What A Bulletin Board Is Good For

About three weeks ago, I was in a homeschooling slump. Its not that I was tired of homeschooling or that the kids were complaining of boredom. Perhaps it was the onset of fall. Maybe it was the Hungarian video I saw for teaching children math (don't ask). Maybe it was that simply couldn't fit one more piece of artwork onto our fridge. Whatever the case, I decided that I needed a bulletin board. A big bulletin board like schools have, where the teachers decorate it and display the children's work. With themes that work around the calendar and fun little doo-dads.

I hadn't bought a thing all year for school that was "fun", so I thought "Why not?". I know that Tom Builder when he saw the box it was in was thinking, "WHY??".


But you know what? This bulletin board has been terrific. It has added a bit of interaction this month that has been lacking. For the last two weeks we've been adding leaves to the board (parents and children), with each leaf describing something we are thankful for. It has been a neat process to see what everyone finds themselves thankful for that day. Everything from "Food", to "The Troops", to "Modern Medicine" to "Schoole" (love the irony on the last one).


This board is gigantic, which makes for a gargantuan box. What do kids love to play with? Boxes. And so, during our Thanksgiving Break, the children have used the box to sleep under as a tent. Because, that is simply the natural order of children and boxes.

Homeschooling Hatchlings

The most frequent question I have been receiving lately is "How is the homeschooling going?". Second only, of course, to "When are you due?". While I don't lay out our schedule for every term online, I thought it might be beneficial this week for others to see how we "do school" in the Knucker Hatch house these days. So often I feel like I am completely inadequate in explaining to others how we homeschool - especially family. The Ambleside curriculum is unlike anything I have ever encountered for grade school level children. Add to that, trying to explain Charlotte Mason's methods themselves, and I feel like I barely scratch the surface in my descriptions of our schooling routines.

All that said, and out of the way, we tackle most of our schooling when time avails and the house is in happy spirits. Translation, Ms. Faith dictates when or how much school with the older two is done during her awake hours. I know this is a very difficult time for her to understand that Mom needs to sit down with the other kids for one on one teaching time, so I don't demand too much from her on this front. As she gets older, I will expect more from her in the patience and respect arena. So often, one hour is accomplished during her awake time, and one hour is reserved for when she is taking her nap. I save more difficult subjects and games/art for Tuesdays and Thursdays when Faith attends a Mother's Morning Out program. The kids and I really enjoy this Faith-free time (sorry sweetie), as it frees me up to relax and really focus on fostering a love for learning environment.

Typically we focus on copywork, math and assisted or independent reading first. However, the children are allowed to take a break after two of the three items are accomplished. I am a huge supporter of short lessons so each subject receives approximately 15 minutes of attention.

Below is what is on tap for our current term:

Artist: Vincent Van Gogh (once a week study)
Resources:
Vincent Van Gogh Sticker Art Gallery Book (I highly recommend these books for both Van Gogh and Monet)
Two sets of Dover Stickers and wood chips used to make a memory game
Dover Postcards for picture study

Composer(s): Gustav Mahler & Anton Bruckner (2-3 times a week study)
Resources:
CD: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 / Songs of a Wayfarer - Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
CD: Anton Bruckner: Symphony No 4 "Romantic"

Foreign Language: Latin America Spanish (3-5 times a week study)
Resources:
Rosetta Stone Latin America Spanish Homeschool Edition


The Queen's Grace: Ambleside Online Year 2 / 3rd Term (modified)

RESOURCES:
Poetry & Copywork: Emily Dickinson - (read one poem and 2 lines from assigned poem copied daily)
Math: Math Made Meaningful - Year 2 Workbook (daily)
Bible: Selections from Trial & Triumph, AWANA, New Testament Reading from Children's Bible
History: Selections from An Island Story, This Country of Ours
Natural History: Completion of the Burgess Book of Animals, Third Liberty Reader (independent reading)
Literature: Unabridged Version of Howard Pyle's Robin Hood (Audio CD), Lamb's Shakespeare Paraphrased Plays that include Macbeth & The Comedy of Errors, selections from Parables in Nature

Daily oral narrations of selections read or listened to is required.


