Need a Break From Family Movie Night? Give Audiobooks a Try! Here's One to Start With...

The entire family just finished listening to Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein which we downloaded using our Audible account, and I couldn't resist posting my review because we absolutely loved it. I figured, why reinvent the wheel when I (think I) already said nearly everything I had to say in the review I left on their website?

If you don't have an Audible account already and have any sort of device you can download audio books to, I highly recommend it as a valuable resource for home educating (and any) families. Audio books can be entertaining, educational, and excellent for keeping the kids (and parents) happy on road trips or during prolonged errand days.

Also, lately, Audible has been adding some awesome new content, such as many of courses from The Great Courses company...and they are all one credit each. Now that's an amazing deal for homeschoolers, especially high schoolers, and for the many dads (and/or moms) who have to commute to work each day, too.

They also have shorter books (as well as longer ones) which are on many of the commonly referenced homeschooling book lists, such as Paddle to the Sea, Tales from Shakespeare, and Parables from Nature.

If you are interested in giving Audible a try, why not try a fun and motivating book like Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein first? You can read on for my recent review of this enjoyable adventure...and please don't forget to check your favorite deal sites or do a Google search for free book or reduced cost promotions before signing up. It never hurts to save a bit of money. You can always turn around and invest it in buying more audio books!

*FYI: I am not trying to promote Audible for any personal gain. It simply happens to be the service we use. If you  know of any others that are good, please feel free to share in the comments below. Thank you!

--------------------------------------

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

UNABRIDGED

• by Chris Grabenstein
• Narrated by Jesse Bernstein
Reviewed: 8/5/14

"The Most Fun We've Had Listening to an Audiobook in Ages"

Overall

Performance

Story

What did you love best about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library?

The story line was riveting from the very beginning. The characters were varied and interesting. The plot was rollicking fun in the form of a mystery/game/scavenger hunt held in the most amazing library ever. It was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler wrapped up in a scavenger hunt and a game of Clue. Lots of fun all around. Most of my family, the children ages 3,5,8,10, and 16, plus my husband and I, all thoroughly enjoyed the story. In fact, the kids didn't want to get out of the car as we were running errands until we finished each chapter, and then we had to take the Kindle inside to finish off the story before bedtime.

What did you like best about this story?

I absolutely loved all of the literary and cultural references. The overriding message of the value and appeal of books and learning in general was well-integrated throughout the story in a way that drew my kids into wanting to read many of the titles that were mentioned. As a parent, I loved how it emphasized families and friends playing board games together, the pleasure derived from reading good books, the benefits of being friends with all types of different people, fair play, and teamwork. As a teacher, I can't wait to get a print copy for my older home educated kids to go through so they can highlight some of the books referenced that they have not already read and put them on their reading lists. I really hope that a few of the games mentioned in this book will actually be marketed. They sounded like a lot of fun!

Have you listened to any of Jesse Bernstein’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't listened to his other performances, but after hearing this one, I'd be glad to listen to another. The only performance I've heard that was better was Brendan Fraser's reading of Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. That's our family's other favorite audio book (because his voices are hilarious). I don't know. This one might top it because the story is so much fun and a bit faster paced.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Twelve children. Twenty-four hours. One huge, state-of-the-art library. Who will solve the mystery and win the amazing prize?

Any additional comments?

Don't miss this book. I am not sure why some folks called this formulaic or accused it of copying other works...sure, it references many works of literature and uses traditional literary devices, but it is it's own excellent work of children's fiction (yes, as an adult, I figured out some of the clues ahead of my kids, but they sure had a blast and it didn't bother me one bit to have caught on more quickly). Teachers would do well to incorporate this one into their curriculum, or at least, their recommended reading list. It is excellent as a read aloud/audio book, and would be perfect to pass time on a road trip. Enjoy!

