Ramblings...

Friday Flashback

2012-02-17T15:39:00.000+09:00

Might as well add some music to my poor neglected blog, right? Enjoy!

Cuz....

2012-02-13T20:10:00.002+09:00

....Sometimes you just got to get away...

Morning Meeting Board

2012-02-07T00:46:00.000+09:00

Ok while most of the US zones out on American Football, I’m going to do some homeschool blogging. *GASP* I’ve mentioned previously that we use a morning meeting board; you can read that post HERE.

I had wanted to do some updating to it and wanted to find something bigger to house it all, especially because my updates involved expanding what we use/do as well. After thinking on it for a few days I decided a tri-fold display board would be best. It can be folded and kept out of the way (saving us space) and should be able to survive our move –although if it doesn’t I can easily get my hands on another tri-fold board and spend less than 2$ so it’s cheap, which is important to a family that moves a lot and is on a budget-.

Once I figured out what I would use for the board I went about collecting the resources for our Morning Meeting Board. I reused a lot of what we already had but also, as previously mentioned, I added in a few more items.

Here is the finished product*the picture's not that great but you get the idea*:

I currently have everything stapled to the board but this isn’t very affective, it’s just all I had on hand at the time, I’ll be getting Velcro circles so we can pull things down when we need to. We have a monthly virtue we go over (using We Choose Virtue’s classroom edition-that’s the secular version-) we have them laminated so they can withstand years of use and moving. Under that is our “I’m Grateful For” list, the kids and I list two things each day that we are grateful for. After that is our word of the week along with a picture of Dr. King I figured Equality and King went hand in hand so whenever we use that word we also talk a bit about him, it was also our word of the week the last time I did this…hmm I should track my changing spurts to get the most out of them. Under that is also our artist of the month (which I desperately need to change, I finally have something I feel will be affective in our artist studies I just need to get the printouts made and added to the board).

In the center we have two “Days In School” printouts, they are a bit different from each other and I liked both of them, so we use both. Next to that is our Number Chart, I pick a number each day and Professor Chaos has to fill in the boxes (while counting out loud until he gets to the number I’ve chosen, sometimes I let General Disarray pick the number). Once Professor Chaos has counting to 100 down we will use the number chart to aid in our skip counting.

Under that we have our Days of the Week tracker from Trend© as well as our temperature tracking printout that covers indoor and outdoor temps, we have a digital thermometer that gives us a constant readout of the indoor and outdoor temperature as well as a few other fun things that we’ll use when T.B.M. are a bit older. We track temperature in Celsius since we use the metric system in our schooling, it’s what the scientific community, and most of the world, uses so that’s what I’m teaching the kids. Plus, honestly, I strongly dislike –read as hate…yes I know it’s a strong word- the US measurement system, always have. Especially, when I stepped into an advanced science class and was told I could no longer use the method I had been taught my whole life. Far easier to just start them on metric, anyways I’m rambling so back to the main topic I go!

Also on our board we have the current Season, Color of the Day, and a printable for learning time. I need to acquire a small clock to affix to the printout, for now though General Disarray has been drawing in the clock. We also have a Weather Tracker, Important Information sheet (which I will have to change up a bit since we have a local phone provider and can't just dial 911 in order to get emergency services), and rounding out the middle section, for now, is a skip counting page. I’ll also be adding a weekly shape as well to the board, but I need to get the Velcro circles first!

The last section of our meeting board features a Months of the Year song (all the way on the top), an Every Week song (which tells the number of days in a week and the actual days of the week), as well as a Days of the Week song (we found this song first and just LOVE it so it was kept on our Morning Meeting Board), and finally a Name Spelling song. I wanted to make sure Professor Chaos knew how to spell his name- he was doing pretty well but would skip a letter every now and then- so this has been a prefect addition to our morning meeting, especially when it comes to learning his middle name which is a bit long.

That pretty much sums up our new Morning Meeting Board. I store all the extras on the back inside little Ziploc baggies, that are affixed to the board using the last Velcro circles I had on hand.

For the printouts used, as well as ideas for your own morning board, check out the following sites *as always the views and opinions expressed on any blog/website linked here do not represent the views and opinions of this blog unless otherwise stated*:

Homeschool Creations

1 +1 +1=1

Confessions of a Homeschooler

Stateside Fun

2012-01-29T22:45:00.000+09:00

Here is the list of the fun places we hit while in the US of A-finally-!

First we saw the St. Louis Arch –A must if you are in the area.-

Next we enjoyed the Indianapolis Children’s Museum – A treat from my good friend Karen, we didn’t get to spend too much time there since we were on a time crunch so it’s on the list of places to go back and spend a whole day at! I highly suggest planning to be there the whole day, it’s
AMAZING!! Completely worth spending a whole day and more. -

Afterwards we arrived in NC and checked out the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, North Carolina Museum of History – Both Free! –

While in NC we also enjoyed the Children’s Museum of Wilmington, the USS North Carolina Battleship, and the Discovery Place. There is also Discovery Place KIDS which we were close to a few times but never got around to actually going – so it’s on our to-do list for when we head back to NC for another visit-.

Before departing NC we also went up to the mountains and enjoyed a rainy day of fishing at Grandfather Trout Farm – you’re guaranteed to catch something, trust me we tested this! Despite the weather- and my lack of fishing skills- we walked away with 3 very large fish, we would have stayed longer because the boys were having a blast but we were all soaked and still needed to dry off before our dinner date with some friends-.

We also wanted to enjoy Chimney Rock while we were in the mountains but the rain prevented that, so it had to go on our to-do list for the next time we are up that way.

After leaving NC we landed in Washington and having a few days to burn before our next flight we decided to rent a car and do some exploring.

We hit Northwest Trek Wildlife Park on the recommendation of my friend Melonie – it was AWESOME! I highly recommend it if you are in the area - ,afterwards we headed to Mount Rainier National Park and had tons of fun hiking around.

Once our adventuring was over and done we boarded a plane to come back home, somehow we managed to squeeze a lot into a short amount of time, but we would have still loved to do more. There is always next time and we have a rather long list of places to enjoy!

Blog Giveaway

2012-01-19T18:38:00.002+09:00

Not my blog of course, I'm still trying to break up with FB. But my friend Karen's blog is having an awesome giveaway. Seriously, go check it out! You can find the giveaway post HERE!!

Ode To Thy Blog

2012-01-16T21:46:00.000+09:00

You poor neglected blog. So much potential. I just allow you to sit here, waiting, hoping, longing for words to fill your “Text Here” box. I know. You miss me. I miss you too. I have so much to share with you, the list of awesome places we explored while in the states, the list of awesome things I want us to do before we leave this island, my strategy for homeschooling while moving, and the various things I’ve done on the homeschooling front from changing our morning meeting board to exploring a Letter of the Day curriculum. So much to share with you. And then there is the blog giveaway series, oh sweet neglected blog giveaway series. You two can blame FB, for it is a lover that has proven hard to shake. But I will shake it, for us!

Until then though enjoy this video featuring A Perfect Circle's cover of John Lennon's Imagine:

New Year, New Plans

2012-01-03T20:00:00.001+09:00

Well it’s a New Year! So of course my first post is about our 2012-2013 plans. I just love planning! I can’t help it; I’m always thinking, planning, and plotting.

Here is a rough draft of our 2012-2013 Plans:

General Disarray:
Language Arts- Harcourt Language Grade 3
Math- Saxon Math 4
Science- Science Fusion Grade 3 (have you all heard about this science curriculum for homeschoolers! I can’t wait to try it out! Finally, a secular science homeschool curriculum I can be excited about!)
History- Early Modern Times (a collection of supplies that have yet to be determined)

Professor Chaos:
Language Arts- Hooked on Phonics (starting with grade K and then moving on from there all the way up to grade 3, General Disarray got through within a year but I’m not going to make the assumption that Professor Chaos will. We will move at his pace to ensure acquisition of his reading skills).
Math- Saxon Math 1
Science- Science Fusion Grade K
History- Early Modern Times (he will be working with his brother, since we follow the classical method for history so when we get back to ancients for General Disarray it would coincide with when Professor would be starting Ancients. Allowing for one subject that flows between T.B.M., decreasing the amount of history planning I have to do, only planning for one time period at a time makes my life so much easier).

This year also marks our last full year in Japan so we are going to make the most of with plenty of field trips and festivals in the works to help round out our school year.
There will also be a continuing of things currently in the works, like our Monday activities, and possibly an increase of a few other activities.

Time4Learning

2011-12-21T22:37:00.000+09:00

Time4Learning Supplement or Core Curriculum? I’m currently debating this. We use Time4Learning as a supplement right now, but T.B.M. enjoy it greatly. In fact it’s one of their favorite resources out of everything we use. The Spouse doesn’t think that there is enough in the program to make it our core; I can see where he is coming from. I think it has potential though, with good supplements it could probably be our core curriculum. For any of you parents who use Time4Learning do you use it as a core or a supplement?

Also grab your yarmulkes!

I’m so looking forward to our annual feast!

Latkes, Sufganiya, and Challah OH MY!!

Conversations With The Kids

2011-12-07T00:46:00.002+09:00

This past weekend we enjoyed some holiday music; I introduced T.B.M. to The Chipmunk Christmas album, and assembled our Christmas tree! T.B.M. had a blast with it this year, the older they get the more they enjoy our traditions (like picking out a new ornament each year) and decorating our tree. While putting our ornaments on the tree General Disarray noticed some tassels in the bag. When I graduated high school I received an additional set of cap tassels. I wasn’t really sure what to do with the tassels and one Christmas decided to just toss them on our tree. Since then, each year, I toss them on the tree. This year General Disarray got a hold of them before I could and he was perplexed by them.

He inquired about them and I told him they go on a graduation cap and I received those when I finished high school. He seemed ok with that answer, commented that it wasn’t an ornament, and tossed it back in the bag. He grabbed a “real” ornament and came over to the side of the tree where I was hanging stuff and quietly asked “Will I graduate high school”. I told him that I had planned on him graduating from our homeschool. He said “Ok” and then paused, thought about what I had said, and then said: “You didn’t work with your parents?...You didn’t do school at home?” I told him that I wasn’t homeschooled, I had to attend public school (he had assumed that my high school was a homeschool). After telling him that he placed the ornament on the tree, looked at me and said “I’m sorry you weren’t homeschooled mom”.

As he walked away to grab another ornament I couldn’t help but smile a little. I often worry if I’m ruining their lives. There are enough negative voices out there to plague any homeschooling parent with plenty of doubt in their choice-a choice many of us have thought long and hard about-. Then in one brief moment my son assured me that yes, we have made the right choice. He felt sorry for me, sorry I couldn’t spend the day getting to know my parents, I couldn’t enjoy my sibling the way he does. I couldn’t enjoy my dad’s weekdays off or days when his work schedule allowed him to actually be home (and awake) during the day. The very things I use to explain why we homeschool to other people my own children see as positives, and in that one moment General Disarray taught me that his and his brother’s opinions were the only ones that should matter.

They are happy at home. And it’s about time I stopped worrying about what they may be missing and enjoy what we aren’t missing, time with each other.

Holiday Cheer

2011-11-26T20:40:00.000+09:00

I've been so busy with holiday prep and now General Disarray's birthday that this poor blog has been neglected. So here, have some holiday cheer! See I still love you too!

Yummy Organization

2011-11-14T21:36:00.000+09:00

I do most of my cooking at home, which requires a large amount of recipes to keep things from getting boring. While I have a rather large, and constantly increasing, collection of cookbooks I don’t use all the recipes in them. I have a select few from each that I frequent, as well as recipes I’ve found online, which makes for a LOT of recipes. The ones from online I usually write down or print to use later, and the ones from the cookbooks just get looked at when I need them-which means I have to remember revisions for each one or write them in the book (something I don’t always want to do because I may need to get rid of the book one day)-.

Having a cookbook out isn’t always practical depending on the amount of counter space I have at the moment or the amount of mess I’m making. The paper copies are too flimsy to stand on their own as well as the paperback books and the hardcover books are just too darn bulky. I’m sure many of you understand exactly what I’m saying. Sometimes just getting the recipe in a place where you can properly read it can be a major pain in the butt and hinder your cooking.

I’ve been thinking for a while that I need a better, more organized way of handling my recipes, but what? I wasn’t sure until I was clicking around on Shutterfly the other evening. There in the photo books section were two very cool books you can make, and they were recipe books! One is just the simple book with recipes and pictures, the other is a more glamorous version (which is what I intend to go for, because I want what I’m reading in the kitchen to put me in the mood to cook up something good!).
Not sure how I’ll do up my recipe book(s), I’m leaning towards combining it with my meal planning so each book would feature a month’s worth of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks(at least two of those a day)). I can do up at least two to four books (yes I have that many recipes!) and alternate between the weeks in each one so I have some variety for us each month. It’s something to mull over while I pull together all the recipes I have.

I’ll share a peek at the final product when I get it. How do you keep all your recipes organized?

All That Glitters

2011-11-03T16:00:00.000+09:00

And this is why we call him Professor Chaos.

I think it might be time for mommy to go back to only using the computer in the evenings once the little ones have gone off to bed. Unless I want to spend some more time getting glitter out of well…everywhere!

Friday Flashback: Halloween Style

2011-10-28T08:00:00.001+09:00

A Friday Flashback to get you ready for Trick-or-Treating! Have fun and be safe this weekend!

Homeschooling Revamp

2011-10-24T22:35:00.001+09:00

According to our schedule we are in the fourth week of our second quarter, I divide the year up into four quarters schooling year round with short breaks throughout the year. Ideally, I would evaluate after each quarter, but I couldn’t with all of our traveling. Now, though, is the perfect time for a reevaluation and revamp!

So far our Math and Language Arts lessons are moving along fairly well, General Disarray usually sits down to do those subjects on his own and we go over anything that may be new or cause him problems. Generally, though, he can read and learn on his own. Professor Chaos has done pretty well with his Teach A Child To Read lessons, though they are very repetitive to the point that they bore him, so we have changed up the lessons to fit our needs.

While Math and Language Arts are doing well, we still have History and Science to contend with, and that is where a lot of the revamping is taking place. We are lacking a level of structure in History and Science, we do a lot of reading, but I want to bring all of that full circle with other activities to ensure the knowledge is retained. To help with this I’m utilizing Lesson Pathways, Spectrum Science workbooks that I found while stateside, a larger reading list, and Story of the World on audio disc. I, personally, had no desire to purchase the Story of the World books, but I found the audio for book two at our library and the kids really enjoy it. It will play during our hands on activities, after I’ve given directions, to help reiterate what we have been doing.

These few add-ons should help make the learning experience more enjoyable. I want to lean heavily on hands-on activities while T.B.M. are young, since that will not only allow for them to learn the material, but to have tons of fun while doing it. I have also changed our schedule so Science lessons on Thursdays are strictly for experiments. Instead of moving on to another lesson, we will focus on experiments and activities that further support the lesson(s) learned on Tuesday.

Other than that change, our schedule will stay the same. We are easing back into our routine and should be back to “normal” by mid-November. We will only be taking the weekend of Thanksgiving off, November 24th-27th, and then working until the week before Christmas.

Oh my goodness, it’s almost Christmas time already! I swear the older these kids get the faster the year seems to go.

With the end of the year quickly approaching, what changes, if any, have you made to your homeschooling curriculum/schedule?

Jefferson Lab

2011-10-21T22:20:00.000+09:00

The other night The Spouse and I were clicking around Youtube when we came across the video below by Jefferson Lab. About twenty minutes into checking out their channel I had marked them on our favorites and we were wondering about all the other cool things we could do with liquid nitrogen. Their videos don’t just focus on liquid nitrogen, although those are hands down probably the coolest ones, they also have videos on thunder & lighting, lunar eclipses, and butterflies! Jefferson Lab puts together short,informative, and most importantly FUN videos that would be a great addition to any science lesson(we’ve added them to our list of favorite science videos on Youtube!).

Friday Flashback

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000+09:00

Well I have to get back into blogging mode! So to help get me going I'll start with a fun Friday Flashback!

I think I'll even watch some Back 2 the Future while I work through some blogging ideas. Forgive me if I get lost in Michael J. Fox's dreamy eyes though...the 80's were soooo good! Don't you agree?

It's Here!

2011-10-14T23:18:00.001+09:00

Our first issue of Bright Parenting Magazine is online! WOOHOO! It's an amazing feeling to see something you have poured your heart into actually come to life! Check it out below!

Open publication - Free publishing - More agnostic

Yummy Vegan Salisbury DinDin

2011-10-11T01:02:00.000+09:00

We are still chugging along in our vegetarian/vegan eating. Over the past few months I’ve collected a number of vegan cookbooks and also had the pleasure of dinner with some dear friends at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant while we were stateside. It was YUMMY and gave me hope that with time I too could produce food that taste way better than any meat-filled meal I’ve ever made.

This evening while looking at the list of recipes I put on the menu for this week I realized I didn’t feel like making them…I wanted something else more “comfort” foodie. I just wasn’t sure what to make, then I remembered those yummy Salisbury Steaks that you get in your frozen food aisle that requires no real work to get from freeze to table. Since I don’t have access to vegan oven ready Salisbury Steaks I decided to try my hand at making my own, but what to use…I figured black beans would be good. So I flipped through Veganomicon located their Black Bean Burger recipe and tweaked it a bit.

