Learning from the Kitchen Table

The rising cost of middle class (and my life!)

2011-06-12T17:20:00.001-04:00

Don't worry, this isn't a whoa-is-me or whiny post ;) We all know that the price of gas, food, and everything else is higher than it has been in the past. I'm working on keeping a positive attitude about budgeting and just felt like writing about how I'm choosing to spend the money we have, and how I'm making it stretch as far as I can!
I feel very fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, it's been over 7 years since I brought home a paycheck. I have found other ways to contribute instead, and a few of them are resurfacing after some time off. E-bay, for starters. For awhile, I had an ebay business where I sold new and used children and maternity clothing - this was before I started homeschooling the kids. I hadn't really used ebay much in the past 2 years, but decided to give it a try and had some pretty good success selling some of the kids outgrown clothes. Enough that I could pay for the new math curriculum with the profits! The market isn't as well as it once was, I definitely could not make a profit by buying and reselling like I once did, but selling what they outgrow definitely helps!
Another old hobby that I'm returning to is couponing. The days of free Cottenelle seems to be over, but I did manage to get some free Ronzoni garden pasta this week! (if you have a Kroger, the pasta is on sale for $1 right now, and there is a $1/1 coupon to be found in the frozen section in front of Morning Star Farm products)The coupon policies at my 2 favorite stores have both changed in last month, my best guess is due to the Extreme Couponing show. I hit a few snags because of new policies, but I'm learning the new rules and will go from there.
The way we eat has changed over the last few months, I try to get as much organic and fresh food as I can, and this is a main focus in groceries right now, while keeping within the budget. Shopping clearance has been the biggest help in cutting back my grocery bill so I can stay in budget and feel good about the food I'm bringing home. Shopping weekdays means finding more clearance items. I've also learned to freeze things for future use, so I can buy on clearance and have on hand when the items are full price at the store. I'm also enjoying the first produce from the garden - cherry tomatoes! Much thanks to my friends for helping me successfully garden this year, I've only had a few things not survive transplant!

For now, we have been able to maintain the life that we have built without incurring further debt. There are hot meals everyday, we enjoy extra-curricular activities like dance and karate, we frequent the playground with friends, and visit local museums and go on other fun field trips. But I also realize that part of our current lifestyle includes being a home and two car owner - and this means maintenance that most often comes when you least can afford it. We learned that this past week when the A/C in my van went out at the same time that my breaker box began to overheat. I'd like to be prepared for the future, including any surprise fixes or rising costs, so I will continue to find ways to stretch what we have and share what I find. And of course homeschooling is always an adventure that can cost little or a lot, so I'll continue to find ways to make the most without breaking the bank.

May 2011 Reading List

2011-05-31T20:31:00.000-04:00

I've found that with our new routine, I'm reading to the kids more. I am happy about this :) I'm going to keep reviewing books, but not all of our selections. I'll be adding pictures of titles to the bottom of my monthly reading post as well to keep up with our log.

It's official. The kids are totally into this series now. We're able to read at a pretty fast pace, as the chapters are short. Nicholas is also able to do some of the reading outloud, so it's good practice for him and nice for me to get a break! We finished this book a little quicker than I expected, so I've gone ahead and ordered the next two books from the library. I'm planning on using the library's down-loadable audio collection for the later books in the series as well.

I brought this home for Nicholas because he is in movie-making mode lately. I loved that the story had the kids start with script writing, which is exactly what I keep encouraging him to do. The plot was clever and showed the characters going through creative thinking, editing, problem solving, etc. It was a simple story, easy enough to breeze through in one sitting, and both kids enjoyed listening to me read aloud.

Had I thought about it in advance, I would have read this book before going to Disney, instead of after. This book tells the story of a vacationing family with two children, each prepared for the trip with a camera that prints small stickers of the photos taken. The story didn't necessarily grab the attention of the kids, but it did get my wheels turning and am now thinking about what kind of photo opportunities and lessons I could incorporate in our next big trip, which will have us driving across country to New Mexico this fall.

This is my new favorite children's book. A story about our many moods, shown in various colors. The illustrations were added a great many years later, by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. I enjoyed this book more than the kids, I think. I just love the idea of using colors and animals to explain my varying moods. Today, for example, I'm having a "Bright Blue Day", where I can flap my wings. "Some days, of course, feel sort of Brown. Then I feel slow and low, low down."

In looking over some new curriculum choices for next year, I found a great list of stories that incorporate math, like "Mooove Over!", a skip counting book about a pushy cow. I found it to be funny and so did the kids. Short, sweet, laughable. I plan on reading it a few more times before our borrowing time is up, just trying to get the idea of counting by 2's familiar to Sydney. I was also able to find a dvd picture book copy of Two of Everything at the library. A clever folktale that also helps illustrate the idea of doubling.

Caillou, the famous whiny kid from PBS, has a new series of books and toys out called the "Ecology Club". This story explains composting in its very basic form, comparing it to magic as it interests Caillou. We also read the book "Every Drop Counts" from the series. Gardening and composting are family interests right now, so this series got my attention. The books are printed on 100% recycled paper using soy ink, just an interesting tid bit. I found some activities to coordinate with the series here.

I know there is much debate over where to start in the Chronicles of Narnia series, by publication date or by story order, but I decided to go with the suggestion of a friend and start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My original plan was to use a website's free audio to listen to the whole series, but for now we are reading a paperback that I have had stashed away. I think we may bounce back and forth between reading some novels in the series and using the audio for others. I've promised the kids we can watch the movies after we read each book as well, although Nic has already seen them.

Routine vs. Schedule : preparing for a new school year

2011-05-08T23:30:00.000-04:00

I was wandering around the forums on secular homeschooling and found a great thread that spoke of routines and the desire to have a schedule for the original poster's homeschooling day. The replies were encouraging, offered much support, and much to my surprise even offered up the difference in a routine vs. a schedule and why a routine is much more likely to work.
I usually find myself using the words interchangeably, something like this, "I made another schedule and it all worked out on paper but in real life I failed." Or, "If we could just stick to the routine then the school work would get finished and I wouldn't have panic attacks just thinking about next school year." Next Year is this thing that dangles over my head right now, the thing that scares me to my core because NEXT YEAR of course, I send in official paperwork stating that I am homeschooling not one but TWO children. SO here I am, attempting to make a plan so that I can rest easy.
As one poster pointed out, a routine is something that becomes a habit, whereas a schedule is a point of time when something needs to be done. So, blocking out our day around meal times (which is super common I'm learning) is more of a routine and not a schedule, and its more likely that it will be successful. I'm reading that a routine can also include days for different routines, like playgroups, field trips, dr. appointments, etc. I'm liking the term "routine" more and more!
Our school year won't be ending this summer, instead I've decided to go the year-round route and simply transition in August to the next grade levels. I would like to implement some new routines between now and then as well as try out some new curriculum options as well. I'm starting simply, with breakfast first followed by chores and then reading on the couch as a family. At least now I feel like I'm actually helping myself out, instead of setting myself up for failure!

April 2011 Reading List

2011-05-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Junie B. Jones is in first grade in this book, we went ahead and read out of order because it was about an Easter egg hunt. Sydney really got a kick out of this one, I could hear her laughing on the night that daddy read a chapter for bedtime - one of the characters called another kid a "springy little lamb" and she was all over it!!

This book had to come home from the library with us, AGAIN. It's clever and witty, and makes all of us laugh with twisted humor as we read aloud on the couch. Without peanut butter on our fingers of course ;)

This was a listen on cd experience that Nicholas and I enjoyed together, with Sydney occasionally listening in while playing on the computer. I was unfamiliar with this classic and didn't realize how dark of a story it actually is. I liked that this version of the story had pages of information about London at the time it was written, lots of good history to read before we even jumped into the story. Listening to stories on cd has been hot or miss here, but it's worth it to me to keep trying.

To prepare for the science fair, Sydney and I read a few books about the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies. One of my favorites is from a childhood series of mine, a Just Ask book. One book used to come in the mail each month and I remember how excited I would get when it arrived!

Nic and I have picked back up in our Harry Potter reading. We are currently on Chapter 26 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book 4). Our interest was re-sparked by visiting the Hogsmeade village and Hogwarts Castle in Universal Studios, Florida. We both used our souvenir money to buy wands from Ollivanders as well :)

Life Lessons: Time Management for dummies

2011-04-19T18:19:00.000-04:00

   Do you ever have days where you feel like the White Rabbit? "We're late! We're late! We're very very late!!" says the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Yeah, that white rabbit. Not the Easter Bunny.
   These days I find myself contemplating time and how I spend it. A typical day consists of us leaving the house at some point with me saying how we're running late, spending chunks of time in the car because we live in the middle of nowhere, most likely eating out because I wasn't prepared or forgot something in our haste, and then feeling frustrated that I haven't taught the kids the things I wanted to on any given day. I could use a hand in the time-management department, obviously.
   I've been making small changes, trying to bring our thermos's when we leave the house for example, in hopes that small changes become habits for us all. Having cool water and a cannister of grapes got us from today's activity to home without complaints of thirst or anyone actually dying of hunger. Only being 11 minutes from home also helped - the kids didn't even have time to annoy each other on such a short drive :)

March 2011 Reading List

2011-04-01T23:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you get what you want. And sometimes you don't! How true. Such a simple story with a big message. I think I'll find myself saying this phrase instead of the standard "Life isn't fair" that has already been beaten to death and lost it's meaning to my children.

A Place for Zero proved to be entertaining for both kids, which kind of surprised me but in a good way. Zero doesn't know where he belongs, he feel useless and is unsure of where he fits in. Count Infinity helps him find his place if addition, but he still thinks that there is something else out there for him. He tromps off to the castle to see Kind Multiplus and asks to be multiplied. He finds a new use for himself, but still looks for more. In simply standing next to another number, he sees how big he can really be. He can change a 1 to a 10! Great book about both math and belonging.

I liked this book so much that I'm putting it on my Amazon shopping list. It combines art with math, giving kids a sample of several famous artworks while asking them to count. Creating several combinations to add to the same number was not as easy at it looked from first glance, as Nic can attest to. This author is a new favorite of mine and I'd like to have all of his math books on hand for the kids!

I really enjoyed reading this one aloud. The repetition was fun and also kind of a tongue twister. The artwork was also really vibrant and I would definitely consider framing some of the pages, if this weren't a library copy.

The Magic Tree House is a series, but we started on #2, The Knight at Dawn. During last months bookclub we heard all about #1 and it reminded me that I had this book, purchased a couple of years ago and left to collect dust on the bookshelf. Nicholas had said that he wasn't interested, that he had read one of these books back in public school days. I know they are beneath his grade level now, but it made for a fun read-aloud book for both kids. The sentences are simple and the story is short with just enough new vocabulary and educational stuff thrown in to make it appealing to both kids. We have the next 2 books in the series on reserve at the local library, and I'll try to just stick to the order from here on out.

Here is our current chapter book. This story is told from the viewpoint of a 10 year old boy, a fictional character named James, who is onboard The Beagle with Mr.Charles Darwin. Nic seems to enjoy listening, but Sydney insists that she doesn't like this one. She still listens though, just while she plays with puzzles on the floor, and jumps up for an opportunity to see the pictures. I like that the story is told from a child's perspective but deals with true events.

