homeschooling related posts
It’s amazing what happens when I leave the boys to their own devices. Not that this is an incredible example but I find it’s full off imagination and innovation as well as classic childhood ‘doings’.
A fort plus chess. A chess game plus some new pieces. How they can tell who is now who is beyond me. But that’s okay. It’s not for me to know. It’s for children’s brains to create, assign and understand.
It’s for me to love and to always be reminded how precious childhood is.
I haven’t gone into my tackle box of art supplies in a long time so the boys hadn’t seen the contents. I should have opened it a long time ago as L quickly broke out the calligraphy nibs and ink. X, eager to try as well but I only had one holder for the nibs. He simply grabbed one of the feathers from his collection on the window sill, dipped it into the well of ink and started writing it old school. Kewl stuff, my boys.
Gotta love being a kid. That glorious time before life has put up imaginary boundaries on your intuitive ways of problem solving. So free and full of life and all the wonders it offers!
He even whisked them, spread the oil in the pan and poured in the eggs!
Oh, and not a single piece of shell fell in the mix!
Xman just learned this today on his own! First song! I love it!
Just playing the Geography of Canada game and we found out this interesting fact:
Treasure Island in Lake Mindemoya on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the “Largest island in a freshwater lake on an island in a freshwater lake in the world.”
Did you get that? If it sounds confusing (a little!) read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoulin_Island
Isn’t Canada cool?
Today the boys had their morning at the art gallery. They always enjoy going around the gallery and seeing new work that inspires them to create. I love it too!
Afterward, we went to our car on the waterfront and there was a tall ship docked nearby so we went aboard. Wouldn’t you?
Then we came home for a quick lunch and out again to Grandma and Grandpa’s for some chalk play. The boys had a great time.
Beautiful day. Absolutely. Perfect.
~smile~
tam
Recently, I checked a book out of the library titled, “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” by Marjorie Priceman. 
This book is about a little girl who would like to make and apple pie but doesn’t have any of the ingredients on hand. We had a great time learning and reading about where some of the best places in the world are to get ingredients for apple pie. Did you know that the best cinnamon in the world is from Sri Lanka (which L quickly located on our world map, thanks to Clever Dragons). If comes from the bark of the kurundu tree in the rain forest. Just peel off the bark – who knew! We went into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of cinnamon and, sure enough, it did look like a curled piece of bark!
At the back of the book is a recipe for the pie as well. Luckily, we did not have to travel the world (well, that would be pretty cool!) but had the ingredients at hand. So, this weekend past the boys and I make the pie. My first ever and so theirs as well. So yum!
The boys took turns adding the ingredients and rolling out the dough.
X added the apples and I managed to convince him to not take one of the sugared apple pieces for himself just yet!
I didn’t have any parchment paper for rolling the dough so I floured the counter instead. No good it seems. We ended up putting the dough into the pie stone in pieces. The top, too. Oh, and we used GF all-purpose flour which I think was part of the culprit for that one. I should have added more water. But, hey, first time and with substitutions to boot, I had faith it would taste just fine.
I think it turned out just fine and the boys we so pleased and proud. I must say, I was too. 🙂
And, of course, they couldn’t wait to eat it!
I’d do it alllll over again.
😛
…chess, drawing, reading, play, poetry, knot tying. We already did math and handwriting. Really, I swear. 🙂
The boys have now been off gluten for maybe a month. Hmmm…wish I’d kept track of the date we started. It has gotten easier every day as I have a friend who inspired me to try the GF thing when she mentioned that since she started it with her two kids two years ago and it has made all the difference in their behaviour. When I say ‘behaviour’ I don’t mean in just how they act but how they think as well.
I don’t know if I have said this before but I’ve had a trying time with L and getting him to concentrate. He always has to be doing something with his hands, and this easily distracts him from other things, like his math book sitting out in front of him. Sometimes it would drive me around the bend as I couldn’t see what the big deal was: why should it take him and hour and a half to do two math pages????? Maybe he is distracted by the Lego in front of him. Solution: no toys on the table while doing lessons. Did this work? Yes. Briefly. Then he would just sit there and stare part of the time unless I worked through each page with him to keep him on track. At this point there are many of his lessons he can do independently. Well, he can do but doesn’t.
