Homeschool Blog Hop

Today at the Home School Blog Hop,

we're doing something very fun!

The Theme for the Week: Random Questions!

Join in!  These are easy and not embarrassing--

Thanks, Kylie!! Our Worldwide Classroom is hosting!

1. What time is it right now?
7:05pm...or 1905 for you military types. ;-)

2. What are you wearing?
Black sweat pants and black t-shirt. And white shoes. lol

3. What is your mood?
I'm actually quite content. Did some baking today, and apparently it is more fun than I thought. Starting some crochet projects after dinner (I just started learning in January). Life is good.

4. What is one thing your children learned today?
That two halves equal one whole. And two quarters equals one half. And that two 1/2 teaspoons equal 1 teaspoon and four 1/4 teaspoons equal 1 teaspoon. We worked on some fractions and measurements while doing our baking. ;-)

5. What did you make (or are you having) for dinner?
Well, we're actually taking the lazy way out tonight. I didn't get a chance to wash all the baking dishes, and I don't feel like washing them tonight, so we're ordering pizza.

6. What's one book you are currently reading?
Right now I am reading a book called Patriarchs and Prophets, and actually rather enjoying it. I avoided it all throughout high school, and now I'm wondering why.

7. What behaviour (in people) is the most common but also the rudest?
It depends on if we're talking about online or irl. IRL I have to say interrupting other people. I've been dealing with that issue with my children for the last few weeks and it's DRIVING ME INSANE!

8. What can you see out of your nearest window right now?
My back yard. That needs cleaned. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks it will be trash free and green.

9. What are you currently praying for?
Right now on my mind the most is my friend, Lori. Lori recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who has had to have surgery twice now since his birth. And now her Mother is dying of cancer. It's only a matter of time. So I've had her in my prayers a LOT the last few months, especially.


I'm also praying for the ladies I have met through my child/pregnancy loss groups. Some of them are pregnant with Rainbow babies, some are trying to get pregnant but can't. It's a vicious trail to walk down.

10. What is your favourite hot beverage?
Chai Tea. It used to be coffee, but when I quit smoking I also quit drinking all caffeinated beverages. I miss my coffee, but the Chai (decaf, of course) satisfies a hunger.

Tim Hawkins - A Homeschool Family

"I Will Survive" for the Home Education Family

Januray 26, 2010

Third week of school. This week would be our monthly week off, but because the boys' Dad is working serious overtime at two jobs and didn't have the ability to have visitation last week, we just took last week as the week off just in case he gets some time off this week and he wants to spend some time with them. It doesn't look like he will be able to, but that's okay. Just in case.

The first two weeks of January we did our basics, Math and Grammar (and of course, Bible), in addition to a Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study. The study went rather well. Next year we'll see about going into more detail and extending the unit study past MLKJr Day, maybe for the entire month of January, and getting more into slavery or women's rights. Although now that I think about it, isn't there a Women's Rights Month? I'll have to research that. If there is, I know what we'll be doing then. ;-)

Our Soul Food Dinner turned out alright. We didn't invite extended family, it was just us. Cooking took ALL DAY. The boys helped out as much as they could, which isn't really much since I haven't REALLY taught them how to cook. .But we did get a little Math in in the form of fractions and measurements. Started cooking at 9am, didn't get done until 6:30pm. I was exhausted that night.

Here are the pictures of the food we prepared for our Soul Food Dinner: (click on the picture to be taken to the recipe)

Sour Cream Cornbread

I honestly don't know that I've ever had cornbread quite so moist and delicious! Which is actually saying a lot because I LOVE cornbread! It was a sweet cornbread, which I do prefer. Next time, though, I'm going to replace the sugar with agave nectar.

Collard Greens (modified recipe)

Becasue we don't eat pork, and it's near impossible ot find turkey or beef bacon that is as fatty as pork bacon, I had to modify the recipe a little bit. Instead of using smoked pork bacon, I used smoked beef brats. I don't know what traditional collard greens are supposed to taste like, but these were pretty darn good. For cooked veggies, anyway. Not something we'll make on a regular basis, but once in a while perhaps.

Sweet Potato Pie

MMmmmmmm.....Sweet Potato Pie. The kids didn't like it, but they don't like sweet potatoes. Which is interesting. They ADORED mashed sweet potatoes when they were babies and starting to eat "solids". *shrugs* That's okay. Just means more for me. ;-)

Corn Pudding

We may or may not try this again. IF we do, we'll eat it after it's been out of the oven for about 15-20 minutes so it's still warmish. Eating it cold is....well, gross.

