My template now has font options (yay!), but I can’t seem to make any of the formatting work. I can change fonts in my template, but it always comes out the same on the blog. And, while my pictures show as centered in my template, they come out aligned left and often crammed together on the blog.
I hate to keep bugging Andrea - is anyone else having this problem? Is there a setting I need to change (and how do I find it??).
We are trying to incorporate some art projects into our summer routine - as the kids have gotten older, we’ve kind of moved away from lots of painting activities, but I want them to have an appreciation of different styles of art and artists. Summer seems like a good time to play with paints.
I found a great book at the library called Picture This!: Activities and Adventures in Impressionism. It’s from a series called Art Explorers and (obviously) features a number of impressionists. The book has a number of different art activities based on the art of the different artists. Yesterday, we read about Monet and attempted pointillism:
I ran across this experiment courtesy of Steve Spangler this morning. Since we were headed to the grocery store, it was easy to grab the ingredients (all 2 of them!). The boys were tremendously curious about what we were going to do - it’s not often that I buy a 2-liter bottle of soda. They were suitably impressed!
Adding mentos to a bottle of diet coke creates an amazing geyser. The most difficult part is getting the candy into the soda all at once. We used a paper funnel, but both times we did it, only part of the candy made it into the bottle before the kids ran. We are curious about just how high the coke would go if all of the candy made it into the jar. We discussed trying this with smaller bottles, or even creating a film canister rocket. Hmm…
I have an essay out in the current issue of Live Free, Learn Free magazine. It’s one I wrote a number of years ago about my continual struggle with balancing my kids and their activities with life and the need for silly things like clean socks. When I sent the essay to Shana, I didn’t give any thought to “updating” it. After all, my kids may be older, but I’m still balancing just as precariously!
The other day, I was surprised to find in my inbox a message from Sandra Dodd. Turns out, there was one thing that I really should have updated.
Sandra wrote:
I just read your article in Live Free Learn Free, and enjoyed it.
On this: “All too soon, they will hit puberty and decide that I am the most embarrassing person they know”
I wanted to say that I used to think too that when my kids were teens they wouldn’t want to hang out with me at all, but that turned out not to be the case.
Ah, yes. So true. When my kids were younger I thought that when they hit puberty they’d do the expected, the thing I did, and want to distance themselves from me. Now, my oldest is nearing 14 and it’s just not happening.
Sandra has found the same to be true:
Yesterday Holly (14) and I went out with a mom and her son (18?) from another state, to dinner and shopping in Old Town. We had only met that afternoon, and neither of the kids seemed at all hesitant to interact with us. We joked, shared drinks, sat close on small benches, and came home to my own two older teenaged boys (17 and 19) who were glad to see us, and had been waiting for the other boy to return so they could all go out (with Holly and four other homeschooled teens) to play video games.
The desperation to get away from adults and be with other teens that I expected hasn’t happened. What I thought was a natural part of growing up seems now, from the perspective of unschooling teens, to have to do with school and not puberty itself. COOL!!!
My oldest actually enjoys spending time with me and his dad, and will often request our presence during outings: “Dad can’t come that day? Let’s wait until he has a day off.” How sweet is that?
And, contrary to popular opinion, I’m enjoying HIS company - and that of his 11 year old brother - immensely. The boys are a joy to be around as their sense of humor becomes more adult-ish, and the conversations we have are so honest.
I’ve seen this not just in my own kids, but with other homeschooled teens I know as well. These kids are perfectly content to spend time together, gathered as a family. In part, I think this is due to the parents’ acceptance of the kids in the conversation. The kids have never been “shooed” out of the room; they’ve been welcomed to the fold so to speak, and as long as the adult conversation doesn’t bore them to tears, they will often hang out. Again, it’s the lack of age discrimination. Just as kids will play with a wide range of ages, so too will they spend time with and talk to a wide range of ages – including adults.
Something else I’ve seen from homeschooled teens is a lack of self-consciousness about expressing their feelings toward their parents. My own kids are comfortable hugging me in front of their friends, and I’ve seen the same in other families. I’ve even heard homeschooled teens say, “I love you” to one or both parents. Wow.
It seems that homeschooling builds a foundation for long-term family relationships in which parents don’t automatically become akin to the plague as soon as kids enter their teens. As Sandra so aptly put it, COOL!
My boys have been experimenting with digital photography a bit, taking pictures of anything that stands still long enough. Their self-taught photography class has left me with lots of flower pictures and critters on my hard drive, so I figured I’d share. Some are a bit fuzzy, but the boys are definitely improving!
