A Spring Tradition

No matter that it still seems like winter outside my window, Spring officially began yesterday morning. And so this homeschooling mama could not let the opportunity for an impromptu science lesson pass us by.

will it stand on its own? or roll off the counter?

For years now, we've taken the Egg Challenge as close to the time of the Spring Equinox as possible, or as soon as we remember that we are supposed to take the Egg Challenge at the moment of the Spring Equinox.

What? You've never heard of the Egg Challenge? And what, pray tell, is an Equinox? Well, let me enlighten you! According to Old Farmer's Almanac:

"The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west." and "At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun."

 The Egg Challenge states that you should be able to stand a raw egg on end at the time of the Equinox. We've had successful years, and not-so-successful years. This year? After taking estimates at how many tries it will take to accomplish our assignment, SUCCESS! Not once, not twice, but three times successful! Two of our eggs stayed upright all day yesterday, the third was upset by a rather rambunctious young scientist who wishes to remain nameless.

So, there you have it - science/astronomy/physics/math, all rolled up into one. Now you give it a try, and don't believe it when someone tells you school is boring!

Our Class Room

Welcome to our "School Room"

This is where we "do" school (you can read about our recent transformation of this room here)

Well . . . this is where we do some of our school work. Our basic book work, anyway. Now, take a look at where we do the rest of our schooling. 

Geography Class on the Living Room Floor

Astronomy Class out by the barn

Science Class down at the bridge

learning all about gravity and river currents

P.E. Class in the front yard as we re-enact the Olympic Torch Relay

Art Class around the kitchen table

Music Class - when friends gather in the basement after a long weekend of movie-making

Schooling, Education, Learning -- It's a lifestyle. It's a mindset. It's happening all around us, all the time, in God's Classroom. The secret to a successful education is to open our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts and take it all in. Enjoy the adventure!

This week I'm linking up to Big Family Friday

School Room Make-Over

I'm looking at getting things in order for the upcoming school year and so this is the perfect time to share with you the work we did on the School/Computer/Mud Room. We did a lot of de-cluttering and a little re-organizing and a touch of decorating. It has made the room quite pleasant and  much more user-friendly.

I know you want to see the results of our hard work, but let me show you some 'Before' pictures first.

not pretty - flat surfaces, open areas become dumping grounds

more stuff

walk-way to garage door is clear, sort of

again, flat surfaces - they draw piles

 And now! For some 'After' pictures.

Setting up 'Zones' was a fantastic way to utilize the space more efficiently. We have the School Zone, with our table, chalkboard, bookshelves, supply drawers.

We have the Computer Zone, with Dad's computer desk and the old computer for the kiddos to use. Notice the foosball table has been removed, along with other pile-collecting-furniture.

 

And then there's the MudRoom Zone.  Complete with the coat rack Dad put up some time ago (he's such a handy guy to have around!)and a storage cabinet to house the bins of hats, gloves, scarves, etc. We painted the cabinet the same beautiful, rich red we painted the door. Did you notice the door? Luke painted that for me - love, love, love it!!!

You must see my wonderfully fantastic shoe cubby (thanks for the idea, Mrs. R!!!) that Mike and Luke built for me. This little closet is built out over the stair well. Just wide enough for my shoe racks, giving each person a shelf of their own. I opted for no door, because then they would have to OPEN it in order to put their shoes away. And CLOSE it so the outside door wouldn't bang into it. That would be asking too much. There is still room for a shelf or two above, which we'll get to this winter.

It's been terrific as we have been doing a little 'light school' this summer. It's also been terrific to have everything in order when we have a project to work on. Easy to set up, easy to clean up.

Starting up a new school year next month will be tons of fun, now that we have a fun and lovely room to work in.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Chapter 10

This book study has been in a holding pattern, but I'd like to go ahead and quickly work through the rest of the chapters. If you'd like to read my thoughts on earlier chapters, click here.

Drama

From the title of this chapter, you would think we'd be discussing phrases like 'try-outs' 'memorize your lines' and 'lights, camera, action!'. But, no. The phrase discussed is 'read, read, read'. Read, you ask? YES! Nothing brings to imagination to life better than reading out loud together quality literature. Stories that inspire, spur you on to great things, overcome all odds, climb the highest mountains, cross the deepest seas, go where no child has gone before . . . (cough, ahem, cough). . . Ok, so I'm being a little dramatic (pun intended!). You get the point.

