WHOOPS!

eeeeks! The Abraham Lincoln Freee book series didn't work...thanks, Michele (in the comments) for letting me know...

TRY IT NOW! CLICK: ABE BOOKS!

PROJECT AUTOMATON and ABE

We're totally enjoying the book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret!"....each chapter holds little quirky mysteries that build upon each other! I am very surprised a kids movie isn't being created from this Caldecott Winner! Maybe eventually? For creative arts yesterday, I gathered a couple of old watches that for some reason or another...Brad managed to "save." I let Tommie take them apart and his lesson (and what a tough one this was!) was to build his own PROJECT AUTOMATON! (a self-moving robot!)

This is his finished project... boy, was it hard for me not to offer suggestions...put this here, why don't you....? Creating projects like this are right up my alley! Instead, I read aloud, from our read aloud, "The Loner," which is in my sidebar...it's wonderful! It's so nice...because it has a Christian flavor..not a lot of Caldecott Winner's make references to the Bible in their writings! 2 thumbs up for this book! AND.... by the way..see the doiley under the lamp (above)...I bought it at the .25 cent store- for .25 cents!

The AUTOMATON really moves...although not on his own! He moves with the help of two magnets...one magnet on the bottom and the other under a table.

I ordered 35 each...of these free books, for our homeschool co-op's freebie table and for friends and family! The books would make for an awesome book club series at your co-op!
Click here to order: ABRAHAM LINCOLN SERIES!

After lunch yesterday, we scoured through our recycled bin and pulled out different shaped containers...filled them with colored water: we used food coloring and washable paint... and set them outside to freeze! Stay tuned for the final masterpiece......


We almost NEVER incorporate art into our homeschooling. But, yesterday we did. We sat down with Hugo Cabret's book... and took a pencils and cardstock and tried to copy the artwork. The picture above is what I did... now lean in....look close...can you see the eye in the number 5? The picture below is Tommie's.... we had a really fun time! It was really relaxing on a cold winter afternoon!

I'm sure glad I found the on-line dictionary (see my sidebar)... because I had no idea, how to pronounce automaton. I was way off! The word appears over and over again in the book... Incase you're not sure either...it's pronounced: ah-tom-ah-ton.

HUGO CABRET!

After an intense historical few days of homeschooling last week... I thought we'd keep the momentum up by studying Eli Whitney and his role in the Revolutionary War. Well...that's one of the beauties of home education... you're on your own watch, on your own path, listening to a different drummer, driving your own bus, steering your own sails! That said, I thought it would be ever-so-fun to read the very quirky, mystery of The Invention of Hugo Cabret! And, pull out lessons- the Charlotte Mason way... using this book instead. Doesn't the book look impressive? A whopping 530 pages! 284 or which are beautiful drawings...the other pages have only 1, 2 or maybe 3 paragraphs per page.

(We'll also be using the book FRANCE...to bring the story even more alive!... Hence, Hugo Cabret qualifies at this house as a living book!)

* I JUST HAVE TO TELL YOU... I WENT INTO THE LIBRARY ON SATURDAY TO PICK THIS BOOK UP... OUR LIBRARIAN, MRS. C., WHO IS VERY OUTSPOKEN (RIGHT HOLLY?) HANDED IT TO ME AND I QUOTE HER... "UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I HATED THIS BOOK. IT WASN'T GOOD AT ALL. I DIDN'T LIKE IT. UGHHHHHHH.... I HATE GRAPHIC NOVELS!"

I JUST SMILED AT HER AND SAID VERY SERIOUSLY AND SINCERELY..."THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME-- I'M GLAD TO KNOW THAT!" AND THEN I NODDED. AND, PRETENDED TO BE AN AIR-HEAD!

It's a 2008 Caldecott Award book! Steve and Jane Lambert, owner of Five in a Row, recommended this quirky novel on their website. If you'd like to learn more about the book- which is really something... click here: THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET WEBSITE! The website alone is a fun place!

Amazon.com Review Book Description:Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

Oh my...I just visited Craft Crow...see my sidebar and click on over... I am so in love with the Valentine Felt Heart Cookies...I think I'll be adding them to my to-do list!

Periodic Element game!

We've been using the Periodic Element Chart...quite a bit these days....I mentioned my thoughts on this a few posts back. This is a really nice chart...which explains the uses for each element and a really simple colored graph.

