Well Read

A Heart Project

2012-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

There is something on my heart that I’ve got to share with you. I hope you’ll take some time and read this through to capture the vision and how you can participate. As a mom, I’m sure that you can relate to the feeling that our children are our greatest gift. Yeah, sometimes they drive me a little nuts, but if asked to state my greatest accomplishment in life I would have to say Chloe, Caibry, Nevie and Sadie.

They are my world and I simply could not imagine a world without them in it. I’m sure you can relate.

In fact, it’s probably this maternal juice that first bubbled up in me when I heard about the Butterfly Project. As an artist, I was looking for ways to contribute my talents to worthy causes. During my search I came across the opportunity to create two-dimensional butterflies that I could then contribute to the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas. In 2014 they are seeking to display their vast collection of butterfly submissions from young and old artists alike. Each winged beauty will represent one of the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust.

Now this project isn’t exclusive to artists. ANYONE could create a butterfly. ANYONE could remember one of these lost children. Upon seeing this, I got out my art supplies and rallied my little artists. I borrowed my friend’s children and we painted and we played together. All the while I was extremely aware of the gift I had in them. My children were free to mix colors and swirling pigments; they were free to experiment without being experimented on by the cruel hands of Hitler’s Gestapo.

Like you, I’m aware of the reality of the past and the horrific position children were put in during Hitler’s regime. I feel a bond with their mothers, and a responsibility, if you will, to get the word out about this project. It’s something I’m truly passionate about.

At this point you may be thinking, “Alright Heather, you do realize it’s just a paper butterfly don’t you? How can it make a difference?” Well, it speaks volumes to the families of Holocaust survivors. It really is more than paper. It’s a gift of solidarity, a commitment to remember these innocent victims, and create beauty out of ashes. It gives them a legacy. It’s a mission on their behalf. Your butterfly gives a child a voice.

Okay, so I had about 50 butterflies created when my family began to attend a Messianic congregation. This made me even more alert to the similarities between these children who perished in the Holocaust and my own kiddos. They weren’t that different you know? Children are all the same at their core. Their imaginations, dreams, and fantasies are their playgrounds. What if the imagination was fragmented, the dreams nightmares, and the playground a concentration camp?

A Little History:

During World War II the Nazis despised Messianic Jews. Amidst this landscape pastors of some Christian congregations still chose to embrace Messianic Jews, those who accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah. In July 1933 the heat was turned up when these churches were made to take an oath of allegiance to Hitler and all churches were made to institute the Aryan Paragraph and exclude Messianic Jews. Messianic Jews were already expelled from the Jewish community and synagogue due to their belief in the Messiah. The Aryan Paragraph sought to further isolate these believers from fellowship in the Christian circles, leaving them without any sense of religious community. This may seem like a small loss to some, but in Jewish culture the fellowship that allows them to grow in their understanding of scripture by debate and dialogue is paramount. In essence, Hitler was attempting to strip them of God, working intentionally to create in them a psyche of rejection and neglect.

Understanding the ramifications, many churches refused to accept the oath. As a result, many church leaders were arrested and murdered in concentration camps in the coming years. The Aryan Paragraph achieved its mission to force Jewish Christians out of the church. And those with non-Jewish heritage who embraced the Hebraic mindset, sought to keep Torah, and honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were also in danger of the wrath of Hitler. By their allegiance to this most threatened people group, these Hebraic Christians were basically waving a red flag before a raging bull, professing clearly whose side they were on.

Dating from Bible times onward, the will to stand up for YHVH, to face His critics head on and take the consequences as they came, has never been too big of a risk for a true believer. With pure conviction and certainty in the Torah, they clung to the truth that when they stood before the enemy they would surely not stand alone; for a host of angels would wage the war in unison with each brave step an individual took. Through that knowledge they faced the worst. They endured the shattering loss of loved ones, children ripped from their arms, terror, torture, and the worst the world could bring against them. Yet, the promise remained steadfast. The aching pain preceded a glorious reunion; and for that they would do it all again if they would have to. May they never have to.

The Bottom Line:

1.5 million children died in the Holocaust. Many were Jewish; no doubt some were children of these Messianic believers. Children like mine. Among them were also gypsies and handicapped children, anyone who was deemed unworthy of life by Hitler’s cruel standards. These were ordinary children. They were boys and girls who slept with their favorite toys and played their favorite games, which laughed and fought with their siblings, who begged Mommy to kiss their booboos and Daddy to tell a bedtime story. They had dreams and futures until everything was stolen by war and hate.

We would like to believe that the world is very different then it was in Hitler’s day. Yet, I am not convinced that such hate could not rise up again. It has so many times before. Who are we to think we could be immune? It seems evident to me that the key to prevention of any illness, whether the flu, AIDS, or simply the heinous ignorance of hate, is to foster awareness of the results. Remembering what was and what might be if we don’t carve out a fresh future is precious. It puts 1.5 million butterflies to flight and honors those mommies like us who would want our children remembered if the shoe was on the other foot.

“Children were neither just the mute and traumatized witnesses to this war, nor merely innocent victims; the war invaded their imaginations and the war raged inside them.” Nicholas Stargardt in “Witnesses of War: Children’s Lives Under the Nazis”

They were innocent dreamers, awakened to war. Don’t they deserve to be honored?

Will you please help by participating in this project? Tell your church, your synagogue, your school etc. and start creating some colorful butterflies. Let’s bring some color and beauty to the page in honor of children who were robbed of a childhood.

Skill is not the key, volume is the key. 1.5 million is a HUGE number. Together we can help every child be represented.
All ages are welcome.
Completed Butterflies cannot be over 8x10 inches.
Any medium is accepted but two-dimensional submissions are preferred.
Please Do Not use glitter or food products on your butterfly.
Ask artists to sign them on the back only.

*The above butterflies were created by children ages 4-10. For an easy project give each child a poster board and have them smear paints in an abstract pattern across the entire surface. Cut out butterfly shapes after the paint dries. One child created over 70 butterflies with one poster board using this method.

Butterflies are due by Dec. 13^th, 2012

Mail or bring your Butterflies to:
Holocaust Museum Houston
Butterfly Project
Education Department
5401 Caroline St.
Houston, TX 77004
USA

Remember to include your name, organization/school, address, email address, and number of butterflies sent.

If you live close to me just give me a call and I’ll pick up your butterfly stash and mail them for you along with my collection. Please have them counted.

You can see more details at http://www.hmh.org/ed_butterfly1.shtml

I cannot tell you how much it means to me personally that you have taken the time to read this letter and that you would consider participating. Please let me know if you decide to send butterflies and how many you’ve sent.

Blessings,

Heather Randall

Celebrating 10 Years of TOS Blog Hop

2011-04-29T17:09:00.001-07:00

When I moved to Oklahoma with my family in 2007 we didn't know anyone in the state except our children, my Mom (who moved with us), and my husband's new employer. I knew homeschooling was widespread in Oklahoma, but I had no idea how to make the homeschooling connections I needed.

When I found The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine in a local Mardel I was really excited by the contents. Truthfully, the ads drew me in. I had no idea where to find or buy curriculum. I didn't know my options and seeing all of those pretty glossy pictures of countless options filled me with hope. That hope grew bigger as I began to read the contents and find quality articles from moms just like me, real moms who felt scared by this awesome responsibility but forged ahead anyway because they were determined to follow the will of God in their children's education.

