The Last Radicals:Homeschoolers

"There is exactly one authentically radical social movement of any real significance in the United States, and it is not Occupy, the Tea Party, or the Ron Paul faction. It is homeschoolers, who, by the simple act of instructing their children at home, pose an intellectual, moral, and political challenge to the government-monopoly schools, which are one of our most fundamental institutions and one of our most dysfunctional. Like all radical movements, homeschoolers drive the establishment bats..." Read more here.

All my life I've been told I'm too independent. :)

How Does a Homeschooler Change a Light Bulb?

Saw this on FB.

School Begins Tuesday!

My son begins ninth grade on Tuesday. It will be much more work this year now that he is in high school. He chose Christian Light Education for its independent study approach. After all these years of homeschooling he has his school routine down pat, and barely needs me to help him. This is, of course, the goal - greater independence and responsibility. I find myself almost out of a job! I still have my daughter's school, but she is pretty easy. I'm using the same curriculum with her that I used with my son, so it's pretty much a cake walk.

I'm afraid my homeschool posts may be boring from now on! YouTube has been filling in a lot of extended learning for my daughter. In fact, the internet is providing a huge resource of free learning opportunities. Finally getting high speed has been a real blessing. I'm not making or planning our homeschool from scratch as much because so much is readily available online, or I am just reusing what we already have at home.

We've been homeschooling since my son was in Kindergarten, nine years now, and so much has changed in this short time. Homeschooling is becoming much more common and resources are abundant. I'll continue to share links, and will add my Pinterest homeschool pins on the sidebar.

Summer Homeschool Plans

I'm homeschooling my six year old year-round, so I'll continue to post homeschool items for early learning throughout the summer. She's now enjoying Bob Books and Christian Light Education's first grade learning to read program. We also use story telling via art and words. Much of it is her drawing pictures of her stories, and me helping her to incorporate the words she has learned. Weekly trips to the library are anticipated with joy. They have children's computers, a play area, and all the books and videos she could ever want. Inevitably, there are little girls there for her to play with and share the learning computers. The girls always seem to want to "help" each other and work the Reader Rabbit games together, giggling and just falling into the flow of working together. The library is the best of both worlds - free of charge and free unstructured time in a wholesome environment.

 My teenage son is entering high school next school year! How fast time has gone. He has been homeschooled since kindergarten, and now does self study homeschool(Christian Light Education[CLE] workbooks, "Light Units"), which is the way he learns best. He prefers this style over all others, and is a happy clam when he can self direct and met his goals successfully. With all the self help books and internet tutorials, he does very well when we hit a rough patch of learning. During the summer, he'll continue to read classics and Newbery Medal award books. There's a good biography section for young people at our library, so we've pulled a few books from this category throughout the year as well. I like the way our library puts these books, the award winning books and biographies, aside in their own special section, so that I don't have to go searching for them off a list.

My son will be working toward an academic degree via CLE Homeschool Plus, and then he wants to enroll in CollegePlus for his college degree. He has no idea, as of yet, which degree path he'll choose.

Our city parks and recreation department has a few nature classes and swim classes for which we'll be signing up. We've got a beach nearby and the city pool to enjoy. Hopefully, we'll be able to get up to the mountains for hiking again this summer. I've got to get some varicose veins operated on, so it all depends on how fast I recover.

What are your plans?

Memorial Day:Children's Book and Activity Ideas

Source: notwiddletwaddle.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Staving Off Homeschool Burn-out

See pages 8-9.

Open publication - Free publishing -

Penguins!

We had to drive a little less than two hours to find penguins, but it was worth the drive. My daughter's latest obsession is penguins. This week we watched March of the Penguins on DVD and visited the zoo. I must say these African penguins were so adorable! I'm glad we were able to get close to them at this particular zoo. What a happy group these were and very well cared for. These two kept posing for my pictures.

Inexpensive School Textbook(Vintage) Reprints

Today I received three reprints of early 20th century English composition texts for eighth and ninth grade levels, available free at Google Books as a PDF. These freebies could be read on a laptop, but the student in question(the son) wanted a print book. They are excellent content and were less than $13.00 each as reprints. Many books are available for reprint via Qoop. When you find a vintage free books that you'd like in print, look for the Qoop button("Get Book in Print" pull down menu) on the left hand Google Books sidebar(at "About Book" link) The reprints are available in black and white print as paperbacks only, and will be the exact replica of the book(as seen) on Google Books.

Audubon Society: Children Spending Too Much Time Indoors

"We find that children are spending less time outdoors, and their free time is really spent in highly structured activities," said Robert Martinez, president of the Connecticut Audubon Society. "They have very little opportunity for spontaneous interaction with the natural world."

Martinez said that just about all of those involved in conservation today and through history "developed a bond with nature" when they were children.

