Monday, September 29, 2008
So, we are almost into October, and how’s homeschooling going? Pretty well, I think. We are still trying to find our groove, though. Spelling and Math are getting done most every day, Sunshine State Readers are getting read, Science and History are being integrated into every other subject, along with Writing. As far as physical activity goes, the kids play kickball every other week, along with the Presidential Fitness Award Program, ice skating lessons every week, yoga and fit kids at the YMCA, and occasional bowling. As the weather cools down, we will be incorporating bike trips and long walks. We haven’t gotten going on our art program, yet, and that’s something I’ve been looking forward to! Both kids are taking piano lessons, and one sings in fantastic regional Children’s Choir, and the kids’ praise team at church. Handwriting gets practiced during spelling, and we learn about nature all the time in the backyard. We have Girl Scouts weekly, as well. We also do tons of field trips with our co-op and other homeschooling friends during the week.
That’s about it for now.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I admit it. I’m addicted to opera. Not just any old opera, either, but the HD Live series from the Metropolitan Opera. On October 22, they are offering a new streaming media player called Met Player, along with 170 full-length opera performances! Check it out!!! Content samples will be free, but full-length operas will be available for purchase individually, as well as subscription-based.
Monday, September 8, 2008
I have a few piano students and we are always using manuscript paper for things: exercises, scales, ideas, etc. My personal preference is to write on the nice heavy printed manuscript paper you buy at your local music outlet, but for scribbling down stuff at piano lessons or completing theory assignments, it’s much cheaper to print your own. There are several sites out there for printing your own paper! Here are a few:
Happy composing!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Yesterday, I wrote about making lapbooks and how I’m not crafty, etc. Well, I am interested in digital scrapbooking, though I haven’t really spent any time pursuing it. I’m on the email list for a great store called The Digichick Boutique, that sells digital scrapbooking things. I read their email every week or so, and even go to their website and look around. I still haven’t bought or made anything related to digital scrapbooking. The thing I find so attractive about digital scrapbooking is that you don’t have to store or do all of that craft stuff, and you can order multiple copies of printed and bound books. This is an ideal gift for grandparents, groups of people, siblings, children, etc.
I just did a quick search to find out more about getting started in digital scrapbooking, and here are a few sites that look promising:
Give them a try! It looks like there are number of sites offering some free things so you can try it out and see if you like it before investing a lot of money in it. That’s another thing I like about it - no scrapbooking supply tote to haul around!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Viking lapbook cover
Eric the Red, Leif the Lucky, and all of their viking friends have been hanging out at our house over the last week as we’ve been discussing the first Europeans to visit North America. It seemed like a good time for Elizabeth to make her first lapbook.
We got totally sidetracked with the whole lapbook thing (watching videos on YouTube and reading websites.) She just wants to make books now. I’m trying to convince her that making the lapbook is the reward for doing the research. It’s also terribly tricky not getting bogged down in the scrapbookiness of it all. I am not a scrapbooker, so I don’t have a whole system setup that’s already perfect for lapbooking. I’m not even a crafty person, except for knitting.
We did learn a lot about Vikings, but it seems we’re more interested in making another lapbook. I’m on a mission for the lapbooks to be more research-oriented rather than scrapbook-oriented. After watching the YouTube video mentioned above, a sense of dread fell over me as I contemplated how I could help my kids make the lapbooks without my perfectionism problem interfering. Did you see the Ants lapbook in that video? On one hand, I want to jump on that bandwagon and get set for making some seriously fabulous lapbooks. On the other hand, I know that I need to take it nice and slow before going crazy with this. I’ll probably be posting more pics of lapbooks as we create together.
I’ve been quoted today in an article at Peanut Allergy Kid. Check it out!
I’ve posted a new mini-post at TampaMom.com about finding peanut allergy information. I’ve linked to a couple of great websites that might interest you. With approximately 1 in 80 children being affected by this allergy boom, you will surely encounter kids who are wary of their food options. All I ask of my friends and family is to be informed and to put yourself in my shoes when it comes to food that is accessible and offered to children. Young children sometimes do not have the confidence or knowledge to ask critical questions when a trusted adult offers them food. Thank you!
Link to the article
Schultüten and grubby little feet
Yesterday was our first official school day in our family’s home school. We celebrated at our friends’ house with a traditional German first day of school party called a “Schulanfangfeier.” Our hosts presented each child with a “Schultüte,” also known as “Zuckertute.” It’s basically a cone full of school goodies! They were filled with zipper pencil cases, pencils, notepads, erasers, candies, small toys for the boys, and hair clips and lip gloss for the girls. As you can see in the picture of the boys, they were so grubby from playing outside all afternoon! Guess which two of our friends in the picture are of German descent and hosted this festive event?
Our friends made spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread for everyone. We brought the cupcakes.
William decorates the cupcakes
I came across a fantastic site for handwriting exercises! The site is crammed full of ads and stuff, but there is some great free content available there. You will find the navigation links for the site at the upper right of the page underneath the ad for math worksheets. You can produce worksheets using either Zaner-Bloser or D’Nealian, Enjoy!
http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/handwriting_practice_worksheet_maker.html
Elizabeth and her Schultüte
My daughter suggested that we use an official school name like Adair Academy. I’m going to think about it. It would be fun to get t-shirts with our school name and a crazy mascot to foster some school spirit around here. I’ll keep you posted on school colors and mascot selection and naming!
I’m so excited about our curriculum this year! Here are some of the items we’re using for spelling, creative writing, and history:
I will be adding more titles in math, science, art, and music, as we get underway this month. I will also be reviewing and commenting on all of these titles as the year progresses. I’m hoping for more raves than rants!
