No Child Left Inside

I was blog hopping tonight and found this great website.
I actually heard a bird outside today, which has pushed me to seek outdoor activity plans. I think this will be great and I can't wait for the snow to melt....or atleast for the temperature to rise!!!! We are Stiiiiiirrrrrr crazy!
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/480223/

KKS

Update On Rosetta Stone

Some many have noticed (and I think I noted it before) that Rosetta Stone has a volume 3 (not just in Spanish - Latin American) but it was not available in the home school format (with teachers book and workbooks, etc). However, they are releasing this volume 3 in home school format (along with volumes 1 and 2, as individuals, as a 1 &2 set, and as all three set). Not out quite yet... anticipated for the end of March! Not sure what the monthly plan will run there, but come the beginning of next month we should be able to find out.

A Window of Opportunity

Ordering

Just wanted to let people know I'm placing an order with Rainbow Resource shortly (by the end of the week, I hope). If you're interested in putting orders together please let me know. I might be ordering from discount school supply as well (although I've not yet checked on prices to see which is the better deal). I'd be willing to do a little "co-op" shopping if someone was interested in splitting materials (specifically arts and craft supplies).

I noticed that Rainbow Resources' "busy" (and thus slow shipping and receiving) time runs from April to August. I'm planning on getting what I need for the beginning of next year in addition to the things that I want through the spring and summer so that I won't need to place another order until the fall. (I'll admit that I hate waiting!)

Rainforest Maths

My kids have been exploring several of the websites found at Educational Freeware. I really like Rainforest Maths. It brings you to a start page where you choose your level. Then it brings you to another page filled with many activities...I mean a lot! And, they are broken down into specifics skills and knowledge bases.

Of the math sites that we've tried, this is my top pick. All three computer capable children work on this site and enjoy it. The one down side is that if your children is working on multiple levels (for example: level 1 for measurements and level 2 for telling time) then you have to go back to the level choosing page. There is no easy way to switch levels within a topic.

Meeting Minutes...

Sorry it has taken me sooo long to post. My computer is in some kind of funk. Anyway here are the things we discussed:

Meetings will be held on every 1st and 3rd thursday of the month: Please be on time so we can get started and accomplish everything we need to in a timely manner. It is equally important to finish and depart on time so that families can accomplish other things that may be on their daily agendas. Meetings generally run from 10am-noon. Please bring bag lunches. It is also important to never leave children unsupervised.

NEXT MEETING on March 20th @ Nicki's in the afternoon

We are alternating hosting the meeting between the 4 families
- Nicki: March 20th WINTER FUN DAY
- Kim: April 3rd PUPPET SHOW WRITING
- Tara: April 17th PUPPET MAKING
- Juanita: May 1st PAINT BOXES
- Nicki: May 15th PRACTICE PUPPET SHOW

We will perform the show to the elderly in one of the areas nursing homes on June 5th.

Our System

We have multiple computers in our house. One server, one Mac (Mike's) one for the kids and one that is mine.
When C&L are doing their school online (time4learning), their "designated days rule" is not in force. Usually, Lundi works upstairs and Caleb, because he has a harder time with background noise, works down stairs in the office. Otherwise, it works like this:
Sunday-it stays off
Monday-Lauren's day
Tuesday-Moms day
Wednesday-Moms day
Thursday-Caleb's day
Friday-Lundi's day
Saturday-Harrison's day

The reason that I have days on their computer is because it gives me a chance to have a "no media day," or give one of the other kids an extra day if they need it. This has proved to be the system that works best for us. Their designated computer day, also happens to be their day for family prayers. Now......Lauren sometimes takes the "her day" thing waaaaay overboard. Like she thinks that she rules everything all day (meals, tv shows, where we go....on and on). Other than that, it goes pretty smoothly.
Hope this helps, see you on the morrow.
KKS

