Posted in General Musings

.. we're ALL going to the doctor. I have had it with this &$#%! cold. We are going on week 3 of this nasty thing. My son and I have had it for 2 weeks and my daughter, as previously mentioned, got it this past Thursday. She and I went through a weekend of fever and chills and I now have a bad sore throat.  To top it off, she's now gotten pinkeye and I started her on eyedrops for it yesterday. All I had before was just a lot of coughing.

I called the docs office and made an appointment for this morning. The lady making appointments said the office is full of patients with this thing and that it just lingers and lingers. I hope he can give us something to help get us over this thing. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Well, maybe my worst.

So, no school again for us today. Maybe we can get some things in this afternoon, but I'm not going to push it with the way we are feeling. What a way to start our first homeschooling year - we haven't had a lesson yet where we are all healthy!!  Grrrrr.

UPDATE:  Cass has an ear infection (that explains the fever/chills) and she'll be needing those eyedrops. The doc also gave her something for the cough. I have .. and I can't believe it... infected tonsils (that explains my fever/chills). He said you don't see that often where tonsilitis sets in following a viral cold. My throat is so sore, and I can' t swallow well. I don't even feel like eating and neither does Cass. I think this is the first time in my entire life that I've had tonsilitis. Wierd! He checked Josh all out and said just to keep up with over-the-counter meds if he needs them, but that he is just fine and to go back if he starts having any difficulty breathing.

He said to wait until bedtime to give Cass the cough medicine because it makes you very drowsy, but she was sooo sleepy this afternoon and nearly in tears from the cough. I figured if she's sleepy anyway ... give her the medicine. So I did and she's now resting soundly. Thankfully, without coughing.

This completely sucks, but at least we have the meds to get it over with now.

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Posted in Homeschool Pics

We had an absolutely wonderful time at the Clay County Fair, as we seem to have every year. This year we took in three shows: one on animals of the rainforest, one on big cats that had 5 tigers in it (including a white one!), and one that had an alligator. We arrived at about 10 am and didn't leave until after 5pm. There is so much to do and see! In addition to the shows, we saw many exhibits and walked through most of the animal barns. We rounded out the day with rides on the midway. The food at this fair is awesome as well and I always have a very hard time choosing what to have for lunch. =) There must be about 30-40 or so different food booths. There were too many pics to put in a blog post, so I made a quick & sloppy web page for them.

Click the crazy guy with the stuffed cougar on his head to see the pics:



We could probably spend another whole day there before we would see everything, but that's not going to happen! We've had a terrible cold running through our house, and if my son and I hadn't been nearly over it (just a little coughing now that's clearing things out), we wouldn't have gone. But, sadly, my littlest got it today - we noticed she was coughing some at the fair. It's a really hideous thing that hangs on for about 2 weeks. Fever with chills, congestion & a nasty cough. The doc says nearly all his days are filled right now with seeing people who have gotten this cold. I worry about my littlest, as it seems to have hit her pretty hard all at once. She is resting now, but has a fever. I hope the Tylenol & cold medicine kicks in soon to help her out. The cooler temps and wind at the fair did her no good today.

I don't know how much homeschooling we'll get done tomorrow with a sick little one, but I'm at least going to try to get some things in for DS. I hope everyone had a great day!

Karyn   <----- posted for MrsMom ;)

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Posted in Neat Links

While typing the last post, it occured to me that I haven't posted a link yet to the site where I find some great educational software for a rock bottom price.

They advertise "free" software, and it's listed on their site as such, but they do charge $6.49 for shipping. However, if you buy 2-5 items it goes down to $5.99 per item, 6 or more goes down to $5.49 per item. I have ordered from this place several times and have always been satisfied! The only thing that may matter to some, is that it doesn't come in a nice pretty box like you would buy at the store. I believe these are overstock items. Some come in a cd sleeve, while others will come in a jewel case. It notes which one on the item page.  And, if you order 4, you get to pick from a list of software that they will send you without charge as a free gift. Last time I got Encyclopedia Britanica on CD for free!

