Amber Alert Ticker... I have added the Amber Alert ticker to the site. If there is ever an Amber Alert it will run across the ticker with a link for more information. Please consider adding it to your site as well. More information can be found here.

Peace,
Tenn

Home school science fair... Here is an article on a recent science fair with participants as young as 3 years old! I enjoyed reading about the fair and the opportunity it offers homeschoolers. Read it here.

Peace,
Tenn

Too Many Books... I never believed there could be such a thing. However today I proved that you should not let a homeschooling mother go to a used booksale where you can fill a box for 5.00. Serona was aghast when he saw the librarian wheeling out a cart filled with four boxes of books! We brought them home to the library and weeded through some of our old books and placed our new treasures on the shelves. I was like a little kid - Serona was frightened. In the end I think we came to a better understanding of how to approach used book sales.

I found several real treasures though - including a real nice copy of Dosteokevsky and Hemmingway and many presidential biographies and memoirs for our date night class. I found some Usborne books and several nice poetry and play collections. Serona was less than enthused by the Time Life Ages collection I got. While the material is dated - it is a whole book on each time period such as Renaissance, Greek, Roman, etc. I think they will be an excellent resource (if for nothing else the pictures are great).

It was a nice feeling to go and know that I had a place to store all the books we bought. For those of you who have not yet seen it, here is a picture of our Home library.

Peace,
Tenn

Child Safety... In the wake of recent events - all parents should take time to talk to and practice with their kids some safety guidelines. An excellent article can be found on CNN.

I learned several tips I had never thought of and realized how much more needs to be done then talking about "stranger danger". It is a hard subject to know when and how to approach it, but it needs to be done. One possible way might be for several homeschool families to get together for a safety talk from a local police officer or other expert. Even just helping our own kids learn is essential.

Please take time to read the article and plan out your response for your kids. Some of the tips include

Scream loudly for help, run to another adult, gripping and holding onto that other person. Stuber said this "Velcro technique" forces the other adult to listen and pay attention.

Rotate arms forward quickly and repeatedly making big circles in the air. This windmill technique prevents a larger and stronger assailant from getting a grip on the moving child. Don't just try to pull away because the adult is stronger. Always rotate the arm to break free of the grip if restrained.

If on a bicycle, hug the bicycle tightly, refusing to let go. "If you hold that bike, and do not let go, it's impossible to put you in a car," Stuber said. If a bike is not available, grab a garbage can or a long stick, any large object that prevents entry into a car.

Always scream

The following are some of the suggestions if a child finds themself in a car (though we want to teach them to NOT get near a car) and needs to get out:

Place something inside of the ignition cylinder -- gum, a small button from clothing -- to keep the abductor from driving them to another location. Stuber said that if the car can be stopped or the potential crime can be stopped in the neighborhood, then the crime is going to come to an end.

If locked in a trunk, remove the taillight panel which comes off easily, and disconnect the taillight wires. "Now you increased the odds 50 percent that the police will pull the car over because it has not brake or tail lights," Stuber said, "then they will hear you inside."

The whole article is well written and definately worth the time to read. Click here.

I wish we did not live in a society where this was an issue - but the reality is that we do. Love, teach and protect your children, and pray for them.

Peace,
Tenn

Afternoon Recap... Taking a minute from making dinner and oatmeal cookies to recap our afternoon. Ciaran went down for a nap and is still napping - Rhiannon and I worked on her more formal learning time. She practiced writing her letters K and Z (her choice) and then her name. Then we reviewed our bible verses for A-E and talked about them. Then we read a chapter from "Ramona the Pest" by Beverely Cleary. Those are long chapters!

Next was science time. Today we did an overview on plants and reviewed the parts of a plant and the parts of a tree. She traced her letters 0-10. We reviewed some Mother Goose rhymes. We finished up with some geography. We talked about directions (North, South, East and West). She had to use her finger on a flat map to move the direction as I said it. Then she said which direction my finger was going as I moved it. We finished the lesson by using a globe and moving North and South of the Equator and East and West from the USA. We reviewed the continents again.

