Typical Monday

Warning:  This post is a potentially boring play-by-play of my day.  Read at your own discretion.

I forgot to set the alarm on Sunday night and woke up at 7:30 Monday morning.  Oops.

I took the trash to the curb, hauled wood for the fire, made coffee, and woke up the boys.

I made a goal chart for Thing1's week because I forgot to do it yesterday.  Oops again.

Thing2 and I did his lessons (phonics, math, and handwriting) while I ate breakfast and drank coffee.  He felt like a rebel since he didn't have to eat, dress, and brush teeth first. I should have taken a picture.  He was wearing underwear and my fuzzy blue robe with the sleeves rolled up.

I woke up Thing1 again.

The boys ate, dressed, and brushed teeth.  I put off my shower because I didn't wake up early enough.  I dressed and put my hair in a ponytail.  Mercifully, I am not including pictures at this point.

I did some long-procrastinated, due-today computer jobs while the boys bundled up and played in the snow one last time before it melted.

When I realized I had not written a blog post in a month, I decided to document an actual sample day for two reasons.  First, I am feeling frustrated with never getting my chores done. Second, I want to be able to look at it in a few years and remember. Maybe one day in the future, when I look back at this post and remember the simplicity of our life "back then," I will laugh at how anxious and scatterbrained I was and smile in contentment about how serene and organized I have become.  Or I will compare what used to be hectic with what is hectic now and sigh in resignation as I realize that I am what I am.  Either way, I will thank God for the blessings that keep me busy.

At 10:20, I finally got started on some chores.

At 10:45, My trusty Home Routines app (very useful for $4.99) reminded me that I had not done hair and makeup.  Plus, I remembered how lazy I sounded when I had to blog that I had not taken a shower yet.  So I took a shower.  Still no makeup or fixed hair, but at least I was clean.

11:07 and the boys were still outside.  I checked on them again. (I banged a pan with a wooden spoon.  They waved and hollered, "We're okay.")  They have been busy building a fort in the brush.  Snow just makes it more fun.

I fixed lunch - leftover spaghetti and salad - and started eating. While I was eating, at 11:30, the boys came in and piled up an entire load of dirty, wet laundry.  It took awhile to undress, warm up, and make hot chocolate.

I resumed my lunch while we did memory work.  The memory work prize was dessert - one bite for every correct answer.  Sometimes it's hard to get started:

At 12:45, we started rest time.  Thing1 took his work to his room (getting a late start on his goal chart).  Thing2 played Lincoln Logs in the den.  I took my Bible to my room and read like I should have done this morning.  There's another penalty for waking up late.  What else does Mom do during rest time?  It is a mystery.

At 1:45 the rest time timer ended, and I did hair and makeup.  After this point, unexpected company or Facetime calls were welcome.

I stoked the fire and vacuumed the kitchen and mud room.  Not on my afternoon routine list, but necessary.

I discovered that Thing1 finished all his independent work except for math during rest time.  That is highly unusual.  I corrected his work.

At 2:30, I worked on this post and printed out Thing1's writing worksheets...Something else I was supposed to have done yesterday. Oops again.

I read a few pages of Castle Diary to Thing2.

Thing1 took a play break, then I helped him with writing, spelling, and history for an hour and a half.

Every day around 5:00 I have to make the daily decision of whether to get supper on the table or do some afternoon chores that, once again, have not been accomplished.  Today, as usual, I chose supper. Therefore, the clean laundry pile grew even higher, and I did not get any gold stars on my afternoon chore list.

We ate and wasted some time until about 6:00.

Thing2 got ready for his basketball game and practiced dribbling and passing in the kitchen for a few minutes before we left for his 7:00 game.  No dishes were broken. By the way, 7:00 is too late to start a 4 and 5-year-old basketball game.

Thing2 hustled during his game, so we skated (almost literally-the parking lot was slick) to Starbucks to celebrate.

When we got home, we read.  The Husband read The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, Thing1 read a library book about Vikings, and Thing2 read Berenstein Bears to me.

The Husband put the boys to bed at 9:00, I finished addressing Christmas cards at 10:00, and then I finished this post. Throw in a few mess cleanups, phone calls, washer to dryer switches, etc., and that pretty much sums up the day.

Most days, I feel frustrated about never getting all of my daily chores done, much less weekly or monthly chores. However, after reading this post, I feel satisfied that we get some important things done every day even if the house looks like barbarians live here and even if I never get gold stars on my routine app.

