tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258382892024-03-21T07:43:19.808-07:00Bright Minds ... Loving Hearts ... Capable HandsThe blog formerly known as Holistic Learning ... Enki and Waldorf HomeschoolingSunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.comBlogger485125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-11833793249281885622018-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:002018-03-30T13:54:49.150-07:00The First Time In A Long TimeIt's spring.<br />
<br />
Southern California surprised us with late winter cold and rains, as if the groundhog actually knew what he was talking about, but today is sunny and pleasantly warm, with green leaves unfurling on the trees, and the first roses of the season showing fat pink buds that will explode open in a day or two.<br />
<br />
I realized today that I don't have a learning year to plan for this coming fall.<br />
<br />
Umm ... I'm not sure what to do with myself.<br />
<br />
My nest isn't emptying out; the son who took a gap year is still at home, as is the one who graduates in 11 weeks. They both plan to enroll at the local community college this fall, living at home to keep expenses down while they try to decide what majors might interest them.<br />
<br />
Already, my youngest has moved into the unschooling portion of his learning year. He did all of the same graduation requirements as his older brother, and so this year was always intended to be more student-led. He did some additional work in trigonometry in the first semester (using a different program than last year), and started calculus, but at his own pace. He's continued with music study and physical education, and is pursuing several of his interests, including 3D design and printing, game design, and creative writing. He revisited Romeo and Juliet, and has continued with his interest in science fiction, fantasy, and dystopian fiction. Rarely do his studies require my input; he has taken ownership of his learning.<br />
<br />
But spring, spring is when a Waldorf homeschool mom's thoughts turn to fall, and the return to rhythm (which tends to fly out the window during the last few weeks of the learning year), along with block planning and secondary lessons.<br />
<br />
I feel bereft. I want to find a few 7 year olds and teach them grade 1. I want to open a Waldorf preschool in my home, lazure the walls, and put my apron on. I want to return to the past ...<br />
<br />
Of course, I can't. My goal isn't to take teacher training and become a Waldorf or Enki teacher. I could go in that direction, but that is moving backward, not toward my future. My future involves supporting my adult children in their endeavors, creating the next chapter in my life as a wife and partner, and discovering who I am as an older adult woman who is no longer mothering young children or adolescents.<br />
<br />
I have loved being a mother; nothing else I have done in my life has brought this kind of joy and contentment. I am proud of many parts of my life before children, but it doesn't hold a candle to the joy of spending my days in the presence of my two boys. As we transition to friendship and the mentor relationship between adult children and their parents, I am so glad that we kept them close, attached, valued, respected, and loved. They, along with my husband, are my favorite people in the world.<br />
<br />
Indeed, just a year or two ago I used to think that I didn't understand our cultural idea of sending young people out into the world at 18, ready to make it on their own financially and emotionally. I wanted my boys to stay with me forever. Truth be told, I am in no hurry for them to leave, but now that I am here, on the cusp of both of them being adults, I am excited by the possibilities that the world holds for them. When they are ready to go, I will bid them farewell knowing that they are ready for the next adventure life has for them.<br />
<br />
But still, I long for a planner, a pencil, and a long weekend so that I can sketch out blocks, plan reading lists, order art supplies, and imagine yet another amazing year of home learning with my boys. I can hardly believe that this is where I am, at the end of home educating these two fantastic young men.<br />
<br />
Instead, it seems that it is time for me to turn my focus to my own education, the education of not only my mind, but my heart and my hands. It is time to take up projects that got pushed well beyond the back burner. The possibilities are limitless. Perhaps I can grab that planner and pencil, after all.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-56290647889548383172017-06-26T13:23:00.001-07:002017-06-28T10:48:36.698-07:00At Home, Low Key ProductivityIt's 1:00 p.m. on Monday.<br />
<br />
I prefer s-l-o-w Mondays; more than any other day of the week, Monday is the day that I most need to be quiet and undemanding.<br />
<br />
I never schedule appointments on Mondays if I can help it. I don't plan to grocery shop, either. The only errand I expect to do on Monday is to go to the library with the boys. We usually go earlier rather than later, but since the library is only open late on Mondays and Tuesdays, those are the best days for us to go because should we decide that cocooning all day Monday is necessary, we can still go after supper (even if it is late because the guys ride their bikes). Tuesday evenings are already booked, so Monday it is.<br />
<br />
Lately I've realized how productive my Mondays actually are. Today I have done the following, all before lunch:<br />
<ul>
<li>Tended the milk kefir, the goat milk kefir, and the water kefir, and washed the associated dishes.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Made smoothies for J and I to have for breakfast, and washed the Vitamix.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Put a jar of sun tea out in the sun to brew.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brought in the dry towels from the porch, folded them, and put them in their respective pool bags.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Directed T in getting the day's laundry started.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Came up with breakfast for the dogs since we didn't have enough kibble.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Started a health log for J to document the things his doctor wants tracked.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Baked banana muffins, and washed the associated dishes.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Cooked 18 eggs in the Instant Pot so that we'll have them for the next week, cooled them, dried them, put them away, and washed the Instant Pot dishes.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Drafted a basic plan for this week's meals.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Chose the meat for this week's meals, and took it out of the freezer to defrost.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Started rice for lunch, and also started defrosting salmon.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Drove to the doctor's office to pick up lab orders for J, and made his follow up appointment while I was there. (I tried to do this Friday but missed them closing the office by 5 minutes.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Cooked the salmon, along with reheating broccoli and alfredo sauce to go with lunch.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Checked the library accounts to see what is due today.</li>
</ul>
It seems I don't really mind doing things on Mondays, they just have to be things that I can do at home, and can't be huge tasks like mopping all the floors.<br />
<br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-41983658643633156772017-06-21T09:49:00.000-07:002017-06-21T09:49:21.314-07:00ZenithHappy Summer Solstice to those in the Northern Hemisphere, and Happy Winter Solstice to those in the Southern Hemisphere!<br />
<br />
It's the summer solstice for us, and so our summer rhythm begins to take form.<br />
<br />
I wake early, and make the bed unless it's a sheet washing day. If Papa is still in it I leave the task for later, but in summer he is often out of the house early for a morning bike ride. I dress, which this time of year means pulling on a light, floaty sundress. The dogs and I make our way to the front of the house.<br />
<br />
I drink a glass of water, slip on sandals, and walk the dogs around the block. I need the sunshine as much as they need the exercise. It takes only 10 minutes or so, unless we decide to go around a second time. This is the coolest air I am likely to feel on my skin all day. Depending on who is awake and who is home, I may have human company on my walk as well.<br />
<br />
Back in the house, I tend the kefir and prepare smoothies for breakfast. Then I sit on the porch and listen to the birds. Sometimes I take out the newspaper or a book, sometimes Papa joins me and we visit before he heads to work, and sometime I just sit. Once finished, I bring in the pool towels that have been hung to dry on the porch raining, and put them in their respective pool bags, ready for service again.<br />
<br />
I tidy the kitchen and front rooms. Once everyone is finished with showers I start a load of laundry, and I bring in any clothes that hung outside overnight. I finish my daily chores do any weekly home keeping chores as well. If necessary, I begin the main meal preparation, and also chop fresh fruits and vegetables for snacking on.<br />
<br />
Chores completed, I bathe, and wash my hair if it's a hair washing day.<br />
<br />
Usually this is all completed before 10 a.m. After that we might do errands, such as going to the library or stopping by the produce stand. If not, I'll choose a less strenuous task to work on, like paying bills and filing paperwork, or tidying in the craft room. My goal is to complete most of my non-creative chores before noon.<br />
<br />
Then it's lunch with Papa, and after that we either head to the pool (if there is an evening bike ride scheduled) or hang out. If we stay home we might read, create, or visit with friends. It's the perfect time to knit cotton dish cloths, plan meals, or work on a scrapbook. It's also when I do any mending that might be needed. The boys might watch history or science programs, and this summer they are doing some practice assessment tests.<br />
<br />
By mid-afternoon I'll start to think about what we can have for supper. Rice and miso soup, muffins and fruit, hard-boiled eggs and toast ... we've already had our big meal at midday, so we keep the evening meal light. Some nights it might be as simple as popcorn and watermelon, or even just ice cream or sorbet.<br />
<br />
