Good News!

We took B to the orthopedist yesterday. We only had to wait a week to get an appointment after the ER visit. The good news is no broken ankle. The ER doc mistook a growth plate for a chipped bone. The orthopedist put B in a boot. This gives him some extra support while the bruising continues to heal. His difficulties in walking are due to the severe bruising. He should be out of the boot in a week or two.

While waiting for the doc to come into the room I was admiring the x-rays from the hospital. B has such beautiful bones. As we looked at them I told B that those beautiful strong bones are the result of good nutrition and exercise. Not everyone can say they were hit by a car and walked away with nothing but really bad bruises. My spouse was laughing at me for admiring his bones. Something my grandmother would do. Everything about her grandchildren is perfect and wonderful. I can't help it. They are good looking bones. All my efforts at providing nutrient dense food and limiting junk has paid off.

Summer Break

We have officially completed our first year of homeschooling. The good news is-I don't think I screwed them up for life (although, I guess only time will really tell on that one). They are happy and they learned stuff. They enjoyed it so much that we are continuing the journey.

We will be taking the next week off as the kids wait for their acceptance letters to the Hogwarts Summer Correspondence School. They attended last year and enjoyed it. Last summer they took Arithmancy (math), Potions (science), and The Care of Magical Creatures (they researched different mythical creatures, wrote a report, and did a craft project related to the creature). They can't wait to see what their courses will be this year.

Crutches

I am putting myself out there as worst mother of the year. Tuesday afternoon B was riding his bike and was hit by a car. He seemed okay after the incident. Even the police officer on the scene did not think anything was broken. B did not want to go to the hospital because he did not want to miss the Yankee game and I went along with it. Dad was going to stop at the emergency room on the way home from the game but B said he was too tired (He gets a worst dad award). Wednesday-he didn't want to go either as we had the science barge. I helped him hobble along that day. We figured he was sore and he has a huge bruise on his shin along with some other bruises and abrasions. He was hit by a car after all. By the end of yesterday he was hobbling quite well and did not seem to be in too much pain. This morning we took him in for an x-ray. Turns out he has a chipped bone in his ankle. The doctor could not believe it was not his ankle that hurts. He was complaining about the giant bruise on his shin. Worst mommy because we did not take him to the doctor right away. Look at those science barge pictures-does that look like a child with a broken bone?

Science Barge 06.17.09

Today we went to the Science Barge (http://www.groundworkyonkers.org/sciencebargepage2.html) in Yonkers, NY.

A quick hop over the George Washington Bridge. We learned about Urban Farming. The Barge is 100% self sustaining. Provides its own energy through solar and wind power.








Here are the kids right before we went on board.
Look at that view. That is The Palisades in NJ behind them.

Here is the view from the back of the barge. This is the George Washington Bridge.














The tour started in the greenhouse where we discussed what plants need to grow. Air, water, and nutrients.

No bees in the greenhouse because of the tours they give. You have to pollinate by hand. That is a lot of pollinating.












Creating your own soil takes lots and lots of worms.










The worms are fed to the fish. The circle of life at it's finest on the science barge.









The fish waste is filtered and the water recycled.









Learning about how they start the seedlings.



At the end they got to plant basil in biodegradable pots. I am looking forward to eating it.











They also got a demonstration of how much energy is needed to power florescent and regular light bulbs. It takes a lot more effort to power 1 incandescent vs. 4 florescent. It was a very interesting afternoon. One of the more interesting facts of the day is that there are enough rooftops in NYC to grow all the produce they need to feed everyone in the city.

Getting ready for the end of the school year

Things are winding down here. Yesterday was the last gym class for the year. After warm ups they played beach ball volleyball. Everyone had a blast. Mr. Duke-just a wonderful gym teacher-had the kids promise to pick one activity that they would do every day over the summer to stay fit.

In math B is working on adding and subtracting unequal fractions. He feels about this as he does about Long Division. So not loving it. He is able to figure out how to find the fractions he needs but he does not like doing it at all. Although, today it went a little easier for him as he is starting to really get it. Language Arts he has moved into contractions. We will be moving on from this soon as he already knows the material but I felt it would be a good idea to review.

M is working on double digit multiplication for math. She is really getting the hang of it. Language Arts we are finishing up adjectives. Descriptive, tell a number, comparing, who knew there was so much to know about adjectives.

History we are finishing up our Ancient Greece unit.

Today we went to a friends house to start some planning for the Fall. We are putting together a middle school discussion group and are trying to figure out exactly what we want it to be. Right now it is a group of 6 boys and my daughter (who is not at a middle school level and is being given the option of participating if she chooses). Right now we are leaning towards unit study. For example-3 months of reading a different book and discussing, 3 months of reading a book and then watching the movie and doing a comparison discussion. 3 months of listening to radio shows and discussing the different types of media. This is where we are at right now. It will probably change a few times before we are done. Currently the plan is to meet twice a month. I think it will be a great opportunity for the kids to practice discussion, respecting other peoples opinions, etc.

End of The Year Picnic

Today was the End of The School Year picnic with our homeschool group. It was a lot of fun. We meet at a local park. Everyone brings their own lunch and the kids play on the playground. There is also a small ceremony for kids graduating from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, and this year one who was going off to college in the fall. The kids had a blast and made a couple of new friends.

We still have a couple of weeks of school left to do for this year but there is no need to quibble over the details.