Plans and Changes

I have been hesitant to publish my plans for this year as a lot of changes are taking place, and many of our plans are at a see-how-it-goes-and-go-from-there status.  However, much of our lineup for this year looks similar to last year.

The first big change this year is that there are two school-aged children in our house, so Thing2 feels very important now.  He is especially looking forward to math.  Thing1 is 7 (roughly 2nd grade), and Thing2 is 5 (roughly kindergarten).

The second big change is that we have joined a Classical Conversations Community, which excites me greatly!  The rigor in math, science, history, geography, and Latin memory work will be a change (hopefully for the better), but the underlying classical method will be consistent with our last two years. (What is Classical Education?)  The one day a week away from home will also be similar to our last couple of years in Wednesday School, which has worked well for us.  I look forward to the community for the kids and accountability for myself.

The third big change is that, Lord willing, we will be in a new house by the time school begins.  If everything goes through, I will have a den connected to the kitchen and laundry room that can be dedicated to school!  This will be perfect since the three things I do every day are kitchen, laundry, and lessons.  It might actually be possible to multi-task with this setup.  I am ecstatic about the possibility of not having to use a bedroom for lessons and school storage.

At-Home Lineup:
Math-U-See Beta for Thing1
Math-U-See Primer for Thing2

Writing With Ease Year 2, Growing with Grammar Level 2, Prescripts, and Spelling Power for Thing1
Reading Reflex and Handwriting Without Tears Grade 1 for Thing2

Story of the World, Middle Ages (See how it goes...Probably just reading, coloring, and using the activity book's excellent Corresponding Literature lists) for Thing1 and Thing2
Famous Figures of Medieval Times

Exploring Creation with Astronomy and the Jr. Notebooking Journal (See how it goes...We will be memorizing Science Facts and doing experiments with CC, so we might take it easy on this set.) for Thing1 (and Thing2 as desired)

Books, Books, Books for both Thing1 and Thing2 to read aloud and read alone.  I keep a Pinterest Board for inspiration when we run dry.  Also, the Writing with Ease Workbook is full of ideas.  And I won't forget Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook.

All in all, I am excited about this new year.  Each year so far has brought a deeper desire of learning for myself, and I think that desire is contagious...except in the area of spelling.  Lessons have not yet become a drudgery for the kids.  Learning new things as well as reviewing familiar things still fires them up.  (Please note that I did not say that developing the self-discipline to actually do the work is not drudgery.  On the contrary, it is the definition of drudgery for them and me.)  I am looking forward to the changes of this year encouraging us to look at familiar things from new perspectives.

2013-14 Shopping List

Drumroll, please...

I have finalized my 2013-14 Shopping List Pinterest board.  Check it out if you are interested.

I am reusing some things (Reading Reflex, math manipulatives, Writing With Ease Instruction Text, Usborne World History, and an old Story of the World Activity Book I found in my Mom's stuff), but I am still having to buy a lot.  Maybe next year I will be able to use more of what I already have for Thing2.  Then again, maybe not!

My financial conscience balm is that the total of my shopping list is thousands less than sending the kids to a private school.  And even though it is several hundred dollars more than sending them to a public school that I already support through taxes, I get to maintain control of their education, which is priceless in my book.


Needless to say, I am super excited to have my list.  I plan to wait until after the OKC Curriculum Fair to order.  If possible, I will go and buy there.  I would love to support the vendors who travel to these fairs and let us homeschoolers flip through actual books and handle materials before we buy.

Stamps make anything more fun!

Okay, so memorizing addition facts still isn't fun, but these stamps helped a lot today.

 

The castle stamp is from the Knight Story Kit (Aladine Brand) from Fat Brain Toys.

I asked Thing1 the problem and gave him 5 seconds.  If he responded correctly within the time limit, we stamped it.  It felt like a game at first, although the whole sheet was a little much for him.  Tomorrow we'll try for the ones he missed with a king stamp and blue ink..

In the Alpha level in Math U See, we are to the point of learning subtraction facts.  But since we don't have all the addition facts memorized, I am taking it slow on the lessons and concentrating on memorizing them.  He knows how to figure them out, but I want him to be able to spit out the answer without having to figure it out first.  My theory is that if the addition facts are memorized, subtraction will be easy!

I was thinking...We could use stamps for lots of things other than math facts.  Any ideas?

