26. March 2008 by Shannon.

Well, it appears my daughter has decided to go on a school strike.. and to be honest, I’m tired of fighting with her about it all… so  I gave her ownership of the “problem” of her own education and told her I’d be thrilled to mentor her should she need me… but if not, she can choose to remain ignorant. 

HOW do they deal with these things in public school?  I mean, I guess those children who decide not to learn just don’t - but as a MOTHER it’s a lot harder for me to let those things go than it is for a teacher who will be rid of the student in a few months anyhow, you know?

SO - I made her a list of what she needs to accomplish for me to pass her into grade 7… (she’s 12)… and it’s up to her to accomplish it… (like if she wants to do the literature, I’m so there for reading it to her, but I am not going to pin her down to read.. you know?).

When she decides to get motivated… I guess I’ll be here waiting. In the meantime, the Littles love my company.

I hate knowing she’s going to experience regret over her bad decision, but I guess there comes a point where she needs to be allowed to make poor choices… at least this is one area homeschooling has an advantage… she won’t miss anything - we’ll just pick up where we left off… *sigh*

Hope you are all having a better homeschool day!

Posted in Kenzi, General Homeschool | Print | 1 Comment »

19. March 2008 by Shannon.

I knew there had to be a way to bring Duct Tape into homeschooling! LOL!

My daughter loves to do “lapbooks” or “portfolders” or “lappacks”… basically a file folder refolded to make a portable viewing station housing a collection of little homemade folded booklets. It’s a great way to teach children to organize their thoughts… and we’ve been using it for years. THIS year however we decided to head in the direction of notebooking (keeping a binder full of page protectors in which we keep all our work each day)… now… Kenzi still wanted to do lapbooks… but how to put them into the binder to keep all her work together? Hmmmm…. Mom had to think about this a little.

Then it came to me! DUCT TAPE. Of course we all know that DUCT TAPE is the answer to all Life’s Questions… in fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find a striking resemblance between God and Red Green when the DAY comes…. (jk)

SO, I thought I would include some pictures, so you have an idea of what I’m talking about.

First, take an ordinary folder and refold it to make your project pack…

Second, measure a piece of duct tape just slightly smaller than the long folded edge of your folder.

Third, stick a (roughly) 1/4 inch section onto the folder. I do this while hanging the edge of the folder off the edge of the counter so the duct tape doesn’t stick to anything else (like my counter! LOL!)

Then flip the folder over carefully and folding carefully, stick the duct tape to the folder abotu 1/4 inch again to the other side, leaving about a 1/2 inch “tag” along the edge.

Be careful to stick it down straight, or you’ll end up with ridges and lumps in your duct tape!

Now… if you have a great three hole punch, go ahead and punch this like it is… I do not. And because it is tempermental, I decided the safest route was to go with my one hole punch and a piece of loose leaf to guide me.

Once the holes are punched… there you go! Slip it into your binder and move onto your next project!

Personally, I think this would be a neat thing to do to a bunch of folders in one session… it’s kinda sticky work, might as well get it over at once… so either hang on to the folders and insert them later, OR, you could make a bunch of folder packs up at once and duct tape them and THEN use them…. because the duct tape is so durable it won’t matter if it’s being handled.

Some examples of our lapbooks…. some of these are double (two folders attached together by one of the shorter edges… holds more mini books that way!

We love lapbooking! :o)  (okay, so these are just the outside covers…but honest, there are mini books inside… and maybe someday I might even get around to photographing them!  …. but then, that is what the notebook is for, isnt’t it?

Enjoy and I hope this has helped someone!

Posted in Notebooks, LapBooks, Great Ideas, Kenzi, General Homeschool | Print | 19 Comments »

11. February 2008 by Shannon.

Well Well Well!

 McKenzie has decided to WRITE a BOOK!  MY daughter… the one with dysgraphia.. the one that loathes writing ANYTHING …. a BOOK!

 Are you getting the feeling I’m stunned?  I am!  Why would she want to write a book?  Well… many reasons.  She wants every kid she knows to know something she knows… something she loves and knows they will love too - if they only knew what she does!  Heehee… I’m being evasive on purpose.  I will unveil more information as the project moves forward, but keep your eyes peeled for the release of a soon to be Best Seller!  LOL!

