Monday, March 22, 2010
Lap Books & History Pockets
To make our history studies more interesting, we decided to do some projects - individually and as a group - in our homeschool.
For individual projects, each student is making a "history pocket". I got the idea from an Evan-Moor book detailing History Pockets about Colonial America. So, as we move through our study of Colonial America over the next few months, the kids will do different projects and handouts to add to their pockets.
For the group project, my students are putting together a lap book about 17th Century America. We have never done lap books in our homeschool, but I always think they are neat when I see them. My kids have done them individually in co-op classes.
I found a FREE downloadable one at http://www.currclick.com/ about 17th Century America. Currclick is a wonderful resource for downloadables, as well as LIVE classes online offered to homeschoolers.
For this lap book, my kids have to read an article, then complete a booklet about what they have read. My oldest daughter is supervising putting it all together. The lap book is made from three file folders that we have re-folded and will glue together.
Here is the first folder so far:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Basketball Rock Stars
My two older boys - ages 9 and 12 - played basketball this winter. We are their parents so we think they are pretty great.
Our oldest has had a great season. Tonight was a play-off/tournament game. The winner of the game plays in the championship game this weekend.
It was hilarious thinking about what various parents probably told themselves before the game tonight:
"I will not yell too loudly and embarrass those around me"
"I will not yell at the refs"
"I will not say "crap"
"I will not tell the refs their calls are crap"
Mine was the first one. I did yell, but everyone else yelled, too, so I didn't embarrass anyone!
The score was so close through the entire game. The teams tied in the end and went into overtime. They scored a free throw, and then my son scored a free throw. Then, with 9 seconds left, another one of our team players scored a free throw shot and we WON by 1 point! Every parent leapt into the air and burst into cheers. It was awesome. We were all so relieved none of us had heart attacks.
Way to go team!!!
We gushed over our kids and eachother's kids. They were rock stars.
Our oldest has had a great season. Tonight was a play-off/tournament game. The winner of the game plays in the championship game this weekend.
It was hilarious thinking about what various parents probably told themselves before the game tonight:
"I will not yell too loudly and embarrass those around me"
"I will not yell at the refs"
"I will not say "crap"
"I will not tell the refs their calls are crap"
Mine was the first one. I did yell, but everyone else yelled, too, so I didn't embarrass anyone!
The score was so close through the entire game. The teams tied in the end and went into overtime. They scored a free throw, and then my son scored a free throw. Then, with 9 seconds left, another one of our team players scored a free throw shot and we WON by 1 point! Every parent leapt into the air and burst into cheers. It was awesome. We were all so relieved none of us had heart attacks.
Way to go team!!!
We gushed over our kids and eachother's kids. They were rock stars.
Monday, March 15, 2010
All Better
Well, R is all better. Wednesday at 8:30 am was the last time he barfed. Yippee!! He didn't really EAT again - like REALLY EAT - until Friday. Since then, he's eaten non-stop. Yep. I think he will make a full recovery. He's getting his tummy pudge back.
Our weekend was super busy - 4 basketball games and baseball tryouts for one boy. Today we have soccer practice, baseball tryouts for the other boy, and basketball practice for that same boy.
We started The Lists today. I gave them an allotted time and told them to go through their lists.
My youngest roamed around the house, had a fit, threw stuff, and kicked his sister. So, he got to scrub the kitchen floor Cinderella-style. We filled a bucket with warm soapy water and I gave him a rag and he was busy for a good 20 minutes in there in humbling reverie. He is now helping clean out our truck with his brothers. He will have to do some handwriting when he comes back in. Tomorrow we'll try again.
My older two did OK with the lists. My son, C, who is 9, didn't like the list and decided he was going to pick and choose what to do on his list when I wasn't paying attention. Hmmm. He's finding the loopholes...