-----------------------------

On an additional note, other audio books we have greatly enjoyed together include: 

• Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke read by Brendan Fraser (also InkHeart, but it is darker and I only listened to it with my oldest two years ago)
• Urchin of the Riding Stars: Book One of the Mistmantle Chronicles (it is the only one available on audio, but it will get your kids jazzed to read the rest on their own) by Margaret McAllister. Great story.
• Ella Enchanted, The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, Two Princesses of Baumarre, and any other books by Gail Carson Levine. Most of them are VERY amusing. A few have serious lessons they teach with the same engaging storylines.
• Eight Cousins by Lousia May Alcott...good classic with wonderful vocabulary. Even my boys liked it.
• The Boxcar Children books (1-3 are available as a set on Audible)
• The Magic Treehouse Books
• The Henry Huggins Collection by Beverly Cleary
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• And, of course, any of the Adventures in Odyssey stories, the entire Jonathan Park series, My Own Stories (most of them), and the Uncle Rick stories from the Boyers (not technically all audio stories...some are retellings of scripture, and wonderful for nighttime listening)...check CBD or Library and Educational Services for the best prices, though the My Own Stories collections are now available on Audible. Adventures in Odyssey and MOS can also be found online for free in limited quantities if you want to try them first.

**Please let me know of any of your favorites in the comments below...especially ones you have found for free download or on Audible or another downloadable audio book service. 

And, of course, if your budget is limited, please don't forget one of my favorite sites, My Audio School (MAS), which for a VERY minimal yearly subscription rate provides links to quality stories and audio productions that are available online for free (and many lovely pictures to complement each selection). 

Quite a few of the selections MAS suggests are difficult to find on your own, plus they categorize them for you, which saves tons of time. Most of them are on homeschool (and some other schools') recommended reading lists. This excellent method of "reading" quality books works very well for children with special needs (such as reading delays or autism), as well as expanding the options for early readers to books which are good for them, but beyond their ability to read independently.

----------------------------------

Lately I've noticed lately that Amazon is providing low cost narrations for many of the books you may choose to download to your Kindle (including free ones, which are numerous). This gives you a much nicer option to listen to than the text-to-speech voices. This feature has really been great for my one struggling reader who loves to read harder books, but benefits from following along as someone pronounces the more difficult words for her. The text-to-speech voice often mispronounces the same words she would (such as reading the word read the incorrect way), so having the option to purchase the narrated audio copy for a few dollars if I already own the book is something I find especially advantageous (and Audible keeps track of what you own on your Kindle and will make you offers based on your purchases). 

You are also able to sync your devices, so you can start listening on one device in the car (such as the cell phone), then pick up with reading and listening on the Kindle or computer later on at the same place. That's awesome. It's especially good when we've run out the battery on the phone listening to the book in the car, and the kids are insisting that we MUST finish the book before bedtime, so we pull up our Audible account on my computer, snuggle on the bed and chairs in my room, and have a bedtime story all together. 

I love family time. 

I love good books. 

Family time + good books = priceless.

Well, that's much more than I planned to say, but I am excited about all these new options for appreciating literature using technology (it can do so much more than be a tool for playing video games). 

I am not saying I will ever give up my many beloved REAL books (no way, not ever!), but I think I am finally ready to embrace the various new ways to get the content of those books into the hearts and minds of myself and my family (and it's not bad to be able to give your own voice a rest once in a while and just sit back and enjoy the experience of listening to a good book, either, is it?).

Have fun exploring the options!

Many blessings to you,

Heather

Variety is the Spice of Life

If you read my earlier post A Day in the Life of our Homeschool, you will know that we have a fairly easygoing pattern...especially for the little kids. However, I don't like to get into too much of a rut, for both my sake and for the sake of the kids, so we came up with something to remind us of getting the fun stuff done, too, and not just the basics. 


We came up with the idea of doing one "focus" activity a day, along with the usual required Bible, math, spelling, and reading/English. This allows us some variety, as well as a bit of structure, so we don't always default to our favorite activities when there is extra time (such as art for Ladybug, games for Cowboy, or reading for Tex).

Here's the sign I made for our fridge:

Our "Special Activity of the Day" sign

As you can see, we have listed one specialized area of study for each day. I will be honest here and tell you that we do NOT do each of these each week. Some weeks are good if we manage to do two or three of them, and on others we have actually done all five. My attitude about not getting to the "fun" and "special stuff" every day is that while everyone needs goals to aim for, we should also be content in doing our best...and since we are trying pretty hard, I think our best (for the time being) is actually quite good...though there is always room for improvement.

A Fun Friday field trip to a farm...

We always do Fun Friday  (which is sometimes a field trip), though I do not always manage to blog about it (my camera is on the fritz and I have had computer trouble, so my participation has been sketchy recently). To facilitate this, we accomplish our "regular" work in four days, leaving Friday free for doing the more creative and exploratory activities...or just resting, playing, being crafty, gardening, etc. 

