Day 180 plus

So here we are at the end of the school year.  It's taken me a while to post this.  I guess I'm almost sad about the end of 4th grade.  Thus do we enter the murky waters of  >shudder<  Middle School.  On the other hand, we can now relax and go through summer playing math games (Timez Attack), swimming for  Phys Ed, trying to learn Spanish, and reading about Medieval Times as the kids wanted to. 

I was pondering what to write about for the last post for One Year of Homeschooling.  In the past week or so we've done things worth posting about. 
We went on a hike to Table Rock on Father's Day and saw a Black snake winding his way on the side of a rock.  We had a truly nice time with perfect weather and even tempers. 
We went on an airport tour that was super fantastic, and I plan on taking them back for another in a few years.  We got a private bus that took us to a hangar for a tour and to the snow removal equipment housed in old Cold War hangars (snow removal equipment for an airstrip is very impressive, by the way).  The bus also took us to the end of the runway where we watched a plane land, then drove down the length of the runway after it!  It was most cool.
I could have written about the end-of-year test, the CAT test from Seton that we do every year.  I fret and I fret, positive that this is the year that they are going to fail math completely, only to be so very pleasantly surprised when they both score in the high 90's for both English and Math.
I could have written about catching crayfish in the creek, or swimming in pools, or going to fireworks, or picnics, or any number of things.

The trouble is that the schooling doesn't just "end".  Officially, the kids think they are off the hook and done for the year.  The truth of the matter is that we are teaching all the time, and they are learning from us, from all the books that they devour like junk food, from all they see and do.  I don't define myself as an unschooler, but it's starting to look like I am one just the same.
Today I prepared my 4th quarterly (ok, late, yes) and put everything in it to complete paperwork for 4th grade.  I also put in it my Letter of Intent.  On to another year of homeschooling!

Giving them a helping hand (before freaking out, look at the horizon).

Day 178, 179

We finished the testing!  It took a couple of days (maybe more), but we finally got it all done.  Out of 100 questions, Luke got 4 wrong, and Emily got 3 wrong.  This is not the end of the story, however.  This was the CAT test from Seton.  The way it's graded is they are compared to all the other kids (including school kids) who take the test, and for each section they are given a rating.  The more kids did well, the lower the overall rating will be.  The scale is 1-10, and when the kids were younger, they got 8s and 9s on sections where I knew they had gotten all the questions right.  The reason is the grade is an average, and most of the kids got a lot of the answers right, so it brings down the score.  If half the kids scored 17 questions right in a 20 question section, that means they would score a 5.
I'm just happy to report to Luke and Emily that they scored 97 and 96%, and have officially passed 4th grade.  I'll be closing with my last of the 180 days next, and then who knows?  We still have a lot to do.  I didn't even mention the tour of the Sewage Treatment plant we took last Friday, or the Zoology picnic we have on Thursday, or the Airport tour coming up, the end-of-year picnic for our own group with crafts and water fun, or...

Day 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177

Somehow life has gotten away from me again, but we have, as usual, been busy busy busy.
We did indeed go to Brooks Dairy Farm, where we stood at the business end of the cows, dodging the *ahem* excrement, and the kids loved climbing all over the hay.  Everyone who wanted to got a chance to milk a cow, and we learned how raw milk is gotten from cow to container.  A very nice farm and really nice people. 

There were a few days taken by test prep, which we are still working on, a little at a time.  We did plant the farm, but I haven't taken pictures yet.  It seems to be going well!  We also had some "house" work going on, so things were slowed down for that.  We had a holiday weekend in there as well! 

We did manage another writing assignment, and I think this one went better than the last.  I'd like to make it a regular weekly thing, and my mom actually is doing it with me to "help" her comprehension as well.  I think she found it an interesting exercise.  We did the Father and His Sons, another Aesop fable, but I think it's time to  move on and maybe try some non-fiction next. 

We also went on a hike to Bonticou Crag in Mohonk Preserve.  It is beautiful, but I'm not fond of the rock scramble part.  The kids like most of it, but a spot or two are sort of tricky.  I think next time DH can take the kids up the front, and I'll meet them around the other way.

Well, ok, this photo might have been rigged...

We had an end-of-year gathering for orchestra this past monday, a playdate tuesday, a playdate wednesday, and a dentist appointment today. 
There were other things accomplished, but it's been an odd couple of weeks. 

At any rate, we have at least decided on some things that will get done in the summer:  math drills, music practice, Spanish and Medieval Times.  Heck, it'll be great!  We'll build a trebuchet and a castle, throw in some swimming, barbecues and a trip, and that's summer!

Day 167, 168

Monday we had another concert with Orchestra.  This was at Golden Hill, and though we were late, I have to say that I noticed a big difference between this old age home and the other one we have performed at.  The people here were so much more responsive.  I know that's a good thing, but I can't help feeling bad for the people at the other one.  Does the quality of care make such a difference, or is it just a matter of certain types of people going to one versus the other?
Anyway, we finished in plenty of time to go have lunch at McD's, our fav of late with the dollar menu and all, and on to Aikido.
We then went home and worked on a new project.  I had downloaded some MP3s from the Institute for Excellence in Writing web page, and one was about Reaching the Reluctant Writer.  The speaker went through the process of actually giving young students something to write about.  He said that students most often have trouble with what to write, since they are young and, honestly, don't have the experience to draw on that us older folk have.  His solution is to take something that is at or below their reading level, and pick it apart sentence by sentence to make an outline.  For each sentence, the student is allowed 3 (4 if older) words.  Pull three words to help them remember the gist of the sentence.  For instance, in The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog, I might choose "fox", "jumped" and "dog".  The student then can rewrite (or recite) the story back, changing it being ok: The crazy fox jumped high over the dumb dog.  You still get the idea.  The speaker suggested Aesop's fables, and so we did one.  Title words and symbols/quick pics are free, so don't count as part of the three words.  The kids really got into it, and it was neat to see how the stories came out differently.  We will definitely do this again, and maybe after a time or two will even try some non-fiction.

Tuesday.  I'm pooped.  Not sure how the kids are still awake at 11:02pm.  This morning we did some test prep Math, then we were off to buy plants for the veggie garden with Nana and Grandpa.  I ended up buying more than I expected, as usual, but I think it was worth it.  Got some flowers that the kids planted in the front garden and the back garden.  Got all the veggies and we planted them today too.  Tomatoes, bush beans, snap peas, lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers, pickling cukes, zucchini, and probably something I forgot as well.  Luke helped Nana with her bed, while Emily helped me with ours.  Grandpa and I had prepped the beds earlier, which made things a lot easier today.  I was really psyched to see how engaged the kids got with digging and planting and watering.  Now if we can keep the enthusiasm through weeding, I'd really be amazed!  :)  I'll post some pictures if the plants are still there tomorrow and I can snap a shot. 