The following is my steak patty recipe:
1 can of black beans *drained and rinsed*
½ cup power flour *my personal take on power flour in which I use Whole Wheat Flour, Quinoa Flour, Buckwheat Flour, and Organic All-Purpose Flour*
½ cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon McCormick Grill Mates Hamburger seasoning
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 ½-2 tablespoons bar-b-q sauce *I’ll try steak sauce next time to see if it gives it a more meaty flavor*
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water *my go to egg replacer*
¼ cup water

Directions:
Mash the beans so that all the beans are broken up *no whole beans left*

Mix together the 2 tablespoons flaxseed with the 6 tablespoons water and set aside

Add all the ingredients including the flaxseed mixture to the mashed black beans, stir together

Once through mixed form into balls, pressing them flat with the palm of your hand, set aside patties

In a skillet heat up some oil (I used extra light olive oil),once hot add in the patties (about 3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet and the size of the patties)

These cook relatively fast so keep an eye on the skillet they should cook about 3-4 minutes on each side, you can cook them a bit longer if you want crispier steaks

While they are cooking chop up one white onion, about ten small mushrooms (or two large Portobello mushrooms) you can use canned mushrooms if you’d like , and two cloves of garlic (I press the cloves with a knife before mincing them)

One all the steaks are finished place them on a lined plate to drain off any excess oil and add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the leftover hot oil, sauté on low/medium heat

While the skillet is going prep in a small pot about a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth with garlic and onion powder, you can add a bit cornstarch to thicken the broth a bit.

Once the onions mixture in the skillet is ready turn off the heat, add the patties back to the skillet and pour the broth over the patties, cover the skillet and prep the rest of your meal.

I served ours with garlic and parsley potatoes, organic corn, and mushroom gravy (just regular jar gravy I had, still in search of a yummy gravy recipe so if you have one please share!)

The meal came out great! The Spouse who is very much a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy actually got seconds!! He usually grumbles when I’m prepping our non-meat meals, but while I was cooking he walked into our kitchen area and said “hmmm…what you cooking it smells GOOD!”. So if you are trying to win over a meat-lover I highly recommend this recipe!

Traveling With Homeschoolers

2011-10-04T08:38:00.000+09:00

I could make this a long drawn out post about the benefits of homeschooling when it comes to traveling, especially traveling that involves flexibility. I won’t though, because I would be preaching to the choir on that one. I could compare and contrast the stress and frustrations of traveling with children to the stress and frustrations experienced in homeschooling, because let’s be honest it isn’t always easy. Frankly though I don’t want to do that either.

Instead, I think I shall tell what I’ve learned. Yes, I learned. Schooling didn’t always take place when I wanted, yes we are technically behind, but in homeschooling can you really ever say you are behind? That is one thing I’ve learned and will continue to expand on. The thought that we are never behind if we are continuing to move forward. Some of our best schooling took place when we didn’t crack open a book. Now, am I suddenly a non-book user who relies solely on field trips or other experiences to teach? No. I don’t have it in my controlling nature to not plan out our schooling to some degree, but learning happens every day, everywhere. When life plops you down somewhere unexpected or even somewhere you expected to be, you should seize that moment because you never know what it may teach you.

On our travels we have explored a list of amazing places that I plan to share once I’m completely settled, they all offer something unique and we would have never had an opportunity to take in these sights and sounds if we didn’t strive to seize the day.
Seizing the day…the only real way to sum up traveling with homeschoolers in my humble opinion, but you don’t need to be traveling to do this.
Live, Explore, Do! Life is too short not to. This is a lesson I am happy to learn while I'm still young enough to put it to use.

Blog Winners

2011-09-18T08:30:00.000+09:00

To Karen and Lydia can you ladies please contact me at holmes_schooling@yahoo.com that way I can pass your contact information onto the organization hosting the blogging course, thank you ladies.

Friday Flashback

2011-09-17T00:29:00.003+09:00

My poor blog. I know you are eager to share all we have been doing. The time will come. For now we are enjoying the sights, sounds, and free wifi of the local library. Got to love the public library system!

And because I haven't forgot about Friday:

And The Winners ARE drum roll

2011-09-08T02:05:00.001+09:00

Out of 7 comments numbers 6 and 2 were chosen by Random.Org! Congrats to Karen and Lydia! I will be contacting you shortly with all the needed information! Once again congrats!

A Peek

2011-09-07T01:47:00.004+09:00

Here is a peek into what we have been up to:

I promise I have blog goodness on its way! :)

And yes I missed the blog giveaway deadline AGAIN! No worries tomorrow morning a winner will be announced! So if you want a chance to win now is your last chance to win the free blog course!!

Blog Giveaway Extension!

2011-08-30T10:58:00.000+09:00

Due to all our traveling I’ve decided to extend the blog giveaway by a week. The new deadline for entries will be September 4th at 11:59pm EST and the winners will be announced September 5th at 8am EST. So get those entries in!

Come Again...

2011-08-22T16:30:00.002+09:00

Passenger Costumer Service Rep: “Ma’am how much do you weigh?”

Me: “Excuse Me...”

PCSR: “How much do you weigh? We need everyone’s weight plus weight of all the carry on luggage.”

Me: “…Ummm…180?…Maybe?”

I don’t believe in a lot of things scales are one of those things. I’m pretty sure that question should be illegal.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday On Saturday

2011-08-20T19:56:00.004+09:00

First leg of our trip...kids can really sleep anywhere.

The Lazy Referee

2011-08-17T09:57:00.002+09:00

My kids fight. I’m sure all siblings do, I know my brother and I did as well as The Spouse and his brother. Just because they fight *I don’t mean physical knock-down drag out fights, I mean verbal whining fights*, doesn’t mean I want to always referee even when they come to me with the issue. I prefer they figure these things out for themselves or at least argue where I don’t have to hear it. This morning they decided they wanted to have a row –from what I could make out General Disarray was annoying Professor Chaos, so Professor Chaos started pushing General Disarray towards his own toys and away from the area where Professor Chaos was-, when that didn’t work they decided to come find me! I was busy in my room making some list for our trip and upon hearing the “MOM” screams growing closer I laid my head down hoping they would think I was sleeping and run off to work it out.

I had no such luck; instead they remained shouting my name over my fake snores. Realizing I wasn’t getting out of referee duty today I rolled over to them both explaining the situation. Each expecting me to take their side, sometimes I will listen to both sides and make a judgment…today though I decided to be lazy. Yup, I was a lazy referee…I had no need for an instant replay instead I did the following:

Me: “Face each other…drop your toys…move closer to one another”…General Disarray: “We can’t get any closer!”…Me: “Good now both of you put your arms around your brother” *arms slowly extend and wrap around each other*…”Now stay that way”…

I then went back to what I was doing. They stayed that way for about a minute or so before they started to get upset with me. I asked if I was being annoying for having them stand that way, they said yes, I asked if they liked being annoyed… they said no. Then I gave them a choice, either make-up, work out their differences, and play nicely or remain standing locked together.

They are currently playing…they choose to work it out and all I had to do is give them a common annoyance. Possibly not the most effective form of parenting, but it got the job done this morning.

Homeschooling Infographic

2011-08-13T08:13:00.002+09:00

I saw this at Indie Education and it's nice, but I disagree on the curriculum part. If need be I can find someone to teach my kids what I don't know and I can ensure that it is taught in a way that my children will actually LEARN it. Which is what is most important to us *aside from all the other wonderful benefits*.

Via: Online College Source

Friday Flashback

2011-08-12T21:45:00.001+09:00

Even in the middle of packing I am still making time for Friday Flashback, because well…I need some packing music!! Don’t forget to check out the giveaway! And stay tuned for our adventure posts…the first post coming soon…once I finish getting everything into these bags!

Adventure Shall Be Our New Name

2011-08-11T07:43:00.002+09:00

Things have been quieter than usual on this blog because T.B.M. and I are in the middle of planning an adventure. Ok I’m doing all the planning and they are blissfully unaware of everything about to take place other than we are going on an adventure. I’m hoping to blog through most of it, I’m not sure where all it will take us, but I intend to make the most of it and enjoy every hectic second. Life is far too short to not enjoy it.

And don't forget about our blog giveaway! Check it out HERE!

Giveaway #2

2011-08-08T21:00:00.000+09:00

This is the second giveaway in our Giveaway Series! Giveaway #2 is being brought to you by Kerry Jones @ BlogWritingCourse.com! Domo Arigato Kerry! So what can you win this giveaway? Why a free blogging course, and guess what we won’t have just one winner this giveaway. Nope, this giveaway we will chose TWO winners. That’s right TWO winners! *And the crowd goes wild!!* Would you all like some details on this awesome blog course you can win? Alright, here you go:

Blogging 101 is a fully-automated, comprehensive course will guide you through all the basics of creating and establishing your new blog. The units covered in the Blogging 101 curriculum include:

1. Introduction to Blogging (all the basics for the beginning blogger

2. Laying Your Cards On The Table (blog titles, platforms, and start-up instructions)

3. It’s All About Me (blogging safety, “About Me” pages, and blog design)

4. Build That Content and Make It Snazzy (writing quality posts, commenting, and adding media)

5. It’s The Little Things That Count (sidebars, widgets, categories, and static pages)

6. Mi Blog es Su Blog – - Building Community (growing a readership, blog promotion, and blogrolls)

7. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained (more blog promotion strategies and monetizing your blog)

8. Looking Back and Looking Forward (tips and strategies for continuing to grow your blog after the course)

When you have completed the Blogging 101 course, you will have not only learned the basics of blogging, but you will have your VERY OWN BLOG, several quality posts, and very possibly a growing following of readers!

Sounds like an awesome prize right? You’re probably how do you go about getting your name in on this giveaway. It’s simple for each of the following things you do you get an entry!

 Leave a comment telling us your favorite blog topic
 Follow this blog
 Follow us on twitter
 Follow us on Facebook
 Subscribe to the BlogWritingCourse Newsletter
 Follow Time4Learning on FB
 Share this giveaway on FB, Twitter, and your own blog *each time you share you get an entry!*

If you are already a follower then all you need to do is comment stating where you follow us *or Time4Learning*. Remember each action earns its very own comment allowing you more chances to win!

Comments on this post will close at 11:59pm EST on Friday August 26, 2011. Two winners will be chosen using Random.org and announced at 8am EST on Monday August 29, 2011!

Good Luck Everyone!

Friday Flashback

2011-08-05T21:00:00.001+09:00

Grab your hairbrushes and keep your bedhead because it's time for another Friday Flashback! Enjoy!

Typhoon Muifa

2011-08-03T13:12:00.002+09:00

Ah Typhoon Muifa. If you are living in the states you probably haven’t heard about it, but this typhoon is set to invade our little island sometime tomorrow. I figured I should find some music to sing along to while I prep, and then I remembered the perfect song that completely conveys my feelings on the whole situation. Enjoy!

And remember folks every prep kit should have a first aid kit, bottled water, snacks, and condoms!

Friday Flashback

2011-07-29T23:30:00.000+09:00

I think I will make this a regular thing because I love putting on music from my childhood and dancing around the living room while T.B.M. look on in sheer horror. Yes I became that parent and I don’t care. I know you all know the lyrics so grab your hairbrushes, crank up the volume on your computers, and embarrass your children right along with me! *If we are lucky they may just join in with us!*

Literary Add-Ons

2011-07-27T21:56:00.000+09:00

We have entered our third week of schooling and things are chugging along fairly well. Last week was rather rough with some resistance. Our first week went well, but our second week there was the longing for non-productive days spent playing video games and watching movies. After a few discussions on why we do our schooling, the importance of doing our best, and the rewards that come from completing our work *for instance getting to enjoy video games and movies*, T.B.M agreed to try their best every day.

So on Tuesday we started in on our work, catching up on the assignments we fell behind on while they were on “strike” last week. While they were hard at work General Disarray stated that he would just do his work when it was assigned instead of complaining, because one page of work is far more enjoyable than three, since he would still have to finish his work at some point in time.

I think it was a great lesson for them to learn, that we can either tackle our work when we need to or we can put it off increasing our work load and decreasing the fun. It was also a great reminder for myself, there are plenty of times I put things off until the following day, when I could easily conquer those things in the moment.

Aside from our little epiphany I have also decided to add more literature to our curriculum. My goal is to have General Disarray read at least one chapter book a week and Professor Chaos to “read” at least five books during the school week. We will start using the program Book Adventure which is similar to the Accelerated Reader program offered in many public schools. I wanted General Disarray and eventually Professor Chaos to answer questions about their readings to build up their comprehension skills, but I honestly didn’t want to have to sit down with every single book they will read and write these up myself.

The program is free and features a rather extensive book list, which will give the boys plenty of reading choices and ensure they can always find something they might enjoy reading.

Along with the Book Adventure program I’m also adding additional reading to our science studies. We still have our core materials, but I found a book series called Giants of Science at our local library and figured they would be a great addition to our science program.

Also to our history curriculum I’ve decided to add The Story of the World audiobook as a supplement. I found it at the library as well and figured it would be a nice little addition. We’ll play it during our hands-on activities since we use the workbook for this series anyways; I figured listening to it while we do the work wouldn’t hurt. If I don’t like it I can always take it right back to the library, libraries are wonderful! We also read The Magic Tree House series and use the research guides as well when a book ties into our history lessons.

We have loads in store this school year and so far, despite a few hiccups, I think we are doing fairly well. Homeschooling isn’t just a learning experience for the boys, it’s a learning experience for me as well.

Sort of Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T13:42:00.000+09:00

They asked us to blow this up for them…after spending a while jumping they grabbed their Tag reading books and sat down to listen to stories. They stayed like that until dinner time.

More.Starfall.com

2011-07-21T13:05:00.000+09:00

A vast number of parents with preschoolers are familiar with starfall.com; it’s a wonderful free site that helps teach the all-important skill of reading. General Disarray loved using the site, and will still check it out every now and then even though he has mastered reading; it’s just that much fun. Professor Chaos has started to enjoy using it more lately. At first he wasn’t really sure about it, mostly from a navigation/mouse clicking standpoint. Now that he has all of that worked out he is always begging to log-on.

This morning while he was using it he clicked on the More.Starfall.com section. It only allows a limited selection of items if you don’t have a membership, but he greatly enjoyed what he was able to do, so I looked into the cost. It is 30$ a year, not a bad price I figured when you factor in all it allows you to do. More.Starfall.com features interactive number lessons, similar to the alphabet section on the free portion of their site, as well as fun math songs. Once a child has mastered their numbers they can then click on the addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division buttons and do lessons in those areas.

Aside from the math activities this portion of the site also features more reading/phonics activities, songs and rhyming, as well as a talking library! Which I think may be my favorite part of the site. The More.Starfall.com portion of starfall.com also works hand in hand with the Starfall Kindergarten Curriculum too. I had considered buying that curriculum this year but decided to make a custom curriculum for Professor Chaos like I did with General Disarray. It looks like a great program though, if you are looking for an interactive kindergarten curriculum check it out!

Starfall.com is not compensating me for sharing their product information; I just like to plug the things we use to help other families find useful materials and programs to use with their kiddos!

An Experiment With Age Tofu

2011-07-19T14:50:00.000+09:00

We are chugging along on our vegan journey, I’m more gung-ho about the process than The Spouse is, but he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy so his resistance was to be expected. I have decided though that the best way to win them over to a much healthier way of eating is to cook delicious foods. So yesterday afternoon I decided to throw a bunch of things together and see what I ended up with.

First I took some Age Tofu also known as Fried Tofu, and chopped it into slices. I then placed the slices in a mixture of whole-wheat flour and cinnamon, and coated all sides of the tofu pieces. From the flour-cinnamon mixture they went into a skillet of hot Safflower oil. I fried them on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Once they were done I moved them to a paper towel lined plate for them to drain. I patted the top a bit to help get off the excess oil, then moved them to another plate and sprinkled on some powdered sugar. We used pure Canadian maple syrup for dipping.

They call it The Yummiest Mommy French Toast:

Professor Chaos didn’t want to share, which was shocking *and very refreshing* given his general attitude towards food.
Happy syrup covered fingers.

Not at 7am

2011-07-13T18:50:00.000+09:00

*The following was all a result of an initial question, which was “How did people get here?”*

General Disarray: “Mom how do babies get out of a woman’s belly?”

Me: “Through her vagina” *I’m a stickler for facts and honesty with T.B.M. even at 7am*

General Disarray insists that things make perfect sense…this answer did not.
Instead of accepting my answer he looks down at my pants, then back up at me and remarks: “Well that just doesn’t make any sense! Your vagina is too small for a baby to fit through!” Even at 7am the humor of that observation still shined through.

After I composed myself I guided him through the process of childbirth in a manner fitting his age and my own personal comfort level; because honestly I don’t want to talk about vaginas, birth canals, and the fact that us moms push something roughly the size of a watermelon through a hole roughly the size of a softball at 7 in the morning.

Once I had finished ensuring he knew more about the reproductive process then the next crop of “16 and Pregnant” hopefuls, he stated that two kids were enough for our family because and I quote “I don’t want you to have to go through that again mom”. I high-fived him and then proceed to lie back down on the couch.

As much as I would like to institute a “No Complex Questions Before 9am” rule in our home, I have to smile because, General Disarray was able to learn something he genuinely wanted to know and I got to ensure he won’t make me a grandmother before I’m 45…possibly 50.

Bound Goodness

2011-07-09T11:36:00.001+09:00

It’s time for another installment of Bound Goodness! You would think with my book addiction *yes it is an addiction, four bookshelves and one storage cabinet (which is about the size of a coat closet in the states) full of books provides the proof*, I would post Bound Goodness more often. I’ll blame the insanity of the past couple of months on my lack of book collecting. With things finally settling down, our new school year approaching, and the summer heat keeping us inside I’m pretty sure I’ll have many more books to share.

So what’s on the agenda this post? Judaism, Atheism, and Veganism, Oh My!

*(denotes book is currently on its way to my mailbox)

Judaism

The Jewish Bible: Tanakh The Holy Scriptures

*The Torah for Children: Sefer Bereishis, Volume 1: Bereishis, Noach, Lech Lecha, Vayera

*The Illustrated Torah

Atheism

Atheist Manifesto

The Atheist’s Way: Living Well Without Gods

Veganism

*The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet

*Supermarket Vegan: 225 Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes for People in the Real World

*The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion

*Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

*The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids

*The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes

So what bound goodness has found its way to your bookshelves?