Here is a link to the educational software section:

Planet CD-Rom

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Posted in General Musings

Does anyone else have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Since we're now on a schedule I wanted to keep for school, we are getting up an extra 1.5 hours earlier than we normally were so that we can be finished with school by noon. We are a family of night owls, through and through. I've been a night owl since high school, and early mornings are killer.

Last night we were all so tired from all our activities so far this week, that I just couldn't force myself out of bed when the alarm went off this morning. We have our homeschool library program this afternoon for an hour and a half. So, I decided that today will be a "media" day. The kids have several educational PC games that they learn oodles with, so we are having "media" time with the only requirement being that they have to play the ZERO game first and study their spelling. The library program only happens once per month, so I think I may do this as a break from the norm once a month on that day.

I wonder if I am being too strict about getting everything done by noon. Our family may not be cut out for the early morning stuff. I guess I will set the alarm as a "goal" and try to keep it, but I won't kick myself if it doesn't all happen by noon. It just seems like other families can do this with no problems!!

Anyone else here a family of night owls??

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Posted in Neat Links

I spent a good part of last night looking for a free software program that helps kids study spelling. Not that I'm not willing to pay for a good one, but all I wanted was something basic where I could enter DS's spelling words for the week and he could practice them on his own with some kind of game.

I found a program called ZERO that homeschoolers might be interested in. It's easy to use and my DS thought it was pretty fun when I loaded it up on his laptop today! When you launch the program, the student enters his name while different fonts fly about spelling it out. You click "Play" and there are 10 levels to play each with 10 different lists to choose from! These are VERY helpful in that they are all high frequency words. The first level will likely be too easy for those above first grade.  My son knows all those sight words already. However, my daughter who is 4 years old will find it very, very useful. You can change the level by scrolling to the right when choosing a list to access the harder words.

The program displays the word, speaks the word and uses it in a sentence. When GO! appears on the screen, the student has 15 seconds to type in the word correctly. He gets points based on how fast he enters the word - so, this is also helping with knowing where the letters are on the keyboard. Fifteen seconds doesn't seem like a lot, but a slow "hunt and peck" typer can even do it. DS is 6 years old and he had no problems. If the student runs out of time, they have to type in the word correctly (it's displayed at this point while he types) before they can continue. After all 10 words in the list are done correctly, the score is displayed and the "high" score for that list is shown on the screen. Also after completion, the student can click on a rocket ship and play a rocket game where he shoots at grey asteroid looking things. My son found that to be a nice reward for studying his list.

Now for the really great part, at least for me.  All of the lists are customizable! And there are also an additional 10 lists without any words if you'd like to keep all of the original lists. When you click play, if you scroll all the way to the right and choose the "Set" button, you can pick a list number and change all the words. So, I made list number 4 his weekly spelling list. Now, all he has to do when I say go play ZERO and study your spelling is get into the program (it remembers his name), click Play and choose list 4. It should be noted that it does not speak or use the word in a sentence when you add your own.

Go Here to Download ZERO


TA DA! I think this is really going to help him.

After last week's spelling disappointment, I decided to change up his lists to go along with his phonics studies. It will be easier to remember and he'll also be studying his words when we do phonics. This week's list is long "a" words - a with silent e, -ay, and ai words.

Crossing my fingers that he'll do better this time on Friday's test!

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Posted in General Musings

So, I am wide awake (see previous post about my love of coffee ). I decided to Google some homeschooling forums and check them out. Wow. I have just totally re-affirmed why I've decided to homeschool. Some of the stories of parents who have sent their children to public school and ultimately pulled them out are incredible.

Damaged children. Little ones left to figure out how to defend themselves, how to respond to being picked on, told to stop being a tattletale when trying to tell an authority figure what was going on... little ones. Children (little ones!) upset and crying every day because they did not want to go to school and face the social pressures. Parents kicking themselves for making their children go because the school and the teacher (!) told them there weren't any noticable problems. Children who didn't have any problems until they went to public school! Damaged self-esteems and parents trying to rebuild them. Not just in the larger cities - all over.