Depending on the evening, we either go to the pool or the guys have a bike training ride. We're usually home from all of that by 7 - 7:30, and then we eat a late supper (after showers). If there's time we'll kick back and listen to a record album or play a game, or perhaps take the dogs around the block again if it hasn't been brutally hot. Around 8:45/9:00 p.m. I slip back out onto the porch with a glass of ice water to enjoy the last light of the evening, when the blues deepen and the silhouettes of the trees gently fade away.<br />
<br />
Finally it is time to brush my teeth, wash my face, say goodnight to my boys, and climb into bed with a book or magazine.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-51651781411843212072017-06-20T09:46:00.004-07:002017-06-20T09:46:58.494-07:00On The Cusp Of The Summer SolsticeThe summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere) will occur tonight at 9:24 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, so I am going to dig in my heels and say that today is not the first day of summer. If we wait until tomorrow we can go for shaved ice with T once he returns from bike camp.<br />
<br />
It's hot. I don't mind, really, except I need to remember to put on sandals if I intend to walk outside on pavement. The official max temperature was 102° yesterday, with a forecast of 106° for today, and 107° tomorrow. The A/C kicked on before 9 a.m. today, and that's with it set to 80°. Even set at 80° (82° overnight) it ran for 9 hours yesterday. I expect it to run for at least 12 hours today.<br />
<br />
We could try to do without A/C. I grew up without it, and scientists say it is nearly 8-10 degrees warmer now than it was then (okay, those number are for 50 years ago and I am talking about 40 years ago, but still, it's hotter), but we could make it work. People have to, because not everyone can afford housing with A/C and/or the electricity to run it.<br />
<br />
So we'd adjust, getting up earlier and then estivating during the hottest part of the day before taking advantage of the slightly cooler late evening hours.<br />
<br />
The biggest question on a morning like today is <i>To bake, or not to bake ...</i> because baking heats up the house, but not baking might result in insufficient snacks and the wasting of bananas that got so ripe they weren't even fit for the freezer (too soft).<br />
<br />
I baked.<br />
<br />
In the middle of baking the power went out, then tried to come back on, then went out again for about a full minute. Just long enough for me to wonder what I was going to do about muffins in the oven (which, although it is gas, doesn't run without electricity). I had clothes in the washer as well, but those I could have finished in the bathtub, so that wasn't a big concern. More worrisome would have been the food in the freezers and refrigerator. Oh, and the A/C.<br />
<br />
The power grid struggles to provide all the necessary power to the region on hot days. They ask us to cut back, and we do, not running the vacuum, washing machine, or dishwasher in the afternoon, and keeping that A/C temperature bearable but not frigid.<br />
<br />
It's days like this that I remember that some day we are going to install a solar system, one we own, not leased. Preferably before the federal tax credits expire. I'd prefer a system with a good battery bank so that we can use our own power even after dark.<br />
<br />
We're talking about window awnings, too, as we know our house used have them (the tracks are still up). The front of the house faces mostly west (perhaps we could say WSW) and the front rooms get very hot in the afternoons. The sun is welcome in winter, but less so in summer. Overall, someone was thinking when they built our house: the side of the house facing south is mostly protected by a nice carport.<br />
<br />
The muffins have been baked, the laundry is hanging, the vacuuming is finished. It's time for a bath, I think. Then, on this last day of spring, we'll do our errands/appointments and then hide inside the house, away from the smog and heat. Come 9:24 p.m., I'll welcome the first night of summer with a cold drink on the porch, my feet up, and the porch fan on high. It will be cooler in the house, but I'd rather spend the moment outside anyway.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-70721986512360817462017-06-15T18:10:00.000-07:002017-06-15T18:10:15.310-07:00Shopping In The Refrigerator, or How I Avoided Costco This WeekIf I had my way we would go to Costco once a month with a carefully planned list and then not go back no matter what. How hard can it be to plan out how much toilet paper, peanuts, dates, maple syrup, and frozen fruit we will need for a month? Or how many eggs and whether or not we need toothbrush heads? However, I live with three men (one middle-aged, two young) who think that Costco is where you go when you run out of lettuce. As in, <i>We need to go to Costco this week because we are out of lettuce! Did you hear me? We need lettuce from Costco!</i><br />
<br />
Lettuce, people! They sell it at the produce stand one mile from the house, which can be reached by foot or bicycle and never has more than one person in front of me in line. If it is extremely hot I will even drive there and not feel guilty, because my car is cute and I don't feel like melting on my bicycle when it is 97°.<br />
<br />
I have already been to Costco twice in June, which isn't fair, and I will probably have to go again because: <i>graduation party</i>. But I will not go just because we are out of lettuce. If we were out of toilet paper, then I would go, and they could buy some lettuce too, but again, not just for lettuce. <i>#notjustforlettuce</i><br />
<br />
What can that possibly mean, anyway, to be out of lettuce? We aren't out of water or air or even food. Half the time when the young men are asked if they want a salad they say <i>no</i> anyway. But they keep track of lettuce like it was a baseball box score.<br />
<br />
In a convoluted, related situation, my refrigerator has been a disorganized mess; there are approximately 6 million mason jars full of ferments, bacon fat, and leftovers (or 21, which is exactly the same thing when you are trying to find the tub of shredded Dubliner cheese). I don't mind so much, because they are my ferments, but the guys are tired of pushing everything around and tend to leave jars dangling dangerously on front shelf ledges, threatening to fall the next time the door is opened, spilling milk kefir all over.<br />
<br />
And so today I cleaned out the refrigerator, and as a bonus I shopped it by pulling out all of the produce, cleaning and chopping it, and returning it to the bins looking brand new and shiny. There are now bags of arugula, clean mini cucumbers, washed and peeled carrots, jicama sticks, bell pepper strips, shredded cabbage, peeled daikon root, and cleaned green onions, and I'm pretty sure the family thinks I went shopping after all. When they ask for lettuce I will point out that we have cabbage, or I will just make cabbage salad myself and avoid the subject altogether.<br />
<br />
I drank the water kefir, thus cutting the mason jars down to a manageable 20.<br />
<br />
In the outside refrigerator I found a watermelon, 3# of prepped broccoli, and a still-good package of cooked beets. Short of a toilet paper shortage, I don't see any reason to go to Costco until we shop for the graduation party. Which is <i><sigh></sigh></i> next week.<br />
<br />
Ideas To Avoid Going to Costco for Lettuce:<br />
<br />
Clean all of the produce in the house<br />
Make cabbage salad<br />
Make shredded carrot salad<br />
Make cucumber salad<br />
Tell Papa that arugula and tomato salad is the newest salad fad<br />
Make a fancy salad with chopped vegetables and beets<br />
Put out so many raw vegetables as a pre-dinner snack that I can convince Papa that we don't need to make a salad<br />
Make pizza (because no one questions anything if I make pizza)Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-72299624572081595562017-05-30T16:43:00.001-07:002017-05-30T16:43:39.985-07:00Things I Am Loving Right NowPeonies ... no explanation needed.<br />
<br />
My 18 year old son playing guitar and singing while we hang out in the living room.<br />
<br />
The prolific explosion of jacaranda tree blossoms every May, although I suppose that the fact that I don't actually have one (and don't have to deal with the mess they make) enhances my enjoyment of this special So Cal season (yes, I call it jacaranda season).<br />
<br />
Nature walks with friends who are perfectly happy to stop when the kids want to, because playing in water is beyond fun. Hopefully my broken toe will be healed up enough next time so I can get my feet wet too.<br />
<br />
How much my older German Shepherd loves being in nature, and all of the funny things he does. Why was he digging in the creek while snapping at the water? I don't know, but he was enjoying it.<br />
<br />
Dogs in trees.<br />
<br />
Putting away the fire screen and sweeping out the fireplace for the summer.<br />
<br />
The simple task of making milk kefir, caring for the grains and watching them multiply.<br />
<br />
How the promise of my daily kefir smoothie encourages me to get out of my comfy bed in the morning.<br />
<br />
Moving the armoire back into the dining room, and how much more I like to look at it than the bookcase I'd put there last year.<br />
<br />
Blackboards and white chalk.<br />
<br />
Lingering light in the evenings, and knowing that we've not yet reached zenith.<br />
<br />
Making plans for a bedroom makeover, college edition.<br />
<br />
<br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-67120039475043869172016-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:002017-03-20T14:54:09.574-07:00A Christmas Tree PuzzleRound and around we went. Move the couch here, this chair there, take out the hand-built credenza, step back and survey ... and no. Switch chairs, reposition record player console, measure ... and no. Put the couch and credenza back. No. Shake head. Try not to despair. Move everything again. No. Hold back the impending meltdown. Realize that I'm not the only one about to have one ...<br />
<br />
My living room has exactly one joy sparking arrangement, a perfect fusion of the upholstered pieces, the rugs, and the coffee table and other wood pieces. It took 15 years(!) to find the right pieces for this space and to learn where they should go. The house kept trying to tell us, but we weren't listening. Now the focus is on the fireplace and we've even carved out what feels like a small entry way in a California bungalow whose front door opens directly into the living room.<br />
<br />
The feel of this room is highly important to me. The furniture placement needs to create a cozy space that is aesthetically pleasing, but more than than, a space the <i>welcomes</i> us in. I want it to be place that we <i>want</i> to be. Last November I breathed a huge sigh of contentment when we acquired the final piece of the furniture puzzle and added a rug to create a space within a space. Everything clicked!<br />
