Come Visit My Class!

I've started a blog just for the purpose of posting photos and information from my classes. You are welcome to come visit us at love2learn2day.

Thank you to my friend in PA for modeling how to start a "classy" blog! ;)

Teaching Kids About Money is HARD

I took LilDude (7) and GG (3, almost 4) to the store. They each carried $2 they'd earned, excited to spend it on something wonderful. I was equally excited to use some of my new "Love and Logic/allowance with kids" knowledge; basically I wanted to give them a chance to learn something about money.

The second we enter the store, GG spots the balloons. He talked about gum in the car, but we stop to check out the balloon options. I look at a couple but can't find a price tag and finally ask the floral attendant. $7.99. GG and I count his dollars. Not enough. The saleswoman leans over the counter and says, "I have one for $1.99." She brings out a snowman balloon with a lollypop anchor (to keep it from floating away.) He lights up. "Balloon!"

I also light up, thrilled for a teachable moment. "You have enough money for the balloon OR for gum. But you don't have enough money for both."

"Hmmm," he considers, "balloon! No, gum! No, balloon! No, GUM!" We thank the salesperson and head toward the gum.

We consider the gum for a long time, finally deciding to head across the parking lot to another store with more gum options. I buckle GG into his car seat. "Balloon!"

LilDude looks at him. "You want the balloon? You changed your mind?"

GG replies, "Um!" (His standard reply for "yes!")

"Are you sure?" I ask, starting to unbuckle him.

"Gum. Noooo....balloon!" We head back into the store.

The florist is surprised to see us. "Did he come back for the balloon?"

"I want balloon." She hands it to him. "Thank you!" he replies, clutching his treasure.

On the way to the checkout counter we stop so LilDude can pick out his gum. (You can see it coming, can't you?) LilDude picks up several options. GG says, "Gum! No, balloon. No, gum! No, balloon. Gum! Gum! Gum!" Both boys select their gum and we head back to the floral department to return the balloon.

"Did he change his mind?" She grins. "Enjoy your gum!"

Both boys proudly pay for their gum, take their bags and head toward the door. The florist comes running after us, the snowman balloon and another GIANT Santa balloon in hand. She hands one to each boy. "I'm going to mess up your money lesson." [Through the entire thing I'd been explaining to multiple clerks that we were on a "money learning mission."] "But I can't really sell these since it's past Christmas. And he was so polite when he tried to make his choice. And they're so cute." The boys thank her and head to the door, ladened with gum, change and huge balloons.

[Shaking my head, laughing.] So what exactly did we learn today? "Cute" can get you a long way in life???? :)


P.S. In reality, a bazillion more "Gum! Balloon? Gum? Balloon! Gum! Balloon? Gum? Balloon! Gum?" lines came out of GG's mouth. This story is the SHORT version.

Kids, Homeschool, & Schedules

Since I began homeschooling NINE (gasp!) years ago, I've tried any number of different schedules. For many years we didn't need a schedule. But I've found that sometimes we need one for various reasons... Young siblings on the sidelines. A particular personality who craves order. (Sometimes that's ME!)

The last time I used a schedule, I wrote it and everyone else followed. This time I'm doing it a little different...and loving the results!  Here's what I did...

Gather supplies:

• pocket chart
• old business cards or small pieces of cardstock in 3 colors
• markers

As part of school today I had LilDude make labels indicating every half-hour. On orange cards I listed the parts of the school day that are landmarks: breakfast, lunch, and (sometimes) nap. On blue cards LilDude wrote down each of the things he does independently during the day. On green cards he posted things that he needs my help with during the day. Then, in the bottom right of each card we listed how much time (in 15 minute increments) each job takes.

He then placed all the time cards in the pocket chart, followed by the orange cards. It was then his job to make the schedule for our day, using the blue and green cards. I really didn't care what order he put them in (which gave him a lot of control!) as long as all the jobs made it on the chart. I did suggest that he put the "school" type cards before lunch as much as possible. I also explained that during the blue card (independent work) time that I would be doing household jobs.

As he finished each job, he turned the card over so I knew it was complete. This worked great! He does well on a schedule, but especially if it's a schedule that he has some control over. The fact that he has to think through what he must do each day and analyze just how much time it will take to get it done is an incredible life skill. He'll do this each morning so that the day's schedule is fresh in his mind.

