Prime's take on homeschooling

I was talking with my little boy yesterday and I said, half jokingly and half just wanting to see if he really wants to be homeschooled, ( ok, and a little seriousness sprinkled in there since it would be so much easier just to send them to school.)

Me: Can I send you (back) to school?

Prime: No! (emphatically)

(said something else after that, but my cold is having an effect on my brain and I just can't think of it)

Me: You know not everyone homeschools?

Prime: Just because not everyone homeschools, doesn't mean I can't be homeschooled. (wow, that sure is a mouthful.)

Thanks for the reminder, my little boy!

fun with putty

The kids made their own puddy at CC today with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup elmer glue and 1/4 cup borax solution (I believe they are in the laundry aisle) and few drops of food color and mix until the consistency of putty.

Oh, how the kids loved their putty. Rolling, Smashing, squishing, squeezing, ripping and start all over again... it is a delightful experience. After some experimentation, J figured out how to pick up newspaper ink with lots of pressing, and karate chops. Now lifting it off the newspaper without stretching it too much was another story. But its so fun it can be done time and time again. Of course, making letters out of putty is also pretty fun. The possibilities are many.

making corn bracelet

I got this idea from the book "Earthway" by Carol Petrash. Great for fine motor skills, patience, and concentration. Suggested for 4 years and up.

1. remove the kernels off Indian corn. (this has seem to become our tradition for fall)

2. soak the kernels over night (even a few days was fine; I hoped soaking them longer would soften them more but I don't think it made a difference after the overnight soak)

3. give the child a needle threaded with doubled thread. Choose the length(necklace, bracelet) appropriate for what you are making . Be careful of little fingers. I found it helpful when you feel the needle went through the kernels, turn them over and push them down the needle.



4b. and slide the kernels down to the knot. (I found depending on the hardness of the kernels, kids may need help in this step)

5. When they are done, center the corn kernels if they are not full string and tie the open ends together.

Viola! This is Prime's. J has been making them for her friends.

fun at gymnastic open house

The kids had a great time at the gymnastic open house. They were there for 2 whole hours and still wanted to play more.

Gecko's

At our last fun friday with our homeschooler group,

I learned or shall I say remember the following:

Their skin is surprisingly soft: reminds me of suede, esp. the crested gecko.

They cost: $50- $300 and up depending on the varieity.

They live a long time, and are easy to take care of. Even easier than a hamster.

We saw 3 kinds of gecko's- crested, gargolyle and Leachy (or giant) geckos.


This is gargoyle gecko and this one is the crested gecko.

J did not like it when the gecko clung to her shirt. But they are really gentle animals; I was a little startled when they jumped (not frequent, but still). ;)

We also saw salamanders. They feel like how one imagines.

few online resources we have been enjoying

We just discovered this today while learning our East China Geography for CC:

Geography puzzle (http://www.yourchildlearns.com/map-puzzles.htm)
(this is a geography puzzle. I like how if you don't know it, you can click on it and you can skip it. The time it takes you for you to finish a puzzle is timed so you can see your improvements. Of course, they also have interactive maps which are helpful.) J really like this.

Book adventure (http://www.bookadventure.com/)
This site has over 7,000 books from which to choose from to test reading comprehension (normally 10 questions). They also encourage kids to read books so they can get prizes but I just use it as an occasional comprehension quiz. You do need an account with them. Or you can just use if you are looking for some book titles. This reminds me of the accelerated reader program J used while in school. Now the reading level on these books seems off to me but that might just be me.

Anyway, hope it is useful to some of you.

Classical conversation

We have been involved in Classical Conversation for about 7 weeks and its been really a blessing! The kids are learning a whole lot every week and the best part is they really enjoying it. I'm so glad to have someone else make the necessary preparation and guide the children once a week in subjects like history, geography, science, and fine arts. I am learning a whole lot of stuff I never learned in school.

In science, they do an experiment each week as well as learn some memory pegs. In the pictures below, they are dissecting owl pellets. They have also dissected bean, crayfish, made quick sand and many other cool experiments. Of course, getting together and learning with friends makes it all the more fun. A big group hug with a few friends.


In fine arts, they have just started on learning the tin whistle and the kids have really been soaking it in.