeschool and/or have small children at home, you may find it necessary to take the kids with you when you vote. I've taken Lucy with me since we started homeschooling last year, and I think it's made her much more aware of the whole election phenomenon. She's fascinated with the process this year, probably since electing a president is so much more dramatic to her than the typical fare on the ballots in our small town here, things like village president, school board, etc. And so I'm thinking we'll do a short elections unit this month. Here's a website I found that encourages people to bring their kids with them when they vote, and also has some good resources for kids. Check it out: Take Your Kids to Vote. The Enchanted Learning website also has some great resources, though you have to be a member to access many of their printables. The good news is, the membership fee is very small (I think maybe $30 for the year) and definitely worth it. I print out things from this website to supplement nearly every subject we study.

The Funny Things Toddlers Say

2008-10-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

I just love the funny things that toddlers say. Here are some of Matthew's funniest:

-"Happy Matthew Day" (instead of Happy Birthday)
-"Me crying"
-"Mac-a-poo-bus" (Magic School Bus)
-"Oh no, 8:00!"
-"Me want more poems"
-"Me pick you up" (when he wants to be picked up)
-"Me show me" (when he wants to show me something)
-"Me wear skull"
-"Me say alphabet -- E, F, F, 2, V, A"
-"Me be temporary"
-"Me want pomegranate"
-"Goodlicious"
-"No throwing mama"

Books, Books, and More Books

2008-10-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

It’s been my experience that many homeschoolers (myself included) absolutely love books. If you are a bibliophile, you may enjoy this meme Booking Through Thursday. Here are this week's questions.

What was the last book you bought?
I just went to a bookstore called Half-Priced Books for the first time, and came out of there with a whole box full of stuff. So I’ll just list a few. For Lucy: several Roald Dahl books; a gorgeous edition of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales; a book about Penguins. For myself: The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom; Homeschooling the Teen Years, Cafi Cohen; and Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age, Dan Kindlon.

Name a book you have read MORE than once
I’ve read all of my favorites more than once. Here are a few I’ve read over and over multiple times: Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (and actually, most of the books he’s written); The Wasteland, T.S. Eliot; Walking on Water, Madeleine L’Engle (and most of the books she’s written); Middlesex, Jeffery Eugenides; The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger; A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving; My Name Is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley; The Sparrow and Children of God, Mary Doria Russell.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle. This book has helped me keep writing poetry even when I didn’t feel what I was writing was very good. It also has helped me define my own philosophy of art and writing, and has showed me how to integrate faith with art.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
First of all, I’ll always pick a new book by one of my favorite authors over anything else. I read Amazon.com reviews to help me decide on many books, and I love recommendations from people who like books similar to what I like. And if I’m browsing in the library or bookstore, uncertain of what to pick up, then cover design definitely influences my decision. As does genre, since I have my few genres that are of particular interest to me, namely literary science fiction, poetry, homeschooling, education, parenting, cultural criticism, and theoretical physics.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Both. I usually have several books in different genres going at the same time. One each in fiction, poetry, education/homeschooling/parenting, and then often a book of theology, science, or prosody, or perhaps a biography.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
Plot. I get bored if the plot moves to slowly, no matter how beautiful the writing is.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Hard to decide. I’d say either Owen Mean, from A Prayer for Owen Meany, or Ender, from Ender’s Game.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
Help for the Harried Homeschooler, Christine Field (apparently I’m distantly related to her, as she married my mother’s cousin); St. Athanasius On the Incarnation; The Gutenberg Elegies, Sven Birkets; At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
On Tuesday I finished reading 2 books -- Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, Kindlon & Thompson and The Half-Finished Heaven, Tomas Transtromer

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Yes, but only very rarely.

Kids Need Quiet Time Too

2008-10-09T11:31:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been reading a lot of cultural criticism type books that are focused on children and adolescents, and one theme that consistently comes up is the fact that between school, playdates, after-school activities, organized sports, TV, video games, and so on, kids these days don't have very much unstructured free time. And all the authors agree that a constant diet of structured activity and entertainment has a detrimental effect on kids. I've read a lot over the years about how this sort of over-scheduling has a negative effect on the development of imagination, and on a child's ability to entertain themselves, or even on their physical health. However, nearly all these more recent books are bringing up what seems to me the scariest negative effect of over-scheduling: the inability of these children to develop an authentic self.

