Sharing Literature With Technology

I'm sure that I'm not alone when I say that I am always printing something. We always need papers, but we need trees to breathe too. Today I want to share some troubleshooting ways to save on paper.

Why print it?

We have been meaning to get a toner printer, but you know what's cheaper? Apple TV. The teacher discount is only about $10 at the Apple Store, so don't bother driving out of your way. I (bf for my birthday, actually) paid $60 for Apple TV. I just click the remote to on, sideswipe my iPad, and whatever is on my pad is on tv. At first we went buck wild with the YouTube, but now we read articles together, i type with him in notepad, and bribe him that I'll let him watch an episode on the big screen if he just gets 2 more subjects done. It's amazing! I know it has saved us tons of paper.

Without Technology

I do love to use the back of Austin's math page as a whiteboard that we can save. I stink at math, so we actually do just about every problem together and compare our work. By using the back of the page, I can explain and save. I found that, with a whiteboard, the white quickly became foggy and the markers dried out. Also, I was demonstrating the same work over and over. Using the back of the page basically turns my examples not Austin's notes.

Another option I've considered to save paper is using composition books instead of a binder. This would probably be a bit cheaper too. Instead of making confetti with my hole puncher and fighting to keep each subject orderly and neat, I could just use composition books. We keep a reading journal in a composition book. The backs of pages have print-offs glued inside and hand-written pre-chapter notes. I've decorated the cover to keep Austin's interest. Composition books may be a cheaper, cleaner way to store and transport our classwork. I'm definitely considering the conversion.

Books are NOT a solid

I really want to share this with you! Our library uses Flipster and OneClickDigital for both e-audio and e-book books. I love this SO much! Check with your library to see if they're a part of portals like this. Think about it - no more waiting for books to be sent, no more hunting for a double copy or sharing of bookmarks, no more due dates to remember...Nothing beats "library and chill." It's our favorite hangout. However, Austin once borrowed a copy of Anne Frank with a cigarette burn down the cover and who hasn't experienced a torn or sticky page, gross. Sometimes, you want to snuggle with a good book, but sometimes snuggling with your gadget is just a little more...modern, clean, appealing...you know?!

With Flipster, I don't have to touch the dirty magazines at the waiting room. Our library has 28 magazine titles to choose from. I go to the site using my library card number as the password for the screen name being my library and download what I want to the app. I go into the app and there they are. When I'm without Internet, I just open the app and my magazines are available to me offline. The main page shows where you've left off in each of your magazines. I wish that they had a print option because I like recipes and knitting patterns, but it's nice to have 28 magazine options for free.

The OneClickDigital is amazing! I've read books I've never even thought of reading, like teen books that Id be too embarrassed to read in public, and Austin's choices always surprise me. We put our interests in our wish list on the site. Then we check out one or two at the same time. This app also lets you bookmark your page via a little gold tab in the upper right corner. You can place one bookmark in each book. Austin has his own card/app and I have mine. I pick up his iPod and check his app to see what he's reading. I plan to tell him to check out a book to read together so that we can discuss it. "Do You" by Ben Cohen lookslike a good first online share read. The most amazing part of this app is that my kid, the kid who prefers to read what HE wants, starts talking about classics that I was once forced to read. I have yet to test the audio books, but I'm thinking the audio might be perfect for Hamlet. We're studying a section on the origin of language in Language Arts right now. Austin does hum along to iTunes Radio while he reads in the app, but I don't know how he can focus on one audio and another visual simultaneously. 

So, here is my homeschool screen:

There is my Blogger app, DuoLingo, Flipster, OneClickDigital, and of course youTube. I also use notepad from the main screen.

Do you have any tips on how to save paper and ink? Do you use any of these apps or have any to recommend? Please, share with me in the comment box :-) 

The Week Before Christmas

Note: I am still in the process of planning this lesson. Please stay tuned...I will add more to this section as we approach, interact, and conclude our activities.

