Gardening Obsession

The Mermaid is now obsessed with gardening.

She is going to be participating in a homeschooler's fair later this year and her project will be...gardening!!

Today we planted some veggies and herbs to be transplanted later into our garden:

Lavender
Broccoli
Bell Peppers.In addition to the avocado we are attempting to sprout, we also sprouted a garlic clove and are attempting to sprout a sweet potato. Here's the garlic clove on day one.Here it is on day three. It sprouted fairly quickly.
By the end of the week I had switched it over to soil.Still no sign of sprouting on the potato yet.
We're also trying to grow a pineapple plant. Like the avocado, it can be difficult to succeed and it will take at least a couple years for the plant to produce fruit, if any. But it looks cool and we'll have fun trying.



We've also attempted to sprout lentils, with no real success so far.
And we did an experiment to see how plants drink.

For every plant or project, The Mermaid has a gardening journal in which she writes the date planted or project started, and if applicable, the day sprouted and harvested. Then she draws a picture and takes notes.

She also has a page in her journal dedicated to the layout of our 32 square foot garden that we plan on putting together this weekend.

She's so excited and her enthusiasm is contagious. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather!!

Gardening Obsession

It's Gardening Time

After much begging from the girls, we've decided to plant our first garden this year.

I'm really excited, but nervous too. I have a horrible black thumb and I'm afraid I'm going to kill of any plants we manage to grow.

We have started some indoor plants. First, some organic snap peas in an indoor green house:

And we're also attempting to sprout an avocado tree!! I'm not sure if this project will last long, but we are having fun trying to far.
Our homeschooling co-op is also going to be planting a garden together, and we are ending our unit on animals this week in science and transitioning into plants. So many exciting things going on!!

What homeschooling projects have you been up to lately?

It's Gardening Time

Bravo!

On Wednesday we took the girls to see a performance of Hansel and Gretel put on by the Boston Lyric Opera. The girls were so excited to see the performance, and since we went with some of the members from our homeschooling co-op, they got to see their friends as well.

Both girls loved the show, the singing really captivates them and the costumes and acting made it so much fun. The Tadpole was great too, for the most part he sat quietly on our laps during the entire performance.

Afterwards The Guppy told me that she loved the entire show, except for "the one really scary part." Being that the show was Hansel and Gretel, I asked Was the scary part when the kids got lost in the woods?

No.

Was it when the witch caught them?

No.

Was it when they pushed the witch into the oven?

No!

Well, what was the scary part?

When the mom yelled at the children.

That is my sweet, sensitive Guppy for you.

Bravo!

Teaching Kids About Money

The Knight and I are big fans of Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover and I wanted to incorporate those principles into homeschooling when teaching the girls about money.

I started by taking three jars each for the girls and labeling them: Save; Spend; Give. I made sure the jars were glass, so the girls could see the money as it was piling up.

Next I made up two chore charts. The first chart are the daily chores the girls must do and they don't get any commission for.
I got this chart from Homeschool Curriculum for Life. Every day they check off the boxes as they complete the chore. These chores are mandatory.

The second chart consists of chores assigned to specific days of the week. All the chores on this chart are optional, but if they choose to do the chore then they get the amount of money assigned to each chore.
This chart I whipped up in five minutes and while it's working for us now, I'm sure I'll be tweaking it to improve on it in the future. The girls look at what day of the week it is. If the chore has an "X" in the box on that day of the week, doing that chore is not an option. I did this so that they wouldn't vacuum every single day of the week. If the box doesn't have an "X" for that day, then they have the option of doing that chore for some commission.

We use the word "commission" instead of allowance to drive home the point with the girls that in order to have money, you have to earn it. No, they don't have to do the chore, but then they don't get money. The more chores they do, the more money they make.

Our family's commission chores are: dusting; vacuuming; cleaning the litter box; cleaning the bathtub; cleaning out the van; watering the plants; and folding laundry.

After they complete the chore, they write their initial in the box so I know who did what. I also check their work when they are done; they don't get paid if they didn't do a good job.

At the end up of the week I add up what they earned. They put 50% of the money in their save jar, 25% in the spend jar, and 25% in the give jar.

So far The Mermaid has been all about earning extra money. It relieves some stress for me as well, because she does such a good job on the chores and it makes for less cleaning for me. The Guppy hasn't been that interested, but I wonder when she sees The Mermaid spending some of her hard earned money if that will peak her interest in it more.

