snapshots

Applepalooza

We invited a few homeschool friends over to finish off Apple Week with a party...

 

 
the menu:

whole wheat bagels with peanut butter and apple butter

grilled cheddar and avocado on sourdough

spring greens with apples, gorgonzola, pecans, and balsamic agave vinaigrette

tortilla chips and pico de gallo

and, obviously, apple slices and caramel dip

 




...then, a rousing game of Apples To Apples Jr., and dessert.

 

 

Apple Week

I might just be getting the hang of this homeschooling gig. In addition to the usual morning lessons, this week we ventured into an impromptu Apple Week...

Apple picking, apple concocting (pie, crisp, sauce, cider), learning about Johnny Appleseed, apple poems, a few apple books and videos, and even the discovery of the law of gravity based on a falling apple. (Should  I clarify? We didn't actually discover gravity, that was already done by someone else.)  :)

 
We tried our hands at watercolor paintings. That was fun. (The step by step lesson can be found here.)

 
And we all agreed: independantly - not all that impressive, really. But collectively? They are fantastic!

 
If you want to play along, or bookmark some resources for next autumn even, here they are:  our local library has this apple farming video and this gravity one, this Johnny Appleseed book  we enjoyed, Apple Farmer Annie, and of course, Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss, and about 3 dozen more, if you think to request them from the library sooner than I. :)  For our poetry, we liked printing out this template, and the younger ones used this and this for their handwriting lessons. Here's some chemistry we haven't got to yet, but  it looks fun. If you happen to plan ahead by more than 5 minutes (like me), there are a ton of activities and lessons to be found.

Coming soon: our Apple Party!

Whatcom Farm Tour

Right up our alley, the Whatcom Farm Tour was last weekend. The kids and I made a field trip of it, and Frank watched college football, interuption free.

We managed to get to six of the ten farms on the tour. {Edelweiss Organic Dairy, Cloud Mountain, Silver Springs Creamery, Bellewood Acres, Boxx Berry, and Heritage Farm}. Some of the farmers were especially gracious to us, and we had some private tours and great conversations.

Our first stop, at Edelweiss was our favorite. The farmer is from Switzerland with a thick accent and friendly, homeschooled kids. They produce milk for Organic Valley, so we especially enjoyed seeing where the milk we actually buy, comes from. Those cows are quite well treated! Mattresses to sleep on, a new paddock to graze each day of the grass season, and organic feed and clean barns in the winter.

Our second favorite was Heritage Farms, which specializes in "anything you could not buy at the supermarket". So, heirloom vegetables, and endangered animals, like the Navajo-churro sheep, Talouse Geese, and Large Black pigs. Their son was quite entertaining, offering to show Jenson how to rope catch a sheep. ...until his dad called him to do his chores.  (My kids were impressed that many of the kids living on these farms have to get up at 6am to do chores! Maybe they'll complain less when I tell them to make their beds?)

Nature journaling at every stop. Six hours of school, just like that! Don't worry, they learned a bunch along the way.

Learn more about the annual tour here.

Mother Culture and the Gentle Art of Learning

Early last spring, I came across this book at our homeschool store. I read a few pages, paid money for it, and brought it home. (Rare, as I use the public library a lot.) It revolutionized my pathetic attempt at homeschooling. Remember, we took Mady out of public middle school quite abruptly, and have forged our way along since then.

This book introduced me to the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. I was really intrigued, and spent the summer reading as much Charlotte Mason as I could get my hands on, and even bought a few more of books. Finally I had a vision of the way I wanted to go about schooling my children! I was so excited... I spent the rest of the summer setting up our homeschool room, gathering materials, writing lessons, and planning Friday field trips.

Charlotte Mason advocates short lessons, done early in the day, then moving on to nature walks, handicrafts, and living books.  It was the nature journaling that got me in the first place, detailed in Pocketful of Pinecones.  With our love for hiking, it seemed a perfect fit for our family. 

So last week we set out...   I got up super early, set up workbooks and checklists for the day, made fresh muffins and smoothies, and we got to work.

Working through geography, cursive, biology, and math first, while they are the sharpest. Quick lessons, so that they produce the best work, instead of becoming sloppy as it progresses.