To make learning even a little more fun... and instead of workbook drudgery... I have Tommie take two die (dice), roll them and wherever they land, that's the element we learn about.

For my super-duper hand's on learner.....I whipped up a quick match-up game!

The picture below is upside down... here's how it works: Tommie lays down a row of elements: iron, silver,nitrogen, chlorine, iridium, etc., and my favorite ununtrium (which hasn't even bee discovered yet! How does this work???) Then I made another category: metal, gas or radio-active. Next is the periodic symbol, then number category and finally... a "used for" category! He then sets off to line them up in order. I let him use the chart "as needed" the first few times...but then we folded up the chart and tried it without.

This will be a great game for us...for review and to use over the next few years!

Let it roll.............

Our 4-day homeschool week, centered around the Inauguration, and a couple of living books... Samuel's Choice- a heroic slave- whom George Washington befriended during the Battle of Long Island and also a historical living book by Jean Fritz, "John Hancock," President of Congress, signer and father of the Declaration of Independence and very, very rich man! I was able to pull out 33 spelling new words, map skills, historical info, copy work, dictation and something I've never done before...weaved in a little bit of creative arts! You see, after reading John Hancock.. I had Tommie gather up supplies...go into his room and film a movie about the book he read. He became John Hancock! Well, you can imagine how much fun this was for him! I mean...no writing...no book reports...mom not breathing down his neck...saying "dot your "i" "focus" ? He enthusiastically embraced this new idea of narration! Although, I did whip up a quick outline on things I wanted him to cover... King George, lime trees, the Boston Commons and so forth.

I was extremely impressed with his finished product. And, I don't impress easily. So, ugh... if you have a son like mine who just really loathes writing papers...yet, you want to know if he is comprehending what he is reading...then give this a try. Your buttons will pop of your shirt...you'll be filled with so much pride! That's a promise!

p.s. we also did a little chemistry-art project...we took a raw egg (actually two) cracked it open...using only the yolk and desired food coloring...mixed them together and painted.

Recycled Trash Stash!

Well? What do you think of this?

It's our handy, every-so-useful recycled bin!

Located in the basement. Yet, easy access!

Handy for science supplies. Art supplies. Ebay packaging supplies. And, if you look close, maybe you can see a stack of mesh tomato bags....ready to be filled with homemade bird suet! When I'm feeling really, super creative...I can even make games out of some of this junk! When Tommie was little... I used to fill a laundry basket full of these odds and ends...give him a roll of Dollar Store scotch tape and let him invent! It kept him occupied, creating and thinking. And, it was cheap entertainment.

My favorite item to stash are the tomato bags- for suet...what sort of things do you keep and what do you use them for?

THOUGHTS ON HOMESCHOOLING!

YEP! I DO HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT THE WHOLE INAUGURATION DAY. WATCHING THIS HISTORICAL MOMENT UNFOLD, IN THE COMFORT OF OUR HOME-WITH MY SON- WHO WAS SLINGING OUT LOTS OF QUESTIONS, THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BEEN "HUSHED" IN A SCHOOL ROOM SETTING OR IGNORED BY A TEACHER- NEVER TO BE ANSWERED... A MOMENT IN TIME THAT WILL MAKE HISTORY BOOKS...WELL, FOR ME, IT WAS SIMPLY AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO WATCH THE EVENTS UNFOLD, DISCUSS THEM AS THEY WERE HAPPENING AND BEST OF ALL... ALL OF THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION THAT THE MEDIA WAS FEEDING US!

EVEN FOR A HARD-CORE REPUBLICAN, THAT I AM... I AM NOT TOO PROUD TO ADMIT....PERHAPS, I WAS WRONG ABOUT HIM. I BELIEVE WHOLE-HEARTILY, THAT OBAMA'S HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. NOW, IF HE CAN JUST WALK THE WALK... I WILL BE SOLD, ENTIRELY. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE ROLE MODEL, THAT HE WILL BE AND ALREADY IS, TO UNDERPRIVILEGED, INNER CITY KIDS...WHO MAY HAVE DREAMS OF THEIR OWN.

I HAVE MY TONGUE-IN-CHEEK, TO THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS- YET JUDGE HIM AS NOT. HE DID, AFTER ALL, PRAY AND PLACE HIS HAND ON THE LINCOLN BIBLE. UNLIKE, TEDDY ROOSEVELT, WHO REFUSED TO PLACE HIS HAND ON THE BIBLE, INSTEAD...HE OPTED TO PLACE IT ON A LAW BOOK.