Children who have no time to think or imagine or to contemplate their experiences have no idea who they are at the core. They don't know what they think, because they have no time to listen to their thoughts. They don't have time to recreate their experiences and find meaning in them through play and contemplation. Some authors even go so far as to say that as these self-less children grow up, they are unable to meet even the smallest of challenges, because they have no inner core to rely upon. And so, these authors (many of whom are adolescent therapists) state that these children turn to alcohol or drugs or other self-destructive behaviors in their attempts to deal with challenges and disappointments.

Homeschooling directly challenges this cultural trend. Not that I've done a formal study on this, but from the homeschoolers I know, and from the things that I have read about homeschooling (which are many), it appears that giving our children TIME is one of the main motivating factors behind our decisions to homeschool. Time for our children to play, to think, to create, to imagine, and to develop according to their own internal clocks. Time to create their inner selves.

Quiet Time

2008-10-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

As a mother it's hard to find a bit of quiet time during the day, whether you're homeschooling or not. And I don't know about you, but I find that I absolutely must have some time to myself, preferably every day, in order to be a happy mommy. With just one child, this was easy to do during afternoon naptime. But with two, things get more complicated. Often Lucy and I have to do some school things during Matthew's nap time, when we're not distracted by how funny and cute he is!

So, despite not being a morning person at all, I've actually been setting my alarm and getting up an hour or two before my kids. It is hard -- nearly impossible -- to drag myself out of bed, usually before the sun has fully risen, and I won't fool you, the first few minutes are pretty awful. But once I sit down at my desk with my cup of hot chocolate (wishing desperately that I liked coffee), in the perfectly quiet house, I'm loving it! Usually I read my Bible and write in my journal, and if I've gotten up early enough, I spend some time working on whatever project I'm in the midst of (right now, revising a novel I wrote years ago).

Somehow, whenever I get up early the rest of the day goes so much better. I feel more calm and centered (and thus more patient with the kids), more in balance, and less worried about how I'll find time to read my Bible and write once the day gets busy. Try it for yourself! You might like it!

A Charlotte Mason Education: Short Lessons

2008-10-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

Finally, the next installment in my discussion of Charlotte Mason. Short lessons for younger students (15-20 minutes per subject) is a great way to develop your child's attention span, or as Charlotte Mason calls it, a "habit of attention." I've found that with a short lesson, my daughter can more easily be fully engaged and focused for the entire lesson. Whereas with the longer lessons we attempted last year, it was very difficult for her to keep her focus, which made me feel as though I needed to nag her quite a bit in order to get through each lesson. School time is much more pleasant for both of us when there is little to no nagging involved!

I've started using the short lesson concept with myself too. I often feel as though there's not enough time in my day to get through everything on my "to do" list. So instead of trying to finish all of my "to do" items every day, I do short amounts of these tasks at a time, spreading the task out over a day, or even over the span of a week or longer. This helps me not to feel overwhelmed by the things I need or want to get done, because I know they will get done eventually, a bit at a time. It also keeps me from getting bored with one particular task, and it allows me to fit in things I don't normally think I have time to do -- like scrapbooking. Usually scrapbooking seems like a huge, overwhelming task, since I'm always behind. But if I sit down and do 15 or 20 minutes of it a few times a week, the job doesn't seem so large, and eventually I'll get caught up. Or at least, I won't get as far behind as usual!

I'm using this method with most everything on my to do list. I do laundry a load at a time, here and there, instead of doing it all at once and having it take up my entire Saturday. If I have a lot of phone calls to make, I do one a day over the course of a week. And I'm fitting in things I love to do but don't always have time for. A 1/2 hour of cross stitching in the evening now and then. Sneaking in 15 minutes of reading while my son is busy playing. I'm feeling much more relaxed because of it, and interruptions don't bother me as much. Try it out for yourself and see if it works for you!

