Park Day...

I'm a couple days behind in posting because my computer has decided not to recognize my camera when I plug it in.  The auto run feature for downloading pictures just doesn't pop up anymore.  Of course, after some looking around in the program files on the computer I was able to manually open up the download window.  (oh.., the hardship ~ *sigh* ;-)
I have definitely become accustom to instant everything on the computer and I don't like this glitch! Not one bit.  Even my techie hubby couldn't fix it.  So, until the computer decides to play nice again I will go poking and prodding around it's files to find the Cannon picture launch window.

The day after Thanksgiving we walked to our neighborhood park and had a little fun.

New Traditions...

We started a couple new traditions this year for the holiday season.  The first one is "Elf on the Shelf."  I'd never heard of this until a month or so ago and the other night there was even a Christmas special on TV made from the book.  It's super cute and the kids enjoy finding the elf each morning in a different location in the house. 

The other two, new traditions are related to our nativity.  I might post some pictures of it in a later post.  The wise men will be "en route" to the stable all December.  Traveling through the house on their journey to see baby Jesus in the manger ~ who is not in the manger yet because it's not Christmas morning yet.  We've never done this before.  We've always just set up the whole nativity and that was that.  I think this is more fun and meaningful.

 What are your traditions?  Blog about it and leave a comment that links to your blog.  I enjoy learning about the traditions of others.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Montessori Minute...

Pouring water.  

This is one of those hands on, life skill type activities I learned from Montessori a few years back.  At that time my youngest was 3 or 4 and enjoyed this type of quiet play.  During the past few years this little cup and pitcher set has been brought out a dozen or so times.  Recently it was requested again.  

A tea party?    No, maybe when they were younger. 

I like to think of them as gentlemen, enjoying a cup of java.  In my honest opinion though, it looks like a pub visit.

Skipping School...

It's Friday morning, around 9:20 and I'm sitting in my house and it's quiet.  The first snow has come and the boys are suited up in snow gear and outside playing.  The time is ticking as to how long I'll have in this quiet.  All I hear is the tapping on the keyboard and the tick tock of a clock.  

School will be postponed an hour or so today.  When the boys come in they'll have rosy cheeks and drippy noses and be ready for hot cocoa and toast.  They'll be ready to warm up and calm down.  School should run pretty smoothly today. **UPDATE** It's now 2:30 in the afternoon and school has not gone smoothly.  :-(  Disrupting the routine disrupts the day. 

 A few days back our wonderful neighbor hosted us for a craft.  We're working on setting up a monthly craft alternating each month in our homes.  In October, I had them over to paint pumpkin jars and for November she had us over to make Thanksgiving woven place mats.  I was so impressed with how they turned out.  We covered them with contact paper and they will be on our Thanksgiving table next week.  We are so very thankful to have these neighbors.  They are a true blessing to us.

Mail Order...

Anyone else out there drowning in the surge of 

holiday catalogs from the mail?

Science Kits - Physical Science

I mentioned a couple months back that I loaded up on science curriculum this year.  In September I reviewed the Solar Power Kit.  These past few months have been dedicated to Anatomy with Apologia Science.  We've also played with the Snap Circuits.  Now that we have a few more afternoons free and the weather is cold and nasty I can start to add the last few bits of school curriculum.  It really does take me a few months to get everything going.

Today I started the 6 and 8 year old boys on Elementary Physical Science with Exploration Education.  This is a company I checked out two years ago while at the WA Homeschool Conference.  I have literally been waiting two years to start this program.  Why wait so long?  I'm a planner and curriculum and programs don't get started unless I've thoroughly checked them out and deemed them worthy of time and energy.  Plus, I needed the boys to be the right age.

The Architect is the perfect age to help the Scientist during these activities with me guiding them in the right direction and performing some assembly assistance as needed.

This program is  hands on.  There is a CD for the computer that introduces the topic, experiment and activity with a power point type presentation to instruct the students.

