Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
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Day 91 - Nick's Driver's License
Monday, March 31, 2008
Nick (age 3!) has been begging for a driver's license for several months now. He's convinced that his lack of a license is the ONLY thing that prevents him from driving! Jeff and the kids went out to eat with Jeff's parents while I was at the convention. Jeff had some scrap paper in his jacket and wrote out a "driver's license" on it just to keep him quiet. Nick has been carrying it around with him in his pocket ever since! I told Jeff that we'd better hide our keys!
Rachael received this for Christmas a few years ago. One of her favorite TV shows is Cash & Treasures. She just recently got permission from her dad to dig up the yard IF she promises to fill in the holes. We'll post pictures of the "treasures" she finds later!
Today we stayed for a few remaining seminars before heading home. Once I got back to my van, I still had 2 1/2 hours to go until I reached home. This was my view for much of the trip. I pulled over along the highway. I just had to take a picture! This so precisely represented my mood. I always feel this way after a Mom's weekend. Between researching new curricula, hearing the different seminars, and fellowshiping with friends, my mind is so clear. I have a solid plan for next year (not to say that plan can't be changed at a later date!).
Today's speakers were so much better than yesterday's. I've decided on Videotext Algebra & Apologia General Science for Rachael next year. The Videotext presentation was amazing! They focus on the "why" and concepts rather than tips and tricks. The Apologia presentation was really good, too. I had decided on Apologia several years ago after speaking with Dr. Wile. We've been using the elementary books for a few years and we've loved them. I hadn't planned on starting the Jr. High/High School books until 7th grade, but after hearing several speakers talk about specialization, I've decided to modify the plan. Since she is such a math & science kid, I'm going to push her toward those areas for specialization.
9th grade: Videotext Geometry/Trig modules D-F / Apologia Chemistry 10th grade: Calculus 1 (hopefully on college campus) / Apologia Physics 11th grade: SAT prep / advanced Biology or Chemistry or Physics (her choice) 12th grade: Calculus 2 (hopefully on college campus) / advanced Biology or Chemistry or Physics (her choice)
This may seem a little advanced, but she will finish Singapore Math 6B by the beginning of next year. According to the Videotext author, she 's ready for Algebra.
As far as other subjects, we'll continue with Latin and add on Logic. We'll also continue with the chronological progression of history and try to use the IEW method to improve her writing. Since writing is, by far, her weakest area, I've decided to give up on forcing her to journal, write poetry, and creative writing. Since it is readily apparent that her future lies in Math/Science. I'm going to focus on making sure she can write a logical, grammatically correct essay and a good lab report.
The top photo is of Darla, Mindy, & Lori while we were waiting to be seated at the BBQ place. Even while waiting, they were all engrossed in researching curricula!
Today we left for the homeschool convention. I spent last night at Darla's house so that I could ride over in the carpool. Diana, Brooke (another lady at our church who is considering homeschooling), and I rode together to go to the Thursday evening seminars. Darla, Mindy (a former member of our co-op who is pulling her kids out of PS to homeschool again), & Lori all went later since they weren't registered until Friday. Diana & I stayed at the Sheraton in Cincinnati. They were sold out of double rooms, so we ended up in a king room. We weren't half as cozy as the other ladies though. They had 4 women in a double room. They were REALLY cozy! The speakers that we heard this evening were okay, but not great. The vendor hall was a little disappointing, too. There were fewer vendors than last year and there were still no used book vendors. (I buy nearly everything used!)
The kids studied Van Gogh (see Rachael's Starry Night picture) in Art History and octopods in Marine Biology. The most exciting thing, however, was meeting our newest co-op member ... Hank! Rachael spent much of the afternoon just holding him. She LOVES babies! Hank was welcomed home last week by his 4 big brothers: Sam, Jedd, Gus, & Duke. Welcome to the world, Hank!
p.s. Say a prayer for Deanna & Ryan who now have 5 boys (ages 8 and under) to manage!
We have so much candy around the house, that Nick has become a scavenger. I keep thinking that I have it all put up, but he keeps finding more! I think he's got a stash somewhere ... (!)