Now we are making dinner and oatmeal cookies while listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. We are learning fractions and reviewing simple math while we bake. Sirah is playing in her boppy on the floor. Rhiannon has used rainbow silk streamers to dance to Vivaldi to entertain Sirah as well. All that is on the agenda for this evening is practicing Irish step dance and reading more books.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tenn

American Literacy... I really enjoyed this article on literacy. Serona and I often discuss how sad it is that the level of reading has decreased so much over the years. I look back on readers from 100 years ago and realize that they were able to read so much more than us and it was just expected. I look at the readers our kids have now and I am amazed. One of my email groups recently had a discussion about "twaddle" and I really share the sentiment. It is often hard to find good children's books.

This article does a nice job outlining some statistics about literacy now and in past history. It is worth the read. Here is a good point:

"One might also consider other contemporary evidence - Tom Paine's Common Sense for example. At the time of The Declaration of Independence the population of the thirteen colonies was about three million, counting slaves and indentured servants. Paine's pamphlet is estimated to have been read by 1,000,000 people, half of the adult free population at the time. Today it's considered difficult for high school students."

We can't even get people to watch presidential debates and the State of the Union on television! Much less ask them to read something like "Common Sense". The article closes with this quote:


"To learn to read fluently takes about 30 contact hours ... the only way to stop a child from reading and liking it in a literate environment is to teach it the way we teach it." John Taylor Gatto, multiple recipient of Teacher of the Year Awards for New York City and New York State.

Morning at Play... Today has been a morning at play and it has been fun. We went on a safari by reading a book and collecting the animals from around the house that were on the safari. Then we built a train track and a village to go around it and played for awhile. We also took the trains on boats across the floor. Rhiannon and I read a Bob book and a few pages in her current Primary Phonics reader. Ciaran played with his coconut tree leading letters up it.

We went camping and that was a lot of fun. We built a fire with blocks as firewood - made camp food with our wooden food and plastic utensils. We laid all the sleeping bags under Ciaran's cave (which is the space between his bed and the floor - he has the top bunk on the floor and a big play space under it. We slept in the tent and then came out and sat around the campfire singing songs.

We had lunch and the kids played Star Wars while I finished mine. They have quite good imaginations. We went outside and I shoveled off the deck (it amazes me how heavy snow is) while they played in the snow - which is quite high for them - probably a foot and a half, and Sirah took a nap.

Rhiannon is reading to Sirah now and we will be getting ready for quiet time and naptime here. I am fighting off the urge to go back to the used book sale. We should try to get some more formal schooling done this evening. Though we have had many teachable moments so far today.

Peace,
Tenn

A Day of books... Today was a good day - though I am truly drained as I type this so it will be quick. We began the day with our homeschool group and the kids just got together to play games and have fun. They played with puppets, music instruments, my little pony, read books and mostly played board games together. I could barely tear my kids away from Cranium Cariboo - I think I will be keeping an eye out for that game.

Then we headed to the library for about 2 hours. Rhiannon played computer games most of the time we were there and Ciaran watched her briefly, then read books, played puzzles and made friends with an older boy who he convinced to read him books. Meanwhile I was browsing the new children's section to get a feel for it and get books for next week's lesson. I have decided to get back into the Letter weeks - as we have a lot of fun with them. Rhia's interest in volcanoes and Valentines Day coming up has led me to chose V for next week. So I scoured the shelves for V books in both fiction and non-fiction and left with a pretty good selection and start to our reading for next week.

We headed home for lunch and naps. Then we headed to a used book sale (dangerous place for our family). The kids did really well - Sirah slept and the older two just browsed and were free to put books in my bag (they were 25 cents a book) it was interesting to see what we came home with. We found some gems and the kids picked up a few books I would never have picked up for them and will probably eventually make it to our donation pile - but they got to pick and I was able to browse for the "good" books I wanted. Serona hit the store on the way home from work and all in all we did pretty well.

The kids and I came home and read a few books in the library, then made dinner (pancakes) and got in our PJ's (yes all of at 6 pm) and just piled on the couch and read until 7:30. We simply read and read and then read some more. I think Sirah was finally fed up by the end so we stopped and I put Ciaran and Rhiannon into their beds - each taking two more books into bed with them. It was a good day.

School? Well we learned quite a bit about volcanoes, laughed at Amelia Bedilia, learned we are all special no matter what kind of "wemmick" we are, counted, practiced colors, learned how many books 8 quarters can buy (8), and got good quality family snuggle time on the couch while listening to good stories (ok they were not all great children's literature).

