Camping

My sister-in-law came out from Georgia the beginning of May and stayed for three weeks with her little one, Braden. We went camping at Folsom Lake, which is only a half hour from home. S'mores were delicious. The most precious was that Milly was scared and wanted to sleep on me with her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I didn't get much sleep, but it is worth it just to hug that precious girl for hours on end.

Memorial Trip to the Beach

We have decided to start summer with a bang around here. My sister and her husband and their 5 little ones stayed with us for a week. We went to the beach on the most perfect day.




The water was cold, but the sand and air were warm. Jenna and Seth played and ran in the waves and then made sand angels, then would act surprised to see themselves covered with sand and they would then jump in the water only to repeat it all over again as a great game.

















Here I am being mother hen and calling my little ones, plus a half dozen and more cousins to stay together where I could watch them better.







Milly was very scared of both the sand and the water. She sat on my lap, Nanny's lap or Aunt Helen's lap or held in arms the entire seven hours. Helen got her to touch the sand with a big toe a few times, but she wanted nothing to do with standing on it.








Helen and I.





There was a lot of buried treasures in the sand.










Brennen and Andrew caught sand crabs.





All of the children played in the sand for hours. I didn't get many pictures of them in the waves, but the older ones were up to their chest for a couple hours also. This was the perfect beach day--so fun.

Encouraging Moms of Many

I got a question about how to homeschool with many children. While I wrote a post here http://melissacalapp.blogspot.com/2010/04/homeschooling-many-children.html about it I thought I'd add a few things.

Everything has a season. We all know this. We know that when we are pregnant and the oldest children are still just becoming helpful everything is not going to be as smooth as we like. But some times this does not help when we are in the midst of it all, because we really want it to be smooth! When we find ourselves here I think we need to do two things, smooth out what we can and redefine smooth.

To make things smoother we need to go back to the management side of things. Set a calm schedule with extra time in it-delete some things from the schedule. Add those things in which are really important. Switch over to learning modes which allow the kids to learn independently most of the time. Train the most important aspects of behavior. Set up realistic chores systems and basic meal plans. Purge belongings in each room. And set up realistic help when possible. All of these are topics in their own right and perhaps I will get to them soon.

The second area is one I keep having to remind my husband and myself of-when we have a houseful of little ones the expectations can't be as high as they would otherwise be. It is okay if the house is not spotless and our son does not finish his logic program. It is okay to eat hot dogs for dinner. It is okay if all the little girls don't have bows in their hair and the boys are wearing mismatched socks. Of course these things aren't preferred but there are seasons and sometimes whole lives lived in less than ideal conditions and joy is still present, the gospel lived and service and love is still given. We have to realize that what makes life smooth and that what creates peace and joy and passes the greatest things possible on to our children is not always having every detail perfect, it is instead in our attitudes and the general atmospheres that we give off.

I'm not perfect at any of this, my kids aren't perfect, but we are growing and we do find delight in the process. Creating home centered families is worth the work and the less than ideal situations we find ourselves in.

Online Classes

For work I have been comparing online classes and I thought I'd share for anyone interested in this type of schooling for their kids. These prices are not all accurate for those not in our charter school, but for they give a good starting place.


http://www.k12.com/
k-8 grade (working on 9-12 grade license) $175 per course per semester
Each course includes
a. Online access for 10 months
b. Standard materials and printed Student Pages and Teacher Pages when
applicable
c. OLS—Online Learning System

http://www.learningsprings.com/
4-12 grade $130 for all courses, minus foreign language per year
$85 for one course
Parent grades against answer document. Parent grades essay answers with less guidance.
Tutorials, text reading, quizzes, assessments. Can get teacher grading for $200 more per course and the teacher will do all of the grading for that course.

http://www.time4learning.com/
k-5 grade $25 per month for full access
Offer complete online curriculum in Language Arts, Math K-8, Art, Science & Social Studies. Automated portfolio, teachers guides & answer keys. Parent does grading. Email and phone support with system. (in Fort Lauderdale, FL)


http://www.apexlearning.com
$360 per year for full year license.
Has a-g tracks (University bound students)
Parent uses rubrics and answer guides to grade
Must purchase required course materials separately-much lower price than on website-description here http://www.sscs.cc/Newsletters/SSnews1210.pdf


http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/
6-12 grades About $126 per one semester course
Some a-g courses. Graded by teacher, online real time discussions in some parts. Some finals given by ES.