After attending church with Jeff's dad, we went to his parents' house for lunch. Rachael hid eggs for Nick to find and Jeff hid eggs for her to find. We don't really play up the Easter Bunny, but we do get the kids baskets, and do an egg hunt as tradition. After the hunt, we went to my mom's house for another egg hunt and dinner. My sister, Jill, and her boyfriend, Eddie, were there. Eddie is from Northern Ireland and is in the British army stationed in Canada. The kids always love it when they are there. Eddie played defense to make sure that Rachael left some eggs for Nick to find! After dinner, Jill, my mom, grandma, and I all played a few games of cards. That's one thing I wish I could get Jeff interested in. I LOVE card games, but he's not much of a game player ...
p.s. Decapitating Grandma's lamb cake is a sick and twisted yearly tradition! This was Rachael's first time. She was so excited! :-D
Jeff and I left Rachael at his parents' house to color Easter eggs, and left Nick at my mom's house while we drove to St. Louis to pick up my grandma. Wow, I couldn't believe how high the water was! It looked like we were driving through a lake, and we were on the Interstate! We had a nice drive, though. I LOVED having 3 hours alone with Jeff. We were able to drive and talk with no interruptions. It was great! When we got to my grandma's house, she took us to the fire station where we picked up some sandwiches to eat for supper. My grandma never ceases to amaze me ... she'll be 84 this year and is in better physical shape than I am! She just finished a two mile walk yesterday for her church, and still has a spring in her step! She didn't get her driver's license until she was 70 years old, and she still walks nearly everywhere. She also cleans & decorates the church, keeps up her garden & her jungle of houseplants, and hand sews several quilts per year. I hope I'm able to be that active when I'm that age ... heck, I just hope I'm still ALIVE At that age! ;-D
We left for dinner and a movie as soon as Jeff got home from work. We hadn't had a fun family night in a while. Dinner was at the BBQ Shack where you can make your own perfect sauce by combining any of 6 special blends. The decor is "Flying Pigs" which Nick and Rachael enjoyed! After dinner, we went to see the movie "College Road Trip" with Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone. It was such a good movie! Jeff & I have been Martin Lawrence fans since the movie "Nothing to Lose" - one of our favorites! It was so nice to be able to take the kids to a G rated movie that we all could enjoy. Jeff & I were both teary-eyed at the end of the film. Rachael is such a Daddy's Girl, that he's already told her that we're moving with her when she goes away to college!
I have wanted to buy Rosetta Stone for so long - ever since I saw it at a convention a couple of years ago!
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE! This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.
Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132 and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
I generally steer clear of arts and crafts for the kids (especially Nick) because of the mess. (That's what co-op is for!) However, when I bought waterpaints for co-op, Nick begged to use them. I broke them out this afternoon while Rachael was working on her math. Nick had so much fun! He actually wasn't too messy. The kids looked so cute while they were busy at work. I couldn't help but snap a few pictures!
(No, those aren't watercolors all over Nick, they're temporary tattoos that his Grandma bought for him!)
Day 79 - Limpets, Wentletraps, Bivalves, Whelks, and... Homer
Today's Marine Biology co-op was all about seashells. Diana brought in a HUGE collection and the kids learned how to identify each type of shell and classified them according to type. They also had fun finding the whelk holes that were prominent in several of them. At the conclusion of class, she set out a bunch of the shells for the kids to take home. Rachael & Thomas, our science aficionados and future soulmates (at least that's what Diana and I are hoping!) sorted and traded for hours to get "just the right mix" of shells. The photos above are just the shells that she acquired!
For Art History, we studied American artist Winslow Homer. When the kids found out that he was present at Lincoln's Inauguration and worked as an illustrator during the Civil War, the lesson became more about the "Blue and the Grey" than art! The kids did have fun, though, making a watercolor seascape in honor of his many watercolor paintings. The painting above is Gracie's. I didn't get a picture of Rachael's...
After co-op, we headed to the McDonald's Playland so that the little kids could play, the older kids could plan their devious schemes, and the moms could relax and talk!
Rachael had Taekwon-do this evening. She's getting much better and a lot more limber! I made a vegetable curry and fresh baked bread for supper. When we lived near an ethnic food store, I used to buy the pre-made curry sauce. Since there's nowhere around here like that, I had to improvise. I added chopped cauliflower, potatoes, and chickpeas to the crockpot. I poured in a can of tomato sauce, a ton of dried onions and chopped garlic, and several spoonfuls of turmeric, coriander, pepper, & curry powder. When Jeff got home, he added salt, sumac, and lemon juice. It wasn't as good as the pre-made stuff, but it was good. It had better be ... we have about 3 more meals worth in the fridge! ;-D
I was still feeling pretty cruddy this morning, but felt better in the afternoon. I was soooo relieved! We had been promising Rachael we'd take her to see the Newsboys who were in concert tonight. Nick spent the night at my Mom's house, and we went to see them. It was phenomenal! Despite Rachael having a massive nosebleed, we all had a great time! Although Jeff was disappointed that the bassist wasn't there. (I think the keyboard player played the bass lines, but to a bassist, it's just not the same!) If you ever get a chance to see them live, it's most definitely worth it!!!