I’m such a proud Mama!

And that is today’s GLORIOUS View from the Hill!

Shannon

Posted in Kenzi, Bragging, General Homeschool | Print | 1 Comment »

24. October 2007 by Shannon.

Today was a bad day.

… till a few minutes ago. Let me tell you why.

I suck at math (oh, and before you tune this story out, this has very little to do with math) always have… but I’m forced to challenge my non-mathematical brain into grasping grade 6 math every day. I do *not* like this part of homeschooling. History, YES! Literature, YES! Reading, Writing, Grammar, Geography, Art, … EVEN SPELLING, YES!!!!! But Math, no.

SO, we were doing math… it wasn’t going well. I feel so stupid and imcompetent as a trudge around despretely trying to help Kenzi figure out some answer to some stupid math problem.. feeling like maybe I should reconsider this whole homeschooling thing after all. Well, we made it through (well, till Dad comes home and tell us we did it wrong.. LOL! Then it’s back to the kitchen table with us!). I was burnt out. It was about 10 in the morning and all I could think about was why bedtime was so far off.

Then we moved on to French. I am GOOD at french, conversationally… but written grammar, well… let’s just say I have to stop and think sometimes. But we managed to get through it with no real bumps or bruises. Then Kenzi was off looking for a book she’s misplaced and we’re supposed to be reading. The littles are just hanging out, making messes, playing loud (through this whole time, I might add). Kenzi finds her book (or one like it?) and starts reading. After about half an hour or so, she comes to me asking if she can make lunch for her and the littles. Of COURSE I say “yes!”. I decide to take the time to check my emails.

Fast forward half an hour. Kenzi comes to the door of the bedroom looking pale as a ghost. “Mom, I don’t feel well.” Okay… what’s wrong now? “I ate some of Greyson’s egg that I made him for lunch” - “but, Kenzi, you are ALLERGIC to eggs” - “I know, I think that’s why I feel sick. Do we have any benadryl?” - “no.”… so off goes Mom to the pharmacy to buy some allergy medicine… grrrrr’ing all the time over how kids do the dumbest things, and WHY is this kid at home anyhow, am I TRYING to make myself crazy?!?!

I get back home, she takes some medicine… half an hour to an hour later she’s feeling a bit better.

Now comes to “Reason” part. While I was out, I noticed the Metro store had some nice pumpkins for sale, cheap! So, I decided to get a pumpkin for them to gut and roast the seeds. We don’t do halloween, but fresh pumpkin seeds and the promise of making some nice pumpkin pie filling to can just sends shivers up my spine (literally!). How cozy, how warm…

So now it’s about 1:30 in the afternoon, there’s me doing dishes, the pumpkin is now on the floor of the livingroom, with Kenzi, Greyson and Chaeli digging around with their bare hands, pumpkin guts pretty much everywhere, sorting seeds and guts” into different containers. I was just about to … um… reprimand, remind, I don’t know, about all the pumpkin strings on my floor and how there is sticky stuff getting rather near my freshly folded laundry sitting in the basket nearby, when Greyson - sweet, wonderful Greys, up to his elbows in orange, stringy, sticky pumpkin guts - looks up adoringly at Kenzi and says, “I wuv you, Matenzie”. I shut my mouth. Kenzi replies, “you do?” “Yeth, I wuv you becauthe you are my betht big thithter” (I love you because you are my best big sister). I almost tear up. Then Chaeli, not to be outdone, pipes up, “I love you ME TOO, Kenzi!”. Now my eyes are stinging with tears.

THIS is my reason for homeschooling. All this happened in the peaceful quiet of the afternoon, before the schoolbusses started passing by dropping off this student or that student laden with bulging backpacks full of homework. It happened because Kenzi was home, IS home… experiencing life with her little siblings who get to spend time with her while they are at their best, not only late in the afternoon when the whole supper hour craziness is upon us.

Thank you, Lord, for leading me to homeschool McKenzie. Today was a lovely day.

Posted in Chaeli, Greyson, Kenzi, Bragging, General Homeschool | Print | 3 Comments »