Realizing Dreams

2011-07-06T09:52:00.002+09:00

One of the many draws to homeschooling for us is that it will allow T.B.M. to chase their dreams, no matter how big or small. The best way to encourage them to chase their dreams is to of course chase our own. We have many dreams, The Spouse and I, some will take until we are near retirement to reach and others will only take one well-planned family vacation. One of my personal dreams was to start a magazine for non-theist parents. I’ve toyed with the idea for the past couple of years, after I learned that one particular magazine, that has been in my home since before General Disarray was born, refused to review Parenting Beyond Belief.

I was disgusted that they would gladly take our heathen money, but wouldn’t mention a book that has been immensely helpful to our family. This book has been creased, highlighted, and toted everywhere. I love that book more than words could ever express and I figured any magazine that wouldn’t share it with the world didn’t deserve one red cent from me anymore. While I still flip through it when it arrives every month, my subscription hasn’t run out yet, I have found it and many other parenting magazines don’t meet our needs. Yes, the general advice on development is helpful, but I have taken courses on child development and still have the textbooks, so it isn’t that helpful. Most of the articles are written by believers whose view of the world and how to get through its tough spots are not the same as our secular family’s view.

After flipping through yet another article filled with advice that wouldn’t work in a free-thought home, I finally had, had enough. I sat down at my computer and began brainstorming, searching, and came to the conclusion that now was the time to make the idea bouncing around in my head for the past two years a reality. In that moment Bright Parenting Magazine was born. It is still an infant, requiring a lot of TLC, but considering how even The Spouse is on board and interested I think this can take off. I want secular parents to have a publication that actually speaks to us, a publication that addresses our fears, frustrations, and offers sound secular advice.
Ambitious? Yes. But to quote John Lennon “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality”. So, if you are interested in dreaming with our dysfunctional family, check out Bright Parenting Magazine (HERE) and (HERE).

2011-2012 School Year Powwow

2011-07-02T01:13:00.000+09:00

Well ladies and gentlemen our new school year is just around the corner! We are all very excited over here about it. We take the year-round approach because it fits our family best. It allows for breaks to be planned around The Spouse’s schedule and doesn’t produce large gaps in our schooling. I’ve found these large gaps make returning to our regular schedule very difficult. Our longest break is a month; which is when we plan family vacations. Since we school year-round with our start date in the summer, our family vacations can take place during the off-season, which saves us money and keeps us from encountering massive crowds.

In order to help us transition into our new school year this year I decided to start having homeschool powwow right before the start of each new school year. It will give us a chance to go over what materials we will be using, our goals for that school year, and to discuss any changes that have been made either organizational or schedule wise. This should help with the frequent questions I have been encountering from T.B.M. ranging from “Will I be in Kindergarten this year?” to “Am I going to be doing division?!”

On tap for this year’s powwow will be a run through of our 2011-2012 Curriculum for General Disarray and Professor Chaos; as well as a run through of our school schedule for this upcoming year, and our planned breaks. I’m looking forward to sitting down with them and allowing them to finally flip through the various textbooks and materials I’ve been gathering over the past six months. Hopefully it will further stoke the flames of excitement they have burning for our 2011-2012 school year!

So how do you transition into a new school year?

Congratulations New York!!

2011-06-25T13:32:00.000+09:00

It took you long enough. ;)

This is an issue very near and dear to this homeschooler’s heart. Hopefully every state will allow it before TBM reach adulthood. I have my fingers crossed and my eyes on the candidates who can make it happen!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T16:52:00.003+09:00

Professor Chaos celebrated another birthday this week. Oh how time flies. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Garden Planning

2011-06-20T14:28:00.000+09:00

I seem to always have something in the works. From our school planning to family vacations there is always a plan being hatched. The current plan I’m mulling over in my mind is our garden. This is the space we have for it:

I know…that’s a lot of space *somewhere around 1300sqft*. Since its grass-less I’ll be relying heavily on container gardening, as well as decorative plants in the flowerbeds on the first floor of our property. While these pre-existing beds *which I will showcase later* would be great places for herbs; the previous owners had a dog which defecated in most of these flowerbeds *eww...doesn’t begin to describe it*. I refuse to plant anything that we would use for food in an area where someone’s animal eliminated. Once I have tackled the fecal issue in these beds *through layered burying of the substance in question using mulch and dirt*, I’ll tackle the issue of planting while keeping The Spouse’s bee allergy in mind.

To help with the planning of the actual garden I’m using Mother Earth News’ Garden Planner. It’s free for the first 30 days and then after that it’s 25$ a year *not a bad deal if you manage to produce most, if not, all the fruits and vegetables your family needs in one year!*. It appears fairly easy to use; I’m just getting started so as I move through the planning/planting process I will share more on it.

It gives you the option to set frost dates for your region *not an issue where we currently live*, and then you plug in the measurements for you planting area, at which point it produces a space for you to work with. From there you add in the various shapes of the beds/plots/containers you plan to use, as well as walkways, fountains/ponds (using their drawing/shape features), and just about anything else you could think of needing in your garden. After you have all that squared away you add in what you plan to plant. It gives you the option of crop rotating and planning ahead for the following year. You can also receive emails about frost dates and planting days.

This planner pretty much makes planting a breeze for a busy family like ours. I just plug in and go. If only it did all the planting and maintaining for me!

How is your garden planning going?

Menu Planning aka Saving This Homeschooler’s Sanity

2011-06-11T10:00:00.000+09:00

Menu planning was a foreign concept to me until about five years ago, when I actually sat down and thought out what we would have for dinner over the course of a given month. I didn’t venture into any real details, and usually got off track towards the middle of the month. Then things got extremely hectic in our home and menu planning or any sort of planning, outside of the commitments that The Spouse and I had, didn’t exist. Once we boarded the plane for here though, The Spouse and I became determined that our lives would claim down as much as the military would allow them to.

So I set out scheduling, planning, and looking into various ways to tackle our family life. For a family of just four people we stay rather busy, between karate, piano, time with friends, schooling, my own personal endeavors, and The Spouse’s obvious work commitment, we manage to fill a month up before it even hits. Once I managed to work out a sleep schedule that at least TBM could adhere to, I had to work out something to ensure we were eating home cooked meals and not a metric ton of take-out food.

So I tried a few different things, like pre-planned weekly menus from various online sources or magazines. Those didn’t pan out since they didn’t always have things we liked or items we couldn’t get our hands on. When that tanked I looked into 30 Meals in One Day, that was done for only one month…and not because it was a bad idea, we just don’t have the freezer space for such an endeavor. We not only have to plan out 30 dinners, but 30 breakfast meals, and 30 lunch meals, plus snacks. If we owned a large freezer I could see doing this full-time. Spending just one or two days knocking out a months’ worth of meals sounds like a dream come true, and maybe I will jump back into it when we purchase a large freezer one day…but for now it just won’t work. So where did leave me? Back to square one of course. But I had learnt a valuable lesson, planning out ahead saves time, money, and energy.

Now tackling the planning ahead, that created a challenge, how would I ensure we wouldn’t get into the rut of eating the same thing over and over again? Home cooked meals are wonderful, but not if you are eating the same thing constantly. I figured if I designated each day to have a certain kind of food cooked, it would eliminate the mundane. I started with dinner, then expanded to breakfast and lunch after reading The 5$ Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook. After figuring out what will get cooked on which day I then sat down to actually plotted out what I would cook on those days. After a couple of weeks I had eight weeks of menus featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks, and plenty of variety!

After writing out the menus using a template from the Donna Young’s printable site, I laminated them, punched a hole in the top corners, tied on some string, and I was done! Eight weeks’ worth of planned out meals, I almost can’t believe it!

The best part of all of this is the ease in which I make my grocery list. Instead of debating on what to make and then hunting everything down, or just going off of what is in my head while I’m shopping, I actually have a full week already planned out. I just go to the recipes, jot down the ingredients I don’t have and then buy ONLY those things I need. Yes, I still splurge here and there for treats, but pretty much everything that ends up in the cart was deliberately planned out. Saving our family money and saving mommy time!

Also due to the change in planning out our meals I changed when I acquire our groceries as well. Since I have every week already planned out I figured I could just pick one day a week to go shopping and then go. So I’m using Monday *which is generally our “light”/run around day* to tackle the grocery shopping. I only buy a week’s worth at a time, saving space in the fridge for leftovers, and allowing me to have one day a week when I KNOW I will be grocery shopping *and can plan everything else accordingly*.

So how does our menu planning breakdown?

B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner, I also plan two snacks a day out usually fruit, smoothies, or some other nice healthy munchies they don’t have certain themes to them though like the other meals do.

Sunday: B/L- Brunch Extravaganza *this is a big deal in our home on Sundays we usually stay in our PJs and everyone pitches in doing something*, D- Crockpot Night

Monday: B-Cold Cereal Morning, L- Meat-Free Meal, D- Meat-Free Night *As you can tell we are meat-free on Mondays, now the meals also include other things like fruit to go with their cereal, I’m just going to hit the core food item/theme to give you all an idea of what I have in place*

Tuesday: B-Muffins/Biscuits Morning, L- Sandwich/Quesadillas Meal, D- Italian Night

Wednesday: B-French Toast/Toast Morning, L- Chicken/Beef/Turkey Meal, D- Seafood Night

Thursday: B-Pancakes/Waffles Morning, L- Noodles/Pizza Meal, D- Curry Night

Friday: B- Hot Cereal/Egg Morning, L- Salad Meal, D- Chinese/Mexican Night

Saturday: B- Cold Cereal Morning, L- Dine Out, D- Grill Night

These are the core things I meet on the various days, adding in sides and other items to round out our meals. Various days also alternate the type of core item served to help ensure variety throughout the month. At the end of the day well-balanced meals have been served and I can start on meals for tomorrow that heat up nicely, saving me even more time and allowing for an extra five minutes in the shower! WooHoo!

So how do you tackle meals in your home?

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.9: History

2011-06-10T16:19:00.000+09:00

Oh history. It can be a thrilling subject; I’ve spent hours engulfed in the History Channel. I adore that channel, it happens to be one of the few reasons I would ever consider getting cable or satellite again. While watching the History Channel is great, teaching history, on the other hand, can turn an interesting subject into a total nightmare. When you take away the trained narrator with his/her amazing voice inflection, leave the re-enactments on the cutting room floor, turn off the well-rehearsed musical piece, you are left with just the bare bone facts. And facts…well they can be rather boring, especially to children.

Now in an ideal world I would be able to turn on the History Channel, or acquire one of their many DVDs, and just allow TBM to sit and soak up all the history knowledge they could ever possibly need. We don’t live in an ideal world though…we live in reality, and in reality TBM find the History Channel to be just as dull and boring as ever history class I was ever forced to sit through. Those were actually genuinely boring, a lot of note taking, monotone documentaries, and tons of dates to remember. Did I learn anything in those classes, no not really, I spent my time lost in daydreams or reading the stuff I wanted to learn about. I didn’t appreciate history until I became a regular History Channel watcher, years of knowledge missed because of the way the subject was presented in school. I don’t want TBM to miss out on the experience that is historical learning, because I failed to present it in an enjoyable way.

So I’ve mulled over various ways to go about it without feeling like I’m sacrificing certain ideals we hold dear*i.e. purchasing curriculum materials that go against the core values in our home*. After a good six months of book buying, internet searching, review reading, and scheduling I think I have found what will work for us.

Truth Quest History! ...JUST KIDDING!! I promise that was a joke! Ok so what I have I really found? Well, a combination of various materials with lots of hands on stuff thrown in, hopefully this will produce enough information for a solid foundation on this year’s history topic while allowing things to be fun as well.

This upcoming school year we are tackling the Middle Ages! If only we lived near a Medieval Times! There is a lot that can be learnt during this time period, but I honestly don’t see the point in cramming a bunch of facts into small children’s heads. They need to experience the material first, so when the time comes to learn the facts and figures they are actually eager to do it. That’s the way I see it anyways.

Using History Odyssey as my guide I went through and plucked the items I felt would produce a well-rounded understanding of the Middle Ages for elementary level students. Considering how we will be revisiting this time period again due to us using the Classical approach in relation to history, I see no need to sweat the small stuff right now. I did make one major tweak to our studies; I will be weaving the study of various religions in with history this year unlike last year.

Christianity and Islam both play major roles in the shaping of our world during the Middle Ages, I feel I would be doing a disservice to TBM’s education if I continue to ignore the religious element of human history. I of course planned to hit it head on later down the line, but I’m starting to see that the present is as good a time as any to start the enormous task. I’ll break down what I intend to cover and then touch on how I’m planning to work in the religious element.

For the 2011-2012 School Year we will be covering:

The Roman Empire

“The Dark Ages”

England & France

Knights

The Crusades

The Black Death

Queen Elizabeth

William Shakespeare *we will be reading some of his various works for our language arts studies*

China & Japan

Samurais

The Middle East

The Americas

These will be broken down over the course of our year *we school year round with our year broken down into seasonal quarters (summer, fall, winter, and spring…we start our school year during the summer)*. We will still do our hands on “day in the life” geared learning this year, with us having actual outfits (that I intend to sew before the 4th of July) to go along with our learning. Being the Middle Ages there are tons of fun things to do from castle building to epic swordfight battles. The possibilities are endless and I’m really looking forward to our hands on work this upcoming school year.

Now comes the “fun” part, bringing in the religious study. It won’t be too in-depth, more of a taste of what people believe and a building of the groundwork that will help them understand the impact these beliefs had on the world.

I’m going to start first with a study of Judaism, followed by Christianity, then Islam, and lastly a brief overview of the religious beliefs of various American civilizations (Mayan, Inca, Native Americans, etc.), Buddhism, and Shinto. These studies will correspond with the main history topics being taught. I’ve figured out which religions to teach and when to teach them, the materials for teaching though still elude me.

As much as it pains me to do it I think I may purchase children’s study books for the major monotheistic religions, this will give me something to use as a core spine for those three. I will just have to deal with the issue of each painting itself in a picture perfect light as we make our way through the books. The others though I will have to do some digging *and a few library visits* to find what I’ll use as my guide. I think as long as TBM walk away from their studies with a basic understand of these religions I’ll be happy. I still plan to go more in depth with the big three at least, so just like with our core history studies I won’t be sweating the small stuff when it comes to the religious studies this upcoming school year.

That pretty much sums up our history for this upcoming school year. Wow that turned into an extremely long post! Now to finish sorting the supplies and hunting for fabric for our period themed garments!

Our Little Island Paradise

2011-06-09T17:13:00.000+09:00

TBM and I spent the day lost in our little island paradise with some wonderful friends of ours. Curious as to what we could possibly get into other than our regular school work? Well check out the video below *and yes I am still avoiding the last of our 2011-2012 planning…I’m so close to being done that I need to not think about it for a bit LOL*.

Wave At The Bus

2011-06-07T10:06:00.000+09:00

Have you heard about Wave At The Bus? It’s a blog by a family in Utah who decided that waving at their son’s school bus every morning should be done in a humors fashion. And for that we say Thank You! Check out their blog if you are in need of a laugh today! Seriously, his costumes are AWESOME!! And their blog is serving as a great distraction from things I need to do…like the rest of our 2011-2012 lesson planning.

Giveaway #1 Winner!!

2011-06-01T21:10:00.000+09:00

And the winner is *drum roll please*:

Comment # 1

Congratulations to Domestic Diva!! I will be emailing you this evening to get your shipping address so St. Louis Homeschool Resources, Inc knows where to send your wonderful goodies!!

Don’t forget folks there are still TWO more giveaways! I’ll be setting up a poll on our FB page in the next couple of weeks to see what goodies would interest you all.

Power Outage Survival

2011-05-30T07:51:00.000+09:00

Here is what you need to survive with no power:

Large bottles of water

A candle addiction

LED lanterns and a few flashlights

A gas grill with a full propane tank

An almost empty fridge

Random canned good items

A good breeze

Board games

Ingenuity and an Imagination

We made it through Typhoon Songda with plenty of stories to tell the grandkids one day.

Don’t forget Giveaway #1!! The click is winding down for it.

Giveaway #1!

2011-05-25T21:00:00.001+09:00

Ok folks it’s time for the details of giveaway number one! This giveaway is being sponsored by St. Louis Homeschool Resources, Inc. They are a home-based homeschool materials supplier who also happens to be secular homeschoolers!

You can check out their website HERE, check out their blog Homeschooling Atheist HERE, and surf their Amazon store HERE.

So what goodies have Karen and her family offered up?

1) An Inflatable Labeling Globe

2) Building Skills by Exploring Maps: Ancient Civilizations Grades 4-6, published by Creative Teaching Press

3) Building Skills by Exploring Maps: United States and Canada Grades 4-6, published by Creative Teaching Press

4) Building Skills by Exploring Maps: The World Grades 4-6, published by Creative Teaching Press

Are you all excited? I know when Karen mentioned to me the inflatable labeling globe I almost fell out of my seat! I didn’t even know they made those!!

Here are the ways you can earn entry into the giveaway:

1. Poll your children and determine which three subjects are your family’s favorite subjects to study, leave a blog comment with the results. If you have already done this and submitted the results to me, just leave a comment on this post with your name.

2. Blog about the giveaway on your own blog and then leave a comment with a link to the blog post.

3. Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter and then leave a comment with a link to the twitter post.

4. Share the giveaway blog post on your FB page, then leave a comment letting me know, if you have a non-private account leave a link to your page.

5. Like Ramblings of a Dysfunctional Homeschooler on FB, and then leave a comment letting me know along with your name. If you have already liked Ramblings… on FB leave a comment with your name as well.

6 Like St. Louis Homeschool Resources, Inc. on Facebook, and leave a comment stating you’re a follower and your name as well.

7. Follow Homeschooling Atheist, and leave a comment stating you’re a follower.

8. Follow Ramblings of a Dysfunctional Homeschooler on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter name, if you are already a follower leave a comment letting me know.

