Free Admission to State Parks May 2

FYI-- During the Welcome Back weekend, Indiana state parks are offering free admission on Sunday, May 2. Take a walk, a ride, and explore beautiful nature!

Excerpt from CNF Essay

I had to submit my portfolio for my creative nonfiction class today, so I was up late working on it, since I procrastinated as usual. Since I was making myself chuckle while reading over the first CNF essay I've ever written, I thought I'd include an excerpt here so you can tell me what you think:

"…Then, there are also the selfish reasons for homeschooling. I want to be the one who sees the lightbulb go off in my daughter’s eyes when she learns a new concept. I want to receive the hugs and kisses (technically, teachers aren’t allowed to receive such touchy-feely gestures) when she is proud of herself and in turn shows me her thin-lipped, gummy smile. I want to be able to say, 'That’s my daughter. Isn’t she smart?'

Now, my problem lies in the realization that the lightbulb often takes a lot of twisting, turning, flicking the breakers, and trying out various switches in order to finally go off. There is this new craze in investigating learning styles and multiple intelligences in the homeschooling community, even though the idea of multiple intelligences surfaced in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner. This idea shows everyone has some ability to learn in eight different areas, but each person has a different amount of strength in each area. For example, according to a fun little learning styles quiz found on Edutopia.com, I am 100% strong in verbal-linguistic learning and 94% strong in intrapersonal learning, both qualities often found in writers. So, in order to see the difference in my daughter’s learning style, I took the quiz as her. It turns out, pseudo Lovely is a naturalistic and musical learner, meaning she can learn better when dealing with plants, animals, and when ideas are put into song. These answers sound plausible, but my habit of questioning authority causes me to wonder, don’t all young children learn better when they can play with plants, animals, and sing while doing so? (With the exception of children with extreme allergies, that is.) So, now I just wonder if my daughter is that particular learning style because she is that particular age, and I wonder if learning styles aren’t simply manifestations of interests that are formed over time, through experience and desire. Now, I’m back at the beginning and wonder, which switch do I try for day 104 (and perhaps the next school year)?"

I'm sure investigating learning styles isn't new in all homeschool communities, but it is in mine. This essay is about 7 pages double-spaced, but it was so much fun to write!

Audiobook Benefits and Resources

When I was growing up, I was led to believe those who listened to audiobooks were taking the "easy way out"--they didn't have to actually flip pages and read through the story. However, the more I investigate audiobooks, the more my eyes are opened to the benefits of providing these for your children. Here are just some of the benefits I can see:

1. Ear training--helps students listen, focus, and hear the details of the stories.


2. Fluency--if providing high quality audiobooks, students will learn how words connect within sentences and sentences connect within paragraphs and how paragraphs connect within a story.


3. Pronunciation and grammar skills--students will learn the correct way to pronounce words.


4. Vocabulary--Broadens student vocabulary.


5. Critical Thinking Skills--go ahead, discuss the audiobooks after you listen to them with your children.


6. Time Saver--Let's face it; we always seem to have less and less time. Instead of feeling guilty for not reading as much to your children as you would like, read to them as much as you can and play an audiobook when you need to get other things finished.

When can you listen to audiobooks?

• When you're doing chores, such as the laundry, or making dinner.


• While running errands.


• While planning school activities.


• While the kids are doing chores.


• While gardening.


• Road trips!

Here are some great FREE audiobook links:

Storynory.com

Audiobookscorner.com

Kids Learn Out Loud

Free Audiobooks

Librivox (my favorite!)

My daughters listened to part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on satellite radio today in the car when we were on a long drive. I didn't tell them it was on, but after a few minutes, Lovely started asking me questions about it. Then... it became silent in the backseat for the rest of the drive! You can only imagine how excited I was!

You can also check out lots of audiobooks at local libraries, and some libraries have audiobooks on their websites. Remember to help your children select an appropriate audiobook and try to listen to it before your child listens to it. Then, you can listen to it together and discuss it afterward, perhaps notebooking about it!

Friday Funnies

Once again it's Friday, but I've felt like it was Friday all week long!

Funny Sayings: Giggles said, "Mom, I really like macaroni on pizza now." Of course, she meant pepperoni =) The same day, I heard Lovely telling my mom, "The chickens were fed a raccoon." She was referring to her visit with her cousins when they fed the chickens some type of cocoon.