http://www.advancedacademics.com
6-12 grades. $150 or more per semester course.
Online teacher, graded by teacher.


http://www.wacademy.org/
9-12 grades $100 to $150 per recorded class or $200 to $250 per live class.
Williamsburg Academy, Scholar Phase classes, classical book discussion method. School gives assignments and kids study independently then get together for virtual video based classes and to turn in assignments. Graded by teacher.


https://www.ndcde.org/Home.aspx
6-12 grades. Between $220 and $290 per semester class.
Teacher evaluates and grade student work.

http://www.globalstudentnetwork.com/
2-12 grades. $625 per full year of unlimited courses for first student $525 for additional students.
Can use audio component for courses to be read to students. Videos to enhance lessons. Pulls from other websites when they are appropriate to the content being studied. Parents given answer keys to grade student work.


http://www.sascurriculumpathways.com/portal/
Free. Trying to get more info on this. Looks promising.

Subject specific


http://www.time4writing.com
2-12 grade. $99 per course.
Subject specific writing classes. Graded and coached by teacher.

http://www.writehomestudio.com
3-12 grades. $75 for first month. $95 for 3 months after.
This is one on one coaching by published writers in various aspects of writing, including SAT prep and other writing tests.


http://www.studyisland.com/
2-12 grades. $25 per year.
State specific test prep, CASHEE prep material. Quizzes, reviews. Automatic grading by computer. This vendor also has reading comprehension material using graphic novels etc. for an additional fee.

http://readingeggs.com/
3 years to 7 years. $50 for 6 months, $65 for a year.
This is a guided interactive phonics program with plenty of review built in. The kids work through learning paths to build their skills. My son loves this. Evaluated by program.


http://www.writeathome.com
6-12th grade. $427 per year for complete language arts class.
Students are given instruction and assignments with a due date a week later. The assignments are graded by the teacher and new assignments are given.


http://sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/home/index
k-12th grade science classes.
You get a membership for $6 then buy science kits according to subject then watch videos of a teacher walking through the kit and explaining it.


www.aleks.com
3-12 grades. $40 for 1 full year.
This is an online math program that assesses students and only teaches them what they don’t already know. It reteaches until areas are mastered. It has a drill component where students can unlock games. Students can move up or down a grade level very easily. Computer does all the grading.

www.ascendmath.com
3-10 grades. $60 for 1 full year
Online video based lessons. Students use a study guide, watch a video, practice, review and take an assessment that is graded by the computer. Focus on comprehension. Not full years course in the younger graders.


Supplementary

www.brainpop.com
3-10 grade $99 per year. K-3 grade Brainpopjr $125 per year.
Fun animated videos on almost many areas, including science and history. Students can then take quizzes on the videos.

www.discoveryeducation.com
k-12 grade videos on all subject areas. $265 per year.
Thousands and thousands of videos. Has some series that can make up full instruction for a class. Some lesson plans to go with them. Also library of articles and pictures. Multiple ways of searching to find videos.


http://www.learn360.com/index.aspx
k-12 grade videos in all subject areas.$100 per year.
8000 videos including A&E, history channel etc. Also audio clips of speeches. Multiple ways of searching.

Being Busy

Melissa means honey bee, did you know that? Honey bees are busy workers in a state of constant activity. I have been well named. I have been in a state of constant activity since I went back to school five years ago, telling myself when I was done it would slow down. Then I got a job. After I learned the ropes I'm sure it will be less busy. Then I got a house. When the house is finally organized I will be less busy, I said. So I took the spring break week off and didn't do work-work, mostly. I organized my house. It is almost there, really it is. So when school is out for the year and I have the final report cards in I will be less busy...no, no, no!
I want to live the life I've always wanted right now, starting today, not in three weeks. So today I was not too busy to make and have milk and cookies with my kids. I was not too busy to have family home evening and sing all four verses to the hymn my four-year-old chose. I was not too busy to begin a 1000 piece puzzle with my son. And I was not too busy to read "Anne of Green Gables," to six children and listen to their delighted cries as they met Anne and listened to her talk most of the eight miles to her new home. I was not too busy and it felt great-and I still have an hour and a half until midnight to get my work reports done=).

