Possibly a Mid-Life Crisis...

...at 39. But I love it.

A little bolder...

...blond and caramel brown highlights

So I hope I can pull it off.

Planner 2010

Well, it's that time of year, isn't it? When the new planners arrive and we begin to put things together for whenever schooling will begin again. It seems to be independent of whether people school year round or not. Somehow, the excitement is in the air no matter what.

I'm all about the planning. It's one of the things I do best. Even as a public school teacher, my planning notebooks were immaculate (and they had to be for the curriculum supervisor I had). Over the years I've tried various planners. The first year and a half I had a spiral notebook that I wrote everything in. Then I graduated to more complex planners for FIAR that I had made or others had made. Then, of course, FIAR came out with their own set of digital planning pages. Last year, I reviewed the TOS planner which is huge. I made my own Morning Meeting Planner. Very cool idea, but in reality too much to keep up with for a 15 minute slot of the day!

Let's not forget other planning posts I've done- this one details lots of the things I use to plan. And let's not forget the preschool planner. Of course, in addition to the planner itself, I have a file crate system going too. Still like it, but I don't always use it to its fullest potential.

If you aren't a link follower, that's ok. The links above show you various blog posts I've done about my planners over the years. Gives you the backstory on what I've done before.

This year I had a nice planner set up with sections for all the kids like the ones linked to above in a lovely binder. Guess what I found? I didn't have time to keep up with all those forms. Somewhere around January of this year, I gave up. I gave up trying to have a fancy planner. I gave up trying to keep up with all the forms.

I made a decision. A new mantra. I cannot make planning an idol. Dan laughed at me this afternoon when I told him that, but it's true. Planning is not the thing. Doing is the thing.

So, here we are. Behold...the spiral notebook.

A Lisa Frank polka dotted spiral notebook from the dollar store. With a purple coil. And recently I added the clip from Staples. Mostly for fun.

A snapshot of the inside- notice the top line has the day and date. So clever.

I list out the subjects for the day and the assignment. I list what each child is doing for math and language arts separately. I put reminders and notes in the margin.

I put check marks beside those things we finish and an X beside those things we don't. Those things usually carry over to the next day.

When I want to brainstorm a unit or write down a new idea. I do it. I just turn the page and write it down. Then when I do my daily plans, I go back to that page and reference it.

This was my unit planner for The Salamander Room. I planned for the things in the FIAR manual and I planned for the unit within that I chose to do on amphibians and animal classification. We didn't get to everything here, but this was the outline I used for making daily plans. Nothing fancy. On the next page are the plans for the next day.

So, this is it! Nothing fancy. But it's all there. I do still have all my forms and have you all ever noticed how you go through seasons with planning and homeschooling and well...family life in general? This is definitely the season of the spiral notebook for me.

I may try to use a binder with forms this year. I'm working on our Individualized Home Instruction Plans- NY State requires a yearly plan for each school aged child. I get to write it, with just a few requests from them, but I do need to look ahead and make decisions. I may find that using forms makes things easier depending on how many units are together vs. individual, etc. My friend Cindy is a form making queen and she actually made a cool one with some of my input. Still like that one a lot.

But still as I grew busier with our schooling this year, I would always refer back to the days of planning entirely in a spiral notebook. In those days, I had one for E11 and one for R10 who were 2nd and K back then. Even that's too much!

The advantage of using just one book is that it's all there in one place. Every lesson for every child is on the same page. It is simple. It's not time consuming. But it's all there. And when it comes to writing quarterly reports (and right now is that time!), it's so easy to refer to.

I reserve the right to return to more structured planning.

But for now...planning is not my idol!

FAQ: Math on the Level

Our use of Math on the Level seems to be a very popular subject recently. In my inbox right now there are no less than three different notes asking about Math on the Level. So, I think it's time to do another update on MOTL and how we use it, why we like it that sort of thing. You can read more about why we chose to go with MOTL here. In fact, definitely check out that link. I talked about the program plenty there as well.

So, here is the FAQ Math on the Level style:

• Is it teacher intensive? Yes! Let's just get that out of the way first. By its very nature, Math on the Level requires some work from the teacher. This program is NOT for the person who likes the lessons and everything else spelled out for them. This is a GREAT program for people who want to individualize math instruction based on what their child needs. Therefore, the program provides you with many resources. It does not tell you what order or how or when you should teach it.
  