We have always read to our children. The fact that I can recite One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish in my sleep to this day is proof of that. But investing a bit of yourself into the reading out loud adds so much more to the experience. When baby #4 came along, I found a book by the title "I'll Love You Forever" --  a wonderful book that takes you through all the stages of growing up and how Mother loves you through them all. The mother character sings a special lullaby each night, all through the years, and so as the words to the song are repeated throughout the story, I created my own little tune (inspired by a friend), making the story "come alive". Now my own daughter reads/sings it to her little ones.

When we began 'officially' schooling our children, I started the tradition of reading out loud at lunchtime. A tradition we have kept up, off and on, for 21 years now. I choose chapter books, children's literature, books that are fun and/or informative. Books that spark the imagination or challenge us to better character. As the children sit and enjoy their lunch, I read out loud. It is far more interesting for them when I consciously vary the tone and pitch and meter of my voice. Am I coming upon a tense and suspenseful section? I try to lower my voice and slow down the rhythm for full impact. Are we jumping into something exciting and unexpected? I will speed up my words and raise my voice, and then pause for them to take it all.
I have a couple of friends who are very good at accents. I have some work to do before I can master the British accent, or the Brooklyn accent. I can add a touch of flair with a crisp, Northern US accent or a bit of Southern Drawl. My rendition of a Swede brings giggles from around the table, but that's ok. I don't take it personal. 

We have had seasons of read-aloud time in the evenings with Dad.  Our evening devotions as a family are centered around taking turns reading out loud from our Bibles. The spoken word brings people together. Storytelling has long been a way of one generation passing down history and character and life lessons to the next. 

Some of our favorites through the years (there are so many!) have been:

Mr Popper's Penguins

Winnie-the-Pooh

Little House Series
The Narnia Series

Understood Betsy

Treasure Island

Swiss Family Robinson

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates

Henry Reed

The Moffats

Ben Hur

Pilgrim's Progress

Ten P's in a Pod

The habit of reading aloud together opens up whole new worlds, and naturally pulls our children, even ourselves, into the wonderful world of make believe, without movie cameras and pre-printed scripts. It's amazing this tool God equipped us with - the brain.

You just might meet up with a young miss who's donned a pretty bonnet as she is crossing the prairie in a conestoga wagon:

 

Or a brave young cowboy roaming the range, keeping law and order in a rough and tumble town.

So, rather than flipping on the television, or getting lost in a video game, consider snuggling up on the couch or gather around the dinner table and enjoy a good book together. You never know where it may take you!

The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Chapter 4

Painting, Sketching, Sculpting

Hearing these words conjures up images in my mind of the quiet artist, easel standing at attention, paintbrush poised. Or pad and pencil in hand, waiting quietly for the shadows to fall just so, in order to catch the view in the perfect light. Or up to the elbows dirty, messy with clay-mud. Professionals. Amazing talent. Not like me.

a sketch by my Caitlin-girl

But if I am created in the image of the Creator, well then, maybe there is a hint of that talent hidden somewhere deep. Or not so deep. Have I explored the possibilities? Tried my hand at mixing colors on the canvas? Shading in pieces of fruit or outlining spring flowers in a journal? How fun and freeing it must be to play in the 'mud', just because.

I remember as a girl, maybe 14 years old or so, I picked up the T.V. Guide and came across an advertisement that proclaimed "If you can draw this little doggie, you, too, can take our art school correspondence course!" (or something to that effect). I did it. I drew that little doggie. Not half-bad, either. I sent it in to be critiqued. They responded with note (probably form letter) that said "Good Job!" and enclosed another exercise. This one was a bit more difficult. And you know, they like that one too. I could just keep right on going. For a price.

I was left discouraged. "What if I'm not any good. They only want me for my money. Thousands of people send these things in and mine isn't really any better than most anyone else." I saw obstacles and so I did not pursue.

Whoa, this is turning into a sad and pitiful story! Not really. I never did attend art school, but that little pat on the back I received all those years ago motivated me to pick up paper and pencil from time to time. I've tried my hand at a little painting and I thoroughly enjoy a good crafting project. I'm no professional artist, but I do enjoy 'creating'. You will not see any of my creations in a museum, but they bring joy to those I share them with. There is something fulfilling and enriching and healing when using your own hands to bring to life your own ideas that flowed from your own mind, your own heart, your own soul. 

