Aug. 23, 2008 - Sizing up Matters

Sizing Up Matters

As a homeschooler (and someone VERY into Biblical Astronomy)... these pictures really tooted my whistle.  ((R'something.))  I thought you might enjoy them, too.  I left them enlargeable so's you could see better (I only have so much width in my format here...)

Earth compared to the smaller planets in our system

 
Adding in the bigger planets, now...


In relation to the sun... 

 
That little arrow is pointing to our sun, btw...

 
This was a hubble picture taken after the aperature was left open for several days...
those aren't stars, they're GALAXIES.

Same picture, zoomed in.  See the different kinds of galaxies?  There are gazillions...

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Apr. 19, 2008 - Time Lining

Time Lining

I'm having SERIOUS troubles with my Book of Centuries. 

The Book of Centuries is a Charlotte Mason thang - Charlotte Mason being the home education approach I use in teaching my kids.  The idea is to take the events and people that we read about - in history, in music, in art, and in Bible - and put them on a 'timeline'.  Only because of the vast number of people and events involved, the timeline would wrap around the house eight times if you did it on index cards and stuck it to the wall like a border.  So Charlotte Mason suggested a "Book of Centuries".  Where you designate however many pages you need to each period, and if you need more, you can add them.  It makes a 'book' in chronological order of everything, so the child can see that King George V was at the same time as President Roosevelt, Salvador Dali and Gershwin... (or whatever, I haven't a clue, as I'm a victim of public school education - sucks to be me.). 

My problem is with BC. (Or BCE, if you're politically correct, which I'm too stubborn to be.)  I've looked at several charts on line (some provided by my homeschool group, some by friends) and the one in my KJV/TCR... and it just doesn't add up for me - what they're claiming.  So I'm gonna 'talk' this out, and figure out history here.  History based on a Biblical Worldview... which would mean that the earth is only (roughly) 6000 years old.

We have to start with the assumption that there are going to be 6000 millinea of human history before the Millineal Reign of Messiah, right?  Because Yah always works in sevens - ALWAYS - when it comes to this stuff, and seven is always reserved for Him.  And that would mean the years between 7000 to 8000 are His. 

And we know that there are two millinea BEFORE that which start with Yeshua's death and go thru to Judgment Day, right?  That'd be the Age of Grace... 6000 to 5000, and 5000 to 4000.  (Check the top left of my site - right now we're in 5768, give or take 230 years (since the Jewish calendar skips about 230 years of the Persian Empire's rule... btdt, already, on the sidebar).  Which means BEFORE Messiah's time on earth, there were FOUR millinea... 4000 to 3000, 3000 to 2000, 2000 to 1000, snd 1000 to 0... right?  I've got that.

There are also SIX covenants: the Adamic, the Noahide, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, and the Davidic... and then the Messianic covenant.  ((Six covenants, six thousand-year periods before Yah sets up His eternal kingdom... six being the number of mankind.))  So I figured that those five 'BC' covenants would fit into the five thousand-year periods evenly, somehow.  But they don't on the other people's charts.  And you know me... I can't just buy whatever everyone else says.  And I know there are ways to calculate actual events from the Bible, because of all of those beautiful geneologies (that I thought were blah-blah-blah when I was younger).  So - not being one to take people's word, I was on a mission.

First, I sat down and logged how old the Earth was using Genesis geneologies in chapters 5 and 10.  Because I'm anal (and I wanted to see it myself)... but if you want from Adam (the fall, beginning of 'aging process') to Abraham's departure from his father... you can get it right here.  It matches my study precisely, only it's printable and I don't have to graph the sucker all over again, thank heavens.

But now we run into another problem.  Because of the oh-so-stOOpid-ass Catholic church that decided Yahweh's calendar wasn't good enough, and went with a Gregorian one, instead.  So we don't USE the Hebrew calendar, so 0 is actually 5000BC.  Everything is bass-ackwards.  Just my luck.  Don't make it easy, or anything, on me... OR on the kids.  ((I'm so sick of Catholic BS...))

Time is a measurement - the measurement of deterioration of things.  You might not have known that, but it's true.  And before The Fall of man, there was no keeping of time, because there was no 'death' - no deterioration.  Now, since Adam eating the fruit brought in 'death' (deterioration), we know that The Fall occurred at 0.  Cain and Abel were before Seth's birth (which was when Adam was 130), so they were first millineum, Enoch was 987, which would put him in the first millineum, too.  So on my Book of Centuries pages labeled 5000BC, there should be Creation (before it, actually), then The Temptation in Eden (5000BC), then Cain kills Abel (4900BC-ish), and then Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him (4013BC).  I probably should've labeled the page 5000BC to 4000BC, but I didn't, so I gots t'deal with that.  Within here falls the Adamic Covenant.

The Great Flood dates to 1656 years into life, which would be 3344BC.  (5000-1656=3344).  Which ISN'T what the home ed chart says (2400BC) OR what my Bible helps say (2348BC).  And I don't know where they got their numbers from.  But it doesn't matter, because I don't trust other people, and my numbers match scripture, so... pbbbbbt.  So on the page labeled 4000BC to 3000BC, you would start with The Flood.  Unless you're like me and have to include the dividing of the continents, the formation of the Earth's rifts, the collapse of the external hydrous layers, and the Earth being thrown off kilter. 

In addition, there's the Tower of Babel, which of course isn't dated... BUT...!!  In the Genesis 10 geneology of Shem, it says Peleg was named "divided", because that's when the land was divided.  I tried to look that up (what do they mean by 'divided'?) and the two explanations were either a geographical division (separation of continents) or a demographic division (peoples separating).  Since the continents separated at The Flood, that left a demographic division, and wouldn't you know that Peleg's place in the lineage lined up almost perfectly with Nimrod and Babel - the creation of all the languages of the Earth by Yahweh!  WOOOOT!  Which puts the Tower of Babel at 3215BC-ish.  I'm wondering if I couldn't do the whole Ishtar/Tammuz/Nimrod thang in there, too... y'know, Easter bunnies, ham, eggs, etc.?  Hrm... being me, I think I probably will.  It'll fill the pages, too.  Within here falls the Noahide Covenant.

Next up, Abraham.  According to the geneologies, he left home in 2979BC, and Sodom and Gomorrah were pulverized into ash in or near 2955BC.  The Akeda (near-sacrifice of Isaac) isn't date-able, but my guess is that Isaac was 12-ish (based on Yah's precedence with numbers), and that'd make Abraham 112 and place it in 2942BC(ish).   Jacob would've been born in 2894.  Because the selling of the birthright happened over lentil soup (somebody died) and follows Abraham's death directly, Jacob would've been 15 years old when he bought a birthright with a bowl of soup - in 2879BC.  Jacob left his family after Esau married at 40, so he was probably about that age (they were twins, recall) when he saw the stairway to heaven and was called by Yahoveh - 2844BC.  Which would make sense, as 40 is another biggie number with Yah.  Within here falls the Abrahamic Covenant.

But that's not all that happened between 3000BC to 2000BC.  But the next part is tricky, because there aren't a lot of dates given for Joseph.  We know he was 17 when he got the coat of many colors and started having dreams, but we don't know when he was born, so we have to go to his father's death date and work backwards.  Jacob lived 147 years, and spent the last 17 in Egypt.  He went to Egypt 2 years into the famine.  There were 7 years of plenty before the famine.  And Joseph was 30 when he stood before Pharoah and interpreted the dream about the famine and became a ruler.  So Jacob had Joseph when he was 91... in 2803BC.  Which means the coat of many colors was 2786BC.  Which puts Joseph as ruler at 2773BC.  Joseph lived 110 years, and then we have a 400 year (ish) period of bondage for the Israelites in Egypt, putting us near 2293BC for Moses' birth/basket trip.  He was 80 when he went before Pharoah and the plagues took place, so that would be 2213BC.  Then we have 40 years in the wilderness, which would bring us somewhere in the neighborhood of 2173BC, which is also the death of Moses (which I'm not sure was actually a death: check out Deut 34:7, Jude 1:9).  Then comes Joshua & Jericho, which leads to a slew of other battles.  ((Get it, a slew...?  Hahaha!))  Within here falls the Mosaic Covenant.

And... I'm stopping there for the day.  My brain is fried.  I'd love to have someone check my numbers, because I could've botched it up easily (that was a LOT of numbers, people!)... maybe I'll have Brian check me.  Oh, how happy that would make him.  ((Nnnnnnot.))  But anyhow, at least I have things sorted out for the first three millinieum, right?  All that's left is 2100BC thru 0BC... bwahahahahaha...  my, look at the time..!

