Thanksgiving Day

And so, it is here -- TDay. For many people it is a day of stress as they race about, trying to get the house clean, the food cooked, the place prepared for the descending hordes of hungry friends and family. Often, in such moments, the 'Thankfulness' for which this day is named is lost and forgotten. I should know -- grin -- been there, done that. But today, for me, the 'Thankfulness' is very much present... and one of the reasons is currently seated on the living room floor examining his haul of Pokemon cards:>

So, for what am I thankful this day? For all the people in my life, for the fact that we are -- relatively -- healthy, for the homes we have, the food, the things, but more for the connections and the love we feel. I am grateful -- OH! SO grateful that G.B. is out of the White House soon and a (hopefully) better man is in. I am thankful that my friends have not suffered too terribly as a result of having family in Iraq though I grieve for those who have suffered the cost of that stupid action. I am grateful that the sun was out yesterday, that I get to watch my sons laugh and play and that I, lucky me, get to watch them learn and grow. I am very grateful that I am in a position to home school my children -- hording all those wonderful learning moments instead of having them slip past a stranger as if they were of no account. I am grateful for having had the oppurtunity to take the boys to Arizona to visit their grandparents -- for my parents who took the time to spend with us. For my father whose passion for birds and rocks and history have helped to inspire not only me but also my sons. I am grateful that my mother was able to go to Florida and spend the holidays with her sister. I am grateful that she is coming to see us in December -- a challenge to her physically and financially but a gift to all of us. I am thankful for coffee and the hope that it will chase awful headache! I am thankful for Tom, with all his quirks and fierceness who can make me laugh even when I am in serious grouch mode -- for his smiles and his sexiness, his brains and his humor. I am thankful for my sons, both of whom can drive me round the bend and then send me laughing in tears: For Jason with his brilliant blue eyes, kind spirit and clever mind, for Xander whose brown eyes melt all hearts, whose fierce independence is both frustrating and impressive.

And speaking of boys -- Thought I would share a few stories with you, to help bring smiles to your faces.

The first, most recent funny moment was provided by Mr. X. He and I were in the car, returning from Tae Kwon Do. He had had a hard time there because he'd not had a nap and was VERY tired. I was concerned, in fact, that he would fall asleep in the car on the way home -- and since it was 5 pm and dinner time, that would not have worked well. So I decided to engage him in conversation. Not being brilliant after a day of three little boys and a back ache, I openned with: "So, what is your name?" Xander, whose quickness with repartee is truly remarkable, responded 'Alexander the Great' I blinked. 'Really? I thought that that name was already taken?' 'Yes' responded AG, not phased in the least, 'But he is dead.' 'Oh' I was stumped for a moment. 'So, I know what he did to earn the title. What are you going to do?' He laughed at me and said 'I am going to find interesting things and collect them.' Ah.... and this from the child who had earlier announced his intention to conquer the world...

And then there is Jason who has recently discovered the joys of Amelia Bedelia and joke books. He delights in reading them aloud to all who will listen -- especially his younger brother who is more than willing to laugh in all the appropriate AND inappropriate places. The other night when we went into their room to read books, Jason's eyes lighted on the two 'Wizard and Wart' books I had placed there. 'I am reading THOSE!' he announced firmly. He plunked himself into the bed and Xander immediately claimed shotgun position at his shoulder. Jason began to read and almost from the first, the two boys were in tears of laughter. Part of the hilarity was the result of Jason's reading style -- he is beginning to learn to pause for dramatic effect (grin) only to spoil it by laughing! He will read, pause, and then, as his eye scans the next lines, desolve into laughter, choking out the next lines and having to re-read them. He has the makings of a comedian, though less stand up than slapstick, I think.

Funny moments

I read back through my most recent posts and realized that there are quite a few things that I left out. So, in the intere?st of accuracy...

One moment that stands out is a moment in the car as we left the T-Rex museum. Xander and Jason had had a blast and come out of the place and come out with all sorts of treasures. Sitting in the back of the car, sorting through his stash, Xander asked his big brother and the font of all wisdom, 'Bah Bah, can I be a paleontologist when I grow up?' His brother, without missing a beat replied 'You don't have to grow up. You just have to dig.'

Then there was the moment, watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech -- Xander was disgusted because no one was paying him any attention. In frustration he yelled out 'I DON'T LIKE PRESIDENTS! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT A LOT OF CONFUSED NOISE!' I gave my tearful child a hug and laughed a bit only to hear him inform his brother a short time later that 'when I grow up, I am going to be President. No one else is doing the job!'

There was also the moment during the trip to Tucson: We were going through the security check point. The boys had gone through and were collecting the stuff on the other side. A young securtiy guard was helping them load up their packs. When I arrived she said 'Did you hear that? They said 'Thank You!' She seemed stunned. I replied 'Yes, well, courtesy is always appropriate.' She looked at me and gave a big smile and said 'Good on you, Mom.' and then to the boys, 'Thank you. It has been a pleasure.' The boys smiled and waved and off we went. My boys:> They seem to charm airport personnel whereever we go. In Tucson, getting on the plane, a young security guard was so charmed by Xander that she gave him a pair of purple latex gloves. When we got home and I told his father, Tom's response was a laconic 'Yes, he is getting quite a collection of those!'

There were other moments but none spring to mind. I will record them as they come. Meanwhile, today I have a doctor's appointment and Xander has Tae Kwon Do. We are also supposed to drive to Tacoma to meet a little boy who is Pokemon/Legos mad for a play date. Gawk! This will be a busy sort of day.

School in session

As you might imagine, the first day back from our trip was mostly recovery. It was quiet -- we played indoors for the most part and Xander took a two hour nap. Jason had Tae Kwon Do in the afternoon and appeared to thoroughly enjoy himself there.