Puter time

Well computer time at our house started out as a major privilege. I mean liliana had to complete serious chores in order to earn the time she got on the computer. Once she was on she was in control of where she wanted to be. As we set up her own desktop with only certain sites (we are up to 10 sites now) she decided if she wanted to visit all of them or just one. In the beginning, I hardly even interacted with her while she was having computer time. As with all new and exciting things after time she wasn't as excited about earning computer time. Now I don't make such a big deal about having to earn the right to use it, I usually just say, "alright, before computer time (it tends to take place right after dinner, during that hour between eating and getting ready for bed) we have to tidy up your room and finish our dinner"...We typically help her complete her task and I tend to hover around the general computer area now. I still let her direct herself as to what she wants to 'play' but will offer suggestions if she starts getting bored or frustrated with something.
As I have also just looked at the Freeware and added some sites to liliana's desktop she was just playing tonight and if something is new to her she ask me loads of questions. She is also in the 'I want to show you something" stage...It is hard for me. I really like her being able to navigate a site or exercise by herself (part of that is selfish, even though I am still nearby, I enjoy her not asking me questions or even paying attention to what I am doing so that I can have a few minutes of thoughts) .If she is not sure how to do something (since she is still learning to read I have to initially show her where the important buttons are to click) than I will sit with her and guide her.
As I was looking at the Freeware site I also wondered about how much time she should spend on the computer. on the one hand, it is great information all for the taking. On the other hand I really don't want her in front of any type of screen for that long in a given day. So as of now she spends about 30 mins on the computer tops a day. I can see her using it for longer as she is older, like an hour. I can also see myself allowing her to earn more time (up to 30 mins) to do things like email/blogs/or whatever else that she would want to do that is not pertinent to her education but that is still skill building and harmless.
Like tonight in the course of 20 mins we did abit of typing (learning where things are on the keyboard), some tuxPaint, some counting (math) 'games' from two different sites, she spent about 10 mins on her new favorite site poisson Rouge. I do not have to set a timer yet, she usually pulls herself off (gets fidgety and ready to move on to the next thing) within 15-20mins.
Anyway this is what we do for now. We will revise as needed.
I should also add this all applies to a normal, good, healthy day...If I am sick or what have you than I would rather she have more computer time (with all of this educational stuff) than watch a movie or drive me crazy. So life is imperfect and hopefully our children forgive us for not always being a straight arrow

With So Many....How Do You...

With so many good and helpful websites for the kids (thanks to Educational-Freeware)- and I haven't even added the downloads yet- I am now in need of a better system for granting computer time. Part of me feels like truly educational practices (not just the skill building games) could be used as part of their learning time (I am trying to separate the two). But then I wonder if that would allow someone too much time on the computer and cause a break down in the other kids because they feel it is unfair.

So, how do you regulate computer time?

Local Group Planning Meeting

We already notified people about the first meeting for our local group... this Thursday March 6 at 10am. Here's what you need to know:

As this is a planning meeting, please bring a bag lunch for yourself and each of your children.

Coloring will be provided. If your child has trouble sharing coloring items, please bring their own. If you think your child will not do well with this project, please bring something else for them to do.

In the future, these things will be arranged differently. We'll be discussing these things along with other planning and group set-up topics.

If you are interested, but have not yet found out where we are meeting, please contact either Tara or Juanita... call or email, use profile to contact us through email if you don't already have the information.

Thank You

Educational Freeware

My daughter loves a program called Tux Paint. She uses it at school and all year has begged for us to get it. I kept forgetting to look it up....and wasn't looking forward to finding it because we have a Mac and, well, so much of the software for Macs is expensive. And although fun or helpful, it eats through a budget way too quickly.

I finally looked it up today... it's a free download! And I'm posting the site it can be found on. There are other freebies for education there as well, although I've not explored them. So, enjoy!

Educational Freeware

UPDATE:

This site is actually a compilation of free downloads and on-line sites. All have been checked out and evaluated for their effectiveness for a certain age group or subject. These are high ranking games, activities and software. I've liked what I've seen so far... although I've not tried the downloads yet. Many of the sites (maybe all) that we like are also listed in there. So... a great place to check out.

Planet Books

Our family recently purchased a set of books from a book order my daughter brought home. I was drawn to the set because they were all about the planets and my daughter had started getting in to the stars. I figured this would be the next step. I was surprised, however, to see just how much information was in the books.

These books would be below older kids, although for a quick refresher they might like to read them to younger kids. But it's really geared towards the younger side of the elementary ages. There are 11 books, each book talks only about one planet (the 10th one is the Sun... which is technically a star). 23 pages of information and 1 page of glossary terms each.

The set is called "Space Launch!" Put out by Gareth Stevens Publishing, A Weekly Reader Company. Below are the titles:

Series: Space Launch
Let's Explore Earth
Let's Explore Jupiter
Let's Explore Mars
Let's Explore Mercury
Let's Explore the Moon
Let's Explore Neptune
Let's Explore Saturn
Let's Explore the Sun
Let's Explore Uranus
Let's Explore Venus
Let's Explore Pluto and Beyond

Handy-Dandy Websites

I will do my best to catagorize these according to grade. Again, it's a very loose guideline.


PreK-2

Letter recognition/tracing/sounds

• http://www.letteroftheweek.com/

Handwriting/penmanship/cursive. This site also has many homeschool helps like schedules and organizers.

• http://www.donnayoung.org/

Early reading/math skills/concepts

• http://www.worksheetuniverse.com/

Free to join. Great workshets on all subjects.

• http://www.learningpage.com/

A wide variety of fun worksheets. You can also generate your own math workshets here.

• www.abcteach.com
  

Shakespeare is Elementary

• http://www.cps.ednet.ns.ca/pageone.htm

Us Government for Kids

• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/

More coming soon....I suddenly got VERY tired.

KKS

No need to worry about "winging it."