Long stories of would be, had I not had problems: On our way to the latest school field trip, I wouldn't have ended up on a road that had a bunch of detours, which wouldn't have led to pulling out onto a 55 mph highway behind a gorgeous red corvette that would refuse to do over 45 mph while continuously swerving into the other lane. Once past said corvette, I wouldn't have ended up behind three different vehicles turning left at three different streets. Next, a bus wouldn't have pulled out in front of me as I wasn't about to cross the bridge. Once past said bridge, I wouldn't have ended up in a left-turn only lane and while debating on waiting for traffic to pass to get into the correct late, a police car wouldn't have passed me, so I would have turned left as law requires. Next, as I would have attempted to get into the right turning lane, said bus wouldn't have passed and forced me back into the other lane. Finally, once I arrived at needed parking lot, I wouldn't have been honked at by a truck that apparently doesn't understand that parking is allowed on the street at meters. Did I mention I'm staying at home tomorrow?

Freebies 4 The Week

With all of the blogs and websites I try to keep up with, I thought I'd share some of the deals with you:

1. Food, Inc.--watch for free on PBS tonight at 9 p.m., Eastern. I was able to find it on the internet for free, but since my DSL isn't the greatest, it took about 3 hours to watch! If you do watch it, it will change your views on what you buy and where you buy it.




2. $10 off $30 Purchase at World Market.



3. Free Presidents of the United States poster from C-SPAN Classroom. Poster is 6' and lists service careers of presidents, including important historical events. This is for teachers only, but they include the option of signing up as an elementary or secondary 'home school'.



4. Lego Smart Kit. For teachers who wish to see if their students are "Lego Smart." Kits will be sent to the first 10,000 registrants. Must register by July 30, 2010.

Hope some of you will find this helpful!

Meandering Monday

Honestly, since school is out for a few more weeks, I can't keep my days straight. However, I have set high goals for this week. The number one priority is to reorganize my house, daunting as it may sound. I have rearranged furniture left and right, donated several bags to charity, and I have created a pile for my *gasp* yardsale plans. However, I am still disturbed by the picture surrounding me right now:




(Picture me in the black chair...well, picture a younger, skinnier version). This is the office. This is also the Place-Everything-You-Don't-Know-What-To-Do-With-And-What-You-Don't-Feel-Like-Putting-Away Room. I plan on turning it into an office/school room, where I can keep all school supplies tidy and organized (scoff if you must). Is there anyway to save this space?! I warn you--the other wall is just as bad as this.

Signature

Ok, let's see if this is better...

Creating a Signature

It took an unbelievable amount of time to figure this out...perhaps my brain is working slower since I've had yet another birthday! Anyway, here is the finished product:

Homeschool Curriculum Clean-Out

Gotta love giveaways! I just entered to win Teach Your Children to Read in 100 Easy Lessons from the blog Along the Way . Wonder what other deals I may find!

Funny Video: You Might Be a Homeschooler If...

After I saw the Animal School video, I found this one. You may want to mute the sound, but I thought the video itself was hilarious!

Animal School

I was surfing the web last night and came across this interesting video...tell me how it applies to your life!

Friday Funnies --On Saturday, Or Is It Sunday?

I thought I would begin racapping some of the humor that is found in everyday life, and who better to laugh at than myself? ;-)

Saturday: My youngest dd asked such a great question in the car this evening. After becoming fascinated with bugs this week, even though all bugs are her 'friends', she asked, "Mom, do ladybugs have big butts?" I looked in my rearview mirror to see her closely examining the rearend of the gynormous plastic ladybug I had just purchased for a $1 at Target, and I couldn't help but begin laughing!

Last Saturday: As my hubby & I were headed home from the Midwest Homeschool Convention, we attempted once more to use the GPS I purchased last December. It took a while for it to find a signal due to the tall buildings in the city, but it finally latched on to something and started giving us directions. We followed obediently (unlike our children, who so frequently forget), but something just seemed off. It led us to a road down by the river and told us to drive eight miles, and then turn left. Ok, we can do that. Then, as traffic became thinner and a clear view of the river came into sight, it said, "Approaching _____ Road. Turn left. Board ferry." Board ferry?!! We turned, only to find no ferry in view, never mind the fact that we didn't plan on ever boarding a ferry on our drive home. Well, at the time it wasn't so funny because we had just wasted 20-30 minutes, but I rolled laughing the entire way home, once we turned around and found our way home! Who knew you actually have to manually check the box for ferries under the navigation menu in order to avoid taking them?

