Update

So now... Tom is not going out on a plane today. Turns out that the 'call' was for him to go to Dallas to work with American Airlines. The Baltimore trip is an entirely other project and the meeting to discuss it has not yet been scheduled. At this point that one is still an unknown -- and Tom did say that there is ALWAYS the possibility that he will be sent to Dallas... so we are in a holding pattern at the moment.

Meanwhile, it is 6:27 am. Jason woke at 5:30. He tried to go back to sleep in my bed but no luck so he picked up 'The One eyed Giant' -- a short novel about Cyclops and read it. Now he is reading the next novel in the 'Odysseus' series. It is amazing how rapidly he reads these days.

Pretty Kitty is back in the breeze way again. We will take him into the Vet today, I hope, and get him checked for potential infections. If he is free and clear, we will begin moving him into the house. The sight of those five 'coons peering in the window -- and then racing up a tree -- plus the cold snap in the weather has made his introduction to indoor life rather more urgent. We will have to see how the girls take him. He, on the other hand, though nervy at being indoors, has definately decided that he likes this family.

News

Sigh. Tom called shortly ago. Seems Boeing is sending him off to Baltimore tomorrow morning and he won't be back until late next week. I can only hope that he will be back in time for the end of the season soccer party and final game. As it is, I shall have to cancel PT for the rest of this week and next and shall have to figure out how to handle Tae Kwon Do, Soccer etc. I shall also have to deal with littlest boy tears. Sigh...

On the other hand, Jason has undertaken to teach his little brother to read and his little brother is delighted. I can only shake my head in bemusement because, of course, WHAT Jason has chosen to use to teach Xander -- Pokemon books -- are not standard equipment but I am staying firmly out of it. Xander is happy to have his brother's attention, Jason is pleased to be 'teaching' so since both are satisfied with the arrangement, who am I to argue?

In other news, yesterday Jason and his cub scout den met at our little lake park and practiced tying on fishing hooks, baiting hooks and casting their lines. All the boys had a great deal of fun though I noticed that when it came to selecting bait, the boys all used the modern hi-tech stuff and left the earth worms to myself and their den mother. Oh, they were happy enough to use an earthworm baited hook -- and they were quite successful at 'drowning' worms but they couldn't bring themselves to rip earthworms in half and stick hooks through them. Amazing to think that seven year olds can be squeamish but this lot are. At any rate, they all enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Xander -- on the other hand -- was working his hardest to keep mom bald. If I made the mistake of turning my attention to a scout, Xander would wander out onto the doc or take his shoes and socks off 'to go paddling, mommy!' or sit down in the wet, muddy grass and sand to examine rocks or, memorably, pick up something interesting looking only to discover that it was 'YUCK! GOOSE POOP!'

This morning we worked on Place Value. We began by having Jason read to Xander from 'Mr Base Ten invents Mathematics' then I had Jason fill out a numbers chart, we discussed HOW one went about doing so, and we played 'Guess My Rule'. That garnered a few laughs. Following that game, Jason worked manfully on finishing his letter to one of his pen pals while Xander made monsters. Then, while the boys built with legos, I read the first few chapters of 'Farmer Boy', the next in the 'Little House Series.' In that book, the author commented that you could add an equal sized glass of popcorn to a glass of milk without disturbing the milk. I asked the boys if they thought that was true and had them make predictions of what would happen. I wrote those down and then we did the experiment. Wonder of wonders, the thing worked! So now I asked the boys why they thought it had worked. Jason's theory is that there is something in the difference between the temperatures of the two items. Xander was just disappointed that the glass hadn't exploded. So I suggested my own theory and told the boys that they could ask their father HIS opinion when he got home this evening.

At the moment, the boys have just gotten up from their rest period. I need to print up a picture of Pretty Kitty to send with Jason's letter and then we need to go to the library and the bank. Fun, hmmm?

The Humor Curriculum

As part of our home school curriculum, we are 'studying' humor. I have been introducing the boys to the joys of slapstick. Their current favorite is Lucille Ball... and their favorite episode to date is from the 'Lucy Show' -- where Lucy dresses up as a Giant Pickle. It is physical comedy at its best... of course, Jason is now demanding to see 'The Naked Gun.' (He saw a clip from it and was immediately enamored.)

We have been continuing with the Mad Libs -- always a humor favorite and, of late, both Tom and Jason have taken to reading joke books.

I am thinking that I should take this to the next level and we can actually read up on the comedians, make a timeline of the developments in humor, find out how many comedians it takes to change a lightbulb...

Actually, the more I think about this the better I like the idea so I googled 'humor curriculum.' Most of what I came up with related to literary humor -- authors like Twain -- or poetry. Strangely enough, they didn't mention Ogden Nash...