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Apr. 14, 2008 - I've looked at Clouds...

I've Looked at Clouds (from both sides, now) I am SO. GEEKED.  I'm gonna learn about clouds.  I've looked at clouds from both sides now, from win and lose, and still somehow it's cloud's illusions I recall - I really don't know clouds at all.  ((From my junior year 70's folk song phase... when I used to wander in the woods on base and sing Joan Baez songs.  Yes, I was a very odd young girl.)) Last year we showcased birds.  I didn't even intend to, it just happened.  We put up three birdfeeders - a finch feeder, a suet feeder, and a regular feeder (and in the summer, a hummingbird feeder).  And they just... came!  It was phenomenal.  And I think we got more varieties because our backyard is only 15 feet wide (before you hit the woods), so coming to the feeder didn't mean exposing themselves too badly.  We had house finch, yellow finch, black-capped chickadees, titmouses (titmice?), nuthatches, cardinals, bluebirds, cowbirds, rock pidgeon, grosbeak, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers, hummingbirds and sparrows (of course).  We took pictures for our nature notebooks, and even did the National Backyard Bird Count. This year, we didn't get into it as much.  And I wondered what we should do for our science study.  Oh, I have Discover & Do DVDs with 'in the kitchen' experiments involving air, water, and heat, but they're really hokey, and don't lend themselves to anything.  I like things that we can use everyday, that have meaning.  Usefulness.  ((I'm pathetic.)) This morning on my survival posts, someone talked about predicting weather by cloud watching.  It piqued my interest, lemme tell you.  I know there are different clouds... like cumulus (that's the only one I know the name for, sadly!)... and I know "Red sky at night, sailor's delight" (red sunsets mean a beautiful next day) and "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning" (red sunrises mean rain's coming).  I know that if it rain's on Sunday it rains three days after.  I know that if it rains on Easter it will rain the next six Sundays.  I know that if the rain starts before seven (a.m.), it'll end before eleven (a.m.).  ((NoTe: Unless one of the previous rules apply.))  I know "Winds in the West, fish bite the best, Winds in the East, fish bite the least, Winds in the south, hook's in the mouth."  I'm really good with those little addages.  But reading clouds sounds FASCINATING!!!  A great addtion to my little collection of ditties (which, btw, work WAY better than the meteorologist, I might add!) First, I went to the local library site and typed in 'weather', which brought up some children's books with experiments that had to do with weather.  I ordered a few of them, then typed in 'weather identification', because it wasn't so broad a keyword.  They had one of the books the survival site recommended, and a few that looked fascinating.  I also found a weather DVD, so we could watch a movie and learn visually, too.  It'll be here in a week... WooooT!!! So next I downloaded the powerpoint presentation from the Maritime site... but it's like a slideshow meant to accompany a lecture (that I don't have access to).  However, Chart 4-25 (air circulation) was worth printing out, so I did that... and learned that "the Doldrums" is the belt at the equator that doesn't have much wind action.  ((And here I thought 'the doldrums' was feeling blah!  Now I know where that came from!!)) Then I pulled up Wayfinder's cloud identification page.  I'm gonna condense it using Word, because there's good information there, and a KEWL chart showing the types of clouds, where they range in the sky, and what their names are.  ((And who knows what else - I haven't read the sucker yet!))  But the chart is hand-drawn, and I would like REAL pictures of the different clouds for our notebooks, so, I went hunting for picture for our notebooks.  ((uPDaTe:  I like this picture of clouds...!)) There's also a cloud matching game for kids to learn the different names.  I could use that, hello!!  And how about this:  A cloud identifier wheel for kids!  ((I'd like to make that, too!!))  And how about make your own anemometer (wind measurer-er) out of dixie cups.  And another wheel... a wind scale (like this, too!!) Going to Yahoo, I typed in "types of clouds" and this led me to pictures, kid sites, info sites... I have my work cut out for me today!  But I'm really really excited about it!!  Isn't research interesting!!?!

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Feb. 12, 2008 - Paper Cuts

Paper Cuts

I found a book at Goodwill called "Paper Crafts".  It teaches how to make all the fun paper things, like an origami swan, a jumping frog, one of those 'answer' games that open and close, snowflakes, paper snappers and more.  And we decided to make the people.  You know... you fold the paper and fold it again, and cut half a person, and when you unfold it, they're a string of people?  I made Isaac a boy one, and Lydia a girl one... and then while they were trying to make their own...?

Well... um, sometimes I just have a *little* too much fun.

Why, yes, I get a little overly creative at times...  ((((blush!))))
... I really, really, really need to get a life...

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Jan. 8, 2008 - Book of Centuries

Book of Centuries

ANOTHER one of my New Years' Aspirations was to post more pictures on my site.  And I've been meaning to share this with you - particularly the homeschool moms who frequent this site.

I home educate using Charlotte Mason's methodology via a site called Ambleside Online.  ((Ambleside being the locale in England where Charlotte taught her girls.))  There are quite a few kewl things about this method - first, it's well-rounded, including classical artists, composers, literature, poetry, and the KJV of the Bible.  Secondly, it's almost all free - the books are all available either on-line (can be printed or read via PC) or at the library.  If you're clever, you can even get the math and grammar lessons free - I use MEP Math (free here) and Scott Foresman Grammer (free here).  Third, they PROVIDE a number of schedules for you, and you can modify to your hearts content.  Further, there are literally DOZENS of e-mail groups to join for support in case you need ideas (or want to bum links to sources off other moms and save yourself a LOT of time.).  Also, Charlotte Mason is very much about getting out and seeing things and learning thru experiences.

One of the things that she endorses is called the Book of Centuries.  I know you've all heard me talk about this here, but might not understand what this is.  It's a timeline in a book, basically.  As your child reads about King Henry VIII or Napoleon, he puts their picture and a caption in the Book of Centuries, in the proper era, and then he can flip thru it and see where everything falls, and know what happened about the same time.  The Book of Centuries can be made any way you like... some ladies do index cards instead of a book, some have a schoolroom and make a HUGE timeline around the top of the wall and stick the pictures on that.  ((That doesn't travel as well and isn't keep-able and isn't personalized by the child and isn't as hands-on, IMO.))  I chose to comb bind pages with eras at the top.

5000BC thru 1AD are in thousand year periods.  1AD thru 1900AD are in hundred year periods.  1900AD thru the present are in 10 year periods.  And of course, I may modify it later, but right now each period has a two-page spread.  And the cover looks like this.

We just started our Books this year, so we're not very far yet.  But my goal is to find non-twaddly, black and white pictures for us to color and put in our books.  ((Twaddle is cartoony, unrealistic stuff.  Compare DaVinci's sketches to SpongeBob and you'll understand twaddle vs. non-twaddle.))  BTW, this is NOT easy to do with Biblical eras... coloring pages with bubble drawings abound... there ain't much for nice non-twaddle illustrations.  UNLESS... you happen to be me and find an antique hardcover version of Gustav Dore's Biblical Illustrations at an antique store and pick it up four years before you even have children.  ((wink!))

We actually started off with the 'Creation Page'  I spent a week with the kids just working on this.  Each day we did a day of creation, and what happened, and then drew it ourselves.  Here's my creation page... and you can see it was just boxes and we did our own drawings inside of them.

Then I started collecting pictures for the stories to follow.  Not EVERY story, mind you.  I don't have pictures of Sarah laughing at the news of a baby, or Abraham and Lot parting ways, or Noah's drunken mistake, for example.  But Adam and Eve's fall, Cain and Abel, Noah's ark, and the major ones are in our Book of Centuries.  And we simply added color to the already beautiful pictures.  And yes, Isaac's are scribbled on, but he can re-do them later when Aaron's doing thru and doing his classes.  The point is to get them to be involved right now, regardless of their skill level.

Here's a sample page of pictures, including the Tower of Babel, Lot's wife (destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah), the Akeda, Rebekah at the well, and Hagar and Ishmael in the desert.

I'm hoping to put together a page on my regular website of the illustrations we use as we go along (not all of them are Dore).  I think that might be helpful to other mom's working on their books and looking for non-twaddle illustrations.  We shall see what I get to.  But there's the general idea, and how I'm implementing it.  Just thought I'd share!