How do you teach your kids about money? I'd love to see any charts you use :)

*Sorry for the poor quality of photos, the lighting was terrible.

Teaching Kids About Money

And Life Keep Moving Along

There once was a time when, if my life was written out in a book, it would be called Diapers and Nursings.

Where my day was consumed with wiping boogies and cutting up lunches in bite-sized pieces; changing diapers and carrying babies around on my back in my carriers.

I guess most days, it still looks a lot like that.

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that one day, I will have a life that goes beyond their needs.

I'm looking forward to it.

Don't get me wrong, I love being a mother. LOVE it! And I love my children. I love being a mother so much, I got addicted to the process of becoming a mother, got addicted to helping women transform and become mothers themselves.

But.

BUT.

In ten days The Tadpole will be nine months old. And three months after that, he will be a year. And this tugs at all the strings in my heart, and makes me want to pick him up and never put him down, as if holding him tightly in my arms will keep him from growing up too quickly.

That's what I'm feeling in my heart. I don't want to let go.

But in my mind...in my mind I'm starting to rejoice just a little. Rejoice in the fact that I can finally see on the horizon a day where I can carry around cute little purses instead of the huge beach bags I tote around now. Or where I won't have any diapers to wash. Or I won't have to pump (although I simply cannot rejoice about not breastfeeding. I love that connection too much). Or that one day, I can leave the house without having to take half an hour to get all the kids bundled up and buckled in and happy.

The Mermaid and I have been having so much fun with her first official year of school. And lately I've been signing her up for activities that are drop-off. As in, OMG I can leave and for a couple of hours I have only two kids and I feel a little like I'm on vacation!

And won't it be so, so grand when I can do that with all three kids?

And won't it be so, so grand when I can have a little more flexibility and freedom to pursue my career in the birthing field?

I'm going to be going to nursing school in the fall of 2012. This is primarily to fulfill all the general education requirements to take the IBCLC exam. In the meantime, I've been working really hard to build my doula business back up and in general, plan my future.

I will always be a stay-at-home mom. I will always be there for them, educating them, supporting them. And I'm trying so hard not to get too far ahead of myself, and I know for sure that I will miss these baby days....but I'm excited for the future.

And from where I'm standing, my life is so very grand.

And Life Keep Moving Along

Creating The Nile River

The Mermaid has been studying Ancient Times in history, using The Story of the World. Right now we are on ancient Egypt. One of the activities we did was to create a "model" of the Nile River, right in our own kitchen.

We took an aluminium pan and filled it about half way with potting soil.Then we parted the soil down the middle of the pan and lined it with aluminum foil, making sure the foil was higher than the soil and ends of the pan. To create the Delta, we just made the top of the river more triangular shaped.We then planted wheat grass seeds along the edge of the river, and talked about how the farmers would plant their crops in preparation for the Nile's yearly flooding. Next, we poured water into the river until it "flooded" its banks and watered the seeds.

And a few days later, viola!! Our own Nile River, complete with growing "crops".

Not-so-Wordless Wednesday

Creating The Nile River

Beautiful Jewels

For art the girls wanted to make a me a nursing necklace, because lately The Tadpole has grown fond of yanking on my hair while nursing.

They were oh so patient with stringing on the beads, and concentrated so hard.
Diamond's may be some girls' best friend, but not me. This necklace is all I need.

Beautiful Jewels

First Grade

She spent weeks bursting with excitement about starting "First Grade".

This morning, she insisted on dressing up so I could take an official First Day of School picture.

I can't get enough of her. Look at those tights!

We're doing The Well Trained Mind and our first day went pretty good. She loves it.

When we ended for the day, she was disappointed and wanted to do more.

I'll never be able to get enough.

First Grade

Field Trip

Yesterday the girls and I went on a field trip to a local farm with our homeschooling co-op. I love this group...all the moms and kids get along great, and the girls get to socialize and are exposed to different styles of teaching.

It was lambing season at the farm and the kids could not get enough of the cute little lambs.


This lamb was born a few short hours before this picture was taken. Mother had yet to deliver the afterbirth.
The girls and their friends :)

Field Trip

Homeschool Update And Suggestions Needed

I haven't really been blogging much about our homeschooling this year, so I thought I would update everyone.

