Saturday, July 27, 2013

Hypothetical Unreal Statements: Was or Were

Sometimes I think I'm old fashioned because I follow the "were " rule when using "If" statements! Does anyone say "If I were you" or "If they were... " anymore? I keep seeing "If I was you" or "If money was no object". I see this in places without formal editors, like blogs, self published educational items, and low budget publications.

The rule is to use "were" with hypothetical unreal statements regardless of the subject tense.  See here, and here for full explanation of subjunctive.

I wonder if this rule is fading into oblivion?

Friday, July 26, 2013

Eggshells in the Garden

I crush up eggshells every morning and toss them into my garden to add calcium to the soil and deter slugs and snails.
Here are seven other things you can do with eggshells.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Getting Ready for the New Homeschool Year

My eldest will be entering 10th grade, our eleventh year homeschooling. By now it has become old hat and an established way of life. I barely think about living any other way - it just is. My daughter begins second grade which is hard to believe. Her childhood seems to have rushed by much more quickly than my son's did. It is like a blur, but then she is like a blur - in constant motion. To quote Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, she "danced up and down like a sunbeam". This is my daughter's walk through life. It's wonderful and exhausting all at once.

Jeremy will continue with Christian Light Education which he does on his own. Periodically, I'll add to the curriculum as an extension to his interests or comprehension. We talk a lot about his studies and use the Internet daily for free study resources. YouTube has a great many interesting documentaries and math tutorials which we use a lot.

Olivia, my little sunbeam is learning with Kindle educational apps and YouTube educational videos.Her attention is limited, so a full structured curriculum does not fit her. She is very curious and a natural learner. She pursues knowledge with gusto which makes it very easy for me! I read to her a lot, and we spend time learning by doing. We do use some structured curriculum. We are using Climbing to Good English(about 170 pages), Pathway Readers, and MCP math. Last year we finished about 80% of Christian Light Education's learning to read program. It was a good program; she just got a little burnt out on it.

Some of Our Resources:

Christian Light Education(Son - full curriculum)
Climbing to Good English(Schoolaid)
Pathway Readers
MCP Math(check Amazon as well)
YouTube (my channel)
Pinterest Homeschool Pins
Kindle/Android Learning Apps
Library
Nature Centers and Museums
Field Trips and Travel
Learning By Doing
Recreation Center for P.E.