Every comment earns you a chance to win! The winner’s name will then go into the pot for the grand prize drawing!

The winner for Giveaway #1 will be announced June 1st at 8am EST!

Comments will be shut off on this post at 11:59pm May 31st EST, so you have until then to earn your entries!

Good Luck Everyone!!
*Oh and remember if you are related to me you can’t participate, sorry!*

Ingenious

2011-05-25T20:33:00.001+09:00

We’ve been adjusting to life among the locals, we’ve become acquainted with the neighborhood mom & pop convenience store, marveled at the garbage trucks that play music just like the ice cream trucks in the states do, and have figured out how to work two of our four Japanese air conditioners.

I think the one thing that has us most impressed is the way the hot water heater works. Now in the states you usually don’t think twice about your hot water heater unless it’s on the fritz. In our new home it is always on our minds, and honestly the way it works is not only neat, but really very smart not only for the environment but our pocketbook as well.

So here is the control panel:

Yes you read that right, control panel. Our hot water heater has a control panel…that is all in Japanese, but we have the gist of it figured out. Our hot water heater (here on out it will be referred to as HWH because that is quicker than spelling it out), isn’t electric it runs on kerosene.

You can actually smell it when the HWH is running, assuming you have the laundry room window open (which I often do). To have it running constantly, like what you experience with electrical ones, would be a huge waste of gas. So instead you have to turn it on and off. We only run it when we are showering or if there is something that just needs hot water. We actually think about the kind of water we are using and if we truly need to use it or not.

The other element about it that we really love, aside from being able to cut it off when we don’t need hot water, is the temperature controls. Now, every parent reading this has probably received the little hand-out from their pediatrician about checking the HWH to make sure it is set to a certain temperature to avoid burns on children.

We have all checked water using our elbows, wrist, and other available body parts to ensure that it is just right. We have all heard the yelps of “It’s too HOT! Or It’s too COLD!” after we have done our best to get a temperature that seems comfortable. It is just part of the bath-time headache.

Well…it used to be for us anyways. Now, we can set the control panel to a temperature that suits TBM and not have to worry if the water is going to get too hot or too cold. We just press the buttons on the control panel, move the shower knob towards the red triangle indicating hot water, and wash the kids. They are comfy the whole time, they actually want to linger in the tub and do most of the washing themselves now *since we don’t have to worry about the water eventually going cold*, it’s great!

I honestly don’t know why homes in the states don’t have this feature. It would probably save people tons of money on their bills, just think about how much you could save if your HWH had an off button, and there is the safety factor. No more burns because a little kid got too happy in the tub and turns the hot water knob instead of the cold one. No more wasting time and water trying to get the water just right. I love our HWH control panel. It is a feature that I will do my best to have installed when we purchase a home one day, and it will definitely be in the building plans when we build our own home.

G is for Giveaway!

2011-05-23T23:31:00.000+09:00

I have been plotting…the good kind of plotting! What have I been plotting you ask? Well, a giveaway series my dear friends!
Yes, you read that right a series! How will it work? Look below for all the details!

Giveaway Series Details:

-The series will consist of three giveaways and a grand prize drawing. One winner will be selected from each of the giveaways, at the end of the series one of the three winners will be picked as the winner of the grand prize! I will use Random.Org to pick the winners in the giveaways and grand prize drawing.

-I will announce the winner on this blog/twitter/and our FB page. At which point the winner will have 48hours to “accept” their winnings through a blog comment and from there the winner’s information will be gathered so their items can be shipped to them; if the winner fails to respond within 48hours of the announcement a runner up will be chosen.

-If you when one of the three giveaways you can’t participate in that other two giveaways, also if we are related *sorry to the few family members who possibly read this*, you can’t participate. It becomes a conflict of interest if you win. This giveaway is open to homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers. Basically, if something being given away appeals to you, you haven’t won in the series, and you aren’t related to me then by all means enter that giveaway!

-The ins and outs of entering *these will be repeated on each giveaway post for your convenience*:

Entry must be done through blog comments; you leave a comment for every item you complete on the following list:

1. Poll your children and determine which three subjects are your family’s favorite subjects to study, leave a blog comment with the results.

2. Blog about the giveaway on your own blog then leave a comment with a link to the blog post.

3. Twit about the giveaway on Twitter and then leave a comment with a link to the twitter post.

4. Share the giveaway blog post on your FB page, then leave a comment letting me know, if you have a non-private account leave a link to your page.

5. Like Ramblings of a Dysfunctional Homeschooler on FB, and then leave a comment letting me know along with your name. If you have already liked Ramblings… on FB leave a comment with your name as well.

6. If the sponsor for a particular giveaway has a blog, twitter, and/or FB fan page liking/following these will allow you an entry for each one you like/follow. Leave a comment with the needed information to verify.

7. Follow Ramblings of a Dysfunctional Homeschooler on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter name.

8. Share, share, share! And comment with verification! That is the name of this giveaway game.

-The first giveaway will be announced on May 25th, the second giveaway will be in August, the third in November, and the finally big drawing will be in December.

We already have a sponsor for the first giveaway if you would like to sponsor one of the other two giveaways please contact me, and stay tuned for the first giveaway! There are some awesome goodies in it!

Naked People and Zombies

2011-05-21T11:26:00.000+09:00

Well even though we are fast approaching lunchtime here in Asia, it’s still the 20th in America, so there is still some time to get in our chuckles!

Now here is some friendly advice for those floating away in a few hours to help all of us who will be “Left Behind”:

And for those of us left to fight the zombies the CDC has a preparedness list to help ensure the survival of you and your loved ones: Click Here for that information.

If you will be engaging in any looting afterwards please do so safely and ensure the store you are looting was run by someone who was “Raptured” and not by someone “Left Behind”, we don’t want to cut off their livelihood.

For those attending “After the Rapture” parties please ensure you have a Designated Driver, we will need to avoid injuries while we are re-evaluating our medical response teams.

Other than that folks CELEBRATE!

Copyright(c) Rayven Holmes 2011

Bound Goodness

2011-05-20T10:00:00.000+09:00

This is one of the many series I plan to start on this blog *and you will be able to find a click link to it located at the top of the blog with the other blog tabs*. This one will be bi-monthly and will feature books I’ve recently acquired that I think are worth sharing. I may go into why I purchased them or even give you a bit of info on what I’ve read so far, my thoughts, etc. Or I may just list them all with links to them on Amazon. It will really depend on how that particular day is going.

The last few weeks I’ve done a lot of book collecting even though I really shouldn’t have due to having to actually put it all away while unpacking, but I can’t turn away a possible good book. So here are my finds *well some of them*:

The 5$ Dinner Mom: Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook- The book is pretty good, easy recipes and plenty of helpful hints that I am making plans to incorporate into our lives. I’m going to order her first book, but a lot of the discount stuff really doesn’t apply because my places to shop are rather limited *and mostly Japanese*. It’s good info to have on hand whenever we are in the states though.

The Family Dinner- This is one of two books that I feel should be in everyone’s home! Yes it’s that good! Tons of information with the purpose of bringing families together. I love the meal time ideas, the recipes appear easy to follow and relatively quick to make.

His Needs, Her Needs- This is the second book that everyone should have! While the author is clearly Christian the book is practical, honest, and useful. It doesn’t spend time preaching at you or saying that *insert religious deity* needs to be at the forefront of your marriage. It’s written by someone who has years of experience counseling couples from various backgrounds and it shows. While geared toward heterosexual married couples, I think anyone can take away something from this regardless of their status.

Grow Up- Why did I grab this title? Because it says “how to raise an adult by being one yourself”. That struck a cord with me. How many times do we expect our children to act like adults while we are acting like children ourselves? We demand, whine, fuss, and fight and then wonder why our children do the same. I am more than willing to admit there have been times when I’ve been frustrated and muttered *yelled* the phrase “Oh just grow up!”, in truth though they aren’t the ones who need to do the growing up *figuratively speaking*. This book also has a chapter devoted just to different parent types (single, adoptive, gay/lesbian, etc.) and the issues faced in those situations and how to handle them.

And last but not least:

All About Japan- It’s a colorful, fun, information packed book on Japan that the boys and I have enjoyed making our way through.

So what's new in your bookcase?

Secular Thursday: “We Are All Going To Die”

2011-05-19T10:00:00.000+09:00

As humans we are consciously aware of the fact that we will die. Many live in fear of this fact, we know it will happen but we have no clue as to when, where, or how it will happen. It can be a scarier thing, but I choose not to live in fear of that which I can’t control. Yes death will come and I would like it to take its sweet time, but that doesn’t mean I must spend my life in fear of what is to come. Nor does it mean I must raise children to fear it and the unknown it creates. I have found the idea, the sheer notion, that I must raise children to believe X, Y, and/or Z because of what may or may not happen upon their death completely silly and downright morbid. Most people don’t want to die, but we will. So why spend time fretting over possibilities *that are statically damn near impossible* of what may happen when you leave this life and instead just LIVE this life?!

Dawkins sums it up well, and this video is just breathtakingly amazing. Enjoy and remember Carpe Diem!

Check out more Secular Thursday Bloggers!

Support Camp Quest

2011-05-17T15:44:00.000+09:00

For those who peek into this blog daily you will have noticed a change to the sidebar under the “Donate” heading. Instead of a Chip In button for FBB there is now one for Camp Quest. Yes, I still strongly support FBB and highly encourage donations to them, but there is currently a blog contest between PZ and Team Underdog in order to raise money for Camp Quest! And folks the stakes are high and hairy! PZ has vowed to shave should his team win; no matter if you are for The Great Beard or against it, Camp Quest is an amazing cause to donate to.

What is Camp Quest? It’s a summer camp program geared at kids from freethought homes, in which a safe and open environment to make friends, engage in activities, and further question the world in which they live in is provided. Of course I really love the idea of Camp Quest and am looking forward to sending T.B.M. one summer *or possibly more summers* when they are of age. Not only do they offer this safe summer haven to explore and question, but they also offer financial assistance to those who want to attend but can’t afford the cost.

So what does donating to this wonderful organization do? It helps more camps get started, expands the ones currently running, and gives kids a chance to experience the joys of summer camp in a safe and open environment. There are currently 10 Camp Quest locations in North America and 3 locations overseas (UK, Ireland, and Norway). We owe our kids a chance to attend Camp Quest no matter where they call home. So pick a team and give it your all!

12 Days

2011-05-05T12:24:00.001+09:00

That is how long we have left until we will be connected to the World Wide Web in our home once again. I’m hoping to have all of our boxes unpacked by this point and be back into full school swing again, so we can meet our June deadline for the school year. Of course we could go over it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I personally don’t want to. I like our upcoming schedule and intend to keep it.

And if you all are just waiting on pins and needles to hear what I have to say about the big news story of the year, that you would have to be under a rock to not know about, don’t hold your breath. The Spouse will still have deployments and TDYs, killing one terrorist didn’t end the war on terrorism so clearly it hasn’t changed our lives any, so why blog about it?

Wordless Wednesday (Sort of)

2011-04-20T22:05:00.001+09:00

At the beginning of the year The Spouse and I made the decision to *finally* venture off base and find a home in a nice Japanese community. Fast forward to now and we *I mean ME because right after we decided to move the person whose name has to be on everything was sent bye-bye* are in the process of moving, hence why very little is getting done on the school front other than the 3 R’s.

There is stuff piled up behind the couch as well...

We’ve traded the indoor classroom for plenty of outdoor space, and an awesome roof area that will allow us to set up an urban garden *which I am hoping to blog about once I start the process!*. These boxes don’t reflect everything…just everything I’ve *along with the help of a fabulous friend* been able to get into boxes thus far. Who wants to bet that the minute I unpack the very last box The Spouse will call to say he will be coming home?!

The Stupidity of the “Culture War”

2011-04-14T11:17:00.001+09:00

Apparently J Crew has caused a stir! Something far worse than the Abercrombie and Finch catalog, something even more deadly than the superbugs lurking in the corners of your child’s school, they have…are you ready for it…they have featured a little boy wearing pink nail polish. Oh my word! The world is officially over. The sky is falling, we’ve lost our understanding of our roles, kids will need hours of therapy now because they saw a little boy in pink nail polish, *walks outside to inspect the chaos that is ensuing…nothing*.

Now let’s all take a minute to come back to earth, and examine this insanity known as the “culture war”. What exactly are we at war over? The fact that we have reached a point where we realize there are more important things in life than what color a child likes, where we realize that clothing isn’t what makes your gender, but it is instead your hardware *as in a penis or a vagina that makes you male or female*. Why exactly is this considered a war? Shouldn’t we be celebrating the fact that we as a people have evolved to the point where we realize that what a child plays with, or what clothing they wear means nothing, and what matters is the love and support they receive from their caregivers.

I’ve discovered in this process of parenting boys that there is a different set of expectations for males. While we have reached the point where we “overlook” “boyish” behavior in girls usually adding in snide remarks about her “outgrowing it”, we still expect little boys to be violent, rough, tough, and dirty. Our ideals of what makes a boy into a man are so warped that it’s not even funny. We beat into their heads at a young age with toys, movies, shows, and in some cases through their caregivers as well, that anything even remotely “female” is to be avoided and if not then they will grow up to be weak “sissies”. Now from my vantage point as a mother of boys I find this thinking damaging.

How can I possibly raise boys into men who are secure in whom they are if I allow those ideals to rule in my home? How could that thinking possibly be healthy for them, especially if they do favor things that are considered “for girls only”. How can any young child reach their full potential if they always here “no only boys can do that” or “no, you’re not a girl so don’t even think about it!” Who the hell really cares if it’s a “boys” toy or a “girls” toy?! And why the hell should such trivial things matter?!

Yes there are some biological differences in males and females, but what exactly do those have to do with how we dress or how we play? Just because I pee sitting down doesn’t mean I can’t grab a light saber and pretend with my boys. Just because they can pee standing up doesn’t mean they can’t dress up like princesses and fairies. Our hardware, outside of reproduction, means nothing. It should not define who we are in this life.

WE as people should be able to define who we are, what we like, and how we want to present ourselves to the world, free from man-made ideas of what is or isn’t male or female behavior. Call these thoughts my “evil liberal ideals” I personally don’t give a damn. I would much rather have my children grow up to be confident, secure, and well aware of who they are then spend the precious years I have with them pushing societies warped ideas of what a man is or isn't on them.

In our home they are free to be them, be it in a dress, pants, or their underwear. They are who they are. And I think as parents we should be more concerned with ensuring they grow up proud of who they are, then wasting time worrying if their likes or dislikes fit into some ancient mold of what they should or shouldn’t be based on what’s between their legs.

In 2007 5.8 million children were abused, and those are just the reported cases, there are more millions more that go unreported. Yet instead of putting our energies into fighting something that not only leaves children physically and emotional scarred but also kills them in many cases, we instead have “wars” over how some are dressed?

Let’s think about this folks millions of children in America are abused, yet we fight over the ones in loving homes who are allowed to be themselves…someone please tell me I’m not the only one who sees something terribly wrong with that.

It’s time for American citizens to get their priorities in order, and realize that there are more important things than the color on a little boys toes.

Pale Blue Dot

2011-04-11T21:29:00.000+09:00

The following is a beautiful animation of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot.

Found at Common Sense Atheism.

Time 4 Learning Discount

2011-04-10T23:05:00.000+09:00

I’ve been looking around the net for some supplemental items to use this upcoming school year to round out our eclectic curriculum. While checking out Time 4 Learning tonight I clicked their sign-up info and found that they are having a special offer sale for the month of April! Usually, it’s $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for each child afterwards. During the special offer period *running through April 30th* each child is only $4.99 for the first month. I thought it sounded pretty good so I decided to take advantage of it, and figured I would pass the goodies on to all of you!

*Time 4 Learning is not compensating me in any form or fashion, I just wanted to share an awesome *money saving* find with you all!*

Lessons Learned In The Emergency Room

2011-04-08T14:28:00.000+09:00

Last night at about 10pm Professor Chaos woke up crying, coughing, and repeatedly stating his chest hurt. So I scooped up T.B.M. and headed to the nearest Emergency Room. Before anyone panics *mainly the family and close friends who read this*, other than having a virus he is just fine! But, I did notice that even in the most unorthodox situations T.B.M. are still open to learning. Our learning started with vitals, which General Disarray watched in amazement *even in the late night, just woke up fog he was in*.

He asked the nurse plenty of questions about the machines she was using, and learned what oxygen saturation is. Then we went on to have x-rays done, which General Disarray is a pro at, so he got to comfort his little brother, and then be the “Radiology Ninja” who guarded the door while Professor Chaos had his “picture” taken. After our time in Radiology we went back to our little section in the ER and intriguing games of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Glasses, Computer, and Knife were had. Yes, they put their own twist on the classic game, and with a little help from the guy in the section next to us we determined that Computer beats Paper, and Rock beats Computer, naturally.

So what does a trip to the ER teach? Other than how to handle life’s random emergencies, it teaches that at any age we can have empathy for those around us, every situation is a chance to grow and learn, and even a complete stranger can teach you something new and exciting. Hopefully though we can avoid any more ER lessons for at least a few more months...*glances over at T.B.M*…hopefully.

Planning Like It’s Our 2011 – 2012 School Year!

2011-04-02T21:28:00.000+09:00

Prince may party like it’s 1999 but we are knee deep in planning like it’s our 2011-2012 school year! I’m very excited for this upcoming school year. We are really starting to find our homeschooling groove and what works for us as a family, and as individuals. My biggest hurdle this year, and the previous year as well, was finding a simple way to plan out our year. I’ve tried online planning methods before through Homeschool Tracker Basic. While it works for many out there it just didn’t do it for me. While I’m all for techy stuff and online goodness, it became too much of a hassle to go in and update. As well as plugging in all of our curriculum materials and our goals.

