Garden Adventures

This last week has been full of gardening adventures. I use the word adventures because we're really not gardeners. My dad is an excellent produce gardener but I think the green thumb must have skipped a generation. Not a good thing for me or my plants but I'm not willing to give up.

I've read that vegetable seed sales are up quite a bit due to "the bad economy" and I have to admit that is part of it for us too but it's more than that. It just makes sense to spend money on plants that will pay us back! And the process of gardening is a great science lesson for the boys. (Yes, we do count time in the garden as school!) It also teaches us to trust in God and not rely on someone else to provide us with the things we need. So together we're learning all of these things.

It's been fun so far!

We've planted

• broccoli
• lettuce
• strawberries
• tomatoes
• peas

And have purchased to plant

• blueberries
• rosemary
• basil

And intend to purchase to plant

• cucumbers and
• onions

Hopefully we'll have some pictures to post soon. Have a great day!

Spring!

After a short (long) break I feel like I may be ready to blog again.

January, February and March were a bit rough on us this year. After almost a year of full on unschooling, my oldest (age 9) decided he wanted to enroll in an enrichment program that was grade specific and included core classes...so we pulled out the workbooks that had been gathering dust and got back to it so that reading, writing, spelling and math in a more traditional class room setting didn't total freak him out. It worked and I'm glad we did. He's loved the enrichment program but not necessarily hitting the books at home. So it was a rough winter. It took a while to remember how to balance book work with the rest of life.

The good news is here we are at the beginning of spring and life is finally starting to make sense again. This has always been our most relaxed season of the year and I love it. We've found our relaxed/eclectic homeschooling rhythm again, it's warm, the sun is shining longer each day, we're planting and cleaning, the clothesline is in use again, the farmer's market opens Saturday...to me this is living.

So hopefully I'm back to blogging too...I've missed you.

Have a wonderful day,

Quiet Time

W spending some time reading The Beginners Bible.

I caught him in the act and asked if I could take his picture.

(This was not staged :) I promise.)

Peace to you and yours,

Poetry Party 2010

January 22, the boys and I are hosting a Poetry Party. We're memorizing poetry to recite. We're writing poems to read. We're planning what fancy desserts we'll make. We're pondering how to make a "stage". And we're learning a bit in the process. :)

I'll give more info as it comes together. For now the first few posts I'm planning will let you in on what we're memorizing.

So here it is...W is memorizing the following poems....

Stupid Pencil Maker

by Shel Silverstein

Some dummy built this pencil wrong-

The eraser's down here where the point belongs.

And the point's at the top-so it's no good to me.

It's amazing how stupid some people can be.

A Bird

by Emily Dickenson

A bird came down the walk,

He did not know I saw;

He bit an angleworm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew

From a convenient grass,

And then he hopped sideways to the wall

To let a beetle pass.

The Spider

by Jack Prelutsky

The spider, sly and talented,

Weaves silver webs of silken thread,

Then waits for unobservant flies

...To whom she'll not apologize.

Hope you're having a happy day,

Our New Daily Routine

It doesn't even surprise me anymore when I find that I need to change things up and sometimes even revamp our homeschool. It usually happens at least once per semester. The last few weeks have been a time of transition for us and the place we've ended up feels really great...for now. :)

Like I said a few posts ago I've been struggling with our identity as homeschoolers...not sure where we fit anymore. Well, I've come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter. What works today may not work tomorrow and what worked yesterday may not work today. What matters is that I'm paying attention to the Holy Spirit as he works in our lives, that I'm being attentive to the needs we have as a family and how those needs change as we move into different seasons of our lives. I'm striving to do these things and to stop worrying about what that means as far as the label I've assigned myself our homeschool.

So in light of all of this I thought I'd share our new daily routine with you (and document it for me.) I'm loving it right now.

Morning Routine
Self explanatory right? Get dressed, eat, etc.

Bible and Prayer
Again, self explanatory.

Table Time
This is a fun time for us. Basically, I just set out something fun and they have at it while I do dishes and clean up the kitchen. Today I reminded them who Henry Matisse was and they made cut paper art. Yesterday it was the Duke Ellington thing. Tomorrow they're designing invitations to a sleep over they're having. You get the idea.

Writing
Right now we're working on writing great paragraphs. We're using Write What You See to get ideas as far as what to write about.

Lunch and a Show
Each day while we eat lunch I let the boys take turns choosing a show to watch online. Recent popular choices include, The Electric Company, CyberChase and JellyTelly.

Chores
The boys are great about chores. J is working on doing a better job of pulling his own weight but other than that this is an easy part of our routine.

Mom's Read Aloud Time
History, poetry, science, literature. Whatever needs read by me (other than Bible), this is the time for it. Right now we're reading poetry together because we're going to be hosting a Poetry Party next month.

Time4Learning
This is a wonderful online curriculum we've been using. Both boys work at their own levels and at their own pace.

Boys Reading and Quiet Time
While one boy is on the computer doing their Time4Learning assignments, the other one reads aloud to me and then has a little quiet time while waiting for his turn.

Play Outside or Wii Fit Time
One or the other, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Free Time
Just as important as the other parts of the routine. Typically they will draw, play Lego's or Bionicles or K'nex or maybe play video games.

So there you have it. Our daily routine...for now. ;)
Have a great day,

Music Appreciation: Duke Ellington

One of our favorite things to do is color a page in our American Composers coloring book and then look the composer up on YouTube. Today we studied Duke Ellington and we loved his music!

W's Duke Ellington

J's Duke Ellington

Have a great day,

The Bright Side of Pneumonia (If There is One)

Having pneumonia isn't so bad when you get to see your children flourish under your lack of instruction and ability to function. In the past week or so both boys have:

• perfected their laundering skills
• learned to use the oven safely
• become completely responsible for keeping the living room clean
• read to one another
• made toast and sandwiches
• made excellent decisions about what to watch on TV
• entertained one another
• spent many, many hours playing Lego's, K'nex and Lincoln Logs
• researched, designed and made monster masks
• wrapped their own Christmas presents (the ones they're giving not the ones they're getting)
• written and illustrated their own stories and
• become very attentive to their mother and her needs...a glass of water, another blanket, less noise, etc.

I'm really proud of them...as usual. :)

Feeling More Positive

I'm feeling much better about our homeschool since my last post on the subject and it's long past time for an update. Thanks for your patience and for your encouragement. Both mean a lot to me.

We've recently added Time4Learning to our daily routine. I really like this online curriculum because it provides my kids with the opportunity to progress through hundreds of lessons on Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies, at their own pace. The kids think it's fun, they're able to work independently and we love not having to use workbooks to cover the info provided.

We're also walking through the necessary steps to get W into his all day enrichment program next semester. He was able to shadow a couple of friends one day recently and he LOVED it! The kids were nice, the teachers were great and the class projects were challenging and fun but not frustrating. So, he'll be officially starting the program in January. Yay!



Here's a picture of what it looked like outside at this time last year...it looks about the same today. Can I just say that I am not a fan of cold, snow and ice! My kids are hoping for a white Christmas though...so I'm trying to embrace the whole scene.

We'll be spending the next several days baking, crafting, wrapping and reading various Christmas stories! I'm really looking forward to it all.

We're celebrating Christmas with my family on the 24th so Wonderful Hubby and I have decided to throw a birthday party for Jesus Christmas morning! It'll be great fun! More on that later.

Hope you're having a wonderful day,

Homeschooling Lament

OK, so I have to be honest...I've been avoiding you. I'm really struggling with our identity as homeschoolers/unschoolers right now and I've been way too busy and so the easy thing to do has been to not blog. But I hate it. I hate not blogging and being part of the homeschooling/unschooling/blogging community. So here I am...blogging...

