We got our tax refund, and spent way too much money at Ikea (which has been quite a disappointing experience all the way around, requiring 2 trips to Customer Service for returns and I still have to take one more thing back!).

Does it count as stimulating the economy if I send $500 to Sweden?

Shame on Obama. Not only is he the poster boy for demagoguery, going on The Tonight Show, he has to make fun of disabled people, too. He compared his bowling score (129) to being in the Special Olympics. Because, you know, those Special Olympics people are just so pathetic and underpar, right?

Parenting According to Monster Movies
Sums it up nicely, don't you think?

Look! They've cured a spinal cord injury using stem cells! Wait, they are adult stem cells? No big story on how the Feds need to throw more money at dismembering babies for their body parts embryonic stem cell research? Call off the press meeting.

We have a snake. And turtles. And minnows. Remind me why we moved into a house that backs up to a bayou?

After our trip to Ikea, I got several shelves. We've moved the playroom to the room just off the kitchen, and the living room to the front room, and I wanted to set out some Montessori type works.

I made a flower work, a color matching work, a rainbow work, a toothpick and clay work, set out plastic Easter eggs in an egg basket, and arranged our Easter books on the shelf. So the kids ignored all that and chased each other with a spray bottle, instead. Sigh.

Slowly learning sign language. This site has been a big help. Unfortunately, Baby X's favorite things - buses and garbage trucks - have no signs, only finger spelling. But we're doing the best we can.

Check out other Quick Takes over at Jen's!

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, Montessori, politics, Prolife, Special Needs, speech, X

Just for you, Lesley!

These are some of the blogs subbed in my bloglines.

Starry Sky Ranch (check out her links, too)

By Sun and By Candlelight (I love Dawn's seasonal planning and use her file crate system)

In the Heart of My Home (Elizabeth Foss's site. She's written several books)
Related: 4 real Forums
Related: Serendipity

Boys Plus Academy - public school teacher turned homeschooling mom

Trivium Academy - posts weekly updates and very detailed planning of Tapestry of Grace

Principaled Discovery - Homeschool watchdog, politics.

Three Plus Two - homeschool mother of 6, aged 1-12

Homeschooling with Joy

Wings and Prayers - Family life in a HS family, from Birdie's blog.

Shower of Roses - Catholic HS Mom living the liturgical year

Wildflowers and Marbles - more inspiration

Montessori Mama - Montessori is not just for littles!

Aut-2B-Home - Tammy HS her autistic teenage daughter (and also her son) using Charlotte Mason's approach.

(Of these, Serendipity and By Sun and Candlelight probably have the most influence on our schooling methods)

The Homeschool Classroom (group blog)

Chasing Cheerios - Montessori type activities for toddlers

Crafty Crow - tons of crafts for kids

Think! - One creative/critical thinking activity per week, and they encourage readers to send in their "solutions".

Happy Hearts At Home - always has interesting links!


Notebook Learning (free notebooking pages to print)

Freely Educate (posts free resources and links)

Waltzing Matilda (beautiful printable coloring pages for Catholic feast days and the liturgical year.)

And check out Blissfully Domestic - I'm going to be writing for their new Special Needs channel, but they have a Homeschool Channel, too. Mrs. Fussypants HS her 5 boys AND runs an online magazine!

Labels: education, Freebies, Linky love, Montessori, special education, Why We Homeschool

I've been reading a lot of homeschool blogs, and everyone is starting fresh for the new year.

I just realized - I'm doing it all WRONG!

I don't have a niche. We're not unschoolers. We're not school at home-ers. We're not pure Charlotte Mason. We're Montessori-esque, but not purists. We meander along the classical spectrum, but I sometimes teach history out of order. We've never diagrammed a sentence (yet, but I'm planning to start...someday). Our children don't have their own desks but we do have a table and a whiteboard. And crayons and markers and Dover coloring books. And a kitchen lab.


This is what my school table looked like at the end of the day yesterday. Don't you have stuffed cows at your school?

If we saw an trail in the sky, we'd discuss contrails. And look up on the internet about them, speculate where they came from (nearby military base? Airshow?) and probably discuss cloud formation. And let's face it, any trip to a weather related website usually ends in a stop at TornadoVideos.

I let my oldest write his spelling words out in the shed today. He works best alone and outside.

My daughter wrote her spelling words sitting under the table with her horses. Using purple marker. My other son wrote his numbers on the marker board.

And I spent much of the day on the floor. (Note to self: must vacuum).