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Jul. 13, 2007 - Nature Notebooking

HomeSchool Hints - Nature Journals

Someone in my local group asked what people do for Nature Journals, and I started to e-mail this long, LONG, L.O.N.G, thing to her, but changed my mind.  Because if I just write it up here and link her, it's available to WAY more people, right?  And it's been a while since I posted about home educational shtuff on my site.  So today...?  NATURE JOURNALS!!  But one *small* preface:  I'm a Charlotte Mason (via Ambleside Online) home educator.  This is important to note because it means that nature journals are PIVITOL to our learning curriculum.  It also will explain why I use the things I use.  ((Excepting that it doesn't explain the other *small* preface:  I'm cheeeeeep.  Dirt cheap.  So most of what I have/do is free.)  Anyhow, if you're interested in nature journaling ideas, read on!

First, I went to RiteAid and got clearance 3-ring binders.  The white type you can make your own slip-in cover for.  I got six of them - one for Brian, me, Lydia, Isaac, Ethan, and pending child #4.  Then I made matching covers, each with each person's name on it, and little paw prints... use your search engine for graphics n' such.  Or...!!   Ironically, THIS WEEK ONLY, eHomeschool Store is offering free journaling pages for Nature Notebooks.  They're free, but you have to sign-up for a password.  ((They have weekly freebies, so it's worth it.  This week just happens to be journal page templates.))

Then I made sections for our notebook, and for ease of explanation, I'll go thru this section by section, k?

  6 DAYS OF CREATION
I actually don't know how I'm going to do this, yet... finding free coloring pages on-line, or what.  I'm thinking a two-page layout for each one, with the Bible verses, the list of what would've fit into that day's creation... and then a coloring page or hand-drawing or something.  But I think every nature journal should start at the very beginning:  Genesis.  Personal opinion, of course.  ((UPDATE: Found two resources/ideas that might be good.))

#1 -   http://www.storyit.com/maps/creationsmap.pdf
Gorgeous Creation 'plates' - free printables

  BIRDS
I printed off the identification pages and coloring sheets (free) from this site for us to use in identifying birds.  Then we put up a birdfeeder (it's a pole with four cross poles to hang stuff from... on top we mounted a feeder that is filled with black seed (brings in house sparrows, titmouse, nuthatch, cardinals, sparrows, grosbeak, and the goldfinch eat it in the summer).  Hanging is a hummingbird feeder (four cups water boiled to 2 cups sugar dissolved - DON'T add red food coloring, it harms the birds digestive tracts)... we have three - two males, one female.  Then two finch feeders (winter only) and a suet holder (brings in downys, red-bellied woodpeckers, and Nutty (nuthatch) will eat it, too. 

In conjunction we use Burgess Bird Book (I read the stories) LINK HERE
and North American Wildlife (Lydia looks up/at the birds we're reading about)  LINK HERE

   CREATURE LOG
I got hold of free pages for this, too, and we'll use the North Am Wildlife book and take pictures (or copy them from on-line) for this, too... unfortunately, I can't find it on-line (it was a .pdf I downloaded to my PC, and I can e-mail it to you, if you'd like). 

In conjunction, we'll be using Burgess Animal Book (in Year 2): LINK HERE
and North American Wildlife (see link above).

   TREES & WILDFLOWERS
I didn't have pages for this, so I made some.  ((grins))  Pretty much what I did was put lines across the bottom half of a page (for journaling) and left the top blank (for sketches, or to tape dried, pressed, laminated, or photo examples to.  I'm sure the freebie pages at HomeSchool e-store are prettier, and would work just as well.

   METEOROLOGY
Not sure we'll do this right away, but I want to have a section for different kinds of weather.  Looking at hurricanes, drought, tornadoes, blizzards, hail, snow, rain (water cycles), fog (why/how)... anything like that.  We could do a whole subsection on clouds... I'm interested in what clouds mean what kind of weather, and there's actually a BOOK out on it, too!!  ((But not now.  I'm *really* quite busy as it is, thankyouverymuch.))  We may just start out this section by looking at the four seasons and their changes... taking pictures, etc.  Start small, work into things as we go.  Y'know.  ((grins))

   ASTRONOMY JOURNAL
Those of you who read my site know that I'm VERY into Biblical Astronomy and stargazing.  Anyhow, my last home-ed blog was about Astronomy, but I'll recap very quickly and in terms of our journaling pages for ya here.  ((wink!))  First, I bought two books:

Astronomy for all Ages: This is for when we do a study of the planets/stars/etc. in a later year.  It's a lesson book, more in-depth and involved than what my younger students right now can handle.  But it looked FANTASTIC, so I got it.

Constellations of the Night Sky:  This is a coloring book with a picture of what the constellation looks like, a picture of the story behind the constellation, and a short story explaining the myth behind it.  HOWEVER, I do not plan on using this book as it is.

Here's the plan:  I'm putting together three pages for each constellation.  The first page will be the name of the constellaion, and a picture of ALL the stars in the sky (for placement purposes - copied from front cover of CotNS), and the constellation we're focusing on will be highlighted among them, so they can 'find' it in relation to the other stars.  The second page will be black construction paper taped to the top half.  We'll use my scrabooking punch tool to 'punch out' what the constellation looks like in the sky from the black paper (the white paper will show thru as the 'stars' in the constellation.  Under it will be the Bible verse that goes with the sign.  ((In case you didn't know, each of the 'zodiak' was originally one of the signs of the 12 tribes of Israel.))  I may also include as a postnote what the 'myth' behind it was, but the focus will be on the Bible perspective of things.  The next page will be blank on the top half, so we can draw the shape of the constellation (dots n' lines), and on the bottom will be the picture from CotNS of what the constellation represents.  The last page will be the coloring picture from CotNS of the story behind the constellation.

In addition, there's going to be a sub-section with just lined pages for observation nights... what we saw, what we liked, how clear it was, what was unusual.... like August 12th is a MAJOR meteor shower, and we'll be star-gazing that night.  That kind of thing. 

We will also (in conjunction to our study) be incorporating the following:
Make your own Telescope:  You can BUILD YOUR OWN TELESCOPE for a fraction of the cost... I did a little hunting and found two different builder plans for it... and we might just try it... since these scopes run $800 a piece (they're called Dobsonian reflector scopes... Dobsonian for the easily maneuverable base and mount, and reflector because of the mirror system inside of it).  It's still expensive, but not nearly as expensive as buying one, I hear.
Make your own Planisphere: Make your own planisphere in order to lay under the stars and easily find the constellations.  Fun little gadget you print off and laminate, it looks like.
Free computer astronomy program: Stellarium.org has a downloadable program that shows the heavens and you can freeze and move within it... VERY useful tool in helping kids locate and identify constellations and such.  It's FREE, too, so that's also VERY kewl.

   GARDENING LOG
Because we're only site prepping this year, I'm not organized on how to do this, yet.  I know we'll graph out our garden, learn about the different plants (what foods they're in, what they look like, how long it takes to grow them, etc.)... I've yet to explore what resources (free ones, of course!) are available to help us with this section.  It's blank right now... but DEFINITELY planned on for the future.  Pictures, seeds, snapshots, observations... it'll all be there.  I'm just not ready, yet.  Still busy reading the Square Foot Garden book, erecting vertical frames, making walkways out of free pallets, considering crops, etc. 

((UPDATE:  Found two interesting looking ideas for this, too:))

#1 - http://www.download.com/My-Garden-Journal/3000-2130_4-6209162.html
         A free trial version of a garden log, with charting ideas and tips.

#2 - http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/urban_homestead/86995
       "Journal of the Green"... the concept is to make a log that charts years side-by-side.

   FARM JOURNAL
As of now, we have no farm.  We have no critters (fish don't count - cold-blooded).  BUT... I'm thinking seriously of rabbits (outdoors) and ducks (outdoors) and maybe even a goat or two (outdoors, silly!).  Should we do so, we'll need to log about their diet, habits, growth, etc.  Our bee-keeping will fall into this catagory, too - once I get the top bar hive we're planning on building (free plan) ready to go.

   LANDSCAPING LOG
Yet another section only planned, not actually layed out yet.  ((Hey, I do my best!))  This would be the cut flower and bush section... plants like hosta and lilies, lilacs and roses.  Whatever we decide to do, where we put it, how it grows, what it looks like... pressed examples of leaves, and more.  Our yard graphed out by each kid.  Things like that.  Maybe yardwork log sheets, showing how they helped with composting, or with the fertilizing or whatever.  I don't know yet.  But there are possibilities!

   SKETCH PAGES
Okay, this *technically* isn't a 'section', but I think it's important to have blank pages (or pages half blank, half lined) for kids to draw on when they see something... a spider web that's unusual... a sunset, a landscape, whatever.  Be prepared, as the Boy Scouts say!!

