Keeping It Simple

I am off to dr appts tomorrow, so I thought I would jot down a few thoughts about this week even though it is only Thursday. Hope this post finds you well and that you have a wonderful Friday! This Week: Download N Go - We are still learning about Astonishing Animals . Yes, this is week 3 of a 1 week unit study! Because this is an add-on to our regular school day (or was suppose to be), I have decided that when we do the next study, I will just plan to do one "day" a week. Somehow, deciding that makes me feel like I am less behind. This week we are finishing up the "astonishing" Loggerhead Turtle! We have enjoyed learning more about this magnificent creature! Now my boys are talking about places to go on vacation where they can meet a Loggerhead Turtle in person (never mind that they have never been away for vacation!). All About Spelling - we are still working on this. For us, especially my oldest son, this program has worked miracles. We are working our ...

With 800 entries already, the chances of winning are slim, but this looks like a great product. The mandatory entry is to subscribe by email.  Take a look and enter at Confessions of a Homeschooler . I spent some time looking at a sample of the curriculum and I am impressed!

Years ago, I subscribed to these kits from the Young Scientist Club. As sometimes happens (at least around here) they were shelved and quickly forgotten. When I first saw this " Science Sunday " link up, I thought this might a be a good reason to dust off those kits and join in! I love it when when I stumble across some bloggy inspiration. Science Kit 1 Purpose: to learn about the importance of recycling by making a mini-composter and by making different kinds of paper from old paper to use as labels on recycling bins. Mini-composter:   Fill a container large enough to old the two peat moss pellets (included in kit) 1/4 C full of water (we actually switched to two smaller containers).  Once peat moss has enlarged, put a small piece of apple in the middle of one peat moss pellets making sure that is completely covered with the peat moss. Put a small piece of plastic bag in the second pellet also covering it completely.  Water the top of both peat moss...

For those who don't know me, I am going to start with a little personal introduction: I am a 48-year-old (yikes!) wife and mom of seven. Along with my magnificent 7, I am also now mom-in-law to three son-in-laws that I honestly love like my own children. Our growing family includes two precious grandbabies and counting. I am blessed. I am also tired. Trying to stretch myself in every which direction has gotten to be exhausting. Which brings me to attitude... First my attitude- if my attitude is less than positive, my boys’ (my 3 at home under my full time care) attitude suffers. Attitude is contagious. I have a confession to make. I never planned on doing this for 30 years, which is what it will be if I homeschool my youngest to graduation. I honestly thought I would “grow up” and have my own life. I have friends who have done it! They do big girl things like book clubs, luncheons, hold down jobs… I thought that is what I would be doing. So, I have allowed myself to wallow a ...

We are on week 2 of the  1 week study we purchased from Download N Go. ;) I realized pretty much at the get-go that this unit would take us more time. We would have to be home for 5 days in a row to make it work. The Learning Curve: The Download N Go unit study has worksheets for gathering information as well as lapbook components to complete. Mark (10yo) was anxious to put all of his work in his notebook. He has enjoyed the creative aspect as well as the satisfaction of "making my own book" on animals. This is working for him. James (7yo), being the little brother, was completely on board with Mark. However, for the next Download N Go that we do, I will have James assemble only the lapbook components .  In theory he wants to do what his big brother does- in reality it is a bit too much. New this week: I took a "back seat" to the learning process with our Astonishing Animals study. I pulled up the ebook, showed Mark and James the page we were...

Okay, so that does not really work, but still.... Our studies have been on these animals, so that is what we have been reading about. While we have piles (I mean piles- I took my boys with me to the library) of books on these animals- I will just review our favorites. Uncommon Animals: Aye-Aye An Evil Omen - In spite of the title, this book is actually about a very sweet little primate. While my boys enjoyed the book in general (Mark said he learned lots of cool Aye-Aye facts), it is the photos that knocked our socks off- truly amazing. There are also little fact boxes on each page (in addition to the text), a glossary that defines all of the bold lettered words, an Aye-Aye fact page, a "more interesting animals" page, and some book recommendations. Skunks and Their Relatives  (a Zoobook)- While it has just a two page layout on the wolverines that we are studying, this book introduces the reader/listener to lots of animals from the ...

Okay, maybe not you, but some other bloggers who have recently had some great movie recommendations. :0) Recently Watched: My son thinks this is the best dog movie- dog anything- ever made. Dogs Decoded: Nova on instant watch Netflix. All of my boys enjoyed this one. A Bear Named Winnie A great movie about a stand up guy- Sergeant York  And, I absolutely loved all 11 episodes (I may have lost a few nights sleep) of... Jane Eyre ...sigh... Planning to watch (recommended by Laura O ): Nanny McPhee Returns I usually shy away from sequels, but this sounds funny. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) I thought my boys saw this, but it turns out it was a different one. I have to confess that many of the old war movies sort of blend together to me (don't tell my guys I said that!) Boys Town (1938) I know I saw this many years ago, but I will have to take Laura's recommendation that is worth watching- I don't remember it well.

"Astonishing Animals" by  Download 'N Go  made up  the lion's share of our school this week: Day 1: Aye-Ayes My boys, who are absolute animal nuts, know more random facts about more obscure animals than you can shake a stick at, so it was fun for me to introduce them to something new! They, in turn, had a great time impressing dad with their new found knowledge about these fun little primates. These lapjournals are the boys' books, so if they choose to put something that may not be entirely accurate in the interest of creativity, I am okay with that. That is not always the case, but I want them to make this their own.  James is a stickler for detail and will choose facts over creativity any day. :) Day 2: Wolverines   No pictures yet, but we did find a great documentary to go along with this study on neflix instant watch! We started "Wolverines" on Weds. and will finish up on Friday. The "days" can be finished in one day, but, with our ...