Some carpet time for Keston with Ellos, while the big kids finished up.

Coloring our motto for the year, while I read aloud to them from Little House.

Then, out of doors for some fresh air and nature journaling. Our first specimen, wild blackberries. (Otherwise know as European Blackberries, or rubus fruiticosus, because we are smart like that.)

I love these kids. I am so blessed to spend the days with them.

Lunch in Ethiopia

Today Mady and I had an amazing experience. We were invited to a neighbor's home for a traditional Ethiopian feast, along with some other homeschool families.

As we walked in, the smell was incredible. Mulu, our neighbor and hostess, was roasting raw coffee beans in an everyday saucepan on her stove. They began as small, green beans, and roasted into dark, oily, slightly larger ones. Mulu ground them, and added them to an Ethiopian clay pot filled with hot water to steep.

We were served the hot coffee in tiny cups by an Ethiopian girl - part of another homeschool family, that had been adopted just three months ago. Faith's sisters were also adopted into the same family. It was awesome to hear Faith and Mulu talking in their native language. The coffee ceremony is the  traditional greeting into someone's home.

Next we split into three groups, and we each helped to make one of the three dishes we were going to eat for lunch. Mady and I worked on a potatoes and carrots dish, with lots of spices, including berbere. The other dishes were a lentil stew and a cabbage dish. (Lucky for us it was probably a "fasting day" - in which only vegetarian meals are eaten).  Mulu made the injera - the spongy crepe type sour bread that is served with each meal. It is made from a fermented starter, similar to sourdough. It tastes much more sour though!

Once the dishes were all ready and after almost two hours of conversation, we feasted!

I think I had probably known of this before, but hadn't thought about it for today's lunch - but in Ethiopia, they do not eat with utensils. I think Mulu said she didn't even have any forks! So eat with our fingers we did! The injera bread is a good mop for scooping everything up. Stew without any spoon or fork, and tons of turmeric in the foods. Can you imagine us? Yellow fingers and messy face. It was so neat to experience that! It was all delicious and unique.

After our meal, the recently adopted Ethiopian girls spontaneously sang and danced for us. We were in awe! Even the little five year old had moves! It was a very distinct dance, and Faith's voice was amazing. Amazing! It is hard to describe other than she sounded like three people singing at once all together, because of so many tones and inflections. It was beautiful. It made Mulu emotional, and then everyone else got teary too. It was an excellent fit for Mady's Cultural and Community Exploration study!

And of course I took about fifty pictures. Apparently using the SD card that I ran over at Christmas. :( If I can figure out a different way to read the card, I will be sure to post photos. To read a bit more about the culture, go here.

photo journalism, by shawn ellars:

 
 

 

 

Actually, Mady says these are bison, not water buffalo. The drive to her school is very peaceful and rural. But rural flooding doesn't have the same ring to it. And it is true, I could have touched that big wet buffalo. I usually prefer my gigantic livestock with a slightly more secured fencing situation, but whatever.

Monday, monday...

Awesome things about today:

There's a brand new library branch in our neighborhood! It is gorgeous, and will have Saturday storytimes soon. Happy, happy.

Mady's  'generous stipend'  for her education just was increased to an even more generous stipend! The world is her oyster.

My auntie announced that she's coming to visit me!

I finally called the phone company to change our listing, and to reflect that my husband and I do, in fact, reside together. It has been incorrect for about three years now.  Don't you love getting those dumb calls made?

I did not get any tickets, despite my tabs expiring yesterday.

I washed and detailed my illegal, expired car. (It's an Explorer, but I still say car. Truck sounds weird, and SUV is kind of uppity sounding. What do you say?)

Veggie pizza for dinner.

And it was, like, 75 degrees today!

I want to be a homeschool kid!!

Mady is beginning her second year of homeschooling with a different program. This one allows her to take classes with other homeschool kids, covering most of her core subjects. We are given a generous stipend to support her additional homeschool activities, so she'll be able to have some amazing opportunities! I feel like the whole world is open to her. I want to be a homeschool kid!

