Supplemental blog to my main site geared toward my homeschooling efforts - using CM method. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:59:00 -0500 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:59:00 -0500 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... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/579103/ Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:59:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/579103/ 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 #2 -   http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/bible_themes_creation.html ((Number 7. Creation Book - Sent in by Natalie))  ... I made creation books. The first Day/page was just a sheet of white card stock, the kids cut a sheet of black construction paper in half & glued it to the page. On the 2nd day/page, the kids took blue saran wrap & glued it to the bottom for the waters below; cotton balls on the top half of the page for waters/clouds above. On the 3rd day, using my software I printed out various trees, plants, & flowers; the kids cut them out & glued them to the page, they also glued sand to the bottom of the page for the dry land. On the 4th day, they cut out a sun, moon, and stars & glued them on. For the 5th day, they cut out birds & fish & glued them to the page, they also glued some more of the blue saran-wrap to the bottom so it looked like the fish were in water. For the 6th day, I used my digital camera to take pictures of each of the kids & printed it out on white card stock, they them cut out animals & glued them around their pictures. This makes it more personal & helps them to realize that God created them too! For the last page I printed out the earth with the verse 'And God saw that what he had created was good, so... God Rested. The kids had a lot of fun doing this book, especially the sand & saran wrap parts. They were surprised when we got to the last day & they had a picture of themselves too. I find that the kids prefer cutting & pasting to coloring, so I try to tailor their crafts to that. Thanks for all of the great ideas & lessons.   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!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518819/ Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518819/ 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..! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518818/ Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518818/ 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!!?! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518817/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:47:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/518817/ 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... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/502504/ Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:50:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/502504/ 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! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/502503/ Tue, 8 Jan 2008 12:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/502503/ 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???? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/277363/ Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:09:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/277363/ 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! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/277274/ Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:11:01 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/277274/ 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!)) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/246185/ Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/246185/ 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... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/246177/ Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/annamatrix/246177/