It's been a tough couple of months here at Life and Love Learning Center...we've yet to find our rhythm since I got a job a few months ago...my house is a wreck, there's no clean laundry and in addition to that I've been feeling a bit of pressure to get my kids "caught up" academically. The unschooler in me cringes as I type that. I want to cry.

Because I tested W, the words prefix, suffix, root word, consonant blend, and compound word haunt me lately. These are the words that he didn't know and therefore he tested at a 2nd grade level in language arts. (He's in 4th grade.) It's frustrating to me because we worked so hard just getting him reading that we didn't pay any attention to this kind of thing. He knows what the prefixes tri, bi, uni, anti, etc. mean...he just doesn't know that they're called prefixes and he knows the words bookmark, baseball and sunflower...just not that they're called compound words.

So we've started doing a bit of bookwork each week...about 3 days a week. They don't mind it so much but it magnifies my own failure in my mind. I want to be creative and teach them these things with out worksheets but the truth is I haven't and I'm not sure I know how. I've considered a unit study, we've always loved unit studies, but I hesitate to try something new...again.

Unfortunately, there is no neat little bow I can wrap this post up with and end on a positive note. This is where we are and I don't really like it but with J's birthday this week and Thanksgiving the next and then Christmas I don't feel like I have time to work it out even. My house needs cleaned, the laundry needs done and in the midst of that some learning must take place as well.

I guess I can say the good news is that I know this doesn't mean I need to quit or I'm ruining my kids. It just means I'm struggling right now and need to work it out.

So off I go.

Jellytelly

I want to introduce you to our new favorite show! Jellytelly.

It's Phil Vischer's new project and the best part is you can watch a new show online everyday. Just go to Jellytelly.com.

Mom, I Want to go to School

Those are the dreaded words I hoped to never hear! It's not like it will be the end of the world when/if my boys choose school eventually...I'm just enjoying our time together and would miss them so. (Images of parents dropping their teenager off at college are running through my mind.)

However much I dreaded these words I think I handled it well when they were finally spoken by W. (I immediately began praying for wisdom.) I asked probing (but not leading) questions and then asked for a few days to talk with Wonderful Hubby, pray and think our options over.

We finally settled together on a full day enrichment program. Turns out W doesn't want to go to school all the time, just sometimes so he can see what it's like, so this should be a good fit. Unlike other enrichment programs we've done this one is all day and includes lots of core classes. It's 8:30 am to 4 pm and includes; math, reading, writing, spelling, science, art and P.E.

We're actually really looking forward to it and hope he'll be able to start next semester. In preparation he's be kicking his writing and reading up a notch so that he won't be overwhelmed by whatever expectations they'll have of him...and I'm praying like crazy!

Have a wonderful day!

Review of our Language Arts Goals

I'm thinking now is a good time to review my beginning of the year goals in the language arts department. Here they are...

*Give my kids a "reason" to write.
I'm looking for pen-pals...children and/or adults...international and domestic.
I'm also thinking that I will start encouraging them to blog a few times a week and I will purchase a couple of magnetic poetry sets (J loves to play with these at the library).

*Give my kids a "reason" to read.

I don't know how to accomplish this yet outside of external rewards. They love being read to and we are constantly listening to books on tape but they would rather do about anything rather than read on their own. So I'm thinking I'm going to have to set up some kind of system that will reward them for reading X number of books.

I think we're doing better on writing, though we have a ways to go. We've yet to find a pen-pal (any suggestions?) but the boys have written thank you notes or notes of encouragement to various people about once week. As for blogging it hasn't happened nearly as often as I'd originally planned...we'll see what happens.

We're doing a lot better with reading!!

W is reading the Tomo series on his own time and loving it. He's also picked up Dairy of a Wimpy Kid and is contemplating reading that as well. His reading endurance is way up and he can now read aloud for 20 minutes or more with out feeling worn out! Hooray!!!