I read in a book titled, Beyond Survival: a Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling by Diana Waring that we all have different learning styles. How interesting! L is actually one of those kids/people who, like myself, always needs to be doing something with his hands. How interesting! Like mother like son! So, I relented and said he could have a toy on the table to ‘watch’ him while he did his math, etc. Also, he fiddles with a toy (yet again, usually Lego) while we have our reading time where I read a book to them. (To clarify, at 5 and 7 they already know how to read, but me reading to them everyday helps them to understand how books are read when it comes to punctuation and tone and rhythm for comprehension. Also, they get to hear interesting stories that may be above their reading level.) I’d stop and ask L a question while I was reading to see if he was listening, and sure enough, he told me the answer almost word for word as I had read it. X, too – when he wasn’t doing hand stands on the couch. That boy cannot sit still! Again, mother…son. 🙂
Now, although I relented to the toys being around to ‘watch’ L as he worked he still took painfully long to get things done. I’d ask him a question he should know such as, “L, what is 5+7?” And he would say, “5+7. 5..+7..5…..+…..7……….” Boom. Gone. It was as if I had drugged him and his mind just went to mush. He would stare off into the air expressionless.
Then came the introduction of Gluten-Free foods. Can’t hurt to try, right? Makes, sense as we are what we eat. And if it worked for C and her kids then it just may work for us. In as little as 24 hours I noticed a difference with L and his school work. X, too. Albeit, X’s lesson load is much lighter as he is only five but nonetheless, the concentration was there where it hadn’t been before. It stayed. It hung around like a wonderful friend and helper. Amazing. Lucas can get his spelling done in ten minutes and his math in twenty to thirty. Aside: I also instilled a more realistic schedule for the boys that spreads out their lessons through the week where we get the brain challengers done first thing. Their various programs are also in the schedule, such as Multi-Sports class, Art Gallery and Discovery Centre and theatre group to name some, and if it keeps us out of the house for hours then I lighten the load of lessons for the day so it doesn’t seem so arduous. Also, Family Time Fitness thrown in there is a great way to get us energized again for 15-20 minutes before starting another lesson. Educational games are great too. They learn as they have fun. Well, we learn as we have fun!
Getting ready to go out the door, which used to take a good twenty minutes from the time I would ask the boys to go to the washroom, get their shoes and coats on and grab their water bottles shrunk down to a mere 5 minutes in most instances without very little repeating of this easy ‘getting out the door’ list.
Okay so, long story long, this wonderful friend of mine, C, gave me a recipe for waffles. The GF ones at the store are expensive but the boys love them. (Oh, and her recipe for sandwich bread has finally been successful for me after trying all of those bread-machine ones. Making this one by hand is much more rewarding. Pat myself on the back for my persistence! My reward is worth it.)
Here is ‘going into the oven’ and ‘out of the oven and oh so good’ hand-made bread.
Yesterday I bought a waffle maker with new recipe in hand. I was inspired by C as she makes a big batch every weekend and freezes them to use for breakfasts. Brilliant. I tried out her recipe (small batch first) expecting maybe a bit of difficulty or dry, distasteful (?) waffles. I was so thrilled as my first two waffles just cooked up perfectly and the boys scarfed them down. Oh, what a great way to start a day!! LOVE that waffle maker. There is hope, after all, with GF food and sane kids! Yay! …sane Mommy too! 🙂
I think next time I may add blueberries, or chocolate chips…yum…this time Steve just added the chocolate chips onto the top of the already cooked waffles.
Such a pretty sight for my eyes – home-made GF waffles. (Yes, I know, it’s blurry, argh, camera phone, but pretty nonetheless!)
All gone! Success!
I ‘heart’ my waffle maker. I ‘heart’ my boys. All three of ’em!