I then tried making my own lesson plan book using Donna Young printable planning pages, but the binder turned into a headache when I needed to take it with me on the go, plus having to frequently print off pages made it seem like a total waste, and just unpractical for a family with limited space, which is something we have to deal with.

Then I thought about the agenda books we had when I was in middle school. These were geared more for documenting homework assignments and paperwork that needed to be signed off, but I really liked the idea of each child having their own individual planner. So I spent a good month hunting around the net for something that would meet this need. First I tired going through sites that actually sale agenda books for schools. Sites with books I liked all had minimum purchase requirements, so as a homeschooler with only two students instead of a class of 45 I couldn’t purchase the books. Unless, I wanted to blow an obscene amount of money on something I may not even like at the end of the school year.

After knocking those off my list I hit amazon in search of agenda books/student planners that would allow for smaller purchases. I found a few but, most where religious themed with bible verses on either every page or in every daily block, way too much for our secular family. I could see ignoring a few verses every now and then, but this was overkill. The secular ones I found didn’t fit our schooling schedule since we homeschool year round (July-June), and they were geared towards the traditional schooling schedule.

I finally decided to search for a homeschool student planner just to see what it would bring up, and low and behold there is a student planner for homeschoolers called The Homeschool Student Planner. I wasn’t all gung-ho about getting it at first. I’m big on seeing what I’m going to buy, there are actually items I won’t purchase because, the website doesn’t have enough detail for my taste. So I did some searching for reviews on the product and while none actually showed off any pictures I decided to take a leap based on what I had been able to find. Factor in the money back guarantee and I felt confident in making the purchase.

I bought two planners so each child can have one, which came to $40, but considering the cost of printer ink and paper I think I’m coming out ahead compared to our previous method. I’m not having the boys fill these out themselves yet, I’m not sure when *or if* I will turn over the planning to them altogether. For now though I’m using it to plan out our school year, so we have what they each are doing in a place they can both easily access. It also helps keep both their work separate so I can be in the zone planning and working through the work for one child, then close up and move on to the next child.

The planners easily fit into T.B.M.’s book bags as well, allowing for us to school on the go, which will be very handy when we head to the states for a nearly two month visit in a couple of years. Allowing them both to do their work while we are either in a plane or a car, ensuring we meet our schooling goals while getting in plenty of time with family and friends, while limiting the amount of stuff we have to lug around the planet.

The planner breaks the year down by quarters which I really like since I set our goals by quarters (seasons), so this flows right into what we are already doing. I can also write in the dates, and while I did that this year I don’t foresee me doing it next year. I realized after filling in the dates and nearly the first quarter lessons when it hit me that I have to work in the breaks as well. So for this year I’m going to finish out the planning, and then when we take our breaks I’ll push back the work for that time period and pick it up when we resume.

Next year though I’m going to fill in the day of school on the left hand margin (first, second….etc. day of school) and then fill in the week of school when we get to it along the top. This will allow us to take our breaks as needed and then pick back up without any erasing in the planner on my end. :) The only negative with the planner so far is that the quarters are a typical nine weeks long, and our quarters are 13 weeks, but each planner comes with extra pages that I can make copies of to use so I can print out enough to cover the whole school year. I’ll just staple them together and paperclip the bundle to the quarter they belong with. This will still allow me to have all the items right there at hand, instead of pulling planning papers out of every nook and cranny in our home.

Each quarter also has an envelope to store paperwork, I’m not sure if we will use this feature this school year, but I can see using it when we have to do some carschooling, because it will allow everything to stay safely put away. I’m hoping this planning method pans out better than the previous ones; I have a good feeling about it since I don’t dread doing the planning, unlike when I was planning before. Here’s hoping!

So what are you using for your planning purposes?

Evolution Animation

2011-03-31T23:25:00.000+09:00

Here is a neat video on evolution narrated by Carl Sagan, it is a little less than eight minutes long, but extremely informative.

For more Secular Thursday bloggers click here!

It’s Good To Be Home

2011-03-28T19:33:00.002+09:00

I know every homeschooler has posted or seen a post about how homeschoolers generally aren’t homebodies. Instead we are out and about exploring and embracing the world whenever and however we want. In our case this is true, we do spend a great deal of time out about in spurts, and then we have times where I snuggle the pillow and smile because I don’t have to be out of the bed before T.B.M. I’m coming to the conclusion that if people want to assume that homeschoolers never leave their homes then I will be completely fine with that assumption. Let them crack their jokes and make their uninformed snide remarks, why? Because I love my home, partly because those people aren’t there!

This weekend we spent nearly twenty hours out and about. It was a busy weekend; there were a couple hours of park time, lunch with friends, some first-hand life experiences, cultural experiences, and plenty of exhaustion. It was an insane weekend, followed by our usual manic Monday. I know we lead a busy life no matter how ideal it would to never leave our home, and I’m ok with people thinking otherwise. I love being at home and if people assume that is where we always are then more power to them. Our home has all of our stuff; it has warm beds to sleep in, good food to eat, and plenty of ways to keep us entertained. I miss being in our home when we have a particularly hectic day, it is our domain, and I take comfort in knowing that on any given day I can wipe the calendar clean and just be in our home.

Plenty of people would love the opportunity to just be in their homes, I have that opportunity. If I happen to be screwing up my kids because I feel it’s good to be home and just be, then so be it. They will be able to embrace the beauty of blanket forts and afternoon naps on the couch, simple pleasures we adults seem to forget. And I feel that is far more important than being pushed through the hustle and bustle day in and day out.

Have you taken the time to embrace how good it is to just be home with your kids today?

To Easter or Not To Easter That Is The Question

2011-03-19T00:21:00.000+09:00

As a heathen family we are in a unique position when it comes to holidays. We can take part in the ones we want to take part in and we can ignore for the most part the ones we don’t want to be a part of. Generally, we see all holidays as a learning experience, so we usually read about them, do an activity, etc. Easter though has been a dwindling holiday in our home, it wasn’t first acknowledged until General Disarray was about 2 ½ years old, that year I put together a small Easter basket of goodies and hid a few eggs. The following year since The Spouse was deployed I tried to make everything as fun as possible with an indoor hunt due to it being extremely cold where we were living at the time, egg dying, and plenty of sweets and treats. They even meet the Easter bunny for the first time that year.

After that though? Well, it has become all about what they are going to get, candies and cheap toys, and that is it, we usually don’t even know for sure what day it will fall on until we see the store displays. We haven’t seen the Easter bunny in two years since the last visit resulted in General Disarray *who was at the beginning of a very long line* pointed at the bunny taking its seat and exclaimed “Hey mom that’s someone in an Easter bunny costume!” Thankfully all the kids right behind us were too young to even understand what was going on so their parents just ignored what they heard, probably thinking the same thing I was, couldn’t they have found a better bunny costume!

Since then we have done egg hunts, given T.B.M. baskets usually bought pre-assembled and ready to go, and that is it. I have no intention of discussing the Christian aspects of Easter with them until they are much older; going over why people celebrate the brutal beating of a man is just not my idea of need to know information before the age of ten. My recollection of Easters from my childhood all center on Mass, a very boring Easter Mass and the Palm Sunday Mass before it. I actually liked those because we would sit in the pew making crosses out of our palm leaves and that was far more interesting than the service. I vaguely remember Easter egg hunts, there were the forced Spring dresses, and a thrown together Easter basket, but Mass was the most important thing. As a non-believer Catholic Mass only pops into my brain as disturbed flashbacks of old white men in orientate robes sing-talking in monotone voices, making the one holiday I directly related to it something I tend to want to ignore and watch pass quickly from store shelves.

Lately, as the store shelves have become even more overrun with Easter throw-up I’ve been discussing with The Spouse the idea of actually ignoring Easter all together. All T.B.M care about are the baskets of candy and trinkets, and I personally don’t want to focus on a day strictly for material gain. Even Christmas in our home is about love, caring, giving, and being thankful for what we receive. The Spouse though doesn’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater so to speak. He loves watching the kids hunt for Easter eggs and enjoys helping them eat their way through their candy. He just doesn’t care about the religious aspect of the holiday. I feel while those things are fine we still need to actually have something we are focusing on other than the goodies.

Spring is a wonderful time of year and I would hate to watch the season pass without some sort of celebration. Since we do Spiral Scouts and are working our way through the Sabbats, I’ve been learning about Ostara for our lessons on it. It deals with renewal and rebirth, and a celebration of the Earth being at equilibrium. There are religious aspects to Ostara, and while I intend to discuss these with T.B.M. we wouldn’t actively take part in those aspects, but I do feel for our family focusing more on the time of year and what it brings will give Spring more meaning. We won’t “do” Ostara or Easter, but instead celebrate the Spring Equinox.

The Sabbats Almanac has a great article on kite making and flying as a family/friends activity to bring everyone together which I think would be a great tradition to start. Instead of dying eggs we would work together constructing a family kite, and then head out into the first Spring day with kite in hands, and watch as it flies high above our heads, soaring in the Spring breeze.

Would we completely dump eggs? I don’t think so, eggs are a figure of symbolism for Spring, and we really do love watching the boys hunt for them. We just wouldn’t wait until the “traditional” Easter to have our hunt; it would be a Spring Equinox event. We would discuss the symbolism behind eggs, and then set out in search of our brightly colored eggs. Instead of each egg being filled with candy, half will be filled with encouraging phrases or traits to focus on to help us achieve balance, move past old habits, and grow.

I think this would be a nice compromise for our family. We still get to enjoy egg hunting and goodies, but we also get to focus on family, and reverence for the season of renewal after the dark, cold winters.

Getting Our Groove Back

2011-03-18T16:30:00.001+09:00

Well our family vacation is over and we are slowly getting back into the swing of things. This always seems to be the hardest part, readjusting to schooling when we’ve had so much time off to relax. I blame myself for this, because the boys are eager to learn and I find I’m handing them workbooks, instead of having detailed lesson plans to work with. I would prefer to have detailed plans so I know we are getting things done instead of just doing “busy work”.

My goal for the 2011-2012 school year is to work on the level of detail I put into plans. Instead of just saying I’ll cover two math lessons on a given day, I will actually put down what I aim to do that day, items to teach, worksheets, and other activities I want to use/do. I also plan to sit down and write out a detailed plan for the whole school year. Up until now I have just wrote down blocks of time, for instance in March I would write Lessons 90-100 in Math, Ancient Rome in History, and so forth for each subject.

Which sounded great on paper but when actually put into effect it causes more work and headaches then I personally need, because I then I have to sit down before the 1st of each month and write out my plan and what I’ll be using. I don’t always have time at the end of each month to do this, and we aren’t always right where my original block put us. By having detailed plans before our new school year even starts I’m hoping to achieve a smoother school year, by getting rid of a lot of work before the year even starts. Then we can just move through our plans knocking off assignments as we get to them. I’ll still break our year down in months to see what we will be covering month to month, I’m just adding in week to week, and day to day ahead of when I usually do them to allow me to get a better handle on what we are learning.

So when we encounter our next break we will be able to pick right up where we left off, without me having to go “Now what am I going to teach?”

I’m Just A Parent

2011-03-14T16:53:00.000+09:00

Hello my name is Rayven and I’m just a parent. One thing I’ve noticed on this parenting journey, which has become even more obvious since I plunged head first into the homeschooling world, is that there are labels for everything. You are either this or you are that. I swear cruising parenting forums is like taking a seat at a well-stocked bar. Your liquor choices include*but certainly aren’t limit to*:

Free-Range

Baby-Wise

Attachment

Unparenting

Helicopter

Gender Neutral

Tiger Mom

TTAC *I will not directly link to that groups website on this blog EVER!*

And those are honestly just the ones that come to my mind first. Then on top of the groups you have the list that go with them, Ten Things Every Parent Should Do, Free-Range Don’ts, How To Ruin Your Child, Ways To Ensure Your Child’s Happiness, Top Ten Dangers Lurking In Your Home, and well…you all get the idea. By the time you’ve made your selection and read through the various lists, suggestions, and how-toes for that choice the bartender is shouting last call. You’ve spent your whole night stressing the selection that you forget to enjoy what brought you there to start with.

What brings us to the bar of parenting? Why it’s the very beings that make us parents, our children. No child in the history of mankind has ever come with an instruction manual, and so far none of the “this is it!” guides have had the same results with every family that has implored their use. Children aren’t stereos or pieces of furniture from Ikea. They are individuals with individual needs, wants, desires, and predispositions. It would take an ingredient list over a mile long just to scratch the surface of the children in our two-child home. So why sit down and try to find one that fits before we have even had a chance to see the various individual flavors alive in our children?

Yes I enjoy reading various thoughts and opinions on the subject of children and raising them, but I don’t take all of those as the end all and be all of my parenting selection. I don’t have to lock into one drink; in fact I personally prefer water. Why? Because you can add the flavors you want as you need them, and start over with a fresh batch if the situation calls for it. Allowing you to always have your own fresh perspective, instead of the haze created by stacks of “parent tested methods”, plus it’s very refreshing and never goes out of style.

Some of these methods I have tasted and enjoyed and some I avoid like the worm at the bottom of a tequila bottle. At the end of the night I have to remember one very important detail that no matter what the books may say I am still a parent, and more importantly the parent of General Disarray and Professor Chaos. No one else can claim to be their mother that honor lies solely on my shoulders, and with that honor comes the knowledge that I know them. I know them better than someone sitting thousands of miles away writing a book ever will. Yes there methods may seem interesting, and sure some of it may work, but what exactly do I as the mother of these two children need to add to my glass of water to get these two boys to adulthood? And more importantly can I even use the same glass for both?

For now I’m going to be a parent running on instinct and a few pieces of advice to give me a pinch of extra flavor. I’m going to be too hard for one group, too leant for another, depriving of the “finer things in life” *designer threads and a brand new car* according to one group, and spoiling them rot according to the other side. I’ll be sheltering them because of our homeschooling and my stance on the influence of individuals over my children, and at the same time I’ll be too permissive because I will allow them to stay home alone during the day when I return to the workforce.

No matter where I turn at the parenting bar I will be screwing up, so I say fine! Let me screw up! I’m going to stumble through this parenting thing sober and focused. I’m going to do my job as their mother, and will they come out perfect because of it? Hell No! Why would anyone want a perfect concoction though? It loses its’ personality when it’s all the same. I want a little more of something and a little less of something else. I want perfect imperfection. Will my children reach adulthood with plenty of stories for their therapist? Probably. Does it make me a horrible parent because I don’t think one size parenting approaches fits-all and I have no desire to force myself into one? No, I don’t think so; I’m sure someone somewhere does. But they aren’t on this journey with the people I’m on it with. Embracing this journey and letting it mold me instead of molding it into some prepackaged ideal, is what makes me human. It’s what makes me their mother and no one else’s.

So when we sit down at the parenting bar tonight and I order a glass of water with two shots of lemon and a dash of sugar, instead of gazing helplessly at the selection on the wall, you all will know why.

Update

2011-03-12T12:13:00.000+09:00

This post is going to serve two purposes one to inform everyone in the blogsphere who know where we are stationed that we are OK! Second, for those looking to help and donate you can do so through FBB.

Women’s History Month

2011-03-11T00:48:00.001+09:00

March marks Women’s History month, for tons of Women’s History information check out the Library of Congress.

"The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation because in the degradation of woman the very fountains of life are poisoned at their source." ~ Lucretia Mott

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.8: Spiral Scouts

2011-03-07T10:00:00.000+09:00

I’ve talked before that we do Spiral Scouts as an alternative to Boys Scouts since we don’t agree with their policies, but we see value in scouting. This school year I wanted to establish some sort of plan of action when it comes to our Spiral Scouts activities. So I’ve decided to focus on not just certain badges/patches/awards, but an overall theme for each school year. We would then work on the badges/patches/awards that would qualify under that theme.

For this year our theme is camping and hiking *since I figure they both go hand in hand*. We will start with learning about compasses, the parts of them, how they work, when they may not work, and other things that will meet the badge requirements. After that we will learn how to make various knots, what their uses are for, and when they would use certain knots while outdoors. From there we will tackle hiking safety and what one needs to take with them on a hike. Finally we will spend time learning about the ins and outs of camping, camping safety, and then we will put all of our knowledge to use.

We school year round with us acknowledging a new year in July, so I’m planning to tackle each piece over the course of a school quarter.

July-September: Compass Knowledge

October-December: Knot Knowledge

January-March: Hiking Knowledge

April-June: Camping Knowledge and Camping Trip

This should allow us to spend plenty of time working on each piece of the puzzle, that way when we embark on our camping trip we will be fully prepared. I’m aiming for our camping trip to be in early May to beat out a lot of the heat that we encounter here and hopefully not get hit by a lot of rain either.

I’m still in the resource gathering stage but so far I have found the following:

Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids' Guide

Let’s Go Hiking

If you have resources to share that would help us with our theme please share.

This Sucks

2011-03-06T13:00:00.001+09:00

I know it's not Thursday yet, so just consider this either a late or early Secular Thursday post. :)

There is really no other way to put it. Rock Beyond Belief has been cancelled and this is very upsetting to me. Granted I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the event, I was still encouraged by seeing it take off. Then it gets dealt this blow which, honestly I’m not shocked about, but it still sucks. 23.4% of our armed forces fall under the “none” label, our household obviously falls in this bracket, and there was this flicker of light at the end of the overtly Christian tunnel for something enjoyable.

Something that could have taken off and inspired other events at different bases, which would have increased the chance that we would have something enjoyable *on base* to go to as a family. Something where we didn’t have to worry about addressing the music that would be played, who would be speaking, and more importantly who would be there enjoying the event.

I don’t think people realize the vast reach of Christianity in the military, to the point where even other religions get treated like garbage. During the holidays the music is overtly Christian despite the other holidays that take place around the same time. The bookstore only displays Christmas themed books and when I inquired about them possibly having some in the back that weren’t Christmas themed I was told all they had was what was out there. No Hanukkah, no Kwanzaa, and no Yule/Winter Solstice. The little bit of lip service that was paid to the Jewish community at the base exchange was pathetic, and I’m not even Jewish yet I could see the obvious slap in the face. Honestly, how can you have a Jewish display for Hanukkah WITHOUT a menorah?!

