School Spirit

Found these on sale in September and could not resist!

All the kids have one...they all love them! Good news! I found the link. Click here for this tshirt and more. Warning for those who want adult sized shirts. They are ginormous. Order smaller than you think you want for adult sizes! I ordered two- Warning Parent of Unsocialized Homeschooler and Homeschool Moms Rock and I'm trying to figure out what to do with mine...wearing it as is, is not an option! So, if you have any stellar refashioning tips for me, I'd be glad to hear them.

Takin' It to the Next Level...

Many of you know that I was working hard to get Dan to put up a bulletin board. Some of you may know that Dan is the king of dinner explanations. The kids will ask a question which will launch Dan into a long explanation of "you name it". Sometimes I can't take it and I'll say the answer quickly to end it before he starts it! Trust me...if you have anything similar at your house, this action would tempt you as well.

Last night, I8 was telling us about a story he heard at his Pioneer Living class about a man who was  hauling logs in the winter and when two of the logs fell, they rolled down a hill and over some lake ice and up the other side and the logs did this over and over. Dan said it remind him of a Perpetual Motion Machine and that was it. The questions started and we began talking about "Perpetual Motion Machines". I was only half paying attention and asked, "Why would anyone think that would work?" You know...because of my awesome physics prowess from college, this made no sense to me! But the kids were hanging on his every word and as things got going Dan said, "Now if this thing were a white board, I'd be all over it!" He is referring to my bulletin board there. So, he quickly asked if I had push pins for it and a moment later he came back with a piece of butcher paper and a Sharpie.

I want to officially say, this took his dinner time teaching moment to a whole new level.

Everyone listens as Dan begins to illustrate one of the ideas for a perpetual motion machine

His drawing is really going now...all eyes still peeled and everyone asking engaging questions.

By the time he was done, he had covered a lot of ground. We've got the machine, friction, vectors...

So, as we were going along Dan tells the kids about how friction works- because this is one of the main reasons a perpetual motion machine cannot work. The designers did not take into account other forces on the machine. Besides, as anyone knows, you can get work out of something without putting energy into the system. Once I saw the force arrows, I coaxed Dan...I go, "Go ahead honey just say it..." Then he told the kids what vectors were.

I just want to say I did remember physics because I reminded Dan that according to the laws of thermodynamics, you cannot create or destroy energy...so that is a big one when it comes to perpetual motion. Then Dan thought he'd trip me up when asking which law goes with everything in the universe going to a state of chaos...Entropy! Oh yes I DID remember that! 

As you can see....dinner time is never dull around here. And now we've gone to the next level. Maybe I should look into a real white board on the opposite wall.

Homeschool Expo- Come Join the Fun!

I thought I'd share some TOS news with you. I'm pretty excited about this particular event because there are some pretty popular folks participating and speaking this year. You can listen online or simply download the mp3s and listen when you can later on. Other than my reviews for the Crew, I rarely share other TOS news we are encouraged to pass on. However, this one I felt was worth it so here you are! I'm all registered up (and in full disclosure it was a gift from TOS to those of us on the Crew) and as you can tell by my little button over there, I will BEE there. Follow the links if you are interested in finding out who will be speaking. As an early bird registrant, you'll also get some bonus sessions like teaching multiple levels and some time with the Clarksons. Read below to find out more details.



If you're looking for homeschool encouragement, resources, and fun, check out all that is going on at The Old Schoolhouse!

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The BIGGEST news of all--The Schoolhouse Expo is coming in May!
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As homeschool teachers,what do you need to learn? More about teaching multiple grades? All about different homeschool methods? Transcripts?
Could you use some help with reading, language arts, math, and more?
Are you intimidated by the idea of teaching middle school and high school?those dreaded, advanced courses? Would some encouraging words and motivational Scripture help you on your way?

Get answers when you attend The Schoolhouse Expo, an 3-day, online conference, presented by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse® Speaker's Bureau.

Pre-register today for only $19.99 through March 31.You do not want to miss this unbelievable, virtual homeschool convention! PLUS, you'll receive over $300 in free gifts when you register.
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On New Routines or the Refinement of Old Ones...