Tonight, the kids went to the web site Hooda Math.  Lately I think they prefer it to the annoying and ad-driven Poptropica.  I am sure they find the least 'educational' type game they can find, but I think it's still better than most game sites.  They do have some serious math type stuff, but I'm just glad they can find a site we all like, and it still has them screaming with laughter. 

Ok, reading over all we've done in the past two days has made me more tired.  Tomorrow, Dancd, Dairy Farm Field trip, Aikido, and a fracking discussion at UCCC from 6-8.  Busy busy!

Day 166

Went to the First (Annual?) Knowledge (K)Night up in Kingston today.  Emily was singing with the chorus, and it was nice to hear her and everyone else sounding quite good!

After the chorus sang many an amusing note, it was time for the Spelling Bee.  Luke and Emily both not only participated, but did quite well, staying in until about the last 5 kids.  After that, we looked at exhibits and chatted until it was time for the quiz show.  The kids were set up in teams, and had to answer trivia questions.  Luke and Emily were a team, and tied for first with another team. 

It was a very nice afternoon, and we followed it up with pizza for dinner.  Yay!

Day 164, 165

Thursday

Physicals for the kids today and general errands.  Got Emily's bloodwork done.  She's a real trooper about it and the lab we go to now is really fast, which is wonderful.  I don't think she'd be more anxious about it having to wait, just bored.
We did manage to get time in for math, but it took way too long to do a math test.  Emily got a 90 (I'm surprised) and Luke got an 80 (I'm even more surprised).  Attitudes could be better, and we'll be working on that in the coming weeks and aaaaaaalll summer.

Friday

Last Zoo program at Forsyth today.  I think the kids enjoyed it.  I know they have reports to do that they have to turn in by June 15th, but that's all I know.  Is this what it's like when they go to school?  How frustrating!!  Maybe I'm too hands-on, but it's driving me crazy because I've not known when it was due and if they should be working on it, and now it's due June 15th, but what is it?  They are completely unconcerned, and would likely not do anything. 
We then get to math.  They can do it, but evidently not without a lot of yelling.  Well, I'm going to try not to in future, but deal them out some consequences that may be tough to deal with.  Sigh.  It will get better.  It has to.  I have the year-end tests that need doing, so it WILL.  Actually, I think both the kids look forward to the testing.  I don't understand it, but hopefully they'll do well.  Thinking about trying it towards the end of next week.  Or maybe the week after...

Day 161, 162, 163

Monday
Orchestra and Aikido, but thankfully dh came and took Emily to Aikido.  Luke got a cold over the weekend, and he's pretty miserable.  Didn't participate in Orchestra, which I can understand.  Who can play the trumpet when their nose is clogged and runny, and they have a tissue permanently installed on their upper lip?  Poor kid.

Tuesday
Holy mackerels, we actually got some work done.  I can't believe it.  We did not one, but TWO activities from our Science Sleuth book, and over time got 1 or 2 math lessons done and 6-8 pages of English.  Worked in some picking up of rooms and painting (adding a tree to my son's dino room.  Still needs work, but it's better).  Moved some furniture so that Emily can sleep even without a rat cage in her room, and had the kids empty the dishwasher.  Wow, we CAN get work done!

Wednesday
Usual busy day.  I'm getting the cold, so I have a sore throat now.  This after I went to dance and held people's hands.  Yikes!  We were supposed to have a Dairy Farm Tour, but its been raining so much that it's all mud there.  It's been postponed to next week.  Emily had chorus, but she was only allowed to go after she finished her math lesson, which she did only a little bit late.  The real trick, I know, is staying firm and being a bit stern.  There's nothing else for it.  However, the math lesson was a tricky one, and I think everyone got it in the end.  Yay!

Day 158, 159, 160

Old Dutch Church concert day!  Or rather, evening!  It was quite a rush to get over to the church by 5:45 when Aikido got out at 5:30 across town!  But we did make it, and it was a very nice concert.  Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera to dh, so no pictures.  :(  But we were dressed quite nicely!  Our new attire this year is all black and white, and everyone at my house was very happy to be dressed up and spiffy.  Oh, and we played pretty ok, too.

Next Day
Reader's Theater went so late we had to leave the library in the dark!  It was already closed!  The kids put on The Twits by Roald Dahl.  We've read this story, but it was cute how they narrated it, even though Luke was not as into it as the last time. 
One understandable reason is that his pet rat, Dusty, had had a seizure and been to the vet's the day before.  He wasn't doing well, and would actually die not much later.  We buried him the next day.  The day after that, Emily's pet rat died as well.  It was all fast and sudden, and we are still missing our furry little companions who are the stars of so many stories and fictions and emotions in our lives. 

Next Day
Forsyth Nature Center is doing a program for homeschoolers, so of course we are there.  They learned about reptiles and Emily heard that there were a few eggs laid, so she needs more info for her project due, I think, on Friday.  That's my girl.  Luke, however, has not done anything for his homework, which is to write about the Rules and Procedures.  I smell a trip to Kingston in my near future.  I'm more and more glad that there are 20 official days left in the school year, though we are going to continue math through the summer.

Day 156, 157

Wow, been a while since I posted!  Well, we were getting to the end of the semester, and my class was winding up, and I just didn't have time to write.  So, I'm going to back up a bit, and just do a few days at a time.

What we discovered via friends on these two days was a game called Timez Attack.  This is a highly video game-like educational activity.  The graphics are really amazing for what it is, especially the free version that you download to your computer.  I've heard that it tracks how you do and adjusts the game to your ability.  I've also heard that you can, as the parent, log on and see how the kid is doing.  It gives them a  pretest, then does the same test at the end to see if they have improved.

While I'm really amazed at the quality and feel of the game, I can say that my son, the ultimate video game addict, gets so frustrated he cries with this game.  Could be he has to take it down a level, because I can also say that he really likes to play it.  It's just that the speed of the questions is pretty rapid, and he's not as fast at his facts as he needs to be.  A little practice on his part, and I think he'll love this game.

