Photographs

We attended an affair on our
Anniversary and the photographer was kind enough to send us the files for the pics he took of us. We are considering using him as the photographer for Mr. B's Bar Mitzvah.

Here he has captured the essence of Little Miss M as she observes the action whilst drinking a Shirley Temple.

Dancing with my sweetie of 17 years.

I love the concentration on Mr. B's face as he is getting the perfect coating of chocolate. The careful eating of the treat knowing that I would not be pleased with chocolate on the tie.

Snow Storm Dec. 2009

We had the first snow storm of the season this past week-end. We only had about 8-10 inches. Not like a lot of our friends who had 2 feet of snow fall on them. My two babies totally did me proud when they got up, put on their snow gear, and shoveled the sidewalk without my having to ask them. They are growing up. *sniffle*. Later that day the kids helped clean off dh's car before he left on a business trip.

Mr. B-so proud of himself.

Little Miss loves to pose for the camera these days. Have you ever seen someone clean off a car with so much style?

Here she is modeling what she calls her Giant Pink Marshmallow look.

Monday morning after the snow as I was telling the kids to start the school day they said "Can't we play in the snow first while you exercise?" I was about to say no when I remembered "Oh, yes, this is one of the many reasons we homeschool. So that we can play in the snow instead of having to sit in the classroom while all that snow calls your name." So I said "Yes, go ahead. When you are done we will have hot chocolate." Smiles all around.
I took these shots through M's window screen. They were attempting to build a fort. However, there was a lot of snow but it was not really good packing snow.

Little Miss M attempted to throw a snowball at me when she caught me taking a photo. She is so sassy!

At least she smiled for this one.

By wisely letting them play in the snow first-lots less wiggles when it was time to get through the lessons of the day.

Update on the tooth in the soda experiment: It is a really nasty brown color now and some of the enamel seems to be worn away. When I asked them if they still want to drink soda the answer was a resounding "No! Well, maybe 3-4 times a year and the clear soda not the brown ones. It tastes so good. It's not like we drink it all the time. You only let us have it at parties. That tooth is just sitting in the soda."

Chanukah

We weren't able to celebrate with family this year due to the inclement weather, however, here is a shot of us lighting candles on the 3rd night.

Finishing out our week

I do have to say the second half of this went better then the first half. The kids had a great time at Discussion Group. They were all in agreement that the 3d movie was better then the Mickey Mouse version. They also all agreed that ......spoiler here........the chase scene with the 3rd spirit served no purpose whatsoever. None of them saw a point other then to throw an action scene into the movie. They discussed why they thought Scrooge gave up love for money. We all (parents included) wondered why if he had such a great employer in Feziwig, one that modeled how to run a business and be nice, that Scrooge turned into such a Miser. Speculation is that it was his business partner who gave free access to his darker side. Baggage from childhood that never leaves us.

Yesterday and today our lessons seemed to flow smoothly. Minimum of complaints and work done in a timely fashion. M is still loving long division. B is working on converting mixed number fractions into fractions. History, B started working on his Biography of St. Francis of Assisi. As he was reading one of the books we took out of the library he said "Papa Howard was a lot like St. Francis." "How so? asked I. In my head thinking -I wonder if my father is laughing in his grave at being compared to a Saint. B answered with "St. Francis loved and lived life the way Papa Howard did." How sweet is that? I just melted. M finished her unit on Islam. She and I had a nice discussion on how Islam is similar to Judaism. Her very astute observation "If we are so similar, why do so many hate us?" Good question. One to which I really do not have a satisfactory answer. Language Arts, B-relative pronouns, M-singular and plural possessive nouns. Latin-they continue to work on the nominative case.

This week we started doing an awesome science experiment. B asked the tooth fairy to leave the teeth that he had pulled so we could use them in a science experiment. The tooth fairy obliged. We have one tooth sitting in a small jar of cola so we can see what soda does to our teeth.

The other big hit this week is the game The Scrambled States of America. They love this game. For the first few days they played it all the time. There was me saying "Stop playing that game and go to bed." Then in the morning it was "Stop playing that game and go do your math." The novelty has started wearing off but I am still amazed by how much they are enjoying that game. Learning geography has never been so much fun.

Countdown to Holiday Break

I am ready for our December break. So very ready. Were unable to celebrate the family Hanukkah celebration due to inclement weather. Nasty ice/sleet storm. The kids were devastated. Sunday was not a happy day in this house. No seeing cousins, no seeing grandparents, no seeing, aunts & uncles, NO PRESENTS!

As you can see, the beginning of the week-not so hot. Yesterday, in order to try to make up for it, we went to see Disney's A Christmas Carol in IMAX 3D. It was pretty good. M did get scared at some parts and covered her eyes. Smart girl. Some of the scenes were a bit over the top. Overall, they enjoyed themselves-so that was good. An advantage of homeschooling-we were the only ones in the theatre. I really liked that. They liked having a big bag of popcorn for lunch. Then it was off to our regular scheduled programming-swim and gym. Fun, fun, fun.

Today, the kids had their dentists appointments. B had to have 2 teeth pulled. One canine, the orthodontist wanted removed because the roots were not dissolving and the teeth were a bit crowded and removing the tooth will increase the chances for the permanent tooth to come in straight. The other, a baby molar that was being held in place by the gums. The permanent tooth coming in below it but that baby tooth was hanging on. Sort of a "Hey, this is my tooth and I am not giving it up!" Needless to say, B is not a happy guy right now. On the upside-no cavities for both of them.

