1) Taking the summer off means that we aren't in the school groove when we start again.

2) Two pages of subtraction is too much for O.

3) O was learning blends (phonics) all summer, even without working on it consciously.

4) J loves "school."

5) M loves dressing her stuffed bear in her old baby clothes.

6) I really, really, really have to get the copying done in advance of the school day.

7) J and O both love writing creatively.

My husband was home so that I could work in the clinic, but I don't start till late morning, so we all sat together to have school until I left.  I was a little self-conscious having him there with us, but it was good to be together.  We did our Bible and Spanish memory, read the 10 commandments (J's choice), started Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster, and picked up where we left off in Singapore math and Explode the Code.  J did the first lesson in Simply Grammar and a page of free writing.

I left my husband to supervise piano practice, begin David MacAuley's The New Way Things Work, do some experiments with inclined planes, and supervise Latin review.  They may also repair the doorbell and pick up the 35 library books that are waiting for us.

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I'm chafing at summer's bit, ready for school to start again.  I sound like a "regular" parent () who sends her kids away come September first! 

But it's true-- transition to summer was hard for me (though the kids might not have noticed)-- and now I'm eager to start school again.  As our books for fall have trickled in, the kids have asked when we get to start again.

My friend Molly mentioned Genevieve Foster's The World of Abraham Lincoln to me as an antidote to the rapid pace history is taking.  We did Story of the World Vol. 3 last year, and it flew by... and I fear Volume 4 will whiz by as well.  So I was eager to check it out when Molly mentioned it, and it's in the mail on its way to me as I write.  I'd love to linger a little more over history.  Plus, we've got so much supplemental reading to go along with the westward expansion alone... (It makes me think of Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride saying, "Ty, you know I love to watch you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it... I'm swamped.)

We went to Barnes and Nobles yesterday to pick up vacation reading for the kids.  They had a sale on (large) art prints. I picked up 14 Dali and 14 Monet for $10 each.  We didn't get to Chagall yet, so I have those ready as well.  For music, I've got Opal Wheeler's Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms for the fall.  We'll see how far we get with those before I buy more.  The boys still have a ways to go in their Singapore (math) books, so I didn't have to order those yet.  For physics, we're going to try a bunch of crazy experiments from Backyard Ballistics and read throughDavid Macauley's The New Way Things Work together.  I'm excited. 

I'll post another day about our literature selections.  And for geography, we're going to work on Africa.  If we ever finish that, we might move on to South America-- though I anticipate Africa taking us several years.  We'll see.

I guess my vacation from school did the trick: I'm refreshed and eager to get going again. 

Jeremiah 31:25 "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

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Here's a adult woodpecker (on the right, black cap) flaking off the bark of a pine tree.

Here's the woodpecker feeding the grub it finds to the baby woodpecker (left, lower, wearing the yellow cap.)  Notice how fat and fluffy the baby is still. 

I had never seen this behavior before-- and that they let me watch and get close enough to photograph it-- I was thrilled!

Any bird experts know exactly what kind of woodpeckers these are?  I'm thinking three-toed, but my books don't show a baby, so I'm not sure if the juveniles have the yellow cap without the white speckled forehead.

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One of my favorite parts of Independence Day is NPR's recording of the Declaration of Independence.  We heard in first in 2002 or 2003, in the car, and Sam and I were both weeping on the highway.  There's something about hearing the words read aloud-- the defense of our founding fathers' very shocking decision to have Revolution.

You can access it by going to www.npr.org and clicking on the link to Morning Edition.

May freedom ring!

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Our summer "curriculum" includes taking apart small appliances.  So far we've done the toaster (photo), the drill, a modem, and the tiny transitor radio J "won" for selling some Boy Scouts something or other.  All were broken, and now are really broken.  Over time, maybe we'll start to recognize different common components.

Glad those safety goggles are being worn so safely!

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http://littleacornscds.blogspot.com/ is giving away entry to the Heart of the Matter Online's Virtual Homeschool Conference!  So go check out her site and her great advice.

My piece of advice to those beginning the journey (from all my vast experience-- wink wink) is not to feel pressured to start everything at once.  Start with the essentials (whatever you see as essential-- Bible memory, math, or phonics, for example) and once one thing is working, tack on something else.  You don't need to have a three ring circus going from day one!

