C activities

Yesterday we spent the morning with friends. Rhiannon and her friend played dolls, college and candyland. They also took the animals on an adventure. Ciaran did an ABC puzzle and then played colored pegs with his friend. They also played a color matching game. I actually gave them cookies for a snack!

After our friends left they had lunch and quiet/naptime. I did school with Rhiannon which mostly consisted of reading and talking about books. We covered cheetahs, crickets, cockroaches, caterpillars, coral reefs (and several things that live there that start with C), castles, carousels, colonial America, Rachael Carson and Mary Cassat. We talked about each book for awhile and the concepts and I answered questions.

We spent the afternoon cutting paper dolls and playing with them. In the evening Rhiannon attended our local caucus with Serona. Serona said Rhiannon did very well there and it is important to us that they are raised with the political process as a natural part of their life. We will talk about citizenship and the capital today to further her lessons. She also learned a little about campaigning and has a campaign sign in her bedroom window (she asked if she could).

Ciaran, Sirah and I went to a meeting on Child Safety with fellow homeschool moms.Ciaran stopped in the library and got out a Clifford puppet and some books and then played quietly on the floor during our meeting with them, his chalkboard, some cars and his colored pegs. On the way to the meeting we talked about C words the whole time (about a 30 minute ride) he was very cute, concerned that I would put him and his friend Caleb into the C book and telling me that our car was too big to fit. It was so special to have that time just with him to teach and talk together.

All in all it was a great day of living out the letter C. Good thing too because Sirah is sick today and I am unsure how much we will accomplish. Right now the kids are watching Cinderella. We had to cancel preschool because of Sirah's cold - but I'm sure we will find something to do. Have a great day!

Peace,
Tenn

Paper Dolls

Yesterday we had a lot of fun cutting out character dolls and playing with them. The kids favorite site was Fashions from the House of Skywalker - Luke and Leia Paper Dolls. We cut out and played with Luke and Leia paper dolls a good part of the afternoon.

Another good paper doll site is Making Friends. We printed out several of the career doll outfits for C week and used them to talk about careers and then just for play.

We also searched for some other favorite characters online and discussed what characters are in a story. The paper dolls and reading really seemed to bring it alive for them. I enjoy using the paper dolls (though we did empty our ink cartridges yesterday!) though I warn you if you have small children be ready for most of the cutting to fall on you as there is ALOT of detail cutting!

A great free activity for kids and easy to save and reuse. They even sell magnetic printer paper you could use to make magnetic dolls. We may laminate some of the cardstock ones we printed and then attach some sandpaper to the back to make them felt friendly. The sandpaper works really well to stick onto a felt board. The making friends site also sells precut "friends" in foam and cardstock (I have also seen these at school supply stores) - though I think it is just as easy to print and cut them out yourself.

Enjoy!
Tenn

Comments are back... I have decided to brave the world of spammers again and hope they have passed on by. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Peace,
Tenn

Cruising with C... This week we begin our study of the letter C. So far we have talked about castles and Eric Carle the children's author and illustrator. We had a playdate with some friends this morning and yesterday we baked cookies (lots of them) as a family. We made oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, chocolate chunk and sugar cookies. We will take some with meals to some friends who just had babies this week. We are also working on counting in different ways. Grandma is coming for a visit and we are getting ready for that as well.

Peace,
Tenn

Great Photos... You can find some great panoramic photos here. The one of Mt. Everest is outstanding!

Peace,
Tenn

Thanks daryl for the link.