Tex has been trying to do everything but his science experiments earlier in the week, leaving them for Fridays. This works for him because I can be more involved on Fridays, and he can pound out the other book/computer work faster if he isn't stopping to do experiments throughout the week. I think families should talk about what needs they have, try a few things out, then settle in to whatever fits them best. I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution.

The Writing Suitcase...one of the fun activities the kids like to do

Painting on Talented Tuesday

We also have extra-curricular activities that add fun to our homeschool days. Twice a month on a Wednesday, the Bookmobile comes to our house and the kids get to choose books, play with the stuffed animals on board (Mr. Mike collects animals in a basket and the kids love that), and collect any items we might have ordered from the regular library (delivered to our door, no less!). Usually once a month, our friends, Lady L. and her five kids, come over to join us for books and lunch (and playing, of course). That is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to have fun.

Reading on the Bookmobile

Also, on Wednesdays, we have supper at church and the kids do Awana. This is a recent addition, since we were still in the "church hunting" stage until recently. So far, the kids are LOVING the memory work (and the games, of course) and the chance to be around other children their own age. Hubby and I are enjoying the brief "break" we get by attending the women's and men's classes (and I love the grown up conversational opportunities!).

Twice a month on Friday, the kids attend 4-H at a local state park. This is mostly for Tex and Ladybug, and is currently a bit rough on me (trying to keep the others busy without disrupting the others when it is too cold to go outside and play), but it is worth it to give them the interaction with others and the chance to develop useful skills, such as public speaking and photography.

Nanny and Poppy...two of our favorite people!! 

Then, of course, sometimes our week gets a bit of fun added when Nanny and Poppy show up unexpectedly (or expectedly) and that is wonderful! My dad often helps out by working on something that needs fixing, and gets the boys to help him do whatever it is. Tex is a HUGE help, since he knows where to find all the stuff needed to do the repairs, and Cowboy just likes being able to watch or to hand tools to Poppy when he needs them. Tex and Poppy also like to chat about computers and sports, and maybe shoot some hoops. My mom will offer to help do any chores we are behind on, or to read with one of the little ones, or sew with the girls, or even give a piano lesson.

Bubba trimming Lily's feet

Sometimes we do just take the time off and enjoy a beautiful day outside, or take time to do something crafty, or get a visit from Bubba (usually to trim the horses' feet), or make something delicious to eat. All that is a lot of fun!! We also try to get out and ride the horses as often as possible. Once a week when it is cold, more often when the weather is good.

Ladybug sewing an apron for herself

After writing this, I think I will have to revise or add to my list, though. I think I will amend our art activity choices to include nature notebooks after a nature walk and also the art dvds that Ladybug received for Christmas and her birthday (See the Light and Inspiration Station...all the kids have art kits and like to do those dvds). For Thinking Thursday, I want to add "logic problems and word puzzles" (we have crossword and jumble books, and logic problems galore), as well as playing online thinking games (we have a listing of some on our homeschool-for-free site. For Fun Friday, I am also going to add "crafty things, like crocheting or sewing and baking (yum!)...or projects like building birdhouses and forts."

On a nature walk...

I know that we could (obviously) choose to do any of these things on ANY day of the week, but having the sign up on the fridge has been motivating for the kids and helps me focus on the fact that we need to add something a bit different to each of our days (as often as possible). It has also helped the kids focus on getting their other work done (so there is time for the "fun stuff"), and has helped them be more creative with their choices of fun learning activities (kids will get stuck in ruts of preference, just like us adults). 


One of our goals as homeschoolers is to raise creative, confident, and well-rounded individuals who are able to accomplish whatever the Lord calls them to do. Raising the children to have diverse interests and abilities (including interests beyond what I have as interests and abilities in) is one of the ways we can help make this happen... after all, variety is the spice of life (or one of them, anyway!).

To see what others do to add FUN to their homeschooling week,

check out The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Blog Cruise!

I pray you have a blessed and FUN week.

Kids' Crafts for the Christmas Dinner Table

 I have a few fun, easy, and inexpensive craft ideas to share for the last minutes before Christmas (as if you have extra time to waste!).

We had a slight Christmas storage malfunction (the boxes containing the tree ornaments were misplaced), so last week I made a trip to the Dollar Tree to buy a few packages of colored balls (plastic ones, safe for Boo), a few packages of plastic (but cute) candy canes to hang, some tinsel, and some bows. 