You know how it is, right? With very good intentions you establish a "schedule" and you vow to stick to it. Then as time goes on, the things begin to slide and after a time you need to make some changes. We've been there for some time now. We have passed the time of the resident toddler and it was past time to reassess how we spend our time. Being careful not to fall into the "older kid trap" (the one where a more relaxed person like me suddenly feels the need to turn on the hose and import much more schooling than necessary in the name of "I have a middle schooler!") Having an older student can wreak all kinds of havoc on the minds of homeschooling parents. It messes with you. As if the dabbling of homeschooling in elementary school is over and you've hit the big time...where futures are made or broken.

Avoiding this common and dangerous pitfall is a constant process, one that requires focus and resolve. However, it is a fair thing to take a look at what you are doing and to make sure there is consistency and growth in your day.

Given my relaxed homeschooling nature, any routine I came up with would need margin. Steve Lambert, publisher of the Five in a Row curriculum, describes margin this way:

I talked in a recent article about margin. As a book publisher we think about margin whenever we publish a new product. Margin is the white space that surrounds each printed page. It’s largely margin that makes a page readable. A page that utilizes every square inch of paper to contain printed text is very cost-effective. Paper costs money. Why not use every last square millimeter of paper to help carry the printed words? Because a page with no margin gives the eye no room to “breathe” as you look at the page. It’s too busy. It makes you anxious. It appears overwhelming. It often means you don’t even attempt to read the page because it just looks like “too much” before you even begin...

I'd like to share a few more snippets from Steve's blog post on margin that specifically apply to where I am right now in needing margin.

Our homes need margin. We need room to breathe. A room packed to the ceiling with belongings and treasures may be efficient use of square footage, but if there are only narrow paths to walk through the mountains of possessions there is absolutely no place to rest or relax. The room makes us anxious.

Our schedule needs margin. An activity packed day with every minute accounted for, every calendar block filled in leaves us cranky and frustrated. Unexpected interruptions inevitably occur which leave us “behind” our own self-inflicted schedule with no time to relax or recuperate.

And our homeschool needs margin. We need unscheduled time in our teaching day for unplanned “bunny trails” that are often the very best part of the teaching day. We need time to pause and ask the Lord what HE wants to do with the next 20 minutes of our day- which are often the most important part of our children’s education.

Margin is essential in every area of our life. Talk with your children about new ways to plan margin into your daily schedule, your monthly calendar and your home’s space. Children need space in their room to spread out on the floor and play with toys, read a book or just sprawl out and daydream.

So, now that I've referred to having margin and leaving times in our day unscheduled, I'm about to share a "schedule" with you. We've been at this all week. This has really been working well. This pattern for our day leaves margin! We have a road map, a target to hit, but the way the pattern is designed we can take more than one way to get there. If we follow a "bunny trail" of learning, there is always the map to get back on the road to our target. What's our target? To consistently hit the items in our day that provide us with the most discovery. That's it. A pattern in our day means we have less wandering on the path so we get to that awesome view at the end of the hike. Some days the hike itself is more fun and the view can wait until another day. But having a trail map is always helpful to keep us on track. And of course having a Trail Guide to confer with helps a lot too.

Daily School Routine

*Wake up/breakfast/chores
*Read Aloud Time (book of choice)
*Morning Gathering Time (at school table)
*Math- family adventure/Five-A-Days
*SOTW/Geography/Nature Study
*Language Arts
*Lunch
*Read Aloud Time (unit study related)
*Unit Study
*Passion Pursuit (approved activities)
*Silent Reading Time (book of their choice)
*Free Time/Screen Time
*Chore Time
*Dinner Time
*Family Time
*Read Aloud Time (second book of choice)
*Bed Time (olders read in bed for a bit)

In addition to this daily pattern, I have a weekly one as well which accounts for the regular times we are out and which days we do what if there is more than one item in that time slot.

I think my favorite part of the new pattern is that we are more purposeful about our reading aloud. We are blasting through The Last Battle by CS Lewis. The other thing is that we have been more finished each day which is nice. Yet, we still have unschooling moments like yesterday when I7 came in and said he had done an experiment to see when J4 could jump farther from the slide in our basement- when he's holding the ball and when he isn't. He determined that he jumps farther without the ball and he made a graph. Being the homeschooling mom that I am, I told him to go measure the distances. Voila! Awesome math lesson. We can't be owned by the routine so much that we lose those moments.

