Sunday, November 14, 2010




throughout the course of a week, our homeschool group was privileged to help pick 37,000 pounds of squash for michigan food banks!  we were also given as much squash as we'd like.  i opted for baking pumpkins.  which i baked, chunked and froze, for pumpkin bread and pies!
 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

i've listened to glenn beck and his
push for self-education and homeschooling
and i agree, from my own personal experiences,
i retain much more. i own it. and i embrace it.. when
left on my own to figure things out.
make sense?
with that in mind... i thought we'd take the road less
traveled and self-educate this week.
i picked up a really cheap trivia game at goodwill.
i can't remember the name of the trivia- threw the box out.
but, did divide the cards up according to subject.
then, without peeking, tommie has to choose a card from the subject i listed on the daily schedule and follow the directions i wrote in the box... see picture below.
see the picture above.
confused yet?

this is how i break-down our day.
no downloaded forms. just a quick notebook with sloppy lines.
and enough room for me to make comments.
then, depending on the subject i list an activity...

so an example would be:
subject: places and things.
pick a card.
question is: are there mountains in michigan?
answer: yes.
task: look up info on this and make a commercial using your camera or camera on the computer, telling why someone might want to visit the mountains in michigan: location, etc.

another example of what we both learned this week:
subject: government and history
question: what branch of government does the secret service fall under.
answer: homeland security.
task: google secret service and write a one page essay about the secret service. list code names for past president's children. chelsea clinton: energy. when it was established and how many men died for the president?

i am really loving this, for several reasons....
one being, i am learning things i never knew.
secondly, it's self-taught-which means my babe will retain it.

other suggestions for the topics/subjects are:

design a poster

make a brochure (computer)

oral discussion (did this yesterday and learned about motown)...
i even danced around the kitchen to, "ain't too proud to cry... baby-baby!"
oral discussion is so good, especially in front of the computer... for quick look-ups!

-you tube video and write a one paragraph or two on the topic.

-research 5 fast facts and write them with a black marker- largely on a newspaper
(just something quirky-- off the wall, instead of lined paper).

the list is endless......

since there are different levels on the cards, you could do this with different aged children at the same time.... maybe?

also, keep the cards for review or make a "test" with them!

now, get out and buy a cheap trivia game and educate your children from goodwill!