The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 7



In my life this week...

I've decided to go back to school for my Master's degree in Education and I finally got the ball rolling with sending off for my transcripts and applying to Texas State University.  I'm excited and anxious to be back in an academic setting, it's where I felt the happiest.

In our homeschool this week...

Sunshyne continues to do very well with her math and reading.  She has almost completed the entire 4th grade reader (It's the Scott Foresman "Seeing Is Believing" textbook).  I love all of the activities that she gets to do with this textbook and will be sad to see it go.  Also, we were going to begin biology for the month of April and Sunshyne had already did a couple of projects on the human brain, however she's had a change of heart and I've decided to respect that.  She now wants to research spring flowers.  So I've decided to find a botany unit study or possibly do a lapbook.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:)

 

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We decided to go for a simple walk through the neighborhood yesterday so that Sunshyne could photograph some flowers and plants.  We ended up at McDonalds for a snack and so that RJ could play a little on the playscape.  We met some new friends and after we'd returned home I took a moment to think about the encounters that we had and how they impact education.  Learning how to be a good neighbor and interact with people in the community.  I thought about how Sunshyne had asked Mrs. Carolyn if she could take a snapshot of her lovely flowers.  Mrs. Carolyn escorted Sunshyne over to the front of her yard so that she could get a good shot and taught her name of the flower and how it grows. Afterwards, Sunshyne thanked Mrs. Carolyn and they finally exchanged names. Can you believe that, a complete lesson with activity with a neighbor without even knowing her name.   

My favorite thing this week was...

Papa Bear took RJ and Sunshyne to the park this week, just the three of them.  He told me in the most profound and heartfelt way when he returned, how much he enjoyed spending time with the children.  He talked about how the memory would stay with him always and how good he felt that he had the opportunity to do so.  Then he thanked God for them and me for having them for him.  Needless to say I was deeply touched.  It was my absolute favorite thing this week.

What's working/not working for us...

Homeschool gym is the best!  It's held a local community center and free to homeschoolers.  It's a great way for kids to let off some steam, make new friends, and learn how to be team players.  I think it's great and did I mention it's free!  Totally works for us.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

My thoughts this week are still circling around homeschool graduations and planning my sons.  I'm also getting more and more anxious thinking about him moving to Houston to attend school in June.  It's exciting but there's this part of me that is afraid to let go.  My mother always says that God is not the author of fear so I try to be brave but something in me just keeps questioning...if that makes sense.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

This is the cheesecake that Sunshyne and I baked Wednesday.  It was fabulous!  It's Paula Deen's Aunt Peggy's Cheesecake with Praline Topping recipe.  We changed the graham cracker crust to use some of the leftover Dulce De Leche Girl Scout cookies that we had.  Sunshyne took these pictures all by herself.

 

We learned a lot together and had a great time making these delicious dessert!

Well that's it for me. How did your week go?  Let us know and link up over at The Homeschool Chick's The Homeschool Mother's Journal.  See you there!

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



A Day Of Relaxed Homeschooling

We got sort of a late start yesterday.  I let Sunshyne sleep in, whereas normally she is expected to set her alarm clock and be up by 7:00am to get dressed and complete her morning chores.  We usually start formal learning around 9:00am, immediately following breakfast.  Well yesterday looked nothing like that.  Sunshyne had helped out with RJ at around 6:00am and so as a reward, I let her sleep until she woke up on her own... which was about 10:30am.  After a few chores and breakfast, it was almost 11:30am before she was ready to begin any of her studies.  I decided that it might be a good idea to head out to the back yard to kinda get our juices flowing.  The next thing I knew, I was hauling out soccer balls and scooter toys for RJ.

That was the beginning of our "relaxed" homeschooling day.

Playing soccer was the highlight of the afternoon.  RJ loved chasing after the ball.  He doesn't have kicking it down to a science....

But he's pretty good at throwing it!

I loved watching him in action, chasing after the ball and then throwing it to his sister so that she could kick it back.  He was very serious about this game...maybe I should say focused.

That ball looks as big as he does in this photo, doesn't it???

After they were all tuckered out from soccer and other outdoor games, we all sat down for some quiet time reading.

This is why I love homeschooling, the flexibility and versatility.  This is the way I'd envisioned homeschooling my children.  Being able to learn naturally, simply because it's enjoyable.

It truly doesn't get any better than this!



