Herein is recorded my family's homeschool highlights, semi-daily anecdotes, and other thoughts or info. that I'd like to share with family, friends, and fellow bloggers. Since I tend to share more of the upbeat aspects of our lives due to the public nature of the forum, please don't take what is said here as the sum total of our experience. And have I mentioned that...I LOVE COMMENTS??!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 19 May 2007 16:48:00 -0500 Sat, 19 May 2007 16:48:00 -0500 Since Homeschoolblogger "updated" its site, I've been double-posting to a Blogger version of Our Side as well.  It seems like I spend a lot of time waiting for HSB and often get a blank page.  Sometimes I just post to Blogger and then copy the post to HSB later.  At this point, I'd like to just post in one place and for now it will be Blogger.  I've enjoyed the virtual community of Homeschoolblogger and will continue to visit the blogs of my friends.  I hope that if you enjoy Our Side of the Mountain that you will bookmark its new location at http://oursidehomeschool.blogspot.com/ and continue to visit.  I will slowly be moving past posts to the new site. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/330830/ Sat, 19 May 2007 16:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/330830/ Sometimes birthdays around here are a pleasant family time at home. Sometimes we eat out at a special restaurant. Sometimes we throw a party. In honor of Evan's eleventh birthday this year, the mood hit for a party. James did the food shopping last night, and this evening the kids and I put together a taco salad supper at the church. Six families attended Evan's party. We set up tables indoors, but the beautiful weather enticed everyone to grab chairs and eat out on the lawn. Seventeen children (not counting two babies) attended, providing a good number for a few games of "Capture the Flag." After a healthy amount of outdoor running around, the kids came in to play "Space Base." In the latter game, James picked two "aliens" who hid  the pieces to a flashlight (in relatively plain sight) around the church building while the space travelers counted in a back room. When the time was up, the space cadets searched for the "laser" parts while trying to avoid getting tagged and frozen by the aliens. The cadets were given twenty minutes to find and assemble the laser and shoot the aliens. If they failed in their mission, the aliens won. After several space battles, time allowed for another group game and the playing of some assorted board games. The parents enjoyed the opportunity to socialize as well! Evan holds up a truck poster made by his friend Caleb for all to admire. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/330705/ Fri, 18 May 2007 23:31:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/330705/ My seven year old daughter has begun learning the concept of multiplication as well as memorizing multiplication facts. A friend of mine just emailed me last night and asked for ideas to help her own daughter master her multiplication facts. This time around, I have been much more consistent in having my child learn skip counting. I wasn't as diligent with my older two boys. They do know their multiplication facts now, but I can see that memorizing skip counting lays a more thorough foundation than just drilling facts. Skip counting communicates the concept that multiplication is fast adding. We have a skip counting tape which sets the number lists to music, but the tunes are, for the most part, not familiar, making them difficult to learn. So, I just picked my own tunes and used the word "and" strategically to make the list fit the music! For instance, for 6's, I used "Lightly Row": six, twelve, eight-teen, twen-ty-four, thir-ty, a-and thir-ty-six, for-ty-two and for-ty-eight, fif-ty-four and six-ty. Now when my daughter solves multiplication problems (or division), she can use her skip counting to find the answer. For instance: 6 x 6 ~ She can count "6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36", keeping track how far to go by holding up fingers until she gets to six fingers. She can do this fairly quickly and with repetition is memorizing her facts. Of course, she drills the facts as well and now we have a tool to use: The Flashmaster which is just a high-falutin' way of doing flashcards, but more fun. Even at Sophie's young age, she already has her upper times tables down cold thanks to this gem:   The advertising claims that this tool helps children to learn their upper times tables in about an hour. I purchased and used Times Tales Deluxe with my kids and found the advertising to be accurate! My boys already knew their facts, but my daughter learned them for the first time in an hour and still has excellent retention of the facts months later. These tools for multiplication mastery work for me! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/329339/ Wed, 16 May 2007 13:31:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/329339/ Last Saturday, the boys were treated to a trip to a dude ranch by Pastor Bob and Cheryl.  Matthew asked me if he could blog about it.  (Yes, my boy asked me if he could write.)  You can go to The Far Side of the Mountain to read about their adventures and view pictures. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/327168/ Fri, 11 May 2007 12:28:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/327168/ As far as I can tell, this week I've been hit in succession with a cold virus and a stomach virus.  I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting out of survival mode.  I'm sure that my whole family feels the same...I'm glad they didn't haul me out to the corner with the broken-down washer! In recent weeks, I've read aloud to the children from historical novels set during World War II.  We finished Escape from Warsaw and are currently reading The Winged Watchman which is proving to be quite captivating and well-written.  I am also reading aloud The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won, an excellent pictorial history.  The children have read other non-fiction World War II books on their own as well. Two nights ago for supper, we ate grilled bratwursts and some chorizo (spicy Italian sausage which James alone could tolerate) along with sauerkraut and succotash made with corn and edamame.  We noticed that we were eating foods common to Germany, Italy and Japan (stretching it with the edamame) and called it our Axis powers dinner.  I know, we're bad. We have continued with our beginning Latin studies which, surprisingly to me, has added more enjoyment to our read-alouds.  The kids can earn a penny for any Latin derivative that they identify, defining both the Latin root and the English word.  Sometimes the kids even catch derivatives that fly under my radar (or is it over?).   I remember several months ago, reading from Caddie Woodlawn and beginning to explain the meaning of "portage."  Before I got the definition out of my mouth, Sophie piped up, "Portage comes from porto which means I carry!"  