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WOW, Can you believe its October already? We are just plugging along here. Computer class is going excellent and this session Joey is working on making a computer movie. This is by far Joeys favorite activity. We are doing some one day classes at the zoo in the coming months. In September Joey took 2 classes at the science center, one about crystals and one about cat-a-pults. We continue to visit the science on a regular basis. Joey saw the Narnia exhibit once and Grossology 5-6times. Wow, thats alot of grossness. *I* am going back to school for my teaching certificate and completed the first class wtih out problems. One down, five to go. I should be done by the end of spring and be student teaching next fall. Right now I am waiting to sub-teach and everything for that should fall into place in the next week or so. Joey is working on 5th-6th grade material. We also met with Johns Hopkins Univeristy for the CTY program. I hope we can qualify for next year, the experience is something Joey is looking forward to. |
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All I can say is it's been too hot to do much of anything outside. Think 114 and humid. Joey is enjoying his computer class. The class is an intimate group of 6 kids and the teacher is great. They get lots of individual attention and free time to explore. Joey is excited to take the fall class as well. We decided to give Michaels' craft store another chance at the craft class today. Today it was a kit that had 3 leather working pcs in it. First was a bookmark to color, 2nd was a luggage tag and 3rd was a braclet. I think the best part was seeing some of the kids AND MOM'S we've missed for months. Joey dropped the city art program due to issues with the teacher, he loved the program but the teacher needed to take 'smoke breaks' during a 2 hr class. He had issue with that and so did I. So sad since it was such a cute program and they made many cute things. For the past few weeks Joey has been on a kids Poetry kick and are reading "Poerty" type books. Dont get excited this isnt Dickenson, just silly things like "The Laundry Pile" and "The Snake Alley Band" We have a blast and oh ya... we are learning shhhhhhhhhhh dont tell anyone. Tomorrow we have plans to head back to the Science center I *think* this is our 4th trip this summer, we now go by bus, I saves $$ in gas and parking and also teaches us social studies and how to use the bus. The bus takes an hour, about the same time to drive and I save about $10 in gas and parking so its a good deal and Joey loves it. The Science Center has a re-done the 3rd floor with a new land and weather exhibit that he can't get enough of. Right now he is obsessed wtih tornados. On a personal note, I am working on a number of crochet projects. Keeping myself busy and out of trouble. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer season, learning and having fun.... shhhhhhhh dont tell anyone they are learning. ON ONE FINAL NOTE... we have really cleaned up in the FREE BOOK category this summer. Joey has done the Barnes and Noble reading club numerous times, i asked at 2 stores and they said it was 2x PER STORE, i called corporate to verify and they said it was 2x PER STORE, so my child has 8 free books so far. Joey is also working on the library reading game, no free books there just something to do. |
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Time to catch up. Joey has been doing lots of unschooling learning. He spent 2 weeks in Ohio the end of June. He went to the Spangler Candy Factory and toured the area where DUM DUM POPS are made. He even got to ride on a trolly. After that Joey went to a week of INVENTORS CAMP. They made some really cool inventions and some good friends. He saw WALL-E, the movie, played PUTT-PUTT, had a sleep-over party at Aunt Muffins and Uncle Greg's, went swimming, played with other neighbor kids, saw lots and lots of rain. Sounds like he had a great summer vacation in Ohio. Now that he is back during July he is taking a computer class thru the city and learning how to work Micosoft Word and basic typing skills. He truly enjoyed the first session yesterday. Its been too hot to swim here. We are taking refuge inside and doing art projects and reading lots. I will try to post some pics later. |
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I woke up this morning to find my lovely 7 yr old on YOUTUBE. Somedays I wish.... oh nevermind... Tomorrow pm we are headed to the zoo for STARRY SAFARI. That should be lots of fun, they are susposed to have water slides and such. http://www.phoenixzoo.org/events/special_events/special_events_detail.aspx?ARTICLE_ID=100669 EVERY FRIDAY ACTIVITIES
It sounds like lots of fun and each friday they have a different main event, this week it is Radio Disney. There will also be animal talks and lots of WATER FUN... |
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Some friends have asked me to post more pics. Since I am still technology challenged I can only have 5-6 posted here at 1x so I had to delete the previous pics. Our most recent field trip was to Ceretta candy company for the tour and 'candy pizza' making.
