Doubling

We had a morning of number doubling a few weeks ago. The boys were seeing who could get the highest double number - I was hearing 256 and 512's, so then I helped them go a bit higher.  (It turned out they had really been enjoying the book 512 ants). We eventually needed to write them down to double accurately and quickly made it past a million which had Trainboy cheering, but finished. Dinoguy said he was going to go on to a googol but his interest had waned by a billion. (And I ran out of board space). It was fascinating to watch him think thru the numbers for doubling - checking and considering the next place value. It was excellent arithmetic practice and much more interesting than traditional worksheets.  Anyway, just another example of why large numbers are great for kids and why I don't think you should delay introducing them if the kids are interested in them.

I read them the story One grain of rice (one of my favorites) afterward to continue the discussion.Thankfully I took a picture because the next day Princess erased it for us. (The last number is 1,073,741,824.)

Learning update

I asked Dinoguy what he wanted to learn about, and he responded first with Vikings! We have done a lot of Vikings in the past few months and I thought we were done. Guess not. I asked if there was anything new, and he responded Greeks and Egyptians. Okay. Then he added Aztecs, Mayas and Incas (which we have also studies in the past few months, but sure, we'll look for more!) If you don't see the theme, it's war and fighting. He knows them from playing the game "Age of Empires" and loves to learn more about it. I am going to figure out some new ways to study these cultures with him, I am glad he loves history and learning about them. We had to return the coolest Viking News book to the library finally (ran out of renewals).

His handwriting is absolutely fabulous for an 8 yr old. I'm glad to be able to say that now. He was excited about a spelling book I got him. I think because it is something new that I did not get one for his brother. I'm not sure. It is an experiment to help him feel more confidence in his spelling abilities. Because he can spell more words than he thinks he can. I liked the look of the book and its games and activities. It's called "144 words your 2nd grader will learn to spell" or something like that by Barron's.

Trainboy found a pedometer today and spent the day running in circles to up the numbers on the pedometer. He also loves to hold the stop watch on our daily walks. He is jumping around topically in mathematics and loves it all. We talked about reading clocks today and referencing things like the face of a clock. We also talked about the fractions 1/2 and 1/3 and finding 1/2 and 1/3 of different numbers. He has so many arithmetic facts in his head - or he can calculate them quickly, I'm not sure. It's pretty fascinating though. He prefers doing mathematical topics to others but really he just loves to learn. It's wonderful to see that trait in my kids since it is what I want to nurture! We did some paper folding too and made cubes and boxes today and he enjoyed that. He likes to create things out of paper and I have been reading some books about teaching geometry concepts with origami to expand on this.

Princess is a serial crayon artist. If she finds a crayon she colors whatever is nearby. Neither of my boys were such enthusiastic artists. She has colored every page of a note pad, bills, trash, newspapers, coloring books, the table, the wall, the doors, the furniture... I know its typical of a toddler, but really the boys did not do it. I said "Paper only please" and they didn't ever try to draw on anything else. She also has me read at least 10 books to her a day, probably more. It's entertaining the variety. We go from Sesame Street to the Solar System to what causes reflexes in your body and then back to simple counting books. Benefit of older siblings I guess that she gets such variety. She also is really into figuring out floor puzzles currently. Basically she's a ball of 2 year old energy and our first child who takes her clothes off whenever she feels like it. Love getting to know her and her vibrant personality.

Baby is so laid back. He smiles and laughs with us when he's awake and not eating. He is doing well at growing big and is about 16 pounds already. Love big babies!

We are starting Spanish again and doing just 6 words of vocabulary a day adding. An idea from a Charlotte Mason book I was rereading recently.

I got lots of great games for Christmas and my big educational goal is to play a game every day with my kids. Quiddler is fabulous for spelling and phonics and its just fun. Fixitman doesn't like losing to Princess though. Set is a great math game I've always loved and I'm glad to have my own version now. We also have Sequence, Yahtzee and Uno now as well as a Harry Potter trivia game. Add in the big list of games we already had and we could play a different game every day for over a month. I really think they learn more from game play than workbooks. The workbooks just give them a feeling of making progress apparently because they like them.

Additionally to our weekly park day, I am thinking we are going to go somewhere more "wild" like a nature preserve once a week or several times a month. Still trying to work out how to add that in to our life without feeling too busy or stressed. While we get a lot of outdoors time, its mostly city/suburban. So thinking and working that one out.

This years' home school plan

April 2010

I have spent the past month making a homeschooling plan for the year. It started with receiving a catalog from a well known homeschool curriculum in a box type publisher. Oooohhh Shiny! Me want! I am a sucker. Keep me away from sales presentations. Seriously.

So reading and investigating further, I realized that I would change just about every aspect of what they sent which kind of kills the whole "you don't have to do any planning" part of the sales pitch. I sulked for a bit because I had my reasons for wanting an easier way out. Pregnant and about to have my fourth child pretty much topped the list. But eventually I got over it and in less than twenty minutes had laid an outline of things I'd like to do in homeschooling this year. Then I slowly worked on expanding that outline as time allowed. I'm pretty excited about the things I have planned to try with the kids.

