1 September 2009 - First day of Kindergarden
GTS started his first day of kindergarten. Hubby and I have both have a cold, but I got it first, so technically I am better off. So I ended up taking him alone. We also have an aunt who might be dieing so hubby had to drive the two hours to the ICU to check on her and whether or not we need to bring in the living will. So everything is starting to happen all at the same time. It did not make for a peaceful nights sleep.
GKS is still in her Logopathy. She is still lisping, but what can you expect with one front tooth out and the other holding on for dear life to stay in.
GTH is doing quite well. He has his moments, but he really is a good kid.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
29 August 2009 - Rug vs. Carpet
It is interesting trying to hold on to your language and teach it to your children while living in another country.
My youngest (5)was denied to move up to the next group in our English club, because he did not speak enough English. He understands English, but word evade him when he tries to speak. So we have been doing a crash English course in our house for the last 3 weeks. No German TV, no German books, no German music. He is speaking more, not sure if it is enough to move him up in 3 weeks since he is starting kindergarten.(Another post)
We have been working on "Teach You Child to Read in 100 Lessons". GKS is up to lesson 35 and was sounding out the word rug. Then asked me "What it a rug?" I have been calling them carpets. We have items that are small enough to call rugs, but I never use the word. It is rough using this book, because there are certain small words I very rarely use when talking. Even words like luck. I don't believe in it. We don't gamble so the word has never come up. Even jam and jelly, because we use marmalade.(Grandma makes it from the trees in her garden.)
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
7 July 2009 - Who's in...Who's out.
Just like states in the US, different states in Germany have different summer vacations.
Here is one list:
Here is one with also the next school year.
Remember that here in Europe they put the day first and then the month.(Be careful if you get pulled over by the cops. I have heard of one person who the police thought their American drivers licenses had expired because of the date mix up.)
This one is really cool. It shows the dates by graph and then at the bottom the average temperatures.
Bayern (Baravia) where we are does not start it's summer vacation until the first of August. GTH will be getting off a week early so that he can to a summer camp to work on his German.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
6 July 2009 - Swimming and English TV
The McDonald's in Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof is giving away free children(under 5) all day passes to Palm Beach. I believe it is only worth like 3.50€, but hey every euro counts. They are good until December. I am not sure if any other McDonalds in the area are giving them out. I will use them with my youngest since he is not doing well with the swimming classes. So I will have the two oldest in classes and then get the youngest in free.
BR-alpha on Sundays is showing Great Moments in Science and Technology. This is on in mono(as opposed to stereo) so you can pick if you want to watch in English or German. It is on Sunday mornings at 11:15. These are 15 minute programs.
12 July Otto Lilienthal – The Glider
19 July Werner von Siemens – The Electric Dynamo
I will try to record this to see if it will record in just one language or will I get them both on top of each other.
Also, the city library has most, if not all, of the Was ist Was, Tessloff, Dvd that are in German and English.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
17 June 2009 - 100 Books Your Child Should Hear Before Starting School
I posted this list last year and decide to see how much we have done on the list without really trying.
Where’s My Teddy? by Alborough, Jez
Miss Nelson is Missing by Allard, Harry
Happy Birthday, Moon by Asch, Frank
Ten, Nine, Eight by Bang, Molly
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Barrett, Judi
The Three Bears by Barton, Byron
I Like Myself by Beaumont, Karen
*Madeline by Bemelmans, Ludwig
The Mitten by Brett, Jan
*Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Bridwell, Norman
*Stone Soup by Brown, Marcia
*Goodnight, Moon by Brown, Margaret Wise
*Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by Burningham, John
*Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Burton, Virginia Lee
*The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
*Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Christelow, Eileen
*Miss Rumphius by Cooney, Barbara
Freight Train by Crews, Donald
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Cronin, Doreen
oday I Feel Silly by Curtis, Jamie Lee
Strega Nona by De Paola, Tomie
Bed Hogs by DiPucchio, Kelly
Are You My Mother? by Eastman, P. D.
