Weekly Update - AAAAAHHHHHHHHH Balance

This week was so balanced and relaxing which is just what was needed around here!

DN was here while CJ was home and things went okay. He and KM worked on the earthworm experiments in Janice VanCleave's Bio Labs. We all learned a lot and had a good time with them. CJ and DN spent some time together and CJ got some things done around the house while I took KM to a teen hangout event Saturday night.

Once the boys were off on their adventures, KM and I had two days of relaxing, getting things done and just lounging around the house and two days running all around town. Monday KM got a lot of her lessons done, while I cleaned out closets and reorganized things. Tuesday we ran errands, went to see The Secret World of Arietty, - which was FABULOUS!!! - ran a few more errands and then found the perfect shoes to go with her dress for the semi-formal. Speaking of the shoes not only were they perfect but they were $59 marked down to $11.99 and we had a $10 off coupon so we got them for $1.99 which means we saved 96.7%!!!!! Wednesday we finally had a wintry day at home! It snowed, I built a fire and we spent the day in the living room - KM working on lessons while I finished up the spring lesson plans and then we caught up on the 3 episodes of Smash we had missed. Then Thursday we went  ice skating, to the grocery store and swung by the library to pick up some thingss we had on hold. We were hoping to make it to the BSU observatory for their special events for the opposition of Mars, but the sky was just not cooperating, maybe we will make it there this weekend. All and all it was a pretty good week and we hope that this balance will continue! 

Some extra pics of the critters around here this week -

Weekly Update - Busy Busy

We had a busy one this week! I picked CJ and DN up on Sunday and we went full throttle from the get go! KM and I had started prepping her room for the big remodel to start on Monday and CJ took some time to prep the walls. He got both coats on the green walls completed and KM is super excited to get the purple walls done in a few weeks. Since CJ is only home two days each week he has to work in stages on this project and will be taking a week off in between so that we can do something else.

While CJ was painting on Monday KM, DN and I got down to work getting lessons done. For part of our history unit on colonial days we made bread and butter - both from scratch - and I didn't even let the kids use the KitchenAid - KM thought this was a bit drastic and DN was shocked that it took us nearly 5 hours to get a loaf of bread. KM brought up the fact that if we had been making it back then it would have taken even longer because the wheat would have had to been ground, the milk gathered and separated from the cows, etc. So even though we were doing it the "old fashioned" way we were still taking advantage of modern conveniences to do so - GREAT POINT!!! We finished prepping and getting ready for the Journey North Mystery Class which will begin next Monday and played Shopping Spree from the What's Your Angle Scholastic Math Games Resource. We also finished up a game of Trivial Pursuit Junior from the night before.

Tuesday the kids got some lessons done in the morning and then we headed to ice skating before we had to bring CJ back to work. I was really glad that we all had a chance to get back on the ice, especially with CJ with us. When we got back KM had just enough time to finish up her poetry for her skype class on Wed, before we had to get her to her friends for youth group. DN and I replaced a blown taillight on my car and had had a follow up conversation in regards to his interest in the armed forces, as he had not read either of the books that he had chosen from the library while he was at home. He disclosed that he feels as though the only reason he had any interest in the military was to impress his brothers and that it really isn't something he is interested in, so we are back at square one with no interest in anything. Not really sure where to go with this beyond keeping up with the core subjects to see if something inspires or intrigues him.

DN worked on some Manga High challenges, while KM finished some history Wednesday morning before her Poetry class and then we headed off to host a teen bowling event. The kids had a great time bowling and though it was a smaller group - 9 kids - it was totally worth it for me to set it up! After dinner I brought DN to swap back and ran some errands while KM finished up her lessons for the day.

KM and I went to see Joyful Noise Thursday. KM really enjoyed it and I was surprised at well it was done. There were a few bits that I just didn't get, but all and all it was worth the matinee. When we came home KM enjoyed her new walls while finishing up some biology.
Friday is going to be a nice quiet down day, exactly what I need to end this whirlwind of a week.

Disneynature Chimpanzee - Coming to theaters this April!