The Couples Retreats are Christian, the ceremonies/dinners/events only feature Christian prayers *which is a big reason why The Spouse only goes to the ones he absolutely has no choice but to attend*. Shockingly, we *and most people for that matter* wouldn’t have an issue if they actually acknowledged the other groups in our armed services. It might even be a chance to LEARN about another group. We’ve had Christianity shoved down our throats our whole lives and we’re rather SICK of it. A chance to learn about how another group does their prayers/blessings/whatever might actually be good for some people to be exposed to.

Yet…it doesn’t happen. Even though our country has an establishment clause in our Constitution…you know that piece of paper our armed forces swear (or affirm) to protect. No other groups get attention, I expect them *sadly* to blow off Atheist/Agnostic/Humanist/and the like, but the other religious groups get the same cold shoulder.

I commend Sgt. Griffith for his efforts. And maybe one day there will be something none religious families can attend, but I won’t be holding my breath for it.

Ch-Ch Changes Pt.7: 2011-2012 Schedule

2011-03-06T09:00:00.000+09:00

Our schedule has been hashed out a million and one times since we officially started homeschooling. It will probably get a facelift every school year until T.B.M. reach a point where all I have to do is present them with a checklist at the start of each day. That is the end goal in my mind; we just have to reach it.

So our schedule for 2011-2012 is as follows *we will still do a four day school week*:

Formal “Regular” School Days: Tuesday - Friday
Off Days “Or Non-Formal “Light”” School Days: Saturday - Monday

Mondays

-Music Lessons *four Mondays a month.*

-Social Time/Field Trips *once a month, unless there is a month with five Mondays*

-Kitchen Chemistry *goal is to tie what we cook into what we are learning in our Chemistry lessons as well*.

-Crafting Hour *this is when we will do art, Kitchen Chemistry and Crafting Hour will alternate so we will do them once a month, which should give me plenty of time to plan out what we are going to do. The craft/art project will tie into our artist of the month.*

-Spiral Scouts *once a month we will do our Spiral Scouts stuff, I think including it during the week instead of trying to do it over the weekend will have better results than what we are getting now*.

-Etiquette Lessons *This is the day I’ll handle those since they don’t seem to be something that will require a lot of time, we can work them into our day while still keeping the day light*.

-Day Of Play *once a month we will have NOTHING *aside from music lessons* on tap for Monday except to go out and play, then enjoy lunch somewhere we all like, followed then by MORE play! Life is too short to not devote a day to just playing around*.

So our Mondays will break down as follows:

Monday #1: Music Lessons, Social Time/Field Trips
Monday #2: Music Lessons, Kitchen Chemistry, Spiral Scouts
Monday #3: Music Lessons, Day Of Play
Monday #4: Music Lessons, Crafting Hour, Etiquette Lessons
Monday #5: Social Time/Field Trips

Tuesdays-Fridays we will have the following on tap:

830am - Morning Meeting/Boards
900am - Outdoor Time *weather and health pending*
930am - Reading/Writing/Language Arts/Japanese *I’m still formulating my plan for teaching Japanese pulling from the various resources at our disposal*
1030am - Playtime/Centers/Discovery Bins
1130am - Lunch
1230pm - Quiet Time
130pm - Math
230pm - Science or History *Science will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, History will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays*

I’ve taken Social Studies off of our schedule all together since it doesn’t seem necessary. T.B.M. will have a far more enriched education by focusing on learning the culture/language/etc. of the country we currently live in. A set of lessons for Social Studies seems pointless when the greatest lesson is right outside our door.

I don’t expect to spend an hour on each subject, but this gives us the time should we need it. Usually, General Disarray can get through two math lessons in less than 30 minutes, at which point he is free to do as he pleases. I’m thinking I won’t do a formal handwriting lesson every day. Instead I will alternate it with Japanese. Tuesdays I will introduce a Japanese phrase that they will need to memorize and be able to write. This will give us Tuesday and Thursday to work on that phrase as well as a formal Japanese lesson, then on Wednesday and Friday they will have some English copy work or formal English handwriting lesson.

I’m hoping that by focusing on just some core subjects *Language (English/Japanese), Math, Science, History* during these early years they will establish a great foundation that will help them as they advance in their schooling. This should also ensure we don’t hit burnout and are able to still enjoy our studies. Versus feeling like we have to do them and that they are a chore. Things like social studies and geography can make their way in unscripted, for instance when we talk about a country during history we will naturally locate it on a globe/map, allowing us to still learn them but minus the pressure of a formal lesson for them.

T.B.M. are only in the Pre-K to Early Elementary block of their schooling. We still have plenty of time to learn the capitals and political leanings of various countries. For now we are going to work on building a solid foundation for them to grow their futures on.

Kitchen Chemistry

2011-03-05T22:21:00.000+09:00

I’ve wanted to have a day where the boys and I cook up some fun in the kitchen. Since we will be covering Physical Science *a blend of Chemistry and Physics* this year, I want to try to work in some of our Chemistry with our cooking. Cooking is itself a lab experiment. You mix in various elements in order to produce a *hopefully* tasty outcome, but there are also actual chemical reactions taking place. In everything from dough rising to melting butter there is a plethora of chemistry lessons to be uncovered.

Most of what we will cook up in the kitchen will be edible items, like homemade applesauce, butter, and rock candy, but we will also do some fun crazy stuff like slime and play dough.

Here is a list of links with more info on Kitchen Chemistry and some fun recipes:

Link One

Link Two

Link Three

Link Four

A Question For My Readers

2011-03-03T15:19:00.000+09:00

I always start the year off with various goals. I don’t make resolutions because they seem too…final. You either make it or you don’t. There is no room for wiggling, messing up, and rethinking. Sometimes goals don’t come at the start of the year either…sometimes they pop up at a random moment causing you to rethink previous actions.

The current goal I’m working on is a result of The Spouse and his choice of reading material when he was on “The Throne” yesterday. We all have various products in our home, but how often do we read the labels on these products? I know there are those who read every single label of every single item they buy…we aren’t them. Yesterday The Spouse grabbed the lotion product we use for T.B.M. and proceeded to read the ingredients. After exiting “The Throne” he comes into the living room with the item in his hand and asked “How many letters are in the alphabet?” General Disarray gave him the answer at which point The Spouse looks down at the bottle and states “This has a word with 28 letters…and the word has “TH” twice…I can’t even pronounce this! This can’t be good!” At which point he sat down at his computer and started typing in the unbelievably long word. If you are wondering what this word is and what we found you can click HERE.

After our little discovery I thought for a bit about the products we use. They are great, but there have to be better *safer* alternatives out there. Now there are some I may never part with, my automatic liquid hand soap dispenser comes to mind, but there are some that need to be tossed. I already don’t use harsh chemicals to clean. They give me horrible headaches which usually lead to nausea and vomiting *what more proof does one need that something is bad for their home then that right?*. If I can get away with hot water and elbow grease I’m a happy woman *cue steam mop*. Kids can’t be cleaned with a steam mop though, so that leads me to my question:

What products do you *those who are into green, organic, natural products* use for your children and yourself?

What am I looking to replace?

Body wash *the boys both suffer from eczema (which is not a result of what we currently use, this we know for sure) so we already use things for sensitive skin that are dye and fragrance free*

Lotion *their skin dries out VERY quickly so whatever we use has to LAST!*

Sunscreen

Toothpaste *I’m not sure if I would give up the current mouth related products we use, but I would like to investigate what others are using*

Hair Care Products *we already use natural products *aside from shampoo/conditioner*, so I’m curious to see what else is out there other than what I can find at our base exchange*.

I haven’t found one site that has a comparison list of products, so if you all know of a site that would be of use to me please pass it on as well. My goal is to remove the unnecessary, unhealthy products from our home by the end of the summer. It’s a short term goal that I think is doable especially, with the help of my wonderful readers. :)

100th Post Goodness

2011-02-25T20:56:00.000+09:00

So here is my 100th post! I would do some sort of giveaway, but I have nothing to give *aside from my love*. So instead here is a website with fun things to do for the 100th day of school and here is a list of 100 things to do before you die. See how many items you can mark off of the list and enjoy doing the things you haven't done yet!

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.6: Etiquette

2011-02-25T00:16:00.000+09:00

“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”~ Fred Astaire

In our home manners are very important. Do we always have the best manners? No, of course not we aren’t prefect. Dinner time at our home is a cross between gross-out hour at a back alley comedy club, and a meal with Ms. Manners. I would prefer to knock down some of the back alley talk and increase the influence of Ms. Manners. Of course increasing Ms. Manners influence means not only showing but teaching manners. Now I want T.B.M. to learn more than the general stuff we have already taught them *please, thank you, excuse me, etc.*, but also things that may seem outdated *place setting, thank you notes, table manners, etc.*. Overall, etiquette or “the rules of acceptable behavior”.

Once I established that etiquette was something I wanted to work into our curriculum beginning with this upcoming 2011-2012 school year I had to figure out a plan of action. Aside from the general stuff we have already taught the boys The Spouse and I are noobs to the etiquette game. So I went in search of a program to help teach not only the boys but myself at the same time. So far I have narrowed my choices down to The Etiquette Factory and Homemade Manners.

I’m leaning heavily towards The Etiquette Factory since they give a more detailed description of each program along with pictures. I also find the price reasonable considering all that comes in the program. The only problem, like with anything we order, is getting it here. That dreaded APO label always creates some hoops that need to be jumped through.

Despite that I think The Etiquette Factory is the way we are going to go. I’m sure it will be an interesting experience when we start implementing it into our schedule.

So much to plan! I’m really looking forward to our 2011-2012 school year. Tons of learning and fun in store.

No School?

2011-02-22T22:19:00.001+09:00

We are into our third week of break, and it has been extremely refreshing. Of course what I am learning about my “weird” homeschoolers, is that no matter if we are breaking or not you can’t stop their desire for knowledge. This afternoon while I was putting away laundry General Disarray was downstairs going through our school closet. By the time I had returned downstairs he was happily working on a Kumon Subtraction workbook. He worked up until it was time to get ready for karate, and then started back once he finished his dinner. We didn’t pull him away from it until bedtime at which point he says “don’t move my book because I’m going to work on it in the morning.”. It amazes me how you can create an educational rich environment and children will gravitate to whatever strikes their fancy.

It does a mother’s heart good.

The Beauty Of Homeschooling

2011-02-13T20:41:00.000+09:00

Our family has been enjoying some time off from our formal school lessons the past couple of weeks, and we still have a couple more weeks to enjoy. On our first week of break we headed to a few nature parks/hiking trails. Even though we aren’t enjoying formal lessons at the moment, we have still done a lot of learning. On our hikes the boys got to experience nature in a way they hadn’t been able to yet. We talked about the importance of respecting nature, and how we must leave it the way we found it. As well as how doing these things will ensure that others get to enjoy it, and that it *the nature setting we are in* is able to continue to thrive.

Not only were T.B.M. able to learn about respecting nature, we also discussed camouflage when we came across some lizards on our hike. We talked about adaptations, evolution, and when General Disarray mentioned how lizards would turn blue or green if they were around something blue or green I asked him what color would the lizards need to be where we were. He then went on to determine that the lizards would have to be brown *which they were* since the ground was brown, and if they had been in the grassy hill area near us they would have been green. I pressed as to why he had determined this, and he went on to state that they would need to hide in order to protect themselves, they could only do that if they matched the area around them. Which is the whole point of camouflage and we didn’t need a book to learn that! Woohoo!

Aside from the unscripted learning there is the family bonding component that really makes homeschooling great for us. Due to work commitments The Spouse hasn’t had a solid block of time off of work since 2009. This was the best time for him to finally get the time that has been building up. Since we school at home there was no question that if he got the time off we were going to take it and enjoy it. We make our schedule and when we can add in quality family time we do it. It’s an advantage we wouldn’t have any other way. I can’t picture life without this advantage, T.B.M. get this amazing benefit of rare moments learning and growing with their father. Their time with him is so precious, and we are able to increase the time they have with him because they are schooled at home.

There is nothing more beautiful then hearing the laughs of your children while they run free with their hero. While homeschooling isn’t always easy, it has brought more to our lives then we ever anticipated. And for that I am truly grateful.

Conformity The Dream Killer

2011-02-13T20:01:00.000+09:00

BrainyFeet has a great post on why the Joneses can suck it! Amazing read. Go forth and confront your conformity head on.

It’s Time for Roll Call!

2011-02-10T13:46:00.000+09:00

A few people have asked me about my shorthand on this blog so I figured I should dedicate a post to the section of our blog entitled roll call. This should help clear up any issues now or in the future. If you look just above the cute little apple with today’s date on it, you will see the word Pages and then *currently* two listings *these will eventually increase*. If you click the Roll Call page it will direct you to a list of all the players on this here blog.

This list will be updated as needed, to either include new friends or family members who are relevant to a post. If you are ever in doubt click there. I try to avoid any and all military lingo so if you see any acronyms or funny names they are aliases for people we know. At which point just click on the Roll Call button and learn a little bit about the person you are reading about, and most importantly what all those initials mean.

Influence and Socialization

2011-02-09T21:44:00.000+09:00

Today we enjoyed a great early afternoon bowling/lunch date with some of our M.O.M.s. Yes, we took the dysfunction outside of our home *gasp*! While bowling a friend and I started chatting about the issue of influence. It was nice to talk this out with someone who understands where I am coming from on this issue. To back track a bit, the F.O.D has been on me about enrolling General Disarray into public school this upcoming school year. Why?

Well socialization…of course! He can completely see homeschooling being valid on an academic front, but social time, that seems to trump the educational value that he can see in homeschooling. That *social time being more important than the educational component* annoys me in and of itself. This aside for me the issue of social time extends to more than just chatting with people their own age. For me it boils down to what kind of interactions are they having and the kind of influences these interactions are having on T.B.M.

There are plenty of post out there on the interwebs that discuss the insanity of the socialization issue, and how children aren’t encouraged to have social time in schools. All of us who attended school can list numerous times when we were punished for talking too much, or passing notes, etc. For me when I look at what I have personally seen in schools, not just in my own schooling but during my field experience as well, I don’t see the socializing that takes place as valuable. Then there is the behavior I’ve noticed when kids are let free from school, the built up energy that explodes on sidewalks, playgrounds, and backyards.

These situations create social interactions that I don’t deem healthy for T.B.M. I prefer their social interactions to encourage/uplift them as individuals, reaffirm our family’s values, and most importantly be fun. I feel we can provide these all important interactions far better than a school system can.

I also feel that The Spouse and I can have a far greater *more positive* influence on our children if they spend the bulk of these formative years with us. Of course they won’t spend every waking hour with us, but we don’t feel they should spend eight to ten hours a day five days a week under the influence of others at such an important junction in their young lives. While they would come home to us and interact with us, these interactions would pale in comparison to what they ingested during the school day.

It’s like my friend said this afternoon “It’s about feeling confident in knowing our children are ready…”. Ready to understand the weight of their choices and to realize that certain people aren’t meant to be followed. We want them to grow in an environment where they are free to be themselves and not feel forced into their peers ideas of what and how someone should be.

For us homeschooling is more than academically superior, but it is also emotionally and socially superior. We are not only able to provide T.B.M. with tailored educations to fit their learning styles and academic levels, but we are also able to provide them with quality interactions that enrich their lives. For us that is far more important than the superficial interactions of a classroom.

Science Humor

2011-02-06T16:25:00.000+09:00

This is a very late (or early depending on how you look at it) Secular Thursday post.

This really makes me giggle. Oh how amazing that would be! Taken from SMBC.

Organizational Junkie Pt. 2

2011-02-01T23:13:00.000+09:00

I have an addiction. I can usually keep this addiction under control when life is running fairly “normal”, but then something happens and my addiction runs rampant. At the beginning of the year The Spouse was away and my addiction came out to play *hey that rhymes!*.

What is this addiction you ask? It’s organizing, especially organizing our classroom and school supplies. My life overall is chaotic, dysfunctional, and downright insane at best. So organizing the things I do have control over pleases that slightly functioning part of myself.

So what have I done you ask? Well head over and check out the first Organizational Junkie post so you can see what I’ve done previously. Ok all caught up? Now for the current organizational bender:

I added another bookcase and converted a TV stand to meet my book storage and Discovery Bin items need.

We also have our Knowledge Books and Centers Packets in these really neat magazine racks that I found at a 100 yen store, and the colors go with the color theme picked out by TBM. Also with the Seasonal/Wheel of the Year Knowledge Books are Knowledge Books for each subject! I figured it would make life alot easier if I just took the printouts for each week and placed them in the same types of folders. That way everything stays together and at the end of the week I can just remove the worksheets, place them in our filing cabinet *all still in order*, put the upcoming week's worksheets in the folder, and fill our wall organizer with the worksheets for the following week. That way I have the worksheets from where we have been, where we are, and where we are going all tucked away and in easy to grab locations if I need to grab them.

The tallest bookcase also keeps our hands on items organized. We have our large math bin at the bottom with a few other items, then various math "toys" and math games above that, followed by language arts items at the top.

To the side here we have a close up of the top of our largest bookcase. It has the bins for our Centers *which are not all finished due to me running out of various items needed to put them together*, as well as some science items that are best kept up high until Professor Chaos is a bit older.

The next item is the converted TV stand. The shelves are used for storing books that will be needed in the upcoming weeks, which allows them to be right at hand. The bulk of our reading books are stored on three bookcases which, have found their home in the area underneath our stairs. By pulling the needed items I save myself alot of back and forth. Although the running up and down the stairs does make for a semi-decent workout, it takes time away from our learning.

