the ducklings have arrived

and they've brought chicks with them.

my kids have taken this project much farther then i ever thought they would.

i'll upload all of their birds on flickr when i get a chance, but i am so impressed

with the bluebirds, woodpeckers, cygnets, crows, hummingbirds

and yes, even a flamingo with sunglasses on, that have all come out of

their imaginations, with just a little felt, some pom-poms and glue.

this duckling and chick don't have eyes, but beads and glitter glue

work just fine in case you'd like yours to be able to see.

and if you love usborne books, like we do, the usborne books for beginners

are great. they have links here where you can look up the book you

are reading and play, read or watch online activities pertaining to the book.

you can watch a baby chick hatching here and this website has some

great pictures of baby birds.

the great outdoors

i can remember being a child

and sitting in a classroom,

the doors were open to let

some fresh air into an overwhelmingly

stale and stuffy room and my mind would drift.

it drifted so far into the p.e. field

that my concentration level was

practically zero.

all i thought about during those times

were the little flowers with heart shaped

petals that, when tied together, made the prettiest

bracelets.

they wilted quickly, usually by the time

recess was over, they were dead.

fast forward 20 years

and i am so pleased that often times

this

is our classroom.

the GREAT OUTDOORS.

and if anything wilts, well,

it doesn't matter,

because there is no rush.

we can just pick more!

they amaze me

by how astute they've

become

watching and listening

for different bird calls,

and then there is

the joy on a certain face

when he

takes notice for the first time

of the velvety stuff

growing on the rocks.

a discussion is sparked

about direction and moss

and how it looks like a little kingdom.

they bombard me with

"look at this mama

and this...",

and i am filled with such

joy because, much like them

i am constantly amazed

at the beauty and wonder

that has gone into

designing the great outdoors

and best of all

sharing with them

just WHO is in charge of it all

and the small talk which ensues

as we ponder over whether or not

what GOD has is like

having "the force".

making way for ducklings

and swans too.




i stumbled upon this site the other day while looking for some activities to do while we read these two books.
there is also a link way at the bottom of the page that seems like it could be useful.
as you can see one is for my pre-schooler and the other is for my middle kids.
but both of them seem to be appealing to all of my students.
i know the "content" standards are for california, but if you are not in a charter, those things won't matter anyway.
just thought i'd share the info.
it is kind of nice to stumble upon free lessons that have already been planned and use them to your advantage.
and it makes less work for mama, which means i can plan crafts and activities instead!
so off i go to make way for some pom-pom ducklings......

what kind of homeschooler am i? aka a very "word-filled" wednesday post

juli asked me this question the other day and i figured i'd share the answer here, just in case anyone else is wondering what my style is.

well, i am probably not very stylish because first and foremost, the liturgical year is always at the center of our learning. and because we love our faith dearly, so much of what we learn is faith based. therefore, the church year, the saints and even the seasons are taken into consideration whenever i do any planning. and i only plan 1 month at at time.

i guess you could say i am a bit eclectic because i don't use a packaged curriculum or lesson plans. i usually write my own and/or we go wherever the wind takes us.

now this free-spirited attitude does not apply to math or language arts, but only with regards to social studies, history, science and art.

because i NEED some kind of accountability,the older three are and have been enrolled in charter schools for about seven years.
(yes, i know i am accountable to God for what i do, but HE doesn't often show up in an email or at my house saying, "so, what have the kids been learning?")

i realize that charter is not for everyone, but in my case i appreciate the SAT testing, the scoring helps me to make sure we are at least staying on track in the event that any of my kids want to go to college and i also like for someone else to keep attendance.

my kids have always gotten great SAT scores-not in all subjects, except for my oldest, who does quite well in all his subjects, but they are usually phenomenal in language arts and reading. the middle two struggle with their math a little, but are at grade level, so i don't worry too much about it. they learn when they are ready and some things come with maturity.

i only use textbooks for math and right now i am using saxon 4/5 with my daughter and teaching textbooks for middle son, as oldest son is now going to classes 3 days a week and littlest son is 4.

i like both saxon and teaching textbooks because of the teaching CDs, which supplement the curriculum, giving the lecture for the lesson just as they would receive in a classroom setting. this has given me loads more free time to think about other things and i don't take the whole day just to explain math. this became especially invaluable when i had three students doing three different levels of math and a brand new nursing baby.