THAT SAID, YESTERDAY'S INAUGURATION, HAD A PROFOUND, POSITIVE EFFECT ON MY SPIRITUAL PATH. WHETHER OBAMA'S RIGHT, WRONG OR UPSIDE DOWN... WATCHING IT, CERTAINLY DID TEACH ME TO BE A MORE EMPATHETIC, UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN. smile, wink, nod.

THIS WEEK AND NEXT AND MAYBE EVEN THE NEXT....FINDS OUR LESSONS CENTERED AROUND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THIS WEEK...THE PAST TWO DAYS, OUR UNIT WAS BASED AROUND THE HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK, "SAMUEL'S CHOICE," ABOUT THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. I'M LETTING TOMMIE CHOOSE HIS NEXT BOOK...WHICH WILL BE STARTED TODAY... IT'S EITHER ELI WHITNEY AND THE INVENTION OF THE COTTON GIN OR JEAN FRITZ'S QUIRKY HISTORICAL BOOK ABOUT JOHN HANCOCK. EITHER WAY...HE'LL READ THEM BOTH IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. I'LL BE PULLING LESSONS OUT OF THE BOOKS, IN THE CHARLOTTE MASON WAY. SPELLING, CREATIVE WRITING, GRAMMAR, HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND DICTATION. I'M SURE ELI WHITNEY'S STORY, WILL HAVE A FEW SCIENCE LESSONS TUCKED IN.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

free homeschooling goodies!

Here's a couple of HOMESCHOOL FREEBIE'S worth sharing! I've received them myself...so I know it will be worth your time, too! Sign up is quick and painless... click here:

FREE ISSUE OF HOMESCHOOL ENRICHMENT MAGAZINE and click here for free dvd's for all grades...

VIDEO PLACEMENT WORLDWIDE We really enjoyed the Jelly Belly Factory Tour dvd and the Shakespere kit is wonderful, too. Shipping is on the slow side...but you will receive them!

Inauguration plans?

Just flip on the news...and you'll agree, the media is having a field day over this historical inauguration! Without a doubt, I say this with a smile, wink and nod...this truly is a big event in our history! Whether I think he's the best thing that's happened since sliced bread or I'm doing the tongue-in-cheek thing... as a homeschooler, I have the opportunity to provide history in the making, by flipping on the t.v. tomorrow and having internet access. I am also obligated to keep my attitude in check. If I sneer and make sly comments, my child will learn from it. If I bash the Republican party and blame everything on them....so too, will my child. Thankfully, we as homeschooler's can steer our sails in the direction we see fit...what works for you, your family and beliefs.

That said, tomorrow's events...are truly an unschooler's dream! Here's a peek at our plans.... feel free to use them or send me a question or comment or additional link.

check out these sites if you plan to participate:

Inauguration Schedule

Inauguration Parade Map (I plan to use this for fantastic map skills! I'll be making up a worksheet on it, later today!)

Gatsby's Tavern Where George Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe frequented....(we'll be heading off for dinner in Virginia and I'll be making a solid lesson in math skills, where we'll use this menu.

On-line treasure hunt! This is a VIRTUAL TOUR! I'll be making up a homemade on-line treasure hunt...using this link. Example: click on map 06, what did Samuel Morse do in the old Supreme Court? Or who was sworn into office and what year? (this answer is in the first paragraph).

I'd love to hear what your plans are! Shoot me a comment!

snow days?

The schools around here were closed on Friday. Some schools around here close for Martin Luther King Day. Or Columbus Day. Or teacher-in-service day. We even have a local charter school, which closes for the afternoon so the school can go roller skating! And naturally, schools here in Michigan close for... "snow days In our homeschool... we don't close...almost always, never. Oh sure, we enjoy our days off, twice a month at our homeschool co-op and there's the occasional sick days...where we pop in educational videos or spend the day with read-alouds... What about you? Do you follow the traditional school schedule, where you let your kids out of homeschool if the public schools are closed? Or do you just keep at it and press on?

the milk bucket review!