On more book related news, both kids participated in what I am deeming the "Book Report Club". Nic and I worked on writing an actual report for one of his club penguin books, and this helped IMMENSELY with his confidence in speaking in front of others. His report was short and sweet, much like his book choice, and he also added a picture to help explain his book. I was really proud of him!! Sydney made a Fancy Nancy picture to go along with her report on Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy. Once we were there at the meeting she decided to "read" her book to the group. She has the whole thing memorized because she chooses it as her bedtime story so often! I thought they both did great and I'm planning on going back for more meetings. Great practice for speaking in groups, I think that's a pretty good life skill :)

Making Our House Feel Like HOME

2011-03-27T20:07:00.000-04:00

This is not my house.

(picture from http://ourhomeoncountyroad39.blogspot.com)

This is also not my house.

(picture from Pottery Barn catalog)

But I could picture myself living this way. Peaceful. Calm. Organized. I'm not asking for a showroom of perfection. Far from it! I want my fridge to have my children's art hanging from it, I even welcome the window paint drawings on the backdoor. I want a house that feels like HOME. One that welcomes me in and makes me feel as ease. I just want a place I can sit back and read in comfortably, and not first have to hunt down the book I was reading, finding it 20 minutes later after digging through various "piles" around the house. I want to be able to find what I am looking for within a shorter amount of time that I plan on using said item.

My first step was to join in the "project simplify" on Simple Mom, as I've mentioned before. I'm working on hot spot #3 currently, the kids' toys and clothes. I've already tackled the papers around the house and the Master Closet. I'm like a little tornado, just quietly whirling about the house, making messes as I organize.
Living in the middle of the project makes me want to run away. I don't like the uneasiness I feel when I see these unfinished projects, and I am tempted to throw everything back into a closet, have a cleared table and declare it a losing battle. But I won't. I will keep plugging away. I will donate more boxes of "stuff" than I ever expected, and I will remember to be mindful in my future purchases. I will fill my home with things that I love, and not just things that were on sale and "would do for now". It's getting there, I just need to keep plugging away.

Life Lessons: Being Mindful and Simplifying the Home

2011-03-16T13:48:00.001-04:00

The more I read about mindfulness, the more I run into the term "simplify". It makes sense that they go hand-in-hand, but I had never taken the time to think about it before. I'm joining Simple Mom in her challenge to simplify the home. I'd like to enjoy my home, in this minute and the next, instead of having the feeling that I am drowning in stuff. Clutter.

This might be a good time to admit that I am a thrift store junky. And as the saying goes, I am the kind of woman to spend $1 on something I don't need when a man spends $2 on something he does. If it's on sale, it will probably come home with me because I swear I can find a use for it. I have lots of "projects" started an piling up as well. I'm ready to to tackle the clutter and decide once and for all to use it or lose it!

My intent is to have a home that is welcoming to both my family and friends, a home that doubles as a schoolhouse that invites my children to learn and explore, a home that energizes me for the day instead of holding me down. I just joined project simplify, so I'll be starting with hotspot #1 - the bedroom closet. If I don't blog again after this post, it's quite possible that I'm lost in said closet. Or I've run away, because my closet is where I dump all the unfinished projects, all the things I *might* use one day, and its beginning to become reminiscent of the talking trash heap on Fraggle Rock. The haul out to goodwill should be a good one when I'm done! I'm too shamed to post a picture of the "before", but I'll come back and add a picture of the stuff I'm letting go of :)

Update: I survived! Here is the van all loaded up, 95% of this came from my master closet...the rest *was* in the closet at one point but had previously been moved to the garage. There's a baby gate, car seat, 2 laundry sorters, worm ride-on, organizing drawers, baby toys, and of course clothes.

Life Lessons: It's all a balancing act

2011-03-14T02:02:00.000-04:00

There are days where I wonder if we'll ever find our flow. It seems as if the thing I love the most about homeschooling, freedom, is also the part that causes me the most grief. We don't have an exact schedule, and no two days look the same. Instead of a schedule, we fit in lessons around other social activities, field trips and events. The upside to this freedom is that we can have an impromptu day at a hidden zoo when we were only planning on a grocery store field trip followed by a picnic! (Here are some of the animals we got to visit, an owl and some turkeys)

The downside to our days is that they don't always feel completed. Nicholas is definitely a "to do " list kind of kid. He likes to know the day's plan and what needs to get done. Sydney is more of a "fly by the seat of her pants" kind of girl. She gets inspired and runs with it! I'm somewhere in the middle, and I am trying to find a balance that works for the both of them.
I don't expect to find a regimen that works for us all the time. Just this week we've added in karate lessons and a science co-op! Our lives will remain a juggling act, a process, and I think we will all have some good days as well as some bad. But more importantly, I think we will learn through them all.

February 2011 Reading List

2011-03-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

Arithmetic Village is a whole series of math fairy tales that we were fortunate enough to win. I excideldy ~~tore~~ opened the package and was pleased to find the books simple and charming. Sydney loves the stories and has since gone about the house playing "Polly Plus" counting jewels.

Charlie an Lola are favorites around here and this was another big hit. Our library system just got a bunch of new titles in, yay!

This was a cute story, albeit kind of hard to read outloud! See, the vowels are missing and are added back in as the family gets new members. At least the kids got a kick out of me trying to say words without vowels :)

The Month Might Be Milk was on a friend's list from last month and looked like the sort of book we would like. We read it, and it was. S had the cool idea to make the cookie recipe but I had enough girl scout cookies laying around here to tempt me ;)

Sydney loves this book! We read it together many times. MANY times. She also chose this as her book-club pick an gave a great little report on it.

Junie B. reminds me of Sydney. She is a wild child, full of love and creativity and also loudness. Nicholas used to enjoy this series, but has since grown out of it. This is now a bedtime series for Sydney and she seems to enjoy reading chapter books.

Our new family time reading adventure, brought to us by my childhood favorite author Judy Bloom. This is still what we are currently reading and it is proving to be a bonding book for us, as we can all relate to the characters and their wit.

Life imitating art

2011-02-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

When I came up with the idea of a kids arts show, I had no idea that the many children in my life were SUCH a creative bunch. There was no way for me to guess what a mix of projects would line my living room wall and cover the tables! Our collective gallery featured photography, pencil portraits, abstract paintings, clay sculpture, a collection of paper doll dresses, a collage, a cave wall rendering, a large sculpture and even a stop-motion film. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I think this may just evolve into an annual event!

Sick Day Schooling

2011-02-18T16:15:00.000-05:00

   When your whole family is sick with the flu, lesson plans kinda go right out the window. When you feel better but your kids are now fighting off pneumonia and bronchitis, and the steroids give them mood-swings, you continue to just wing it ;)
   Reading was slow this week, as you have to breathe to accomplish reading out loud to kids. Breathing with the flu is strained enough! I did manage to read a small handful as bedtime stories and Nic read a couple library short stories to himself, and that will have to suffice.
   What we did a lot of, however, was watch tv. See, you can huddle under a blanket because your cold, even though your temp is 103, while you watch tv from the big comfy couch. Thanks to our Netflix subscription we were able to instant order a whole season of Mythbusters and Sid the Science Kid. Hello, science :) Having gone to the library a few days before we fell ill was a big help too. We watched dvds on artist Degas and math dvds. We even had a dvd all about germs and getting the flu. Hello, irony.
   It was sunny while we were sick, and our playgroup went to the playground for the first time in months. We sick uns stayed put. I did open the door and let the warm air come inside, and as soon as the kids felt up to it we hung out in the backyard. Sydney attempted watercolors outside, but tonkered out pretty quickly. It was followed by yet another nap on the couch.
   Melting old crayons in the oven while in a muffin tin was a fun activity for her while sick though. Peeling the paper was the hardest part, I had to do pretty much all of that. She sorted and watched melt. Then she experimented with them after they cooled into disks and decide the were good for scribbles but not for drawing.

Once Nic felt like remaining upright for a bit, I let him play with food coloring and an ice mold. He was pretty amazed at how the running colors would stick like veins to the ice, even holding their original "drop" shape at some points. I thought it was pretty beautiful.

The flu has found my house!

2011-02-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

Looks like the flu has come, totally uninvited of course. It started with Sydney and has made its way to Nic. I'm starting to feel something in my chest and throat, and so is Jeff. Our happy weekend plans have all been canceled, leaving me bummed. Today was supposed to be filled with storytime and a Valentine's Day party. Nic has birthday tickets to see the monster truck show tomorrow, but now he won't be going.

It's hard seeing my kids all bundled up in their beds with fevers and glassy eyes. I'm already feeling the exhaustion of dispensing meds every 4 hours for fever, a productive cough, opening up the lungs, etc. I think I need a nap.

January 2011 Reading List

2011-02-04T23:47:00.001-05:00

Here are some noteworthy books that we read during the month of January.

Oh No!(or How my Science Project Destroyed the World) This is a cute story about a science fair project that goes wrong. More pictures than words, this story came home from the library with us in hopes that it would inspire my children for the upcoming Homeschool Science Fair. They both really enjoyed it, lots of laughter. I enjoyed the fact that the main character, a kid scientist, is a girl.

The 2nd book in The Universe Tells Our Earth Story, this book was pulled off the shelf to be a bedtime story by Sydney. I started reading and soon Nic came in to listen as well. It was too long for just one night, so my disappointed children had to wait until the next day to finish the story. Very visually stimulating, we spent a good bit of time looking over the artwork on each page after reading. We have the series and will be reading book 3 soon.

This a favorite storybook of mine, purchased when Sydney was just 1 and we read a copy at the doctor's office. I read it to her so many times that it fell apart, so this is our 2nd copy :) She pulled it from the shelves for bedtime several nights this month, which of course just make me reminisce and remind me of how much she has grown. Anyhow, it's a simple book about a mother's love. Quite cute, rhyming, and beautifully illustrated.

Nic does his own night-time reading these days and his new obsession is Disney's Club Penguin. He has been staying up to read the books he got as gifts and has also brought a couple home from the library. I was proud that he went and asked a librarian for help requesting some books that he wanted and didn't see on the shelves. I wouldn't be surprised if he chose a Club Penguin book as his topic during the next kids bookclub.

And Tango Makes Three This is a delightful, and true, story about 2 male penguins who have chosen eachother as life partners in the Central Park Zoo. After seeing the other couples make a nest and take care of an egg, Roy and Silo do their best to simulate with a nest and rock. They were later given the chance to be parents and hatch a real egg. This book was the most challenged book from 2006-2009 according to the American Library Association, even being banned in some areas. Our copy was borrowed from the Parenting section of the library. My children asked for me to read it again, as it was quite funny and such a sweet story.

History finds us on the Oregan Trail, so I thought the story of the Ingalls family moving West would tie in nicely. This is a story that both of my kids have been able to get into. They both showed fear and compassion when Jack (the dog) is lost after crossing the swift moving river, and both were shocked when Pa and Ma just start BUILDING A HOUSE. They both agree that a cup and candy cane make for a pretty shabby Christmas - I guess if anything they are learning just how good they have it!

Fancy Nancy is a relatively new character in our house. Sydney adores this little girls style and fashion and often tells me that she is dressing like Fancy Nancy when she piles on the accessories to her mis-matched outfits. I love the new vocabulary that these books introduce her too. Our Posh Puppy book was anything but, coming to us from my favorite store...Goodwill! I've added quite a few new bedtime stories onto our shelves for the bargain price of around $1 each, and this has quickly become a favorite. If I find the dog, or cat for that matter, dress-up then I'll surely know where she got the idea.

We just got a whole stack full of books from the library today, including several suggestions from one of my best friends at http://www.raising3thinkers.com/ , so our February reading list should be nice and full!