The Daily Quest

When we first brought E10 home from school midway through first grade (back in January, 2005), I used to do a Question of the Day with him. We had a really fun time schooling back then (of course we still do...but we are busier now!) and things were pretty easy going. R9 was in preschool, I-7 was 2 and I was pregnant with J4.

E10 loved the challenge of reading for information and bringing it back to me. We kept the questions in a wooden canister that he painted for the task. A few weeks ago I decided it would be fun to bring it back to our homeschool and purposed to get a new box going. I retooled the name too calling it- The Daily Quest.

Supplies at the ready

Finding just the right images to represent adventure and quest seeking

The three oldest kids had a side to decorate. J4 preferred just to play with the decoupage. He finished his Molly jar from May.

I did the lid- remember...you are never too old to create!

The finished product ready for adventure. The last side of the box has some cardboard letters on it that read QUEST.

So, how does it work? Each day I put a set of questions in the box that the kids have to work on together. Today's quest was about hurricanes. The kids had to work as a team to come up with the answers. What is a hurricane? What are two other names for hurricanes and where are they used? What is the difference between a tropical depression and a tropical storm?

You can be sure I have some guidelines in place to facilitate the team building process. They must:

• Answer the questions together using reference books and websites.
• Try to avoid just Googling the answer. Use websites such as National Geographic for Kids.
• Write down the answer
• Work together without arguing or hogging.
• Everyone must write at least a little.
• Everyone will contribute to the answer at dinner time. Make sure you include everyone.
• Discuss where you can find the answers and give assignments according to age and ability.
• Work as a team.

Ok...so they are a bit redundant. I'm alright with it. At the top of the page I put The Daily Quest with the date and then I have those rules in a box at the top followed by the day's Quest. I made a document just for ease.

The kids are excited. It's all in the marketing friends. All in the marketing.

CurrClick Live Classes

I'm sure most of you have been over to CurrClick from time to time. They sell downloadable curriculum from various publishers- everything from lapbooks to unit studies to Evan Moor ebooks. I really enjoy their weekly freebies which come in handy some weeks.

This year they've started to offer something new called the Live Class. A few months ago they had Water, Water Everywhere as their weekly free offering and I so wish I had paid attention. Not knowing what a Live Class really meant I passed it up and I regret that decision!

After reading up on them and noticing a few others at FIAR trying them out, I signed up for three so far. Right now they are offering some classes for as little as a dollar and many are about $5. I don't know how long the good times will last, but if you are looking for a summer adventure I would definitely consider a Live Class. The nice part is that the class is independent and you don't need to be real time with the instructor. So, you can sit at the computer and work on the class when your time permits.

Right now R9 is part of the Felicity Book Club. She is studying the book Happy Birthday, Felicity! She gets to work on a notebook weekly, participate in the forums (under my name because I wasn't clever enough to make one up!), and watch the class videos. Each week there is a project and some notebooking to do in addition to the reading of course.

E10 really, really wanted to take a math class, but most of them were tutorial helps rather than a challenge. There are a few Algebra classes they he's not quite ready for yet and when I found the Geometry class I knew it was for him. He can hardly wait to get started. It's a geometry review for 5th to 8th grades and think there will be some things to challenge him. He'll get to work out assigned problems for the day and email the solutions to the professor. He'll be able to see the problems worked out video if he needs help. This is going to be a very cool addition to the math journal! I'm looking forward to see how this goes.

It is a tradition in our homeschool to begin each new year with our favorite FIAR title- Night of the Moonjellies. We have such fond memories of our first row of this book just after E10 had broken his arm one summer and our pool visits were cut short. I had just received my trusty FIAR volume 1 manual and I was eager to begin. After 3 years we love it as much as ever but it is harder to discover new things in there. But it is so worthwhile to visit them again each year. This year we will do the live class on Nim's Island as part of our tradition. The kids adored the book and loved the movie. We are excited to join in this class and some really fun ocean work!

Starting in September is Strange Science: Planet Earth and I'm eager to sign up for this one. We have not done much indepth earth science and I think the kids will enjoy it. Some of the coolest earth science stuff is going to be covered. Each class typically needs a minimum enrollment so get on over there and sign up for classes!

Cool Dad Homeschooling Moments...