ANYHOOO.... there's the plan so far.  It's going to be quite the book when we're done, but having it all in one place and semi-sorta organized sounds like the only manageable way to do this, so there's what I have so far.  I can come back and add links to this post as I find more free pages n' stuff... and if you have any that you think would be helpful/useful, PLEASE comment, k?  You don't have to have an account to do so.  Thanks!!

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Jan. 30, 2007 - Handicraft Schedule

I've been working my HINEY off on copying schedules, booklists, printable materials and more since the beginning of the new year.  Some of you follow my thoughts at my main site, and know that I believe there's a good possibility that the Tribulation started January 1, 2007 (with Solana's 7-year treaty with Israel going into effect - known as the European Neighborhood Policy Initiative).  If this is the case, I figure there's a realistic possibility that I won't have access to AmbleSide On-line in the coming years.  Which means I need to download the information NOW.

Which isn't a bad idea in any case.  I mean, who knows when my finances might take a wild turn and we won't be able to afford the Internet.  Who knows when AmbleSide will no longer be free, or if there might be a virus wiping out the site?  Paper back-up is important.  I believe in that.

Anyhow, I've been scheduling and making up charts and graphs and all sorts of things... but there's no schedule of Handicrafts on Ambleside.  And weekly work on Handicrafts is a part of CM home education... because not only should a child know historical, geographic, mathmatical, grammatical, and artistic knowledge, but practical knowledge is important, too.

So I've been putting together handicraft schedules.  I've read half a dozen e-mails from mothers who had NO idea what to do with their kids... I'm not about to become one of them.  And my husband teases me - "if it's the end of the world, schooling isn't going to be a concern"... but he's wrong.  The kids are going to need to learn to read - even in the event of trouble.  They're going to need to know how to read a compass, how to add, how to function.  It's silly to think they won't need to learn anymore!

Anyhow - LONG story short - I wanted to link my handicraft schedules here, since this is where I 'store' my homeschool information.

Year 2 Handicrafts
Year 3 Handicrafts
Year 4 Handicrafts
Year 5 Handicrafts

I may do more at a later date, but right now just printing off all of these is keeping me REALLY busy.  That and copying chapters of books from Baldwin Project.  And all of this on top of actually schooling, blogging, TorahClass, keeping up with my news sources, and more.  Anyhow... there they are!!   Oh, and I should note that I'm correcting errors as I go through and print them, so if you find one before I get there, please let me know.  Also - FamilyFun often comes up with a message that says "There is no file for this craft" or something equally silly.  Just hit the refresh button and it'll show up.

PS:  I'm no longer keeping track of our readings here, and am going to be deleting the posts.  I'm doing it on Excel now so that I can keep them all together, alphabetize them, and print them easier.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

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Jan. 25, 2007 - Socialization Sucks

So we've been cooped up in the house since Saturday.  So Wednesdays used to be NotAwana, recently replaced with McDonald's playland nite.  So I needed milk and diaper wipes (because you just KNEW the moment I mentioned on Xanga that we went SIX WHOLE DAYS without Isaac peessing and pooing up my world, that SOMETHING would happen, and I no sooner hit the 'submit' button and he blew out a pair of 'Wite-um A'Queen' big-boy pants and then squirted piss at my sofa.  Today was only slightly better - we didn't have the freeflowing urine, but he managed to smear **** from armpit to toenail, not missing his Spiderman big-boy britches.).  Needless to say, I needed to get OUT of this HOUSE last night.

So Brian took us to supper.  For a change from McDonalds, we opted for BurgerKing's playland (which I'd hoped would be quieter).  Forgetting, of course, that Burger King is twice as slow and five hundred times dirtier than Mickey D's.  ((Remind me next time, will you?))  Anyhow because Isaac behaved like a baby, he wasn't going to be allowed to play this time... big boys run n' play, babies who poop in their britches stay at the table and watch.

So, we got there, I'm chanting my silent 'socialization' mantra, we... eventually got food and ate it, and then headed for the play area.  ((I'm a firm believer in eating OUTSIDE the play area FIRST, then moving into the playland to play... makes for a cleaner play area, a more civilized mealtime, and less distractions.))

When we went into the play area, it was empty except for three women at a single table, and about seven small children.  It was too small to be a MOPS outing, but the mix of ladies/children said they weren't related.  I assumed they were some sort of clique or other, and their children all had Bible names (there was an Ethan, a Mary, an Abigail... okay, and a William, who's mother called him 'darling'.  DARLing.)  They were... 'churchy' women.  Development dwelling, latest-fashion wearing, private school sending mothers.  Who else would call their 3 year old 'darling'?  ((snort))  They saw my kids coming and they packed up and left.  Like I didn't see THAT coming.  And they witch about MY lack of socialization.  Guess it all depends on who you're socializing with.  That's half of why we GO TO Burger King instead of Wednesday Worship.

So Ethan and Lydia are playing, having a good time, and we hear kids coming.  LOUD kids coming.  I'm not about to pack up and leave like the snobs... Lydia would love someone to play with, and Ethan's just not used to other kids - it'd be good for him.  Or so I thought.

The kids that came in were Black.  Not that I'm stereotyping here, but... okay, my observations have led me to believe that African American children are raised to be not only more aggressive but less respectful than we generic-skinned losers.  ((This does not mean I've changed my mind - I still wish I had ethnicity.  Other than stuck-up Dutch witchiness in me.  See?  I'm an Equal Opportunity Offender...))   We're staying, it's good for us to play with others, including others of color.  As long as the others-of-color don't go up to my 20 month old baby and brandish two FISTS in his face.  Which is exactly what happened the very first thing off the bat.  Anna promptly goes into protective mother mode and is about ready to go after a child of five.  I'm aggressive enough to face off with anyone of ANY race... and their Mama.  Luckily the woman with them called Ninja child off my baby.

The child of five has a BIG older brother.  He's... different looking.  Paler.  His lips are really red for his race.  He's subdued, and kicks his shoes off and heads for another corner.  Out of sight, out of range of trouble with my little one.  So I cease to worry about him.  Then two little Asian girls come in (just about Lydia's age) with a baby boy (just about Ethan's age.)  Lydia is tickled pink at having 'friends' now, and Ethan is geeked about the other baby, beckoning to him, then running away from him, alternatively.  They seem like nice little kids.  The two black children are called over to the table (their mother arrives with the food) and says to her adult friend, "Wow, how'd you calm him down?"

We let them play for a while with the Asian kids, and then suddenly Lydia shows up at our table with BARF all over her sock.  She was running and playing and slid into a pile of it somewhere.  Now, I know it wasn't Isaac, because he never left the booth.  It wasn't Ethan or the Asian baby, because they were over by us the whole time.  And I'm doubting it was one of the Asian girls, because Lydia didn't let them out of her sight.  My guess was the black folk.  I shot them a dirty look, tried NOT to vomit as I pulled her sock off and wiped the ((gag)) throw-up off her jeans, and promptly packed up my children and left.

And as I was leaving, I remembered the bigger boy.  He was pale, his lips too red.  He was abnormally "calm" according to his mother.  Who wants to bet that he went over in an area we couldn't see and upchucked all over the kid's mats?  Ten to one.  I'd lay ten to one on it.  ((shakes head))  Thanks.  I thought I'd lucked out with not having to clean up a piss puddle.  Now I'm cleaning up other people's kid's barf.

I've had QUITE enough socialization now, thank you.  I'm STAYING home.

PS: My day has not started out any better.  The AO e-list is in a tizzy over someone finding the word 'asssh' in Wind in the Willows... oHMyGoSH - PROFANITY!!!!!  ((Do NOT get me started.))  A witch - as in Wiccan - showed up on xanga and was stOOpid.  Too stOOpid to even be issued a warning.  I proved them wrong in one sentence.  C'mon, give me something I can WORK with, people.  I'd rather spar with Believers... at least they have SOME idea of what's in the Bible.  ((?!?!?!))  Oh, and Barnes and Noble's cancelled an order I made with a gift card - and I'd given the card to Lydia to play with, she left it on the floor, Isaac found a slot to stick it in, and I had to disassemble an entire toy to get it out, and now half my order is no longer available.  Will someone PUH-LEEZE have a good day for me????

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Nov. 27, 2006 - In Rebellion

I'm having SERIOUS issues with Charlotte Mason... yet again.  This time - it's music.

