We are a cottage school in rural Indiana. This is a blog about our adventures! (This picture is where Gene Stratton Porter wrote her book, "A Girl of the Limberlost." It is one of our favorite field trip destinations!) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:08:00 -0500 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:08:00 -0500 School started Aug. 13 and we have had so many amazing experiences already! I will be sharing more about them in the future.  We have also been busy caring for a dear teacher who has fallen gravely ill.  As soon as I have some time and I get my computer fixed I'll be posting.  I just wanted you all to know that the year is going splendidly! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/397420/ Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:08:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/397420/ This past weekend was our Awards Dinner and our first annual Chess Tournament.  Those receiving awards were as follows: Matt L.:  Chess Strategies Isaiah:  Physical Fitness Matt S.:  Art Isaac:  Physical Fitness Janie:  Home Economics & Perfect Attendance Gunnar:  Science Reese:  Literature (Reese learned to read this year!) Noah:  Music We also had a chess tournament as that was one of our big unit studies this year.  Every child learned to play chess, and even the children with learning disabilities were able to master the moves.  Now all they have to do is practice to learn strategy and I am amazed at how many of them are learning to think several moves ahead!  It's truly amazing to watch. We used these materials to learn: The kids loved the songs on this CD!  And with the coloring book, even the youngest students and those with disabilities were able to learn chess. These were are main resources.  It is a book called Chess Basics by Stephen A. Schneider as well as a DVD (this picture shows a video, but it comes in DVD).  What an excellent resource!!  I highly recommend it. The winners of the 2007 LCA chess tournament: Left to right:  Matt, 10th grade, 1st place; Noah, 10th grade, 2nd place; Gunnar, 3rd grade, 3rd place.  Congratulations to our winners!  I am so proud of them! We purchased a new tournament chess set for each student.  I love these sets!  I am going to get one for myself eventually even though all three of my boys have them.  They are really nice.  You can get them at http://wholesalechess.com.  Each student also got a medal for completing the course. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/334631/ Mon, 28 May 2007 13:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/334631/ Come closer, Reader, I have a tale to tell you. It's a tale about a tale about a tail. The author of this tale is Kate DiCamillo.  You might know her book, Because of Winn Dixie. But this isn't about that book, Reader.  This is about another book.  It's about the book that won her a John Newberry Medal and made her cry. She cried when she won the medal.   Not when she wrote the book.  As far as I know. You can learn more about her here: http://www.katedicamillo.com/about.html I know nothing more about this author.  I don't know her proclivities, her character, her habits or her religion.  All I know, Reader, is that this author can write. I mean, really write. If you are interested in a story about a princess, a mouse and a bowl of soup then you will love this book, The Tale of Despereaux. I adore this book.  It is delicious, delectable, yummy and scrumptious (especially the soup part!).  I think you and your kids will like it, too.  That is, if you like stories about princesses, knights, castles, dungeons, mice and mean old rats. This book has lovely spiritual overtones – the light of the castle overcoming the darkness of the dungeon, and most of all – the power of forgiveness and love. It isn’t for very young children.  But it was a delightful read-aloud for my audience of 1st – 10th graders.  We laughed, we anticipated, we cried, and we cheered!  It was a grand tale and we were ever so sorry it was over when it ended.  We wanted to stay with our new-found friends, Despereaux, the Princess Pea, Miggery Sow and Cook, and go on more adventures with them. If your younger child is scared of dungeons and mice and mean old rats, then you might want to wait to read this story.  It’s an honest story.  When something bad happens, the consequences are true.  But it is, in my mind, Reader, only one of the reasons this book is destined to be a classic.  It is one of the best books I've ever read aloud to children -- and trust me -- I've read a lot of classic books out loud to children! Despereaux became very real to us.  And for that, he gets to sit on my shelf forevermore, wielding his sword, (okay, his needle), and protecting the princess he so loves, forever and forever more. But you must HURRY, Reader, to read this book, before the movie comes out in 2008 and ruins it for everyone!  Do NOT watch the movie before you read this book!  It is just too well written to miss out on.  The author is one of the grandest weaver of tales for children – of the same quality as E.B. White and A. A. Milne – and you will want to expose your children to her gift! I am so happy our students got to hear her story!  And you will be, too, after you read it! Courage, Reader! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/322309/ Tue, 1 May 2007 19:19:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/322309/      Monday, Dec. 4, I took to the older kids to the King Tut Museum at the Field Museum in Chicago.  Here are the three boys and Mrs. Craig, our art teacher, sitting on the bus.  Of course, the kids had to sit in the back, where I froze!     Here are the girls:     King Tut and the gangSue the Dinosaur and LCA TeensEveryone enjoyed the animal exhibits more than the King Tut one!  Nature studies are paying off!The three musketeers waiting in line at the museum. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/252051/ Thu, 7 Dec 2006 22:30:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/252051/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236800/ Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:18:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236800/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236793/ Wed, 11 Oct 2006 18:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236793/ One of our favorite trips is the annual Battle of Mississinewa reenactment.  You can find out more about the event here:http://www.mississinewa1812.com/It was really cold that day, but we all had a good time!The reenactment is not really very accurate toward the battle of Mississinewa itself because they have to use what volunteers show up for the weekend.  My son would love to do something like this.  He wants to be an Indian since he is a Native American through his father.  His ancestor was an Indian Chief.  What really happened at Mississinewa is Campbell's force surprised and attacked the first of four Indian villages on the Mississinewa River.  Eight Indians and one African-American are killed.  Forty-two Indians, including 34 women and children, are captured.   Two American solders lose their lives. Enjoy the pictures! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236791/ Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:31:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236791/       We took our camping trip later than planned.  We went to River City Campground October 5-8 and the kids learned a lot and we had a great muddy time!      The biggest reason I take them camping is to get them closer to nature and to help them become more aware of plants and animals.  I usually take them camping to learn about living without electricity, but this year we stayed in cabins as you'll see by the pictures.  Even though they were really only one room, the kids still had acess to a bathroom with flushable toilets and showers.  We hadn't had that in the past years!  I am just getting too old to pitch tents alone!       We were also extremely blessed to have a COOK the entire time!  Mrs. Craig organized all the food and pulled it off, too!  I was free then to just spend time teaching the kids.  It was a great time of learning!      One of the favorite fun things we did, that had no educational purpose at all really, was to tell them there was a rare Timbuktooian bird in the forest.  My daughter-in-law and I hid bags of jelly beans and various colors of feathers.  We hid three purple feathers and I told a story about how the Timbuktooian was now extinct but that I was told one still existed in the forest and we were going to go hunt for the eggs.  If they found feathers and especially purple ones, they were very rare.  The people with purple feathers got a prize.  The kids loved it, and the first grader quizzed me all weekend trying to figure out if he was real or not.  He knew he wasn't but it was a lot of fun hearing his logic at work figuring it all out!      Enjoy the pictures!Meal time!Our cook, Mrs. Craig and the teens.Mrs. Kara Akins, Miss Val, Pastor Mary and JanieBubbles were a big hit at the camp out!Getting ready to go fishing the old fashioned way!I never did find the right name for these mushrooms.  If anyone knows what they are, e-mail me or leave a comment!  They make a great smoke when you squeeze them.  I didn't let the kids do it, though, in case they were allergic or they were toxic, which disappointed them greatly.Mrs. Craig cooking pancakes early in the morning.The whole group loves chess.  It's a real hit and it tickles me that they enjoy it so much because it is so good for them!Isaac and Reese about to play checkers. Reese looks pretty determined!Inside the cabin that one first place for cleanest cabin!Hawthorne Berries? Elderberries?   If you know what these are, please leave a comment or e-mail me!Cute kids and a cute cabin, too!Fungi -- any ideas what kind?  Shelf?  Please contact me if you know!  I love the lines in this picture with all the logs going different directions.Fungi!  (Again!)Hot on the trail of a Timbuktooian!Reese working on his nature journal.Janie reading another horse book.  She rarely puts those down!Brandon found a rare Timuktooian feather!I've yet to meet a boy who didn't love to throw rocks into the water!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236775/ Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:28:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/236775/ The students made bags for their nature journals.Brandon's Nature Journal BagMatt, Isaac Daniel and their Nature Journal Bags.Isaiah, Reese, NoahObviously, this is Matt.You guessed it, this is Gunnar! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/219812/ Sun, 8 Oct 2006 01:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/219812/     We are having a lot of fun using our new Chess curriculum this year!  We discovered Chess Basics with Coach Steve Schneider last spring during the Indianapolis homeschool conference.  It's a great plus to our school!      Studies show that kids who play chess score higher in math and science and do better in reading!  The kids just think they are having fun.  :-)    You can learn more about this program here:      The five products we are using are:Color My Chess World:  Coloring book and music CD.  The music on this CD is great fun and the kids love it!Chess Basics with the Chess Basics workbook and instructional DVDLarge vinyl chess board that can be rolled and placed into its bag along with the chess pieces.Vinyl carrying case    I found some really nice chess sets at a store that was going out of business for a mere $1.00 so every two kids have their own set to play on!  We use the larger vinyl set for instruction and the kids love using it themselves and take turns with it.    