Thursday, March 20, 2008 - Our Prayer Plan
After growing weary of my children's repetition of the same exact prayers over and over again, I figured I needed to guide them as to "what" to pray. I decided to share with them my prayer plan -- taking a few subjects each day so that we can "share the love" and keep praying over the many different prayer requests we get on a somewhat regular basis:
Mondays - Pray for the President (many good suggestions on specifics from Biblememory.us)/ The troops (here, abroad, esp. in Iraq, for the injured, for their families and for the families of those who have died)
Tuesdays - Ministry concerns (including pastors, others in leadership and supporting ministries); homeschool concerns (our family’s and/or the movement in general)
Wednesdays - Missionaries (both serving and preparing) and the persecuted church
Thursdays - The sick and injured (healing)/ Pregnancies
Fridays - Christian teens and young adults (to draw closer in the walk with the Lord Jesus, to be servants of others, help for their education and future spouses, to rise up and be strong Christian leaders for the future)
Saturdays - my unsaved family members/ Lord’s Day ministries
Sundays - a heart filled with worship to God; the Holy Spirit’s help for all who will bring forth the Word of God in teaching and preaching; salvation for those who are not in Christ; obedience to the Word of God preached
“Everyday” - each other
Our prayers aren’t limited to just these categories on these given days, but this has given me and my children direction in how to “share the love” in our prayers and not just pray for the same concerns day in and day out.
I encourage you to make your own prayer plan. What's important to you? Of course, you may use mine as I'm sure it didn't originate with me (I'm seriously against "reinventing the wheel").
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
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Thursday, January 24, 2008 - Real Resolutions for Moms
Hello Cyber-buddies,
A friend sent this very helpful reminder via the Crosswalk.com's e-newsletter. It so spoke to me where am at in my dealings with my children day-to-day that I thought it would be helpful to you, too.
Devotion:
It's that time when many of us are making New Year's resolutions, so how about some resolutions for mothers? Here are mine:
I will put my Bible before the television, the radio, the telephone, and even before good Christian books, for my children will know my priorities by the way they see me spend my free time.
I will make my prayer requests known before God and my children, enlisting their help in the process and informing them of the outcome, for by letting them help when I petition our Lord will they learn of a living God who still answers prayer.
When times of crisis, conflict or confusion arise, I will hit my knees before I hit the phone knowing that by my example my children will discover that although friends are important, God alone is the one who holds the solution to life's every problem.
I will erase the words 'luck' and 'lucky' from my vocabulary and will instead by my speech point my children toward the One who orchestrates every detail of our lives and brings all good things to pass, for by this my children will learn of an omniscient God.
When bad things happen, I'll neither grumble nor complain, but will instead help my children see that in the scope of our lives even the bad times are allowed for a reason, for by this my children will learn quiet trust in their Maker.
When normal childhood mishaps occur, I will remember that although difficult, it is still easier to remove grape juice from off-white carpet than to erase harsh and unloving words hurled at a child whose chubby little fingers have failed her, for by this my children will see a God who understands when our best efforts fall short.
When my children have witnessed something ugly in me - unkind words, an angry temper, 'harmless' gossip, biting sarcasm or even my infamous 'mommy pout' when things don't go my way - I will confess it as sin before them seeking their forgiveness, for by this my children will develop the much needed habit of wiping their spiritual slate clean before God and man.
I will teach my children the importance of cleanliness and order while at the same time remain sensitive to the fact that a skinned knee or hurt feeling is more crucial than a spotless floor or uncluttered counter, for by this my children will learn to value people above things.
I will make time for the lonely, the sick, the elderly, the difficult to love, and will bring my children along, for with each afternoon visit, each ride to the doctor, each raked lawn or washed window they will have opportunity to serve Jesus by serving the 'least of these.'
I will make our home a haven of rest and retreat from the outside world and a welcomed place for my children's friends, for with each impromptu backyard soccer game, each video viewed on a rainy day, each cup of hot cocoa or chocolate chip cookie, my children will have opportunity to practice the art of Christian hospitality thereby learning to share all God has given them.
I will by my actions and my speech let my children see a mom love their dad, for by this will my children sense family stability at a time when marriages all around them are crumbling.
I will not require of my children obedience, honesty, patience or kindness without first being willing to submit to the same rules whether in speed limit, in miscounted change from the grocery store or when answering a toddler for the fourteenth time, for by this my children will see a mother who is also learning and not a perfect parent to whom they'll never measure up.
In all things will I remember that more is caught than is taught.
There are little eyes upon you, mom. You are the first Bible your children will ever read.
Dear Lord, may my goals this year spring from a right relationship with You and may carrying them out point others heavenward. In Jesus' Name, Amen .
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - Shiller Math Kit II - A Review
My daughter (age 7) completed Kit I in October of 2007 and we eagerly plunged into Kit II which I picked up at a homeschool convention.