February Reading List

Cinderella by Walt Disney (little nugget book)
Hansel and Gretel by General Creation Books
Marmalade and the Magic Birds by Robin Harris
Beauty and the Beast by Walt Disney (Random House PictureBack Shape Book)
Where is Maisy? by Lucy Cousins
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now by Seuss (a Daddy Favorite)
The Red Shoes retold by Barbara Bazillian (Hans Christian Anderson)
Baby Sister Says No by Mercer Mayer
You're Adorable by Martha Alexander

Time For Bed by Mem Fox
The Ugly Stepsisters by Walt Disney
The Mitten adapted by Jan Brett
Samuel and the Wake-Up Call by Jane L. Fryar (Arch Books Bible Stories)
Angelina and Alice by Katharine Holabird
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Seuss
A Carnival of Animals by Sid Fleischman
A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Hard Scrabble Harvest by Dahlov Ipcar

Cinderella II Tales of a Princess by Walt Disney
I'm Kaitlyn I Have Important Jobs To Do by Crystal Bowman (a great chore book)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
If You Take A Mouse To The Movies by Laura Numeroff
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Seuss
A Song for Little Toad by Vivian French
Horton Hears A Who by Seuss
Richard Scarry's Best First Book Ever!

Best Of All by Max Lucado
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Snow White adapted from Brother's Grimm
Colors by Leap Frog
First Words by Leap Frog
Shapes by leap Frog
Counting by Leap frog
Mary Poppins by Walt Disney
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Mulan Saves the Day by Nancy E Krulik
The Night Before Christmas by Lanoll Publishing
Walking Around the Garden by John Pratter
How Do Dinosaurs Say goodnight by Jane Yolen
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney (the really loooong version)
The Best Book of Volcanoes by Simon Adams
Quick as a Cricket by Audrey and Don Wood

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff
Batman board book
Winnie the Pooh Opposites by Disney
My Train by Storybook Pals
Thomas and Friends by Baby Finger Books
A Child's First Bible by Kenneth Taylor
Jesse Bear What Will You Wear by Nancy White Carlstrom
Cinderella by Fairy Tale Treasury
Bert and the Broken Teapot by Tish Sommers
The Best Place by Miriam Schlein

If I went on Safari by Susan Hood
A You're Adorable by Buddy Kaye
Just a Mess by Mercer Mayer
The Wheels on the Bus by Paul Zelinsky
Marmalade and the Magic Birds by Robin Harris
Raggedy Ann and Rags by Johnny Gruelle
Beautiful Butterfly by Marta Berowska
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Out and About at the Orchestra by Barbara Turner
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae

Winnie the Pooh Sense by Walt Disney
Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr
Dr Suess ABC
Cars and Trucks by Karen Rissing
Mama Do You Love Me by Barbara M Joose
Sailor Moo Cow at Sea by Lisa Wheeler
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
God Made You Special by Eric Metaxas

Crow Boy by Taro Yashima
My First book of Trains by Octopus Publishing
Ballerina Bear by Pauline Siewert
The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now by Dr Suess
My Many Colored Days by Dr Suess
Tigger's Breakfast by AA Milne
A Castle on Viola Street by Disalvo (nice book on volunteering)
Eva's Summer Vacation:A Story of the Czech Republic by Jan Machalek
The Best Book of Volcanoes by Simon Adams

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Volcanoes:Nature's Incredible Fireworks by David Harrison
Mary Veronica's Egg by Mary Nethery
Strega Nona Takes a Vacation by Tomie dePaola
You Read to Me I'll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman
Vultures by Lynn M Stone
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Vincent Van Gogh by Jen Green
Vegetable Garden by Douglas Florian
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by eric Carle

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado
Little Bear by Maurice Sendak
Winnie the Pooh's Valentine by Bruce Talkington
Johannes Vermeer by Mike Venezia
The Vikings by Peter Chrisp
God Made All The Colors by Lion Publishing
The Voyager Space Probes by Dennis Fradin
Kisses by Cyndy Szekeres
Museum ABC by THe Metropolitan Museum of Art

My V book by Jane Belk Moncure
Valentine's Day by Miriam Nerlove
The Trow Wife's Treasure
Valentine's Day by Gail Gibbons
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Mama do you Love Me by barbara m joose
The Skywalker family albulm by Alice Alfonsi
My O book by Jane Belk Moncure
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
LIttle Sibu: On Orangutan Tale by Sally Grindley

Outside, Inside by Carolyn Crimi
Out and About at the Orchestra by Barbara J Turner
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr Suess
Quick as a Cricket by Don and Audrey Wood
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Snappy Little Dinosaurs by Pop up Fun
On My Boat by by Robert B Noyed and Cynthia Klingel
Ostriches by Caroline Arnold
Now One Foot Now the Other by Tomie De Paola