Organization is Key, Or So They Say

Since I started buying materials for the upcoming school year, I have become extremely excited about the year to come! I originally tried doing Pre-K lessons for Lovely from Hubbard's cupboard, which entailed an enormous amount of printing, sorting, and organizing. Foo-ey to that! So, once she started Kindergarten, I decided to go with the boxed curriculum, A Beka. Double fooo-ey to that! Now, we're going to try the classical method, but I find myself once more sorting and organizing...this has been something I have done all mylife...overthink.

I have created a yearly plan:

• 36 Weeks
• Mon-Thurs. school days
• Fridays are Free Fridays, to use in case of field trips, sick days, or burn-out days

I have created a daily plan:

• Begin at 9 a.m. (yes, we like to sleep in)
• Lunch at 12
• End at 2:40 (technically, this gives the girls 30 mins of silent reading two days/week, once they learn to read silently, that is)

Next, I created a printable reading list. The list covers all books necessary for reading, writing, and history. I'll probably throw some stuff in there for science as well, but I'll need to get a library card for my youngest daughter, as we will be over our check-out limit! The curriculum I bought comes with reading lists, but I thought it would be a lot easier to print out a list to take with me to the library, divided by 3 wk periods (since that's the time allotment for checking out books). I will also use it to look up books online quickly.

Finally, I began a weekly schedule, but I'm at odds whether I really need it or not. I placed spelling words on it, so therefore I need it, but I might leave part of it fill-in-the-blank.

I've learned that I love some structure, but I do better when it's not completely structured. Therefore, if we don't complete the reading lists, so what? (They are seriously extensive, so in reality, I can't complete them all.) If we get off track a little, we have Fridays to make other days up. If we don't learn everything there is to learn, then I'm human (phew! It's so nice to no longer strive for the title of Super Mom, an unattainable dream we all secretly harbor!)

To IEW or Not to IEW

As we all know, I'm in the process of setting up my own website in order to teach/tutor writing students. After attending the Midwest Homeschool Convention and hearing Andrew Pudewa speak, I've become interested in the Institute for Excellence in Writing. I've since examined the website and discovered you can become registered and certified instructors of IEW methods, thus gaining the ability to have your name listed on their website in order to help others find instructors for their children. So, now the dilemma arises: is this a step I should take? The cost is minimal if you plan on using IEW methods for teaching your own family already ($169 for the teacher training manual that would be used for all years of homeschooling writing), plus $50 application fee to become registered/certified. The reviews on the program have all been wonderful (trust me--I've researched A LOT), except for one who didn't like the structure of the program. However, this would add another tool to my teaching belt, if you know what I mean.

I have this natural thirst to find out at much as possible about writing and teaching it, and to help others, so I will continue praying about it. The same speaker will be at the Louisville Homeschool Convention in June, so I plan on attending that as well. Have any of you heard Mr. Pudewa or examined the IEW materials? They go along with my classical education approach, as well...

Plans for the Next School Year

Even though I got back from the Midwest Homeschool Convention Saturday night, I'm still feeling the excitement! This was my first homeschool convention, and although I was at first a nay-sayer regarding conventions, I have quickly changed my ways! I have so many more inspiring ideas now for teaching and learning, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to most of the speakers (and those whom we found boring, we simply left the room and found a speaker we did enjoy), and I wish I could have spent even more time walking around the exhibit hall! Here's what we covered:

Seminars/Workshops:

• Jessie Wise & Dr. Susan Wise Bauer: An Intro. to Classical Education at Home--we were late arriving for this, but we got there as Dr. Wise Bauer was discussing the Grammar Stage, which is the stage Lovely is in right now. What was discussed during this session really made sense, and I love the concept of learning history in order instead of a little history from this time and a little history from that time, etc.
  
• Andrew Pudewa: Nurturing Excellent Writers & Speakers--Mr. Pudewa is a very interesting speaker who is comical with some great advice. I wish I could have heard him again.
  
• Dr. Jobe Martin: The Evolution of a Creationist--He really didn't have a speaker's voice, so it was difficult to hear him at first. I would have appreciated more information on the assumptions evolutionists make as scientific fact, instead of the entire life story of Mr. Martin. This would have illustrated his evolution even more in my opinion. He was an enjoyable speaker once he spoke up, however.
  
