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WHY? Our Journey Into Homeschooling
Friday, September 29, 2006
A Many-Splendored Week
This week has been busy, but we've
managed to fit quite a few little things in to enrich A.J.'s mind and
education. Sometimes, it doesn't seem like much, but when I sit down
and think about it, he does get a lot of "exposure," even with very
minimal structure:
- Penguins: A.J.'s been
reading about Gentoo penguins in a book Alan bought him quite a while
ago (this is in addition to the many library books he has and reads
from every night). We also read this one together one evening. He
really likes that they are very fast swimmers (about 27 miles per
hour). He was also tickled to tell me that the babies' feathers are not
waterproof; since their parents' feathers are waterproof, they go
swimming and bring back food for their babies!
- Whales: A.J.'s still into the ocean, although maybe less intensely now. We read through Whales: Strange and Wonderful
this week. He really likes comparing how big each whale is; this book lists the length for each one (the corresponding Sharks: Strange and Wonderful does the same for sharks). An issue of his Zoobooks
also has a two-page spread comparing a bunch of different whales and
their maximum sizes and weights, which he also really likes. The
numbers always get him!
- Big Cats: We went to
A.J.'s friend L's 4th birthday party this week. I wasn't sure what to
think when I saw that the computer was on and the kids were playing
with it. A.J. spends so much time on the computer at home that it was
nice to have a day that was supposed to be without the computer. He did
get a talking-to about politeness, not pushing (he's not used to
sharing so much!), and taking turns. However, later he picked out a
book from their shelves, sat down, and read the whole thing while we mommies talked. It was an Usborne Discovery book, Big Cats.
He seemed to enjoy it and told me a few tidbits later (including how
lions lunge for zebra's throats *shiver*). I'm still getting used to
mothering a boy, especially as those typical boy things start to come
through (not to say some girls don't like that stuff, too). I've been
okay with a little violence on the computer and about his reading about
monsters and predator/prey relationships because at this point, it has
not translated for him into a blurriness between what's real and what
is not and what is acceptable in real, human life versus what you might
see in a story or in a game (said pushing being something he did before
any of this). I'll keep an eye on that as we go along and change things
if needed. Dad is happy that they have found a common interest in the
role-playing computer games (A.J. likes to sit and watch as Dad plays
Diablo II, although he is not allowed to play it himself).
- Chinese numbers: We read through Count Your Way Through China
this week. A.J. took time while we were reading to draw each character
(numbers 1-10 in Chinese) and to write down the pronunciation (we were
both learning these for the first time along with the little tidbits of
Chinese history and culture included in the book). The next day, I
printed out some of the higher Chinese numbers, and he practiced the
characters some and made up his own numbering system--he called them
Cane numbers. Most of them were even more complicated to draw than the
Chinese ones!
- Greek Mythology: Since
A.J. loves this role-playing game, Fate, so much, I thought he might
enjoy some stories about monsters. We turned to www.mythweb.com and
read an illustrated story about the labors of Hercules/Heracles. I
think he was kind of mixed on that one, not something he'd seek out
himself, but not totally boring either.
- Sculpey Fun: We got out
some Sculpey this morning to make caps for the knitting needles we
(really I) made when we got together with the little homeschool co-op
last week. I made the caps, a bead for myself, and a little toy shark
for A.J, and A.J. made some beads and also two "Sculpey chains." I then
baked them to set them. Sculpey is always fun for both of us. He once
spent hours at my sister's playing with it (she has a "pasta
machine" that you use to soften up the clay, and he really enjoyed
running the Sculpey through that and then making stuff).
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About Me
Learning to homeschool and homeschooling to learn.
Links
Home
Archives
My Blog's RSS
Interesting Homeschool Links
Kids Do Ecology
Enchanted Learning
Minimus Latin Web Site
Kinetic City science games and activities
iknowthat.com
Good Books We've Used
Math
G Is for Googol by David Schwartz
Science
Usborne First Nature: Fishes by Alwyne Wheeler
Usborne Discovery: Sharks by Jonathan Sheikh-Miller
Usborne Discovery: Whales and Dolphins by Susanna Davidson
The Nature Company EcoXplorer Series: Under the Sea by Priscilla Wrubel et al.
Questions and Answers: Mighty Machines by Stephen Angel
Cooking
Emeril's There's a Chef in My World by Emeril Lagasse
Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup by Emeril Lagasse
Languages
Minimus Pupil's Book: Starting Out in Latin by Barbara Bell and Helen Forte
Sign With Your Baby by Joseph Garcia
Sign Language for Kids by Lora Heller
Good Magazines We've Read
Moo Cow Fan Club
NG Kids
My Big Backyard
Which Way USA?
Zoobooks
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