The Lady of Shalot

I love a good discussion don't you? I also am beginning to value a sad tale. My children and I are studying paintings by John William Waterhouse. Our Second one was "The Lady of Shalott." After the children memorized it and told it back to me they wanted to know the story. As I didn't know it I couldn't tell them. Kamron said it reminded him in a scene in Anne of Green Gables. It is the same story they were acting out in that movie I said, but they didn't really explain it there either. We looked at the painting a few more nights. I tried to pull out a new painting but the protests at leaving this painting were so large I had to find the poem by Tennyson so they could know what it was all about. We read it and the Sparks notes verse by verse. They were fascinated, but saddened at the death of the lady simply because she looked up at Sir Lancelot and then when he sees her all he can say is well she was a pretty lady. We then talked about some of the analogies that others have found in this poem (leaving ones art to join the world even a little will ruin you etc.). We talked about the effect of the poem and painting if it had been a young man or a knight and not a lady, and my daughter protested at the sadness of it all. Yet, I found that I think there is value in not always reading stories to my children with happy endings.

Kid Funnies

At dinner someone said “Don’t scream you head off.” Seth, 3, replied, “Yeah, cause then you couldn’t see.”

Kamron, 12, wrote a formal essay for his Key of Liberty class and ended it “in Jesus’ name amen.”

Seth screams chasing other kids, “I’m going to get you. I’m the paparazzi!”

“How old are you?”
Seth replied, “I’m three and five. I’m mixed.”

Our black nameless cat brought in his 12th mouse since moving here, and laid it in front of our bedroom door. Our little Siamese cat, Surrey, then came up carrying a moth and laid it next to the mouse and then looked up proudly. Aaah… let each contribute what he can.

We quizzed the younger kids on body parts. Seth said, “You didn’t ask where is my brain.” So I asked, “Where is your brain?” “It’s in my head.” Then he ran around jumping and shouting, “Don’t shake my brain! Don’t shake my brain!” This is the real reason human babies aren’t born mobile; if they were they’d all give themselves shaken baby syndrome.

I bought Eggnog this week. Sethie opened the fridge and his eyes grew big and he says, “Look Mom, there is Christmas in here.”

Our home teacher lives not too far from us and asked us if we could hear him yelling at his kids. Kamron replied very politely, “Oh no, we can’t hear you. We are too busy yelling at each other.”

Aubrey, 10 yrs. says to Millie 8 months, “Say dada.” Millie says, “dadada.” “Say mama,” “Mamamama.” “Say la, la, la.” Millie, replies in her harshest squawk, “unch, unch, unch.” Aubrey pauses and then says, “Well, I don’t think Millie is going to be a singer.”

Brennen, 7, calls me, “Mom, look we can win America’s Funniest Home Video. There is a headless fly doing ballet on the table!” Sure enough, there was. Umm, gross.

We were trying to find a radio station where the DJ was not swearing or talking about something inappropriate. I finally gave up in frustration and said, “In Utah not all the DJ’s cuss.” Aubrey says, “Yeah, we should move to Utah for the radio stations.”

Beeswax

I got beeswax awhile ago and tried to use it but found it tricky so I set it aside. Then recently I needed a duck for a story and did not have one so I thought of the wax. My hands bother me sometimes so I was reluctant to try to mold the hard wax, but to my delight as I got going with it it became warm and pliable. Then as children do, my daughter wanted to make something. I think her projects turned out very well.














For a good video on creating with beeswax see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0MYGZlr48 .

Montessori Work

Seth has been asking for "activities" lately. My Montessori materials are not all set up yet, but I have a few that he is able to use. Of course when he does them the other children want to also. It is interesting for me to start over again with these activites. Logan worked through them and Seth is only my second to start at the beginning. He has a hard time following them through to completion, but I get to see that focused attention peek out every once in awhile. When he spills beans for his pouring activiy he immediately stops to pick them up. I find the order within the Montessori activities is very enjoyable and calming even for me as I teach them. Now I just need to get everything organized for the rest of them.

End of Summer Adventures

We went to Fairy Tale town with my sister and mother-in-law. Then for Brennen's birthday he wanted to go to the zoo. He said it was the greatest birthday ever. It was a lot less work than having the 13 boys over to have a nerf gun war for Kamron's birthday, but they also had a blast. Kamron was so excited to have so many of his friends together at one time.

