We are Breaking

One of the {many} wonderful things about homeschooling is that you can break when ever you want to. And our time is now. Benjamin is due next week and so we are out for summer while we do a little cleaning and then getting to know the newest member of our family.

So while everyone else is anticipating the back to school-ness, we are in our jammies and enjoying our time.

I love that I can set my own schedule and that I can take this time off. Not just from running places, but from planning anything as well. I'm really excited for the down time.... as much as I can because soon there will be a baby that will be needing me.

I never thought homeschooling would be THIS great for our family but it is and I'm so happy that the boys are doing so well {and frankly that I am doing so well...}

We are going to keep busy with field trips and small lessons but for the most part we are going to enjoy our "Summer Break"

Rocks and Art

Here was a fun art project that we did, and all it takes is some rocks and crayons. Wash up the rocks and then put them on a cookie sheet and then in the oven {250 for at least 15 minutes}

While the rocks are warming get the area ready. I put down a wash cloth, and then put some freezer paper down on top of that. Gather some old crayons and peel the paper from them.

When you pull out the rocks they are going to be really hot!! Put one at each place and then color on them with the crayons. As you color the wax will melt giving the rocks a painted look.

You'll want to do lots of rocks because they are really fun the kids will want to do more than one and you'll end up wanting to do them too.

Pennies and Science

I love Homeschool Creations!! I'm sure many have been over there and learned a lot from Jolanthe. Honestly I'm more of a stalker at her blog than anything else.... but I can't pass up reading about the fun things that she does, and all her ideas that she freely posts and the worksheets that you are able to download. Anyway.... she has posted some fun easy science projects and here is one that we did.

We gathered up all the dirty pennies that we around the house... and surprise, surprise Tommy knew where most of them where.... probably because he hid them there :)

And then we gathered all the things we would need.

Vinegar

Salt

Water

Dirty Pennies

Cups or Bowls

Paper Towels

Tablespoons

Spoons

We made some predictions. We did things a little different than Homeschool Creations. We made predictions about what would make the pennies the cleanest. Would it be just plain water? Or maybe just salt. How about salt and water... or water and vinegar. We made predictions about each combination.

Then we tried them all and laid them out to dry. We found that a combinations on salt and vinegar resulted in the cleanest pennies.

Here is the reason....Pennies become dull looking because the oxygen atoms in the air combine with the copper atoms on the pennies. When we mixed the salt with the vinegar, a chemical reaction took place. Together the two different items formed a new chemical called hydrochloric acid. When hydrochloric acid meets oxygen atoms on the surface of the pennies, it makes them shiny and looking new.

After that we counted all the pennies and made sure the boys had the same amount and they got to put them in their piggy bank.

I LOVE contact paper!!

I totally love contact paper!! We don't have the money for me to laminate everything that I want to. The next best thing.... {and personally I think.... THE best thing..} is contact paper. It's found next to shelf liner and I have seen it in two different sizes.

I have found that the best way to use the contact paper is to cut a piece out and lay it flat. I like to place my paper face down {that way any bubble that might happen end up on the back}

Then cut your second piece of contact paper and lay it down.... sticky side up. And lay your first piece on top of the empty piece {am I making sense?} that way you cut down on the wrinkles you might have. Smooth it all out and WHOLA!

Cut it out and you've got it. I 'laminate' almost everything. You can use dry erase markers on them so they are great for thing that are going to be used over again. I also did playdo mats. I have some which I love... it doesn't help with the mess... it still gets everywhere, but it's fun to see the boys pull them out and use their imagination to create different things.

I'm always looking for cheaper ways of doing things. What are some of your favorite... cheap things???

{not sure why the pictures came out yellow...}

Exception to the rule.

Normally I'm not big on electronic toys. I like toys that they boys actually have to play with and use their imagination. So when the idea of Geo-Tracks came up I wasn't really excited about it. Then I saw Tim play with them at Grandma's house. We got a couple more and Tim loved it!!! For Christmas we got many more tracks {thank you ebay!} and Tim is in heaven just about every day.