The Mermaid is learning how to read! We are using How To Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. The book is very structured and scripted, so I wasn't sure if it would work well for us, but The Mermaid loves reading the stories and the scripts make it very easy to teach! So far she is on lesson 33 and is so proud to be reading short stories.

Out of curiosity, I attempted to do a couple of lessons with The Guppy, but she simply wasn't able to sit still and focus enough to get through them. I am surprised however, how much she is picking up simply by listening in the background while The Mermaid and I do a lesson!

I've been a little bit laid back so far this year in terms of math. The Mermaid kept asking if she could learn how to add, and I found a Horizons Math K workbook that I got a while back from a used curriculum sale. She adores math! She insists on doing it independently and having me check her answers after; I simply read the directions and off she goes! It's gotten to the point where we have to save math for last, because if we did it first, she would refuse to stop to do other subjects. She is more than halfway through the workbook.

With The Guppy, I've been doing simple things; learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make, learning how to count, very simple addition, etc. Basically I have one book that we just sit down and read through, as it goes through the alphabet then numbers then shapes and colors, etc. I thought that reading the same book day after day would bore her, but she really enjoys reading her "alphabet book" as she calls it. Afterwards I help her work in her workbook, where we do a lot of matching, connect the dots, sequencing, etc.

We've also just started our first week of Five In A Row. It's only been a week, but so far the girls and I really enjoy it! I plan on writing a review of FIAR soon.

So my question for fellow homeschoolers: I'm looking into history and math curriculum for The Mermaid. She is enjoying the Horizons workbook, but I'm not sure if I want to continue with Horizons or switch to something else. I would love to hear about your favorite math curriculum for K! I'm also interested in getting her a history curriculum. I've heard good things about The Story Of The World and would love to hear from someone who uses it, or tell me what you love about the curriculum you chose!

Homeschool Update And Suggestions Needed

WW: Saving The Best For Last

I don't know where she gets it from (certainly not from me!), but she LOVES doing math.
In fact, we have to save it for last in our day, otherwise she would do math all day and not learn any other subjects.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

WW: Saving The Best For Last

Ending Our Day With Art.

The girls LOVE doing art, and I try to incorporate some form of art into our daily homeschooling schedule.

They love to paint most of all, and I've been finding painting to be a lovely way to end our homeschooling day. The girls get to be creative, and since it keep them occupied, I get a little me time while they work on their paintings.


They also love to see their artwork hanging on the fridge and around the house. At first this quickly became a problem, as they would get upset every time I threw some of it away because you could no longer see my walls buried under all the art. But, we made a deal: they could each keep up three paintings at all times, but no more than three. They seem pretty happy with this arrangement.

Homeschoolers, how do you like to end your day? What kinds of art are your kids into?

Ending Our Day With Art.

Learning With Friends

This year in homeschooling I find myself moving a little farther away from workbooks and worksheets and more to hands on learning through activities. I've done this mostly because I've noticed that while the Mermaid loves to learn using both activities and workbooks, the Guppy is not fond of workbooks at all.

In fact, I think they rather bore her.

We've also joined a homeschool co-op made up of five families with kids from ages 2-6. We meet every other week, and the girls look forward to these get-togethers with great excitement and enthusiasm. I love that the girls are learning to interact with children of different ages, and that they are building lasting friendships with a regular group of children. I also love that since all the moms take turns leading each session, they get to learn from a different "teacher" every week, each with her own style.

These pictures are from our second session, when the children painted gourds, measured a pumpkin and took out the seeds to cook.

At yesterday's session, the kids learned about composting, seasons, harvesting, and made homemade apple sauce.

Even though we've only had three sessions, the children already act as if they are best friends. They care for one another, looking out for the younger children and making sure each child has a fair turn to participate in the activities.

Yesterday, after we left the meeting and got home, the Mermaid tugged at my hand until I bent over so she could whisper into my ear: I'm so glad I met all my new friends, Mommy. I love them so much!

I can't wait to see what the coming year brings!

Learning With Friends

We Have Tadpoles!

About two weeks ago, the Knight and I took the girls up to my mother's old house that she had moved out of. Her and her boyfriend are fixing the house up and planning on moving back in next month.

We were all out in the yard and decided to inspect the neglected pool. This pool has not been used in two years, and is full of green water. To our surprise, the entire pool was FULL of tadpoles. And two very big frogs.

Now we know what happens when ALL the eggs hatch and survive. With no natural enemies in the pool, there were literally hundreds of tadpoles swimming around. It was very bizarre.