Tomorrow we have discussion group. We will be watching the Mickey Mouse version of a Christmas Carol and then comparing it to the one we just saw yesterday.

Random December Musings

It is almost Hanukkah! It is almost Hanukkah! This seems to be the daily chant around here. Followed up with me saying "Yes, it is. Now please focus on your math." In talking with some other friends who homeschool I am understanding that this is a common phenomenon. Lack of focus on academics and totally wrapped up in having a Happy Chriskwansizikah. Am I unrealistic in my expectations of some focus? I don't think so but maybe I am if this is common in their schooled and homeschooled friends.

The other day we were at the library and M successfully added up our exorbitant library fines in her head. The Librarian smiled at her and said "You are very good at math." M was beaming. Inside I was beaming. Thinking "Yes! She is learning. I am not screwing my kids up for life. I feel validated." Then I thought "Why do I need this outside validation?" I don't really but I am often bitten by the "OMG! What I am doing? Should I be doing this?" bug. It felt good to have someone other then me notice my smart daughter.

Yesterday, our usual round of Math, grammar, swim, and gym class. B continues working on reducing, dividing, and multiplying irregular fractions. I should insert here that he feels about this process the same way he feels about long division but at least he is being successful at it. M started division. So far she is loving it. But, she does realize that it will probably become more difficult. In the meantime, I am enjoying the love. Grammar-B-reflexive pronouns, M-irregular nouns. In History we are touching on the rise of Islam and comparing how much area is divided between Christianity and Islam. Fascinating stuff.

Yesterday I decided to start reading A Christmas Carol with the kids. Truthfully, I have never read the book. My understanding of the story is rooted in Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol. Who doesn't love Tiny Tim singing about razzleberry dressing? Honestly, so far, I prefer Mr. Magoo. I had forgotten just how wordy Charles Dickens is. When you got paid by the word you tend to use a lot of them. The kids are not thrilled with the level of wordiness so I have started editing while I read. The Reader's Digest version, I suppose.

Wednesday Discussion Group

Today we headed off for our twice monthly discussion group. Today's topic was Aesop's Fables. The kids read a selection and discussed the moral and how it may relate to situations today. A good portion of the ones read dealt with being a good friend. The Traveller's and the Bear-one friend leaving the other to be eaten by the bear. Instead of eating him the bear tells him to get new friends. There was a good few minutes of the kids thinking about what it means to be a good friend-through good times and bad. There was the story about the Ant and the Dove-If someone does a good deed for you, return the favor. We need to help one another. The Fox and the Stork-Do unto others as you would like done unto you. By this point they were really seeing the connections. Treating people the way you would like to be treated is a good thing. On the car ride home I got to listen to the kids saying "oh, so this is where you got all those things you say to us." Picture a mocking tone here of two kids saying "Treat others the way you want to be treated. Think before you do something. Be a good friend." This lead to a discussion of how these lessons from so long ago are still relevant. You should be kind to one another, every story does have two sides and you should try to see and understand someone else's point of view, a friend in need is a friend indeed. These are all good lessons to learn and live by.

After the discussion in group there was lots of free play. Shoot outs, ball throwing, video games, Lego's, and general running around. So today we covered literature, critical thinking skills, history, phys ed, and peer interaction. A good day. A very good day.

5 days off and it all falls apart

We had a great Thanksgiving. Just the right amount of leftovers. Seeing family, catching up, laughing together, all good. Then a realaxing week-end, what could be better?

On to the start of the week. After enjoying the freedom of no lessons and staying up late who would want to go back to getting up, learning those facts and figures, an early bedtime? Not my two kids. Yesterday, I felt thankful to get through math lessons. M also managed to complete grammar. I then read aloud until it was time to leave for swim and gym class. Those went splendidly. Their gym teacher gave all the kids a homework assignment. They each have to come up with a game (one they make up themselves) and they will start doing them in class. My two loved that idea and have now completed the assignments. I won't tell you what they are until next week.

Today went a little better then yesterday. Except for the part where I asked B to write a paragraph on the persecution of the Jews during the Middle Ages. You would have thought I asked him to amputate a limb. He can write. He comes up with his own comic strips. He can write a paragraph. I've seen him do it. However, there is something about assigning a topic that makes his brain stop working. The frustration, the groans, the staring in to space, the forcing him to look up words in the dictionary. What is up with that? It took an hour but he managed to write it. Then I added insult to injury by making him check his spelling. That part of the day was not fun at all. The other lessons went well.

M took her Final exam for the math book she was using. She got a 79% and said "I passed. Great." No. Not great. I then sat her down and explained how it would have been an 85% if not for the careless mistakes she made. All I ever ask is that she tries her best. She said she did and I had to explain how careless mistakes means she did not. Honestly, I don't think a word I said sunk in. I hope it did but I really don't think so. The other parts she got wrong had to do with measurements. She can not remember how many pints in a quart, therefore she can not figure out how many pints in a gallon. I am going to work on this with her but I was not overly upset by it as the hubby was. The truth of the matter is, I can never remember that either and I don't have to because if I really need to know I can look it up. In the front of just about every cook book I own there is a conversion chart or I can look it up online. Yes, she needs to know but she can move onto the next book in the math program without knowing it right now. If she had gotten the multiplication questions wrong-well that would be another matter. You need those times tables to move on to division.