2008-09-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago The Homeschool Post invited readers to list their favorite homeschool related websites in a number of categories. I'm finally getting around to doing this, though I don't have an entry for every category they suggested. Here they are:

Magazines/Carnivals - in print or online
Home Education Magazine
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Eclectic Homeschool Online

Freebie sites - any sites that offer freebies or often have giveaways
Enchanted Learning Some free stuff, small yearly fee gives you access to lots of printables.
LibriVox Free audio books to download.
Homeschool Free Stuff

Homeschool news/informative
Best Homeschooling.org
National Home Education Research Institute

Youth/kid - sites geared towards youth/kids or owned by them
KidSites.com
Science News for Kids

Homeschool Method - sites that offer a lot of info on a certain method
Simply Charlotte Mason
Notebooking
Ambleside Online

Businesses - particularly homebased
Queen Homeschool Supplies
Living Books Curriculum

Click here for links to other Homeschool Post readers' favorite websites.

Electronic Calendars

2008-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so far I've resisted the whole electronic calendar/organizer phenomenon. I've never owned a Blackberry or an i-phone (do those have planners on them?), etc. Yes, I still use a day planner, which I write in with an actual pen. And it's the same kind of planner that I used when I was in college. However, in Parents magazine I read a review of a calendar/planner website and I thought I'd check it out. I was immediately hooked by the fun graphics, color coded organizational system (each family member is a different color), the family journal, and the shopping list that you can have the site text to your phone if you find yourself at the store without it. I've only used the site for one day, but so far I love it. We'll see if I stick with it. I haven't thrown out the college planner yet. Oh, the website is Cozi. Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

They're Never Too Young to Help

2008-09-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

At what age do your children start helping around the house? My two year old loves to help. Though his "help" often ends up being more of a hindrance, I figure it's laying the foundation for future responsibility. In the picture at the right, Matthew is loading silverware into the dishwasher. He also loves to put things in the washer. I will often find random items in the washer when I go to put some laundry in!

Notebooking

2008-09-17T18:50:00.001-07:00

I'd been reading a lot of homeschooling blogs lately, and I kept coming across something called "notebooking." Now, I had never heard this term before, so I did what I always do when I need to find information: I Googled it. And boy am I ever happy that I did. It appears that notebooking is actually a lot like scrapbooking, only instead of putting family photos in a scrapbook, your child makes a scrapbook of things he or she is learning about. For example, Lucy has been listening to and learning about the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi over the last couple of weeks. So this week she created a notebooking page for him (left). We printed out a portrait of him, a picture of one of his composition, and a picture of the orphanage where he worked as a music teacher for many years (all found on Google images). Lucy pasted these on her paper, decorated the page, and wrote some things about his life that she remembered. And now we've got a creative record of what Lucy has learned. Lucy loves art and any sort of creative art projects, so she's thrilled with the addition of notebooking to our homeschool!

For a thorough explanation of notebooking, and some great free resources, visit Notebooking Pages.com.

Simply Great Chicken

2008-09-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

On a completely different subject, I made this chicken recipe tonight that was so tasty and easy, I had to share it. I tore this recipe out of a magazine, but I don't know which magazine. So I don't know who to give credit for it, but here it is.

Simply Great Chicken

1 broiler-fryer chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up and skin removed
1 envelope (.7 oz.) Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 c. packed brown sugar

In a greased 13" x 9" baking dish, place chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle with salad dressing mix and sugar. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings. Enjoy!

What People Need, To Teach Their Own Children

2008-09-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a teaching certificate or a graduate degree, or even a college degree. In the words of John Holt, one of the modern homeschooling movement's founders, this is what people need in order to teach their children:

"First of all, they have to like them, enjoy their company, their physical presence, their energy, foolishness, and passion. They have to enjoy all their talk and questions, and enjoy equally trying to answer those questions. They have to think of their children as friends, indeed very close friends, have to feel happier when they are near and miss them when they are away. They have to trust them as people, respect their fragile dignity, treat them with courtesy, take them seriously. They have to feel in their own hearts some of their children's wonder, curiosity and excitement about the world. And they have to have enough confidence in themselves, skepticism about experts, and willingness to be different from most people, to take on themselves the responsibility for their children's learning" (from Teach Your Own).