Life Lessons: Learning to be a mindful parent

2011-01-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

Mindful parenting is the practice of using self-awareness to know when it is time to self-intervene: to slow down, think, and decide the course of action that will keep your child close to you. Rather than home life feeling out of control and overwhelming, the Mindful Parent creates a home that is a secure and stress-free zone — a place where people feel loved, accepted, and calm. Mindful Parent Happy Child

I want to be mindful, to live in the moment and live with intent. I haven't a clue how to stop my racing thoughts, multi-tasking in my mind even when being still. I'd like to play a game with my children and be IN the moment, and not planning out the next night's dinner or worrying if we are studying enough/the right things/to their potential/etc. I've gotten some book suggestions and am even searching on my own. I feel good about this realization, I need to enjoy the moments as they are really happening.

Rainy Day Art

2011-01-25T10:55:00.001-05:00

It's another rainy day here, and as much as I'd love to be going to the playground, we are stuck indoors. Mostly. I did just happen to find a really cool rainy day art project in the Publix magazine, so that is what we started the school day with. All you need are crumbled watercolors, paper, and rain! Smash your little watercolor pancakes and set on paper, then put paper in the rain to see your colorful abstract painting being created. This is Nic's multi-colored creation.

Table scraps: Scholastic Dollar Deals Curriculum Sale!

2011-01-16T15:42:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my friend Gina, I was able to add to our ever growing and changing curriculum for the tiniest investment. I got 9 e-books for 9 dollars!! I was a bit miffed when I saw a book on the list that I paid $12 for on Amazon just last month, but too late now. The good thing is, I was able to score other books that I can print at home. This saves a LOT of paper as well, since these books aren't bound paper, just files. You print what you need, like the worksheets and not all the needless title pages, etc. Scholastic e-books Dollar Deals I just downloaded my files and started printing off some idiom mini-book pages for tomorrow. Yay for a good deal! I've heard that this is in annual sale, can't wait till next January to see if it comes back around. This years sale ends January 31st, get it on this deal while you can!

*edited to add, this site is having problems with their pricing and also, apparently, their customer service. The first 12 times I tried to add books to my basket, the prices jumped from $1 to normal price. I emailed customer support, tried again and magically the prices stayed $1, and then 2 days later got a follow up saying "This sale is over." Yeah. According to the ad it's not! If you have problems, try try again. And don't bother with customer support, as they don't even know there IS a sale. Awesome.

Every Little Bottom - our 1st charity of the year

2011-01-06T00:10:00.003-05:00

Diapers needed, who knew? I knew. Once upon a time I didn't have the money to buy diapers and had to ask for help. It was a humiliating time for 2 parents trying to find permanent work and keep bills paid and go to school, etc. etc. This article states that "One in three mothers in the United States has to cut back on household necessities in order to afford diapers." I had to ask for help from family and my boss, thankfully they were able to come through for us.

So, I've found our first charity for the year! The plan is to involve the kids in coupon cutting and sales hunting and to collect diapers for the year. The average price per diaper is 25.5 cents, I found this information by googling it after I did my own "research" using the Walgreens sale price divided by size 4 diapers per pack. I'd like to set a goal of 1000 diapers for the year, but in order to achieve that goal I will need to drastically reduce the price, hence the coupon clipping and such. The diapers will be brought down to either the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia or Atlanta Food Bank.

Life Lesson: Humanity on the Highway

2011-01-04T18:05:00.003-05:00

It didn't take long before an opportunity to show compassion reared itself. Only the 2nd day of the new year, and a car slams into the side rail of Hwy. 85 just a couple hundred yards in front of us. We were heading back from dropping Granny off at the airport and looking forward to a sit down lunch. I wanted soup because I've been fighting a cold that may have turned to something more. We were just about to the exit when Jeff's exclaiming "Oh no, oh no!" made my head snap up from my daze and see a 4 door car heading sideways towards the wall. Honestly, what I saw made no sense to my brain - it was like slow motion as I saw the car slam to a stop when it hit the wall head on. Jeff asked if we should stop, there was one car ahead of us pulling over, and that's when I saw the booster seat in the back of the car. "Yes! Stop, there is a baby!". She wasn't a baby exactly, more like 3. Her older sister was driving and lost control, the mother was in the backseat with the little girl.

I called 911 and the response team got there within minutes. Meanwhile, Jeff and another man were checking on the family. They were also directing traffic, as the tail end of the car was sticking out in the slow lane. Jeff got the little girl out and held her until the ambulance was ready to take the family away. They came to the van to get a coat, borrowed from Sydney, because it was cold. It was probably around this time that I cried. She looked so unbelievably scared, her mother bleeding in the backseat and her older sister pulling paperwork and belongings from the totaled car. I was so proud of my family. I heard not one complaint from my own backseat, no whines of "taking too long" or "I'm still hungry". Nicholas was ready to move farther back in the van so that the little girl could ride with us (he didn't know where she would go), Sydney lovingly gave her coat to a stranger (we did get it back when the older sister was able to get hers from the car, but when it was handed over, Sydney couldn't know that) and we all did what we could, even if that just meant being patient while Daddy helped.

The kids were pretty shaken up by the experience. I don't think they had ever seen a person on a stretcher before. It lead to such a great discussion on how it is our job to help one another when we can. I love talking to them about charity, and that topic will be blogged again in the near future, but actually DOING something feels so much greater than giving money. I think it's time for me to look into what we can do to help, something hands on.

A New Year, a New Opportunity

2010-12-31T12:34:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again. The time when we pass the bubbly and talk about how we want to improve in the New Year. Honestly, I don't feel a "change" besides having to take down the schoolroom calendar inserts. It will probably take me until mid-March to remember what year it is. I still have a long way to go with last years resolutions for crying out loud!But I am still trying. I would say that I am focusing on my family, our education (self included, one can always learn something new), and showing humanity.

This last one is heavy on my mind and heart right now. I recently read an article that made me really very sad. An article which was mostly composed of reader views about Atheists, calling us a hate group and other foul things. It just made me hurt deep down. I don't understand how any group of people could make such judgments about others and come off so completely wrong. I found this clever parenting article today and it made me laugh. Yes, all groups are judged and even by others within the group. Motherhood certainly throws us in the world of judgement from the moment one begins to show. So is life.

I realize that I set myself and my family on a (mostly) unique path - secular homeschoolers in the deep south. Yeah, that's us. I am happy where we are and in the New year we will forge ahead living the best life that we can, and hopefully that will rub off on those around us.

Rudolph: Center for Puppetry Arts Performance

2010-12-04T21:46:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure what I expected when we arrived downtown at the Center for Puppetry Arts to see Rudolph, but I know I walked out in awe. This was by far the COOLEST puppet show I have ever seen. I mean, there was animation involved for cryin out loud! The stage had depth, lights, moving dancing scenery. The crew was amazingly talented and even gave a brief "behind the scenes" after the show. I was stunned. Both kids really enjoyed the show and both sat with friends leaving me to myself - I'll admit, that stung a bit. They knew I was nearby but didn't need me to be next to them, not when there was an opportunity to be with buddies. I did get cheered up when another little 3 year old friend of mine came and snuggled on my lap for part of the show :)

Oh, and we got to make out very own string puppets too. We will definitely be making a trip back there in the future for another production!

Tis the season to be BUSY! Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T12:29:00.004-05:00

I was finally getting back into blogging, and then BAM! Holidays. Traveling. Packing and unpacking. Decorating. Busy busy busy. We packed up the kids and the dog and spent 32.5 hours in the car and about 80 hours in Buffalo, NY - where we managed to eat 2 Thanksgiving dinners in that short time with lots of family gathered round. It was a cr

azy few days filled with food, family, friends, fun and lots of other stuff that doesn't start with an F. Snow. Suitcases. Laughter. Brake lights. Scattegories. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

stART: Cupcake

2010-11-13T23:00:00.006-05:00

While browsing the library shelves after story time, the cutest book caught my eye. Maybe it was the bright colors, or maybe it was because it was past lunchtime and there was a giant cupcake on the cover. In either case, I flipped though it and brought it home.

The book tells the story of Vanilla Cupcake, a lil guy who is so happy when he first comes out of the oven, but is soon saddened and thinking less of himself when he is the last

cupcake left in the plate ; not chosen because he is so plain when compared to his colorful brothers and sisters. I thought the story had something to offer - teaching self love while also giving insight to the fact that there is no pleasing everyone.

Anyhow, the kids liked the story well enough but what they really seemed to enjoy was the craft and activity that followed. I cut out cupcake tops and bottoms using all kinds of materials and let the kids decide how to pair them up and decorate using the stash of "stuff" that has collected in my craft closet. They both really took their time and it was very rewarding for me to watch - I did spend a good amount of time preparing after all!

The follow-up activity was a trip to a small local bakery to buy us each a cupcake. Yeah, that was fun :) It smelled soOooOOO good in there and the choices were a bit overwhelming. The book has a recipe for baking vanilla cupcakes, but I thought a mini field trip was more up our alley for this week. Besides, the dishwasher was acting wonky and I didn't want to make a big baking mess ;)

stART: Fancy Nancy

2010-11-03T17:24:00.005-04:00

Sydney has been asking me to teach her to read, so I started with some lessons from The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading. Today we learned the beginning verse of the vowel poem:

A is the first vowel we will say

/a/ is the short vowel sound of a.

I wanted to follow the lesson with a complete story, so what better than a Fancy Nancy book? Two short A's in her name after all :) Sydney chose Fancy Nancy: Every day is Earth Day. Afterwards she made a Fancy Nancy puppet, with a little help from mom. She chose to make the hair from red pipe cleaners and needed help poking it through the bag and curling them. She colored in a face, complete with eyelashes, and glued on a leftover-fabric "dress" and other fancy things. (the glue is still wet in the photo, that is the dark pink squiggles you see on the dress)

Pretend Passports:Our adventures around the globe

2010-11-03T00:33:00.002-04:00

This week we started a Social Studies project that we will continue for the rest of the year and maybe even beyond - we made passports :) Every time we study a new place (any place, even ones we wouldn't need a passport to get to), the kids will be able to add a new "stamp" to their passport. I found the printable passport here and some cool printable stamps here. I even purchased some clearance stickers with city names on them at Hobby Lobby. Our first areas of study? Georgia and Africa.

I decided to start with Georgia and just go over some basics - the state flower, bird, Capitol city, etc. I integrated in some map skills with a couple of worksheets, new for Sydney and as a review for Nicholas. It was nice to see Sydney raise her working level to try and meet with Nic's, and to see him step up and help her when she needed direction. Both kids made a GA collage, pulling images from magazines that could be found in the state.

We spent some time on the couch for the Africa unit, watching Youtube videos about the cultures and animals in Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa. A new kid safe browser that I downloaded,Kidzui, helped us find safe videos quickly - and it's free to download! A printed traditional African fable made for a great story-time with us all piled on the couch. Later on they branched into separate directions, Nicholas playing some African puzzles and trivia online and Sydney making a safari picture and paper doll in traditional Kenyan clothing.

I'm really enjoying this project so far and hope that the kids are too. My time isn't split between the two of them when we study together, so I am looking for more ways to bring them both to the table at the same time :)

Scientists in the HOUSE!

2010-10-28T22:52:00.013-04:00

Somehow, in the whirlwind of chaos that I like to call my life, I have lost sight of SCIENCE in our home curriculum. I paused one day while going over the lesson plans, realizing I'd neglected the subject. I was never a big fan of science class as a kid, but all of my experiences revolved around reading from textbooks and not understanding WHAT they were trying to tell me. Nicholas already has an interest in the sciences and I want to encourage that in both of my children. To make up for the oversight, we spent much of the past two weeks submerged in science.