Remember the last week of school, just before Christmas break? Substitute teachers, worksheets, crossword puzzles, and coloring pages...It really was the most wonderful time of the year. I want to capture that in our homeschool lessons for "The Week Before Christmas." Our week begins on December 16, Wednesday and will end (the day before Christmas Eve) on December 23, Wednesday. That is six days of Christmas anticipation filled with Christmas literature, historical old Christmas movies, and lots of preparing to bake enough cookies to make Santa swoon. Let me share the details with you: 

For English/LA, we will be reading four chapters a day of "A Christmas Carol" via Modern Publishing. I purchased this at the Dollar Tree. The letters are huge and 4 chapters are between 15-30 pages at a time. Austin likes to get wordy in the morning, so these 15 pages may take a good 30-60 minutes. If it were a thicker Christmas book, we would break down our reading into both morning and evening in order to meet a one week deadline. Austin could read this whole book in one setting, but he could probably do the same with our entire set of box curricula as well.

For History, I have several original movies from the 40's to 70's picked out. Thanks to Apple TV and Youtube, I don't have to assault the DVR, harrass my library like a Black Friday blowout, or even pay to have these on demand for us to view. Most of these movies are about 30-50 minutes long without commercials, so we will be watching two on some days. Heck, we might knock them off at lunch or as we unwind after bedtime baths. 

Here is our list

- Frosty (1969)

- Frosty's Winter Wonderland (when he gets married)

Austin noted that both Frosty and his wife's first words were "Happy Birthday." We considered that this might have religious hints that modern society would find insulting in today's censorship. We used this link to learn the difference between a parson and a preacher. It went well with our origins of language theme for Language Arts:

http://the-difference-between.com/pastor/parson

- Twas the night before Christmas (1974) 

Austin and I read the full poem by printing from this website

http://edhelper.com/poetry/The_Night_before_Christmas_by_Clement_Clarke_Moor.htm

Then we drew an image based only on the description

Saint Nick looks rather creepy, doesn't he? Austin noted that smoking is bad...unless you're an imaginary Demi-God,, like Santa. We also noted that it was ok to mention prayer and say the word, "Stupid" in 1974. Oddly, the phrase from "The Santa Clause" finally made Austin chuckle. He hadn't previously made the connection.

- Santa Claus is coming to Town (1970)

- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

- The Year Without a Santa Claus

- Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer (1942)

- Rudolph's Shiny New Year (yay, geography lol)

- Mickey's Christmas Carol (lastly, when we finish the mini-novel)

For math and science, we are doing cookie recipes. I sent two cookie recipe books in the bedroom with Austin to note his favorite recipes. He thinks we're going to pick one to make. Mwwwahaha! Tbh, we will be changing these recipes. Note: Austin was very confused at he sight of words like 'German chocolate' and 'Spiced' cookies, so I had to play layman translator for him.

Our recipe list comes from my "Family Living, Simply Deliscious Cookies" book. It's a dollar special I bought about a decade ago. You can use ANY cookie section or Holiday entree. Here are the recipes I chose, along with their page numbers in my dollar book:

- Victorian Stamped Cookies p7 aka super basic brown sugar cookies

- Apple Spice cookies p13

- Gingerbread for houses p26

- Cinnamon Walnut Biscotti p29 no walnuts because Ray is allergic (raisins?)

- Shortbread p41

We will be using these recipes to apply the following four skills via their pre-printed handouts:

1. We will use a US/Metric conversion chart from Chef Solus to write our measurements in metric units

2. We will multiply the recipe to a humongous yield and use the measurement equivalents chart from Chef Solus to neatly simplify everything.

3. We will learn how to use everyday household ingredients to replace the odd ones we are 'missing' via an Ingredient Substitutions worksheet I found at SpendWithPennies.

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Baking_Substitutions_grayscale.pdf

4. We will use a print from Betty Crocker to see if there are any ingredients that can be substituted with healthier choices.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/healthy-baking-tips-low-fat-substitutions

Lastly, we will bake one (probably Biscotti because it's easy and tasty) straight from the book and share with loved ones.