Goodnight Owl by Pat Hutchins
Ollie by Oliver Dunrea
Exploring the Deep Dark Blue Sea by Gail Gibbons
Exactly the Opposite by Tana Hoban
A Star in My Orange by Dana Meachen Rau
My Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham
Where Once There was a Wood by Denise Fleming
I want to be a Vet by Daniel Libeman
Introducing Vivaldi by Roland Vernon
Top Ten American Womens Olympic Gold Medalists by Kristin Ditchfield

Orangutans by Patricia A Finkmartin
Old Bob's Brown Bear by Niki Daly
Jesse Bear What Will You Wear by Nancy White Carlstrom
Angelina and the Butterfly by Katherine Holabird
Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow
How the Ox Star Fell From Heaven by Lily Toy Hong
Oma's Quilt by Paulette Bourgeois
Birthday Blessings by Dandi Daley MacKall
Pooh's Colorful Shapes by Disney
Bethlehems Busy by Reader's Digest

Blessings everywhere by Dandi Daley MacKall
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Benny and the Binky by by Barbro Lindgren
Baby's Games by McClanahan
Angelina Ballerina's ABC by Katherine Holabird
Tigger's Breakfast by AA Milne
The Wheels on the Bus by Paul Zelinsky
Little Bear by Elise Holmlund Minarik
Baby Sister says No by Mercer Mayer
The Butterfly Alphabet by Jell Sandved

Badgers by Joan Kalbacken
Courdoroy by Don Freeman
Teddy Bear by AA Milne
Famous Bears and Friends by Janet Wyman Coleman (selections from)
Butterflies Fly by Yvonne Winer
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco (a new mommy favorite - good book)
Ships and Boats byy Arlene Molzahn
Bees by Larry Dane Brimmer
Dance at Grandpa's by Laura Ingalls Wilder
B is for Bethlehem by Isabel Wilner

Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
Get Ready to Play Tee Ball by Jan Cheripko
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
The Jewel Heart by Barbara Berger
Bread and Jam by Russell Hoban
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Animal Babies by Ann Squire
Dance at Grandpa's by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (about a bat)

A Pair of Red Sneakers by Lisa Lawston
THe Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Blueberry Shoe by Ann Dixon
The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
LIttle Bear's Visit by Else Minarik
Your Blood by Anita Ganeri
One Bean by Anne Rockwell
Bear Cub by Pam Pollack
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco (a new favorite)

Beautiful Butterfly by Marta Berowska
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
Bert and the Broken Teapot by Tish Sommers
Blackberry Surprise by Walt Disney Winnie the Pooh
The Ugly Stepsisters by Walt Disney

Reads in Progress:

Little House in Big Woods by Laura Ingalls
Put Me in the Zoo by Dr Suess
Hop on Pop by Dr Suess
Bob Books First
Primary Phonics Readers Set 1
The Star Wars Storybook by Geraldine Richelson
The Storybook Bible by Karyn Henley
Winnie the Pooh Bedtime Stories by Walt Disney

Reference Books we are using:

Christian Liberty Nature Reader by Christian Liberty Press
What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know by Hirsch
Spectrum Math Grade K
Usborne Art Ideas Drawing Animals
The Usborne World Atlas
McGraw Hill Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills Grade K
Magellan A Voyage Around the World by Fiona McDonald
Welcome to Vietnam by Yumi NG
Virginia by Gina De Angelis
Georgia OKeeffe by Ruth Thomson

The Ozone Hole by Sally Morgan
Olympic National Park by Nelson and Nelson
Ohio by Nancy Kline
Usborne Book of Origami
The Man Who Made Parks by Frida Wishinsky
The Book of Virtues for Young People by William J Bennet
The Oregon Trail by R. Conrad Stein
Botticelli by Mike Venezia
US President's Feats and Foul-ups by Nell Fuqua
Bridges by Elaine Landau