• Carol Barnier: Empowering the Shy Child--We came in on the tail end of this speaker as well since we had been to the Tim Hawkins Performance. Mrs. Barnier said out loud what I had been thinking to myself several times. I need to concentrate on manners with Lovely, in order to boost her self-confidence in doing the right thing. I had known this before going to the seminar, but I kept finding other things that seemed more important--WRONG!
  
• Mary Harrington: What is Christian Classical Education--this speaker seemed a little....scattered. I wasn't thrilled with the information from this session, which focuses simply on manners for younger children. I believe other educational goals need to be thrown into the mix.
  
• Rebecca Kochenderfer: Homeschooling and Loving It! Mrs. Kochenderfer was probably the best speaker we heard! I enjoyed her voice, her pacing, her comedic anecdotes, and her advice. She is upfront and honest, and it was no wonder the room was overflowing with attendees.
  
• Shelly Noonan: Five Keys to Guarding Your Daughter's Heart--I would have preferred a father giving this lecture instead of a mother, or a mother/father team. I would have also preferred more statistics, although I enjoyed some of the stories she told. This was more for my husband's relationship with his daughters.
  

Materials Purchased:

• History of the Ancient World, text and activity book by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer
• Writing with Ease by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer
• Various classical books (Little House on the Prairie--I know--gasp--I never owned it nor have I read it--, Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, etc.)
• World Atlas
• Owl Pellets for dissection (I plan on studying owls this week with the girls, as part of summer school)
  
• Map software for my husband (he actually found a book for himself and the software)
• Music lessons and violin (YIKES!) Here's the story: Violin.com was selling a package of music lessons and a violin kit (with case, pitch pipe, rosin, etc.) for a certain price. The lessons are do-it-yourself, which I was EXTREMELY wary of. However, the creator of the lessons has had 35 yrs of teaching experience, she's been on several university music faculties, her father-in-law helped with the books, who was part of the NY Philharmonic, and she demonstrated both her playing and her method. I was still nervous about making the purchase, but my husband and I finally did so, considering Lovely has been asking to learn violin for two years! We haven't given her the instrument or lessons yet (so shhh!), but I was snooping through the books last night. I am so impressed with the metaphors, teaching tricks, learning games, etc.! Now, I'm even more excited! And, my husband said he wants to get a full size violin and learn with her, as something they can do together! How awesome is that?!
  

To Be Purchased (used, of course):

• BJU Math 1
• The grammar lessons book by Jessie Wise (for 1st & 2nd grade)
  
• Drawing with Children, or a comparable art book (for as long as I can use it!)
  
• A Beka phonics readers (from my sis)

I'm estimating materials for 1st grade to cost around $150.00, but the history program and the grammar & writing program are used in two different grades, and then I'll be able to reuse all of it for my 4 yr. old, so I'm thinking it really won't be that expensive in the end. I will supplement with lots of library books, and I plan on doing unit studies for science that won't cost that much.

Convention Excitement!

Perhaps more experienced homeschool moms don't get as excited by the thought of endless isles of books, papers, school supplies, and other materials, along with sitting through several different speakers who wish to offer tips and advice to make your homeschool journey a little easier. I, on the other hand, can't wait! This is my first big convention, and I'm anxious to listen, learn, and discuss with others who have the same central goal: to find the best way to educate children. (I may also be excited since I'm headed out of town with my hubby!)

I have printed the schedule of speakers, highlighted those I plan on hearing, and then mapped them out according to the floor plans given on the Duke Energy Convention Center website. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend until 11 a.m. tomorrow, so I'm going to miss the speakers from later this afternoon, as well as some of the first speakers tomorrow. I scheduled in 'free time' as well, so we can scour the halls in search of the perfect, or at least better, curriculum for 1st grade. I'm still investigating the classical education approach, just as most people followed in school before the 1940s-1950s, according to Susan Wise Bauer in her podcast from homeschool.com. So, we'll see where it leads. We all know books are a weakness of mine, so who knows what I might fall in love with while shopping! I'll let you know once I return!

Freebies and Fun

My addiction has led me out of the realm of homeschool blogs into the realm of the freebie/deals/cheap options blogs, and I just can't contain my excitement! Here are some of the cool things I've found for Easter:

Meijer: 11-2 p.m. April 3, includes kid's activities and giveaways, eggs and prizes, and Easter food samples.

Michaels: 10-1 p.m. April 3, free workshop decorating Easter pails.

Home Depot: 9-12 p.m. April 3, free workshop geared toward kids ages 5-7 making butterfly houses.