Brooklyn Children's Museum

We took a road trip to the Brooklyn Children's Museum (http://www.brooklynkids.org/) with a couple of friends today. It was very nice. B really loved the aquarium and was fascinated with the turtles. There was a tunnel under the aquarium so kids could crawl under and look at the fish.

M and her friend are learning about ducks.

Oh boy, a snake!

Here M is drawing a lizard at one of the artist stations set up in the reptile/insect/assorted creepy crawlies room

At this point my camera battery died. It had been awhile since I charged it. After this room we went and checked out the city street. The kids went shopping, booked a trip, and made pizza. Fun, fun, fun. Then we headed upstairs and checked out the run, jump, fly exhibit (http://www.brooklynkids.org/index.php/exh/runjumpfly). The kids all had fun with it. After they had seen all of that they wanted to return to the city street, so we did.

Birthday Girl!

Yesterday was Miss M's 9th Birthday. I can not believe my baby girl is 9. It seems like just yesterday she was born. Here are the kids enjoying our birthday tradition of dessert for breakfast. Since I did not have to bake 2 dozen cupcakes this year we made individual ice cream pies. Graham cracker crust filled with yummy ice cream. What could be better? We also celebrated the day by wearing our pajamas all day and watching Please Don't Eat The Daisies.

Memorial Day Picture

A little late but I finally got around to downloading pictures off the camera. Here they are after marching in the Memorial Day Parade.

Moody Monday

My dear darlings are in a mood today. They seem unable to keep their hands and feet to themselves today. They have been separated and sent to their rooms, again. Which has given me time to update the blog. I am hoping this phase passes soon and they can go back to treating each other with love and respect. Well, at least respect. I wish I knew the cause of these fits so I could eradicate it but I fear it has something to do with the position of the moon and a butterfly flapping its wings.

Other then the hitting and kicking and whining that has been the mainstay of my day it was a typical Monday. Math, English, Swim, and Gym Class. Times table review and measurements for M. Adding and subtracting equivalent fractions for B. Articles for M, Antecedents for B. Today was the last swim class until September. Gym has one more week. They played some basketball and repeated part of the President's Fitness Challenge so they can see what areas they have improved on.

Ah, the week-end is here

We ended our week by attending the 8-11 year old social at a local cafe. We meet monthly. The kids bring their favorite games to play and the parents talk.
It is very difficult to watch these poor unsocialized kids playing together. They form groups, play games, switch groups, walk around the room to talk to someone new, try a new game or play an old favorite. Today, one of the boys brought his Magnetix and there was a group of four of them making up a game and building their city and vehicles. It is tragic, really, their inability to just sit in a spot and not talk to anyone. I don't know how they get up in the morning.

Okay those last few sentences were a bit sarcastic but it gets tiring to hear how my kids won't know how to be social or relate to others. If only they could see this group of kids they would not say such silly things.

We are all looking forward to the weekend. The last track meet of the season is Sunday. I am not going to miss having to get them to practice 4 nights a week. Although my nightly walk at the track will need to be replaced with some other exercise. We are continuing the countdown to Miss M's birthday. She lets us know daily how many days are left. 4 if you were wondering.

The Week Continues

Our week continues to move along. Yesterday I got the bright idea that I should make bread bowls to go with the vegetable soup I was making for dinner. They were not hard to make. Like anything else involving bread-you just need time. I have to say, the kids loved the bread bowls. They have never eaten vegetable soup with such gusto before. Tonight we had bread bowls with pasta in them (the kids idea).

Today in math M worked on estimating to help solve a multiplication problem, Language Arts - adjectives that describe an actual amount (ten, two) or an approximate amount (several, many).

B continues with equivalent fractions, and intensive pronouns.

Today we had our last Earth Scout meeting for the school year. We had a picnic at the Ridgewood Duck Pond. After the kids ate we went on a nature walk around the pond. All the kids had fun seeing what wildlife we could find and trying to count them all. Ducks, Geese, chipmunks, squirrels, Robins, and Sparrows. They were all disappointed that they could not spot any frogs or turtles

Another week begins

A new week has begun. Since today is the first of June M is counting down to her birthday. Her birthday was the main topic for discussion today. Our morning started out as a typical day.

Math - M continues working on different ways of solving multiple digit multiplication. B is continuing adding and subtracting equivalent fractions.

Language Arts - M continues working with comparing adjectives. B - intensive pronouns.

For History they listened to Greek Myths on tape and created pictures of some of the stories they heard.

After the formal lessons we headed off to swim and gym. B was not behaving his best in swim class so he did not get to use flippers like his sister did. Instead of learning from this he decided the better route would be to take it out on his sister during gym class. Lots of discussion on personal accountability.

I have started purchasing our curriculum for next year. The "Yes, I am not changing my mind choices" are:

Math - We will continue with Math-U-See
Language Arts - Growing with Grammar, Writing Strands, and Zane Bloser Spelling
History -History Odyssey -Middle Ages
Science - R.E.A.L. Science for Kids -Chemistry


I am still torn on what to choose for Latin. I am pretty sure I am going to go with Latin Prep but every time I say "Yes, this is what I am doing." Someone will rave about Latina Christiana, or Minimus Latin and I start thinking ..."Maybe I should do that." I am also still trying to choose for Music Appreciation and Art. I am hopeful I will make a decision and stick to it in the next couple of weeks.