Sir Bugga-Lot : Ambleside Online Year 1 / 1st Term (modified into a 5 term program)

RESOURCES:
Poetry: 3-5 Poems a week from A Child's Garden of Verses
Copywork & Phonics: Starfall Book / Starfall.com. Jack just finished his Starfall workbook, so I am in the market for a new workbook. We are currently going to be using the Walmart type workbooks.
Math: Math Made Meaningful - Year 1 Workbook (daily)
Bible: AWANA, Children's Bible reading
History: Buffalo Bill
Natural History: First Liberty Reader (independent reading)
Literature: Paddle to the Sea (counts also toward geography), James Herriot's Treasury, Just So Stories, Aesop's Fables

Daily narrations of selections required.

Little Surfer Girl or Nina

I'm not sure what seems more out of place: A 1 1/2 year old surfing like a professional on the Internet, or a laptop computer at a kid table in the playroom. I caught Faithy browsing through the chicken forum, scrolling and clicking away this afternoon.


I don't normally do my Internet surfing in the playroom, but we've been trying out our first week of Latin Spanish using Rosetta Stone (we bit the bullet). The entire family has committed to learning Latin Spanish together to justify the cost of the software. Mommy and Daddy too! I'm a five years of French girl, so after three weeks of trying to stay a day ahead of the kids on Spanish for school, I threw up my hands and took the Rosetta Stone plunge. Has anyone else out there used this program successfully in their homeschooling endeavors?

The Bob Books Marathon

Since this January (when Jack decided he wanted to learn how to read), Sir Bugga-Lot has been working through 5 sets of Bob Books. Every school day, he would look forward to the moment that he would open the colorful cover of his latest book and begin plowing. It has been a more difficult goal than he anticipated, but he has rarely given up on his day to day assignments. The last set of Bob Books have been significantly harder with more meaty pages, and complicated words. But he has persevered. Eight months later, still at the wee age of five, we closed the last book on the last set. What an accomplishment!!! One of which he is very proud of because he decided to take this challenge on himself.


Jack was very interested to know what reading journey he would be embarking on next. And I was honestly searching for an idea myself, one that preferably moved toward a more Charlotte Mason style, when I remembered a set of Nature Readers that I had purchased a few terms ago. They were originally intended for Grace, but the required reading she has from the Burgess Book of Animals has kept her busy enough. After inspecting the first of four Nature Readers, I decided to go with it.

It will continue to be a challenge for Sir Bugga-Lot, mostly due to the addition of quite a large number of intimidating sight words. So, two nights ago, I sat down and created a Word Game Board for Jack to use while we tackle his first chapter on Wasps.


He is quizzed on 10 sight words a day, and for each word correct, he receives one penny. On the first day we tried this method, the board was a tad overwhelming, and he struggled with confidence despite earning six cents. But by that evening, he was already asking when he was going to get to do the game board again. With a sigh of relief, I am glad this tool has helped him to look beyond moving into a higher caliber reader. And I have to admit, it is nice to actually read about something more meaningful like wasps making nests, than the trivial (BUT OH SO WONDERFUL) Bob Books.

Roll Call

Aside from the coop, this week was the Back to School week. I have to be absolutely honest here. There was no mega planning ritual, no thumbing through piles of juicy homeschooling supply magazines (ok...maybe a little thumbing), and only a few purchases of some Audubon field guides we didn't have in the library. I was starting to feel a little bad, like the children were being cheated out of the "Back in School" hype that we used to do. But then I remembered that technically for The Queen's Grace she is in the middle of AO's curriculum for Year 2, and I spent Christmas break entering in the first half of that year on my handy dandy monster Excel spreadsheet. Jack is also in the middle of his books, which was easy to pick back up. And, being that my computer holding my ENTIRE UNBACKED UP LIFE was still in the shop, I had no schedule to tinker around with anyway.

So people, we winged it. And gosh darn, if we didn't do great. Nothing a little white board, some colored dry erase markers, and a small amount of planning can't take care of. We even managed to start Spanish (which the entire family will be trying to learn including Tom Builder). Jack doesn't know it, but we are slowly entering into the 1 1/2 year AO Year 1 program that I created for Grace when she started Ambleside. When I asked him for his first narration, he froze, going through all of the motions Grace first went through when we started narrations. But today when I asked Grace for a narration, and she actually froze, he chimed in, "I know!" and off he went.