I'll jump into the pros and cons right away:
Pros: 
We used Kit I with great success and we had great expectations of fun, non-textbookie Math this time around, too. We popped in the new CD in the car and had a great time singing about measurement, commutivity, geometry (probably our favorite track), et al. The best way I can describe the music is that it kind of reminds me of "MC Hammer" meets "Peter Gabriel" (of "Sledgehammer" fame -- okay, okay, I know I'm totally dating myself and also letting you know how pathetically tacky I am... but I digress
). Let me sum it all up for you:
- Improvement over my original Kit I - the answers are in a separate (and thin) book (yippee)
- Very nice looking manipulatives, esp. the 3D geometric shapes (we just finished activity 27 today so we haven't used them yet)
- For a Kit I veteran, everything looks and feels very familiar (same format)
Cons: 
- Some of the earliest activities, I thought, were very, very hard. There was no way my child was going to figure out how to solve them on her own; I had to talk her through all of it (try 99 divided by 11 when we'd barely begun learning the simplest of multiplication and division facts)
- Not for the faint of heart nor those who like step-by-step directions: Kit II has me thinking on my feet as to what manipulatives to use to help my child learn the concepts/solve the problems. If this does not describe you, beware
- I posted a message regarding Kit II on the Yahoo! Groups loop for Shiller Math and got *zero* responses
Like my other reviews, I hope to update it as we get further along.
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Friday, January 11, 2008 - Saxon Phonics Level 2
Background -- We were post-Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with our middle child. Unlike her brothers, she did not ask to be taught to read. At almost 4 years old our "principal" (aka "Daddy," "Honey," et al.) just felt it was "time" soooo we went for it. I've had great success with this program with our oldest and with two children I tutor, but this was a different experience. Anyway, long story short, we "graduated" my daughter from 100 EZ somewhere after lesson 90 (she was about 5 y.o. at the time). A year later, she was still struggling with reading. Her mind seemed to highlight the "exceptions" in words and I didn't know how to show her the difference. I knew it was time for a phonics program. I asked friends, I posted questions on the Well-Trained Mind message board. A couple of posts compelled me to go with Saxon Phonics. I am teaching both my 6 y.o. daughter and 4 1/2 y.o. son with it simultaneously. So here goes my review:
PROS: 
For those of you whose children have benefitted from the rigor of Saxon Math, this is pretty much in the same vein, though I find this to be a lot more fun than doing Saxon Math 3.
There is a fully-scripted teacher edition. Again, you gotta love Saxon because they even include in the early lessons, "Seat the student where he/she can write comfortably," as if you had your child standing on its head throughout the beginning of the lesson 
.
Very similar lay-out (gray box that tells you what you need to do to prepare the next lesson and scripted). I find it to be very thorough except I have *nothing* to compare it to (this is the only Phonics program I've ever used).
No "babyish" words used. The author gives it to you and the kids straight: "breve," "macron," "accent," "digraph," "combination," "schwa," "cedilla" -- I'm getting a whole new education! The student is taught to code the sounds being taught. The benefit that I've found is that I have a point of reference now for those "confusing" words (for example, I can say to either child, "Remember the rule for vowels followed by nothing? Code it with a macron and accent mark" or "The /ar/ sound in car, what's making that sound?" I have seen great improvement in the understanding of how sounds and letters relate and it's helped in their spelling of words as well).
Review Cards (and lots of them) with keyword pictures and the letter or letter combination that makes the sound (ex. picture of a belt for "b"; picture of thimble for soft "th"). Somewhere in lessons 30+ you start "retiring" cards that have been mastered.
Comes with an instructional video (which I have yet to watch) and an audio pronunciation tape (which I just started listening to even though we've been doing this program for months).
Comes with literature selections (we've done two so far). I liked the first one (we skipped the activity). The second one was, eh, weird and the third one coming I think I'll skip because I hate William Steig's books (think Shrek).
Spelling by "sounding it out" is excellently done. No need for a separate program. The vocabulary is controlled and the children are not asked spell anything that wasn't taught and/or practiced.
Since I have two children doing the same program, they "test" each other on spelling words before we begin our lesson and on "non-lesson" days. They each have a list of about 20 words. I have them do 5 each from this list and the same number of words from the irregular spelling booklet about 3 times a week (usually these are non-lesson days for us).
My children love the readers that it comes with (some assembly required - and no, I'm not joking). The lesson gives instructions for you and your child to assemble the readers during the lesson with staples or rubberbands. Who's got time for that? I put them together during my prep time and just give it to them at the appropriate time. They loved that they got a "new" book to color and read.
The success of being the solution to my daughter's decoding hang ups makes Saxon Phonics a "pro" in and of itself. As of today (5/19/07), she still has them, but they are nothing compared to the agony and tears we went through 1 -2 years ago.
Overall, I give Saxon Phonics Level 2 the "thumbs up" with a bit of caution. As I said before, I can see this being a turn-off for those that don't like a lot of components. As I mentioned before, my daughter had completed 100 EZ Lessons the year before and was completely confused with letter sounds and words. She didn't want to read for fear of being asked to sound out unfamiliar words. Since using this program with her, we've seen a big improvement. I'm especially thrilled that the mystery of "English Spelling" is being unlocked by learning the letter sounds and sound combinations. My little guy at just 5 y.o. is an excellent speller for a child who technically shouldn't even be reading! I give the credit to God's help and secondly, Saxon Phonics 2.
Cons:
This curriculum has a lot of components which might frighten some. If you are good at organizing things with Ziploc baggies and rubberbands then this should be no problem for you.
Lessons get long and you might want to cut them in 1/2 or thirds (I do one or two lessons over 3 to 4 days, meeting for "lesson time" only twice a week). Some days, I just have the children practice their spelling words with each other. **Newsflash** (2/2/07) I just started skipping the lesson intros which are mini (or not- so-mini) history lessons on the origins of the English language. Don't be a glutton for punishment -- skip these as I have been doing as of late.
