Makin' Money

I don't know if I'll be able to keep it long term, but my goal is to keep the drudgery out of school work as much as possible this year.  Of course Math is Math and is not very fun, and there are other subjects that we just have to buckle down and do.  History and science, however, offer a little more freedom, and I am taking advantage of this as much as possible.

This is where our nifty new lapbooks come in!  It takes a lot more planning on my part than just following a textbook would, but it really is worth it in learning payoff.  My boys are eagerly listening to all the information I give them, recording new facts in their books without complaint, and they know that something fun is coming at the end of the lesson.

Our History study for the first nine weeks of school is Ancient China.  I found my lapbook inspiration here.  There was a great list of books to accompany it, most of which I ordered from Amazon, because I wasn't on the best of terms with the local library.  After the library came groveling for my forgiveness I paid my fine, I found some more great supplementary books there.  Also, much to my delight for those uninspired days which I know are looming in my future, Netflix has a whole host of documentaries about the Great Wall, Terra Cotta Warriors, etc. on their instant streaming list right now!

The best thing about lapbooks for my crafty little family is the opportunity they provide to make and do.  Our first craft with this book, besides assembling our actual book, was making replica coins.  We started with sculpey clay and a couple of pictures from our books by which to work.

After they baked and cooled, we hit them with a coat of metallic spray paint I had on hand from some other long abandoned and forgotten craft project, and voila! Authentic looking ancient moolah!

I love seeing how excited the boys are about school each day, wondering what we will learn and do.  Even more, I love how excited they are to share their new knowledge and their handiwork with anyone who will listen! Here's to hoping this awesomeness can last!

New School Year, New Blog Resolution?

Homeschooling...  It's the most wonderful blessing to a mother's life; it's the most challenging task a mother can take on.  Every year I vow to do better.  I'll be as patient as Job; I'll be as creative as Picasso; I'll be selfless as Mother Theresa!  Every year I fall short, so every year I revamp a bit and try again.

Last year, we joined Classical Conversations, and I have to say, it changed our homeschool life for the better.  We stayed on track, we accomplished more, we learned things I never thought we could!  Yet at home, things became drudgery as we tried and failed to school the same way we had in the past while adding CC in on top of everything else.

Enter the new school year and my educational breakthrough:  LAPBOOKS!  I have heard of these things and thought, Psht. Lapbooks.  Sounds lame to me.  Boy, sometimes I am stoooopid.  Lapbooks are the perfect educational tool for my family!  No boring textbook, no mindless worksheets, just lots and lots of guided learning and exploration and FUN!  We can take the things we will be learning in CC this year and add to them without trying to force a textbook into the mix.

Our first day of school was filled with laughter and excitement and learning!  Oh, the learning! It was such a beautiful, encouraging thing to see.  And the best part was both my first grader and my typically-too-cool-for-school-fifth grader said at the end of the day that school was FUN!  Oh be still my teaching, mothering, loving heart.

Making Friends By the Pool

This morning as Grant was helping me with the pool chores, he opened the skimmer basket and found a surprise...  A super adorable little turtle!  Of course, being Grant the insatiable animal lover, he asked if we could keep it and make it our new pet.  You know what my answer was, because - I mean really - could you say no to this face?

Yeah, me neither.  After we held him and exclaimed for a while over his cuteness, we set about making him a new home. Then came the much more difficult task of choosing a name.  Grant claimed that since he found the turtle, and he rescued the turtle; he should be the one to name the turtle.  I offered suggestions such as Franklin (after the beloved storybook turtle), Tuck (from the Wonder Pets).  I even went through all the names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Nope.  Grant chose a name early on and nothing but nothing was deterring him from his choice.  So, may I proudly present...

Turd Turdy Keith.  You know, because "Turd" is short for turtle.

Making the Most of It

I am not a morning person in any way, shape, or fashion.  My kids are both very early risers (we're talking 5 a.m. here, people!), and my sweet hubs has to wake at around 5 or 6 a.m. for work.  My norm is to roll, drag, or flop out of bed, stumble to the kitchen and make Jeff's breakfast, then retreat to the couch with a blanket and my coffee until the sand is completely out of my eyes.

The trouble with that is, now that 'bama is in full summer heat, it is too hot to do ANYTHING by 9:00!  So I am carpe-ing the diem, so to speak.  When Jeff leaves for work, I now take that first oh-so-precious cup of Starbucks French Roast out to the back porch and watch the shade begin to retreat from the right side of my yard.  By the time the caffeine is in my system, I have to race against the hot sun to get the pool brushing/vacuuming or sidewalk sweeping or flower garden weeding done.  Then by the time I come inside and straighten the house for the day, it is hot enough outside to spend the rest of the day in the water!

There was a time when I hated summer (which curiously coincided with the time in my life when I weighed over 200 pounds.  Go figure.)  Now I love the time spent outdoors, in the water with my sweet family!  I am learning to make the most of my cooler mornings and the sunny, wonderful days with my boys!

Summer Boredom Busters 2

What do your kids want to be when they grow up?  Grayson has wanted to be a scientist since he was was six years old...  'Round about the time he realized that astronauts (which were his former career choice) stood a significant risk of being blown up in transit.  I hear phrases like "DNA replicator", "genetic engineering", and "gene splicer" more times a day than most genetic scientists.  He is quite convinced that if he only had a test tube, a DNA extractor, a hamster and a chinchilla, he could produce a whole new breed of adorable household pet overnight.  He is forever asking what would happen if he combined one household chemical with another.  Just the other day, he concocted a new "miracle cleaner" that was sure to take all the smudges and rust off metal of any kind.  I was scared to use it...  The ingredients I knew of for sure were some goop we had concocted earlier in the day, dish soap, salt, and spit (it seems he heard someone speak of spit shining).  I am afraid to think what else might have made its way into that test tube!