What I like about this is that Tim is working so hard to make his track work. And the tracks are just incredible! Up, down, under the bed and all over the room. And then he is very careful to have 4 trains going without them hitting each other. And it's fun to listen to him having his trains talk to each other.

I'm counting this as pre-engineering.

Math...

I am really like Math-U-See... and better than that the boys are really liking it. James is understanding it and Tommy is picking it up really fast.

It's nice to see something that is working so well, and they boys like math and look forward to working on it {.... as much as one can like math anyway}

I love being able to see the light go on when they understand something, especially something like math.

He was listening.

Tommy was listening as we talked about our bodies! Sometimes you don't realize it until later. I cut out these little guys as we talked about our family. Tommy took it in a little different direction.

The first guy is showing the skin.

The second guy... the nervous system

The third guy.... the muscles

The fourth guy... the bones

And the last guy... the digestive system

I know you can't really see it well, but he did a really good job with it and when you look at it you can see all the parts that he put.

I like seeing these little things. It makes me happy to know that they are listening... even sometimes when I don't think they are.

Art all around us.

I'm trying really hard to make sure we get a little art in. Tommy really likes art, but James... it comes in waves. James like learning about the artists and what style they used rather than just color.

By accident I found that freezer paper works really well to paint on. One side is paper and the other side is wax so there is no mess even if there is a lot of paint. This is my favorite thing for art work!!
You know you gotta love the dollar section at Target! I found these little ceramic mushrooms that you paint. {and a good lesson on not eating mushrooms that are not given you by mom and dad :) }

The boys have also been learning to sew. They made these little "gathering bags" {like the Egyptian children use to use to gather food} This actually went over really well and they are getting better at it.

We have also taken a look at Cubism. Some paper and a little tape and whola!!

I like being able to use what I have on hand and help the boys learn and love art. And seeing what they create is really cool!! It's neat to see the talent that they have. And I like seeing them pulling out paper and letting their imagination take over with out any prompting.

I am putting together an art bin for the summer and after the Benjamin is born. This way everything is at hands reach for them. {hopefully Tim will keep the art to his paper and not on his body....}

We are animals

We learned about cells... animal and plant cells and we looked at them and how they are the same. I am using R.E.A.L. Science, and I really like the curriculum. They have some great ideas about how to teach the lessons and some really great hands on activities.

Ass you can see there are two different kinds of cells. Animal cells are round, and plant cells are rectangle and have chloroplast.

We used orange jello to be our cell, and then green grapes for chloroplast, and a strawberry for the nucleus. The boys had a great time and it was easy to see the difference in the types of cells.

And the great thing is that it was really good to eat after. Science can be really yummy!!!

A couple days after doing this the boys were being really crazy and wild. I asked them why they were acting like animals. I guess they really got what the lesson was about, here is our conversations....

Me: Boys.... why are you acting like animals??!!!

Tommy: But mom... we are animals!

James: Yeah, our cells are round

Tommy: And we don't have chloroplast like plants do.

What do you say to that??? Nothing really... so I gave them apples and sent my little animals outside to play.

Kinder-Steps Dropout

{Orginally posted March 7, 2009}
It's official... I pulled James out of school.

Let me start at the beginning... For a while now James has not been wanting to go to school. And the other day we were sitting down just talking and he turned to me and said, "Mom, I really don't like school." We talked about it more and came to the point that he wanted to learn at home. I told him that he wouldn't see his teacher or his school friends any more, and he was ok with that. We talked that being at home didn't mean watching TV or playing all day, he would still have to do some school work and work really hard on his reading. He said ok. {I wanted to salvage some of the love of learning that he had when he started school} So on Thursday, I went and pulled him out of school.

I had really mixed feelings about it. I know I want to homeschool. But the pressure of society to make you think that you have no idea what your own child needs is strong. I think we so many just follow the crowd because it's easier. And the idea of having 6 hours free is very appealing. But I don't think my child would get the education that I want him to have. This will be a learning thing for me too, and I'm kinda scared, but excited too. James has been really interested in Galileo lately, and now we get to explore that.

We have officially entered into the realm of homeschooling....

The best part was that night when he said his prayers he said he was thankful not to go back to school. I don't know that I will ever truly know what happen to make him want to come home now, but I know I made the right choice for him.