J reads aloud to me when I make him and "pretends" to read chapter books on his own time. I feel satisfied with these efforts for now. He's a good reader who hasn't struggled at all like his brother, so I'm hoping a love of reading will come eventually and I'm not worried about pushing it.

We are working on reading quietly for 15 full minutes at a time. It's hard for J because he's so squirmy and get distracted so easily but I think it is a worthwhile goal. There are times in life for quiet and learning self control is a good thing. :) Besides, I told them that when we reach our goal the first time I will take them to Chuck E. Cheese! (What boy can resist that?)

Have a blessed day,

Tomo

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Just wanted to introduce you to W's new favorite books. Tomo is a graphic novel series published by Zondervan. You can learn more about Zgraphic novels here.

Momma Got a Job

We've discovered a whole new path on our journey here at Life and Love Learning Center. . . Momma got a job. It's only about 12 hours a week but it has certainly taught us a few lessons and posed a few challenges. Luckily, we're rising to meet them!

I'm working a few hours every morning so the first thing the boys (Wonderful Hubby included) had to learn to do was get their day started without me. This means breakfast, dressed and morning chores but when you've never not had mom to do it for you and keep you on task, it's a big deal to suddenly have to do it yourselves. For a few weeks I heard things like, "It's not that I can't make my own breakfast, it's that I don't want to." Statements like this just assured me that I was doing the right thing by forcing a little responsibility on everyone.

We've also learned that a better evening routine is key to our morning success. Everyone seems to have a better attitude when clothes are laid out, breakfast plans are discussed and most importantly the kitchen is clean. I hate to admit that I'm really bad about leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight. But I'm working to break the habit because I really don't like having to leave the house in the morning knowing the dishes still aren't done. (And Wonderful Hubby really doesn't want to cook breakfast in the mess either.)

Anyway, I've been feeling a little blogging guilt over my lack of posts. But I have lots to share and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Have a great day,

Sex Education

I was so scared to talk to my boys about sex! Afraid that they would laugh the whole time, that they would go around saying vagina in public and they would want lots more information than I was ready to give them! But now that I've done it I am so relieved and I realize how silly my fears were.

We chose to use the book pictured above (Learning About Sex for the Christian Family: Where do Babies Come From? for Boys ages 7-9) as a spring board to start our discussion. It gave the perfect amount of information, was very appropriate and interesting enough that the boys asked if I would read it to them again soon.

We took it slow and covered just a few pages or so a day. I thought it would be good to stop and talk at the end of each topic. The boys asked lots of questions and we were able to have some really wonderful discussions.

Best of all, now that the basics have been covered, the lines of communication are open and I'm no longer fearful of their questions!

Hope you're having a terrific day,

A Child's View of Swaziland

Learning to Swim in Swaziland is a cute book written from the perspective of a young American girl who lived in Swaziland with her family for a while. We'll be reading this book at church next week as part of a missions lesson.

The author includes lots of fun facts, drawings and actual photos of her Swazi adventures! Your kids will enjoy this book on their own or as a read aloud and they'll learn a little too. Don't forget to find Swaziland on the map when you're done!

Happy reading,

Too Sick to be "Teach"

September found it's rhythm right about the time I got sick a week ago. At first I felt bad about all the down time we've had but then I realized that the boys didn't mind and their educations haven't suffered a bit.

W has been spending his time pouring over books about robots and dinosaurs. He is not reading these books, instead he's really taking his time studying the pictures and trying to learn what he can from them.

He is so opposite from me. I am a reader and a researcher and watching him learn in his own way is difficult for me. However, I've been resisting the urge to offer to read the books to him. I asked him if he'd like to read them to me and he said no. So I'm letting it go and trusting that he will either connect the dots or ask for help when/if he needs it.

