I feel a very unusual sensation - if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude. ~Benjamin Disraeli
Boys!
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Last day of 2008
I shook and tower and worshed my hair and got to dry it in the sun today. It was cool, but sunny. I'm going to make a meatloaf now. All we did for homeschooling was thank you notes, but this is the first year we did it 1) without tears, 2) promptly, and 3) sent one to everybody who gave him a gift. I think it's a combination of him being older now, and me not demanding it be handwritten and lengthy. I let him pick thank you e-cards from Dayspring. I told him to type up a few sentences mentioning the exact gift received and how he felt about it. His words were rather thoughtful actually and he did it with very little direction from me. I was pleased. And I also bookmarked three pages of quotations and had him choose a few that he liked and instructed him to add a quote to each note just for the ducks of it. His favorite quote from quotegarden.com turned out to be:
Boys!
Boys!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Memorizing mainly
Mainly my whole point of existence today amounts to trying to memorize the next four lines in my recitation. I got the first one down, then the second one, but after I added the third and fourth I could only do the first one and flubbed up all the rest. So I made up a body movement as a muscle memory mnemonic. It helps a lot.
Our son got his first lesson in weapon safety today and I went and took notes so I can write up a test for him. I like doing that. His teacher is a friend of ours who teaches gun safety and shooting (I'm sure there's a more technical title for it) to the law enforcement officers for New Mexico State Parks. He's awesome. I could not find a better teacher and he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart.
I read that John Wayne's gravestone says “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight, very clean. When it arrives it is perfect. It puts itself in our hands. It hopes we learned something from yesterday.” I don't think he originally said it. I can only find that it's author unknown. I like it though.
Today was a real nice day.
Our son got his first lesson in weapon safety today and I went and took notes so I can write up a test for him. I like doing that. His teacher is a friend of ours who teaches gun safety and shooting (I'm sure there's a more technical title for it) to the law enforcement officers for New Mexico State Parks. He's awesome. I could not find a better teacher and he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart.
I read that John Wayne's gravestone says “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight, very clean. When it arrives it is perfect. It puts itself in our hands. It hopes we learned something from yesterday.” I don't think he originally said it. I can only find that it's author unknown. I like it though.
Today was a real nice day.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sat nite
Our son has a Blackberry and writes me and sends me pics from it. He's at Dad's now and sent me a pic. Dad looks worn. I ask myself whether I ought to make a visit now.
My sweet daughter-in-law got bangs. And she doesn't like them!
Husband and I walked today. It was nice. On March 29th there's going to be a Bataan Death March memorial walk, 15.2 miles, and we're toying with the idea of signing up. My husband has an uncle who died in the Bataan Death March. My grandfather avoided the march, barely, but died on the Oryoku Maru.
I didn't do my hair today! Darn it. I just didn't have the hair-fixing-bug today. Patches the Scary Dog licked my hair though. I love Patches. I might need to wash it before church, but I'll probably do as usual and just rush around in the last 15 minutes and throw my hair up in a Ficcare. When I was young we had to look nice for church. Now I am old and I wear a jeans and an oversized flannel to church. I think I have the best pastor in all the world here. He always wears a dress shirt, a tie, and dress jacket on Sundays. Someday I might start wearing skirts all the time. Or maybe skirts all the time to church. I tape the sermon on my whoop-dee-doo sound recorder then download it to my iPod and I listen to it at night all week as I go to sleep. Even though I hang on his every word, when I listen to it through the week I hear things I missed on Sunday. Funny, huh? Not funny haha, but just interesting.
My boy gave me a lecture tonight. Ever been lectured by an 11-year-old? Sheesh. I accidentally called Charlie (he's a dog who lives with Patches) a noodlehead. I know, how mean. I shouldn't have said it. My child stopped what he was doing and looked at me as if I'd just spit out a four lettered word. But Charlie is a dumb dog. He's dumb as a rock. My esteemed child instructed me on loving both dogs equally even if one is dumber than the other. He said Charlie wants my love and we've been asked by the family to care for both dogs, and the cats, while they're on vacation, so we must treat the dogs equally. And he told me I have to say good-bye to Charlie and pet him on the ears just the same as I do Patches. He's a good son. It can be irritating to have my teaching come back at me when I don't want to hear it though!
My sweet daughter-in-law got bangs. And she doesn't like them!
Husband and I walked today. It was nice. On March 29th there's going to be a Bataan Death March memorial walk, 15.2 miles, and we're toying with the idea of signing up. My husband has an uncle who died in the Bataan Death March. My grandfather avoided the march, barely, but died on the Oryoku Maru.
I didn't do my hair today! Darn it. I just didn't have the hair-fixing-bug today. Patches the Scary Dog licked my hair though. I love Patches. I might need to wash it before church, but I'll probably do as usual and just rush around in the last 15 minutes and throw my hair up in a Ficcare. When I was young we had to look nice for church. Now I am old and I wear a jeans and an oversized flannel to church. I think I have the best pastor in all the world here. He always wears a dress shirt, a tie, and dress jacket on Sundays. Someday I might start wearing skirts all the time. Or maybe skirts all the time to church. I tape the sermon on my whoop-dee-doo sound recorder then download it to my iPod and I listen to it at night all week as I go to sleep. Even though I hang on his every word, when I listen to it through the week I hear things I missed on Sunday. Funny, huh? Not funny haha, but just interesting.
My boy gave me a lecture tonight. Ever been lectured by an 11-year-old? Sheesh. I accidentally called Charlie (he's a dog who lives with Patches) a noodlehead. I know, how mean. I shouldn't have said it. My child stopped what he was doing and looked at me as if I'd just spit out a four lettered word. But Charlie is a dumb dog. He's dumb as a rock. My esteemed child instructed me on loving both dogs equally even if one is dumber than the other. He said Charlie wants my love and we've been asked by the family to care for both dogs, and the cats, while they're on vacation, so we must treat the dogs equally. And he told me I have to say good-bye to Charlie and pet him on the ears just the same as I do Patches. He's a good son. It can be irritating to have my teaching come back at me when I don't want to hear it though!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday
Later today we're going to Walmart to buy candy to make candy trains. Hopefully.