So we didn't have much fanfare, but it has been a crazy summer, and it all just seems to fit with how life has gone for the last six months. Everything is exciting these days, which perhaps dulls the excitement of what we used to get excited over in the past. I can tell you that there is one change in our schedule, that has me very happy -- The Princess of Wails will start a two-day half-day program at our church beginning mid-August. WAAA-HOOOO!


A large part of me, longs to put her in our Montessori school's half day program, because of the benefits both of the older ones received from such an awesome program. But really, this is less about my already smart-as-a-whip girl's education at this point in her itty bitty life, and more about me trying to homeschool the older ones with a new baby also on the scene soon.

I have no idea what I am up against. I admit it. I'm pretty sure though, that I'm going to need two days of cushion in the mix to get the schooling accomplished. Two days of running around with other little ones is heaven to Faith, and what she loves most. What she doesn't love, is Mom sitting at the table trying to school her siblings when Mom should have her attention on either her or the dishes (what is with that??? I can do dishes or laundry, but sit down with the older ones, and she's a bull in a china shop!). And she has made that loudly clear this week, in addition to zapping her morning nap and saving it for late afternoon!

I'll have just enough time to catch my breath between August and October, and then the rubber will hit the pavement again in full force. But if my sweet Hope turns out to be a floor potato, well then maybe we'll only have to worry about a little wibble wobble here and there.

Floor potato...floor potato...floor potato...

Year 2 Term 1: Exams Continue

Yesterday we continued our oral exams. For some reason, I could tell that Grace just wasn't on her game. She was having a more difficult time with giving large narrations, and stuck to shorter answers. I found myself prying, which I am not supposed to do with oral exams, just to get her wheels turning. I had a feeling this might be coming with the subject matter we had, with the exception of Pilgrim's Progress and Science. But her short answer in the arena of Science, her natural favorite, was a clear indication, that this day she was feeling off. And she knew it.

Faith has a cold today, and is a teary, snotty mess. Since all of our school work is at the new house, I decided to use this day as a teacher prep day for the next term, and we'll have our final exam day tomorrow with our remaining subject of History. It will be the toughest of all three days...eeesh.

The following are the exam questions and Grace's answers as dictated.


The Little Duke:
The Little Duke tends to be on the drier side of our book selections and drags on in a bit of slow motion.

Who was The Little Duke?
Richard. He liked Alberic, and he really loved his father. And he found out that his key around his neck was to his father’s greatest treasure. And he wanted to try what Alberic did on the pony, jumping right up on it. He spoke English.

Why was he called “The Little Duke”?
Because he was little and they made him duke because his father died.

What happened to his father?
He was fighting with this army and so he went home, but they said, "Hey wait", and so he came over, and he was like “What do you want?”. And they put his head underwater and they sliced it. That was how it happened. (MKH Note: actually it is not what happened, but he was betrayed and killed by the sword.)

What did his father impress upon him?
Not to have revenge on anyone.

Who are some important people in the Little Duke’s life?
Alberic, Sir Eric, Osmond, Fru Astrida, Count Bernard, his father, men at arms.

Right now, The Little Duke is in danger? Explain what danger he is in.
He is in danger of being taken away by King Louis.


Pilgrims Progress:
We read both Pilgrim's Progress and Little Pilgrim's Progress at the same time. Little Pilgrim's Progress is a favorite, and Grace loves to have her read aloud assignments be from LPP. These exam questions are based on Little Pilgrim's Progress.

What has been the toughest part of Christian’s journey so far?
I think fighting with Self. Because he has sharp darts, and they are very sharp and they wounded him. It was difficult in the deep dark valley because he was frightened.

Where did little Christian come from and where is he going?
He came from The City of Destruction and he is going to the Celestial City.

Name a few mistakes little Christian made during a portion of his journey.
He listened to Worldy. And he lost his roll.