Next Day

Went for a hike.  It was billed as a 'short walk', but it was a hike.  Everyone was tired.  Dh and I were tired and sore from working outside on Mother's Day.  The kids were tired from...I don't know what they were tired from.  We started with the idea that we would walk just a little in, find a nice place with a view, sit and eat and enjoy the beautiful weather.  Yep.  That was the plan.

What happened, however, was we went to Undercliff/Overcliff.  By the time we found a spot that was lunch-worthy, we were so far we decided to complete the loop.  Over 5 miles! 



Lunchtime!  Sittin' and enjoyin'



Naturalist at work

 

Towards the very end of the hike

 Oh, sweet girl!

There were tons of these guys.  Why did the millipede cross the road?  I don't care since the hundreds of these were keeping the kids very occupied all the way back at the end.  They kept track of live or dead, and when we stopped we were amazed to see that bicyclists could drive by without hitting any.

Day 153-155

What a week!  Wednesday we had the usual: Dance, Co-op, which was a special Mother's Day activity that I am not yet privvy to, and Aikido.
Thursday was almost a wash as far as my doing academics with the kids as we had to go to the dentist (a 45 minute ride each way) and the car place to get a strut replaced (same area as the dentist).  We did manage to get 2 math lessons done.  It always surprises me!  It wasn't easy, but we got through them at the car place while we waited.
Thursday evening, we went to see a talk by Dr. Pigliucci on how to tell Science from Bunk.  It was a really good talk, very entertaining and enlightening.  I highly recommend seeing him if you get the opportunity.  Not so much for the kids, though, and my mom ended up entertaining them for a lot of the time.  I, having done my time with math at the car place, felt a little guilty letting her take that on, but not enough to do anything differently. 

Steve and Luke getting the launch pad ready

The Ghost of the Angry Bee prepares for takeoff

Friday was Rocket Day!  All the kids look forward to it, and it really is a lot of fun.  It was pretty windy, so we thought we might lose some rockets, but we only lost 1 and two halves.  One went over the river, and one lost a nosecone in a tree, and one sort of melted but is still in our house.  Luke's rocket was cracked on the first launch, and started melting on the second try later on.  Emily's went up a good couple of times, and mine, the stark white (due to being built the night before) Ghost of the Angry Bee (who b\lew up during the last Rocket Day) made it up and down at least 4 times and, after being given up for lost, was found and brought home!  The Ghost of the Angry Bee lives! 

Day 151-152

So.  Monday was ok.  Not fantastic, but ok.  Had to argue with Luke, but got to Orchestra, got to Aikido.  Didn't make it to the zoo, but that seemed like pushing it anyway.  Turns out we have two weeks until the next zoology class, so we're ok waiting a bit to go do the homework.  We went home and finished reading Coraline, which I found totally creepy but really clever and wild, too.  Not sure the kids liked it, but they wanted to hear it when I offered to read, so I'll take it!  Somehow, Emily fell down on the stairs in back of the house, though not far.  I guess she was at the bottom step, and missed or something, but she cut her toe pretty good.  Now she's gimping all over the house, out of the house, on the driveway, in the yard.  She just can't help wanting to be all over!
Then we got to today.  Yikes!  Everyone was in a bad mood and nothing got done except for Luke eventually doing his math.  Luke!  Not Emily!  Actually, I shouldn't say that nothing got done, as hubby and I cleaned out our small pond (it doesn't feel so small when you have to clean it!). Of course, Gimpy had to come over to watch us, getting as close as we'd let her with the injury on her toe.  We pretty much emptied the pond and scrubbed the sides.  No sign of our little black fishes, which makes me sad, but at least we have our two goldfish and the frog.  Now we'll be able to see them, but now I'm so sore I'm not sure I'll make Dance tomorrow!  Guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.

Day 146-150

Having survived Easter, we tackled the new week with low enthusiasm, but managed to work in a good amount of activity.  We went to orchestra and Aikido on Monday. 

Tuesday we went north about an hour and a half and saw the Gilboa tree fossils, then hunted for fossils at a site on the side of the road.  An excellent site as you can't help but find fossils!

At the Gilboa Fossil Site

A fossil of a tree stump!

At our fossil collecting site.  It was a tad hot.



Heat did not stop the big kids from exploring and looking for trilobites (we never found any).

 Unfortunately, the heat meant the kids didn't want to look for long, but we came home with scads of fossils. 

Wednesday meant going to Dance with Emily, a walk on the Rail Trail with Friends, and a Book Club meeting at the Stone Ridge Library.  They discussed The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane. 

Thursday was Math, English and Reader's Theater.  This is also at the Stone Ridge Library and run by Julianna.  The kids practiced and made costumes and line changes, then they put on the play, seated, reading from scripts, but enunciating with feeling.  The Big Blank Wolf: the day the Big Bad Wolf forgot his middle name.  It was really cute. 

Friday was the first Zoology class that we have made it to at the Forsyth Nature Center.  It turns out that the kids are putting together a newsletter, and Luke volunteered to do the Rules and Procedures section, and Emily will do Births and Deaths.  The Forsyth Nature Center is a great little zoo in Kingston with animals that they encourage you to feed with goodies like lettuce and carrots that you can bring.  They have peacocks, ducks, a sheep, a bull, deer, goats, a pot bellied pig, chickens, rabbits, turtles, tortoises, guinea fowl, parakeets, finches, and an apiary I haven't been near.  They have a beautiful pond there they put in a year or two ago with a boardwalk to see it from.  Seems like the programs are really pretty good, too!  So we'll see if I can get these ratscallion kids to do their homework! 

Day 145

Today we did no schoolwork.  Yesterday, each kid did a math lesson, but today is Earth Day.  My daughter wanted to go to Minnewaska State Park for a clean-up day as we have for the past two years, but I hadn't heard anything from them, so we concentrated on an area closer to home, namely, our woods.

The Rail Trail cuts through our property so that when we leave our back yard and go into the woods, after crossing a small stream and going up and down a little hill with cedars on it, you come to the Rail Trail.  I don't have a problem with this.  Actually, if we had a little trail through the woods, it would be nice.  The trouble is that sometimes people decide to go off the trail.  Actually, that's not even the problem.  The problem is that some people go off the trail to have a snack, and leave their garbage on our property.  Granted, there was some very old stuff back there in the woods.  We took apart a bed spring, and picked up a tarp that must have been there for years, and there are some other things back there I'd rather weren't but there's nothing we can really do about it.  However, when we have to pick up lighters, bottles, cans, and (this is the most unbelievable) organic healthy snack packages, that's too much. 

