Circle Time

One thing I love about homeschooling is how you can study subjects in a 'unit' fashion.  This past week it centered on circles.

First came a math lesson from the Mathematicians book we are using on a monthly basis:

We read the selection on Archimedes.  I knew all about the displacement theory, but did you know he was responsible for so much more?   Like Pi??  You should read it!  We completed a notebooking page on Archimedes and his contributions to mathematics.

Then we used Hardhatting in a Geo World for some hands on lessons on circles, radii and diameter:

We made 'compasses' with paper clips and made some really cool patterns with circles, as well as discussing the relationship between the radius and the diameter and the circumference of circles.

Then we studied Vincent Van Gogh and his 'Starry Night' painting...and his use of circular patterns in his painting.  We made our own versions of the painting using this technique. 

As you know, Van Gogh was Dutch...which also fit perfectly into our history study about the Dutch in the New World and New Amsterdam. 

Then we studied bones and joints which had nothing to do with any of this.

Do you do Unit Studies as well?  What techniques do you use to keep the learnin' fun and interesting and relative at your house?

Apple Dumpling Time

Forget Apple Blossom Time...it's Apple Dumplin' Time around here.

Make these dumplin's today.  They will make you want to kiss me, slap me, and possibly write bad checks, all at the same time.

Apple Dumplin's

2 cans crescent rolls
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and each one cut into 8 slices
2 sticks of butter (I know...bad, bad bad) (salted is better than unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar (again..bad, bad, bad)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple juice
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Wrap one apple slice in one crescent roll.  Lay them all in a 13 x 9 casserole.
In a pot, melt 2 sticks of butter.  Turn off heat and  stir in sugar and vanilla.  Pour all over the crescent rolls and apples.  Pour the apple juice around the rolls in the pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for about 40 minutes until browned.  These are best when they are room temperature and wonderful when served with vanilla ice cream.

The American Adventure Series

I came across a few of the books in this series at our local used book store during the summer and thought they might be a nice addition to our history studies this year.

We LOVE this book!

It's written for ages 9-12 and is full of historical information.  And its actually an interesting read!  You find yourself really rooting for the main characters, John and Sarah Smythe, as they make the trip to North America on board the Mayflower.  Historic figures are brought to 'life'...William Bradford, William Brewster, John Alden, and Captain Jones.

I don't know about you, but anything that provides another 'facet' of learning gets me excited.  We have enjoyed this book as a read aloud as we study this period of American history.  Did I mention the kids love hearing it?  As much as I have enjoyed reading it out loud to them.

There are several books in this series.  I'm tempted to buy some more!

The Hardest Part

Yesterday I went to kiss my 12 year old son on top of his head like I always do, when he suddenly pulled back and said, "Don't kiss me, Mom."

*blink*

Okay. I ruffled his sandy hair with my hand instead, smiled, and watched him run down the hall.

Can I just say that stung? A lot.

How do I explain to him that when I look at him I still see the little staggering toddler who used to reach above his head with his pudgy little baby hands and beg me to "Hold you, me!" (Translation:  Pick me up, dear Mother)  Who loved to snuggle in my lap every night for a good night story? 

The hardest part of parenting, you would think, would be the sleepless nights,...the toilet training,... the burying of dead and beloved pets,... the watching them suffer when they have an allergic reaction gone-wrong from an antibiotic and they writhe in pain for six weeks because of it....

Maybe the hardest part is knowing when to realize that little boy is gone and stepping back to watch him become a man.

Firsts

OH.

MY.

GOODNESS.


A month without a computer.  I feel like I have been living under one of these:

If you've never gone that long without access to the Internetz, you should try it sometime.  Especially if you homeschool your kids.  And especially if you don't have a 'smart phone'.  Talk about kickin' it old school...we actually had to use BOOKS to learn stuff around here. 

Anyhoo, in the past month I have had a few noteworthy firsts.

1.  Got stung by a stingray at the beach.  Thankfully I had on those ugly water shoes, but the tip of the stinger penetrated the mesh and although it just broke the skin...it really hurt. 

2.  Literally saw 5 million jellyfish on the beach.  And in the water.  Not sure if it was some crazy spawning mass suicide, but it made us all play in the sand for a day or two. 

3.  Taught a book club class yesterday.  Which, honestly, had me all vaklempt.  I was so nervous.  Kids are a tough crowd, man.  They don't care-they will yawn in your face if they don't think you are interesting! (But I brought Swiss Cake Rolls for a snack, so I am the coolest book-club-mom ever.)

4.  Have instituted an Early Bird boot camp around here after finding my kids wanting to snooze in the bed until 9:00 every morning.  We now have alarm clocks set for 7:00 am, they are responsible for making their own breakfast every morning and we are ready for school at 8:30.  So far so good.  (I know most of you probably already do this...but it's new for us. )

How about you all?  What's new with you?

Is It Just Me?

Okay: Poll time.  What age do you find it appropriate for children to have a 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'?

When I was in middle school, it was a different day and age.  No texting, no social media.  If a boy called your house, chances are no matter where you hid with the phone (because, as we remember, the phone was attached to the wall and you had a limited radius of places to go with the phone), your mom or dad would hear the gist of the conversation.  Or the boy would maybe come over to your house.  Either way, chances were that the parents were bound to meet this other person sooner or later.  There was no secretiveness, no 'privacy'.  (Never mind I was a huge dork in middle school and never had a boy friend...that's beside the point.)

I have seen far too many children who have Facebook accounts, who are middle school aged, that have provocative profile pictures.  Who have suggestive status updates.  Who have boy-girl drama played out on the internet for all their friends to see.  Who text secretively to their friends.  Friends who the parents have no clue about.

I kinda have to be the uncool mom and say frankly...I don't like it.  Nothing good can come from all of this unsupervised  "'he-in' and she-in'". 

Am I being unreasonable?



Am I just that old fashioned?

Birds,Bees, and Me

I'm not a prude. No, really, I'm not.  I grew up with a German mother, so we had a very European attitude about nudity...i.e., everyone has one so it's no big deal. 

So today's science lesson has me a little red-faced and nervous. 

It's about reproduction. (Who else is singing that song from Grease 2 now?)  Oh yeah. We actually have to use the technical terms for our bodies and everything.  (Oh hush-you all know you have nicknames for certain parts!  Names that make you snicker when you hear someone else unwittingly say it! Wait...is that just me?  It is?  Oh.) 

(Funny story- my son's name is Will and when he was a toddler, his 'nickname' for his...you know...was Wee Willie's Winkie.  Which was cute until his kindergarten teacher taught them song and nursery rhyme about Wee Willie Winkie.  My son came home telling me the class sang a song about HIS WINKIE. He was a legend in his own mind.)  DON'T TELL HIM I TOLD YOU.

Now, before you think my kids are completely naive, let me just say that they know how babies come out of the tummy...they know a sperm fertilizes an egg...but they have never asked how DOES that sperm get there in the first place? And I learned long ago...only answer what they are asking about.  And they have never asked that key question.

I will say that it helps having two kids of the opposite sex.  When they we smaller they used to take baths together and they noticed the difference then, so there is no shocking revelation there. 

Anyway, like I said, I'm not a prude, and I don't mind teaching my children about the Birds and the Bees...but I feel like I am exposing my self  talking about it with them.  Because I know they will look at me and figure it out about me and Daddy.  And there might be questions.  And imaginations.  And therapy bills.

So, I will grit my teeth and act like a mature adult today.  I will answer all questions scientifically and biologically.  There will even be a cute little lapbook involved.

But I might need a glass of wine when it's all over.