Learning Notes 1/13/12

Monday:

• IW and QL spent the morning in the boys' room making a zoo out of Em's Christmas present.  They followed the illustration on the bag and made a sea creature section, an Africa area, and a farm animals area.  They charged 1 cent for entrance, which I gladly paid.  They're saving to buy a rhino for their exhibit. : )  They also named each animal, which was funny.  
• They decided to add dinosaurs to the mix, which led to research on the long neck dinosaurs.  We discovered that we have a brachiosaurus and an apatosaurus, which is the same as a brontosaurus.  I found a great page online all about dinosaurs to bookmark.
• the big kids colored in some activity books and played Spy Kids.  This is a new favorite.
• QL did a crossword puzzle, which is great b/c she normally doesn't try to do them (they intimidate her).
• the kids watched the weather episode of Martha Speaks.  IW is particularly interested in weather and storms.
• all 3 kids played outside with the dogs for a while.
• I introduced the kids to the show Man, Woman, Wild.  They love Mantracker and Survivorman, so I thought they'd like it, which they do.  This episode was set in Kentucky.  They're asking to watch more episodes.

Tuesday:

• IW made fish sticks for lunch, from start to finish.  This is the first time he's ever worked the oven.  He's super proud.
• IW did 4 worksheets in the Singapore 1A math workbook.
• kids played board games (froggy jump, angry birds, chutes and ladders).  
• we watched Super Why and Animal Cops
• IW practiced writing his name in cursive

Wednesday:

• IW made oatmeal for breakfast with me.
• Em and I read some picture books and played trains and cars.
• We all spent the morning downstairs playing.  Go fish, angry birds, connect 4 "coins", books, blocks, typing and Whack-a-Mole all happened.
• QL made lunch: chicken patty sandwiches with bananas.  
• a GIANT hawk landed on the pergola in our backyard.  We stared.  We talked about it.  I'm wondering why he was so......fat.
• We watched some TV.

Thursday:

• we talked about hospitality: what it means, how we can make our guests feel special, etc.
• Em watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
• Our play date for today has been moved to our house......  rest of the morning is home economics (ie, clean the house FAST :)

Friday:

• Today we went on a field trip!  Can I just say that taking 4 kids, ages 7 years to 6 months, by myself on a field trip is WORK.  I am so blessed to be part of an amazing homeschool group that will help out when needed (and today it was needed).  We went and visited 3 pioneer homes.  I was especially excited about this because we recently finished Little House in the Big Woods and have started Farmer Boy.  I hope IW and QL enjoyed it and recognized some of the things we read about.  I spent much of my time trying to keep eyes on Em.  Today was mostly about learning listening skills and social graces for him.  Lots of people in small spaces is just not easy for a 3 year old to manage well, even without the added instruction of "don't touch anything".  I just tried to remember that this is his preschool season and to let him be in it.  He and I and Jo went to the car, had some hot chocolate (did I mention that it was 32 degrees this morning?!?!), ate a snack and watched a movie while the big kids finished the tours with a friend and her kids.  We bailed on the final part of the trip, which was a tour of the old train depot, and then lunch at an historical restaurant.  Em was done.  I was done.  IW and QL were FROZEN.  I'm glad we went, and hope to get to go to more fun places like this as Em becomes more equipped to deal.

Tomorrow we're going to our local science center.  We got a family membership for Christmas, and one of our favorite PBS characters is going to be there, so we're going to pop in for an hour or so.  

New Books!!!

Two new books have arrived today!  I'm not going to post the covers because, quite frankly, I don't know an easy way to do it, and last time it took me a very. long. time.
Anywho, the new books.....

The Joyful Home Schooler and The Relaxed Home School, both by Mary Hood, PhD.
I am SUPER excited to read these books, and they are going on the top of the "to be read next" pile.

Rants on Screen Time

I read a new bloggy friend's post, and it made me think about our viewing habits.  This is the rambling rant that came out of those thoughts.  (Sometimes thinking is overrated! ; )

This week we are taking time off from video games, and TV watching that isn't "mom initiated', meaning we watch together, and I get to choose the content.  That goes for all of us; I'm not watching TV that the kids can't watch with me, and I'm trying to seriously limit my time on the computer, which is my grown up version of a video game!  No Wii, no DS, and no computer games.  This has been in response to the serious amount of whining in relation to these devices, and the constant drone of "I'm bored" if their faces aren't stuck in said devices.  IW will literally hop from device to device with no break in between, and they get on them as soon as they get up, and can be found on them up until bedtime.  This is just unacceptable.  After this week, I am going back to some old standards.  No games before lunch (following our mornings are for productivity rule), and only an hour a day.  No games after supper (after supper is family time and time with dad when he's home).  This is particularly challenging with IW.  If it were up to him, game time would be all he did.  This really bums me out, but I also realize that his personality may just be different than mine.  Husband isn't an avid reader, and he doesn't swoon over learning new obscure dorky things like I do, and yet I've managed to fall madly in love with him! ; )