Christmas Craft: Candy Trains
Christmas Craft: Candy Trains
Friday, December 21, 2007
Parenting is good
Sometimes I want to throttle him - like right now - as he purposely drags in feet through vocabulary. But Wednesday was different. He received an award. We didn't know it was coming. Nobody told us!
We were at the Christmas potluck. The first award went to two men, a ranger and a volunteer, who saved seven people from drowning in the lake last summer. The superintendent read the official report which was rather dry. He then shared with us the details that weren't included in the report. The boat had overturned. One adult and a child were still in the boat though it was barely above water and sinking quickly. The rest were in the water. The winds were blowing the tiny vessel and the people onto dangerous rocks that are in that area. It was during a storm. The lake can be mean during a storm. Did I mention it was at night? It was dark. Dark night. Have you walked along the beach in the dark of night? Even though you're safe onshore it's scary when you can hear the water, but you can't see it. It strikes a chord of preternatural fear in the human heart.
By the grace of God, the boating officer on duty had only minutes before taken on a long time volunteer on board who offered to patrol the lake with him. Without this volunteer who was highly experienced on the water, a single man would have had great difficulty doing the rescue and maneuvering the boat at the same time. So the call came in, S.O.S, precise location, and they rode full speed to that place on the lake. The eight year old girl was screaming hysterically. The others, those in the water, this is not in the report, were giving each other last rites in the water. They thought they were checking out of this world.
Our New Mexico Boating Officer and the other a long time volunteer, saved all seven people one at a time. That's a story with an awesome ending and that's what their award was for. Sometimes the rangers pull dead people out of the water which as you can imagine is traumatic. The rangers have to deal with it in their mind and heart afterwards and it's not an easy thing. It happens in a lake this big. Last year a 15 year old boy drowned in the lake. The rangers save lives when they can. They're trained to do so. But when they can't save a life the repercussions are real.
The second award went to our ten year old son. The badge in the frame is an official one. Normally, men and women must graduate from the police academy and work in law enforcement to receive this badge. It is an true honor to have this badge! Our son is not allowed to wear it, it would be unlawful, but he can display it. The super went all the way to the top to get approval for this. As far as we know he is the youngest volunteer in New Mexico, and the only Honorary Ranger in the state. He was bustin' with pride. We were too.
Yesterday at the school where he takes a class he gave a presentation about his award. It's his first presentation in front of anyone other than family. He did pretty well! This I love about home education.
Me, as a kid I dreaded "Sharing Time" or "Current Events" at school. I still get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about Newsweek magazine because my mom had it delivered to our house so I could pick out news items for school sharing. Our son on the other hand informed me he was doing a presentation about his award the next day at school. Just like that. He practiced on us that evening and did it Thursday. Wow. And he showed off the plaque, a letter they wrote him last year selecting him as a volunteer, his official volunteer card, and he defined the word 'honorary' (that was his idea) and showed off the flyers and spreadsheets he created on his computer as part of his job.
I'm kind of proud of him.
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Beauty of Homeschooling
I've been tired every night, but the week is over now and it was a groundbreaking week.
Determined to do all subjects weekly, and for me that means being sure to include history and science, I set forth to deliver fifth grade to our son. I found last year that I could not do all the subjects and still get reading, writing, and arithmetic done to my satisfaction so I was very spotty with the history and did basically, what amounts to no science. I decided that the early years up to grade four would focus on the Three R's because with a solid foundation in the Three R's a kid can fly where ever he wants when he's ready. Thing is, in writing I was failing him. I tried and tried teaching him writing, yet he would not write. He would write one or two sentences under penalty of death, but that made home life unbearable and the sentences were not very good anyway. Still, I continued to teach grammar, vocabulary, printing, cursive, and spelling every day, little by little. He did very well in grammar and vocabulary, quite well in spelling, okay in printing, and awful in cursive. But could I get him to put it all together, as in write something? No.
Beginning this school year (what, one week ago?) I decided to put on a new hat and be positive and forge ahead. I instituted a major change. I shortened language arts lessons and I used a timer. I set it to 20 minutes each for spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Lo and behold, he finished every assignment within the time limit - quality work, correct and legible, and with a good attitude. He even finished his reading assignments in the allotted time limit. That was icing on the cake. On Monday I was bowled over. On Tuesday I was pleased. On Wednesday I was expecting his old ways to return. On Thursday he wrote a complete story summary. My heart was singing! On Friday, another good day. He successfully finished all of his assignments for the week.
There's been a change in him. My husband and I think he's suddenly matured. But we really don't know what to attribute the change to. Today my husband said he's so glad we homeschool because otherwise we'd never be aware of this inward change. My husband teaches the math so he's seeing it too.
When our son was a tot I once saw a third grade homeschooled boy writing a lengthy paper at the laundromat. It made a lasting impression on me and I thought, wow, so that's how it's going to be! Ha! When it didn't happen in third grade or even fourth grade I wondered...was I not a good enough teacher? Am I not inspiring! Can I ever motivate him. Will my child ever write like that? In my frustration I reminded him of the Chinese proverb, Teachers open the door, you enter by yourself. My answer arrived on Thursday when the story summary he wrote was 3/4 of a page long, complete sentences, correct punctuation, all important events included, in proper sequence, and it was, WHAT!, even legible.
I hope it all continues. All the unsureness is wiped away. Little leaves in the wind.
Well, enough of life's epiphanies. Good night!
