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Thursday, January 8, 2009 - Training up a Child in Homeschool

Posted in About school


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His Words Have Not Fallen on Deaf Ears

Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 11:21 AM CST [General]

I had a sore throat yesterday, so during our morning Bible reading, dh read my part. It was from 1Corinthians. As he spoke the words of life, they leapt out at me... and I found myself deeply convicted. I was reminded of things I knew once, but had forgotten, and was granted new insight. 

I know that my children need instruction to gain more from their reading....and I heard :

"Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. " 1 Cor. 14:8-9

To me, this was clear call to work on our communication skills- a confirmation of what I had already begun to understand.

I knew that reading was not the most important thing to stress, but the individual gifts of each of my children. God made them a certain way for a certain purpose, and all of us are given gifts.  I heard:

"So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church." 1 Cor. 14:12 Called attention to the fact that I needed to use my gifts more in schooling. After all our family is an extension of the church, and I should be building it up.

This brought to mind the theory of multiple intelligences- the idea that there are many kinds of honorable talents that a person can possess. In our culture, we tend to look at only 1 or 2 types, test them and base our decisions about how productive a life someone will have in the future based on those few things. It also reminded me that tests cannot tell the whole truth about how well a person is doing.

That got me to thinking..... Maybe the type of test we used was inferior. It was a free test put out by a company that wants to sell products that boost reading skills. When I looked at each of my children's reports, they all recommended the same 3 products to help them get back on track- even my youngest, who was placing above his grade and age level.

For another thing, yes, dd has had a  past diagnoses of language learning delay. When she came home from public school, she struggled with those fill-in the-blank worksheets. You know the ones where there is a list of words to use at the top and you are supposed to find the one that completes each sentence?. Well, those were terribly hard for her. For some reason, even after instructing her, she failed again and again to recognize that the words at the top were the ones she was expected to use, and she just pulled words out of the air. The part of the test she didn't do so well on was that type of thing- except that each question had a choice of 4 words. I remember that when she took the test, she commented that for some of the questions, more than one of the words would fit. Then last night, I heard her telling dh that she thought it would be funny to put the wrong answer into some of them. But then she pushed the back button and redid the questions! If you have ever filled out anything online, you know that this is probably what messed up her result. It does show good reading comprehension, by the way, when you can make the sentence silly with one or more of the answers!

So.. I found another site that is supposed to help reading comprehension and it had a free test. this site isn't selling any products though. The good news is that dd placed only 1 year behind- 5th grade- and she will be entering 7th this year, which is expected, but can be worked on. The bad- or at least kind of scary news is that her first grade brother is  also testing out at 5th grade!

It wasn't too much of a surprise- my middle ds tested at 5th in 2nd grade..... and his comprehension has come up to average. So I got kids at all points in the spectrum.

 Some more of the Bible reading for yesterday was Psalm 37. it's all about living to please God and trusting him..

Trust in the LORD and do good;
       dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

 4 Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 5 Commit your way to the LORD;
       trust in him and he will do this:

 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
       when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
       do not fret—it leads only to evil.

 

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Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - Curriculum review with a game!

Posted in About school




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We just got a cool new game called Diploma Dogs. It is a comprehensive curriculum game for grades 3-8. I picked it up for about $15 at Walmart.
Don't let it fool you- it looks like your typical not very educational gimmick game.. but it's not!
It was challenging, and well worth the price. I was a bit disappointed that the little dogs inside were not ACTUALLY plush, beanie baby type dogs- they are plastic molded like today's rubber duckies.

 It may have been a bit too much for for Rowan Jesse, but I see at their website that there is a version for the younger crowd. Wish I had known that before he whined the first time we played and he didn't know the answers... but he actually didn't do too bad. The older kids know all about the concept of trial and error learning... I had a talk about Thomas Edison  and perseverance in thinking positively with Rowan:)

Now Rowan wants to play the game instead of having school!
I told him that I would be happy to play after school:)
It actually would be a great emergency fill in or for those days when school seems like a drag.
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Sunday, December 14, 2008 - Welcome to the Middle Ages

Posted in About school


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We have FINALLY escaped Rome
and we have just entered the MIddle Ages
 through The Door in the Wall