I don't think I fit all of these requirements very well when I first started homeschooling (at least not for the majority of the time), but I've found myself increasingly enjoying the presence of my children as we've spent more time living and learning together.

A Charlotte Mason Education: Narration

2008-09-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

This summer Lucy read a great many books. But many times, even immediately after she'd finished a book, if I asked her what the book was about she'd be unable to tell me. If you've had this experience with your children, try narration! Narration requires children to really focus on what they are reading, and it enables them to have better recall. The premise is simple. Your child reads something (for younger children, a paragraph or short passage, moving up to chapters, and then even whole books as they get older), then immediately tells it back to you in their own words. The narration can be either oral, written, or drawn. We use a little bit of each of these, often depending on how the reading has inspired Lucy to respond. Narration can be used in any subject, and can also be great for recalling something the child just heard (say, something you've just read to them, or a CD they've listened to) or saw (a piece of art, movies, plays, etc.).

I'm amazed at how well this method has worked for Lucy. We've started practicing narration using Aesop's fables, which are short enough for Lucy's age. At first, Lucy couldn't recall a single thing after reading a story just once. Now, just a few weeks later, she narrates it back to me easily. She's noticed the change too, and it's amazing to see how proud she is of herself.

Once you're aware of narration, you'll probably notice that your kids already naturally do this. When children are excited about something they have just seen, heard, or read, they want to tell you all about it, so you can share their excitement!

Kids Discover Magazine

2008-09-11T12:28:00.001-07:00

Whether you're teaching your kids at home, or just looking for some interesting reading material for them, Kids Discover magazine is a great resource. Each issue explores one particular theme, usually on science or history/social studies. We recently learned all about gold from one of our issues, and just received the latest issues about elections.

A Charlotte Mason Education: Living Books

2008-09-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I promised earlier that I would talk a bit about the new educational method Lucy and I are trying out for our homeschool this year. It's called Charlotte Mason, and it's based on the ideas of a woman named Charlotte Mason (ironic, eh?) who was an educator in Great Britain during the late 19th/early 20th century. Her basic philosophy was that "education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life." This quote is from Simply Charlotte Mason.com, which is the best website I've found for a comprehensive description of Charlotte Mason's philosophies and methods.

There are a lot of components to the method, and I'm going to discuss each of them over the next few weeks here, as well as how we're putting them into practice and how they've been working for us so far. The overarching method is that children are educated using "living books" rather than textbooks. "Living books," as defined by Simply Charlotte Mason.com, are books "usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject 'come alive.' "

When I came upon the idea of "living books," I realized that Lucy and I had already been using a lot of living books in our curriculum, as do most homeschoolers. These would be the nonfiction books you get at the library to supplement the subjects you are studying at home. Or the great works of literary fiction you're reading to your child before bed at night -- even those you're reading to your baby or toddler, like Goodnight Moon, or the Peter Rabbit stories. The only thing different about using them in relation to Charlotte Mason's method is that they replace most textbooks and/or workbooks that you have been using. Now, I say most, because even among staunch Charlotte Masonites, some workbooks or textbooks are used -- especially for Math, which necessarily involves computation, though the method asks that you use a hands on math program, rather than a purely textbook approach (but more about math later).

The difference "living books" are making in our approach this year is that we're using workbooks more sporadically, only as a supplement to our reading. For example, Lucy studies some poetry every week, mainly by reading great poets (right now we are reading through A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson), and writing some of her own poetry. But every now and then I use a workbook called Read and Understand Poetry for further study on particular forms of poetry, or to supplement different subjects we are studying. But the difference here is that the workbook is used as extra support; it is not to replace the actual reading of living books of poetry. Some other workbooks we use are A Reason for Handwriting, to practice cursive; the workbook for the Math-U-See program (a program which also includes hands-on manipulatives); a couple science workbooks to supplement our nature study; a workbook called Bible Truths to help Lucy learn basic Bible stories and how to look up verses; and also a Charlotte Mason based grammar/writing/literature workbook called Language Lessons for the Elementary Child, which is a very gentle introduction to the components of the English language, and includes much "living" literature within it. The Language Lessons book is published by a wonderful Charlotte Mason book supply and publishing company, Queen Homeschool Supplies, Inc.