Batter-fried Chicken

They couldn't wait long enough for me to get a picture of a FULL plate of fried chicken. It was enjoyable, except the batter tasted burned to me. Mike didn't think it did, though. Next time, I'll use boneless chicken instead of whole chicken so that the frying doesn't take as long and the batter is less likely to taste burned.

Seems I forgot to take a picture of the Apple Crisp. I could have sworn I took one. Maybe it's on my memory card (that's not in my camera because my camera took it's final nose dive. I did get my replacement today from Fed-Ex though, so maybe I can post the Apple Crisp later.

This week we're simply doing the basics for education, Math and Grammar. At least until I can get the stuff needed for our Winter Olympics Unit Study in honor of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Christopher's best friend is doing that right now. His Mom suggested it to me, it sounded good, so we'll see what we can do. I want to, because even *I* get bored with just the basics all the time. We have a Netflix subscription so we'll probably "rent" a video pertaining to the original Olympic games, and possibly do a lapbook. Along with other potential activities.

Whatever I can do to make their education more interesting.

They do seem to be doing very well. Math is still giving Christopher a little bit of a hard time, but he's finding it easier to learn the information, whereas before he couldn't even get to the point of understanding. I think it's the lack of pressure to get it done that's helping that issue. I do need to find the information I got from the SOESD about who to go to in order to get a PDP developed for him. Standardized testing time is coming up for us (we need to get it done by September) and I know that traditional testing doesn't work for either of my boys, but especially Christopher. He's working on it, but he still has a difficult time understanding the question when he has to read it himself, which means the wrong answer. If someone else reads it to him, he understands it better. If I can get a PDP created for him that will specify that someone needs to read the test to him, he'll probably do a lot better. We'll just have to see.

The boys' Dad told Micheal on the phone the other night that Oregon is trying to do away with the right to home school. Something to do with the public school system not having enough funding because people are pulling their kids out and homeschooling them so they want to do away with Oregon homeschooling so the schools can get more money. Poor Micheal almost died. He hates the idea of that possibility. He almost cried when he asked his Dad why they want to take away home school.

So I had to explain to Micheal some things. First, I explained to him that people still pay taxes, and a portion of those taxes goes to the school system. Yes, the school system isn't getting enough of the taxes, but that's another thing entirely. I also explained to him that MOST of the people pulling their kids out of public school aren't homeschooling their kids, they're sending them to private schools. So what is the government going to do? Deny private education as well? That's not going to happen. So he doesn't have to worry about not being able to home school. They may try to regulate WHO can home school, like Washington does by allowing only those who have at least a two-year degree be the educator, but even if they do something like that we will figure it out. Grandma and Grandpa have two year degrees. Grandma has home schooled before...she home schooled my little brother (who is now 22). It'll be taken care of. And even if we can't home school, I'll send him to private school before I send him back to the public school system that failed him and his brother.

So that's our life in a nutshell....up to now, anyway. I hope everyone's school year is going well.

I have a favor to ask of you.

I have a friend who is a single mom to two beautiful girls, ages 3 and 6. Because she is a single mom, she is the sole breadwinner for the family, and she works a full-time job.

She wants very much to home school her girls. Unfortunately, she doesn't have that much of a support group. Her family doesn't think she can do it. Not because they are against homeschooling, but because she is a single mom working full-time.

What I would like for you to do is link me to any and all blogs, anywhere on the internet, managed by the single working parent. I'd like for her to have that kind of support network, even if it is via internet. I'd like for her to be able to see that being a single working parent doesn't mean she can't home school. I'd like for her to have these people at hand so she can ask them any questions she has about how they manage to do it.

I want to help her succeed in any way I can. She lives many states away, or I'd support her by helping her home school. But I can't do that, so this is the next best thing.

So please, if you know of any good, active single parent blogs, TELL ME!

Martin Luther King, Jr, Unit Study (part two)

I've finished the preparations for the unit study next month for Martin Luther King, Jr day. I picked the books (now to go to the library and get them) and found the soul food recipes.