Awapuhi ~ or ~ Ginger - the spice comes from the root
Bird of Paradise
Bromeliad
My grandfather was from St. Louis and always talked about the cardinals there. I’d never seen one before we came here.
My favorite - a Gold Dust Day Gecko.
The Goza family is a veritable 3-person circus. Or, actually theater.
Homeschooled Zephyr and his parents, Dennis and Kimberly, live a nomadic life, traveling across the country doing live theatrical performances at libraries and schools across the United States. I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing the Activated Storytellers perform, but they are logging their journey online and I’ve enjoyed that. They have recently added a weekly story to their website that is available via podcast. Someday, I may have an ipod so I can listen. But until then, maybe some of you more techno-equipped homeschoolers would like to check them out!
Melissa over at the Lilting House has a great Fun & Games post up. Check it out and keep the list around - you’ll want it come holiday gift season!
When we came to Hawaii last year – June 2nd – it was a temporary move. We wanted to experience the lifestyle and spend enough time here to be full of the islands. Our plan was to stay for one to two years, but we required a definite commitment of at least a year from the boys. Any less than that and it wouldn’t be worth the effort of moving, packing, finding a tenant for our house, etc.
As we approached the first full year, it was time to contemplate our next move. Head back to California or stay here for awhile longer? Our minds changed at least three times a day. Stay! Go! No, stay! We had many things to consider, one of which was the fact that my husband had a job waiting for him in California – if we go now. Counter to that, though, here he has a job that has been less stressful, helping us to achieve an all-around happier household. The kids miss their friends; we have yet to really connect with like-minded families here (where, oh where is the all-inclusive homeschool group on this island??) so some days are hard. But other days - most days - we have activities that can’t be matched in our home state. And best of all, we’ve really kind of pulled together as a family here. Since we’re in a rental, there aren’t so many home maintenance details, so our weekends are for spending time together, rather than necessary chores. Of course, I miss my garden, but there’s something to be said for being able to pack up and go to the beach as a family each weekend!
We made lists of the benefits of each of our homes and added to them until the lists were balanced like scales. Then, one night last week E sat down to dinner and announced, “I think we should stay for another year!” Mind you, he has been the one who has been most hesitant about staying, so we all looked at him, unsure of how to respond. I had begun to mentally pack up and head home, because if the boys were ready to go, it was time. But now?
Turns out, we’ll be staying here awhile longer.
Well. Silly me. Apparently I’ve been uploading my photos in a very L A R G E format. When that happens, one runs out of space on a blog very quickly. So, to remedy the problem, I’ve deleted nearly all of the photos from past posts - which may make some posts a bit odd! - and will start uploading in a more frugal fashion.
Recently, a discussion on a message board that I participate in addressed the issue of squeezing it all in. There are so many opportunities for us as home educators – which of those do we tackle? Do we try our hands at everything, just to try it, or do we delve in more deeply to gain a better understanding of ourselves or the subject matter? And, in making sure that we cover and explore what we want to, is it important to add some structure to the day to make sure that those things are not lost in the shuffle of everyday life? We are guilty of having lots of incomplete projects around here!
So, I’m struggling with how to be productive in a day, and to squeeze in all the good stuff, without going totally structured. Structured is not something I’m good at, unfortunately, but I’m finding a need to make a change in order to make sure that the basics are accomplished.
My oldest has taken up ukulele with a passion, and any hole in our day finds him playing. I think this is good, and I want to allow him the freedom to explore and grow in this venture, but at the same time worry about what he’s missing out on. My youngest is reading. Just reading. The boy goes through a dozen or more decent sized books a week, and while I know many parents who would love to have this dilemma, I feel like there must be something else he can explore!
We definitely find ourselves unsure of what to say when their dad asks what we did all day. What I’ve found is that when the kids feel like they had a really good day, there has been a real mix of things going on – they had a chance to explore their passions, we did some cooperative housework, they worked on some sort of “schoolish” project (math or a science experiment), and we played a game or baked together. They basically felt like they had accomplished something. Ukulele and reading is an accomplishment, certainly, but they seem to be happier if they can name something tangible.
One thing that seems to be helping is to create a to-do list for each week. We don’t put chores on the list, but if the kids are working on an ongoing project, we list the next couple of steps they need to take. This prevents them from forgetting about that particular project, teaching them to follow through – something else that we need work on! With a weekly list, we have a reminder of what needs to be accomplished and yet we don’t have to forfeit the freedom of pursuing things as the mood strikes.
I guess I’m just trying to eliminate the feeling of being at Baskin Robbins, attempting to sample all 31 flavors in a random tasting spree. Instead, we need to settle down, realize that there are lots of flavors, try things out a bit more methodically and take the time to savor the ones we enjoy!
