Jacob: Continues to work on chemistry written narrations, reading from Story of the World (modern era) and has almost finished his Math U See this semester. He plays lots of Halo and is keeping up with Let's Eat at co-op. He is taking saxophone and is getting better about daily practice.
Movies: lots, but I need to ask him for a list.
He has finished all the mysteries wwe set out to read this fall. He's also done some writing (freewriting and some revised work).
We took a trip to Cleveland for the U2 concert which included a fabulous trip to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Museum that was like a day of social history lessons in America and Europe. Had such fun discussing it all.
Liam: Making progress in all areas. Yippee! He wrote his first poem that was completely from his heart. He is still reading and memorizing poems all the time. We are studying birds, he is continuing to do copywork and Math U See. We have made progress in the Murderous Math books as well. He is one little calculator. Just started long division and it's a cinch for him.
We've also watched movies together, including the DVDs of the Nat'l Geographic too.
Caitrin: Reading more and more. We are reading Phoebe the Spy which she had a breakthrough reading aloud. She was actually reading with comprehension, not just sounding out words which meant she made intelligent guesses for the first time. Breakthrough!
She and I have made two lap books: Alicia Keyes and the human heart. She continues to write and do Miquon Math.
As a group we have finished Eragon and have begun Eldest. Fabulous time of reading, often combined with tea.
Good stuff.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Myths
Today was a wonderful day for homeschool. Nice to get back in the swing of things. I have spent too much time preparing for guests and then we had company. Now we can get back into our routine. Liam and I did lots of math together. He is really into multiplying double digits. He thinks it's fun!
Caitrin and I read another myth from Central Asia. This time, it was about a magical carpet. She was enthralled and so she and I created a little loom and she is now weaving a carpet herself!
We also read three hcapters of Eragon and made blueberry muffins.
Jacob continues to do his TWTM work and told us all about the Spanish exploitation of South America - over 500 billion dollars worth of gold taken from that place. Not possible!
Wish I had more time to update. I do not.
Caitrin and I read another myth from Central Asia. This time, it was about a magical carpet. She was enthralled and so she and I created a little loom and she is now weaving a carpet herself!
We also read three hcapters of Eragon and made blueberry muffins.
Jacob continues to do his TWTM work and told us all about the Spanish exploitation of South America - over 500 billion dollars worth of gold taken from that place. Not possible!
Wish I had more time to update. I do not.
Beauty and the Beast
Caitrin and Liam accompanied Jon and me to see Beauty and the Beast (Disney's version) performed by the School of Creative and Performing Arts in Cinci. They performed at the Taft. What a magical night! They both were enthralled with the costumes, the singing, the way the sets rolled on and off stage.
It was such a rich experience.
It was such a rich experience.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Clue
Caitrin is obsessed with Clue. We play it all the time. Then
yesterday she decided she wanted to make her own version of the game
complete with characters who were actually silly versions of her friends.
I thought it would be a terrific creative project so we dove in. And
then I was pleasantly surprised to discover that creating a board game
is highly mathematical!
For instance, she wanted to have more characters than the original
Clue game. Well, that makes the game *longer* because the work of
deducting is slower with more choices meaning that the odds of
figuring out the murderer are longer.
When we set up the board, we quickly discovered that it mattered how
far apart the rooms were, how big the spaces were and where the doors
went. If we put the doors too near to the original positions of the
playing pieces, some pieces had an unfair first turn advantage. So we
had to count out the spaces and make sure that the doors were all
about seven spaces away from the original starting spots to ensure
that it takes two rolls to get into a room.
We discovered that it matters how big the center of the board was so
that the players didn't have to cover too many steps to get to rooms.
We figured out why some of the rooms on the original clue have double
doors (not just single).
In other words, we had never considered the structure of that game
mathematically. In fact, I had never thought about the fact that all
those calculations needed to be made in order to make Clue the great
entertaining, not too frustrating game that it is!
So we have completed our version complete with photos of her friends
on each of the cards and rooms on the board that feature catalog
photos: an entertainment room, a romatnic room, a doggy room and even
a sunroom! She made weapons out of sculpey clay (a pillow, knitting
needles, a fire poker, a plastic bag, a frying pan and a pair of
sewing scissors) as well as a die and little cubes to be each of the
characters.
And we've played. I am one of her eight characters (named Mrs.