Super Math Website for Kids!

KidsKount is an amazing website, filled with math games and learning opportunities for kids ages 5-12. (Side note: I'm not able to run Java on my Mac using Firefox. I use Safari instead.)

Panda Express-Chinese New Year program, free!

Panda Express is offering a free program for use in schools. Homeschoolers have reported no problem in getting the same offer. Here's the information from the website:

Panda Express, America’s largest Asian restaurant chain, is offering a FREE educational program to your school and its students. For three years, our signature Chinese New Year Learn With Me Program™ provides educators with an instructional resource to encourage learning about one of China’s traditional holiday celebrations. The FREE kit, geared for second through fourth grades, includes:

* Panda Express’ Year of the Tiger DVD
* Year of the Tiger Fact Sheet
* Jade Emperor’s Interactive Game & Activity Sheet
* Chinese New Year Decoration Art Activity
* Lai See Activity Sheet
* Bookmarks (with a Free Kids Meal with purchase coupon attached)

Each classroom is limited to ordering materials for 35 students; please note that one school can have multiple classrooms ordering materials.

Please complete the information below to receive your free program kit.

Program kits will not be shipped to P.O. Box addresses. Please note that providing incorrect shipping information will result in not receiving program kit materials. You will not be contacted if this situation occurs. All submission must be received by Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time.

(Home)"School" Sneaks Up On Us...

I could feel guilty about the lack of "formal schooling" that's taking place in my home. But learning seems to happen whether we plan on it or not.

Take the last two days...

Yesterday, I'm cleaning my office floor. (Found the floor, btw!) LilDude is hanging out with me. Out of the blue he says something about "even numbers." So I ask him what he knows about even numbers. He goes on to tell me that 2 is an even number. So is 6 because you add 2s to get there. Hmmm. So I toss out a whole slew of numbers--including hundreds--asking him whether they're even or odd. He gets them all right. I finally say, "So it sounds like you only have to look at the last digit to know if it's even or odd."

He grimaces. "That's what I've been doing!" (Duh, mom!)

To reinforce our little conversation, I pull out a book about even/odd numbers. After reading it, he does one worksheet...just to make sure that this is really down pat. Duh, again. He really, really knows this. So even/odd #s...CHECK.

Then, last night, Anakin (7th grade) is studying for a map test of the United States. I guess LilDude overhead some of this because today he walks to the kitchen table and pretends it's a map of the U.S. and points to where a bunch of different states are. Intrigued, I let him try a U.S. Map Test on the computer. I'm surprised when he gets 13 correct on a timed test. Something obviously stuck when I had him follow a map of our trip to a family reunion...16 months ago!!!!

About this time Anakin returns from school and tells LilDude to try a different state labeling game. By the time they're done, LilDude is able to label most states correctly.

But today the only "school" we did was one journal entry and a few autobiographical sentences. I also read aloud several picture books and a chapter from On the Banks of Plum Creek. And Nana came over and read to him from another chapter book. But he mostly just played. And played. And played.

Build a fort with the couch cushions. Went outside when the sun peeked through. Took his bro on a horsie ride down the hallway.

Grin.

Homeschool Hooky with Purpose

Confession time...

Homeschooling my 7yo.

Have Master's in Education.

And we've done almost no school so far this year. Extremely minimal.

I LOVE the fact that homeschool means I can give my kids what they need the most. And what my youngest two need right now is time to bond to each other and to me. So that's what we do. We stay home, going almost no where. They play outdoors pretty much every day for as long as possible. Yesterday it was around 60 and sunny and they played outside almost the entire day. They ran. Made stick houses on the back berm. Played with the dog. Ate broccoli from the stalks left in the garden. Soaked up the vitamin D.

I LOVE it that they're doing what they need to do the most. As I write this, the wind and rain are picking up. I look forward to more days of snuggling on the couch with a pile of books. Doing math with 'LilDude while GG plays with the manipulatives right along side us.

I love my life.

Deep, deep sigh of contentment. :)

Yearning for Homeschooling...

Parent/teacher conferences.

Tonight I remembered (ever so clearly!) several good, great, WONDERFUL reasons to homeschool.