<br />
Last Christmas we put up a small vintage aluminum tree with simple ball ornaments plus a color changing light and called it good. It was simple to set up and take down again, and it fit the space and was a fun throwback to the Christmas trees of my youth.<br />
<br />
But several times this year I heard (from one child in particular) that a green tree would be preferred this year, one that could hold the many special ornaments we've collected over the years. I wanted to put my foot down and say that the simple aluminum tree would suffice, but underneath his request I could hear so much more.<br />
<br />
I heard his longing for the tree to look like it had for the first 17 Christmases of his life (even if he didn't remember all of them).<br />
<br />
I heard his trepidation about growing up and eventually leaving our home.<br />
<br />
I heard his desire to revisit his childhood with the ornaments that represent part of our family story.<br />
<br />
All the furniture moving was an attempt to make space for a large, decidedly artificial Christmas tree. We wrangled with space and chairs and the needs of our Christmas guests. It wasn't working. I was being quite rigid in what I wanted, which was for it to look and feel beautiful while also seating our expected guests. There was one chair that just wasn't working, no matter how we moved things, and I was loathe to let it go. We were both getting frustrated.<br />
<br />
Finally, I told him to put the chair that was causing all of the problems in his room. His face turned to sunshine. We moved all of the furniture back where it had started, and decided that minus the chair and the record cabinet, a large tree would fit.<br />
<br />
Come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we might not have enough seating, but we'll make do. We'll pull over the dining chairs, push back the couch, and a few of us may end up on the floor (not a problem). Until then, I'll try to remember that living in the house is the most important thing, and that one chair should never break us.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-39885113578593537072015-07-14T21:06:00.000-07:002015-07-15T11:01:56.500-07:00The Plan For Our Grade 10/11 Year<span style="font-family: inherit;">I adore planning!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In May I planned the basics of our upcoming home learning year, and we hadn't even finished up grade 9/10.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I tweaked it in June.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I started over last week, and yesterday and today I completely revamped it. Like I mentioned, <i>I adore planning </i>-- so much so that my bed is unmade and their are bags of groceries that haven't been put away yet (don't worry -- they put the cold stuff away).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are going back to Waldorf-style blocks, with a fair amount of Waldorf inspiration and method in the day to day lesson work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I couldn't bear the thought of doing 9 months of chemistry every school day. I was certain that it would kill any interest the boys might have in the subject. I also think that the traditional school format for U.S. History would guarantee that the boys hate history for the rest of their lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We need time to explore things deeply. The average high school class is about 45 minutes long, and some of that time is spent on "housekeeping" tasks such as taking attendance, passing out papers, etc. In contrast, our main lesson blocks can be 1.5 - 2 hours per day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is kind of what it looks like for now:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We'll have 11 blocks; a few will be 4 weeks, but most will be 3 weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Main Lessons:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strike>Parzival</strike> (Since one boy is 16.5 and the other is 15 I need to choose something else)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chemistry: Energy, The Periodic Table, and Compounds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">U.S History: Post Constitution to The Civil War</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chemistry: Equations and Reactions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The American Novel: <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chemistry: Gas Laws and Thermodynamics</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Great Depression</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Biology/Health: Genes, DNA, and Human Reproduction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">U.S. History: WWII to Present</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">World Religions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Poetry and the Short Story</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, that's a lot of Chemistry. Since we didn't follow a Waldorf model for chemistry in the past two years we need to catch up. We'll actually be devoting two of our secondary lessons to chemistry as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Secondary Lessons:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Introduction to Chemistry: Scientific Notation and the Basics of Atoms</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shakespeare's <i>Macbeth</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">19th Century Art and Music</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Research Skills</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perfecting the Paragraph</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Up From Slavery</i> by Booker T. Washington</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chemistry: Reactions and Dangerous Atoms</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Art of the Essay</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A Separate Peace</i> by John Knowles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Research Paper: The Topic Funnel, Notes, and Outlines</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Religion: Quaker Testimonies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our major skills focus this year will be writing, because -- wait for it -- the boys have finally shown an interest in learning how to write beyond the subject journals and critical thinking pieces they did last year! In the first half of the year I have carved out 2 hours per week for writing instruction, in addition to the writing we do during Language Arts focused main and secondary lessons. I'm planning to make the lessons very fun at first! We'll also do Daily Grammar and a workbook for The Elements of Style.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Said is Dead" and Using Descriptive Words</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">T<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">his Sentence Has Five Words, </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Crafting Power Sentences, </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Showing Emotions and Feelings</span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tricky Words, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Plurals, and </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Idioms</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All About Punctuation</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Analyze, Revise, and Edit</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Expository Writing: Sequence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">None of these topics are entirely new, but I think it is time to reawaken them in the context of high school writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You might have noticed that I did not plan any main or secondary lessons in mathematics. The boys have done so well with Teaching Textbooks that we will use it again this year for Algebra II on a daily basis. Their other daily subjects include Music, Spanish, and Physical Education.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a very focused and "planned" year, yet I still fully expect some organic and self-directed learning. T-Guy is going to finish up an elective in The History of American Baseball (probably this summer), while J-Baby will continue his studies in coding and electronics so that he can earn elective credit in those. T-Guy is pursuing vocational education credit it bicycle repair and mechanics (for which we hope to augment his book and hands-on learning with an internship at a local bicycle shop). He will also take driver's education this year -- yikes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another part of our summer learning is music and performance appreciation via attending concerts, plays, musicals, and other artistic performances, which we extend into the home learning year and add to by studying the music and composers. By the time their high school career is over they will each have enough hours for a full year's credit of music appreciation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That's it so far!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-1912282400346587652015-07-14T20:04:00.000-07:002015-07-14T20:04:19.031-07:00Because You Like to KnowThese are the resources we used for Grade 9/10:<br />
<br />
Math:<br />
<div>
Teaching Textbooks <i>Geometry</i></div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
Science:</div>
<div>
<i>CK-12 Biology</i> and <i>Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments</i></div>
<div>
J-Baby studied coding and electronics</div>
<div>
Both boys continued to explore science through documentary films and natural exploration.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Literature/Language Arts:</div>
<div>
We chose many classic works of literature and read and discussed them. Writing, spelling, and grammar came along organically. Some of the works we read and discussed included <i>The Grapes of Wrath, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility</i>, and <i>Hamlet</i>. J-Baby explored the works of Edgar Allen Poe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
History/Social Studies:</div>
<div>
This year we focused most of our time on early American History, including colonization, the Revolutionary War, and the Constitution, and then peppered in history from many other places and time periods. Some of the books we used included <i>Four Great Americans, Miracle at Philadelphia, A History of US, Common Sense</i>, and several key speeches. We also read <i>The Royal Road to Romance, </i>which focused mostly on geography.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Foreign Language:</div>
<div>