 

Charlotte Mason is SUPPOSED to be a 'liberal education'... meaning it covers all aspects, not just the 'classics' or 'modern' popular things.  At least, in the 1800s, that's what she was touting... but it's been a couple (couple?) decades since then, hello.  And I've noticed that while mothers using Charlotte Mason pretend that they're giving their children a 'liberal' education, they're actually giving them a classical education.  Because they're still in 1800 mindset and not thinking 2006.

The music is DRIVING ME INSANE.  Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmoninoff, Debussy, Lizst... sure, I studied them in college.  It was mostly NOT fun for me as a 19 year old... it's NOT fun for a 6-year old, either.  She's bored.  *I'm* bored.  Not that classical music isn't important, but we've been schooling eight weeks now... it's OLD.

 

So I hauled out the Beach Boys last week.  Surfin' USA, Good Vibrations... we've been rockin' out.  THAT'S a liberal education.  THOSE are classic songs, too - ((shrugs))  Classic Rock!  This week..?  It's Petula Clark.  Downtown is a classic.  We'll watch Finian's Rainbow and SEE Petula Clark.  It'll be a blast.  I've already got Beach Blanket Bingo on reserve on Blockbuster so she can experience the 50's surfer scene... she's HOOKED on Beach Boys, so I know she's gonna dig Jan & Dean.   And if I remember correctly, Leslie Gore sings Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, in Ski Party.  ((You know Leslie Gore - It's my Party, and I'll cry if I want to??))  Unconventional, I know - I'm sorry... I know every word of just about every 50's song that's out there, and I love it all.  I know tons of showtunes, standards, folk songs, country... I love a good bossa nova, jazz, or R&B tune... I want my child to love 'em, too.  Elvis!  Elvis isn't even on the recommended music rotation.  What is that?!?!  Heck, I'm thinking at this point of adding the B-52s, Weird Al and Madonna to the mix... why not!?

 

Not that we won't hit classical, too... but I'm sick to death of one composer a month, with a list of songs the students should hear and you can't do partials... ((BS - if you know the themes, the famous parts, you're ahead of MOST of the people out there!  I was looking for 'The Entertainer' in my sheet music library the other day, and Brian said, "Never heard of it."  I sat down and (by ear) picked out the melody line, and immediately he said, 'I've heard that!'  THAT'S what a liberal education in music is about - being able to recognize songs... not to have the impossible goal of listening to every movement of every Hadyn suite ever written, hello...

 

This next quarter (according to the Anna CM schedule) we were supposed to be doing Gershwin.  I got the 'recommended' listening out of the library, put it on, and about gagged.  I LOVE Gershwin... but the advisor council obviously is more after acceptable classical education more than fun.  I'd rather turn on Disney's Fantasia 2000 and let Lydia watch Rhapsody in Blue and relate the song to a cartoon and enjoy it than to have her sit and half-listen to something she doesn't even CARE about!  That's not education, it's force-feeding.  We watched Swing Time the other night - Fred n' Ginger - and she got to hear "Let's call the Whole Thing Off" (which you could also hear on When Harry Met Sally... LOVE that soundtrack, it's all 1940's songs!)  Even kewler - they danced ON ROLLERSKATES - it was phenomenal to watch!!!   I want her to know Irving Berlin, FUN Gershwin, Rogers & Hammerstein, Sinatra, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and more!  I want her to see the waltz, mamba, cha-cha, hand jive... why not even throw in Takin' Care of Business's  'The Alligator'.  ((Which *I* once did in rollerskates!!))

 

On the same topic (Rebellion and music)... I'm working on my X-mess tapes this week.  I promised myself that if we were here beyond Rosh Ha'Shana, I'd make cassettes of all my X-mess music, taking out all the songs that mention Jesus as part of Christmas.  Last year I listened to all instrumental to avoid the words, and it SUCKED - this year, I'll enjoy my music... just minus a few songs here and there!  ((grins!))

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Nov. 5, 2006 - Home Education Pg 1-10

Home Education - Pg 1-10

 

aNNa'S NoTe:  I'm attempting to read Charlotte Mason's 6-volume works on home educating.  It may well kill me... it's deep, written in an older style than I'm used to, and is akin to reading some of the heavier Bible passages.  I'll be posting quotes that stand out to me and my thoughts or questions.

 

1 - "We are limited to three educational instruments - the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas."  I don't know if that's true or not.  Just thinking about it makes me swim a little.  I would probably add love (the nurturing hand) to it, personally.  Someone who cares enough to create the environment, develop the habit, and present the ideas.

 

2 - "It stultifies a child to bring down his world to the child's level."  I WHOLLY agree.  People always talk about how important 'being with his peers' is for home ed kids, but the truth is that the better education is being around ALL ages.  They learn patience, kindness, gentleness, quietness... things that aren't normally found in a roomful of 6-year olds.  More, reading them all cartoony books with goofy characters doesn't prepare them for a world of people who AREN'T cartoony.  Part of the reason we're so careful about what the kids watch movie-wise, what they read, and who we play with.

 

3 - "We should allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and spiritual life of children."  I guess it's something I never gave a whole lot of thought to.  But I can see where there should be a link... I think I developed one on my own.  It would've been easier if I'd had it illustrated for me.  Wonder how I can do that for Lydia...?

 

4 - "Between his sixth and ninth years should be used to lay the basis of a liberal education, and of the habit of reading for instruction."  The word 'liberal' bothered Brian when I read this statement to him, but it's because we think of 'liberal' as 'loose' or 'lax' for some reason.  The 'liberal' CM means here is well-rounded. But even more the second part stood out for me.   Reading is how you cook (recipes and instructions), how you drive (signs), how you save money (coupons)... EVERYTHING involves reading to one extent or another.  The world of reading - emphasising WORLD - is an amazing concept to grasp.

 

5 - "That the mother may know what she is about, may come thoroughly furnished to her work, she should have something more than a heresay acquaintance with the theory of education." (Pg 3) Which would be why I'm reading this CM series.  ((grins!))  Bu even moreso, think about how many parents just send their kids off to schools and don't know how the kids are being taught... not just WHAT they're being taught, but HOW.  And how they can work with that methodology.  Or even if they AGREE with that methodology.  Wha...

 

6 - "...will make use of every circumstance of the child's life almost without intention on his own part, so easy and spontaneous is a method of education based upon natural law." (Pg 8)  Thiswould be unschooling playing a part in any method of education.  Even if we have a 'schedule' or 'curriculum' to follow, when we get up from the sofa or table, there's how those lessons play into reality.  Education and natural law go hand in hand.

 

7 - "Though system (observing rules until the habit of doing certain things... is confirmed) is highly useful... a 'system of education'... produces only mechanical action instead of the vital growth and movement of a living being." (Pg 9-10)   Charlotte Mason's methodology is a 'living' education, which means that what is learned should be learned as part of natural law and in a way that it seems part of the child's reality.  Instead of reading facts about George Washington's life and accomplishments (history book style), a 'living book' in fiction action form is used to bring those facts to life and make them real.  That makes George come alive, instead of being a statistic or blip of information.  They draw pictures of him, watch movies of him, act out his deeds with cut-outs mounted to popsicle sticks...  I'm very interested in this method of education.  Which, of course, is why I picked CM's educational method to teach my children.

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Oct. 27, 2006 - Dilemmas, Decisions

Still on the Home Education vein of things...

 

For Shabbat School, Lydia is given memory verses from the Complete Jewish Bible.  "The Torah of Adonai is perfect, restoring the inner person."  ((Which to most of us is "The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul."))  In NotAwana... I don't know what version they're using, but it's a cheap version... what I learned as "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee", they want her to learn as "Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."  And of course Charlotte Mason (the home ed program I use) utilizes the King James (which is what I grew up memorizing, since the NIV wasn't popular until the mid 80's).  

 

So the question is... what do I do?  If she hears "The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul"... she will have NO IDEA it's the same verse she learned in Shabbat School.  And to this day I'm STILL having issues trying to find verses that I know, because I learned them in the late 80s in NIV or some other stOOpid version.  I don't want Lydia confused with six different versions... so I've started to take whatever verse she's to learn, and teach them to her in the KJV.  I'm sorry - one version across the board will benefit her best when she's grown, and the KJV is classic, fits our schooling... and the churches will have to deal with it.  She did her Notawana verse last night in KJV, and they gave her credit, so I'm not too concerned.  Still... the version thang is a hassle, y'know?