Some other "living books" we have been reading so far in our homeschool are Little House on the Prairie (for our study of pioneer life), Eyewitness Music, Hurlbut's Story of the Bible, Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography, and some science books published by Yesterday's Classics which turn science facts into story form. Right now Lucy is reading Among the Meadow People, from that publisher. Plus a a big variety of science and history books from the library, and also whatever fiction Lucy picks out to read.

Tune in next time for a discussion of Charlotte Mason's "narration" method.

Week-Long Field Trip

2008-08-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Last week Lucy and I joined my sister and her family on a camping trip to South Dakota. This was certainly the most exciting (and longest) field trip Lucy and I have taken so far. And we both experienced and learned all sorts of interesting things! Too many things to talk about here, but I'll mention some of the highlights. According to Lucy, the best part of the trip was holding and petting kitties in the barn at the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota. (This is the setting for most of the Little House on the Prairie books). We encountered many other interesting, and perhaps more exotic animals along the way as well, including prairie dogs (which we fed peanuts), bison, antelope, mountain goats, and wild burros. Luckily, despite the plethora of signs warning us, we didn't see a single rattlesnake. The picture to the left shows Lucy with her cousins Lily and Jesse.

We also saw all sorts of different types of land, including tons of prairie land, the Black Hills, the Bad Lands, and forests, and we crossed two major rives: the Mississippi and the Missouri. Our camping spot was right in the Black Hills, at Custer State Park, and the kids could do a bit of rock climbing behind our campsite. The kids named one rock "Mt. Unclimbable" because they couldn't climb it. While camping we experienced bad weather up-close, with loud thunderstorms at night. In the picture at the right, Lucy is climbing a rock in the Bad Lands.

And let's not forget all the American history we experienced! A rest area in Minnesota along the Missouri River was an important historical site for the Lewis and Clark journey (of course, I can't remember which!). We had a picnic lunch there on our way out to South Dakota, and visited the Lewis and Clark museum, which had artifacts from the journey and a replica of their boat. We also learned lots more about the pioneers, including what sorts of chores they would have done (picture, left), the hardships they encountered, where they went to school (many were homeschooled because school was either too far away, or bad weather kept them from getting there), how they traveled, and the kinds of houses they lived in.

We also experienced some ancient history at a Mammoth dig in Hot Springs, SD. There was a Junior Paleontologist program that the kids participated in there. They were able to dig for real Mammoth bones at one of the most important Mammoth dig sites in the world! Of course, we also saw Mt. Rushmore (many times, from various vantage points). We even got to take a chair lift up a tall hill, and look at Mt. Rushmore while we ate lunch at the top.

The whole trip was amazing, but my favorite part was the Ingalls Homestead, which is the actual 160 acres that Charles Ingalls bought as part of the Homestead Act. The kitties weren't necessarily my favorite part (since I'm allergic to them), but the whole place was a great experience, since I've loved Little House on the Prairie since I was a kid. We saw various Ingalls artifacts and photos, visited a one-room schoolhouse, took a covered wagon ride, rode ponies, went inside a dugout house, and slept overnight in a covered wagon bunkhouse. The stars at night on the prairie were fantastic! Lucy bought an apron and a bonnet at the gift shop, and she wore it around there the whole time. The wagon to the left is the one we slept in overnight.

Lucy wants me to talk about the wild burros some more. These burros are descendants of burros that used to take tourists on rides through Custer State Park. Now they roam around the park (somewhat) wild. We got out of the car and petted them and fed them. Also one stuck its head in our car (picture, right).

Nature Notebook

2008-07-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Nature Notebook is a great way to do science with your young elementary school age child. The premise is simple: (1)take a notebook and pencil outside; (2)find something interesting; (3)draw it. After Lucy draws something (today it was 2 daddy long-legs spiders), we look up more information about it, either on the Internet, or in one of the reference books we are slowly collection. For insects, the DK Smithsonian Handbook is great. We have discovered all sorts of interesting creatures in our yard, including a praying mantis, various kinds of bees, water scavenger beetles, horse flies, crickets, grasshoppers, lady bugs, etc. etc. For most insects, Lucy likes to write a few interesting facts about them to compliment the drawing. Today for the spiders we found a couple of spider poems on the Internet to go with the drawing -- "A Noiseless Patient Spider," by Walt Whitman and "The Spider and the Fly," by Mary Howitt, thus combining our science study with a bit of good literature. Here is a great blog for more information about using a Nature Notebook.