Determined to do all subjects weekly, and for me that means being sure to include history and science, I set forth to deliver fifth grade to our son. I found last year that I could not do all the subjects and still get reading, writing, and arithmetic done to my satisfaction so I was very spotty with the history and did basically, what amounts to no science. I decided that the early years up to grade four would focus on the Three R's because with a solid foundation in the Three R's a kid can fly where ever he wants when he's ready. Thing is, in writing I was failing him. I tried and tried teaching him writing, yet he would not write. He would write one or two sentences under penalty of death, but that made home life unbearable and the sentences were not very good anyway. Still, I continued to teach grammar, vocabulary, printing, cursive, and spelling every day, little by little. He did very well in grammar and vocabulary, quite well in spelling, okay in printing, and awful in cursive. But could I get him to put it all together, as in write something? No.
Beginning this school year (what, one week ago?) I decided to put on a new hat and be positive and forge ahead. I instituted a major change. I shortened language arts lessons and I used a timer. I set it to 20 minutes each for spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Lo and behold, he finished every assignment within the time limit - quality work, correct and legible, and with a good attitude. He even finished his reading assignments in the allotted time limit. That was icing on the cake. On Monday I was bowled over. On Tuesday I was pleased. On Wednesday I was expecting his old ways to return. On Thursday he wrote a complete story summary. My heart was singing! On Friday, another good day. He successfully finished all of his assignments for the week.
There's been a change in him. My husband and I think he's suddenly matured. But we really don't know what to attribute the change to. Today my husband said he's so glad we homeschool because otherwise we'd never be aware of this inward change. My husband teaches the math so he's seeing it too.
When our son was a tot I once saw a third grade homeschooled boy writing a lengthy paper at the laundromat. It made a lasting impression on me and I thought, wow, so that's how it's going to be! Ha! When it didn't happen in third grade or even fourth grade I wondered...was I not a good enough teacher? Am I not inspiring! Can I ever motivate him. Will my child ever write like that? In my frustration I reminded him of the Chinese proverb, Teachers open the door, you enter by yourself. My answer arrived on Thursday when the story summary he wrote was 3/4 of a page long, complete sentences, correct punctuation, all important events included, in proper sequence, and it was, WHAT!, even legible.
I hope it all continues. All the unsureness is wiped away. Little leaves in the wind.
Well, enough of life's epiphanies. Good night!
Monday, September 17, 2007
First day of fifth grade
I did it! We got everthing done by 3:00pm: spelling, grammar, vocabulary (20 minutes each), literature (1 hour), history (1 hour), typing practice and multiplication drill (15 minutes altogether). Husband did math with him. Man, I was so organized. Now, can I do it again? That's the question. I have only 179 more days to go.
No time to write much. I found a Middle Eastern class. Only thing is, I live in Podunk and the class is an hour drive from here. I hope it'll be worth it. Gotta go. Takes me an hour to get ready. My husband is driving me so if I continue to go I can drive myself next time. :)
No time to write much. I found a Middle Eastern class. Only thing is, I live in Podunk and the class is an hour drive from here. I hope it'll be worth it. Gotta go. Takes me an hour to get ready. My husband is driving me so if I continue to go I can drive myself next time. :)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friday sweet Friday
I signed up for a ballet class last night. I start next week. They meet once a week. She may add a tap class and then I can go twice a week. After class the instructor and I chatted for an hour. Go me! It's good to talk and interact with people, right. I'm trying hard to get plugged in and connected this year. The only thing still hanging over my head is going to the animal refuge. Once I go there I will officially be a good person.
Finished up the s*x education today. When I started with it, I was heartsick but now that we're finished I'm happy. It went well I think. We wrapped it up with scripture, Romans 12:1.
I used the Quizzes for S*x Education I and II tests from this site. I may use the ones on other health topics sometime too.
Finished up the s*x education today. When I started with it, I was heartsick but now that we're finished I'm happy. It went well I think. We wrapped it up with scripture, Romans 12:1.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God's mercy, to offer you bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.Talked about protecting our minds and that all that we have to give back to the Lord is ourselves. Zat's it, so we oughta do our best to make good with what we've got. Talked about twins and AIDS and p*rn*graphy and abstinence and that s*x is God's gift to married people. We covered a lot because fifth grade begins on Monday and I realized my plate is pretty full there. I guess I did a good job. He says he never wants to have sex. Bwa-hahahahha! Yeah, check back with me on that one in five years!
I used the Quizzes for S*x Education I and II tests from this site. I may use the ones on other health topics sometime too.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
5th grade coming down the pike
I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. No, actually I am accomplishing something. We have a couple more s*x ed discussions and I'll be done with that. The first day we did male and female reproductive organs and body parts and the second day we went over puberty and physical changes and next we went over m*nstr*ation. He'll know more than anyone one else on the playground now, boy howdy I tell ya! Of course we looked up the verse about being fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Next I'm doing pregnancy; and lastly p*rn*graphy and critical thinking regarding Hollywood, the media; and the seismic cultural changes occurring in the U.S. I did realize as I was talking, how much my school left out about sexuality. I mean, I'm explaining all I should, but I don't want to explain too much, and as I speak I realize...this was never taught to me. I would tell you what I'm meaning exactly but I'd have to change my PG rating to R, so I leave it to your imagination. I told him to write down one question and fold up the paper and give it to me and his question was...how do twins come together.
Our fifth grade curriculum is online on Saturday so I'll have a couple days to review and prepare. I'm a little worried because at my K12 discussion group I read a thread on the topic of grammar. It started out, "Okay, 5th grade grammar is getting harder!!!!!!" (There were that many exclamation points.) Then, it said a bunch of stuff about complements and direct objects and linking verbs, none of which I understood, and it ended with "Help me!" Yeah, I'm scared! Haha!
It was fun opening the five boxes with all our new curriculum. My son was happiest about vocabulary and history. Does my heart good to hear him say, "Oh boy! History!" I have been feeling badly about not finishing fourth grade history and doing even less in science. Today, I was cheered up though because after I picked him up from his science lab class at the private school he said, "You know, I like it there a lot but I learn more in homeschool." Wow. And he wasn't even trying to give me a compliment.