This program has cards, cards, cards, and did I say "cards"? There are a lot of cards for different things. It has the "Kid Cards" and we used those on about oh, 2 or 3 occasions, but there are just too many of them. They are supposed to be used for games and/or extra practice. They've got their own Ziploc and we don't use them much. I consider myself "pretty good" at organizing, but I've found it hard a couple of times to find the other cards I needed (there are also letter cards, picture/sound cue cards, and spelling cards). Ah, well, nothing's perfect.
Other component needed -- and not included -- a board. Be it dry-erase or traditional black, get one! And don't forget to get different color markers/chalk. I'm so glad I had a dry erase already. It's been very helpful in illustrating coding (which I don't expect my children to remember all of it).
If you're looking for something in one booklet for your child and a Teacher's Edition for you -- this ain't it.
We're currently up to Lesson 42 (total lessons 140). We will finish out this school year sometime in July and then pick up where we left off. This is supposed to be a one year curriculum, but I'm glad we've been able to spread it out over two years. It definitely takes the pressure off to ingest too much information at once.
6/12/07
Latest update: Just had assessments after lesson 40. The kids did great! Of course, I didn't let them sweat it all out on their own (I gave them encouraging little hints along the way). I'm trying to get through whole lessons since there are some things (like alphabetizing letters) I know they totally *get* and when those "mini language history lessons" come up I definitely skip those too. Tonight, dd7 and I were at the grocery store and she read the word "juice" then explained to me that, "We didn't learn the rule for that word yet." It was true, and it made it so obvious that she really loves this "rule" stuff.
I just received the next book for the Literature Selections: Elbert's Bad Word by Audrey Wood. Well... all I can say is that it was a "miss" as well. Not what I'm looking for in a picture book.
1/11/08
Just had an assessment after lesson 55. We've been steadily plugging away at lessons from about October (after our interstate move), doing about 2 or 3 lessons a week. I forgot at which lesson I finally dropped the "sound spelling" exercises (this is the one where I would say the sound or sound combination, the children would "echo" it, I'd ask on cue "what's the letter name?" and they'd answer and write it down). Well, we were up to almost 40 sounds and it was getting laborious. I felt they were getting enough spelling practice in the other exercises in the lesson so we started skipping that activity which made the lessons shorter -- and easy to complete in about 30 minutes, whoopie!
So getting back to the assessment: I start out having them do it separately so that each child has ample time to spell the words in the spelling portion, code the words in the second exercise, then read the words, and finally do the reading comprehension exercise. There is also a 20 word spelling test. I call them to do that part together. Overall, they do very well, and I'm very generous with grades to keep them encouraged. I have them show their daddy and get "the principal's" signature on their papers (they *love* this).
Okay, stay-tuned for another update (maybe in the late spring).
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Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Fifth Grade Reading List Compliments of the WTM Message Board Friends
I was blessed to get some great responses to my request for a 5th grade reading list for my son who loves mystery books. I post them here for our mutual benefit:
Ds 5th has been enjoying Henry Reed series, My Side of the Mountain series, Danny Dunn series, Black Stallion nt - PameLA in VA
Lady Grace Mysteries and Enola Holmes Mysteries, but I don't think many boys would read them. My girls love them. (nt) - AngieW in Texas
CLASSICS
- A Little Princess (Burnett)
- The Secret Garden (Burnett)
- Paddle-to-the-Sea, Tree in the Trail, Seabird (Holling)
- Rikki Tikki Tavi; The Jungle Book (Kipling)
- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)
REAL LIFE
- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord)
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Robinson)
- Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery)
- Five on a Treasure Island (Blyton)
FANTASY (all are QUALITY, many by CHRISTIAN authors, or with CHRISTIAN themes)
- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) -- Victorian-like setting
- Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)
- Half Magic; Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle; Time Garden, Seven Day Magic (Eager)
- The Father Christmas Letters (Tolkien)
- City of Ember; People of Sparks
- The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) -- VERY fun and funny!
- The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster) -- boy journeys through a mathematical land
- The Hobbit (Tolkien)
FUN TALL TALE
- The Whipping Boy (Fleischman)
- McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Fleischman)
- Just So Stories (Kipling)
- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)
- By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman)
- Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (Field)
- Holes (Sachar)
- The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) -- Jules Verne-like story, 1800s inventor
HISTORICAL FICTION - U.S.
