New Routine -

--- things are really feeling good around here. I had briefly mentioned that we were trying a new routine in a previous post and have gotten TONS of questions about it! I am glad to say that it is working out nicely and I now feel rather comfortable disclosing it.

It really isn't that big of a deal, but has made a HUGE difference around here. Instead of switching gears CONSTANTLY through out the day as we go from subject to subject - we have decided to do one subject each day. As of right now it looks something like this:

We are finishing up our math program which is mostly review, so it really isn't anything that needs to be done daily. The next math that she will be doing in our spring session is a new program that I think will also work well with this system. However once she gets back into Teaching Textbook for Algebra 1 in the summer we will tweak it so that she does Math everyday and electives on Mondays so that we will have a four day week - leaving Fridays open for field trips.

So far it has been really productive and gives a good flow to the material! It seems like it was just the right time to switch things up!

African Tribal Hunting Masks

KM finished her Geography unit on Africa by creating an African Tribal Hunting Mask -

And then got silly traipsing around in it!

The dust is starting to settle...

...and things are starting to feel like they are getting a bit back to normal around here...or as close to normal as it ever is around here!

We are starting out on a new leg of our adventure and some things have changed a bit ~ mostly for the better.

The biggest change is that I am no longer watching the Littles on a regular basis. They are doing wonderfully on their new adventure and I can feel more like an aunt again! KM misses them, but is really enjoying some of the perks of this change.

One of those perks being a much needed change in sleep schedules - KM had been getting a bit spacey and with all the changes going on with her physically at this age, I thought I would check in with her doctor to see what he thought. His first suggestion was to make sure that she was eating, drinking and sleeping enough! Most kids don't get the benefit of being homeschooled and not HAVING to get up at the crack of dawn, so his first suggestion was to go a few weeks letting her wake up on her own schedule. This at first FRIGHTENED me IMMENSELY - I thought for sure she would sleep til 2 in the afternoon and want to stay up til 3 in the morning, but of course her Dr quickly added, that this should not change her bedtime! She should still try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour and then her body should naturally begin to set its own rhythms. Of course I also began researching on my own as well and found a number of articles that went into great detail to explain the differences in the circadian rhythms of teenagers. - Here is one - and another - and one more!

This really made me think - "Okay yet another INCREDIBLE benefit of homeschooling!" When KM first began homeschooling we had to teach her how to acknowledge the needs of her body that she had suppressed for so long at PS. Simple things like drinking when she is thirsty, eating when she is hungry, etc. rather than waiting for the teacher to say it is time to do those things and you better do them or you may not get a chance to do them again for HOURS!

For the first week there were a LOT of late mornings, but she did seem much more awake and refreshed in the afternoons and evenings, with far fewer "duh" moments - by this I mean, "what did I walk into the kitchen for? oh yeah I need to eat!" sort of thing - I also started to see the natural switch and she is now sleeping wonderfully and awaking refreshed and ready to start at a reasonable time. With this extra time in the morning, I can get more of MY things done like chores and exercise and such, before she even gets up! It also gives her more time in the evening to hang out with CJ and I without feeling so exhausted.

Another benefit is that since we don't have the Littles ~ and all that must be brought along with tiny children ~ to haul around with us, it is so much easier to just up and go whenever the mood hits us! We can go for a snow hike today because it is sooooo pretty out and the weather is just right! We can just pop out to a matinee movie because we put the lessons off until tomorrow. We can scrap the history book for the afternoon and get the grocery shopping done so that we can have friends over in the evening. It is just so freeing! It has felt like we were missing this true freedom aspect of home learning because we were always trying to get the hard core "WORK" done on the days that we didn't have the girls so that when we had them we could play, do art and have fun little kid time. However now we get to have fun "tween" time!

Please don't get me wrong I LOVE my nieces with all my heart and would do anything for them, but it was just time for our paths to split for a while! I will however let everyone know how they are enjoying their new journey.

AS ALWAYS we are also tweaking our curriculum a bit, but we haven't worked the kinks out quite yet so I will have to let you know about that in another post! Anyway, thanks so much for hanging in there while it was quiet and all the great emails of encouragement and concern! My readers are so WONDERFUL!