Name a few people that Christian has met along his journey. Try to do it in order. He meets Charity, he meets Piety, he meets Discretion, and he meets Prudence. He meets Watchful. He meets The Interpreter. He meets Mistrust. He meets Timorous. He meets Passion. He meets Patience. He meets the boy who was trying to blow out the fire. And he met the girl who was pouring water and the boy who swept dust. I think he met Faithful…he heard him right? He meets the guy at the wicket gate. (MKH Note: Interestingly, for the most part, Grace's order went from present in the story back toward the beginning of the story.)

Tell me about the scene in which Little Christian is shown Patience and Passion. What is happening in the room? Passion wants his toys now, so a man brings in a sack of toys, a really big sack. And so Passion is so happy, he has gold and silver and anything you could imagine. So he is leaving Patience with rags. But Patience is waiting for heaven, until he gets to heaven he will have the best treasure ever. And it is like Passion will be begging for his toys, and Patience is a good servant of God.

Name two characters that little Christian is hoping to see in the Celestial City.
He is hoping to see is mother. And he is hoping to see his father? (MKH Note: I was shooting for her answer to be his mother and The Lord.)


Poetry - Term Poet was William Blake:

Name a favorite poem from William Blake’s poetry that we read this term. Why was it your favorite?

Spring. Because it is all about Spring and spring is my favorite season.


Burgess Book of Animals:

This term we studied skunks, badgers, and bats. Tell me about the habitat and the behavior and diet of one of these creatures.

Animal selected was Bats: If you lift up a leaf that looks like a leaf, but it is really a bat, it might fly away, If you open a bush it might be there too. For the mother bat, three of the babies will hold on to her feet. Bats eat insects.

Year 2 Term 1: Literature Exam

Grace had her first oral exam today. It was also MY first day of giving exams. Today is our official Exam Week for Ambleside Year 2, 1st Term. Despite our many firsts, Grace showed no fear whatsoever with the idea that she would be orally tested on the material she had covered over the course of our last term. I was the one who was nervous for her! This was my first opportunity to see how reading literature slowly over a long period of time assisted in her memory retention.

At the age of seven, in Charlotte Mason fashion, Grace is tested orally in a manner that seeks to give her a way to provide as much information as she can recall about subject matter that she has covered. This tends to be a stark contrast to exams today, especially at her age. There is no guess work. No multiple choice. Just tell me what you know. Overall, I am very happy with her narrations, considering this was the first time she had been asked to recall from months back. I wasn't sure what to expect. Because of my own doubting demons, I tended to go a little easy on this round, and after today, feel comfortable heightening the bar as the week progresses. Grace quickly declared that she loved exam week, since once the oral exam was over, she could play on the farm for the rest of the day!

Today Grace's exam questions revolved around our Literature reading for the term, which included chapters 1-6 in The Wind in The Willows, two Shakespeare plays, and a number of chapters from Parables of Nature. Below are the exam questions and word for word answers as dictated.

The Wind in The Willows:

Name the four main characters in The Wind in The Willows and tell me about each character.

There is Rat. He watches Toad like Badger told him. Ratty found mole a friend. And there is Mr. Badger. Mr. Badger showed Rat and Mole his gigantic place that came under water that man built and he also got mad at Rat for leaving Toad. There is Toad, and he's all about the motor car. He loves motor cars, and he climbed out the window and he got arrested and put in a deep dark dungeon with a crooked key. Mole...he went in the carriage with Rat and Toad and he was cleaning his house with whitewash, and he went on a walk with Mr. Badger.

What has been your most favorite part of The Wind in The Willows so far and why?
When Toad climbed out the window. He was pretending to be ill and he was like "I have my own plans", and he climbed out the window.

What do you think the story of The Wind in The Willows is about up to this point?
It is about animals becoming friends and about the trees blowing with wind, and about seasons, like change. About coming home, and going on adventures.


Shakespeare:

Choose a play from Shakespeare that we did this term and tell me the story line.