While perusing the aisles, I had the thought that since my napkin rings had been misplaced, too, maybe I could make some using these inexpensive materials. 


Here's what we came up with...

Buy a package of 12 shower rings, some tinsel, some hooks, and some bows. Our store had gold, red, green, and silver tinsel. We decided to use the gold for making ornaments and the red for the napkin rings.

Wrap the tinsel around the open shower ring, making sure you catch the starting end under the wrapping to secure it. I left the tinsel on the cardboard it was wrapped around instead of trying to figure out how long of a piece I needed (so I had to leave the ring open to put the tinsel through the gap...if you cut your tinsel, you could pull it through the closed ring every time).

If you have smaller kids who are participating, you might want to take the time to do a trial ring, unwrap it, then cut pieces of tinsel for each one. Ladybug helped me make the rings and once I started them off, she had no trouble finishing them (she is 8 yo). All I had to do was to fasten the ring at the end, then she wrapped a tail end around the remaining white space, and added the bow (when we were making them into wreath ornaments).

Here is an example of a gold wreath ornament. We added a hook by wrapping the large hook end around the wreath body. The kids loved adding these to the tree, and we may make extras to give away after Christmas dinner (like party favors, right?). They take a maximum of ten minutes each to make, so you can make quite a few while singing along to a Christmas cd or watching a favorite Christmas movie.

Here is an example of how the napkin rings turned out. They are easy and fun, and look kind of cute with our colorful napkins and quilt-top table cloth (we added the leaves to our table and none of the table cloths fit, so I used a quilt top instead). 

It's not really very fancy, but fun and homey. I like it that way, and the kids are having a blast contributing to the decor this year (instead of mom doing it all herself...I like that, too, even if I keep finding candy canes hanging from my chandelier and Santa upside down in the tissue box!).

Notice that some of the candy canes that are supposed to be on the tree migrated to the chandelier. Santa tried to fit down the chimney of the tissue box Great-Grandpa made, but he appears to be having some trouble. 

You can see an example of our second craft idea in the picture above (the one with the napkin ring)...it's the place mat. 

I made these mats years ago using card stock, self-laminating sheets from Sam's Club, and old Christmas cards and wrapping paper. The kids LOVE them, they are easy to wipe up, they look festive, and are fun to make.

Each child has his or her favorite place mat. Getting these mats out always makes us feel like Christmas is on its way. I am glad they were inside the one box of Christmas stuff we found in the attic (where it was all supposed to be...hmmm, I think I need to start keeping a notebook to remind myself where stuff gets put around here).

The reverse sides are all the same. I chose a wrapping paper that coordinated with my dining room colors at the time. I figured that for regular meals, we could use the fun greeting card-side, and for nicer meals, we'd use the matching fancy paper-sides.

Over the years I have collected more cards from various sources (thanks Mom!), as well as gotten some pretty Christmas wrapping paper on sale (after Christmas) just for the purposes of making more mats for our table (when I made the others, our maximum number was five, now it is eight, not including guests).

If you'd like to try doing this for your Christmas table (it would keep the kids busy today or Christmas Eve while you cook), gather the following items:

1. card stock
2. old Christmas cards (or falling apart Christmas books, if you can stand to cut them apart...you could also use coloring pages, or do collages from magazine articles with holiday pictures, or use your own printed photos from past Christmases...the possibilities are endless).
3. Christmas wrapping paper (all I could find for the picture was green, but my son found the pretty gold angel paper I've been saving later, so that is what we will ultimately use on the back of our new mats).
4. Glue sticks (or scrapbooking glue dots would be great)
5. Scissors
6. Self-laminating sheets (a laminator or contact paper will also work, but I find that the self-laminating sheets are easier to use and they are a bit stiffer, so they seem more sturdy in the long run...mine are about eight years old and still look like new).

Once you have gathered the materials, sort your cards into groupings by color, subject, or whatever other designations you feel blend well together. In the picture above you will see that I have found cards with snowmen and manger scenes to use to make two mats (or maybe even three, since there are so many snowmen). 

You should also pay attention to the sayings inside the cards. These can be good additions to the pictures. My kids love reading "The Carol of the Birds" on their favorite bird mat (see above). I particularly like the mat with the names of Jesus on it. I actually bought those cards to use that year with this idea in mind!