I'm sad to say he was probably barefoot. I cannot keep shoes on my kids. They are just like their dad! I have even made my boys write sentences - "I will wear socks". Because shoes minus socks are just stinky.


Playing Risk is the latest craze, and suddenly my boys know the continents, the oceans, and the locations of several countries. That's one of their friends - I usually have 8 or 9 boys playing all at once because the neighbor kids love the game, too. They have to double up and share colors. Those same friends have convinced my kids that ketchup on bread is a good snack. Bleh.

My boys would die of boredom if they had to do worksheets all day. So we catch snakes and identify them, then draw them in our nature journal. We mix borax and salt and look at it under the microscope. We grow Venus flytraps.

And I don't have a single form filled out to back it up.


Our new science this semester is about the human body. My Kindergartner will be making a lapbook about the 5 senses. The kids got a very cool anatomy pop-up book from their aunt and have been reading it non-stop. I have some Usborne books about muscles, bones, lungs that we'll read.

We'll hit the library. I want to pick up an Anatomical Man - the ones whose bones come out. The dollar store has them, but I want to get a better quality one and Michael's sends out 50% off coupons each weekend, so I'm hoping I can get a deal. I have a book with blackline masters and worksheets, but that's a supplement (and the worksheets will probably find their way into lapbooks, instead of being used as tests.) Maybe we'll use this for our lapbook, too. Maybe not.


I don't give tests. My kids get A's, if I graded (which I don't), because I don't accept it until it's right. Sometimes they have to change their answers several times. I only have 4 students, and I have a pretty good handle on if they've mastered a concept or not. (Well, maybe I do give tests. I've been known to make them spell a couple of their spelling words before I give them a special privilege, like haunting the creek or visiting Legos.com.)

And yet I make them write math drills and times tables. I make them write out handwriting sheets even though there is the great possibility that my boys hands might just fall off if they have to write another cursive "C". Every day, they write their spelling words 5x each, in addition to filling out comprehension activities.



HS Mamas - where do you fall on the line? What does your day look like?

The other pictures are of my 7 yo daughter making biscuits from her "American Girl Samantha" cookbook.

Labels: children, education, Montessori, Science is Cool, Why We Homeschool

In our house, crayon boxes don't last long. The children dump all the of the crayons out in order to see the colors, and we have myriad stumps and broken ones, too.

Here's how we started organizing our crayons. I try to keep it in color wheel order: ROY G. BIV.


I got the galvanized cups at Ikea, 3/$1 and I put them on camping plate.

Organized and beautiful!

Labels: education, Montessori, Montessori Mondays

The St. Joseph Academy for Wayward Children is an eclectic Catholic Masontorri Classical school. I blend a mixture of different philosophies, sampling methods here and there and keeping what works for our family.

But HOW does one plan the year, using 3+ philosophies? I took a cue from Three plus Two and planned a rainbow.

I used colored markers to write down what I was keeping from each philosophy, then wrote a very broad curricula overview.


Classical is Red: (This will be the backbone of our humanities program)
Original Sources

Parts to Whole

Linear History

Grammar

Latin

Memorization

Montessori is Blue
Hands On

Freedom within Limits

Independent self-directed

Self selected, not pointless drill

Concentration, 3 hour work period

prepared environment

Charlotte Mason is Green
Nature Study

notebooking

Living Books Narration


Eclectic/other is purple
Religion (Open Wednesdays, Alphabet of Saints, Liturgical Teas)

Integrating technology. (Yes, this may include repeated viewings of The Most Extreme on Animal Planet and Shark Week. Also, I want to start the boys on Scratch.)

Serendipity

Lapbooks (for science, mostly)

How does it all fit together?


Our school will provide an education based on original sources and living books, with freedom and hands on learning, including religion and nature study.

Most important are the basics of the humanities, reading, phonics, writing/narration, and history. Miquon math will include hands on practice. Science will be learned through lapbooks and nature notebooks.

Religion will include living books of saints, prayer tables and liturgical teas with prayer and Scripture memorization.

Students may select a topic of interest for in depth study, working during a deliberate work period.
Children may select practice activities within limits to complete themselves. Internet games, Leap Pad, and educational television shows will be permitted (within limits.)


Our book list is not finalized; we are using many of the same books as last year. We are still in SOTW 1, taking much longer on Ancient Egypt as that captured the children's interest and taking a side trip into American History last spring.

This is Mr R's first year home after 3 years of classroom schooling, and I'm not sure which books and methods will be the best fit. We'll be continuing Miquon and CHC spellers, as well.

Labels: education, Montessori, special education