i started out using lesson plans from our lady of victory when my oldest son was in kindergarten and i have always purchased certain things from them. i love the old-fashioned look to their readers and some of the other books they carry, everything they have is very solidly catholic and is from the 1950's so i don't worry about any "iffy" stuff in their content

unit studies work best for us. i have learned that slow, steady bits of consistent information over a period of a few weeks or even a few days work best. they retain so much more of what they are learning if they are steeped in a subject, doing things that appeal to all of the five senses.

i have and still do purchase curriculum/books from chc, sonlight, beautiful feet, rainbow resource, to name just a few.

i did read the well-trained mind about two years ago and spent a whole summer getting ready to completely follow their method, i bought most, if not all the books listed for each grade and after doing school until 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening most days, because that's how long it took for us to train our minds, i realized that it just wasn't going to work. i don't know what i was doing wrong, but i found it very overwhelming and we were all getting burnt out. now, i don't want to be overly negative about TWTM, because my kids learned ALOT from story of the world when we did units on egypt and rome using said method and i LOVE many of the books recommended in TWTM, but it just wasn't for me. i am not a super-structured person and i can't live that way.

after all, i'd kept my kids out of school just so we could be more flexible and so i took what i could from TWTM and the rest i just had to let go for the sake of my own sanity. that's where the balance comes in.

i don't think we should ever expect to find any method perfect. instead we should just take what we can from a given program or curriculum, sifting through the ideas proposed and then move on, otherwise it is just a big waste of time for you and your children. that is what i always liked about the mother's rule of life written by holly pierlot. she is very specific about encouraging you to find your OWN rule, prayerfully, your own way. not every family situation is the same and we should not expect to fit into another family's mold.

i have been very fortunate to have a best friend, who is my mentor, godmother to my youngest son, who was also a teacher once, degrees and all. and she has always helped steer me towards real learning. i met her my first year of homeschooling and her experience has been like gold to me. but since she is human (and has 6 kids of her own), whenever she goes to far the other way, usually i help bring her back, being her protoge and all. and if i am leaning too far in the wrong direction i know i can call her and have her remind me why it is that we are doing what we are doing, which is EDUCATING FOR ETERNITY (this is chc's slogan, and i love it!) and all the good books and science projects we may or may not experience along the way and the times that our kids really impress someone by how smart and polite they are-are just a few of the little blessings that the Lord gives to us for being fatithful stewards.

so i definitely recommend TONS of real books, encyclopedias (i like kingfisher)and any and all usborne books are great for notebook pages, we do a lot of notebook pages, take trips to the library, outside digging in the dirt/bird watching/sky gazing/rock collecting time, snuggling and reading on the couch, nature journals, art projects, listening to classical music and stories on cd-jim weiss and the classical kids series, feast day and history related cooking.

i recommend and reiterate that CHORES are school. home management, pet care and yardwork does count because these things do help to make decent human beings, so don't ever discount any of those activities.
SORTING SOCKS CORRECTLY IS IMPORTANT!!!

and you know your kids are learning when in their free time they start to ask for johnny cakes for breakfast even when it's not george washington's birthday and while building a log cabin fort they remember snippets from that biography you read on lincoln. they read highlights magazine for fun and build rocket launchers from cardboard boxes and plastic water bottles.
some of our best days were days like this.

if you are reading this s, you'll remember our peach and blue day where i brought the story and the art supplies, we picked peaches from your trees and made peach cobbler, we painted trees and read that great story about friendship.

i have been so blessed with many wonderful women in my life, women who love teaching and learning and i can't stress enough how important it is to cultivate and maintain these relationships even when life gets busy.

unfortunately our homeschool group does a lot of things which requires at least a 45min. drive for me and this can be hard, especially when mass is an hour and 10 minute drive almost every sunday. but luckily i do have a few friends who are local and we do what we can, when we can.

i have recently implemented a no t.v. while there is daylight rule. we don't have actual t.v. service, we haven't for about 4 years now. i know for some of you mamas with multiple little kids that might be impossible, this rule has not always been in place, but i noticed little son was getting a bit addicted to movies, any movie he could watch, sometimes putting them on secretly. and so now, if the sky is not "black-with-stars" he may not ask me to watch anything.
even if the schoolroom is messier, now that he has joined us ALL DAY, it is a sacrifice i am willing to make.