Ultimately, I found a resource that I never expected would impact not only my homeschooling, but my life as a whole. It was more than a magazine. It was a community. This was a huge comfort to me being 10,000 miles from my friends and the majority of my support system.

I began visiting the Homeschool Lounge, I started a blog on HomeschoolBlogger, and my support system grew. My understanding of homeschooling blossomed and my confidence developed.

Eventually I applied and was selected to be a member on the Maiden Voyage of The Homeschool Crew. This was an opportunity to review several curricula in exchange for an honest review. It was a year of experiment and flexibility that taught my children how to learn in any circumstance and with any materials they were given. We found the best fits and we had some fits, but the experience was one I wouldn't change for anything.

Once the year on the Crew came to an end I had caught the review fever. I signed up for review programs with every Christian publisher I could find. I also tried for a slot as a TOS product reviewer. All of these opportunities allowed me to review and test over $4,000 worth of great homeschooling materials for free. The kids tried out Latin, started studying guitar, and learned a million other things I could not have offered them without this wonderful blessing.

Last September I began working as an Independent Contractor with The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. I'm constantly in awe at the hearts and minds (not to mention the talent) of my fellow co-workers. They are a beautiful, and Godly group of people who are passionate about this calling we have to homeschool our children.

TOS is like a family to me. I have been blessed so much by the TOS homeschooling community. My gratitude for this resource is immeasurable. That's why I feel enormous excitement when I see that The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is celebrating 10 years in publication. I want to be the annoying relative wailing the "Happy Birthday" song with embarrassingly loud enthusiasm.

Thank you TOS! Happy 10th Anniversary!

If you have a special TOS memory, come share it in the TOS Blog Hop.

If you haven't joined the TOS family yet, it isn't too late. Come celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine!

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Learn History Through Reading Great Books

2011-03-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded a great free resource. I heard about the below freebie from The Homeschool Lounge and I thought I'd post really quick to let you, my readers, know about it.

Trisms is offering their book Reading Through the Ages as a free download for a limited time.

Reading Through the Ages is compatible with most curriculum. The books are listed chronologically, 4000 B.C. to the present. Also, each book is distinguished by reading level, type of book (historical fiction or biography) and number of pages.

Place Reading Through the Ages in your shopping cart and use promo code "freertta" at checkout.

Go Here.
I'm not sure how long this promotion lasts. Grab it free while you can.

The Inspiration of Marigold Garden

2011-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Recently I found a beautifully illustrated copy of Kate Greenaway's Marigold Garden. My copy was printed by Fredrick Warne & CO LTD. which makes it even more special to me.
If you didn't know, Fredrick Warne &CO was the same publishing house who took on Beatrix Potter and gave her her first big break.

I was already familiar with Kate Greenaway's artistic style. I'd seen several of her illustrations and fallen in love with her soft muted color pallet and the gentle childhood expressions she put on the faces she painted. These expressions she created always seemed to float between innocence, peaceful resolve and slight boredom. I couldn't tell if the child was as pure as the driven snow, content beyond words or bored out of its mind. Still, these quiet images soothed me. If this artist is new to you, I know you will enjoy reading and viewing free examples of her beautiful artwork and poetry here.

I knew that I liked Kate Greenaway's style and that she was an English artist and illustrator who lived in the Victorian period, but I didn't know much more about her. You can read a brief bio here. That was all I knew about her.

I didn't know was that Kate Greenaway was a pivotal influence on needlework. I learned later that many of the red work sunbonnet sue patterns that are common on children's quilts are actually inspired by her.

Even though I don't sew, this new information sent me on a massive hunt for Kate Greenaway red work patterns. It's never to late to learn a new skill right?

I found a cross stitch pattern, iron on transfers, and a cheap copy of a hard cover book of patterns.

But I still didn't know how to sew, or stitch or embroider or . . . .

Then I found this amazing site that has a primer with pdf lessons in stitches and free samplers.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but that is when the light bulb clicked on. This would make a wonderful life skill to teach my daughter!

And . . .

I could even tie it into our current living book. In Hetty Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field, young Phoebe is learning to do stitch work as a hobby, she was also made to work a more challenging sampler as punishment for her misbehavior.

This new life skill would tie my daughter to the character and bond them together through personal experience. I would be giving her a richer connection to the book and pulling her into the story.

Bonus!

Another great embroidery site primer can be found here.

This great site is also bubbling over with information on red work.

Would you rather start small?
This site has beautiful free samplers for beginners- advanced. After reviewing the pdf primer lessons together with your child and developing confidence in your stitches, maybe consider allowing your child to choose their pattern themselves. This creative choice might inspire them.

Also, if you're really brave, you can follow in the footsteps of Victorian young ladies who made their own patterns. Here is a site that will teach their method for making perforated patterns.

As you begin learning this skill, remember to take some relaxing time snuggled up on a couch together reading Kate's poetry. As the pages turn, allow the warm images and the quiet beauty of childhood to invite you back in time.

Happy Reading!

A New Year and A New Direction

2010-10-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted. I have had a few life distractions. You know how it goes. Adjustments and flexibility have dominated my life lately.
I recently took on a job that I am loving. I work from home and juggle it all now. Sometimes school hapens later in the day. Sometimes it happens on the weekends. We juggle life.

This year my focus with school is creativity. I want to teach my children to creatively express and apply what they are learning. I want to build a deeper independence. Indepence is a necessary skill my children need at the moment. I need them to be confident and self-motivated, focused and excited about the topics and themes they are studying. Excitement makes you want to dig deeper. Creativity makes you want to look at every angle and examine the subject more intently.
I think creative outlets are a fantastic way to build confidence and free thinking.
So . . .we read. A lot.
This year I am not following one particular curriculum. We aren't over-thinking it. We are just doing it.
Fridays are the most anticipated day of the week for my kids.
On Fridays we do narration activities through art. We review what we have read and studied and each child makes 4 artist trading cards to convey a detail of our reading. Maybe they will draw a character from their reading book. Maybe an animal from their science book. Maybe they will create a card about a historic time or an important historic figure. Once my children even created math atcs by writing one number in four different languages on their card.
If you aren't familiar with artist trading cards you can learn more here.
We joined some trading groups on yahoo, but weren't really happy with our returns. Now we are exclusively active on http://www.atcsforall.com/. My kids have traded with several states as well as Canada, England, Finland, and New Zealand.
We keep a map that we color in once we have traded with that state or country. This is teaching them geography in a non- threatening way.
They have learned to apply math skills to determine how many stamps their envelopes require to cover postage and which stamps are best to use to save $ (44cent, 10 cent, etc.)
We have even been lucky enough to sneak in some geology when their return cards from Finland where delayed after being re-routed around the volcano in iceland. We snuck in some current events recently when I had a return trade from Chile that arrived the week that the miners were freed.
The blessing of mother culture has been wonderful for me as well. I needed an outlet and atcs have been wonderful tools for me to create as well.

My son is really struggling with writing lately. He has sensory processing disorder and possible disgraphia. The act of writing is discouraging to him and he quickly feels defeated. It has become conterproductive to his learning, so I'm not forcing it --right now. There is a season for everything right? For now, we are using the computer to meet his "writing" needs. He is learning to type.