In homeschool, there is no such thing as boredom.

No such thing as not having enough teaching staff.

No such thing as schedules.

Or budgets.

Or letting kids go unchallenged because other kids need the majority of the teacher's time.

No such thing as feeling extremely frustrated with the system that "leaves no child behind" but then goes on to leave your child behind because he's already too far ahead.

Very frustrated.

(And if you don't know me personally, know that I am also a former public school teacher myself...a former p.s. teacher who is currently very frustrated with the system.)

Trampoline Math

This is so fun!

Katy & the Big Snow Lessons

We have been more-or-less snowed in for the last week, plus. Four of the last five school days were canceled. Time for my public school kindergartener to experience some homeschooling. And what better topic than SNOW?!

We started by reading Katy and the Big Snow. Based on an idea in the Five in a Row curriculum, 'LilDude made a list of different places that you'd find in a town, particularly ones that are necessary for the town to function. (Hospital, police, fire, church, store, etc...) He then made a map, placing all the businesses in his imaginary town. He numbered his original list and used this as a map key.

Then, on a large piece of butcher paper, he drew the town, complete with roads, buildings (made of blocks), vehicles (got out all his cars, emergency vehicles, etc...)


We found quite a few snow lessons on the internet as well, including a place to make a snowman by reading some simple directions. On another fun site you can make virtual snowflakes.

We also read:

The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader (Caldecott book)
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Caldecott book)
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Caldecott book)
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers (we're working on memorizing this one)

It's amazing how many snow-themed books are Caldecott winners. The forecast calls for more snow. Homeschooling, here we come! :)

Lizzi and School

Several months ago I did a series of posts (see April archives) about Lizzi and her entry into public school. As you'll recall, she went to public school kindergarten and was then homeschooled in grades 1-7 before returning to public school at the end of her 7th grade year. We deliberately timed her returned in order to prepare for entry into a public high school in another year.

Although I dearly loved homeschooling her (and continue to homeschool Anakin), I haven't regretted Lizzi's decision to return to public school. She is thriving. One thing in particular is worth noting...

After having the same teacher for seven years, Lizzi LOVES having other people teach her. And the best thing? She cares a LOT about working hard for these people and showing them her absolute best. From the beginning, her language arts teacher took notice of Lizzi's writing abilities and worked hard to point out her strengths and challenge her weaknesses. Lizzi is interested in working for this teacher in a way that I haven't experienced. It's not that I, as her former teacher, did anything wrong. It's not that Lizzi, as a homeschooler, was in any way inadequate; to the contrary, she was a very, very good student. But there is something about working for a stranger (or shall we say, a non-Mom) that has inspired her to new heights. For that, I am thankful.

But this also leads me to another reflection...

Lizzi loves her classes and works very, very hard for her teachers. BUT she quickly noticed that her peers do not have nearly the interest in school that she does. In general, she does not perceive them as being passionate about learning in the same way that she is. She believes the difference is homeschooling.

Over the years, the greatest thing I hoped to instill in my children (educationally-speaking) was a desire for knowledge and the tools to gain new understandings. I wanted them to "learn how to learn." You know the doctor adage, "first do no harm?" The greatest harm I figured I could do as a teacher-parent was to extinguish my children's natural love for learning. Thankfully, Lizzi's love for learning seems to have entered public school with her. With any luck, it will continue for the rest of her life.

Math Lessons

If you are a homeschooler or a classroom teacher, here are some great math lessons to watch...in action! :)

Kids & Rights Vs. Privileges (follow-up)

In the interest of an update, let me publicly say that my kids have worked very hard to help out since we had this discussion. Yesterday, they dug potatoes at Nana and Poppa's and then they came home to help me harvest all the grapes, a job that I've normally done alone. Lizzi and Anakin cut back vines and picked. 'LilDude helped to wash them for the juicer. I was very grateful for all the help and was so happy to be able to relax together in the evening over pizza and a few old Brady Bunch episodes from the library.

I regret not giving my children the opportunity to prove themselves sooner. They are coming through in a mighty big way.

Thanks, kids!!!!!!!!!!!!! I appreciate your help!!!!

