I'm doing it so you should too!

http://www.paperbackswap.com
swap books for free! ok, you have to pay postage but you get a credit for every book you mail out. one book equals one credit. simple huh? start by listing 9 and get 3 free credits. plus you can print media mail postage right from the site. it really couldn't be any easier. the only problem, more people need to participate. especially if your going to list homeschool books! so come and play!

Bookshelves

I read about this idea and loved it. Paul and I completed the project this weekend. I love it! As you can see we are studying steam engines this week though FIAR Mike Mulligan.
Looks great Paul, thank you!

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

This is our second week using the Five in a Row curriculum. The basic idea is you read the book, everday, then take your lessons from the book. I am LOVING this curriculum, it's been a great jumping off point for homeschooling! This week we read How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World The premise of the story is what happens if you want to make an apple pie and the market is closed? You'd have to travel the world to gather the ingredients. Italy for wheat, France for eggs, Sri Lanka for cinnamon, England for a cow (milk then butter), Jamaica for sugar cane, seawater for salt and Vermont for apples. Here is how our week went.

Monday; First I asked Carter how he thinks we make an apple pie. Here is what he said; Cut the apples. Dough, sugar and flour. Roll the dough. Put it in a bowl pan. Add the apples. Bake for 15 hours. Put in on a plate and eat it while it's warm.
Then we read the book. Later we did a connect the dots that made an apple.

Tuesday. We read the book, then.... we went to a preschool co-op with many other children at my friends house. There we sliced apples, grated cinnamon, ground wheat, made butter and finally but it all together for apple pies! The kids each got their own and one for the adults too!

Wednesday. We read the book, then.. We did math! We read 10 Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss. Apple patterns, but apples in baskets. And in the morning we went on a field trip to a cider mill!

Thursday. We read the book, then... Vocabulary. I let Carter trace the words, then we talked about the definition. Paul had the great idea to use our vocab words whenever possible during the next week or so it will become part of Carter's everyday speech. The words were; superb, locate, elegant, native, coax and ingredients.

Friday. We read the book, then... On the last day I like to let Carter help me 'read' as much as possible. Then we did a storyline activity and put up our story disc on the map.

What a great week! Looking forward to
Mike Mulligan next!
Apple Patterns
Apple Baskets
The Pies!
Carter and his pie

Nature Bangles

I read about this idea in several places so I'm not going to site one source. The idea is you either use double sided tape or (like we did) make a tape bracelet with the sticky on the outside. Then simply walk and collect anything you'd like! We also brought along a bigger bag to put big stuff in. Simple, and fun!

Painting clothespins

We painted clothespins the other day for our art area above the children's desk (see Homeschooling blog for photos). They turned out really great and not too too messy!!

Volcanoes

Carter has been quite interested in volcanoes for awhile now. We've read books, talked about them, watched videos on youtube (what a great educations tool, who knew?), and finally made our own! Thanks for my friend Sally for her creativity in the design (are you there Sally?).

This is a disposable plastic wear, upside down, hole cut out of center, film canister placed inside. Covered in play dough (we save it and reuse it every time), then you know the trick....baking soda, colored vingear....the MAGIC happens and volcanoes erupt!!

Fun, fun, fun!

Homeschooling

Ok, the poll decided, unanimously, that the preschool blog should stay. And Paul and Julie's suggestion of making categories is already in the works.

So, now on to homeschooling. Why homeschool? Well, the answer will be different for every family. For us, it's simply an extension of what we are already doing. It feels very natural to me. I want my kids to be passionate about learning and to be able to explore and learn subjects they are interested in. All that said, we are making a year by year decision. So next year, we will see. But this year, we are all very happy with our decision. I am a newbie in all of this, but it's a learning process for me too! There are plenty of other homeschoolers out there with much more experience than me, I hope to learn from them!

FAQ's
Are you using a curriculum?

Well, mostly no. We learn in everything we do. I guess if you must label us we are unschoolers, but I hate those silly labels. We are just doing what feels right for our family, call it what you like. We learn by living. Example; we might go to a planetarium and partake in a preschool show. Then we will go to the library and check out books on solar system. Have lots of conversations about planets, maybe color a sheet I've printed off. This could go on for days, or weeks, we could put the subject away and not explore it again for a year.

Socialization?
This one always kills me. Have you met my kids? They are EXTREMLY social. They can talk to adults and kids of ALL AGES, not just their own. Just because it's called HOMEschooling doesn't mean we are at home. We are at the museum, the park, the beach, the library, the store, the cider mill, petting farm...and on and on. We aren't tied to any schedule, other that our own! This fall we are taking a tumbling class with a local homeschooling group. We are in Nature Tots and library story times (which include circle time, fingerplays and usually a craft).

So, you think public schools are bad?
No. I think that many kids do very well in schools and my kids may one day too.

I can't teach my kids, I don't know anything about (insert math, science, foreign language).
We all learn as we go. I don't think I know it all, but I do know where to find the answer!

All that said, this has been one of the most difficult decisions for me to make. Never have I been more back and forth or have written more pro and con lists in my life!

So, here is our learning room (aka, our office). I have tried to create an environment that welcomes learning in a way that is easy to do, easy to clean up and comfortable for everyone.