My oldest boy, A, actually asked me to buy him a spelling book today. Ha. He is started to understand the importance. He hasn't had an official spelling book in about a year, and I let it go. He hated it, and his spelling was naturally improving significantly by him reading more. I noticed this and thought his brain was finally picking it up, so I didn't get him a new book. Sometimes when he is careless, though, or in a hurry, he doesn't take the time to think about what he is doing and he'll have 10 misspelled common words in a paragraph - like there/their. That happened today, and he asked if he could go back to a spelling book to help him remember spelling rules. OKAY. I put in an order right away. Books are on their happy way. He asked for it.
He also just forgets to use punctuation and capitalize sentences. Still. He knows what to do! Just being careless. I think I should start charging him a quarter everytime he slips.
Now, on to finishing chores. Break time is over.
Our weekend was super busy - 4 basketball games and baseball tryouts for one boy. Today we have soccer practice, baseball tryouts for the other boy, and basketball practice for that same boy.
We started The Lists today. I gave them an allotted time and told them to go through their lists.
My youngest roamed around the house, had a fit, threw stuff, and kicked his sister. So, he got to scrub the kitchen floor Cinderella-style. We filled a bucket with warm soapy water and I gave him a rag and he was busy for a good 20 minutes in there in humbling reverie. He is now helping clean out our truck with his brothers. He will have to do some handwriting when he comes back in. Tomorrow we'll try again.
My older two did OK with the lists. My son, C, who is 9, didn't like the list and decided he was going to pick and choose what to do on his list when I wasn't paying attention. Hmmm. He's finding the loopholes...
My oldest boy, A, actually asked me to buy him a spelling book today. Ha. He is started to understand the importance. He hasn't had an official spelling book in about a year, and I let it go. He hated it, and his spelling was naturally improving significantly by him reading more. I noticed this and thought his brain was finally picking it up, so I didn't get him a new book. Sometimes when he is careless, though, or in a hurry, he doesn't take the time to think about what he is doing and he'll have 10 misspelled common words in a paragraph - like there/their. That happened today, and he asked if he could go back to a spelling book to help him remember spelling rules. OKAY. I put in an order right away. Books are on their happy way. He asked for it.
He also just forgets to use punctuation and capitalize sentences. Still. He knows what to do! Just being careless. I think I should start charging him a quarter everytime he slips.
Now, on to finishing chores. Break time is over.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Magic Popsicles
My 7 year old is STILL sick! We are on day 4, now. Hopefully he'll start eating today. He is keeping fluids down.
We are "tricking" his stomach by having him eat some popsicles that I made. Maybe if he licks these, he'll get some fluid without startling his stomach. A friend gave me the idea after I told her on the phone last night that everything he drinks he barfs right back up. I'm concerned about dehydration and do not want him in the hospital with an IV.
The popsicles I made have:
1 cup of red raspberry herbal tea to soothe the tummy
1 cup of gatorade to provide electrolytes
1 tablespoon or so of honey because honey fixes everything
1 tablespoon or so of acidophilus to give him some good bacteria
Another friend gave the acidophilus to my husband at scouts last night. I didn't have any on hand. The pops are in Mickey Mouse shaped ice cubes. We bought those trays and have never used them over the last 5 years. We finally have a use for them!
Here's hoping the popsicles help. I even tasted one and it was yummy.
We are "tricking" his stomach by having him eat some popsicles that I made. Maybe if he licks these, he'll get some fluid without startling his stomach. A friend gave me the idea after I told her on the phone last night that everything he drinks he barfs right back up. I'm concerned about dehydration and do not want him in the hospital with an IV.
The popsicles I made have:
1 cup of red raspberry herbal tea to soothe the tummy
1 cup of gatorade to provide electrolytes
1 tablespoon or so of honey because honey fixes everything
1 tablespoon or so of acidophilus to give him some good bacteria
Another friend gave the acidophilus to my husband at scouts last night. I didn't have any on hand. The pops are in Mickey Mouse shaped ice cubes. We bought those trays and have never used them over the last 5 years. We finally have a use for them!