When we started keeping a Nature Notebook in the fall, I had no idea it was part of the Charlotte Mason method of education, which we are going to try out this year for third grade. I'll post more about the method and why we are trying out, later on.

Old Fashioned Down-Home Cooking'

2008-07-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

As part of my quest to simultaneously save the environment and save money, I bought a whole chicken. No, not a live chicken. A dead, already plucked and packaged chicken. What does that have to do with the saving money and the environment, you may ask? Well, first of all it was a lot cheaper than the boneless, skinless chicken breasts I normally buy. Only $3.50 for a 4 1/2 pound chicken. I roasted it in the oven with potatoes and carrots, and a sauce of honey, garlic, butter, rosemary, and salt. It was delicious, and fed 6 people with a bit leftover. I saved the carcass, which still had a bit of meat on it, and the next day simmered it with some stuff to make homemade chicken broth, to which I added some tortellini and herbs for a delicious chicken soup. Then I gave the skin and fatty parts of the chicken to the dog for dinner. Using every bit of that chicken (except the bones) made me feel less wasteful than usual. It was a good feeling! All for just $3.50.

Theories

2008-07-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

A few minutes ago Lucy came into my office and said "I'm bored!" So there goes that theory. Though it's true she says that a lot less than she used to. Here's a photo with one project Lucy came up with this winter, during some downtime. With markers Lucy colored faces and clothes onto puppet popsicle sticks (found at Hobby Lobby), created a stage, and put on a show. Boredom begets creativity! The show for some reason involved thousands of little pieces of cut paper that Matthew proceeded to dump all over the floor. Boredom begets mess!

Mom, I'm Not Bored

2008-07-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, after hearing a mom complain about how often she's heard the words "mom, I'm bored," from her child this summer, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't heard Lucy say that even once all summer. In fact, I can't remember the last time I heard her say "I'm bored." Is this one of those little known "reasons to homeschool" that I've never come across before? Has anyone else experienced this?

In my mind, there are two possibilities for this phenomenon. (1) Lucy has become used to "being bored" since she's at home a lot and she knows I'm not going to bail her out, so she finds something to do; or (2) This is the natural state of children who are not constantly entertained by school, after-school activities, hours and hours of TV and video games, etc.

Introduction

2008-07-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Though I've been thinking about and beginning to plan for the upcoming school year for several months now, the planning kicks into high gear in July. Only another month or so until school starts for the local school district, and also for us. Though we do some informal schooling over the summer (i.e. today, catching a beetle and inspecting it up close with our magnifying eye that we can plug into the TV), play-dates with school friends and various trips take precedence.

July also seems like a good time to start a blog, since (1) I have a bit of extra time; and (2) I'm excited about the upcoming year and not burned out yet!

Lucy and I will be starting our second year of homeschooling this year, with Lucy entering 3rd grade. She attended public school for Kindergarten and 1st grade, and didn't go back for 2nd. Financial problems in our local school district (complete with the usual program cutbacks and political fights) were the main reason we began to homeschool, however, as time goes on, I've found more and more positive reasons to continue (I'll blog about those later). Lucy loves to read, create art projects, dance (ballet and tap), play with her little brother, play outside, and do anything that involves using her imagination. She's always been creative and more interested in the languages arts part of school, though she can't wait to learn multiplication this year.

Lucy's little brother Matthew just turned 2 years old, and is learning letters, counts to 10, and can say just about any word. His favorite things to do are play ball, sit in papa's car (grandpa), play with water and rocks outside, go down the slide, and play with his big sister. I don't plan on doing any formal schooling with him for awhile, but am working on assembling a "school" box for him, so that he can play school along with us. He wants to do whatever Lucy does!

Besides homeschooling, I write and publish poetry (I have an MFA in Poetry Writing), work as Poetry Editor for a small press, and like to read, cook, garden, and scrapbook. And now, blogging!