- Indian Captive (Lenski)
- Sarah Plain and Tall; Skylark; Caleb's Story (MacLachlan) -- US - pioneer times
- Caddie Woodlawn (Brink) -- pioneer times US
- The Sign of the Beaver (Speare) -- Colonial US/Native American
- Sounder (Armstrong) -- post Civil War South
HISTORICAL FICTION - WORLD
- Detectives in Togas; Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Winterfeld) -- Ancient Rome
- The Kite Fighters (Park) -- 1400s Korea
- The Door in the Wall (de Angeli) -- Medieval England
- Catherine Called Birdy; Midwife's Apprentice (Cushman) -- Medieval England
- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson) - 1700s Japan
- The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (Hoobler) -- 1700s Japan - boy detective (first in a series)
- Case of the Baker Street Irregular (Newman) -- 1890s boy helps Sherlock Holmes
- The Big Wave (Buck) -- Japanese survivors of a tsunami
- Twenty and Ten (Bishop) -- WWII French children hide Jewish children
- The Little Riders (Shemin) -- WWII occupied Europe
- Number the Stars (Lenski)-- WWII Dutch girl helps her Jewish friend
- Snow Treasure (McSwigan))-- WWII Norweigan children hide the country's gold
BIOGRAPHY
- Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman (Henry) -- inventor of steam engine as a boy
- Land I Lost; Water Buffalo Days (Nhuong) -- memories of pre-war rural Vietnam
- Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Latham) early US man who improved naval navigation
- Naya Nuki: The Shoshone Girl Who Ran -- friend of Sacajewea
- Behind Rebel Lines (Reit) -- teen girl disguised as a boy / Union spy in Civil War
- Lincoln: A Photobiography -- beautiful photos / text telling Lincoln's life
- Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (Blumberg)
- Born in the Year of Courage -- 1840s shipwrecked Japanese teen fisherman
ANIMALS (real)
- Daughter of the Mountains (Rankin)-- Tibetan girl tries to recover her dog
- Rascal (North)
- Shiloh (Naylor)
- Ginger Pye (Estes)
- The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Returns, Island Stallion (Farley)
- My Side of the Mountain (George)
- Where the Red Fern Grows (Rawls)
ANIMALS (talking)
- Ben and I (Lawson)
- The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharpe)
- Basil of Baker Street (Titus)
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)
(Compliments of Lori D.)
************************************************************************************************
There are lots of great books out there that have mysteries in them. Here are some favourites:
Fiction:
Sammy Keyes series
Stevie Diamond series
Nancy Drew series
Hardy Boys series
Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3
Encyclopedia Brown series
Roman Mysteries series
History Mystery series
Non fiction:
History Detectives
Art Fraud Detective
HTH
A
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Friday, November 9, 2007 - Curriculum Malfunction
I failed. I failed to take my own advice and the advice of many a time-honored veteran homeschooler: when the tears start the learning stops.
I don't know what possessed me. We had been working on Saxon Math 5/4 since January 2006 (no, that's no typo). By the way, as an aside, this will not be a Saxon-bashing article. I still think it's one of the best programs out there. I want to share what we went through that perhaps someone else can be spared the agony down the road.
The problems:
- We had a lot of breaks: vacations (scheduled and otherwise) and to top it all off we made an interstate move.
- My son who once seemed "gifted" had begun to plateau in his abilities (and I refused to acknowledge it, thinking he was being lazy).
- We were only getting through 2 or 3 at the most lessons per week
.
In came the meltdown. I'm not proud of this, but again I'm trying to honest. Mommy "lost" it. Son cried, and cried and cried. There was talk of enrolling this child in school.
Finally, I came to my senses
, picked up the phone and ordered a new Math curriculum.
So what are we using now? Accelerated Christian Education (www.aceministries.com or 1-800-925-7777).
How are we doing now? Much better, thank you. Darling son really likes Math now that his mom is no longer a "raving lunatic" (hee, hee) and we are both thrilled that he has a curriculum that he can do independently.
It was just time.
All this to say, dear friends: please learn from my mistake. Tears and learning just don't go together.
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Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - I Can't
What a humbling lesson I have received today. I simple can not figure out how to post pictures on this blog. Another blogger tried to help me:
Friday, July 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Keri
Once you have the pics on your computer...
go to photobucket. Set up a free account. Upload photos. After your pics are uploaded and you are able to view them...check the box of the pics you want on your blog, scroll down. click generate html code and 'copy' (right click on mouse) . At your bog's control panel, click source on the toolbar and 'paste'
(right click mouse). click on source again. You should now see your picture!
Edited by Keri on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 1:22 PM
I tried and tried. I simply can not make heads or tails of where I'm supposed to paste what I've copied. You all will have to bear with me. I'm talented in other things, but not this. Is this a suitable excuse? Is it one I should accept from my children when they can't understand a concept that I'm teaching them? If nothing else, I hope this experience will make me more patient with them during those "less teachable" (eh-hem) moments.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - Forget the Birthday Presents -- Membership, the Gift that Gives Back
Howdy,
I've finally gotten over my "blogger-block" and been inspired to share something that I think will be a blessing to others.
As you know, I have 3 children, but what some of you might not know is that they all share one room and just about everything that is near and dear to them shares that room too. My children also have a very generous extended family that wants to give, give, give. I am thankful for their generosity, but we ran out of room in our home for it quite a few years ago.
Oh, giftcards? Oh, yeah, they're great and we get those too, but I started asking for something I think has been the gift that gives back: membership to the Wildlife Conservation Society. With this membership we have been able to enjoy local zoos and a nearby aquarium all year long. We got the all inclusive membership that gave us unlimited admission (plus admission for 2 guests), unlimited admission to special exhibits (which are usually an additional cost for non-members), 4 parking passes, a subscription to their bi-monthly magazine and a free T-shirt. My membership costs $150 for the family (1 to 100 kids - the price is the same no matter what your size, yippey!), however, please visit their website for current pricing and benefits for each $$ level: www.wcs.org. Your membership also helps wildlife conservation efforts here and around the globe.
Our very generous family did me one better last Christmas: they gave us a week in their Florida timeshare and tix for the kids to go to DisneyWorld! We went back in April and had a great time (even though I was a bit skeptical that we would).