Homeschooling doesn't mean just "winging it" with a bunch of half hearted hopes. Improving as you go along is part of the normal growth of your family's homeschool experience - children and adults. It takes some planning on your part, not trying to squeeze someone else's plan into your family. It takes planning even to transition much of the planning over to your children as they mature. Let them also try this exercise. Include your spouse and other concerned relatives and friends in your homeschool journey.

Here is the full article:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/010107.htm
KKS

First Meeting

Okay.. we're going to start... so, if you're in the local area and are interested in starting a group with us... and figuring it all out together (it's not in stone yet)... then please join us next week on Thursday, March 6th at 10:00am. If you're interested, call either Juanita or Tara for more information and the meeting location. Thanks.

Edible Math

During lunch, Beth and Jeremy started counting their crackers. Jeremy was just counting them as I put jelly on them. Beth went over and got some. Counted them out. Then went back for more. Counted those out. And then added them together. She then did subraction by way of eating a certain number at a time. Jeremy started trying to do the same.

I mention this because Beth (especially) is a very hands-on and visual learner. She's also one of those do-it-myselfers. Sometimes, with subjects like math and language, it's hard to figure out how to help such learners to "learn". This is a great way which is also a "real life" learning experience, and not just on paper. For learners like Beth, this is a must.

I had been working with little rocks doing a similiar thing with Beth weeks ago. I figured she was ready to see it on paper as well and to work between the hands on and the paper. But I was wrong. As soon as the numbers were on paper, she got frustrated and gave up. I've decided that we'll stick with the hands on and visual stuff for now. She knows what her numbers look like written, but the math sentences don't compute for her yet. And because getting frustrated means shutting down all together for her, we'll just work with what she's able to understand and add the "tough" stuff later on down the road. I'm sure I'll try several times before the timing is just right.

A Cute Poem....

My Aunt Kathy wrote this and I thought I would share it with all of you.......

Dr Seuss
Dr Seuss was really smart.
With rhyming words he did his part
to make us laugh and make us start
to understand that books are art.
I liked his books when I was seven.
Hop on Pop was phonics heaven.
He had his rhyming engines revvin',
inventing noothbrush, zamp, and grevin.
When I grew up it was divine
to read his books to children mine,
and they as well did like them fine.
Oh, for those days I sometimes pine.
But nowadays with deeper pleasure
than for which there is a measure
I read to those who are my treasure--
the perfect cure for stress and pressure.
It matters not if I must read
Go, Dog. Go! till my eyes bleed.
Two year olds with playful greed
constant repetition need!
Yes, Dr. Seuss was one smart guy.
Within each story's plot may lie
a deeper truth in which to try
to live and learn and grow.
Goodbye!

by Kathy Stanley

Winging it, are you?

Alright, so I had a quick question for whomever would like to answer.
It is Sunday night. For me that is planning night. I sit down and try to think of the various things Liliana and I can do during the upcoming week, both activities as well as mark pages in her various workbooks that we could complete together.
How do other people plan? Do you do it weekly or monthly? Do you have weekly goals that help you decide what to work on. I feel like I am just winging it and wondering if all the pieces will come together inside of my children someday.

Brite Music

Has anyone heard of Brite Music? I hadn't until a couple of weeks ago. I've still not heard any of their stuff, but a friend has a lot of their stuff and was telling me about it.

It's teaching values and manners and how to get along in life through music and story-like dialogs that kids listen to. The lady who writes the songs is LDS. I believe that they also allow you to hear a sample on-line before ordering. And, they even have other things, like work books to go along with the series. I did notice that they do series specials over the course of several months. Anyway, for anyone whose children are auditory learners (or who learn tons through music) this might be something worth checking out.

Spanish (And Other Languages)

I had mentioned earlier on that we would be teaching our children Spanish - even though Bob is fluent, I am not and I will be doing the majority of the teaching. I've been looking over lots (and I mean everything I can stumble across) of curriculum and resources. I'm thinking that we'll end up with Rosetta Stone - Spanish Latin American version. (They have numerous different languages...check them out to see if they have the language you are looking for)

They have homeschooling equivalents for each language which are only $10.00 more (for the extra manual and instruction stuff). They also have a 7 day free online trail of the program. And, a five month payment play for the homeschool version. It can also be purchased at Rainbow Resource (and probably a hundred other places), but without the payment plan. Also, if purchased directly through Rosetta Stone, then there is a 6 month, no questions asked, money back guarantee! They also have an online only subscription for 3, 6, or 12 months... something like that. If you think you can learn it fast (or your kids) that might be the way to go. With four kids and myself, I think I'm better off with the whole program.

The down side, a one level program is over $200... the combo of level one and level two is $349... also available in the personal section (not available in the homeschool format yet) is a level three.

Really, for a complete program it's not bad. But as with most homeschoolers, our budget is tight and I'm not sure if we'll be able to fit it in right away.

Bob uses Study Spanish online with his students to help with supplamenting and teaching. It's free, but it doesn't have the "fun interaction" that kids would want.