Keeping It Simple

Back on February 10th I posted this: I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used in many ways including as a homeschooling curriculum or after school tutorial. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning. A pretty generous offer! I signed all three of my boys up forgetting that we are living on the edge as it is, and that adding one more thing (little as it is) in to our schedule takes some effort. Given that lack of time, most of my efforts went in to trying this program with my 7 year old. I have stated a few times (in weekly wrap-ups) that I like TIME 4 LEARNING for my "schoolish son". This 7 year old really likes his books- once he complained to his auntie that I did not even buy him a math book! This program fits nicely with his personality. I...

It is that time of the week, and I promised myself ( last week ) that I would stick to writing a "week in review" post. So here goes. In the Reading Corner: Still reading Peter and the Starcatchers. The boys are really crazy about this book. It has worked out that I can read for about 5 to 10 minutes most mornings, with a few stops and starts along the way, so it has been slow going. This is our "just for fun" read, so what's the hurry? Thanks to the Picture Book Challenge, I am keeping my commitment to read more picture books to my 7yo. Those who have older children will understand how easy it is to prioritize from the top down- often, the older children's needs seem more urgent in the school sense. This year, I am backtracking and trying to get some "little kid" moments in for James. You can see our picture book reads for this week here . In the Schoolroom: On the Computer: We have been working on a trial of time4learning . I have r...

This little bit of advice in the my post heading has saved my sanity more than once. One place I apply that advice is at the beginning of our school year. We begin the school year one subject at a time. For us, that means starting the school year a few weeks "early", by regular school schedules, with just one subject. When I feel that we have that subject down to a routine, we add on one more subject- and so on and so on. Usually by the middle of September, we are up to speed. I often revert to this method when things feel like they are getting out of control (when it seems like we are working hard, but not getting much done). This allows me to evaluate what is going on in our school and identify where the problem areas are. In this situation, I might not go all the way back to just one subject but two or three. Another place I use this advice is with our schedule/routine. Often, when it seems things are not running smoothly, I try to choose just one thing...

 This picture book post is almost back to back with my last one- I am attempting to move it to earlier in the week. The end of the week always seems to get crazy! Anyway, this is sort of a hodgepodge of titles, but all are wonderful books.                                         I discovered this book a few years ago through The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It was magical to my boys the first time I read it to them and it is still magical today. When I sat down to read this to James today, both of my older boys ran in to visit one of their old favorites. This story, about a boy that wants to bag a bear for his family (a matter of prestige), is absolutely adorable. Johnny Orchard does bag his bear, but not in the way he expected, and that is when the ...

We finished up on Monday afternoon by sitting in our backyard and quietly waiting for some birds to fly by. I am amazed at how many birds are in our yard. Many of them are invisible to us- they are high up in the Redwood and Fir trees in our front yard. But, the sheer volume of bird song is surprising when I finally get my 3 guys to sit still for a minute. 1. Participate in Backyard Bird Count- check  (I have planned since last year that we would) 2. Complete a fun bird study to go along with the Backyard Bird Count- next year On this count: Mallard Bufflehead American Coot Thayer's Gull (we may have had our gull's mixed up on our first count) Western Scub-Jay Northern Mocking Bird Crow (but we forgot to put them on our official count!) More About The Great Backyard Bird Count Our First Post About The Count

#1- Go to bed at a reasonable hour (10ish). Am I the only one that loves the absolute quiet of everyone being in bed? #2- Get up at a reasonable hour (6:30ish). For you early birds, that may sound like a piece of cake, but night owls will know that anything before 7 sounds really early!! #3- Organize school room! This has made many appearances on my "to do" lists. Added to our usual chaos, my 17yo dd has given up her share (which was sizable) of the school room, so we at that point in organizing where we have actually made things worse rather than better. I'll stop here to keep things "doable". I like the sense of accomplishment that comes with being able to put a check next to each item on my list.

                                               We love the "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out- Science" series. This title would be a great "read by myself" book for an early reader- the text is written in a nice conversational style. However, we enjoyed reading it together. My 7 year old "nature detective" particularly enjoyed learning fun facts like how to tell which way a rabbit was running, and a sea gull (something we see a lot of) always takes off facing into the wind. A few activities are also included on the last page.                                 ...

I read about this bird count project last year and thought "how fun!", but did not get to it. This year, the boys and I are joining the fun. For our first day, we sat on our back porch to observe what birds came by. Eventually, we all came out from under our shelter to get a better look. We were soaked through by the time we were done, but it was a satisfying exercise! We spotted some coots and buffleheads in the water behind our house. In the midst of suburbia, we are blessed to have a waterway (Percolation Ponds ) behind our house. At various times, we have herrings, egrets, ducks, geese, frogs, and other slimy creatures! Fortunately, we had my husband's super sized binoculars on hand to view some of the farther away flyers. Paul spotted two hawks (not uncommon around our house), so it was his job to decide what type they were. The wing shape decided it for him. We have the most fun trying to figure out what type of species two little blue birds were. After l...

Funny story this week. I am getting my haircut from a lady who I have known since my kids were babies. Our conversation led to discussing a vocational school that my 17yo daughter is looking in to. As the conversation developed, a fellow stylist joined in. Her input: "I don't think that school does a very good job preparing its students. My neighbor's daughter went there and she is having her mom drop off her applications for employment!! But..well, it might not be the school. She was homeschooled , so that might explain it (snort, laugh)." I had a few reactions- the first was to almost laugh out loud (if you knew my kids, you would understand). The second was to think that when my now adult kids were little, my reaction would have been to be bit offended with a huge infusion of doubt. I am not sure how "new homeschoolers" feel these days. Do years of "success" stories make it easier? I know for me, having "homeschool grads" gives me th...

My photography is a bit bumpy! I always seem to do that. Anyway, this is for my niece and nephews who were studying shells (with Download N Go) earlier this school year. When we went to the aquarium last time (with them), I don't think this creature was so active. (it is feeding on a shrimp in the bottom of the tank)

I just love stories that I can read to my boys that demonstrate passion for a subject and the character of persistence. We are using this book for our school studies right now and it has lead to many wonderful conversations. To go along with Snowflake Bentley, we checked this book out from the library. Just the magical pictures of snowflakes are enough to make this book fun to look at, but it also answers lots of "snowflake questions". How do snow crystals form? What shapes do they make? Are no two snowflakes alike? There are also instructions for catching and viewing snowflakes if you live where such things are possible (not here in sunny CA!). The thing that my boys found most interesting is that snowflakes have a "life cycle" of sorts. Worth checking out. Sky Boys is about the building of the Empire State Building. There is some background of the time period, and what this building meant to people at the time- all given through the eyes of a young boy. Also...

Organizing: Books were the target this week (and last) of my organization frenzy. This small stack is just a drop in the bucket- after 27 years, we have too many books!! Figuring out which ones to keep, which ones to gift to grandchildren, which ones are in such bad shape they need to recycled, and which ones to donate, was a process. Then there is the distraction of coming across some of my daughter's favorite childhood books... To finally having our shelves are organized- we have a few shelves in our attic that we can rotate books from.  Speaking of Books: What's Cooking: Stole this yummy idea after reading Jen's post last week. Chores:  Dogs are so much nicer to be around when they are clean! On the Road: We zipped over to Monterey for one last aquarium visit before our passes expired. Photo Credit: James (7yo)- he was fascinated with the "ball" that the anchovies (I think that is what type of fish ...