We have truly enjoyed going to see the Disneynature movies each year and are excited for the next installment - chimpanzee

As always there is a free education guide available for download - HERE - which has more to offer this year as it is a whopping 135 pages and includes powerpoint presentation with audio and video clips! 

Week 4 - Deschooling and Book Break Update

So our week is running a bit differently this week, as we are not doing "lessons" again until after the new year, instead we are working on some projects, getting ready for the holidays and trying to help DN understand that learning is a part of life and not just something you do on certain days, at certain times, and on specific predetermined topics set out by someone else. So he spent the weekend at home and we met up with him on Sunday evening so that he could join KM at the Smash Brothers Tournament at the Library on Monday. Since we didn't need to be there until later in the afternoon the kids had the day to do what they wanted.

KM choose to be on the computer, work on some Snap Circuits Projects, play on the computer and used some of the turkey bones that were leftover from soup making this weekend to try out a bendy bone experiment that she has been meaning to do for a while, but always seemed to think of AFTER I had disposed of the carcass. DN choose to read, read, watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at lunch, read and read some more. KM tried to get him into some of the things that she was working on, but he was really into Battle of the Labyrinth - book 4 in the Percy Jackson Series, he read the first 3 in record time and was really glad I was able to get the 4th through our library network and even happier that I grabbed the final volume while they were in the tournament - luckily thing too since he finished the 4th within minutes of us returning home.

KM has been feeling a bit under the weather, sniffly and coughing at night, so we decided to put skating off until later in the week to not subject her to the cold and hit the movies instead to see Arthur Christmas. I had heard mixed reviews, but was really happy that we decided to go. It was super funny and both the kids really liked it. I was glad to see that it was rated PG as there were a few parts that I would think could be a bit disturbing to little ones. After the movies we dropped KM off at home to rest while DN and I went to run some errands. The beans we had setup last week to determine if direction of helium mattered needed to be transplanted and DN got to see how the bean transforms into the leaves. We spent the evening making ornaments with Sculpey and then at 9ish I had a surge of energy and decided we NEEDED to clean the fridge. Glad I did though because it took just less than an hour to scrub down everything, with the kids helping and they got to sleep in the next morning while I went grocery shopping. Teamwork and cooperation went a long way on this one!



Wednesday was shopping and chore day - I went grocery shopping and the kids needed to get their rooms organized and tidied up before the holiday.  They also spent some time painting the ornaments they had made the night before. We were hoping to get to the BSU observatory for their last public viewing before winter break, but the clouds just didn't cooperate. We did get to the discount store so that KM could pick up the fabulous dress for the formal New Years Eve party she will be attending with some of her youth group friends. She is VERY excited as this is her first formal. She picked a gorgeous flowing gown. We got the dress, shoes, and  shawl all for under $35! WOOHOOO for bargain shopping! The kids finished up their christmas shopping online, since CJ got stuck out on the road longer than expected this week. DN learned how to play Wii Music, set up his profile on Wii Fit Plus and played the new Zelda game he got from the library.

We made it to skating Thursday and they had a great time. We met up with DN's Uncle so he could spend the rest of the week home with them. Then KM went to a jewelry making class at the library - I just love how many activities she is getting involved with over there! I managed to find some time to get the last of the footage edited from KMs theater group and to finalize the majority of their winter session lesson plans. I always feel so much more at ease when I know they are all set. I am open to tweaking and twisting them around and I have a few more things to iron out, but just knowing they are there and ready makes me feel organized and ready to go. I will post about our upcoming plans next week!



All and all it was a really great week. We got a lot completed and had a really good time. DN seemed to really catch on with what we do around here, he was interested in most of the things, but passed on a few, which is to be expected - don't we all want to pass on some things.  It is weeks like this that remind me of why I started this blog in the first place - it is just a great way to see what it is that we have done. Even when it seems like it wasn't very much. Hope you all had as much fun this week as we did!