Just the other day, our AWOA curriculum prompted us to make  pumpernickel bread. I should say MOCK pumpernickel, because rye flour is hard to find around here- we just used bread flour  (that has buckwheat and malted barley in it in case you are wondering)
The surprise in this recipe is that it contains COCOA! of all the strange things! It can be found in the Betty Crocker cookbook- I am not going to post it here, because I am feeling lazy- it's SUNDAY, after all:)
We also made beef barley soup - very simple- just carrots, beef, garlic, a LOT of water, bay leaf, onion, salt and pepper. Rowan and I LOVED both the bread and the soup... for the big kids it was a lesson in thankfulness and an experience of what a GOOD meal was like in those days. Raymond seemed to like it  OK.
We were supposed to start an herb garden (like impossible at this time of year!), but we will have to settle for buying fresh herbs from our local Walmart*, when the time comes to use them in recipes and such.
We have watched some documentaries from Netflix and learned a bit about  some subjects we will cover including the black plague, cathedrals, castles, knights, Byzantines, Goths, relics, King Arthur, Robin Hood, the Crusades, Vikings and Normans.


This could be a lot of fun!
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Sunday, November 9, 2008 - Mythology and Evolution

Posted in About school


Myth Number 10: Computer simulations prove evolution
Computer Simulation
Every few months, a news report will trumpet a new computer program with “living cyber organisms” that prove how life on earth evolved.
Myth 9- Homologous (similar) structures prove evolution


Embryo images

It is a staple of almost every biology book on the market: drawings of colored bones that show how evolution left its fingerprints on animals of common descent. These drawings point out how similar structure proves that we all come from one ancestor. The proof, they say, is as plain as the hand in front of our face.

Myth 8: There Are Clear Transitional Fossils

Darwin Fish
Darwin fretted over the lack of them, paleontologists are still looking for them, but they are often touted as the foundation of evolutionary theory. What are they? Transitional fossils. According to evolutionists, transitional fossils are sparse for a number of reasons: (1) fossils in general only give us a glimpse of the past, (2) punctuated equilibrium may cause geologically “rapid” changes in species, and (3) they aren’t easy to distinguish.

Myth 7: Ape-Human DNA Similarities

DNA

The “slam dunk” proof for human evolution is, according to evolutionists, the claimed 98% similarity between human and chimp DNA and the evidence of chromosomal fusion. Textbooks tell us that this proves the common ancestry of humans and apes from ape-like beings that lived millions of years ago.

Myth 6: Apemen and Artistic License

Artistic ape-men

The pervasive ape-to-human montage that shows an ape-like being on the left slowly becoming a human on the right is so much a part of culture that most anyone can recognize it. Natural history museums and TV shows give us supposed glimpses into the past and how human ancestors might have looked. Too bad it’s all a sham.

Lucy—She’s No Lady

Myth 5: Bad Design

Giant Panda

If we look around us (and even in our own bodies), there are many structures that seem to show less-than-optimal design. What this means to some evolutionists is that this proves there is no creator. After all, a creator as intelligent as God would not have made imperfect designs.

Debunking this myth requires very little effort. First of all, how can humans judge what is optimal design?

Myth 4: Vestigial Organs

Appendix

While evolution does its dirty work, it leaves behind vestiges of its machinations, or so the argument goes. Evolutionists claim that humans and other animals have leftover organs and DNA that prove the power of mutations and natural selection. In fact, this is often touted as a powerful rebuttal to creationists.

Myth 3: Antibiotic Resistance


Bacilli
Do bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics? Yes, this is documented science. Does this prove Darwinian evolution? No, not even close.

Myth 2: Natural Selection Is Evolution in Action

Cat Kind

Natural selection is the driving force behind evolution. This mantra has been repeated so often that people often conflate the two ideas. But are evolution and natural selection the same thing?

Myth 1: All Scientists Agree

Scientist

When all is said and done, the ultimate “proof” of evolution is an appeal to human authority. We are often reminded by anti-creationists that virtually all “real” scientists agree that evolution happened.



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Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - UPDATES!!!!!