Sorry for the blogging delay! It's been a busy MOPS week...or I should say a busy week catching up on life after a busy MOPS week. Hopefully, I'm back in the groove.

So, Dan brought home some temperature probes from work. They are one time use boxes that come with a chemical that must be kept above freezing. So there is a chart inside that records the temperature during the trip. When it arrives, Dan cracks open the case to see if the temp dipped below freezing. If it has, they return the chemical.

One day a whole bunch of boxes arrived with the detectors but only one needed to be opened so Dan brought the rest home for the kids.

It runs on a battery.

Here's where the temperature is recorded.

Here's the coil which is a bi-metal strip (no I didn't know that, but E10 remembered and he just told me...see a good lesson!)

Dan heats up the bi-metal strip to show the kids how it will move. The strip has two metals in it and one wants to expand more than the other. Since it can't go anywhere like it normally does (being attached to the other metal) it puts more curl in the coil. This moves a plastic thing attached to the scratch paper and it makes marks. And that is how it records the temperature! Again, E10 just provided that review.

The kids put these boxes in a few places around the house- one went in the attic, one in the freezer and one in the frig. They opened them up to check out the readings.
The one in the middle shows you how they are all rolled up before you pull them to check on them. Click on the picture below and see if you can figure out which one is which!

The kids decided to move them again so one is in the car, one is in our basement, and the last one is in the boys' room.

Another fine adventure in what Dad thinks is cool for the homeschool!

The Garden Party

On Thursday we went on another field trip into our little village. The library was co-sponsoring a Garden Party with the Cooperative Extension. I only found out about it a few days ahead of time, but I'm so glad we went. It was a spectacular day for this time of the spring in NY and we had a great walk down to the firehall where the party was to be held. Take a look at some of the fun things we did.

There was a mural for the kids to draw on. I-6 is drawing his version of a flower.

All the kids go to plant lots of veggies...

J3 could NOT get enough of planting the seeds.

I-6 and R8 went to the sprout table before the others- they got a good look at bunches of seeds when they put together their sprout kits.

The Sprouts. This is about a four day growth. The kids are anxious to try this out. Question: Will they really eat them?

E10 and J3 put a sprout kit together as a team. J3 has a thing for radish seeds. Yes, the sprouts are spicy too!

Another mural- this time they got to make a collage from seed catalogs.

The Haul. I had prepared to take home a few potted plants in a dishpan. We ended up with a whole flat of plants!! What you have to picture is me carrying this flat up a hill for a 1.5 mile walk back to our house! Along with the backpack on my back carrying a my Canon Digital Rebel and the library books.

In addition to the fun pictured above, the kids got to make several more garden crafts AND the Cooperative Extension did a presentation for the parents. I was able to bring home a big packet of information on gardening which I think will helpful to me just starting out.

What did we plant?

• radishes
• pumpkins- lots of pumpkins
• carrots
• sunflowers- yes more...
• tomatoes- several varieties
• marigolds
• sweet peas

Plus we brought home mixed lettuce seed and more marigold seeds to plant. If all of our seedlings make it until Memorial Day, then I don't think we'll buy much more. I did pick up some lupine seeds, cucumber seeds, big tomato seeds, and some pepper seeds that we haven't planted yet.

We just split the flat up and watered them today using a spray bottle with J3 thinks is the coolest. They are in our basement (which is actually very sunny). Wish us luck!!

Science Center Field Trip

We have a terrific local science center where we are members and it's always fun to pop in there when we can. It's a favorite place for our 3yo because of the water table for preschoolers. Last Wednesday they were having a seed program for kids because it was spring break for the public schools. Of course we had to attend!

I-6 uses the tweezers to dissect a lima bean.

His turned out so well. It was easy to see all the seed parts that will become the bean plant.

Besides planting a sunflower, the kids made a bean book. This clever little bean model will become a part of our botany notebook.

Of course there are other exhibits to visit. One favorite is the dam table. Based on progress here, I informed the townspeople down stream to evacuate!

There is a discovery room where you can take out activity boxes. The kids love being in there. This is a box full of magnets that J3 and I played with.

R8 likes the spinner box.

Each box shows the contents and has multiple sets of directions and materials. There are all kinds of boxes relating to the different areas of science. They even have boxes for preschoolers.