*Note: When converting to metric units, the answer must be simplified in metric terms. 

To wrap it all up with a bow

We will be reading a Christmas book, watching Christmas movies, and altering Christmas cookie recipes all week. Austin is not a craft enthusiast, nor does he enjoy sing-along's, which is why they are not included in our very basic lesson plan. 

Speaking of which, we learned how to make our own Christmas (or any holiday) gift bag out of wrapping paper. This would've been very helpful to know pre-Secret Santa, but the bag we used was too irresistible.

Additional Ideas

- Find the area/radius of wrapping paper needed to wrap a gift. Use a ruler and a calculator. Remember that you need excess on the top and sides.

- Make a Christmas list for someone of the same age, but opposite gender as if you were their parent. Prepare a budget. Look up the prices at the cheapest online store (exclude shipping), and apply the budget to the list without removing too many gifts.

- Plan a Christmas dinner by looking up recipes to form a complete dinner (appetizer, entree, sides, desert...two of so,e for options). Based on the amount yielded from each recipe, determine how many you'd have to make to accommodate a family of 3, 5, 20...a big ole dining hall full of families, you generous little giver.

- Design your own Christmas show lineup for the month of December (25 days). Write the release date, find the popular voice characters, and write a brief bio about each show enticing viewers to watch. That means, no spoilers, the first paragraph is about the show and the second is how it applies to the season. You may also like to include a spoiler of morals to note and share.

- Traditions. You can type up a document of your own Family's Christmas traditions, noting where they came from and why they mean so much to your family or look up other people's historical family traditions online. My mother says that my grandfather insisted on putting an orange in their stocking for years. Go figure, he's German. Later, grandma used long straight pins to attach smaller fruits like grapes and berries to the Orange as well as nuts adhered with peanut butter and/or honey. The kids would hang their ornamental bird feeders outside to see which of the 6-8 the birds seemed to enjoy the most based on the previous year's findings, accessablity of the accessories, and the location of the treat. 

Your thoughts?

What are you doing for Christmas? Are you doing any worksheets, projects, or activities that you'd like to share? Please do so in the comment box 

Geography Lesson Pt 2 Our Neighborhood

Part 2 of Geography has to do with local maps. Our box unit explained that maps use keys to represent items in non-verbal or universal language. This post explains how we applied the lesson to real life. I used our home address as point A. I then chose our local library (about 4 miles away from our home) to be point B. By using local points of interest, Austin is able to apply his knowledge by memory. Let's see how well that memory serves him in designing and translating maps.

Sketch Map

I asked Austin to draw a wordless map explaining how to get from point A to point B first in pencil and then in colors. I told him to consider that the map reader might make a wrong turn and need to know how to get out of a mistake. He drew restaurant food to represent stores. He used dotted lines to represent roads, multiple dotted lines to represent highways, and curved dotted lines to represent curves in the road. He also used landmarks, like the house on the corner that is highly decorated for Christmas right now, a box with a police car for the station, and a book inside of a box for schools. He could've stuck to drawing details in this map forever. When he was done, he explained the key to me. We drew a box to represent buildings and a a dotted line to represent roads, but I wrote jibberish in the key to represent an alien language. We forgot some roads and restaurants of course,  but that's ok because it isn't being published. 

This quick and very basic map, that respectively excludes unimportant focal points is known as a sketch map. Sketch maps are useful, but not as useful as a detailed map because there is more room for error on the reader's interpretations. 

**This exercise was my way of explaining to Austin that the language of maps are unspoken. They are almost entirely visual. You can read it regardless of what language you speak. The pictures and curves are self-explanatory knowing the context of the symbol from the key. Since you don't know jibberish, you'd only need to look up a few words for the entire map to make sense to you.  