Feathers For Lunch by Ehlert, Lois
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Emberley, Ed
Olivia by Falconer, Ian
Lunch by Fleming, Denise
The Magic Hat by Fox, Mem
*Corduroy by Freeman, Don
Millions of Cats by Gag, Wanda
*The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Galdone, Paul
Barnyard Song by Greene, Rhonda
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Guarino, Deborah
A First Picture Book of Nursery Rhymes by Harbour, Elizabeth (Illustrator)
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Henkes, Kevin
Where’s Spot? by Hill, Eric
Bread and Jam for Frances by Hoban, Russell
Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color by Hoban, Tana
Miss Mary Mack by Hoberman, Mary Ann
Rosie’s Walk by Hutchins, Pat
*Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson, Crockett
Splash! by Jonas, Ann
Jump, Frog, Jump! by Kalan, Robert
The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Kasza, Keiko
*he Snowy Day by Keats, Ezra Jack***
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Kent, Jack
Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock by Kimmel, Eric
Leo the Late Bloomer by Kraus, Robert
The Carrot Seed by Krauss, Ruth
Over in the Meadow by Langstaff, John
The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf, Munro
Tacky the Penguin by Lester, Helen
A Color of His Own by Lionni, Leo
Frog and Toad are Friends by Lobel, Arnold
Froggy Gets Dressed by London, Jonathan
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Martin, Bill
*All By Myself by Mayer, Mercer
*Guess How Much I Love You by McBratney, Sam
*Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey, Robert
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by McPhail, David
Martha Speaks by Meddaugh, Susan
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Neitzel, Shirley
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Noble, Trinka
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff, Laura
Amelia Bedelia by Parish, Peggy***
The Kissing Hand by Penn, Audrey
The Rainbow Fish by Pfister, Marcus
The Little Engine That Could by Piper, Watty
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Potter, Beatrix
Good Night, Gorilla by Rathmann, Peggy
*Curious George by Rey, H. A.
*We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Rosen, Michael
The Relatives Came by Rylant, Cynthia
*Grandfather’s Journey by Say, Allen
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Scarry, Richard
*Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak, Maurice
*The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
*Duck on a Bike by Shannon, David
Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Sharmat, Mitchell
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Shaw, Charles
Caps for Sale by Slobodkina, Esphyr
Imogene’s Antlers by Small, David
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Steig, William
And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Stevens, Janet
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Taback, Simms
Who’s Counting by Tafuri, Nancy
Pigsty by Teague, Mark
Polar Express by Van Allsburg, Chris
*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Viorst, Judith
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Waber, Bernard
Farmer Duck by Waddell, Martin
Mouse Paint by Walsh, Ellen Stoll
Noisy Nora by Wells, Rosemary (I don't like that Nora calls the baby 'dumb' in this book!)
Knuffle Bunny by Willems, Mo
I Went Walking by Williams, Sue
A Chair for My Mother by Williams, Vera B.
The Napping House by Wood, Audrey
Owl Moon by Yolen, Jane
Seven Blind Mice by Young, Ed
Harry, the Dirty Dog by Zion, Gene
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
16 June 2009 - Good Day
I am mostly happy with what I got done today. Hubby and I went to see the head teacher about GTH's schooling.
GKS did a decent amount of work we finished all her homework for English club, so we begin Qs tomorrow. We restarted "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". She is working on the op family. And all the kids had swimming today.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
15 June 2009 - We're Americans. We don't plan. We do!
This maybe true in some cases, but some of us would like someone else to plan things for us.
I am referring to the movie "Night in the Museum 2" and how I can not find a curriculum. I mean the website does not even link to the Smithsonian on the website for the movie.
If anyone has a link to a curriculum for this, please pass it my way.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
14 June 2009 - Update June
I will be heading back to Stein(Nürnberg) this evening. I have lots of things to add with lots of pics. Our trip to Speyer Musuem. The work the kids are doing. Grace has finished a few workbooks. I will start complaining about preparing for school for Grace. I will have to do a serious cleaning of the house seeing that Oma will be coming down for GKS's first day of school.
