Fairy Tales

I read this quote awhile back and wanted to share it here.

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.

Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.
-G.K. Chesterton

I know there are widely varying opinions on the role fairy tales should take in a child's life and education, but I came across a few more quotes worthy of consideration while researching.

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.
If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
-Albert Einstein.

And yet one more from arguably the most brilliant man of modern times:

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me
than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.
-Albert Einstein

We have so enjoyed our readings of Aesop's Fables this year. I have learned as much as the boys as I was only exposed to the most common of these in my own education. I am looking forward to reading and learning from fairy tales next year! Please leave a comment if you have any favorite collections/versions or other resources you would like to share.

Surprise!

How do you like the new look? Two big events (for me at least) are coming up soon: my 100th post and my one year "blogoversary", too! The plan was to have those events coincide and launch the new look at that time. Well, dh and I just got too excited to wait! That and he'll be out of town quite a bit in the coming month. He had time to do it today and the creative energy, too! Thanks, Honey!!!! I love it!

We'll be tweaking things for the next few days/weeks so keep checking back to see how things progress!

Weekly Report - Weeks 26-31

It's been sooo long since I've posted a Weekly Report - six weeks to be exact. We've been plugging along with not much new to report. Still here is a quick overview of where we are.

Math - We are up to lesson 150. Ten lessons to go and we are finished with Horizons 2. Yahoo! Today Thatcher took his test and made 91%. I couldn't be more pleased. We don't do all the supplemental worksheets, suggested activities and flash cards listed in the TM. I started out trying to do it all and it was just leading to frustration for both of us. The only thing we do in addition to the actual lesson is skip count each day. He now knows how to skip count to 100 by all numbers 1-10. We are spending time reviewing these since he still gets a little confused here and there.

Reading - We have been reading the first four books in the Encyclopedia Brown series. It's so fun to share this series with him because I also enjoyed them as a child. The author, Donald Sobol, even visited my elementary school when I was in fourth grade. I was so ready to stop reading Magic Tree House books I was about to scream. They were wonderful as starter chapter books but they long ago served their purpose. This seemed like a good series to move to. The unplanned benefits is that it has really supplemented our start to logic. He has to pay careful attention to the details of each story to try and solve the mystery. He hasn't solved one on his own yet but with some loving guidance from Mommy, he has gotten close a few times. I feel like he is finally starting to learn how to think and not just what to think!

I mentioned in a previous post, but we've also been reading Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 1. I also read a chapter to him in Prudence and the Millers every day as well.


Logic - He loves Mind Benders and asks to do these first every day. Next year we are going to branch out a little more (but that's another post!) but for now these are a perfect start!

Spanish - United Streaming Elementary Spanish has been a wonderful start for us. I really think that one of the reasons is Thatch likes hearing another voice other than mine ;) We will finish our fifth unit next week and then take a break this summer to focus on all the Spanish games and activities we own.

Spelling - SWO B is going well. We are up to Lesson 12 and Thatcher has yet to miss one on any test. I have decided to keep him going to build confidence and teach him to follow directions. He loves workbooks (sigh) and looks forward to finishing his assigned pages every day. We are currently doing two lessons a week. I am not planning on continuing with SWO next year as I have found some terrific resources that (I feel) will do all that SWO does and more!

Grammar - Not happening. I have realized that if we don't have a page to fill in it doesn't get done (double sigh). This is a me problem, not a Thatcher issue. I need to make some decisions about this for next year with this in mind. We do talk about grammar through copywork and in stories we read but nothing formal is being taught. I know so many say that formal grammar isn't necessary until later but I still feel guilty about this.

History - We are up to chapter 34 and will complete two chapters a week to complete SOTW 1 by the end of the month. Luckily lots of these chapters can easily lump together so it won't be bad at all. SOTW has been a great start to our history journey. This year we have basically stuck with reading the story in the book, completing the coloring page, map and doing a narration for each chapter. I have lots of ideas for next year in this area too!

Science - Nothing formal happening here either. But do you want to know something that made me feel better today? A friend of mine kept Beckett while Thatcher, Haddon and I went into town on a field trip. Now granted this friend has three children of her own, one of whom is a boy.Yet after keeping my little man for four hours she said, "I don't know how you get anything done with that one! He is into everything!!!!" Amen, sister. You take your eyes off him for five minutes and he is flooding your bathroom and water is pouring through your downstairs light fixtures. Ask dh how he learned this lesson ;) This kid is a mess. I love him with all my being but boy the stories I will have to tell at his rehearsal dinner someday!

I will do another Report once we have finished our school year. :) Yahoo! I get excited just typing that.

Ready to Finish Strong

I just finished preparing lesson plans for the last six weeks of school before summer break begins. According to my original plan, we were to school for 40 weeks but I think there is just too much public school left in me. Two-thirds of my life has been spent in a traditional educational setting: thirteen years as a student, four years of college and seven years as a ps teacher. As a result, this time of the year I get the itch for a time of rest. I am ready to spend lots of time at the beach (only 30 minutes from our house), get my yearly deep cleaning and organizing done, read few good books and start planning for next year. I want to sleep in, read a million books to my boys, wrestle and do all the messy things we never have time to do during the school year - Moon Sand, painting, Playdough (gluten-free, of course ;) and so much more.