Rosetta Stone<i> Latin American Spanish</i> (into level 2)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Music/Art:</div>
<div>
We continue with piano, guitar, and voice. This year we added in more composer studies and music appreciation as well. We also studied several artists and their major works.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Physical Education:</div>
<div>
Mountain biking and more mountain biking. There are always skills to learn and more ways to improve.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-52441762096722672332015-07-14T19:51:00.000-07:002015-07-14T19:51:40.427-07:00Fare Thee Well Homespun WaldorfI am knee-deep in planning right now. Who am I kidding? I'm really up to my eyeballs, caught between loving the process and being overwhelmed with the desire to finish planning the year, plan out the first block, and prepare for our annual nature pilgrimage, all before an anniversary trip near the end of summer.<br />
<br />
I went to consult with the Homespun Waldorf forum, which rarely has new posts, hoping to find something archived about high school chemistry ... <i>and the forum and blog were not there!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I felt sad. They had been there perhaps just last month, and today there were gone. The message says that the account has been suspended.<br />
<br />
My first thought was that all of our collective ideas were gone. It is an idea that saddens me tremendously. Then I remembered that this is not the first time that I have been part of a sharing of ideas and experiences that disappeared, and so I looked for the lesson.<br />
<br />
Things are temporary, ephemeral even. This is as true of shared ideas as it is of physical things. However, the experience remains; I can still tap into how I felt when Homespun Waldorf was active. It is still a loss, but I see that it is one that came in stages. First we lost the active community, then we lost the collective wisdom of that community.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it will come back. I don't think so; however. Why should someone pay to maintain forums that are no longer active? It may be that we lost the forum way back when people stopped coming.<br />
<br />
Farewell, and hopefully I will see someone of the Homespun Waldorf community somewhere else.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-82570971620074476012014-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:002014-11-11T12:00:42.061-08:00Simplifying the Schedule<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our home learning year has been going really well in terms of rhythm and daily learning, but I found that the Charlotte Mason Method practice of breaking up the books through each term and the entire year wasn't working for us, so we aren't going to do it any longer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We need things to be simple enough that we will keep up with them and not feel overwhelmed, but also interesting enough that we are not wasting our time. We also need the learning to feel natural, not forced. Breaking a book into 12, 24, or 36 weeks just isn't how we work around here; we tend to dive deeply into each book and read them in every spare moment until we've finished. Truthfully, in my own life I have found that any book that doesn't pull me in and make me want to keep reading is one that will probably never be finished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I like block learning and find it simple to plan, even with all the daily subjects we are doing. We are able to devote 4 hours per week to our chosen block, plus extra time reading and watching film adaptions and </span>documentaries.<br />
<br />
(As a side note, Charlotte Mason Education skews toward British writers, especially for literature. I think we'll bring in more United States authors and world literature next year.)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2014 - 2015 Blocks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">October:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Emma, Pride and Prejudice</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">November:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Little Dorrit, Hamlet</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">December:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>Miracle at Philadelphia</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">January:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>The Taming of the Shrew</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">February:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>Four Great Americans</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">March:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Microbe Hunters</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">April:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Character is Destiny</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">May:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Arguing Slavery</span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">June:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Count of Monte Cristo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-61081964297920948782014-11-05T08:00:00.001-08:002015-07-14T20:05:57.849-07:00Tweaking the Path Yet AgainI wrote that while we were enjoying the content of Charlotte Mason education (which really is just living books), the idea of stretching it out over the term was bogging us down. I set the boys free with their independent reading and lo and behold both of them are finished with <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and are ready to move on to <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>, which was supposed to be our book for the next term, but why hold back?<br />
<br />
They finished reading Hamlet and this week we discussed what a soliloquy is and the function it serves, and now they are memorizing part of Hamlet's famous <i>To be or not to be</i> soliloquy.<br />
<br />
Papa asked about Shakespeare and the significance still placed on him today. It was a fair question; not everyone enjoys Shakespeare and I did get far more from studying him in an upper division university course than I did studying his plays in high school (we tried to do the math and we think we read 6 - 8 Shakespearean plays in high school, being honor students).<br />
<br />
But spending just a few weeks with Hamlet this term shows me how very influential Shakespeare was on our culture and language. How often do we hear someone spout the advice of Polonius to Laertes? <i>Neither a borrower not a lender be, clothes make the man, to thine own self be true</i> ... these have become tenants of our culture (although we often ignore the advice on borrowing and lending).<br />
<br />
To me, Shakespeare serves the function in the high school years that fairy tales served in grade 1, trickster tales served in grade 2, and origin stories served in grade 3. These are stories of humanity, interesting stories about characters, to be sure, but in each character there is something that is also in all of us. We have all of us the potential to share Hamlet's indecision, Romeo and Juliet's passion, Lady Macbeth's scheming for power, or Lear's pride and deterioration.<br />
<br />
The question remains as to how to bring Shakespeare to young people. The language is difficult to understand, whether we are reading it or hearing it performed. Modern translations lose the beauty of the language in an attempt to convey meaning. In and of themselves, plays are meant to be performed and watched, not read.<br />
<br />
We also imbue Shakespeare with the status of <i>Very Important Person</i> in the English literature.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-20245022299842022092014-10-27T17:54:00.001-07:002014-10-27T17:54:48.373-07:00An UpdateWe're more than a month in to this home learning year, and overall it's going well. I feel comfortable with the amount of time spent on the required subjects and I'm even starting to divide some of the subject work into mini-blocks.<br />
<br />
For the first time, we have equal amounts of time spent on subjects (including music, but not PE nor biology) in the mornings and afternoons. We work from 10 -12 and again from 1 - 3, with me as a helper in the morning hours and a facilitator in the afternoon. It looks like this:<br />
<br />
10 - 11 Geometry (I do mine earlier so that I can help)<br />
11 - 12 30 Minutes Music / 30 Minutes Spanish<br />
1 - 2 Guided Lesson Work<br />
2 - 3 30 Minutes Music / 30 Minutes Writing<br />
<br />
PE happens in the mornings for now, along with some afternoons, but when weekday practice begin we'll drop some of the mornings. I have no concerns regarding PE: the riders on the team who are high school are allowed to substitute regular PE with team practices so I know we are doing enough. More than enough actually as we'll add in another 3 hours of riding on top of practices each week. Right now, with practices not yet started, the boys are riding at least 10 hours per week.<br />
<br />
Biology happens during guided lesson work and evening/weekend labs. It's another 8 - 10 hours weekly.<br />
<br />
There are approximately 5 hours of Geometry weekly, along with 5 hours of music (plus J's weekly piano lesson). I don't count the time spent in the car listening to and discussing classical music, which is the only thing we listen to now while driving.<br />
<br />
Spanish gets 2.5 hours weekly, plus informal practice.<br />
<br />
We spend about 5 hours weekly on Language Arts, and about the same on Social Studies, but there is some overlap. We pull writing topics from Literature, Social Studies, and Biology.<br />
<br />
On a day like today the boys will spend approximately 7 hours on required subjects, with a heavy emphasis on PE. Tomorrow they will spend 7.5 hours but it will be weighted toward biology as it is a lab day. Wednesday will be an easy day at 5.5 hours, Thursday 7.5 hours, and Friday 5.5 hours. I never imagined that we would spend so much time on focused learning, but that is because I keep hearing about how schools wasted so much learning time, etc. Now I'm not so sure I believe that; I find myself wishing we had more hours in the day to learn everything we want to learn.<br />
<br />
About those mini blocks; Charlotte Mason education, at least as modeled by Ambleside Online, breaks books down into tiny chunks and the students are studying many of them at once. I'm finding that to be a good strategy for the books they don't love (although I don't think we need to be reading books they hate), but it falls apart when they do like a book. J read <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> in a little over a week once I assigned it even though I had planned it out over 10 weeks (T, on the other hand, is plodding through with it as assigned).<br />