As for TV, on one hand I'd like to chunk the whole thing out the window, on the other, we've had some great learning experiences together from shows we enjoy.  There is a lot to be learned through television; we can experience places we will probably never get to see in person, hear new languages, find new interests and passions, etc.  I've found that my values regarding TV are not entirely what I thought they were (as far as homeschooling is concerned).  The trick really becomes balancing the positive and useful with the stuff that belongs in the gutter.  I don't believe that every single thing we experience in life needs to be "educational" in nature, but on the flip side, I don't think it's okay to watch garbage for entertainment.  We are instructed to think about " whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable........ is excellent or praiseworthy".  That means something to me.  And being people who are home ALL THE TIME, it can be a very slippery slope when you are lenient with TV watching.  Next thing you know we'll be found in front of the TV drooling on ourselves and still in our PJs at 4:00 in the afternoon.  Not really, but (hopefully) you get my point.
I'm still trying to figure out what the right balance is for our family, but I do lean toward the "less is more" philosophy.  And I really like the idea that what we watch, we all watch together.  We can avoid the "babysitter" aspect of TV, we can have some pretty cool conversations about what we see, and I'm better able to keep up with what they are putting into their minds, and answer questions or clarify when something sketchy does come up.  They're getting older y'all.  It's not nearly as often that these things go over their heads unnoticed.

Next week we're supposed to go back to having game time.  I'm not planning on announcing the end of the break, but I'm sure the kids will remind me.  So far the week has been great.  And since I told them we were taking the week off as a kind of experiment to see what kind of awesome stuff we could come up with doing, they don't feel like they're being punished or deprived.  They are willing co-conspirators.  They haven't whined or complained, and they've only asked to play a couple of times.  I'm hoping, in vain I know, that they will not succumb to the draw of video games when the week is out.  I don't like being the referee, the watchman, the time-limit enforcing "ruiner of fun".  I guess it's just one of those not-so-fun aspects of being mom.

My first Daybook entry!

This is my first daybook entry!  Go here to join in!

Outside my window... it's gray.  It's been raining for several days now so everything seems fresh and clean.  Except for the muddy dogs!


I am thinking... about my homeschool methods.  What is the best way for our family?  Is there such a thing as "best way"?


I am thankful... that Husband has to be away from home only 3 days this week.


In the kitchen... not much happening here! : )  My lovely and wonderful neighbor gave us smore's bars mix for Christmas, so I'm hoping to bake those up today or tomorrow.


I am wearing... my very favorite comfy clothes.


I am creating... lists.  Always lists.  Lists of things to cook, things to fix around the house, chores to be done, lessons to be covered, appointments to be made.  I spend more time making lists than completing the tasks on them.  There's something to think about.


I am going... nowhere today, and am so excited about it.  We ran for 3 days straight this weekend, which is a bit much for folks who rarely go anywhere but church and to the store.


I am wondering... how to get seed catalogs, and whether or not I can grow some things organically in containers this spring.


I am reading... One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and Teach Your Own by John Holt


I am hoping... for Husband to get a new job. 


I am looking forward to... our field trip this week!


I am learning... how to be grateful in all places and for all things.  I'm a slow learner.


Around the house... learning, playing, messes.  Joyful messes (mostly).


I am pondering... changing my routine.  Really, it's less about pondering and more about self-discipline.


A favorite quote for today... Ahhh.  I have 2, both from Jamie at Steady Mom, who posted at Simple Homeschool last year for the Day in the Life of series.  One's short.  One's not.  Read on.

1. "I believe my main goal should be to nurture the relationships in our home. When relationships flourish, I find that the academic side of learning naturally springs forth in an unforced way."
2. "If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the secret of a good day is … me. I try to keep in mind this quote by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

   “I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.
   I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized.
   If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”"

   I know, right?!?!?!
   

One of my favorite things... seeing a highchair in the corner of my kitchen again.  We put it there this weekend, and I swear every time I see it my heart swells a little.  Is that weird?


A few plans for the rest of the week:  a real life play date, with a family that actually lives near us.  God sure has his own timing.


A peek into my day...

Em: my sea creature loving, independent playing boy wonder.