Tomorrow we head off to Discussion Group. The subject is Aesop's Fables. It should be interesting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Very little formal lessons and a whole lot of Practical Life Skills this week. Since we are hosting Thanksgiving the kids have been helping me clean the house and prepare the food. M was even going to help me with the Turkey today. I can honestly say she touched the raw turkey. That was as far as it got because it is "Ewwwww! That's disgusting!" Instead she is polishing the candlesticks. We hung up our thankful leaves from last year and I meant to have them do some new ones but you know there is that whole man plans, G-d laughs thing.

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

The week in review

I realized today that I had not posted anything since Monday. It was a good week. Both kids made progress. Grammar-they are working on different types of nouns. M-abstract and concrete; B-nominative and objective pronouns. Math-M is working on measurements-how many pounds in a ton, how many feet in a mile. B is reducing fractions. History-B is learning about the persecution of the Jews during the middle ages and M is learning about monks and nuns. During the week they played Spelling tic-tac-toe. They each had the others spelling lists and they had to spell a word correctly to get a space on the board. This entertained them for about 1/2 an hour. M has also been addicted to Mad Libs. She wants to do them all day long. I encourage it because I can't think of a better way to reinforce nouns, adjectives, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs. Plus a dose of ultimate silliness.

Thursday we headed out to The Montclair Art Museum for a Figure Drawing class. Miss Peg took the kids through the galleries and they discussed different kinds of portraits and full figure paintings. Most of the kids liked Impressionism, quite a few of the parents did not. Realists. After the gallery they headed downstairs to try their hand at drawing a model.

Here is Miss Peg discussing foreshortening. She gave an overview of drawing shapes and then going back over them to give detail (along with a demonstration) and she taught one method of getting the correct proportions (fold the paper in half. Your waist is about at the middle of the page. Legs make up the rest of your body).

M working on the models leg.

B concentrating on his drawing. Trying to get those proportions just right.

Monday Update

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Mid-November and we did not need coats. The kind of late fall day that makes you say "Hmmm, maybe this global warming thing is not so bad." Okay, I know global warming is very bad but the weather yesterday was just really nice. We headed out to the park to play Bacci Ball. At least our version of Bacci Ball. We don't follow all the rules.

As you can see, the court was covered in leaves. They added challenge to our family game.

Today was the start of a new week. We hit our standard Monday lessons: Math, Grammar, Spelling, History, and Literature. We continued reading Aesop's Fables. You know what I have discovered......some of them are really not that good. Sure, we all remember the good ones but there are some that are just downright not so good. That is my opinion, the kids have enjoyed all the ones we have read so far. Then we headed off to the Y for swim and gym.

Tomorrow is a new day and we will see what it brings.

TGIF!

Yesterday lessons went well. We started the next chapter in chemistry (acid and base), the next chapter in Latin (nouns), M read a bit more about Charlemagne and King Arthur, B continues to muddle through The Door in the Wall. M is about finishing up multiple digit multiplication and reviewing measurements. B is learning how to reduce fractions. We also started a unit on Aesop's Fables.

We wrapped up our week with our monthly social gathering at a local Panera Bread. The kids always have a great time playing games, building with magnetix, and other imaginative games. It really all depends on what the kids bring with them. After the fun and games were over we went food shopping. At Trader Joe's M had the lesson "always count your change" reinforced. She purchased jelly beans with her own money and the cashier made a mistake when giving her change. It happens, we are all only human but that is why you always count your change.

Wednesday Update

We have made it to the middle of the week. This week got off to a slow start. The kids were up late Sunday night and this made for a very cranky Monday morning. I can't say Monday was a great day of learning. We did make it through Math and Grammar before heading off to swim and gym. The phys ed portion of the day went great.

Tuesday was a great day. Everything went of without a hitch. Bright eyed and engaged children. I think this was because they knew we would be doing the science experiment once we got through everything else. We are doing Chemistry this year. The chapter was about the different kinds of chemical reactions. We mixed common household ingredients together to see what would react. They loved mixing but were sightly disappointed that the only ingredients that reacted were baking soda and balsamic vinegar and baking soda and lemon juice. They were hoping that egg whites would react with something. No such luck. They did get over it when I let them make the lemon juice and baking soda fizz over the top of the jar.

Which brings us to today. Today we headed out to our bi-monthly discussion group. The kids listened to a radio show (The Shadow). It was interesting to see this visually oriented generation figuring out what to do with themselves while listening. They did pretty well. They liked some things about it but overall they did not love it. One of the kids made the very astute observation that it was probably really great for it's time but the content was not timeless. They discussed the similarities between The Shadow and Batman, the sound effects, the abilities of the actors, difficulties following the story (it wasn't easy to follow), and so on. None of them want to listen to a radio show again but they all agreed they like listening to books on CD.

