Slices of Life

We had a pretty full week of traditional schooling this week.  We took one day off to celebrate a birthday and to go visit with some friends but with the cold, bitter temperatures we've been having we were all content to stay home in our pajamas.  It was a fun week and I enjoyed watching my boys playing together all week long. Reading-- Ian read I Drive A Street Sweeper , Canoe Days , 20 Big Truck In the Middle of The Street and started reading a new series called Treasure Hunters .  I know he loves this set since I've found him reading in his room at least three times this week!  Alec read Diary of  A Wimpy Kid , part of Diary Of a Wimpy Kid Roderick Rules , part of Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom , his new Pokemon guidebook Black 2 White 2 , and read Dino Swimming out loud to Evan one night while they had a sleepover.  Evan read Itchy Itchy Chicken Pox, Puppy Mudge Loves his Blanket , Splat the Cat The Rain is a Pain , Puppy Mudge Has a Snack...

We had taken a kitchen science experiment book out of our library and while we had already done most of the science experiments I knew the boys would want to try growing crystals. We have several different crystal growing kits and we've grown many different kinds of crystals over the years.  But this experiment sounded so different than the others because it was using household materials. We were expecting full blown crystals at the end since the experiment did not have any pictures to go with it and so we were a bit disappointed.  We did however make some pretty neat looking crystal paper; which we all agreed would be a better name for the experiment. To make Crystal Paper you will need: 1 Cup Epsom Salts 1 cup hot water food coloring (optional) black construction paper Cookie sheet  A sunny warm spot for the crystals to grow (we used our oven) Before starting our experiment we poured a bit of the Epsom salts onto the black paper and studied what the...

This was a tough list to write this week.  I struggled to come up with a decent sizes list.... struggled! I am not one to take pride in much of anything; probably because I am such a perfectionist that my results often fall short of my expectations.  It's something I'm working on. I was happy for this week's list and all the challenges it presented to me. After much long and thoughtful meditation I realized the challenge was to come up with a list of things I SHOULD be proud of and I know there is much I should be proud of (even if I don't feel proud of them).... than I was finally able to come up with my list: Sticking with Homeschooling even when it got real tough -- and boy there have been plenty of times I wanted to quit.  Having been happily married for almost 15 years- - my hubby and I started dating when we were just 16!  For us to be so happily married so many, many years later is just wonderful. My boys; just looking at them fills me with pri...

You can turn anything into a unit study; anything at all.  It's not that hard once you start to think critically about the subject at hand and get used to thinking outside the box. My middle son is very passionate about Pokemon and has been for years.  I used to lament the fact that he talked about it non-stop, that he would rush through school to finish and go play with his Pokemon toys and games. Until the day I sat and thought-- REALLY THOUGHT. What can he possibly be learning while studying Pokemon? Here is what I came up with after just a few short minutes: Reading-  he would read any book he could find on Pokemon; picture books, chapter books, guidebooks, it did not matter.  He was interested in them all. Through reading the guidebooks he learned alphabetical order (he taught himself!) Through reading guidebooks and comparing sizes of Pokemon he worked on math.  Not only did he compare the various Pokemon to each other but he also compared them to real- ...

My middle son is 10.  He taught himself to read when he was 4. By the time he was 6 he was reading chapter books.  He loves books; all kinds of books. He devours books and has so many series he has read and fallen in love with.  He has a wide, eclectic taste in books and the level of reading varies tremendously from one series to the next. He loves animals, fantasy, and silly fiction stories the best. Here is a list of some of his absolute favorite Fiction books (we'll compile a list of his favorite nonfiction books later): 1.   The Secret Zoo -- He finished reading these a year or so ago and still checks Amazon monthly to see if the Author has made any others.   He loved these books about children who discover a magical world hidden behind the walls within their local zoo. 2.  The Wings of Fire--   He is anxiously awaiting the 9th book, which just came out.  Written in a world of dragons where dragons talk and prophesies ...

When we first started homeschooling I read a lot of books.  I had an ideal in my head of what our homeschooling day was going to look like and how happy we were all going to be together. It may not surprise you to know that what I pictured in my head was not what actually happened. We made mistakes, we fought, we cried, we kept at it though;  trying schedule after schedule, curriculum books after curriculum books, and slowly found our way to what homeschooling would be like for us. I'm not sure anyone can avoid making mistakes when starting out with homeschooling.  For most people homeschooling is totally new and different and there's always a learning curve when trying something new. My best advice is to keep at it and do in your heart what you know is right for you and your family. Try not to compare Try not to let fear lead Try not to listen to criticisms Do listen to your kids!  They know a lot more than we give them credit for! Hopefully reading about some of ou...