In my original lesson plans, I should be through the Magic School Bus Germs kit by now. Instead, Nicholas and I did the vast majority of the experiments just last week. Too bad for us, the yeast that came with the kit had expired (no date on the package, GrrRrRR) and so had the yeast in my cabinet. Needless to say, the experiments did not do what we wanted...the yeast did not react better in warm water than cold because it didn't react at all, it didn't release carbon dioxide to make the balloon fill, and the bread was super dense. Nic still learned a lot, but active yeast would have really SHOWN him what I was telling him. I'm proposing a do-over next week and will also include Sydney - I think she'll like participating. Instead of participating with us this failed time, Sydney instead had her own curriculum about the human body using books in conjunction with a workbook I found on the Fernbank Science Center site , a valuable resource!

In another and much more successful science adventure, the kids and I went to visit the Bio-Bus, brought to us by the University of Georgia. The day consisted of a power point presentation as well as demonstrations and experiments all about the phases of matter. Both children have heard the basics of chemistry and matter before and I am excited to see that they both were able to pick up a few new pieces of information and also came away with their curiosity sparked. Nicholas mentioned perhaps becoming a scientist and was heartbroken when the instructor told him that, no, he could not buy his own liquid nitrogen at Walmart. Sydney sat (mostly) still while listening to the lecture, remembered to raise her hand to answer a question, answered a question about density correctly and got the experience of being in front of the class while demonstrating how tightly knitted molecules in ice are. We all really enjoyed watching the chemical changes made in the experiments.

My plan is to follow up this field trip with some of our own experiments, perhaps getting out some more polymer to play with and also getting some growing foam from a hardware store. I also have an episode of Sid the Science Kid all geared up for Sydney to watch that shows irreversible chemical changes in easy to understand examples, like cooking pancakes. HmmMmM...maybe I should get both kids in the kitchen to show them that same example. Sounds like science and home ec. rolled into one breakfast!

Story + Art = stART

2010-09-01T12:43:00.007-04:00

This idea come from another homeschooling blog, A Mommy's Adventures. I think it's pretty cute, so we are joining in on the fun. Today we read "What Makes a Rainbow" as well as "What is a Rainbow". I gave Sydney a rainbow template with cut up construction paper and she made a rainbow, complete with raindrops to be the prisms and a shining sun. And if you look closely, you will see that her headband coordinates with the rainbow theme - hehe, I couldn't help myself!

"Read, read, read" ( ~ William Faulker)

2010-08-31T21:26:00.010-04:00

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
~ Joseph Addison ~

Our school year has just begun and we are all slowly learning our new routine. For me, this looks like waking up earlier than I want to and heading out to the gym. I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled to be using an alarm clock again, but it is what it is. I am happy to have a workout buddy, and to feel like I am making some progress toward my goal of finishing the Warrior Dash this coming May. I really don't want to have to skip any of the 11 obstacles because of physical ability, so going to the gym is very very necessary, however early it is when I get there.

Our new routine also includes the addition of 2 new bookclubs, one for me and one for Sydney. This means that 3 out of 4 of us are in a bookclub now - I think my love of reading is filtering down :)

This month Nicholas will be reading Jeffrey Strangeways by Jill Murphey. We haven't started yet, so I really need to make it a priority as his bookclub meets in just 2 weeks. We are still reading his books together and I like the quality time it gives us.

Sydney was the hostess for the younger bookclub and her selection was Princess Hyacinth: the Surpriseing Tale of a Girl Who Floated. This was the first meeting for the new group, so I was really unsure of how it would go or what to do. Being me, I tied the snack into the story - popcorn and tea turned into popcorn and apple juice served in tea cups. I also transformed Sydney's Chutes & Ladders game into a story themed game of Kites & Balloons. 16 children showed up for the meeting and it went really well - I think this is going to be a great group!

Not to be out read by our children, our group now has a moms bookclub as well. Classic books for classy moms :) I mentioned to a friend that I was going to read Emma by Jane Austen and that is now our first pick. I am really looking forward to being able to read classic literature and discuss with this bright bunch of friends that I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by.

Summer vacation: Charleston, SC

2010-08-24T23:21:00.011-04:00

This summer we were fortunate enough to vacation in one of the most historical cities in the U.S., Charleston, SC. Or Charles Towne as it was originally called. We spent 7 days soaking up the sun at Folly Beach, just a block away from our beach house, and soaking up history as well. I watched my son as he turned into a fish, never wanting to leave the water. I watched him grow up a little, allowing him to walk to the corner store by himself (I know, I know, I am a clingy mother). I saw my daughter create her own masterpieces, no matter what her surroundings she has to have her artistic outlet. I saw her become a student, curiosity peaked at every museum with her little hand in the air for questions and even sounding out her first word (FOOD, on a local grocery store). I learned so much in 7 days, about family and friends and life. Much of what I learned cannot be shared here, but I can say that I missed home and was happy to come back :)

Start of a new year

2010-08-23T23:51:00.003-04:00

I can hardly believe that today was the 1st day of another school year at home. I have 2 students, a Kindergartner and a 4th grader. Some days, like today, I look back to that last day of public school for Nic and wonder where the time has gone. And I also remember to take a minute to reflect on how happy I am with the changes we've made to get us here, learning from the dining table.

Hot off the press: Our yearbooks are here!!

2010-06-10T01:29:00.005-04:00

I have started a new tradition for our homeschool, one that we all remember from our own public school days...yearbooks!! I'm so proud of my creation, truly! It does have one error, I didn't catch the fact that my text box ran out of space before I ran out of words, but it was like 2am when I finished this book of awesomeness to commemorate our year, so I forgive me :) Using photos that I took throughout the year and my scanner for the kids artwork, I was able to fill out the 20 page photo book easily enough. I used a Buy-1-Get-1 code and was able to get these delivered to my door for under $50 total for the pair. Each child has their own book and they are planning on having friends from their weekly playgroup sign them, so cool! Here is a glimpse, a page of history and science.

Mother's Day Memories

2010-05-10T00:41:00.011-04:00

I remember being in a card shop with my mother, I must have been around 7 years old, and trying to find a creative way to buy her a Mother's Day card with no money of my own. In my 7 year old brain, I found the answer with this creative little white lie, "Mom, can I have money to buy this card for my friend's mom?" Yeah, I totally thought I was putting one over on her. I got the card though, mission accomplished.

I've got some new Mother's Day memories now, this time with me as center-stage mom. This year the family woke me up with breakfast in bed, cards and flowers. Nicholas chose yellow roses
because they are my favorite. Sydney chose pink tulips because they are her favorite. Later on they performed a song and dance ditty, all original and made especially for me with lyrics about loving and adoring me. I pretty much love this holiday!

I'm inspired, pass it on.

2010-05-07T00:33:00.003-04:00

Inspiration (noun) - Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.

"How do you run a homeschool for multiple children with varying learning styles and ages while balancing home maintenance and other responsibilities? It is this: be inspirational. Be inspirational. BE INSPIRATIONAL." - Oliver & Rachel DeMille

This is a quote that I keep on my refrigerator. I found it in the book Leadership Education:The Phases of Learning, borrowed from my good friend and fellow homeschooler, Sarah. When I first decided to stick up on my fridge, surrounded by kids photos and artwork, I thought I would find out how to be this inspirational homeschooling mom easily within the pages of this book. Too bad for me that I got distracted with life and other books and it took me like 8 months to get to the end. Ironically enough, 8 pages before the book ends is where I found the answers I had been craving.

This resource listed Four Arts of Inspiring while being within an Inspiring Environment - Variety, Exposure, Dance (as in being lead with ease, not actually dancing) and Being Inspired. I see the sense in providing my children with variety and exposure to many styles of learning, topics they enjoy, letting them make their own choices in schooling, etc. The "dance" is something that reminds me of the old adage "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". You can try and force the kids to sit down and listen to a lesson, but it doesn't mean they will learn anything. It simply suggests being creative and gentle in your approach - not demanding. In the example the book gave, the children slowly learned to spell and enjoy it by starting out writing letters to family members and quizzing their mother on her spelling. They didn't realize at first that they WERE being taught. No pressure on them, so no toes to step on - hence the "dance".

The Fourth Act, the Act of Being Inspired, is a harder one for me. It talks of the parent being inspired in their own life and sharing that inspiration with their children. Do I do that? I hope I do that. Does passing on my love for literature by allowing my children to see me read and leaving my books strewn throughout the house count? Does allowing them to see me prepare, and then later be denied due to low iron count and grieve for my perceived failure, to donate blood platelets to a friend suffering from Leukemia count? I am not sure I quite grasp this Fourth Act.

Maybe my new membership to AIR will help to spread inspiration. The acronym does stand for Assembly of Inspiration and Reason after all. Perhaps I will be inspired by others in my attempts to be a role model for my own family. I have already gained so much confidence in myself and my ability to reason and think logically just by allowing myself to be surrounded by fellow free thinkers. I am excited to see what the future holds for both the group and my family as we continue to grow and branch out in the community and show our compassion in humanitarian efforts in direct correlation to our (non)belief. Knowing that I am helping carve a place in the community for my family to belong to is, well, an incredible feeling. I guess you could say I am feeling inspired.

"Inspiration does not come from the quote itself, but rather the person behind it."

~Russ Myers

Life Lesson: Some things just don't fit in my lesson books

2010-01-08T22:17:00.005-05:00

When I hooked my laptop up to the tv this past Wednesday for a school lesson, I had no idea that it would turn into a day of dancing, discussions, debate and even a few tears from yours truly. I mean, I was only planning on using the computer to show some charity videos for the groups that I had chosen from our recent membership to the Foundation Beyond Belief. It was a 30 minute lesson according to my planner, we still had lots of other subjects to cover for that day and all. I just felt fancy because I knew which wires to connect so we could see the screen on the tv and the sound would come out of the stereo (we all know by now that me and computers just don't get along very well, so this is big and exciting for me and I hope to use this new skill often).

The kids both watched the videos from groups like War Child and Water for People and then, well, an interest was sparked. Learning happened. Humanitarianism happened. My children felt compassion for others and wanted to help. I felt like the Grinch at the end of the cartoon movie, you know, where his heart grows and swells so big that it breaks that little device that is measuring it? Sydney wanted to know why the people didn't have sinks before and how did they have water - Nicholas was outraged to learn that children around the globe no older than he are being forced to become soldiers and torn from their families. Understandably, they had a lot of questions and concerns.

But, lucky for me, and for my kids, I am around to answer the questions when they have them, to break free of the day's plan when something that sparks an interest leads them (or us) astray or when a new opportunity arises. It was one of those sparked interest moments that turned into a daylong discussion with a 9 year old that I did not expect, but I loved that I was here so it could happen. This lesson on charity and humanitarianism soon turned into something even more.

Nicholas has several areas of interest, including both music and military. He likes bands such as Linkin Park and System of a Down and when he chooses his own library books he often comes back with at least one true life military book. I thought that in light of the discussion and videos we had just watched, I could transition over into something else that he would benefit from. I gave him the basic definition of the word "lyrics", relating it to our ongoing poetry studies, and explained to him how artists often use their music as a way to express their beliefs and get their views heard. Two of our charities are helping those affected by war, and I wondered if he knew that some of the songs that he likes are very much anti-war.