NY Philharmonic

Saturday we attended a concert at the New York Philharmonic (http://nyphil.org). They do a series of Young People concerts. It was really interesting. This segment was about variations of the same piece. There is a professor who walks the audience through the different sections of the orchestra. There was an actress you demonstrated variation using the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme. She told it the way we all learned it and then told variations. Then they showed a photograph of people on a staircase. Then a painting of the same subject. Then another, and another. All the while discussing and pointing out the variations between them. Which leads The orchestra then plays the original piece. Then the professor talked a bit about the composer. Then talked a bit about the composer who wrote the variations we were going to listen to. Each section gets to play a variation written for them. The kids really enjoyed it.

An hour before the concert they set up the Kidzone all through the hall. The kids have an opportunity to listen to music, try out various instruments, learn a bit about the different types of instruments, meet the musicians, and more.

Here we are entering the Kidzone.

B trying out an instrument in the Kidzone.

In the Kidzone B is trying to win a prize in the game show about the orchestra.

After the concert, on the way back to the parking garage the kids wanted to climb this staircase to nowhere at Lincoln Center.

Moving Along

This week has been going quite well. I thought the field trip would really mess up the week as past experience has shown me. But, the kids have been doing great. Although this morning was a little tough since they stayed up to watch the Yankee game with dad. A historic moment watching the Yankees win the World Series in their brand new stadium. That was educational, right?

In math B is working on finding the greatest common factor. He is enjoying this lesson a lot more then dividing fractions. He also started doing the Life of Fred book on fractions. A friend loaned it to me to see if he would enjoy it. He is. For History, this week he is reading The Door in the Wall. He hates it. Thinks it is incredibly boring. Truthfully, I thought it was incredibly dull when I had to read it too but I think this is a good exercise in how sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy.

M started her next lesson in math-prime numbers and multiplying by 12. I thought multiple digit multiplication was going to go on forever but she finally got it. For History she did some reading on Charlemagne.

Science-we concluded our chapter on the different types of chemical reactions. Next week-the experiment. Seeing how different things react-lemon juice, baking soda, balsamic vinegar, etc.

Latin- I have totally not been consistent with this one. But, we finally reached the end of the first chapter. Lots of moaning and groaning when they had to copy their 20 vocabulary words and study them. Happy smiles when they realized they already knew quite a few of them.

Literature-we read Romeo and Juliet. No, not the long original Shakespeare version. This was a well done children's version by Michael Rosen. The play was presented as a story but with original passages and references to the act and scenes. The kids really enjoyed my modern day translations (i.e.-All those fancy words meant Romeo thought she was a one hot babe and Juliet thought he was a hunk). We had some good discussion on true love/lust and OMG! They were only 14.

Monday Update

Today has been a very busy day. We started with a field trip to Seeing Eye (http://www.seeingeye.org) where we learned all about seeing eye dogs. It was very interesting learning the history and what is involved for the dogs to become seeing eye dogs. First a family fosters a puppy (I so want to do this but I don't think I could give the puppy up) and then the dog is returned to Seeing Eye for training. It takes 4 months of training before the dog is ready to be matched up. One of the facts I found the most interesting was that only 2-3% of the blind population utilizes a seeing eye dog.

After our field trip we headed off to swim and gym class. A typical day of freestyle, back stroke, and breast stroke. The last couple of gym classes the kids were introduced to the basics of fencing (the kids loved it) this week they played steal the bacon and then did numerous runs through the obstacle course. Each time having to use different footwork on the ladder, the hurdles, and the hula hoops. All the kids were T-I-R-E-D.

Tonight B has book club at the library. A non-stop Monday today.

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

We met with Discussion Group yesterday and a good time was had by all. The kids watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and then discussed. They talked about what they found funny in the movie. We were able to dabble a bit into the feminist movement with a comment that Sally made. They discussed how Lucy was actually thoughtful of her brother twice in the movie. They talked about how funny it was that Charlie Brown always gets a rock. They speculated on why Snoopy is a World War 1 Flying Ace instead of being involved in WW II since peanuts takes place after that war.

When we came home it was time to carve the pumpkins!

B is taking this carving business seriously.

M is having a good time.

Pumpkin Heads!

Outside, the finished product.

A New Week

We did not accomplish as much as I hoped last week due to me not being well. Some kind of virus that I am still trying to shake off. The kids were enjoying my bout with laryngitis. It is no fun not being able to talk. That said, I am on the mend and ready to tackle a new week.

We started off the day with math and grammar. B is working on dividing fractions. He is not enjoying this at all. Shades of learning long division but he is improving every day. For grammar he is doing chapter review: Predicates, compound predicates, how to diagram a sentence and a question, statement, exclamation, question, and so on. M continues with multiple digit multiplication. Today we started on triple digits. Grammar she worked on identifying a question vs. a statement and the proper pronunciation. After that they did a little independent reading before heading off for swim and gym class.

On the way home we picked up a couple of pumpkins for Halloween. We won't be carving them until Wednesday, though. The squirrels really like pumpkins.

Montclair Art Museum 10/21/09

We headed off to our favorite art class at the Montclair Art Museum today. They learned about drawing with charcoal. In the gallery she took us on a tour of various still lives. Discussed perspective, shadows, etc. Mr. B definitely is drawn to Modern Art. Miss M seems to be leaning towards cubism but no definite forerunner. After the gallery we went down to the studio. Miss Peg has a variety of still lives (assortments of fruit in bowls, draped in fabric, in a bowl on fabric) set up on different tables. She then walked the kids through the different types of charcoal pencils and sticks and how to use them. My two loved the smudge effect. We all had a lot of fun making our drawings. Yes, I made one too. It has been over 20 years since I held a piece of charcoal in my hands to make a drawing. The kids liked my drawing so I guess I still have some talent.

