A Look Back: February 2010

I couldn't find any pictures labeled February 2011.  Seriously???  Did I not take a single picture in February last year?  Surely I did.  There was Valentine's day and our anniversary in Feb.  There must be a picture that was snapped sometime that month?  Was my camera down?  I have no idea and cannot remember anything significant with down times.  So, I found myself going back even further to take a look back.  This was significant!  My first blizzard.  I am born and raised in south Georgia.  Of course this was my first blizzard.  And it was a doozy!    And there was another a few weeks later.

Take a look at our deck:

Sounds of Love

I cannot begin to describe the annoyance the creaking sound of this rocker makes.  Nervewracking, really.  No matter how tempted I am to involuntarily rock once my body relaxes in a rocker, I cannot force myself to do it in this one.  This rocker is not pretty.  No one in the house claims it as his favorite.  But the sounds that come from it come with love.

I sit and read to my littles in this chair, as many have done along the way.  As a child, I loved to twirl this rocker around in circles, knowing that my grandmother was going to get on to me-and good .  Many children have read and been read to in this chair.  My own children try to twirl it, but not so much anymore as it won't give much.

This chair is upholstered in a itchy wool plaid fabric.  Itchiness worsening with age.  So, I happened upon some heavy duty denim and did my own job of recovering it so as to recover the lovely moments with my little blessings as it had given others.

There are chips, scrapes, scratches and the crookity-ness when it even tries to rock.  This is no sight to behold.

But,

The infants rocked in this chair....more than two handfuls, I believe...and entire generation.
The stories read in this chair.....classics repeated over and again.
The fabric of this chair.....handpicked to please the one who loved greatly from its fibers
The arms of this chair wrap my grandmother's love around me gently once again.
The rhythms of this chair rocking soothe like the beating of a mother's heart next to her baby's chest.
The sounds that come from this chair......love well.

More Math Tools

My first post on my simple math tools is here, if you want to see another nifty manipulative I use. 
I frequent my local Dollar Tree for little stuffs for my homeschool.  I try to think outside the box whenever I can.  Here, we use a simple chalkboard that came with some kit or another and some $1 dominoes.  This is what I did today, but you could work up to it if you are working with younger children than mine.
1.  Choose a domino (eyes closed, child or adult.
2. Child counts the dots on it.  (As they get older, they will be able to identify visually more quickly)
3.  Mom writes number on chalkboard-two or three times slowly-child watches.
4. Child traces Mom's writing.
5. Child creates own writing. 

* Same could be done with letter tiles/Scrabble pieces that are lying around or at yard sales, etc..

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Just Another Day at Homeschool

Another reason we love homeschooling....just hanging out together.   We are loving our new (to us) house.  It has been two months and we just love living out in the country.  Up these stairs is our little game room.  All living quarters are on one leve.  Upstairs is optional (my body is soo glad!)..and only for game time...or DATE NIGHT!  That's where we send the kiddos when we call a date night....and we have one coming up this weekend.  Woo Hooo!  We get excited about uninterrupted conversations around here :)

Math Tool

Math has always been one of my least favorite subjects...except for maybe geometry, since quilting is all about geometry...yes! geometry is math and I love it...but "other" math-not so much.  But, with three children already under my belt, I felt that I could easily skip out on "formal" math for K since I kinda know what to expect.  So, here is a peek at one of my new found tools :)

These small magnets are pretty strong and there are 50 or so in a pack. (Yes, they are a choking hazard!!)  I used them with an old baking pan to do various activities on the preschool level.  Sorting, colors, etc.  Now we do counting, using them to make numbers, patterns, etc...the possibilities are endless. AND!  They stay on the fridge so they don't need their own space in the learning room:) That's one of the best parts of all!

Here are some things that come to mind right off:
*Create letter shapes, eventually spell short words with them
*Use them for addition/subtraction problems (ex.:  two green plus two yellow and let them count it up).
*Create shapes
*Sort colors
*Fraction usage (using contrasting colors at first then moving toward all one color would be helpful in determining fractions)
*They could also make their own "star chart" if you use that type of thing for reward/motivational purposes.
*Create number shapes, counting exercises

There are endless possibilities with these little doo-dads! They are one of my favorite inexpensive teaching tools.

Writing Tool

My favorite and most reliable tool for teaching reading in our homeschool is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  I have used it with all four of my children.  While each child learns differently, this system has worked for all even if I needed to adapt it somewhat.  The writing sheets that are assigned with each lesson can be printed off from the Donna Young website but my five year-old is easing into the handwriting portion.  So, as an additional lesson,  I began using the Aqua Doodle mat for writing.  Really, the idea just struck me on a whim but has been an excellent tool.  The pens that come with this are wider than the old fashioned fat pencils that we used to use in lower elementary school, so it is easier for little hands to hold and control. The mat is easily drug around from place to place; or in this case, it is taken from sibling to sibling to read and write together.  The obvious is also a huge benefit: no chalk dust, no needing erasers and no unwanted marking on furniture, carpet, etc.    The Aqua Doodle is also very convenient and could be taken along to appointments and such to keep little ones busy.  You could also use it as a narration tool for little ones just learning to narrate so that they can draw a picture of the narration.  I am sure there are many other uses for the Aqua Doodle, including math and counting exercises as well.  It is a wonderful, inexpensive tool to add to your collection of manipulatives for learning.

Kids Got My Camera! : New House

Welcome to another installment of Kids Got My Camera!  This is where I go to download pictures from my camera for whatever reason, and discover that my kids got my camera.  They have quite the fascination with taking goofy pictures of themselves.  It could also involve their feet and toes.  I have no idea why that is soo hilarious to them??  Anyway, it is what it is!!!!  So these are the special gifts that they left for me this time. 
You might find some funny ones here and here as well :)
For the first time in our new house: