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Wanted to share a practice session as Michaela prepared for our Art and Music Festival yesterday. Not sure what got Michaela and her teacher off track at the end, but it’s fun all the same, and it’s been so good for Michaela to play with another musician instead of just playing on her own as she prepared for this! I think it helped to work out any weak spots. I have to say, Michaela did great yesterday and I was so proud of her. Nary a mistake! Enjoy.
My dear readers, I was thankful for lovely words in my mind upon getting up this morning.
Good for copywork, I think. Yesterday the weather here was really nice.
I took a walk in The Little Wild Garden. I admired Faithful, our dogwood, realizing that I have not journaled about her again and that I need to. Coming soon to a blog near you.
Much to my delight, there were snowdrops in bloom around the goldfish pond. Aren’t they sweet little flowers! I wandered over to see if the hellebores showed any signs of blooming. There is new growth, but no sign of a bloom yet.
The sun was so bright! The air was warm enough to turn the fountain on for the goldfish. My goldfish pond does not have a heater, so if it’s too cold (think ice) I can’t turn the pump on to run the water that climbs up through the fountain and runs back down. I do love that splashing sound.
The birdseed fills the feeder that hangs, of course, from Faithful’s branches. (Note to self: Journal soon about your dogwood. ) The birds make me happy while I’m typing.
I consoled myself (over the fact that here it is cold February, which sometimes can get a person down) knowing that there will soon be daffodils in bloom in The Little Wild Garden. The little neighbor girls will ask if they can have one. I’ll say, “Yes, take two.” They’ll make us all very happy. Finally, friends, it is quite the chore keeping enough food for a crowd. Remind me. Is six a crowd? I thought so. Anyway, I’ve been buying the organic broccoli that’s on sale locally and keeping it cut up for dipping in Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing (I could drink that stuff). I hate throwing out the broccoli stems, and yet they are rather tough and not as delicious as the crowns for dipping. I decided to cut them into chunks and then run them through the food processor with some sweet onion. Used in a recipe I have for broccoli quiche, with venison sausage, oh my did it turn out lovely! I went ahead and made four of them, because three boys gathered around the table can eat one whole quiche as a “snack.”
Broccoli Quiche – Meant to make one deep dish quiche Pastry or shell for deep dish pie shell Combine all ingredients. Pour into uncooked pie shell(s). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Now, I doubled this recipe, using only 12 eggs, 2-2/3 cups of milk, only cheddar cheese (no swiss)–and probably more of it than called for as far as cheese in total, and lots of venison sausage. It came out fine. I made four regular pie crust sized quiches (not four deep dish). The point is, I think this recipe can be altered quite a bit. You just need to have enough egg (and milk/moisture) to hold whatever else you’re putting in. Twelve eggs for four regular pie crusts worked out well, but I did have the added moisture of probably a cup and a half of broccoli and sweet onion for two of them. Anyway, I am thankful today for food and the fact that I can easily walk, even, to a local fresh market and get good things. I’m working on my goal to have 10 new things in the shop by the end of the day.
Enjoy this day.
Being caught up on my lesson posting and having two loads of my clothes hung out to dry.
Week #23 (01/31 – 02/04/2011) Saxon 53, 54
Good morning, dear readers! Friday makes me feel sort of partly cloudy and partly sunny. On the sunny side, it always feels good to close up another school week. On the cloudy side, Friday is sort of a long work day for me. On the sunny side, we are entering the weekend and the carpenter will be around more. On the cloudy side, Saturday is another kind of long day. On the sunny side, I work at home, and I love being here for my family and able to answer the door, see what the children are doing, put in a load of clothes on my break, etc. On the cloudy side, my heart longs to just work at what makes me happy. But enough about the weather, already! I wanted to share with you what a wonderful day we had yesterday at our co-op.
I’ll give you one guess to tell me what we studied yesterday! Do you know?? Are you there yet?? YES!!! You are right!! It’s the periodic table of elements.
I was so thankful to have the benefit of this co-op yesterday; thankful that we are over the flu and colds around here, thankful for being able to get out and take Michaela to such a class, and thankful for the friendships that I have with the other moms in the group. The first part of the co-op, the children learned about pollution and buffers. When you think of something to buffer to the effects of pollution, it’s easy to think of manmade barriers. Ahhh, so easy to always think manmade. But the children learned that plants are an excellent buffer. We, of course, learned that it’s best not inflict pollution on our beautiful environment, but plants are amazing in their ability to filter and keep our earth clean.
Next, the children gathered together in another room to learn about the table of elements. Our teacher stayed away from the transitional elements, but focused on columns 1-8, where things are more straightforward.
