Ramblings...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. :)