After I picked him up from science lab class, I dropped by Kim's house and picked up a homeschooler's ID card for this county, so we're official.
My hair is doing nicely and I've been hit by consecutive days of prettiness. I don't know why but it is good.
Our fifth grade curriculum is online on Saturday so I'll have a couple days to review and prepare. I'm a little worried because at my K12 discussion group I read a thread on the topic of grammar. It started out, "Okay, 5th grade grammar is getting harder!!!!!!" (There were that many exclamation points.) Then, it said a bunch of stuff about complements and direct objects and linking verbs, none of which I understood, and it ended with "Help me!" Yeah, I'm scared! Haha!
It was fun opening the five boxes with all our new curriculum. My son was happiest about vocabulary and history. Does my heart good to hear him say, "Oh boy! History!" I have been feeling badly about not finishing fourth grade history and doing even less in science. Today, I was cheered up though because after I picked him up from his science lab class at the private school he said, "You know, I like it there a lot but I learn more in homeschool." Wow. And he wasn't even trying to give me a compliment.
After I picked him up from science lab class, I dropped by Kim's house and picked up a homeschooler's ID card for this county, so we're official.
My hair is doing nicely and I've been hit by consecutive days of prettiness. I don't know why but it is good.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Books
After dinner in the evenings before everyone disperses for evening activities, I've been reading a chapter from Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of the World. Everyone has enjoyed it. I do have an ulterior motive. It goes over some of the studies we've done so it'll reinforce those events.
I happened to go to the library yesterday. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I got some anatomy books and childbirth and s*xual abstinence books. I planned to do s*x education this year and go into depth, but the timetable has changed and the time is now.
It will be interesting to see how this goes. My husband cracks me up. He says I did such a good job with our eldest son that he'll just let me take care of this one too. "Um, do whatever you did before," he told me. Haha! Thinks he's getting out of it this time? No way! I have to school him a little though. We haven't even gone over the specific ins and outs. I mean we have, but descriptions change based on a child's age, right?
My husband says at the dinner table, "Whatever you do, be sure you use protection." Son says, "Whuh?" and my husband stammered and couldn't say another word. He looks at me with the word "Help" in one eye and "Me" in the other. I did not help him! You ought to have a game plan before you come out with that one. Husband, has no game plan. I do and it's based on biblical principles.
I happened to go to the library yesterday. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I got some anatomy books and childbirth and s*xual abstinence books. I planned to do s*x education this year and go into depth, but the timetable has changed and the time is now.
It will be interesting to see how this goes. My husband cracks me up. He says I did such a good job with our eldest son that he'll just let me take care of this one too. "Um, do whatever you did before," he told me. Haha! Thinks he's getting out of it this time? No way! I have to school him a little though. We haven't even gone over the specific ins and outs. I mean we have, but descriptions change based on a child's age, right?
My husband says at the dinner table, "Whatever you do, be sure you use protection." Son says, "Whuh?" and my husband stammered and couldn't say another word. He looks at me with the word "Help" in one eye and "Me" in the other. I did not help him! You ought to have a game plan before you come out with that one. Husband, has no game plan. I do and it's based on biblical principles.
Friday, September 07, 2007
I wish
Most of all, I wish to be a godly mother. But exactly how? Exactly how. I'm a good mother, but to be godly is more.
The world knocked on my door today, and entered my home full force via the computer screen. It was invited in inadvertently, innocently. The enemy was ready, but I was not. I was asleep. Literally and figuratively.
I reject the world and I will not be quiet. I will not be still.
Proverbs 1:8, "Listen, my child, to what your father teaches you. Don't neglect your mother's teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor."
I must live up to it. I cannot fail.
The world knocked on my door today, and entered my home full force via the computer screen. It was invited in inadvertently, innocently. The enemy was ready, but I was not. I was asleep. Literally and figuratively.
I reject the world and I will not be quiet. I will not be still.
Proverbs 1:8, "Listen, my child, to what your father teaches you. Don't neglect your mother's teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor."
I must live up to it. I cannot fail.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Upcoming lessons
Last night we were watching the wildlife and I commented on the lack of baby jackrabbits. We've seen lots of baby cottontails and lots of baby quail, two young roadrunners, but no small jacks. My husband said he thought he saw one that looked pregnant and I said, no, I don't think so, and then we argued a bit about how late is too late in the season to have babies in the wild.
Son was listening in and he pipes up with, "Mammaaaa, there aren't any jackrabbits because they haven't been launched yet." We laughed! Then tonight I mentioned how we've seen a single gnarly old squirrel but no cute baby squirrels, and my son informed me that they didn't hatch any this year! This time I took a double take, gave him my stern mom look and said, "Now you know mammals don't hatch out of eggs." Anywho, I think we'll do some brush up on the reproduction of birds and mammals this week and perhaps, rocket ships as well.
Son was listening in and he pipes up with, "Mammaaaa, there aren't any jackrabbits because they haven't been launched yet." We laughed! Then tonight I mentioned how we've seen a single gnarly old squirrel but no cute baby squirrels, and my son informed me that they didn't hatch any this year! This time I took a double take, gave him my stern mom look and said, "Now you know mammals don't hatch out of eggs." Anywho, I think we'll do some brush up on the reproduction of birds and mammals this week and perhaps, rocket ships as well.
Monday, August 27, 2007
A milestone
My husband bought us two new cots and we're sleeping under the stars tonight!
Our ten year old son has a special stuffed dog that he won at the fair when he was six years old. Its name is Rainbow because he's all the colors of the rainbow. Rainbow is still colorful and in pretty good shape despite how floppy he is. His floppiness just makes him more lovable, like the Velveteen Rabbit.
Rainbow was on the new cot that we just set up outside. Son picked him up and tucked him under his arm and as went up the steps into the trailer he turned round and whispered sort of sheepishly, "I don't want anyone to see me with Rainbow."
Awwww. It's the period at the end of a sentence of time. My husband and I looked at each other and we both sighed.