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About a million years ago, my family bought a game at the British Museum called Passing Through the Netherworld.  It's a copy of an Egyptian funerary game called Senet.  Recently, we unearthed it in my parents' basement, and O loved it.  (Not only did it fit right in with his fascination with all things Egyptian, but he beat me fair and square on the first game!)

One of the library books on ancient Egypt he recently borrowed has directions for how to make your own version.  So we did! 

And he beat me again.

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The boys were part of a fantastic drama camp last week.  The teacher was a former teacher-- clearly a teacher through and through, in the best way-- who made the emphasis of the camp the process of creating.  (Contrast that with our recent dance experience, on which the emphasis was performance.)  She led the children in drama exercises; they read fables from around the world.  The children then chose a variety of fables to perform and discussed their meaning (as well as the value of fable and parable generally).  Then they "wrote" the plays from the fables.  Everyone had more than one part, everyone was creative.  They improvised costumes from what they had and painted sets.  Friday's performance was a great experience under an outdoor tent, with snacks afterwards.

Thanks, Gracie, for a wonderful week!

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M demonstrates "eleve"

Here we see the disastrous results of my trying to put rag curls in M's hair

M and her friend show off their fancy duds:

When I signed M up for a dance class for three year olds, I had some loose expectations: she would dance and wiggle a lot, she would make a lot of noise in her tap shoes, and she would have a great time.  In my research on dance classes, I found that a lot of studios charged a "registration fee" before one could even sign up.  That should have been a clue for me-- these studios see it as a honor for my daughter to take dance classes from them.  Apparently, it's not like any other service or educational activity in which I pay for the teacher's time, and they teach my child something I can't (or at least, didn't) teach. 

This year she did both dance (ballet and tap) and choir.  Both were geared toward 3-4 year olds, both classes last one hour per week.  She "practiced" both at home almost daily.  But other than those similarities, the two classes were vastly different experiences.

Choir was a blast: M looked forward to it every week, eagerly running into the rehearsal without a look back at me.  Perhaps once or twice she had to be drawn back into the group when her exuberance carried her away (she is very... energetic, let's say), but it was an entirely great experience culminating in many fully optional performances: one for the parents & families in a church, the others in multiple nursing homes and senior centers.  The costume fee was included in the registration fee. 

Dance was not a blast.  At first, she went to class willingly, but there was a lot of talking instead of dancing.  During the talking, M would dance, be reprimanded and occasionally sent into time-out.  After the time-outs piled up, I finally talked to the teacher. who told me she didn't know what was wrong with M. 

I should have taken that as a hint to quit, but instead I used this as an opportunity to teach the kids that when we make a commitment (e.g. to be in dance class) we will stick it out.  As time went on, there was a costume fee ($45!), the tickets for the recital, and then all the extras that were encouraged but not required (we skipped them all): the DVD, the after-show flowers, the performance T-shirt...

M finished the year, and ended on a good note (no thanks to me and my bad attitude, which I'm sure you can hear in this post.)  We're going to do a different dance class next year-- one with no registration fee?-- one that encourages dancing... even exuberant dancing.  And I think M will probably want to do choir again, too.

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O's current fascination is with Ancient Egypt.  Papa (my dad) gave him a book about ancient Egypt... he likes to tell people the book is ancient, too-- "It's almost as old as my mom!"

Here he is dressed as Ramses III (whom I think I made up.)

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Here's O doing "bicycle tricks".  Below is J, learning to ride without training wheels (note the interestingly precarious angle.)

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We've had a good time studying Van Gogh.  We find his paintings more fun than his life, but so be it.  (Next time we study Van Gogh, I'll try not to pair him with a tragic composer like Beethoven.)  J ahs enjoyed copying his swirly backgrounds.  Our friends loaned us a puzzle of the Starry Night painting, and it has been a favorite.  I think they got it at the MOMA gift shop.  I'm going to look for more like it.

Here are the kids' copies of one of Van Gogh's self-portraits.  I'll let you guess whose painting is whose.  (One of these is not like the others...)

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We've been plugging away at our Spanish all year.  Phrase by phrase, I've been teaching them snatches of Spanish.

Examples: Quieres leche o agua? (Do you want milk or water?)

Buenos dias, Abuelo! (Good morning, Grandpa!)

Lavate las manos.  (Wash your hands.)