Are you relaxed in your way of teaching your children?  I enjoyed this so much that I think looking into this "method" (for lack of a better term) seems feasible.  Please share any views or experiences that you've had with relaxed homeschooling.  Thank you so much for stopping by:)

~Blessings~

Claudea B.





Tot School~Week Ten

A lot has happened since we last participated formally in Tot School but we have been chugging along just the same.  We are pretty much settled in our new-to-us home and have started schooling again.  RJ has been spending a lot of time outside and going places with me and his dad, that I don't have pictures of.

However, in the classroom he has wanted to spend most of his time writing lately...and so he has.

This was the first day that he showed any real interest in crayons.  I sat them out, he climbed up in the chair and took to trying to write.

He's got some real scribbles on the paper...can you see them?

He's also been playing with his cars quite frequently and that's a new development as well.

This time he decided to use a new medium and give the colored pencils a try.  Here he's a bit distracted by a truck outside, so he stands up to get a better view.  Afterwards it's back to writing with his pencil.

See that paper in front of him, he didn't write that.  He's just about to autograph his sister's work though.  He took her mechanical pencil and added a little love note while she was a way from her station.

He's just been fascinated with writing!

Well that's about it for us this week.  Hopefully I'll have more pictures for next week.

Oh, I did want to say that we have also been attending our local library for the past few weeks for toddler time.  They read stories and we all sing songs related to a theme for the week.  It's been great and RJ loves having the opportunity to see other miniature people like himself.

Want to read other learning adventures of amazing toddler's? Head on over to 1+1+1=1 for this weeks Tot School...there's tons of ideas for you and your toddler.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.







Times Tales St. Patty's Day Special

Times Tales St. Patty's Day Special!!!

Here's a deal that came in my inbox that I just had to share from Times Tales, wish I'd gotten this deal when I bought my copy last month...aaargh!  Oh well, I hope this deal can be a blessing to you though:)

Take advantage of th St. Patrick's Day special, good the week of March 13-19 only. Not only will you save 20% on your purchase of Times Tales (DVD or print versions) but you will also receive a free Memory Trigger. Just use the code IRISH20 to receive your discount and free Memory Trigger. Do not put a Memory Trigger in your cart, they know to include one when you use the code. Save a total of $11.94!

Great Program, my kiddos love it and it works!!!

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 4



 

In my life this week...

We finally finished moving and unpacking most of our stuff.  This shell of a house now honestly resembles home, and for that I am thankful.  We were able to get back to the basic subjects this week and I plan to be in full swing starting Monday with all of the kiddos.

In our homeschool this week...

Sunshyne is doing so well with her Teaching Textbooks curriculum, I'm sooooo happy and thankful for this curriculum.  I'm trying to get in the graduation mode for Charlie Brown and finalize some of his financial aid information to send to UTI.  Also, I took RJ to the Toddler Time program at our local library for the first time this week and I think I'll implement this as a part of his curriculum.  It was fun to get a chance to spend some alone time with him at the library.  I think he was amazed to see that there are other small people like him...a big herd of them!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Today we will be going to the Carver Community Cultural Center to see Japanese Storyteller Kuniko Yamamoto as a part of the Youth Matinee Series.  It sounds fun and enlightening.  Also, I attended a Bronze Award training yesterday for the Girls Scouts.  The Bronze Award is the highest award that a Junior GS can earn.  My mission was to find out how to divise and execute the HUGE community project that the girls will have to tackle to apply for the award.  It seems like it will be challenging but extremely rewarding for the girls.  Last but not least, it's football season for Papa Bear and we are planning to attend most of his games this year.  They've already won two games...Go SA Knights!

My favorite thing this week was...

Singing songs with RJ at Toddler Time and watching his reaction to the other kiddos.  One of my favorite songs went like this:

Itsy Bitsy Monkey (tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the coconut tree.

Down came the coconut and bopped him on the knee.

Along came his mama, who kissed away the pain.

The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the tree again.

What's working/not working for us...

Okay, I found a website called Spelling City which sounded like the answer to my prayers.  It's suppose to administer spelling tests for you and generates worksheets and games for the kiddos using word lists that you create yourself.  I'm struggling with the site a little, I guess just because it's a new thing for me but I'm hoping it will work out to be everything it says it is because it would truly be a blessing.  If anyone else is using this program, please, please share your opinion about it.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming homeschool conventions that I would like to attend.  I'm pretty sure that I'm going to attend our local convention but I'd also like to expand my scope and attend a national level convention.  We shall see:)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

I was playing around over at Picnik and got this great 1960's look of a photo of RJ and Papa Bear before Papa Bear's first football game of the season.  (I did the 1960 effect and the cross processing to achieve this look) Love it!

To read more Mother's Journals please stop by The Homeschool Chick .  I love her site and reading what other homeschooling mama's are doing with their kiddos on this meme.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



Civil Rights Advocate: W.E.B Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington Massachusetts.  He was born to Alfred and Mary DuBois. 

Have you ever heard this famous passage from the Forethought of his book The Souls Of Black Folk "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line."  This was one of the most profound statements of the entire book.   The Souls Of Black Folk is a collection of essays written by Debois in 1903, discussing and analysing a variety of subjects on the topic of black life.  Du Bois also challenged one of the most notable black thinkers of the time in this book, Booker T. Washington.

W.E.B DuBois was the first African-American to graduate from Harvard University in 1895, which I find to be amazing.  He graduated with a PH. D. in history and went on to teach sociology at Atlanta University.  Being in the south during the years of 1898-1910, Du Bois could see first hand the effects of the Jim Crow laws and felt compelled to do something about it.  He founded a organization called the Niagara Movement to advocate for the rights of blacks.  Even though this organization was short-lived, it was the precursor to a famous organization that I'm sure you've heard of, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was founded in 1909.  As a founding member of the NAACP, DeBois also took the lead as the lead researcher and editor of the NAACP journal "The Crisis."
He continued his work with the NAACP until 1934 when he left the organization.

After being accused of being a communist, brought before a judge and the case being dismissed, Du Bois officially joined the communist party in 1961 and left the U.S.  A year later he gave up his U.S. citizenship and became a citizen of Ghana (that's in Africa).  He died in 1963. 

You can find out more about W.E.B. Du Bois at Biography dot com.  There is also a pretty cool interactive NAACP timeline at Thinkfinity that would be useful to tie into a lesson plan.  It even has lesson plans built into it.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



   

Black History: Test Your Knowledge

Okay, I thought it might be fun to have a little trivia today, even though it's not Fun Friday.  This is a great opportunity for me to plan out the questions that I will be using on Fun Friday for the kiddos.  Thanks for volunteering to let me practice on you...hehehe:)

Okay I'm only going to ask you five questions, that's not bad right???  All of the questions are taken from the Brain Quest Black History Revised Edition.  This one targets kids ages 9 and up so it shouldn't be too hard (yeah right).  I won't be grading you so don't Google the answers or look them up in your own copy of Brain Quest, just for fun let's see if you can know (or can guess) the answers.

Here we go:

1.  To whom did Martin Luther King, Jr., address his Letter from Birmingham City Jail?

2.  In what mid-western city did Dr. Daniel Hale Williams establish the first African-American hospital?

3.  Name the athlete who defied Hitler's theory of black inferiority by winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics.

4.  Name the jazz legend whose signature tune was "Take the 'A' Train."

5.  What great 19th-century speaker declared that education means "light and liberty?"

Well that's it for now, simple enough huh?  I'll give the answers to the quiz on Friday 2/18/2011 (My nephew's birthday...yes, I remembered this time sir).

Good luck, I hope you do well on the quiz...remember NO CHEATING, this is just for fun:)

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



  



The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 2

 

In my life this week...

My mother is currently in the hospital after having her foot amputated.  She has struggled with diabetes most of her life.  I've found it difficult to focus this week thinking about the quality of life she has to look forward to now.  I worry that some of the things that she still wanted to do in life will not happen.  My mother enjoys her independence and I'm concerned about how this will effect that.  I live far enough away from her that it's difficult to visit as often as I'd like, and I fear that she will no longer be able to live alone.

In our homeschool this week...

We continued with our Black History Month theme this week.  Sunshyne has also been extremely focused on her Girl Scout cookie sales.  I'm proud of her because she's a very playful child and doesn't take much seriously, but she has put a lot of effort into this venture.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

With my mother being in the hospital, that's pretty much where we have been.  It's such a blessing to enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling.  Sunshyne LOVES her grandmother and was able to go with me to visit her before her surgery.  It's times like that when I am so grateful to our decision to homeschool.  My mother was so happy to see Sunshyne and vice versa, it just really made those bleak circumstances feel like everything was going to be okay.

