Set Up

Are my homeschool attempts successful thus far? Probably not. The kids can read and are somewhat (Alya) and extremely (Ben) proficient with math. I can say with confidence that they are bright kids, about lots of topics. We even discuss philosophy...that's what we will call it...because, well, it is "loose" around here.

I'd say our work revolves around 3 major areas:
1. Writing and reading together and allowing them time to do it independently as well.
2. Lots of craft time/play with playdoh, paint, glue, and scissors.
3. "Field trips"

I'm going to be very forgiving with that last one because, sometimes, it is a "field trip" and sometimes (every time) wherever we are just turns into a learning experience. These kids want to know everything, and I am glad to answer.

I have also realized (thank you Adam) why and how parents find very, ahem, easy ways to answer things....and how that can become a trap. Commit yourself to answering every question your child asks truthfully and frankly. I think my kids actually respect me. I think our truthfulness with them keeps things easy. It certainly does not prevent power struggles, but I can assure you my kids know who is in charge (and it isn't Alya!). I admit that sometimes I have to give them a question time out. Sometimes it is just too much and I feel like I will explode if I am asked another question, so I ask for a 5 minute break.





If you are finger (hand) painting with the kids, and you are not to particular about your walls, let them make handprints....we did, and it looks so adorable. Ben could not resist the urge to return and smear the paint and Alya almost marked our kitchen walls before I explained this was a once a year thing.....but it turned out ever so cute!



The kids love to sit on our bed in the afternoons to read...one of their favorite books is "Feelings" by Aliki....and mine and Adam's 10 year anniversary scrapbook. They love looking back at our wedding pictures and then following that time to their birth! So fun!

Edward

I really want my kids to enjoy the activities they will be doing at school. I know, when I was a kid, I always wanted to be the star...to be the best at whatever it was we were doing. I was rarely the best...sometimes second best, or fourth best, or not in the rankings at all; but I had that drive to always try for #1. Now, I dare say my kids lack that spunk and drive. Okay, I'll dare. My kids could give two flips about being first or winning. Neither really seems to care. Ben, well, Ben walks around in a fog of smug satisfaction all day long that doesn't allow any time to even consider there could be cometition in the wings...and Alya, well, Alya is completely and wholely indifferent.

However, back to the point, enjoyment. I want them to go to school with joy in their hearts and to look forward to what each day holds. I think they key to that is preparedness. I bought a story book this week that details a day at kindergarten. It's a funny little piece from the 80s I dug up at the thrift store. It's a Scholastic book, so even before its time it is extremely politically correct. Do I point that out to the kids? Nope. They don't know what political correctness is and hopefully never will.....all of these thingsd are taught, I say...taught. We teach these ideas.

How do I manage to get off on so many tangents? Enjoyment. The only way kids can enjoy such a new situation is to be prepared. I'm going to try to prepare them in a myriad of ways. We drive through the school parking lot, we will tour the school at least 2 times before they go, we will visit their classroom and meet their teacher, and, from here, we will learn what we need to do to be comfy, cozy in a K setting.

That is what this blog is about.

One of this week's lessons....cutting and pasting. This isn't the first time we've done it and it will not be the last.

For this project, I simply drew some basic shapes on construction paper. I asked that the kids cut them out and then glue them onto another paper to creat a picture. They could use crayons and markers as well.

I am proud to say that Alya is really getting her cutting technique down. She seems confident with her instruments and seems to enjoy the effort and process. I doubted she'd envision her end project ahead of time...and, as usual, she did not...but I watched her work, and I liked what she did.

She carefully cut her pieces out.



Then she pasted them. After she pasted them she looked at her picture for a bit and then said..."CUTIES, cuties jumping out of a basket momma!"...sure enough, she'd managed a picture of cuties jumping out of a basket. She decorated her picture and titled it, and I hung it with pride in the hallway.



Ben....well, Ben on the other hand can manage any math, can read the newspaper, and can potentially perform basic surgery at this point, but Ben can't cut. I am certain he is going to need this skill to perform well in Kindergarten. I am also certain that if he cannot master it, he will crumble into a mess of insecure rubble at the floor of his classroom.

The problem is this....he cannot seem to get comfortable cutting with his right or left hand. Now, he is a righty (I think) as he uses his right hand almost all the time, but if you live with him, you notice he will pick up a pencil or piece of chalk with his left hand and write as nicely as with his right, he will hold a cup with his left hand, and he will do other things that make me question his dexterity. Scissors seem to be his arch-nemisis.