Now, what about REAL art? You know. Those paintings that hang in the Louvre. Masterpieces by DaVinci and Michelangelo and Degas and Monet and Van Gogh. How do we discover, enjoy, experience these forms of art in our home?

Living way out in the country and having a large family does make it more difficult to see great works of art in person - add up the cost of 8 or 10 tickets to a major art exhibit. We have, on occasion, traveled a ways to see something like a display of Van Gogh paintings, making sure we showed up on Free Admission day. The nearby University also has museums open to the public. These make for wonderful family or homeschool field trips. The are beautiful books available at the local library we can browse through. Now with internet available, we can research any artist and his works in the comfort of our own homes.
 

'The Artist's Son' by Rembrandt, our current Painting of the Week

 This year I have been using a set of cards showing examples of paintings by famous painters. Every few weeks I pull out a new one, the kids and I discuss the painting, the artist, his life, the subject and medium. I leave it posted where everyone can view it as they pass by. It becomes familiar to them that way.

Young ones LOVE to create, explore with different mediums, show what they've made. This week my girls layered 'melty beads' into an oven-proof bowl and created a dish to hold jewelry and trinkets. A gift for a friend. (You can find the instructions here.)

The two younger boys wanted to make a gift for another friend who is really 'into' legos. I demonstrated for them how they could use basic shapes and draw a pretty good likeness of a lego-man. They applied the lesson and produced a unique and personal gift, signed and dated just like the 'masters' would have done.

With Spring on the way, we are looking forward to starting nature journals as we get outdoors more. We'll draw what we see. The more we do, the better we'll get, the easier it will be, and the less intimidated we will become.

Adding your own personal style and flourish to a handwritten note will brighten the receiver's day. Drawing a tiny illustration on a shopping list, or a swath of color to the day's to-do list will bring a smile to the face of the one carrying out the otherwise mundane task. Long ago I made out little chore cards for my kids and added my own amateuristic images for the ones who could not read. All grown up now, they still enjoy those little doodles. Even stick figures can be drawn to illustrate your ideas. A fun and personal way to engage your children in storytelling.

Beatrix Potter's classic stories came about from letters she wrote to a young boy - can you imagine how alive those letters must have been, with her beautiful watercolor illustrations and sketches?

Looking back at the length of this post, you can see this chapter is one close to my heart. You'd think there would be 'art' seen all over the place. Or that we would have a pencil or paintbrush in hand all the time. I've sadly negleted this form of expression, but we are working a 'doing' a little each day. It really does enrich our lives!

I'm linking this up over at My Homey Haven.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Chapter 3

Music

It is all around us. Songbirds sharing their early morning melodies, the winding whistling through the trees behind our house, the rhythm of the washing machine as it thump-thump-thumps our dirty clothing clean, the slap-slap-slap of a toddlers barefeet as he runs down the hallway to greet Daddy at the end of the day.

And, yes, there is the Chamber Choir and the Symphony Orchestra and the Grammy Award Winners and the Christian Pop Singer of the day.

And, yes, the boy who sits methodically playing his not-quite-perfected-scales over and over and over again, and the sscccreeeeeeching of the violin as a daughter practices diligently each day after school lessons are over.

My summary of Edith Schaeffer's chapter on 'Music' is this:  Make Music. Wherever you are. Because. Just Because.

singing with my granddaughter and sweet friend

My friend Nancy told me a few months back that she was having a wonderful week. The reason it was so wonderful? She was making music. After the children were tucked into bed at night, she would sit down and play the piano, all by herself, no audience, for pure pleasure. She said it improved her mood and outlook on life and she had so much more to give to her family the next day. She decided she would give herself permission to do this on a regular basis. Very therapeutic. Her family often sings and plays together, but taking time to sit and enjoy just for her own pleasure restored her soul.

So, how can we incorporate music into our everyday lives? Sing! Play! Listen!  We enjoy listening to Steve Green's "Hide 'Em' In Your Heart"  cd's while riding in the car.  Little Rebekah has taken it upon herself to load up the stereo most every day, with her choice of 'pretty' music (Bach, Chopin, Mozart).  I highly recommend the Classical Music study by Beautiful Feet. It is interesting, fun, and motivates a body to a greater appreciation of The Classics. My family especially enjoys singing hymns and songs of praise together, glorifying God the Father and Jesus the Son.