So anyway, we did our Earth Day chore, and cleaned up the Earth a bit.  I feel good about it, and I know the kids do, too.  I'm not so sure about my poor husband though.  We picked 6 ticks off him when we were done!

Day 145?

Ok, this post isn't about homeschooling per se.  Well, not about my day today.  We'll watch a weather video and do a math lesson, and I'll read from the book Hatchet, but today I'm going to complain about work.

I started a part time job working evenings doing data entry.  The job is fine.  The people are nice, patient, friendly, there's even a bunch of people I know and sit with during break now.  The problem isn't the job, it's the time. No, I'm not working 50 hours a week, only 20.  Such a small number, but with such a big impact!  Five days a week, I hurriedly make dinner, get it on the table, snarf it down, and bolt out the door not to return until 10:30 when the kids are already in bed, and my dh is pooped out.  Anything dh wants to do in the evenings is now a major ordeal, and I don't do anything in the evenings but work.  On top of that, right after I started was when everyone got the major illness, including dh, so I had to leave two sick kids with a sick husband.  Not cool.  At least everyone is finally on the mend now.

It's not that I mind some time away, just that I wish I still had SOME time with the whole family that wasn't spent with me in a hurry to get out.  It also limits when I can get my errands done.  Food shopping, shopping for holidays, etc. take place after work when I'm already tired and prone to buy things I don't need, which defeats the whole purpose of working!  I also find myself constantly in anxiety about getting other things done in time to get to work.  Will the car appointment be done in time for me to get everything done before I have to be at work? 

Ok, I'm done now.  I'll be fine.  Really.  What time is it?  Do I have time to...?

Day 144

Did a bit more today.  Actually, we did more today than we did all week last week!  This weekend I started reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen to the kids.  It's a bit more graphic than I had hoped, so I had to skip over a bit when the pilot of the plane died.  It's about a boy on his way to his father's house in northern Canada from the US when the pilot of the plane, the only other person, dies of a heart attack and the plane crashes in the wilderness.  It's more of a book about his relationships with his parents than I thought it would be, as he has issues with his mom and his parents' divorce.

I also started reading a book about weather, but it talked a lot about mythology and who finally started to try to explain the weather scientifically rather than deistically (is that a word?).  We then watched a short video or two about weather including one on spanish words for weather.

Finally, we tackled a math investigation and it went pretty well.  We did it all together, and I think they had some fun with it as it was probability so we learned about probability being from 0 to 1, or a fraction in between, and chance being a percentage.  We then rolled dice various ways while trying to predict what would come up the most. 

Now we are watching an ocean video.  If the kids were in school, Luke would still be home, and I'd be, I don't know, working or something.  We wouldn't have been able to have such an 'educational' day, and one that I think has worked out very well.  I'm so glad that I can do this!

No Day

So we have done almost no school since the kids and the husband acquired the nasty virus going around.  Luke has had a fever for 7 straight days and spent today with me in the ER finding out that, yes, he has a virus. 
Husband is on the mend but exhausted, daughter is on the mend but exhausted, son is just exhausted.  Still has a fever of over 101 tonight.  More another day...

Day 140, 141, 142, 143

The days go by in a blur these days!  What I can remember is this:  Dance on Wednesday, Chorus for Emily, and Aikido for both.  Our new method of math seems to be working out so far, so we managed 4 math lessons plus a test and we tried one of the 'Investigations', but it was deemed beneath them (Ok, it really was.  I think we're beyond 1/2=2/4 by now). 
We started a writing project but got nowhere.  I think I'll get further with having them write fiction and making up a story.  They did both manage to get through the second level of the Sylvan program, and they seem to be enjoying it, so we'll keep that up next week, and start trying to implement some of what they are learning.
One of the reasons the days are getting away from me is the class I'm taking online on American History.  The text books are awsome, and I would highly recommend them.  I plan on using them for the kids when they get to higher levels.  They are written like a story, and are very readable.  The first one is America: A Narrative History (Eighth Edition) (Vol. 1).  This semester we're into Vol 2.
Another reason is that I just started working part-time in the evenings.  You know, the time most people have for posting these sorts of things. 
The last reason is that I'm a forgetful sort of person (see my other, less-posted-to blog, Homeschooling with Fibromyalgia).  Next week promises to be even worse, as we have doctors' appointments mixed in as well, but I'll do the best I can!

Day 139

Other than the very beginning, it was an average Monday.  We had orchestra, and someone didn't want to go.  Got ugly, but got him in in the end.  Played our instruments, then raced to Aikido.  Afterwards, we stopped to get rat food, and ended up getting parrot food for the rats instead.  We are still nursing our one guy back to health, so he's still getting babyfood twice a day.  Tomorrow, we'll be going back to the vet for another round of antibiotics and pain meds.  Emily is very good about getting him his medicine if I forget.
We also started a program we picked up this weekend.  The program is called Sylvan Complete At-Home System: School Success, Ages 8-12, and it takes them through the reading/comprehension/writing process. It includes 4 CDs, an organizer, tablets for each CD with diagrams, etc to fill out for school projects, stickers and progress posters, and seems to have multiple grades. The kids started it today, and went through the first CD very quickly. I'm thinking that when we finish with the fourth grade levels, we can move on to the fifth after they show mastery. It's a relief to have something like this to make sure we are on target! It doesn't seem like workbooks are enough to make English relevant, and they seem to like the program! Yay!  I've already told them that they should be mindful as they work through this as they need to apply the things they learn to their writing projects this year.
In all, turned out to be an ok day.

Days 134, 135, 136, 137, 138 (Yikes, again!)

Yet another sickness last week.  Emily had a cold, so we didn't make it to dance on Wednesday, but we managed everything else that was a 'go-out' thing.  If Luke catches it, it might be a diferent story.  It's funny how different the kids are.
Anyway, things we did thilast week included a walk on the rail trail, book club meeting at the library for City of Ember, which I didn't read but I hear is very good, and had the kids sign up for Vanished, which starts this week.  Turns out they really DO have to be 10 1/2 years old to fully participate, but they got what they call 'watcher' accounts, so they can see everything that it going on.   Anyway, it's a program put together by MIT and the Smithsonian, so it has to be good!  It incorporates an online component with 'field work', and even some museum events if you are local to one of the 30-some participating. 
Looking forward to starting it today!  April 4th!
In other news, got to get my 3rd quarterly out this week!

Day 129, 130, 131, 132, 133 (Yikes!)

