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!

 

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!

as much as i wanted my boy to be in boy scouts...

his heart wasn't in it. truth is, he was doing it "for me."

that said, i signed tommie up for future farmers of america.

it's an agri-science program with a smorgasbord of areas to explore.

there is homework each week. and report cards. the class is being

taught by a michigan state professor. i am hopeful that this is a better

fit for his personality.

and, i'm happy that this is "his" thing...

rather then mine.

given his passion for farming, mechanics and livestock... this feels right.

a quick little lesson on a 100% compostable sun chip bag!

will it or won't it.... decompose?

the instructions are on the back of the bag.

we'll see in a few weeks!

what do you think?

well, now.... the full-blown, computer based curriculum...

that i thought would be just the ticket, during this busy season of our lives,

didn't work out to well for us. read all about it here.

which leads me to the next question.... why does most of society think that learning can only happen during school hours? and subjects can only be covered from 9 to 3? and, if your not in a brick and mortar building, having homework, being lectured to... then you're not being educated?

i'm not trying to sound braggy... really, sincerely, i'm not. but last night at 9 pm, my son, decided he wanted to take the head of a sunflower and make sunflower seeds. i have no clue how to do this... so i asked him to google it. he researched it and followed the you-tube step by step, tutorial. willingly and self-motivated. at this time, it was 9:30 pm. if i stopped him, said something like, it's too late, you'll make a mess or it's time for bed.... i would of squashed his idea and more then likely, he wouldn't have been as passionate as he was that moment.

new goal: seize the opportunities... any time you can.

now let's see... should i document this under science or culinary arts?

today.... we'll learn about shakespere's herbs and anne hathaway.

i said i never would.

ever.

but i am.

tomorrow, starts the beginning of our homeschool computer based program, in all subjects. switched on schoolhouse: language arts, science and history/geography and teaching textbooks math, grade 7.

we'll continue to seize the opportunity to unschool on the side... and watch educational dvd's, read classic books and life skills.

i love the unschooling, eclectic style, greatly. it's worked for us. and, it worked well!

however, i seem to be spinning too many plates at the moment.

and, the end of september and october... looks to be a whirlwind time for me and my little business i created. and, i'm still learning to cook and bake- gluten free... which is very foriegn for me.

using SOS, which was basically dropped in my lap...will free me up from lesson planning, correcting papers and the stress of pulling things together, on weekends, etc.

i'm not sure if this is a forever thing. or if we'll both miss our natural style of learning.

time will tell.

geesh!

the past week has been pretty dog-gone busy for me.

read all about it on my smile, wink, nod blog.

that said, i was so relieved to have teaching textbooks, for my son to plug-in to.

how great it is, that i can require him to do two or three lessons of math, a day...

without complaints.

don't get me wrong, i did require a bit of reading and writing.

just not real meaty stuff.

this short labor day week, we'll continue

with our shakespere study,

culinary arts (fancy name for helping me can baked beans in the kitchen!),

and free reading ... a short list of living books i am requiring him to read by the end of september.

this week, the plan is to get outdoors-- bike ride and running for homeschool gym.

have a happy tuesday!

yesterday, we started back to 7th grade homeschool lessons.

i've decided we would move forward homeschooling like we always have. with living books. i just can't imagine any other way, for us. i did consider purchasing computer curriculum to cover all subjects. but, can't phantom having my son plugged into the computer all day. i did step up to the plate and purchase, teaching textbooks math 7. which is, computer based.

the past couple of days, we've just eased back into it....

here's a little of what we did over the past couple days:

- 4 lessons in math

- tommie read: jacques cousteau short bio.

where spelling words, science and vocabulary words, handwriting were pulled out.

-project and poster on nitrogen narcosis (rapture)

-edited tomi de palo's children's book, "pancakes for breakfast." the book is wordless... i required tommie to write the storyline. he did swell.

-watched the agricultural documentary, "corn king" and "food, inc."

yep, i'm counting it as science and economics.

tomorrow kicks off a new unit study for us... with, island of the blue dolphins.

and my oh my... look what i found to help us!? an interactive island of the blue dolphins interactive and printable activity worksheets!

click here to see what i'm talking about!

every year, i "say" we're going to homechool lightly throughout summer. always with a rip-roaring good intent. we loose momentum around june 18. and then it fizzles out completely by july 4th. a few weeks ago, after six years of homeschooling and suggesting and trying to sell my son on the benefits of plugging along through the summer....

he

decides that he'd like to homeschool during the summer.

now, if you know my sweet boy.... you'll find this hard to believe as i do.

i'm secretly excited... since i love schooling outside in such nice weather. and enjoy nature studies and outside learning so much!

today, we worked on our plant study. the seven principals of living organisms. we also put a mixture of bits and pieces of morel mushrooms under our ash tree for next years harvest.

we had to skip a lesson in math.... couldn't find the protractor.