Chee-Lin: A Giraffe Story Those who love " The Giraffe That Walked to Paris " will want to  read this story. It is longer (written for patient listeners) and perhaps a bit more emotional than "The Giraffe that Walked to Paris". My boys felt that the author did a good job conveying the anguish of the animal as it was captured, put down in the hull of a boat, and transported in cramped quarters to his new home in India and eventually China. While this is long for a picture book read, it is worth the investment of time. Kai's Journey To Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story This piece of history took place in our own backyard (so to speak). This story of Kai's journey to America for a better education is largely based on the story of a friend of the author. For my boys, at ages 12, 10 and 8, it was hard to imagine the trials that this young man, child really, endured at so close to their age. For me, as a mom, it was hard to imagine sending my young son off ...

Just a month ago, I wrote " stick with what you have " (more or less) in reference to homeschooling curriculum.  None the less, in this last month we have now tried two new things ! Today it was Download N Go , a complete unit study series. For our first try at this, I ordered "Astonishing Animals". My two youngest boys have been begging (yes, actually begging) to "study animals- puh-leese, mom!!" so, after hearing my sister's experiences with this product, I thought we'd give it a try. Our study guide includes links to videos, lapbook components, worksheets, links to the necessary information, and library resources (many of which our library actually has) for each of 5 days of study. We have just completed day one of our unit study, and I will say that it was a full day!! Day 1: What Exactly Is an Aye-Aye? When dad got home, he was informed exactly what an Aye-Aye is plus a few other interesting facts!  *Aye-Aye is a kind of Lemur *Lives ...

I have already given a fairly detailed description of our experience with Time 4 Learning , so I will just give a brief update this time. Today (Sunday), my son walked in to our schoolroom and asked if he should do his "computer school" now. I asked him if he wanted to and his response was "ummm, yah". I'd have to say that when my 7 year old tells me he wants to do his school on Sunday, it is pretty much a "thumbs up" from him. From my point of view, this program is a nice fit for James. He is learning, he enjoys it, and he is able to use it mostly independently.  I enjoy working with my children, and much of our learning happens with all of us participating, but it is nice to have something that can be done that does not rely solely on me. A parent looking for their child to be independent will like this program. I have a few concerns that I expressed in my previous post , but I have to confess to not having the time to properly investigate the...

Our Week: Monday - Super fun birthday party for cousins that lasted most of the day. It was at an indoor sports facility, so it involved lots of running, jumping, and playing. We'll call that PE! Tuesday - School! Yes, the real kind that we sit down and do at a table. Wednesday - Swim lessons and Hands on Sports (homeschool PE program that my children coach) Thursday - Attended a performance of "Annie Get Your Gun" that several of our talented homeschool friends performed in. Friday - We are attempting some more "real school". I am definitely under the weather this week, so I have not had that extra push to get much done on top of our activities. I hope you all had a wonderful homeschool week! I will be linking up to Forever, For Always, No Matter What .

My "Helpful Hint" this week is perhaps a bit more serious that I would usually post, but this is what has been on my mind lately. As an "experienced homeschooler" I am often asked "how do you do it?" questions, especially in reference to difficult circumstances. I love to talk homeschooling, but it is always difficult to answer these questions on the spot- each family has different struggles, so our experiences will never be exactly the same. But, I do say that I try to take the long view. Coming from a traditional school background (most of us), we often view education as what happens when the books are open. We start to worry (frantically worry) when we have a year, or even longer, when we are unable to "do school properly".  I don't want to send alarm bells off to any school officials here, but I know from experience that kids are great teachers. When left to their own devices, they often learn things that we would never think to teach...

  These three were for James (7yo). Giants in the Land -a true story about the giant pine trees that once populated New England. These 200 ft. tall and 4 ft wide trees, used by the Royal Navy for masts, were eventually wiped out. Unlike some children's stories that offer an ecology lesson, this leaves the reader (and the listener) hopeful. It really is an incredible story, and the scratchboard drawings are just stunning. Virgie Goes to School With Us Boys is inspired by stories that the author's great aunt told about their family's history in post-slavery Tennessee. This book is about Virgie's desire to go to school with her brothers even though it is miles away and means being away from home all week long. Notes about the family that inspired this story and a picture of Virgie's real life brothers are included at the end of the story. We seem to have a theme going in a few of our recent picture books about the desire for education, especially for those who hav...

I took an accidental blogging break this week. There really was no time. So, deep breath!, this is what we did get to this week: Around the House: Yes, it is March, but we are still on a purging/organizing mission (our New Year's resolution). Some days, just a few things get accomplished- other days, we really go at it. It is hard to believe that we fit so much stuff in our teeny tiny house! I should have documented the number of bags going to the Goodwill. I try to at least set the timer for 15 minutes (as per Flylady) a day. That gives me enough time to purge a pile of papers or a dresser drawer. In the School Room: All About Spelling is still a huge success here. It is not necessarily one of those "fun" programs, but the boys can tell it is working, so they are content to do the lessons. We are half way through the 2nd level. I can tell that my 7yo is going to need to slow down a bit, but I am hoping to finish this level and start level 3 with the older boys ...