Mummies Among Us

{Originally posted July 18, 2009}

For those that don't know, I am home schooling the boys. I'm using this summer to work out any kinks, to learn how they learn the best, and making sure this is something that I can do. I'm pretty relaxed right now, {it's summer after all} but the boys really like learning, so why not keep it up.

Last month we learned about dinosaurs. That was a lot of fun as we talked about the meat eaters and plant eaters. We were even able to go to the dinosaur museum while we were in Utah. It's a lot of fun listening to them tell me all about the things that they learn.

This month we are working on Ancient Egypt. We have learned about the continent that Egypt is on, the longest river and of course the pyramids. James is fascinated about the canopic jars, and the mummies. So one morning... he died, and what else were we to do. So we did what anybody else in ancient Egypt would do {assuming you were a person of importance} We took his brains out his nose, and then open him up and put his soft organs in canopic jars to be saved for later. Then we wrapped him up. {we didn't have any proper wrap....} So using toilet paper, Tommy and I mummified him. Lucky for us James did come back... the after life came quickly for him.

Then Tommy died....

And so did I...

Here is "James" in hieroglyphics, he did a really good job looking at the pictures and drawing them.

That night {since we were all in the afterlife together} we had an Egyptian meal. We had Numora {like a cake}, Hummus and pita bread, dates, & beef and eggplant... it was suppose to be lamb and eggplant, but we did not take enough money with us into the after life and I was not going to be paying $40 for lamb... Everything was really good!!!

This has been a fun unit to work on and the boys really have gotten into it. Once we get to North Carolina {where will the base of operations for a bit, while the husband searches for a more permanent place of residence in Florida} we are going to learn about Joseph and the coat of many colors, and Moses. Now that they know where Egypt is, and it's familiar.

I think this will be a good thing.

You want me to do what??

{I am NOT a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew... I just like answering the questions too.}

What if your child doesn't like to read?

Fortunately I don't have this problem. I am so thankful for that!!!

I think the love of reading started because I had no other choice. When James was 6 months old I got pregnant with Tommy. I was sick and we were in an apartment while the husband was living in the barracks for military training. We didn't have any furniture so I laid on a beanbag and taught James to bring books to me so I could read to him.

Here are some things that I have learned about reading though...

Reading is reading no matter if it comes from the literary greats, or the back of a cereal box.

Even comic books and magazines are reading. As long as they are appropriate keep them around.

Let them decide what they want to read. Yes there are things that I make my boys read to help them along... but I leave it completely up to them when it comes to free reading. Tommy likes a good fiction book while James like science books.

We have tons of books around! We have so many books and really they are all over. And at bed time if the boys aren't tired they still have to go to bed but I leave the hall light on and they can take books to bed with them.

I try to make it a point for them to see me read. When the boys sit down and with all the new library books I grab something for me to read and sit down with them. They also see dad read a lot because he is studying so much. I think it's important to set a good example for the boys.

And of course I read to them. If they are wiggly I'll read while they play with legos or something quietly. Tim will usually put together a puzzle. I try to read all sorts of things to them. From picture books to the classics. Some days go better than others, but even a page is better than nothing.

Homeschooling in the summer

Do you homeschool during the summer?? This is my first year so we are going to see how it's going to work for us.

This year is kinda unique because I'm due with baby Benjamin in August. So we are going to school up until August and then take some time off, while we adjust to a new life with a new family member.

But even during our "off" time we are still going to be learning. We are going to do lots of reading and some games that I have for the boys that I can do from the couch while I am feeding the baby, and the boys can still run around.

The other reason is because the husband is on a weird school schedule. He goes for a quarter and has time off. Anywhere from a week to 3 weeks. It's nice to take the time off when he is off so we can all play together.

And here in Florida the weather is well.... most of the time HOT!! So it's best to stay inside during the summer {that and go to the beach} and to play in the spring when the weather is so nice.

We are still getting to know people around here and the boys don't really know anyone that goes to public school, so they really don't know any different than just to follow our schedule.

So are you going to homeschool during the summer? Whether you homeschool or you send your child to school...