We used youtube as a tool and listened our way through "21 Guns" by Green Day, "Disposable Soldiers" by Metallica, "Hands Held High" by Linkin Park and "Zombie" by the Cranberries. The videos helped him visually SEE what the song was about, but I still found the lyrics for us as well so we could read through them. Some of the songs found myself and Sydney dancing along, like Zombie. Who can resist swaying at the very least to that one when it's good and cranked up?

The next video had a scene from 9/11, and there came the tears from me. Nicholas wanted to talk about that, and we did, and that lead into a talk about why our country was still at war all these 9 years later. WELL. Turns out Nicholas has some different ideas on that than I do. And I just want to say - good for him :) I said I wondered when our soldiers would come home and when would it be done already, what are we still fighting for, etc etc. I love our military, I just want it to be over and the further we get from 9/11, the harder it is to believe that there is anything worth fighting for. Nicholas, well, he will make a good soldier for our country should he choose to do so someday - he was very loyal to our men and the freedoms they defend, whether or not he truly understands all matters at hand, he does understand that you get the job done and he looked me in the eye and told me so *gulp* My little boy just grew up ladies and gentlemen. Not only has he grown over 2 inches in 9 months, but he was comfortable expressing his political views to me and even gave me a "real life" example just like I give him. How could I not be proud?!? He said to me " they are still there because there are still bad people who want to hurt our country. They can not stop until we are all safe and the bad people have all been caught. It's like if I was outside working in the yard, I can't just quit until the job is done Mom."

So, did we get any math done on Wednesday? No. Did I read from our current novel? No. But that's ok with me. I think these are the moments where they are really learning something so much more than I could even plan for with my lesson book anyhow.

2010-01-04T23:41:00.003-05:00

The New Year didn't start off quite the way I had imagined it: curled up on the couch with my husband, drinking chocolate wine, sharing a kiss when the ball dropped. No, not this year, not for this girl. Where was I when the magic happened and a New Year began? I was in the bathroom, thinking that I still had approximately 4 minutes of 2009 to piss away (literally). But no matter, because 2010 is going to be glorious anyhow.

In the great spirit of traditions, I had Nicholas and I make some resolutions. Sydney colored a fabulous New Years coloring sheet because when you are 3, there is nothing to resolve :) Nicholas has decided to continue to strive for muscles - he wants to continue his gymnastics, do some basketball playing in the driveway and remember to choose some healthy foods to help him get there. My list is a wee bit longer.

This year, I want to learn the art of BALANCE. I can't seem to figure out how to keep up with all my roles in life. Just when I get a grasp on one, something slips from my grasp. I will try to keep this in mind when working on all these others.

Relationships - There are so many people in my life who mean so much to me. In working in my balance, I am resolving to spend more time with those I love. I'm also going to place our playgroups in this category because I am resolving to spend more time going to them....this may mean that I need to step up and hostess and that lend itself to my next category.....

Home - I just need to suck it up and go back to a cleaning schedule. I am pretty sure that is the only way my house was ever clean, and I don't know why I am so resistant to getting back on one now. I also have like 37 projects going on and need to just learn how to FINISH them before moving on and starting so many others. The downstairs bathroom is still my biggest project to complete, good news is that I bought the wall paint a few days ago! I have a lot of changes in mind for home, but balance probably means pacing myself.

School - I need to remember to carve out more time for lesson planning, I know I am lacking in this area for sure. We are working on getting a computer upstairs for the kids to use, we just got a desk today in fact ($25 at the thrift store, score! And it has an an attached wall hutch for books!) and this will help in so many ways. Having the kids and I all sharing my laptop was so not working for me anymore.

Charity - I try to teach the kids to be considerate of others and to lead a life of giving, but find myself lacking in that area more and more. The problem is that a lot of times, I can't find a way to give without compromising my own beliefs. In my area, it just seems like most charities are tied to a church in some way, and I just don't want my funds to go there. I don't want people in need to have to be preached to in order to receive help either. In the end, I have had to donate foods to charities that I didn't agree with because I still felt as if it were for the greater good - to feed hungry people. But now a friend and fellow blogger has helped me find a way to keep my beliefs and not feel like I am betraying myself or further empowering any organizations that I do not believe in when I give to them for any greater good: a group called Foundation Beyond Belief . Jeff and I are becoming members and I can enjoy teaching the kids about the charities that the group is helping each quarter as they rotate, and we can choose which ones we want our monthly donations to go to. I feel really good about this one.

So that is enough for one girl to work on I think.

Of chickens and children - our Thanksgiving hunt

2010-01-01T11:10:00.004-05:00

It was the day before we were leaving for an out of town wedding over Thanksgiving. I had a LOT to get done - laundry, packing, lists, cleaning, and making lunch for my mom and showing her how to care for the animals while we were away. I was just about done making the mile long list of things to accomplish for the day when Jeff and Nicholas came inside and declared that I "didn't have to worry about the chickens while we were away". Um, what? Then I noticed the tears in Nic's eyes. Then his lip began to quiver and the waterworks that he was working so hard to contain began to let loose.

They had been trying to move the 2 chickens to the garage to make caring for them easier in their new "vacation home", and it was, well, a disaster. Mission FAILED. I was told that one chicken headed to the woods behind our house and the other went for the ditch between our house and the neighbors. At about that point Jeff had to get dressed and head off for work. I was left with a heartbroken child who had just lost 2 pets who was blaming himself, a still messy house, a half packed suitcase, company on the way, and now a twitching eye to complete the package.

Lucky for me, my mom wears the same size sneakers as I do :) When she and my 16 year old brother arrived, we abandoned lunch for the moment, and came up with an AWESOME plan of attack. It's called: Me, Nic, Syd, Nana wearing my extra sneakers, Matthew and 2 laundry baskets with a spare comforter and some extra sheets hunting chickens. Did you know my chickens are the same color as the pine straw? Well, they are. It made it extra fun. An hour later, we actually CAUGHT a chicken!!

Matthew chased it from the ditch to a hole in the fence...the fence that keeps the Weimeraner in the yard. Oops. But Nic put the dog in the house and then Matthew and I had the pleasure of cutting through pricky vines to get to where the chicken was now hiding in the corner of the yard. Apparently we have some maintenance to do. We got it in the basket and covered it with the blanket and got it in the garage coop. I felt like I had just won the frickin lottery! It was a hoot. And my neighbors witnessed some of this...and my children heard a lot of new words whilst we were running after said chicken . Effin chicken is a grand phrase after all. But that's ok, because Nicholas had 1 pet back before going out of town, and we could have lunch.

After lunch, mission chicken was back on. This time was harder because we were headed to the woods and the chicken was not playing nice. Matthew and I incurred many an injury from vined trees, but once the chicken was spotted by my mom (waiting on the back deck with Sydney, laughing at us, once again we were swearing and running after a chicken after all) I just couldn't stop going you know? I wasn't going to go to Charleston and leave this chicken behind. Nicholas tried very hard to catch it with us, and eventually it gave up and laid down in a weird circular formation of sticks. Maybe it thought we couldn't see it there? So we gathered around it and I had no other option that to TOUCH THE CHICKEN. This is where my comfort zone ends. Me and feathered creatures outside of a cage who may or may not bite me, um, no thanks. But this was Nic's chicken. He feeds them and cares for them and calls them "his girls". *sigh* It had to be done, and quickly. Even Matthew told me to get the friggin chicken. So I did it. I scooped it up, put it in my laundry basket, and continued to hold it. I couldn't chance it getting away again.

So there it ends. The Crimson Twins were home again. It was traumatic for us all. A bonding experience and probably the best Thanksgiving story our family will ever have. And we still made it to Charleston with packed suitcases, although the house just had to stay the way it was. A small sacrifice for the kids happiness.

A family that hunts chickens in the backyard together is a family that stays together, or something like that :)

Life Lesson: Doing Things Right the First Time Makes Life Easier in the End!

2009-10-24T22:47:00.003-04:00

If you take the time to do things right the first time, you won't have to come back and spend time fixing mistakes later. At least, that seems to make sense and that is a life lesson that is coming back to haunt me OVER and OVER the last few weeks. First it came in the form of my wonderful husband, who kindly pointed out how the kitchen could look better. I *kindly* pointed out that I didn't have time, and he in turn showed me how yes, I did, if I chose to wipe up spills as they happened and didn't have to be chiseled off with a power tool later. Yeah, that was not so much fun, but I admit that I needed the reminder...just do it right the first time and get it over with!

At least I felt a little more credible by the time I was able to pass the lesson on to Nic. He had patiently waited for Transformers II to come out onto DVD and I rented it for him (yay Redbox) but schoolwork had to come first. That seems to be when his patience ran out. His math work suffered and he got almost half of the answers wrong. Um, the kid was suddenly doing addition when we were working on multiplication, his concentration had went right out the window and to land of Autobots and Deceptacons I guess. I kinda felt bad when his face just about fell as I erased the incorrect answers (we use a dry erase board for a lot of our math) and reminded him that we were on multiplication and not addition. That's when I told him that if he focused he would get through his work with fewer mistakes, and that by rushing he actually cost himself more time because now he just had to do them over again. Instead of getting upset, you'll never believe, he turned and hugged me and told me that I am a GOOD TEACHER!!! He said that!! Unprompted, all his idea, when I was giving him what could have been a lecture! And yes, a couple of tears came up on my end, it was so nice hearing that, you have no idea.

If only everyone thought doing things right was a good idea. Apparently the people who built our house didn't. We had rain water come in through the ground, then into a crack in a cement wall, then under the laminate flooring in Sydney's room. Jeff and I got the floor removed and when he knocked out the drywall to get to the cement wall, we got a lovely surprise. Not only was there a crack, but the builders had only smoothed like 3/4 down the wall and the framework looked like a bunch of kids with not enough nails had done it with no adult supervision. The vertical boards were all varying lengths, as in not even touching the horizontal framework in some cases, and one board was nailed in with exactly one nail, with in my non-professional opinion I deem very much insufficient. It looked like shit. We are lucky that this late in the year Jeff still had some vacation days to use up, so he took off 2 days and got to work, and my husband fixed all that. I didn't know he could do so much! The flooring will have to wait until the next paycheck, and in the meantime I will get to work on painting the brand new wall and Sydney will have a rockin big girl room. For now, my kids are doing an awesome job bunking in their seemingly never-ending sleepover party.

Space : The Final Frontier

2009-08-21T15:22:00.002-04:00

Nic is a lover of science, and I have to admit, I am not so much interested in it. This is more a dad area. But I am trying to encourage his interest by keeping plenty of materials on hand as much as possible and making sure we cover our science topics in fun and interisting ways. We started out by reading several great books about the planets, Earth's moon, space travel and more. We really enjoyed a dvd all about food and waste while traveling in space. I had never really pondered how astronauts relieved themselves while in the ships, but now we know the answer and it involves suctioning...not something that Nicholas or I would ever like to experience it turns out, as we discussed it in a lengthy conversation after the video ended. Have fun envisioning that one for a moment, you won't be able to stop yourself :)

Nicholas has made both a poster and 3D model of the solar system for some science and art combined. Both models include the infamous Pluto, the out casted-not-even-a-planet-anymore-reject. It came with both kits after all, and it IS out there, but just considered a dwarf planet now. The library once again has come to our aide - they have a great newish book called "When is a Planet not a Planet? The Story of Pluto" AND, lucky me, they had the audio version as well!! So I was able to read along with Nicholas in the book while we both listened to the soothing voices of the two readers, all while lounging out on the couch. This book is rated for ages 9-12 but I found it just right for Nic (age 8 1/2). It gives detailed factual information, but it does it simply and quickly while not going over his head or over-explaining. Several scientists that I plan on having us study in the future are mentioned in this book, so he got a little intro into who they are and what they did. The illustrations in the book are very eye pleasing, I am glad that I did get both the book and audio version because I think it helps to have the pictures and written words right there to focus on while he got to hear the book read aloud.