<br />
But what inspired me to experiment with mini blocks was Hamlet; the idea of stretching it out over the term (12 weeks) wasn't working for me. Instead we are giving it our full attention for the next two weeks, leaving all the other assigned reading for other mini blocks.<br />
<br />
Blocks are what I loved about Enki and Waldorf education because I believe that we learn naturally by immersing ourselves in whatever we are interested in. I don't read the books I want to read a chapter a week - I dive in!Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-18748481919684239672014-09-24T10:44:00.000-07:002014-09-24T10:44:20.946-07:00What Happened on Day 2?We don't have a history of fantastic second days. Based on that, this year's day 2 was okay. At least our issues weren't concerning attitude or motivation.<br />
<br />
We started out stressed, as Papa and I were still trying to pull together our biology resources and figure out what the boys needed to do before the evening's laboratory. The boys were a little pokey eating their breakfast and getting their morning chores completed. We needed to take the dogs to their grooming appointment. All in all, the early morning was more rushed than I like.<br />
<br />
Out academics went fine, however. The boys dug into their reading, and while they didn't enjoy Swift's <i>Battle of the Books</i> they made a good effort with it, along with <i>How to Read a Book </i>and the character descriptions from <i>Hamlet</i>. We did geometry, discussed our reading, and planned out the written narrations (at this age I am asking what they would like to narrate, and because they are new to it - but not really because Waldorf incorporates summarization - I help them work through it orally by asking questions). They also worked in a biology workbook (together since T still can't write). Workbooks aren't Waldorf or Charlotte Mason or even very holistic, but working with lab science is very different from the science we have done previously.<br />
<br />
Things went downhill after that, however. After picking up the dogs I managed to turn my ankle and fall in the street. Ouch to my ankle, shoulder, hip, and wrist. It was a minor injury but caused problems just a little later, because while chopping potatoes for our main meal soup I was a little off-balance (favoring the ankle) and managed to cut myself with the sharp chef's knife.<br />
<br />
I grabbed a cloth to apply pressure. I suppose it is true that injuries don't hurt as much at first because I then finished chopping potatoes with one hand and started the pressure cooker. The cut appeared to be deep, but I couldn't tell for certain because every time I took the cloth off it would bleed. I texted Papa and asked if he could come home to take a look at it for me. By then it was really hurting so I got in the car and went to get him.<br />
<br />
His opinion was that the cut was deep and that we needed to go to urgent care. Ugh. I set the boys to doing their Spanish lessons and their written narrations and we headed out. (It is very nice to have teens who don't require a babysitter.)<br />
<br />
Luckily the wait wasn't too bad; I was triaged quickly, seen by another nurse and the PA, and then had to wait for the PA to see attend to several patients before she could sew me up (most suture cases are not high priority and I understood this). I ended up with four stitches in the tip of my left index finger, along with an admonition not to bathe or shower for 24 hours and a request that I not do dishes or other wet cleaning for the duration of the stitches.<br />
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We had to pick up lunch so that Papa could get back to work, but before he left Papa helped me finish the soup that I had been working on when I cut myself. It made a nice supper and it was nice not to have to cook because my finger was in significant pain.<br />
<br />
Papa and the boys did their biology lab after Papa got home, but before we ate our late supper. They learned about keeping scientific notebooks and also learned the basics of using a microscope. The notebook work is going to be difficult for them, at least at first, but we consider it an important part of doing scientific experiments accurately.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-84906817957852846312014-09-22T18:46:00.000-07:002014-09-22T18:46:10.416-07:00We Changed the Plan ... ... because this is our homeschool and we can do what we want, right?<br />
<br />
I loved the idea of Big History, but I hated the implementation. The main site for educators is clearly designed for classroom. The Kahn Academy adaptation was a little better, but not much. The site (and series) for the general public barely skims the surface and does so in a frenetic manner.<br />
<br />
I don't know what made me think that all of a sudden short little videos and classroom style activities would work for us. I suppose I wanted it to work because I loved the idea of telling the history of the universe. But I don't think a holistic home learner can easily get on board with quick and slick videos for learning. Where it the depth? Maybe it works with students who have never been taught to pay attention to anything for more than five minutes. The BHP seems to try to cram as much information as they can into the students as quickly as possible.<br />
<br />
Deciding to toss the BHP led me to rethink what we were doing in every area, even though we had just started our home learning year. I had wanted to bring in literature that would tie to the BHP, but no longer needed to do that. Papa expressed a desire that the boys continue with classic literature and that we make an effort to weed out the less-than-stellar books that they love to read over and over again.<br />
<br />
I didn't want to do Waldorf style main lessons; now that we are in the high school years I want less spoon feeding and more discussion. And then it hit me ... Charlotte Mason.<br />
<br />
Charlotte Mason education has appealed to me all along, but in the younger years I preferred Enki and Waldorf. In the light of our changes, however, I decided to take a look at CM high school and liked what I was finding. It includes many subjects so that the student has the opportunity to be well-rounded. The studies are gentle, but in-depth.<br />
<br />
We also decided, last minute, to do lab biology this year. We had thought to put it off one year, thinking that T might be fine with two years of lab science before he graduates, but moving it to this year keep alive the possibly that J can graduate early and still have three years of lab science.<br />
<br />
(By the end of J's junior year he will have completed algebra, geometry, algebra 2, trigonometry and either precalculus or calculus, as well as biology, chemistry, and physics, and all his other subject learning will far surpass anything he would learn in high school so will we decide at that point if his maturity is such that he would benefit from moving on the college.)<br />
<br />
I spent a week scrambling to create a lesson plan for the year. Since I have one child in grade 9 and one in grade 10 (although J child did grade 9 coursework last year) I leaned heavily on the Ambleside Online curriculum plan for completing grades 9 - 11 in two years. I took out the books that didn't fit in with our worldview (I see no reason to fear teaching secular history and science) and added in more US history, taking out the British history (it will get incorporated into world history). We ordered books (both paper and kindle) as well as a great microscope and a lab kit to go with the biology text we chose (CK12).<br />
<br />
It is amazing to me how well CM education fits in with what I want for my boys in their high school years. I want them to read high quality books, both fiction and nonfiction, and to be able to discuss them orally and on paper. I want them to be well-grounded in Shakespeare just as much as I want them to have a firm grasp on mathematics and science. I want to continue with subjects such as nature study, music appreciation, and the like (those subjects that have been pushed out of public schools).<br />
<br />
Today was our first day, and we traditionally have great first days, but today felt different; it was <i>better</i> than great. Compared to last year I felt more engaged as the boys' teacher. Our day looked like this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Wake up, care for dogs, eat breakfast, do chores.</li>
<li>Have second breakfast (my boys always have their breakfast in two parts, a fruit smoothie early and then a whole grain based food an hour or two later) and discuss together how our day will look.</li>
<li>First hour: assigned reading in biology, geography, and government</li>
<li>Second hour: geometry. We are also supposed to do a short penmanship/copywork lesson during this time, but with a child in a cast it will be postponed for another month.</li>
<li>Third hour: This was supposed to be our time for current events, map work, and time line work; however, I had forgotten about an orthodontist appointment so we'll get it started next week. I didn't have a newspaper or map at hand anyway.</li>
<li>Fourth Hour: Spanish and written narrations (switching off between rooms/computers)</li>
<li>Lunch</li>
<li>Music practice for 45 minutes</li>
<li>Free time</li>
<li>PE: weekly recovery road ride for 90 minutes</li>
<li>Late dinner</li>
<li>Reading and bedtime</li>
</ul>
<br />
Amazingly, that is 6 hours and 15 minutes of homeschool work, but it didn't feel like it. The boys will have between 5.25 - 6.25 hours of homeschool work on weekdays and an additional long PE session on Sundays. It seems like a lot, but this <i>is</i> high school. They work the first hour independently while I accomplish morning chores (baking bread, laundry, etc.) and then I spend the next two hours actively engaged with them. For the final morning hour I prepare our main meal while providing support as necessary.<br />
<br />
I am taking the geometry with the boys as I feel that I didn't learn it as well as I could have when I was in high school. I am also doing their readings with them, excepting biology; Papa is teaching them biology and I only assign the reading and any narrations I want to pull from it. I plan to catch up to where they are in Spanish and continue forward with them; it should be easy as I did take three years of Spanish and did rather well in it. I could simply say that I have already learned these things and to step away, but I think that being engaged in what they are doing is the key to them enjoying it.<br />
<br />
I'll check back in soon with an update on how it is going!Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-10086521630905317542014-08-12T05:00:00.000-07:002014-08-12T05:00:01.253-07:00Plans For the Next Homeschool Year ... Everyone is in High School EditionYou read that right: this coming fall I have two high schoolers learning here at home at the Living Oak Academy!<br />