A passing comment from one of my children will often result in Mom breaking out in song, usually from a long-ago commercial jingle or old-timey song I heard on the radio in years gone by. I enjoy music from eras way before I was born (yes, there was music before I was born, and I'm not talking about Baroque!) and a little rolling of the eyes from my sweet kiddos does not deter me - they enjoy it, really they do.

spontaneous concert NewYear's Eve

making music with friends

What would it be like, watching a movie without a soundtrack. I imagine there was music when God was busy those very first 6 days creating the heavens and the earth. Can't you just hear the angels singing and applauding?

To read how others have been inspired by this chapter on making music, please check over at My Homey Haven, where I'll be linking up for this week's study.

Recent Science Project

Here in our homeschool, we believe in making the most of our time, killing more than one bird with one stone, covering our bases. And so, when it came to a science experiment recently, we not only covered science, we covered music and art and weather as well. If you give me a minute, I could probably come up with another couple of subject areas. Oh, yes, public speaking. Just take a look:

 

These 8 bottles, all lined up, are not the juice I served this morning at breakfast. Nope, they are a demonstration of how varying the amount of liquid in a bottle will change the sound made when you blow over the opening. The more liquid you add, the deeper the tone. Setting up 8 bottles allowed the kids to create a full octave, thus a musical scale. Do, Re, Mi, Fa . . .  well, you get the picture. I had visions of Von Trapp Family Singers going through my head. After adjusting the water levels, they proceeded to play little ditties such as "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Jingle Bells".

 

Now, plain ol' see-through water is just plain ol' boring. So, I gave them food coloring - red, yellow, blue - and let them experiment with mixing primary colors, creating all the colors of the rainbow. ROY.G.BIV - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. They had to come up with an 8th color, so they picked 'light' red (hoping for pink).

On their own, while adding the coloring, they discovered they could create a tornado in a bootle. Cool!!!!

And finally, Gabe presented the rainbow colored bottles/musical scales at our homeschool Presentation Day. He explained how they adjusted water levels, how they mixed colors, and then tapped out the Alphabet Song with a spoon. 

Discovery Learning at its finest!

 

Create

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness . . ."

Genesis 1:26

 So God created mankind in his own image,
   in the image of God he created them;
   male and female he created them. 

 Genesis 1:27

 

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
 Genesis 2:7

Each of us was made to be creative. We are all made in the image of The Creator, The Author of Life. He created. We create as well.  It might be that you create scrumptious goodies in the kitchen or you give creatively with your time or create an inviting atmosphere in your home or whip up a fun party for your friends. And, yes, it could also be that you get creative at the sewing machine or with your scrapbooking supplies. But creating is not limited to the craft room. It's happening right now, right where you are, right in your very own skin, so pay attention. You just might discover something new and exciting and creative about yourself.

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! 
 Thou art the potter, I am the clay. 
 Mold me and make me after thy will, 
 while I am waiting, yielded and still.

Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934 

A special Thank You! to my Aunt Ruthie, who gifted the younger boys with the pottery wheel. 

The pictures you see are their first attempts at 'molding and making'.  

My Rainbow Resource Catalog has arrived!

I wait with anticipation every year for this catalog to make its way into my mailbox.




And here are my Top Ten Reasons why I am so excited (in no particular order):


1. It's a treasure trove of useful items I can use to educate my very brilliant children, helping them to become even more brilliant each passing year.

2. $$$ Their prices are the best around! Makes Daddy very happy.

3. Books. The book selection is fabulous. What shall I order? What shall I add to my wish list? You cannot have too many books. (Ok, let's not go there)

4. Fun. They have available really cool toys (all educational of course) like the Klutz books, paper dolls, plastic dragons and dinosaurs and princesses. Games such as Muggins, Apples to Apples, Set, Chess and Checkers, Blokus. And much, much more. It's all educational stuff. It's all fun stuff. It's all stuff worth my money. I'm thinking birthdays and Christmas as well as school.

5. I can recycle last year's catalog and use it as a step stool now! Yes, it is that thick. It must rival the New York City phone directory. I really do tape it up with duct tape, or cover it with contact paper and VOILA! a step stool! (perfect for little boys with short legs that cannot quite reach the toilet, or little girls with arms that don't quite reach to the back of the counter or the knobs on the faucet). Really and truly we use them this way.

6. I can also replace Caitlin's piano footrest. Yes, she actually uses an old, recycled Rainbow Resource Catalog under her heel so she can reach the pedal.