Thomas Edison's Lab Complex

Today we took a tour of the newly restored Lab Complex of Thomas Edison (http://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/grand-opening.htm). We have toured his house (http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm) in the past and learned a lot about the man. We were very excited that the lab opened to the public. It never ceases to amaze me how much he achieved. He employed thousands of people. His lab had state of the art equipment, precision power tools, a recording studio for making records, a photo lab. Walking through some of the rooms I had a sense of the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The scene when the Ark is sealed in a box and put into that giant warehouse. I wondered at what secrets were sitting in those boxes on the shelves behind the gates that kept me from them. At the time of his death he was working on a way to produce rubber without using a rubber tree. He had some success with Goldenrod. The kids love the fact that he was homeschooled. When I asked the kids what they thought of the lab their one word answer was cool.

All in all, a great way to end the week.

Arizona Pics!

A good time had by all.

Our trip is almost over

Today is our last day in Arizona. We will be going to a local residents house today who is supposed to have an amazing train set up going through his gardens.

Yesterday we went to the home and art gallery of a deceased local artist, Ted DeGrazia (http://degrazia.org/Biography.aspx). The kids fell in love with his artwork. He built his little adobe home. He was a talented man who worked in many mediums-oils, pastels, jewelry, pottery. We got to watch an old interview where he talked about how he did not like to use oil pastels because they were too easy but when someone wanted something quick it was the way to go. He also discussed how he painted children frequently because everyone likes children and that is what people wanted but he really loved painting horses. His style is very interesting. He said in the interview that all his paintings are complete but not finished. It is up to the viewer to finish it. He was an interesting man.

After an afternoon of swimming in the pool we headed off the Gaslight Theatre (http://www.thegaslighttheatre.com/currentshow.htm) to see Cronan the Barbarian. It was a very funny spoof with lots of singing and audience participation. I wished my friend Kim was with me because she loves to burst into song with me. Mom-not so much. The kids thought I was nuts. How can you not sing when they used songs such as Eye of the Tiger. I Will Survive, I need a Hero. Well, you get the idea.

Tomorrow we head home, back to our regularly scheduled curriculum of math, language arts, history, science, music appreciation, art appreciation, etc.

Tombstone

Today we took a drive to Historic Tombstone. It was a great day. We saw a short film about the the famous shoot out at the OK Corral. It seems Hollywood has been getting it wrong for decades. The film was narrated by Vincent Price-which I thought was really cool and it meant nothing to my children. We also saw a reenactment of the shooting at the OK Corral. We took a stagecoach tour around the town. I think the most interesting thing we did was take a tour of the Good Enough Mine (http://www.tombstone.org/attractions/goodenoughatt.htm) It was absolutely amazing. I have to say, the founder of Tombstone had a great sense of humour. He named the town Tombstone because when he set off to find his fortune his friends told him all he would find is his tombstone. When he and his brother sold the mine they felt the deal they struck was "Good Enough". When he found the next mine his brother said "It would be a tough nut to crack after the success of the first one" The next mine is named "Tough Nut". Then he had another strike and due to the legal battles he named it "Contention" and the 4th mine was called "Lucky Cuss" because really-who finds 4 successful strikes.

The kids really enjoyed the day but there is still so much we did not see. I guess we will have to return another time.

More Arizona Fun

Today we visited the Desert Museum (http://www.desertmuseum.org/). It was very cool. We took a one hour guided tour when we arrived. Our guide was chock full of info and it really gave us a sense of the desert. After the tour was over we continued to explore on our own (wear good walking shoes if you ever have the chance to go). We saw a mountain lion, ocelot, grey fox, javelina, owls, Mexican wolves, an assortment of snakes, lizards, prairie dogs, and more. And of course, we saw all kinds of cacti and other fauna and flora.

Piece of trivia for you...........

The Saguaro cactus is native to Arizona. All those old westerns you watched as a kid that took place in Texas were all filmed in Arizona. Spot the cactus and you know where it was filmed.

Arizona

The kids are really enjoying our stay in the Baby State. Arizona was the 48th State, you know and is sometimes referred to as the Baby State. Of course, it is also referred to as the Valentine State and the Grand Canyon State. Today we went to an Ostrich Ranch (http://www.roostercogburn.com/). B was 100% bummed that we were not able to go on the Monster Truck Tour. Turns out, they only do that on weekends and Holidays. We now know for next time. We got to feed the Ostrich, Deer, Goats, and Donkeys. The coolest part was feeding the Lorikeets. You hold the nectar cup in your hand and they land all over you. B loved it. M not so much. She wouldn't do it but she did love looking at the birds. I will post pics next week when we return home.

Getting Ready to head to Arizona

Our week continues to plow ahead. Yesterday we had Discussion Group. The kids watched Lilo and Stitch at home and then got together to discuss. This week was not as successful as the first meeting. My two enjoyed themselves but it was difficult to get the group started. Some were more willing to share ideas then the others. Since we are making this whole thing up as we go along one can expect a lot of trial and error. When I discussed the movie with my two kiddos they had lots to say and lots of idea. Put them together with the other kids and ........... not a word. They still enjoyed themselves. One of our group members dropped out as she is returning to school. If anyone knows of a tween girl in/near Northern NJ who would be interested in joining a bi-monthly discussion group let me know. Right now, M is the only girl in the group and the youngest. For the most part she can hold her own with all that testosterone but it does get a little trying for her. Plus, we would like the group to be more balanced.