As part of his typing asssignments he is blogging about our art study lessons. My daughter is also helping out. We started a blog called ART-ucation for this project.

My daughter doesn't get hives at the thought of writing. She is working on Learning to Spell Through Copywork A and Language Lessons for the Elementary Child (Volume 1). She is also looking forward to November when she'll start her first year of NanoWriMo.

That leaves math, science, history and reading.

For Math:
We are glued to Math Mammoth. I love this curriculum and swear by it. I won't use anything else for my children.
We have also been casually reading Number Stories of Long Ago to help establish the origins of math and tie it in to our history studies.

For Science:
Apologia rocks! My kids are loving Exploring Creation With Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day. We are also utilizing the online bonus materials, the lapbook and notebooking that coordinate with the book. They are all wondeful!

For History:
A Child's History of the World, and Learning Through History Magazine Unit Studies to expand on the material and a handy-dandy Book of Centuries time-line from Simply Charlotte Mason.

For Reading:
For read- alouds we are doing A Bear Called Paddington(for my little ones, the older two are the readers), The Peterkin Papers,The Saturdays (Melendy Quartet), Homer Priceand Heidi.

They are also required to complete 30 minutes of independent reading daily. Even my younger two have "quiet book time". My oldest has read through eight Junie B Jones Books so far. My son has developed a love for Louisa May Alcott (not sure how that happened) and is currently enjoying Jo's Boys. I am very please with the amount of reading that occurs and definately surprised by their choices for independent reading.

For Bible:
We are doing devotions, character study and reading a ywam biography of Ida Scudder. Currently, we are participating in Sonlight's Mission to India. It is excellent! I hope they do more of these for other countries in the future. My kids are loving learning about India and have already collected a bunch of money toward the mission.

For Life Studies:
My oldest is learning to sew and has also joined me in the kitchen. My son has helped daddy on building projects and household chores.

So . . . lots of adjustments. That's kind of how homeschooling works though. It bends to life and fits us in every season (not like my skinny jeans that cut off circulation this time of the month). Homeschooling always fits. I'm so blessed to have the freedom and ability to school my children at home.

CM Blog Carnival

2010-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

The Holistic Homeschooler hosted the most recent (Jan. 18th) Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. The contributors are great! I especially enjoyed this post with loads of Vincent van Gogh resources. One of the fun things about any blog carnival is the discovery of excellent bloggers that you might not have come across on your one. I had never visited The One Thing until the Carnival and I loved it! I'll be back to the site again and again for great life skill challenges. You'll find my post about ermines there as well. So swing over and check out The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. Remember, you can always submit your posts as well. :)

Poetry Revisited

2010-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen." -Leonardo da Vinci

Recently, in a previous post, I discussed my struggles with teaching poetry. Since then I have done a bit of study and found some resources that I thought I'd share here.

1. Printable poetry would be good to place on the refrigerator or on display somewhere that children can see and read it.

2. I also found more printable poetry broken down into topic categories like Animals, Colors, Earth Science, Family, etc. I really like what this site offers. Their list of bird poetry is long and wonderful. I'll be visiting this site a lot during our bird studies. Many of the poems would make excellent copywork.

3. If you're looking for an idea of what to read to your child you can check out this great list of classic children's poetry to read online.

4. The Poetry Foundation offers tons of information and educational resources to promote the art of poetry. Currently they feature a really cute video of Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman reading her works and chatting to kids about poetry and rhyme.

5. Lit2Go has a great collection of poems and stories. The poetry often has activity sheets to go with the poetry. Here is a link to a simple little poem that we recently enjoyed.

As part of my research and study I also read Parents' Review Articles titled An Address on the Teaching of Poetry and The Teaching of Poetry to Children.

In An Address on the Teaching Poetry by Rev. H.C Beeching it is explained that poetry has the ability to tap our memory, enhance our ability to describe with beauty and clarity, and sharpen our scientific observation skills. The article discusses the emotional impact of poetry and it's ability to waken our mind and train it for deeper feeling. The author advises parents to use quality poetry that is "delightful" to read and also to choose poetry that considers the age of the reader. The article presents that good poetry should leave children with joy, expanded and trained emotional understanding, and the skill of applying the imagination through words.

The Teaching of Poetry to Children by Mrs. J.G. Simpson stated that a love for poetry begins in childhood. It stresses the importance of making poetry worth reading and learning, not wasting the child's ability to memorize by giving the meaningless poetry that doesn't engage the imagination and instead raises the bar of what they can enjoy. The article insists that a child can be trained to love beautiful poetry that we might think is beyond their understanding. It urges parents to choose great examples of poetry rather than silly senseless rhymes that lack meaning. It goes on to say that one of the best tools for teaching our children to love poetry is by letting them see our own love for poetry. The article is loaded full of great links that are definitely worth checking out.

My children and I are now enjoying poetry from A Child's Garden of Verse and working on being better acquainted with the art of poetry. Dover makes a coloring book version that I want to purchase to incorporate with our poetry readings.

My children were so excited when we began our poetry lesson. They really didn't view it as a lesson (or "school" at all). In fact when their friends came over later that day, they announced that all they had to do for school was math and writing. When I mentioned poetry they said "yeah but that was cool". Ah ha! The joy of poetry.

Happy Learning!

Ermines: A Lesson in Art and Science

2010-01-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

Recently, we have been studying the art work of Leonardo da Vinci. We currently have five of his paintings hanging on my living room walls (Mona Lisa, Ginevra de' Benci, Lady with an Ermine, The Virgin of the Rocks, and Study of Cat Movements and Positions).
Their decided favorite of da Vinci's works is Lady with an Ermine, who they all find "beautiful" and "rich looking". This painting has led to some fascinating and fun discussions in my home.

When I first hung Lady with an Ermine my mother was visiting. She noticed the painting and asked "what is that animal supposed to be?"
I thought I knew something and I answered that it was called an ermine and probably extinct.

The whole matter was forgotten until yesterday when my daughter asked if we could research what ermines were like (being told by me that they were extinct and all).

I quickly discovered how little I knew. Ermines do exist today, and though they are not a widely known animal, there are enough of them out there to keep them off any endangered or threatened lists.

My daughter's curiosity led to great learning for all of us.

Here is what we learned about ermines:

Ermines (Mustela erminea) are members of the weasel family. You can find ermine in Canada, Northern USA, and Eurasia. Ermines are very territorial carnivores that live and thrive in the Siberian tundra. God created them with the unique ability to handle extreme cold. They also enjoy marshes and woodlands.

Their life span is only 4-7 years. With such a short life span it seems only reasonable that the females would mature as early as two months old! It takes the male ermine about ten months to catch up . . . no comment ;).

Mating occurs as soon as they are able to hunt independently. They can have up to thirteen kits (young) in each litter. The moms are the active parents who raise and provide for the kits.

Ermines feed on birds like chicken and snow owls as well as squirrels and rabbit.

As a key feature, God created the ermine with a beautiful and useful coat. It has the ability and benefit of changing color in the spring and winter to camouflage it from predators. In the spring the ermine's coat is brown, blending it into the ground and woodlands. In the winter its white coat is virtually invisible against the snowy surroundings. The change of appearance is dramatic and beautiful. The one constant is the tip of its tail which always remains black.

In our study we learned that ermines were used for clothing and as status symbols in the Middle Ages. We also learned that the little black tip of their tail was a key ingredient to producing the paintbrushes that artists treasured in da Vinci's day.