Now I need to go file all our books in our library (which is organized by dewey decimal system - I'm not joking) and probably pick up my current no brainer book "Irish Born" by Nora Roberts. Have a great night.

Peace,
Tenn

Charlotte Mason site... I can not say enough good about this site, even if you are not a Charlotte Mason fan. Ambleside Online offers a free curriculum for CM style and it also has links to MANY free ebooks and great reading lists even if you don't follow their curriculum. I am resisting the urge to run out and start it right now - but the site made clear it is much better to wait a year or two for my kids to begin the program.

For now I will use the site for its reading lists and links to free ebooks. There is a wealth of information here, definitely worth the click.

Peace,
Tenn

vaccines again... New research was published today about a possible link between autism and vaccines. I first found the story on Vancouver Sun. I will reserve judgment until I can read the whole study and find out more details about the research. According to the article:

"In tests on human brain cells, researchers found two natural chemicals -- one compound that stimulates cell growth and also dopamine, which transmits nerve signals -- are both key to a process in the brain called methylation. Methylation helps DNA work properly and is crucial to the normal development of the brain.

The team found thimerosal, ethanol and the metals lead and mercury all interfere with methylation. What's more, thimerosal did so at doses 100 times lower than a child would receive after a single shot with a thimerosal-containing vaccine."

In my mind this should be enough for people to utilize a "precautionary principle" for their children's health.

Serona located the link to the study - it can be found here. Though it is not free - if I find a free copy I will be sure to post it.

Peace,
Tenn

Updated Links... It has been awhile but I finally found some time to clean up my links and to add some sites I have been meaning to add for awhile. There are simply too many new and good ones to highlight here - so grab a cup of tea or coffee and sit back and click through them for awhile.

Peace,
Tenn

Rushing Readiness... This post came at a good time as I have been finding myself having to slow down and let nature take it's course in areas such as potty training. Definately worth a click to remind us that we can only do so much and there is no use fighting kids until they are ready. Check out Poppins Classical Academy .

Peace,
Tenn

My life in a novel:



I believe you belong in Pride and Prejudice; a
world of satire and true love. A world where
everything is crystal clear to the reader, and
yet where new things seem to be happening all
the time. You belong in a world where your
free-thought puts you above the silly masses,
and where bright eyes and intelligence are
enough to attract the arrogant
millionaire/prejudiced young woman of your
choice.


Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Rhainnon's day... Well we just finished our schooltime today and we had a real productive and fun time. Ciaran was laying down for his nap and Sirah was jumping her johnny jumper nearby and then nursed herself to sleep towards the end. Rhia got to pick the order in which we did things - I gave her options and she could choose within them. We began with her reading a few pages from "Put Me In the Zoo" by Dr Suess. This is definitely a challenging book for her as it frustrates her that there are both short and long vowel sounds so she can't easily sound out every word. Then she read 10 cut-ups which is the 9th book in the Bob Books First.

Then we played with our dolsch sight word flashcards. She is working on the first set of 10 and today was the first day she did them all right. I showed her each word and she said which they were then I laid them all out and made her find the word I said - then we took turns saying words as they came up in the deck. It was fun and she did very well - she actually only missed "that" once and got all the others right on the first try. I was excited for her.

Then she asked to make pictures out of her colored pencils. This is when we make designs by laying the pencils in all sorts of ways. She asked me to build a house with them and I did. Then she asked to do the story of creation with them and she told me what God made on each day (a review from last month) and I had to figure out how to create that with the 9 colored pencils I had. It was interesting and fun. She however did not like my bird and did it herself. I must admit hers was actually better than mine.

Then we had art time. She drew in her "Nature Study" notebook. This time we decided to draw animals as it has been too cold to be outside collecting things to draw. We used Usborne's Drawing Animals guidebook and she was able to draw something that looks like a bird, an elephant and a baby mouse. She did pretty good work and it was fun to foster this side of her personality as art is not her strength and she does not show much interest in it.

Then we worked in our Usborne World Atlas and spent some time looking at maps. We reviewed the continents and then spent time on the US map talking about where all our relatives and friends live and where we have traveled. Then we looked at a topography map and talked about the different regions (mountains, desert, urban, temperate) and she had to find those regions on the map (they are color-coded). Then we flipped through the book looking for volcanoes and hot lava. She has a new interest in hot lava and asked me to get some books out of the library on the subject. Lastly we looked at the flags and she had to flip through them until she found the USA flag - she found it right away (they were listed alphabetically) and it was on a later page.