On the home front we continued with our Arizona unit. We have learned about the Kangaroo Rat, Rattlesnakes, cacti, what States border it, and some fun facts about the State. Tomorrow-we pack for the trip. The kids are super excited to be going to Tombstone, The Desert Museum, an Ostrich Farm, and a few other surprises for them.

For the daily lessons, B continues with fractions and M continues with multi-digit multiplication. Grammar- they are diagramming sentences and learning about compound sentences and conjunctions, complete predicates and complete subjects. Science- they continues to learn how molecules are formed and tomorrow they get to build molecules out of marshmallows. History-B learned about the different monasteries of the Middle Ages and M learned a bit about the Byzantine Empire. I shelved Latin, dictation, and copy work this week. Having Grandma in town has shortened their attention spans in a big way.

Tired and Grumpy Children

Yesterday we had everyone over to our house for Break Fast. The end of Yom Kippur (The day of atonement) and fasting. My mom flew in from Arizona, my sister and her family came up from DC, my Aunt, grandma, and cousins made the trek from Long Island. My Father-in-law and his family, another aunt and uncle, and a couple of friends and their families. Quite the crowd and a really good time. Bagels and lox, whitefish salad, egg salad, tuna salad, creamed herring (which, I personally, think is really gross), all delicious. And all the desserts, just delicious.

Why am I going on and on about all this deliciousness, you ask? Well, because I am so proud of Mister B who fasted for whole day. At 11 he is not required to fast. Children are expected to fast for as long as they are comfortable. He was determined to do the whole day. The food was served before sun down as my 97 year old grandma was hungry and didn't want to eat alone. But B wouldn't eat even though he was starving and thirsty.

Late to bed early to rise, makes for very grumpy children. Such a joy they have been today. We did not get much done in the way of lessons. We started our Arizona unit and that is all we achieved today. They learned about the State Flag and why there are 13 red and yellows rays and an orange star. I know you are dying to know, so I will tell you....they represent the original 13 colonies and the the colors are because those were the colors of the Spanish conquistadors. The orange star represents copper because AZ mines more copper than any other state. We discussed cacti, and how they adapt to desert life. We talked about desert animals and what they need to survive in the desert. They also did a little map work. A connect the dots map of the AZ and then they had to find the States that border AZ and fill them in. Along with the country that borders the State.

Happiness is a working kitchen sink

The sink is fixed! The sink is fixed! We had to call a plumber but it is fixed. It seems the previous owner of our home (a woman who loved to do her own repairs incorrectly) did a doozy of a job on the sink. She siliconed and glued the elbow on, which is why hubby couldn't get it off, which caused a different problem. The drain had been leaking for a long time. It was rusted and rotted. When the plumber wrenched the elbow off it just fell off. The kids loved watching him work. He had an awesome snake. So much better than ours. In the words of Mister B "Awesome, look at that snake. It's electric."

The kids were thrilled because now they can cook and I would start cooking again. Cereal for dinner for 3 days in a row was a bit much for them. I wasn't cooking without the sink to wash pots in.

Today I was setting up our Unit Study on Arizona. We are heading out there to visit my mom the first week in October. So many maps and facts to learn before we go.

The week is so not improving

This week should only have gotten better, but it really didn't. Kitchen sink is still clogged. Hubby will take care of it any day now. Tuesday he needed my car so a friend drove us to the Not Back to School Picnic. An hour or so later we had to leave because her son took quite a fall off the slide. He is okay, but it was quite a scare. Thankfully, another friend offered to take B home because he was totally bummed that we were leaving. M was ready to go. My friend also lost her camera because she left it behind at the picnic in the moment of taking care of her son. You would think someone would be honest and return it. Yesterday, was actually non-eventful now that I think about it. Just the usual. We watched Lilo and Stitch and discussed the questions that they will be talking about at discussion group next week. Today was a bit challenging in that I had a job interview and dh was in charge of making sure they did their lessons. They did what I had told them to do and then the spouse let them go on their laptops (in fairness, he was working from home). They were not happy when I came home and told them there was still more to do.

Mercury is in Retrograde

In the if it can go wrong it will go wrong category these past days have been nothing but a nightmare. First there was the leaky pipe that took 3 days to fix, then the downstairs toilet has been running, then the kitchen sink has a clog that just won't unclog and we have not been home to remove the elbow and clear it out, then last but not least yesterday the car alarm on hubby's car decided it had a mind of its own and would go off every hour or two for a few minutes finally draining the battery.

All this brings us to today. Which in terms of school work went surprisingly well. The kids did their assignments without very few complaints and were disappointed when we could not do all the things normally scheduled for the day due to time constraints. We had to get over to the Y for swim class and gym class. However, Mercury in Retrograde is not done with me. Gym class was cancelled. The instructor is ill.

On the upside, life has been handing me a lot of lemons lately and I have been doing my best to make lemonade. One of the kids gym mates did not get the message that class was cancelled so I invited him over to our house to play. The kids had a great time. Well, at least B did. M was feeling the testosterone and wanted nothing to do with them. I let her watch a little tv and then she did some time on the Wii Fit and then her friends from school came home.