Of course, it is just a plan, and not a set in stone structure. I told Dinoguy we were studying ancient native Americans soon and he replied that he wanted to study Norse mythology! So that's being added in as soon as we get back to the library. As a guide to help me figure out what was age appropriate and sequencing for topics other than mathematics, (because I've got that one covered), I used the book Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp. which I was able to get on Paperback Swap. (I LOVE Paperback swap by the way!)

It is an overwhelming book if tried to take all at once. If I was reorganizing it, I'd do it by topic instead of grade level, with suggested grade levels along the way. But anyway, it gave me ideas of what topics kids usually hear at each grade level. Overall it just reassured that we are doing great, but in some things it helped me out a lot. Besides outlining what usually comes in a grade and topic, it gives many suggestions for resources and curricula, varying from free websites, to books and curricula to buy and how to get them. Since it is ten years old, some of the links weren't working. But it was a good starting point.

Two excellent quotes from the book:

"Homeschoolers can design their own curricula, assembling resources and using approaches that best suit their own children's needs. You child is enthralled by marine biology? Invent a curriculum that builds upon this interest... When it comes to curricula, kids should always come first.  It's not what teachers teach that's important; it's what children learn - and what children learn best is what interests them, what they want and need to know." (emphasis added)

June 2010

"Our long experience in homeschooling has shown, time and again, that an intense interest in anything inevitably leads everywhere... Kids are natural learners, and each will find his or her own best way to learn. There are many roads to an educational Rome."

So here is my monthly plan outline. I have broken it down further into weeks and resources, but I'll spare you that. Anyway, it might all change. The beauty of homeschooling is that we can (and will) immediately change anything that isn't working.

	History General Topics by Month
September	Ancient Native Americans, American Indians, (Scandinavia and Norse mythology!)
October	Mayas, Aztecs, Incas
November	Columbus, Conquistadors
December	Early American Settlers
January	American Revolution
February	American West Expansion
March	World Geography
April	Asia - China, Japan, India
May	Medieval Times Survey

Create a big time line on office wall! Read interesting books related to topics 3X a week as selected at library. Investigate in other media (movies, computers) as well.

	Science General topics by month
September	Magnets
October	Human Body systems/ 5 senses
November	Life cycles of animals and plants, needs
December	Sounds - waves, light and shadow
January	Water cycle, basic composition of earth
February	Season changes for animals, living vs non living
March	Weather
April	Simple machines, basic physical characteristics of objects
May	Physics- motion, force, friction

Do simple experiments and investigations related to topics 2X a week. Discuss scientific method. Mathematics Games Themes September Numbers & place value, even/odd, rounding, estimation October Fractions November Graphing/patterns December Addition/Subtraction January Multiplication February Money March Measurement April Time/calendar May Geometry

Art Investigations September Pencils October Tempera November Collage/mosaic December Printmaking January Watercolor February Weaving/crochet/fibers March Pastels April Modeling clay/pottery May Chalks

Visit Art museum monthly or every other month. Use great works of art from historical period as inspiration for creating projects. Also use project idea books have on hand. Discuss color wheel and other topics as appropriate, checking out how to type guides at library.

Language Arts Plan
Handwriting with out tears
Penpal - write every two weeks to HS penpal, write grandparents as well.
Memorize a poem every month and present to audience

Phonics 3X a week - word study games from Words Their Way
Vocabulary 2X a week - discuss words from books we are reading, do word games (word search, crosswords, Scrabble, etc)
Reading - Read aloud 30 min. a day from list of related reading books to history topics. Have books related to history topics from list available for reading. (I created lists of 30-40 books each for reading related to topics and also for reading aloud.)
Grammar and other topics I have a weekly list of ideas that will be presented.
Short story writing sometimes, try out journaling as well.

Music Plan
Continue Violin lessons and daily practice. Continue piano investigations as desired. Listen to great classics in car for musical exposure. Add musicians into history studies.

Languages
We will continue ASL probably at the co-op and Dinoguy might add Spanish there. Any other language needs will be met thru our libary, which offers online language lesson access as well as CD's and DVD's. 

March 2010

So there is the plan for this year. I know that tons will be added to it by the boys interests. But having a plan helps me immensely feel more organized and ready for our new addition in two months.

How can I have a plan and still say I follow my kids interests? They have asked for more structure. They have asked for help learning to write and everything else. Learning is still the reward. There are no external motivations or bribes. History topics I view as presenting possibilities (or strewing as some call it.) Dinoguy says history is his favorite subject and he loves all the history books I bring home.We are using interesting texts and books by people passionate about the topics. Mathematics, science and music and art are things they ask to do and enjoy.

Again, I am just hoping the plan will help me be a better mom at providing options to them. I am not tied to the plan as what we have to do, but it gives me a starting point each week and each day. Last year I did weekly planning based on what interests I was seeing and it was tiring and overwhelming, and easily led to burnout. I will still be doing some planning each week to prepare and modify, but with the overarching yearly plan, I hope to save myself some of the burnout, tiredness and worry if I am providing enough.

March 2010

Happy Pi Day!

