Give me that!

Can you even imagine the things you could do with this bike? I could, and I want one BAD!

School-homed

I found this rather funny, particularly the last sentence:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/increasing-number-of-parents-opting-to-have-childr,17159/

Books are Life!

I read a book a while ago about a woman who insisted on hauling along a wagon full of heavy old books across the plains of early America, much to the chagrin of her fellow travelers. When I first read it, I thought it was kind of silly, too. Aren't there much more important things for a person to take across the plains? Food, for example?

But I can understand, now, in my wise old age. I haven't had a book to read for the last 10 days or so and I'm going batty. During that hour of "me" time, I instead surf the web or doing some other meaningless drivel. I feel like I have no purpose if I don't have a book! They truly open the gates of the universe right before your eyes. Books are sanity. Books are comfort. Books are life.

It's also been a revelation to see what books do for my kids. We read "Old Yeller" with Gage, and thought since he was turning circles in the living room that he wasn't listening. Several weeks after finishing, he's quoting the book and drawing parallels from our every day lives. Many dinner conversations are peppered with, "Remember when Old Yeller did this..." It was getting through!

Vee identifies wholly with Anne of Green Gables and we're nearly finished with the 3rd book of the series. I sometimes hear her playing with her Barbie dolls, naming them from the book, and having them act in the prim and proper ways of those yester-years. At seven years old, she's using words I didn't even know the meaning of until I was in my late teens! "Oh, dear, I'm rather dubious about that!"

We don't have a TV, which is something some folks marvel at. But seeing that the role playing, learning, and laughter can easily be fulfilled in books gives me encouragement. And there are no commercials!

Here's what we've read recently and what's on the list:

Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Old Yeller, Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones series, The Tale of Despereaux, The Jungle Book,

To come: The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Charlotte's Web, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Take that!

People often wonder why on earth I home school. Well, here's just one of the reasons:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/30/home-schooling-outstanding-results-national-tests/

An average of 45% higher scores in all areas over public schooled kids!? Holy Stromboli. And, unlike public school, parent's race, income, age, or college education had no affect!

This has given me a boost.

Good Ideas Gone Bad

Remember how I had this great idea to do this blog and then forgot all about it? Well, I'll make up for a little something now. Here are some great things I've come across:

How should we teach our children to write? A great article on cursive writing and its importance.

School Kills Creativity. An amazing TED talk about the limitations of public education.

Dumbing Us Down. A harsh, real look at what it is exactly that public schools teach kids.


Family news:
Seven year old daughter has taken on many responsibilities all by herself, without my having to ask or nag. It's miraculous! She does dishes, cleans her room nightly, reads by herself, and cooks two meals a week. She's become so responsible and helpful, and has a kind disposition (most of the time). We completed reading "Anne of Green Gables"! I asked if she wanted to read the next one and she excitedly said yes!

The 5 y.o. boy has also undergone a miraculous change recently, and is become much more diligent and helpful. It's no longer "I don't want to" all of the time, but, "Okay, Mom." What!? Amazing. He's still as energetic as always! We've begun reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", which might be giving him too many trouble making ideas!

Also, baby boy is flipping adorable.


Our learning experiences have been:

-going to a magic show and talking about what an "illusion" is
-week long family gathering in Park City, UT. I was in charge of meal planning, and the kids helped with budget, menu, and responsibility division
- Dad has been letting them DJ with him in the basement, and they've begun grasping 4/4 time and where the beat is
- hikes where we try to find things blue and purple and the talk about the meaning of "rare", talk about the changing colors of leaves, and the yearly schedule of deciduous/evergreen trees

Filling in the Holes

Homeschool. Phew, even just the word can seem overwhelming to a new homeschooler. Before I began, I imagined bookcases full of curriculum, worksheets, posters, tools. I thought of having my kids sitting at a table, working away, with me hovering over them to answer questions or give advice. I wondered what would happen to my laundry and dishes and personal time if I devoted myself to being the school teacher.

Thank heavens I found this site: www.tjed.org and clicked the "Start Here" button. What a relief!

It started me thinking. What is most important for my children to know and understand? What are they good at? What do they enjoy doing? I found a lot of communities for homeschooling across the country, but none in Utah.

Light bulb! Here it is! The group you've been looking for. Twice a month we'll get together and show what we've been doing recently, play some games, do a service project, and just have fun.