• Is it teacher overwhelming? No, I don't think so. BUT, I'm up for the task. I enjoy the challenge of putting things together for the kids to make math come alive. I don't spend tons of time putting lessons together. I do spend more time than I did when I had a box math curriculum.
• What about the price...seems expensive? Yup, it's pricey at first glance. $315 with shipping which takes roughly three days maximum. You'll have it in no time! BUT, this is a curriculum for kids preK through pre-algebra (grade 7 or 8). There are no consumables. If you invest in it and it works...that's it. You won't be paying this yearly.
• What about resale? Well, MOTL definitely holds its value. First though, you can use the program for 60 days and still send it back for a full refund. I've seen used sets going for $250 or more and selling. I think the purchases is worth the risk and the author allows you to sell on the yahoo group.
• Do I need the whole thing? Yes, eventually you will. You can buy it in different combos, but I think the best bet is to buy it all at once. I waited until I could. You need the entire set to take advantage of the math maturation concept. The author promotes the viewpoint that kids should be able to learn different concepts in math when they are ready and not necessarily in order except where that is important. For example, kids can learn basic geometry without knowing all their math facts. You can't explore this if you don't have all the instructional volumes.
• Can I do this without the program? Sure you can...Kendra at the Pumpkin Patch does a really fine job at this. MOTL is GREAT for when you want to leave behind the conventional programming, but don't want to be totally out on your own. It's a set of resources- the manuals provide the background you need as a teacher and some ideas for teaching a concept. They have sets of problems at the back that you use to create the 5-a-Days (more on those later). They have concept charts that show you what all your children need to know when they are through pre-algebra. The Math Adventures and Math Resources books give you charts, graphs, etc that you may need and give you ideas on how to do math with unit studies and how to create math experiences that are more applied in nature. The record keeping books is what it sounds like- it shows you the various ways you can keep track of what concepts your student is mastering. There is also a large excel file form you can use to automate the process of keeping track of concepts.
• What are 5-A-Days? These are the five problems you will create for your student to do each day to practice new concepts and review older ones. There are only 5 problems and you make them and rotate them. You can use the record keeping chart to mark when a problem is mastered and how often it should be rotated into the review.

I think that covers most of the questions that come up. In another post, I will go over how we use it and what our week looks like with MOTL. You know...the nuts and bolts of using MOTL on a daily basis.

Basically, I think it boils down to how you want to teach math. Do you want to work with your kids where they are and individualize their math or do you want to teach a boxed curriculum that dictates when and how concepts are taught. When you don't tailor math then ultimately for us, with our differing learning styles, we weren't using the program to its fullest. I would either resort to opening the book to the next set of problems or I would skip tons of repetition and then I'm not using all the resources I'd purchased.

When you think, "Can I do this?" You really need to think about your approach to teaching math. Is the extra time worth it? Will it be successful?

I still like Jim Trelease's quote from The Read Aloud Handbook when he says, "Parenting was not meant to be a time saving activity." This was in response to a parent telling him that reading separate books to his kids would take more time. I feel the same way about homeschooling- this was not meant to be a time saving endeavor. It's important to meet the needs of our kids. Even when it's not convenient or easy. Otherwise...I could send them down the road to the local brick building. That would save me lots of time.

Ownership vs. Relationship

My new post is up over at Heart of the Matter. The title is Ownership vs. Relationship.

How do we strike a balance between maintaining relationship and giving our kids ownership of their work?

When I first heard about homeschooling after becoming a parent, I kept hearing that homeschooling is about relationship. To be honest, I really didn’t get it. Now that I’ve been homeschooling for five years, I understand it more. Homeschooling allows you to invest in the relationship between you and your child without all the distractions of being out of the house all day and doing hours of homework, in addition to all the other influences that vie for our children’s attention!

I subscribe to 4 homeschooling magazines. In at least two of the recent issues, there is an article about our kids having ownership of their work. I find in our school that things go better when my kids “own” what they are working on.

But how do we let our kids be independent learners and foster that ownership (giving up the micromanagement of their school day) and still maintain the relationship building that comes from homeschooling?

Read more...

Look what J5 Can Do!

So, this makes it official... He's big.

I've now made it through several milestones four times.

• birth
• potty training
• two wheel bike riding

And he's well on his way to reading on his own too.

Oh my.

Where does the time go?

And just so you know...this is the kid we'll need the "bmx" stunt bike for. I can tell already. He doesn't cry if he falls and laughs when he does something accidentally cool. And he is always pushing the edge.

What's next? Starting kindergarten? Losing teeth?

Oh I'm in trouble.

The Butterflies

Remember a long time ago now when we hosted some caterpillars at our house? Well...they did eventually change to butterflies and join us. The kids thought this was just amazing and we were able to witness several actually coming out of the chrysalis!

It might be tough to see in this blurry photo, but if you look closely you'll see the emerging butterfly.

The "ladies" really enjoyed their sugar water on our irises. Can you see one below?

The kids might have enjoyed keeping them longer, but once they were all out of the chrysalises and especially once the butterflies engaged in some socialization (ahem), I really felt like it was time to let them go.

The last one is ready to fly out on his own. He was reluctant...took this guy a while to figure things out.

I highly recommend this experience if you are so inclined. The kids really enjoyed it. Insect Lore is a great place to order from and you can find a lot of other things going on there as well.