Transitioning....

is the name of the game around here as of late and therefore it may be a bit quieter than usual on this blogosphere! There are lots of changes, academic, family and otherwise that need to be addressed and so we will see you in a bit!!!


If you are looking for anything in particular be sure to search for it! Lots of past posts have been being checked lately - especially for resources! If you can't find what you are looking for feel free to email me - gckhomeschool at gmail.com - and I can point you in the right direction!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wonderful Readers -
I have gotten quite a few emails and YES WE ARE STILL HOME SCHOOLING! KM will not be going back to PS - EVER if I have my way!
There will just be some new features and things on the site so keep checking back!
Take Care,
Gina

Sometimes ----

-----I wonder if we made the right choice. On those days were I feel like I have repeated myself a gazillion and 1 times, the lessons just seem to take forever, the phone hasn't stopped ringing, the science experiment didn't work, the email just keeps pinging, all the smoke detectors are going off, the Littles are crying, the washer is buzzing and I can't remember the last time I have eaten.

Then I look at my daughter and see how much she has grown, matured and expanded her horizons over the last two years. Things are never perfect. It can be hard, exhausting, seem relentless at times, but those times are generally out numbered by the giggles, the "ah-ha" moments, the museum trips, the walks in the woods, and all the other times that wouldn't exist if I had made any other decision on that day two years ago.

Our family is about as perfect as every other family I know. I try to stay as positive as I can on this little blog of mine, so that on those days of questioning I can take a look and see all that we have accomplished and gained.

Things go wrong, but as with everything else in this world, when a mistake is made we try to learn from it the best that we can and move on. I know that I don't make the right decision every time, but I also know that I make decisions with the best intentions and with what is best for my family at the forefront of my mind.

So despite the assumptions of some of the emails that I have been getting lately - just to clarify - Homeschooling is not easy, I am not a saint, and our world is NOT perfect!

Robots - Part 1

KM has been into building things - all different kinds of things for a while now - so she got a lot of building things for the holidays. Her 3 favorites so far seem to be the robots though. This first one she made last week and has been trying to come up with different things for it to try to do - here are some pics -



and a quick clip of it running -

Will keep you posted on any of the experiments that she comes up with for it!

Getting ready...

for the opera! Our local support group had an incredible event this week. The kids who will be attending a BLO production of Barber of Seville in a few months, got the incredible opportunity to have a preview showing with two fantastic performers! Here is a video clip of some of the spectacular show ~ check your volume and be careful if you have headphones on as it is quite loud at some points ~

Blogger is not allowing me to post the other clips right now, but I will keep trying and post later if it allows me!

Meet the Masters - Homer

Homer did not inspire KM very much at all. She did complete the worksheets, but just really was not feeling the shading project that was assigned for this artist - she says she NEEDS color!

I don't blame her! So she will be passing on this one, though we may try our hand at block printing - another technique that they described in the unit. Hopefully the next unit will go over a bit better!

Physics Fridays - Gears Part 1

KM is continue with her Physics Workshop through our Winter Session and she continues to enjoy it a lot. She started the unit on gears this week and here is the first contraption...

Doodle Dice - Review

KM loves any kind of game! Card games, board games, Wii Games, etc.... whatever it is wants to play! So I saw Doodle Dice when I was randomly browsing through Rainbow Resource before the Holidays and thought - "Hey that looks kinda cool!" BOY WAS I RIGHT!

SEE WHAT YOUR DICE CAN DOODLE!™

Create a ‘doodle’ with a few rolls of the DOODLE DICE™. There's a different doodle pictured on each card in the deck. When you build a doodle that matches one of the cards , you take that card. Block an opponent's turn or take one of their cards away. Collect one card of each color and you win! It's the fun challenging way for everyone in your family to a be a ‘doodle artist’!

This game is so much fun. We spent hours playing it the day we opened it and then on New Year's Eve the adults and the kids were arguing over who was going to get to play it first!