Our ten year old son has a special stuffed dog that he won at the fair when he was six years old. Its name is Rainbow because he's all the colors of the rainbow. Rainbow is still colorful and in pretty good shape despite how floppy he is. His floppiness just makes him more lovable, like the Velveteen Rabbit.
Rainbow was on the new cot that we just set up outside. Son picked him up and tucked him under his arm and as went up the steps into the trailer he turned round and whispered sort of sheepishly, "I don't want anyone to see me with Rainbow."
Awwww. It's the period at the end of a sentence of time. My husband and I looked at each other and we both sighed.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Possibilities
I have an appointment at 3:00 at a Christian private school. They're going to tell me what they have to offer, and if they have something that's a good fit for us, for our son, I'll sign up. I'm hoping they'll have a science class! I know they have an opening in Spanish but he wants to learn French, not Spanish. The Canadian kids are bilingual in French and English. That's why he's interested in French.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Our working 10-year-old
Tonight he earned a free ice cream and one of the waitresses gave him $5.00 for helping out in the restaurant. I'm so proud of him. He's a real worker bee. And he learned from it too. He said, "Mamma, it's hard work. My feet hurt. I don't want to work in a restaurant when I grow up." He washed dishes, cleared tables, wiped tables, emptied the garbage three times and put up all the chairs after closing. He worked about two hours.
Ahhhh yes. Experience speaks volumes and he learns that which I cannot teach in a one hour lesson.
Tomorrow we go on the road but it'll be a short four hour drive. It's two days driving to the place where I hope to find wild mustangs.
The management here gave us two free days. Wasn't that nice? We thought it was very, very nice. I'm sad to leave here but happy because I think we will return next year. It's a beautiful place.
Ahhhh yes. Experience speaks volumes and he learns that which I cannot teach in a one hour lesson.
Tomorrow we go on the road but it'll be a short four hour drive. It's two days driving to the place where I hope to find wild mustangs.
The management here gave us two free days. Wasn't that nice? We thought it was very, very nice. I'm sad to leave here but happy because I think we will return next year. It's a beautiful place.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Our picture is in the paper!
One of joys of small town living is that you can be in the newspaper! I've never been in the paper before. My son and husband have been in the paper once in Southern California, but never, ever me. Our weekly edition of the newspaper was just delivered to our doorstep and we're in it! Here's the caption...
PREPARATION - With folded sacks in hand, the 20 plus volunteers of the local state park filled each with sand and a candle and then lined them up in preparation for Saturday's Luminaria Beachwalk and Floating Lights Parade. [Our son] is shown strategically placing each sack as the other volunteers, including his mother, Liliana, shown above, bring him the readied sacks.
How 'bout that. I'm famous! Well, we're famous. Heh.
PREPARATION - With folded sacks in hand, the 20 plus volunteers of the local state park filled each with sand and a candle and then lined them up in preparation for Saturday's Luminaria Beachwalk and Floating Lights Parade. [Our son] is shown strategically placing each sack as the other volunteers, including his mother, Liliana, shown above, bring him the readied sacks.
How 'bout that. I'm famous! Well, we're famous. Heh.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Homeschool - DST, lobbies, WWI, mnemonics
Today one of the rangers spoke to my husband about how our son has impressed him and he said he wishes now that he had homeschooled his kids. I felt so good when my husband told me about it. I have this constant inner conversation with myself. Am I doing enough? What am I missing? Are we going too slow? What are other fourth graders doing? Then I just have to chill and say, "Lord, infuse me with just a leetle bit of wisdom because I can't mess up on this!" I feel really lucky to be able to do this.
Here are notes I put together that I'm using this week. I'll post them. My kid's an auditory learner. And kinesthetic. I Googled. I Wikipediaed. I thought about where our son's interests lie and collected information. I will share one thing to explain why I do research the way I do. I have a feeling that he may be a person who causes change, who impacts those around him. I don't know how this may be manifested and I don't know why I feel this way, but it's one of those things unexplained. Last month we had a couple two spaces down come over to say good-bye to our nine year old (he assisted the husband who is a Boating Officer with repairs on a small boat) and as they all shook hands, exchanging good-byes, the wife said, "Remember us when you're president!" I did a double take! Not necessarily because I think he's going to be prez, but I know he's going to be something! I don't think much of what follows will be on a fourth grade standardized test though.
So this lesson is primarily about daylight saving time, but we love to go on a tangent too and so I've customized with tidbits I think he will like. Feel free to copy and change as suits you and yours! And away we go! (Much of this only touches on a point as I wish to open discussion and ignite interest, not necessarily delve deeply yet. But with a small foundation set today he will be able to build up on it in the future. We call this having a hook in your mind. It's like a coat hook? You can always hang stuff on it but it has to be there first to hang anything on.)
Who thought of it first? Benjamin Franklin, but he was only kidding about it! It was 1784.
In 1907 a British man named William Willet was serious about it and he really tried to get it changed. He lobbied to get the government to change.
(Use word lobby and explain usage as verb or noun. As with William, a lobbyist can be one person alone, or it can be group of people who try to change things without getting elected.)
(Can you name something in the United States that you think should be changed, that you could lobby for? Seniors citizens are powerful. Farmers have power. Greenpeace protects the Earth and animals and environment. Nowadays people are paid to do this job.)
Enough fodder for the week here: http://www.slate.com/id/2137886/ I will be reading a part of this M-F. Only a couple paragraphs will I skip. Great article with humor, names, and truths.
But he could not get the British government to take it seriously and he died in 1915. (Locate Great Britain on map.)
DST is mostly used in temperate zones.
What time of the year are we, in the U.S.A, on DST? Early spring, summer, and early fall.
We just changed to Standard Time.
Daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, is a widely used system of adjusting the official local time forward, usually by one hour from its official standard time, for the spring, summer, and early autumn periods. The term daylight savings time, although commonly used, is technically incorrect.