Goodington) and as it turned out, for the first game I played with
her, "I" did it with the knitting needles in the sun room. :)
yesterday she decided she wanted to make her own version of the game
complete with characters who were actually silly versions of her friends.
I thought it would be a terrific creative project so we dove in. And
then I was pleasantly surprised to discover that creating a board game
is highly mathematical!
For instance, she wanted to have more characters than the original
Clue game. Well, that makes the game *longer* because the work of
deducting is slower with more choices meaning that the odds of
figuring out the murderer are longer.
When we set up the board, we quickly discovered that it mattered how
far apart the rooms were, how big the spaces were and where the doors
went. If we put the doors too near to the original positions of the
playing pieces, some pieces had an unfair first turn advantage. So we
had to count out the spaces and make sure that the doors were all
about seven spaces away from the original starting spots to ensure
that it takes two rolls to get into a room.
We discovered that it matters how big the center of the board was so
that the players didn't have to cover too many steps to get to rooms.
We figured out why some of the rooms on the original clue have double
doors (not just single).
In other words, we had never considered the structure of that game
mathematically. In fact, I had never thought about the fact that all
those calculations needed to be made in order to make Clue the great
entertaining, not too frustrating game that it is!
So we have completed our version complete with photos of her friends
on each of the cards and rooms on the board that feature catalog
photos: an entertainment room, a romatnic room, a doggy room and even
a sunroom! She made weapons out of sculpey clay (a pillow, knitting
needles, a fire poker, a plastic bag, a frying pan and a pair of
sewing scissors) as well as a die and little cubes to be each of the
characters.
And we've played. I am one of her eight characters (named Mrs.
Goodington) and as it turned out, for the first game I played with
her, "I" did it with the knitting needles in the sun room. :)
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Knitting and so on
We've taken up the knitting bug around here. Caitrin is working so hard. it's fun to watch her hands gain mastery over the needles, stitches etc. I chose large needles and bulky yarn so my scarf is growing really quickly. (Just finished in fact) She's working with thin yarn and narrow needles so her project is going slower. Not a problem really.
We watched "Bride and Prejudice" which turned out to be an awful movie - campy, strange musical numbers that didn't fit with the genre of the movie or the story, bad acting on the part of the "American" guy, bad acting on the part of the "Elizabeth" character... What was disappointing especially is that we loved "Bend if Like Beckham" and this movie had none of the naturalness or charm of that one.
We're about to read Eragon again. Caitrin did some reading work on street signs (still resists reading from books). Jacob worked on math, science, reading (He's still finishing the Sherlock Holmes series and read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None at the same time) and Story of the World history. He's got a strong discipline going. Nice to see.
Liam and I worked on borrowing and carrying yesterday. He is finally encountering problems he can't do in his head. But he insists on doing them in his head to double check the answers. Smart boy. Caitrin hit carrying in her Miquon book so it was a great time teaching this to both of them.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Recap from last week
Played Quidditch over and over and over again.
Played Settlers of Catan. I won. :)
Read Eragon every day.
Played Hang Man with Caitrin. Great game wherein she works hard to think of sentences of words she can actually spell. Then she can't see the words and has to hold them in her head as I make guesses and then put the letters in the right slots. It was hard work for her but she was so happy playing it because we had a little dry erase board with a new marker and it was fun to write on. This worked for writing and reading this week.
Math: Jacob kept up with his work, Liam did not and Caitrin played lots of math-y games with me.
We had a wonderful teatime where we read "Jabberwocky" and defined the nonsense words. Jacob is working on a dictionary to be followed by a poem writing exercise.
Caitrin watched "The Three Musketeers" Disney version. They use Operas to write the songs for that cartoon movie. Got such a kick out of it!
We continue to do our study of the outdoor leaves.
She and I did her Blood and Guts homework (silly stuff that she can't possibly understand yet, but we did it all the same). She's on a knitting kick and a beading kick. Love to see her do crafts like Johannah and Noah did at her age.
Liam spent too much time on the computer. He is happy to play games and to go on walks and to listen to read alouds. He is doing some writing (copywork) and enjoys reading poetry. But he is having trouble doing anything more routine than that.
That's it for now.
Played Settlers of Catan. I won. :)
Read Eragon every day.
Played Hang Man with Caitrin. Great game wherein she works hard to think of sentences of words she can actually spell. Then she can't see the words and has to hold them in her head as I make guesses and then put the letters in the right slots. It was hard work for her but she was so happy playing it because we had a little dry erase board with a new marker and it was fun to write on. This worked for writing and reading this week.