But I also came across this rather interesting link about Buster Keaton -- did you realize that Keaton was homeschooled? Yup. And when you read this excerpt from his diary you will understand why!

http://books.google.com/books?id=tG-P-shNoXoC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=teaching+slapstick&source=web&ots=kEMfvfhsjd&sig=BCkEmv3z0hcLAg8jqyfWMJUKmzQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result

Conversations with Little Boys

This is one of X's robots.

It is always interesting to learn what goes on in a little boy's mind. Recently, Jason was feeling very unhappy. He was standing at the bathroom sink, crying a little and pouting -- what the cause of his unhappiness I am not sure. At any rate, he looked up and saw his expression in the mirror. He stared at himself, then stuck his lower lip out farther. When Tom came in to check on him, Jason was busily making faces at himself. Seeing his father in the mirror, Jason said thoughtfully 'I don't think I am going to stick my tongue out anymore. It makes me look like a space alien.' Hmmm...

And then there is Xander: his biggest concern these days seems to be my lack of male genetalia. He is quite worried that if I can't pee, I will die and he cannot conceive of how I could pee without male equipment. After attempting to explain how things work, I surrendered to four year old determination -- one might say that I copped out -- and told him that his Gma Pat would explain.

Sigh. I don't like the winter seasons -- oh, the weather is nice. I like snow and the light is interesting. But every fall/winter, little boys get sick. Last fall/winter, we had to rush Xander to the ER in an Aid care at 2 in the morning. This year... we are on the first cold of the season. Monday night, Xander woke at midnight with a horribly croupy sounding cold. I got him up, fed him Ibuprofen to get his fever down, wrapped him in a blanket and we went to sit on the porch. Previous experiences with Jason have taught us that cold air helps. Xander loved it. He watched the stars and chatted. Finally, after about an hour or so, we came in and cuddled on the couch. About three am, I put him back in his own bed and went to lie down -- only to be awakened by Tom's alarm. Tuesday night and last night, Xander slept quite well -- only to wake at 5 am coughing and choking from all the stuff that had gathered in his chest. So, up again and outside. Then inside and into the tub. Again, I am firmly convinced of the healing power of water. Or at least it provides a pleasant distraction.

Pokemon Math

I am feeling quite pleased with myself. I have been trying to figure out how to use Pokemon as a teaching tool and I think I have done it. I had Jason sort his cards and remove all but the Pokemon cards themselves. We then played WAR with the face cards using the hit points as the value. At the end of the game, I had Jason sort the cards by value. He then multiplied the face value by the number of such cards and added all of those together to achieve the final value of the hand. I did the same and the higher number 'won' the game. How is that for creative thinking!!!:>

The reprecussions of Home Schooling

Okay


Now, for those who are unfamiliar with the art and practice of home schooling, let me explain that there are many many different approachs and philosophies. We are what one might term 'eclectic unschoolers'. Unschoolers are folks who follow the advice given by John Holt, one of the earliest advocates of home schooling and an ex-Public school teacher who specialized in teaching reading. Holt argued that it was the structure used in schools, as well as the 'one size fits all' mentality that causes many of the 'learning problems' in schools. Holt argued for 'child led' learning, in which children choose their interests and parents supply the materials they need. This, Holt argued, would allow children to retain the joy and excitement of learning -- and with a little creativity, parents can make sure that kids meet state 'learning standards.' Holt believed that children, by nature curious, often learnt faster and better when their interests drove them.


The eclectic part comes from a variety of other philosophies which I have grafted on: (1) Charlotte Mason was a 19th century educational reformer. Like Holt, she believed that learning should not be forced, that children learn best what interests them. She advocated the 15 minute lesson -- unless the child was fascinated by the topic in which case she suggested that they be allowed to indulge their interest to its fullest extent. She argued for the need for 'nature study' and for the use of what she called 'living books' as opposed to 'twaddle.' Into the latter category, she placed such items as the McGuffy readers, and 'dumbed down' versions of classic literature. For the harder books, she suggested that parents read to the children until they could read them themselves. She also included the idea of narration for early readers -- having the children explain what they had heard/read in their own words, first in the spoken form and then later in the written form. She believed that one understood better if one could process ideas in one's own words. There are many other aspects of her philosophy but these are amongst the most central. (2)Classical -- this approach argues for the inclusion of latin and greek and for the study of classics. It argues for the use of copy work -- also an element in CM -- having children practice handwriting skills by copying actual sayings/writings of classical authors. Poetry too is included in the classical method of study. The Classical method is rather more rigid in its scheduling than CM and much more so than unschooling but there are aspects of it that fit well with my own preferences and beliefs so we include portions of the approach in our 'school'. (3)Core Knowledge -- this is the most modern of the approachs, deriving from the idea of academic standards of learning. The CK approach presumes that there is a body of knowledge that children must encounter in order to be comfortable/productive in their own particular society. This last approach I include mainly because of testing needs -- children unfamiliar with these standards might well find themselves in trouble should they ever have to deal with the PS education system. It is also one of the most pre-programed of the approaches which makes it an easy fall back for those times when I am too tired or sick to create my own curriculum.:>


Now why the mini-diss on approaches used? Well, I was thinking about how children learn -- and this because of both boys. Jason is learning to spell but NOT using standard spelling approaches. He is interested in writing -- stories, poems, signs etc. When he wants to spell something, he asks me. Usually, unless the word is hard to figure (like 'wear') I help him sound it out. He is quite remarkably good -- I suspect in part because he reads so much that he has seen the words he wants many times over and just needs a little reminding to see them in his mind.