Posted in About school


The Bathroom------

 
Ok, the floor had water damage from the previous owners and so it crumbled and the toilet also broke because my husband was trying to fix it and dropped the tank lid on it..... So we had to fix it....Then we found that the damage went under the tub.. so we took out the tub... and then we tried to take the drain off the tub to replace it.,.. and the tub broke. So we had to get a shower, because the tubs cost more than we had... to make a long story short, we  have a toilet, plywood floor and a new shower that is a good size finally installed. The project cost us about $1000 so far and isn't finished.. we have vinyl flooring to lay, one wall to patch, .. walls to paint and the old vanity to put back in..... it will be a while....


School-

 


WE DID

start school again... last weekend. On Sunday... we are taking Tuesdays off at the moment because Harley is doing a community service project called Army of One for our church youth group.

We are reading Classsic Myths to Read Aloud, and just learned that the word NIKE means Victory in ancient Greek. My youngest, Rowan told me " Mom when you said we would go to the park today and we didn't, that was a MYTH!" Nevermind I didn't actually tell hom we were GOING to the park... and it RAINED... but he sort of gets the idea what a myth is. We are still using AWOA.. and today will be visiting the library.

I made up a cute system for the kids to keep a daily record of their school activities.. it works well with unit studies. I have made it up to look like a newspaper. There are 2  versions- one for the older kids and one for the younger one. I have decided to make them available to you for free:)



Read this document on Scribd: schoolnewsreport
Read this document on Scribd: littlekidsschoolnews
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Sunday, December 30, 2007 - School days.....

Posted in About school


Here we are at the beginning of the second part of our school year.
Trinity is working on her cats lapbook . Harley is delving deep into the world of King Arthur and the Roman invasion of Brittan. Rowan Jesse has decided that he wants to work on a lapbook all about cars. His Papa should be thrilled. I actually found it for FREE from Knowledgebox Central. I don't know how I managed that, but if you Google it, you might find it free like I did. They sell it for $15.
Working  3 unit studies into the schedule for 3 different kids has been a challenge, especially since we have only 1 computer and much of the work is online reading..... We have a Wii, which makes it a little easier to have 2 people using the internet, but the Wii is equipped with that dumb opera browser, and does not let them go to some websites because... I'm not sure why, but it just isn't compatible........I'm no computer genius and I REALLY know nothing about video games....... although if I had to choose a system that I kind of like- it would be Wii. It promotes exercise, creativity and interaction between family members more than most systems IMO. It was designed to "level the playing field" so that experienced gamers and their inexperienced( or just not good at video games) relatives (like me) can play together and the irregular players won't get SKUNKED. Raymond got it with our tax return last year..... I think it was a good thing, mostly....

Anyway..... I have to have the links printed out for the kid using the Wii to type in and attempt to go to. Sometimes it is a real pain and they can't get to the site or some of the links won't work or something.....
So we have had to revamp the schedule yet AGAIN.... It's ok. I am sure one of these days, ( God willing) that we will find the schedule we can work with for good. HA!
 Must be the ADD.... Or just our goofy mixed up lives...... Never boring around here, that's for sure!

Our new schedule is as follows.... Keep in mind that just because the classes are scheduled to be an hour apart, it does not mean that each class will be an hour. The times are just a guide to keep us on task, and ensure that if something is difficult or  more time-consuming for one child, they will have time, but will not have to work on it more than an hour.  I fully expect there to be a lot of open time in case we find teachable moments or want to go of on an interesting rabbit trail, or just to have a more relaxed atmosphere.  I am sure there will be lots of reading during that time. I have also given each child a "computer day" of their very own,( this means that they are free to use it for anything they want to do during downtimes for that day every week.) to minimize fighting and also to keep ME from being on the computer for too long... wasting time.....Repentance is REFRESHING! ( pray for me)

K12 is our source for free science classes.They also do a daily devotional when they do their science, so that takes care of Bible class for the time being. Our read aloud for now is "The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History" Lifeskills primarily consists of household tasks, but may come to include other activities at a later date. Record keeping is basically the children going over their chore and school charts to record what they have completed this week. We have trouble trying to get it done every day, so I put it in 2 times a week. Creativity is what I have named our Art/ music/fun creative expression time.