"That bond is a lifelong experience," he said. "If they don't forge that bond early enough, then where are we going to find the next generation of conservationists?"

"When I was a kid, it was easier to find vacant lots, to go exploring, to follow a brook and to go on an adventure. It's getting harder and harder for kids to do that today." Read more here.

It can't be good for children not to get a lot free time in the fresh air and sunshine.

Inexpensive Children's Educational Software by Operating System

I finally found a place online which sells children's educational software by operating system. I've bought inexpensive software before that would not work on 64 bit Windows 7, even with the work-around. This is so handy! And the prices are good with free shipping and 10% off with the coupon code MONKEY.

Operating Systems include:

Windows 7( 32 or 64 bit)
Windows Vista
Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98, 95
almost everything, see product details

Macintosh 10.5 or later
Macintosh 10.3 or later
Macintosh OS X, OSX Classic

I bought Reader Rabbit Learning to Read and JumpStart software for my daughter.

Click here to go to Children's Education Software Online, click on your operating system and then grade level. I saw some algebra and geometry Speedstudy software programs which I may get for my son next year.

Algebra Helps

I did well in algebra in high school and college, but it has been many years since I've worked any algebra problems! I picked up Painless Algebra (Barron's Painless Series)(for me) at the library which covers very basic algebra, but does not pass into the more complex covered in an Algebra II class such as algebraic fractions. My son is working on these now through Christian Light Education grade nine mathematics. So I ordered a few highly rated advanced algebra books off Amazon.com. There are so many wonderful self teach books nowadays. I wish they had been published when I was younger!

So here is what I ordered which includes help with those nasty algebraic fractions which is covered in ninth grade Christian Light Education beginning Algebra. It's covered again in the eleventh grade Algebra. I was surprised to see this in ninth grade. We'll use these two as a review for me and as a cross reference for my son.

The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems: Translated for People Who Don't Speak Math

and

Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide, Second Edition

Hands-on Early Math Toys

Math addition and subtractions animal blocks:



I purchased these for Christmas this year. They were well worth it for fun hands-on homeschool learning!


Marble maze put together blocks:

Library Finds: International Fairy Tale and Folktale Picture Books

Random fairy tale and folktale books that we enjoyed this week. All are from different countries which is great for extending learning to geography. Preschool - grade two.

Very short and a bit silly: Tikki Tikki Tembo, a Chinese tale. The boy's purposely ridiculous long name will get a giggle with younger children, especially while the parent struggles to pronounce it!

A classic Irish tale, beautifully illustrated and medium length for older "littles": The Children of Lir

Humorous retelling for young children: The Monkey and the Crocodile: A Jataka Tale India by Paul Galdone

A tale from Spain(Moorish Iberia):Miller, the Boy and the Donkey, Based on the La Fontaine fable by Brian Wildsmith

Exciting third person, lyrical retelling of the final, "and most difficult, labor of Hercules, known as Heracles in Greek mythology, in which he must go to Underworld and bring back the three-headed dog, Cerberus". Beautifully illustrated and just short enough to catch the interest of small children. Hercules


The Magic Grove: A Persian Folktale

Lusciously illustrated Persian(modern day Iran) tale, surprisingly Christian in tone, only because I'm ignorant of Persian values and morals(I'm sure). The characters of this lovely tale of love and compassion continue to choose others before themselves despite desperate hardships. They are rewarded in the end for their kindness to some fantastic birds(of grace?) whose lives are spared.

The age old classic Greek myth, King Midas and the Golden Touch











Source of world map.

Tea Party Kittens

Today at tea-time, I was instructed to cover the tea party with numerous pictures of the goings-on. That's Fluffy; she's one of those motion activated Fur Real cats.

It was a welcomed break from helping my son with a unit on Polynomial Algebra(gag). The (real) cat was making a nuisance of himself anyway.








This guy wasn't invited, even though he eventually grew hands to hold the cups(which seemed to improve his mood). I'll make sure he's included next time.

Winter, The Phlegmatic Temperament

Source: google.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

"...Sir Winter is also motivated by his physical being. Winter prefers to communicate in action and pictures and not as much with words. When one walks out into a winter wonderland they don’t hear the laughter of the summer brook, the chirping of spring birds, or the chattering of autumn squirrels. Instead one must switch their focus to the visual and the physical and notice the sloping snow drifts, the gently dripping icicles, and the physical beauty of each snowflake. When winter wants to communicate he does not shout, cry or laugh – he moves. Winter’s philosophy in life is “don’t talk about it – do it.”

However, as much as Sir Winter likes to keep to himself and is motivated by his own inner world, he can also be influenced to change by others. A snow-drift can be transformed into a snow-fort, a pile of sticky snow can become a snow-man, ice on the walk can be melted by salt and an avid skier can create modern art on Sir Winter’s powdery white surface. To the casual observer Sir Winter may seem impenetrable. However, to those that know him well, the secrets to bringing him out of his comfort zone are revealed. Because above all, the comfort zone is what matters most to Sir Winter."