<br />
I know so many people who stop homeschool at or before high school; only one other family in our homeschool circle is planning to give it a go. I think it is because of clashing parent/adolescent personalities as well as fear that the harder subjects can't be effectively taught.<br />
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I try very hard not to parent from fear, and that especially extends to home learning. I believe that anyone who wants to learn <i>will</i> learn and that we don't have to take traditional paths to make that happen.<br />
<br />
I was never afraid of teaching math; my own schooling only went as far as college algebra, but Papa minored in math so I knew we'd be okay. Except Papa doesn't really have time to teach the boys math in the evenings. So last year we tried <i>Teaching Textbooks</i> for algebra, and it worked fantastically. I was able to give support when needed, and Papa stepped in when even I was stumped, but overall the boys learned from the program. It was so cool to hear them throwing around words like <i>coordinate</i> and <i>slope</i>. So this year we are definitely moving forward with <i>Teaching Textbooks</i>!<br />
<br />
The plan:<br />
<br />
<i>Texting Textbooks</i> Geometry<br />
<i>Big History Project</i> as our spine for history and science<br />
A block on US Government incorporating our November election<br />
A Greek history block to tie in with geometry<br />
Literature to tie in with <i>BHP</i><br />
<i>Time 4 Writing</i><br />
<i>Rosetta Stone </i>Spanish<br />
Piano for J<br />
Guitar for T<br />
Competitive mountain biking team for PE (also brings in some health and vocational arts work)<br />
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I've decided to give the <i>Time 4 Writing</i> high school courses a try; a friend had good success with the middle school courses. Although <i>Brave Writer</i> was fantastic, I think the boys need something that focuses more on the basics rather than the creative process. They are going back to the basics and taking one course in the fall semester and one in spring, with a plan to be finished well before we move into So Cal League finals and the state championships.<br />
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My main energies will be focused on the <i>Big History Project</i> as well as the two other social studies blocks. Everything else is pretty much taught for me, either with the programs or other teachers.<br />
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Last year competitive mountain biking threw us for a loop and we ended up scaling back our lessons until we settled into the routine of practices and races (which include travel). That was fine; home learning is all about flexibility, but it meant that the boys didn't finish up all their lesson work until late July, giving us only one full month off before we start up again. Hopefully we have a handle on things now and can start our year the day after Labor Day and end the Friday before Memorial Day, giving the boys a full three months off next summer.<br />
<br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-63187052599989315412014-07-30T10:49:00.001-07:002014-07-30T10:49:25.567-07:00We Lived ItThe homeschool year is over and I didn't blog about it at all - we lived it instead! I have to say that this was one of the best homeschool years that we have ever had.<br />
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First off, <i>Teaching Textbooks Algebra I</i> was a huge hit! I know that I laid the foundation for making math lovers with all of the creative, holistic math we did, but I certainly felt unnecessary this year as the boys took their math learning into their own hands. Oh, I helped with a problem here and there, but mostly they just got it.<br />
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Language Arts got easier; the boys read a variety of assigned and self-chosen literature, and we discussed everything that we had all read. The second semester took a turn toward science fiction as the boys read all of the Robert A. Heinlein juveniles, which was really fun. Grammar, spelling, and vocabulary all got easier too; I think the boys are at an age where it all just clicks. I pulled off the archaic vocabulary study after they announced that it will no longer be part of the SAT. The boys knew most of it anyway, they're smart like that.<br />
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We made extensive use of video and discussion while studying history/social studies, and made our first real foray into World War I and World War II. J-Baby got very interested in our spring election and has given me some great ideas to incorporate into our learning coming into the November election.<br />
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We used the new COSMOS TV series as a springboard for our second semester of science. So much fun!<br />
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Music lessons continued and I was really blown away by the progress both boys made. I love that J-Baby really explores music with the piano, and how much time they both spend at their instruments other than required practice time.<br />
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Mountain biking has been the best PE ever! They work on so much related to fitness, nutrition, health, stress management, and more, plus they learn new skills continually and have a weekly class that focuses on core strength. In addition to all that they've been learning bike maintenance and repair, which would fall under vocational/applied arts, I suppose.<br />
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Rosetta Stone Spanish was the other surprise hit of the year; they are really enjoying learning a new language. J-Baby in particular has begun asking a lot of questions relating to grammar and vocabulary, outside of his regular lessons.<br />
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<br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-47500926903266537932014-06-27T16:16:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:36:00.996-07:00Catching UpI've been doing a great job of meeting my daily goals; I just haven't been blogging about it. I walk just about daily now, mostly on errands. To the library and post office, to the movie theater, downtown to restaurants, to the farmers market, to outdoor concerts (at this point checking out rehearsals, mostly). Sometimes I get my walking in by going around the block a couple of times, or walking around window shopping and reminiscing. I haven't been on my bike, but that is something we can work on.<br /><br />This week I did day camp driving everyday, so the tunes were cranked up. We're also listening to a lot of vinyl at home. I love putting on a record and sitting to listen, maybe knitting, but not using the music as background for activities like cooking and cleaning. There's a purpose to it, and a stronger appreciation, I think.<br /><br />I sit outside daily, along with walking. My front porch is a beautiful place to be. I made it to the pool Tuesday; we don't usually go during day camp week as the kids are wiped out by the time they get home.<br /><br />As for creating, I knit almost daily. I say almost because I might have missed a day, but I don't think so. I even knit up in the mountains at a race. Since 6/16 I've completed three waffle weave dishcloths (I went back to the pattern for another one, in cotton hemp this time), a "grandma" dishcloth, and I've added several rows (maybe 20?) to my shawl in progress. I also made deodorant last week, and made sunscreen today.<br /><br />The kiddos have summer colds right now :( I made them chamomile/lemon/ginger/honey "tea" and they've been sucking on zinc lozenges. Papa wanted to give T an antihistamine last night, but I resisted since I believe that a runny nose is one way the body eliminates the virus, and also, drying things up can give bacteria a better medium to multiply in. Yuck! I'm weird, but I really think it's best to get through minor illnesses without allopathic medications, especially for a child who doesn't have work obligations that require him to be somewhere.<br /><br />I can't say I know why the boys got sick, but I have my suspicions. Being around 75 other kids at day camp meant being exposed to germs. But day camp also changed how the boys eat; they had far less fresh fruit each day (not much other than their morning smoothies) and neither of them ate a green salad all week. Plus they relied on bread for sandwiches everyday. In our family, lowering gluten consumption helps everyone have fewer colds. We didn't even eat beans and rice this week; we kind of had a vacation mentality and ate take out most evenings.<br /><br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-9753174225952121232014-06-18T18:03:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:36:01.052-07:00Wondering About Fake MeatsWhat I am thinking about today:<br /><br />Sunday we had company to celebrate Father's Day, and while I sometimes question the sincerity of someone who declares <i>I don't even miss the cheese or sour cream!</i> (because why would you mention it if you didn't miss it?), I did take note of a positive comment about the simplicity of our meal and how it was appreciated that we didn't try to make something that resembled a traditional American meal, except with fake meat. Nope, it was rice and beans, some plant-based toppings, and a delicious cabbage salad for us, not a Tofurkey in sight.<br /><br />I do buy fake meat, however. I went to the grocery store for produce this morning and decided to take advantage of a sale on Boca Chik'n Patties, Gardein Chick'n Strips, and Gardein Meatless Meatballs. (All of these, at my local supermarket and not a health food store!) Yesterday I purchased several packages of Field Roast Sausages (which are also plant-based), hoping to score the rumored Field Roast Hand-Formed Burgers (I struck out - maybe they are too new?). There is no way that I can claim to be a purist on this issue.<br /><br />Some people who eat plant-based can't stand the thought of eating anything that resembles animal flesh, and I understand that. Me, I'm raising teen boys (explanation enough in itself), and while I have a long history with veg*nism, they don't. They ate mostly plant-based with some fish for the first halves of their lives so far, and then we ate meat, eggs, and dairy for close to six years (don't judge - or if you must, keep it to yourself). There are only so many meals per week that I can base on beans before I feel whispers of a mutiny just beneath the words <i>Beans Again?