Play selected is Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo sneaks into the Capulet's party with a mask on pretending to be a Capulet. And there was a guy who recognized his voice and he was like "You dare sneak into our party!". And he was like, "You are going to be sacrificed for your punishment." So Romeo ran away from that guy and he met a beautiful woman named Juliet. And he said, "Are you dancing?" And she said, "Of course I am young gentleman." And so he was like, "Who are you a Montague or a Capulet?". "A Capulet", she said. And she was like, "Who are you, a Capulet or a Montague?" And she got so startled that she went to her room that night.

I think that Lord Capulet banished Romeo from Verona. And the Friar kept sending notes of how he was and he was in need of food. And the Friar came and told that they had a plan for Juliet, but he did not tell Romeo what the plan was and so the Friar went back, but the bad news came faster than the good news. When Romeo heard that Juliet was dead (but she really wasn't) he was so sad he really cried. And so when the Friar got there Romeo was dead. And so when the Friar told him that Juliet was alive she just drank a potion, Romeo didn't believe him.

So he came back to to Verona to die with his fair lady. And when he got there Count Paris was there. They had a battle and so they fought, and fought and fought, until Romeo killed Count Paris. When he turned on the light, he saw it was Count Paris. And it was nearly time for Juliet to wake up. And he got to the tomb where Juliet was laying asleep, and he stabbed himself and fell dying on the ground. And then when Juliet woke up and the Friar came back they both saw Count Paris and Romeo were dead and so Juliet now knowing Romeo was dead took a knife and stabbed herself in the belly and died next to them.

And so Lord Capulet and Lord Montague became friends. After all they weren't friends before and now they say they are brothers.


Parables of Nature:

What is a zoophyte?
A plant that lives in the sea that is an animal.

What is a Will 'o The Wisp?
It is like a glowing ball that keeps people from danger like a bog.

Simply Happy

Happiness is having the most comfortable seat in an empty house and a cushy lap to share it with.

Happiness is doing our school reading outside underneath the cool shade of massive trees.

Happiness is a fuzzy barn cat insisting to sit on top of the book Mom is trying to read from aloud.

Happiness is having a new excuse for a poor narration.

Canine happiness is chasing down barn cats and bumblebees.


Happiness is pure dizziness after your sister swings you in circles ten times...until you walk straight into a solid wall.

Happiness is when you suddenly have access to every puzzle mom has had locked away in the school closet. But now you have endless square footage to piece them together upon.


Happiness is our first home cooked dinner filling up the rooms with the delicious smell of chicken fricassee and couscous.

Happiness is for just one hour, being able to smell something other than the thick aged stench of "cat" in the farm house with my super-bionic pregnancy nose.

Happiness is finding that your jean legs poof with puffs of farm dust when tapped.

Happiness is a warm shower and a wet soapy baby squeegie-ing the shower door to her little heart's content.

Happiness is three kids tucked in bed for the next 11 hours.

Greener Pastures

My dogs are hoarse from barking after three days of vacuuming, steam cleaning, scrubbing floors, peeling tens of stickers off bedroom doors, and moving school supplies into the school kitchen. We have already spent hours spit shining the house, and there are hundreds of hours ahead of us, but it is easy to keep a smile on my face through the exhaustion. It is sinking in...this farm is our farm. We are moving to greener pastures.


It is funny what you decide to move into a new residence first. For me, the school room/playroom begged to be rescued in our current house. We have been schooling at the kitchen table for months, which has worked wonderfully as we've moved beyond Montessori into Ambleside curriculum. We will be using the second kitchen, cabinets and the adjoining sunroom as both our morning and lunch eatery and our schooling area. Last night, I moved a little kid table and a patio bistro set into the sunroom and it worked perfectly for our first day of school today in the new house. All of us found that, at least for the first day, having giant windows begging us to come out and play rather than school were a distraction, but we worked through it.

The property is greening up and the pastures catch you longing to get lost in their tiny purple and white violets. In the afternoon, the children headed out to explore the back 10 acres with Dad who had stopped by to check in. Our newest member of the family, Domino the barn cat, decided to accompany the troop on their journey...


After watching from a far as they walked out there together, I could take the suspense no longer. Until today, I had yet had the opportunity to go out and visit the back 10 acres. All I knew, is what Ken had taken in pictures. And that was when it was freezing and brown out. When the family returned, I asked for a crack at exploring the property myself. The children headed out with me, eager to show me around, and Hatch, the happiest dog you've ever seen in the last two days, was just as game for a leash free jaunt.