The Butterfly Jar Poems by Jeff Moss
BMX Bicycles by Barbara Knox
Beetles by Dwight Kuhn
George Bush 41 President of the US by June Behrens
Petersons Guide for Young Naturalists Backyard Birds by Johnathen Latimer
Ann Bancroft On Top of the World by Dorothy Wenzel
Bats by Celia Bland
Introducing Beethoven by Roland Vernon

Books on Tape:
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Prince Caspain by CS Lewis
Charlie and the chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl


Last updates Feb 28, 2004

Reading to our kids

I often get asked how we read so much with so many small children and do they really listen? On the average day we listen to about 10 books a day (usually 4 non-fiction and 6 storybooks though this varies). So I sat down to try to think about how we do it. We have three usual reading times: first thing in the morning, before or after nap, and in the late afternoon before dinner. At those times each child gets to pick one book and then I pick one or two (so we are reading 3-4 books at each time). When they get to pick books they often pick their favorites from their rooms or the bookshelves - I don't care if those are from the letter of the week - though my choice almost always is. I keep all the books from the library and books from our own collection that correspond with the letter of the week in a special box near where we read and the kids can ask at any time to read from those books and I almost always say yes. After we have read a book I don't think they will want to read again I record the title on our reading list (I often miss titles believe it or not) and then put in our library returns bag. We also usually read chapter books at night or sometimes during quiet/naptime. And of course there are the books I use during "lessons" though our lessons often occur during our reading time.

A friend was over yesterday and she was shocked at how many books we check out of the library at a time and reminded me that I am tying up that many books at a time. My response was that we read these in one week and usually always return them the next week, sometimes I hold some for two weeks. We just read alot and I feel that is what the library is there for. We try to only take one book on a subject so there are others there and we have more variety.

I have finally settled into a system at the library. While the kids play and browse I go through the non-fiction section and am sure to grab atleast one book on the following subjects: an artist, a composer (or musician), a scientist, inventor or explorer, a politician or famous person, a location (country, continent, state), a sport or hobby, an animal or creature, a science concept, a historical event or place, and a biblical story (though we have many of these resources at home already), and when appropriate an upcoming holiday, month or season. I usually grab a poetry or short story collection that also coincides with our letter of the upcoming week. Then I browse the fiction bins for storybooks on the subjects I have picked up or just that relate to the letter in some way. Often I choose a children's illustrator or author to focus on as well. For instance next week when we do C we will look at Eric Carle. Then we check out and I keep the books for next week in the suitcase until Monday morning when I switch out the books from the previous week (that have not yet been returned) and put the books where the kids can choose from them.


Yes my children do listen to these books. Rhiannon probably feels I don't read to her enough believe it or not. Ciaran sometimes tires of it but always plays nearby and I believe is still listening. Occasionally if a book we have picked up is too advanced for them (sometimes I do this for pictures and to summarize material) we will just talk about it and look at it instead of reading it. Sirah is getting a little more challenging now. She used to just nurse and sleep through them, then she sat on my lap, now she wants to grab more. I find sitting on the floor and giving her books of her own to play with helps as does interspersing little board books that we read to her.

Reading is just an integral part of our family's days (sometimes we slack on the weekends when we follow a different schedule) and it is a part my children love. We have read to them since day one, books for them, books they listen to because of their siblings and things we are reading adults (when not inappropriate) Rhiannon needs to read every day from her phonics books, this is often to one of her siblings and all the children have quiet time where they look at their books. Rhiannon would bring every book into her bed if we would let her to avoid bed - but we only allow them their bibles in bed (picture ones) except on occasion when we allow an extra book or two.

The kids see us read all the time and they go to the library and are surrounded by books in our home library, their schoolroom shelves and the books strewn throughout the house. So I guess it is hard to explain - it truly isn't like I set a quota for us to meet each week - it just ends up that we read a lot. There are days where we read less and days we read 20 books - but all in all it is just the way we live. The kids love learning and hearing stories - they create their imaginary play from the stories they hear and ask for their favorites over and over again. We listen to books on tape in the car (currently Black Beauty) and Rhiannon carries around a little tape deck that goes through batteries like crazy because she listens to the various Chronicles of Narnia books by CS Lewis (unabridged) throughout the week over and over again. When we finish those we will pick another literature series. I guess reading is not something we work at - it is something all the members of our house truly enjoys.