</i>. A pasta or potato based meal can broker a truce, but sometimes someone just really wants pizza or a burger (that someone might be me, but left to my own palate I'd probably throw a broiled portobello mushroom on a bun and call it good because I love simple).<br /><br />I've thought long and hard about whether or not it is okay to eat food that is meant to mimic animal flesh, and I've decided that it's okay for us. Fake meats help people transition to plant-based eating and can make plant-based social situations a little easier as well. Besides, as anyone who does eat meat will tell you, plant-based fake meats aren't really like meat at all. I never lie to a meat eater and pretend that my fake meat is going to taste remotely close to what it is meant to replicate.<br /><br />I eat far less fake meat than the rest of my family, but I do eat it. I don't pretend that a Field Roast sausage is anything like a hot dog, but then again I don't pretend that my favorite thing about hot dogs is anything other than Gulden's mustard, a soft bun, and some vegan baked beans. I skip meatless meatballs and soy chorizo and any fake meat on a pizza. I never think to myself <i>I'm starving</i> and make myself a snack of a vegan Gardenburger, as the testosterone-laden members of my family are wont to do. But I do eat a Boca burger now and then (thank you Red Robin), and I'm crazy for the Native Foods Chicken Ranch Run burger; I can't help it - they are better than any fried chicken sandwich I ever ate as a meat eater.<br /><br />Fake meats (should I call them meat analogs?) are very processed and not likely to be remotely healthy, so I try to limit the guys to fake meat at one meal per week. That's enough to keep them eating beans five days a week, so who am I to complain?<br /><br />Outside: I drank my (nettles) tea on the porch this morning with a sweat shirt and socks on! We also went to the pool in the afternoon. Still, today ended up low on the hours spent outside index. I should have gone with the mountains with the guys and sat under the pines with the Big Dog while they rode. Why the heck didn't I do that? Oh yeah, there wasn't any room in the truck for me since they took friends. I suppose it's better to carpool and save the environment.<br /><br />Move: Today was a stretching day. Somehow I remember dance warm-up stretches from nearly 25 years ago. I should have stretched for a longer period of time, so I will probably use the foam roller after I warm my muscles in a hot bath.<br /><br />Create: I started a new dishcloth, which I may even finish before bed. Then I will be done with this pattern for a least a week, I think. <i>Done with a capital D</i>, because I am bored with the repeats and very tired of the purling rows. I'm going to switch back to my shawl-in-progress.<br /><br />Music: We cranked up the radio and sang along to P!nk in the car, and I'll put on some relaxing tunes for my bath.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-10603657138511929812014-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:36:01.087-07:006.17.14The boys weren't quite in the <i>grab summer by the horns</i> mood today :( T-Guy wanted to save his energy for his Tuesday night road ride which is super intense, so he didn't want to swim or bowl. J-Baby had sore legs from swimming yesterday, so he didn't want to go either. They wanted to play video games and read.<br /><br />Plus, my massage therapist had to cancel my massage, which was another :( But it was okay; I went to the health food store in the morning, the post office and library in the afternoon, finished my current dish cloth, and finally took my new mountain bike out for a proper spin in the evening - it even involved a little bit of dirt. I had one of my favorite meals for dinner (our lighter meal): sliced avocado with salt and pepper on sourdough toast. Yum! I just got out of my second long hot bath of the day (with epsom salts, ginger, eucalyptus, and Medieval Blend essential oils) and plan to sink into bed with a library book very soon.<br /><br /><i>Spend time outside:</i> We walked to the post office and library this afternoon and went for an evening bike ride.<br /><br /><i>Move my body: </i>I walked to do my errands and went for a 45 minute bike ride in the evening. That's a little over an hour of movement, and some vitamin D via sunshine during the walk.<br /><br /><i>Create:</i> I completed the dish cloth I started yesterday (and used the sewn bind off, which I had forgotten about and really love).<br /><br /><i>Music:</i> We listened to a remaster of Led Zepplin III on vinyl.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-74831236850620014182014-06-17T16:57:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:36:01.144-07:00Summer Bucket List and Daily GoalsToday <i>felt</i> like the first day of summer vacation; Thursday the pool opened and we went and that felt like summer too, but today was the first day post Father's Day, which means we have no birthdays or family holidays for <i>months</i>!<br /><br />Suddenly, despite having registered Papa and the boys for their summer races this morning, I <i>feel</i> free. We can visit with family when it works for all of us and not feel guilty when a race on Mother's Day (meaning we were gone all weekend) requires apology flowers and rescheduling to a day that no matter how we try really isn't Mother's Day. There will be no birthday parties to squeeze into weekends that are already full with long practices, races, or race travel. The obligations are pretty low all summer, which provides a much needed break.<br /><br />So we went to the park this morning and the pool this afternoon and got started on the months of slow.<br /><br />For a few years now I have created a summer bucket list, or manifesto, if you like. This year it looks like this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Outside Everyday</div><div style="text-align: center;">Pool As Much As Possible</div><div style="text-align: center;">Picnic - Any Time of Day</div><div style="text-align: center;">Friday Bowl Days</div><div style="text-align: center;">Make and Eat Lots of Popsicles</div><div style="text-align: center;">Create Daily</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hang Out With Friends</div><div style="text-align: center;">Morning Walks</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sew Every Week</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hang the Laundry</div><div style="text-align: center;">Have Music Nights</div><div style="text-align: center;">Give Up Facebook</div><div style="text-align: center;">Go Device Free Most of the Time</div><div style="text-align: center;">Go to the Beach</div><div style="text-align: center;">Camp</div><div style="text-align: center;">Relax</div><div style="text-align: center;">Breathe</div><div style="text-align: center;">Be!</div><br />Some of the items on the list are part of what I want for everyday this summer. My daily goals are to:<br /><br />Spend time outside everyday - preferably where I can be on grass or under trees, but in a hot day pinch a few hours on the porch or by the pool will count.<br /><br />Move my body daily - walk, swim, bike, or stretch.<br /><br />Make something (create) everyday - knit, crochet, embroider, sew, draw, paint ... or even cook something new.<br /><br />Listen to music daily - I love music but I also love silence, and silence often wins. But some of my best summer memories involve music, so we are going to listen at home if we don't happen to be in the car.<br /><br />Today I spent time outside four times; I went to the park and spent two hours under the oak trees with my bare feet on the ground, I was at the pool for two hours, I ate a meal on the porch, and I went for a 1.5 mile walk in the evening. The walking was also moving my body. I finished a dish cloth and started knitting another one in a more complicated pattern. We cranked up the music in the car while going to and from the pool.<br /><br /><br />Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-37261975342516611152014-06-04T17:40:00.002-07:002014-06-04T17:40:46.009-07:00And Just Like That The Year Is Almost Over(Yes, I know I shouldn't begin a title with <i>And</i>, but I wanted to.)<br />
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It's June. It's hot. We're eating watermelon. It's time for the outbreath of summer. We are definitely in <i>wrap it up</i> mode.<br />
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This has been one of our oddest homeschool years ever. I learned to let go, to be flexible, and to relax; the boys learned without my planning and hovering.<br />
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To remind everyone of where we are, T-Guy (a moniker long ago discarded) is 15 and was in 9th grade for the 2013 - 2014 homeschool year. J-Baby (oh how he hates that name now, but I'm not changing it on the blog) is 14 and was in 8th grade this past year. Wait, didn't he do 8th grade last year? He did, but I still had him registered as a 7th grader in my little private school. We will decide when to graduate him based on when he finishes the courses he needs for university.<br />
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Our yearly summary:<br />
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Mathematics: The boys are using Teaching Textbooks Algebra I and it has gone better than I ever dreamed. They aren't quite finished; their true summer break will start once they get through the last few chapters.<br />
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Language Arts: Hmm, I don't keep track of eery book they read because it would be impossible. Together we read <i>Oh Pioneers!</i> by Willa Cather, and <i>Great Expectations</i> by Charles Dickens. They have also read several books, fiction and non-fiction, with Papa. They did some spelling and vocabulary using <i>SAT Vocabulary Lightning</i>, but we relaxed on that when we learned that the SAT test would be changing and that the obscure vocabulary wouldn't be focused on any longer. Now I am working with spelling, vocabulary, and grammar in a more holistic manner, correcting it as needed. Writing is usually done in a subject journal format, which works well for them.<br />
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Science: We started with Elementary Chemistry. J-Baby loved it and went with it, T-Guy hated it and stalled. Still, they did a lot in the five months that they used it. Since then we've approached science with documentaries and discussion, along with some non-fiction reading. This spring we watched <i>Cosmos</i> (new version) together as a family and used it as a springboard for further discussion and exploration. We star-gazed, we traveled into nature and identified rocks, plants, and animals, and we explored lakes, rivers, creeks, and the ocean. We even went to fish hatchery to learn about that (which tied in with last year's reading of <i>The Giver). </i>Papa took the boys on a JPL tour, and I took them to tour both a high tech noodle factory and a low tech olive factory.<br />