Europeans commonly call it 'summer time' and I think that's a good idea.
What was the first country to use DST? Germany. When? 1916. During WWI. When was WWI? (1914 to 1918. Also called the War to End All Wars. Did it? Can you name another war the happened after 1918? It is naive to think war will stop. We live in a world where Satan reigns.)
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old high school student, shot and killed the archduke and heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, (What part of his name tells you he is of noble birth?) and his wife, Sophie, at point-blank range in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Princip shot Ferdinand at point blank range while he was was traveling in his car from a town hall reception.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/harrachmemoir.htm We had film, but no television back then. See 8 seconds of Franz Ferdinand at town hall in Sarajevo.
http://hnn.us/articles/273.html
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/index.htm
Find Sarajevo on the map.
The United Kingdom was second, the same year. Newfoundland was third, the first place in North America, in 1917. Have him write on board:
1) Germany
2) United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
3) Newfoundland
In 1918 the U.S. Congress established time zones although railroads and most American cities were already using them since 1883, and made DST official for the rest of WWI. But it was unpopular and repealed in 1919.
DST is generally a temperate zone practice; day lengths in the tropics do not vary enough. (Can you name three major climate zones. Polar, temperate, tropical.)
Why should we have DST? Number one reason is energy conservation.
DST in winter would make 7:00am feel like 6:00am, and the sun would not be up yet. It would be DARK outside still! Why would this be bad for kids who have to school? Children walking to school or to their bus stops could be hit by cars. This is one big reason why we don't have DST in winter.
Another argued benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities, including shopping in tourist areas. Most people plan outdoor activities during sunlight hours. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people's risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas).
Critics/Criticizing
To find fault, or to evaluate. This requires analysis. You can analyze a math problem, a recipe, a sentence, and friendship (as we discussed last week during grammar discussion about sentence structure.) There are two sides to everything; good and bad, proponents and opponents. Looking at two sides of things is a good character trait. It prepares you to speak well and express your thoughts intelligently. Thinkers think about both sides of an issue. Remember, there may be gray areas depending on the subject. In history or in newspaper writing, teachers and editors like to say "There are three sides to everything: one side's story, the other side's story, and what really happened."
Critics of DST say studies show it really doesn't save much in energy costs. They say that it upsets everyone's sleep patterns. They say people miss appointments if they forget to change their clock. What do you think? Well, maybe people do use more fuel in their cars during the extra daylight hours of DST and that's not a savings, is it.
How to remember which way to turn the clock?
Use a mnemonic. (Spell on board. It's a memory aid. Do you use any mnemonics? Yes, you do!) Spring forward (let me see you jump!), fall back (let me see you fall back to Standard Time!). Other some mnemonics we use:
stalagmites - G: grow up from the ground
stalactites - C: ceiling down
Military - righty tighty, lefty loosy
Music - Every Good Boy Does Fine and FACE
Thirty Days Hath September
Name two states that do not observe DST. Arizona, Hawaii. Indiana is fussing over it. Find all on map.
EXTRA POINTS IF INTERESTED
Post–World War I: American farmers fought and defeated urban dwellers and President Woodrow Wilson and got DST repealed, returning the country to "God's Time.” Spotty and inconsistent use of daylight saving time in the United States and around the world caused problems, unusual incidents and, occasionally, tragedies. For example, disregard of a change to DST caused a major train wreck in France, killing two and injuring many.
World War II: All combatants on both sides quickly adopted DST to save vital energy resources for the War. The U.S. enacted FDR's year-round DST law just 40 days after Pearl Harbor.
Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors.
Computers: Most modern computer operating systems include the capability to automatically change the local time when daylight saving starts and finishes. Did your change automatically?
In Canada, time is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, not federal. The governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Yukon Territory have so far pledged to change their DST rules to match the new U.S. rules. In 2007, their DST will start on the second Sunday in March, and return to standard time on the first Sunday in November. Newfoundland and Nunavut will continue to change time on the first Sunday in April and last Sunday in October unless they change their legislation. As noted below, Saskatchewan does not recognize DST.
In 2006
The schedule for 2006 in the United States is that DST began on the first Sunday in April (April 2, 2006), and changes back to standard time on the last Sunday in October (October 29, 2006). The time is adjusted at 2 AM.
From 2007
Beginning in 2007, DST will start on the second Sunday in March (March 11, 2007), and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007). Under Section 110 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy is required to study the impact of the DST extension no later than nine months after the change takes effect. Congress has retained the right to revert to the DST schedule set in 1986 if it cannot be shown that there are significant energy savings from an extension of DST or if the extension may prove to be unpopular with the American public.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
http://www.seizethedaylight.com/dst/index.html
Here are notes I put together that I'm using this week. I'll post them. My kid's an auditory learner. And kinesthetic. I Googled. I Wikipediaed. I thought about where our son's interests lie and collected information. I will share one thing to explain why I do research the way I do. I have a feeling that he may be a person who causes change, who impacts those around him. I don't know how this may be manifested and I don't know why I feel this way, but it's one of those things unexplained. Last month we had a couple two spaces down come over to say good-bye to our nine year old (he assisted the husband who is a Boating Officer with repairs on a small boat) and as they all shook hands, exchanging good-byes, the wife said, "Remember us when you're president!" I did a double take! Not necessarily because I think he's going to be prez, but I know he's going to be something! I don't think much of what follows will be on a fourth grade standardized test though.
So this lesson is primarily about daylight saving time, but we love to go on a tangent too and so I've customized with tidbits I think he will like. Feel free to copy and change as suits you and yours! And away we go! (Much of this only touches on a point as I wish to open discussion and ignite interest, not necessarily delve deeply yet. But with a small foundation set today he will be able to build up on it in the future. We call this having a hook in your mind. It's like a coat hook? You can always hang stuff on it but it has to be there first to hang anything on.)
STANDARD AND DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Who thought of it first? Benjamin Franklin, but he was only kidding about it! It was 1784.