Peace,
Tenn

B week... We are finishing up B week today. Some things we have focused on this week include: bats, balance, baseball, basketball, the color blue, bears (teddy and real ones), baking, Beethoven, Bach, President Bush and Former President Bush, building (especially with blocks), bridges, bugs and backyard exploration.

The weather is finally warming up here (in the 40's) and the kids have been outside more, we even took our first family walk through our new neighborhood last night. Normally we would have been out before now but Sirah is still just 6 months old and I don't like to keep her out in the cold too long.

We had our weekly library visit and got some strange looks. I now wheel in one of those luggage bags with a handle for all our books. It is much easier than trying to carry all the books while holding Sirah and managing the other two. Sometimes I wonder what people think behind those stares of disbelief it appears we are receiving as I fill the bag with book after book). I guess I don't really care because I am doing what is best for our family. But I know it does look crazy sometimes. We really do read them all. I'm going to continue this in another post though.

Peace,
Tenn

Kentucky Alert.

Kentucky has a new piece of legislation just introduced that would encourage "voluntary" certification of homeschools. Some issues it covers are: minimum teacher qualifications, minimum curriculum offerings, and minimum testing requirements. To read the bill: 04RS HB610.

Those in Kentucky get the phones ringing and shoot this down.

Peace,
Tenn

Hat tip to Daryl for the story.

Virginia Update

Kudos to homeschooling activists in Virginia and to their legislature. Last night the measure to relax homeschooling qualifications made it through the Senate committee.

"The Education and Health Committee voted 8-7 Thursday to endorse a bill allowing parents with a high school diploma to homeschool their children. "

To read more, visit here.

Peace,
Tenn

Minnesota update

An article today is reporting that:

"Minnesota Education Commissioner Cheri Pierson Yecke criticized a new report Thursday that predicts 80 percent to 100 percent of the state's elementary schools will fail to meet federal proficiency standards by 2014, saying the projection is "wildly off.''

But Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles defended his agency's assessment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying his staff was careful not too make too dire or optimistic predictions."

To read the audit yourself, visit here.

To keep up with the status of the legislation to remove Minnesota from the No Child Left Behind Act, visit here.

To read more about the issue in general, visit The Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

Peace,
Tenn

Well Obviously... An article today reads:

"A Lovington father who was scheduled to serve his daughter's in school detention has been reprieved. School officials came to his home yesterday with a letter of apology in hand."

I'm sorry but the response is of course he doesn't need to serve detention for his daughter (who should not have had to serve it in the first place) and it was time the school got a clue! Kudos to the dad for standing up for his daughter and not allowing her to serve detention for his decision to keep her home due to dangerously cold weather. Shame on the school for trying to enforce it. What a ludicrous world we live in sometimes. Read more: here.

Peace,
Tenn

Preschool for Parents... Interesting program just opened in a Florida school district. It is essentially an open classroom for preschoolers (defined birth-6 years) and their parents. It is a drop in center where parents can play with their kids and learn about how to teach them.

I have mixed feelings - it is good that they are involving parents and trying to help give them strategies to play with and teach their child. I am always for parental involvement. However, certain phrases in the article send up warning flags to me. Consider:

"District officials hope to target parents who don't send their children to preschool. More than half of the state's nearly 1.2 million children ages 3 to 5 are not enrolled in preschool or child care, according to a new report released by the California Research Bureau."

and:

" The center is called LISTOS, which means "ready" in Spanish and stands for Linking Individual Students to Oceanside Schools. "

Granted I may be sensitive to certain things - but the way I read it - this program helps get kids "linked" into the system as early as birth if possible. It also seems to be critical of the fact that half of the children ages 3-5 are not in either day-care or preschool. A good thing in many cases I would contend.

