Fifth Wheel Requirement

Working part-time in a fifth wheel with three monkeys is...challenging. I tend to get up in the morning with The Duke and work until the kids get up (from about 4:15 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.). Alas, today was not such a day as my brain simply would not function enough to do more than turn on the coffeepot, mix up a sausage for my hubby and drink a cup of java hot out of the pot (spot o' cream please!).

So I have had to work during conscious monkey hours.

The Duke must be psychic, as he left me a present a few days earlier as a joke:

I have determined that this is a must-have. Not sure I can do this more than once a week though, as it feels like it pulls a layer of skin out of my ear canal every time I pull them out. Hmm...maybe some headphone-type noise cancellation contraption?

Fresh Starts and Giant Beer

Sorry for the train-crossing-during-morning-commute length of time that has occurred between postings!

What better way to start anew than to let you know what curriculum choices we've gone with this year!?!? That's a rhetorical question, by the way; I'm sure that you can think of better ways to begin, but I'm tired and have consumed an extra-large Corona, thanks to my sending The Duke out with a grocery list (he's more than willing, but when two 24 oz. bottles come back in place of a six-pack, I have to wonder about his ulterior motives).

So what's the latest-and-greatest?

Bible: We've just started working through Foundations 1: Creation to Christ(minus most of the extra book reading outside of the Bible itself), coupled with Exploring the Bible: Genesis. All three kids get in on this action, to different degrees. We listen according to the one-year schedule and work through according to the activities schedule, Bible drills and discussions for the olders while the younger gets a corresponding coloring page.

Spelling: McGuffey Eclectic Speller. It starts out pretty slow, but it is sequential spelling, so it will build quickly. Not sure if I'm emotionally ready for Capt'n Crash and Pumpkin to spellcheck my work though.

Grammar: Shurley Homeschool English Level 1. We stopped using this after traveling from California to Oklahoma to Arizona to Oklahoma and back to California. But we've picked it up, and it only took two rehearsals for the kids to remember the songs! Hurrah! Capt'n Crash and Pumpkin are diagramming sentences with Subject Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective and Article Adjectives! And yesterday saw the review of synonyms ("cinnanmons") and antonyms. While Button is still too young to work on this (she only recently mastered all of her letters and corresponding sounds), she does sing all the jingles (Noun, Verb, Sentence, Adverb, Adjective, and Article Adjective), so she's already ahead of the game.

History: Mystery of History, Story of the World Audiobook, Story of the World: Ancient Times Student Activity Book, copious amounts of Dover coloring books and paper dolls, and Netflix (oooh, Netflix, how I love thee!). All three get this to the same degree. It has actually been a bit of a battle, as the older two REALLY love history and would happily sit and color/draw for hours while I read or we listen to select portions of the audiobook. 

Science: Pumpkin is an avid lover of anything with more than two legs (since she was an itty-bitty, she had a desire to one day own a zoo...she has since modified it and has 
decided to own/operate an animal rescue center), so she is working her way through Exploring Creation with Zoology: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. She is already aout 3/4 of the way through, and wants to move to Exploring Creation with Zoology: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day next (which would be WONDERFUL along the California coast...talk about some hands-on, up-close-and-personal experience!). Capt'n Crash finds zoology interesting, but nowhere near as interesting as astronomy, so we are slowly working our way through Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Here, we also have activities such as art (drawing birds and rockets/spacecraft via "How to Draw" books, more Dover coloring books such as Birds of Prey and Space), and documentaries (Netflix again! Have I mentioned how much I love Netflix?). Button sits around and listens to both lessons while cutting paper (her newest obsession...emptying the vacuum canister always seems to result in showers of confetti).

Math: Pumpkin has already finished Teaching Textbooks: Math 4 and is taking a break from standard textbook-type math to learn about the "Real World" application of the concepts by working through Your Business Math: Pet Store. Talk about some "oy vey" experiences! For all of the headache, learning how to calculate percentages (markup pricing, advertising revenue), she LOVES it! It is more in-depth than I thought it would be and I am extremely impressed with it! Capt'n Crash already passed the halfway point in Teaching Textbooks: Math 3 and absolutely adores it. He primarily uses the CD-ROMs, but has worked through about a week's worth of lessons out of the book while we were on the road and did not have computer access. Button is still playing around with Math-U-See Primer, learning what the numbers look like, tens and units, how to recognize patterns, working on her fine motor skills to write her numbers. 