The children learned about the structure of an atom, starting with the protons, then learning about the layers of electrons that surround, and ending up with learning about the very outer layer and how that the number of electrons in that outer layer will determine what it is attracted to, in order to have 8 electrons and be “happy.”
The children pulled numbers out of a jar and then got a worksheet to correspond with their number. The elements are numbered, you know.
The worksheets were great for helping to cement what the children had learned about electrons and how to determine where they are traveling around the protons.
One of the best things about homeschooling is being able to allow the children to physically move around and learn things with games and interaction. The “deal was sealed” with a game after all the seat- and table-work. Miss Vivian had prepared these wonderful signs that the children donned, allowing them to each represent an element. The strings are for tying yourself to a person in the room who is an element that would have a good number of electrons to help you be “happy.”
This game was done in groups (in case you are wondering why some children seem to be left out), so that everyone got a chance to wear a sign and try pairing up with other elements.
Finally, I love that Michaela is building friendships in our homeschooling adventures. Michaela very much enjoys being with other children, and these co-ops help us to make sure that she gets adequate interation with other children her age. Socialization, perhaps? Now, I get to catch up on what we’ve been doing. Week 21 (1/17 – 1/21/2011) Totally a “sick week.” Three with the flu. But I must say that Michaela was a veritable nurse during all of this. She seemed to really love taking up her brothers’ chores, making tea for everyone, and helping to care for the sick! I know that we learn just as much from life as we do from books. Week #22 (1/24/2011 – 1/28/2011) Thomas Edison: Young Inventor chapters 1-4 My dear friend Marqueta recently posted about her quest to follow one tree by observation and journaling for a year. The idea started with this blog (The Tree Year) and is being referred across the internet by friends as a great idea, so Michaela and I are going to take part as well. The tree we have chosen is a dogwood tree. We are calling her Faithful. I love Marqueta’s idea to name the tree. Michaela and I will be journaling about her, taking pictures of her and learning about her. At a recent visit to the Scrap Exchange, I found a wonderful notebook that will be perfect for this endeavor.
Her bark, which is medicinal, we hope to learn more about and actually use.
When I took off for my walk with Annie today, I carried a walking stick from a downed dogwood tree that the Carpenter found in the woods. It’s my favorite walking stick, but I suppose I take it for granted too, and where it came from. Here is today’s journal entry:
A few more pictures from today’s walk.
I love this little spot beside the railroad tracks.
Another beautiful spot where you can hear water and see (below the water’s surface) old tracks–train tracks?–that run underneath the current train trestle. Enjoy what remains of the day.
It’s time to play some catch-up on school stuff! I have a couple of things that I have not posted about yet but keep meaning to! They both happened back before Christmas! The first I’ll share is our last co-op with Homer Price.
This book may seem “young,” and it’s true that Michaela is on the tail-end of the age range for this co-op (although I might sneak her through one more year if the other “olders” do so–we have so much fun!), but I am always, always amazed at how much we learn! In so many ways!
First the children all got together for a picture. We had a couple missing that day, including one who is also an older student, like Michaela.
One of the big lessons in this co-op was learning about assembly line work. You hardly hear of it anymore! The children were broken into two groups. Then each child was given a number, 1-5, so each team had one #1 child, one #2 child, one #3 child, and so on. The two teams were sent to different rooms. Each number was associated with a job on the assembly line. In each room, for example, the #1 person was gluing a paper on the front and inside of their card and then passing the card onto person #2. The card went down the line until it was done! Oh, and having two members absent was like have two co-workers call in sick or something! One person on each team had to be willing to pick up the slack and do two steps!
The children really took their jobs seriously! Some of the younger ones looked on, learning in the process.
Look at the finished cards!! It may seem like a simple thing, but the quality of each step of the process was very dependent on the quality of the job done by the person before you! For example, at the end of the process, we saw that the gift package stickers on some of the cards had to be actually up on the Christmas tree because the tree was placed too low! Who knew you could learn so much from something like this! I am very appreciative of the planning that went into this!
The children show off their finished cards in teams.
There was also some discussion about local government and we even put some cards aside to be mailed to local mayors!
After the first part of the co-op, the children broke into pairs and learned about checkers. Unfortunately, I did not get pictures of the checker-playing. I was busy talking with some of the other moms, one of the things I just love about the co-ops!! At the very end, the children have time to play and visit with each other! Michaela loves helping with the babies and toddlers! This little sweetpea next to Michaela led everyone in a song, and she made sure everyone, especially her older brothers, got quiet and listened to her sing!! It was so cute. Now for updated lesson planning and what we actually accomplished!! Week #19 (1/3/2011 – 1/7/2011) Week #20 (1/10/2011 – 1/14/2011)
So that’s it!! It’s time to dig in our heels again! A lot going on this week!