How'd I do it? I asked that instead of giving gifts, could they give something for our "field trip fund". I got the idea from a friend who saves money in an envelope for her kids just for those times when your out and the kids want a pony ride or an icecream or whatever. Field trip money is money I don't feel guilty spending.
Now, don't get me wrong. My kids still get gifs of toys and what-not as well as parties, but this has been the kind of gift that doesn't take up room in our limited living space and doesn't break (although memberships do expire as mine will in just a few weeks
).
Let your mind run wild. What places do your kids enjoy? Seek out a membership and save.
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Saturday, May 19, 2007 - Let's Plan a Field Trip (aka Field Tripping 101)
A close friend once asked me why I do field trips. I told her mostly for the group rate or for a program that would otherwise not be available to individuals. So, with this bit of inspiration on the table, let's talk FIELD TRIPS
!
First of all, field trips don't have to include the whole homeschool group. I have just as much fun going with just me and my babies as I do with my buds. Obviously, solo family trips are much easier to plan for. I recommend starting to think, plan, and pray about where you are going at least 4 weeks in advance. Have you come across an event or location that will tie in with what you and the kids have learned or are going to learn).
Pick a date on your calendar, making sure there's nothing major happening the day before or after your trip. Try to make it a 1/2 day trip for starters, preferably in the afternoon (unless you have napping children). For older children this is a mighty good incentive to get their schoolwork done ("...or else *no* field trip").
Call the place of interest and check out the times and days available, cost (a very important detail), parking, accessibility for special needs or strollers. If this is a return trip, how about purchasing a membership? For the nearby zoo and aquarium, this has worked out great as it's one less thing to worry about. I have requested $$ to buy memberships or to use for field trips in lieu of gifts for birthdays or Christmas (do we really need another toy to dust off?).
Prepare your kids for it by talking about it and/or getting videos/DVDs and books from the library on your subject (sometimes, even music if you're going to see a musical or instrumental performance). Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt; I've found that when it comes to field tripping, it breeds a deeper interest in what we're about to discover.
About a week before, plan your meal for your field trip. Are you going to eat at home before going? Are you going to just snack and eat a meal when you get home? Our favorite to-go meal is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit (they don't require refrigeration unless it's a very hot day). I've tried freezing sandwiches which, I've read, is another way to preserve them till lunch time (**update 5/19/07** On a recent vacation I had the occasion to freeze several sandwiches -- tuna, avocado, and bacon & ham and cheese in additions to my stand-by of PBJs. By trial and error I found that this worked out well. Be sure to cut your sandwiches in half or you might end up with "iceberg in a bag" sandwiches like I did a couple of times). In any case, if you've got money to burn, then bring it and eat out. However, if you're a penny-pincher like me, you've gotta plan ahead to save those pennies. A few days before, be sure to procure the planned meal and make it either the night before or early in the morning.
Here are some of my favorite solo family trips:
- Metropolitan Museum
- Bronx and Central Park Zoo
- New York Aquarium
- libraries other than our local one
- local historical sites
Okay, okay, that's not a very impressive list, I know, but you can apply it to the places around you and see what you come up with. Be inspired! Don't wait till the next planned trip. The world is our classroom!
Next blog will be, D.V. (that's 'God willing' for you Latin students out there), will be Field Tripping 201 -- the Group Trip).
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Thursday, March 15, 2007 - Swim Gear to Feel Good About
Hi, Friends!
If you're like me, you are on a constant hunt for decent, modest clothes for your children. Sometimes, when it comes to swimwear, that hunt becomes more of a "jungle safari".
My safari has taken me to a website that offers patterns for sewing your own and some that have very modest but very pricey swimwear. However, I have to share that I think I found something that fits my tastes without completely emptying my pockets: www.landsend.com/kids .
This season, they are selling coverups that are quick drying: for boys and girls. They even have swim-capris!
Okay, here is where you'll be disappointed. I have no idea how to place photos on this site (LOL!), but use your imagination and picture it will me: I got quick-dry shorts for dd (she already had a swimsuit) and a cover up (which is like a mock turtleneck t-shirt) with matching swim trunks for oldest ds.
Landsend.com's service has been excellent. I placed my first order online. We tried matching the colors of the coverup with a pair of tie-dye swim trunks. No match. They allow you to return your unwanted items at any Sears location for free or you can use their return label for a small fee. Then, they sent me an email acknowledging my return and allowing me to reorder with *free shipping* (yippee!). Okay. I'm sold.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - Review for Copywork by Sandi Queen
We are using Copywork for Little Girls (Gr. 1-3) for dd 6yo and Copywork for Boys (for all ages) for ds 9yo.
I love 'em and the kids are enjoying them, too. It's their first assignment each day. The Gr. 1-3 book is consummable, but allows for younger children to copy very close to what they read. The "all ages" book is non-consummable and I have ds copy the assignment in a spiral notebook.
The assignments in Copywork for Boys are a mix of Bible verses, quotes from historical figures, historical documents, dictionary definitions, poems all with a goal, I believe, to impart to the young man good Christian morals and a biblical point of view concerning life, sin, etc.
In the Little Girls' book, there are quotes that deal with attitudes towards modesty which I know many Christians have differing opinions on. I will say so that you have an idea on how to gauge things that our family is "old fashioned" and "conservative" by the standards of some so we welcome such teachings as it affirms what my hubby and I are trying to impart to our daughter.