Next, start laying out your ideas on the paper. This one's theme is obviously "the manger scene" or the birth of Christ. I started gathering cards on this topic because I loved the stained glass window card. I thought the painting was gorgeous, too.

After playing around a bit, I added some background behind the stained glass window to tie it into the quote in the upper left corner. The background comes from a secular holiday card we received...I didn't find anything I wanted to save about the message, but I liked the pretty pattern. You could also use scrapbooking supplies (fancy paper, stickers, sayings, etc.) to jazz yours up.

To finish off this project, you would securely glue your pictures onto the card stock (I use glue stick as white glue can dry funny and takes too long, but you could also use scrapbooking glue tape/dots or something else crafty that works for you). Then you would cut a piece of wrapping paper, slightly smaller than the card stock, and glue it to the back.

If you are using laminating sheets, please follow the instructions carefully to avoid mis-placements or bubbles. The thing about the laminating sheets is that if you mis-place your paper, it will NOT come unstuck, so be careful. If you are using one of the other methods, well, I assume the same precautions apply, but you will have to figure it out on your own! Sorry.

I set the finished mat (the layout is finished, but it is not yet assembled completely) next to the back of one of the old mats, so you could get an idea of what the finished product would look like on both sides. I will finish these later today using that pretty wrapping paper I saved for the reverse side. I have plans to do an additional six mats, so we will have a total of twelve, for when we entertain guests during the holiday season.

This project goes quickly once you sort your cards and choose which sayings and greetings you want to use. If each child/adult did one placemat (their own??), it could be an easy project to finish in an hour. But if you make more for a larger group, or as gifts, well, I guess it can take as long as mom needs it to!

Remember to save your cards from this year, so you can do this next year, if you decide to pass on trying it out now. Just make sure you remember where you put them, so you won't wind up like me and be missing half your Christmas stuff (it's only the Christmas cds I miss...we only have one WOW Christmas collection and Michael Buble's Christmas cd, so we've had the 24 hour Christmas music radio on, but it plays more secular than classic Christian carols, which I prefer).

I hope you are having a blessed Christmas season and making many sweet memories with the ones you love, always remembering that Jesus is the reason for the season...don't forget to keep the CHRIST in Christmas.

(If you haven't seen Christmas With a Capital C yet, you might enjoy watching that movie while you do this craft. It is available for instant download on Netflix right now.)

Blessings,

Heather

Friday Fun School

Friday Fun School is not so much fun when some of the kids are sick, but if you try, you can find some fun in every situation (or at least try).

We found our fun in the idea of having a Family Film Festival. Poor Boo is so miserable with bronchitis, that doing much more than that was out of the picture (and Mom is not feeling so hot, either). So, after getting dressed and having breakfast, we settled in for our first movie. We watched a fairy tale called The Polar Bear King on Netflix. It was good. Long, though. But it held the kids' interest (I only had the Four Amigos, since Tex spent the night with my folks following his birthday ice cream trip to Short Lane, our local homemade ice cream parlor, and went bowling with Bubba and my dad this morning) and taught a good lesson about good and evil, perseverance, and the importance of heeding advice and keeping promises. 


Here's a quick synopsis of the movie: A young princess from a land that where it is always winter, longs to see flowers and feel the warmth of the sun. A prince in a land far south inherits his kingdom when his father dies. He is virtuous and kind, and that really ticks off the evil sorceress. She wants to marry him and combine their powers to rule the world. He passes on the offer and she turns him into a polar bear who must wander in that form for seven years, except at midnight, when he turns back into a human until sunrise. He can break the enchantment at the end of seven years IF he finds someone who will love him.

You'd think the turning back into a prince thing would be handy,  except for the fact that if any human sees his face, he will be stuck marrying the sorceress anyway. Sigh. So you can imagine, he manages to get the princess to marry him, without seeing him, and by visiting her in the dark at night they have three kids...BUT since the bad lady is still out there, the king's mother must hide the children without their knowledge. It's complicated. And long...but just what the kids liked on a sick day. If you want to learn the rest of the story, watch it on Netflix. I warn you, there is one scene at the end where the bad folks from all over the kingdom get together and act...bad. But since I was sitting there and we were talking about how sad evil is, the show worked for us.