Day full of Muppets!!! - Movie review

Ok we love all things muppets, but when I started seeing the trailers for The Muppets, I was a bit hesitant and unsure that it could live up to my high expectations! Well I have to say - MY CHEEKS HURT from smiling and my eyes were stinging from having wiped them so often. This movie was HYSTERICAL. From the 80's robot to the random outbreaking of song to the map travel button - this movie was exactly what it should have been. Jason Segel did an incredible job and I have to say that this was the first TRULY kid family friendly movie I have seen in a long time. There were no inappropriate and unnecessary jokes that you had to hope would fly over the kids heads, just pure Muppet humor, slapstick and fun!

And to top off our Muppet day the CW is airing the Christmas special - A Muppets Christmas - Letters to Santa - is airing tonight and we will be snuggling up on the sofa to watch!

Dolphin Tale - Cheers, Tears, and MORE CHEERS for this incredible movie!!!

This was such an inspiring movie on so many levels. If you have not been to see it go tonight!!! I am telling you everyone can learn so much from this film!

The kids I brought were cheering when they saw this scene!!! 

Beyond the incredible plug for independent learning, homeschooling and educational intentions in general this movie had more twists and turns, tear jerking moments and laugh out loud scenes than any I have seen in quite some time!

Scholastic has a huge amount of resources, links and videos to expand this movie into a unit study - Meet Winter the Dolphin. Homeschool Movie Club also has a unit study guide - HERE.

YouTube Monday - How Do You Socialize Your Children?

I have posted this before, but stumbled across it again and thought it was You Tube Monday Worthy!!!
Look past the religious content and it is seriously funny! 

You Tube Monday - MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

You Tube Monday - Julian Smith - Jellyfish

Race to Nowhere - Movie Review

I was able to attend a viewing of this film last week. I am not really sure if I feel fortunate to have been able to or not as I felt sick to my stomach as I was watching this movie. It was seriously disturbing to me.

 

I was with two other home ed moms - more on the unschooling side than me and with much younger children- and before the movie started we were given an article - http://www.chicagoparent.com/community/the-self-aware-parent/2011/march/let's-be-clear---what-do-we-really-want-for-our-children and as we read through it one of the mom's said to me "Are there people who really think this way? I guess I just don't encounter them." I assured here that there were.

 

The movie goes into detail about the stress that is put on children and the extremes that these children and parents are willing to go through in order to get into colleges, pass the tests and get good grades. Two of the director's own children were getting physically ill - headaches, stomach aches, insomnia - over the amount of homework and pressure that was put on them. She choose to take one of her daughter's - the one who had the most severe issues - out of the school that she was in and send her to another school. The girl stated that at first she was excited about a new school and thought that things were going to be better, but after the first week, she came to realize "it was still school". This to me was the point in the movie where I was just astonished and KEPT WAITING for someone to say they were home educating.

 

The closest case of home education was a mom who allowed her son to go to an alternative school that vaguely sounded like an umbrella school where the student had to meet with the teacher once a week, but other than that the parents just kept sending their kids to schools. The director did state that she was trying to advocate for "no homework" and they even mentioned that they got one of the schools to do "No Homework Nights", but that was it. I just don't understand it, how on earth could you continue to send your child anywhere that was making them SICK!

 

There were a few parents who had decided to not push the "college track" so strongly with there kids after they had had to send them to "stress centers" and dealt with numerous stress related disorders - anorexia, cutting, depression, etc - , but still not one of them thought why are we sending them back at all?

 

There was even a family that had a daughter who commited suicide over her math grades - I am not exaggerating, that was the reason the mom gave - and she still sends her son to school. She did say that she doesn't focus so much on his grades or his schoolwork and talks to him more about what is going on and how he is feeling, but she still sends him to school.

 

We were sitting amongst about 30 other people and for the most part - we are fairly certain - they were all teachers. We felt that way because there were many remarks throughout the movie that they thought were quite funny that we thought were disturbing and we kinda giggled and looked at each other at points that they just didn't seem to get.

 

As with Waiting for Superman, they stated a lot of facts and statistics - 93% of high school students have cheated at least once, when teachers give less or no homework the students grades improve, etc. - that are seemingly meant to awaken those who are unaware, but there is still NO solutions. They make a list of suggestions - http://www.endtherace.org/what-individuals-can-do-today - but these just seem like bandaids when you think of the damage that is being done to these kids. 