His picture was a hoot though....I'm sure he knew what to do before he began cutting. He made a picture of "mommy running"....he initially spelled running like this....runing...this is also hung with great pride in my hallway.



Now, let me aside a moment to mention my piece (which is not photographed) because I proudly glued and pasted rectangles and circles and some custom cut grass....because it is grass...and used black paper and a white glitter crayon and drew a fabulous sunny day and our family. When Adam saw it, he asked if Alya had done it. Therefore, it is not a share for you all. (I did hang it in the hallway too though ;)

After our project, the kid wanted to peel their own cuties and they snacked on those and yogurt before we had mac and cheese for lunch. It's simple. I know. But I think simplicity is the thing. I think they have to have the basics. Because, when they get to school, and the feel insecure and unsure but find they can do the tasks assigned them, hopefully they will feel joy and delight and be driven by creative mojo.



happy cutting folks.....

Sick Day

It is hard to be sick around here....you get to pile up in mommy and daddy's bed and watch cartoons. Tough stuff.

We had stuff simmering all week. Ben had had a cold and Alya was a bit grumpy. We had a busy, busy week, and, as usually happens, I planned to go to the dog class at HBG Seeds to Sprouts, and BAM, strep throat.

I know this is not school related, but my kids not only got kuddos from their pediatrician for such great behavior, but also from my doctor. My kids took their itchy sticks (strep tests) like pros and LOVED that I also had to do one and that I got a shot! I guess we had a bit of an indaverdent biology lesson....good think for the kid that says she plans on being a pediatric surgeon. She's serious. She even saw an older girl going into the doctor ahead of us and said if she was the doctor, she'd be sure to give that kid a shot....then she came home and rubbed GiGi's skin tag like a night night (ew....) she is not scared of anything.

I went to a great class on Kindergarten preparedness this week at the library hosted by Dana Trulock. I got some great tips on helping ready Alya with some "attention" practices. I also learned a bit about Kindergarten in general. The kids have decided they want to be separate. I agree. I think they each need their own place to develop their own ideas and abilities.

Now I have to go vomit.

Liberal Tea Party

Did I write something some time back about not mkaing every moment a teachable moment? Did I? (this is where someone comments or emails me and says...if you'd tag your posts, you'd know how to reference something you've already done...eg., discussing God for the 9,000,000th time in your personal blog...yeah..I'm gonna go there here too).

Segue....I don't want to take the fun out of things, but as the children and I continue on the learning journey, I realize everything is really a teachable moment. I just make sure not to constantly interrupt the fun to discuss the lesson. I do, oftentimes, revisit a situation or issue to get the kids' feedback and to discuss whatever that moment's topic may be....respect, reincarnation, division, milk....it's all a world of interconnected information and knowledge.

Somehow this all connects, but I am trying to blog AND watch Protlandia, so thia may be a fail!

My kids didn't really get any BIG stuff for Christmas (which has been nice in terms of not having to reorganize anyone's rooms). Overwhelmingly, they got games. It is a nice excuse to be together and do something fun. I admit, I felt guilty this week because we have a Nook, and they do enjoy the Nook, but generally bore of it after about 30 minutes. And that is all they get a day if they get that. A good friend has an Iphone with lots of cool apps. The kids played on it for a couple of hours one day this week while I had a meeting. I felt bad. Maybe I should get an Iphone....then, Alya, of course, Alya the following day went into her convulsive (mother) play state, and, when I asked what she was pretending she said she was pretending to play with her Iphone. She was moving all about, jumping and flailing her arms. I asked her to describe her game and it was a wonderful melange of amazing things. She'd created her own game in her mind. So, for now, without money to buy the cool stuff, that will have to suffice.

One game, Roll and Play, was courtesy of my mother via my Discovery Toys Party with Wendy Johnson. These toys are solid gold!



Roll the big cloth die, and see what color comes up. Then select a card from that color stack (you can make your own cards when your kids tire of the ones that come with the game, although mine have not yet). This game is really ideal for little kids...but my kids love it too. "Put on a hat!" "Clap your hands!" "Hug Mommy!" (my favorite!

Some of the kids' favorites....brush your teeth (yes!), see how many blocks you can stack up, wash your hands...