Well, here is the latest news on that front: Xander, who LOVES letters and numbers and the writing of them, has picked up Jason's habit. Just a short time ago, he decided that he wanted to write the word 'Stolen' so he asked me how to spell it! It was really rather funny to watch him, pad in hand, writing out the word 'stolen' but he did it. Turns out he was creating a story about some robbers who were running around stealing letters...


At the moment, Jason is very kindly reading to his little brother. This is included in his 'schooling' as I believe that reading out loud is helpful in many many ways. So while I write this and handle 'business' matters, Jason is doing some 'home work'.


Enough for now. I am going to include a picture of the chyrsalis that we found on Tom's cherry tree. We collected it in a glass jar and watched it over days.



We all made guesses as to what it might be. In the end, it turned out to be.....

A lady bug!!!! How wonderful. I had never thought about it before but it is lovely to think that ladybugs are living on Tom's cherry tree.

Some new stories -- September 2008

Sigh, it has been awhile. I shall try to do better at keeping up with this blog but life has a way of challenging my time management skills.

Where to begin? Well, Jason is 7 now and in March will be 8. That, in the HS world 0f Washington state, means that I need to start thinking about submitting a DOI. I actually have the thing written and printed. I will need to submit it the first term that he is 8. I am thinking that that probably means Spring Term. Hmmm...

Now, thinking about this, and about the fact that with the submission of the DOI comes the requirement that Jason have yearly assessments of his progress done, I went ahead and did some home 'assessments' using ones I found on the web. His math skills need work, not a surprise, but his reading? According to the San Diego assessment, he is reading at the 11th grade level. His vocabulary and comprehension are truly impressive. The words whose pronunciation and meanings he stumbled over are ones that many adults would miss. What most impressed me, however, was his understanding of word meanings and his ability to communicate those.

And then there is Xander -- he really wants to learn to read, for the same reason that Jason started reading independently, he is tired of waiting on other peoples' convenience. So we are going to work through the 'Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons' and see how that works.

Last night we read some books on Ancient Greece for part of our bedtime reading. The first book, count your way through Greece, sparked all sorts of interest. So... we are going to make Greek food Sunday night, boys are going to help. They want to make bahklava. We will see on that one!

I did find instructions on how to make Rose Water, a primary ingredient in the recipe and darned expensive if one was to buy it. That would be fun -- and a good lesson in condensation as well. Think I will see if I can find all the bits for it.

And then there are the Art projects -- Xander saw the pictures of Ancient Greek Metal work and decided that that was what he wanted to do. So I told him that we would flatten and stretch some coke cans and he and Jason and I can tap designs in them. He, of course, wants to build the Tin Woodman out of the cans. That is a little advanced for any of us at the moment... And then there are the Greek Red/Black Vases. I told the boys that we would make our own clay, create the vases, fire and paint them. Now I have to come through. Looks like a trip to the Art supply store is in order -- we need to get paints and I need to locate some flourescent fabric paint (white) for Xander's Halloween Costume. (He has decided to go as a Ghost Pirate Skeleton...)

Another thing that came out of reading the book was... skeletons. Yep. The book was talking about the two major industries in the Greek Islands, fishing and sponge collecting. The first is in trouble because of over-fishing and pollution but the second is a growth industry. Bad news for the sponges. However, the book also mentioned that sponges are the skeletons of Marine animals and so I found myself promising the littlest one that we would find some/buy them, and compare them with cellophane sponges as a 'science' experiment. Hmmm... the things I get myself into!

Okay, enough for this update. Will write more tomorrow.

Fish Lips

May 14, 2008

Timing is everything -- and children know timing! Classic example was the other day in the car -- the adults were all feeling tense. All of a sudden, into the vibrating silence we hear Xander say reflectively 'I think now is a good time for Fish Lips' -- I glance back from the passenger front seat and sure enough, there he is, making 'Fish Lips'. We all cracked up. Sigh.

So... I had surgery on my left knee on April 28th. Mom very kindly came down to stay for a month to help us. It has been hard -- the house is small and everyone has been trying to adjust to new routines. I have been chafing at the bit: my knee hurts and I cannot bend it. I cannot run and when I trip or turn the wrong way, I scream. I feel badly for my family, having to go through this frustrating time with me but I am very grateful that they are here to do so... selfish, hmm?

