homeschooling in the south - Homeschool Blogger

I've moved....

Thu, 8 Mar 2007 15:09:00 -0600

Please come visit me at my new blog-

http://3littleladies.blogspot.com/

Hope to hear from you soon!

Schrebergarten in Munich

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:31:00 -0600

Germany

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 19:29:00 -0600

We were very apprehensive about taking the Euro-rail. We made sure we checked and double checked the track our train would depart from. We went ahead and waited camped out at that track with all of our luggage. At the last moment they changed the track and we had to run to catch our train. I'm sure we must have looked funny with 3 rolling bags, backpacks and a stroller! We finally got settled on the train. By the way, you have to load your luggage yourself and find a spot to store it. Next trip, we're all taking 1 backpack each and nothing else! The train was really nice. Much more roomy than an airplane. We had 4 seats-Emma sat in my lap. She fell asleep immediatly. One of the places we passed through was Dusseldorf-a place heavily bombed during the war. When we arrived in Frankfurt, we realized rather abruptly that we needed to exit the train (thanks to a German passenger that informed us that this train was headed to Switzerland!) All of a sudden we were grabbing shoes, bags, children, etc and throwing them off the train! Once we were all safely off the train, we just had to laugh! We had twenty minutes to wait. When we boarded the next train, it was extremely crowded! We managed to find seats next to a German woman who was traveling to Uhm and another German man. It was so hot on the train. More and more people boarded . Obviously they have no limit as to how many people could board. Several people were seated on the floor because no more seats were empty. After a while, the German man moved closer and introduced himself. He shared a wealth of information with us about Munich. His wife phoned and said their were electrical problems on the track ahead and that we'd probably have to change trains. Eddie was so very kind. He helped us unload all of our bags (Emma had fallen asleep again by this time) and carry them down the stairs and back up the stairs to the other track. Obviously they don't believe in elevators! When we boarded the next train we were packed in like sardines! Literally! There were no seats available and no standing room-yet the train kept stopping and more people squeezed on! We finally arrived at our hotel at 6:00pm. The first thing I did was take a bubble bath and order room service! My first impression of Germany was how nice the people were. First was Eddie, then several others on the train and at the train station helped us. The taxi drivers were awesome and so informative.

After a wonderful nights sleep in our beautiful hotel, we decided to get out and visit the Oktoberfest. They started this festival in 1810 as a celebration when the Bavarian prince, Ludwig I got married. They have it every year for 18 days. There were thousands of people there! People either sleeping or passed out everywhere! I've never seen anything like it. It didn't take us long to figure out this wasn't the place for us. Our next taxi driver told us we'd probably enjoy the schrebergarten near our hotel. She was right. Lots of tiny houses with gorgeous gardens-flowers, veges and fruits. These plots of land are rented out. You're allowed to build a small dwelling their, but you can't spend the night. There was a small place to eat nearby with picnic tables outside. The food was delicious! Emma even made a friend-a 2 year old boy named Tim.

The next day we visited the Munich Zoo. It was so nice-so lush and green. They even had a couple of little kid's parks for the girls to play in. Afterwards we walked to another schrebergarten and did some nature journaling.

On Monday, Oct 2 we left Germany. It was much easier to find our train and get loaded this time. We had our own private cabin (I'm sure that's not the correct term) with 6 seats. It was much nicer than before. We purchased sandwiches at the train station. The train ride was only about 2 hours-no stops. Next destination-Salzburg, Austria.

The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 07:39:00 -0600

Vondel Park, Amsterdam

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 07:38:00 -0600

European Vacation-First stop, Amsterdam

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 06:46:00 -0600

Recently my family and I had the opportunity to travel around Europe for a month. We had such a fabulous time! I wanted to share with you some of our experiences.

First of all, I'd like to note that we, as Americans, take a lot for granted in our country. Like free bathrooms, grocery carts and grocery bags, large hotel rooms and having our own cars. We assume that everyone should speak English and that everything should be written in English-yet most of us only speak one language. Europe was very enlightening not just for me, but for my girls also. Let's start at the beginning.

We left Houston on a Sunday evening around 7:00. We arrived in Amsterdam about 11:00 AM their time. My first impression was that it was hot and sticky just like south Alabama! They must have been having an unseasonably warm day because later it became quite cool. We stayed in a nice hotel with adjoining rooms-something else that's rare in Europe. After a long nap, we decided to go on a walk. I was shocked at all of the bikes! There were just as many, if not more, bikes than cars. They had their own bike lanes and traffic lights. How wonderful!

One of our first stops was the Anne Frank house. I was disappointed to find that the outside had been totally changed. The interior was the same as it had been when the family was there. The girls and I had read The Diary of Anne Frank before the trip. Seeing all of the actual rooms and pictures was very moving. Also imagining that she (and many other Jews) had walked the same streets we were walking and possibly left out of the same train station we would later leave out of was very eerie.

Our next stop was the Van Gogh museum. I have to admit that I've never been a huge fan of his. After looking at all of his pieces, I found several that I truly liked. Seeing them in person makes them really come alive. He was a very talented artist and I now have much more respect for his work. Upon entering the museum, the girls were given a questionnaire to complete as they walked about. The questions asked details about different paintings. This made them really pay attention as we walked through. At the end, they showed their completed answers and received a post card of one of the paintings.