I HATE taking pills for aches and pains. The only exception is when I get a migraine. This morning I started having visual disturbances (like a moire pattern that blocks my vision... I can still see it when my eyes are closed), so I knew I needed drugs ... QUICKLY! I started by taking 8 aspirin (don't worry, they're low strength - I was following the dosage directions!). Within an hour, I knew I needed backup. I took two of the Ibuprofens, followed by three extra strength Tylenol a couple of hours later. The headache gradually decreased to a dull, throbbing pain. It continued into the evening and fever and chills soon followed...
My in-laws came over for dinner tonight. Jeff grilled steaks and I made garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, sweet corn, and chocolate chunk brownies. It's been nice since we've moved back to the area. Rachael usually spends Fridays shopping with my mother-in-law, and Jeff hangs out with his dad every Saturday morning. That's the only thing we'll miss when we sell the house. Shopping with Nana is good motivation for Rachael to complete all of her schoolwork for the week by Friday morning! The photo above is one of the plants that Rachael bought today.
Rachael & Nick decided to put on a show for Jeff & me. They charged $.25 each (those scoundrels!) For our money, we got a choreographed dance to the Newsboys song, "In the Belly of the Whale" - one of Rachael's favorite songs. It was hysterical!
Today was a BEAUTIFUL day! It was in the 60's. Since co-op is off for the week (our church closes it's classroom/gym facilities for cleaning during Spring Break week), we decided to go to the park instead. We were going to do schoolwork through Spring Break week, but today was just too pretty!
Several years ago I found some DVDs on eBay of "The Letter People." If you didn't grow up in the 1970's or early 80's around St. Louis, you may never have heard of them. They were really cheesy puppets that taught kids about phonics. Each puppet was assigned a letter and had a goofy name. (eg: Mr. D was Delicious Donghnuts, Mr. F was Funny Feet, etc.) The vowels were girls and the consonants were boys. They also had fun songs that went along with each person. I LOVED the Letter People! They taught me how to read at the age of 3. Unfortunately, since then, they've become "politically correct." There were more boys than girls (and that was unfair!), and Mr. H had Horrible Hair, (and that just wasn't nice!). Mr. C was Cotton Candy, (and that was teaching our poor children unhealthy eating habits!) Anyway, they're no longer on tv, but they still sell the "politically correct" version of them online in the form of books, inflatable characters, worksheets, etc. Fortunately, I'm not the only one who is "politically INcorrect" and still loved the "old" Letter People. You can find the orginal tv shows on DVD on eBay. They're hilarious! They're still the same old 1970 songs with the bad production. Nick absolutely LOVES them, and I get to relive my childhood! After all, phonics haven't changed!
We checked out the D'aulaires' book from the library, and it was an instant favorite for both of the kids! We've been reading this out loud during the day. Our renewals are almost expired and the kids still love it ... I think this is one we're going to have to buy! I'm hoping I can find it used (and cheap!) at one of the homeschool conventions. I've also been reading "Just So Stories" to the kids at bedtime. I had never read any of Rudyard Kiplings books, but for some reason always seemed to have an aversion to him. I picked up this book at a used bookstore for $.60. It looks like we'll be reading more of his books in the future, too! The Children's Homer is one of Rachael's assigned history books (we're doing Ancients this year ... again!) She complains that she doesn't like it, but not as much as she complained with "Black Ships Before Troy" by Rosemary Sutcliffe! I've read part of the Children's Homer to Nick and he likes it, so it can't be that bad! I think by adding more of the classical literature as recommended by the Well Trained Mind, it's requiring a longer attention span and a more varied vocabulary than what she would like....
Day 68 - I hope my present comes in a great big box so we got someplace to live next year!
We finally finished unpacking some of our moving boxes a couple of weeks ago. Rachael convinced Nick that it would be fun to "move into" one of the large boxes. She put a huge body pillow, blankets, and some toys/stuffed animals in there and told him that it would be fun to sleep there. He LOVES his new "hiding spot!" All I can think of is the Heywood Banks (the comedian) song "Christmas Box" where the boy is hoping that he gets a present in a great big box so he has somewhere to live. Our whole family loves Heywood. (Although his latest album does contain one song that I think is in poor taste...) He actually does family shows that are appropriate for all ages. We took Rachael when she was 2 or 3. She laughed and applauded so loudly that he kept thanking from the stage. He even made it a point to talk to her for awhile after the show was over!
Nick has taken quite the interest in this Rush Hour game. He loves to play with the cars. I bought the game last year at a used curriculum sale. I play with it every once-in-a-while. A few weeks ago, I was incredibly impressed when Rachael told me that she had successfully completed nearly all of the cards. When I was stumped during a particular game, I asked for her assistance. She said, "Mom, that's so easy!" She then proceeded to turn the card around (to the solution side) and followed the directions to solve the puzzle. Apparently, she thought the purpose of the game WAS to follow the directions! All of that time I thought she had been using logic to solve the problems, but instead, she just didn't know how to play! ;-D
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
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