After that, the kids drew a little, then it was time for lunch. The kids ate their usual PBJs and while Boo napped, we watched Building Pharaoh's Ship (Nova) on Netflix (it is available free on hulu, if you click the link). It is a very interesting documentary about the boat Hatshepsut might have used to send her people to the faraway land of Punt, to gather many amazing things to impress the people, to show them how powerful she was (since she was a female who claimed to be Pharaoh, I guess she needed to do it better and go farther.) It was a pretty fascinating look into Egyptian boatmaking, and went along well with our reading of the book Pharoah's Boat by David Weitzman. The kids really enjoyed that story, and it brought Egypt alive for them. A few more links to check out later are: an article about one of the boats found at Giza and pictures of some of the boats excavated.

We also watched The Riddles of the Sphynx on Netflix, and other than a brief section (about five minutes) early on when they talked about the first pharaoh's tomb (where they found the skeletons of 35 healthy males who had been buried with him and showed them...I made the kids close their eyes and turn away), it was fascinating, too, and really brought the Sphynx to life for us. We read a book called Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke to go with it, which reinforced the idea of what archaeology is, and we discussed that we also find clues to our past in the Bible.

Once Boo woke up, we took a movie break, and went outside to do the afternoon feedings, since Tex was not home (he, his dad, Bubba, Poppy, and his uncle had headed east to watch a football game) to do them. Yes, that was me and four little kids, ages 2-7, doing the "barn chores": feeding the horses, cleaning the pony stall (since Hubby left too early to do it in the morning), putting the pony up for the night, putting the chickens back in their house after feeding them, feeding the dogs and the bunny, and watering all the animals. So, we went out and spent about an hour grooming the pony and her baby, Rosie. It was really cute since the bigger kids brushed Merry, and the two little ones brushed Rosie. Rosie loves grooming time already, but she does NOT love it when it is time for her lesson on how to be led. Ladybug had to walk to the back and give her a push whenever she dug in her heels!

Then I needed to clean the stall, so I let the kids play on the hay, which was fine as long as they did not climb too high, which, of course, they did. They found several eggs and watched two chickens lay two more, contemplating what the hens might be saying as they layed the egg ("Hey rooster, the egg is coming...here it is...bak bak...that hurt!). Kids are so funny. It took forever to clean the stall as the pitchfork was AWOL, so I had to use our broken hay fork to do the job. But, the end result was a stall filled with fresh straw, fresh water, and food, all ready for Ladybug to let the pony in to eat later in the evening. I fed the horses early, so I wouldn't have to come back out and leave the kids alone inside, figuring Ladybug could let the ponies in later so they could enjoy the rest of the day. We also went ahead and fed the chickens, so the kids could have the fun of watching them eat.

After that, Boo was ready to go back in and rest, so we headed back in to watch another movie, Second Chances. This movie was about horses, a little girl who was injured in an accident and was able to get better thanks to her love for a horse, and the nice gentleman who helped her out. I recommend it. It was very nicely done and taught a valuable lesson about friendship, perseverance, and helping others. If you like western riding, barrel racing, or just horses in general, it will be a winner for you! I prepared the kids ahead of time for the fact that the little girl lost her daddy in a car wreck, and was hurt besides, so it was not upsetting to them. If you like English riding, you might want to try Moondance Alexander. It has show jumping in it, and a good story line with an excellent lesson taught (and Moondance is very polite, to my recollection, which we liked). There is one brief scene where the trainer considers taking a drink, but winds up throwing it away. Other than that (and the rude girls who learn a lesson), I think it was okay for all viewers, but it has been a while since we watched it.


We got a call from the doctor after that that they were going to call in Boo's usual meds without us going in for a visit, so we set off for the pharmacy and to pick up pizzas for the kids' dinner. When we got back, I sent Ladybug out to put up the pony, Cowboy went and fed both of the dogs (they got a bit more than we usually give them, but I am sure they did not mind!), and Firefly tempted the chickens into their house with the remains of an old loaf of french bread. Wow! Don't ever let anyone tell you your kids are too young to do chores! My Three Amigos rose to the occasion and did very well. I am proud of them.

Once they were in, we doled out sniffle meds, dished out pizza, poured drinks, and headed back up for one last film (late...it was almost 8 when we got home, but it was a Friday Movie Night, right?!). We watched  Joseph: King of Dreams on Netflix. I had seen this movie when it first came out and remembered liking it, but the little kids had never seen it. Since we are studying Egypt, it seemed like a good choice for our movie night. We all loved the music, the animation, and we had some great discussions about the characters and their interactions with each other. It is an amazing story about God's providence...and of course, the folks who wrote it speculated on some things, and added to it, but they retained the essential message that God has a plan, and we should trust in him. What Joseph's brothers meant for evil, God used for good.