We also went to the Science Center www.azscience.org for the GROSSOLOGY exhibit
Yes it was gross, Susan you are going next time LOL Finally here is a pic of my 'lifeguard'
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I have been very neglectful of my blog. In my defense we have been VERY busy doing field trips and activities. Just to list a few and I promise I WILL elaborate this weekend. We joined the Science center and saw "Grossology" , we visited the Zoo again, Joey takes art "mess art" class 1x month thru the city. Joey has been swimming, went to a b'day party at "Pump it Up". The library card has been maxed out many many times and the programs they offer are stellar. crafts, puppet shows, story time etc. Joey took a friend to the Arizona Puppet Theater yesterday to see "Big Bug Circus". Its amazing I have time to breathe. I PROMISE I will give details this weekend, and maybe a pic or 2 |
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Joey and I had original plans to visit the ZOO today but when we arrived at 11am there was no parking and everyone was in overflow at the city lot. We decided since everyone had the same idea as us we would go across the park area to HALL OF FLAME http://www.hallofflame.org/ . We spent about an hour there learing about old firetrucks and fire safety. It was air conditioned and we had a blast. From there we stopped at taco bell for lunch YUMMY, then we stopped at ENCHANTED ISLAND http://www.enchantedisland.com/ for about an hour. By then it was 1pm and 85 degrees... we were HOT. All in all it was a wonderful day and great start to an Easter Weekend. |
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Over the past couple weeks Joey and I visited the zoo twice. Once during the day and once for an evening event. WE SAW ELEPHANTS EATING
BRUSHING THE GOATS Joey loved the kids tire swing and we learned alot about DUCKWEED (google for a defination) We had quite a full day. Later one evening we attended : ZOOMATION IS A NEW PROGRAM THAT INCORPORATES ART INTO EVERYDAY LIFE... There were lots of art projects including, legos, beads, coloring, tissue paper flowers, mini acting classes etc... We were lucky enough to get a private tour of the STINGRAY BAY... the Rays were excited to see us and jumped out and splashed in excitement. |
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Saturday we attended "Touch A Truck" LAYING DOWN IN THE BACK OF THE KIDDIE AMBULANCE THE TOTALLY AWESOME TOTALLY COOL WEINER MOBILE PLAYING ON THE FLATBED, LEARNING ABOUT FIRE HYDRANTS, MEETING THE AIRFORCE PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX AREA... BEING 'SOCIAL' TOO All in all we had a good morning. They provided EAR PLUGS (hence the orange tubes sticking out of my childs ears). Joey saw lots of different trucks, he didnt care for the Garbage truck and told the operater "Your truck stinks" LOL... Also he got to play in a bounce house, he LOVED the childrens ambulance and the frozen food truck where he got to play in the back of the a/c truck. Lots of learning, science, social studies, community involvement etc...
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Perler bead fun... a couple fun action shots from last nights art events.. Yes I found my USB cable and figured out how to upload pictures.. it only ONLY Took a year... You can bet there will be more pictures to follow. Today Joey read The Magic Tree House Research Guide about the Titanic. and he is itching to get on the computer and do some research of his own tonight.
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Joey just loved Perler beads... www.perlerbeads.com Today again he was working on making patterns, following directions and fine motor skills... all while he was having fun and making crafts. He went to a science class at the library on 'bridges' and used toothpicks, gumdrops and marshmallows to build a suspension bridge. Socializing and learning what a dream day. Tonight he is going to do a couple worksheets then watch a Magic School Bus Movie. I wanted to upload some pictures but I lost my USB cable in the move |
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Tuesday was very productive school-wise. Joey came home and did an ENTIRE social studies chapter Tomorrow(weds) he has a science class at the library about bridges and tunnels... He is looking forward to it and when he is in class i will pick out some books for us to look at this week. I just picked up 2 huge bags of yarn and will be learning how to do 'granny squares' at work tomorrow so I hope to be able to make afghans quickly and neatly. Im about 1/2 done with a rugby stripe blanket im working on. I would have been done sooner but I needed to unravel some of my working.
Im starting to play around with uploading pictures.. here is one from September when Joey wanted blue toe nails... very cute huh?? Joey and his blue toes |
Then he did some math pages... He wanted to do more but I redirected him back to an art project. 
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Its President's Day. We are UNSCHOOLING today... For the past week or so Grandma was in town so Joey didnt have any official worksheets... But he choose to do some coloring sheets of the states and Famous US leaders. Thats counts as "Presidents day work" if you ask me. Grandma took Joey to the Wildlife World Zoo, The Mall, Chuck E Cheese, The park for a scooter ride, basketball, baseball and playtime, The cooked 4 trays of Lasagana (our favorite) They saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie and did lots and lots of other fun activites. Wow Homeschool kids sure are UNSOCIALIZED aren't they? We have been keeping up with Saturday Art classes and last week the craft involved popsicle sticks and making a one-dimensional log cabin. Joey was able to be creative and use markers to put designs on each horizontal stick.- such a free thinker, you can bet his house didnt DIDNT look a thing like the model when he was done ... THATS MY BOY... Tonight I was going to stop at MC Donalds for a bit and let Joey play... again more unsocialized time LOL...then come home for a great tray of lasagana. Im back to work tomorrow (took off today) so tonight I will set out some worksheets and see if they grasp Joey's interest. |