The scene was breath taking. The closer to the creek we got, the greener and more lush the invitation. This is the tree line along the creek...


On an 80 plus degree day, the sound of rushing water made it feel like I was walking into an oasis. Hatch had similar thoughts, and couldn't resist jumping in for a cool swim. The trees were amazing. Those fascinating kinds of trees that have been around for many years and show their age in their odd shaped branches that invite a climb or a sit.


Happy wet dog looking back over the last five acres and an old grove of six barely there trees that surely have stories of their own to tell...


The horses perfect the tranquil setting on the property. Their large glistening bodies are like moving canvases on the property. Always rearranging themselves, adding definition to the land. Making us laugh at times, or stand in awe. Ken and I are agonizing over the horses. If we allow the horses to continue to be boarded, we sacrifice a privacy that we longed for on this type of property. Almost always there is a boarder or two or a trainer and trainee on the property with cars driving in and out. Saturdays and Sundays too. Many of them have been very kind. If we nix the boarders, the horses obviously go too, at least for a couple of years. Not to mention the issue of insurance and liability. It is a hard decision, but luckily not one we have to make right away. So for now, I drink it in...


The children have tickled me with their enthusiasm and gradual realization of what moving really means. Jack is still trying to figure things out. Today he asked, "How many houses do we have to live in before we get to heaven?" Not sure where I went wrong there, but he's clearly mulling over things in his mind. Grace, on the other hand, is in nature walk heaven, bringing in toads, kitty tales, and minute by minute exclamations of how she loves this paint color choice or how great the knobs from our old house look on the new house cabinets. Faith is having a blast running from room to empty room as her little padding feet echo throughout the house. We all turn into little kids when we explore empty houses, don't we?

Copywork Humor

Yesterday, Grace finished reading William Blake's 40 poems for her poem a day assigned reading. We use the poems also for her copywork, and she'll usually pull 2 lines from her poem that day and write them out in her notebook. Looking for a "tweener" before we start our next poet, I noticed that she'll be having to recite all of Psalm 23 for AWANA in a couple of weeks. So we settled on using the Psalm for her next copywork assignments to help with the memorization.

Today's editorial cartoon for Psalm 23:1 just tickled me:


Grace is a talented illustrator, who has a knack for putting thoughts down through her drawings. I have really taken a delight in using the notebooks that have room to color above the lined paper for her copywork. More often than not, she'll create a fitting drawing for her poem excerpt, and her drawing becomes a narration back to me of the poem with her interpretation. It is a unique way of sneaking in a required narration, without her knowing she ever did any hard work.

Letters To Africa

The homeschooling blog is still awaiting the grand merge. I hate that. But I thought I'd share something the children and I worked on this week through the inspiration of our church.

A number of months ago, after our pastor and a group of others from the church had visited Africa, our church was inspired to sponsor an entire village of children who have been affected by the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Kenya. Through WorldVision's HopeChild program, hundreds of children's folders lay on the tables in the foyer of the church awaiting a sponsor. What an overwhelming experience. You just wanted to scoop up an arm full of children and take them home with you.

Ken and I decided to sponsor one child for each of our three children. When we got home, we taped their pictures and information sheets to our fridge as a reminder to pray for our three little ones on the other side of the world, and to keep their needs in our thoughts. We chose two boys, Daniel and Pelengus, and one girl, Chepkemoi. All three were similar in age to Jack and Grace.

In the months that followed, I was very impressed with the information packets we received from WorldVision regarding each of the children, and the follow up phone calls. Last month, we received our first greeting cards that we were to fill out for each of the children. Jack and Grace used their copywork time during schooling, to fill out the cards with their names, add their location of residence, create a little bio about themselves, and then paste a picture of our family on the back of the card. Permitted to send flat gifts, the kids hand selected an array of stickers to include for each child.

The children are excited to have "pen pals" in Africa. What a learning opportunity it will be as they grow up together on either side of the world, exchanging bits and pieces of their culture! If you are interested in sponsoring a HopeChild you can visit WorldVision's web site online, and select a child from the hundreds available.