It's one of my favorite holidays because its such a great reason to make pie! Hope it's a great day for you too!

January 8

Fixitman & I had a meeting this morning so the kids got to play with friends and watch movies. Then I returned, we had lunch. Next came shape collage time. We traced shapes and cut out shapes for a collage and basically played with scissors and glue. Good times for kids. Followed by shape play with the outlined pictures you fill in.

Dinoguy chose to go outside for some bouncing but Trainboy found it too cold. Next we baked some Amish Friendship bread (yummy) and we practiced Violin. Then it was time for an Age of Mythology playoff but computer problems prevented it. Video games instead. Suddenly it was dinner time and bed time.

Happy Pi Day!

I love Pi Day!

I didn't make the best pie crust today... it certainly isn't going to win a prize for pretty. But if the flavor is good, that's all that matters right?See it had a normal looking crust before baking...

It is a strawberry rhubarb pie, to go with our pizza pie dinner. Pi Day is all about circular tasty pies as much as it is about celebrating pi and being a lover of numbers.

This cartoon from http://www.mightywombat.com/ is hilarious and perfect for today.

Happy Pi Day!

Numbers

"Hey where's the 10?" Trainboy asked yesterday, examining my computer. From there we started making numbers using the digits. I thought of John Holt letting kids explore typewriters as I watched him carefully pick numbers and sometimes ask me which ones he needed to make certain numbers.

Dinoguy came in..."What'cha doing?" Suddenly he was done with his computer game and sent Trainboy scampering off for a turn and was at my side. "C'mon Mom, let's do numbers!" He starts typing lots of digits and then asks me to read the number. I decide to move to excel to be able to separate the numbers better and auto-format them with commas. He creates a long row of numbers between 1 and 15 digits each and then asks me to read them, taking over on numbers he is confident in his ability to read. We do this about three times before I sense weariness and suggest a new activity. Nope, we're not done yet! It's my turn to make the numbers. So I make some 4-6 digit numbers with zeroes as place holders in various spots to determine his ability to read them.

Dinoguy starts singing the numbers while playing drums on his knees. He self corrects any mistakes. Apparently rules for reading numbers such as 20,003 or 400,600 or 600,980 are well understood. No wonder he was writing numbers in the millions and higher. Those are the ones he's trying to learn the rules to right now. This leads to a discussion of larger numbers, and I investigate that I am using the right labels for numbers beyond quadrillion. I am, but learn in the process that a billion in America is different from a billion in Europe, or was until recently when we made them change their system! Absolutely fascinating. We start making larger numbers in Excel and encounter its rounding error for numbers over 15 digits. We write out a googol, and then numbers even larger and discuss scientific notation/powers. After typing a number with a few thousand zeroes after it, Dinoguy is done and wants to move on to fractions.

I reformat the numbers for decimals and think I need to explain decimals. Nope. He learned it on Cyberchase already and starts explaining some of the rules of division to me with examples. Well that answers my question of if he was understanding the math concepts presented on the show. (Which is aimed at older children and has math concepts traditionally not taught until upper elementary or middle school.) I think lunch ended our fun and after lunch we had friends over to play.

What fun it was! Later in the evening, Trainboy comes and asks me to make numbers with him again and we count to 125 using the columns in Excel. Then he starts discussing the speed of cars vs. rockets and trains.

This isn't a one day thing, though I wanted to share these experiences today while they were fresh in my mind. Dinoguy repeats any numbers he hears or sees. He reads them on any papers and asks questions about symbols and what the numbers mean. We measure his height several times a week to see if he's growing.

Fascinating isn't it?

The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple. ~S. Gudder

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition

Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting. ~Gottfried Leibniz

If there is a God, he's a great mathematician. ~Paul Dirac

Recovery Week Fun

So how was our week spent after returning from vacation? Full of fun of course!

First we went the next morning to pick up Sarge from our friends who pet sat for us while we were gone. This was a playdate as well and we had a great time. It was clear that Sarge was well cared for while we were gone, though he seemed happy to see us as well.

The next two days are a blur of train track building, TV show catch-up, new computer games, laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking, etc. Just when I was despairing the excesses of the kids, they ended and we had an enjoyable day playing games, creating things, building things, making popsicles, (click the link!) etc.

Overall it was a relaxing week full of typical fun things. Dinoguy practiced his backwards counting and skip counting a lot when I found and hung up his number chart we made a few years ago. I was surprised at how happy he was to see it, though I probably shouldn't have been considering how fascinated he has been by numbers lately.

Yesterday was hair trimming day for the boys - Trainboy let me trim around his ears, while Dinoguy opted for short hair like his dad.





Today the boys built a beaver dam on our couch and played beavers. That was fun to watch. While I don't find our current couch super comfortable, it seems to be an excellent building couch for the kids.

Fixitman & Dinoguy with their new haircuts, all spiffied up for church. Dinoguy was very happy I finally cleaned his jacket.

Grabbers

Here are the boys with the grabbers Fixitman built for them today with Dinoguys help. He had seen something similar on Cyberchase and wanted to make them, so with some scrap wood and brads, Fixitman fashioned them some. Pretty awesome. :)