Bass Pro Shop: 2-3 p.m. April 3-4, Easter egg hunt, 4x6 photo with Easter Bunny, or you can come at 12 to make Easter decorations.

Also, remember April 17-25 is National Park Week, which means FREE admission to all 392 national parks, including Mammoth Cave and Big South Fork.

A Beka Grade K Recap

I can officially say Lovely has finished her A Beka Kindergarten lessons for the year! YEAH! Now, let's give a recap of the pits and falls of the year of tears, turmoil, a few smiles, some giggles, and a whole lot of wishing I could just quit...

First, I admit, I started Lovely out a little early, given her birthday is in the fall. However, she seemed extremely advanced, knowing all her sounds/letters, etc. before starting school, and she wanted to do school. So, I purchased the materials, and in August we began the arduous trek of homeschool. Here is my year in review:

Phonics & Letters: Colorful worksheets with lots and lots of practice. Did I mention, lots of practice? They emphasize blends a bit too much in my opinion, so we worked on blends, but Lovely did better sounding things out with just a basic knowledge of blends. Otherwise, school dragged on and on for both her and me.

Math: You should know how I feel by now: I hate A Beka math with a passion so intense that I will forever remember the feeling of relief when the last worksheet was completed. Yes, my daughter knows numbers and knows how to add, but fill-in-the-blank problems without any pictures/counters is ridiculous! I bought my own counters which she used with every problem, and they were a life saver. However, she does not need to complete 20 math problems a day, so I frequently made her do half of the work. The sequence of problems is organized, but they really don't give much time to master a problem before moving on to the next concept, but after a while, they never shut up about all of the concepts learned...I'm just work-booked out.

Readiness Skills: What?! You've got to be kidding me. If my daughter can't handle that in Kindergarten, she certainly wouldn't be able to handle the rest of her work, so I'm not sure that it really measures 'readiness' to any extent. To me, this was often boring, and a waste of paper.

Social Studies: It was neat to learn a few things about a few countries, but my daughter could have handled a more in-depth look a people around the world, or in our country.

Science: My children wanted the entire book read to them in one sitting, which I pretty much did. I would have liked a little more do it in science.

Art: Fun, colorful, hands-on. My youngest daughter learned to cut because of her art projects, which was great. The only drawback: lots of paper crafts all over the house that secretly need to disappear...

In conclusion, I may stick with A Beka for phonics next year, but I'm going to thoroughly explore the possibilities.

Me? An OAMC?

Much to my reader's dismay (I'm sure), my latest addiction has been reading homeschool blogs. I read them, I click on all of their links, I scour their sources, and I have gleaned lots of useful information, and of late, a little bit of guilt.

No one is Super Mom who can do it all--we all have priorities--but I have discovered new and useful ways to help our household. Since work has been slow for my husband, I have really been trying to cut costs and to help in any way possible. So, while reading about the numerous homeschool families with 12 children who live in 3 bedroom houses (yes, that equals more than 4 children per room since mom and dad usually have a room just for them and perhaps the newest addition), I wonder how on earth they can pay for everything. I love reading their advice, and now I plan to implement some of it.

Goal #1 (lists just seem to work for me lately---uh oh--I really am turning into my mother!)
Make my own laundry soap. Is it really easy? Is it really cheaper? Does it really work? I shall find out!

Goal #3
Clean out the freezer in the garage. We have some very old deer meat out there, I'm sure, so I need to clean that out. Also, there is still gunk from the great meltdown of '08, so I need to actually clean the freezer as well. Yes, I've found enough guts to admit I haven't cleaned it yet.

Goal #2
Try out being an OAMC (Once A Month Cook) for one month. I have discovered I love fresh food, and I've recently begun experimenting with new foods, so I'm not sure how this will work. However, I've also noticed I go through the entire kitchen at night if I don't have a plan, and my husband does as well. Now, I did mention the OAMC possibility and he immediately said, "That doesn't sound good," meaning, "That sounds gross." So, we'll give it a whirl and see what happens. I found a really awesome OAMC link, Once a Month Mom, that gives monthly menus and grocery lists available for print.

Of course I've read about the families that don't use paper towels or napkins (or other disposable paper products), but I just can't see doing laundry for that many napkins, etc. (Roses is a napkin hound, using at least two at each meal), so perhaps these will be later goals.

Have any of you tried OAMC? Making your own laundry soap? What works/doesn't work for you?