love to paint

A public school perspective... Last fall, I had a chance to go visit my friend's second grade classroom in a nearby public school.  It was very interesting to me.  My friend had asked me to come observe and see if there were any helpful suggestions I could give her.  One thing I noted in my conversation with her afterwards was how rigid the curriculum demands of our county are on what she teaches.  She has to teach to the standardized tests.    But, kids are better off long term if they have skills to problem solve, to think critically about a test question, and can answer questions in complete sentences.  Right now they are being taught to answer a question with yes/no or two to three word answers.  But, my friend loves her kids and wants what is best for their education short-term... and long-term.  So, what are her options? A homeschool perspective... I focus on the basics--reading, writing, and arithmetic.  We also study health, ...

I had two very interesting experiences over the past few weeks. Here's the first: Two weeks ago, Eli started gymnastics nearby.  I sat on a bench outside the class and listened as a family nearby read to one child and quizzed another on math problems.  One parent insisted that the older child complete the math problems all 100% correctly.  It was interesting to overhear.  The coach and the parents discussed that a child in the class needed to focus more so that she can move on.  The child is under 5 years old. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.  But, I couldn't help but overhear.  It was very interesting to me.  I have to admit it.  I could see how important education was to these parents.  They were doing well by their kids.  Spending time with them.  Investing.  Caring.  And with good intentions... pushing them to do well. I went home and realized how thankful I am that I homeschool.  There are some patterns...

My mother in law mentioned that she was encouraged by HSLDA's Homeschool Heartbeat this past Wednesday.  Here's a link to it if you're interested in hearing it.  Mike Smith was interviewing Heidi St. John.  Here's a summary of what she said (in my words): If I’m too busy… To have personal time with the Lord To have personal time with my husband To nurture my children… (in that order) Then I’m too busy. I like how simply she put it.  I'm going to put this on an index card and put it up where I can see it each day.

Every week I feel like there are lessons I learn.  Lessons that God has to teach me.  Some weeks these lessons seem overwhelming.  Am I ever going to get it?  Is there ever going to be a week when I can pause and catch my breath? I don't know. This past week found my husband and I buying a new car at the beginning of the week.  The end of the week found us making serious decisions about seminary.  Tuesday found me realizing that I have my limits.  Saturday morning found me reflecting on The Hunger Games and the Twilight series while my husband went to work.  The very end of the week found us reflecting on how to be good hosts to groups of people in our home. Buying a new car... When my husband and I first married, we struggled to navigate the waters of making decisions together.  We learned to trust each other.  We learned to accept the others' questions and concerns.  Sometimes it's hard to hear other people's opinions. ...

When I was a teenager, I remember flipping through People Magazine and enjoying the uplifting human interest articles.  It's a different magazine today.  It's not quite as bad as Star, InTouch, or any of the others that fill the Supermarket stands... or maybe it is.   I had an interesting trip to ShopRite yesterday.  Lessons for the kids. Lessons for me. When we got in the checkout line, I knew we had some time, so I glanced around at the magazines.  I picked up people for a second.  I was curious about the JonBenet article.  I have to admit it.  You see.  I lived in Denver twelve years ago and JonBenet Ramsay was all over the news for months on end.  It was very sad.  After glancing at the article, I realized it really said--Nothing.  Nothing new, except that no one would ever be charged in the case and no resolution would ever come to pass.  I set down the magazine and got ready to load the conveyer belt.   Au...

Yesterday as I was looking at Eli, I realized that I need to remember how it's best for him to hold his paper.  I'm right handed and I just can't keep it straight in my head.  I found two great free helps. The first is here:   http://www.fernwood-inf.nottingham.sch.uk/Documents/left%20hand%20hw.jpg This is the main page and it has a lot of other great resources for preschool as well:   http://www.fernwood-inf.nottingham.sch.uk/Help%20your%20Child%20at%20Home.htm The second is  http://handedness.org/action/leftwrite.html On this page, there is a 1 page chart you can print to help you remember how a left hander should position their paper. As for scissors... Amazon increased the price on the Westcott lefty scissors by $3 (making them $8 instead of $5)!  The lefty scissors can be bought directly through Westcott's website for $3 each, but you'll pay $5 shipping, so you'd want to buy more than one pair to make it worth it.  I think I'm going to...

A few days ago, I began blogging about my quest to help my children learn their math facts.  In my journey I found four math cds that I love, each for different reasons.  I previewed a lot of cds on Amazon before finding a few that I enjoyed for both the lyrics and tunes.  The first cd I hadn't heard at all before my kids and I began listening to it.  I had seen the words for one of the songs and I was curious. Contestant #1:   One Hundred Sheep, Skip Counting From the Gospels  This CD has been published by Common Sense Press, the same publisher who publishes Learning Language Arts Through Literature .  This cd has 9 songs.  Children learn to skip count by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s.  But, this isn't your normal preschool skip-counting sesame street cd.  The tunes are catchy and fun.   They are fast, though, so your children may have a hard time catching the lyrics at first.  The first time we listened, m...