Monday was snowy yet again, but only resulted in a short delay in our getting to orchestra.  It was an all day affair, and while I was only able to get Luke to go by telling him he could stay in the car, he later came in for lunch, and did participate in the sectional. 
I've noticed that he's playing the keyboard a lot at home lately.  It seems to calm him down and he can regain himself if he has some time to play.  He's made up a couple of tunes, and I got a book from the library with simple songs for him to learn.  I started to go over one today with him, and it didn't take him long to change it to suit himself. 
In the course of this week (this being Friday), a lot of things have happened, and not happened.  We discovered a cool web site for coloring pages that are not the typical little-kid coloring pages at The Coloring Spot.  We found Stonehenge, and a Minotaur, and there were scads more of all sorts.  Very well done and fun to color!  We added the two to our history books (still going through the World History Encyclopedia) and I believe that was the day the math went away.
Wednesday it was supposed to snow.  Not a little snow, but Inches and Inches.  It snowed, yes.  It did not snow inches and inches, but it was too late to do anything.  Everything kept getting cancelled!  When I realized that math had disappeared, I got out workbooks we had gotten last summer, 4th grade math for the gifted student.  This went over surprisingly well.
We also continued our sleuthing with Science Sleuths, and had a murder over at Nana's house.

The Murder Scene

Emily diligently took pictures and we logged them, she labelled all the evidence, and drew a quick sketch of the scene.  It was pretty good. 
One of the other major events going on is that we have a sick rattie.  He's very old, so I'm not surprised, but it's hard all the same when you know they are hurting.  Emily is a very good nurse for poor Stormy.  He went to the vet, and the vet trimmed his teeth.  Seems like it would be a good idea, but now he cries whenever he eats.  Just got him some pain meds today, so hopefully he will feel a little better.  The vet thinks the problem is pneumonia, and we are sort of hoping so, since at least that would be treatable.  He's on antibiotics now, and I think he may be drinking less, which is good!  Meantime, Dusty had to come out of Emily's room as pneumonia is contagious to other rats (but not to people).  Dusty is now living on the floor in our kitchen.  Not the ideal place, even for a socially adept rat, which he is not.  He's a shy guy.  Maybe this experience will help him.  So, a very troubling week. 

Emily Feeding Stormy babyfood with medicine.

Can't ignore Dusty!  He gets to see some funny rat pictures online.

Oh, and I did find the math books.  They weren't under the bed or under the table or in the closet or in the garbage can outside or in a cabinet.  They were behind the couch.  I guess they don't like Saxon very much!


Day 128

Following should have been posted a WHILE ago!...

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and my step-father being Irish makes this a big deal in our house.  Somehow it always takes me by surprise, but the kids get really into it.  This year, we started the day with cold cereal with green milk (ugh, not for me).

We printed some 'game' sheets out from DLTK and the kids worked on mazes, word ladders, and a word mining sheet that I later printed for the adults to do after dinner (How many words can you find in the letters of ST PATRICKS DAY?)

 The kids also decided that they should build leprechaun traps.  There are many styles and instructions for these traps, but I didn't get a chance to give any as they were off and running.



Even the Zhu Zhus were dressing for the day



Luke's trap: notice the reed pipes, the ladder, and the rainbow which is said to attract leprechauns



Caught some!  Luke brought us this centerpiece for the dinner table.  He looks a little wary, though!

  
 

Emily's is all gold to attract the wee fellows.

Day 126, 127

You learn something new every day.  At least, I do.  Recently, I learned that you can do paper mache with water and toilet paper.  Thanks to The Dapper Rat, we are now making a play house for the rats out of just those materials (on a balloon blown to appropriate--read: LARGE--size).  Right now it's hanging in my kitchen above the sink.  It's right in front of the window so it looks like some weird light or display.  I guess there are worse things.

Monday was Pi day.  3/14.  I guess to be technical, we should have took note of the time at 3pm, but we didn't.  We measured some things, and have a project in the works to make a graph, so that should be good.  Unfortunately, people were pretty sick in the house, so I guess we'll there's always next year for the big shindig.  Meantime, here's a hilarious debate at a college Pi Versus e.  DH and I just watched it tonight, so we're a little late, but better late than never!  My guess is that the kids wouldn't get and/or enjoy it yet.

 Meantime, we did watch some Brainpop movies and celebrated Ag Day (3/15, of course!) by eating pizza and visiting the Ag Day site.  Today we learned all about the American Chestnut.  I don't think I could identify it, but once pointed out, I could tell you a thing or two about it!  Like the fact that they nearly all died out within 50 years of an introduced blight.  Like the fact that there is ONE tree in Vermont that seems to be ok, and they are researching why.  Like the fact that chestnuts used to be so plentiful, and cutting all the trees only made it easier for the chestnuts to take over, until the blight.
We had discussions on what agriculture means, and watched a video on organic farming and what that means.
Don't think it's too late to celebrate.  Ag Day falls this year in Ag Week (how fortunate!) so we can celebrate all week long!  Order that pizza!  Talk about where the foods come from!  Eat! Eat! EAT!  :)

Day 123, 124, 125

Here's a group of days.  We did math, I cleaned, etc.  Friday we went to the Adam's Garden Show, which ended Sunday.  Every year they spruce up the greenhouse and transform it into a pretty garden area.     

Here, the kids are in front of the waterfall. 



If you are wondering why there is no picture of me, it's because my crazy husband wouldn't take a picture in Adam's.  Good grief.  :)

Saturday, we went to the falls at High Falls to see how they looked as it has been raining and flooding everywhere.  They were quite something, with a rainbow over them when we arrived.  The kids went with their dad to the water's edge, and managed to free a board that had gotten stuck on it's journey.

Later, we went to Woodstock and wandered the various stores, our only true goal the Tea Store.  It's a small store, but the kids liked looking around, and Emily especially liked seeing all the teas and getting to smell them.  We bought a few and have had a good time trying them.  We got Hot Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Dragon Pearl Jasmine. I had no idea that there were teas that you were supposed to brew twice!  I'd never seen hand-rolled tea.  A neat experience!

Day 122

Wednesday.  Our busy day.  Dance with Emily.  Luke was home with Dad, who was on spring break.  Then we were off for our day of Egypt at our friend's house with a couple of other people.  It turned out to be a nice event.  The host mom had set up a tent (hung from the ceiling), a palm tree (construction paper on a floor lamp) with many activities, food, and stories.  
This happening was thanks to Lego as we had ordered the educator magazines.  They were about Egypt, and full of some interesting ideas.  One we had done the week before, where the kids had to uncover various treasures brick by brick.  This week they built a maps of Egypt showing the river and the mountains including elevation.  They tried Baba Ganouj, dates, and several other foods.  There were many writing activities including a quiz! 
Honestly, I'm not sure if the kids learned a lot, but they had a good time, and tried some new things.  Then, it was on to Aikido.