We also spend some time working on a Space workbook and flashcards, both purchased at Target in the dollar section (score)! And I was also able to borrow a kit from the library that has fictional space stories as well as puppets, so the kids and I have been able to come together for some playtime and story time again. Even though I did not focus on teaching anything space related to Sydney, she is still picking things up. She can name a few of the planets on Nic's poster (and the dwarf planet LOL, pointing out to the rest of us that it has the same name as Mickey Mouse's dog) and likes to ask Nic to read the rest to her. It's really cool getting to see Nic pass down his knowledge to his little sister, and how much she admires him for it.I remembered something from when Nic was her age, he had a Blue's Clues radio toy that sang a song about the order of the planets. I sang it to them and he remembered. Sometimes I can't believe how much time has gone by!

During moments like those, when they are sitting there all quiet and nice and it's something off of the Hallmark channel, then I know why I am homeschooling. And well, when they laundry hamper is overflowing, and they are screaming at eachother, and we are behind in math and it's 6:30pm and I don't know what is for dinner...well, it's harder to remember why we are homeschooling, but deep down I still know we chose it for our family because it's what we believe to be best for all 4 of us. I just need to go back to that quiet moment!

If You Give a Mouse a Brussels Sprout

2009-08-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

Getting my kids to try new foods is not so easy. Some times the whining begins before they even know WHAT it is that I have cooked. (I should mention that this goes mostly for the younger one.) Lucky for me, I think I may have found a loophole in the kids rule about saying no to new foods! Hoorah, score for mom! So as it turns out, if someone other than myself suggests the food...perhaps even a made up fictional character in a book, then somehow the idea of trying it goes from gross, no way, not even if you paid me to tasty, delicious, can't wait to try it. And THIS is how I got my children to try potato soup.

We sat together in the living room and I read the story "The Cat who liked Potato Soup" by Terry Farish on one kind of chilly and definitely rainy day. I had come across the book while browsing the children's section of the library, the title grabbed my attention straight away. I flipped through it quickly, checked it out from the library, and made my shopping list later that night!

It continues to be a challenge for me to pull together lessons and activities than both Nicholas and Sydney enjoy, so finding something as simple as a short story and easy meals that the kids can help with is really great. I will be searching the shelves for more titles like this one...maybe there is hope yet that they might try some Brussels sprouts sometime in their childhood!

Music and Movement

2009-08-05T16:49:00.001-04:00

We were invited to our first drum circle by Aunt Danica. I wasn't sure what it would entail exactly, but decided it would be fun to go and try it out. Turns out it is exactly what you would think - people drumming in a circle :) It was fun! There were all kinds of people with all kinds of drums, just making music and enjoying the outdoors. Nicholas and Sydney were both able to experiment with several types of drums, some belonging to Danica and other belonging to the group. Sydney had a blast dancing in the circle - it was cute at the time, but the group sent out an email later saying that they'd prefer the children to dance outside of the circle next time. Oops! We are looking forward to going again soon, and are also looking for a drum of our own so if you see any while you're out, let us know!

Nicholas had his trial gymnastics class last week. Saying he LOVED it would be an understatement! His group went to several stations during his hour class, doing everything from somersaults to back bends and flips on the bar. I signed him up for the next session, which conveniently starts this week! He is in an all boys class with a male instructor. I am not allowed to take photos inside the gym except on designated "photo day", but there is a seating area for visitors to sit and watch.

Sydney has been begging to go to ballet so we signed her up for a pre-school ballet/tap combo class down at the local dance studio. She went in for her leotard and shoe fitting and met all of the instructors. I didn't think she would ever want to leave! Her classes won't start until mid-September. The studio does not allow viewing during classes, but she will have a recital in June of next year. Turns out that they will preform at my old high school! So she will be dancing on the same stage where mommy performed in theatre, which I think is pretty cool since we are not even in that same county anymore!

Our new adventure begins 2009-2010

2009-07-13T21:18:00.002-04:00

Today was day #1 of our 2009-2010 school year. Nicholas has now begun the 3rd grade and Sydney has started a pre-k program, all right here at home of course :) Sydney was most excited, she asked straight away if school had started, this just after she woke up and was still wiping the sleep from her eyes. I told her we needed to wait until we ate breakfast, daddy was cooking this morning and everything. Nicholas was a little more hesitant to say goodbye to lazy summer days but his interest perked back up when I asked him to journal about what he wants to learn about this year. His entry was this: " I want to learn about Egypt. I would love to learn about space. I would die to learn about forest animals. I would bug you all day to learn about Presidents." I laughed so hard when I read that last part! I am so proud of him for expanding on the "I want" and getting creative with his wording. Very good progress.

The first day went smoothly with both kids getting to see some of their new school books and supplies. They both worked on the letter "A" today, Sydney had an apple tree craft and Nicholas got to start writing in cursive, starting with the first in the alphabet. Nicholas helped Sydney with her new ABC puzzle (voluntarily even!!), they both painted, Nicholas and I did some coin counting practice from his Marvel math book and worked on some grammar review as well. I think we are off to a great start!

I am still working on my weekly plans, although the basic outline of what we are covering between now and December is done. I have found some cool field trip opportunities for this year as well, I'm just not sure what we will actually be able to fit into our schedule,budget, and of course what will work for both kids. I am looking into signing both kids into program of their choice, Nicholas would like Gymnastics and Sydney has chosen Ballet. I think I can keep them good and busy and learning though :)

Here is our basic outline for this semester, looking forward to adding more as I find things:
Science - dinosaurs, astronomy, anatomy and germs
History - more on Egypt (Nic's request), ancient Rome, Vikings, early American history
Language - learning Spanish as a family...might need to push this off until next semester, we'll see...
Art/Music - the works of Eric Carle, basics of music and rhythm
Math - completing the Marvel Comic math book, learning multiplication, more focus on money
English - more grammar review, reading many new novels including the Harry Potter series, learning cursive, expanding vocabulary
Photography - (this is for me) learning how to get a picture of my kids where I can see more than just their backs...that would be GREAT

I am still using the Core Knowledge Series as my basis for topics covered throughout the year, but we use more living books than textbooks.

A place for recess - we are building a treehouse!

2009-07-09T16:57:00.001-04:00

Ok, so it's more like Jeff is building a treehouse LOL. But I make a great assistant I think! It's a work in progress right now, a little more gets done everyday. I will update this post with newer pictures as it gets finished. There will be a swing, a slide, a rock climbing area, a little house underneath with a fort on top. Everything we need for a fun recess in the backyard this school year :)

Days 2: I cleared out the weeds and Jeff built the framework. Slide is not attatched yet, just there for measuring.

Day 6: The floor of the toplevel is built and there is a ladder!

Day 8: Syd helps build! There is a backwall with window now and the slide is attatched!

Day much-much-later: We used most of the supplies that we had on hand and it is playable! The downstairs area is not finished as planned though and money cannot go to this project, as so many other projects have come up. I hear this is called life *sigh*. There are 2 signs on the treehouse that Jeff made, one with each of the kid's names, very cool. I am proud of his handy work!

Now we're cookin!

2009-06-22T12:43:00.001-04:00

Nicholas LOVES to help in the kitchen, so I have been using that eagerness to help us move along with math and other basic life skills. Several times throughout the 2nd grade, Nic and I have read thru kids cookbooks from the library and he was given the opportunity to chose a recipe for us to make together. He makes the grocery list with me and also does the majority of the cooking himself with my supervision/help. One time he chose to make French Toast which was real surprise because he never likes it when I make it for breakfast. Well, he absolutely loved the recipe we used and requests it frequently now! This is something we will be carrying over into the 3rd grade for sure. I love that it is teaching him some basic skills that everyone needs to know: how to make a grocery list, how to read a recipe, how to make simple foods, and even the importance of trying new foods.

The library also had an interesting video series called "Meals in Minutes" that we checked out. The video host is comedian Stevie Ray and he made the videos fun to watch. The videos we selected covered basic kitchen food prep and safety. It said grades 6+, but Nicholas thought it was great. He also loves to watch Good Eats with Chef Alton Brown on the Food Network and get new recipes and learn all about foods.

Another way we have incorporated Nic's love of the kitchen into his lessons is by signing him for classes at the local Young Chef's Academy. There he gets to be with other homeschooled children (some from one of his playgroups even!) and cook up a new recipe each month. Their brightly colored kitchen serves as a classroom as well and the kids get to feel like real chefs in their hats and aprons while they cook. Parents are invited to sample the classes creations, but I have noticed that the desserts never make it that far. Last month's Tuscan Bean Soup was delicious, and Nic tells me the cake was great but of course I didn't get a taste hahaha. I am greatful that this company offers homeschool classes at a discounted rate, the same rate that the school field trips get.This is not going to be something we sign up for on a regular basis, but just from time to time as our budget and schedule allow.

Field Day for the Homeschooled

2009-06-16T20:16:00.000-04:00

Can childhood be complete without a day in the sun with friends, juice boxes, and a tug of war? Sure, but we found out that even the homeschoolers in our area were attempting a Field Day this year, so we joined in too. We all got together and had sack races, three-legged races, long jumps and of course a big Tug-of-War finale. The 1st attempt was hilarious, boys vs. girls, and the rope (sheets) broke right down the center and all kids went down!! Sydney was even participating in that one and thought she had won somehow LOL. We of course had a do-over, and girls won, even though they had the disadvantage of pulling uphill! I awarded Nic with his very own Field Day medal at the days end and he thought that was pretty cool :)

When Nicholas was in Egypt land....

2009-06-16T19:03:00.001-04:00

I was so amazed at the King Tut exhibit that came here to Atlanta this year. Nicholas and I were excited to get to go with Bill, Cindy and Matthew while Jeff stayed home with Sydney. It was amazing to see so many ancient artifacts under one roof! This was really perfect timing since Nic is so into anything ancient Egyptian right now. Nicholas' favorite was a pair of golden sandals, but I quite enjoyed all the jewelry. The end of the exhibit featured some short video clips of the tests that the King Tut mummy has undergone throughout the years. Nic got to play with a computer program that allowed him to close in on specific areas of the tomb as well.
There was a rule against photography while in the exhibit, so I brought along a sketchbook and pencil for Nic to document what he saw instead. I honestly wasn't sure how much he would draw or write, but was pleasantly surprised when he wanted to sketch almost everything he saw! He seemed to enjoy sketching the heads of all the Pharaohs the most. The sarcophagus is not allowed to leave Egypt, but a replica was just as nice for us to view. We were also spoiled to the earphones (self guided tour) that told us about much of what we saw. We spent hours just gazing around! I had promised Nic a postcard from the gift shop, but wound up finding much more than that to take home. There was a really cool sketchbook that taught hieroglyphics and also a Pharaoh coloring book that was pretty detailed in its drawings. The gift shop also had a machine that sold certificates with your name in hieroglyphics that we had to go home with as well. On the drive home, Nicholas was figuring out how to spell everyone's names in hieroglyphics and it was determined that Dad's was the coolest because the letters "J" and "F" are both snakes hahaha. We spent the rest of the week reading all about King Tut and completing both art books from the museum.