I know that this program can help many families, I am just cautious about it due to some of the language in the article. However, I do support helping parents learn how to play and teach their young children.

Another quote from the article that jumped out at me was "By age 5 a child can easily sit through a 10-minute story." Perhaps my perception is completely skewed but my 3 year old can sit through longer stories than that. I guess it is a good goal to have a 5 year old sit through a 10 minute book at a minimum, but I think our kids can and want to do more. Why is it accepted that a child as young as 2 should be able to sit through 30 minutes to an hour of television but we struggle to get our 5 year olds to listen to 10 minutes of a story? _sigh_

You can read more
here.

Peace,
Tenn

Thoughts from the floor... Sitting on the hall floor of a local grammar school outside the door of a friend’s classroom. She is a teacher of second grade. This friend is taking continuing education classes and asked if she could use Rhiannon as a testing subject. As the test does not collect any personal information about her we agreed. It is a reading readiness exam. It is interesting to listen to how she responds to someone else asking her questions. On some things she is so enthusiastic and excited to answer and on other things she starts asking questions almost like she is avoiding answering the question or wants to answer a different one.

Sometimes when we homeschool I wonder if she is more difficult or easier on me. I am finding right now that she is being much more difficult for our friend than she is for me. Rhiannon truly is a strong willed child and I love working with her. I know that I know how to work with her because I spend so much time with her. It does make me thankful that we are able to spend so much one on one time together, I think she really benefits from that.

Serona made me agree before we let her help out our friend that I would not be upset by whatever the results were. I promised that I would not be and part of me is like I don’t even want to know what she thinks, yet another part of me is curious. Of course we all think our own children are smart so we are to a point biased. I know that no matter what this woman tells me that I am so pleased with Rhiannon. She has done so well and has such a love of learning and I am truly enjoying working with her.

I love that I hear “You know what my mother told me?” and then she proudly shares the information. She refers to me as her teacher and I do love hearing that. I hope that she is always so excited – though I know things will change over time. The natural progression is to just believe everything we are told by our parents, then to start to question it, then to question and disagree with everything only to find ourselves slowly cycle back to recognizing how wise they truly are. I am assuming that the progression is still the same even in homeschooling.

Just some random thoughts that came to me tonight.

Peace,
Tenn

All of Minnesota Left Behind... Here is some news that just reinforces our decision to homeschool. A recent report will estimate that "80 percent to 100 percent of Minnesota's school districts will not meet expectations of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, according to a state official familiar with the report."

The report will be released today to the House Education Policy Committee. What is interesting is that Minnesota also "ranks at or near the top on many national student-achievement measures" according to the article.

This report is expected to increase a push for Minnesota to pull out of the National Program. Last week the Senate Education Committee tentatively passed "that would pull the state out of the federal education program, a move that would jeopardize $175 million to $240 million annually in federal funds."

To read more see the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

Peace,
Tenn

Today's roundup... We had Ciaran's preschool friends over today for a short lesson. I decided to try a different approach and have a more active lesson. As our family is working through B this week - we centered our activities around B. The kids played basketball and bounced the ball to one another and attempted to make the sound B while shooting baskets (this did not go over so well), they built with blocks and went through the items in our B box.

We traced the letter B on sandpaper, felt and foamboard and then the kids drew the letter B in rice, flour and oatmeal taking turns. They seemed to enjoy that part. I just put a big tablecloth on the floor and sat down with them and three bowls. Two of them kept going a little longer and then drew pictures that started with B like bird and ball and bee - though Ciarans favorite was the frog he made. The oatmeal and flour went over better than the rice.

Then we had a marching band (which was loud but fun) and even the older siblings got involved with that activity. The older kids also had B printout books for practicing writing B words and pictures to color. The younger kids left with some B coloring pages and a printout from Letter of the Week.

We had snack and played "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See" with some printouts I got here. By that point several children (namely my own) were nearing meltdown points and having a difficult time and everyone headed home. I was by that point wiped out and Rhiannon and Ciaran were just at each other just to be that way it seemed. It was as if Ciaran said "The sky is blue" she would say "No it isn't" just to be contrary. I tried coloring that did not work, I tried reading that did not work. So we had lunch and then off for naps (that is what was needed).