Math: Jacob kept up with his work, Liam did not and Caitrin played lots of math-y games with me.
We had a wonderful teatime where we read "Jabberwocky" and defined the nonsense words. Jacob is working on a dictionary to be followed by a poem writing exercise.
Caitrin watched "The Three Musketeers" Disney version. They use Operas to write the songs for that cartoon movie. Got such a kick out of it!
We continue to do our study of the outdoor leaves.
She and I did her Blood and Guts homework (silly stuff that she can't possibly understand yet, but we did it all the same). She's on a knitting kick and a beading kick. Love to see her do crafts like Johannah and Noah did at her age.
Liam spent too much time on the computer. He is happy to play games and to go on walks and to listen to read alouds. He is doing some writing (copywork) and enjoys reading poetry. But he is having trouble doing anything more routine than that.
That's it for now.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
How to feel crummy about self in three short steps
Decide to move oldest daughter into her own bedroom.
Set off chain reaction of clean-up that involves relocating all old homeschool art projects and files.
Notice the items within and suddenly remember that I was once a great home educator!
--
Now I know that times were different back then. We didn't have cable and my teens didn't watch America's Next Top Model, MTV's Best Week Ever or Steve's Untitled Rock show in between episodes of Seinfeld, Family Guy and Friends.
I also know that I was not tired and could actually read an entire chapter from a novel without needing a two hour nap. Or back in the day, I would take that two hour nap with the baby after nursing him or her and the nap felt purely justified and necessary for sanity and baby's well-being... Today, it just feels selfish and elderly.
Seeing all those old art projects reminded me of the power of a neighbor who lives and breathes art. I live an breathe words. Do those transfer to the kids? Seems like they do, have and hopefully will.
So what have we done over the last bit of time:
Jacob watched the Steve Job's interview online and is now plotting to purchase the new iPod. He has worked mowing lawns, painting our deck and emptying his California savings account.
The kids and I continue to read Eragon.
We read "Jabberwocky" this a.m. for teatime (complete with cheesecake compliments Mrs. McAfee).
The middle three (and Noah who could not keep from jumping in every two seconds with his enthusiastic ideas) and I worked on the reading and definitions of the poem. Two of them kept falling over sideways. They were tired.
But we did read through the poem multiple times. Lots of words to consider and not all of them easily grasped in isolation from each other. Once the ball got rolling, it was hard to stop. All agreed at the end that they understood and enjoyed the poem more just discussing its words like this!
Liam decided to copy it for copywork. Tough one for spelling!
So here's how we did it.
For instance: what is a tove or borogove?
What does "Twas brillig" mean? Is "brillig" an adjective or noun (hint: it can be either - replace it with nouns and adjectives and see if they both work). You will have to choose one and then define it.
What does "outgrabe" mean? We talked about "outplay, outwit, outlast" (from Survivor) to help us think about what "out" does to a verb. What might it do to this verb?
What words come to mind when you read "mimsy"? Do you think of "flimsy"? One of my kids thought of a friend named "Mim" who happens to be bouncy and silly.
When we looked at the word "frabjous" we could detect a hint of the word fabulous and jouyous all wrapped up together. We asked, "Does fabulous and/or joyous fit with the use of this word?"
When we encountered "vorpal," my 18 year old pulled out one of his RPGs (role playing games) and read the use of a "vorpal" sword in the game (clearly taken from Carroll's poem) - it is a sharp blade that in one blow can cut off a head. It can only be used for decaptiation in this game.
We did some math, too.
Over the weekend, we played more Quiddler, painted the deck, took Rocky for a walk, and played outside.
Caitrin is making clay figures and beads using Sculpey clay. She is also coloring big pictures from one of our design books. She's listened to "When Bach Comes to Call" and her Suzuki CD for violin. Each day she does her practice routine.
Monday was co-op. Nuff said.
Time for grad school.
Set off chain reaction of clean-up that involves relocating all old homeschool art projects and files.
Notice the items within and suddenly remember that I was once a great home educator!
--
Now I know that times were different back then. We didn't have cable and my teens didn't watch America's Next Top Model, MTV's Best Week Ever or Steve's Untitled Rock show in between episodes of Seinfeld, Family Guy and Friends.