I asked Mady to list some areas of interest, so that I could tailor lesson plans to her interests. I opened myself up on that one -- she listed 99 things. (Including knitting, pottery, renaissance, candlemaking, preschoolers, birds, camping, religions, architecture, oceanology, book binding, deer, candy-making, antiques....and lots more). Aren't I lucky to be her teacher for all of that?

I have to write learning plans for each of her 'classes' we will do at home. Here's the fun one I wrote up today after much researching online.

Folk Art Study

Offsite class

Mady will study the broad range of art under the umbrella of Folk Art. She will have an understanding of the many disciplines of folk art, and its history in America. She will create numerous examples of her own folk art. This may include but be not limited to: sculpture, recycled art, textile art, needle felting, wood painting, framed simple embroidery, primitive paintings, and a wide variety of crafts. She will research at least two famous American folk artists, including Grandma Moses. She will view galleries and be able to point to examples of folk art. Field trips may include Gallery West and Chuckanut Bay Gallery in Bellingham, and others. She will present at least one piece to be critiqued by an art teacher. She will hold a gallery event for family and friends showcasing her works, organized completely by her. Her cumulative project will be a "Gallery Book" created from recycled items, and include photos of her own folk art creations. Learning Materials include The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule, and various reference and art books from the public library, as well as a large variety of art materials.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Essential Academic Learning Requirements (This is super long and wordy, basically technical terms for what she'll learn as required by Washington).

Methods of Evaluation: Mady will be observed in her artistic processes and methods. She'll will complete short essays detailing the history and spectrum of folk art, which I will correct for accuracy. I will provide quizzes to test her knowledge of famous folk artists and the disciplines of folk art, checking her answers for accuracy to 90%. Her completed art projects will account for her understanding. She will also be critiqued on one or more pieces by an art teacher.

Ok, who else wants to come to Mady's school?

Miniature Sand Play Set

Today I came across a homeschool toy that was perfect for Keston. A little box filled with some sand and miniature seashore related figurines. So I turned over the box. $24.99. Hmm.... I think I can re-create this for free. So I did:

 

I think she liked it....

She played with it all afternoon. Imaginative play, crazy plots and dialogues.

Here's how to do it-

1. Find an airtight box with a lid. I used a plastic shoebox.

2. Fill it a couple inches with sand.(Less sand=less clean-up. A shallow layer is plenty). I used sand that I had smuggled home from Tahoe recently, but any play sand or beach sand will do. Stay away from the house-project, landscaping sand, as it has toxins which are bad for kids to inhale.

3. Pick your theme. If you aren't obsessive about the seashore like us, you could use construction trucks and little guys, farm things, dinosaurs, whatever your kids are into.

4. Look around the house for miniature toys. Finally a use for them! We have an abundance of Legos, so that was an easy start. Then I added Playmobils, some fancy rocks, shells from the beach, and a scantily-clad Ariel, with a dingle-hopper. Mady got creative and loaned some of her Wade animals to the project, and her 'coral' moss from a hike.

I just put a pillowcase under it to contain spilled sand, but there wasn't much. I think the shallow layer is key here.

I will keep this in rotaion, and put it away after a week or two when the novelty wears off. After a while, I'll fill it with a new theme and bring it back out. If you try this easy project, let me know, and I'll add a list of links. Hours of entertainment, I tell you! :)

Letters and the seashore

Homeschool-Preschool: so far so good.  It helps that I have the cutest-ever three year old student.

the first time around I was sooooo creative...

When I had Mady at age 23, I couldn't wait to try every possible activity, and art experience with her. Her development was my utmost concern. I made sure she had an abundance of manipulatives and sensory materials, and exercised her fine and gross motor skills. I read all the books about development that I could get my hands on. Each and every day, there was a new project that we did together. We went to the children's hands-on museum every Friday. And story time at the library every week too. We knew every crevice of each local park. We worked hard to grow her collection of books, and at three, she was reading. By four, writing her own stories.

To make ends meet, instead of going to work, I took a job as a nanny, and she came to work with me each day at the home of another little boy. We took field trips every day, made crafts, sang, colored, glued, read, cuddled and played pretend.

When Mady was five, Jenson came along. With colic. Super cute baby, but super loud, for a super long time. Things were put on hold for two years until he outgrew that. At which point, to make ends meet, I opened a licensed child care in my home.