In one of da Vinci's notebooks he writes about feeding the ermine every two days. This might have been a logical pet for an artist. He may have cared for the ermine temporarily during the sittings for his painting, or maybe it was a permanent resident in his studio. It was fun to wonder about what an ermine might do and how it might behave around paints and canvas while hanging out in da Vinci's studio.

During the renaissance the ermine was prevalent in art and literature. It represented royalty, purity, and chastity.
Leonardo da Vinci may have used the ermine in Lady with an Ermine to depict his subject (Cecelia Gallarani) as virginal. He also may have had a more witty and puzzling purpose for using the ermine. Cecelia Gallarini was a very young mistress to the Duke of Milan (There was some discrepancy with her age. Accounts have her as 9, 10 or 17 years of age). In any case, it would have been wise and appropriate to depict her as innocent and virginal.

From our biographical reading on Leonardo da Vinci we learned that da Vinci loved word games, riddles and witty puzzles. Some speculate that his use of the ermine was a play on words with her last name being so close to the Greek word for ermine (galay).

The painting is wonderfully made. I love his use of color and the heavy richness of the hues.

Maybe your children would like to experiment with coloring their own interpretation of Lady with an ermine. A very well done coloring page can be found here.

Another notable portrait containing an ermine was made of Queen Elizabeth 1. Where the ermine seems large in the arms of Cecelia, the ermine is much smaller in Queen Elizabeth 1's painting (created by Sir William Segar). He sort of hides out in her sleeve.

The size of the ermine could be reflective of the human subject's age, or in Queen Elizabeth's case, shrunk down for greater symbolic subtlety. It both cases the ermine enhances the wealth and status of the painting's subject.

If you have little ones you might like to check out this poem about ermines. It was created to teach the letter E, but it also worked for my little ones who were joining in with our fun tangent of scientific learning sparked by art.

Happy Learning!

my sources:
http://f01.middlebury.edu/FS010A/students/n075.htm
http://ideamarketers.com/?leonard_da_vinci,_pets,_pet_lovers,_art&articleid=121862

http://www.topofart.com/artists/da_Vinci_Leonardo/art_reproduction/1009/Lady_with_an_Ermine_(Cecilia_Gallarani).php

*Images in this post are in the public domain. They were obtained from Karen's Whimsy and Wikepedia Commons. Thanks to both sites for making them available.

Poetry to Treasure

2009-12-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

I love poetry. I always have. Yet,somehow, sharing poetry with my children is not as simple as I thought it would be.
My best experience teaching poetry to my children was when we studied Lullabye by Eve Merriam. You can read this poem here.

We read the poem and then made purple playdough. If you need recipes for playdough you can see my post with tons of recipes here. You might try using grape flavored kool-aide if your child doesn't have allergies.

We also made purple the "color of the day". We read Harold and the Purple Crayon and cooked egg plant for dinner.

We did these activities on July 19th, which was Eve Merriam's Birthday. It was also a good time to be outside and hunt for purple objects in nature.

I understand that poetry study is a subject included in most Charlotte Mason home schools. To be honest, my home school is floundering on this topic. So far, we have completed two semesters attempting the Ambelside poetry list. My kids just seem bored. The poetry is odd language to them and the words are sometimes mispronounced to make a rhyme. They just don't seem to understand it.

It's hard not to include fun, child-friendly poetry that I read and loved as a child, poetry that would surely be considered twaddle by some. One of my favorite modern children's poet is Sara Holbrook. I especially love her poem titled The Storm That Was. I would not consider her poetry to be twaddle. I find it genuine and insightful. I think she gives tremendous respect to childhood feelings and presents them in an honest and often humorous light.

Frankly,I don't really understand the term twaddle. As a writer myself I struggle with the concept that some books are viewed as garbage. That thought makes me very sad. Of course, I wouldn't read (or benefit from) every book out there today, but I believe there are gems from our decade that can achieve beautiful learning and evoke great poetic images for our children. I hate to skim over them just because they aren't "classic".

So here is your part to jump in. I'm throwing these questions out to my readers. What is your favorite poet? Can you think of a poetry lesson that was extremely meaningful, productive, or just plain fun? Do you include modern poetry in your lessons? How do you define the worth of poetry? Do you cringe at the word "twaddle" too?

If you're up to the challenge please consider blogging about your experiences or feelings from my list of questions above. Be sure to link back here. Then come back to this post and sign my McLinky Blog Hop so that everyone can visit and read your post. It will be fun to bounce around and hear other's opinions on this topic. I look forward to reading yours.

Our Plans for the Winter Term

2009-12-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

"Toad talked big about all he was going to do in the days to come, while stars grew fuller and larger all around them, and a yellow moon, appearing suddenly and silently from nowhere in particular, came to keep them company and listen to their talk." Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2

I'm a little late, but I thought I'd post our list of materials for the second term of the 2009-2010 School Year. We began this term on the week of November 2nd and will continue until January 11th.

You'll find that I use a real mix of curriculum. I also like to pick up free materials whenever they are available. I have chosen to include Apologia as a science textbook, but we've made it more hands on by including the lapbook that corresponds to the textbook. We have also given it a Charlotte Mason approach by making our nature study and journaling concentrated on birds, bats and insects. Science has been really enjoyable for all of us this year.

You'll notice that I use a mixture of items from Ambelside, Simply Charlotte Mason, and some freebies I hunted down from Living Books Curriculum. I'm not a curriculum snob. I use what works for us and our budget. You can also safely assume that the more expensive items on this list were review items I was given. If you are a good writer, I recommend that you check out the many review opportunities available to you as a homeschool mom. Reviewing homeschool products has been a gratifying way for me to use my writing talent and save my family some money.

I've said enough-

I hope this list of materials and links is useful to you. Simply click on the item to follow a direct link to it. The colors are just a shade different so I wanted to make it clear that text is linked. Enjoy!

Language Arts Term 2 (Chloe and Caibry)
The Wind in the Willows *
Beautiful Stories of Shakespeare:
Taming of the Shrew, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing
Pilgrim's Progress (plus amazing coloring pages)
Parables of Nature
Poetry of Eugene Field
Peter Pan **
Grammar Stage Memorization
Copy work (some freebies and some homemade)

History Term 2 (Chloe only)
An Island Story Ch. 33-50
The Discovery of New Worlds Ch. 19-22
God's Mighty Hand
50 Famous People
Time Line Project (on-going)

Math Term 2
Chloe- Mammoth Math 2B
Caibry- Mammoth Math 1 Addition
Caibry and Nevie- Music Math and Online Math Games

Science Term 2 (Everyone)
Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day/ Lapbook
Burgess Book of Birds
Poetry from Bird Children 2
Creation Illustrated Magazine
Bird Study extras (free downloads found throughout the Internet)
Nutrition 101
IHOC- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Lapbook
IHOC- Environmental Science Lapbook
Volunteer at Coweta Recycling Center

Geography Term 2 (Chloe Only)
Amy Carmichael Biography
Maps of the U.S. (choose 3 States)

Art and Music Term 2
Picasso (combined with showing some art images found here)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Character Term 2
Learning From Dad: Truth, Mercy. . .
Book of Virtues: Honesty, Compassion . . .
Book of Virtues Unit Study

Seasonal Activities Term 2
Cinnamon Bear ( free download from Freebie of the Day)
Bird's Christmas Carol
LBC Thanksgiving Helper (obtained when available free on Currclick)
LBC Christmas Helper (obtained when available free on Currclick)
The Big Black Book- What the Christmas Tree Saw

* I was finicky when it came to The Wind in the Willows. I bought the unabridged version with illustrations by E.H. Shepard (who also illustrated A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh). There are many versions available. E.H. Shepard's artwork was the favored version by Kenneth Grahame and if you purchase this version you'll know why.

