Preparing for Braces

KM has ALWAYS - literally for as long as she has been going to the dentist's anyway - wanted braces. She used to press the gum across her teeth and pretend to have them. She asks the dental hygenist at every cleaning and picked out the colored bands that she would choose.

The day is finally arriving and she is bit more nervous than she thought she would be, so we looked up information so that she could be as informed as possible and here is some of what we found -

• Of Course BRAIN POP had a video!!!
• Kid's Health
• Medicine Net
• Kidzworld
• AAO - Braces Just for Kids
• Braces Brigade
• Style N Smile

We had the first appointment for the spacers to be put in and she goes to have the braces put on on Fri. The most difficult thing that she hadn't really thought about was the food restrictions. She is also pretty nervous about having the 4 teeth pulled. She has calmed herself a bit now that she knows it doesn't have to be done immediately, but I don't know how well it is going to go when the time actually comes. 

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Another FABULOUS Video!

FREE - Plimoth Plantation Webcast and First Thanksgiving Resources

Scholastic always has fabulous resources and there First Thanksgiving section isn't any different. They use all the links and connections to Plimoth Plantation and includes the more accurate ~ and often less known ~ information from the Wampanoag Tribes.

They also have a webcast coming up next week that is FREE to all educational institutions. If you miss or can't make the live event, a replay will be available at that link starting Wed, Nov. 17th.

For more of how we have studied Thanksgiving in the past you can take a look at the links in this post.

National Geographic's - Great Migrations - FREE Educational Resources

We love the National Geographic channel and I am amazed that I how somehow missed this incredible series, but am very grateful that someone took the time to pass it on through a yahoo group!

This area of the site has some great extra resources to enhance the experience and may open up some rather interesting avenues of study.

How Do You Socialize Your Children?

Though this is not 100% secular it is 100% funny!

Just what we needed!

Sometimes when you send something out into the universe, the universe sends you back EXACTLY what you needed. We had planned on running a few errands and maybe getting some tennis in today, but the weather decided that we needed to stay inside....and I chose to listen! We got lots of lessons done, pumpkin cookies and pineapple upside down cake baked, laundry and cleaning down!

It was such a restful, relaxing day. KM had a friend over in the afternoon and they had a great time playing Wii Sports Resort and making a Reese's Cake! CJ had the day off and finished some random projects around the house. I even got some fabulous rain shots, you can check out on our 365 Photo Project and our Nature Photo Blog. I don't know what it is about rainy days that sets that nesting instinct in to gear and makes me feel revived, but I am sure glad that it did!

Busy STILL

I really don't know how this keeps happening, we have been so BUSY lately! What have we been doing you may ask? Well there has been lots of fun stuff, lessons, tennis, hiking, web classes, parties, field trips, birthdays, fall activities, theater, volunteering, errands, and the list goes on....who has time to be home when you are "homeschooling"?

I am trying to slow things down, but it looks like at least the next two weeks are going to be the same. Once Thanksgiving week rolls on through, we should be good to be SLOOOOOWWW!

I just have to keep my fingers crossed, there has to be end somewhere....Right?

What do you do when things seem to be getting too overscheduled?

Rather Unique Experiences - PART 2

Today we got to be part of another rather interesting and unique experience at the Museum of Science. We were lucky enough to attend their Space Day program where they had two incredible astronauts discussing what it takes to become a NASA employ, as well as the many people in varying positions that are needed to get the astronauts into space! Astronaut Nicholas Patrick did an incredible job explaining all aspects of space flight and had some incredible pics and video from his recent trips to the International Space Station.

We also heard from Retired Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, who is now a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, about the ZERO robotics program - a close relative of the FIRST Lego League programs.

Hearing from these two gentlemen about the incredible opportunities available, now and in the future, in these programs and with NASA was fantastic.

As always, we had a great time during the rest of our visit...

Rather Unique Experiences - PART 1

KM was rather excited when she learned that she would be able to be part of a live webcast event with one of her FAVORITE artists - 

Although this is something that is open to all classrooms across the country and worldwide, you have to wonder how many teachers actually have the time to allow their students to enjoy a presentation like this.

We used SnapIt! to grab some great pics of the program!

Replays of this program will be available HERE.

For more information about other scholastic programs check out - 

 

This is a week of unique experiences...check back tomorrow to see what else we have been up to!

Pumpkin Carving Day

Yesterday was pumpkin carving day at our house! We like to do it a week before Halloween so that we can enjoy them, but they don't get too rotten before hand.

 
 
 

Some things we have been thinking about lately...

So you might remember the post from just a week or so ago about KM wanting to be more independent and schedule her own week, well she has decided that she doesn't want that responsibility any longer. Personally, I thought she was doing a decent job, but she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it and really didn't like that she was doing lessons 6 days a week instead of 4. She has asked if we can go back to the previous setup ~ me giving her the weekly list, which is broken up into four days for her ~ but instead of her doing things right off the bat in the morning, she can do them whenever she wants throughout the day. This is TOTALLY fine with me. However she wants to get her lessons done is up to her. She is starting to really understand that she is in charge of her learning.

A few days ago I was asked by a friend what I would do if KM didn't want to do "lessons" anymore and I was a bit taken aback by this one, as I had no idea what I would do and honestly had never thought of it. There have been programs that she has decided that she doesn't want to complete for whatever reason and that is totally fine. However I don't know, for sure, what I would do if she just flat out didn't want to do any of it.

I think that if she really and truly didn't want to do any lesson work, then I would talk to her and see why she felt that way and/or what her plan would be moving forward. As I also mentioned in previous posts, I truly don't feel like you can force anyone to "learn" anything. You might be able to get them to memorize something or test through something, but in order for them to truly absorb, understand and retain it, they have to be invested and interested. I don't think that my feelings on this will ever change.

Having gone to school and having always done work with me over summers and during vacations, it has just always been the norm for her to do academic studies. She really enjoys the programs that we use. She has a huge hand in the decision making process and makes the final picks on what she will be using, as she is the one that has to do it and why would I want to waste money on something that I would have to fight with her to get done. She is even liking the writing workbook that she has been doing - Spectrum Writing, Grade 8 - which is a huge find! She has goals that she has set for herself and now it is my job to help her get to reach those goals. If for some reason she has a change of heart, I will keep an open-mind and work with her in whatever manner she needs me to. 

Visit with the Littles

The Littles came by for a visit today so that MC could go and get the newest addition checked on...that's right she is having another one and it should be arriving early June, another Gemini on her hands! Though these two are at such fun ages, they are truly gonna have there hands full with another one!

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!

Hiking with Friends

We went on a fantastic hike today in the Blue Hills with a few of our friends and had a great time. The kids liked the tower and the scenic views - 

While I enjoyed the fresh brisk air which carried breezes of giggles and chattering of teenaged girls!

Loving Science Jim Shows

I know in the past I have raved and raved about Science Jim's classes, but I had to just throw a shoot out about his free shows on Fridays. He is doing some great science shows that have covered a myriad of topics each week and KM is truly loving them. You can sign up for them for free through Currclick and if you can't make the show time or want to see a previously posted one, he has them all recorded and available on Currclick as well.