SMiLe, WInK, nOD!
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YESTERDAY, I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR THROW THE TOWEL IN WITH HOMESCHOOLING! I KNOW, I KNOW...YOU'VE PROBABLY FORMED VISIONS OF A SWEET, PERFECT, OBEDIENT SON... AND ME, THE SWEET-LOVING, NON-SWEARING, ALWAYS & FOREVER PATIENT MOM AND WIFE... JUST PLEASING MY DEAR LITTLE FAMILY 24/7. TOMMIE WAS SETTLED INTO HIS HARD KITCHEN CHAIR, BAGS UNDER HIS EYS AND LOOKING PALE-- HE DIDN'T GET TO SLEEP UNTIL ALMOST 11. HE AND BRAD WERE AT MY IN-LAWS, DURING THE PARTY, THE NIGHT BEFORE...(SEE PREVIOUS POST). I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAVE TO BE A REALLY "LIGHT AND SOFT" HOMESCHOOL DAY... YOU COULD TELL HE WASN'T UP TO PAR. AND, I'VE LEARNED NOT TO FIGHT IT. I CAME UP FROM THE BASEMENT...AFTER SWITCHING LAUNDRY AROUND...ONLY TO FIND TOMMIE MISSING! ROLLING MY EYES, I YELLED (YES, I YELL!!!), "TOMMIE, GET BACK TO WORK.. C'MON"... OR SOMETHING ALONG THAT LINE. I HEARD THE ATTIC CREAKING... I'M THINKING, NOW WHAT? CAN'T THE KID JUST BE OBEDIENT FOR ONE DAY??? I HEAR A MUFFLED SENTENCE AND I YELL AGAIN... GETTING ANGRIER... WHAT POSESSED HIM AT THAT MOMENT ON WEDNESDAY MORNING TO GET THIS BRIGHT IDEA TO GO EXPLORE THE ATTIC...I JUST DON'T KNOW. WITH BOYS...YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT...AT LEAST WITH MINE. HE PROUDLY CAME DOWN THE STAIRS, TALKING IN A HIGH-PITCHED DRAMATIC VOICE, WITH MY CHILDHOOD CHARLIE McCARTHY DOLL/VANTRILLIQUIST. I HEARD, "HELLO, I'M STEVE.. (WHY STEVE????), AND I CAME DOWN TO HELP TOMMIE WITH HIS MATH! I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO BURST OUT LAUGHING OR WHAT... SO I KINDA DID BOTH... ONLY IN A HOMESCHOOL CAN YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS! smile-wink-nod!
I THINK I'VE SAID THIS IN PAST ENTRIES... I REALLY DO WISH MY SON WAS WORKBOOK DRIVEN... IT WOULD MAKE "MY" LIFE SO MUCH EASIER. BUT, HE'S NOT. OF COURSE, HE HAS DONE WORKBOOKS AND TEXTBOOK TYPE BOOKS... BUT, RETAINS VERY LITTLE AFTER THE PAPER IS COMPLETE. I'M SURE I WAS THE SAME WAY...AND I KNOW BRAD WAS. I HAD AN ELECTION WORKBOOK, THAT I PICKED UP SOMETIME AGO, AND PULLED IT OUT, SINCE IT'S THE SEASON... INSTEAD OF MY WEARY SON WRITING OUT VOCABULARY WORDS IN THE BLACK LINED WORKBOOK, I WROTE OUT THE DEFINITIONS AND THE VOCABULARY WORD... SEE BELOW: BLUE: VOCAB. WORD-- RED: DEFINITION..... THEN, TOMMIE MATCHES THE WORD UP TO THE RIGHT DEFINITION. HE MISSED A LOT-- HE CERTAINLY GOT A LOT WRONG! BUT, WITH HOMESCHOOLING THAT'S OKAY... HE HAD AND HAS MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO REVIEW, RE-WORK AND UNDERSTAND. WE HAVE A MUCH HIGHER SUCCESS RATE "LEARNING" THIS WAY...THEN FILLING OUT THE BLANKS AND GETTING IT WRONG- AND MOVING ON.