I highly recommend this line of copywork products as I have seen good results with my family. I hope this helps you in some way.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - A Caution About Elsie Dinsmore
How sad I was to read this review of the Elsie Dinsmore book series. I've never read the books myself, but I decided to research them as I was looking for good Christian literature for my daughter. Please click the link below:
http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/BookReviews/BookReviewDisplay.asp?key=1
I would appreciate any thoughts you'd like to share, including more appropriate recommendations.
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Thursday, December 14, 2006 - Child of the Week: a Parent's "Life Saving" Tool
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a teeny-weenie bit, but "Child of the Week" has been a real "life saver" when it comes to giving each of my 3 children a chance to feel special and to try to ensure that no one is left out when it comes to preferential treatment. So, what is "Child of the Week?" Well, this is how it works in our home: on a rotating schedule (starting on Sunday -- let's keep it simple for those over-burdened minds such as the ones parents walk around with
) our child of the week is the one who gets the "preferential" treatment: the one who gets to lick the spoon from the sour cream at dinner time; the one who gets the last of the favorite cereal, the last cookie, the last... you get the idea; the one who gets to go out with Mommy or Daddy when we only want to take ONE child with us and not the whole entourage; the one who gets to pick what we have for lunch when I'm stuck between a decision of whether to serve peanut butter and jelly or macaroni and cheese
(both are perennial favorites in our house, but given the option there is always one rebel
in the bunch who wants something different than the majority).
We have been doing "Child of the Week" for about a year now and I think it's the next best thing to sliced bread. As an added bonus, our "child" gets to pick a "book of the week" which is put on display for the whole week and I *try* to read it to them sometime during their week (hmmmm, I wonder how that will go when they've all moved out of the picture book phase).
In keeping with my motto, "I never reinvent the wheel," I'd like to give credit to a dear pastor and his wife for sharing this very helpful concept with me and that I now pass along to you.
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Thursday, December 14, 2006 - Field Tripping 201 - the Group Trip
!To whet your appetite, I'll start with places we've gone that were either arranged by me or fellow homeschoolers:
- nature walks
- pond study
- reptile study
- apple cider making
- maple sugaring
- museum/planetarium
- supermarket tour
- pet store tour
- Sesame Place (Langhorne, PA)
- musicals and music performances
There are just some trips that go better with friends
. Oftentimes, we've been studying something in our school work and have desired to take it further (the world is our classroom
) or just happened to notice a certain business gives tours to school groups (as in the case of the supermarket tour, which turned out to be my first introduction to Whole Foods Market and I've been a customer ever since).
First, find out what are the requirements for a "group." For example, you might have to have a minimum of 15 persons to be considered a group (and also find out if there is a limit on the number of persons in your group and/or age limits -- our planetarium trip was limited to 50 persons). Some trips are free to people who reside in a certain geographical area and a "charge" for others. If you come across this, don't be discouraged. Maybe you just need to "shop" a little closer to home.
Secondly, and especially for "pay" trips, is there a chaperone discount? Sesame Place gave a complimentary ticket for every 10th person in the group, so that definitely made it worth my while.
Third, get organized
. (Oh, no! No the "O" word.) Yes! If it's even on notebook paper, make columns for names, phone #s, number of children/adults, confirmation and/or payment for all the folks who will join you:
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Pick a date on your calendar, making sure there's nothing major happening the day before or after your trip.
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Call the place of interest and check out the times and days available, cost (what types of payment are acceptable and due date for payment), parking (and additional charge, if any), accessibility for special needs or strollers.
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Contact your group's Activity Coordinator and give her your info and make sure it's an "okay" trip. Send out info about your trip with date, time, directions, meal concerns (B.Y.O. or how/where to get it, if applicable), meeting place (if applicable) and cost* (please see note at the end).
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Prepare your kids for it by talking about it and/or getting videos/DVDs and books from the library on your subject (sometimes, even music if you're going to see a musical or instrumental performance). Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt; I've found that when it comes to field tripping, it breeds a deeper interest in what we're about to discover. About a week before, plan your meal for your field trip. Are you going to eat at home before going? Are you going to just snack and eat a meal when you get home? Our favorite to-go meal is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit (they don't require refrigeration unless it's a very hot day). Freezing sandwiches, I've read, is another way to preserve them till lunch time (though I have yet to try this method). In any case, if you've got money to burn, then bring it and eat out. However, if you're a penny-pincher like me, you've gotta plan ahead to save those pennies. A few days before, be sure to procure the items for the planned meal and make it either the night before or early in the morning.
*Concerning cost and payment: 
I have done this a few different ways. I've had checks made out to my homeschool group and had the Treasurer make one check. I've had folks make money order payments payable directly to the organization for our field trip. I've had folks pay me and I procured one payment (usually a money order) for the group. Once, after collecting all the monies, I charged the trip to my credit card. I haven't liked one method over the other. All I can say is, plan ahead! Tell your folks to pay at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance of when you really need it because if you've been around homeschoolers long enough you will discover that many of them operate on a different and slightly delayed time schedule 
(no offense meant, my sisters, 'cause I got nothin' but love for ya, ladies!). Keep this in mind: some companies are picky about how they get their payment. For example, Sesame Place likes "guaranteed" money: credit card, money order or certified check. "Regular" banks checks sometimes take days or almost a week to clear and although certified checks and money order clear fairly quickly, these kinds of payments add a little more time and effort to your planning so once again PLAN AHEAD and ask lots of questions to get as much details on your requirements as the coordinator of the trip you're planning so that things will go smoothly and you don't disappoint anyone.