Monday: Trinity's computer day and laundry catch up day
Time Trinity Harley Rowan
9:30 am math k12 math
10:30am k-12 math workbooks
11:30am Lifeskills Lifeskills Lifeskills
12:30 pm lunch lunch lunch
1:30 pm read aloud read aloud read aloud


Tuesday: Rowan's computer day ,Kitchen work day
Time Trinity Harley Rowan
9:30 am record keeping k12 unit/lapbook
10:30 am Unit/lapbook math k12
11:30 am k12 record keeping workbooks
12:30 pm lunch lunch lunch
1:30 pm math unit record keeping
2:30 pm creativity creativity creativity
3:30pm     math














Wednesday:  Misc clean up day/bedroom
Time
Trinity
Harley

Rowan
9:30 am
clean bedroom
k12
Unit/lapbook
10:30 am
extra time
clean bedroom
k12
11:30 am
unit/lapbook
extra time
workbooks
12:30 pm
lunch
lunch
lunch
1:30 pm
read aloud
read aloud
read aloud
2:30pm

k12
unit/lapook ( Wii or offline)
clean bedroom


Thursday: Harley's computer day- Cleaning bathroom

Time

Trinity
Harley
Rowan
9:30 am
Unit/lapbook
k12
unit
10;30 am
PE
PE
PE
11:30 am
k12
unit/lapbook ( Wii or offline)
playtime
12:30 pm
lunch
lunch
lunch
1:30 pm
Library
Library
Library
2:30 pm
math
math
math


Friday: Living room/laundry area cleanup
Time

Trinity
Harley
Rowan
9:30 am
record keeping
record keeping
unit/lapbook
10;30 am
read aloud
read aloud
read aloud
11:30 am
math
math
math
12:30 pm
lunch
lunch
lunch
1:30 pm
unit/lapbook
lifeskills
workbooks
2:30 pm
lifeskills
unit/lapbook
lifeskills


butterfly
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Friday, December 14, 2007 - What have we been doing for school?

Posted in About school


Well, to be honest, not a whole lot!

I have been pretty idle, as far as housework and teaching " school  at home" type things. Only Rowan has done worksheets from his Big First Grade Workbook. and he has been using a Crayola Alphabet and numbers book for letter practice besides. He reads a lot on his own ( this is the kid who reads the dictionary for fun)

Harley and Trinity are helping with the knitting. Harley is really getting good at it. Last year he needed help, but this year he has just really taken off and is a great knitter!  I know SOME people might think this is not proper for a boy, but, knitting probably came from netting, and fisherMEN were probably the very first knitters! It is quite logical that the first disciples of Jesus were knitters, after all they were mending their nets when he came to them....

 We have been using the Online Advent Calendars, which is a blast. I never thought I would be sitting around the COMPUTER one day singing Christmas carols with the kids! I never thought they would be interested, but some of those calendars have the words and they just started right in!

I guess you could say that we have "unschooled" for about 2 weeks. Sometimes I just don't feel like that "counts". I know that it is a viable philosophy for some people, but I am not comfortable enough with it to let that be their main style of instruction, even for a few weeks. I know, It's ok, we have school year round, and usually we don't do a lot in December.... but I feel guilty about it sometimes.....  Where does that come from? I know they are learning, and they are doing what they love at the same time. They have progressed this year more than usual.
Anyway..... I bought 2 unit studies from  hs highlights at the beginning of the school year. They are a little cheaper than the estore sometimes, and right now they have a great sale- learning packs , include several units for only $10. They are down loadable. I got "All About Cats" and "King Arthur" from Brandenburg. Trinity is working on the cat one, and Harley is working on the King Arthur one. We are converting them from notebook and bulletin board projects to lap books. The kids are designing them all by themselves. I will post pics  when they get done.

 The older set are also doing geometry for math this year from Mammoth Math. They love it, and I am glad to be doing something besides prodding one special needs child to TRY because math is their bane....
Maria at Mammoth Math says that sometimes while you do geometry, the brain "chews the cud" in the background. I hope it works!

We are still doing the science on K12-Free Homeschool, and the kids like it quite a bit.

I have to get something done today.... See ya later!





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Free Glitter Graphics
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Bears at Henry Vila Zoo

Posted in About school


We went to Henry Vila Zoo last week and I finally got together a slide show. Yes, I am still sick, but I am BORED and I need to get my mind off of the pain, because nothing makes it go away!
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