our self-made unit study, lizzy bright & the buckminster boy... led us into something very personal. death. how to react if ever faced with a terminal illness. this, i'm certain.... no school could cover. i've recently learned, that my favorite motivational speaker, dr. wayne dyer has cancer. so did my dad. both men embraced their uncertain futures as a blessing. deep, i know... but it's conversations like this that are priceless with my son. how not to be a burden to others. how staying positive is more effective then the "why me?" approach. and lastly, life is not fair... no one said it would or should be.

our lesson, also led us into a good discussion and science experiment about the different blood types: which blood type is compatible with which.

we also had the pleasure of hearing two honking (loud!) sandhill cranes... flying overhead and landing in our backyard. both were cinnamon colored-- young birds. both started a flapping fight with a canada goose. we watched it all! live-- in our yard.

these days are rolling by, way to fast!

looking back over the past week, here's a glimpse of what we call education at home:

-continued with the newberry winner book, turner buckminster & lizzie bright:

-discussed racial discrimination

- discussion on capital and investments: what type of businesses would attract tourists on the east coast in the early 1900's? decided a movie theatre for silent films would be a hit.

-discussed charlie chaplin who left u.s.a. for switzerland-and never came back, do to back taxes. discussed the importance of paying taxes on time: penalties, biblical truths & why so many flee to switzerland when in trouble.

-discussed mary pickford. i have a picture in my kitchen of her with a stamped signature.

doesn't it seem like we do a lot of discussion? it's the give and take of oral learning that opens up a flood of questions. my son didn't have a clue what capital meant or back taxes.

-typed two short papers on the california condor and pekin duck

-went to youtube school and we both enjoyed:

silent films

condors in the redwood forest

-another highlight? i had tommie make a big pot of chicken broth to freeze. you know now, if he were in traditional school.. they would call this culinary arts. here at our school we say....

how about making us some chicken broth to freeze?

-now that spring is in full-swing... tommie's been working a few days a week at our neighbors farm. he's enjoying his $$ and is learning "to do what the boss says!"

other subjects: math, spelling, silent reading, on-line spanish.

-i know this post seems like everything is a walk through the daisy's. it is not. i am dealing with a pre-teen, who dislikes reading and writing. and who is breaking out of his shell to become his own opinionated person. we have a lot of eye-rolling happening here and breathing hard. but, we just keep moving ahead.

this week and the forthcoming weeks, we will be pulling lessons-five in a row style from this double- award winner, lizzie bright and the buckminster boy, by gary schmidt... who happens to live here in michigan! i'll be documenting what we did right here....each day. you are more then welcome to use any of the learning activities i'm telling you about....

here's what we did so far this week:

-3/4 page of dictation page 2 last paragraph. commas and hyphen review.

-review hyperbole

-looked up and wrote a short paper on the newberry award and michael prinze award.

-applied math- orally

-a writing/reading/drawing project on the 5 different parts of the atmosphere

vocabulary word look up and writing: reprobate, parsonage.

fieldtrip: drove past several parsonages

-a writing & hand's on project about tides, including spring and neap tides

-watched a very interesting youtube video (on my level) click here!

-discussed "peer pressure"... i can't ever discuss this enough!!

****************************

now, of course we do our regular core subjects: math, spelling and silent reading. tommie's choice for his silent reading is, the last of the mohican's.

time to teach tommie spanish!

i found a couple of good websites to help me! -- and yes, they're free!

here! and here!

explaining watergate, understanding watergate and the fall of president nixon, was easy.... when i used lego men to reenact the scene. truth is... i'm sort of a watergate illiterate...so, i needed to brush up on the facts, with a book i had on my shelf. now, we by no means know all of the nitty-gritty details of this political-era and scandal... but, we both know "just enough," for this point in our lives.

oh my gosh... i'm so excited to share a little unit study/lesson plan links, that my good friend lisa put together for her children! it worked for early ed through middle school! lisa is a former educator and has her act together!

THE LIGHTNING THIEF by RICK ROIRDAN

click here and it will take you right to her free plans!

so... now i found myself in the unfamiliar world of homeschooling. i knew of no one who did this. no mentors. no resources. no girlfriends teaching at home. i vividly remember sitting down one sunday afternoon at the computer... and googled everything on homeschooling. i was swept up in a whirlwind of excitement, unrealistic ideas and also fear.

i came upon using the five in a row curriculum. starting at the preschool level and using it right through fifth grade. five in a row was what held our homeschool together. without it... i would of gave up homeschooling.... it enriched our lives beyond anything i can compare to. it gave our homeschooling and ME "depth." it gave me a different perspective of teaching-- using wonderful literature and seeing deeper into the story. it made dinner conversations interesting. it made learning fun. a mountain of information and subjects are in each unit study... which catapulted my child into a bigger world. a world that i would of never thought about going to. sri lanka. china, japan, paris and the list goes on.

my son is by far not a prodigy. however, this curriculum gave him profound information at a very young age.... launching him ahead of anything a public school could offer. i fondly remember a unit study on, "climbing kansas mountains,".... in which we went to our local grain company and had an impromptu tour of the grain distribution: corn being put on trains, which were being shipped to china and elsewhere.... and other behind the scenes stuff! this deeper learning became a very natural fit for us.

i also loved the charlotte mason method. and studied it faithfully. charlotte mason planted the love of nature study into our lives and the the importance of living books... which is all we use, even to this day.

so, after seven years of five in a row and charlotte mason... i have no choice but to look at learning a different way. it's all i know. it's all my son ever had. that's not to say, i didn't try using workbooks... or rod and staff/drill and kill or 100 ez reading lessons... we tried, with negative results on many levels.... we always found our way back to the comforts of five in a row.

i must retrack here about workbooks... we've used horizon's math from third grade on. and, i do use winston grammar, as per suggested on the five in a row boards.


i cannot salute five in a row and the lamberts enough! this is a rock solid curriculum, which covers a smorgasbord of subjects in one sitting--when you use it faithfully. some think using a unit study is not an effective choice for an only child. i am proof, that it can be done. done quite well, indeed.