 

Also... I'm having a truth vs. fiction issue.  When you read a Bible story and then a mythology legend and then a Just So Story and then a thang about Dionysius and the Sword... then read about Ben Franklin and a British monarch... how the HELL do I keep her straight on what's mythology, what's a silly story, and what's true??!?!  Well, Lydia, Ben Franklin was a real guy, but there really is no Jupiter, god of the sun, and the whale really does eat only little fish, but it's not because there's a net caught in its throat... I'm trying to figure out HOW to make the distinction between stories and real people who did real things.  Because even *I'M* not sure if Damocles was a real guy or some ancient legend or myth.  I have no idea.  I'm getting a little confused, frankly.  I like the stories... but it's crazy.  Wikipedia just may become my best friend, this next year...

 

And... yeah, I know I'm gonna get flogged for this, but for NotAwana, Lydia is supposed to do two 'community service' activities to show God's love.  Y'know... send your aunt in the nursing home a card, bake cookies for your neighbor... that kind of thing.  On the list is "pray out loud at a restaurant".  I saw that and... I'm sorry.  You know me.  I thought immediately about the rich man praying on the street corners vs. the sinner praying in his closet... and I thought, "Hello!  Is that what we're supposed to be teaching our children to do?  To be like the rich man in prayer?  I don't think so!!  Yes, we do pray before meals at restaurants together - but that's because we don't eat ANY meal without thanking God for it... but it's not a 'community service' to me to do it... and to turn it into something like that is SO LIKE the modern day Pharisaical church... ((grumble, grumble))  I'm debating on whether or not to write a note to the teacher and bring up this little trifle... OTOH, will the teacher care?  Helll no.  Will it change anything?  Helll, no.  Just follow what the guidebook says, let's not THINK about if it matches up with scripture or anything... 

 

I know, mountains of molehills, right?  But I swear there are SO MANY MOLEHILLS that it's stacking into a big mountain, and the foundation is crumbling.  Ignore my allegorical nature...

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Oct. 26, 2006 - Show Off

Wanna see what I did?!

Okay, so when I went to put it into use this afternoon, it didn't *totally* work, but it's because my teacher's log still bites - not because the schedules (see left) are screwy.  In fact, they RAWK!!!  And I left it click-on-able so that you can make it bigger and see just what an anal Anna I truly am.  ((blush!!))

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Oct. 25, 2006 - Schoolin' Shtuff

Schooling n' Scrapbooking

I'm doing Matrix work today.  ((wink!))  Really, they called it a 'matrix'... which is kind of misgiving, since a 'matrix' is a womb or a beginning... and these are just spreadsheets - but if they want to call it a 'matrix', I'm not going to complain.  LoL!!  See, there are thirteen books Lydia's doing as part of her Year 1 readings.  This covers American History, World History, Myths, Theatre, Geography, Church History, Ancient History, Natural History, Fairy tales, etc.  ((Which sounds like a lot, but it's REALLY short reading and geared to her age, and it develops her love of reading and stories, yadda-yadda.))

 

But the people who laid out what reading would be done when did it on a seven-page layout with big blanks all over and it's hard to read and follow and too much flipping of pages for me... so I put it all on one sheet.  ((grins))  Seven pages condensed to one... NO MORE FLIPPING!!!  I'm very geeked, btw.  In case you didn't notice!

 

I've got 60+ pages of Parables of Nature formatted... it's the pictures that take the longest to find, crop, insert.  But she's SIX, she needs pictures every few pages, y'know?  Next I get to do Fifty Famous Stories the same way.  ((Please, Lord, let it already have pictures.))

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Oct. 24, 2006 - EduBlitz

I'm working my HINEY off today.  Trying to do some schooling shtuff to make right my mess.  I'm currently working on Parables of Nature - adding pictures, editing to Word, and it's all very tedious and annoying.  But I'm anal and want it all done and done RIGHT.  So I'm busting my own gludious.  Hrmph.

 

But I found out Kinko's does comb binding for only $3 or so, so this sounds good to me.  I'm pretty sure (hoping, anyhow) that it'd be cheaper for me to print/comb-bind Parables of Nature and Fifty Famous Stories.  If I get through them okay.

I also have been archiving Xanga entries like crazy.  I figure if it takes me an hour to do a month (roughly), then it'll take me 24 hours to do two years.  Right now I'm in March of 2004... ironically when I started gathering home education shtuff.  No, the irony has not been lost on me.

 

So far the only things I missed on my 'Schedule for a Slacker' today were the morning run and the nature walk.  Outdoors.  I don't want to go out there.  Out there isn't warm.  Isn't safe.  Isn't my bag.  Yes, this may be the start of a trend.

The AO (Year 0) e-list group that I belong to are reading "Home Education" by Charlotte Mason... AND they are posting questions on the week's readings.  Accountability!!!!!  I was so geeked, I wheeee-ed.  Until I read the questions... and realized that it's not going to work for me.  So I'm going to do the readings with them but post my Home Ed notes kinda like I post TorahClass Tidbits.  Only on my Home Ed site (The EduMatrix).

 

File folders with 3-ring holders are NOT working for me.  I can't get stuff out when I want them.  Thankfully, Rite Aid was clearancing (75% off!!!) their back-to-school stuff a few weeks ago, and I got some gorgeous white 3-ring binders (the type you can slide a title page in the front of?) for 80 cents a piece.  Inch or so thick ones.  I need to do some work on re-organizing for school.  I think the File Folders will work marvelous for archiving past years (and I use them for studies that are longer, like the Pre-Wrath stuff I'm reading)... hrm.

 

I gots t'go.  BTW, just in case you didn't know, Meijer has digital 4" prints overnight developing for 12 cents a piece - everyday price!  Compared to Rite Aid (16 cents), Walgreens (19 cents) and Sam's Club (14 cents).  Laugh if you want, but I develop about 300 pictures at a time... that adds up.  Which means I don't have to re-new my Sam's Club membership.  That saves me another $30.  wOOt.

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Oct. 23, 2006 - The Chaotic Organizer

Hi.  My name is Anna.  I'm a mess.
As in, having a T.O.t.A.L organizational crisis.
All.  Day.  Long.

It's like this - I thought I had my home ed shhhhtuff in order.  I did.  I thought I had it all ready to go.  We are on week three of our Year 1 home education, and I'm THE biggest mess you have ever seen.  I don't have room to record what I need to record.  I have room to record stOOpid stuff twice.  I have to flip END.LESS lists and schedules to figure out what in THE hell I'm doing. 

I haven't gotten down to the store to print off our artwork, and yes, I went to the Wyoming Public Circus Library today to try to get a few materials I needed and they are THE MOST user un-friendly library known to man.  Unless you want to access the InterNet, and then there are 50+ computers for your convenience.  A computer-style card catalog (or ANY card catalog, for that matter?)  Oh, noooo.  No such thing... except in that corner over there FIVE HUNDRED FEET and eight dozen aisles from where your children are playing.  We don't HAVE card catalogs in the children's section, ma'am.  Children don't read.    ((((!?!??!!??!))))  <---  Burst of angry typing, btw.  And in case I forget to mention it later, the dude on the ONE catalog I *did* find was there For. FREAKIN. Ever looking up Danielle Steele books.  Yes, I said dude.  ((shudders))

I've a mind to complain about it.  Freakin'-A, pain-in-the-gludious, stOOpid library with fountains and a coffee-freakin-shop in it, but no ****, grumble, grumble card freakin' catalogs.  (((smirks and grunts)))  Tax payers dollars at work, there.  The thing even looks like a dammn circus - who ever heard of a BLUE TILED building with triangles, circles, and trapezoidal windows?  That's an art-neuveau BATHROOM, not a library.

Yes, my issues extend beyond the library.  My schedule is... okay, nonexistant.  I get my contacts in somewhere around 3pm.  Sometimes I even bother to brush my teeth... mostly when I'm going away.  We eat breakfast... eh, sometime.  I *have* no schedule.  Oh, I want one.  At least I've said I want one, for the past several (say, eight to ten) years.  Kind of like I *want* to go out running and lose some weight... until I see the rain and muddy drive and long, solitary drive where Norm shoots things that move (like the neighbor's dog)... and I get scared.  I'm a wuss.  I imagine myself going running and getting shot by Norm and stranded down the dirt road, half a mile from my bewildered, unattended children... then a psychopath wandering through the woods looking for a good place to dump bodies finds my bleeding carcass and does nasty things to my not-yet-dead self... and if neither of those happen, I might catch pneumonia or a snot-green cold or maybe even typhoid and die.  Yeah... I routine my morning like I go jogging.  Nice thought at the get-go, but mmmmmmmnnno.