our learning does tend to spread throughout every room in the house, it cannot and should not be confined to "the learning room", but at least we finally have somewhere to put everything!
i homeschooled for years using our kitchen as my schoolroom, so i've been there..........but it is nice to have a place for all the books, papers and projects which pile up quickly when multiplied by 4.

and then of course there is the praying every day. i don't want to make anyone feel bad, because there are certainly times when we don't, but saying the rosary EVERY day is really the ONLY way to get anything accomplished. the blessed mother is so faithful, she will not let you down. her help is vital to being a good homeschooling mama. i know that without her i am a miserable wretch and it is just better for everyone when we pray as we ought. even though with a certain teenager lately, it can be like pulling teeth!

so in conclusion, my kids probably remember the food and books the most. the intimate moments where learning was on the couch or outside. the times when it just so happened that we abandoned whatever book work we were doing because someone heard a hummingbird at the feeder or we went off in the direction of the art of making a good paper airplane because we were learning about birds and flight. sometimes one thing leads to another and we deviate from the "plans" i've made, but many times, the "plans" are just there so that i have an idea in my head about where we are planning to go. it's kind of like our life is a road-trip, we are taking the scenic route and so you never know when we might stop to smell the daisies or take off on some undiscovered path. i know i've said before that we have had a lot of tragedy in our lives thru the years and that has really affected how seriously i take life and homeschooling. i take them very seriously, but just not in the way that you might think.

i know i am kind of rambling, so i'll stop. but i hope this helps if, maybe you're stuck in a rut and you need to be a little more flexible or if you're too flexible and you need some inspiration to make a few plans. but wherever you're at, just know that i've been there. sometimes my homeschooling journey feels more like a roller coaster ride, but as in every other area of my life, God always provides what i need to keep going.

and so that, my friends, in a nutshell is the kind of homeschooler i am!

the best BIRD ever

using this as inspiration

my middle kids

drew these pictures

of the best BIRD ever
as we learned about

primary and secondary

flight feathers.

the great noun search

is for nouns

--------------------------

the great noun search is on.

i read about this idea in a book my dad

bought me and brought me yesterday.

the kids are searching for ten nouns in the yard,

they are putting them in a pile,

we are going to assign adjectives to each noun

and they are going to write about the things they've

found. i've never seen so much enthusiasm to

do english/grammar!

we're expecting rain tomorrow

so this gives them time outside

and we're getting school

done as well!

------------

oh, and the book, in case you're wondering,

here it is:

i just started it yesterday, but the very first chapter

talks about how

BALANCE=SANITY

and we've been throwing some ideas about just

that around these parts lately,

so i think i could be on to something here!

portrait study

borrowing a page from here

the kids made these portraits of birds.

i couldn't find any calenders, i know i have a million of them somewhere,

but i had a box of these greeting cards, which were perfect.

even littlest son enjoyed doing his own portrait of this bird.

--------------------------

and this was my daughters' notebook page on hummingbirds.

she is the one who enjoys these endeavors the most.

i have a hard time throwing any of her work away because

it is always so pretty!

ps. thanks nina for a great resource on hummingbirds.

i am going to try and order that today!

yesterday

we are having way too much fun over here.

there was so much goodness to behold outside during our bird watching session.

which, by the way, happened during a very serious lesson on vertebrates and invertebrates.

i was explaining the serious subject of spinal cords, bones, etc. like a good teacher should and we were about to do a notebook page diagramming such and then middle son spotted a hummingbird out by the orange trees. needless to say, we all bolted (quietly) outside, armed with cameras and binoculars. and as we found nests, saw and heard at least six different types of birds and experienced the fresh air and the lovely trees and rooftops brimming with birds, there would be no going back inside until it got dark. my girl climbed the big tree in the back yard for a prime hummingbird watching spot. we moved the feeder because it wasn't getting any visitors. then middle son led me to a nest in the orange trees he had spied a few days ago and we were in awe of all the twigs and bits of this and that the birds like to gather. and well, littlest son, along with our mama cat, tended to be a noisy nuisance, but it is so awfully hard to sit still and be quiet when you've got the whole yard calling out to your bare feet to come and play.....