One of the best things I've done...so that Tommie is retaining what he has learned...is to make up questions with answers... of what we've covered during the week, copy them down on an index card and toss them into this little antique calf/cow milk bucket! For fun...after dinner or when we're just hankering down...I'll grab the bucket and have a pop quiz! It's enlightening for us to review...and leads to giggles and other information we've learned along the way! I've just started this the first of January...I wish I would of done this back in September...the bucket would of been stuffed full of index cards!!!

1,000 island, doorknobs, eagles & geometry!

Just popping in to share a few fun things we've done this week in our homeschool!

Math calls for quite a bit of geometry, this week...which is a welcome change after mega...3 digit division and multiplication! See what I mean??? See how happy Tommie looks? If everyday would find my sweet boy this jolly...it sure would make my job easier!

Instead of pushing the number 2 over the workbook pages... I had him use pretzels to shape decagons, hex, oct's and pentagons. He then had to document each angel, sides and count and draw the diagonals..which really is quite fun! I also had him use garbage bag ties and form different triangles: scalene, isosceles and equilaterals...then glue them to a piece of construction paper. (note: I had to use the talking dictionary on my sidebar to learn how to pronounce the triangles!!!!)

You might be wondering what Thousand Island salad dressing has to do with home-education? It's stuff like this that adds a little pizazz to our day! Did you know, that there are at least a 1,000 islands in the St. Laurence River and that's where the name of the salad dressing stems from? After sharing this tip...we located the St. Lawrence River on our map! I'm sure this tidbit of information will come in handy someday, if he's on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE!

One thing I've been implementing each day this week...and it only takes 15 minutes or so...is learning the presidents in order. I picked up an inexpensive presidential workbook at our local bookstore... Tommie reads a short paragraph about the president and fills out a few questions. We also use the vintage companion book...pictured next to it, as a supplement. For my super-hands on learner...I have him write the name of the president (that he's learning about) each day, on a post-it note....then he puts them in order... it's working out nicely!

We pretty much wrapped up our unit on Henry Hudson, yesterday. And, today and tomorrow, Tommie will be doing a little unit on eagles. See the book above? It's chalked full of great facts, good pictures and lots of information! I found it at Goodwill for .50 cents. I pulled out 10 good spelling words from it: binoculars, communication, territory, etc., and he'll be using those today and tomorrow. I'm also requiring him to take notes as he reads and then write good sentences-in his own words- about the facts he's learned. This covers: science, handwriting, grammar and creative writing.

We're also impressed and using the book, "How Things Work" for science. I am totally clueless about mechanics. The truth is...I don't care one iota how things work!!! Shhhh...don't tell...I don't want Tommie to catch on!! So, I'm having Brad- at night- go through the pages with him...it's a good father-son thing! Did you know that on the inside of locks there are springs? I didn't. But, my mechanical son is just waiting for me to give him the green-light, so he can take apart one of our doorknobs. Truth is, I won't be surprised if he does.

funny sidenote: When Brad was younger, and his parents were at work...they came home to find that Brad had taken ALL THE DOORKNOBS off ALL the doors in the house.... just to see how things work.

Henry Hudson, Russian Art and Charlotte Mason ideas, that work!

This week, our homeschooling is taking us on a journey with Henry Hudson, Arctic explorer! It's fitting, since our weather is very similar to what he incurred. We're heading into this project using the Charlotte Mason method... which is very simple....yet, extremely productive. I'm only telling you this, because my son is and never was workbook-driven. So, I had to find what worked, effectively and efficiently with retention! That said, yesterday...he read chapters 1-3, charted the courses of the expedition and discovered new things about the Hudson Bay... including four new vocabulary words that I pulled from his reading. For spelling, he wrote good sentences and different punctuations, used a thesaurus, and orally diagrammed the sentences.
Have you used a periodic element chart? We don't use it as often as we should. Actually, to be honest...hardly ever. Today, we did.... we learned about the different minerals found in Canada and around the Hudson Bay. I then had Tommie make a list of the minerals and document the abbreviation and number. I'll quiz him on them throughout the week...orally! If you need a free printable chart...click here: periodic table of element chart.

Above is his spelling list... using this repetitive method...of working with the same "living book words that is in his reading book"...he has been able to master about 40 to 50 new words each week. Believe me...I'm not boasting or bragging... my son was a LOUSY speller. It was painful and frustrating! Oh, many times that Spelling Power book went flying across the room...by both of us! Just being real here. Again, I am grateful to be homeschooling...so I can find a method that works.