 

Did you know the cheapest copy of Parables of Nature that I could find is $15??!!!  What is that?!  I'm cheap, hello...!  Fifteen for a book is highway robbery.  I don't pay FIVE dollars for a book if I can help it - and I can help it, believe you me.  Between Goodwill, garage sales, and Barnes and Nobel's clearance area, I've got a good four dozen books for our AO schooling... not one of them over five dollars.  I can print Parables of Nature from this site - but it's not like I'm not ALREADY busy trying to squeeze home ed, blogging, news, Bible study, family activities and momming/wifery into my... non-existant schedule.  Yeah, how about if I spend several dozen HOURS pasting it into Word, formatting (to reduce the paper used), then print the sucker one page at a bleepin' time, since my printer sucks more than one paper through at a time, usually overlapping so that one printed page ends up on two halves of paper.  No, really, I have time for that.

 

Don't mind me.  I'm slightly overwhelmed.  I just drew up a spreadsheet in Excel called "Weekly Schedule for a Slacker".  Accounting for every half an hour from 7 in the morning to 7 at night.  It includes daily runs... hahaha.  I'm sitting here, staring at it, wondering just how many minutes into day one I'll be when I deviate from schedule because brushing my teeth isn't as important as cleaning the **** off Isaac's back, butt, legs, and belly.  I'm wondering just how many runs I'll take before I'm checked into Pine Rest for severe neurosis.  ((NoTe:  I need a running partner.  Brian doesn't run - claims flat-foot-itis.  I think he just doesn't want his belly to jiggle noticeably.))

 

Okay.  Well, THAT just wasted a heckuva lotta time that I could've been printing Parables of Nature in.  See?  See what I mean about chaotic?  I don't even ALLOCATE well these days.  ((shakes head))  I'm done now...  and no, I don't feel better.

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Sep. 4, 2006 - posting

I got an e-mail saying they were looking to shut down some sites if I didn't post.

 

POST

 

There.  I've posted here.  If I didn't want the site, I wouldn't have opened it, right?  ((WinK!))

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May. 8, 2006 - Schoolin' Shtuff

Part of my hiatus from Xanga has been to get some more ducks in a row for our next year of home education.  Isaac will only be three and Ethan one, (and I plan on being pregnant for the duration), but with Lydia turning six in August ((I am SOOOO getting old!)), she's ready to really start school.  What I mean is, up 'til now, we've had a school schedule and did basic prep work, but it wasn't the actual home education I'd planned on giving her.

See, I use a free curriculum called AmbleSide OnLine, based on the home education series written by and founded on the school of Charlotte Mason.  She was an educator from the 1800s who had some very forward thoughts about school, parenting, and keeping Christ in the equation.  She promoted KJV Bible reading (along with Shakespeare and Plutarch), vast amounts of time outdoors, and learning from living books - or stories told from within the events rather than dry fact books.  Charlotte also advocated leaving school until the child was six or seven years old... which is why we've just 'played' at school until now.  Lydia and I did 'pre-school' (what we called Year 0) and 'kindergarten' (we dubbed it Year 0.5)... but Charlotte Mason's program begins at Year 1 (what public schools call first grade).  There *were* only ten years of CM, but it looks like they're adding two more (to conform to the same thing public school has going, I guess).

Anyhow, AmbleSide offers just about everything you need to educate your child.  There's a rotating schedule of three featured artists/composers/etc. every year (one per term: fall, winter, spring).  There are sample schedules on the e-list group boards, and speaking of e-lists, you can belong to a good dozen or so of them if you'd like (I think I get six e-lists, and it equates to about 150 e-mails a day to sift thru).  But in doing so, you get links to free sites that help fill in the blanks and/or make things easier or more accessible or more fun.   Also there are free e-text links for much of the required reading, and that's helpful, too. 

The last two times I put up my schedule, I had L.O.N.G. explanations underneath 'em, and it was tedious for me, so it *had* to be tedious for you.  So I'm going to link within the graph to my on-line sources this time, and I think it might work a lot better (and be a lot simpler).  Anyhow, I've got a tentative Year 1 schedule planned, based on one of the schedules I liked on the e-group, based on the AObooklist and Year 1 schedule, and based on what works for us.  So without further ado:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday¹
3 Min.	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer
2 Min.	Pledge	Pledge	Pledge	Pledge	Pledge
5 Min.	NoTaWaNa	NoTaWaNa	NoTaWaNa	NoTaWaNa	NoTaWaNa
5 Min.	Verse	Verse	Verse	Verse	Verse
5 Min.	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible
5 Min.	Poetry	Composer	Poetry	Composer	Poetry
5 Min.	Folk/Hymn	Folk/Hymn	Folk/Hymn	Folk/Hymn	Folk/Hymn
15 Min.	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math
30 Min.	Art	Handicraft	Piano	Language	Tea Time
15 Min.	Phonics	Reading	Phonics	Reading	Phonics
5 Min.	Copywork	Copywork	Copywork	Copywork	Copywork
15 Min.	Aesop	Lit & Tales	Aesop	Geography	Free Read
20 Min.	History	Country	History	Science	---------
5 Min.	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer
60 Min.	Outdoors	Outdoors	Outdoors	Outdoors	Outdoors
Weekly	Family Nite	Dance Class	NoTaWaNa	Home Study	Family Nite

¹ Friday's are town days... we only do them every other week.

I'm pretty geeked, because this year, I also want us to do a wall timeline as we do our history (I have to gather/glean pictures to put on it as we go!), and a lapbook of the countries we do each week (including their flag, the country, etc.), and a field trip log of the places we go and the things we do.  I think that will be really kewl.  And we'll have something to show for ourselves when we're done, too... so that's a bonus.

Also, some of you asked a few questions a week ago, and I just wanted to answer.  The history link is the free on-line source I'm using in place of the D'Aulaire books (which only cover Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Buffalo Bill).  This source has a LOT more people and stories in it, and it's illustrated.  Also, I've taken the AO poetry selections and made a Word doc of them so that their easier to read and handle, and each has a big square next to it so we can draw/color a picture of what we imagine when we read the poem.  I'm also halfway thru putting together a Word doc of the "Blue Fairy Book" - with pictures! - so's I can print it out and not have to buy it.  One gal on my e-list said to save art print pics from the 'Net on the harddrive and print them off as 4x6 pictures thru Sam's Club or Walgreens for pennies.  It'll save me a TON of work (and ink!), because I was printing them and laminating them for our schooling.  I'm thinking I might check for deals or specials and make 'em 5x7, instead.  We'll see.  Also there's a free primer reader on-line if you want it, but I like McGuffy and got it for pennies on Amazon.  ((shrugs))  It's worth the $3 total purchase, IMO.  I've a $50 gift card to B&N, so I want to get down there one of these days and see what I can find from the used book wing there... before I do any more on-line shopping.  Not to mention finding out (and ordering) whatever books the library has that we'll be using!

So right now, I have a LIST of things to do.  I need to finish my 'Blue Fairy Book', print that and the history resource and a b/w bird coloring book I got from the e-list, print our art for next year, figure out what we're going to use for math (I've a TON of free on-line resources with printables, I just have to sort and review them)... and figure out what language we're going to learn.  ((I'm thinking we'll start Spanish, and maybe add Latin later, should the Lord tarry... but I have at least half a dozen free Spanish sites, too.))  Heck, ALL of this is 'should the Lord tarry'... since I'm not even sure I'll be here to implement *this* schedule!  But I have to think like I'm leaving and live like I'm staying, so there's work to be done... and I'm a'doing it!

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May. 2, 2006 - Teacher's In-Service

I didn't do school with Lydia this past week.  Call it a 'teacher's in-service'.  ((wink!))  I was working on gleaning from e-mails, downloading materials, checking out useful and useless educational links, collecting lists and other things, and printing it all out.  I kind of threw together a Year 0 and a year 0.5, but it's way obvious that Lydia is ready for a full *real* curriculum for next year.  Not just 'playing' at school a little here and there.

And man, that's going to take a little more planning than I thought originally.  Ambleside Online is the 'curriculum' that I've decided will be the best for us, and it's because - given time and effort - most everything can be done either really cheap or free, without sacrificing quality in any way.  I'm very into that.  And I like Charlotte's thinking.  She's a kindred spirit... dead or no.

I found Our Island Story for less than $20 (hardcover and from the USA!), I got a list of 100 folk songs every child should be aquainted with, I've a list of countries to tackle on a weekly basis (although I need to find a resource to use on exploring those countries... got it!), a mock-up schedule to work from, and an entire online, illustrated history source to substitute for the DuLaire books (and this source has many more stories and characters to it!).  Someone had a fantastic suggestion for cheap art prints that I'm really geeked about trying, and I'm creating a HUGE file of pictures for time-lining.  Not to mention the OTHER craft, art, and game sites. 