All of this rambling does have a point, believe it or not.  The point is that kitchen science is one of the best boredom busters we have found!  We did buy a couple of science kits (on sale this week at Hobby Lobby for those of you who have access to one), just because my boys really liked the test tubes, pipette, and such that came with them.  You certainly don't need those things!  All you really need are things you have in your kitchen anyway, a good website of experiments, and a space where the kids can be allowed to pour (and usually spill) ingredients to their hearts' content!  We use baking trays or broiler pans to catch spills, and depending on the experiment will sometimes take them outside...  Especially the stinky ones!  If you are brave enough to give them a little freedom with their experimentation, one experiment can easily become three or four!  For example, a baking soda volcano's eruptions can be compared using different types of vinegar - we have used white, balsamic, red wine, and apple cider-, pickle juice, or even lemon juice.  Whatever you do, just make sure to have a notebook or video camera handy to record hypotheses and observations!

Whatever experiments you make, whatever goop you concoct, and whatever messes you are left to clean up afterwards... Happy boredom busting!

Boredom Busters!

I think the biggest challenge in homeschooling my kids is the fact that we are together all the time!  No matter how much I love my kids, there are times when I would just like to be left alone!  I find myself stealing moments alone by hypnotizing my children with brain-scrambling television shows (Spongebob anyone?) or letting them play endless "educational" games on the computer.  The problem with these electronic babysitters is that they have very obvious adverse effects on my kids' behavior.  They go into a brain fog of sorts and don't hear me when I speak, or they just walk dazedly through their day without thinking any decisions through to the end.  So what is a homeschool mom to do with two very energetic, creative little boys on these long summer days?  I have to stop being lazy myself, put forth a little energy and creative effort, and give them the home environment that will produce the creative thinkers I want them to be!  In the interest of keeping myself motivated and (hopefully) helping those of you who are facing the same problems, I will be posting some of our summer boredom busters here as regularly as I can manage to do so!

This morning we did something that has made for lots of fun, and cost zero dollars!  We made a very simple, yet very effective light box.  All you need is an empty, clear, plastic container (I had to dump Legos out of mine), a flashlight, and a book or picture.  To assemble your light box, simply turn on your flashlight and place the container over it.  Your child can then lay the picture they wish to trace and a blank sheet of paper on top of the box, and voila! Homemade light box!

 We found that our set-up worked best on the couch with the flashlight handle wedged between two cushions.  That way, the light could shine directly up at the picture they were trying to trace.

Once the pictures are traced, they can be colored or cut out with a stand and used as paper dolls or made into a comic strip or even as part of a collage! The possibilities are as unlimited as your child's imagination.  At the moment, my boys are using their light box paper dolls as their magical pets a'la Harry Potter!
Whatever you make or do, have fun busting your summer boredom!

Jesse Tree

Christmas has always been a very crafty time for my little family.  It's our very favorite time to make, bake, and create.  Each year since Grayson was small, I have meant to make an Advent calendar for our family, and each year December begins with me sadly unprepared.  As I was searching the web at the end of November this year, looking for an easily made and assembled calendar idea, I instead stumbled upon the Jesse Tree.

The Jesse Tree is basically a visual aid for tracing Jesus' family tree.  More importantly, the devotions that go along with it (found here) show God's faithfulness and love for his people through the ages.

I decided that instead of a marathon crafting event where we attempted making all the ornaments in one day, and rather than making an ornament a day for the next month; we would make a week's worth at a time.  Here they are so far...

Day One:  Stump (representing Jesse), with a chute (representing King David), and the leaf or fruit (representing Jesus).  This one consists of 1/2 toilet paper roll, felt, a toothpick, and craft foam.

Day Two: The earth... God's perfect world before sin was allowed to enter in.  This one is made from a styrofoam ball, yarn, and craft foam.

Day Three: Apple with a serpent.  As you might guess, this is where the villain enters the plot.  The thing I like best about the devotion is that it does not focus on the fact that man sinned.  It's main focus is that God still loved his creation and provided a promise to them of redemption.  The apple ornament is made of craft foam with a plastic snake hot glued to the front.

Day Four: Rainbow.  This is when we speak of Noah and God's faithfulness to him.  We talked about God's promises to his people, and how he always keeps His word.  This one was made solely by Grant, using poster board for the rainbow and felt for the clouds. 

Day 5: Camel. The Bible passage was about Abram leaving his home.  More importantly, the devotion was about obeying God's commands, even when sin seems so much easier and even more fun. Most important of all was the discussion on how God always loves us and stands ready to forgive.  My sad little camel is made of craft foam and felt.  

These are all the days we have done so far, and this post is getting mighty long, so I think I will end here for now.  If you have always wanted to celebrate Advent with your family, but never knew how to begin, this might just be perfect for you!  It isn't too late to start.  The devotions are very short, and it would be easy to double up until you were on track!  If you are interested in doing a Jesse Tree, but are not of a crafty nature, the link provided above has print outs that can be colored and used as ornaments by themselves.