MEANWHILE... Little league -- yeah, I am coaching Jason's Little League team -- continues. The Blue Jays are doing better all the time. Our next game has had to be rescheduled because the other team isn't (there is a shindig at one of the elementary schools and most of the team will be at that) so they won't have BB this week. I know that the boys will be disappointed but it might be okay. We will have to see. I know that it won't hurt my knee to have more recovery time!

Hmmm.... and on Friday we will drive to Oregon for Ian and Grace's daughter, Abbey's, graduation from Pacific University. We had hoped that Matt and his gang would make it too but they have decided, reasonably enough, that since they wouldn't get to see much of Ian et al, they will save their money and plan to go to Hawaii next year. As it turns out, Tom has been traveling to Singapore enough recently that with his next trip in June, he will have enough frequent flyer miles to get four tickets to Hawaii... so now all I have to do is to budget for a hotel and car and food etc and then coordinate dates with Matt's family. Yikes!

I need to sit down and catch up on my posting. Seems like time is once again getting away from me. But in the meanwhile, remember -- 'Tense Times call for Fish Lips'!

Ah, from the mouths of babes

Sometimes -- no, much of the time, my children stun me. What I find most amusing, however, is when they do something to amaze others. The classic moment with Jason was when, at three, he told Jeff Brewer 'Now we must do something truly difficult -- we must walk the stone path of destiny.'

Xander has done it now too. The other day, while I was off with Jason at a Cub Scouts trip, Xander stayed at home here with his Nonna Donna. They were having a conversation when suddenly he looked at her and said 'Now, let us reflect on this: It is an interesting idea but you are wrong.' She was floored. Grin. When I heard the story, I just cracked up.

What is it about three year old children or is it just my three year olds? Perhaps it is because the statements they make are so adult -- and they are so definately NOT!

Newest mad moments

Sigh, it is really too early in the morning for this. I just clicked to the fact that our clock in the bedroom is set 1/2 an hour early. That means when we get up at '4 am' we are really getting up at 3:30! No wonder the coffee pot hasn't turned on yet...

Anyway, though I am wiped out and want nothing more than to return to bed and sleep, I figure I should use this quiet time to get something written here, there having been so many things that have happened recently.

First, a Xander story: I was talking with Tom the other night about having mercifully repressed the deaths of some of my animal friends. Xander, who listens even when you think he is not, suddenly piped up:
'When I was this (holding fingers barely a pinch apart) big, I had a pet that died.'
We looked at him, as deer look into headlights. 'Hmmm?'
'Yes. My pet cucumber.'
'What?!' with a choke.
' My Pet cucumber' he explained, 'She was a dog, and she liked cats and children. But...' he trailed off sadly, 'she died of alamonia.'
So now, I was caught. 'Alamonia'
'Yeah' he said 'Like in Hank'
(He is referring here to the 'Hank the Cowdog' series of books)
'Ah,' I said, light dawning, 'you mean Pneumonia!'
Tom, who had been listening to this interplay, couldn't resist 'What is so New about it? Its
been around for centuries!'
Xander looked from Tom to me, waiting an explanation.
I threw Tom a stifling glare and said 'Pneumonia is the illness, love. Alimony is something
else entirely.'
Xander, who can be VERY interested in words, decided not to pursue this particular line of thought, thank heavens and instead decided to expand on his 'Pet Cucumber' stories.

Flash forward: I take Jason to baseball practice. When we get home, Tom informs me that he and Xander had had a conversation about his ex-dog and that the dog's name was actually 'cucumber' but Xander called her 'Pet Cucumber' for short....
___________________________________________

In other news, Jason has decided to start writing poetry, again. There is a poetry contest through the local library system. People submit poems, they are judged and then, in May, there is a 'Poetry Coffee House' where people come and read their poetry to an audience. So now we are going to have a mini unit on poetry for the next week -- with lots of readings of poetry -- and Jason is going to keep a poetry notebook. When he has a satisfactory collection, he will select from amongst it and we will submit it. Should be an interesting process. Thank heavens for the electric typewriter. It makes it much easier for Jason to write.

There is also a book writing contest called 'Written and Illustrated by...' We have read a few of the books from the series and, in fact, one of Jason and Xander's favorite authors, Dav Pilkey, was one of the early winners. So I guess we are submitting for that as well!

All this writing and creative output comes on top of all of Jason's other activities: He is playing Little League (with me as coach), he is taking Tae Kwon Doe two days a week, he is in Tiger scouts every Tuesday, Swimming TTH, we have Earth Scouts once a month and Legos club twice a month. Man, I am getting exhausted just thinking about it all.