We have some books in both English and Spanish which we read regularly.  Periodically, we check out other favorites from the library and compare the Spanish and English.

It's been very slow going.  But in the last few weeks, the kids have started using their phrases more and pointing out words from books that are in our phrases. 

It's like planting seeds and watering them for months... and now spring is here-- I'm seeing small green shoots in the earth.

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My friend Ruth and I were talking about plans for summer.  I've not been a year-round schooler, but my kids do so much better with some structure to the day.  I don't want to burn the kids out, but they want some sort of mental activity for the summer (as do I).  I'm contemplating several options for summer "school."

1) continue with math, writing/phonics, some biographies and nature books

2) continue with math and writing and do a summer unit on the the Lives of the Saints (this is Ruth's idea).  Anyone have a suggestion for a spine to use to study the Saints?

3) continue with math, writing, and spend the summer taking apart small appliances (see Christinethecurious's suggestions for how to do that safely under my post on April 8)

4) pitch the basics and just do a unit study: Saints, appliances, mechanics, Spanish, or art

J said he wants to learn as many languages as he can, so maybe we'll start the Latin curriculum I have on the shelf, and continue Spanish a little more intentionally

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O is five-and-a-bit.  Last fell, he asked me why HE didn't have any notebook work to do, like big brother J.  I responded that he was four-and-a-half, and that school is supposed to start when one turns five.  Well.  He was having none of that.  So I started him on Explode the Code (book 1) and Singapore Primary (1A).  Some days, he was very eager to do his notebook work alongside his brother; some days, he'd do half and page and tell me he was done.  I never pushed or prodded him, since in my mind it was rushing him a little to start, anyway.  I figured once or twice a week, with enthusiasm, was more productive than every day if it meant turning him off to schoolwork.  (He's also been "narrating" one sentences snatches of stories, memorizing Bible verses, learning Spanish phrases, and doing science experiments, picture study, and nature lessons with us-- we do those things all together.)

Well, he finished both those workbooks and now is reading Bob Books and some early readers (like Dr. Seuss and Level 1s).  He's very nonchalant about it.  He started ETC Book 2 and is now independently writing words with 2-letter blends (e.g., FLag, CLam, BLock) prompted by only a picture.  I'm impressed.

I took him on a date to the library & the coffee shop on Saturday.  He wanted a book of Peanuts cartoons, which we read over ice cream (for O) and Early Gray (for me).  When we came home, J wanted the Peanuts book and pointed out to O that since he (O) couldn't read, there was no point in his having the book.  O said, "Maybe I can't read, but I can figure out the words by sounding out the letters!"  I wonder if I should explain to him what reading is.

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Here is a photo of a science experiments with Daddy.

They put a candle in a jar and lit it; then they surrounded the cande with NaHCO3 (baking soda).  Adding vinegar to the baking soda made the candle go out, because the CO2 produced from the reaction doesn't burn.

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I need some recommendations for science kits/classes for 5 year olds.  O is fascinated with experiments and building things.  Yesterday he was trying to rewire the TV.  Today, when I was on the phone, he plugged the two ends of the phone cord (for the printer/fax) into the dual phone jacks ont he wall and short-circuited the phone.

I thought of buying a few small appliances (well, I'll probably start with one) from the thrift store and looking for an owner's manual/repair manual.  Then I'll let him take it apart and put it back together.  Has anyone tried this?  The problem, of course, is adequate supervision.  Because I'm not motivated to endure the mess/risk involved, I never get around to doing it with him, so he's trying to do it on his own.  Advice?

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February 20 was a total lunar eclipse.  We talked about it for a few days before it happened, and then we looked at it several times that evening.  The next day, our Bible reading was in Acts 2:

14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
 17" 'In the last days, God says,
      I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
   Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
      your young men will see visions,
      your old men will dream dreams.
 18Even on my servants, both men and women,
      I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
      and they will prophesy.
 19I will show wonders in the heaven above
      and signs on the earth below,
      blood and fire and billows of smoke.
 20The sun will be turned to darkness
      and the moon to blood
      before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
 21And everyone who calls
      on the name of the Lord will be saved.'^[c]

The kids were so excited about this-- they quickly jumped to the conclusion that verse 20 refers to a lunar eclipse.  They wanted to read the passage several times that day and have brought it up again since.  I'm all for anything-- be it an eclipse or other-- that makes them want to talk about the Bible!

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