Quiet Learning

There is something to be said about just letting kids observe what they see. {in case you can't see it Tommy is looking at caterpillar on the table} I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I love how intense he is watching the caterpillar, and his expression says so much.

Simple Joys

I happen upon a yard sale that was selling homeschooling stuff. So I stopped and picked up some books and a fun scale and these gems...

Hula-hoops! I was really happy, the boys have been wanting to play with them, and often do at the store, so these were perfect. They were pretty heavy duty so I knew they were going to hold up well to the beating that the boys would give them.

It's amazing what some fresh air and a 3 dollar toy can do!! This is what childhood is all about, being able to play with out instructions or time constrains.

Tommy is still learning and hasn't quite learned how to swing his hips yet to keep it up. He has made up a new game with the hoop and although I'm not sure how it goes all the boys seem to get it and play it daily.

Tim runs around with his and likes to hoop what ever will be still. The boys tried to play "Ring the Gack" {dr. suess} and Tim was deemed the Gack... he was not so happy about that. We might have to make a Gack so every one is happy.

James has learned how to swing those hips and can keep the hoop going. It took some practice but he got it. They have also learned how to roll the hoop and jump through it.

It was nice to take the time outside {since it's oh-so-beautiful outside!!} to play with the hula-hoops and because there was nothing else that was happening we were able to play for hours. I'm sure the new games will be thought up and new things will be found to hoop.

My thoughts on reading....

I read an article on reading site word damage, which for me made so much sense, and let me tell you why.

James is a really bright kid, and is so ready to learn and take in everything. For a while I had him in a Pre-K class. I think this was a good thing for one reason, James got to see that a class room setting was not for him. He came home one day and annoucned that he hated school, and yes those were his words... hated school. {he wasn't aloud to ask questions, or explore other ideas that he had. He would not be allowed to go outside if he didn't finish his work... he was in Pre-K}

Anyway, while he was in school he was asked to learn his site words, which he did and were really easy for him. His memory is incredible for a kid his age.

He soon learn to memorize many words and was on his way to reading. Only he had a really hard time sounding out words. He learned easy words like dog, cat, and rub {even that took some time}. But as he was learning the different rules he really struggled with reading. A lot of practice and a lot reading later he is doing well and reading above his grade level.

Now Tommy.... he really just came to me one day and sat down and started reading. He taught himself to read by listening to what I was teaching James and learning to sound out words by himself.

I really think that because Tommy didn't rely on memorizing. He learned to read all the words and not look ahead for the words he already knows.

I'm not sure if I made any sense, but after I read that article, and seeing my two boys and the way they learned how to read it made sense to me.



On anther note I won't be buying anything like Hooked on Phonics or anything else like that. I truly think that the best way to teach your kids how to read is to read to them. Teach them the letters and what they say. Teach them to sound out words, and all this can be done with the books that you have at home. No fancy anything, just plain books.

Sewing

I think the boys should learn all things a be as well rounded as possible. So we dipped our hands in sewing.

Right now we are just paper and yarn but I think this is something that we are going to step up.

It was fun watching the boys concentrate so hard in what they where doing, and watching their fine motor skills become more refine.

Rainy Day Reading

We got up on Thursday and had to take the dog to the vet. When we were done it was raining, so we decided to go to the library and get some new books. When we finally made it home it was pouring outside.

Since we are so close to our vacation and the we had finished our units that we are on, we just hunkered down and read the rest of the day away.

I love seeing the mess of books on the floor.No TV, just the sound of the rain outside. I love hearing the boys read to me and I enjoy reading to them.

And I love seeing the boys just sitting and enjoying books.

This is the nice part of homeschooling, we can enjoy a day of reading without feeling the pressure of homework.

A little bit.

I love watching the boys work together, it makes me happy.

They are putting together a puzzle of "Water Lily's" by Claude Monet. These puzzles are so fun, and they really let the boys see art work up close. I hope the boys develop a better appreciation for artwork than I have.

This week we decided to work together to make butter. {like the "Little Red Hen" friends didn't want to} and we found that many hands make light work.

We got to taste our work after we were done shaking. Well worth the work that we it took.