The Knight and I realized a learning opportunity when we saw one so two hours later we had tadpoles on our deck:

The girls love watching them swim around and slowly change into frogs. So far we've had three complete the transformation and the girls helped to release them each time.

Just another day of spontaneous learning.

We Have Tadpoles!

Homeschool Update

This summer we've been a bit lazy in terms of homeschooling.

Rather than sit down and focus on our curriculum, we've been spending a lot of time playing outside and visiting friends. We've got a pretty basic schedule worked out, although it frequently changes. Mondays and Thursdays we either stay at home or visit friends. Tuesdays we go to a La Leche League meeting where the girls socialize and then hit a park or go home and play outside. Wednesdays we head over to the EcoTarium for their preschool program, followed by dance class. And Fridays, we usually go to the library and then grocery shopping, where the girls help me add up the costs of items to stay within our budget, count how many things we need on the list, etc.

We've also been playing a lot of games, like Candyland, Sorry!, and card games like GoldFish and Memory.

I've noticed that The Guppy and The Mermaid tend to have different learning styles. The Guppy likes to just observe; for a while, when she wouldn't participate hands on in our projects, I was slightly worried that she wasn't "learning" anything. But later, I would overhear her "teaching" her dolls whatever we've been learning, so I know she is picking things up just by observing.

The Mermaid, however, is very hands on. She picks things up really quickly, and is a "greedy" learner. She wants to learn the next thing, and she wants to learn it NOW. Lately she's been begging me to teach her how to read, and I've been thinking of finally going through Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons with her.

My girls are young and I am new at homeschooling, but we love it. I feel so blessed to be able to be my girls teacher, and to be able to learn from them as well. I can't wait to see what comes up next in our homeschooling journey!

Homeschool Update

Prince Charming Really Is A Manwhore.

Photo by Val School Blog

Lately the girls have been very much into movies that revolve around Princesses and Prince Charming: Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Shrek, you get the picture. It made me realize how much of a manwhore Prince Charming is. How many princesses can he possibly marry?

Anyways, it was just a fleeting thought that I didn't think about again until it personally touched our family.

The other day, I heard The Mermaid and The Guppy giggling an awful lot in their room. I headed upstairs to find them decked out in their dress up princess dresses, including all the appropriate accessories (princess shoes, crowns, necklaces, you get the idea). When I asked The Mermaid what they were doing, she informed me (quite haughtily, I might add) that they were getting ready for their wedding to Prince Charming.

Damn it, that manwhore had stolen my daughters' hearts.

I smiled at their innocent play and went on my day. About 20 minutes later, however, I heard both The Mermaid and The Guppy "play crying" in their rooms. When I walked in, The Mermaid was holding a receipt from the library and, with dramatic play crying and grieving, was waving it around in the air like it was covered in poop.

"What in the world is wrong?" I asked, and The Mermaid said "The Prince is not here, and he left us a note!"

Uh oh. That's never a good sign.

Playing along, I asked, "Well, what does it say?"

My precious four year old spun around, and giving me a look that made me absolutely sure that at that moment, she thought I was the biggest idiot ever, yelled: I DON'T KNOW, I CAN'T READ!!!

Ah. So, not only was she being left at the altar by Prince Manwhore, but she can't even read his parting words. Being four must be the hardest. thing. ever.

Well, at least she now has strong motivation to learn to read. She's been asking me to teach her ever since.

Prince Charming Really Is A Manwhore.

Loaded Up With Curriculum

On Saturday, a local homeschooling co-op held their annual used curriculum sale. Those who volunteered for at least three hours to help set up were allowed to shop an hour earlier than everyone else. Since I heard how long the lines get at the sale and how fast the good curriculum goes, I eagerly volunteered on Thursday in order to get in early.

The reason why I wanted to hit this sale was because I had heard that they devote an entire room to free curriculum, which sounds perfect for us and our tight budget! And let me tell you, "room" was an understatement; it was more like an entire floor of free things that you could just take! I ended up having to make five trips just to get all the books into the van, and then I let the girls come in to pick out some books that they wanted to read.

We were exhausted when we finally got home, so the Knight unloaded the van into the living room, where the books sat for a few hours until I labeled and sorted and boxed them up to be used later.

To get an idea of how much free curriculum we got, here are some pics of some of the books (there were more on the floor under the window):

I will definitely volunteer again next year, it was so worth it!