What a special day we had today. We went to see the Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art. It is not permissible at all to take pictures in the museum, but it occurred to me while I was there that my pictures would not do the work justice anyway. You have to be there in person, in this very large and comprehensive display of Rockwell’s work, to really appreciate how talented and prolific the man was. I had to fight back the tears a couple of times. Once was while looking at the pictures he did for the war effort, encouraging people to buy bonds. The four freedoms, they’re called. Freedom of speech. The poster of the children being tucked safely into bed (freedom from fear) touched me so much. Actually, just thinking of America during World War II got the best of me! I feel, for us, it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this exhibit. Don’t know that we’ll ever get the chance to travel up to Massachusetts to the Norman Rockwell Museum! On another note, and I mean literally, here’s a little clip of Michaela with her violin teacher. This is O Come, Little Children, something that Michaela recently learned. This was the first time she played it with her teacher, Miss Rebecca, though, so they get started and then start over again. It’s so cute! Miss Rebecca’s a great teacher! The lighting is not so great because the sun was behind them, but I was in the only spot that I really could be in to film them. Gotta run for now. I somehow ended up in a standing and staring mood this afternoon and now I’ll have to climb over a pile of clothes and books to get into bed tonight. I knew better than to pull out that much at one time. I did. Mmm.
Good morning, dear friends! Let’s look at the pictures from yesterday’s walk. Bundling up and going out seems sometimes like the last thing anyone would want to do. After all, it is easy to become a chubby little mouse, snug in your mouse house with a plate of cheese and crackers and a cup of hot cocoa. Once you get your boots and coat and hat on, though, the outdoors is an exciting place to be!
When all is gray and cold, or white and cold, as the case may be, little things like this lichen surely jump out as a touch of color. Annie and I stopped and admired. Well, she sniffed a wrapper that someone had carelessly thrown onto the side of the road, but I did admire the beautiful lichen. (Mental note to self: A good service project for Michaela would be for us to pick up the trash around our block.)
Ah, what’s the story here? My eye immediately was caught by these bright red fruits, reminding me so much of one of the trees in my own yard. I stopped to investigate and take a picture, wondering if it indeed could be in the Euonymus genus of plants. Well, much to my surprise, later in the day I found out that my sweet friend, Marqueta, from a few states away had been out looking at and learning about the same plant! I was so excited to find that she had already figured out that it was winter creeper, something I did not know. From there, I looked up winter creeper on line and found that it is indeed in the Euonymus genus, Euonymus fortunei, native to Asia, while my Euonymus americanus is native to the U.S. Isn’t that truly interesting?
This huge puffball mushroom “smoked” when I touched it with a stick!
Rocks by the train tracks, moss, and pinecones made a pretty and interesting sight.
My first thought was a poor fairy house that had imploded, but no, ‘twould be a pumpkin that someone tossed into the woods and it has finally decayed to nearly an unrecognizable thing. There were other smaller pumpkins that still had their shape. (And you wondered how I knew.)
Did Annie not have the best time? She enjoyed using her nose, which is what hounds and beagles are known for, after all, and she loved getting some exercise with us!
Once back home, it’s a marvel that the goldfish continue to live and swim around under the ice. Makes me shiver to think of it. Well, more pins going into the shop this morning, and more pins in the making. Doll house is taking up half the kitchen table so that I can work on it when I get a chance. Work calls today too, but hopefully that will go by fast so that I can get back to the fun stuff! Enjoy this day.
It’s been awhile, but while I’m working on lesson plans, it’s time to post what we did for the past few weeks. Math’s getting better. Week #12 Watched The Donuts on YouTube to go with Homer Price Week 13 Work all week on learning location of all US states Week 14 Week 15 Thanksgiving Break Week #16 practice violin Week #17 Math worksheets Week #18 Michaela recovering from stomach flu Christmas Break |
I am the mother of four delightful children: a 23-year-old son, a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly 13-year-old daughter. I share an apartment home with my 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. My little home on the internet is called Rose Cottage because of my love for gardening, roses, and all things romantic and Victorian. Welcome. I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I do medical transcription from home. My hobbies include making sweet little dolls from clay who are named and have their own stories to tell. I also make old-fashioned brooches. These are for sale in my Etsy shop. For 13 years continuously, I homeschooled some or all of our four children, but the time came that our homeschool had to be closed. It was the end of a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of homeschooling and I will continue to review books and maintain my homeschool website, The Healthy Homeschool.    
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
I would
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