Reading: Both Pumpkin and Capt'n Crash are working through McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader right now. I've started Pumpkin on Reading Comprehension as well, and she is currently working her way through Little House in the Big Woods (which we picked up for 50c at a thrift store...hurray! We have almost the entire collection now, as I've been finding them over the last four years at thrift stores, all for $1/each or less!), coupled with the Comprehension Guide from Veritas Press. Capt'n Crash is an insatiable reader, and the basic Kindles that we bought with my parents for the older two have been well-used...Capt'n Crash has read every Thomas the Tank Engine Kindle book available through the Overdrive systems we have access to (we're up to four available library systems now!), as well as books on Galileo Galilei, Solar System, etc. If it is in his reading range, it doesn't stand a chance! Button is read to and listens to audiobooks frequently. Still, I want us to start reading through The Peleg Chronicles together. I've already read through them and am excited to find a Biblically-based epic series!

Miscellaneous: Pumpkin is currently working on learning to play the guitar that Uncle B. bought for her; Uncle B. also loaned us his Pimsleur Spanish course, but we haven't quite started working through that yet. The Duke had originally wanted us to learn Japanese, but has since decided that Spanish is probably the way to go for now.

This isn't the entire list, as I'm always finding fun stuff online (such as Math Invaders), but it does give a pretty good idea of what we do and where we're headed. One really nice aspect to homeschooling is that, with the exception of Capt'n Crash's Astronomy material, one purchase works for three kids (i.e. as Pumpkin finishes one year of math, Capt'n Crash is working through the material she previously finished, and Button is working through the material that Capt'n Crash finished a couple years ago). So while the initial investment of $120 for Teaching Textbooks seems pricey, I just remember that it works out to $40/student, so saving for a few months for a piece of curriculum doesn't emotionally hurt as much.

Shurley English Lesson 1

So I've had this on the shelf for awhile...patiently waiting for the time when we'll be able to use it. Since Pumpkin has graduated from Phonics (WAHOO!!!), we're moving on to Comprehension, Spelling and Grammar.

In the process of putting the first lesson together, I discovered a good assortment of worksheets that correspond with this lesson (thank you EnglishBanana!)!

Food Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/fantastic-food-picture-sheet-1-ev36.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/fantastic-food-picture-sheet-2-ev37.jpg

Clothing Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/clothes-im-wearing-1-picture-sheet-1-ev21.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/clothes-im-wearing-2-picture-sheet-2-ev23.jpg

Transportation Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/transport-picture-sheet-1-ev64.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/transport-picture-sheet-2-ev65.jpg

Furniture/Appliance Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/furniture-picture-sheet-1-ev41.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/furniture-picture-sheet-2-ev42.jpg

For the full run-down:
http://www.englishbanana.com/free-elementary-english-vocabulary-worksheets.html

Hairy Legs

I'm homeschooling three kids...there's no time to shave! Wait...we're not talking about me...we're talking about this:

That's right...a year has past and the tarantula has shed its skin! Talk about some excited monkeys around here!
Here's the after...he has a bristle-y butt again! (This past year found him encountering a spatula as I was trying to shoo him back into his cage after he popped the food slot open and pulled a Houdini.)

But the coolest part was the shed skin!

You can clearly see all the little "sleeves" of his legs!

We were supposed to work on Math, but the shedding tarantula was too big of a draw. Maybe next week....

Interesting statistics

Thanks to college Statistics, I realize that stats can be manipulated. However, if all the information is unbiased (*snort*) and accurate, these are some pretty interesting figures: Homeschooling by the Numbers

Back to Homeschool!

It's electrifying, slightly terrifying, but pretty energizing! It's BACK TO HOMESCHOOL time!!!! (cue the big voice there).

I look back a couple of months ago...ah, the cute little phrase "Oh, I'm planning on homeschooling through the summer...Math twice a week, Phonics three times a week...it'll be a light load" went past my lips multiple times.
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BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's really funny now! Yeah, we concentrated on Science primarily. Good luck getting much else done! But the kids are better swimmers, we've been reading a lot...I'll settle for that (especially since Pumpkin hasn't built her time machine yet...she's after dinosaurs, I'm after lost time).

Anywho, the plan is to start back in full swing next week, as public school kids in this neck of the woods start this week. Plus, I'm doing the spring-cleaning fling a bit late...lots of purging of toys and clothes lately. The more I cut, the more fun stuff we can cart around in our travels!

So here's the game plan:

Both Pumpkin and Capt'n Crash:


Bible: Working through Proverbs and "A Purpose-Driven Life" with them for now, and adding in material to their History lesson.


History: The Mystery of History - LOVE that it is history with the Bible as base! The lessons are super-short, but I add in some material from varying resources. I have to say, I love having "The Story of the World" workbooks to go along with this...often, they have better hands-on activities and great supplemental material!


Science: R.E.A.L. Science Level 1, Life - they caught a glimpse of the binoculars, have been avidly studying the field guides...I'm pretty sure they're going to love the material too. There's an anatomy coloring book that is highly recommended for it, but thanks to http://www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/ , I have the Kaplan Anatomy Coloring book, as well as several wildlife coloring books.