Kids & Rights Vs. Privileges

Normally, my #1 job is being a stay-at-home-mom. In the last two months, however, I have taken on several contract jobs that have demanded a lot of prep time and quite a few days working away from home. In the midst of this I was hit full-throttle with food preservation season; for me, August-September are usually the biggest freezing/canning months. I've put up:

* dozens of boxes of frozen corn
* 90 lbs of blueberries (my parents picked half of this for us since we were on vacation at the height of blueberry season--THANK YOU!!!!!)
* dozens of bags of frozen green beans
* frozen broccoli
*frozen zucchini
* 21 qts salsa
*36 pts tomato sauce
* 8 1/2 qts dill beans
* 12 qts grape juice
* 24 qts tomatoes

Needless to say, I'm pretty wiped out.

During the last two months, I've become a bit frustrated by the amount of time (on top of my other jobs) that I've needed to spend "reminding" my children to do their jobs. It seemed that if I didn't nudge them, the dog didn't get walked. Or bathed. (Am I the only one that notices when the dog starts to smell DOGGY??) Regular jobs (like cleaning bathrooms or vacuuming), would get done...usually...but only to minimal standards. People would "forget" about sweeping stoops or watering plants or taking out the compost. I was sick and tired of listening to my own naggy voice.

And then my friend helped me to remember something that I knew, but in my busyness and frustration I'd forgotten...

I was reminding them, but I was not allowing them to experience the consequences of their forgetfulness. DUH MOMENT!!! No wonder it wasn't working. No one cared. All the reminding in the world was getting me nowhere. All the responsibility lay with me and none lay where it belonged...with THEM.

This reminded me of a very wise email a friend and mom of eight kids wrote. She talked about "rights" vs. "privileges." In our family, children have rights: food, clothing, shelter, safety, love, etc... Pretty much everything else is a privilege. The traditional movie/popcorn night is a privilege. Staying up past bedtime is a privilege. Going out to eat is a privilege. You get the picture...

So I sat my children down and explained to them that I was very tired of reminding them. That nagging was not my job and I didn't plan to do that anymore. I printed new job charts for them and they (not me!) recorded what their daily/weekly responsibilities are. I explained that in order to participate in weekend fun that every item had to be accounted for at the end of the week. One child asked, "If it's movie night and you start the movie, can we go do the job we forgot and then come watch?" No, I explained. You cannot make up missing a day of walking the dog. The dog needs that daily exercises. If you miss jobs--jobs that help to keep this family flowing--then you are welcome to spend movie night considering how you might budget your time better the following week. Fun time is a privilege, not a right.

And the best thing about allowing them to experience consequences of their behavior now? They are still kids. Consequences aren't big. In a few years, as adults, the stakes are going to get a lot higher. I'd much rather have them learn to be responsible by missing a few movie nights than by missing a few house payments.

Polydron Plug

I recently had the privilege of teaching 4th-6th grade TAG (talented/gifted.) If students finished the current activity, they were invited to "choice time." Many children chose the polydrons. They were quite fascinated by this math manipulative that can be used to create any number of geometric structures. Age-wise, they are quite versatile; 'LilDude's kindergarten class owns a set. So if you're looking for something new to "play" with (and get a little learnin' in on the side), this might be an option to explore.

In the last several years, we've done less with individual Christmas gifts and more with "family gifts." If you have grade schoolers, this is a nice option. BTW, I don't make anything from mentioning Polydrons; I just like 'em. ;)

P.S. You might find it ironic that a post on something for sale follows a post on buying/entitlement. I don't. ;) I'm not against buying. I'm against buying to excess things that stretch us beyond our means. We'll be buying Christmas gifts. But only a select few. :) More on that later.

On-Line Election Game for Kids

Here's an election game for kids to play on-line. Anakin and I played this morning. He won! ;)

A Little Guitar Heaven...Part II

I promised I'd try to get Anakin to play "For These Are My Mountains" with our new Misty River CD for my blog. I LOVE this song...and LOVE watching him figure it out.

A Little Guitar Heaven...

Anakin, now 12, has been asking for guitar lessons since he was about 2. Being the wise and all-knowing parents that we are (lol), we decided that he needed to wait. We had several reasons, the BIGGEST being that he was not BIG enough. We have photos (not digital, or I'd post them) of him trying to play a full-size guitar. He'd lay it flat on the floor and strum it or he'd hold it in his lap and try to wrap his arm around the monstrous instrument. If it was a wrestling match, the guitar would have won.