and yes, that tiny hummingbird kept wanting me to take his picture, that is when he'd sit still long enough and quit fighting with another male. we had no idea how agressive those little guys could get. we witnessed some pretty interesting behavior yesterday firsthand, that they could never get from just books.

so that's what we did yesterday, i don't know how structured it may seem,

but this kind of learing just happens sometimes.

i've learned in my nine years of homeschooling that this is really the best way.

we have been getting the three R's done early on so that the afternoons are more free to do what we like. the evenings have been "craftier" as i make time for myself, they seem to follow my lead and do more creative things too.

so perhaps tomorrow i'll show you some of the wonderful artwork

that pours out onto the paper when these little ones are exposed to the creation of such an AWESOME GOD!!!!

for the birds

are you sick of me saying how it
it kinda feels like
summer around here?

well, at least spring.

so we'll be doing this today.

there is a special place in my

heart for hummingbirds.

maybe someday i'll tell you why.

anyway,thank you grammie

for sending the kids

this feeder. they love it.

and i love it too

because it has my two

favorite colors on it!!!

back to school

well, it's official.

we are back to school.

i feel about as discombobulated as this crock of pencils.

i am hoping my some of my pre-kindergartner's enthusiasm will spread to the other kids.

maybe even to me too.

i am having some serious issues here.

this time of year just makes me want to snuggle on the couch, read and draw.

who needs math, right?

unless it's for counting the steps to the library.........

paper snowflakes

on making winter windows.........

the first time i ever stumbled upon a blog was last Christmas when i was looking for a "how-to" on making paper snowflakes. this particular place was where i found my crafty-self again after struggling through some unexpected family tragedies and an ugly bout of depression which followed. but that my friends is another story for another day.

so if you want to add a little winter to your windows-because you are blessed with yet another sun-shiny day-like we usually are-or if you are blessed with lots of snow and you just want to bring a little bit of the outside in-then here is a little inspiration just for you.............

you can visit the link above for specific how-to/cutting instructions.

the kids made these without any help from me.

it was a great lesson for following step-by-step directions.

p.s. your home might just look like a blizzard has passed through

after attempting this craft.

we've got tissue paper, regular paper, glitter and little pieces of ribbon all over the place!

thumbprints

my kids have more fun making these little thumbprint pictures.

there are books you can buy, of course.

we happen to have this one :

and a few others from klutz,

but all they really need is a stamp-pad,
a pen or pencil, some paper and a little imagination!
this actually keeps my little one quite busy,
note the serious look on his face.

at the name of JESUS

this little boy is going to learn his letters!

for some reason this child loves to cut things right now.

he would be happy if we sat on the couch all day long and just cut stuff.

he is also really into learning his letters and writing them,

so i decided to do a few crafts with him that are advent based, but educational nevertheless.

please note: if you try these, you have to draw the letters backwards on the white side of the paper so that when you cut them out and turn them to the side with the pattern, they are pointing in the right direction. this was learned by a little trial and error on our part!

around the world with Our Lady and the Child Jesus

we are kind of going along with Catholic Mosaic and their around the world with our Lady theme, but without the lesson plans because we just can't afford them right now. we read the story from the book about the Child Jesus and then we read corresponding pages in the atlas which pertain to the particular country we are studying, the apparitions of our Lady in said country and the kids do notebook pages on the patron saint, various facts, plants, animals and flowers native to the country.

we have started and are almost finished with our flags of Ireland.

little boy sewing is always intense, but immensely rewarding.

we also read this story:



this has been really fun. well, at least for those of us who could stay awake! i guess there is just something so soothing about stories on cold, cloudy lazy days......this was saturday.






this has been perfect advent "school".

it requires a lot of one on one time,

snuggling on the couch and the main focus is on Jesus and Mary.

Stories of the Child Jesus

This month we will be "traveling" around the world with this book in the hopes that we can get a little closer to the Child Jesus. Each story is from a different country so I plan on having the middle kids do their social studies from here. We will read the story together, do dictation from the book, mapwork and reading from an atlas about each country, a moral and virtue lesson, a notebook page and finally they will make a small felt flag for the country as well. So today, if you don't hear from me, it will be because we are in Dublin, Ireland with a boy named Charlie, thinking of ways to give of ourselves and all we have "in the best and wisest way to sweet Jesus for HIS Christmas gift."