** Peter Pan I found at the Library. It was a very old copy illustrated by FD Bedford. The Illustrations were beautiful. I almost wanted to pretend I'd lost it and pay the library to replace it (probably with a newer inferior version). Alas, dishonesty would be in "bad form" and work contrary to our honesty lessons too. LOL. Try to find this version though. You won't be sorry.

I also wanted to make readers aware that I am a workbox user. We average about 6-8 workboxes each day (I school year round). The Workbox System has worked well to organize us and motivates my son with S.P.D to complete his assignments. It's also very adaptable for CM learning. The items above are placed in workboxes according to my daily schedule. E-books or online audios are noted by laminating an image of the book cover onto a 3x5 card with the web address on the back.

If you have any questions or suggestions I'd love to hear them. E-mail me or write a comment.

Free E-Book!

2009-09-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Has the new school year started with gusto at your house? Or guesses?

“I guess we’ll use this curriculum. I guess we’ll start on Monday. I guess we’ll use this folder, and I guess we could try unit studies this year.”

Does any of this sound familiar?

Time for a change?

Get ready to plan a year of enthusiastic homeschool learning with consistent input from the Lord! Take the guesswork out of your planning, systematically organizing your homeschool this year with the E-Book:The New School Year: Planning Your Course and Letting the Lord Determine Your Steps.

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine offers The New School Year . . . FREE!

Get your free copy of the E-Book: The New School Year

Happy Learning!

Blueberries For Sal

2009-09-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” -Robert McCloskey

This post is honestly more of a collection of links that I'm sharing simply to save time for others. I didn't have any greatly profound or original ideas when it came to sharing this book with my children. Instead I drew on the creativity of others and trust me there is a lot out there. I hope you find something here that you can use.

Extend through reading and writing:

1. The Scholastic site has a spelling lesson about changing "y" to "ies" to make words plural.

2. Here is a vocablary list for Blueberries For Sal. This book could really be a great lesson in verbs.

3. Enjoy a literature guide with journaling and writing worksheet ideas included. This is a very helpful and well done resource.

4. Homeschool Share supplies Alphabet blueberries that are free to download. Use them to practice matching letters of the alphabet with younger children.

5. Hands of a Child has prepared a Unit Study Lapbook based on Blueberries For Sal. You can purchase it here for $17.50.

*Yes, I am aware that Charlotte Mason did not support the use of unit studies. I don't really follow her method in a frantic "letter of the law" sort of way. I think her methods reflect boundaries within a fairly flexible educational structure. Her ideas provide the core of our learning, however, I'll adapt anything that I find educational, enlightening and lovely. This study is all of those.

Extend Through Math:

1. Homeschool Share has a Math Mat activity that cooridinates with this story.

2. I have a cute felt idea I found, but I haven't made it yet. I'll add a photo of it to this post once I complete it. If you can't wait . . .e-mail me and I'll give you the details.

Extend Through Life Skills:

1. Here you will find baking ideas to go with the blueberry theme. Yummy!

Extend Through Science:

1. Here you can purchase a very affordable TOS E-Book WE-Book titled Blueberries for You by Amanda Bennett.

2. You could also choose to learn more about bears. I found several studies and free downloads about bear at currclick.

Extend Through Geography:

1. You could study Maine

2. Learn about "forests", "woods" and "hills"

Extend Through Art and Creative Play:

1. This site has ideas for narration, role play, and performing arts using a mural backdrop for acting out the story.

2. Here you'll find a great bear craft using pony beads. This craft would be best suited for older children.

*Whatever you choose to use to extend this story I advise that you not overdo it. This book is so visually beautiful that it's a pleasure to read. You won't want to overwhelm kiddos with extra "work" that distracts from the beauty of the story.

Wonderful Blog Posts about Blueberries For Sal:

1. http://www.feehanfamily.com/homeschool/homeschoool/

2. Visit http://mamahomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/10/blueberries-for-sal-other-activities.html for some really cool ideas from another blogger. I especially liked her link to the Life cycle of a Blueberry and her cork stamp craft is adorable!

3. Wondersome Story Time is a blog I follow. She also has some neat ideas concerning this book.

I promise I'll be more original in my next post :)

Plans for a New School Year

2009-08-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Our School Year 2009-2010 Fall Term

Our "official" school year has begun. I thought would share our plans for this first term. I've included links so you can click on the items for easy access. Of course there are downloads and smaller less frequent supplements that I'll be adding in as fillers, but this is the main outline that I'm working from. I am actually schooling year round so some of this term's activities were already completed in the summer months. For example, Chloe is way ahead on math. She's completed all of this term's math requirements over the summer. I'm holding her off for a while so she doesn't get too far ahead. I hope that this is helpful to someone. The total cost of this term (if you use Internet links and not the hard copy versions) is approx. $49 (plus the $35 for Apologia which I'll use all year). Not too bad!

LA Term 1
Understood Betsy
Tales From Shakespeare
Pilgrim's Progress
Parables from Nature
Poetry of Walter De La Mare
Tons of independent free reading too

History Term 1
An Island Story- Ch. 22-32
This Country of Ours- Ch.1
You Are There! Charlemagne
Famous Men of the Middle Ages

Math Term 1
Mammoth Math 2A

Science Term 1
Apologia Flying Creatures of . . ./ Apologia book extras
The Burgess Bird Book for Children/ online extentions *
Bird Children (Poems)
Creation Illustrated Magazine
The Handbook of Nature Study
The Outdoor Hour

Geography Term 1
William Carey biography
Amy Carmichael biography
Map of U.S. (choose 3 states)

Art&Music Term 1
My Name Is . . .Leonardo da Vinci by Antonio Tello and Johanna A. Boccardio
Russian Nationalists
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsavo- Scheherazade
- Symphony 2 Antar
- Cappricco Espangnol
Alexander Borodin- Polovtsian Dances
Modest Mussorgsky-Pictures at an exhibition
- Night on Bald Mountain

* I'll be posting a ton about the literature side of our study on birds in a future post. Keep your eyes out for it.

Happy Learning!

Lovely Blogs

2009-08-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

I received an award today!

Isn't it pretty?

This award was given to me by SmartPumpkinsMom. Be sure to swing by her blog and say "hi".

As part of receiving this award I had to claim it, post about it, pass it on to 15 other great blogs and let them know about their award (I'm still working on this part) so they can do the same. If you are one of my fifteen here to claim your award-- those are the instructions you will need to follow as well.

I had so much fun surfing tons of blogs and I found 15 blogs that I'm happy to give my award to:

1. Serendipity

2. Life is Not a Cereal- check out her lesson plans category and look at her ideas for Caps for Sale and her free 36 week art curriculum post!