I took lots of Early Childhood Education classes. I spent hours planning themed curriculum, projects, activities, and even meals to coordinate with the seasons. I took in other people's babies and children, until I had six to care for each day. We painted, read, went outside, crafted, ate, played with bowls full of water and boxes full of birdseed. That was exhausting. Fun, but exhausting.

A couple more years, and we were blessed with sweet Keston.  Oh! What a lucky child to have such a creative, giving, experienced mama!   ....not so much.  I must have used every bit of "Creative Mom" in all the previous years, because poor Keston is lucky to paint once a week. I haven't made her fresh playdough in months. She hasn't stitched a single thing. She bakes with me, but not as often as she should. She doesn't have a special place to display all her lovely creations!  Poor neglected girl.

So, inspired by the amazing Crafty Crow blog, next week is Keston's turn. I plan for her to be covered in sticky glue, dough, and glitter, all week! And then some. She has waited ever so patiently for her turn.  I'll be sure to post our adventures, in case you are in a tired rut too. :)

Notice in the grainy old photo: not only are we baking and spoon licking, but there is a paper chain proudly hung over the window, and handmade-by-a-kid card on the ledge. Taken at our first house, circa 2003. The good 'ol days.

Earth Day Experiment

Yummy lunch! Just kidding. This is our little earth day project. The kids layered a bit of backyard soil, a plastic bag, a little more soil, then lots of junk! The junk is from our compost bucket... and this bit includes a crayon wrapper, oranges and rinds, candy wrappers, coffee cup, coffee filter and grounds, scrap of fabric, dead twigs and leaves, weeds, microwave popcorn bag, onion skins, little pieces of cardboard, a lemon piece, and rotting jalapeno. (You could use any assorted food scraps, paper towels, etc). Make sure to add "brown matter" such as twigs and dead leaves.

Put it all in a big jar with holes in the lid for aeration.  Shake it up a little, every few days or so. Have your kids make predictions, then watch what happens.  PS - which of this trash do you think I was very personally responsible for? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't the fruit. :) 

Happy Earth Day!

The school

Homeschooling seems to be going well. Except for a few distractions here and there...

An Ode To Toilets and Homeschool and Spring.

Spring is almost here! This morning I woke up to chirping birds, I think they were robins, and a migraine. The birds portion was nice. :)  We've been noticing the crocuses every time we get in and out of the car - open to the sun and warmth, closed to dark and cold. It is fascinating to Kes.

In school news, Mady is officially enrolled as a WAVA/K12 student. We should be getting her books in a couple weeks, and then we'll start. The enrollment process was slightly less daunting than doing your own taxes. So after many hours on the phone, at the computer, and searching through old files, all the necessary items were faxed in, and it was official yesterday afternoon. (And for my homeschooling friends, fyi, she is considered public school status, not homeschool status. This will enable her to receive a diploma rather than GED. This also enables us to get the program at no cost. It seems that it would be feasible to school several children at once through the program.) To find out more, check out these sites. WAVA is our state, Washington Virtual Academy, and K12 is the supplier of the curriculum. The teacher we'll have is through WAVA. The daily work is through K12. I think. Her desk is all set up, we're ready to go!

Last night Jenson and I had a date at, where else, the library. A date with Charlie the Noiseguy. Jenson was laughing hysterically, so I think he liked it. For $2.15, it was a successful date. (Two Dilly Bars later.) His budget was bigger than two Dilly Bars though, because he pulled out a pocket of wadded up dollar bills to buy the Noiseguy's book - Flush, An Ode To Toilets. Hmm.

I love the library!

Have you ever taken advantage of their programs? There are so many, and I am pretty sure it is all free. Yay, such a good use of my taxes!

We're participating in story times for both of the younger kids, teen game night (with board games, Rudy's pizza, and a Wii), knitting sessions for Mady, and an upcoming Dr. Seuss party with stories and crafts and cake. (One little boy I know is really going to love that!) There's evening family events, movie nights, and lots of cultural things.

