Catching fireflies
Another day of camp. It was hot and humid. I was pitty, but I still wouldn’t set foot in the stagnant, algae-infested pond. Must be showing my age..
Tonight, the kids swam and relaxed. That was followed by catching fireflies. I gave each child a jar with holes poked in the top. They caught a few, and we watched them light up in a dark room and then in the light. We learned they eat dew and pollen, and the kids released them before they went to bed.
I’m exhausted. I didn’t even work out tonight. It’s all I can do to get us prepped and ready for another day of camp. The group I’m helping to lead has to perform a skit the end of the week, so I’m downloading some music for them and printing out their skit checklists.
I did meet another homeschooler today while I was in line at the Trading Post. This mom said they school year-round, so her children were working on their workbooks in the car to and from camp. Made me a little nervous that I hadn’t had “school” in a few days, but I’m still in shut-down mode:) Guess it didn’t make me too nervous.
Easiest birthday party ever
I am all about making things easier for myself these days out of pure selfishness. There’s a great deal on my plate with homeschooling and everything that goes along with that. So, when it came time to celebrate my daughter’s birthday with her friends, I suggested a Girl’s Night Out. There was no prep work that had to be done by me!
Here’s what we did….My girlfriend and I took my daughter and 4 of her girlfriends out to dinner at a local eatery. From there we went to Justice, a girlie clothing store. They were each given an allotment to spend at the store. Once the girls finished shopping there, we drove to Jo-Ann’s, a craft store, where they purchased matching cloth fabric bags with various iron-on appliqués with their given allotment. Our last stop was to Barnes and Nobles where the girls used their final allotment to purchase a book. The night ended with the party eating banana splits at my house. FYI-giving them a certain amount to spend encouraged them to think about math in a practical sense. They had to decide if their purchases were within the parameters I had set. Of course, I had a hard time saying “no” to any of them, but they really did a good job working within their boundaries.
They already had their goodie bags from their purchases, so I didn’t have to get those together. I didn’t have to entertain them because the different shops provided their amusement.There was nothing required of me except to keep them safe and happy. I don’t think I’ll ever plan a traditional party again.
Simplify your life-love it!
Using math living books in your studies
I’m up late prepping for my final teaching day tomorrow at Excelsior. I’ve been covering the times tables for the past 9 weeks in a weekly 40 minute class, so we’ll end tomorrow with a cumulative quiz followed by games and prizes (I love competition and winning things). I was in the library today researching different living books on multiplication that I could read to the students. I’d like to end the semester leaving them excited about math-not always an easy thing to do given the curricula that is out there. You have to be creative when it comes to teaching, no doubt, if you really want to inspire the children. I was flipping through my huge list of living math books. I have a large binder that has tens of pages of math books listed that I refer to and try to incorporate in our home studies. I use the books as simply a different way to present math topics. Here’s an author I’d recommend you becoming familiar with if you don’t know him already. I’ll be using his book Math for All Seasons tomorrow.
Discovering your child’s personality type
I’m up late (2:00 a.m. with green tea and tostitos) reading on the 8 types of personalities according to Jen Lilienstein of KidzMet. I downloaded her book tonight, The Parent’s Playbook for Learning and am going through the types that I think my oldest 2 kids are. Her book gives insight into choosing appropriate extracurricular activities based on their specific personality characteristics. This is an area where I’m struggling. I’d like to help them find areas that interest them, and that complement their traits. I think doing so would really enhance the experience for them and may lead to other areas of interests and expertise development down the road.
Lilientstein’s book is a manual of sorts. I’d recommend reading it and consider purchasing based on what I’ve seen so far. Her insight is giving me a sense of direction for future choices. Of course, check your local library first to see if they have a copy. But, what a great concept to think about as you are teaching your child and trying to get them plugged into areas of value.
https://www.kidzmet.com/content_pages/view/about-us
www.amazon.com/Parents-Playbook-Learning-Jen-Lilienstein
Black Friday/Gray Thursday
Exercised this morning with my talented niece and sister. Afterwards, we took the kids to see “Wreck-It Ralph” at the theater. It’s a cute movie, although admittedly I slept through several parts of it.
Tonight, I’m out with my mother, sister, and niece to hit the holiday sales. Drinking caffeine as it appears it will be a long and eventful evening sure to bring some laughs. I do not do well with these scenarios. The madness overwhelms me, and I can’t process good deals from bad ones. I do much better in a small, boutique-type environment, but it’s all about being with family right now. I haven’t even started Christmas shopping. I’ll get serious about it soon and buy presents, but I’d much rather spend money on travel and experiences versus things. My kids, being kids, don’t really grasp that so we’ll see how it goes.
Ivy League Homeschooling 