Annie Banannie's Day

We participate in a writing hybrid class with our homeschooling group.  Hybrid classes are ones in which one of the mom's prepares lessons and we can complete them as we wish.  There is a share day for those who wish to participate.  This has been our first year trying out hybrid classes.  Some classes charge a small fee and others are free.  It is truly up to the family as to what works best for them.  This class uses the key concepts of Brave Writer in each of the activities.  For Anna's group, they were to take photos of their day and then write a story about their day.  It has been so much fun!  The mother purchased a blank book (can be found at Star Beacon for very cheap!) so the children can feel like actual authors.  Here is a sampling of some of the pictures we took for Anna's book which she has titled: Annie Banannie's Day.

New books...

We have received many of our new books.  I am really excited about reading them this summer, or at least perusing them.  They looks amazing!  The girls have already plunged into the Nature Readers and excitedly reporting back to me their findings!  I have perused the "This Country of Ours" and "George Washington's World" and they both look so way cool!  If you are interested in the books by H. E. Marshall I have read many reviews that recommend getting them from "Yesterday's Classics" as the publisher.  I was really excited to get the "George Washington's World" book because it is old and has a card catalog pocket inside the front cover dating from 1964.  These kinds of things excite me!  How cool!

Roller Skates & Rollerblades

This year at the prompting of my good friend Jacque, we went to homeschool skates.  We tried a couple of different locations but definitely had a favorite.  Anywho, it took Kate a few sessions to totally get comfortable and the hang of what to do.  She was much more inclined to letting Jacque teach her than good ol' mom.  Anna did fantabulous from the start and even on the first day ventured out on her own.  Unfortunately, one time her skates were super duper fast and that set her back to wanting me to always be beside her.  Yeah...you heard me right!  Me.on.roller.skates!  I did it!  My mom and dad used to take us rollerskating all the time when we were little.  I used to skate also at youth retreats.  I know.  It's scary!  Even more scary since I am older.  But I prevailed, not falling down once!  Nothing short of a miracle for sure! 

So this year they wanted to spend their birthday money on rollerskates; however, their dad and I talked them into rollerblades.  They were really nervous but now are old pros!  I thought the rollerblades would be more versatile given our paved road and the asphalt streets at Beulah this summer.  They love them and now want to try and conquer ice skating this coming winter.  Whew!  I can't keep up with these girls!
 

New Rooms = Math in Action

I have been taking a math course to keep my teacher's license currrent.  It has been super easy yet fun and exciting at the same time.  I am always amazed by people who truly "get math."  I am more into reading and words, not numbers.  I would love the girls to have my instructor as their math teacher.  She is an amazing teacher, very creative and fun!  The course has challenged me to try and make math more hands-on, fun, interactive, and real life.  I have the perfect opportunity to do so and I need to make it happen.  My first stab at it happened as we began to think about the girls' new rooms.  Since my MIL moved out, the girls would have their own rooms for the first time. 

The girls used the tape measure to find the dimensions of the furniture.

They also measured all the walls, windows, closets, and doorways.

They recorded all the measurements.

I had to do the conversions because that would be just way too advanced for them at this point but I did explain to them what I was doing.  Once I figured it out, they used colored pencils to show the dimensions of the furniture and plotted out the room on graph paper.

The girls could then cut out the "furniture" and arrange it in their "rooms" to get ideas of how they could rearrange their rooms and furniture.  It was a lot of fun!

I've started...

ordering for next year's school year!  I am soooo excited!  I am adding to our mix of goodies,

I scored a 5 book set on Homeschool Classifieds for $18.00!  Praise the Lord!

I have heard all rave reviews about this book.  We studied American History this year so I am hopeful I will get this soon so we can read and enjoy this summer.  Another score from Homeschool Classifieds!

Again, I have heard RAVE reviews about H. E. Marshall.  I also have feelers out for "Our Island Story" by her as well.  Love Homeschool Classifieds!

Last but not least...(cross my fingers)

These recommendations are all based on 2 resources: 1) my homeschooling mentor and friend who is full of grace and beauty, Analisa 2) these books are highly recommended for a Charolette Mason education via Ambleside Online.

The Farm

Last week I had to present to our homeschool support group attendees information about "Unschooling."  I didn't know too much about it but the topic really picqued my interest.  I learned a lot and while I would not say I am a full subscriber to the notion of "unschooling" I think there are some very valid points to consider.  We oftentimes become too heavy in "telling" children what to learn and/or directing their learning paths instead of encouraging their own interests and curiosities.  I hope I can model and teach the girls to ask questions, find answers, be ready to be amazed, and have fun in the process.  This past Monday we spent two hours at my family's farm with my cousin Scott.  While it is very true that I grew up on a farm, I can't really tell you too much about farming other than basics.  Sad but true.  So I decided we should learn.  I guess I broke the first cardinal rule of "unschooling" since I determined we should learn about this, but hopefully I was able to model the questions, answers, being amazed, and having fun parts!  Our family farms approximately 1300 acres of field.  Here are some facts we learned that you might find as equally interesting as we did:

 Bean planter

 

The wagon is filled with beans for planting.

All bags of corn seed have exactly 80,000 seeds.  It is sold by 80,000 seeds not pounds.  Most bags of seed are between $250 - 350.  It takes 32,000 seeds to plant one acre of corn, thus one bag will plant just over 2 acres.  The corn the farm plants is RoundUp Ready, meaning that within 7 days of planting they can spray for weeds with RoundUp and it won't hurt the seed.  The seed also has (for lack of a better term) vaccines to protect the crop from bugs, worms, and weeds.  Just like pharmacuetical companies guess to make the best "flu shot" for the year, ag scientists are always adjusting these "vaccines" as the worms, bugs, and even weeds develop tolerance and immunity against the "vaccines" on the seeds.  The county average is 40 bushels of bean crop per acre.  Our family farm averages in the upper 50's per acre.  A general average for corn is about 170 bushels per acre, but the Lord blessed our farm a few years back with 206 bushels per acre.