Week 3-Completed

Another week completed. Another short week. I had lessons planned for today but it just didn't work out. Last night the hubby took over the dining room (aka - the schoolroom) to build a server he needs for his data center. I came down this morning only to find his stuff still spread out over everything. I can hear what you are thinking-just move into another room-isn't that one of the many benefits of homeschooling? Normally, I would have done just that. At least I would have done that once I was done moaning and groaning about the change to my schedule. I have some adapting to change challenges. But, we had a social engagement this morning. Our monthly game day meet up. A group of us get together and the chat while the kids play board games, Lego's, whatever else the kids bring with them. So, my plan was changed to school after game day.

However, in the man plans, G-d laughs category, you have my life. After game day my dear daughter reminded me that we needed to go shopping for an outfit and shoes for her to wear to Synagogue this weekend. You would think this would not be difficult. 2 stores later we finally had an outfit and shoes and some more clothes for winter since she outgrew everything. Then I remembered, I needed to buy eggs, and I needed to get the Brisket in the oven. Oops, also need to pick up a birthday present and stop at the post office (which I still didn't do). Plus, when I got home, guess what was still spread throughout the dining room, and us having company for the Holiday.

L'Shana Tova! A healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year to all.

Montclair Art Museum

Today we headed out to the Montclair Art Museum (www.montclairartmuseum.org)for a class in print making. Miss Peg took the kids into the gallery to talk about different styles of printing. Mono, litho, photo, silk screening, etc. After the gallery portion the kids headed into the art studio to make their own prints. I was bummed that I forgot the camera so you will have to bear with my descriptive prose.

Everyone got their own piece of Plexiglas. There were numerous ink colors on the table waiting for the artists to get to it. Vibrant blues, reds, yellows, orange, silver, black, and white. Assorted rollers, paper, and pencils. The kids chose their ink, spread it onto the Plexiglas, drew their images with an eraser, and flipped it over onto paper to make their prints. They experimented with trying to make more then one print from their design (this results in ghosting).

Little Miss M made a peace sign (she is very much obsessed with the image of the peace sign) and then created a few prints of faces. Mister B created an unusual scroll like design using gold and white ink. He then made 2 more impressions from the same Plexiglas.

The kids really enjoyed the class. The only downside is that these classes have gotten very popular and they are crowded. I think the kids get more out of them when their are fewer pupils. Part of life is learning how to learn in a crowd.

Wednesday

Today was the first discussion group meeting. The meeting started with a discussion of the ground rules. Listen respectfully. Don't interrupt. No Boorish behavior. A brief chat about what we wanted the kids to get out of the group. Listening so that your mind is open to new ideas. Disagreeing without hurting people's feelings. Etc. 2 of the kids were sick so they were not in attendance. Today's group was 6 boys and my Little Miss M. It is not easy to be the only girl but she did great.

All the kids did great with their presentations. I think they all learned something new about their friends. They did pretty well with the objective of not interrupting and listening respectfully. After the first couple of kids went they started to warm up to asking questions of each other. Once they all had a turn it was lunch and then free play for the afternoon.

All in all, a good day.

Week 3 Begins

Today was a good day (at least in terms of getting school work done). All subjects went smoothly. Math -all good, grammar-smooth, writing assignment-some grumbling but done in a reasonable amount of time, dictation and copy work-happy day, (The dreaded) Latin - they actually enjoyed it. Swim and gym class rounded out the official lessons for the day.

Right now, as I am typing this, the kiddos are working on their presentations for discussion group on Wednesday. They had to pick 3 items that say something about them and then they will do a short introduction to the group. It is difficult to pick an item that says something about who you are and what you like. They finally picked their 3 and now they are struggling about what to say. I am trying not to tell them. This is their introduction. What they want the other kids in the group to know about them.

Attitude wise-oh my-there is some serious attitude going on between brother and sister. Not pleasant at all. The bickering, the name calling, the hitting-pinching-smacking when they think they won't get caught. I want to pull my hair out. Mister B is the worst of all. Such disrespect for his sister and the poor sportsmanship he showed in gym class. I am very distressed. I am hoping this is just a phase and that all our talks of being respectful and what good sportsmanship is will start showing some results soon.

Shrek, The Musical

One of the many great things about living so close the the greatest city in the world is being able to take advantage of Broadway. Today we went to see Shrek, The Musical (http://www.shrekthemusical.com). The kids and I had a great time. The show was a lot of fun. The actors were fantastic. Their interpretation of the roles were spot on. The show was similar to the movie but different enough to stand alone.

Before the show started we had some time so we stopped into a bakery next to the theatre called Crumb. They claimed to have been voted the best tasting cupcake in New York. They were okay. M got a Black & White cookie which I enjoyed more than my classic chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing. B ordered a classic gourmet cupcake. It was red velvet with icing. His was very good.






Photo op outside the theatre.















My little goofballs patiently waiting to go enter the theatre.











I thought the set was really cool looking.












Mister B waiting for the show to begin.













Little Miss M. It was after taking this photo that I was politely informed that I was not allowed to take pics.