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Oh my I keep forgetting to list our 'school' activites. Saturdays we keep doing art class at Michaels. Joey loves art and enjoys it weekly. I am trying to remember to fit in the Kids Club at Home Depot the first Saturday of the month but we are so programmed to Michaels. We also do art at the library once a month, tomorrow is another class and they are fun as well. The library also has a once a month science class. Last week the kids learned about 'pop fizz bubble' and worked with soda cans and 2L bottles. I am trying to get us to the zoo a couple more times before our membership needs to be renewed. I have been lax on visiting the Puppet Theater too. I wanted to see "Father Goose" last weekend but we were busy moving so we missed it. I was sad ;( Joey is working thru language arts, spelling and math for 3rd grade along with some social studies and science books. Right now he is reading more and doing workbooks less. |
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Well just when I thought things were going well, life goes and throws us a curve ball. My life long babysitter quit at the end of the year, no notice, no explaination, nothing... so I find a replacement, a nice family who are foster-parents and seem to be genuine and great. After 3 short weeks all falls apart. Apparently they are not as open-minded to homeschooling as I thought they where. They dont seem to understand 'child lead' parenting and education etc etc etc... The family is very strict and structured, something that us as unschoolers are not. The mother felt Joey was acting out and being rude, he was confused and upset about a number of things. This was just one fall out after another. So today it all came to a head when my child yet again was in time out when i got there, my child was upset and both parents were antagonizing him. And in my mind I began to silently question why am I paying our good $$ for this type of treatment. The final straw was when they recommended I enroll my child in school so he can learn in a structured environment. (that totally defeats the entire unschooling theory) Joey and I went this evening to interview yet another sitter and hired her on the spot. Hopefully this situation will work for the better. Does anyone else notice if they unschool, their entire lifestyle is much different then most other families...Our children are free spirits and free thinkers, they like to organize thier time and explore things at a slower pace. Tonight my child was happy and excited to make some beaded crafts and read a book. I saw no signs of anger or rage nor did i see any disrespect. Again I saw a child brought up in an unstructured environment who has been left to make most of his own decisions. I love unschooling and homeschooling and I hope we continue to learn this way for many many years to come. |
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We have been super busy here, finishing off workbooks and learning.... Joey didnt even really take a winter break... I will have to update soon.... |
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Wow what a fun couple days we've been having. Monday night we went to zoolights at the phoenix zoo. The weather was cold and rainy, we almost had the place to ourselves... Today, Tuesday we went to the Arizona Science Center and saw the Titantic Exhibit. Again we went later in the day, around noon when the school groups were ending the tours and we almost had the entire building to ourselves. Joey is obsessed with the Titantic and we spent about an hr in the exhibit. I even found it interesting. They had an 'iceberg' to touch and lots of artifacts. I hope I can figure out how to upload more pics to share.. |
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Things are going well here. Attitudes sure change when Nintendo gameboy time is limited. Joey is working on school books and slowly finishing up 2nd grade. I found a new store called ... Lakeshore Learning in North Phoenix... I purchased 2 games/toys for Christmas to help with fine motor skills for Joey. One is a dart board, the second is a peg board type toy. Joey is also using the Knifty Knitter tools and working on a pink and green scarf. He works slow but is learning and not making many mistakes. I have been knitting as well and creating some very cute knitted hats and scarfs.... My next adventure is a blanket for Joey made on a large knifty knitter. This weekend we are finishing up wrapping presents that need to be shipped to Ohio. This is pretty much a homemade holiday with one homemade item and one bath body works item.... shhhh dont tell anyone.. I am off work on Tuesday and we are going to the Science Center to see the Titantic Exhibit. Joey is excited. We are also planning a trip to see the Zoolights and both zoo's... |
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Wow, one post all month... I am slacking... Joey finished his 'All about me' me book and did fairly well on it. This month we are focusing on social studies and a math review. It should be full speed ahead to finish most of 2nd grade and start the new year fresh with 3rd grade materials. We have several holiday events planned. Ice skating with Santa in 2 weeks, zoo lights at both zoo's, possibly a trip to the train park to see the lights...and a trip to the Science Center to tour the Titantic Exhibit. Also the usual art classes have been put on hold for December. Things are a bustle with wrapping and shipping so we will start them in January. This week Joey has an Art program at the library and we will check out a number of books/media while there as well. I hope to get some holiday cooking/baking done as well.. |
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Plugging along at Social Studies and Self awareness. Ironically Joey is developing some behavior issues that im NOT pleased with. Im sure they are just average 7 yr old boy actions but still... Im trying to nip it in the bud so to speak. For example he can use a fork an spoon proficiently but is determined to eat everything with his hands. This makes a huge mess with foods like salad and spaghetti. His vocabulary leaves a bit to be desired as well. He is a bit too concerned with bodily funtions for my liking. He is becoming very argumentative and cranky. For example just now he continued to make a mess in the bathroom and make loud banging noises with a ball. He lost the ball and needed to put it in the trash. It will be gone for good. I was met with a glare that could kill. So this seems like a good time to start our "Self Awareness" lessons. We are also focusing on 2nd grade social studies which is covering groups of people and neighborhoods, again bringing up ideas about differences etc. I hope to have 2nd grade completed by the holidays so we can move toward 3rd grade in 2008. I am lacking the patience to foucs on handwriting and I am lacking the funds for a class. I am hoping this improves with practice. Next week I will be going back to making a schedule of work for Joey. Hoping that will lead him back into the mind frame of work must be done daily. |