Here's hoping the popsicles help. I even tasted one and it was yummy.
The Lists
OK. Here is a list that I made up after the manner I posted about yesterday. For one of my oldest, their list looks like this:
Math
Wordly Wise
Art
Language Arts
Nature Study
Writing
Science
History
Guitar/Piano
So, he'll get through as many subjects as he can in his allotted time. Then, he'll pick up where he left off tomorrow. When he gets to the bottom, he starts again at the top. We'll see how this works....it could fail if he only does one or two things per day just to be a punk. I'm hoping they will get through about 1/3 to 1/2 of their list every day. I am trying to mix up their subjects so that a fun one (for them) gets thrown in between their not-so-favorite ones. Just to be nice!
Math
Wordly Wise
Art
Language Arts
Nature Study
Writing
Science
History
Guitar/Piano
So, he'll get through as many subjects as he can in his allotted time. Then, he'll pick up where he left off tomorrow. When he gets to the bottom, he starts again at the top. We'll see how this works....it could fail if he only does one or two things per day just to be a punk. I'm hoping they will get through about 1/3 to 1/2 of their list every day. I am trying to mix up their subjects so that a fun one (for them) gets thrown in between their not-so-favorite ones. Just to be nice!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Spring Fever
Literally - My littlest one has a fever and has been throwing up for more than 48 hours.
So, we're hunkered down today watching Where the Red Fern Grows on Netflix instant streaming. Why is it when one kid is sick, everyone else gets thrown off kilter, too? My older two think it is perfectly OK to sit around in their PJs today. My teen and pre-teen act like they haven't slept even though they did for more than enough time last night. My oldest boy did have 3 1/2 hours of basketball practice last night, but still. They must be doing some serious growing.
I have a friend who says she is awesome at making up schedules and shopping for curricula, but not so great at following the schedules and using the curricula! Humans are creatures of habit, and it is hard to form new habits.
I've been thinking about all of this, and wondering what I can do to motivate us into a better routine. We are super busy this spring with everything going on, and if we don't manage our time better, we won't be getting much done here at home. I'm mostly concerned about keeping our home picked up...
I saw something on the new Latter-Day Homeschooling blog http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/ about making lists and "rolling over" the subjects we don't complete one day to the next day. What a great idea - I think I am going to try this for us. I always feel like we HAVE to start doing Math and Language Arts/Reading every day and sometimes we don't get to the other subjects. I don't lose sleep over this too much since they take so many classes at our co-op that the holes do get filled in, but there are some things I want to cover with them here at home that we don't always get to.
Off to make our lists... Will share later!
So, we're hunkered down today watching Where the Red Fern Grows on Netflix instant streaming. Why is it when one kid is sick, everyone else gets thrown off kilter, too? My older two think it is perfectly OK to sit around in their PJs today. My teen and pre-teen act like they haven't slept even though they did for more than enough time last night. My oldest boy did have 3 1/2 hours of basketball practice last night, but still. They must be doing some serious growing.
I have a friend who says she is awesome at making up schedules and shopping for curricula, but not so great at following the schedules and using the curricula! Humans are creatures of habit, and it is hard to form new habits.
I've been thinking about all of this, and wondering what I can do to motivate us into a better routine. We are super busy this spring with everything going on, and if we don't manage our time better, we won't be getting much done here at home. I'm mostly concerned about keeping our home picked up...
I saw something on the new Latter-Day Homeschooling blog http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/ about making lists and "rolling over" the subjects we don't complete one day to the next day. What a great idea - I think I am going to try this for us. I always feel like we HAVE to start doing Math and Language Arts/Reading every day and sometimes we don't get to the other subjects. I don't lose sleep over this too much since they take so many classes at our co-op that the holes do get filled in, but there are some things I want to cover with them here at home that we don't always get to.
Off to make our lists... Will share later!
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