I really like doing things hands on and I need to work harder to find things like that.

I thought I would give you a peek at a couple little things that we have done.

Dr. Seuss's Day

We interrupt our regular scheduled week to celebrate the birth of a man who had no children {in fact they frighten him} but he made many children happy with his words and rhymes.

The day started with a breakfast of "Green Eggs and Ham" and we found that Sam's friend does -infact- like them. {funny note... did you know that there are only 49 different words in this book? He had a friend bet him that he couldn't write a book with less than 50 different words, well he did and what a great book.... the first 300 times, it gets old after that}

We read the "Foot Book" and looked at all our feet, and the different feet we meet.

We had a frankfurter roast with a marshmallow toast, and decided that all Sneetches were the best on the beaches.

Sang "Happy Birthday" to an author that was truly great.

And finished the day with the Oobleck. Which we are not quite sure what the Oobleck is but it was a lot of fun to play with.

Thank you Dr. Seuss for all the books that you have written and helping to foster the love of reading that my boys have. Letting them dream about all sorts of crazy creatures, and knowing that the places they can get to is as far as they want to go.

Family Reading

I was finding it hard to find a quiet time during the day for the boys to read, and then one day it happened.... The boys were being crazy and it was too cold to send them outside to run off their energy {never mind that it was dark....} so I told every boy to get a book. I sent Tommy in with dad, put James on one side of the couch and sat with Tim on the other told the boys to read there books and sit still. Not the most conventional way to start a good reading habit but there you have it. I was always reading to them we just didn't have a designate time when we did it, so there were days that we didn't do any reading.

What it has turned into.... is something wonderful!!! It's great to see them sitting with books in their laps. I now read a couple books out loud and then we have a semi quiet reading time... {they still read out loud so it's funny to listen to James and Tommy reading different books}

Can you believe he is in kindergarten and reading this??? I read Flat Stanley to the boys and James liked it so much he wanted to read it again... so he did. {i have a feeling this wouldn't have happen if he wasn't home schooled... here there are no restrictions to what he can read, even if it's not his grade level.}

Workboxes... kinda

I started hearing and reading a lot about Workboxes, and I was really curious as to what they were. So after much research... although I never did by the book... I have found what works for us. It's not as neat as the some others but I really like it and so do the boys.

We didn't have room to set up the actual Workbox station that Sue Patrick created but this is what I came up with. Hanging shelves with banker boxes. I can fit just about everything in each of the boxes, and what I can't I just write a note and put it in {ie: Practice Violin}

While Sue's idea probably creates less mess.... I found it to be just a bit much to have to place the tags back and forth. {if you read the book or search the internet you'll understand} While I get her reasons for doing this, it wasn't for me. I explain what is in each box and read directions if it's something he might be confused on then I help with boxes 1 & 2. In #1 we start with math, that was James' choice and he likes it so we start off doing something he enjoys. Then while I'm around in the kitchen he does his reading from the McGuffy reader. Box #2 is his sentence writing, and this is where I let him go at it.

This frees me up to help Tommy or give him some direction, and to play with Tim for a bit. Or get some other household things done. I'm always around to help or answer questions but for the most part he is on his own. I think for him it's a sense of accomplishment to see that he has 7 boxes and he's already on #6.

Now most of the stuff in his boxes are worksheets or file games or logic papers... we do the "fun stuff" first. That's how I get Tim and Tommy involved. We do our unit study, {or history, or science} in the morning, that way I have the attention of all the boys. This is when I'll read a book, and we'll do a project of some sort. Then I can have James expound on it later, and Tim feels like he is "doing school" and it's getting Tommy ready for more. By the time we are done with that, the little ones attention span is usually up anyway.

On days that are a bit more wiggly.... I can always throw a paper in the box that says, Go Jump on Tramp for 15 minutes....

This has really helped me because it forces me to prepare in advance and James can just see what is next and know what is coming... and know when he is done.

Like I said, it's probably nothing like the book other than what it is called, but it's what works for us.

I'm baaaack....{almost}

After being really sick with this pregnancy I'm finally feeling better. I will be posting regularly again soon. Thanks for sticking with me! I'll see you soon.