Day 121

This was actually last Tuesday, but I thought I'd post about the days one at a time, or at least a couple at a time as I actually have some things to post about!
Last Tuesday was the day we went to the dentist in Poughkeepsie, about 45 minutes from our home.  (Yes there are closer dentists, but that's another story altogether!)  The kids were extraordinarily patient, and were rewarded with a trip to Boudoin Park.  We haven't been to a playground in quite a while, so it was fun for them to roam around and try things out since they have gotten bigger and stronger.

Day 119, 120

I'm counting Sunday this week as we did have a busy day.  We went to church in the am, then rushed home to eat lunch and get ready for the Flying Karamazov Brothers at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie.  It was an amazing show, and I highly recommend it, especially at the discounted group rate we were able to get.  Here is a Youtube video of them for a glimpse at what they're like.  It was much more interactive than I expected, and the kids took to it fairly well.  It was one of the most amusing and funny shows I've seen!  We of course finished the evening with dinner out.  Where?  Red Robin.  Most tasty!

Today we had orchestra, and we have two Bard students who tried their hands at conducting.  It was a strange feeling to have a conductor again!  Different and strange.  No one can be Janet, of course, but it was nice to have someone to follow.  I do feel bad for the one student as he seemed very nervous!  Hopefully we don't make him nervous for too long.  Having never been conducted by anyone but Janet (and Marley), it was interesting to see the varying conducting styles.  

Anyway, it was also neat to see, when Deb suggested that the Chamber B students mark their new music, my son and his fellow trumpet player with heads bent, writing out their notes.  It wasn't long ago that I was doing all that for both of them.  Emily has been marking her own music for a while, and someone helped her with bow marking last time.  This was the first time I think Luke has done it, so that was cool.

Now we're looking forward to our concert at TBC next Monday!  :)

Day 118

Putting together a can robot

Insanity

Friendly insanity

Entry for a Lego contest

Day 116, 117

I'm amazed that I'm posting tonight.  It's midnight, and we've had quite a few days. 

Yesterday was orchestra, and Luke has finally stopped fighting me about going.  Oh, he may stomp a foot, but that's about it.  He participates as much as he can.  I do think he has trouble with the noise level, which is actually low for an orchestral group.  He has limited tolerances, which I've known for many years, but I think he's finally starting to accept the noise as part of tthe experience.  Only now and again do I notice that particularly pained look on his face.  I've told him to take a break outside when that happened before, and that seems to help.  I think the fact that he knows I don't mind if he gets away for a few minutes is a relief to him.  He still wants to leave pretty much right when it's done, but the weather isn't that nice yet.  I'm betting that will change once people stay and play, and I have to be more flexible about actually leaving instead of letting myself get wrapped up in conversation.  Sigh. 

Anyway, math yesterday was a disaster, ending with me yelling and threatening school, as usual.  I really have to stop that.  It helps no one, and school isn't really a possibility at this moment anyway, so I'm just wound up without any oomph behind me.

It was a stressful day anyway, because not only did I have an essay due today for my history class (I should have been working on it sooner!) but I started training for an evening temp job doing data entry.  Fun fun.  After training, which was from 6-10, I went food shopping.  Didn't get home until 11:30pm, then put everything away.  Fun.

Today, the kids lazed this morning while I finished my essay, talked to my mother-in-law, talked to my mom, talked to the bank about my debit card, talked to the orthodontist who it turns out doesn't take our insurance, and I don't even know what else.  The kids started to give me a hard time about getting to work, but Emily suddenly turned into this wonderful child who not only did what she was told, did it in a timely manner, and did it neatly, but did what she was expected to without me having to tell her!  This encouraged Luke to act in like manner, and soon everyone had their work done. 

We are also working on helping more with the house.  They help more with cleaning the rats' cages, feeding the dog, the rats, the fish.  They help with laundry (I tried to get them to fold their clothes, but quickly realized I'd end up getting clean clothes back to wash since my son would just dump them in the closet, then sweep them into the dirty clothes, not saving myself any work at all, so the kids come downstairs and help load, transfer, and unload, then get their clothes and put them away...works much better).  They are also expected to help with the dishes.  They unload and hand them to me, saving my back!  Today they also had to help Dad bring down the garbage cans since my parents, who live next door, needed us to bring theirs down, too, since Grandpa just had dental surger today (hence one of the phone calls).

I then went to Michael's before work tonight to get materials to prepare for our Egypt get together tomorrow.  I got ancient egypt figures, and built lego 'pyramids' (ok, boxish sort of contraptions) for the kids to dig out tomorrow.  I built the structure tonight after work, much to the annoyance of my husband.  Legos are loud, and I had to sift through many to get the right ones.  Ugh!  Tomorrow in the AM, I make sure I have the short video ready, the heiroglyphic stamps and paper ready, and the house clean as we have dance tomorrow beforehand, then Emily has chorus after Egypt, and then they have Aikido, then I have to work again.

It's now 12:20am, and I'm sitting her drinking my Valerian tea hoping to get sleepy sometime soon.  Wish me luck!  :)

Day 115

I have to say, there are a lot of great web sites out there, but I love Brainpop.  They have short animated movies featuring 'Tim and Moby' on just about any topic you can come up with, and activities and quizzes to go with them.  If that's not enough, they have an educator site that is FREE (did I mention that 'free' is my favorite word?) and includes lesson plans and how to use Brainpop more effectively.  They also have everything organized by state standards at the educator site.

So far, my kids are happy watching the movies, taking the 'review' quiz, then taking the graded quiz so they can get 100 on the graded one.  I'm good with that.  They also like the fact that I will, after they watch the 'assigned' movie, let them peruse around and find whatever interests them.  While I have heard my daughter say that she doesn't like it, once they are there, she's as into it as Luke.

I know Brainpop is a pay site, but through our library system, we can get it for free.  If you're in the Mid-Hudson Library system, you just have to ask your librarian for the username and password.  Way cool!  Math, history, science, health, you name it. 

%#$!@*&!!!!

Title says it all.