When Anakin reached school age, we signed him up for violin lessons. Arms and fingers don't have to be quite so big for the violin, you know? He did well. After a couple years of violin, we added piano as we wanted him to add to his music repertoire. We continued to think the guitar was a little big and foreboding for his size.

Finally, at 10.5 years old, we let him start guitar. I only wish we'd let him begin sooner. The child lives to play guitar. From the moment he wakes up in the morning, during every homeschooling interval, and in his free time in the evening, it's guitar, guitar, guitar. He loves the instrument and was made to play it.

This weekend our family saw Misty River in concert. We bought a couple of CDs and already this morning Anakin was playing along with several tunes. It was enough to make a mom smile.

Here's a clip of Anakin in action. I like the Misty River song better, so maybe I'll get him to play that one for me (and you) later. ;)

Beginning Reading-Option that Worked for Us

I'm almost embarrassed to post this. When it comes to young children and computer time I think the downfalls generally outweigh the benefits. I would far rather have kids out in the "real world" learning than sitting in front of a screen. Especially when it comes to reading. Reading is snuggling on the couch with Mom or Dad and a pile of library books. Reading is books spread across the bed at rest time. Reading is piling in bed with Mom and brother and the dog at bedtime. Reading is cozy. Reading is real...real books, real people, real time together.

However,...

Last November, when 'LilDude was 5 1/4, I heard about an on-line reading program called Headsprout. It was getting rave reviews amongst families on a forum I visit, so despite it being a computer-access reading program, I decided to let 'LilDude try it. 'LilDude loves to be on the computer. I figured he could spent 10-15 mins. several times a week on this program while the other kids were doing some of their homeschool work with me. 'LilDude was happy to have "homework" and I was glad to have several chunks of time to work with the other kids while he was otherwise occupied.

The program wasn't cheap at about $198 for 80 lessons, but we got a half-price coupon deal and received 80 lessons for $99. I agonized over spending that much money on something other than books. Since this is on-line, it basically meant paying for a membership. You use the membership until the 80 lessons (or 40 if you choose to buy just the first half of the program) are completed and then you're through. You do get several "books" in the mail and you can print a booklet for most lessons off the computer, but they are not anything close to the literary quality that I'm used to sharing with my kids. We tried it anyway.

'LilDude started in November. He'd been read to a lot. I hadn't done any reading "lessons" with him up to this point and he was not reading on his own at all.

By spring he'd completed about half the lessons and was reading beginning readers on his own. By summer he'd completed about 2/3rds of the lessons and could read any reader without hesitation. To date, he has completed 72/80 lessons. Last week they started kindergarten reading assessments. I asked 'LilDude about his day...

Mom: So I heard you guys got to read in kindergarten today?

LD: Yeah. They were having technical difficulties.

The teacher called and explained the "technical difficulties." Apparently, they brought along books to test through level 1.2 (first grade, second month.) He passed that level so will have to wait til next week to finish testing.

I'm sure it's not for everyone, but for 'LilDude, Headsprout made a huge difference in his reading ability in a very short amount of time. I'm told that Headsprout is currently offering the same half-price deal that we used; the coupon code is HSBTS2008. (I'm not making money off this and get no credit for it...I'm just passing along info on something that worked for us.)

Here is 'LilDude reading a book that he's never seen before...

So Where Exactly Did She Think She Was???

Today I recorded kids' answers to the question, "What was your favorite thing about kindergarten this week?" as they dictated.

I approached one cute little girl and asked her the question that I'd already asked more than ten times.... "So what was your favorite part of kindergarten this week?" I'm thinking I'm going to get the same standard answers I'd heard so far...recess, friends, dot art...

She looked up at me, widened her huge blue eyes and solemnly said, "I haven't been to kindergarten."

I looked at her. Figured she'd misunderstood the question. "But what was the best part of kindergarten this week?"

Her eyes got wider. "I haven't been THERE."

"But this IS kindergarten. That's what you've been doing here this week."

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH." She smiled. "Painting."