 A semi will come and fill up these fertilizer holding tanks.

Scott patiently explained to us how the bean planter works and how it is different than the corn planter.  Modern technology is amazing in that some equipment will tell the farmer exactly how much seed was planted, the GPS location of the tractor, and so much more.  When the corn planter needs to be refilled, they load it all by hand (aka...opening the bag and pouring it in to the planter).  Beans are bought from the co-op and loaded directly into the wagon.  They use an auger to transfer the beans into the bean planter.

 There are 2 bean planters here.  Each is 15 ft wide.

 

 We then went out into the field to see if any of the seed had started to sprout. 

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Scott also told us all about how the grain bins work, along with "the pit" and the dryer.

We are going to go back in the fall during harvest.  Can't wait!

Nowadays we are constantly hearing about GMO's and organic farming.  I asked Scott about such things.  He said he knows of a local family who raises organic milk thus they do organic farming for feed.  He didn't know the specifics but mentioned that one year the farm tried planting one field without the use of any fertilizer or weed killer.  He said the crop was so sparse and the weeds were a financial headache as it caused such a mess in the combine. 

I also learned our family farm is over 100 years old!  WOW! 

Lastly we learned about no-till farming versus till farming.  No-till farming is usually called "ugly farming" because it is kind of ugly!  HA!  However, some of the benefits is that the plant matter helps deter wind/soil erosion, added moisture during drought conditions, and keeping the organic plant matter in the soil.  No-till farming is definitely considered to be a newer method.  My husband is partial to the tilled farms.  I think it is a little snobby but I still love him!  HA!  The bottomline is that there are pros and cons to both so it eventually boils down to preference.  Now as we drive down the road I ask the girls, till or no-till?  corn or beans?  LOVE IT!!

So, guess what I have on my mind for another field trip adventure?  Well, yes, besides harvest.  I am sooooo going to call the organic milk farmer (I went to school with their kiddos) and see if we can come for a visit.  I am really intrigued! 

The Jackals & The Lion

I am an eclectic homeschooler.  I like and am easily enticed by so many things, thoughts, and ideas.  In the last two years I have been learning a lot more about Charlotte Mason.  I love her philosophy on education and have been slowly retraining my "teacher" brain to weave her methods into our daily lessons.   is the child's need to listen once to a story and then narrate.  Let me tell you...this is amazing!  I do narrations a couple of ways.  Sometimes the girls will read on their own, something I have picked out for them, and then they narrate to me and I write exactly what they say into their journal.  Sometimes I read to them, especially in history and science, and then they narrate to me and I write for them, or they complete a web on the topic and write down little notes/facts from the reading.  Another way I have incorportated narration into our studies this year is after they have read several short stories (Aesop's Fables or the like) I tell them they can pick one and do a narration project.  We brainstormed a list of possible projects and have it hanging in the school room, but they are ever so creative in figuring out their own ideas it makes it so fun to see the final product.  (Yeah Analisa...there is that word...product!  Argh!!  :) )   Anywho, Anna picked a puppet show for her last narration project.  Here is a peak....

Homeschooling...

If you are considering homeschooling, here are some books that I have found very helpful both in terms of encouraging me and in helping me understand where to start...

 Informative book that gives a great introduction to the Charolette Mason philosophy.

 

John Taylor Gatto taught in the New York City system for almost 30 years.  His books just plain make incredible sense.  He really just exposes the fact the educational system is broken.  He points out some of the reasons why and the frustrations of this fact.

 This is an excellent resource to have on hand to help you in selecting books to read with your child. 

This book talks about providing your child an education that challenges him/her to be self-taught so to speak, allowing him/her to truly be engaged in his/her learning which includes a lot of interest studies. 

This is a great FIRST PLACE stop.  Cathy Duffy has reviewed TONS of curriculums and picked which ones she feels are of the highest quality.  She lists pros and cons with each one she has listed.  You can also find much of the information on her website.  What is really helpful about the book are the surveys at the very beginning, in the first 3 chapters, that help you narrow which type of homeschooling philosophy might work best for you. 

Refreshed and Ready

This afternoon after lunch my husband blessed me with a little alone time.  He took the girls to the go swimming at the wellness center pool.  It was such an encouragement to me because I have recently been so overwhelmed by all that is going on around me and how it affects my ability to clearly think about school.  So, with the almost 2.5 hours they were gone I was able to make some needed phone calls, and clearly think through the whole conversation without interruption.  You know what I am talking about.  :)  I then sat down with all the school books, my planning book, and got to work.  I am planned clear through the second week of April and with at least one more block of time like that could finish out the year.  With all these plans I realize life will still happen and won't go exactly as I planned, but at least I have a plan on paper!  YEAH!! 

Yes...I had to have a piece of one of my favorite boxed cakes ~ Pillsbury Golden Butter Cake with Betty Crocker Chocolate with Hershey's icing.  Super Yum! 

Catch Up: Native American Fun

While reading Little House on the Prairie and studying about the exploration of America we did some studies on the Native Americans and had a ton of fun. 

 This was from a kit I had purchased last spring at Sunwatch.

 We made some wampum.

 The teepee was from a kit too and we made this wigwam.

 And of course we added a few totem poles!