 

Reading Reflex

I did some research this morning on the Phono-Graphix method I'm modeling Thing1's phonics (or non-phonics) after.  I had no idea there was a book for parents!

This is a very logical system that teaches that words are made up of "sound pictures" instead of teaching all the rules and exceptions to rules of traditional phonics.  Basically it teaches from sound, which the child already knows inside and out, to the pictures (letters) that make the sounds instead of teaching letters, which mean nothing to the child, and then linking them with the sounds he already knows.

It is immensely satisfying to my very logical child to make lists of all the different ways that one sound is represented in words.  We call this a map.

And then, eventually, to make a list of the different sounds one picture can make.

The book is Reading Reflex by Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness.  I am ordering it now.  I just might ditch my Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading that I planned to use for Thing2 now that I have found this book written for parents.  I'll let you know.

Expense of Experience

Sometimes I walk into a room (usually the school room) and recoil at the sight of one of the boys using copious amounts of some household item on work that does not look important to me, and I wonder why I never laid down the law about using these things without my permission.


Recently, I found a pyramid-shaped stack of skinny markers bound together with layers of Scotch tape attached to Thing1's desk.  He informed me it was a cannon.  He had to use scissors to cut it apart when he needed the markers.  There is still tape on some of our markers.

Thing2 likes to wrap gifts.  The more tape, the better.

A favorite "work" is to staple all the way around a stack of scrap paper and then take all the staples back out again. 

They used $0.50 worth of toothpicks the day they made marshmallow sculptures.  Dressed up like cowboys.

While helping his dad build a shed, Thing1 used a drill motor to screw these four boards together...With about 30 screws.  The Husband plans to have Thing1 use the drill to take out the screws so he can reuse them next time he wants to build something.  Those screws are not cheap.

I try to dwell on the benefits of their work rather than the cost so as not to dampen their industry.  Then I explain to them that getting the job done is important, but using more than you need is wasteful.

After the initial shock, I remind myself (or The Husband reminds me) of all they are learning by experiencing real life, and I write off the expense as "curriculum." 

oo

Today Thing1's Phono-Graphix-inspired phonics assignment was to listen to me read a story and write all the 'oo' words he heard.

He needed help with June, you'll (snuck in a contraction lesson), and group.

I am excited about this exercise for the way it makes him think, the spelling practice, and the handwriting practice.  Obviously we are still working on letter reversals...mostly S. I plan to do this exercise again with our next sound picture.

Cloud Dough

 Pin It

Here's some fun stuff introduced to us by Flights of Whimsy via Pinterest.

It is Cloud Dough.  Simple enough for even me to make.  Interesting enough to keep Thing2 busy while I worked with Thing1.

I mixed 4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of baby oil.  It made a silky substance that formed when packed but also crumbled easily.

Don't let the mess worry you.  It's as easy as sweeping up dry flour.  After we played, we bagged it up to use again later.  To us it was definitely worth the time, effort, expense, and mess.

Ivory Explosion

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Another Pinterest-inspired activity from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.

This is one-fourth of a bar of Ivory soap:

This is what it looks like after being microwaved for 15 seconds:

This is what it looks like after being microwaved for 30 seconds:

This is what it looks like after one minute in the microwave (not much different):

It feels like lightweight styrofoam and crumbles easily. It makes a slick, soapy mess when you add water.

Thing2 smelled nice and clean after this "science experiment."

Cutting the soap bar was a good opportunity for Thing1 to learn about simple fractions.  It seems like he understood.

Big Kid Books

Thing1 began his first big-kid chapter book Wednesday.  The story was interesting to him, but the biggest challenge was the small print.  When he lost his place, he thought it was impossible to find it without reading it all again.  Something to work on.  One page was enough for the first day, but on the second day he read an entire chapter.  Since Wednesday, he finished the first 10-chapter book and started on a second.

The book was The Mystery of the Laughing Cat, part of a series I enjoyed when I was a kid.  My maiden name is scrawled inside the front cover.  I can't find that particular book on sale now, but I did find a current list of books in the series.  It looks like they have been redone since I collected them.

If he takes to it, a whole new world opens to him!  I have lots of books in this young, fluent-reader category probably because my fondest childhood memories involve this type of reading.  The thrill of having a child realize he can read and love it surpasses every thrill so far in my homeschool adventure.