3. Higher Up and Further In -Check out her literature section. There are some incredible posts here!

4. The Snail's Trail - Great Literature section and I love her Living Math ideas.

5. The Book Chook

6. My Family Life: The Itty Bitty Bookworm

7. Teaching My Little Bookworm - she already has this award I know, but I really agree that she deserved it!

8. Storytime and more- I LOVE her blog template! Also, be sure to check out her literature based posts.

9. Small Things -check out her good reads for kids category

10. CM With A Twist - This looks like a brand new blog. There isn't a lot there yet, but I like her concept and wanted to encourage her.

11. Rose Cottage

12. Katie's Homeschool Cottage

13. Charlotte Mason & Home Education

14. A Peaceful Day

15. Raising Little Shoots

A Great Free CM Resource

2009-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those crazy days today where I want to pull my hair out. But I found something today that I thought you would enjoy, so I'm stopping my hair pulling momentarily to let you know about a great free resource.
In my Internet bouncing today (I don't surf I bounce), I found a special freebie.
If you stop by Write From History and sign up for their newsletter, you can receive a free e-book download titled A Charlotte Mason Writing Plan. This forty page e-book covers dictation, copy work and a lot more. Sign up and get it for free today.

Hope your day is great and free of hair pulling stress. :)

Happy Learning!

Literature-Based Curriculum Options

2009-07-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

"The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cast out to be thrown on the rubbish heap of things that are outgrown and outlived." - Howard Pyle

There are many options when it comes to Literature-based homeschooling. I thought I'd share a bit about these options with all of you.

Five in a Row was my very first adventure in learning with a literature-based approach. In studying with Five In A Row you are expected to read the same book over and over for a week, gleaning new insight each day. Sometimes the tasks suggested were challenging and other times I felt like there wasn't enough to do. I began to use the books as springboards for other ideas and we extended many topics that way. My only real complaint with Five In A Row is the difficulty in finding many of the books on the reading list. When we did The Carrot Seed unit I was ready to pull my hair out. We went to several local libraries and a few book stores and no one had it! If you live in a small town like I do it can become very difficult to hunt down each book. If you have a good local library you should do fine. It's a very good curriculum for homeschoolers who are just starting out. The best part about FIAR is tat it's a homeschool family who created and run the business. They've shared what worked for them and many families have benefited from their effort. Check out Five In a Row here. To see books on their reading list look here.

Ambelside is what I am currently using. They are a free Charlotte Mason/ living books curriculum advice website that has been a blessing to any families by making homeschooling very affordable. If you are a single parent or in a financial bind, Ambelside really helps to make it possible to continue in your vision to homeschool despite what the bank account reads. They provide a book list and a schedule, but being Charlotte Mason, they are very flexible and easy to adapt to any schedule. The key is short lessons and lots of great reading. I am really enjoying the older living books that have found a place on the Ambelside list. Heidi and Robinhood are pretty well known books for childhood reading, but we have also enjoyed jems like Understood Betsy which I probably never would have found on my own. Click here to visit Ambelside. Look here to see the Ambelside reading list.

Another popular Literature- Based Curriculum is Sonlight. I subscribe to their e-mail newsletter, but I have not used their curriculum. I think their reading lists are great, but their package cost is a bit high for my budget (example: a full year's Kindergarten curriculum will cost you $777.56). Sonlight is a homeschool supplier and books can be ordered separately as well. I usually keep a current catalogue on hand because teir prices for individual books are sometimes better than other places. As someone who doesn't use Sonlight, one of the things that is most intrieging to me about this curriculum is the amount of support that Sonlight users can get. If you chose to use Sonlight you won't be alone. If you get stuck they have support boards available and I've heard wonderful things about their customer service from Sonlight users I know. I've found them to be very friendly vendors at homeschool conventions as well. You can learn more about Sonlight here.

Itty-Bitty Bookworm is a curriculum I just became aware of recently. My blogging friend , Carisa is reviewing them over at 1+1+1=1. This curriculum is built for Preschoolers and Toddlers. Baily's Curriculum covers ages 18-36 months and Bo's Curriculum covers ages 3-5. Itty-Bitty Bookworm costs $25/ unit or month for their CD or $20 for download. That's about $300 for a full 12 months (plus the actual cost of the books). Not too bad. This is something I'm really praying about purchasing for my little ones. If you have little ones like I do, it's worth it to visit their website whether you order their products or not. They have wonderful downloads available for free. Check out Itty-Bitty Bookworm here. See their book list here.

The Noah Plan is a biblical approach that uses literature in it's study. They call themselves a literature-based curriculum, but from what I saw of their site is looks more bible-based. However, they do use wonderful literature selections like Snowflake Bently and Little House on the Prairie. Subjects other than literature look a bit classical and possible challenging to some. You can see their catalogue here.

Heart of Dakota is a wonderful homeschool resource and supplier. They are also bible based stories. Teacher guides are all under $50. Pretty good price. Go here to learn more about Heart of Dakota.

Veritas Press Classical Home School Curriculum is another catalogue that I like to have on hand. They are a classical approach, but many of their literature selections can be found on other lists. Go here to request a catalogue. Tapestry of Grace is also a popular classical choice. I've tried this for a review and quickly learned that I am not a classical style homeschooler. If you are you might want to check them out here.

There are many other options that, honestly, I know very little about. I'll list them anyway and you can visit sites and form your own opinions.

Popular Lit-based curr. I know little about:

My Father's World
Winter Promise- has anyone used this? I'm really interested in this one.
Beautiful Feet
Epi Kardia

Others I found:

Footprints on our Land and Love 2 Learn are two South African based curriculum choices that I found.
Robinson Curriculum looks morality heavy.
Student of the Word is Bible- centered.
Living Lessons has a Classical approach.

The biggest challenge in having so many choices is that you have to choose what fits your family (and your budget) best.

Please let me know if you've tried something I haven't, or if you know of something great that isn't on my list. Comments are always welcome. What have you tried and loved? Please feel free to share .

Carnival Time

2009-07-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

The current Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival started July 21st over at Hearts and Trees. I'm very excited to be a part of this edition with my post on Frog and Toad.

Click on the button in this post (my sidebar button won't connect you) and head over and check out the wonderful contributers.

I really like the artwork that the host posted as well. One thing that I thought would be of special interest to us is Kris's post on resources for finding affordable deals on Charlotte Mason style books. Be sure to check it out. Anything that can save us money in this crazy economy is a huge blessing! Have fun at the carnival and don't forget to submit your own posts so we can learn from each other.

Happy Learning!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

2009-07-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality" -Beatrix Potter

I began homeschooling my daughter Chloe very early. Honestly, a little too early. I had no clue what homeschooling really looked like, but I didn't wait for directions. I dove right in. Believe it or not, I began with Squirrel Nutkin. We read the book over and over again for an entire month. Each day I focused on one page of the book or some small detail of it. I wish I could remember and share all of the crazy inspiration I got from that tiny little book. We worked our way through all of the Beatrix Potter books that year,--though Chloe barely remembers the lessons --I told you I started too soon. That's why I was so excited when I found Peter Rabbit on the FIAR reading list. By that time she was the right age and I was eager to revisit our old friend, Peter.

Here are some of the ways that we enjoyed The Tale of Peter Rabbit --along with some new goodies I've picked up since then:

Extend through Reading and Writing:

1. Read The Tale of Peter Rabbit and whatever Beatrix Potter books yu can get your hands on. Note the size of the books. She loved that they were tiny enough to fit in a little child's hands.