Well, friends, I hope this helps you and inspires you. Happy field tripping!
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Monday, December 11, 2006 - Thirty-Five Things My Mommy Taught Me
- To fear no one, except God
- To be respectful to adults and those in authority
- To read
- To add
- To cook
- To sew
- To crochet
- To wash clothes (and remove stains)
- To dry my dishes before putting food on them because I wouldn't want to serve my (future) husband food on a wet plate
- To be thankful
- To work hard and not be lazy
- To wash myself every day and to make sure I have on clean underwear just in case I get into an accident while I'm out
- To make my bed because if something happened to me and people had to bring me home they won't think I'm a slob
- Eat all my food because there are people who would love to have what I had
- How to hide my money so as not to get robbed
- How to stretch my dollar farther by looking for sales and using coupons
- Don't talk your business to everybody
- Don't step on the grate! (The metal cellar doors or air ducts)
- Don't take candy from strangers
- Don't go to people's house "with your belly in your hand" (have a little something to eat before going to a party so that you don't look/act so hungry)
- Don't air your "dirty laundry" in the street (similar to "don't talk your business to everyone")
- Make sure the door is locked before going to bed
- If you don't have something, learn to do without it
- Mind your own business and you'll live longer (so far, so good, Ma)
- The way to a man's heart is through his stomach (this is working out really well, Ma!)
- "He's got more _____ than Carter got liver-pills!" (It took me most of my natural life to figure out what this means. Thanks for explaining that Carter's was a pharmacy in Jamaica)
- Always carry tissues in your purse because you never know when you'll get in a bathroom that doesn't have any (this piece of advice has been very handy)
- Never sit on a public toilet but if you have to sit, line it with toilet paper
- Waste not, want not -- and Mommy, I try not to waste anything. I'm the "Leftovers Princess"
- Always let someone know where you are
- "Save your tears for my grave"
- If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all (I'm sure I heard Mom quote this before Thumper in the movie, Bambi)
- "Too many cooks spoil the broth"
- "The walls have ears"
- (And last, but not least) How to be a loving, caring mommy
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Friday, November 17, 2006 - Shiller Math Kit 1 (4 to 8 yr. olds) Review
(Please note: this is an edited update from my original post about Shiller Math some months ago.)
I'm happy to share that we've been using Shiller Math since Sept '05 with my 6 year old and 4 year old and we are really enjoying it. We started them both on the very first book but as we went on, I had to start doing their lessons separately to accomodate their different levels of understand.
I have used Horizons K, BJU Math 1 & 2 with my oldest child, but I was yearning for something different for my middle and youngest. I too was intrigued when I received flyers in the mail last year about the curriculum. I'll give you my review in pros and cons:
Pros:
-Little to no prep whatsoever.
-No teacher's manual. Everything you need is right in the student workbook.
-Activities are very engaging; not much writing and lots of hands-on work.
-I'm a corny kind of person so I like the corny-but-catchy Math songs and so do my kids.
The songs have helped to solidify the concepts learned and made some easy to recall (ex. When doing examples that they need to find odd or even numbers all they have to do is sing the song).
-We can do as few or as many activities as we want. Sometimes I just ask my kids if they want to do more and they say "yes" and sometimes they are *begging* for more.
-The math is challenging and yet taught in such an effortless way that I have been impressed with what my children have been able to learn at such a young age (ex. Roman numerals, geometry concepts, probability, comparisons -- you know, greater than, less than, equal to and all their "cousins").
-My kids think working on the felt-type fabric is very *special*. Sometimes we work sitting on the living room rug and sometimes at the table.
Cons:
-I'm an apartment dweller so with limited space I have nowhere to set up my "math center". I keep all the materials in clear plastic containers and pull them out when we do it (about 1 - 3 x per wk). Oh, and I pull ALL the containers out (one big one and 3 smaller ones, plus the two wooden containers included with the program).
-Although the program boasts of a quick start method (just open the box and start) it took me a while to figure out what everything was for and then I discovered I had to assemble some of the cardboard thousand squares (mini-ugh). Some required reinforcing with clear packing tape.
-No teacher's edition means everything you need is right there in the student's workbook... including the answers !!! **NEWSFLASH** (July 2006) A very nice person from the Well-Trained Mind message board told me that this "problem" has been corrected in the newer books (hey, and thanks, Larry for doing that). The answers are in the back now.
-Some of the activities are hard to follow and sometimes my children don't understand or don't remember what to do in an activity (they sound pretty normal, right?
). I find myself having to lean on my natural creativity at times. For example, a couple of activities have asked for X amount of wooden circles and I had too few in my bag (hmmmm...) so I just substituted something else. And one activity *out of the blue* asked for "household materials" like Cheerios, paper clips, beans, etc. Another asked for dollar-bills (good thing we had them from using Saxon Math 3). We were already in the middle of our lesson I didn't feel like getting up to search for those items so I just substituted them for whatever was in my Shiller Math kit. Or, when my kids don't "get it" I pull out some unit cubes (included item here) to help make the mental word problem more concrete and if they still don't get it, give them the answer and start the exercise again to solidify the lesson. Something like this might be a turn-off for some.