Week 2 - Completed

We are slowly but surely finding our groove for this year. I think we should be have our groove on in another week (or three). Today went relatively smoothly considering the way the week started. We completed experiment 1 in our Chemistry program: What are things made of? The first chapter dealt with The Periodic Table of Elements so we looked at food labels and found their symbol on the chart. Recorded our findings and drew conclusions. B- continued reading about Albert Einstein, working on fractions, and diagramming a sentence. M- is working on triple digit multiplication, right now she is struggling a bit with the columns but I know she will get it. She is also diagramming sentences, and read another chapter in Robinson Crusoe.

We also started the Art Appreciation course today. We are using Meet the Masters. Today was a preview of what we will be studying throughout the course. We are starting with Van Gogh. The kids are looking forward to learning about him and doing some art projects.

This Week is Long

I feel like this week will never end. We are getting through what we have to get through but oy vey! Everything is like pulling eye teeth. There seem to be more bathroom breaks then usual. More "I am thirsty". More "He/she is breathing in my direction."

On the up side I have been listening to them negotiate who is doing which steps to make their mac and cheese for lunch. They are managing to do this without screeching/screaming/whining. If only it could be like that all the time.

Week 2 Begins

Today started week 2 of the school year. I don't know why but it seems the children always have a more difficult start to the week after a 3 day week-end. They both dawdled over math. M forgot common measurements (i.e. how many pints in a quart). B was negotiating if he really had to show the work if he figured out the answer in his head. An hour spent on something that should have been 30 minutes at most. Grammar went off without a hitch. B started reading a biography of Albert Einstein and M continued reading Minn of the Mississippi. Then we moved on to dictation and copy work. All smooth.

We stopped what we were doing to watch the President give his speech to the students. I really do not understand what all the parental hoopla was about. I thought it was an inspirational speech and impressed upon the students that the choice to doing something with their lives was on them. The parents can be involved, the government can make sure they have the tools the need, but ultimately it is up to them to make their dreams happen. That it would take work on their part to be successful. That failure is how you learn. It was refreshing to hear a speech that involved personal accountability for how your life turns out.

After a discussion about his speech we moved on to chemistry. Learning about the periodic table and how to read it. I have been reminded that chemistry is one of my least favorite subjects. However, thanks to the TV show "The Facts of Life" my two will not forget the symbol or gold (AU). When you are walking down the street and a bad guy takes your gold necklace you shout.........A U come back here with my gold necklace. They thought that was just about the funniest things ever and spent a good 10 minutes pretending to be mugged and shouting A U.

We finished up the day with reading out loud from Poor Richard. Ben Franklin was a funny kid.

Week 1 - Completed

Okay, we finished up week 1. I was not sure we were going to survive and this was a 3 day week. Day 1 was fab. Day 2 -the kinder were a bit resistant about Latin. Day 3 - a fair amount of groaning and grumbling but ending on an up note.

Yesterday started off with a bang. We had plans to meet friends at the park in the afternoon but the kids knew we would not be going if they did not complete their lessons for the day. In the spirit of wanting to go to the park, by the time I got downstairs they were already doing their math assignments. Much enthusiasm for grammar and writing....and then......Latin. Their distaste for Latin was my fault. I let the first lesson go on to long. So, after much cajoling and promises that this lesson would be shorter (and it was) they stopped moaning and groaning and got to it. Once that was over they agreed that the lesson was shorter and better and maybe not all awful. Then we moved on to Chemistry and an exciting discussion of matter, atoms, neurons, protons, and electrons. Finally, it was time to go to the park. They had a great time with their friends but the bees were out in full force and they were really being kind of pushy in that bee way. Usually they are out and about but leave you alone. No, not these bees. They were in your face, buzzing your ears, and landing on you. Not fun!

Today, I was greeted with a chorus of "We want to stay in bed and read. Our friends only have a half day of school today!" Mean mom that I am-I told them to get dressed, brush their teeth, and get downstairs since they had been reading for the past half hour. I also told them I was not interested in their friends school day as we always finish earlier then them anyway. Math, grammar, writing, copy work and dictation all done without a hitch. M continued reading Minn of the Mississippi. We looked at the globe to see where Minn was born (Minnesota) and looked at the distance Minn would be traveling (to the Gulf of Mexico). Then out came the atlas for a close up look at the beginning of the Mississippi river. This then led to a discussion of our up coming trip to Arizona and how we would not be flying over any oceans to get there. We wrapped up the day with a little Medieval history and a discussion on why calling someone a Barbarian was really not a nice thing to do. That it showed a rather egocentric thought process and was not really a good way to learn about another culture.

First Day of School 09.02.09

The obligatory "First Day of School" Photo.

Starting the day with eggs you made yourself is the way to do it.

Math was the first subject of the day. We always do that first so that is done and out of the way. B worked on adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators and M worked on double digit multiplication.

One of the many advantages to homeschooling is that you can do your literature reading in the comfortable spot of your choosing.

This year we are using Growing With Grammar. They really enjoyed it. I like that the explanations are straight forward. So far, they like it better then the program we used last year.

Here are my darlings working on their copywork. B is doing a poem by Robert Frost. M is doing an excerpt from Tennyson.


We ended the day with our first Latin Lesson. The first lesson took awhile. I am hopeful that this will not be the way it goes for the year and that as we become more familiar with the language the lessons will have a more natural flow.