Books

• Martin Luther King, Jr
• March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World, by Christine King Farris
• Dreams: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr, by Peter Murray
• The Day Martin Luther King, Jr Was Shot, by James Haskins

• Women's Suffrage
• You Want Women To Vote, Lizzie Stanton?, by Jean Fritz
• The Day the Women Got the Vote, by George Sullivan
• Women Win the Vote, by Betsy Covington Smith
  

Soul Food Dinner

• Batter Fried Chicken
• Collard Greens^{(recipe calls for bacon, but either I'll leave that out or use turkey or beef bacon)}
• Mashed Potatoes
• Sour Cream Cornbread
• Corn Pudding
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Apple Crisp

Not exactly the healthiest meal, but once in a while an unhealthy meal isn't going to kill you. Though with my arteries, and Mike's, this meal just might. ;-) I think what we're going to do is get the house really clean between now and then, and then invite our family over for dinner. We'll have to see, though. It's still a couple weeks away, so I have some time to see if we can get it all done (the house cleaning, I mean). I'll probably send out e-vites to everyone requesting an RSVP.

Since I work on Mondays, and really shouldn't request it off, I've divvied up the recipes and decided what can be made the day before and what should wait until the day of to be made. I've got it all written out in my planner. So now the Martin Luther King, Jr Day Unit Study is complete. The next holiday is President's Day. I don't know if I'll be doing a unit study this year on President's Day, though. Maybe next year.

Mini Unit Study: Martin Luther King Jr.

I've been doing some prep work ahead of time so I don't find myself procrastinating like I did last year with the homeschooling stuff, and then not being ready when the time came.

January 18 is Martin Luther King, Jr Day. My plan is to have a unit study the week before MLKJr Day, ending ON MLKJr Day. The week before will be a unit study not necessarily specifically about MLKJr, but about the issues MLKJr fought against or an introduction to other civil rights issues in history. I need some input on how the unit study sounds. Right now it's pretty basic, nothing extra. Once I get the basics figured out I'll be adding more activities.

Because of how I have our weeks set up, it will basically be a three day study. (The unit study itself doesn't include the Bible and Math studies we'll be doing)

DAY ONE:

• What is prejudice/discrimination?
• Give some examples of reasons people discriminate. (Meaning ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, etc)
• What was women's suffrage? (This is just to introduce them to another historical civil rights issue)
  
• Read [I haven't picked out a book on women's suffrage yet].
• What does the Bible say about discrimination?
• Do a short skit depicting a woman being denied the ability to vote. Describe how that made you feel. (I know I have boys, which might not make it hit home completely, but they are very good at imagining what it would be like to be someone else, so I think it will work)

DAY TWO:

• What is "segregation"?
• Give some examples of segregation.
• What is the Golden Rule?
• Who does it apply to?
  
• Should we treat someone differently just because they are different than we are?
• Read "Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott" by Teresa Celsi
• Do a short skit depicting Rosa Parks bus incident.
• Describe how it made you feel. (I am contemplating purchasing some dark brown body paint to use on the child who will be acting as Rosa Parks, just so they can really look different for the purposes of the skit)
  

DAY THREE (Martin Luther King, Jr DAY):

• Read [I haven't chosen a book about MLKJr to read yet].
• Do MLKJr puzzle activity on page 14. (I have a MLKJr thematic unit study book. It's not quite what I had expected, so I'm modifying the unit study, but using some of the resources in the book)
• Discuss the DC March of August '63.
• Take turns reading the "I Have a Dream" speech
• Do the "Peaceful Protest" activity on page 16.
• Do "I Have a Dream" activity on page 12. (This activity involves the children drawing a dream they have inside a dream cloud)
• Discuss importance of standing up for what you believe in, even in adversity.
• HOME ECONOMICS: Make ["Soul Food" recipe I haven't yet chosen]. (I may decide to do a full meal of "soul food"...the only potential problem I'm seeing is that most of the dishes include pork or certain types of seafood we don't eat. I'll have to figure out how to modify it)
• POSSIBLE EXTRA CREDIT: Little known fact, our personal family history includes slaves and inter-ethnic marriage. My Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather's first wife died. When the slaves were freed, my GGGGGrandfather had a slave he was quite fond of, so he married her. It has not yet been determined if OUR family lineage comes through that union or the union with his first wife, but when looking at some members of the family (one of my brothers included), there are some very distinct African features. For an extra credit project, we may attempt to look more deeply into our family lineage.

*If you are interested, I'll be updating this entry to include bits and pieces that haven't been decided on yet. Such the specific books or the menu for the soul food meal.