Swimming and socialization

A question often asked of homeschoolers by skeptical or curious onlookers is "What about socialization?". My answer to a serious inquiry involves a discussion of true socialization is teaching children to adapt socially to their culture, and where better can they learn that than within a family? I will often also ask the person forming the query whether they ONLY work with people the exact same age, and for the most part the same social background....because in a traditional school setting you will find a classroom with 25-30 children the same age (not at all necessarily of the same ability) and because school district lines are formed around neighbourhood boundries, you will also find that those children all basically have the same economical and often racial background as well...which we just don't find in a common workplace today. Sometimes a simple list of activities, and groups my children are a part of satisfies the asker. But, when I know that the person asking is just being argumentative, I have been known to come back a little snippily myself, challenging them with the commonly heard statement in school by a teacher of chatty classes - "We are not here to socialize people!" or even the quote Tracy reminded me of (I think originally by Lisa Welchel) - "I know, socialization is a problem...we really have to cut back and get some school work done!"
Yesterday was devoted to socialization! We went swimming with Tracy, Cheri, and the other 5 children that involves! We had a really fun time. Cheri was mortified to hear that Amelia had never been swimming at the ripe old age of 19 months - so a swim date was offered to us! Amelia took to the water just like a fish! She thought it was amazing! Grace went down the slide all by herself, and even got her face wet a few times! Olivia and Caitlin were somewhere, I don't really know where - which just goes to show how great having a daily swimming time at camp was for her water confidence! Not to mention MY confidence in her water ability! I am really looking forward to swimming lessons this year, because I am sure she will do much better now that she is less afraid! Grace as well, if we keep going to public swimming, just to play and be in the water, I am sure it will help her confidence level in the water as well - so she can progress in lessons this time. To ensure that we will go to the pool, I bought a 3 month family pass to the leisure centres. That way we can go swimming, and Greg can go and workout at the gym there.
After swimming we went to Cheri's for lunch and the kids had a great time playing together, until it was time for us to leave and pick up Greg from work!
Now nay-sayers and skeptics would be upset that we got no academic work done yesterday...but I am sticking with the response that there was no school is Strasbourg yesterday, so we were having a day off too! Ha!
C

Science project

This year we are using a new science program. It is called The Christian Kids' Guide to Biology. So far we have covered creation, how it doesn't really seem to be a realistic random happening, and now we have moved into cells.
So we have learned that all things are made from cells. Most cells are microscopic, so small infact that you could fit millions in a space the size of a pencil eraser. We learned that cells reproduce by dividing...and we learned that there are differences between plant cells and animal cells. Today we made a 3-D model of a cell using candy, jello, and an egg to represent the nucleus! It was pretty cool actually.
My favorite part of this program is the memory verses. I like bible verses for science!
c

a week is done

Sometimes if I don't post for a few days, I have to really think about what we have gotten accomplished since the last post.
I think I am getting the hang of having 2 school aged kids at the same time! We'll have to see how it actually goes when we get Olivia's math curriculum. Someone phoned tonight to tell me that he has a package for me from my friend in Calgary...so that means that what we have been waiting for is actually within the city limits! Yeah! He offered to drop it off, but didn't call or arrive, so I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow! I just can't wait to get it and take a look at it.
I was speaking with another Mom today at ARCHE who switched to math-u-see a few years ago, especially for her middle child who really struggles with math. Well he is almost caught up to grade level...in only a short time. I have heard that so many times from so many moms! I can't wait to get this box and hopefully it will help Liv "get" math on a new level.
I said earlier that she has really improved on simple multiplication by doing the online drills. That is so important. Now we need to be diligent in helping her with flashcards and other memory tools!
Grace got so much done this week! She loves her math book, she works on her alphabet pages, and she has been making collages with magazine cut-outs for the letter that we are working on. She is still working at her autobiography as well, I can't wait for it to be done....I know that she will love showing it off.
We are learning about cells in Science, and Liv has been working with Grace on their science memory verses! I love to see them working together.
Oh speaking of that...I have a great homeschooling moment to share. The other day we were just talking in the living room...the girls were actually supposed to be unloading the dishwasher, but whatever it was that Liv had to say was just SO important. So anyway all the girls were in the living room with me, and Amelia started saying "husha husha"...and within a few seconds, she grabbed Liv's hand, reached for Grace's and they started playing Ring around the Rosy (which has become Amelia's favorite game! Maybe it's because Tracy and I do it with the preschoolers every week at ARCHE). Anyway, I got tears in my eyes, and Liv asked what was wrong. I simply told her that it absolutely melts my heart to see them play with her, and if they were at school right then, that impromptu game of Ring Around the Rosy could never have happened. And they would have been. BOTH of them. And Amelia would have been making circles by herself! [not to mention I would have had to unload the dishwasher myself!!! ;) ]Man I love having them with me!
C

Look what is new!

