Bastille Day

Déjeuner sur l'Herbe by Claude Monet
photo above: by Grace

Grace told me that she wants to learn about France. It just so happens that Bastille Day is July 14th...next week! I think we'll have a lot of fun with this, and I thought I'd share some our plans here, before the day arrives, in case you're looking for another reason to celebrate. We don't just stick to the U.S. holidays around here, any excuse to celebrate, we'll take!

Pique-nique menu: baguettes, cheese, fruit, sparkling cider and a flag cake (a white cake with whipped topping, strawberries, and blueberries).
(A little pique-nique vocabulary here)

Simple Craft: French flag lanyard

Listen to: French National Anthem - Marseillaise

Read and Narrate: a brief history of Bastille day

Art Study: Déjeuner sur l'Herbe by Claude Monet (above)

I'm working on a four week unit study of France and have bookmarked quite a few resources on my Delicious account (sidebar word cloud, click on France). I think I'll wait to write about the unit until after we're finished with it so I can share what worked and what didn't. But, if you have any books or resources you can recommend, please share!

Says Who....

Above picture...playing on the slip and slide at home.

Grace told me last night that she thought she was sick. We were walking out of the hospital after visiting my grandma when she said this. Worriedly, I asked what was wrong and she said that she thought she must be sick because she couldn't believe she was saying this, but [big pause and a sigh] she wanted to start school again. Yes, she's always this dramatic. After laughing with relief, I asked her what she wanted to study, told her to give me a few days to come up with something and we'd do just that. She hears negative comments about school from television and from other people- usually adults trying to relate to her by joking about how bad school is. I've never said anything out loud, but I'd like to say, "Excuse me! I'm her teacher and I work very hard to make school something she enjoys! So keep your bad attitude to yourself!"

She really does have a voracious appetite for learning, yet I think she's picked up on the idea that she's not supposed to.
I've kept her doing Summer Bridge Activities during our break, and she's told me numerous times that she's "not supposed to be doing school because it's summer". My reply is usually along the lines of "says who". Prevailing societal attitudes and habits are quite important to her right now and I try to remain sensitive to that, while at the same time, encouraging her to think for herself.

We've had some good talks about this recently. Not just about school, but about the way we eat. We try to stick with organic whole foods...no high fructose corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated fats (we'll eat whatever is served when dining with friends). These differences eliminate many common snack foods and fast food restaurants and this makes Grace feel different from "everybody" else. The reason we eat the way we do has really hit home for her this summer and I believe she's starting to understand. With two grandparents who are very ill, she's started to associate the foods we choose to put in our bodies with long term good health...and good health isn't something to take for granted. Who cares if we're different!

During our school break, we've been having a lot of friends over to play with the kids- which sort of keeps me tied to the house. I have had more time for reading, cooking, and working on artistic pursuits, but I'm ready for school to start again soon, just as Grace is. Who cares if it's still summer!

Fourth of July

It was up and out the door bright and early for us on Saturday morning. We drove to a little town called George, Washington to participate in the "Cherry Bomb" fun run. The kids and I did a two mile race, and Derek did a 10k.
The festivities included this very large cherry pie, made to be shared with the entire town. I thought the idea was sweet, but the reality of eating a pie that had sat, uncovered, in near hundred degree air for several hours was a little less than appealing to me.
Here is Derek and his friend Mike, who also ran the 10k. I don't know who the people in the buggy are, but I thought they were cute. As soon as the race was over, there was a parade. It consisted mostly of tractors, horses, firetrucks, and a couple of local campaigning politicians shouting out their promises to lower taxes as they walked along the route. The grassy meridian you see in the photo is where we sat. The parade went up the block on one side of the meridian, turned around and came back on the other side. The kids had such a large stash of candy afterward, from all that was thrown their way, that it reminded me of Halloween.


Derek was the overall winner of his race, but Trent believes that he beat his Daddy. We all started at the same time and crossed the same finish line, so although Derek ran much farther, all that matters to Trent in his mind, is that he finished first. :)
We spent the rest of the day hanging out with some good friends. We're all completely enamored with baby Oliver, who was the center of attention. We enjoyed some excellent food and played at the aquatic center. Between running in the morning and climbing many, many stairs to the water slides in the afternoon, none of us managed to stay awake long enough for the fireworks in the evening.
The puppy was worn out as well. Trent loved playing fetch with him.

Kingergarten in a Nutshell

My kids will both be part of a parent-partnered program through the school district this coming year. It's not required for homeschooling in my area, but it's an option that allows me to enroll them in some fun classes with other home schooled students every week at no cost. It does come with some strings attached however, mostly involving extra paperwork such as a learning plan written in a format set by the school. Since I needed to write it, I thought I would share it here as well.
These plans are influenced by both Charlotte Mason and Waldorf educational philosophy. Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home, and A Journey Through Waldorf Kindergarten, Along the Alphabet Path, and Gnomes and Gnumbers, are the main sources I based the year upon. Here is Trent's learning plan:

Art/Music
Picture Study: Using the Metropolitan Museum of Art's ABC book, Trent will do a different picture study each week, correlating to the current alphabet letter he's studying.

Crafts/handwork: A different craft will be done each week, correlating to the alphabet letter of the week. (see here)

Composer Study: Using the Classical Kids C.D.s, a different composer will be studied each month and listened to weekly.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Picture Study: A different picture will be displayed in a prominent place for the period of one week or more. The goal being to spend enough time really looking at it to make a connection.

Crafts/handwork: Painting, finger knitting, drawing, cutting, gluing, sculpting, and various other crafty activities will be done on a weekly basis. Both for fun, and to strengthen fine motor abilities.

Composer Study: A focused period of listening will occur weekly, along with readings of appropriate biographical books on the composer.