Something I can't get enough of right now, is the "Hold/Request" system. I can search online from home, and have them put aside the books I want. If they are checked out, I get added to the list. When the books are ready to go, they're in a special area, with my name on it. In and out, that easy. If you have a toddler, you understand how great this is! I have read so many great books in the last couple of months because of it : Plenty (100 Mile Diet), Animal, Miracle, Vegetable, Square Foot Gardening, and currently Alice Water's The Art of Simple Foods.

Do you know about the Preschool Box Kits? Each box is a different theme, like trains, animals, friends, homes, fish, etc. I think there are around 30 boxes. They contain several books about the theme, usually some type of activity, and an audio book. We have the birds box right now, and it  has a field guide, about 10 storybooks with birds, a felt board activity, baby board book, and a notebook of other activities I can do to incorporate learning about birds. The boxes are available to everyone, not just preschools.

So go to the library. It's fun!!

Problem Solved!

I am so relieved today, and excited for homeschooling!

Yesterday, after talking to our school district about some forms we needed to remove Mady and other stuff, I got transferred to the Student Services lady. SHE was fabulous!! She told me the secret. I think it is a secret because nobody else has mentioned it since I took Mady out of school, almost 4 weeks ago.

The secret is that Washington state participates in online school. So in our state, all kids are permitted to do school from home, via an online service. The school district has to release them to do this program if the parents choose, just like homeschooling. But the perfect part about it, (for our family, anyway), is that this online scool (called a virtual academy) pretty much does all the work for me.

They are very involved in the whole process. They have a series of assessment tests to place kids where they need to be, and they have all the curriculum and day by day lessons in order. They supply an accredited teacher to assist, and that teacher keeps in touch every two weeks to make sure progress is being made and attendance is kept up. Yet, the parent is still the main "coach" in the whole thing. Since it is through the state, it is much more monitored than traditional homeschool. But for me, that is totally fine. I need all the support I can get, since we are jumping in at middle school. I don't mind that the curriculum is laid out for me. Honestly, I didin't know where to start as far as curriculum goes anyway. I had been to look at many text books for homeschoolers, and still didn't really know what to pick. And they were expensive, so I didn't want to pick the wrong ones.

Fortunately, after just discovering this yesterday, we were able to particiapte in an already scheduled online conference that had a presentation and answered our questions. We are on board! I liked everything about it. It will be perfect for our family I think. Do you like my bullet point lists? Are you quite sick of them yet? ...

Here's what I love about virtual school:

• Mady will still learn about superlative nouns and integars and music, even if I can't remember it all.
• I have tons of support. The people on the phone were all very nice, and never put me on hold. Except the guy who was sneezing. :)
• We will be assigned an accredited teacher, who does this as a full time job. It isn't a teacher in a school doing it on the side. Their only interest is for the online kids, and to offer support and keep the kids progressing.
• Mady is a bright kid, and hasn't had to work very hard to learn. This will give her more of a challenge, geared right to her needs. She will have to be more hard-working and disciplined. We agree that she really needs to develop those habits.
• She will have to spend approximately 5 hours per day doing school. To us, this is just right. Not too much, not too little. It will teach her about time management, and still leave plenty of time to persue other interests.
• The day can be completely flexible. Although I think having her on a schedule will be best most of the time, it can be adapted to fit whatever is going on. If it's sunny and we want to have a picnic or day away, she can do her work that evening, or on a different day.
• There is a set calendar, with teacher in-service days (as days off) and spring break and holidays, etc. We can adjust the calendar to our liking. I will probably just match it up to the Bellingham school calendar, so my kids have the same days off. We can continually adjust it as we go if we need to. There is a definite summer break.
• It is computer based, so those skills will continue to be sharpened, but it has just as much book work and experience work too.  It looks like a good mix.
• I will get daily emails to guide me in assisting her, and yet she has her own account, so that she has responsibility for herself.
• They say the curriculum in each subject is "a mile wide and a mile deep" - so we can really delve into things of interest as we want. It offers tons of activities to go along with it. But, if she masters the concept, and passes an assemssment test, she can move on if she wants, for things that don't interest her as much. There isn't any busy work. If she knows a skill, she moves on. The day could be shorter because of this, which will be nice on occasion, and leave time to jump into other subjects that are more interesting to her.
• The art and history correspond, so she'll learn about the "story" of history, and the art that goes along with that time period all together.
• There are over 100 pounds of textbooks, workbooks, and supplies required. This includes science experiment stuff, such as a microscope, maps and globe, magnet bars, seeds, and on and on. Art supplies are needed too, like an art print kit, acrylic paints and brushes, etc. This kit gets shipped right to our door.
• Since it is still homeschool, we can do our planned projects like building a square foot garden and making a quilt, no problem. It only adds to the education and experience.
• There are field trips every month or so, directed by our personal teacher. There's a social network of other K12 families that get together. According to someone I spoke with last night, several in Bellingham.
• It is a public stock. My husband is a financial advisor. We can buy stock in our daughter's school. :)
• And something really good: it is all free. The curriculum plans, the teacher support, even all the books and supplies, are completely free. Our school district provides the funds to this company, that would otherwise be spent on her public education. Aha! That is why it took me so long to hear about it!
• The only con, is politics. I suppose there is a possibility that our state could overturn it, and it wouldn't be free anymore. So far it has been available to our state for the last two years. (The company has been in business for 7 years).  Even if that did happen, we could buy the program if we choose. There isn't anything to lead us to believe it will happen, but just something to be aware of. I suppose I will become a letter-writing political activist to some degree. :)
• We are still considered homeschoolers, and can be active in the association and participate in all of those activities.