2. The Virtual Vine has great suggestions for creating a Peter Rabbit word wall. You'll find lots of other great ideas there too.

3. This is a recent find, and boy do I wish I had found it sooner! Homeschool Share has free, downloadable copywork pages by Dori Oakes. Copywork pages include Benjamin Bunny, Floppsy, Peter, and Timmy Tiptoes.

4. While reading this book I created a tot tool for my younger daughter who was just learning her alphabet. I made 26 rabbits with capital letters writen on them and 26 carrots with lower case letters written on them. Her task was to math them.

5. As part of the FIAR lesson plan, I had my kids write letters to Peter. They turned out really sweet.

Extend through Math:

1. I created a seed counting mat by sticking stick back black felt onto a sheet of construction paper. Her task was to use the seeds I gave her to create a math problem for whatever sum I gave. We still use this today with bigger numbers.

2. Homeschool Share has added another amazing Petter Rabbit resource for multiplication. Find cards for multiplying by ones, twos, threes, and fours.

Extend through Science:

1. Many of the books by Burgess are living books that include Peter Rabbit. We are currently reading The Burgess Bird Book For Children to study birds. Peter Rabbit is the interviewing tool to teach us facts about birds through this wonderful science-packed living book.

2. Learn about the different types of rabbits.

3. Nature journaling, nature walks . . .get outside!

Extend through Art:

1. find games and coloring pages at The World of Peter Rabbit site.

2. Admire a variety of watercolor paintings by Beatrix Potter here.

3. We cut a sponge in a triangle and sponge painted carrots.

4. We created a super cute picture of Peter in a watering can. I cut a watering can shape out of foil and the kids glued a peter rabbit into the can. Then they made water drops dripping out the spout with teir fingerprints in blue paint. I can't get a good photo of it due to the reflection of the foil, but It's adorable in person.

Extend through History/Geography

1. At this site you can check out photos of Beatrix Potter's Farm and the garden that inspired Beatix Potter's artwork. Get a glimpse into her world.

2. Study England's Lake District

3. If you are making a timeline, here are some wonderful pictures of Beatrix as a child. Remember to note that her childhood very much influenced her view of the world. Her observations in childhood about nature set her on a path of naturalism that defined her as an artist.

Have Fun!

Little House On The Prairie

2009-07-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

"Home is the nicest word there is." -Laura

There are a ton of free activities online for studying Little House On The Prairie. Here I've compiled my favorites along with some pictures of our completed activities so that you can see some of these great ideas in action.

Reading and Language Art-

Ask your child to highlight any unfamiliar words or phrases and create a word wall with words and definitions. A list of some possible words for a word wall can be found here and here.

I found this awesome pdf. file of discussion questions. These aren't baby questions. Their ability to answer these questions will be a good guide for ensuring the child is listening during the read aloud time.

Writing Activities-

Lapbooks are a great way to get your child writing and reflecting creatively on the story. This is a free Lapbook that has tons of mini book activities to go with it.

In general, I'm not crazy about webquests because they seem to be so heavy on computer learning, but I like this one. It requires the child to keep a journal and provides writing activities that are really educational.

Write a question to Laura here. Questions will be answered by the Hoover Historic Society on her behalf.

Consider having your child write a letter to Laura as if he/she was a cousin (or other relative) who stayed back home. Or write about how hard it would be to miss your family and not know if they survived and were safe in the new frontier.

I'm not a huge fan of word searches for school time. They kind of seem like busy work to me, but if you need a reward activity for hard work done that day, you might consider this word search. If you use Sue Patrick's Workbox System, this might be a good reward box.

If you do copywork here is a cute notebook page with covered wagons as a border.

Math Activities-

If you like to include math through tangible play you might like this activity. It reads very formal so you'll want to think about how you can spruce it up in life.

For younger children, preschool-1st grade, I hope you enjoy the Math pdf. file I created using pioneer images for couting,addition and subtraction. I hope it shows up. Scribd has been giving me a little trouble lately. If you can't access it here just E-mail me and I can send it to you. :

Prairie Math Worksheets

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Homework School Work worksheet preschool math

History Activities-

Create a timeline or add to an existing timeline using the information here.

Visit the historic sites from Laura Ingalls Wilder's life. This slide show is really cool.

Talk about how different life would be if you lived in the cabin.

Life Skills-

Make butter by placing heavy whipping cream into a baby food jar. Tighten lid and have children shake the jar until it becomes butter. Serve the butter as a snack on fresh homemade bread or crackers. This would be a wonderful activity for antsy children to do while listening to the story being read aloud.

Make hand-dipped candles. Place old crayons an wax in a tin coffee cup and heat. Have children dip their wick into the wax until a candle is formed. Older children can roll out the candle on newsprint to help it shape better. Be careful it will be hot.

Check out Chloe and Caibry's candles:

Like to cook? This is a yummy sounding recipe for Gingerbread from Laura's cookbook. More pioneer recipes can be found here and boy do they sound yummy!

(image above from http://www.clipartguide.com)

Art-

Make an Apple Doll or a Covered Wagon. These are both really cute crafts.

Science Activities-

This is a science experiment on sap.

* Note, If you decide to do the web quest I would count that as science activity too as they will be learning about and studying animals on the prairie.

Georgrahy-

This Map of Laura's Travels is very neat. Print it out and have children color it along her route as you read.

We have a family friend named Mr. R who is 98 years old. Just for fun Chloe tried on an authentic prairie hat worn by his family while traveling to Oklahoma in a covered wagon.

I hope that you found this information helpful.

Happy Learning!

Frog and Toad are Friends

2009-07-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

"Frog drank the tea, and then he said, "Tell me a story while I am resting." - The Story Arnold Lobel

Frog and Toad are Friends was the first full book that my oldest child ever read aloud to me. I have such wonderful memories and pride when I think about our time spent with this book.

There are tons of ways to extend this book. I'm sure I'm only scratching the surface a little when I mention some of the activities we enjoyed.
Extend with Math:

Have your child jump like a frog and measure the distance of their jump. Older children can calculate the difference of each jump to find an average distance.

We have an algabraic funtastic frogs workbook and frog manipulative's. You can find them here. I picked these up from Mardel's and have enjoyed the many ways to use them. You can sort frogs by colors, string in patterns, categorize by size or use in conjunction with the workbook. They are loads of fun and keep little ones busy while harder work can begin with the older children.

I found a really cute Kindergarten math activity here that your child might enjoy.

I'll be mentioning some cooking activities later in the post too that I believe are great ways of making math "living". Simply discuss measurements while cooking and help them apply it to the item being made.

Extend with Science:

Sparklebox has great Tadpole/ Frog Growth Posters that are available for free download. These would be wonderful to place on your walls where you study.

Here is where I admit my silliness. We began reading Frog and Toad just after moving from Michigan suburbs to Oklahoma. I wasn't yet familiar with the enormous accessibility of frogs in my new state. I purchased a Grow a Frog Kit and had it delivered by U.P.S. The pole little tadpole must have thought I was nuts sending it across the country when all I had to do was open my back door after sunset. That being said, we loved our little frog and quickly ordered a second one to be it's companion. Grow a Frog is a very easy to maintain pet. The kit includes food, aquarium and a pet handbook. The aquarium doesn't last long as the frog grows quickly, but the second size up cost about $30 and holds two mature frogs quite comfortably. We ordered a second set of food too and haven't had to replace it in over a year. They are aquatic frogs and so the most expensive detail of their care is probably the spring water to fill their tank. Still not bad for a pet. They are supposed to be "see-thru". I might call them translucent. It's not drastic though so don't expect too much on that level.