Using the spelling words above... today he added prefixes and suffixes, divided them and used either an "a" or "an" in front of the word, where needed.

Yesterday, we did a bit of Russian abstract painting...using condensed sweetened milk and food coloring. That's it. I opened two cans...poured them into 7 bowls and we mixed colors. Using a paintbrush...we made concentric circles. I wish you could see this in person! It dries like plastic! These are so very awesome...I'm thinking of framing them!

You need to try this!!!!! It is so simple! We want to make more!

Homeschool Co-op!

On Friday, we headed to our homeschool co-op classes! I thoroughly enjoy seeing, talking, giggling, swapping stories and networking with like-minded moms..really I do! However... you knew "however" was coming, right? However, Friday was nothing but a 5-hour social club, for both Tommie and myself. Two hours at that pace, is about all I can handle, before I start feeling like an unproductive blowfish. Perhaps, it was the fact that I felt like a 13 year old with hard cramps and her first period, or maybe it was the pasta salad, I had at lunch, that was expanding in my stomach? Or maybe it's because the classes I chose for Tommie are uneventful and not challenging and we're not allowed to change classes mid-semester anymore... there I said it Lisa...I liked your system better...where we had more choices-more variety- and fresh opportunities for classes we could offer our children.

Thursday!

Today, Tommie finished Thomas Edison, made a list of his inventions, did his basic core subjects and we hit the ground running...completing two Webelo pins! Scholar and Family Member. Even if your son is not a scout...you can pick up all levels of Cub Scout handbooks at any library...pour through them and find very meaningful ideas, with suggestions! Can you tell me why it is...that when Tommie has to write papers or make posters for Webelo's...it is fun and effortless? But, slap a "homeschool" title on it and his face takes on a whole new, less enthusiastic tone? He also had a friend come over for a full afternoon of Lego's...he and his pal constructed a major village...including telephone lines. That night, at Webelos...he made a very, very nice wooden stool. A keepsake!

Tuesday!

Besides the basics math, spelling, reading 15 pages is Thomas Edison and writing...and a couple of more simple science projects...

We enjoyed watching a video from the Discovery channel, "Shipwreck! The Lusitania"... supposedly German U-boats from WW1 blew this ship up. For our read-aloud, I started Robert Quackenbush's, "Who Let Muddy Boots in the White House?" about Andrew Jackson. Our family enjoyed a one-hour, very interesting Michigan History class! We also learned a little bit about Samuel Morse.

Today, for the first time, Tommie learned how to use a thesaurus! Using Monday's spelling words, he wrote good sentences, with good adjectives and then used the thesaurus to replace the original adjectives. Surprisingly, he thought it was fun!

Monday, Jan. 5th

Monday, the first day back after a sugary-sweet, commercialized 2-week break. I'm more then ready to get back into the groove of organized-unschooling (isn't this an oxy-moron?) and even more excited to impliment the successful Charlotte Mason method, into our days!

Heres a peek at what went on:

Math-Horizons 5: geometry and long division. I also made a 5 story problems up...I mean, can one every do enough of these?, a game using divisibles.

Reading: Tommie read 15 pages of a Thomas Edison bio. Paying careful attention to these words, which I pulled from his reading...which will become his spelling words until they are mastered: Thomas Edison, January-Jan., inventor, famous, shouldn't, canal, barges, basket, balloon, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Canada, Detroit, Port Huron, telegraph, operatior, locomotive, Civil War and Morse Code.

Narration: orally tell me what he read and orally answer questions I came up with.

Grammar and creative writing: Used each word in sentence. Use proper punctuation and adjectives. AND, GOOD HANDWRITING!

Spelling: missed a couple of words had to write them 10 times each. Then 10 times in cursive.

Extra: made a map of the Great Lakes and researched what lies between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Tried to find Milan, Ohio on our road atlas, no such luck. Filled in a blank map with abbreviations of the North Eastern states.

Science: 3 science experiments and filld out speculation sheets. Two experiments failed. One successful.

I read aloud: Apologia Science: dinosaurs- latin for terrible lizard. For us personally, Apologia-Land Animals of the fifth day is much to hard to understand for Tommie to read alone. Hence, the help from me!

Our other read aloud: Good-bye Billy Radish, about WW1.

We also read: The Great Fire of Yellowstone.

Art: Reverse Glass painting!