The Middle Ages

2009-06-16T18:54:00.001-04:00

One of the fun topics we covered this school year was The Middle Ages. The library had a GREAT series of dvds that I was able to request for us to enjoy. They are categorized as grades 4-8, but Nicholas really seemed to learn from them as well as enjoy them. He watched the Knight dvd 3 times! We also used library books to learn about the food, clothing and even the games for children that were popular in this period. The Magic Treehouse series also provided us with some fun reading about castles and knights. Best of all though, Nicholas was able to go to the Renaissance Festival and get a better idea of what life was really like back then!! I had a migraine that day and missed all the fun, but I heard that Nicholas, Sydney and Jeff had a fun time with Bill, Cindy and Matthew. They got to see mock villages, a King's Joust, period costumes, weapons and more!

My kid might be the youngest Obama supporter there is

2009-02-23T16:45:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned how much Nicholas loves to learn about the Presidents of the United States? If you missed it before, here ya go: He looooOoooOOves anything to do with Presidents!!

Last Monday was President's Day, so he learned about George Washington and Abraham Linocoln through stories, Internet word searches (another favorite of his) and crafts. We made Lincoln's cabin from a tissue box, strawberry frosting and pretzel sticks. We also learned that pretzel sticks dipped into strawberry frosting is quite tasty. Social Studies, craft AND snack in one! Haha. My favorite new fact, because YES, I am learning new things too : Abraham Lincoln was homeschooled by his step-mother and only had 1 year of formal schooling. And he could read, write, do math...oh, and became President of the United States.

President's Day may be the observation of Washington and Lincoln's birthdays, but we couldn't stop with just those two. Nicholas must be the youngest Obama supporter out there, so we had to do something fun with him too. We were number 45 on a waiting list for the library's copy of "Barack Obama: The United States Presidents" and we just happened to have gotten it 2 days before President's Day - perfect timing! This is a book that he saw the placeholder for at the library (they have the whole series) and he asked to get on the list - reading Jimmy carter in the meantime LOL. When he got the Obama one he read it eagerly, observing facts through photos as well such as Barack being left handed, just like Nic :) That little tid-bit made him so happy, you wouldn't believe! I found a small big-head Obama figure for Nic to make, but it wound up being a project for me because the cutting and taping was too precise for my 2nd grader. So I made it for him, he thinks it's cute but that his skin color is too pink (what can I say? The printer is almost out of colored ink!). Nicholas was able to make an Obama support poster instead, much more his level :)

Because Nicholas is so excited to learn about the Presidents, we are continuing on and will do so until he isn't interested anymore. For this week, I have a dvd and book called "So You Want to be President" - looks like fun! I also went ahead and ordered him a poster of all 44 Presidents, even though it was 3 times as much money as the poster that only had 43....I thought about gluing in an Obama head and saving myself the $16 difference, but changed my mind :) I think he is going to love it!! If any of you ever find a President book or activity, let me know! It looks like our 2011 vacation could very well be to Washington D.C. , that would be the ultimate vactaion for Nic I think!!

Our plants are growing! And other fun stuff :)

2009-02-23T16:23:00.000-05:00

Our little plants are GROWING!! I can hardly believe they are growing, what with my black thumb and all. Of course I am soOoooO glad, especially because Jeff just built me a planting box to grow some veggies this spring. When they are big enough and the weather has warmed up for good, I will transplant. Here we have the carrots and the cantaloupe. So far the strawberries are proving to be duds. We have more to plant now: cucumbers, squash and lettuce. We are hoping to get to eat some of this in a few months!

We read a book called "Eye Know: Plants" that was full of quirky facts that Nic liked. He was surprised to learn that salad is just leaves, celery is a stalk and carrots are roots. He made a poster of the life cycle of a plant as well, and as we were hanging it he decided that his other work (from a prevous week) was sloppy. So he took it down and re-did it! My kid!! He CHOSE to re-write a paragraph for the sake of making it better. ON HIS OWN!! This is me in shock. This is awesome. So here it is, complete with a new nicely written and no spelling errors, his review of a gardening movie and today's poster on how plants grow and their parts.

Apparently I am a cheap date and also easily amused

2009-02-16T14:16:00.001-05:00

I try to be thrifty and pinch my pennies - if you know me than this is old news ;) But now I have something new to search for on my hunt - homeschool supplies!! So far, I have found discounts for homeschoolers on sites such as Scholastic, found cheaper admission rates on designated homeschooling days for many attractions, and been able to score big on used supplies at local thrift stores. I don't actually GO to the thrift stores as much anymore, seeing as how we are so busy, so when I do get a change I am excited to see what I can find.

This week Jeff and I made a quick thrift run while on our Valentine's date, and we found some pretty great stuff! For Nicholas, we got a NEW twister top (connects 2 bottles so you can fill and make a water twister), some uncut Saxon math fact cards (highly recommended maker of homeschool supplies!), and....my BEST find....some math manipulative blocks!!! I had been looking for these blocks, I just asked my newly joined homeschool community board if they had suggestions. I was able to go to the makers website and get some FREE math lessons to go with them as well - AWESOME!!

We couldn't leave without looking for something for Sydney as well. She has really wanted toy tools, so we found a bag of plastic kiddie tools that she is already enjoying. A bonus, Jeff also found a big bag of wooden kitchen foods for her! These toys have become really popular lately, kind of a pricey toy. They "slice" with a wooden knife and can then go back together with Velcro.

Our total was under $20 for all of this. And the wooden foods are worth over $20 all on their own!!I may be the most excited person in the house over the wooden veggies and math blocks, and that's ok with me :)

It feels like spring is here!

2009-02-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

General Beau Lee, GA's official groundhog, predicted an early spring this year - and I think he is right!!! The weather has been amazingly warm this week. The kids and I were able to enjoy a picnic at the playground and another Homeschool Academy trip to the zoo this week. Perfect outdoor weather has us all feeling relaxed I think.

We have even been able to enjoy a few days indoors without using any lights until around 4pm - we just open the blinds and let the sun pour in! I read in a recent edition of the AJC that a new high school in GA is being built with natural sunlight pouring in, as "research has shown a correlation between children’s access to natural light and higher test scores" according to that article. It's GA's first "green" school. I am working to make our house function more "green" as well, and utilizing the sunlight to our advantage is easily done.

I am hoping that our little potted garden is benefiting from all this good weather too. I will update when we see sprouts!

Our first month - a success!!!

2009-02-09T17:12:00.001-05:00

Our first month of homeschool FLEW by!! Just a few days ago I filled out our first attendance record and faxed it to the county, as required by GA law. It doesn't seem possible, but this is already week 7! We have been very busy.

We are about half way through Charlotte's Web and plan to finish by Friday so that we can watch the movie and have homemade pizza for lunch while we watch. We had to get on a list to borrow the movie from the library, we were able to pick it up today. Both Nic and Syd are very familiar with the library now, as we are there every few days to pick up another hold. They both enjoy using the computers as well, so that is one more activity that they can do together regardless off the 5 year age difference :)

The past few weeks we have studied seasons and weather. Stone Mountain is offering a Snow experience which ties in nicely, but unfortunately it was rescheduled for later this month. We went ahead with our studies and will enjoy the real snow later. In the meantime, Nicholas made his own snow using a science kit called "Insta Snow"!! It is really a polymer that acts like a sponge and sucks up the water you pour on it - its a chemical "cousin" to what is in diapers. In fact, after we made the snow, we cut into a clean Pampers diaper and made some of that stuff too. It was not fluffy and light like the snow, it turned clear and gel like. Nicholas lit up when he saw the change, which takes only seconds. I grabbed my camera for the 2nd batch, but regret not filming the first. I love to see him so excited about learning!

Seasons and weather leads into life cycles, it's a natural transition. The library has been a huge help with lots of kid friendly videos and books on these topics. We read all about how apples grow, and will be planting our own from the apples we eat this week. In the meantime, we have planted cantaloupe, strawberry and carrot seeds indoors. Once they grow for 8-10 weeks, they will be transplanted to our outdoor garden (in the works). Our local nursery opens in 2 weeks, so we will be buying some small plants from them as well. I think Sydney will get a kick out of planting outdoors - she got herself into some trouble with the potting soil in the dining room, so this will be an adventure. Nicholas and I will be attending a luncheon on organic gardening this spring as well, hope that helps us! Jeff took the day off to stay home with Sydney so we can pay attention.

I am feeling more adventurous now and have looked into a homeschool group for our county. I think it would be nice to have friends to meet at the playground and other activities during the daytime. We are going back for a 2nd homeschool class at the Zoo, I found a history class that meets once a month, and found that the local Bowling Alley even has homeschool days twice a week. I am not sure if any of these will be the right fit for us, but we are ready to get out there a bit more I think, so we can at least try! I asked Nic if he missed seeing kids his own age everyday, and honestly, he gave me a questionable dirty look and said point blank "No". I guess that answers it. But I still want to try and help him make friends with kids that won't tease him. I think he is just scared of being teased again.I know he had no problems sticking up for himself, in fact he was so good at it that he wound up being the one in bigger trouble in school because of it mostly (not fair, but I won't even go there right now) but it still hurt him to be put in that position in the first place. Every kid needs friends.

Our little classoom of two

2009-01-26T14:32:00.001-05:00

The week has started off great for us at home. This weekend Nicholas found a cool Batman notebook in the dollar section of Target and asked if we could buy it. Yes, we bought it and it is now his daily journal notebook. I thought we could use a little more routine in our days, so we are now transitioning from breakfast to schoolwork with the daily journal. I write the date and a question on our little chalk board and Nicholas starts the school day with a dated journal entry of at least 5 sentences and has to include the answer the to question. Today's question was his choice: "What is your favorite song?" His journal entry mentions several songs by artists like Smashing Pumpkins and Linkin Park, apparently he can't choose just one :) He wasn't sure how to spell Linkin the way the band does, so I suggested he go look it up on his iPod. While Nic worked on his journal entry, Sydney wrote her own notes on paper using a cupcake pencil.

Today we also worked on math review from previous weeks lessons on rounding numbers, fractions and more review on double digit addition without carrying numbers. Next week we will start carrying numbers. We do a math lesson or review daily, as Nicholas was struggling with math and receiving extra help in this subject at school. He does better with visuals, so part of working with fractions was to help make pizza dough using measuring spoons and cups. Sydney was glad to assist as well, and is now my official salt pourer.

Art will be a big part of our week, as Jeff's birthday is this Wednesday and the kids and I are making him a present. I can't go into much detail without spoiling the surprise, I will have to add details and more photos on Thursday to keep it a secret. I can say that I am working on using several different media with both kids this week, and today we used craft paints. Its always fun when I can find something that both kids can do together. With 5 years between them, it's not always that easy! Recently I found that they both really enjoy Play-Doh, something Nic hasn't played with in several years and a new thing entirely for Sydney. Our supplies were extremely limited, so I decided to use a gift card from Christmas to buy lots and lots of Play-Doh and accessories for them both - thanks Granny!! The Play-Doh also came in handy for more fraction lessons. We made circles out of the doh, then cut them into different fractions so he could really see how 1/3 is actually smaller than 1/2, since the numbers themselves can make you think otherwise.

Naptime for Sydney is just about to come, and Nicholas and I have a project ready to go. We shredded newspaper that is currently soaking in warm water. This will become a new sheet of paper for us with the help of a science kit given to Nic for his birthday - thank you mom and Aunt Sue! The kit will allow us to make 1 sheet of paper per 24 hour period, so this project will be ongoing. The first sheet of paper will be used to write Presiedent Obama a letter. Nicholas has a few questions for him after seeing the Inauguration, so Jeff and I thought he should write to the White House and see what (if any) response he gets. Anything back would be AWESOME, so I am hoping our mailbox brings something (truly, ANYTHING) for him to gloat over. I will be sure to include a scanned copy of the letter once its ready. While ripping the newspaper to recycle, Nic found a picture of Obama and did not want to rip it. He hung it on the fridge instead, and Sydney learned who he was. She also announced that "Present Obama is so cute!" Hahahaha!! (And yes, she says present instead of president.) She later recognized him on the cover of Time magazine on the counter.