I am not an over-protective parent type. I want my children to experience some adversity so that they know how to handle it. But they WILL NOT experience it unarmed. To toss a little one in with the crowd, before they have had a chance to develop an adequate amount of self-confidence can be completely disastrous. "They have to learn to deal with these types of people because they will encounter them as an adult." you say? Encountering the types of things I read about that happen on the school playground and the cliques that ultimately form are much better left to an armed adult who has already developed a sense of self and a sense of confidence and worth. Not an impressionable and easily damaged 6 year old.

Good grief. It boggles the mind at how a few children in a classroom can influence and "make or break" another child's entire public school existence and that the fallout from the experiences with these children can last an entire lifetime. May God help the little ones!

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Posted in General Musings

Completely. There is nothing like sipping on a hot cup of coffee when it's cold and rainy out. It's amazing that such a simple little thing can bring so much comfort. I actually had to bust out the slippers and warmer robes today! Low 60s and rainy.. down to the low 50s tonight. Tomorrow night we dip into the 40s for the first time since early spring. I am in love with fall! There, I said it. I'm not ashamed of it, and if I could marry fall, I would. So there you have it.

I don't know how many of you get the Noggin channel, but there are a lot of really good shows there for kids. It's not mindless like some of the other channels for kids. There is a show on there that I find as much fun (probably more!) to watch as my kids. "The Upside Down Show". Geez, they are sooooo funny on there! We watched it while waiting for my Mom and Dad to get here this afternoon. Those guys are nuts and very entertaining. I feel kind of silly laughing out loud to a kids show! And, it is educational.

Here is their home on the web if you aren't familiar with it:

The Upside Down Show

I have a feeling I'll be stopping back here a couple more times tonight. My coffee mug seems to be wandering on it's own back to the pot. Seriously, like now. There it goes again! I better follow and make sure it gets the right amount of creamer.

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Posted in Neat Links

eclecticeducation posted a great freebie on her blog. Sign up for a free newsletter (that's all you have to do!) and you'll get 37 downloadable e-books for free. It looks like a newsletter I might enjoy, too.. Living on a Dime! I love to save money and get free stuff. =) This offer ends September 11.

Her blog post with a link to sign-up is here:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/eclecticeducation/387279

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Posted in General Musings

I am getting excited about a field trip we have planned for Thursday. A town about an hour away has one of the neatest county fairs ever. LOTS to do and see. Since we are studying communities, we are counting this as a community event and making a notebook page when we return. We'll be checking everything out including a show on the "Amazing Rainforest", one on big cats with a lion and tiger, and one on alligators. Of course, there will also be the rides for the kids. I'll have to post some pics when we get back.

If you feel so inclined you can check out the fair website here:

Clay County Fair

Also this coming week on Wednesday, we go for the first time to the local library's homeschooling program. They have a special gathering once per month for homeschooled children. This week's topic is global warming. Should be interesting!

We had a great time today. I took the kids for a picnic and playtime in one of the parks. It was gorgeous out - mid 70s and low humidity. I think summer has finally left us - THANK GOODNESS! Then it was off to the grocery store and we bought the dvd "Barnyard" to watch when we got home. Kind of a cute movie - if I had the opportunity again I'd rent instead of buy, though. I don't think it will be one the kids want to pop in over and over. Tomorrow we invited grandma and grandpa over to watch "Nanny McPhee ". We'll be having the standard popcorn and M&Ms. Should be fun!

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Posted in General Musings

We had our first spelling test today. Josh had 7 words that he was looking at all week. I went over them with him a few times, but told him that it was his responsibility to know these words for the test on Friday. When he studied on his own, he did so half-heartedly and didn't really concentrate. The words were:

city
house
good
job
want
work
need

All the words are related to our MBTP study of communities this week. He looked over his words today, and then I gave him the test. He missed two words. I even said, "This is your first test, so I want you to look at what you wrote for numbers 2 and 6 and see if there is anything you want to change." He said they were just fine. He got both of those words wrong, and then I asked him to add the page to his binder. "What about my sticker???" he said. He knows that he only gets a sticker if he does it on his own, correctly, without any outside help. He was pretty upset when I told him he would not be getting a sticker - he even almost cried. But, we had a talk about concentrating while we practice and really learning how to spell the words. Since it was his first test, I am letting him retake it on Monday for a sticker - if he gets them all correct. We'll see if he really practices this time!