And one we all enjoy a lot....HAVE A TEA PARTY! I admit, we used some Kool Aid we had from a day of slushy madness....Kool Aid junkies there is still a half pitcher in my refrigerator.





As we progress on, the kids are really immersing themselves in science. They love everything about the body, animals, weather and space. Ben continues to thoroughly enjoy math and has moved past addition, subtraction, and multiplication to division and fractions. He says he does not like to use his imagination, but you can find him every night at bedtime drawing all sorts of wonderful creatures and things on his doodle. Alya, the queen of imagination, is improving with her reading....made it through an entire book one night this week. We are finding with her that she knows all her letter sounds and how to sound out words, but is having trouble paying attention, so she will look at the first letter in a word and then guess the word without reading the word, so she is usually wrong. As we work more with her, we find that she seems to have a bit of ADD and also seems to potentially have some sensory issues. We aren't dreaming this up....husband: teacher: education in early childhood development. We'll have her properly assessed after we talk to her ped at their 5 year visit next month.

This question is being posed on a friends' podcast....I seem to have the tools I need to discuss lots of topics with the kids, but am having trouble finding a good resource for religion/philosophy. The kids are very interested in death/afterlife, etc. I want to be able to present lots of different ideas to them. Also, we were Jesus heavy (justly) during Christmas. Adam and I are both believers but he is not "Christian" and, while I consider myself one, I don't think any traditional Christian would agree. I think it is important that the children understand that Jesus lived and his important life and message, but, beyond that, I want them to understand all (most....I guess I'd be pretty amazing to get ALL of them) of the great theories and to know about the important saviors and messiahs of other religions, and, also, to understand the theories of those who are not religious...the science based theories. Even I have a hard time articulating what I am looking for, but the more I search, and the more we talk, the more aware I become that on so many levels it is easy to indoctrinate. I want the kids to have the fredom to choose...the freedom to understand and follow what is in their hearts. Ideas, thoughts, suggestions are appreciated.

Note

With the new year comes new responsibility....I need to crack this whip over here...I mean seriously, who uses heart surgery, holidays, family needs and such ridiculous things as excuses to skip optional homeschooling activities?

I am too legit to quit.

So, I'm keeping on keeping on.

Right now Alya needs to work most on writing and reading. She also is having a terrible amount of difficulty with following instructions. So....those lessons aren't really photo worthy. If I come up with creative activites for this, I will certainbly share. Right now all I can do is pull out pencils and paper and work with her on tasks. She has the most incredible imagination. I want to help her learn to use it in the world. Writing seems to be the integral means to that end. She is so busy playing, though, that settling down with crayons and paper or a pen and worksheet make her eyes roll.....give her a maze or puzzle to work, though, and you are on to something.

Ben....well, Ben just needs room and board. I seriously have no idea with him. All I know to do with him is to show him the world. Both benefit greatly with our field trips and acitivites. She sucks it all right in too.

After we worked on the letter "K" yesterday, they both wanted to do pinkalicious worksheets (you'll see these more...Alya got a workbook for her birthday and they both love it!)





I know this isn't "school"....or is it??? Icing orange rolls for breakfast:

Twinkle, twinkle

Alya pointed out that we didn't have a star atop our tree yet....so we made one.....

We had an opportunity to visit a local business that was doing a big charity drive for needy children this year. The kids and I have been discussing charity a lot (almost as much as Jesus) with the onset of the season, and, since we cannot give much, we make sure to always give to the Salvation Army buckets when we see them and we will clean out and donate toys to the local thrift soon. I wanted the kids to see all of the wonderful things those "with" were able to give, and it was heartwarming. I was thrilled that my kids never asked to touch or play...and didn't ask if they'd be getting any of those things. Somehow, these lessons seem far more valuable than learning our letters and number and, well, you get the point.

We did do some school work today and a nifty little project that I will share soon.

We'll probably be heavy on the Christmas crafts this month ;)

Rosemary Wreath

This was not one of OUR projects, but was a delightful surprise, crafted by our neighbor's daughter and thoughtfully given to us. I had to share as the season of giving is upon us.

For those of you whose rosemary bushes went wild this year, snip long stems and use them to fashion wreathes. Tie a ribbon and make a beautiful (and wonderful smelling) decoration for your kitchen. When the rosemary dries, simply pluck bits of it for your recipes. BRILLIANT!!!