So that's our Fun Friday. It was fun, if a bit long (like this post!). But that's okay. Sometimes it is all right to do things a bit differently than you usually do. That's one of the blessings of homeschooling, isn't it? The ability to roll with the punches and adjust to the children's needs (and yours). What a blessing.


I think the kids appreciated the novelty of the day, Boo and I got some rest, everything got done that needed to be done, and we can even say we learned something. Yay!

I hope you had a fun Friday, too.

Blessings,

Heather

Fun Friday

It was a fun Friday in our homeschool. The kids played logic and pattern games for an hour or two. I keep our learning games in banker's boxes in a closet, grouped and labeled according to type of activity. Some of the boxes include: Pattern and Logic games (the one we used), Preschool Activities,  Alphabet Games, Number Activities, Geography and History Games, The Arts (our "band" instruments, as well as art and music games are in here), Colors and Shapes, Science Activities (stuff for experiments and games), and Languages. It helps me keep the supplies organized, and the fact that the games and activities are stored away most of the time makes them more interesting to the kids when they do come out.

 The girls particularly enjoy the games like Mighty Mind, Tangrams, and Shape by Shape that let you make pictures out of various shaped pieces. One of these days, when they are a bit older, I am going to get them one of those magnetic mosaic boards, but I will wait until they are old enough to take care of all those small pieces on their own.

 Tex played Chocolate Fix, a game he got for Christmas (I must admit that I got it for him figuring I'd enjoy it, too!) and found that he is very good at working with spacial relationships and patterns. Cowboy chose one using colored bugs to form patterns. It was a bit under his level, but he enjoyed interacting with the bugs and making funny voices for them to interact with each other!

They also played a few learning games on the computer before going outside. I found some more spatial relationship and thinking skills games to let them try out. 

Here they are: 

Traffic Jam

Rush Hour

Picture Logic (a game of arranging candy in boxes)

Tower of Hanoi Game

Scrabble Sprint

Whomp!
Find the Suspect

There are a few more on my homeschool-for-free site, if you want to check them out. Please feel free to leave a comment if you know of a game your kids like that I haven't listed yet...I know there are plenty of them!

They had fun listening to Pandora while they played with the Brio trains in the boys' room. Have you tried Pandora yet? You can set up "channels" by telling them what the name of a song or an artist that you want to hear more music of a similar nature. Then your new "channel" will play a variety of songs similar to the one you have named (or by similar artists). Tex set up a "channel" based on songs from "They Might Be Giants." Have you heard the Meet the Elements song? It's a hoot. Anyway, you get 40 hours of free Pandora listening a month and it's free to set up an account. We haven't noticed tons of spam, either.

While I was doing chores, Cowboy and Ladybug kept coming to me all excited about the songs they had just heard. It was so cute. My favorite was that one from The Muppet Show that goes, "Manamana...doot doo doo doo doot...Manamana...doot doo doo doo doot." If you've ever heard it, you will know what I mean (I guess that dates me, doesn't it?). If not, well, just take my word that you are missing out and check out the video on You Tube.

After lunch, Boo went down for a nap, Tex went to work for a neighbor, and the Amigos went outside to play. It was a bit cooler, and the mosquitoes (which have been positively horrid here) were not so bad.

We have plans to watch the World's Greatest Train Rides: Egypt video while we eat our pizza tonight, to sort of carry on the theme of trains from earlier this morning. The kids are looking forward to it, since we've been reading about Egypt all week and looking at other resources like Discovery Egypt. Here's a nifty site with "postcard" snapshots of major tourist destinations that is a fun way to see if the kids have been paying attention to what we've been reading (meaning, did they recognize anything?) and here's a tour group site that lists bunches of useful video titles on Egypt that I am going to use in my research for this unit.

And tonight, the most fun thing of all, will be giving Tex his new computer. Shhhhhh...he doesn't know, but his dad is picking it up now. I feel safe telling you because I know he's working outside and will be until his dad gets home. He's going to be thrilled because he's been pricing them for months, ever since we took some of the money out of his educational fund. His dad had a connection who got him an excellent deal on a top of the line HP, which is great, since I think Tex needs a high performing computer to help him learn all the computer languages and programming he is interested in. You can check out some of the resources he will be using (and they are all FREE!) on his homeschooling blog.