It's A LOT.  I've been collecting for over a year, and I get over 200 AO/CM e-mails a day to slog thru... but it's worth it.  You want to get the savings and info, you have to do the work.  And I'm not afraid of work.  It's a lot, but I think it will pay off in the end.

There's a local (as in, five minutes from my house) homeschooling group that meets every other Friday to do art, gym, and something else... for $30 a year (and volunteer help).  I'm considering putting Lydia into it next year.  I even found a Charlotte Mason support group, but it meets on AWANA night, which totally blows... but what do you do, right?  ((LoL!!))  Yeah, I've been doing some intensive work.

I'm not worried about missing this week, though.  I'm thinking we're going to school 2-3 days a week thru the summer, so it's not like we're going to fall behind.  I just don't know if *I'M* ever going to catch up on my end of things!  Wha, there's a lot for a home ed parent to put together, keep on top of, and do!

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Mar. 30, 2006 - 20/20 On Home Ed

On 20/20, January 13, 2006, John Stossel had a special report called "Stupid in  America", which had a segment on Home Education.  He says this on his webpage about the  subject:

"...We  shot a segment on home schooling for my special, and I was amazed to watch the  enthusiasm of the kids and the teachers. In my NYC community, it's assumed that  home schoolers are all religious wackos whose children don't learn to socialize. 

In truth,  home schooling is often the best option for parents who are fed up with the lousy education offered by the government schools. Why is there an assumption  that school is the best place for kids to get "socialized" anyway? 

Isn't  school a place where you're supposed to be paying attention to the teacher, not  your peers? Home schooled kids socialize all the time at places like boy scouts,  ballet lessons, soccer teams, and church choirs. Most home schoolers we talked  to meet together several times a week with other home schoolers. They do fine in  college.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that over one million kids are being home schooled in the country today, that's 2 percent of  school kids in the United States, and that number is growing by 10 percent every  year. Brian Ray, President of the National Home Education Research Institute, taught in both public and private schools before starting his work with  "home-based education."

He sees home schooled students blowing past their public school counterparts in terms of achievement. "In study after study, children who learn at home consistently score 15-30% above the national averages on  standardized tests [like the Iowa Test of Basic Skills]."

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Mar. 1, 2006 - You? Monitor Me?

Not that there's a whole lot of interest in my posts lately, but then I can't fault you.  *I* don't have interest in my posts lately.  It's a catch-22... in order to have an interesting site, you have to be on-line a lot, and while I want an interesting site, I have wanted for a LONG time to spend more time with my kids.  Now that I'm spending more time with my kids, I want to rekindle the interest I had in this site.  See-saw, Marjorie Daw...  I don't regret tipping the scales towards my kids, but I do ache about letting this 'ministry' go a little...

ANYHOO...!  You know I don't talk about my home education very often here.  I don't like feeling as if people are (or might) judge me for what I do in comparison with what they do, and it's such a touchy topic that I rarely even talk about it with people IRL.  In fact, I hardly talk about it with Brian.  Not that he's interested, anyhow.  He told me he wanted to have little 'check-ups' on Lydia, so I created a 'quiz' of our schooling for him to do with her the other night.  Took a half hour, tops, and you'd think I was torturing him, having him sit there and watch her work her magic.  Pissed me off, discouraged the hell out of me, and turned him into a 'hostile' on my list of people who have opinions of home education.  If you're not with me - supporting us and working with us - you're against me.  I work that way.  No news there.

Topic time:  I was talking to MiL the other night about Granholm... the witch whose currently governor of our state.  She's about as nasty and slimy as they come, too, I might add.  MiL wanted to know why I didn't like Granholm... and my first statement was, "She wants to monitor and regulate home education".  MiL's eyes got wide and she said, "I think it's a good thing to monitor homeschoolers!"  And I had to refrain from spitting on the floor at that.  Spoken like a truly ignorant non-homeschooler.

I DO NOT think home educators should have to abide by rules, regulations, and be reviewed by the State.  EVER.  Why?  The reasons are three-fold:

1 - The state has to prove to me that they can handle the public school systems before they put their SLIMY hands on my home education program.  Their incompetence, lack of funding, materials, logic, and the very fact that our state education is one of the LOWEST in the country - a country that isn't all that high globally, I might add - tells me that they have enough to work on WITHOUT nosing into my own schooling, thankyouverymuch.  If your neighbor's house is a pigsty, do you want them coming over and messing around in your home?  Hell, no.  Get your **** together first, THEN we'll talk.

2 - Everyone says that there should be monitoring because of those 'poor kids' who's parents aren't getting the job done.  Think about this logically for a moment.  If I weren't interested in providing my kids with an education, would I keep them home...?... Or would I sent them off on a bus and get them the HECK out of my hair?  Have you ever had a 5 year old all day?  There *is* no peace.  There is constant interruption from *my* projects and goals.  If  a parent didn't want to do the job, there's a big state-funded babysitter called "public school".  And the house would be quiet, the kids would be out of their hair, and they could even have a part time OR full time job and make a little money, too!  So this BULLcrap about those 'poor kids'... they're fictional, at the most a smaller-than-a-sliver percentage - smaller than the percent of kids slipping thru the cracks in PS.  The fact is, parents who don't want to school, don't.  Parents who keep their kids home, aren't doing it to punish themselves.  Use your head.

Home Educators HAVE to have an agenda.  And the only viable agenda is to oversee the child's education themselves.  And if that person is concerned enough with the educational wellfare of their child, they are going to seek help from Homeschool groups, e-lists, written educational materials, and the like.  The amount of information and support out there is phenomenal.  The State could never match it... or even compare.  And there's nothing more inspiring than personal experience shared in order to assist with difficulties, give ideas, and encourage. 

3 - The State has no business interfering in the home decisions of the parent.  Education is the responsibility of the parent first and foremost.  You don't see the state coming into the home and potty training your child, making sure you've taught them how to eat with a spoon, drink from a big-kid cup, how to say 'please' and 'thank you', how to walk... education is the God-given job of the parent.  The State needs to butt out... or the monitoring of education becomes the first step to a police state - where we have to report how much toilet paper we use, which church we attend and what theology we're raising our children to believe, how many relatives we visit, etc.  Stuff they have NO RIGHT to monitor.  They have enough problems with homeland security, state funding for economic development, and hundreds of other issues that are FAR more pressing than sticking their noses in my back door.

I know this sounds kind of pricky, to say the least.  But I *KNOW* that what I do with Lydia - the Ambleside-Based Curriculum - is WAY MORE than she would EVER get in a public school.  I know that I am doing my best with her, and that she is way ahead of the public school that she would've been stuck in.  N's son goes there and because of funding, they only have school two days a week, at a ratio of 25 kids to 1 teacher.  You TELL ME how that could EVER compare to the one-on one (or even three to one!) that I can do - five days a week! - here in my own home.  There's NO comparison.  They can't beat it.  So why should something INFERIOR be monitoring me?!  It should be the other way around - the PARENTS monitoring the public schools!  If they actually did - if they actually gave a crap - you'd find a TON more people home educating.  ((Well, maybe not - people are selfish...))  I just feel the whole thing is completely backwards and ridiculous.  Don't think I'm letting you in my house to mess with my organization when you're a state-wide disaster.

And as Tammy Tyree says, "That's all I reckon I've got to say on the subject."

Added by my friend, Spinner_mom: Don't forget 4) That we are still paying taxes for public schools, and they don't give us crap! I pay for everyone elses child to attend those public schools, and all they send me is a paper at the beginning of the year telling me what their holiday schedule is (like I give a crap), a paper at the middle of the year telling me when their testing is, and where to sign up if my child wants to take it along with the school kiddos (mostly because the homeschoolers boost the scores for their school... and once again, like I give a crap), and then a paper at the end of the year telling me I didn't have my child tested through the schools, so I must have an evaluator sign for each child that they have improved during the school year for their grade level. And that's what my $500 a year in taxes gets me. Three papers. I just wanna know how I can run my homeschool, for three kiddo's this year, on less than $400 budget (including crafts, paper, folders, pencils, workbooks, 'school books', and everything) and it takes our county over $3000 a child and they get nothing done! They even have lists at the beginning of the year for all of the supplies I already supply my kiddo's. Anyway... /rant! But I'd sure love that $500 a year back from my taxes if my kiddo's aren't even sucking up the systems time!

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