We visited the earthquake table. You have to try and build a stable structure and when you press a button and move a dial you can see how your building stands up to an earthquake.

We met long time friends of ours at a pizza place for lunch and then enjoyed the afternoon at the center. A great field trip!

Very Silly Sentences

One of the items in I-6's Easter basket was the Very Silly Sentences game. I wasn't sure how this would be different from the other DK word games we have, but it looked like it had some more going on. It sure does!

You get to move around the board using a multi-faceted die and use the spinner to see what part of speech you get to pick from the piles. As you go around the board you build your sentence. I-6 did a great job reading all his words. This is a very nice game that we all enjoyed.

This is a sideways close up of the sentences we were building. This game will provide a lot of fun reading times!

This one will be showing up in the workboxes from time to time that is for sure.

Weekly Explorers

We are at the point in our study of World Exploration where we are visiting the various explorers. This week was Columbus and a review of Erikson. Each of the kids made their own version of the Weekly Explorer Newspaper. Today we'll finish that up with marking it on our wall map.

Last week as we talked about navigational tools we made our own compass. It really worked! That needle is really pointing north.

The kids enjoy mapping the routes on their own maps and writing in their captain's log. E10 is doing a great job with this. I love hearing his entries.

Meanwhile, they've been steadily working on their adventure stories. Maybe I'll share excerpts soon.

Homeschool Magazines

At our homeschool support meeting the other night the topic was Favorite Homeschooling Magazines. They could be for moms or kids or both- whatever you use in your homeschool. So, I brought along a few of my favorites and I got to see some other fun publications as well.

Take a look at these and see what you think. Some magazine offer online versions as well as print versions. Some are online only at this point, such as Heart of the Matter Magazine. At our Area Coordinator training for MOPS out in Denver, CO in February, we talked about their current media options with the director and she said that more and more print editions of books and magazines are going digital. Some of it is cost and some is due to decreased readership. So, if you still like the feeling of a magazine in your hands, it's time to renew that subscription! Or else you'll be spending more time on your computer!

Don't have time for a magazine? Do what I do...read them while walking on the treadmill!

Cobblestone Magazine is for kids 9 and up on American History. I LOVE this magazine. It devotes a whole issue to one topic in American History and is a joy to read. When you visit the web site you and see what the upcoming issues will be so you can be prepared. They also have Calliope which is world history for the same age group. You can order back issues which I have also done. I've been able to pick these up at booksales as well.

This is a staple of every household whether you homeschool or not. Am I right? You can check out the NWF website for additional fun activities. I save old issues for cutting up. Where do you think I got all the animals for our classification game?

The same is true for Ranger Rick magazine. E10 really enjoys this one when it arrives.

Homeschooling Today- I do not subscribe to this one currently, but you never know...how long I will hold out before trying it.

Homeschooling Enrichment- I've been getting this one for almost a year. I love it! It always has a fun unit study and lots of ideas on how to enrich your homeschooling experience.

The Family Handyman- this one is new to me, but one mom of many boys said it is a favorite at her house. Lots of projects in here for them to do and I have to say flipping through it that it might be a fun diversion. This one has Father's Day written all over it!

God's World News- this one is a world news magazine for kids that is published at different levels. We get Top Story. Just a warning that this one has an extremely conservative point of view. That's not all bad, but we like to provide a bit of balance in there with it. This will provide you with plenty of fodder for current events discussions and debates. Trust me...it is a nightly dinner time ritual.

The Old Schoolhouse- I've been getting this one since the fall when they had scrips for $7.95. I love it! My only complaint...it comes out just four times a year. This publisher also hosts a store which has free shipping all the time. I have happily used it several times.

Zoobooks came highly recommended by a few moms. Lots of great pictures perfect for animal lovers. I've seen a lot of these at used booksales.

Another popular genre was food magazines. One mom's kids love to cook and will comb through magazines looking for fun things to prepare for the family. Those are the same boys who enjoy The Family Handyman. We're talking well prepared young men here ladies!

The homeschooling magazines featured above all have a decidedly Christian perspective on homeschooling. Home Education is more unschooling in nature and is decidedly secular in nature. I just signed up for a free sample of the magazine just to see what it's like.

We had a great time chatting and encouraging one another on the things we have used. We decided it would be easy to homeschool well with just a pile of good magazines arriving every month!