I also know that I was not tired and could actually read an entire chapter from a novel without needing a two hour nap. Or back in the day, I would take that two hour nap with the baby after nursing him or her and the nap felt purely justified and necessary for sanity and baby's well-being... Today, it just feels selfish and elderly.
Seeing all those old art projects reminded me of the power of a neighbor who lives and breathes art. I live an breathe words. Do those transfer to the kids? Seems like they do, have and hopefully will.
So what have we done over the last bit of time:
Jacob watched the Steve Job's interview online and is now plotting to purchase the new iPod. He has worked mowing lawns, painting our deck and emptying his California savings account.
The kids and I continue to read Eragon.
We read "Jabberwocky" this a.m. for teatime (complete with cheesecake compliments Mrs. McAfee).
The middle three (and Noah who could not keep from jumping in every two seconds with his enthusiastic ideas) and I worked on the reading and definitions of the poem. Two of them kept falling over sideways. They were tired.
But we did read through the poem multiple times. Lots of words to consider and not all of them easily grasped in isolation from each other. Once the ball got rolling, it was hard to stop. All agreed at the end that they understood and enjoyed the poem more just discussing its words like this!
Liam decided to copy it for copywork. Tough one for spelling!
So here's how we did it.
For instance: what is a tove or borogove?
What does "Twas brillig" mean? Is "brillig" an adjective or noun (hint: it can be either - replace it with nouns and adjectives and see if they both work). You will have to choose one and then define it.
What does "outgrabe" mean? We talked about "outplay, outwit, outlast" (from Survivor) to help us think about what "out" does to a verb. What might it do to this verb?
What words come to mind when you read "mimsy"? Do you think of "flimsy"? One of my kids thought of a friend named "Mim" who happens to be bouncy and silly.
When we looked at the word "frabjous" we could detect a hint of the word fabulous and jouyous all wrapped up together. We asked, "Does fabulous and/or joyous fit with the use of this word?"
When we encountered "vorpal," my 18 year old pulled out one of his RPGs (role playing games) and read the use of a "vorpal" sword in the game (clearly taken from Carroll's poem) - it is a sharp blade that in one blow can cut off a head. It can only be used for decaptiation in this game.
We did some math, too.
Over the weekend, we played more Quiddler, painted the deck, took Rocky for a walk, and played outside.
Caitrin is making clay figures and beads using Sculpey clay. She is also coloring big pictures from one of our design books. She's listened to "When Bach Comes to Call" and her Suzuki CD for violin. Each day she does her practice routine.
Monday was co-op. Nuff said.
Time for grad school.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Packed day!!
We were busy today.
Started the day with a vanilla cake from Trader Joe's and tea. We set the table and pulled out the copy of Eragon. I am not a fan of the writing, but the kids are loving the story so we press on. We must have read five chapters.
Then I broke out the two math puzzles from Pi Cafe. We worked on Nine Patch Pie (four different patterns involving nines). It was exciting to watch Liam work everything in his head. He even left the table at one point to "think" on the couch without so much noise. I watched his face as he mouthed numbers to himself and played with a lock of hair while looking at the ceiling. Then he moved to the computer and used the calculator to help him calculate.
We must have spent 90 minutes working on multiplying, dividing, guessing, identifying patterns and playing with numbers. It's so different to do math this way than I have ever done it!
Caitrin pulled out her Miquon math book and worked on arrays for 24 and 32. Right in line with our games of nine.
Following the math games, we moved into the living room where Noah joined us to play Quiddler. This game took at least 90 minutes as well. It's a game of making words and scoring points. Again, more calculating of numbers, but also playing with letters. Liam really got into figuring out the best use of the letters for the maximum points. We had fun thinking of words to make. I helped him see new possibilities with his letters.
Jacob was amazing. He found great long words and won the game in the end! Noah helped Caitrin figure out words and her motivation to play helped her over the hump so she would actually try to create words she could read!
The whole day took so long. It felt like we were just in one long party of games and reading and togetherness. I love days like that.
Started the day with a vanilla cake from Trader Joe's and tea. We set the table and pulled out the copy of Eragon. I am not a fan of the writing, but the kids are loving the story so we press on. We must have read five chapters.
Then I broke out the two math puzzles from Pi Cafe. We worked on Nine Patch Pie (four different patterns involving nines). It was exciting to watch Liam work everything in his head. He even left the table at one point to "think" on the couch without so much noise. I watched his face as he mouthed numbers to himself and played with a lock of hair while looking at the ceiling. Then he moved to the computer and used the calculator to help him calculate.