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Social Studies: <i>Short Lessons in World History</i> was far more time consuming than the title would suggest. Still, the boys put in the work and gave it an hour a day until race season started. We then switched to the documentary and discussion format that works so well for them, as well as assigned non-fiction reading. We went on a few field trips, including one that taught us about early settlers to the USA. This spring we spent considerable time discussing politics; J-Baby was fascinated by the incoming political mail and informally gathered opinions and ideas about politics from it. This has given me the idea to watch our fall general election closely and do more scientific gathering of data from the political mailers.<br />
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Foreign Language: I had almost given up hope that they would gain interest in Spanish, but they did, and they have been putting our Rosetta Stone program to good use. I don't even have to remind them - they do multiple lessons daily and it's 100% child directed.<br />
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Health: We focused a lot on puberty, sexuality, and social relationships this year. Along with physical hygiene, which now includes caring for skin with acne and how to prevent fungal infections (luckily, no one has gotten one yet).<br />
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Arts: Piano (J-Baby) and Guitar (T-Guy) have been their main instruments again this year, although J-Baby picks up a guitar fairly often and I imagine that a request for lessons is forthcoming (do you know that when your mother regularly uses words such as <i>forthcoming</i> that you end up with a great vocabulary organically?). Both boys also sing and have been working on harmonies. They also enjoy using Garage Band.<br />
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Physical Education: This has been the year of the bike! Both boys were on the mountain bike team, with T-Guy on the high school team and J-Baby on the middle school development team. This isn't just riding bikes, this is learning about being athletes. Learning new skills, improving existing skills, practicing good nutrition, learning about physiology - it's all there.<br />
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Vocational Arts: The boys are learning the ins and outs of both bike maintenance and repair and trailer maintenance and repair.<br />
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I'm starting to think about next year, and how I can bring back some Waldorf elements to our days while still keeping the responsibility for learning on the boys.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-5042414125673407562013-11-27T11:20:00.000-08:002013-11-27T11:20:34.545-08:00The Year Is Slipping Away From Me.I started this post last April! I abandoned it, but it has a lot of good info so I will update and post it.<br />
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What we did/are doing:<br />
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Math: We did Oak Meadow 7th Grade Math <i>and</i> 8th Grade Math. We chose to do two years of math last year so that T-Guy could work at his true grade level. We (did) do math daily now rather than in blocks and it has made a difference in how well the boys retain their new skills. Both of them really love math. This year we've switched to Teaching Textbooks for Algebra I and it is going really, really well. In the space of 14 months I went from having math reluctant children to having kids who count math among their favorite subjects.<br />
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Language Arts: We read, discussed, and wrote about <i>The Giver</i>, <i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i>, <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>, <i>Bridge to Terabithia, </i><i>Johnny Tremain, </i>and several other books that I can't think of right now. We enjoyed <i>The Giver</i> so much that we read the rest of the books in that series, and J-Baby also read all of the <i>Hitchiker's</i> books. We started and abandoned<i> Lord of the Flies</i> as it wasn't grabbing any of us. Many other books have been read for pleasure rather than by assignment. This year I have chosen our literature based on common 9th grade reading lists; so far we have read and discussed <i>My Antonia</i> and are finishing up <i>Great Expectations, </i>with more classics to come throughout the year.<br />
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We used the spelling/vocabulary lists from Oak Meadow 8th Grade English; I input the words into Vocabulary Spelling City and the boys learned and tested on the words using the VSC iPad app. This year we are combining a book called <i>SAT Vocabulary Lightning</i> with the VSC app.<br />
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I had high hopes for <i>The Write Foundation</i> but it didn't work for us; the content was too religious with a decidedly creationist slant. Instead, last year we focused on solid paragraph writing with the boys answering questions in their subject journals. The boys took a <i>Brave Writer</i> online course last spring and we got so much from it that I bought their program and that is what we are using this year, along with continuing with subject journals.<br />
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We're still using Daily Grammar off and on.<br />
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Social Studies: The main spine for this subject was the Oak Meadow 8th Grade Civics syllabus. I found it uninspired and too heavy on the written work, so we adapted it for home use. We also watched several PBS/BBC series that brought various historical time periods to life for the boys, including Colonial House, Frontier House, 1900 House, and 1940s House. We tried Manor House but gave it up as it wasn't nearly as good as the others (something I recall from when Papa and I watched them the first time around). This year we are using<i> Short Lessons in World History</i>; our intention is to switch to the<i> Big History Project</i> next fall, so this is just a brush up.<br />
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Science: We started with Oak Meadow 8th Grade Physical Science, but switched to <i>Classic Science Elementary Physical Science</i> as Papa didn't really have time to work the Oak Meadow with the boys on a daily basis <i>and</i> he felt it was poorly written and difficult to understand. The Classic Science program is more student directed and I was able to manage the experiments. The boys liked it so well that we are using <i>Classic Science Elementary Chemistry</i> this year. Papa also took up teaching the boys electronics, which they have continued this year. J-Baby is still learning to program on both the Mac and the iPad.<br />
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Physical Education: We decided not to do the same program we did in 2011 - 2012. The boys enjoyed it but it was scheduled in the middle of the afternoon and I had tired of the interruption it caused in our day. We focused most of our joint PE work on mountain biking; there are always new skills to be learned. In addition the boys worked on strength training using body weight only, and T-Guy had baseball. This year the boys have joined the area high school and middle school mountain biking teams, which comprise a full physical education curriculum.<br />
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Health: We focused on healthy bodies last year and will continue this year. We have ongoing discussions and learning about the role of exercise on the body, plus healthy diet and other habits such as ample sleep, fluid intake, and stress reduction. We continue to address the topics of puberty, teen sexuality, substance abuse, anger management, and healthy relationships.<br />
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Foreign Language: The boys elected not to study a foreign language last year, although we offered Spanish. J-Baby did dabble in Spanish using various resources. They began focused foreign language lessons this fall with <i>Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish</i>.<br />
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Fine Arts: Both boys made significant progress in their musical pursuits. J-Baby continued with piano lessons and T-Guy made a concentrated effort with guitar. This year J-Baby is again taking piano lessons and we found a great guitar teacher for T-Guy. Both boys work on music appreciation and have been learning the works of famous composers. In addition, J-Baby pursues drawing and other art endeavors, including modeling and mixed media work.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-52573171697369187042012-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:33:46.975-07:00Hodge Podge SaturdayI have been way off my game with meal planning. I have a November meal plan made but haven't been pulling things out of the freezer to defrost, which means I have to change to plan. Breakfast has been pretty much off my radar and each morning we're scrambling to figure out what to eat. Today it was homemade gluten free doughnuts, which made the boys happy.<br /><br />We pulled together a simple lunch: I made hard-cooked eggs and biscuits and Papa made salads.<br /><br />By dinner time we'd put the kitchen into disarray while investigating our electrical problems (we have a circuit that is out but didn't trip the breaker). I wanted to clean up and figure out what to make for dinner, Papa wanted to go out to eat. We settled for bringing something in, which I really didn't want to do but it's hard to disagree with a tired, hungry man who has spent his entire day working on a house problem.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838289.post-79842501241865946342012-11-02T17:00:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:33:47.038-07:00FridaysI'm suppose to make a nice slow cooker meal on Fridays, as we are out of the house all afternoon. However, preparing for and having a huge party Wednesday night has thrown me off a bit and I didn't defrost any meat. I did make einkorn tortillas at lunch, so I think we'll have tacos for dinner using pre-cooked and frozen meat. I made refried beans after the party so we have those too; the dinner won't take much prep.<br /><br />I enjoyed my broth this afternoon. I was talking with a good friend and she reminded me how important bone broth is. When it gets hot in summer I stop drinking it and I think my health is showing the effects.Sunshine Alternative Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111855968940650979noreply@blogger.com0