Linda's Homeschool WebLog
Saturday, May 10, 2003
I'm planning to send this page to my daughter in email someday when she's been computing too long!
Friday, May 09, 2003
Aw, how sweet... my son just brought me a handful of chamomile blossoms to make tea. :)
The kids surprised me - they've been out in the old fenced-in vegetable garden preparing the soil. I haven't used that space in two years. They've got all the weeds out of there, piled in a new compost pile outside the gate. The soil is turned over. I know I put lots of nutrients into that soil two years ago... it should do well this year though I'm tempted to get a test kit to see what ingredients it might need.
My husband came in a few minutes ago and commented on how well the children are working on this project together. Often they don't get along. Please note this isn't something I assigned them to do - its what they decided on their own to do. I'm so pleased!
The kids surprised me - they've been out in the old fenced-in vegetable garden preparing the soil. I haven't used that space in two years. They've got all the weeds out of there, piled in a new compost pile outside the gate. The soil is turned over. I know I put lots of nutrients into that soil two years ago... it should do well this year though I'm tempted to get a test kit to see what ingredients it might need.
My husband came in a few minutes ago and commented on how well the children are working on this project together. Often they don't get along. Please note this isn't something I assigned them to do - its what they decided on their own to do. I'm so pleased!
Reading this article about children's clutter reminded me of all the organizing I did when we lived in the Bay Area, when my kids were small. Seems like I was constantly picking up their treasures. We had a large tupperware container filled with my son's hot wheel cars and accessories. Along the window sill were canning jars filled with game pieces: checkers in one, dominoes in another, magnetic letters in two others. It made for a bright and "different" window display. We hung dolls and teddy bears on my daughters' walls.
But now they are older. My daughter keeps her own room fairly clean most of the time. My son's room frustrates me. My husband and I have gone through it and cleaned and organized for him twice already this year. Why? He will not do it himself. This surprises me because he's got a talent for housecleaning and reorganization.... but only IF he decides on his own to do something. For some reason, he gets on wild cleaning frenzies mainly in our living room these days. He loves to rearrange the furnishings. He could be an interior decorator. When he was younger he used to rearrange the living room furniture every night until I finally had to beg him to leave things alone so I could enjoy one of the arrangements he'd done.
But the bedroom - again, it looms before us as a pile of junk took over one side of the room and the other side is just plain messy. I ask him to do simple tasks... like just picking up all the clothes one day or just taking all cups out of the room another, but if he doesn't think of it himself, he resents doing anything.
I have a goal this year of redecorating both my kids' rooms. I want them to have fresh paint, new rugs, and new bedding... at the very least. I know my daughter will insist on a lot of matching accessories. We've already discussed this. I look forward to the warmer weather so I can get my son's room emptied and repainted. I will be very careful about what I allow to go back in there.
But now they are older. My daughter keeps her own room fairly clean most of the time. My son's room frustrates me. My husband and I have gone through it and cleaned and organized for him twice already this year. Why? He will not do it himself. This surprises me because he's got a talent for housecleaning and reorganization.... but only IF he decides on his own to do something. For some reason, he gets on wild cleaning frenzies mainly in our living room these days. He loves to rearrange the furnishings. He could be an interior decorator. When he was younger he used to rearrange the living room furniture every night until I finally had to beg him to leave things alone so I could enjoy one of the arrangements he'd done.
But the bedroom - again, it looms before us as a pile of junk took over one side of the room and the other side is just plain messy. I ask him to do simple tasks... like just picking up all the clothes one day or just taking all cups out of the room another, but if he doesn't think of it himself, he resents doing anything.
I have a goal this year of redecorating both my kids' rooms. I want them to have fresh paint, new rugs, and new bedding... at the very least. I know my daughter will insist on a lot of matching accessories. We've already discussed this. I look forward to the warmer weather so I can get my son's room emptied and repainted. I will be very careful about what I allow to go back in there.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Here's a site that's lots of fun for cat-lovers: World's Cutest Kitty... you can rate kitties and leave comments about them.
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
Harvard puts blogging to work
Check this out... Harvard is installing a blogging system for students. I think this is a great idea for our homeschoolers too... for communication and learning opportunities between the teenagers especially.. but even younger kids (some of them) could blog. (via NSOP)
Check this out... Harvard is installing a blogging system for students. I think this is a great idea for our homeschoolers too... for communication and learning opportunities between the teenagers especially.. but even younger kids (some of them) could blog. (via NSOP)
We started reading this tonight:
Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
Both of my kids were fascinated as they listened to me read the introduction. My daughter wanted to know what would make a middle school English teacher turn against the school system and write a book advising teens to leave school.
FYI - my daughter is 14 and insisted on attending eighth grade this year after five years of homeschooling. I decided to let her go so she could learn from her own mistakes. It has been a real learning experience for her... though not in the way the teachers there intend.
Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
Both of my kids were fascinated as they listened to me read the introduction. My daughter wanted to know what would make a middle school English teacher turn against the school system and write a book advising teens to leave school.
FYI - my daughter is 14 and insisted on attending eighth grade this year after five years of homeschooling. I decided to let her go so she could learn from her own mistakes. It has been a real learning experience for her... though not in the way the teachers there intend.
The California Homeschool Network just issued an important legislative alert on AB111.
Email me if you live in California, need a copy of the alert, and are willing to write to your state assembly member about it.
Email me if you live in California, need a copy of the alert, and are willing to write to your state assembly member about it.
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
Aaron's been working on creating a garden/picnic area in the backyard. Here's a wishlist he just gave me - of things he'd like to have to work on this project:
2 dumptruck loads of dirt for raised planter by the creek
lots of lumber for raised planters
truck load of gravel for picnic table to be on
wheelbarrow
2 shovels - one like a snow shovel
rake
woodchipper
weedwhacker
blackberry trimmers - long handle and short handle
logs
seeds - birdseeds and flower seeds
stepping stones
gas for lawnmower
picnic table
ladder to get blackberry vines out of trees
pipes - big rubber ones to make bridges over the backyard creek
black plastic (thick) to discourage poison oak growth
trees - fruit trees (2)
1 bird bath or a sundial
1 compass to set the sundial in the right direction
1 machete for cutting down blackberry bushes
2 dumptruck loads of dirt for raised planter by the creek
lots of lumber for raised planters
truck load of gravel for picnic table to be on
wheelbarrow
2 shovels - one like a snow shovel
rake
woodchipper
weedwhacker
blackberry trimmers - long handle and short handle
logs
seeds - birdseeds and flower seeds
stepping stones
gas for lawnmower
picnic table
ladder to get blackberry vines out of trees
pipes - big rubber ones to make bridges over the backyard creek
black plastic (thick) to discourage poison oak growth
trees - fruit trees (2)
1 bird bath or a sundial
1 compass to set the sundial in the right direction
1 machete for cutting down blackberry bushes