Today, however, school was back in session. We began with practising cursive handwriting -- and Jason has decided that he really LIKES writing in cursive. It was the getting him to stop and do something else that proved the challenge. While Jason wrote and wrote, Xander and I made homemade play dough. He loved it, as one might imagine -- and even tasted what he had created (from 1 cp flour, 1/2 cp salt, 1/2 cp water and red food coloring) despite my warning that it would be very salty. He was delighted with the whole process, got playdough in his hair and under his finger nails and made himself first a 'gingerbread' house and then a 'gingerbread' man.

After a bit, Jason also decided to make playdough and I showed him how to 'knead' bread using the mixture as a test case. He loved that -- guess we have to make bread again soon:> He was actually the first of the two boys to make a 'gingerbread' boy, and quite a fellow he was too.
Our next 'subject' was Dice math -- using the cinqo dice, Jason rolled dice, wrote out the additon/subtraction problems and did them. He had a great deal of fun and ended up using all five dice to create large number problems... then, after doing that for about 1/2 an hour, he begged to be allowed to continue practicing cursive... By this time, I was developing a bit of a headache and when I glanced outside, I realized that the rain had stopped. "Time to go out" I announced. We got shoes and coats on and headed out the door.

We stopped at Goodwill -- to check for Pokemon card, then went to the DO-IT center and bought two small rakes. I figure that the boys can work off some of their neverending supply of energy by raking leaves (grin). Then it was off to Lake Wilderness so that the boys could run and shout. Both boys were delighted to see that the stream was once again full of water -- 'Hello Alfred!!' they called to the troll under the bridge and tossed their 'gifts' to him as they headed for the playground. They played there for a good half hour before Xander began to show signs of tiredness. We then regrouped and headed off for lunch.

Once home and fed, the boys played Pokemon for a bit then we all three went into the bedroom where I read them a series of Native American tales. Jason then took over, reading Pokemon Junior books to Xander, while I came back to the bedroom to write a few blogs... Now my time is up and I need to get back out with them before heading off for PT.

Updates on the Deans

Back again:>

The boys and I went to Tucson, though Tom -- happily enough -- did not go to Singapore. We spent nine days in the sun, exploring the town and its environs. The boys enjoyment of the trip was heightend, I suspect, by the fact that I had lost my voice almost entirely and was unable to do more than whisper fiercely the whole time we were in Tucson. We went to Mt Lemmon, Summerhaven, Sabino Canyon and the Desert Museum with Mom. We explored Agua Caliente, Colossal Caves and Biosphere with Dad. The boys ate good food at the Eclectic and on 4th Avenue (where Jason discovered that he LIKES salsa -- first on steak, then on eggs...) and not so good food at the Dinosaur MacDonalds. We visited Bookman's Used bookstore twice and Jason was thrilled to bits to discover piles of Pokemon books -- he 'inhaled' them at such a rate that towards the end of our stay, he had read them all. He was left, in the end, to raid his Grandmother's bookshelves. There he found a biography of Laurel and Hardy, one of his favorite comedy duos, and he sat down with that. I know that he finished at least two chapters of the book and that he enjoyed it -- I heard him laughing as he read.

We also discovered, quite by accident, a little shop called 'The T-Rex Museum' on Oracle. It is run by a Palentologist -- 'I created the place I wanted to go when I was a kid' he told me and the boys thoroughly enjoyed digging up fossils, panning for treasures, breaking rocks with rock hammers and watching a dinosaur movie while eating popcorn. There is a store attached to the museum -- a true shopper's nightmare as it is LOADED with dinosaur goodies. It was a definate hit.

We had a lovely time -- loads of sun and, on the last day, the boys even took a brief dip in Mom's pool. Despite warnings, or perhaps because of them, Xander went in over his head. He was briefly terrified but he reached out and grabbed my hands when I told him to do so and I pulled him out. After a few moments of recovery, he decided that he had done well, had been very brave and had survived... so back in he went though this time, he was a bit more cautious and only went in up to his chest:>

And then, it was the 12th and time to return home. We were ready -- we all missed Tom though the boys both told me that they thought Gramma Pat oughtn't to live alone, that she should come and live with us. 'I worry about her' Xander told me gravely.

The trip home was not the best but not the worst either. We were supposed to board the plane at 4:30 and depart at 5 pm. We boarded at 5:30 and departed at 6. Something wrong withe the toilets so the plane was left with only two working ones. The boys, however, were wonderfully well behaved -- so well behaved, in fact, that the two ladies sitting in front of us complimented them at the end of the trip.

Once off the plane we stopped and changed the boys into their nightclothes -- I suspected that they might fall asleep in the car on the way home. The trip from the plane to the baggage claim was long, made longer by the fact that my independent youngest decided that he was going to 'CARRY MY OWN BAG!' -- which he did... slowly. He wore it as a backpack and trudged fiercely down the aisles, pretending to be a slow moving Earth Pokemon. It wouldn't have been a big issue except that his older brother was in high speed mode, eager to see his father, eager to get home to his cat. I hung suspended half way between the two, reeling Jason back periodically, then dragging Xander forward. When we did arrive at the baggage claim, Tom had already arrived. He watched the busy boys while I waited for the luggage -- which never appeared. In exasperation, I finally checked the luggage holding section BEHIND the carousel -- and sure enough, there were the bags. They had been on the carousel too long and had been pulled. Sigh.

Home once again, we unloaded luggage, put a sleeping Xander in his bed, allowed Jason to hug his cat briefly before he and then we fell into bed. What a long trip -- but at least I have my voice back!

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.