Well...Yes! And today, while reading The Good Fight, Matthew stated, "Primitive comes from primus which means first." I had to say, "You might be right!  Let's look it up" and read "Middle English primitif from Old French from Latin primitivus from primus, first."  I read the definition and asked, "Can you give me an example of a primitive weapon?" "An atom bomb?" answered Matthew. "Actually, an atom bomb is the opposite of primitive, because it is very technologically advanced," I explained. Evan answered, "A spear." "Yes, a spear is primitive," I replied, "because it is a simple weapon and it was one of the first weapons used." I learn something new every day! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/327095/ Fri, 11 May 2007 10:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/327095/ In the past six weeks, my 9 month old developed a nasty case of eczema. From past experience, I knew that our pediatrician would recommend using hydrocortisone and Aquaphor. I'm not thrilled with using a steroidal treatment on my kids and I've had limited success with Aquaphor. This time around, first I tried using a coconut oil lotion, again with limited success (though it is my favorite lotion to use on my own Colorado dry skin). Finally I listened to my cousin who recommended ... The Vanicream has caused the redness to fade and the rough patches and bumps are mostly gone. Works for me! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/326296/ Wed, 9 May 2007 17:06:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/326296/ Our washing machine would have cost over $400 to repair. The Sears repairman did not charge us a thing for his trip and diagnosis. I think he realized that we had purchased a lemon from Sears and felt sorry for us. The machine was not old. I did research on the internet to figure out a replacement machine. James went shopping Thursday evening, but without success. Today he decided to take the day off to get the job done. Good thing. It took most of the day for him to purchase the washer, drive to a warehouse and pick it up, unload it at home and hook it up. If he had waited until tomorrow to do this, there would not have been time to get the laundry done this weekend. Now I have Mt. Laundry to tackle, and it is pleasant to do with a new machine. This washer has a sanitary cycle which takes longer to run, but means death to germs! I accidentally ran a load of darks last night without laundry detergent. Several of the jeans were caked with mud. I thought I'd have to run them again, but when I inspected the clothes, they smelled clean and were stain free. So far, very good... Our dishwasher is dying a slow, lingering and loud death. It also is beyond repair. Funny how appliance failure often seems to happen all at once! Yesterday, as I blew dry my bangs, my hairdryer popped and died in a flash of sparks. I could get by without a hairdryer or a dishwasher if necessary, but a washing machine? I've been reflecting on how necessary that appliance seems to modern life. I could wash dishes by hand easily, but clothes? My grandmothers have stories to tell about how they used to do dishes or laundry. My father's mother at one time, while living in Kentucky, had to get water from a creek and wash clothes in a washtub, including diapers. I'm very thankful to the Lord for providing James with a reliable job and savings to go out and replace appliances right away. After James took out the "old" washer, he contemplated how to get rid of it. He recalled that our town was scheduled to have a once-a-year, large item curb-side pick up sometime in May. He looked it up on the web and found the pick up scheduled for...this weekend! What a blessing that he could just wheel the lemon out to the curb this morning! The trash guys heaved the machine into the truck and I watched as it crunched the washer flat. This episode causes me to realize how easy my life is, to thank the Lord for his good gifts, and to remind myself that my treasure needs to be in heaven even in times of plenty. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/324337/ Sat, 5 May 2007 13:38:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/324337/               http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/323194/ Thu, 3 May 2007 11:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/323194/ This week's Works for Me Wednesday features a birthday theme. I've never been particularly fond of making birthday cakes, but my most infamous confectionary catastrophe occurred on my second child's third birthday. I baked a cake from a mix in a 9X13, and leaving it in the pan, I frosted it with whipped cream and attempted to decorate it with colorful sprinkles. Bad idea. The cake absorbed much of the cream and the lid fell off of the sprinkle shaker, dumping the candy confetti unceremoniously in a heap. Thankfully my three year old did not have much aesthetic sense and was perfectly thrilled with the mess. Unfortunately for me, the cake is memorialized in full-color pictures. (No I will NOT scan one in and post it!) I wailed to my husband, "Why can't I buy the cake and make the card? I'm much better at cards!" Fortunately, before my children grew old enough to catch on to their mother's incompetence, familyfun.com came to my rescue. I'm betting that many wfmw participants will post about this wonderful website with a cake finder to provide step-by-step instructions for truly easy-to-make cakes that are guaranteed cute, allowing any mom to become a member of the "Fun Mom Club." Betty Crocker is another good source of easy recipes for birthday cakes. Here is a cake that I made from a Betty Crocker recipe: I still would rather make a birthday card! Here is a goofy card that my husband and I made together for my oldest son for his eighth birthday: On the front of the card, we wrote: "For your birthday, we wanted to invent a CAKE EATING MACHINE..." Inside: "but then we realized: That's Why We Have YOU!!" (I said it was goofy.) I put together a little collage below this of small scanned in pictures of my son with cake at each of his previous b-days. Our family's most elaborate birthday party in the past was a "Flying Pony Party" (named by my daughter) which included a hobby horse craft: When the kids arrived, they colored posterboard pony heads that I had drawn and cut out ahead of time. Two other moms and I, armed with glue guns, stuck googly eyes on the ponies, glued on each kid's choice of crinkle paper mane, and attached a stick to make homemade hobby horses. (The mane and stick were sandwiched between two posterboard pony heads.) This concludes a very wordy Works For Me Wednesday post! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/322416/ Wed, 2 May 2007 23:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/322416/ While we read an animal board book, Logan came up with his own signature sound: Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/322315/ Fri, 4 May 2007 19:31:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Melkhi/322315/