Also, a friend of mine is now the director of a branch of Classical Conversations and invited Sunshyne to visit one of the classes this week.  I'd never heard of CC until my friend started up a location nearby.  It was nice to visit and I really liked the history curriculum that the program utilizes.  I've never been a person that uses one single curriculum for everything so it doesn't appeal to me from that aspect but I like that the class meets just once per week and that I am still able to homeschool my child the rest of the week. 

I'll probably do a review of our visit in more detail for folks that are not familiar with CC, in the near future.

My favorite thing this week was...

Sunshyne sung Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as a part of our Black History activities.  Her little voice singing that song was just the cutest thing.  I love to hear her sing anyway, but that song touches me so deeply because it has meaning.  It was a memorable moment...my favorite thing this week.

What's working/not working for us...

I've just wanted to add more liveliness to our homeschool and that has yet to happen.  I continue to tell myself that I'm going to sit down on the weekend and prepare some new and fun activities for certain subjects but I still haven't found the time.  Also, I struggle with distractions of all types during my classroom time.  My phone ringing, changes with schedules, last minute stuff that seems to pop-up all the time...it seems never ending.  Lastly, I'd also like to point out that I haven't given Sunshyne any new spelling words in two weeks, so I guess that is officially not working for us now.  I've got to pull it back together.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

This week I have just wanted to focus more on our classroom, unfortunately that hasn't really happened but I'm hopeful for next week. 

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

RJ visiting with a neighbors adorable little puppy...cute!

Thanks for stopping by, please visit The Homeschool Chick to read other mother's journals.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.

Black History: Follow The Drinking Gourd

During slavery, music and song was as important to African-Americans as any other necessity of life.  Folks used song to ease the burden of long, hard days of working from dusk til dawn, and to hope for better days to come.  Song was also used for practical reasons as well like to communicate something to others in the field, or more importantly, to tell each other how to escape to freedom.

Follow The Drinking Gourd was exactly that, a map to freedom disguised in a song.  Although a drinking gourd is a hollowed out gourd that was used for passing around drinking water to slaves, it's meaning in the song was the Big Dipper.  This group of stars would guide slaves to freedom in the north.

Here are the words to this famous slave song:

Follow The Drinking Gourd

When the sun comes back and the first quail calls,

Follow the drinking gourd.

For the old man is a-waiting for to 

carry you to freedom

If you follow the drinking gourd.

Follow the drinking gourd,

Follow the drinking gourd,

For the old man is a-waiting for to

carry you to freedom

If you follow the drinking gourd.

The river ends between two hills,

Follow the drinking gourd.

There's another river on the other side,

Follow the drinking gourd.

Follow the drinking gourd, 

Follow the drinking gourd, 

For the old man is a-waiting for to

carry you to freedom

If you follow the drinking gourd. 

I was looking around on You Tube and found this awesome rendition of the song by the Ishmel Sisters, it's a little long, but well worth six minutes of your time.  These girls are amazing!

Have an outstanding Thursday and thanks for stopping by!



The Homeschool Mother's Journal

 

In my life this week...

We have been down to one vehicle for a few weeks and it truly took it's toll on me this week.  Having to wake up extra early to drop my husband off at work, which was a 45 minute drive each way.  Only to return home and have to get my son to work within 15 minutes.  It was such a trying ordeal.  The experience was a reminder to appreciate all the things that I have...conveniences such as having two cars, washing machines, and dish washers... All Blessings!!!

In our homeschool this week...

Sunhyne has been so excited about her Girl Scout Cookie Sales. She's a Junior this year and ironically it's her first year to participate in cookie sales. She's been going door to door taking orders and has had a such a wonderful experience. She even had a few of her friends come out to help. Her excitement and enthusiasm has been my favorite part of the week:)

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We made it to our weekly PE class this week and Sunshyne had a blast, as usual.  I think it's imperative for her to participate in PE because balance and coordination is challenging for her.  Poor baby, she LOVES playing sports but she constantly falls.

 My favorite thing this week was...

  This week, we are focusing on Black History in celebration of Black History Month. We are discussing historical figures, slavery, the civil rights movement, African-American traditions...food, games, songs, etc. All of which I'm highlighting on my blog this month.

What's working/not working for us...