Day 113

We're at the end of Day 113.  It was a long day with no academics, but well worth it.  We went to dance, in which Emily noted on her own when she was off (wow!) and Luke got to have some needed time with Nana. 

We raced home to get lunch and prepare for company.  In our small house, we had 11 kids and 6 adults.  Did I mention my house is small?  It worked out pretty well, though, as the kids played outside a lot, and had hot chocolate in the kitchen, and the adults didn't mind sitting wherever, including the floor.  We brainstormed a bunch on what to do with the rest of the year.  In the past, I felt like I made more of the decisions and suggestions.  Now, I'm getting more laid back, or lazy, or something, but I was quite content to let people run with their ideas.  I think we have more ideas than Wednesdays!  So, we'll see what pans out from here...

At 3:25, some of us realized that we had to get to Book Club at the Stone Ridge library (by 3:30).  We all zipped off, me with Luke and Emily complaining how I sign them up for everything without asking them if they want to.  I reminded them that they were IN the ROOM with me when I signed them up!  Anyway, they went and seemed to really enjoy it.  I told them beforehand that if they didn't like it, we wouldn't do the next one.  We walked out having borrowed the next book, so I call it a success so far!  :)

A spaghetti dinner and some video game time rounds out their day, and I'm pooped as usual.  Tomorrow, back to academia and starting our new book, Science Sleuths!

Day 112

Yet another day spent trying to get a certain boy to do his work.  Ugh.

Anyway, yesterday at B&N, Steve and I found a neat resource that I think will be a lot of fun to do with the kids.  It's called Science Sleuths: 60 Activities to Develop Science Inquiry and Critical Thinking Skills, Grades 4-8.  It seems like a lot of setting up scenes, and observation.  We had a detective kit when they were younger that they really enjoyed, so I have high hopes.  When I showed it to Luke, his eyes lit up, which was neat to see.  Time will tell...Looking to start this tomorrow or Thursday.  Probably Thursday as tomorrow will be busy-- dance, meeting, book club at the library.  That's pretty much the whole day!

day 110, 111

Day 110

Thursday we went up to Albany for a doctor's appointment, so we made more of a day of it by visiting the Albany Institute for History and Art.  When we got there, Luke didn't want to go in, until he saw that it was HISTORY and art, not just art.  My boy is not the biggest fan of art museums.  The Institute is not huge, but they did have a room on Ancient Egypt, which was the main reason I wanted to go there.  They had two mummies, as well as a dog mummy which apparently had caused them some consternation as they thought it was a cat originally.  The room was very decorated, and included some statues we could touch, which was cool. 
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but the kids did drawings of the Devourer (head of a crocodile, body of a lioness, bottom of a hippo-I guess all that devouring DOES go to the hips) the next day, and used our stamps of hyroglyphics to spell things out.
We also saw some artwork by the Hudons River School, which I really enjoyed, and some portraiture.  In all, it was a nice day.

"Art?  Really?  You can bring me to the museum, but you can't make me appreciate it."



The Half Moon.  The only other place we were allowed to take pictures.

 Day 111

Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures on Friday.  It was finally warm!  We went for a walk on the Rail Trail where it was really flooded and muddy.  I flipped out the first time Emily walked right through a deep puddle, but after that, who cared?  It was warm, she wasn't complaining about wet, cold feet, and it was good to be alive.  It was really nice to have a taste of spring! 

Days 106, 107, 108, 109

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

Out and about





Master builder



Cookin' up good stuff



Bowling party!  Luke turned 10 last week!

Bowling party!  Emily turned 10 last week, too!

Smallest fort ever

Day 105a

Originally, I intended to post this last Wednesday, but as so often happens, life got in the way, so here it is, just a little bit later...

So we went on a tour of Kingston City Hall, which was pretty neat.  The building has been recently redone, so it's quite something to see!  We started at the bottom and worked up.  The kids were introduced to all the various offices, and the people who worked there described a bit about what it is they do in each office (for instance, the Assessor's office). 
We then went to the Mayor's office.  After that, it was upstairs to where the business of government takes place.  It was there that Mayor Sottile found us and talked to the kids about how government works and what he does.  He stressed the importance of reading and study habits. 
Overall, it was an impressive tour.

Mayor Sottile talking to our group

Day 105

Busy day about to happen!  This morning, we start with Folk Dance for Emily and myself, while Luke spends some time with Nana and Grandpa next door.  Then after a quick lunch, we are off to a tour of the Kingston City Hall.  After that, we are taking Dad to the eye doctor since he will have his eyes dialated (hard to drive when the sun is blinding you!).  My original plan was to tke the kids to Aikido while Dad was at the eye doctor, but just found out that Aikido is cancelled for today. 

The kids both like Aikido, which they attend at Kingston Aikido.  Marilyn, the woman who works with the kids, is both strict and kind, and very willing to work with families to enable them to participate.  Our only issue at the moment is that Emily is the only girl!  She isn't overly upset by it, but I think the boys notice it more.  Sensei (Marilyn) has tried to work with her most of the time, but we all keep hoping another girl will join!

Right now, it's 8:30, so it's time to get the rascals out of bed and into the day!

Day 104

So this was a slow school day.  Turned out we did some chores like dishes, laundry, bringing wood into the house, and then it was time for my husband's and my dentist appointments.  I wouldn't have had one except that I broke a filling last week, and going at the same time saves gas since it's about 45 minutes away. 

Unfortunately, our available-grandparents was reduced to zero, so we took the kids with us.  I guess they were pretty patient in the waiting room, because I didn't hear a peep, and whenever I got to check on them, they were very quiet.  Luke told me all about the weather, so I guess he was paying attention to the weather channel, which they had on.  They could have picked a lot worse channel.

So, they also got to spend their birthday money from relatives, and so new video games were gotten, leading to no school.  That's ok, because tomorrow we are super busy, then we've got two days free and clear to make up the difference. 

Meantime, I know I had said in an earlier post that I would put pictures of the kids' thank you cards that they sent to people for the nice Christmas gifts they had recieved.  I am sorely lacking in photos of such as we got in a rush to send them out, which is a shame, because Luke did a terrific one of a frog attempting to catch a fly on the front, and on the inside, the fly was in the frog's mouth!  Anyway, I did get a picture or two, so here they are:

One of Luke's creations

And one of Emily's

Day 103

Yesterday was a very busy day.  We went to church in the morning, despite the dreaded ice sheet that passed for a walkway and driveway.  The roads were fine, thankfully, and the kids always like going to Sunday school thanks to their wonderful teacher, "NotMe".