Speaking of the first year of school. I went through GTH's first grade workbooks and I do not think GKS will have any problem with the first year. Throught the last year she has been working on pre-school/kindergarden books and they are mostly easy for her. So now she is working on her first 1. Klasse(first grade) workbook. The lines for writing are not as bad as I remember from GTH's begining year. Her book is:
I just found the link for this post. I will have to go through it another time. I might find some cool printouts.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
24 March 2009 - Formula 1:Australia part 1
This might work out. Formula 1 is a car race that basically travels the world. I am thinking of doing a notebook containing the country and their animals. We will see how this goes.
Label Australia
Australia Enchanted Learning
Homeschool Share
Australian Day Printables
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
23 March 2009 - Sunday, March 22
Not a bad day. All the work I wanted to do with the little ones go done. I need to do more with GTH this week. GKS will begin school this September. This Thursday I will have to take he to register for school. I am going to have to do this alone. If I don't do it correct does she get to stay home :)
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
21 March 2009 - I know long time no here from.
I am going to try this again.
We have been doing hit or miss in most of our school items. The kids are still learning, but not as much as they should. Math is going well. Both younger ones can do number sequence on paper very well.
We have read Miss Rumphius from Five in a Row.(It seems there was a copy sitting in one of the boxes of our English Club.) In January and February we read: The Story of Ferdinand, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Follow the Drinking Gourd and Katy and the BIg Snow. We didn't do any lapbooks and really did not cover the material well.
We have now been reading Big Bird brings Spring to Sesame Street. They can now can count down from 5 and I think I am ready to try and give them worksheets that show counting down. There are 6 different flowers in the book and I would like to get the kids to memories these so Monday I will head out to the florists to hunt for them. I think it would make more sense to them to actual see them in real life. GKS loves flowers. She has an adult field guide to wild flowers that she will sit for hours and just look at the pictures. I am not really good at nature, but maybe I can teach them something.
We also have been working on word families. We have done at, an, and ap. I got an ip book from English club and Grace read(from memory and pictures) the book. So what I am saying is the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Steps was not working for GKS. I think I will try again with GTS. He was getting it much easier that her.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
13 October 2008 - Middle October
I am working a few post.
I am not doing a weekly email to hubby of what we are doing and what homework GTH has. I have done 3 emails so far. Last week was not a good one for book work, but we did get out to all of our activies. GKS and I are on lesson 12 of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I really am liking the book and would recommend it to anyone.
Germany has 27 blogs up from April's 24, but there are not many posts.
3 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
30 September 2008 - International Proverbs Essay Contest
Students must write an essay arguing for or against the following international proverbs. Two proverbs are provided for each category; students may choose which of the two within their category they want to argue for or against. Students must choose one proverb from their category.
Category 1
Choice 1: “Be slow in choosing a friend but slower in changing him.” —Scotland
Choice 2: “The work praises the man.” —Ireland
Category 2
Choice 1: “Nothing is so difficult that diligence cannot master it.” —Madagascar
Choice 2: “He who does not wish for little things does not deserve big things.” —Belgium
Category 3
Choice 1: “A beautiful thing is never perfect.” —Egypt
Choice 2: “To him that watches, everything is revealed.” —Italy
Spend some time reflecting on the question at hand and perhaps researching the possible meaning/contest of the proverb and then be creative! We look forward to seeing what you come up with.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
29 September 2008 - Marvi Hδmmer prδsentiert NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WORLD
Marvi Haemmer is a dual language(German/English) show that deals with different animals from around the world.
They is also a magazine that you can get. Issues sometimes also are available with an audio CD.
This season has started again on KiKa.
Sundays at 4:25.
You can see what the program looks like by clicking "Die ganze Sendung al Video".
There is also a weekly quiz on the show that has just been seen.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
25 September 2008 - Starbucks Offers Free Coffee for Homeschool Parents
HSLDA
September 23, 2008
Starbucks Offers Free Coffee for Homeschool Parents
This coming Monday, September 29, Homeschool parents will be able to pick up a complimentary tall size (12 fl. oz.) cup of Pike Place Roast from Starbucks.