We must have spent 90 minutes working on multiplying, dividing, guessing, identifying patterns and playing with numbers. It's so different to do math this way than I have ever done it!
Caitrin pulled out her Miquon math book and worked on arrays for 24 and 32. Right in line with our games of nine.
Following the math games, we moved into the living room where Noah joined us to play Quiddler. This game took at least 90 minutes as well. It's a game of making words and scoring points. Again, more calculating of numbers, but also playing with letters. Liam really got into figuring out the best use of the letters for the maximum points. We had fun thinking of words to make. I helped him see new possibilities with his letters.
Jacob was amazing. He found great long words and won the game in the end! Noah helped Caitrin figure out words and her motivation to play helped her over the hump so she would actually try to create words she could read!
The whole day took so long. It felt like we were just in one long party of games and reading and togetherness. I love days like that.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Tricky Tuesday
Started the day with tea and pumpkin muffins for the kids to help them rise and shine. It worked. :)
Jacob got his braces put on today so homeschool was not quite as productive for him. He read his Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. He had a sax lesson (brave with new bands on his teeth). We did one dictation from "The Blue Carbunkle" and I read aloud this a.m. from Eragon.
Liam spent most of the day on the computer except for a bit of copywork. He also enjoyed the read aloud. He is copying limericks. I'm proud of him for plugging away when he finds handwriting difficult. He's done more since the beginning of September than he had all last year, I think. He is motivated and that helps.
Caitrin and I spent a good long time working on reading. She had some breakthroughs (small ones) today while we read a Magic School Bus book. I had her read all of the dialog in the bubbles. These words were larger and hand written rather than type face. That seemed to make things easier for her. She even got her speed up a bit. She still struggles to sound out many of the words, though. And she gets frustrated. I read all the story parts and that helped to balance her efforts. It took us nearly a half hour to work through that one book together like that. Lots of great factoids about bees, too.
She is being faithful to do her violin practices each day and is checking our 20 leaves for color changes and making notations on our chart. I love that she is doing that and remembers each day herself.
The Pi Cafe math yahoo group is already going and we'll begin working on those problems tomorrow. Johannah had a chem quiz and I'm crossing my fingers that all our hard work last night paid off. Noah plugged away for two hours on NT Greek in the test tonight. I was proud of him for working every day this week on Greek and then really committing to the test. He is still a bit behind, but he is easily within range for the class. That was a relief to me. I finished the test first. Didn't expect to. It was not as hard as I had imagined. I probably made some silly mistakes. But the relief of finishing was enough for me.
Everyone is wiped out today. Tomorrow we'll have teatime, poetry and some cuddles. We'll play math games and read aloud.
Jacob got his braces put on today so homeschool was not quite as productive for him. He read his Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. He had a sax lesson (brave with new bands on his teeth). We did one dictation from "The Blue Carbunkle" and I read aloud this a.m. from Eragon.
Liam spent most of the day on the computer except for a bit of copywork. He also enjoyed the read aloud. He is copying limericks. I'm proud of him for plugging away when he finds handwriting difficult. He's done more since the beginning of September than he had all last year, I think. He is motivated and that helps.
Caitrin and I spent a good long time working on reading. She had some breakthroughs (small ones) today while we read a Magic School Bus book. I had her read all of the dialog in the bubbles. These words were larger and hand written rather than type face. That seemed to make things easier for her. She even got her speed up a bit. She still struggles to sound out many of the words, though. And she gets frustrated. I read all the story parts and that helped to balance her efforts. It took us nearly a half hour to work through that one book together like that. Lots of great factoids about bees, too.
She is being faithful to do her violin practices each day and is checking our 20 leaves for color changes and making notations on our chart. I love that she is doing that and remembers each day herself.
The Pi Cafe math yahoo group is already going and we'll begin working on those problems tomorrow. Johannah had a chem quiz and I'm crossing my fingers that all our hard work last night paid off. Noah plugged away for two hours on NT Greek in the test tonight. I was proud of him for working every day this week on Greek and then really committing to the test. He is still a bit behind, but he is easily within range for the class. That was a relief to me. I finished the test first. Didn't expect to. It was not as hard as I had imagined. I probably made some silly mistakes. But the relief of finishing was enough for me.