(please, if you do decided to use any five in a row products... order them directly from the five in a row site and not a distributor.)

over the next several days... i'll be sharing the how's, whys, fears and successes of our eclectic-homeschool lifestyle...

question: how did it all begin?

answer: it started at preschool age... actually before that... when my tot was in the bathtub every night, i taught him his abc's and numbers using foamy bathtub toys... this was before i ever considered homeschooling. little did i know... this was the beginning of our outside the box learning. truth is... i used to line up the foamy letters randomly, on the side of the tub... i'd ask him to point to a specific letter and then, if he answered correctly... i'd ping them at him with a flick of my finger... which resulted in belly giggles! is there anything better then a tot giggling from their belly?

when preschool age arrived... i only considered homeschooling for about 20 minutes, before i surrendered to back-pack envy and the wave of excitement from all of my friends who were excited to put their kids in pre-school. i kept a secret in my heart... i was having so much fun with my preschooler already... the thought of turning him over to someone else... left a dull ache in my belly. not to mention a lump in my throat that wouldn't go away.

we visited a preschool, for the day. a parochial preschool. it was cold. i don't mean the weather... i mean the learning atmosphere. the floors were institutional, the teachers stiff and also spoke in a "baby voice," yet with an authoritarian slant. which made me shrill. the kids were told... what to do... where to sit, when to play, when to wash their hands, when to talk, when to ask questions, when, when, when.... and my all time favorite (sarcastic)... being made to SHARE. I HATE BEING FORCED TO SHARE! example: little johnny is playing with a dumptruck-quietly-- in his own world of make believe- little jacob comes up and tries to take johnny's dumptruck away from him. johnny says no.. i'm playing with it... jacob yells out, HE WON'T SHARE! cold teacher comes up, reprimands little johnny... says we must share... you're not being nice. johnny looks up like what??? jacob gets the truck. this is jacobs first good lesson on how to manipulate. instead of the teacher saying... in her best baby voice.... jacob...why don't you find your own toy to play with and get out of johnny's face????? or find your own damn truck and join him?

this lesson of sharing that day... validated what is wrong in our learning institutions. i also vividly remember a boy quietly off by himself, building a wooden block structure.... the baby-voiced teacher, insisted he finger paint instead. why? because that's what everyone else was doing!

see where i'm going with this? more tomorrow....

one of the best homeschool tools, i've ever bought, was this hardcover, titled...."on this day." i found it at a local church book sale for a dollar. as the title suggests... each page and sidebar has a big handful of facts and stories of what happened on this day in history. it has been the springboard and spine for most of my son's sixth grade year. i choose the topic and read it aloud and then we discuss it. our conversations are intense at times... covering topics i would of never even thought about discussing. one thing leads to another with this... opinions are tossed around... biblical principals are inserted from me, as well as morals and other ethical issues. i make a conscious effort, to ask "what's your opinion... " and careful not to smash and bash his ideas and opinions... instead, if i disagree, i may gently point out a different view. isn't that just another terrific concept of homeschooling?? no secular teacher or classmates, making fun of you if you think Gorbachev was cool for being a farmer or your not totally sure about an artificial heart or golda meir's place in israel's history? or andy warhol's artwork and painful life?

try amazon used books... maybe you too, could pick up a copy for cheap. i humbly admit, i didn't know 99% of any of this. but at age 45... i'm self-educating. wouldn't glenn beck be proud?

THE CENSUS!

That's right... how about letting your child fill out your Census, this year? Truth is, my son has never filled out a form before... never filled out those little boxes! And, has never even heard of The Census! In addition to filling the form out, I explained to him about the reason behind The Census, how often it is sent and how it's suppose to be confidential. This took no time at all and sparked interesting conversations. I just love teaching outside the box!

have i ever mentioned, how much i love cross-curriculum? combining different subjects? yesterday, was one of those days. after the basics were done, we took divine pleasure in soaking up a gorgeous spring day in michigan! i spruced up the yard a bit, while my boy worked on his world war two bunker. in the fall, he had dug this entire thing... a great place for his friends and him to play airsoft wars. for me, the crazy homeschool mom... i count this as: recess, gym, history and one heck of an art project! can you imagine doing this in an institutionalized school? he'd be discouraged for thinking outside the box, kicked out because of the mud... and he probably would be teased for wearing wellingtons. i'm just saying... i love homeschooling.