7. Weight training. Yes, it's that heavy. Seriously. Hefting it around gives a body a great work out.

8. It's a booster seat. With my grandbabies coming to visit soon, I'll be glad to have another booster for the dining room chairs. It also works great to boost up my boys when it comes time for haircuts. My great big blue dictionary is almost too tall, but RR Catalog puts them at the perfect height.

9. Inspiration. The write ups and reviews and product selection often give me inspiration into what materials and resources might meet the needs of our homeschool or a particular child for the upcoming school year.

10. Memories. While perusing the pages, an item will often jump out at me, and I'll find myself saying things like "Awww, this used to be so-and-so's favorite book" or "Remember when we did this?" or "Wow, that was a fun project, we should do that again!" Sometimes it jogs my memory "Now, I know I had a copy of this. Where did we put it?" and "That's right! I forgot we need to do such-and-such this year!"


I get to visit with an old friend. Truly. I enjoy sitting down with a cup of coffee, reading up on the family that runs this supply business. Their family has grown so much. And their business has grown so much, I literally cannot get through the catalog cover to cover in one sitting like I used to. I enjoy looking to see if the materials I was hoping to purchase are still available, and what new items are available now.


How long have I been receiving this fantastic curriculum supply catalog? I know it's been 10 years. Maybe 15? It's gone from a couple hundred pages thick to over 1300 pages, full of books and supplies and games and helps and curriculum and encouragement and inspiration. The Schneider Family has been a great blessing to us in the HomeSchooling community. I hope and pray they continue!

Going Back in Time

Learning, Schooling, Education, whatever you want to call it, comes in all shapes and forms around here. One of our favorite activities this year was a Living History Museum.

A 16 year old homeschooled girl in our area took this project on with the help of her mother and 13 year old sister. She asked all participants to research the life of an important person in history, and then to bring that person to life for our family and friends. They were to prepare a display of some type, and step into their 'hero's' shoes for the evening.

What a great opportunity for my younger guys! History, Reading, Speech, Language, Writing, Art, Woodshop, HomeEc, Science, Geography - these are just some of the subjects we covered while preparing for this big assignment.


Esther chose to portray a lady named Frances Grayson (wife of Andrew Jackson Grayson, naturalist and artist).


She and her husband and small son traveled west on the Oregon Trail to California, with the Donner/Reed party. But, before the Donners chose to travel their infamous shortcut, the Graysons chose to stay the course and arrived in Sacramento safely before winter. Esther dressed in authentic mid-1850's clothing, and gathered a few items that may have traveled west with her, and displayed a copy of one of her husband's sketches.



Gabriel stepped (very easily, I might add) into the shoes of inventor Eli Whitney.

Yes, the man that brought us the cotton gin, but more importantly, the man who first began mass producing interchangeable parts for firearms. As Eli Whitney, he enjoyed explaining how he came up with the idea that if you could make all parts the same, you could manufacturing and repairing guns would be more efficient and more cost-effective. Gabe especially enjoyed drawing up blueprints of many of his ideas.


Noah Webster was the obvious choice for our Mr. Noah.

He took it very seriously, and devoured every book he could find at our local library concerning Mr. Webster. Already a good reader, his research inspired him and helped him see how our words are such very important tools.

One last minute addition was Mr Webster's wife. Our little Rebekah decided that she would like to join in after all (once she realized how much fun everyone was having!) and her big brother Noah came to the rescue! He remembered that Mrs. Noah Webster's wife's name was Rebecca, and so he said 'you can be my wife'. Perfect!


On the evening of our presentation, there were 15 or so different people in history portrayed by some very talented and creative homeschooled children, ranging in ages from 6 to 16. Let me see, who else was gathered together with us that night? People from our frontier like Lewis & Clark, Daniel Boone, Annie Oakley. Figures from the War Between the States such as Clara Barton and Stonewall Jackson. Spiritual heroes like Amy Carmichael and Mother Theresa. Even more modern day figures such as a lady photographer and a woman percussionist. Oh, and don't forget Jane Austen and Mary Cassat! I'm sure I've left someone out, but that gives you a little glimpse of who we were rubbing shoulders one night earlier this spring.


It was a lot of work, but a wonderful experience. So much so, that on the way home that night, my 4 pupils were already trying to decide who they would be portraying next year. That brought a big smile and a contented sigh to this totally exhausted mother. OK, and some raised eye-brows, because I was totally NOT ready to think about next year yet.