Everyone is wiped out today. Tomorrow we'll have teatime, poetry and some cuddles. We'll play math games and read aloud.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Co-op
Today the Suzuki violin lesson brought Caitrin and violin into live contact. Still no playing of the strings which has Barb saying that we are in the "think" orchestra. :) Caitrin has the bow hold down cold and we have a practice sheet this week to guide us. She still uses the cardboard circle for correct standing position as well as the pretend violin made of a margarine box. But next week, they should actually draw that bow across the strings. I'm a bit tired of the CD but know it's important to keep listening.
Liam's art teacher had some questions about his attention span for art. He enjoys the class immensely (especially the art history lecture part) but fizzles out in the actual arts and crafts part. We brainstormed ways to re-engage him and they worked! I shared with him the importance of taking advantage of Holly's expertise in drawing ( stated goal of his) and to feel free to ask her for support and ideas. He warmed to this option whereas a year ago, he saw this kind of request as a sign of weakness. I am really proud of him this year. He responds much better to suggestions and support than he has in the past.
Micheal (his bff) came here today to play on the computer. They are hooked! Lots of fun for him to have such a good friend. Really makes me happy.
Jacob is the new "king of swing" in his dance class. He is the much sought after dance partner. Additionally, he just joined a pre-algebra email list that is hosted by Julie Brennan of Living Math. It's called "The Pi Cafe" and she is the "Pi Chef." Why does that Julie B get to be good at both English and math? No fair! What was the NML thinking when doling out talents? Anyway, Jacob is already working on this week's first problem. Looks terrific for stimulating lots of natural math work and discussion.
My class (adv. comp.) is going great. The kids were responsive today when we looked over their Keen Observation of Ideas. Two of the boys are coasting so I've got to challenge them much more. But I'm delighted to see genuine engagement from a few other boys. All the girls are working really hard and I'm thrilled with their output.
That's it for today. Co-op is easier to report than other days because I have so little clue about what they are actually doing!
Liam's art teacher had some questions about his attention span for art. He enjoys the class immensely (especially the art history lecture part) but fizzles out in the actual arts and crafts part. We brainstormed ways to re-engage him and they worked! I shared with him the importance of taking advantage of Holly's expertise in drawing ( stated goal of his) and to feel free to ask her for support and ideas. He warmed to this option whereas a year ago, he saw this kind of request as a sign of weakness. I am really proud of him this year. He responds much better to suggestions and support than he has in the past.
Micheal (his bff) came here today to play on the computer. They are hooked! Lots of fun for him to have such a good friend. Really makes me happy.
Jacob is the new "king of swing" in his dance class. He is the much sought after dance partner. Additionally, he just joined a pre-algebra email list that is hosted by Julie Brennan of Living Math. It's called "The Pi Cafe" and she is the "Pi Chef." Why does that Julie B get to be good at both English and math? No fair! What was the NML thinking when doling out talents? Anyway, Jacob is already working on this week's first problem. Looks terrific for stimulating lots of natural math work and discussion.
My class (adv. comp.) is going great. The kids were responsive today when we looked over their Keen Observation of Ideas. Two of the boys are coasting so I've got to challenge them much more. But I'm delighted to see genuine engagement from a few other boys. All the girls are working really hard and I'm thrilled with their output.
That's it for today. Co-op is easier to report than other days because I have so little clue about what they are actually doing!
Friday, October 07, 2005
Murderous Maths
Murderous Maths are a wild and wooly ride into the problem solving world of mathematics. Written by a Brit (with his entertaining British wit), they help kids connect to math through a clever narrative as well as very do-able projects. My kids are enjoying them so much!
This morning we worked on dominoes and pentominoes. The pentominoes are just as their name suggests: five square figurines that can be put together in endless combinations. We tried to make the suggested rectangles and found it impossible to create our own, in spite of the fact that the 6 x 10 shape has more than 2000 possible arrangements. It was discouraging on one level (not succeeding indepently) but thrilling to be in the chase and working so hard on it. I plan to bring out our little pentominoes each week until someone succeeds. Perhaps repeated attempts will bring success.
The interesting thing about this project was the way it roused interest in every kid including Johannah and Noah. I'm discovering that learning through manipulatives and story really works for all our kids.
Caitrin and I read Anno's Magical Seeds and Anno's Counting Book. The first is a challenging multiplication story that Caitrin handled fairly well until almost the end when even I lost track of how to manage so many numbers. I liked that part of the story was about the magic of the life of the seed. I also really enjoyed thinking about the exponential growth of numbers (savings) when left to grow and multiply.