J has immersed himself in dramatic play surrounding the Underland Chronicles. All of his toy bats, rats and insects, along with his Star Wars guys have become the characters we've grown to love. Because of me being sick we've probably listened to 5 hours of these books on audio CD this week and have now finished book 5. (It's better than movies all day!) So he's had lots of time to act out the stories, draw the stories and of course, he and W both love to retell the stories to Dad at night. These books are so great for J because animals play such a large part in them and he LOVES animals!!

We've also spent our time this week learning more about the history of skateboarding, Samuel (from the Bible), and local government. We've practiced handwriting, reviewed some of the math tricks we know, attended chess club and delivered cookies to people who visited our church last week. (Luckily none of them were home so they didn't have to see how sick their cookie delivery girl was. I didn't bake or touch the cookies but they wouldn't have known that.)

The lesson I learned this week is that because life goes on even when Mom is sick, learning does too!

Hope you're having a wonderful week of living and learning,

History, Science, Bible, Math and Then Some...Yeah, It's What We Do

• The boys enjoyed skateboarding with Dad first thing this morning. They love going while everyone else is in school so that they have the whole park to themselves.
• We read about Samuel being born to Hannah and then "adopted" by Eli to do the work of the Lord. This was of special interest to the boys since I gave my first son up for adoption almost 16 years ago.
• We recited Philippians 1:1-11 mostly by memory. We've been working on this passage for a long time and we're hoping to memorize the entire book by the end of the school year.
• We listened to part of the Story of the World on CD while doing our chores.
• Then we listened to chapters 7 and 8 of Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods while having some down time. (Then I took a nap.)
• The boys dyed lots of popsicle sticks black to be used in a future art project. It was very messy and I was not nearly as excited about this project as they were but I rejoiced in the fact they chose this activity and not video games or a movie!
• We then watched lots of cardboard testimonies on you tube and discussed some of them. My church is doing this on Sunday and they've asked me to participate so I thought I should do some research.
• The boys counted up their money separately and then together...they're saving for something big! (An air soft gun...not sure how I feel about that but Dad says they're going to make some targets together and that that's all they will be allowed to shoot at.)
• We also bathed the hermit crabs today. We thought we'd lost one but apparently he was just molting.
• Both boys read out loud to me...not their favorite part of the day but it is mine.
• Tonight the boys will attend Wednesday night children's church and probably hang out while Dad has band practice afterward.

So there you have it, a day in the life!

Hope you've had a day full of wonder,

Emergency Preparedness for Children

September is National Preparedness Month and so I've been gathering some online resources to share with you and with my boys. Enjoy.

FEMA Ready Kids Includes information on creating an emergency supply kit and developing an emergency plan. Also includes games, coloring pages, songs, etc.

Ready Classroom Emergency Preparedness for teachers, students and families. Includes videos on fire drills, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and many other topics.

American Red Cross Masters of Disaster Grade level appropriate disaster preparedness curriculum created by the American Red Cross. Includes educators kit, family kit, activity sheets, etc.

U.S. Fire Administration for Kids Fire safety, games and resources for parents and teachers.

This is a short list but there's a lot of good information covered on each site. If you have a favorite that I've yet to share please leave a link in the comments.

Thanks,

Oh How I Hate Spelling Workbooks

Because I have a late reader in my homeschool and because I've yet to find a spelling program I love, we had not been formally studying the art of proper spelling...until now. While driving down the road a few weeks ago W informed me that he needed to "learn more words". As we discussed it further I realized he was talking specifically about learning to spell more words...

So together we developed a plan. First, he suggested that when he misspells a word in his prayer journal or when writing one of his books that he would immediately "work on it". He's been writing the word correctly 5 times and then repeating the correct spelling out loud 5 times. Next we did the whole "sight words labeling of the entire house" thing. Does that really work? I don't know but we'll see. He's also starting to write his books while sitting within a few feet from where ever I am. This allows him to ask me how to spell any words he isn't sure about.

I think he's finally tired of inventive spelling and just wants to do it right and I couldn't be happier about it.

Any other spelling ideas out there that do not include workbooks or word lists?