What a wonderful description of the Phlegmatic temperament. Read more here. We've got an entire household full of Phlegmatics right down to the cat! ;) It's a winter landscape here, although my daughter has a few drops of sunshine(Sanguine).

More about the four personality temperaments(Waldorf homeschool) here.

Beatrix Potter and Originality

Source: lynnehoppe.tumblr.com via Cypress on Pinterest

Thank goodness I was never sent to school. It would have rubbed off some of the originality. ~Beatrix Potter portrait and quote

Dollar Map Coloring Books

I found these map coloring books at the Dollar Tree today. I'll add pictures of some the inside pages once my camera is operational again. They are nicely detailed with pull out maps, flags, and highlights of each country/state. Picture and links are from Amazon.com:

Maps to Color and Learn Europe

Maps to Color and Learn United States

Dish Dryer Rack for File Folder Organization

Source: google.com via Elyse on Pinterest

Switching Gears: Homeschooling with Public Library Resources

We've used Rod & Staff, Schoolaid, and a bit of Christian Light Education(Learning to Read) as our core curriculum since Kindergarten. They are very close in content to early to mid-20th century school books, and that appealed to us. They are also bargain priced and efficient(basics) without any frills. We've filled in learning with some great online resources, using free helps and public domain books and texts. In the eighth and last year of Rod & Staff schooling, my son is more than ready(antsy, really) to spread his wings and learn less formally. We are already looking ahead to the next school year, and this year we dropped the Rod & Staff eighth grade reading curriculum in favor of independent reading(with summaries and a vocabulary list) this year.

Next school year, we will be using only one prepared curriculum, and that will be Christian Light Education Math(Rod & Staff ends at grade eight); the rest we'll get from free online resources and the library. There are stacks and stacks of history and science books* at the library, more than enough to choose from for reading, books reports, and vocabulary lists. We go to the library every week, and I already have a section and titles in mind.

Rod and Staff English is advanced, so my son will be well versed in the formal rules of English at the end of this school year. He will be ready to focus on reading and writing. I remember reading only classics for ninth grade English, and writing report after report on them. I really learned to write and comprehend well that year, and the best part was that I was able to choose which classics to read. I chose mostly romantic classics written by Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, E. M. Forester, and Edith Wharton. We did nothing else but read, write, and keep vocabulary lists. It was a small overseas private school, so the teacher was able to get away with this. It is my best remembered and was my most enjoyable year of schooling. I'm planning to open up this possibility to my son as well - the ability to choose favorite classics or quality literature to spend the year with.

I'll be sharing these teen resources and our books here on my blog. Finishing up eighth grade will feel a bit like finishing up second grade, where you move from learning to read to reading to learn. It's like taking the training wheels off, and moving into the adult realm. How fast they grow, and what precious time we've spent learning together as a family. I love homeschooling!

*We'll begin Apologia science in the tenth grade.

This Week's Picture Book Library Picks

Two quality young children's picture book finds this week from our public library:

A bit like Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Mouse, the Snail and the Whale book by Julia Donaldson is a cute story written in clever rhyming prose about an adventurous snail who meets a friendly whale willing to take him beyond his small world on a rock. After a trip around the world, the little snail finds a way to rescue the whale when they find themselves beached.


The Pea Blossom
A story about a pea, set in Beijing, China, who put his trust in faith. His purpose is revealed in the end upon the healing of a little girl with a chronic illness who miraculously heals after he blooms in front of her sick bed window. Although, not expressively mentioned, this book could easily be interpreted from a Christian standpoint of having faith, and letting God guide us to our life's purpose.

Review from Amazon:

K-Gr. 2. In this lovely retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Pea Blossom," five little peas wait impatiently in the sun to ripen. The first four peas have grand aspirations--one wishes to dine with the emperor; another plans to visit the moon--but the fifth and last little pea declares, "I shall go wherever it is that I am meant to." The fifth pea's destiny is to land on the windowsill of a gravely ill young girl, where it sprouts into a beautiful, blooming plant that brings about miraculous healing: "As the peas grew fat in their pods, so did the girl thrive and become healthy again." Choosing to set her version in Beijing, China, Poole illustrates her simple, elegant prose with watercolors on rice paper that are clearly reminiscent of Chinese paintings. The delicate, graceful scenes are imbued with just the right touch of whimsy; children will particularly enjoy the expressive faces of the anthropomorphic peas. A poignant read-aloud that will enhance any folktale collection. Jennifer Locke

Free original story by Hans Christan Anderson here. To print and/or save, simply right click on the images of the pages.