More homemade recycled paper will be used for upcoming Valentine's Day projects. The kit will be getting plenty of use!

Boxtops for Homeschool Supplies

2009-01-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

I remembered reading that Boxtops for education was a program that one homeschooler was using, but was surprised to go to the Boxtops website and find that they do not honor private homeschools. No worries, I have a solution that many other homeschoolers are also using. Ebay. Simple as that! I am saving our Boxtops and will auction them off on Ebay when I have $25 worth (that is 250 boxtops!!). Boxtops tend to sell at face value. I would assume that parents who really want their child's class to win the prize for the most boxtops are the ones bidding. Everyone wins! That class gets a prize, the school gets to shop from the boxtop catalog, and my family gets the money to spend on homeschool supplies. Ebay takes their cut too of course, but hey, its still free money from little pieces of cardboard :)

If anyone reading has any that they are currently throwing away, we would really love the donations! Each one is worth 10 cents, it can add up fast. The money will go toward some things on my list of wants, like a Presidential poster that includes all 44 U.S. Presidents for us to hang up. Products that have the Boxtops are on hundreds of products. I find them on Huggies diapers, Cheerios, Cottonelle TP and more.

Branching out to new resources

2009-01-22T06:48:00.001-05:00

As the days of our homeschooling go on, I am finding our new found variety in teaching methods to be both overwhelming and awesome. There doesn't seem to be enough time to do and learn everything I would want! And with Nic's curiosity and eagerness to learn, well, its hard to not stray from the subject when our discussions lead to new questions and discoveries.

With realizing that Nicholas learns best from being read too and having visual or hands on stimulation, I have been planning our lessons using so much more than the standard textbook or worksheet. My greatest resource has been our county library in conjunction with joining a larger library system for a fee of $30 a year due to being outside of our county residence. $30 for a years worth of resources was well spent!! I have found math & science tutoring dvds, books on cd and even storybooks that relate to our studies to make learning more fun. And honestly, they help save my voice, because I can't be the only one reading aloud to both kids all day long!

The dvds on math have been a big help. The visual stimulation captures Nic's attention, and the way that they show examples seems to help him more than the way I explain things. One example is rounding numbers - I told him the rule of thumb about rounding up if its 5 or more, he did ok on a workbook activity but something seemed to be confusing him. The series "Getting Ahead:Mathematics" used a space alien named Numberella, who has a very soothing voice and British accent and looks like a squid with glasses in my opinion, uses her long tentacles to show him a number line and how 5 is halfway, and anything halfway or more goes up. Right then I saw it click for him! He just needed to SEE it! We watched the sections on rounding and estimating twice to absorb more of what was said and shown, and now both kids ask to watch it for fun. They both say its a video game show, the theme music really does sound like an older arcade game.

Yesterday we got our first taste of books on cd. I love reading and have always encouraged both children to be readers. I read aloud to them everyday, at the very least bedtime if not during the course of the day as well. I like having the extra time with Nic to read so much more now too, and it seems to me like he does as well. I had never considered books on cd before, the thought just never really occurred to me. It was Nic who first saw the red packets of books and cds at the Gwinnett Library last week. We looked thru them and decided to give em a try. Turns out the are pretty great, especially for times when we are in the car running errands! Yesterday we had to get some grocery shopping done, and on the way there and back we heard the story of "Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money Mystery". Nicholas followed along in the book as well. This seems like a good resource to have around for times when life calls me away from being at his side teaching as well, he can listen in his room using his computer if he needs an activity and a quiet spot to go.

T.V. and the Internet have also become popular learning tool for us this week. Namely CNN and Wikipedia. Tuesday was a big day in American History and Nicholas was able to watch it live with our family, which I think was pretty special. During the morning ceremonies, Nicholas was literally counting down the minutes until President Obama's speech. He was a bit bored with it once Obama began talking, but still, he was witnessing history. Nic was most excited that this was the first time that there had been a new President for him to see, as George Bush was sworn into office just days after Nicholas was born and then again 4 years later. This year, he was old enough to understand and to be curious about the process. Even better, Nic's chosen candidate won the election :)

Wikipedia has helped answer questions Nicholas has had, and quickly. Whenever he asks something that we don't have the answer too, we say "Let's look it up!". Wikipedia has told us that JFK was the 35th President, Obabma is #44 and that an elephant has many uses for its tusks such as digging and marking (something we tried to guess while at the Zoo and later looked up to see who was closest). It's amazing to me the knowledge that exists at our fingertips. Having the skill to find an answer to a question is definitely a life skill, and Nicholas knows how to do it!

Politics 101

2009-01-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

Today was spent mostly talking politics and watching President Obama's Inauguration. Nicholas was literally counting down to Obama's speech, but honestly he seemed bored through it in the end. He seems to love facts, things he can memorize, such as knowing that Obama is our 44th president and JFK was #35. So it looks like we will be venturing off and studying the U.S. Presidents! Our Scholastic order arrived today (turns out I can order as a homeschooler on their teacher website!!) including our Election activity booklet. Perfect timing, now we can go back and learn how we got to the Inauguration and why this ceremony means so much.

James and the Giant Peach

2009-01-19T16:37:00.001-05:00

We have finished our reading of James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. After reading the book, we borrowed the Disney film from the library. Nicholas, Sydney and I all enjoyed both the book and the movie! This book was recommended by Aunt Hayley, its a childhood favorite of hers. I had never read it before, so this adventure was new to us all.

Since Nic is such a hands on kid, I decided to give us a fun project to do relating to the book. Nic had a lot of fun doing a shoebox display of his favorite book last school year during spring break (Spiderwick Chronicles at the time) that I decided to do the same thing for James and the Giant Peach. Of course the Styrofoam ball we found for a peach required we get a much bigger box hahaha. Nicholas painted the ball peach first, to which Sydney wondered where her peach was :) I will need to start having a toddler version of projects ready for her, as she is enjoying homeschool as much as he is. She did learn to use a glue stick this week, my little shining pupil hahaha. Anyways, some of the characters are made from egg crates, pom-poms and "fuzzy sticks" (the new name for pipe cleaners apparently). Others were hand drawn and cut by Nic. He also drew the ocean line and shark fin. We used bits of various blue papers and felt for the water. I think the finished project is pretty cute and we had a lot of fun talking about the book while we were making it!

Our next reading adventure: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Week 2: Socialization, the dead horse of homeschooling

2009-01-19T15:38:00.001-05:00

The most frequently asked question of homeschoolers seems to be "But what about socialization?". Every homeschool book or article I have read so far has covered it. It is the dead horse of homsechool according to most of them. Yet as a new homeschooler I find it to be valid.

I do worry about his social needs and how he will fit into society as an adult as well as now as a child. So keeping that in mind, as well as the need to raise his poor self-esteem and self-image, I am looking for positive social outlets for him.

Homeschooling gives such a flexibility to allow as much or little socialization as you want, I am finding it easy to load up my calendar with activities that ordinarily we would have had to skip. We have always loved field trips and classroom-less learning. I have been known to pull Nic from school for an activity like bundling up the kids to watch the state groundhog wake up on Groundhogs Day to witness firsthand if he sees his shadow. It's a nice feeling to know that we can do these activities without falling behind schoolwork or being in trouble with the school board for unexcused absences.

Our first field trip came this week courtesy of the Zoo Homeschool Academy, a program I did not know existed until a friend told me. We decided to give it a try. Kids were separated by grade level into small groups of around 8-10 and went off to learn with 2 zookeepers while parents and younger children were free to roam the zoo. The 2 hours passed quickly with Sydney and I enjoying the animals and our friends. I saw Nicholas with his group once, and he looked content. When I picked him up he was beaming! My friend Lori was there with her homeschooled brood as well and said something like "Wow, I've never seen him like this" - yeah, that would be HAPPY!! He said he had an awesome time with "Mr.Bill" and the group. They learned all about mammals and even did a craft. He wanted to explore the zoo some more so we stayed until they announced that the zoo was closing. The whole time he was reading signs, asking me questions, and carrying on conversations with zookeepers stationed at specific exhibits. He even got to go rock climbing and reached the top by himself! I feel confident that our zoo trip was quiet the social experience.

Sports is another option for homeschoolers and I am lucky that his county basketball team is full of buddies for Nic, kids that like him for who he is. I only wish the season could last longer! He has 6 boys within a year of his age to play with for 1-2 practices a week + a game. The entire team also came to his birthday party and you could tell he felt on top of the world to have everyone who loves him around him at once. I hope to help him continue these friendships after the end of the season, and also hope that next season will find him on a team with some of these same friends.

Our calendar is filling up and its easy for me to rearrange some of our learning units to include these trips and activities. Nicholas' learning style seems to be hands-on and auditory, so trips are right up his alley. Crowds create a lot of noise, and for my sensory overloaded child this causes problems focusing, so weekday trips are also a plus for that reason. I think the rest of the year will bring lots of knowledge and fun!

Week 1: Finding Our Way

2009-01-12T23:41:00.000-05:00

Week 1 flew by! It's amazing to me that there is more time, and yet, there is less.

We started off a slow pace, as is recommended for new homeschoolers who are "deschooling" as a way to transition into homeschooling. The main focus right now is Nic's self-esteem. He has spent so much time feeling like a failure, and I want to un-do that. So for week 1 I chose subjects and projects that he would enjoy and succeed in.

Nicholas has always been intriqued by the brain model in his neurologists office, so I found a small similar model that was a puzzle and made for children his age and above. It took us some time to assemble, but now he has something cool on display in our dining room turned school room! Later he can keep it in his room even. To go along with it we read "AHA! The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Learn About Intelligence" which was really a fun book. It has bright illustrations and a lot of "do it yourself" mini-quizzes. We found that I am a reader this week and Nicholas learns best when hearing or doing hands-on. I think I knew that all along, but the tests were fun and I think he felt special after each one.

This week we also started on a new book, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I read aloud, mostly while laying in my bed with both children listening, as well as 2 of the 3 animals hahaha. Its quite fun family time. I am really liking the togetherness of homeschool. I think Nic is enjoying and thriving as well. Not every day is perfect, but what ever is? I feel like we made the best decision for our family, it really just feels right.

1.5 Million Homeschooled Students, now +1

2009-01-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

It is being said that 1.5 million children are now homeschooled. Or as Saturday Night Live Weekend Update says, five eleventy thousand hahaha. Well, add 1 more! I made a list of 43 reasons why homeschool would be best for our son Nic, and my husband agreed with them all. His last day was a Christmas program and he just never returned. We have officially withdrawn from the public school system and sent our Letter of Intent to the county as well.

I spent the winter break researching and studying homeschooling. This is what I do, I read and I plan. One book I read, Homeschooling for Dummies, seemed to be talking just to me at some points. "One little guy I know had an awful second-grade year...." and "A good number of new homeschoolers begin in January after winter break..." stick in my mind. I am still browsing thru it, as well as The Homeschooling Option. There was a third book borrowed from the library, but it was very religious and I just couldn't seem to get past that, so back it went. Friends and family have offered lots of support and resources as well, it's been a wonderful 1st week! This feels like the right thing to do for us, so here we go.