The afternoon went better, Rhiannon and I had some storytime and then she read to me from "Ben Bug" in the Primary Phonics Storybooks Set 1. We played with Sirah - then with Ciaran and then we played memory all together for awhile. Ciaran played with play-doh while Rhiannon made a ballerina crown and then finished writing out her B words from this morning. We played a math game I call "number before" where I give a number and she needs to tell me the one before. She got them all right up to about 15 - and she was fuzzy on some of the teens. We listened to Bach and Beethoven. We had such a peaceful afternoon that I allowed them to watch a movie while I make dinner and type up this review.

Peace,
Tenn

In defense of homeschooling and apprenticeships... This morning Serona pointed out an article he found last night on foxnews. The author takes on the following issue:

Parents who wish to explore educational alternatives at their own expense should be encouraged to do so, yet the opposite is occurring. Advocates of public schooling view other systems of education as threats to be regulated, discouraged and sometimes demonized. (Often the income and careers of these advocates depend upon the continued tax funding of public schools.)

Is there any validity to their criticism of educational alternatives?

Two of the most viable ones are homeschooling and apprenticeships. Neither prevents anyone from choosing public schools; each merely offers a choice at no public expense. How could anyone reasonably object to that?

The author answers answers concerns that public school is necessary for literacy, that they harm public schools and harm children (the child abuse cover-up non-argument). The author does a nice job and the article is worth a read.
She concludes with:

Apprenticeships, experiments like Montessori and the School of Living, self-guided education, mentoring ...The cost of public education is not measured in tax dollars alone. A universe of educational possibilities has been obstructed by the attempt to enforce a government monopoly over how, where, when, and what children learn.

Check out The Separation of School and State.

Peace,
Tenn

Blogopoly... I think this is great fun! A blogger has created "blogopoly" yes it is monopoly with blogs for pieces, cards and properties. This is something you really need to see for yourself. Check out Aaron's BLOGOPOLY.

Peace,
Tenn

B week... I have pretty limited blogging time this week. We are cruising through B week. So far we have made a good dent in our reading list (see the end of Feb reading list) and have a nice B sound box in progress (current items: banana, bears (teddy, and stuffed brown and black, picture of polar and plastic panda), balls (basketball and brown ball), a blue item and a black item, baby doll, beanbag, block, butterfly, book, bucket, and a few others I am forgetting) we will continue adding to it throughout the week. We have listed to Beethoven and are studying Boticello this week. We are talking about a lot of different animals (bears, badgers, bees, butterflies, bugs, beavers and birds to name a few), we will talk about baseball and basketball. The butterfly puzzle and life cycles and a few books were science time today, we will follow it up tomorrow with stained glass coloring pictures of butterflies. We also did some online painting of butterflies, bears and several great works of art online at Enchanted Learning. The kids really love the online painting and the interactive online dictionary there, I also think they have great coloring pages and fact sheets for older kids and they have a variety of languages available.

Ciaran and I played a lot today - it was nice to have some special time with him (Rhiannon had a dr's appointment and Serona took her) we took advantage of the time and just focused on playing blocks, cars and with his animals. We also wrestled and tickled (which I hardly ever do) and of course we had some special cuddle and reading time together. It was nice. I also spent some time like that with Sirah today singing her nursery rhymes, talking to her and just sitting on floor by her side as she played with her toys. I tried reading to her but she mostly ate the books.

tomorrow we have Ciaran's preschool cooperative on the letter B and then on Thursday we have a field trip centered around the letter B. I need to head off to help the little ones to sleep.

Peace,
Tenn

West Virginia update... A proposed law in W. Virginia would "require every child in the state to have a record of compulsory immunizations. The legislation, Senate Bill 439, stipulates "any parent or guardian who refuses to permit his or her child to be immunized" would face a criminal charge."
The text of the bill can be found here. It could be voted on this week. For more information read this World Net article.

Peace,
Tenn