Pretty neat, heh? I took a picture of the whole system, but just the tower, keyboard and mouse are new...the monitor we've had for a while. But the cool part about this picture is that I used my onboard card reader to get the images off of my memory stick, instead of hooking up through a USB cable! It was very cool!
So now, not only do we have high speed internet, but hopefully this will be a high speed computer! Watch out, I'm zooming now!
LOL!!!

Today was a good day!

I suppose that most of the time when it is not a good day the last thing I think about doing is blogging about it! Nonetheless it was a good day!
The girls got lots of book work done. Grace did math, a bit of phonics, she even was sounding out some simple words (with LOTS of help). We did a bit of our Come Sit By Me unit as well. Olivia worked in her journal, she did handwriting, a big spelling test, which she received 24 out of 25 correct! She worked a bit at her novel study, and then we decided after lunch to go outside and look for fall leaves. We had a great discussion about leaves, why some of the trees are already bare, and some are still almost completely green. We talked about tree seeds, and the protective covering they have (given by God)...it was really neat. Then we collected some leaves to use for a craft tomorrow.
This afternoon they just dressed up, and played. Then at supper time Olivia realized that she didn't get a chance to do any math drills on the Math-U-See website, so she asked if she could "just quickly go do one drill, or two, or three?". Oh the joy of homeschooling! I know that she knows that it is math, but for some reason she is just loving doing her drills online. Firstly she gets to use the computer, and secondly she is so competitive that drills really appeal to her. She is trying very hard to get it down to all 20 questions right in under a minute. I timed myself the other day just to have a benchmark of someone who knows the times tables, and I got 20 right in 23 seconds. So I think her goal of a minute is just awesome!
If you want to check your time, go to www.mathusee.com and click on Online Drills from the menu on the left side. Choose the multiplication (all the factors) and then click start! Leave us a comment if you do it, so Olivia can know how fast YOU are!

The rest of our Cranberry bread making pictures

Yesterday's 'co-op'

A homeschooling co-op works like any other co-op. People who have skill or knowledge, or interest in a particular area teach their children and others about that skill area. Or even more simply parents can just plan a time to get together and have the kids 'do school' together.
Tracy and I did that yesterday!
Every year since Olivia first started school, we have done a Thanksgiving unit in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and we have always used the book study from Five in a Row as a guide. The story book is called Cranberry Thanksgiving and it is a really nice story about a Grandmother and her Granddaughter at their Thanksgiving celebration where someone tries to steal the recipe for GRandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread. It is a great story about not judging a book by it's cover, and even has some forgiveness lessons in there as well!
So Tracy brought the girls over, we read the story talked a bit about it, and then the best part!Here are the pictures of us making Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread.
Enjoy!
(if you were here at my house, you could actually enjoy the fruits of our labours, not just the pics! LOL!)

I am so glad today to be a homeschooler! That is what happens every time you go to a support group meeting! You get reminded by all the other homeschool moms how great it is to be at home with your kids.
The devotion Anita read today was all about your attitude towards your work. It can be duty, or priveledge. Basically it said that duty=drudgery and priviledge=joy. I couldn't agree more with that statement! When I am going about my life, remember how truly blessed I am by my husband and my children, then I have joy, even in housework. But when I am being selfish, focussing on my own issues and lack of time for whatever it is that I want to be doing, housework, parenting, even being a wife seems so much like an excersise in futility.
Oh that God would continually bring to mind for me the blessings that are mine! I have a wonderful husband, who still makes me laugh after almost 14 years together! My children are obedient, growing, fun, and beautiful. I have been blessed with this 'job' as their homeschool mom-teacher. We get to spend all day together. Sometimes doing "school" stuff, and sometimes just hanging out!
Tomorrow we are going to try to get in a full day of school. Cover all of the subjects! I was reminded by some moms tonight about this program called 'Managers of Their Homes". It is a book that outlines a system of scheduling the homeschool life. I know from experience that when I first introduced a schedule to my girls, Olivia was VERY stressed, but within two or three days, she was FLOURISHING under it! I need to get back to it again. I have heard of this book, and the ministry of the Maxwells a lot in different circles, and I know that I need to buy this book...it will be good for us!
My friend Carol offered to lend me her Math-U-See Gamma program, so that is great! It will save me $75 and Liv and I can whip through it quickly and I am guessing she will STILL be able to finish Delta this year as well. I can't wait for it to arrive!
Olivia has improved her online drill time on the Math-U-See website. She was getting about 15 out of 20 correct in over 300 seconds a week and a half ago...and today she was right around an average of 19 out of 20 correct in around 90 seconds, so she is definately improving!
Tracy and the girls came over today to do some school with us as well. I will post more about that tomorrow - when I can add the pictures!
Love ya all!
C