A couple of days we went by the grocery store and picked up fruit, cheese, bread and water and had a picnic at Vondel Park. This is a beautiful, big park right in the heart of the city. It was a perfect place to pull out the water colors and do nature journaling.

The Rijksmuseum was another of our favorites. It's a large museum, but not too big and overwhelming. This is where the Rembrandt's are housed. I've never seen a more beautiful painting than Night Watch. The way he used light in the painting was unbelievable! It is so big! We all, including the girls, just stood in awe! There were so many details in the painting. What a talented man.

Our visit to Amsterdam also included a canal boat ride, visiting several shops and of course eating at delicious resturants. On Friday of that week we took a taxi to the train station and anxiously awaited our first trip on the European Railway. Next stop-Munich, Germany.

Nature Journaling a different way

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:55:00 -0500

This was listed at www.chirotoons.com . I can't wait to try it with the girls.

A few years ago at a homeschool show we attended, a lady shared a neat nature project with us: Collecting Spider Web Art. It was so neat (and we've had requests to repeat it), that we'll share it here with you.

Here's how you do it:

1) Locate a spider's web, hopefully somewhere outside. Have the kids gently shoo away the spider ("Go on! Git!").

2) Tape a white piece of paper on some cardboard to make it stiff.

3) Take a can of spray paint and spray through the spider web. Don't spray so hard it tears up the web. You want to coat the web but leave it pretty much intact.

4) While the web is still wet with the paint, hold the cardboard/paper BEHIND the spider web and pull it TOWARD you slowly, so it comes right flat through the web. Set aside to dry thoroughly. The painted spider's web will stick to the paper, and when it dries, you'll have a painted "print" of the web itself.

This lady said her kids (and grandkids) had quite a collection of these mounted in a notebook, and the variety of webs you can find is truly amazing. Every web is different, a true work of art, and a testimony once again that there is a Master Designer and Creator of all things...

Parlez-vous francais?

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:35:00 -0500

My family and I are getting ready to leave on an extended trip to Europe. We'll be spending most of our time in France. Being the good homeschool mom, I've been trying to prepare the girls before we leave. One of the things we've done is use Rosetta Stone French. It's an amazing program that I highly recommend. The girls beg to do it each day and we've all learned so much. www.rosettastone.com

Some libraries offer this online to their patrons.

We spend a lot of time in the car. Another program we're using is Berlitz Basic French. It's an oldie, but goodie! We were fortunate to borrow it from a friend. It consists of three 60-minute audio cassettes (yes, I said cassettes! LOL) and a 192 page study guide with exercises and notes.

Finally, I recently found this http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/

It's a wonderful site that offers a new French word a day in story form. She also has several books to purchase. You can get on her mailing list and receive the new words directly in your email box.

I'll be sure to post when we return from our trip and let you know if our French programs paid off.

Au revoir!

Shakespeare Game

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:00:00 -0500

I copied this from a beautiful blog: blestwithsons

Shakespeare Game

Romance. Here is the tale of a married life. All the answers are title of Shakespeare�s plays. [�] Most right wins!

1. Who were the lovers?
2. What was their courtship like?
3. What did she answer to his proposal?
4. What time of month were they married?
5. Of whom did he buy the ring?
6. Who were the best man and maid of honor?
7. Who were the ushers?
8. In what kind of place did they live?
9. What was her disposition like?
10. What was his chief occupation?
11. What caused their first quarrel?
12. What did their courtship prove to be?
13. What did their married life resemble?
14. What did they give one another?
15. What did their friends say?

Here are the answers:

1.Romeo and Juliet
2. A Midsummer Night�s Dream
3. As You Like It
4. Twelfth Night
5. The Merchant of Venice
6. Troilus and Cressida orAntony and Cleopatra
7. The Two Gentleman of Verona
8. Hamlet
9. The Tempest
10. The Taming of the Shrew
11. Much Ado about Nothing
12. Love�s Labor�s Lost
13. A Comedy of Errors
14. Measure for Measure
15. All�s Well that Ends Well

I've been tagged!!!!!

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:35:00 -0500

I've been tagged by: momma2aejsk

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT

www.amblesideonline.org

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

Let me see, all kinds of text books....

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR

This isn't something you can purchase, but...last year a friend and I started a Girl's Club. We'd meet every other week. We took turns coming up with projects for our little group to do. We both think it's important for our little ladies to learn homemaking skills. At our meetings we'd share snacks, do a little project (sewing, cooking, crafts, etc) and fellowship.

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

Next year is sooo far away! I think for sure we'll use Rosetta Stone foreign language program and of course www.amblesideonline.org

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

I can't name just one...I'd like some good art supplies, computers for each of the girls and lots and lots more books!

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

A whole boxed set of each year of the Ambleside curriculum, including the artist prints, nature supplies and music cd's.

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING

Love to Learn

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY

www.amblesideonline.org

10) TAG 5 PEOPLE
Off to tag