  The Activity book has a few questions and areas to color.  It's wonderfully set up for multiple ages to work together.  The kit comes with all the supplies minus the normal house hold items like scissors, tape and glue.  The projects are sturdy and the concepts are solid.

 In my opinion so far, most children won't be surprised by the results but they will learn the vocabulary and the reasoning behind why things work.  This is the building block of Physics and the other sciences.

On a side note... the DVD series "The Way Things Work" is amazing.  Our library system has a good selection of these short movies.

Eleven, Eleven, Eleven...

I told the boys last week that we would do something special for the 11/11/11 day.  So today we went to Rocket Donuts in downtown Bellingham.

We hadn't been here before and the outside looked so cool.  

The donuts were great.  We got our sugar rush and bounced out the door.

I don't normally drive into Bellingham multiple times a week especially with gas prices at 3.87 a gallon but this has been an extra eventful week with field trips.   In fact, we had another one today.  We toured the Lighthouse Mission.  I had called them last week to let them know we wanted to drop off some "turkey dinner" money we had collected for their fundraising and wondered if they gave tours.  They said yes, and one was scheduled for this Friday.  They said they would even serve us lunch.

This was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up even if it meant stepping out of my comfort zone.  We ended up learning so much about the mission and lunch was great.   This is an awesome non profit organization that doesn't take any money from the government.  If you ever get the chance to take the tour or want to set up one for your group just give them a call.   It's inspiring.

Thank you Veterans!
Can you guess the location of this picture taken on 11/11/11 at 4:25pm.

SPARK workshop...

We had a great field trip today at the Bellingham American Museum of Radio and Electricity.

The class of 6 boys spent two hours working on disassembling, different, discarded electronics. (say that 5 times fast.)  After collecting an assortment of pieces they were then to reassemble them in some type of art form. 

 The Professor really enjoyed taking apart this DVD player.

 As the pieces came off - an explanation was given as to what they were.

While the Professor chose modern electronics...

the Architect chose an antique typewriter. 

It was a popular item and three boys ended up working on it at once.  

This typewriter predates the "old" typewriters.  

 There were a few close calls as the 3 boys worked so closely together with the tools.

But, excitement filled the air as they worked to get the pieces off.

At the end of the class the Architect had created a very cool elephant.

Fall Leaf Project...

 Family Fun craft for fall.  LINK

This is not a quick project.  It has the potential of being started and never being finished.  It takes multiple steps over many days. 
The boys found the leaves and helped me press them.  I contact papered them, cut them out and attached the thread.  The boys hung them on the stick. (And I rearranged them when they weren't looking.  Yes, I'm that type of person.)

Happy Feet...

Old Slippers....

New Slippers...

Happy Feet.

Homeschool Update...

Oh my, where to begin...

 It's been a challenging few months with two of my boys.  The great news is my 11 year old is doing great and the daily schedule is a breeze for him.  He understands what is expected for school and helping around the house.  Aaaahhhh, one down - two to go.

The toughest part this year has been my 6 year old and learning to read.  I feel like we've been working on this for over a year and are only making the smallest of steps.  This is one subject that takes soooo much patience and work on both the part of the teacher and the student.  (That's only if reading doesn't come naturally like it does for some visual learners.)  Our homeschool morning can be going  beautifully and then it's time for reading practice.  His mood changes, the walls go up, the mind shuts down and it's like pulling teeth to get the lesson completed.

I think his learning style is mostly auditory and kinesthetic.  So, I'm not sure if the Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten program we are using is the right fit.  I like it.  The lessons are short, well organized and introduced with a short video.  I'm doing my homework in this area and hope to have some extra resources soon.

I've increased my expectations of  his behavior.  He is 6.  Not 2 or 3.  Interrupting your brother's school work or piano practice is not acceptable.  We are also working on heart issues.

On an up note...
The Scientist finally decided to ride without training wheels.  That has been exciting for all of us.

Timberdoodle Giveaway...

Use this link to sign up for the Timberdoodle November giveaway.  LINK HERE