Designing News

As you know, R10 is really into designing her own things. She's also very much a gifty kind of person- always making things for people for special occasions and just other times. During the birthday giving season for her brothers, a new idea popped up.

Her trademark label... Miss Bliss.

R10 makes her own labels for her gifts now

She made some drawing sets for J5...complete with her label.

Dan and I have already told her when she opens her sewing/fashion shop, we fully expect the name to be Miss Bliss.

We'll see what the future holds for Miss R.

Sculpey Amphibians

I'm still catching up on some of our Salamander Room activity blogging...this was a fun little thing we did.

Materials ready to go...

R10 is the Sculpey expert- we used some of her books to design our animals.

The kids added facts and drew pictures of amphibians. We hung up the poster when we were done.

The final product- they were going to put these in our dioramas...but in the end we did not follow through entirely on that one. Something about the end of the school year. Does that ever happen to you?

This was good fun! It's always enjoyable to see what the kids will create. The focus on amphibians was really just what we needed to end the year.

Pardon the SuperVillians...

As I try to obscure my kids' faces.

Dan tells me I need lessons.

I'll work on it. I promise.

Exploring...

Ever since acquiring his orienteering compass, I8 has been dying to hit the trails. Last Friday afternoon, he got his chance. Though we were busy running between activities, the Lab of Ornithology happened to lie between a couple of them. So, we stopped in to take a look. It was much too brief of a time, but we did it and we promised to return- which we already have.

Consulting the map- on our return trip I8 insists on having his own and I think I will laminate it for him so he can adventure without worrying about ripping it.

Checking out a muskrat or beaver with his new binoculars- we purchased a bird watcher's kit from Home Science Tools. I'd love to link you right there, but it seems it's not available anymore. I will link you to the things that came in it though at the end of this post.

J5 shows off his orienteering compass. I have such photo-cooperative kids. They know the Creative Memories pictures get full smiles and direct looks and if I say "blog picture now" they turn their heads or otherwise hide their faces. Cute stuff.

Bird Watcher's Kit:

• Binoculars- which are kid size and real glass. He LOVES them.
  
• owl pellet and tweezers
  
• Bird Watcher Book- by DK

Orienteering Compass- both boys wanted this thing badly and let me just tell you the squeals that came from I8 when he saw Home Science Tools on his birthday boxes...wow. He is definitely our child!

Courtesy of their grandparents, J5 could hardly keep himself together for three days till he ended up with one of his own. And Dan thought it wasn't the greatest idea for a gift. Every good boy needs a good compass.

And you better believe they can use them!

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

I know I've referenced "the play" several times over the last while. R10 tried out for a part in our homeschool group's co-op production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe this past winter. She is, of course, our artsy girl and she wanted to be a part of the play. She was casted as The White Stag and a member of the witch's army.

The play had a homebase at our homeschool co-op this spring and they had extra rehearsals. On toward the end, it was very busy with many hours of rehearsals. We definitely learned a thing or two about doing a large play as part of co-op, but in the end the performances were very well received. Dan just finished putting together the DVD for the families- fun menus and all. He took the cast pictures so I thought I'd share R10's with you- face smudgies intentional!

The White Stag was the absolute best role for our sweet girl! Her free spirit was shining through as she galloped across stage and down through the audience.

She had to go back and forth between this hag and the white stag- she had a line for her witch's army role. She taunted Aslan with the line, "Pussy cat, pussy cat. Hello stupid pussy cat. How many mice have you caught today?" Endearing, isn't it? Makes a mama proud.

The set- not sure what's up with my camera lens, but here you can see the direct difference between our Canon Digital Rebel and our Sony Cybershot cameras. Just can't beat the quality of the digital SLR...

She had the BEST time doing this play- at least with the dramatic roles and a chance to be on stage. R10 has done some dance with a ballet company. She's dabbled in gymnastics. But she's never wanted to return to either of those. Now she can add theater to her repertoire and I know she'll jump at the chance to do drama again. For now, she will continue with her design and sewing passion.

J5's Play Dough Party

J5 had a play dough party on Sunday and a good time was had by all the boys who came. We didn't have the great weather we'd had at the first two parties, but when all molding and cake eating was done, we sent everyone outside and they all dug into the sandbox and had fun on the tree swing.

Round two of the ice cream cake!

The play dough station awaits- complete with the take home bags full of tools and cans of play dough. We had planned to make our own scented play dough, but you know...you gotta know when enough is enough. I'd had...well enough.

Other gifts of note:

• Fizzy Foamy Science
• Mind Blowing Science
• orienteering compass
• sand toys and a mesh bag for the beach!
• bubble stuff galore- so much so that we have a special bubble station so he can stop killing grass. And yes...the homemade stuff is killing our grass too. Yikes!
• One Small Square Backyard
• the mega pack of Sculpey- can you tell this kid likes to mold DAILY??