This promotion is part of Starbucks “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion, and is now open to all teachers.
HSLDA intervened when we were alerted that Homeschool parents were not included in the promotion.
We are pleased that Starbucks is recognizing the contribution of Homeschool parents by extending their program to us.
In order to pick up your free cup of Pike Place Roast you will need to present evidence that you are a homeschooler.
Any one item on the following list should be accepted by Starbucks:
* Home School Legal Defense Association membership card.
* Membership card from a state homeschooling organization.
* Notification from a school district or state government recognizing compliance with compulsory attendance.
* Paperwork submitted showing intent to establish a Homeschool program.
* Paperwork showing the establishment of a private school.
If you don’t have one of the items on this list be creative and try to provide other proof of homeschooling.
Please note: the final decision about whether to accept proof of homeschooling resides with Starbucks.We hope you choose to take advantage of this offer.
To print out additional copies of your membership card, visit the online HSLDA membership services page.
I wonder if Starbucks has this available to those outside of the US.
checking
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
23 September 2008 - Scripps Spelling Bee
Scripps Spelling Bee is beginning it's process for the 2009 Spelling Bee.
I know that Stars and Stripes sponsors a child, but I do not know the
process.
Carolyn's Corner, a 36-week study course offered during the
traditional school year is up and running. They are on week 2.
The 2009 edition of the official Scripps National Spelling Bee study
resource, Spell It!, is now available in hard copy. The site. in
which you can download it, still has the 2008 version.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
20 September 2008 - Not Back to School Picnic (This will be keeped up top. Scroll down for new entries)
Not Back To School Picnic Basel Switzerland
September 20th. 2008
Kannenfeld Park Basel Switzerland
This park has ample space to play, dig in the sand, a water feature, etc..
Something to do for homeschoolers of all ages.
I will supply vegetarian sweets, fruits and treats for the kids and you all
bring what you need for lunch, so no one is left out because of diet or
allergies.
We are meeting on a Saturday so the whole family can come, meet other
homeschooling parents,
share stories while our kids connect and play the day away.
From the Basel SBB it is 1 tram, and then a two block walk.
I can give anyone more detailed instructions, just email or call.
Thanks,
RSVP to:
Demetria Clark
demetria at demetria . com
Phone: 0615081884
Location
Yes, this is in another country, but for some this is closer than driving to me in Nürnberg. Over the vacation we took a day trip to France. From where we were it took us less that 2 hours and some of that was with some heavy traffic.
There is alot to post I will really try to post every day.
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
18 September 2008 - Middle Ages links
GTH is learning the Middle Ages this year. I will never find these links in my favorites.
Make a medieval book
You Are There: Radio program
Chain Mail
Medieval Games I
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
17 September 2008 - WIn free books.
Homeschool Curriculum Review
From September 1, 2008 to September 21, 2008, you can help other homeschoolers and win free books in one of the following ways:- For every qualified review you submit, your name will be entered into a drawing to win $100 in free Usborne books.
- Post a link to my contest page on your website or blog and your name will be entered into a drawing to win $100 in free Usborne books. Post a comment on my blog letting me know you have done this.
- Submit 5 qualified product reviews and receive a free Usborne Mini Book of your choice. Miniature editions are a reduced size, hardback version of an original Usborne book. Usborne sells mini books for students of all ages!
- Homeschoolers who come in 2nd or 3rd place for the number of qualified submissions will receive $20 in FREE Usborne books of their choice.
- The homeschooler with the most qualified submissions will receive any product in Usborne's catalog for FREE
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
4 September 2008 - Update September
I will try to update more this week. The kids are doing better in their education. The small ones are doing Five in a Row. GTH is working on his 5/6 Klasse workbook. Hopefully I will able to buy the 7/8 Klasse one, before the end of the year. I will put up the lapbooks that we made. If anyone in the Nürnberg or Heidelberg area would like to trade books send me a message.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