Next we reviewed our poetry and nursery rhymes. Today she recited:

SeeSaw Margery Daw
Jack Sprat
Three Blind Mice
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Old King Cole
Old Mother Hubbard
Simple Simon
Hot Cross Buns
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Little Jack Horner
Humpty Dumpty
Little Miss Muffet
There was a Girl
Jack be nimble
Jack and Jill
Tommy

Of these I only had to correct three of them - and it was for a different word use not for not remembering. That amazed me - I don't think I can do all of them from memory myself!

Then we read an adapted version of the Brother's Grimm Snow White. She kept asking why it was different from the one she is familiar with (disney story) and I explained that this was the original fairy tale (though I was reading an adapted version as she is still young and often Brother's Grimm is too dark) and the other story was based on a movie which was based on this story. I don't think she really understood - but she smiled and nodded and asked me to keep reading. I even edited some of this story as I read aloud - as the word choice and harshness of subject may not be appropriate by my standards.

Then it was math sheets - she got to choose two pages in her Spectrum workbook. She chose one on night and day and the other was a simple addition page. She reviewed them while I got Sirah to sleep. Then we read a short story on a Mud Wasp from the Christian Liberty Nature Reader. We talked for awhile after this story because she was saddened that the mud wasp mother flies away before her baby is born and never comes back. I could sense she was very troubled by that so we talked about it and how that is not going to happen with me. She wanted to know why God makes mud wasps that way and aren't they lonely? She decided she did not like that very much.

We concluded our study time with a review of last weeks bible verse John 3:16. As this is a very important and long verse and the wording is challenging for her - we are doing it again this week. I don't feel she is ready to move on yet. She definitely knows the gist of it and can say the end word for word - but this is one that I want to be sure is hidden away in her little heart.

As I type this she is in the library acting out scenes from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by herself. She has a vivid imagination and loves imaginary play. She spent half the morning in her room jsut listening to the reading of the story on her tape recorder so it is pretty recent in her memory. Well I should get going as it is now time to clean up the house and get ready for the evening.

Peace,
Tenn

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lesson Plan... Today was Ciaran's coop day and it was a small group - just him and one other little girl. But the class went really well - the kids did great and I really enjoyed the lesson. I had originally planned a completely different lesson for four kids and had to adapt to just two kids - so I threw one together at the last minute based on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

I headed over to DLTK's Printable Crafts and printed out a a coconut tree and some alphabet letters and cut them out. I also got together some of my alphabet materials including two file folder games, a puzzle and the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book.

When the little girl arrived they played puzzles downstairs for awhile and then we went up and had snack. During snack time I read the book and we sang our ABC song. Then while I cut the printed materials out (I would recommend doing this ahead of time) one girl did this ABC match file folder game with uppercase letters (we have both upper and lower case) and then they glued their coconut trees together and then we reread the book and they each helped a letter up the tree as it appeared in the book and I emphasized the sound (we used lower case letters) until the whole alphabet was up the tree. Then we said "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and they let all the letters fall out of the tree. It was fun and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Then we played one more file folder game that I made from old flashcards. I cut pictures and letters to match phonetically. At first I started by asking them to find the picture that corresponded to each letter but I quickly realized at this age it would be far better if they picked up a picture and then we talked about what sound it made and helped them find the letter. They did a great job and then it was time to clean up and head home.

All in all I think this morning was a success. I really enjoy developing relationships for Ciaran in his age group and just letting them have fun while we learn. I also really enjoy spending time with the mothers involved. They are very often an encouragement and an inspiration to me.

Well off to school Rhiannon and play with Sirah.

Peace,
Tenn

Homeschooling Isn't Easy... This editorial written by a 10 year old gives some nice perspective from a student's point of view.

Peace,
Tenn

Diversity of homeschoolers... This is a nice article about homeschoolers. I must admit the first sentence caught my attention:

"Meet the new faces of home schooling. Venus Taylor put aside plans to use her master's degree in risk and prevention from Harvard University's School of Education to teach her two children at home."