His summary of the book:

Sound Picture: ea

There are a lot of different ways to sound out ea!  This is something you probably won't consider if you never teach someone to read.

 

Observation on Play and Learning

Before I publish my observation, I am going to clarify that my only claims to expertise are that I used to be a child and that I am a mother of two, big sister of six, and Aunt Nan to...well, it's hard to keep up with that number.  I have no degrees or certifications.  I don't even have any resume-worthy work experience in this area.  So this is just an observation, nothing more or less.

Playing is as vital to a child's future success as working is for an adult's.  Fred Rogers said, "Play is often talked about as a relief from serious learning.  But for children, play is serious learning.  Play is really the work of childhood."

When a child plays alone, he learns to be independent.  When he plays with others, he learns to cooperate, influence, share, and communicate.

While he plays, he experiments.  He learns that the steeper the slide, the faster the ride down.  He learns that the sun turns a marvelously muddy substance into a hard, dry cake.  He learns to control his body as he balances one more block on top of a tower as tall as he is.  His attention span lengthens as he follows Lego directions to complete increasingly complicated sculptures. 

I agree with Mr. Rogers.  This is serious!  When he plays, he practices being an adult, which is what he will be for most of his life.

What about the "serious learning?"  There is certainly a place for that, and it must be faced head-on with diligence and discipline, but it should not preclude play.  Play prepares him for "serious learning" and gives him experience to draw on as he works.  Handwriting is easier because of the hours he spent grasping knobs on puzzles, doing lacing cards, and manipulating tiny Legos.  Historical figures and events are cemented in his memory when he dresses up and acts out a story after hearing it.

I read in the comments of a blog post recently (I'm sorry I can't remember where), "What is learned with pleasure is not soon forgotten."  I believe that a child’s play should not only be allowed but respected and encouraged as a means to becoming a well-rounded, intelligent, and successful human being.

 

Miniature Tools

In this house, we believe that the right tools make all the difference.

To teach a miniature person how to do a job, it is most helpful to equip him with miniature tools.

I bought a child-sized broom and mop set (Schylling brand at Fat Brain Toys) for our preschool/kindergarten co-op class recently.  After trying it out (I must try it out on my own children before I teach others, right?), I am considering keeping it and buying the co-op another one.

Where Can I Find Audio Books?

I want to institute a listening time for Thing1 during Things2's rest time.

Factors to Consider:

• The boys received a stereo for Christmas that has a cassette player, CD player, and MP3 hookup.
• Thing1 likes to listen to books, but it is hard to find good ones on tape that are not a hassle to retrieve.
• We have tried the library2go website, which has been okay for me, but it is definitely a hassle, and there are practically no children's books.
• Our libraries have a few books on tape that we can borrow now that we have a cassette player, but we have already listened to all their books on CD, which isn't many.
• I considered buying a membership to the big library in the Fort, but I searched online, and they don't have many good children's audiobooks, either.
• I would like to start listening to the audiobooks suggested in The Well-Trained Mind such as Peter Pan, The Railway Children, Charlotte's Web, etc.
• For myself, I would like to listen (since I don't make time to sit and read) to classics that I never read. 

My Idea::
Joining Audible.

What do you think?  Please comment if there is a solution I have not considered!

*CBD link is an affiliate link.*

Accidental Inclined Plane

While Thing1 was supposed to be doing math, he was actually doodling with the manipulatives.  I was cooking, not paying much attention, when he piped up, "This is an inclined plane."

Okay.  Pretty sure I have not said those words since I was in school, much less to him.

While I took this picture, he was explaining that the slide outside is also an inclined plane.

Yay for Sid the Science Kid!

Yes, he is wearing a Navy Uniform with a play rifle strapped across his chest while he does math.  I did, however, remove the bowl of Nerds before I snapped the picture because that would definitely look too casual and unhealthy for school time.

*No affiliate links in this post.*

Cinnamon Critters

Thing1 and I made these Cinnamon Critters from Highlights the other day.

By the way, I just discovered the HighlightsKids website.  You can listen to the entire High Five magazines, listen to stories from Highlights, do Hidden Pictures, and a lot more I have yet to discover.  (These links are for your benefit, not mine!)

 I didn't have any dinner roll dough, so we used what we had on hand to make some biscuit dough with wheat flour.

Thing1 rolled the dough into these shapes, rolled them in cinnamon and sugar, then (again, using what we had on hand) arranged mint chocolate chips on top of the dough for eyes and spots.