We also read Sinbad since this is one of her favorite stories of all time. This author (Ludmila Zeman) also illustrated the book. Her notes about her choices and preparation for the illustrations was as fascinating as the story itself. She immersed herself in Persian art, rugs and illuminated manuscripts. No short cuts to excellent work anywhere!
Caitrin read to me from Frog and Toad and then copied a section for copywork.
Liam is writing a postcard and two thank you notes. He's using ink. He still struggles with hand control but has greatly improved this year already. I love seeing him so much more ready and willing than last year. No struggle between us - only with the writing itself. And so far, he is looking much better at it.
Catirin copied a note she dictated to me to Shevawn and Mairin.
I hope I can do some more original writing this year with both of them.
Jacob played the math games with us too, then read more Sherlock Holmes (h'es got two stories to go) and studied chemistry. He is also doing a dictation passage from Sherlock Holmes. And he is keeping up with MUS.
Liam and Jacob played for a long time on one of their computer games and Jacob explained to me all the strategy concepts they feel they are learning from it. I think he got into explaining them because we talked so much about strategy during the pentonimoes game.
After dinner, Jon, Liam, Caitrin and I played a game of Apples to Apples. We then watched "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" on Disney.
Caitrin helped me bake two pumpkin pies which are now cooling to be eaten tomorrow. We cleaned up the kitchen and family room.
Fun day!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Zoo Day!
Caitrin gently chastised me about not getting to the zoo in September. She entered it on our calendar four times and not a single one turned into a zoo day. So when I saw that Johannah would be brought home by the driver for her driver's training, I seized the moment and today, we spent at the zoo.
Liam is in heaven at the zoo. He would live there, I'm convinced. He knows things about animals that I had no idea he knew, nor do I know why or how he knows them! The white lions are always a treat. We saw the males sunning themselves today, since it's Thursday.
We enjoyed the Asian elephants and were amazed at just how many animals are endangered. I took lots of notes to help us process our time there tomorrow. We also went on a zoo scavenger hunt where we chose animals and animal traits to look for while walking. That was really fun!
On the way to the zoo, Jacob brought Mad Libs and we did two of them. Caitrin had to ask every time "What is a noun again?" By the end of both pages, I think she had it. Then as we walked through the zoo, we'd say a descriptive word related to an animal and shout: adjective! And so on. It was a great reinforcement for parts of speech.
Some interesting facts:
- The okapi lives in my old African neck of the woods—Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
- A mammal that lives on both land and in the sea is a Harbor Seal. A fresh water mammal who lives in rivers and on land is the River Otter.
- Bongos and Gian Elands both have cloven hooves.
- The manatee has a nictitating membrane that enables them to see clearly under water the way a mask does for us.
- Equus means horse which is the word used to describe the African Zebra as well.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
First day of Ramadan
Today, I fast with my theo class and will break the fast at 7:14 p.m. I am starving!
That didn't stop me from making pumpkin muffins for breakfast or throwing a roast into the crockpot for the family after I'm gone.
In the meantime, here's today's list of activities so far:
Reading
Eragon: Three chapters
Eyewitness: Islam (focused on five pillars and Ramadan especially)
Fall Eco-Journal
Projects
Caitrin, Liam and I created a leaf-falling journal. We marked 20 leaves with a permanent marker, numbering them one to twenty. Now we record the daily changes in their colors. We are learning the following terms:
pigment: color in the leaves
cholorophyll: the green pigment
carotenids: the yellow pigment
anthocyanins: the red pigment
These might be worth looking up for their origins. Not sure if they derive from Latin or Greek.
Computer
Liam is teaching Jacob to play: Winter Maul Wars. It's fun to hear him coaching and explaining to Jacob.
Liam has a new plan to alternate between writing and math each day. Jacob is continuing to do his MUS. Caitrin is reading.
That didn't stop me from making pumpkin muffins for breakfast or throwing a roast into the crockpot for the family after I'm gone.
In the meantime, here's today's list of activities so far:
Reading
Eragon: Three chapters
Eyewitness: Islam (focused on five pillars and Ramadan especially)
Fall Eco-Journal
Projects
Caitrin, Liam and I created a leaf-falling journal. We marked 20 leaves with a permanent marker, numbering them one to twenty. Now we record the daily changes in their colors. We are learning the following terms:
pigment: color in the leaves
cholorophyll: the green pigment
carotenids: the yellow pigment
anthocyanins: the red pigment
These might be worth looking up for their origins. Not sure if they derive from Latin or Greek.