In 1907 a British man named William Willet was serious about it and he really tried to get it changed. He lobbied to get the government to change.
(Use word lobby and explain usage as verb or noun. As with William, a lobbyist can be one person alone, or it can be group of people who try to change things without getting elected.)
(Can you name something in the United States that you think should be changed, that you could lobby for? Seniors citizens are powerful. Farmers have power. Greenpeace protects the Earth and animals and environment. Nowadays people are paid to do this job.)
Enough fodder for the week here: http://www.slate.com/id/2137886/ I will be reading a part of this M-F. Only a couple paragraphs will I skip. Great article with humor, names, and truths.
But he could not get the British government to take it seriously and he died in 1915. (Locate Great Britain on map.)
DST is mostly used in temperate zones.
What time of the year are we, in the U.S.A, on DST? Early spring, summer, and early fall.
We just changed to Standard Time.
Daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, is a widely used system of adjusting the official local time forward, usually by one hour from its official standard time, for the spring, summer, and early autumn periods. The term daylight savings time, although commonly used, is technically incorrect.
Europeans commonly call it 'summer time' and I think that's a good idea.
What was the first country to use DST? Germany. When? 1916. During WWI. When was WWI? (1914 to 1918. Also called the War to End All Wars. Did it? Can you name another war the happened after 1918? It is naive to think war will stop. We live in a world where Satan reigns.)
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old high school student, shot and killed the archduke and heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, (What part of his name tells you he is of noble birth?) and his wife, Sophie, at point-blank range in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Princip shot Ferdinand at point blank range while he was was traveling in his car from a town hall reception.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/harrachmemoir.htm We had film, but no television back then. See 8 seconds of Franz Ferdinand at town hall in Sarajevo.
http://hnn.us/articles/273.html
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/index.htm
Find Sarajevo on the map.
The United Kingdom was second, the same year. Newfoundland was third, the first place in North America, in 1917. Have him write on board:
1) Germany
2) United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
3) Newfoundland
In 1918 the U.S. Congress established time zones although railroads and most American cities were already using them since 1883, and made DST official for the rest of WWI. But it was unpopular and repealed in 1919.
DST is generally a temperate zone practice; day lengths in the tropics do not vary enough. (Can you name three major climate zones. Polar, temperate, tropical.)
Why should we have DST? Number one reason is energy conservation.
DST in winter would make 7:00am feel like 6:00am, and the sun would not be up yet. It would be DARK outside still! Why would this be bad for kids who have to school? Children walking to school or to their bus stops could be hit by cars. This is one big reason why we don't have DST in winter.
Another argued benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities, including shopping in tourist areas. Most people plan outdoor activities during sunlight hours. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people's risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas).
Critics/Criticizing
To find fault, or to evaluate. This requires analysis. You can analyze a math problem, a recipe, a sentence, and friendship (as we discussed last week during grammar discussion about sentence structure.) There are two sides to everything; good and bad, proponents and opponents. Looking at two sides of things is a good character trait. It prepares you to speak well and express your thoughts intelligently. Thinkers think about both sides of an issue. Remember, there may be gray areas depending on the subject. In history or in newspaper writing, teachers and editors like to say "There are three sides to everything: one side's story, the other side's story, and what really happened."
Critics of DST say studies show it really doesn't save much in energy costs. They say that it upsets everyone's sleep patterns. They say people miss appointments if they forget to change their clock. What do you think? Well, maybe people do use more fuel in their cars during the extra daylight hours of DST and that's not a savings, is it.
How to remember which way to turn the clock?
Use a mnemonic. (Spell on board. It's a memory aid. Do you use any mnemonics? Yes, you do!) Spring forward (let me see you jump!), fall back (let me see you fall back to Standard Time!). Other some mnemonics we use:
stalagmites - G: grow up from the ground
stalactites - C: ceiling down
Military - righty tighty, lefty loosy
Music - Every Good Boy Does Fine and FACE
Thirty Days Hath September
Name two states that do not observe DST. Arizona, Hawaii. Indiana is fussing over it. Find all on map.
EXTRA POINTS IF INTERESTED
Post–World War I: American farmers fought and defeated urban dwellers and President Woodrow Wilson and got DST repealed, returning the country to "God's Time.” Spotty and inconsistent use of daylight saving time in the United States and around the world caused problems, unusual incidents and, occasionally, tragedies. For example, disregard of a change to DST caused a major train wreck in France, killing two and injuring many.
World War II: All combatants on both sides quickly adopted DST to save vital energy resources for the War. The U.S. enacted FDR's year-round DST law just 40 days after Pearl Harbor.
Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors.
Computers: Most modern computer operating systems include the capability to automatically change the local time when daylight saving starts and finishes. Did your change automatically?
In Canada, time is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, not federal. The governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Yukon Territory have so far pledged to change their DST rules to match the new U.S. rules. In 2007, their DST will start on the second Sunday in March, and return to standard time on the first Sunday in November. Newfoundland and Nunavut will continue to change time on the first Sunday in April and last Sunday in October unless they change their legislation. As noted below, Saskatchewan does not recognize DST.
In 2006
The schedule for 2006 in the United States is that DST began on the first Sunday in April (April 2, 2006), and changes back to standard time on the last Sunday in October (October 29, 2006). The time is adjusted at 2 AM.
From 2007
Beginning in 2007, DST will start on the second Sunday in March (March 11, 2007), and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007). Under Section 110 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy is required to study the impact of the DST extension no later than nine months after the change takes effect. Congress has retained the right to revert to the DST schedule set in 1986 if it cannot be shown that there are significant energy savings from an extension of DST or if the extension may prove to be unpopular with the American public.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
http://www.seizethedaylight.com/dst/index.html
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Antidisestablishmentarianism for fun
Our nine year old kid can spell antidisestablishmentarianism. He's had a blast impressing the grown-ups with his spelling prowess. There's an old Chinese proverb goes like this: "Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself." Well he had the initial spark of interest and I followed so here's how I taught it.