We are loving several aspects of our homeschool schedule this year.  First, we are using lapbooks for science and it's working out SO well.  I love seeing them come together and knowing that the kids have something to look back on and review later on.  Also, we LOVE Teaching Textbooks for math this semester.  This is our first year trying the TT curriculum and it is awesome!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I would like to do some things different with our history curriculum.  We are currently using the Abeka U.S History book for 4th grade.  I just think it gets boring at times and doesn't really bring history to life.  I'd like to add more to history some how.  I have tried adding videos to portions of our studies from the History channel, but do not always find the time to do so.  I've thought about Brain Pop as an option for history as well...I guess I just need to find the time to sit down and re-vamp that portion of our curriculum.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Sunshyne and Friends going door-to-door for Girl Scout Cookie sales.
Thanks for stopping by!

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



 

Black Inventor: Garrett Morgan

Today we will be taking a look at the famous African-American Inventor Garrett Morgan.  Born March 4, 1877 in Paris, Kentucky, Morgan was the 7th of 11 children. 

One of Morgan's most profound inventions was the Safety Hood or Gas Mask.

The Gas Mask looked very different than today's gas mask in it's early beginning.  It truly looked like something out of a science fiction movie.  Despite it's Sci-fi inspiring look, Morgan won a first prize placement at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, complete with a gold medal.

In addition to Morgans already astounding accomplishments with the Gas Mask invention, that was used in World War I and saved thousands of lives, Morgan also invented the Traffic Signal.

Morgan designed the Traffic Signal after witnessing a collision between an automobile and a horse and carriage.  The horse had to be put down and the driver of the automobile was knocked unconscious.  Morgan created and patented the Traffic Signal and then sold the rights to the General Electric Company for $40,000.00 dollars.

Morgan went on to get involved with the Civil Rights movement with starting a newspaper, Call & Post and getting involved with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as treasurer.  Morgan died July 27, 1963.

To read a full bio on Garrett Morgan please visit Blackinventor dot com.

 

Activity ideas: Create a paper gas mask replica of Morgans model using construction paper and toilet/paper towel tubes, Create a Tissue Box Traffic Light craft.  Check out this super cute traffic light snack idea at Twiggle Magazine. 

Here are two new links for Black History Month Fun:  The Teachers Corner and Family Education.

Please let me know if you're doing or have done any of the activities, I'd love to see pictures!  Thanks for stopping by!

~Blessings~

Claudea B. 

 

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!!!

That's right ladies and gentlemen...It's time to get your Girl Scout Cookie jones on!

All of your favorite flavors are ready for special order, Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs, and everyone's favorite, Thin Mints.  In addition, the delicious Lemon Chalet Cremes, Dulce De Leche, and the Thank U Berry Munch cookies are all available for the taking.

To kick off the big event Sunshyne and her friends attended the Sea World Cookie Rally for the Southwest Texas Girl Scout troops.

Over 2000 Girl Scouts were in attendance.  I don't think I've ever seen so many badges and fun patches in my entire life!

 So many Girl Scouts big and small

Blue, Brown, Green, Khaki

Uniforms large and small

Selling cookies

to one and all

Go Girl Scouts!

(I just made that up...wow!)

Do you see that little Girl Scout with her hand on her head...she was trying to think of the answer to a challenging trivia question.

Questions were part of a badge activities for the CPS energy booth...of course they had to have opportunities to earn patches/batches, isn't that what GS is all about???

By the way, she got it right and earned her CPS energy, Environmental Awareness patch!

Speaking of the CPS energy station, there were two other stations during the tailgate fun that kicked off the Sea World Cookie Rally.  Valero and HEB also sponsored patches for the girls...so BIG shout out to them for helping our girls to be the best they can be!

The Girls were able to earn the Health and Wellness patch from HEB and the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) patch from Valero.

Sunshyne hulu-hooping her way to the Health and Wellness Patch.

Go Baby!

Here's her BFF doing her thang with TWO hoops!

Destined for greatness, this one!

The girls had a blast during the entire event.  They even had the opportunity to see Jonnie and Brookie perform, they were awesome and Sunshyne loved it!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Brookie because my camera died by the time she rotated to our side of the stadium.

It was an awesome way to kick off the cookie sales for 2011, we were informed that the Girl Scouts have already sold over one million boxes!  Way to go girls, keep up the good work. 

To our friends and family, please send me an email to request your GS cookies this year.  Sunshyne needs to sell 1000 boxes to reach her goal.  We'll be happy to take your order's now and your cookies will be in by the second week of February.

Thanks for the support, Go Girl Scouts!

~Blessings~

Claudea B.