One of their first assignments after "Skipper" and "Hoppy" arrived was to observe and sketch frog feet. I got some wonderful sketches from this that really impressed me.

Grow a frogs are pretty tiny, but the Goliath frog is not. Check out the World's largest frog here. I was amazed!

Frogland is a great site with loads of information on frogs and toads. You can learn a lot there.Study frog habit here with their great information.

Extend with Language Art:

Totally Tots did a unit study on Ponds that might be useful for little children.

I created a word wall with words from the book that my daughter stumbled over in her reading time. I wrote them out on frog shaped die cuts and taped them to their learning wall. We reviewed them for a few minutes every day until it was clear that she had mastered the word.

In the book there are stories that involve buttons, cookies, and letters. I used all of these to extend our learning.

We made cookies for our neighbors and our pastors. I thought about giving a cookie recipe, but I'll skip it and say Mr. Fields is the best. I always cool cookies on newspaper - just because it's what my Grandma does.

We created a button box that we used for counting and sorting.

We wrote letters to family back in Michigan and discussed the different parts of a letter and how to address the envelope.

I also had my daughter copy write lists that I gave her to practice her writing and to tie into The List.
Extend though Art:
You're gonna think these frog masks are adorable. Simply print and decorate.

There are tons of crafts to do involving frogs but my favorite was Kissy frogs. To create kissy frogs paint your child's lips green with non toxic finger paint and have them kiss a sheet of construction paper. The kiss is the frog's body. Now let them draw on legs with markers(at the corners of the mouth) and eyes ( on each side of the top lip's v). We even got some tiny google eyes and glued them on. This is an adorable craft. I'd post a picture, but I can't find that artwork in my stash.

We found a simple cross stitch kit of a frog at Hobby Lobby for under $5. Chloe really enjoyed her sewing project.

Extend through Life Skills:

Frog bread was a great treat! We created a loaf of bread shaped like a frog and the kids had a wonderful time making and eating it.

This next activity was suggested by my son's OT. He has S.P.D and needs to drink shakes some times to help regulate him. This healthy version is just gross sounding enough to excite young children. Simply create frog tongues (curly straws) and bug gut shakes (applesauce and fruit). Yummy.

Another yummy snack is frogs on a log. Cover pretzel sticks in pb and place green m&ms on the "log".

Extend through entertainment:We watched and enjoyed You tube: A Swim and discussed claymation. Then the kids each sculpted a frog and toad out of clay.

Still need more?Check out these great sites for more learning.

www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/mainstory/frogstory2.html

www.allaboutfrogs.org/funstuff/coloring/poison.html

http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca

Have fun bringing this great book to life!

Mr. Popper's Penguins

2009-07-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

"It was an afternoon late in September. In the pleasant city of Stillwater, Mr. Popper, the house painter, was going home from work." - Mr. Popper's Peguins

Mr. Popper's Penguins was a very fun read aloud. I think it was my favorite read so far this year. There are a couple of fun and free directions that you can go in to extend this book.

1) Extend through art:

A free penguin lapbook can be found at Lapbook Lessons.

Here you can find a craft/math activity for making a glyph. It's really a site worth checking out.

Here is a picture of our Art Wall of penguin art projects.

2) Extend through Science or Geography:

My favorite Website I found for Mr. Popper's Penguins is the Webquest I found here. They link to an awesome virtual tour of Antarctica. My kids loved this site!

Another idea is to study famous explorers (especially the ones the penguins were named after).

Your child could read an article with you from National Geographic or make a collage out of interesting pictures found in the magazine.

Visit the zoo. Penguins are so fun to watch. Here are some picture of the penguins at the Tulsa Zoo. They aren't the type in the story, but I thought I'd share anyway.

3) Extend through emotion and literary comprehension:

Ask your child to write about or discuss the changes in Mr. Popper after he receives Captain Cook. How does feeling close to one's dreams change their behavior and the way they treat themselves and others?

Don't forget a fun snack too. Make a penguin body out of Oreos®. Add a dab of frosting to attach candy corn for a beak and mini M&M's® for eyes.

If you're too tired to put the energy into a snack, just pick up some Goldfish crackers and voila . . .penguin food.

I hope these links, pictures, and ideas prove helpful to you.

Happy Learning!

Welcome to Well Read

2009-07-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

"Childhood is a promise never kept" Ken Hill

Childhood is an adventure and I believe it's enhanced and inspired by great books. Welcome to Well Read. This is a brand new blog featuring ways to enrich your read-aloud times. I'll be giving great ideas and links for extending and enjoying classic literature and living books. If you're a Charlotte Mason homeschooler please stop back by August 1st when the fun is kicked of with great posts on books your kids will love! Thanks for stopping by!

About Me

2009-07-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I am the Mommy to four great kids, three girls and a boy. This is my fourth year homeschooling. I enjoy it so much and count it a privilege to have this special learning time shared with my children. I'm an eclectic homeschooler with influences from FIAR and Charlotte Mason. Beyond God and family, my two great passions are reading and writing.

I hope that Well Read will be a great learning tool and resource for readers. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know me.

Contact Me

2009-07-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks for stopping by Well Read. As you can see, I am passionate about books. I love to read and enjoy imparting that love on my children.
If you have a question or a homeschool product you would like reviewed please feel free to contact me.
hrandalltos@gmail.com

You can visit this post to see my credentials as a product reviewer.

Feel free to stop by my other blogs:
ART-ucation

Polished Up Pretty

When Chicks Hatch Weblog

Novelized

Our Curriculum

2009-07-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Our homeschool curriculum and philosophy revolve around an eclectic mix of amazing literature and free or low cost items I can scrounge up.
I began our homeschooling adventure using Five in a Row. A lot of my approach was formed through using FIAR. I enjoy extending great literature through a CM unit study approach and I share a lot of my links and finds so you can save some time.
I am also highly influenced by Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy. We enjoy short lessons, great books as well as art and music study. I use a mixture of resources from Ambleside Online.
I am a homeschool forager and enjoy hunting up freebies and low cost resources of value. I'm picky though. I only grab what is beautiful and educationally rich, not just any freebie. Some of my favorite resources are The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project, Homeschool Freebie of the Day, Currclick (very selective on freebies), and LibriVox (when I don't feel like reading aloud).
The links below will take you to resources I have used for specific terms this year. This year I am teaching Kindergarten, 2ND Grade, and keeping an eye on two little ones.
Here's what we're doing:
Term 1
Term 2

Coming Soon!

2009-06-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Coming Soon!

If you stumbled upon my crazy little work in progress, I hope that you will visit again soon.

The blog looks pretty empty right now, but I assure you that the content you can't see yet is worth coming back for. I have ten unpublished posts laid out so far with pictures and details I want to flesh out before I let them loose in the blogosphere.

I want this to be a worthy site for homeschoolers so I'm doing my research and learning new tricks to make it really special.

I hope you'll come back for the real deal.

My goal for "going public" is August 1st. See you then.