Reading: We're starting out with "Little House in the Big Woods". I'm using a comprehension guide with activities, and the local library has the cookbook, so we'll get to try out some neat associations! I want to go from this to "Little House on the Prairie" (also have the comprehension guide). By the time winter sets in (and it is too cold for Mommy to want to be outside, much less dress three young nomads in their winter gear), I am planning on taking on "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe". Thankfully, I have a few months to figure out how to tackle that one (although this guide by Progeny Press is what I'm leaning toward).

Grammar: Shurley Method, Level 1. *crossing fingers* I know, I'm finding it a little strange that I'm going to delve into grammar when the nomads can't read very well (or at all, depending on which little nomad I'm discussing), but I'm hoping that they'll at least pick up the jingles and learn the definitions. I know a gal who, in public school, was taught a year of the Shurley Method and can STILL dissect a sentence as she recites the jingles! So I'm not hoping for prodigies, but I am hopeful that whatever they can soak up into those little nomadic sponges-of-brains will help them in the future.

Misc.: We're going to be looking into more physical self-sufficiency material (this facet of our lives seems to take a special place with the kids...they positively ooze self-esteem when they describe how they found xyz growing and knew that they could/couldn't touch/eat it.). I have a few books now that will help in our endeavors. Pumpkin still REALLY wants her own beehive and chickens, but it's just going to have to wait until we settle down. We've already started talking about farmer's markets in the next 5 years, and Pumpkin and I keep coming up with ideas as to what we want to be able to offer. I'm hoping that this physical self-sufficiency material will help them develop the self-assurance they need to forge ahead (and perhaps create their own businesses in the far-FAR-off future?).

Pumpkin (2nd grade)
Math: Math-U-See Beta - super stoked about this one! RightStart did not work well for us at all...anyone want to buy a slightly-used RightStart starter set?


Capt'n Crash (Kindergarten)
Math: Math-U-See Primer - he has been begging to do schoolwork, and to have his very own math workbook might send him to a wonderful state of bliss, I dunno. What I do know is that the sneaky little nomad can get the manipulative blocks out on his own...those little green ones HURT first thing in the morning on the way to the coffeepot!

Button will just be observing and coloring pictures at this point. I have discovered that most libraries we visit have specialty bags, where a bag is given a designation and there are activities and books and toys that correspond with the designation (dinosaurs, transportation, shapes, etc.). While Capt'n Crash really enjoys these, I think Button is getting to the point where she will enjoy them as well.

Ah, enough already, I still have lots more to clean out of our stuff...gotta find a way to cart all the homeschool material around!

[Addendum: We started our school year yesterday and things are going fantastic! I changed our schedule around a bit this week, trying for a few small core subjects each day and then "go with the flow" off of that. Yesterday turned out to be crammed full of teachable moments! More to follow...it's rather late right now and I'm extremely tired.]

Home Teaching

Nope, not "Home Schooling"..."Home Teaching". This has been a homemaking week (per Pumpkin's request). The first project was learning how to preserve corn (after a wonderful woman dropped off three HUGE bags of field corn). Pumpkin was intent on being a "big helper" and did pretty good (until a caterpillar bit her...then she wanted nothing to do with the corn after she stripped the husk off of it).

How to preserve corn by freezing:

Step 1:  Strip the cob of the husk and snap off the nasty end:

Step 2: Boil the corn:

Step 3: Cut the kernels off of the cob (I couldn't accomplish this safely and take a picture at the same time, sorry!).

Step 4: Put in plastic bags (if you don't have some nifty freezer boxes like I've been lusting after) and cover with a salt & sugar solution (1 tsp. each per pint of water).

Step 5: Push all the air out of the bags, lay flat and freeze.

With fall coming before we know it, we'll be through these bags in just a couple of weeks...we love our tortilla soup!

Our second project was requested by Pumpkin herself. She loves her Littlest Pet Shop critters (btw...some of the BEST traveling toys we have come across!) and wanted to make some stuffed Littlest Pet Shop. 

Step 1: Draw the design. She started out by drawing a picture of what she wanted, and I showed her how to divide up the sections (she wanted ears of a different color) and add a seam allowance.

Step 2: Pick out the fabric. I had a couple of boxes of fabric gifted to me and it proved to be a treasure trove for this project. 

Step 3: Cut out the pattern pieces. 

Step 4: Layout and pin.

Step 5: Sew! 

I try to teach "make do with what you have"...turns out, a cooler 

and the bathroom stool work great as a sewing table at this age!

The project isn't finished yet. Once it is, I'll post up some more pictures. If we're still here in a month, Pumpkin should be able to enter it into the fair...something we haven't been able to do the last couple of years because of our travels. Pumpkin is hopeful and excited!