The top portion of the converted TV stand houses General Disarray's current phonics flip-book so it doesn't take up space on the computer desk when he isn't using it. It also holds our Discovery Bin(s) items, and the Discovery Bin that is currently being used this week. On the side are some ladles I bought from the same 100 yen store, they work great with our water Discovery Bin. The carpet came from the 100 yen store and gives the TBM somewhere soft to sit while they use the Discovery Bin(s). It also holds other bin items. I'm planning to get some squishy throw pillows to make that area my comfortable, and to encourage them to relax and read throughout the classroom.

This next photo gives you a close up of the shelves on our largest bookcase. I have binders for some of the subjects we cover that, are full of various information we need or have collected. I also have some blow-up dice that help with reading comprehension by asking questions about certain elements in a story *who wrote it, where did it take place, who is the main character, etc.*. I found the dice at a teacher supply store when we lived in the states.

There you have it folks. My latest organizational bender!

I think it is safe to say that our classroom is almost complete. The only things I have left on my to-do list are curtains and squishy throw pillows. And to think it only took me two years to get it all together! But hey I did it! Woohoo!

Discovery Bins and Knowledge Centers

2011-02-01T14:49:00.000+09:00

The past few months I’ve been on the hunt for fun hands on learning ideas for TBM, especially for Professor Chaos. I few things have fallen into my lap since then, and now that I have them pretty much all squared away I’m going to share them.

First on the list are our Discovery Bins. A friend of mine put together a sensory bin for her son and I thought that was a great idea, so off I went hunting for information on sensory bins. I found various sites that listed ideas from people *mostly preschool teachers*, and I took many of those ideas and set off to make comprise our own bins. Are you wondering why we call them Discovery Bins instead of sensory bins? Well one of the idea comments I found mentioned that in their class they call them Discovery Bins, and I thought that was very clever and honestly I prefer it over the term sensory bins. Since sensory bin doesn’t completely state what we are using it for. Yes, they will use their senses, but they *mainly Professor Chaos* will also have to discovery items in order to match them with an item already outside the bin, or how much rice it takes to fill something, and some other random not really sensory ideas that I may come up with one morning when I’m somewhere between sleep and a half empty cup of orange juice.

Here is a quick run through of what I have gathered so far for our Discovery Bins:

Here we have our large water basin I found at a 100 yen store *think dollar store prices, but with cooler stuff*, and the largest of our two bins. The brown plastic is a plastic table cover I got for our Co-Op's Fall Festival. It helps keep everything contained when the kids are working. I just collect anything that has fallen out of the bin into the middle of the plastic, then gather up and dump back into the bin. When used with the water basin the plastic is placed on the floor first, followed by a layer of towels, and lastly the basin. The plastic acts as a buffer for the floor. So even if the towels get soaked, our floor stays nice and dry. Also here are some of the bags of goodies I have put together. There are various beans and peas, the colored paper you usually find in an Easter basket, various types of pasta, and some fake flowers/petals. These are just what I have for right now, I'm planning to add to this as I come across ideas that seem doable with the resources we have around us.

Here we have our other *smaller* bin, it is currently full of short grain rice. Also on this "table" *it's not really a table...more on it later*, are two wire baskets they were bought to be used when we fill the water basin with soapy water so the TBM can make bubbles with them. They will probably find their way into other bin related fun as well. The water bottles are for when we work with dirt, or the water basin, really anything honestly. It just depends on what we are doing. The blue bucket holds the bulk of our Discovery Bin tools. We have measuring cups of various sizes, some plastic containers with lids of different sizes and color, a couple of squirt bottles, some whisk, sifters, small wooden spoons, tongs, rice scooper, these plastic cutting things used for cutting some sort of Japanese product, and colorful shot glasses. Everything aside from the shot glasses and the bins were bought at a 100 yen store. The shot glasses *that were about 50 or so cent a piece* and the bins came from our base exchange. Taking in account the current yen rate I spent about 60$ for everything we have currently. I highly recommend reusing items you already have if you can, shopping at dollar stores, and your local flea market/thrift store.

A closer look into the blue basket of fun. I really went wild in the kitchen supply section of the 100 yen store. And I just couldn't pass up the colorful shot glasses. The Spouse and I aren't drinkers so they aren't something one would usually find in our home, but TBM have a blast using them for purposes other than what they were made for. And I must admit it is a bit funny watching them play with them and be completley unaware of what most people use them for. I have to go back and get another one though, because I thought I had grabbed six but I only grabbed five. I have a thing about odd numbers...it's best to just not ask. The last Discovery Bin item I will show you are these little rake/tong combos I found at the 100 yen store. They are hung on our wall using Command(TM) strips *I love those things they make life so easy when you have to uproot frequently*.

Aside from the Discovery Bins I have also been working on Centers for us. My dear friend Karen over at St. Louis Homeschool Resources, Inc. sent me a goodie box full of various items. One of which was a book full of envelope centers. I had not heard of these until we got her box, but I had been wanting to create something similar. While I'm all for DIY projects sometimes being able to buy what you need in one place and put it together just a few things for it on your own is plenty of DIY for me. The Math Centers book she sent us was a hit, so I ordered a few more center books and I am currently in the middle of putting them all together. The above picture is one of the Math Centers, just to give everyone an idea of what they look like. They are so simple to put together, and my laminator ensures that the pieces will withstand any and everything that we *or movers* throw at them.

Here is a list of the Centers we have:

Envelope Centers Math (Pre-K)

Take It To Your Seat Phonics Centers (PreK-K)

Take It To Your Seat Science Centers (PreK-K)

Take It To Your Seat Math Centers (Grades 3-4)

Take It To Your Seat Literacy Centers (Grades 3-4)

Take It To Your Seat Science Centers (Grades 3-4)

Sensory Box/Bin Ideas:

Website One

Website Two

Website Three

Website Four

Secular Thursday: Oh That Data

2011-01-27T21:37:00.000+09:00

I could say that I’m shocked, flabbergasted, or completely floored by the fact that very few US students are proficient in science. I would of course be lying if I said those things, and everyone who reads this blog would know that I was. Nor am I shocked that the worst results come from the south…all of my education was received in the south…in my Marine Science class we had a fish fry…that should just about sum up the situation down there.

One thing did really bug me about the article and it was the following quote:
“Yes, we have to be intentional about science education, and we have to ensure that all schools have working science labs, but you can't introduce a kid to a science lab and expect them to do well if they can't read the text”.~ Amy Wilkins

While I do agree that we can’t thrust children into a science lab without them being equipped to read the text *or more importantly equipped with the knowledge of the rules when inside a lab*, I don’t see why we think we can’t intentionally introduce scientific understanding until a lab is needed though.

Children are hungry for scientific information at an early age, and we can easily mesh science with reading. In fact using science themed reading material is a great way to teach reading comprehension, while also meeting a science objective. We do it all the time in our home, it is actually really easy, and requires very little effort to make happen.

You can’t even interpret scientific data if you don’t possess the skills to comprehend text, period. By exposing children to reading comprehension thorough scientific material, we are setting the ground work for reading comprehension in a lab based setting later on. So why then are we treating science and reading like two issues that can’t be solved together, when they so clearly can be?

Yes reading is important, reading is the gateway to all knowledge. Once you possess the ability to read you can learn anything and everything you want. Science and Technology as well are important, they are what allows us to move forward and thrive on this planet. Without them we would still be in the Dark Ages. Ignoring their importance sets the future generation and ultimately ourselves on a path that isn’t as promising. Reading and Math are just half of the educational battle. Full mastery means mastering all “core” subjects. Not just the two “big” ones.

So what does that have to do with homeschooling? Well it is the biggest reason we continue each day on this homeschooling journey…mastery! We don’t just want our children spouting off a few “need-to-know” facts in order to pass a test. We want them to know the material to the point that a test is almost pointless. If we spent half the time we use testing children, on actually instructing them to the point where they really KNOW the material, these test wouldn’t be needed.

A lot of our “tests” are oral, I prefer knowing TBM can articulate back to me what they know. Instead of just being able to color in the right bubble on some sheet. Why? Because life isn’t a sit down test. We have to be able to voice our knowledge in a way that the world can understand us. We don’t walk around filling out bubble sheets when asked about our knowledge, we have to express it through papers, speeches, or in everyday conversations.

I think the current state of education in America is shameful, I won’t even pretend that I think otherwise. It doesn’t promote acquisition and retention of knowledge. Which is why we have made the decision that we have. As mentioned before we want our children to master the things that are getting pushed to the side or cut all together *history, science, technology, physical education, sexual education, and the arts*, not just reading and math. We feel well-rounded individuals emerge when they have a well-rounded education.

This idea of mastery over test taking seems foreign to people who question us, but all I need to do is take a look at the data to see that we are truly headed in the right direction. Hopefully one day the American school system will hop on board, drop the “standardized” testing, and work to achieve across the board subject mastery.

Until that day *oh who am I kidding…until TBM reach college age* we are educating at home. Don’t like our educational choice? Well you can go Google national stats for math, reading, writing, science, and history, and then come question me about our choices. Or not. The choice is yours, just like the choice in how our children are educated is ours.

To the homeschooling skeptics I present to you our nation’s report card. Enjoy.

"A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink of it deeply, or taste it not, for shallow thoughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking deeply sobers us again."~Alexander Pope

Fun With Flowers

2011-01-24T23:12:00.001+09:00

For our science work the past couple of weeks we have been talking about flowers, plants, and photosynthesis. In order to help us we did some flower dying! Now we didn’t get the idea from this lesson plan, but it pretty much explains what we did. The only difference is that the one we used said to use one glass of colored water, and one glass of regular water. This seems to make it take longer for the whole flower to become colored *we’ll have to test that hypothesis at a later date to be sure*. The one big thing I would strongly recommend is that you hunt down carnations!

Every mention of this experiment calls for white carnations, but we couldn’t get our hands on any. So instead we had to use white roses, and while they are pretty, they aren’t cheap, they lack the fullest of carnations, and their stems are a bit thinner than carnation stems so splitting them is a little more difficult. All and all it worked out really well and the boys loved seeing their favorite colors appear on their flowers.

This week we are starting dinosaurs! Oh the fun we will have learning about those amazing creatures.

Here we have the two glasses and the split flower. I had to cut the flower shorter, and getting the right size for the glass was a pain. They still turned out great though. I used tape to keep the stem from splitting more.

The other flower required me to use tape to keep it from leaning out of the glass, along with a knife to weigh it down.

What they looked like before they changed colors!

Versatile Blog Award

2011-01-24T00:13:00.000+09:00

“You like me you really like me!” LOL. We won a blog award from Sparklee at karmamatopoeia, thank you Sparklee!! Now here is the low down on the Versatile Blog Award:

1. Answer the questions.

2. Tag some other wonderful blogs. They should be ones I just discovered, but most of the ones I will tag will be ones I have been following for a while. And of course a few new ones too.

Why did you create this blog?

Well we already had *still have* a family blog, but I wanted to take that private so I could post more pictures on it and keep an update log of the things we do as a family. I still wanted to share and discuss homeschooling though, just in its own separate area since it encompasses so much of our life. I wanted to share the things we do, express frustrations, and have a working log of the things that go on in my head in relation to homeschooling.

What kinds of blogs do you follow?

I follow a mixture of homeschooling and Atheist blogs. There are a few random cooking blogs, crafty, creative blogs, and some that are just about science, and teaching it.

Favorite makeup brand?

I don’t do makeup. I have some chapstick, that is the extent of it. In fact that last time I had makeup on was back in 2009 and it was for some photos I had done for The Spouse. I didn’t even do the makeup myself, they had someone on site to do makeup and hair. If they hadn’t I wouldn’t of wore any.

Favorite clothing brand?

Affordable. I’m not into name brand clothing, which is why I have such a hard time shopping at the base exchange. The majority of their clothing options are overpriced name brand clothing. I just want my clothing to fit, give a little bit, and withstand two very active messy boys. Now if it was favorite clothing store…I would have to say Hot Topic. Their clothing is more in line with my taste, but not always kid chasing friendly.

Indispensable makeup product?

Call me a nerd, but I would rather spend my money on books instead of makeup.

Favorite color?

Black. Yes it is a color in this case *when referring to pigment it is, when referring to light it‘s not*.

Favorite perfume?

*Scans medicine cabinet….* Ah here it is: Forever by Mariah Carey. The Spouse got it for me two Christmases ago, it smells nice, but I hardly ever wear it. I’m making it last. ;)

Favorite film?

Oh goodness…I would say Harry Potter, but if we are talking about the books then the books trump the movies…and then there is The Shawshank Redemption, I LOVE that movie!

What country would you like to visit and why?

Do I have to pick just one?! Europe is on the list of places we want to be stationed at. Why? Because Europe is full of history! There would be endless lessons that we could create right out our backdoor if we lived there. Then there would be the backpacking, bicycling, and well the list goes on of things we could do in order to explore and embrace that part of the world.

Would you rather forget to put mascara on one eye or forget to put blush on one side of your face?

If I ever take the time to really learn how to put on my own makeup I’ll let you know. But don’t hold your breath cause I’m just not that type of woman. Jeans, t-shirt, hair pulled back, and I’m out the door. That’s just how this homeschooler rolls. ;)

Now the blog tags *in no particular order*:

Art Projects For Kids

Homeschooling Atheist

The Meming Of Life

The Scientific Homeschool

Secular Nature Homeschool

Humanist Holidays

Thank you again Sparklee!

What The…

2011-01-22T20:52:00.000+09:00

This popped up on my list of articles and well…I just have to share this because it’s just so completely…well I’m speechless. I think I find it particularly disturbing due to the children involved being in the same grade as General Disarray. The thought that actions like these would be in the mind of children so young is very upsetting. It’s not that it took place in a public school classroom *although it does highlight the issue of too many children and not enough teachers in classrooms*, because this could have easily taken place in someone’s home, and possibly has.

It’s the fact that children this young are doing these things, and that they even know about these actions. If we are going to allow our children to be exposed to the over-sexed environment in television and movies *even Nickelodeon is guilty of this and has caused us to turn the channel in the middle of a “kid-friendly” episode*, then we must be willing to address what we feel is appropriate and what isn’t, and WHY we feel this way. If we don’t discuss these issues with our children, then who will? It is our job as parents to be PARENTS. Our children will not raise themselves, nor will any school system raise them.

We have to do our jobs, no matter how uncomfortable it may be at times.

“Parents have become so convinced that educators know what is best for their children that they forget that they themselves are really the experts.”~Marian Wright Edelman

Homeschooling Humor

2011-01-17T23:42:00.000+09:00

This makes me giggle so much. Maybe, because I can see it actually happening in our home...just minus the sleeping dog....and clean countertops....and I would still have on my night-time scarf....even if it is two in the afternoon. :)

I love homeschooling.

E is for Equal

2011-01-12T15:40:00.000+09:00

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up so I’ve put together a mini lesson for us. We won’t just be focusing on MLK Jr., but on equality as a whole. On our learning board we have the word equality for our weekly vocabulary word, that will extend into next week as well. We also have a picture of MLK Jr. next to our vocabulary word, and the dates of his birth and death.

I found a printable activity book on Enchanted Learning that General Disarray will use, as well as some coloring sheets from various websites that both of TBM will use. For an art activity we will cut into my insanely large stack of magazines and create “Unity Collages”. I'll post pictures of them when we finish them.

Our reading books will encompass the bulk of our learning, since I’m looking to these as a way of prompting discussions and maybe a few journal entries.

Our book list is as follows *we own all of these, but you may be able to locate them at your local library, and if they don’t have them you can always request them*:

My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr. by Marion Dane Bauer

Our People by Angela Shelf Medearis

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry With a Beat (includes audio CD) edited by Nikki Giovanni

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters by Barack Obama

In My Heart by Molly Bang

America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle by David A. Adler

Free To Be You and Me (includes audio CD) by Marlo Thomas and Friends

At My House What Makes A Family Is Love by Dee Dee Walter-Goodspeed

Is There Really A Human Race by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

I found the Hip Hop Speaks book a while back and even though I’m personally not a huge fan of hip hop it seemed intriguing so I scooped it up. I’m really glad I did because it will fit in perfectly with our equality lesson. I won’t be using the whole book now, although when we study poetry I will come back to it. For now I’ll be using the following pieces *with accompanying audio tracks* from the book:

from Ladies First by Queen Latifah
People Equal by James Berry
from Umi Says by Mos Def
Dream Variations by Langston Hughes
Me by Elizabeth Swados
Love Poem For My People by Pedro Pietri
From Love Is by Common
The Rosa Parks by Nikki Giovanni
We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes
If We Forget by Ja Jahannes
and lastly but surely not least from I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King Jr.

I think I’ll track down some other poems, and possibly some video clips as well, we will just see how the rest of this week as well as next week plays out.

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscious stupidity.”~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.5: New Year, New Look

2011-01-09T21:06:00.000+09:00

Welcome all to our redesigned blog! Since I can’t completely redo my house I might as well redo the blog right? So how do you like it? Fresh, bright, and colorful? I sure think so. I was finding the other template to be rather dull. While I’m not Mrs. Mary Sunshine, I do love that we homeschool and I really wanted the blog to reflect that.

So what changes can you find with this fresh new look? Well most of the sidebar links are the same. I got rid of one that was to a blog-roll that wasn’t showing updates and took up too much space on the side.

At the top of the blog page we have the twitter bird. Clicking on it will take you to our twitter page. Our recent twitter updates are still listed in the sidebar as well.

We now have a search bar to make finding topics easier and our categories are still listed on the side bar as well.

We also finally(!) have a pages section that works. So far we have a Home page and a Roll Call page. The Roll Call page mentions a little bit about each member of our homeschooling family and eventually it will be filled with info on other players in our homeschooling life *grandparents, parents, siblings, other relatives, and friends*. Each member will have a nickname, so Roll Call will help keep everyone aware of who is who.