So that is my huge relief! I think it is a great solution to anyone who takes their child out of public school, especially older kids. I imagine that it isn't as appealing to families of younger kids that already homeschool and enjoy more freedom in choosing curriulum, etc. (And Allison, it is available in California too, and about 12 other states right now).

Whew. Problems solved. Now, we're off to a Tom Hunter concert for the little one. Enjoy your day!

can you guess?

Can you guess what this is?

 

• a. pajama day
• b. scrapbooking 101
• c. playing with baby quilts
• d. homeschool for dummies

Ding, ding, ding, ding. If you guessed D., you are correct! (As in, I am the dummy, definitely not Mady!). I haven't a clue how to be a homeschooling mom quite yet, but we are figuring it out.  We took Mady (12) out of public middle school at the beginning of the month. She hasn't done anything wrong, but this was the best thing for her.  She will have a tutor for two subjects, and I am responsible for the other stuff. Luckily, she has always been a very good student (4.0 gpa, in a freshman level algebra class while still in 7th grade, and in the "highly capable learner's program" since kindergarten). My work is cut out for me! She should really be schooling me.

So far we have been focusing on relaxing and healing types of things. She's done lots of yoga, art collages, reading, more art, and is working on making a quilt. I am not too worried about her falling behind or suffering academically right now, because she is so advanced for her grade level. She really just needs some time to breathe for a while. (I realize that the activities she is doing right now wouldn't provide a well-rounded education!)

I have been researching how we will go about things for next year, with a more academic approach. And because she is in middle school and has already been exposed to so much social life, that will need to be a focus as well. I have no doubt that homeschoolers are well-socialized, I am just trying to figure out (on short notice!), where she'll fit into that. So far, there's youth group, some volunteer work with other kids her age, a teen yoga class, a knitting club, and a few other things. I have never been one to enroll my kids in a ton of classes. I like the idea of free time in order to recharge and be imaginative. But for awhile, it is really important for Mady to have quite a few social outlets. Imagine going from middle school to being stuck home with your mother all day. Poor girl.

The need to homeschool came as quite a surprise to us, but it is all going to work just fine.  In the last few weeks though, I realized how much I depend on blogging and reading blogs! As a stay home home mom, it is really my main source of adult contact throughout the day. And man, do I need that! Without emails and keeping up with friends on their blogs, I feel completely isolated and overwhelmed with being a mom. I LOVE being a mom, but that adult interaction is so valuable! So, please, for the love, leave me a comment or send me an email! Lest I have a crying breakdown like yesterday... :) Oh, but I should mention, if I owe you an email, or missed you at Mops or something else, I am sorry. Until now, I have been too occupied with the situation at hand to make time. So that is that...  I would love to blog every morning. Maybe I can try to fit that in now. Thanks for the nice email and comments over the last month, too, they've been very appreciated.