Computer
Liam is teaching Jacob to play: Winter Maul Wars. It's fun to hear him coaching and explaining to Jacob.
Liam has a new plan to alternate between writing and math each day. Jacob is continuing to do his MUS. Caitrin is reading.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
And with math you get lemonade...
Why is math fun today when up until now, it's been about as amusing as catching mice in my kitchen (ew... we got one last night, SNAP!).
Family Math is finally fun (even if my kids keep kicking my butt)!
Today we did number patterns on a 99 chart, Jacob and Noah both solved the Ten Card Arrangement (and all five of us did it differently... arrived at the right solution through completely different means - blows my mind) and we worked palindromes. Did you know 79 is a six-step palindrome?
We did a Bridge to Cross and I lost repeatedly to every kid... Did I mention every kid? Grrrr.
Noah is working on Greek in the kitchen and can barely sit still because we were having so much fun with numbers. Liam figured out the palindrome patterns on a 99 numbers chart all in his head.
Off to make lunch.
Oh and we read Eragon this morning (up to the end of chapter one).
Afternoon includes sax lessons and band practice for Jacob, Liam goes to Michael's to play X Box and Computer Games and we'll all go shopping for clothes and food.
Need to add that Caitrin is making bracelets out of hemp and beads and they are gorgeous! Hope to get a photo on here. She's a veritable machine these days—output about ten per day.
She's also watching Arthur, Postcards from Buster and the various sit coms she loves.
Family Math is finally fun (even if my kids keep kicking my butt)!
Today we did number patterns on a 99 chart, Jacob and Noah both solved the Ten Card Arrangement (and all five of us did it differently... arrived at the right solution through completely different means - blows my mind) and we worked palindromes. Did you know 79 is a six-step palindrome?
We did a Bridge to Cross and I lost repeatedly to every kid... Did I mention every kid? Grrrr.
Noah is working on Greek in the kitchen and can barely sit still because we were having so much fun with numbers. Liam figured out the palindrome patterns on a 99 numbers chart all in his head.
Off to make lunch.
Oh and we read Eragon this morning (up to the end of chapter one).
Afternoon includes sax lessons and band practice for Jacob, Liam goes to Michael's to play X Box and Computer Games and we'll all go shopping for clothes and food.
Need to add that Caitrin is making bracelets out of hemp and beads and they are gorgeous! Hope to get a photo on here. She's a veritable machine these days—output about ten per day.
She's also watching Arthur, Postcards from Buster and the various sit coms she loves.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Not another blog by Julie?!
Indeed, I am an addict. But actually, I'm just lazy. It's easier for me to record our daily activities if I blog what they are. My records from last year are atrocious.
So let's get started.
Monday, October 3
Mondays are co-op days.
Caitrin: violin, discovering music, blood and guts, music and drama, art
Jacob: Spanish 1, Discovering Artists, Let's Eat, Swing Dance
Liam: chess club, art history and P.E.
These are constants.
I intend to do more with natural math after learning all about Living Math. Tonight, I took a brave step and attempted several kinds of problems without offering solutions. The three games came from Family Math: Target Addition, Balloon Ride and Ten Card Arrangement.
I loved Caitrin and Liam's tenacity to not let me give hints. They were totally committed to solving what turned out to be difficult problems without my help. The Ten Card Arrangment took us over a half an hour and they each solved it by themselves and were so thrilled!
We rounded out the evening with Old Maid.
That's it for Monday.
So let's get started.
Monday, October 3
Mondays are co-op days.
Caitrin: violin, discovering music, blood and guts, music and drama, art
Jacob: Spanish 1, Discovering Artists, Let's Eat, Swing Dance
Liam: chess club, art history and P.E.
These are constants.
I intend to do more with natural math after learning all about Living Math. Tonight, I took a brave step and attempted several kinds of problems without offering solutions. The three games came from Family Math: Target Addition, Balloon Ride and Ten Card Arrangement.
I loved Caitrin and Liam's tenacity to not let me give hints. They were totally committed to solving what turned out to be difficult problems without my help. The Ten Card Arrangment took us over a half an hour and they each solved it by themselves and were so thrilled!
We rounded out the evening with Old Maid.
That's it for Monday.
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