Speaking of nicknames that is also something that has changed. The boys will no longer be referred to as numbers. I really wasn’t enjoying it, it felt too much like I was playing favorites and honestly lacked creativity. Yes, I know I wasn’t playing favorites, #1 was born years before #2, but still…I didn’t like it.

So now Child #1 will from this moment on be referred to as General Disarray and Child #2 from this moment on will be referred to as Professor Chaos, and when I am referring to them collectively they are The Bringers of Mayhem *or TBM for short*.

Now my fellow South Park fans will know where the names come from, but why those nicknames? Well while The Spouse *whose nickname will remain the same* and I were brainstorming possible choices an insurance commercial came on. You know the one…with the guy from Rescue Me….it was the one with him as the teenage girl *which is really funny!*. I shouted out “Chaos and Mayhem”, and from there the snowball grew into the snowball of insanity. Which happily landed on the names General Disarray and Professor Chaos.

For those wondering why our oldest is named after the sidekick instead of Butters’ character, well…you clearly don’t know our youngest son. If something is happening your money should be on him being the cause of it. Yes, he can even get his older brother to go along with a scheme or plan he has hatched. Their teamwork is astounding and they truly are The Bringers of Mayhem.

Over the course of the year I’m going to add more pages to the top. Some of the pages I’m contemplating are ones for recipes for fun easy things to do with the kids, science experiments, and easy crock-pot dishes we’ve come across just to name a few.

Big things are coming to this blog. Homeschooling is very much a lifestyle and for us it requires flexibility, patience, and creativity. All of which I want to paint this blog with.

"It’s Just Astrophysics"

2011-01-08T13:43:00.001+09:00

Now I love watching Colbert, even more so when he is picking on Bill O’Reilly. Then add in some Neil deGrasse Tyson and you have me rolling on the floor laughing. Plus we actually learn something from this clip, how the tides work!! Win,Win!! To my fellow heathens ENJOY!

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Bill O'Reilly Proves God's Existence - Neil deGrasse Tyson

http://www.colbertnation.com/

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Patio Artists

2011-01-07T23:19:00.001+09:00

Today was a rather lazy school day since I had a long list of items I needed to accomplish. After I got through my list, we tackled some Greek mythology, and I whipped up a batch of sidewalk paint so we could enjoy some outdoor time while the weather was semi-decent.

The boys had a blast with it and it cost me nothing since I already had the supplies in my pantry. I love some free fun, don’t you?!

All you need to make the paint is cornstarch, water, liquid food coloring, and a container to put it in.

Mix equal parts cornstarch and water *it took 2cups of each to make the amounts I have here*, then add in the food coloring. I used about 10 drops for all the colors except the red paint. I started with ten, but it looked like Pepto-Bismol so I put in about another five to six squirts. It still looked a little pinkish to me, but I was out of liquid red food coloring by that point. Plus it didn’t look like Pepto-Bismol anymore so I was content with it. Mix well, and Voila! Easy, Non-Toxic, Earth friendly sidewalk paint.

Our walls are concerte and all the doors are metal so we can use the paint anywhere outside!

Once done with your outdoor fun, you can store it in an airtight container *just add water if it begins to dry out*.

Plan this activity to coincide with an upcoming rainy day, and Mother Nature will clean off your sidewalk/patio for you!

Embracing Technology

2011-01-05T22:09:00.001+09:00

*Typed this up earlier today…just now having time to post it, just in time for Secular Thursday!…Well a very early Secular Thursday post anyways.*

While the boys enjoy some quiet time I have a moment to reflect/blog on our morning.-as well as rant- Our morning went well, despite the fact that I wasn’t able to drag myself out of bed as early as I had planned too, *I’ll just blame the educational centers I’ve been working on for the late night I had*.

Anyways, The Spouse *who is wonderful beyond words and always up before the sun on the weekdays* got Child #1 feed and started on his morning routine. Which allowed me time to wipe sleep from my eyes, collect Child #2 from his comfortable position in the middle of our bed, and helped put our morning on the path to productive! *Thank you honey!*

After getting through our morning lessons the boys got to enjoy a nice long break. For their break activities Child #2 opted for our Pencil Pal Preschool game and some starfall.com both of which involve our classroom computer. While Child #1 relaxed with my DS and a couple of educational games. It was in that weird silence of clicks and “You did it”-s that I realized just how fortune we are to be able to make the most of these items.

Yes, I know many people have these items now-a-days. In fact it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t at least own a personal computer, but many schools go without modern update technology *I‘m not including the few “test“ classrooms or private schools that offer each child a laptop*. Even those that have a computer lab or the funds for computers in some (or all) of their classrooms have to deal with outdated technology.

Nor do they have the time in schools with the most recent technology to allow each child the opportunity to take full advantage of all the programs. In fact when I shadowed an elementary class *1st grade* I don’t recall a computer even being in the classroom, aside from the laptop sitting snuggly on the teacher’s desk. Now while that would fill the “computer in every classroom” statistic, and it was “accessible” to the children, they didn’t have ACCESS to it. It was strictly for the teachers use only, even though every one of those kids could probably work the thing just fine *we are talking about a generation born and breed in the technological age*, they weren’t allowed to.

I only recall one time in my public school education where we were taught about the wonderful gadget known as the computer. It was in 8th grade I believe, possibly 7th and it was strictly so each of us would pass some state mandated technology test. By this point though all of us *for the most part* were aware of how to work and type on a computer even if we didn’t have one at home. So we sat there for roughly 30minutes once *possibly twice* a week listening to some lady yammer on, while we typed silliness on the computer for those sitting next to us to see. Our school offered a technology class, but it was a mesh of shop/technology/and who knows what else. All I remember from when I took it was using CAD, making a CO2 car, and learning Parliamentary Procedure.

Now I realize with the average school size, being well…ridiculous, it takes a lot of money to get these things to students. I also know a lot of schools blow their money on frivols items like redoing the gym floor every other year or so *when it is clearly not needed*, while their teachers teach in busted trailers or lug around carts with all their supplies from one classroom to another on them, because they don’t have a room of their own to teach in.

Just because it cost money and may mean you don’t have the shiniest ball court, doesn’t mean an effort shouldn’t be made to embrace the beauty that is technology *or heck just give your teachers a room to teach in*. In the nearly two hours the boys were on break Child #1 reviewed math problems and played spelling games featuring his weekly spelling list *and enjoyed it!*, while Child #2 worked on his letters, numbers, and “painted”-(working with colors). They were both having fun and learning. All I had to do was not only make the item accessible to them but allow them to actually use it.

That is the thing I keep coming back to when I view the few stats available on the subject, there are plenty of “accessible computers and handheld devices”, but nothing on how many are actually being USED by the students and for how long.

Allowing a teacher to bring his/her personal laptop to school and have it in the classroom would mean the class had an “accessible” computer device (read as the students can see it and could easily reach it), but that doesn’t mean that they can actually USE it. In most cases just getting too close to it would land them in hot water. Which is upsetting considering the amount of potential these devices hold.

While I generally don’t want to rag on public schools *although the district I attended could use a rag, steam mop, and some heavy duty cleanser*, the issues of technology and science are big ones for me. Science and Technology will shape our world, they already have shaped it, honestly! They are allowing our world to constantly change, but if we don’t take advantage of what they have to offer how can we possibly move forward and change as well?

So I ask homeschool and public school parents alike are you embracing the technology around you? It may be another decade before educational institutions completely come into the 21st Century, even though the students are already here and wanting what it has to offer. So I implore parents take advantage of it, embrace it. Yes I know we all live on budgets but think about what is already sitting in your home…that game system *or two* that you have to fight them off of every night, the laptop you are reading this on, the old desktop you tucked away when you upgraded…are you getting the most out of these items?

Now I know someone is going to pipe up and say “But we are suppose to limit screen time!”…yeah I know. I get the little sheets of paper from our pediatrician too about the recommended hours of screen time every age group should get tops. And I’m not telling you to increase screen time, just make the MOST of what you give. Have a trade off, instead of just an hour of COD, WOW, The Sims, various Lego video games, and well…the list goes on, split it up. For every 30minutes they want to play a pointless game they have to play something with some educational value. Which will either result in them playing something that either reinforces what they know or teaches them something new, or has them choosing to do something else *playing outside or reading a book*. So either way they are getting something of value.

If you are going to spend your hard earned money on these items they might as well be used in a useful manner, right? Other than showing you creative ways to use duct tape, a drill, and a bucket *Dead Rising 2 reference*.

Ok the nerd is getting down off her soapbox now. LOL. ;)

For those wandering what we have and use:

DS: Art Academy
My Virtual Reading Tutor
Scripps Spelling Bee
Personal Trainer: Math
Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival
My Japanese Coach

PC: School Zone Software

PS2: DDR *physical fitness! ;)*

Wii: Wii Fit
Wii Sports *seriously good workout on a rainy day.*

Organizational Junkie

2010-12-31T12:55:00.000+09:00

Well we’ve been busy this holiday season! I still have our HumanLight, Christmas, and Kwanzaa plans to discuss but first I wanted to go over what I’ve been slowly working on over the past couple of months *expanding on what I already had in place*. I’ve put the finishing touches on these organizational things while on our break. I’m striving to be more organized to ensure we meet our goals. I’m still working out the lesson planning in a way that I can easily stick to it. I currently have a 3-ring binder that I use, but it’s not as affective due to having to constantly make print-outs/copies, and it’s rather bulky. I found the Teacher’s Lesson Planner and Record Book at our base book store and I’m planning to use that for our 2011-2012 school year. If it pans out I’ll order more to use every year, or go back to the drawing board and find another planning book to explore and test out.

So what are the organizational things I’m working with:

The first is our school meeting board. I got the idea from various places, one being a friend of mine who runs Wandering Quail Road, and the other sources were from the same blogs many of the printables used for the board come from: Homeschool Creations and 1+1+1=1. *The views and/or opinions of the blogs mentioned during this post or any post for that matter DO NOT in any way reflect the views and/or opinions of my blog, unless otherwise stated.*

The months of the year song lyrics come from THIS website, although we did end up changing it slightly *notice the blacked out portion*. The first time we went over it Child #1 started singing to a tune *and lyrics* he had picked up from one of the various videos or songs we’ve listened to over the years. Not 100% sure where we first heard the song at, I’m still in the process of tracking it down *by going through our various CDs and searching the list of Youtube videos we use*. Also on our board is our date tracker (Trend©) which I got from a school supply store in the states. There is our word of the week taken from Sacred Spiral Kids, our weekly spelling list comprised from the Saxon Phonics 1 curriculum we have, and our artist of the month *info and photo gathered from a simple search of the artist*. Lastly I also made up a simple printable with boxes for the boys and I to put what we are grateful for that morning. I think I will have us go back at the end of our school day and write what we are grateful for at the end of the day as well.

I found this clock on Amazon, it has six alarm slots…yes I am one of those homeschool moms. The alarm also allows you to personalize your alarms, so I had The Spouse do the recordings for us. That way when he is away we can still enjoy hearing his voice six times a day.

Now moving upstairs to our classroom…I found this cart at a store off base. The top shelf holds our laminator *which I LOVE!*. The second and third shelves will hold the teachers editions of any curriculum we are using.

This is the same kind of cart as above they were actually pretty affordable and fit perfectly in the room. Far better than anything I have seen on base, yeah for finding something affordable off base given the current Yen rate! This one sits between the boys' desk/chairs and holds their pencil/crayon boxes, as well as their flashcard boxes. Not sure what will go on the third shelf, I’m sure it will get plenty of use when the time comes to fill it though.

Next is the inside of one of the cabinets in our filing cabinet. The boys each have their own cabinet where I keep the work they have done. I have folders for each subject, and they are labeled with the grade level as well. I also keep extra school items in the front of the folders.

Here you have our planned out general schedule easily accessible to the children and myself. Also on this wall are file folders with the printouts/copies for that given day and subject. This allows me to file away at least a week’s worth of printouts/copies, and have them easily on hand when we need them. Plus when the boys get older I can just printout/copy what is going to be needed and they can grab and go for that day and subject. Both products come from Learning Resources.

Now this section is what has had my attention for the last month or so. First off on the wall are erasable schedules *which came from Lakeshore, but I don't see them on the site now*. I originally bought only two of these, but didn’t use them as I had intended to. Then a friend of mine gave me the two she had since she wasn’t using them either. After about a week of pondering what I might be able to do with the four weekly planners it hit me. I can place two weeks worth of plans for each of the boys on these four boards. Then they *our lesson plans* are easily accessible so I can grab out what is needed for that given week without having to flip through a bunch of pages in a book. I can also see everyday where we are suppose to be headed, and make adjustments as needed. They are hung on the wall using a bit of string and four clear Command™ hooks.

Lastly are our subject boxes. Each shelf is for a particular subject (Language Arts & Phonics, Math, Science, and History), and each box holds the items need for that days work. We alternate Math and Science so I would have that day planned out at least a day in advance. Which will make planning experiments and gathering all the needed items a lot easier to accomplish. Especially since we will be covering Physical Science next year *a mix of Chemistry and Physics*, and I’m planning to make that as hands on as possible. I got the idea for the boxes from various info I got on the Workbox System *refer back to blog disclaimer* *my system is only slightly like it...mostly because it involves boxes LOL...but I don't do 12 boxes for each of the boys. I just stick to subjects we are covering because I just don't have the space for all of that nor do I really need it. The boys have unlimited access to our school supply closet so materials are grabbed as they are wanted/needed which works just fine for now.*

Well that about sums it up. Now to just put all of these things to use! Which we will be doing starting on Monday, wish us luck! Woohoo!!

Yuletide Fun

2010-12-23T22:43:00.000+09:00

Things have been quiet here on our little blog not for lack of anything to post about, just an overall lack of time. We have been very busy this holiday season! We have still been covering the winter holidays like planned though. On the 21st we covered Yule.

For our learning fun we used the Pooka Pages Yule packet, did a family ritual, and made some yummy treats (Solstice Snowballs and a Yule Log *So many things went wrong with making this, the cake didn‘t roll the way I wanted it to, the filling was far too runny, and the icing was a bit off. I‘m convinced it was me, but considering it was the first time I ever made one I think it came out ok all things considered. It was edible that is the most important part right?! One of you will have to try the recipe and tell me how it turned out for you.*).

Our Yule activities not only work into our winter holidays learning but they also help the boys fulfill one of their SpiralScouts patches. While discussing Yule *particularly during our family ritual*, I talked about the various elements in Christmas that have their roots in Yule. This of course got The Spouses attention, he always finds tidbits like this interesting.

I’m looking forward to when the boys are a bit older, so we can watch the sunrise *or the sun being born as some say* like they do in the story we read in Pooka Pages. I think that would be a great way to bring our Yule learning full circle so to speak. But that will have to wait until they are old enough to really appreciate a sunrise *without the complaints of wanting to crawl back in bed or fussing that would follow from an early morning wake-up*, for now they can sleep and dream of the sweet goodies they will receive in just a couple of days.

They Are Listening

2010-12-13T21:14:00.000+09:00

We have wrapped up our Hanukkah studies and are prepping for the next set of holidays. As a final Hanukkah hoorah our Co-Op enjoyed some Hanukkah themed stories today, after reading a bit of the stories I quizzed the kids on some Hanukkah facts. As I was rounding out the questioning, I asked who lead the Jewish people to victory. While the older kids were thinking about it Child #2 piped up “Judah Maccabee!”.

This was greeted with high fives and cheers of celebration. Then it hit me, they really are listening. Even when it seems like they are miles away, when the days don’t ever seem like they will end, when I‘m pulling out my hair, digging through resources, trying to figure it all out. They are listening… to every story, every explanation, every clever idea or catch phrase I create or borrow to help teach. In one really special moment Child #2 helped confirm that I can do this, WE as a family can do this for the long haul. It won’t always be easy, but they will be listening.

Now to just ensure that what they are hearing are things I always want repeated. ;)

Ramblings...

Friday Flashback

Cuz....

Morning Meeting Board

Stateside Fun

Blog Giveaway

Ode To Thy Blog

New Year, New Plans

Time4Learning

Conversations With The Kids

Holiday Cheer

Yummy Organization

All That Glitters

Friday Flashback: Halloween Style

Homeschooling Revamp

Jefferson Lab

Friday Flashback

It's Here!

Yummy Vegan Salisbury DinDin

Traveling With Homeschoolers

Blog Winners

Friday Flashback

And The Winners ARE *drum roll*

A Peek

Blog Giveaway Extension!

Come Again...

Semi-Wordless Wednesday On Saturday

The Lazy Referee

Homeschooling Infographic

Friday Flashback

Adventure Shall Be Our New Name

Giveaway #2

Friday Flashback

Typhoon Muifa

Friday Flashback

Literary Add-Ons

Sort of Wordless Wednesday

More.Starfall.com

An Experiment With Age Tofu

Not at 7am

Bound Goodness

Realizing Dreams

2011-2012 School Year Powwow

Congratulations New York!!

Wordless Wednesday

Garden Planning

Menu Planning aka Saving This Homeschooler’s Sanity

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.9: History

Our Little Island Paradise

Wave At The Bus

Giveaway #1 Winner!!

Power Outage Survival

Giveaway #1!

Ingenious

G is for Giveaway!

Naked People and Zombies

Bound Goodness

Secular Thursday: “We Are All Going To Die”

Support Camp Quest

12 Days

Wordless Wednesday (Sort of)

The Stupidity of the “Culture War”

Pale Blue Dot

Time 4 Learning Discount

Lessons Learned In The Emergency Room

Planning Like It’s Our 2011 – 2012 School Year!

Evolution Animation

It’s Good To Be Home

To Easter or Not To Easter That Is The Question

Getting Our Groove Back

I’m Just A Parent

Update

Women’s History Month

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.8: Spiral Scouts

This Sucks

Ch-Ch Changes Pt.7: 2011-2012 Schedule

Kitchen Chemistry

A Question For My Readers

100th Post Goodness

Ch-Ch-Changes Pt.6: Etiquette

And The Winners ARE drum roll