What tips do you have for homeschooling on a tight budget?

Loaded Up With Curriculum

Homeschool Update

Homeschooling in our house has been a little wayward.

I've been overwhelmed lately and the girls have had a lot of stuff to do as well. We had that period of beautiful weather where the girls spent all day outside, so we didn't do much schooling then. Then that beautiful weather went away and was replaced by rain, rain and more rain so we got more schooling done but then came a couple of weeks where we had activities planned out of the home every day, so it fell to the back burner again.


I keep reminding myself that the girls are only 2 and 4, they don't need any official schooling yet...and that going outside to play, and participating in activities with friends is part of what homeschooling is all about. But I feel bad because the Mermaid is really into having "learning time" and so, at the end of the day when we've been running around like crazy and I'm exhausted because I'm still in the adjustment period for my paper route, she asks for learning time and I just don't have the energy.

My goal for the next month is to have more down time. Going out for playdates and activities is a blast and is important, but doing it every day for seven days straight is a little exhausting. The Guppy got sick yesterday and I wonder if that was her trying to slow us down a little, to just take at least one day a week and stay home and just chill.

I'm not sure why I feel pressured to get out of the house all the time, whether it's because I am doubting myself or I am trying to show the sceptics in our family how much socialization you can do while homeschooling, I don't know. I just know that it's been overwhelming and now the Mermaid is acting up and I am starting to yell again.

I hate it when I yell.

So, next week I plan to spend at least 3 days just staying home and having some down time. I'd like to flip through How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk again, as that book has definitely been a life saver in this house and I really need a refresher. I'm looking forward to it for my own reasons as well; studying for my CBE certification has really fallen to the back burner this month and I am ready to open up those books again.

To other homeschoolers out there, please give me some tips and advice on how to balance out of the home activities and down time while homeschooling. I would love to hear what works for your family!

And, if you are a family who lives in MA, I'm over at MassMoms today with a list of homeschooling resources.

Homeschool Update

She Just Loves Her Math..

The Mermaid has discovered a passion for math. She loves doing math problems and asks to do it every day.

We've already done a little addition and now she has asked me to show her how to "minus things". I'm not sure where she is picking up this love of math, but I'm a little relieved.

I've always hated math. Anything to do with numbers, I tried my best to avoid. So I was a little worried that I would unintentionally pass off these feelings towards math to my daughters.

This just goes to show what different experiences my kids will have towards learning. I hated math, and the more I was forced to do it, the more I hated it. The Mermaid loves math and asks to do it every day, and to her it is fun because it is something she is interested in and isn't forced to sit down and do. However, she isn't as fond at practicing her handwriting. Some days she wants to do it, and some days she doesn't. And on those days, I don't push her. I don't force her to sit down and finish the page and tell her she has to do it; I just tell her that it is there when she is ready.

I've also learned that the Mermaid likes having structure in her day. Like me, she likes having a plan and set time to do things. I was originally leaning towards unschooling, but the Mermaid asks every day for "learning time" and sits at the table, excited about whatever we are going to learn that day. So, for now, I'm just following her lead.

For other homeschoolers out there: what surprises have come up for you since you started homeschooling?

She Just Loves Her Math..

Back to School

Last week the Mermaid kept asking me if we could start Learning Time again. So, on Monday we started her new curriculum, and the Guppy is joining in on the fun too!!
We started a basic Letter of the Week curriculum geared to learning how to read. She practiced her handwriting...

We also studied the composer Anderson, Astronauts, and Antelopes to get in a little social studies and science as well. The Mermaid was very excited to make her first lapbook, all about the letter A!

Then the Mermaid surprised me by asking me specifically to teach her how to add. So, I broke out a math workbook I had bought a while ago and let her have at it!


She loved learning how to add!!

Another great thing that happened to us is that we joined a homeschooling group specifically for girls. The group is filled with girls that are around the Mermaid's and the Guppy's age and so far they are having a blast!! It is loosely going to be associated with the Girl Scouts, so the girls will base their learning activities around badges that they want to earn. Today, the girls earned their puppet-making badges by making puppets ( a yarn puppet and a paper bag puppet):

Next week the girls will bring their puppets to the group meeting and the group will put on a puppet show!! I love the dynamics of this group, and I really love that this group's age range allows the Guppy to participate, instead of having to just be a tagalong :o)

Back to School