First I just used the word (forget how it came up but he liked it). I talked about what a popular word it is because it's long and it has 28 letters. It's no longer THE longest word in English though. He enjoyed saying it and played with the word for days. It took a while before he enunciated it perfectly. That's when I got the idea he ought to learn to spell it - just for the ducks of it!
When he was consistently pronouncing it correctly I began to teach its spelling. First I wrote it on the chalkboard - a little intimidating for sure. That's okay. I broke it down and explained that the base word is establish and drew a square around it. I explained there are two prefixes and three suffixes and showed them what they were. We went over it a few days for our break in between subjects. After he could say each prefix, each suffix, and the base word with ease, I began to show him how to write it.
In a column on a white board I had him write (copy from me on the chalkboard):
Anti
dis
establish
ment
arian
ism
It looks doable now, doesn't it? Sure enough! So I had him put it all together on one line on his white board. Shazaam! He wrote it all by himself I said! Now I dictated it one part at a time and had him write it from memory.
Whattya think? Now he asked what it means. Haha! I had to look it up. Basically, for him I told him it means the church and the state together and explained that it had to do with the Church of England in 1868. Asked him if he would like it if the government told him he better give more money to the church or else go to prison. For a visual I put one hand out flat, palm up and said, "Church!" and I put the other hand out the same fashion and exclaimed, "State!" and clasped them together and said, "Together!" Now technically, it really means opposition to the separation of church and state but all I need now is to set up a hook in his mind where I can hang more details on it later when he's ready. For now, this'll hold him for a definition. I used Maven's Word of the Day to go over the definition with him. I read it and just let him soak up what he could. Then we hollered, "Say no to antidisestablishmentarianism!" Boys like hollering.
People really do a double take when he spells it out. It's a hoot!
First I just used the word (forget how it came up but he liked it). I talked about what a popular word it is because it's long and it has 28 letters. It's no longer THE longest word in English though. He enjoyed saying it and played with the word for days. It took a while before he enunciated it perfectly. That's when I got the idea he ought to learn to spell it - just for the ducks of it!
When he was consistently pronouncing it correctly I began to teach its spelling. First I wrote it on the chalkboard - a little intimidating for sure. That's okay. I broke it down and explained that the base word is establish and drew a square around it. I explained there are two prefixes and three suffixes and showed them what they were. We went over it a few days for our break in between subjects. After he could say each prefix, each suffix, and the base word with ease, I began to show him how to write it.
In a column on a white board I had him write (copy from me on the chalkboard):
Anti
dis
establish
ment
arian
ism
It looks doable now, doesn't it? Sure enough! So I had him put it all together on one line on his white board. Shazaam! He wrote it all by himself I said! Now I dictated it one part at a time and had him write it from memory.
Whattya think? Now he asked what it means. Haha! I had to look it up. Basically, for him I told him it means the church and the state together and explained that it had to do with the Church of England in 1868. Asked him if he would like it if the government told him he better give more money to the church or else go to prison. For a visual I put one hand out flat, palm up and said, "Church!" and I put the other hand out the same fashion and exclaimed, "State!" and clasped them together and said, "Together!" Now technically, it really means opposition to the separation of church and state but all I need now is to set up a hook in his mind where I can hang more details on it later when he's ready. For now, this'll hold him for a definition. I used Maven's Word of the Day to go over the definition with him. I read it and just let him soak up what he could. Then we hollered, "Say no to antidisestablishmentarianism!" Boys like hollering.
People really do a double take when he spells it out. It's a hoot!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
But it couldn't be MY son?!
Oooosh. Could this be my son? Certainly not. I find it hard to believe. Impossible.
Today during spelling I told him to set both hands on the counter and listen to me. What do you think he did? He set his two hands down alright, hovering a mere 1/4" over the counter top. Ooooh baaaaby. I'm not June Cleaver and I'm not a modern parent. He pulled this with the wrong mama.
I physically removed him from the room. There were tears (his) and yelling (mine). Parenting can be especially exhausing when you're 47 and you've already been through it once. Do I have to do it again? Apparently I do. God's sense of humor again, I suppose.
I expected no apology. Stick a fork in him, he was done as far as I was concerned. But two hours later he came out of the bedroom and offered the most complete, most sincere, and the most heartfelt apology I have ever heard from him. I let him come out. And I reminded him, an apology given with the heart must remain solid after the words pass through your mouth. He looked in my eyes and agreed. We'll see. But today it looks like he learned a bigger lessen than not to mess with Mamma during spelling time, and that is how to feel, and how to deliver a heartfelt apology. An important life lesson.
Homeschooling days often surprise me. They tire me and surprise me. I must fortify myself and be prepared for that which I do not foresee; for lesson which are not in my lesson plan.
Today during spelling I told him to set both hands on the counter and listen to me. What do you think he did? He set his two hands down alright, hovering a mere 1/4" over the counter top. Ooooh baaaaby. I'm not June Cleaver and I'm not a modern parent. He pulled this with the wrong mama.
I physically removed him from the room. There were tears (his) and yelling (mine). Parenting can be especially exhausing when you're 47 and you've already been through it once. Do I have to do it again? Apparently I do. God's sense of humor again, I suppose.
I expected no apology. Stick a fork in him, he was done as far as I was concerned. But two hours later he came out of the bedroom and offered the most complete, most sincere, and the most heartfelt apology I have ever heard from him. I let him come out. And I reminded him, an apology given with the heart must remain solid after the words pass through your mouth. He looked in my eyes and agreed. We'll see. But today it looks like he learned a bigger lessen than not to mess with Mamma during spelling time, and that is how to feel, and how to deliver a heartfelt apology. An important life lesson.
Homeschooling days often surprise me. They tire me and surprise me. I must fortify myself and be prepared for that which I do not foresee; for lesson which are not in my lesson plan.
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