The students don't know it yet, but I purchased some magnetic sets for field trip days:    The following is an article that explains the benefits of our students playing chess!Why Offer Chess in Schools?By Chessmaster Jerry Meyers 1) History Chess is a classic game of strategy, invented more than 1500 years ago in India. Legend has it that the ruler of India asked his wise men to devise a way to teach the children of the royal family to become better thinkers and better generals on the battlefield. Chess was the result. In the centuries since its invention, chess has spread to every country in the world. While countless other games have died out, chess lives on. In the United States, it has received endorsements by many educators, ranging from Benjamin Franklin to former U.S. Secretary of Education, Terrell Bell. In Western Pennsylvania, more than 70 schools and a dozen libraries offer chess programs, reaching several thousand students each year. 2) Academic Benefits We have brought chess to the schools because we believe it directly contributes to academic performance. Chess makes kids smarter. It does so by teaching the following skills:     Focusing - Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't respond to it, no matter how smart they are.     Visualizing - Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.     Thinking Ahead - Children are taught to think first, then act. We teach them to ask themselves "If I do this, what might happen then, and how can I respond?" Over time, chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.     Weighing Options - Children are taught that they don't have to do the first thing that pops into their mind. They learn to identify alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.     Analyzing Concretely - Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or hurt me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.     Thinking Abstractly - Children are taught to step back periodically from details and consider the bigger picture. They also learn to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different, but related situations.     Planning - Children are taught to develop longer range goals and take steps toward bringing them about. They are also taught of the need to reevaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.     Juggling Multiple Considerations Simultaneously -Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh various factors all at once.     None of these skills are specific to chess, but they are all part of the game. The beauty of chess as a teaching tool is that it stimulates children's minds and helps them to build these skills while enjoying themselves. As a result, children become more critical thinkers, better problem solvers, and more independent decision makers. 3) Educational Research These conclusions have been backed up by educational research. Studies have been done in various locations around the United States and Canada, showing that chess results in increased scores on standardized tests for both reading and math. A study on a large scale chess program in New York City, which involved more than 100 schools and 3,000 children, showed higher classroom grades in both English and Math for children involved in chess. Studies in Houston, Texas and Bradford, Pennsylvania showed chess leads to higher scores on the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. 4) Social Benefits In the schools, chess often serves as a bridge, bringing together children of different ages, races and genders in an activity they can all enjoy. Chess helps build individual friendships and also school spirit when children compete together as teams against other schools. Chess also teaches children about sportsmanship - how to win graciously and not give up when encountering defeat. For children with adjustment issues, there are many examples where chess has led to increased motivation, improved behavior, better self-image, and even improved attendance. Chess provides a positive social outlet, a wholesome recreational activity that can be easily learned and enjoyed at any age. Why does chess have this impact? Why did chess players score higher on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as well as the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal? Briefly, there appear to be at least seven significant factors:     1) Chess accommodates all modality strengths.     2) Chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice.     3) Chess offers immediate punishments and rewards for problem solving.     4) Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that, when used faithfully, breeds success. The chess-playing students had become accustomed to looking for more and different alternatives, which resulted in higher scores in fluency and originality.     5) Competition. Competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of achievement (Stephan, 1988).     6) A learning environment organized around games has a positive affect on students’ attitudes toward learning. This affective dimension acts as a facilitator of cognitive achievement (Allen & Main, 1976). Instructional gaming is one of the most motivational tools in the good teacher’s repertoire. Children love games. Chess motivates them to become willing problem solvers and spend hours quietly immersed in logical thinking. These same young people often cannot sit still for fifteen minutes in the traditional classroom.     7) Chess supplies a variety and quality of problems. As Langen (1992) states: “The problems that arise in the 70-90 positions of the average chess game are, moreover, new. Contexts are familiar, themes repeat, but game positions never do. This makes chess good grist for the problem-solving mill.” http://www.youthchess.net    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/194577/ Fri, 1 Sep 2006 20:10:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/libertyscholars/194577/