"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:5

An Online Math Resource Goldmine

I've been looking for online math resources for over a year. Some of them were OK, but this one deserves many accolades!

eNLVM is an OUTSTANDING and FREE online resource put on by Utah State University. Really, this will blow your mind. You can create your own classes and lesson plans, using virtual manipulatives and games. No ads. No pop ups. And excellent quality lessons. Give this one a shot, and you will not be disappointed. Kudos to eNLVM for making this available for FREE!

Other math resources we have found valuable and entertaining include:

APlusMath.com We've been using their worksheets for counting money, and it has worked really well.

Homeschoolmath.net Another excellent site for online worksheets.

The kids have been doing online math games during our school time using PlayKidsGames.com

Another site is Mathsisfun.com. We've used this for printing out worksheets on 3-D shapes we can cut, fold and glue.

Not Your Ordinary Chatter

A conversation overheard this morning...(Jack is in the middle of a pile of blocks and cars with his sister.)

Jack: Where do you want him to be from?
Jack: Georgia?
Jack: Israel?
Grace: How about Great Britain!?
Jack: Ok. Great Britain!

This conversation is brought to you by the state of Georgia, the book of Exodus, and Our Island Story.

Grow A Flower Game

While shopping for Jack's birthday presents I couldn't resist purchasing this oh-so-fitting game for our germination study. The Grow A Flower Game is intended for 5th grade and up, but Grace and Jack were able to keep up with the jist of the game. It did a wonderful job of reinforcing where the various parts of the flower are located, while providing a large amount of facts on the purpose of each flower part. The game is a bit like Monopoly in that it would take forever for someone to acquire all 13 parts of the flower to win, so we set a time limit.

Spooky Sticky Science

Last Friday, the children and I toured The Science of Gardening on the excellent Exploratorium.com. If you've never poked around the site, you are in for a treat. While we continue to scratch the surface of germination, we've had a few detours along the way (what would homeschooling be without myriads of detours). Jack has become very interested in the Venus Flytrap. Exploratorium had a very educational set of mini videos on the Venus Flytrap that would peek any boy's interest. If you are looking for spooky science...check out Peter's Savage Garden.

Look Closely In Your Backyard

It is amazing what you can find in your own backyard. A couple of days ago, the kids and I went for a backyard nature walk. There is an untouched piece of wooded property behind our property line that we sneaked around in. This was where the real gems were...purple mushrooms, fallen logs covered in moss, every square inch swarming with little lives.


The children and I were on a hunt to specifically find things to decorate a riker mount with for a fall theme. The bright red seeds, holly berries, and red leaves set off the Golden Rod Grace spied. My favorite find - those purple mushrooms. Jack's favorite find was a real surprise - two surviving morning glory seeds the children had planted a couple of months back, with the first flower in bloom. We left the flower on the vine.

And voila, the finished project.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Worms

The children are having a royal Charlotte Mason day. Throughout the morning and afternoon, their excitement has been building upon itself. First it was the discovery of one black and orange caterpillar. Shortly later, they came back with a bug box of three more. And then, with ever increasing fanfare they were announcing that they had eleven, and that they were everywhere.


Upon this announcement, it was time to look up just what exactly was taking over our front yard. The answer - worms. To be more specific, the Oakworm. They really look like a full blown caterpillar, but a beautiful butterfly body is not in their future. Instead, after feeding on our White Oak tree in the front yard they are dropping off by the tens and crawling all over the driveway and ground to look for a cozy spot to burrow over the winter. It literally looks like and sounds like the sky is falling as they Kamakazie off the tree down to the ground.

I'm in a bit of a pickle myself. Rather than a lovely caterpillar fest, I've got a worm fest eating my tree and burrowing in the ground to do it again next year. But you can't get more in the field! We found a beautiful patch of eggs on a leaf, a worm in the process of shedding it's skin, and of course the migration from host to burrow. Pretty cool...except the whole eating my tree and squishing under my toes part.

Unschooling. How It Happens.