-(Nov. 2006) Okay, I think I've decided that I don't like the tests. I basically treat them like any other activity, but if my children are expected to *know* what to do in each example without my help, leading and/or intervention, that's not going to happen. We've had to break up the tests, too, doing a few examples each time. I've logged the time it took us to complete some of these tests and it was well over 45 minutes. Again, having to lean on my natural ability to teach I now dub this curriculum a "teacher's curriculum" (meaning: if you're not good at making things up as you go along to make up for what's missing, you're probably not going to like this curriculum).
-(Nov. 2006) Customer service: Shiller Math has a nice website, but unless you can download you can't take full advantage of all they have to offer. I went on the site and requested they mail me a brochure of Kit II and they sent me the same ole general advertisement about the program that originally enticed me (I wanted to see what some of the pages for Kit II looked like. Maybe I wasn't clear). I requested a phone call which they said on the site would be "an immediate call back" -- I'm still waiting some weeks later.
-(Nov. 2006) Since no program is truly complete I do supplement with workbooks (DK's Math Made Easy Gr. K and 1, Golden Books "Numbers" and "I Can Add" and we're just about to embark on exploring a couple of Kumon Math Workbooks). This could be a pro as well as a con. Workbooks also are a nice way to see if your child is really learning from the Math curriculum you're using because s/he will be able to do the work from another publisher.
Well, I hope this is helpful. I now *hesistantly* recommend Shiller Math. It has been a success for our family, but I wonder how it's been for others (well, I know for one of my friends it wasn't. She posted her comment already. Well, I'm glad she's still my friend 
) .
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Monday, June 26, 2006 - Good Article! Ten things to do Before age ten by the Bluedorns
Okay. I might be late in discovering this, but someone on the Well-Trained Mind message board mentioned this article in passing. Although I think I'd make myself absolutely bonkers trying to accomplish everything listed, I do find it an excellent resource and starting point.
Please see: http://www.triviumpursuit.com/articles/ten_to_do_before_ten.php
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Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - Rosetta Stone Spanish I (Latin America Edition)
We got the free demo CD then purchased the Latin American Spanish package last year. It was bumpy starting off; I'm not very computer savvy so I had a friend install it for me
. Then trying to set up the Student Management Server was a bit hairy (BIG RECOMMENDATION HERE: don't do it alone. Call their toll-free tech support line. They will talk you through everything). Once we got things going it was great except it accelerated too quickly (phone call to tech support again, and they were happy to help me change the set up on my computer to make it easier for my children). Since this time, my children (ages 8 and 6) love it. My 6y.o. said, "Mommy, I want to do Spanish every day
!" Well, we do it about 2 - 3 times a week.
I also have Muzzy Spanish which I use as a supplement and bought coloring books in Spanish that they can color while listening to the audio portion of Muzzy.
We try to change up our Spanish assignments so the kids don't get bored or bogged-down. Sometimes it's the computer, sometime the Muzzy video, sometimes it's the audio tape and coloring books. I have also taken out a really cute CD from the library called Bilingual Songs Vol. 2 for "car schooling."
We are not a Spanish speaking family although I have an intermediate knowledge of Spanish. I tried using Powerglide Jr. with my oldest and did not get the same level of interest and excitement in learning as I do now with RS. I highly recommend it along with the strong recommendation to utilize their tech support whenever you need to.
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Monday, March 20, 2006 - Saxon Math 3
In a word: rigorous. We started using Saxon Math after using BJU Math for 1st and 2nd grade with my 1st born DS (aka: guinea pig)
. We began using BJU Math 3, but I started to notice that DS could not recall the simplest addition facts. I had made flashcards, I bought holey-cards, I made him do online practice sheets -- it seemed I had tried "everything." A fellow homeschooling friend liked Saxon 3 so since she was willing to loan me her teacher's guide I figured I had nothing to loose. I'm happy to report that things went well and Saxon Math 3 provided the drill and repetition with the facts that DS needed. I also liked how we had word problems that were on the same "theme" of the lesson (do you know how in some workbooks and curriculum word problems can be so random?) so they were easier to teach and solve because the word problem from the meeting time was similar to the two given on the worksheet. We did not complete Saxon Math 3 (we got up to about Lesson 130+) because some of the topic were much too challenging and I knew they would be covered in Saxon Math 5/4. Overall, I was grateful for the rigor of the program because we felt well-prepared to jump right into the next level with ease.
What Worked for Me
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As the fact cards were introduced in each lesson, I put them on a ring (purchased a pack of them from Staples office supply store) and had my son do them during his drill time (the first order of business each morning for him is to do Math and Latin drill cards). The rings open like a binder ring so it was easy to add them on till the ring got too heavy with cards and then I'd start another one.
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Doing some of the drill in the meeting got tedious so I'd only do them on some days. In this case, it's good to know our children and know how much *practice* they really need -- some need a lot and some not.
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Lessons were LONG, long, long and did I say long (one hour +)? Sometimes we'd do the meeting section one day and the practice sheet on another day. My advice: break it up if you need to.
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Always used a separate workbook for Math practice on days when we didn't have time for Saxon. I used DK's Math Made Easy. This was a good "measuring stick" to see if he was really *learning* the material.
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