Methods of Evaluation: Picture Study: Recognition of many different works of art, as well as the ability to communicate ideas about them.

Crafts/handwork: completion of projects- will be photographed and blogged.

Composer Study: Recognition of different musical styles, composers, and songs, as well as the ability to communicate ideas about them.


Karate
Trent will take karate classes twice a week and practice yoga twice a week.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Trent will learn the basics of karate, along with useful self-defense techniques in a safe and fun environment. He will learn relaxation techniques through yoga.

Methods of Evaluation: Evaluations in karate to be done by instructor.

Language Arts:
Trent will listen daily to various books and types of literature. He will retell and summarize stories. He will practice letter formation using a program called Handwriting without Tears once a week.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Reading: Trent will listen to a variety of stories and books daily, focusing on listening for comprehension. A different alphabet letter will be introduced weekly and continually reviewed. Some weeks will focus on seasonal literature. A file box of index cards/word bank will be kept, containing learned sight words to be reviewed, illustrated by Trent, alphabetized, and spelled out using movable letters.

Writing: Trent will spend 10 minutes a week on focused practice of letter formation and will have open access at all times to a wide variety of writing materials i.e paint, markers, chalk, colored pencils, etc. Beeswax modeling clay and finger knitting will also be practiced weekly to refine small motor skills. Trent's own narrations of stories will be recorded in writing and read back to him repeatedly with familiar words pointed out to him.

Methods of Evaluation: Reading/Writing: Discussion and narrations during and after reading time to determine comprehension. An illustrated notebook of Trent's dictated narrations will be kept throughout the year.

Math
Trent will be studying kindergarten mathematics once a week using a program called Gnomes and Gnumbers along with Montessori manipulatives.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Trent will be working on number concepts to twenty, writing numbers to twenty, even and odd numbers, creating patterns, geometric shapes, and place value.

Methods of Evaluation: A notebook of completed work will be kept throughout the year, ongoing discussions to determine comprehension.

Science
Trent will study a different science topic once a week using literature, outdoor nature walks, and hands on activities.

Learning Goals/EALRs: Science topics will be integrated into reading/letter study each week, i.e. A is for Apple, B is for Bumblebee...etc. Read-alouds will be narrated, dictated, and illustrated into a notebook.

Methods of Evaluation: Review of nature notebook, discussions.

Trent's classes through the school district will be a three hour kindy class once a week, and a one hour "fun with music" class.

Here and here are some other posts I wrote about kindergarten plans.

Honest Scrap

This Honest Scrap tag was passed along to me by The Magic Onions. I thought it was fun to read hers, so I'll give this a try.
1. I've got fruit flies in my house right now. I think they're horrible and I'm embarrassed because it makes me feel like my house isn't clean. I can't figure out where they're coming from!

2. I check my e-mail too many times a day. I know I need to be more disciplined in this area of my life. I even check it on my phone when I'm away from the house. Balance is needed here.

3. Last night, when my kids were supposed to be asleep in bed, they were instead "pictochatting" with each other on their Nintendo DS's. I knew. I even smiled about it because I love it when they get along so well. Pictochat is an application that uses a touch pad and a stylus to draw pictures and send them to each other.

4. I do not have a skin care routine. I used to be fastidious about this, twice a day, cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize. But I find that the less I touch my face, the better, i.e. less breakouts. So now, my face just gets splashed with water in the shower, maybe a little sunblock if I remember.

5. I do not volunteer for very many outside activities even though I'm a stay at home mom with "only" two kids. I have low energy levels due to a certain type of anemia, and even though I eat very healthy, exercise, and get monthly B-12 injections, I still get very tired if I overdo it. Sometimes I feel self conscious about this and wonder if people think I'm lazy.

6. I do not do home improvement projects when Derek is home. I wait until he's gone because he's a perfectionist and well...I'm not. I think we compliment each others personalities quite well actually. But I'm not painting when he's around, or wallpapering, or grouting the tub....

I'm not calling this a tag, but I do want to highlight six blogs I enjoy visiting, and if you want to do this tag...go for it!
Spiraling, Amongst Lovely Things, Gardenmama, Knitting the Wind, TurkeyCookies, and Eat, Live Run.

A June Weekend

Here's the story of my weekend: Saturday morning the kids built wooden pirate ships at the Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic. They had so much fun that we signed up for the next one in two weeks.We're still going back and forth between home and the hospital to see my Grandma a couple times a day...thankfully, it's close by. She'll be moving into an assisted living facility sometime soon. The toy hospital set has been getting a lot of play recently. Play is such a great way for kids to work out their feelings.

We attended the birthday party of my niece, Caitlyn, who turned two on Saturday.
And we met at the park with some dear friends who were passing through town. There are several more cute kids in the picture now, than there were in our college days, when we were so close. I haven't seen them in five years and I felt so guilty for losing touch with them that I was embarrassed to call. I'm thankful Michelle didn't feel that way, and I'm also thankful for technology like Facebook that helps long lost friends re-connect.

Trent

I've had the privilege of spending some special time with just Trent this week. Grace has been taking a class called Flying Physics in the mornings and has been at different friends' homes every afternoon. She's been having fun, and so have Trent and I. We walked to the ice cream shop yesterday. I love that he still wants to hold my hand.

He's been helping me water the plants, with a squirt gun of course. Our cat, Baby, follows him around everywhere. They're great friends.
He's been showing me his cool bike tricks at the skate park. Normally this park is full of big kids and it's not safe for a five year old who just learned to ride a bike. Trent loves to watch them on their skateboards and now he's getting a chance to play here in the mornings before swim lessons. The big kids are probably still sleeping at this time.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this little boy of mine?