I've wondered at times about the process of how one "unschools" their child. In our house, we have a semblance of structure for an hour or two which includes reading, copywork, and math. As those who follow this blog know, we also rely heavily on Ambleside Online for all of our literature. I could be wrong, but because of the structure and curriculum, I don't thing we fall into the camp of Unschoolers. However, what remains with the rest of the day, has given me a new understanding and respect for just how "unschooling" unfolds.

Our nature studies are our largest focus when we school. It is not a purposeful act where we spend hours a day on the subject, but the simple introduction of a nature study keeps our ears in tune and our eyes peeled as we go on living in the world around us. Our nature studies are in constant motion. And I am finding a new delight brewing as we complete each study. The learning is snowballing.

By example, I have watched "collections" grow before my eyes. This morning I found that Grace had been working on a feather and seed collection. I stared in awe at how meticulously her collection had been laid out on a piece of paper. I never asked her to go out into the yard and hunt for these items. I've never showed her how one might lay out nature finds in a presentation (other than when we created our moth and butterfly riker mounts last summer). We have, however, had two nature studies in this area, Song Birds in the Southeast in Winter 2004 and our ongoing Seed and Germination study this summer. It has been enough of a taste, that I am now watching an amazing process happen naturally.

In the last month, I have watched Grace spend hours upon hours creating picture books. The books may be up to 30 pages. They contain detailed line drawings, a story line with consistent characters, and a surprisingly steady plot for a six year old. Again, I have never set her down and told her that "this week we are going to create a book". Her hard work has all been self directed and has taken days at a time to build and organize. This is what my children are doing in their "free time", in the early hours when I'm still trying to rub the sleep out my eyes, or when they are wandering around the back yard and then suddenly go into "Look what I found!" mode.

The evidence is everywhere. Right now, dried up flowers will crunch under your toes in the hall bathroom. The fish pond is low because the children have been stealing fish water to create "chalk paint" (don't ask). There are piles and piles of papers mid story in rooms throughout the house. Old petrefied holly berries lay on Jack's train table from a discovery weeks ago. A walk in our yard reveals random "mud and pinestraw" nests the children have worked for hours to create in the hopes that a bird will find their nest a suitable living space. And every day, and I mean EVERY DAY, a new unsuspecting creature with um-teen legs is brought into the house for an instant show and tell.

I am reminded and quickly thankful that there are no school bells. No projects cut short. No confinement. Just a sea of creativity and boundless opportunity. THAT is how unschooling just happens.

Food Pyramid Fun

Beginning this term, I made the decision to incorporate Health related unit studies into our weekly schedule. We need it. The habits of hygiene are constantly being worked and reworked into our days. I'm sure that is not unusual for a household with a six and four year old. Truth be known, we have room for improvement since I would be elated if the children brushed their teeth, changed their underwear and brushed their hair all on the same day.

Ironically, I didn't start in the much needed area of hygiene, but instead was inspired to tackle the Food Pyramid. This has actually been a wild success and is one of Jack's favorite subjects. Every week we have been focusing on a different food group, sorting our play food out into food groups and reading a food group related book. The books put out by Pebble Plus have been terrific, and prompted me to investigate the USDA's web site dovoted solely to the Food Pyramid - www.mypyramid.gov.

After a few weeks of getting our feet wet, today, the children got to head over to the My Pyramid web site loaded with information and print outs. On the site is a challenging game called MyPyramid Blast Off. This game is superbly done, requiring the child to make wise food choices, and add activities to their day in order to properly fuel their spaceship for Planet Power. Even if you are not doing a unit study on food groups, this game is a wonderful addition to the school day.

Montessori Tray: Vertebrates & Invertebrates

It has been quite awhile since I listed any Montessori-ish activities, but this one counts. The children spent part of the morning today learning about the difference between Vertebrates and Invertebrates. Once they had a general idea, we used this sorting tray to sort out each animal properly. Easy enough, and lots of hands on fun for the children.

Ehem...I myself need to go back to Biology 101 and learn how to spell. It wasn't until after I printed and laminated the cards last week, perfomed the lesson today and THEN took the photo this afternoon that I realized my errors. My head is hanging in shame, but the stubborn streak in me refuses to reprint and laminate again.