So, that's three of four kid birthdays all within the first ten days of June. Everyone had a special day (they open our presents and choose a birthday meal) and a special party. No share-sies! And at least they occur in birth order. That worked out nicely I think.

We will now officially enter cake withdrawal. Well...as soon as the second ice cream has been eaten. Ahem.

We now return to regularly scheduled blog posts!

I8's Space Party

I8 had a space party and a good time was had by all! Dan decorated his outer space cake which he enjoyed very much. We had four other boys here to run around. I8 loved it all!

8 candles already? How can that be?

The marble run is always very popular.

We did glow in the dark perler beads in space shapes

Laser tag was the most fun I think- they played lots of rounds

I8 received a lot of space kits including this one which is a Magic School Bus Kit- he's already made the night vision flashlight.

We have plenty of things to keep us busy. His favorite gifts have been his compass and his binoculars. More to see on those soon!

R's Birthday Fun 2010

You've been hearing about these birthdays and the kids are anxious to share so I'll give you a photo tour of the events. First up is R10's Tie Dye Party 2010 (there was a 2005 version as well).

Besides the shirts, R10 made the girls some paper dolls complete with tie dye shirts she made from using watercolor paper and paints and cutting out the shirts.

Ice cream cakes made by me...this year's flavors are black raspberry and vanilla and mint chocolate chip and vanilla...yucko!

The girls folded first then dyed them.

J5 folds his shirt

We watched the video on how to get the good designs and all the kids folded their own shirts.

I8 works on his shirt. He wanted vertical stripes and we figured out in the end that you have to band it opposite what you really want...lesson learned. His stripes are horizontal, but very cool.

J5's tie dye creation

A very special friend gave this to R10 knowing she'd have so much fun designing with it. I'll be sure to keep you posted with any fun design sessions. R10 can hardly wait to get some doll clothes going. With this dress form came some patterns for making clothes for Addy.

Addy received a new dress...thanks Lisa. It's beautiful!

Pouring through a Klutz watercolor book- never used that I picked up from the Friends of the Library Sale.

R10 reports this is too daring...she will NOT be running away to the circus....maybe I should have pre-read this one.

Another item for Addy- a nightgown...her friend J figured that since Addy is her newest doll she needed some more clothes.

Another favorite gift were the Shrinky Dinks...stay tuned for some new creations! This party was much smaller than her Molly party last year and it was perfect. She had the best time and so did her guests.

Muffin Tin Monday- A Rebirth

It's been quite some time since I've done a Muffin Tin Monday. In my defense, our co-op is Monday at 1pm so that kind of puts a pinch on the festiveness of it all and makes it well...much less festive-feeling.

Today it seemed like the right thing to do. So, I got things in gear...asking my assistant, R10, to gather the tins and make some flags!

Here they are! Flags for Flag Day and all...

The close up...one Oreo may seem not so generous until you know the rest went into the ice cream cake for a recent birthday.

If you haven't seen Muffin Tin Monday before, then I encourage you to visit The Muffin Tin Mom to find out more. Sometimes she has themes. Themes are off for the summer, but Flag Day spoke to me today.

My kids love MTM. I don't know why, but there's something about it.

Whimsy makes everything better.

Sewing News...

If you've been a reader for a while, then you know that R10 is an avid seamstress. She started with it at 8 when her grandmother picked out a fun project to make Felicity a nightgown with her and the rest is history. Our thanks to Grandma for uncovering a previously undiscovered talent and interest!

Next R10, took two sewing classes at our homeschool co-op where she continued to enjoy learning how to sew.

After that, a wonderful woman at our church introduced us to a local sewing cooperative where she is a teacher. R10 has been going to classes there since last summer and enjoys absolutely every minute of it. So, here's a shout out to my friend Betsy! Thanks so much for introducing us to that fun classroom!

At the sewing cooperative, R10 has made lots of fun things and she always learns a new skill. Reportedly, she gets more independent in her work all the time. We are very proud of her and it is our pleasure to fuel her passion with sewing.

This shot was taken at the classroom. The girls recently made pillowcase dresses for Little Dresses for Africa. The girls worked in teams to make the dresses and adorn them (bling them up!) They can add making bias tape to their list of skills. R10 revels in designing her own things. So, these creative sews are so much fun for her.

Friday afternoon she made this dress- it started as a skirt that ended up being too long so she determined to make it a sundress instead. So cool.

R10 is scheduled to continue classes this summer. The more she does, the more she loves it. She is just so good at doing things with her hands and she loves, loves, loves to create. I'm hoping this one is a life long passion.

She's already talking about this as a career. And before you laugh you should know that Dan was about this age when he chose a career in chemical engineering and I was just about her age when I chose one in biology...so... you know...

I'll let you know when her Etsy shop opens.