I hope you had a fun Friday, too.

Blessings,

Heather

Fun Friday

Friday Fun School at Ben & Me

We had a fun Friday, how about you? 

One of my goals for this school year is to get our required work done in four days each week so we can take Fridays off to go places (like the library or a field trip) or just do more creative sorts of things at home (like games, arts and crafts, movies). You might want to check out my post of twenty ideas the kids came up with for fun things to do during Friday Fun School.

Today I got stuck with a migraine, as the weather is very overcast and it is threatening to rain all weekend, so I didn't have the energy or focus to go all out or to go out at all. Thus, I came up with simple, not too rowdy things they could do fairly independently. 

Here they are:

The Three Amigos got to try out the new Creative Writing Briefcase I made for them. I found an old, hard briefcase at a thrift store very cheap, so I snagged it with the idea of using it as a storage container. I stocked the Writing Suitcase with new boxes of markers, Twistable Crayola Crayons (I love those things), a 24 pack of colored pencils, scissors, construction paper, glue, stickers, white out, a ruler, stencils, pads of primary story paper (the kind with a space to draw) and primary lined paper, and surplus stationery I have collected over the years. I'd like to add stamping supplies eventually, but I figured that this was a good start.

I offered a prize to anyone who used the suitcase, and Ladybug was the first to give it a try. She drew a picture of a lion on yellow construction paper and cut it out, then she wrote a story about Sandylion, a happy lion who loved kids, and missed them when the zoo was closed. She plans to add more pages tomorrow or Tuesday (we are taking Monday off, since Daddy will be home!) I love your story, Ladybug. You are so creative!

Firefly also participated in that challenge, and chose to use the construction paper to make a card to send one of her grandmas. I try to encourage REAL letter writing, and not just using email and texting as a way of communicating in written form...especially when older relatives are concerned. Good job, sweet Firefly!

I also issued a challenge that whoever read the most books that day would win a prize (I found some candy, and it is a rare treat at our house). Cowboy was the one who jumped on that challenge and read five books out loud to Firefly and Boo. Way to go, Cowboy!

The Three Amigos also had time to play their favorite online games, such as Bibletown, Starfall, and Reading Eggs. Boo watched some of the time, and then he watch Signing Time (My First Signs) with Firefly and took a nap the rest of the time. It was sort of a lazy day.

We plan to play a board game tonight after supper. They like Cat in the Hat: I Can Do That! a lot, so I think that will be the one we try. Either that one or Charades for Kids. The cards are simple enough in that charades game that the little ones can read them, so they do not have to be on a team (except for Firefly and Boo), and they like that.

Tex did work on his Khan Academy math review today, and read some of his Left Behind book (he decided to study Revelation this year...with the earthquakes and hurricanes and forest fires, oh my! it seems rather timely). I am impressed that he is so interested in learning more about that special book of the Bible. Did you know he has read it through three times already? He's awesome.

He also logged onto Brain Pop and played Executive Command, a great game about how our government works. Then he tried out a game on AE Mystery Spot for another fun, but science related, game. 

He played around with our new Scruble Cube some in the afternoon. I am no better with it than I ever was with a Rubik's Cube, but he seems to be catching on fairly easily. I think we will play Scrabble with him after the little ones are in bed. I whomped the boys during the hurricane (okay, I really only won by about twenty points, and only because I managed to go out first and they had lots of points to add to mine...but I started out with five "i"s, an e, and a u, so what can you expect!)...or, if my migraine persists, his dad can play chess with him. He'd like that since the aftermath of the hurricane (no power) caused him to miss chess club this week. Bummer.

We plan to find a National Geographic sort of movie about the pyramids at Giza on Netflix, or one about the pharaohs, as we are studying Egypt right now. I will be reading from Boy of the Pyramids tonight during dinner.

Well, dinner is in the crockpot (it's Fiesta Chicken Pronto from Gooseberry Patch served with rice..and I did add corn and substitute Rotel diced tomatoes for salsa since I was out of salsa...it's great!) and the boys are all on their way to the dump with Daddy. That gives the girls a few minutes to clean up and set the table, and to pick out the games and movie for the evening. I hope you are all having a Fun Friday, like we are!!

Blessings,

Heather