The coolest thing about this game is the different chance factors that go along with the strategy! The rules are fairly easy to remember and it is just FUN. It is fast paced, so that no one loses interest and you never know what is going to happen next.

Here are some pics -

KM liked that as a bonus she got to practice her Spanish!

Homemade Holiday Gifts

KM worked very hard this year making lots of holiday gifts. I couldn't post pictures before hand because it would have ruined some suprises, but now that we have visited our last family stop I had to show off her craftiness.

At our co-op holiday party the kids made these great ornaments with plain glass ornaments and acrylic paint. KM immediately wanted to make them for all her grandparents and aunts. We all had fun doing this one.

KM has tried her hand at cross stitch before, but never really had the stamina to finish it.

She worked on this for quite some time and was very happy with the results:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Modge Podge! KM does now too! We got some plain glass bowls from the dollar store, added some Modge Podge and tissue paper and here are the results -

I had to play with the lighting and such and these pics really don't do them justice, but I think you get the idea. It gives them almost a stain glass like look. They can be used for centerpieces, fruit bowls, candle holders or whatever. You can also do this on other glass surfaces or to cover up something else. KM has now been stockpiling things that she wants to decoupage for gifts!

Snow, Snow, and MORE

SNOW!!!

Not that I am complaining, as CJ profits from the snow, but I haven't seen it snow like this in YEARS!!!

I am not sure who is loving it more CJ, the kids or....
the dogs! Dixie runs around like crazy digging her face in the snow! She will spend hours chasing after snowballs and LOVES to get the rub down when she comes in!He may not look very happy, but Rex actually has to be bribed back into the house once it starts snowing.

We have had snow on the ground since Dec.6th! Very unusual for our neck of the suburbs!

It must be nice...

to be a cat!

To just laze around and sleep all day!

It sounded so nice to her, that KM thought she would try it for the day!

2010!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year -
filled with kindness!!!

I have been thinking a lot about what I want for our family this year and the one word that comes to mind is kindness. I want us to be kinder to one another as well as to ourselves. Not that we are mean or nasty to each other, but sometimes we take for granted the things that are done. Just because someone is responsible for a chore or duty, doesn't mean that they don't like to be thanked or acknowledged for their efforts in making our lives run a little bit smoother.

In an effort to be kinder to ourselves, I am going to try to be more mindful of taking real DOWN TIME! We all need to have to time to recharge and re-energize by doing things that make us feel happy and fulfilled. I am going to try to set aside time each day to do something that we truly enjoy. No matter what it is - whether that is artwork, craft, watching a movie, reading a book, or playing a video game - that time is important!

My true hope that is if we are kind to one another and kind to ourselves, we will all be a little less stressed! Which in the end will make for our a happier family who then can be kinder to others as well!

Sesame Street Free EBooks - Toddlers & Preschoolers

I was contacted and asked to review the new Sesame Street Ebooks site, I was a bit hesitant at first, but then I went on and saw that they had my all time favorite sesame street book - HERE - and I had a change of heart!

Here is a link to a press release regarding the new site that gives the ins and outs of it.

So far they only have the free content up and it looks really great. I don't know if it is great enough that I would want to pay for something like this or subscribe to it, but as a free resource that will be changing weekly, it looks fantastic.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the new design on the Sesame Street website! I must say that since my daughter is 12 I have not been on the Sesame Street site in quite sometime, but I took a look around it with SC this morning and it looks great!

Here are my top picks for the site:

• I love the playlist feature where you can choose one they have made or create your own based on subject, theme and content type!
• My street - where you can customize a webpage with all your favorite aspects of the site.
• podcasts - great for a little something to take on the go!
• Parents section - and more specifically Media for Milestones section that has all the great developmental stages at the click of a mouse!

Really the only thing that I think could be improved was the fact that I couldn't find ANY printables! I am big on watch a video, do a color page and SC really loves this type of thing. I may have not looked deep enough into the site, but I couldn't find ANY! ~ with the exception of one of the ebooks, which was coloring book that could be printed off and I may have done that if I didn't already have the HUGE version of it!

I really think I will be using this site often in the future to gather things for SC - WHO LOVES ANYTHING on the computer.