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Posted in Homeschool Pics

For this lesson, I looked up information on Claude Monet and tabbed everything in my browser. I mainly tabbed a pic of Monet and three of his famous paintings (including Waterlilies). We had a "meeting" (thats what the kids called it) in the computer room for the first part of the art lesson. We talked about his life, impressionism and what it meant, and then used Google Earth to zoom in on France. After seeing France, we zoomed in on his hometown of Giverny. The children really enjoyed this lesson!

The first day, we used our watercolors in blues, purples & greens to make our pond background. The second day we tore bits of colored construction paper and glued it to the background for the lilies.

This idea was found on this page:

Monet Waterlilies Lesson

Here are the pics! Cass is 4 and Joshua is 6.

Posted in Homeschool Pics

We just finished building our little communities for the first unit in concept 1 (Moving Beyond the Page curriculum). We are studying communities, and these lessons allowed us to study maps, map keys, 3D shapes (rectangular prism, cube) and community places and workers. I thought the maps turned out pretty good for a 6 year old and a 4 year old!  My 6 year old boy did everything himself, except for me making the box for the map key. My 4 year old daughter drew everything and I helped a lot with the writing, although she wrote "Map Key" herself. Right now we are taking a little break while they play with the hotwheels cars driving around their communities. I think my son even got out some GI Joes and my daughter got out her Polly Pocket dolls to walk around. I heard them out there taking trips to each other's towns. LOL! Anyway, here are the pics!

Cass is 4 years old.

Josh is 6 years old.

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Posted in Neat Links

A few days ago, I signed up for this program. You may or may not be familiar with it - it is used in many schools across the nation. But, every year for the months of October through March, Pizza Hut rewards students who meet a reading goal that they have set with a free personal pan pizza! And, the best part is that homeschooling families can participate, too - not just schools. The materials are free, but they are sending them out NOW. Last year I missed the deadline. :/  So.. HURRY.. if you want to sign up... it can be done online!

Here is a link to learn more about the program:

Book IT! Program Overview

Here is a link to sign up K-6 homeschool kids:

Book IT! K-6 Homeschool Enrollment

They also have a Book IT! Beginners program for preschoolers - it is not quite the same, but the info about it is on the site.

Posted in Neat Links

It's good, too. I downloaded it and it works perfectly for what I need. Very flexible and plenty of tools to make things easy. The teacher in me needed it! Passing along the link for anyone else who might want to give it a go:

Lesson Planning Software

Posted in Neat Links

I found this link in a notebooking group that I belong to and wanted to share it here!  It's a neat site for book swapping. You list books you have that you don't want anymore and it gives you credits for getting other books. You don't pay anything to get books from other people - not even postage!  But, when someone requests one of the books you have listed, you pay the postage to send it. Genius idea! And, it's not just for paperbacks as the name might indicate.

Paperback Book Swap

Posted in Notebooking

Okay, I think I'm ready with the temp website for my notebooking pages. =)  There are 10 free pages posted (each has regular and primary lined pages). The freebies involve animals, plants & holidays.

Be sure to check out my monster marathon notebooking page tweak session results. In other words, the Communities notebooking collection also on that page.

Let me know what you think - I seriously want some feedback on this!!

MySchoolNotebook.com

Posted in General Musings

Man, it has been a very hectic couple of weeks! It's crunch time for homeschool, and I just finished 140 or so notebooking pages. A lot of work, but I think it will be worth it. I'm thinking of sharing some free pages and maybe charging a very small amount (a LOT of work!) through Paypal or something if anyone wants the huge thing. So, my task tomorrow is getting it up on my website so people can download the free stuff and take a look at the biggie.