Many of you may know that I too have decided to put my Masters degree in Communications and Argumentation to use by teaching my three kids at home. It is a decision I know I will never regret and the best use of my education I can think of. Though I have received criticism for my decision to stay home and often get treated in a condescending way by people when they realize "I just stay home" - I am proud of the work I do. I am thankful for the opportunity and the blessing to stay with and educate my children all day long. There is no greater gift or greater job for me.

The rest of the article is worth the click.

Peace,
Tenn

Tip of the hat to HomeschoolBuzz for the link.

Places I've Been... This is fun. I have visited or spent time in all the Red states. I did NOT include states I have just driven through (there would be 5 more red if I had). I have spent more time in some than others, including living in 6 of them. Only 11 more to go!



create your own visited states map

Turning the "Socialization" Issue on It's Ugly Head... I think I am going to print out this wonderful article that darby found and hand it out every time I get asked the "socialization" question.

I also have added Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Matter by Gordon Neufeld Ph.D., and Gabor Maté M.D. to my reading list. Finally someone is doing a great job articulating why kids should NOT be socialized in the way everyone is afraid they miss out on when homeschooled.

From the article:

"For the first time in history," declares Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Matter, "young human beings are turning for direction and instruction not to mothers, fathers, teachers and other responsible adults but to people whom nature never intended to place in a parenting role - their own peers."

The book by two Vancouver specialists - clinical psychologist Gordon Neufeld and physician Gabor Maté - says this Lord of the Flies sort of upbringing has lead to a breakdown of the traditional family, seeded society with unruly schools and propelled eruptions in violence among teens.

"Our children are not manageable, teachable or maturing because they no longer take their cues from us. The result is that children are being brought up by immature persons who cannot possibly guide them to maturity. They are being brought up by each other."

I'm sure many of you have seen it - I am even starting to see it in Rhiannon. There is a major difference in the way children interact and play with one another when there is a parent present versus when there is not. After she has been around kids in a big group setting I always find myself having to reclaim and reestablish my authority in her life. Kids want so much to please the people around them, kids and adults alike. But kids don't foster that in each other, very often the opposite can occur.

Also from the article:

And, they argue, children raising children can have devastating consequences.

"Absolutely missing in peer relationship is unconditional love and acceptance, the desire to nurture, the ability to extend oneself for the sake of the other, the willingness to sacrifice for the growth and development of the other," they write in the book.

We need to give our kids that security net and help them develop healthy relationships and friendships while still maintaining the authority roles that are rightfully ours. Parents need to take responsibility for raising their kids or kids will look elsewhere. We can influence the role models our kids follow. Do I want Rhiannon to look to me or to her 5 year old friends to teach her about what is good and bad and what is important and acceptable behavior in life? May seem obvious - but somewhere along the way it gets mixed up and parents begin to see the shift from parent to peer guidance as a "normal" part of life.

So I will take the criticism in stride. I'll still rattle off the list of activities and interactions my kids have with other children (kids their age, older, younger, and adults) to show that homeschooling doesn't mean cut off from other children but now I will probably add these arguments to my arsenal. Perhaps I will print out copies of this article to have with me like I used to carry a copy of the state breastfeeding law with me for criticism when I nursed in public.

Peace,
Tenn

All grown Up... It is a weird feeling for Serona and I to deal with, that we are grown-ups. As we approach 30 (which truly doesn't seem like a big deal to us) I look at all we have accomplished so far and realize that so much of it should make me feel older than I do. We have three kids, we have a beautiful house in the suburbs and we drive a minivan. We have a home library, a wireless home network and we've bought appliances. We even bought our first nice furniture and had a friend help us decorate our living room. In some ways I am starting to feel like a grown-up and in other ways I still feel like a college student.

Tonight for our date we went out for pizza and beer. We talked about the Ronald Reagan books we are reading and the presidential biographies we watched this past week (The Kennedy's and Nixon). We talked about politics and life and dreams and education. We talked about the value and sacrifices of homeschooling. We talked about how surrounding our kids in an environment that fosters knowledge and life long learning is paramount. We discussed our love of books and the amazing ways the internet makes homeschooling easier.

I am so thankful that I married my best friend. I'm glad I married a man who values and loves many of the same things I do. I'm glad he has a passion for knowledge and is also a life long learner. I think of the song I Wanna Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler, and I smile knowing Serona is the perfect man for me to grow old and stay young with.

Peace,
Tenn