After that, it was prepare prepare prepare as we had our bi-annual concert for orchestra in Kingston followed immediately by a family get-together for the kids' 10th birthday.  We brought our three plates of goodies for the food table (music is almost always followed by food!), our instruments, our stands, and our music, and headed to Kingston. 

This year, we tried something different and all wore black and white.  It was really quite nice!

This is about 2/3 of the whole orchestra.

Our audience was a bit smaller, but I think that helped my crew relax some.  The best moment was when Luke came up to me at intermission, and with no prodding told me that he was having a great time!  I guess he does like the trumpet after all!

It was a busy time, full of running around, playing hard on those instruments, a few mishaps, and lots of laughs. 



My girl plays!



He actually LOOKS happy!

I was so glad to see the kids participating whole-heartedly, and not doing anything too crazy when other people were playing and we were to look attentive.  They did a good job!

When the concert and the eating were over, and everything was picked up and put away, it was time to race home and get the house in order so that when family came, we could have pizza and birthday cake!  We had two set of their grandparents, their aunt and uncle, and their three cousins over.  A stretch for our little house, but it was fun. 

Today, we went to orchestra!  Usually, we have the day off after a concert, but as it turned out, we could have played all day, I think!  It almost seems easier to play the pieces after the concert.  Maybe because the pressure is off?  I don't know.  I do know that I finally got one of the pieces!  That's ok, because we have a couple more concerts later this year, and we'll be playing those pieces again.  No one really wanted to stop at noon when some people had to leave.  Then it was time to play outside after snacks.  We didn't get home until about 2:30!  The rest of the day was time off.  Hey, after all that hard work, it's only fair!  :)

Day 100, 101, 102

Well.  We should have more school days in here.  I see that 5 days have gone by, and only 3 were 'school' days.  Well.  I guess we need to chalk it up to weather.  It has, after all, snowed almost as much as it didn't this week.  I don't know how other people find it, but with DH home, life is different.  And with 2 snow days this week, the whole week was a bit off.

We're at lesson 69 in Saxon Math.  That's more than halfway, as it ought to be by this time of year.  The trouble is, we're starting to get more wrong answers than we used to.  We've been cruising along, not used to getting more than 2 answers wrong on the 'Mixed Practice', and all of a sudden, we hit a wall.  Up to 8 wrong!  I have heard that about Saxon.  I think they said something about the kids not really understanding the concepts, but I can't agree with that.  I think they know what they are supposed to do.  I think it's a matter of slowing them down so they do it right.  Our latest technique for that, instituted recently, is that all problems done incorrectly must be done again.

The sad thing about the snow days we had this week is that it isn't like they could even go out and enjoy it.  I think they are sick to death of snow anyway, and it was freezing, and you couldn't build anything out of it.  Oh well.  This coming Monday we are going to go sledding in the afternoon after orchestra.  I'll bring hot chocolate (or maybe we'll splurge and get white hot chocolate from Dunkin'!) and we'll try to enjoy the season without reason.

Day 99a

Homeschoolers are odd.  At least, they are in my house.  Tonight, almost at bedtime, DH decided to play with the kids.  It went from a few Aikido moves from the kids' earlier class to roughhousing to Mathy Slappy.

I think the name speaks for itself, but in case it's more odd than I think, let me explain.  Steve calls out a math problem, counts to 3 in his head with his hand up in the air, itching to 'slap' the kid he asked the problem.  It's hard to think under that sort of pressure!  Now, before you think that my husband is an insane child-slapper, let me tell you that he never hit them hard, it was all in fun. 

But the question is, who else would play this game?  And at 9:30 at night?  I can't imagine.  Actually, I'm not sure I can imagine anyone doing it.  I can say that the kids enjoyed it and so did Steve.  Who knows if that game will be played again or not, but I'm sure we'll think of something else just as crazy. 

Day 96,97,98,99

These days time is flying by.  I also have a headcold and we are working on getting our bedroom painted (it's been 10 years this month, and it was with flat paint-yuck!)

We did have a major blow-out this week, and we have been considering school for next year.  There are a few good reasons to think about it, not the least of which would be an extra paycheck.  I decided to make a list of the pros and cons of sending Luke and Emily to school.  I put on the list everything I could think of, then I turned it out to the kids, and told them to add whatever they thought would be relevant.  I even made it like a bar graph (each reason has only one line, and pro and con are next to each other going up the page). 

I was a little hesitant about letting them add their own pros and cons, but I think it was a good idea.  As it turns out, homeschooling is winning out 11-5 so far.  I'll keep the list going for a while just so I can be sure, but homeschooling may be in my future for next year.  One advantage of doing this list is that I can see where I'm having trouble, and where the kids might need something changed too.  One thing that came up in the pro column was "Be away from each other a while".  I can understand that one.  But now that it's been written down it seems more real and I can deal with it, and we can make some adjustments to our schedule to allow for some differently structured time.

I have to admit I was very upset about the idea of the kids going to school, of my 'failure' as a homeschool parent, of changing our entire lives.  For most of this year, if the subject came up, I got quite emotional.  However, having discussed it with the kids and husband realistically, I can say that I feel better about it.  I don't exactly know why, but now I feel more like if it happens, it happens.  I got to have them home and sheltered and, in some ways, better educated for much longer than most.

Anyway, we're still homeschooling for now, and already I find myself finding things for next year.  I'm willing to bet that in the face of the list, homeschooling is indeed in my future.  So much for an extra paycheck!  :)

Day 95

Today, we had a reasonable day. We went to orchestra, which went better than I expected, and we stayed afterwards for a while to let the kids play.

In the afternoon, we read a chapter from A Little History of the World. We then worked on our history timeline scroll at the same time, adding the historical events as we read them in the form of words, pictures, whatever worked.

The history timeline scroll is 55 feet long, is kept rolled up on either end so we can open up to the time period we are working on.  It starts at the beginning of history (Mesopotamia) and goes to the modern day, with one inch being equal to one century until close to modern day, then each inch equals one decade.

The idea for this timeline is not something I made up. I got it and a whole history curriculum which we loosely follow called Mosaic curriculum.  It has a poetry component that we whipped through pretty fast, but my guys love poetry, so that got read fast.  We did get the textbook that goes with it (we already had A Little History).  Luke loves the text, The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (Usborne Internet Linked), since it is internet linked and up to date.  It goes to a lot of sites with games, pictures, puzzles, and lots of info. 

It may not have been our most productive day, but it wasn't a bad one, and that counts for something!