 

If there is one question that all of the parents that participated in this film should be asked it is "WHY do you continue to SEND THEM BACK?" 

Soul Surfer - The Inspiring True Story of Bethany Hamilton - In Theaters Now

Sometimes timing is everything! I was just mentioning to KM that we should go see this movie this week and when I went to my computer to look up where it was playing this email was sitting in my inbox so I thought I would share -

Dear Homeschool Leader,

Have you heard of Bethany Hamilton? She's the young surfer who lost her arm when she was attacked by a 14-foot shark.

Amazingly, she was back in the water a month later, and surfing competitively within a few months ... All while bodly living out and sharing her faith in Jesus Christ.

Her inspiring story is now a major motion picture in theaters now and features an all-star cast: AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid.

Click here to view a clip from Soul Surfer including Bethany's upbringing as a homeschooler.

Please help get the word out!

Buy tickets here!

You can:
"Like" the Facebook page
Visit the Soul Surfer website to sign up for updates and get inside information.

Thank you for supporting family-friendly films and for getting the word out about Soul Surfer!

We went to see it this afternoon and it was an INCREDIBLE story! It was so inspiring to see this 13 year old girl overcome such a horrific situation with a poise and grace far beyond her years. Our family is not religious in anyway, but we are spiritual and to see how this child's faith brought her through was amazing. We were both in tears several times!

African Cats - DisneyNature Film

We have loved the DisneyNature Films in the past and we can't wait for African Cats to come out next month.

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. Narrated by Oscar®-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons. Disneynature brings “The Lion King” to life on the big screen in this True Life Adventure directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill (“Earth”). An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild, “African Cats” leaps into theatres on Earth Day, April 22, 2011
 



Take a minute to download the educator's guide for some great resources HERE!

Waiting for Superman - Movie Review

If your children are in school, if you are a homeschooler, if you are an unschooler, if you are a teacher, if you are a grandparent, if you care at all for the children that are being educated in this country, you NEED to see this movie!
This is not another movie bashing school teachers, this is a statistic driven, fact loaded film that shows where the true issues lie and that is in an antiquated bureaucratic system that has proven to be failing for years yet nothing has been done to fix it.
I really felt like I knew a lot about the education system in this country, but this brought me to a whole new level of aggravation, shock, and fear. Fear for the education and future of the majority of the children in this country.
There are people out there making a difference, their leadership, insight and groundbreaking courage should be admired and exemplified. Please make time to see this movie and tell EVERYONE you know to see it as well!

Movie Review - Percy Jackson and the Lighting Theif

I mentioned way back we found out that they were making this movie how excited we were to see it! KM and I read EVERY book and were very disappointed when we found it was being released over Feb. vaca because we were not going to cram into a theater to see it. So we had to wait.....






but I have to say....IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!

This is one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time. Unlike many movies that have been made from incredible books this one was as close to the mark as I think it could get using living actors. The graphics and special effects were incredible. Medusa's snakes were the pinnacle of the movie for me, it truly looked like Uma Thurman had snakes crawling out of her head!

I don't want to be a spoiler so I will just say that the few tweaks that they did for the movie were understandable in my opinion. KM was a bit annoyed that Annabeth was not blonde, but really she had NOTHING else bad to say about the movie.

It was truly spectacular and we REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, ~ oh did i say REALLY, ~ hope they make the rest of the series!


I will also mention that CJ - who did not read the book ~ also thorougly enjoyed it and hopes for sequels!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a fantastic day of cooking...



playing.....
and going to watch a FANTASTIC movie....

It was much quieter than it has been in years around here, but it was still a great day and I think we really needed the quietness!

Wii Sports Resort is HANDS DOWN our favorite wii game. It is the most fun when we have everyone over and can challenge each other. It is truly fun for the whole family and an even playing field for most!

I thought I would mention that A Christmas Carol was INCREDIBLE. Though I had been warned that it was not for the very young and I would have to agree, I truly think that most kids 8+ would be okay with it. There are a few jolting moments, but nothing truly scary. We saw it in Digital 3D and if I hadn't known I would have thought they were real people. The animation was truly unbelievable. This is sure to be a holiday classic in our family!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!