All that to say, I condensed our last ten weeks of school into six! I am re-energized to finish strong, and it feels great. Ultimately I want to move towards more of a year-round model. I would love to school for 40 weeks, taking six weeks off during the summer, a week off at Thanksgiving, three weeks at Christmas, a week off for Spring Break and a one week fall break as well. Maybe it will happen next year! I am thrilled with the year we've had so far and am thankful it is drawing to a close. My next post will be a very over-due weekly report - more like a quarterly report, I guess.

Christian Liberty Nature Readers

I purchased this series of books back in the summer after I heard it recommended again and again on the message board I frequent. They were then put on a shelf not to see the light of day...until just a few weeks ago.

I have mentioned before that I want to learn more about Charlotte Mason's theories on education, and in fact I have spent much time over at the Ambleside website reading summaries of her philosophies. The first thing that interested me in a CM style education is her emphasis on children learning from God's creation - a child's own natural surroundings. There is so much more to her ideas but that was the initial draw. At the Ambleside site you can read her writings in their original form, in modern English or condensed. Take a look if you are interested.

Okay, that was a digression. The main thing I wanted to share in that nature vein is that Thatcher and I have really enjoyed reading Book 1 of our Christian Liberty Nature Reader. We are half-way through and we've learned a ton already. Information is shared about Gods creatures: insects and animals in an informative but easy to understand way for young readers. We've already learned about bees, ants, mosquitoes (ick!) and several other critters. Thatch looks forward to reading and learning more each day!

Also, if you are interested in incorporating more natural studies into your homeschool endeavors, take a look at Barb's Green Hour Challenge at her blog, The Heart of Harmony. We've not officially started working through her weekly assignments but we plan to start later this summer or in the early fall. They are wonderful though and I am so thankful for homeschool moms like her who are so very willing to share their expertise!

What a great weekend!

Guess what? I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with Darcy from Life with my 3 Boybarians! Here's how it happened...

I was planning a weekend get-a-way to do some scrapbooking and get some much needed R&R. I asked a few other homeschool blogger friends whom I've yet to meet IRL if they would like to fly to Texas and join me - never thinking in a million years that anyone would really be able to do it. It was just a dream. :)

But guess what, Darcy could!!! So this past Thursday I went to pick her up at the airport and we spent the entire weekend at a friend's lake house. It was wonderful! If you've ever read Darcy's blog you already know she is a complete hoot. In person she is even more wonderful than her blog depicts. She is witty, kind, thoughtful, a great conversationalist and an even better listener (she had to be with all my non-stop chatting!). We talked and talked and talked some more. We scrapped a little here and there, too.

Thanks Darcy for coming to my neck of the woods and putting up with me for three whole days! Thanks also to my wonderful dh and Darcy's Handy Man for watching our collective six boys so we could have a weekend off. I am already looking forward to doing it again and dragging more of our homeschool partners in crime to Texas next spring! :)


Here's a photo we took with Darcy, me and one of her good friends, Jaclyn. Jaclyn and I only live about 30 minutes apart in the fourth largest city in the nation (Insert Disney song, "It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all!....) She and her family drove up to spend the afternoon with Darcy and I was the lucky recipient of some great fellowship,too. If you want to see some of the cutest kids ever, pop over to her blog, Our Phamily Tree, and take a look! Jaclyn, it was wonderful to meet you.

What an amazing place the internet is! If someone would have told me a year ago that I would spend a weekend with someone I had only met in cyber-space I might have told them they were crazy! I am so thankful I was wrong about that one. :)

Want to know one more thing I was wrong about? Well I am going to tell you anyway. ;) Peanut butter really can be that good! Ever since I read Darcy's PB Loco post I have been skeptical that any peanut butter can be that tasty. Trust me, it is! Thanks Darcy for starting my new addiction. I am sucking on a spoonful of the yummy stuff right now as I type this.

Today is World Autism Day

10 years ago: 1 in 10,000

5 years ago: 1 in 1,000
Today: 1 in 150
Got your attention?

Many people have a cause which is close to their hearts. I'm no exception. Thatcher is on the Autism Spectrum. He has not yet officially been diagnosed with Asperger's (our suspicion) but he has been diagnosed with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder, both of which are considered Spectrum Disorders. I wanted to throw my hat in the national ring on World Autism Day reminding people this is a real issue for many families (1.5 million Americans have some form of autism). In fact, the entire month of April is given to Autism awareness, and I placed a button on my sidebar for the month in honor of that fact. Many businesses and corporations are joining the emphasis, and CNN will be highlighting stories about autism on both television and internet the entire week.

For more info on this condition and the issues surrounding it click here or watch this brief video (it's worth the 2 minutes and 32 seconds, I promise!).

I can't vouch for HBO's part in this with their showing of "Autism: The Musical" (because I haven't seen it) but it looks like it might be worth watching as well.

It's good to be back blogging. I'll post more soon!