DH came home this past Saturday night. That in itself doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but he's been gone for 6 weeks! It was so great having him home for a few days. He gets 4 days R&R time every 6 weeks right now. It worked out perfectly for him to be home for our son's 6th birthday (yesterday). We made a big day of it and ended up going to the Omaha zoo about 2.5 hours away. We stopped about halfway and had lunch at Chuckie Cheese with grandma & grandpa.  Then it was off to the zoo. We had such a great time. The kids are just now old enough to really appreciate the zoo and they didn't want to leave! I'll be posting some pics of the jungle area of the zoo - I think that's our favorite part.

DH left for another 6 weeks tonight. =(  It was sad. My daughter always has a hard time with it (she's 4). She's actually pretty "big" about the whole thing, but as he's driving away she breaks down and cries on the couch for a few minutes until I can get her all loved up and distracted with something else.

School starts next week for us.. .lots to do in one weekend so we can take off smoothly. I should be posting more now that I have the monster notebooking file done and my son's birthday is over. I hope all has been going well for everyone - I'll be checking out your blogs tomorrow!

Posted in General Musings

It's been a fairly nasty month of August here. Temps climbing to at or near 100 with higher humidity.  The kind of days where just walking upstairs to take a shower leaves you with a few beads of sweat.  We've had some good rain in the last 2 weeks or so, but that has just served to make it even more humid during the hot days.

TODAY... (oh please oh please oh please let this be the end of the summer temps).. lower 80's, low humidity and a very nice breeze. I left the windows open all night last night and all day today. It's been positively heavenly!! I know the end of the hot temps this month is probably just wishful thinking, but this has SO made me yearn for fall. Fall & spring are my favorite seasons.  I think the weather finally decided to cool off a bit after seeing me break down and buy a small desk fan at Walmart. We have an air conditioner, but the computer room tends to stay a bit warm. I think the weather was there watching me! It's probably some sort of conspiracy between Walmart and the weather. Beware.. beware... Walmart is evil! It will suck you into it's lair and won't let you go until you've spent at least $100. ;)

Posted in General Musings

I am very excited about using Moving Beyond the Page curriculum this year. It just seems perfect for me and my kids. Just enough structure, but not too much.  I wanted something fairly open-ended, yet with quite a bit of the preparation already done - I'm a busy person! Josh is 6 and on grade level in math, but his reading is nearly 3rd grade level. So, it had to be challenging but still basic in some areas. MBTP seems perfect. It's interdisciplinary so he'll get something of everything while we do that - including social studies and science and it was written to touch on all the national standard objectives. I'm teaming it with RightStart Math & Singapore Math's challenging word problems to beef up his math skills, MCP Plaid Phonics (just to be sure he's got everything he needs), Handwriting without Tears & anything else I can come up with.

Anyway, I'm so excited about MBTP (we're using the ages 6-8 program) and yesterday I began developing notebooking pages for all the units/lessons in Concept 1. That's why there was no post here. I plan to make these available somehow for anyone else who is using MBTP ages 6-8 or anyone who is studying communities.. which is the first concept. More on that to come later... like when I'm finished. Don't rush me now, I have sharpened no. 2 pencil and I'm willing to use it. I'm also pretty wicked with the [Shift] key - don't test me! ;)

Today was so busy I feel like I've been run ragged. It seems like everything happens on Thursday, even if it wasn't planned. Do you have a day of the week like that?  Between Tae Kwon Do, gymnastics, grocery & school supply shopping, checking on my parents house (they are out-of-town) and tending to their flowers & tomatoes, taking the kids to the park because it was finally bearable outside, figuring out what the heck happened with a financial matter, getting bills paid... it just goes on. What a nightmare it would be if every day of the week was Thursday.  I mean come on, I only got in 2 cups of coffee. I'm so deprived. (or is that depraved.. I keep forgetting). =)

And now, on to more notebook pages... seize her and throw her in the dungeon!

Posted in Neat Links

...I came across an absolutely hilarious site. If you are a cat lover you will love this! (WARNING: some subject matter of adult nature)

ROFL Cats

Hang with the first page, it gets better. Go there now. Be amused.

Remind me to never drink that much coffee in one day. Sleep, where have you gone?