DO YOU THINK IT GOT A LITTLE OLD....TOMMIE HAVING "STEVE" PICK OUT THE VOCABULARY WORD...IN HIS HIGH-PITCHED VANTRILLIQUIST VOICE????? THE ANSWER WOULD BE TRUE.
I'M SURE WE'RE BEHIND...COMPARED TO PUBLIC SCHOOL STANDARDS...AS FAR AS GOVERNMENT ISSUES AND SUCH... HOWEVER, ANOTHER BEAUTY OF HOMESCHOOLING IS...WE CAN LEARN THINGS ON OUR OWN TIME, IN THE COMFORTS OF OUR OWN HOME (WITH STEVE!) AND BANG OUT THE CONCEPT AND UNDERSTANDING IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE TO US... AND, IN THE COURSE OF AN HOUR OR LESS! BELOW, I MADE A GAME ABOUT THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT... ON EACH BRANCH I WROTE: JUDICIAL, EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE. I MADE MATCHING CARDS, IN WHICH TOMMIE (AND STEVE), MATCHED UP THE CORRECT POSITION, INCLUDING HOW MANY SENATORS ARE IN THE SENATE AND HOW MANY ARE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTIVES, HOW MANY JUDGES IN THE SUPREME COURT... PLUS, THE LENGTH OF THEIR TERMS, AGAIN, TOMMIE MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES...BUT, THIS HAND'S-ON APPROACH, LETS US BOTH TAKE THE TIME WE NEED TO "GET IT"... I USED A REALLY NICE BOOK FROM "TIME" THAT MY MOM BOUGHT US...TO EXPLAIN ALL OF IT... AND, AFTER ABOUT FIVE ATTEMPTS, HE "GOT" IT. SEE WHAT I MEAN? IF HE WERE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, HE'D GET A FAILING GRADE AND THEY'D PUSH HIM ON.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS GAME AND THE ONE BEFORE THAT IS...I CAN SAVE IT AND PULL IT OUT FOR REVIEW... ON AND OFF THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND NEXT!
I MADE A BASKETFUL OF ELECTION VOCABULARY WORDS...THIRTY IN ALL. EACH DAY, I HAVE TOMMIE PICK OUT 10 VOCABULARY WORDS AND WRITE THEM IN SENTENCES. THIS COVERS, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, HANDWRITING AND VOCAB UNDERSTANDING. TRUE OR FALSE? TOMMIE HAS STEVE PICK THEM OUT? THAT'D BE TRUE.
AFTER LUNCH AND THE ELECTION STUDY, I STARTED THE READ-ALOUD, "THE APPLE AND THE ARROW!" WE'VE NEVER READ ANYTHING LIKE THIS! AND IT IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD! IN ONE SITTING, I READ OVER HALF THE BOOK... I HOPE TO FINISH IT UP TODAY! I REALLY RECOMMEND IT!
The year is 1291, and Walter is the twelve-year-old son of William Tell, the greatest bowman in the land of Uri. Walter lives happily in the remote heights of the Alpine Mountains, caring for his family's goat herd and practicing his marksmanship in the hopes of making his father proud. But as the end of the year approaches, Walter's peaceful life is shaken as his country enters a revolution, and Walter must carry a secret that could threaten the life of the father he loves so dearly. More than seven hundred years have passed since the day Walter stood in the marketplace balancing an apple on his head while the Austrian tyrant Gessler commanded Walter's father, William Tell, to take aim at the apple with his great crossbow. The dramatic tale of William's arrest and escape and the daring revolt of the Swiss against the Austrians has become a legend around the world. WE STAYED UP WAY TOO LATE LAST NIGHT ...OUR FRIEND BRANDI, LOANED US THE DVD, "NATIONAL TREASURE"... I REALIZE WE'RE ABOUT FIVE YEARS LATE ON THIS MOVIE... WE ALL LOVED IT! I'M JUSTIFYING THE LATE NIGHT... SINCE IT DID HAVE A LOT OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION IT!
HAPPY THURSDAY! |
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