Mother's Are the Heart of the Home

I know that my position in the home is powerful-I know I am the heart of the home, and sometimes I feel like since this is so my home must be on its deathbed. We are having an unorganizational heart attack currently and I am grumpy, which makes for unhappy children and husband. I wish I could say it was a mild unhappiness, but it is not-I have seen my kids look a little insecure, which is the absolute opposite of what a home should be. But I am going to repent and get organized and learn to pick up my own stuff so that my kids can at least visualize what it is and my section, which is an awfully large part of it, will be clean.

Today I am caught up with all of my work, work and have no appointments until Wednesday. Tonight I am going to fold the mountain of laundry and clean, and tomorrow I am going to create a memory with my children with a nature walk and outside game, making yarn dolls and a mathematical puppet show, because that is the subject that needs the most spark right now. Did I mention that I just had my kids tested? The three older are all above grade level in reading and language arts, two are not doing so hot in math, so we are going to declare Tuesdays math days and pull in puppet and chalk stories, Montessori manipulatives and good old fashioned drill to see if we can get them to understand numbers more intuitively, so that when asked what 2.3 and a half are they would never choose 24, because it simply doesn't make sense.

After all that study, I am going to organize something-not sure what yet. It all needs done, except the kitchen, which was done last week. And while I am doing all of it, I am going to pray and repent and pull those rhythms in to create that structure and security that is non-negotiable for our family to function.

Philosophy of Education

I travel and work with families who homeschool. One mother asked me what philosophy I follow. Umm, well I pull a lot of my book choices-what I read to the kids, and what I offer them for their own reading-and ideas from Charlotte Mason inspired programs. At one point I was pretty close to a purist with this method. My younger children do a lot of Montessori type things, and some Waldorf. Our handwork is often very Waldorf inspired. Aubrey,10, and Brennen, 7, are going to a Waldorf school one day a week for handwork, wet-on-wet watercolor, spanish and eurythmy and Kamron, 12, is going to a TJed Lemi trained co-op one day a week for Key of Liberty and Shakespeare, very excitedly and all of his own accord I might add-just how the TJed philosophy says he should. So what philosophy do we use? We use what fulfills my goals and my children's goals. I find that many of the philosophies overlap and so I use parts of several of them. For instance, you will find that handwork is a key part of Charlotte Mason, Waldorf and even Montessori. CM and Montessori ask that this work be practical and teach real skills. Waldorf asks that this work fill the need of mastering something difficult and be beautiful and natural. All ask that the hand be trained. The ideas dovetail and work well together. All three teach the skill of attention-just in different ways. They each respect the child as an individual, in what they take from what is offered, so does TJed. Perhaps, this is the philosophy I follow-one of respecting individuality, but with very high expectations. I like to know about all philosophies and help my little ones take whichever parts will best meet their needs.

Wool Birds

Kamron went to an LDS homeschool youth conference last week. I didn't want to do any lessons in our regular schedule, so he wouldn't miss anything. I thought a poem and fairy tale might be fun for the younger ones as our group lesson. With this we made birds out of wool and then flew them outside. Then the children created a puppet show and told me the story.

Calvert Art Class

We are really enjoying Calvert's video based art class this year. I like that everything needed is included in the kit. We try to watch and then do a lesson about once a week. We have studied about contour lines and inner lines. We have drown blind self-portraits, line drawings and etchings with ink. This is a really good program for a mixed age group.

Wool Painting

I am trying a wool painting. Here is where I am so far-

Starting Over With History

We finished modern history last year and so we are beginning the history cycle over again this year. We are using "Story of the World" and "Children's History of the World" and will pull in "Our Island Story" later for the younger set. The older children and I are reading "The First Two Thousand Years," by Cleon Skousen. These are our spines and then the studies will be fleshed out with atlases, topic specific books, Veritas Press cards, www.discoveryeducation.com videoes, timeline and activities. One of our first activities this year was an archeology dig to answer the question what is one way we learn about ancient civilizations and what can we learn. All the kids had fun with this, even Seth who had no idea why we were scraping a clay block on our table=).

Computer Studies

Let the dismantling begin.

When not riding horses, little Millie finds her big brothers' many cars to suck on.










Sometimes this makes her quite sad, after all she is a girl and she is sure that there must be something a little softer to play with.














So her mom uses this pattern http://s93855831.onlinehome.us/knotteddollinstructions.html to sew a little doll.














The next project is a little larger.