After baking, this is how they came out.   They may not look like much, but Thing1 was proud to serve these at supper.

This next tidbit is not for the weak-stomached.

Of course Thing1 was more specific than "critters" when he created these.  One is a worm, one is a tick, and one is a mouse.

I warned you.

Chain Letters

We spent our entire school time this morning on a chain letter.  (Thank you, Ceridwen.  Look out, Friends Who Have Kids the Same Age as Mine.  You're next!)

I couldn't help but think of Barney's chain letter.



Don't worry...Ours was not this kind of letter.  It was a sticker club letter.  I thought we would do it instead of handwriting today since he would have to write the names of eight friends.  (I used the Handwriting Without Tears slate to write the example so he could copy the name correctly.)

Well, after it took more than an hour, I decided it was more than just handwriting.  He cut out stickers, wrote names, and learned about addressing and mailing a letter.  (This makes me feel better.)  We'll do math and reading during Thing2's rest time.

Now the boys want to watch the rest of that Andy Griffith episode....

Countries of Africa

Who knew there were 56 or 52 or somewhere in that vicinity (the current, correct number is unclear to me) countries in Africa?

Thing1 said he would like to learn the Africa song next on our Geography Songs CD.  Okay.  Since there are several counties over there, I'll listen to the song and type the words so that we can practice a few at a time in the order they are sung.  Oh my word!  I spent more than an hour on that this morning!

We like to point to the countries on a map as we sing them (we have only learned Central America and the continents so far).  But they jump around the map so much on the Africa song, I don't know how this is going to work out.  It will take awhile.  I hope we can stick with it.  Sheer determination and rote memorization is the only way I know to do it...Someone else might have a better idea, though, which would be welcome.

As I was searching for a more organized approach, a song organized by regions, maybe, I found some things that made me laugh, but this one is the best:

Africa Rap from Rhythm Rhyme Results.  I had no idea there was a website devoted to educational rap. In this one, the countries are arranged north, south, east, west, central, and islands.

We may be incorporating some rap into our homeschool soon...

Reading Practice

Thing1 and I keep an easy chapter book going for his reading practice in school.  At the beginning of the school year, we started Henry and Mudge, and I had to force him to read two pages.  He would beg for "just one." 

Fast forward to December 1.

He recently finished Frog and Toad are Friends (Arnold Lobel) by reading the last two chapters in one sitting.  I'd say that's a big improvement for 3 1/2 months.  His favorite story was about Toad's swimsuit. 

He gets ridiculously excited about finding out what is on the next page.  He was reading a book called Little Lucy the other day.  It is basic.  It is not a thriller.  As he turned the page about halfway through, he shuddered and said, "This just gets excitinger and excitinger!"

Next on our list is Owl at Home, also by Lobel.  These are at a good level that is a little challenging but mostly fun.  I guess I need to look at something a little more challenging for next semester.  I would love to have some ideas on what we should try next.

On Books...

Finally!  I finally made time to let the boys tell me about their favorite library books today.

About Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell...
Thing1 says:
They mailed her.  She got to stay in the mail care with the mailman.  She wanted to go to her Grandma's.  They mailed her because it was less money.

Mom says:
This was my favorite.  The boys also enjoyed this book.  It has been the subject of a few conversations since and, I think, the source for their mail carrying plans for the future.

About The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Rob Hartman...
Thing1 says:
I loved the entire thing.  He cried "Boy!" one time because he didn't like the food his mom made.  Then on his way home from school, he thought he'd cry, "Boy! Boy!"  Then the next day, he was heading home from school and was fixing to cry, "Boy!" and he saw lots of boys.  When Troop 7 was coming by, one of the boys came and ate some of his chips and dip.  Nobody believed him, and the boy got away.  The end.

About Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmens:
Thing1 and Thing2 say: 
Loved it.

About Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch:
This was Thing2's favorite.  He said his favorite ponytail was the one that hung in front of her nose.  I thought it was okay but not worth buying or even borrowing from the library again.  It had a good message about being yourself and not following the crowd.

However, the Husband and I did not like Thomas' Snowsuit, also by Robert Munsch.  The book was about a little boy who threw fits and was rewarded for it.  The story made his fit-throwing funny instead of giving him the punishment he deserved.  This is the first book on our Read-Aloud Handbook list that I hate.

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