Using a detailed map

We held our concept of point A and B. Now we are using a detailed map from Google Maps to plot our travel between library and home. First, I asked Austin to write directions based on Google Maps. I asked him to pretend he was a GPS, so that he would include "continue on ___ past (intersections). When you reach (intersection) turn l/r.

We used Apple TV to view the directions from Google Maps, so that we could compare their instructions with our own. I could have printed these directions, but Apple Air saves me the ink and paper. Austin announced that it wasn't fair because he didn't have a map key. Then I threw him a treat in the air...just kidding. I shouted, "Bingo" and high fived him. 

We compared Austin's sketch map to the Google Map and (without bias, of course) gave the positives and negatives of both. We discussed who would prefer either map and why. While Austin's map is easy to draw and understand, it is not as precise as the 'final draft' from Google Maps.

**This exercise was my way of explaining to Austin that keys are important whether or not the map includes words and/or pictures. Without the key, Austin cannot truly guess the distances on the map. 

Conclusion

Sketch maps are greatly appreciated by lost visitors, while detailed maps are sometimes hard to read without their bilingual translations. Both maps successfully explain a path from one point to another. Neither map is necessarily better than the other, but a person may have preferences. You just use what you've got to get where you need to go. If that isn't a metaphor for life, I don't know what is! Austin's imperfect map is perfectly acceptable. It is to the point, easy to read, and quickly accessable by memory. In some ways, it's better than Google Maps, especially to someone who only speaks jibberish.

Mini Break Say What

I want to try to avoid putting too much "me" in this blog. I have my other blog 'Randomness' for that, but this is homeschool-related and sometimes it's nice to take a break for leisure and entertainment. Here's your break time:

We've all had accusations spoken to and/or about us as homeschool families. How will you socialize your child? They mean how will you socialize them without using the expertise of other clueless small creatures in the box. Aren't you worried about your kid being a crybaby or a weirdo? Yes, adult direction leads to manners, which are very scary and weird to see a child using these days. When do you get a break from everything? His name is Austin; not Everything lol. Well, I heard a new one today. You're going to love this one.

"She probably started homeschooling to get more (government assistance) benefits." It's right up there with the, "People homeschool so they can sleep in like bums" accusation. Apparently, this person thought I got a direct loan for my home on welfare, that were eating boxed pizza and pancakes for dinner every other day because I get food assistance, and that some kind of mysterious program is paying me to educate my own child. I have a sudden urge to bring the Baltimore out and tell this person the most unchristian things. Maybe the religious materials we are using are starting to sink in because I actually feel bad for this person who is trying so hard to rationalize the fact that they've (by choice or force) given their parental rights over to the public school system. If you can love your enemy, you've already won the victory...right?

Id be a graciously proud recipient of help, if I were elidgable. There's NO shame in using the scantly-given resources that you qualify for and it's really nobody's business. However, you'd have to be pretty ignorant to think a family chooses homeschool because they want to get more assistance. Who comes up with this stuff? I sourly assume it's someone whose brain has rotted from too much bitter exposure to Judge Judy. If weird questions about homeschool came in trading cards, I would've just gotten the MVP. 

I hope you've enjoyed this mini-break from Christmas planning and academics. Soon, I'll be sharing our Christmas lesson plan, with links. As previously mentioned (see introductions post), I give Austin attendance credit for vacation work near the holidays and then time off for the celebration thereof. That'll be coming soon. As of now, we have about two weeks 'till the fat man comes. No, I don't mean Ray. Santa, in spirit. Feel free to comment whatever comes to mind. We're heading into vacation mode. No brainwork necessary. :-) 

 

Geography Lesson Pt 1 The World

For geography, we were asked to keep track of the times of sunrise and sunset for 5 weeks. Yeah, right! Instead, we used a website called sunrisesunset.com to enter our zip code for the times. The website allows you to include moon cycles as well as daylight hours. After all, time is a man-made concept. I printed four calendars:

December 2015 (present month)

December 2014 (this time last year)

June 2015 (six months ago, to compare seasons)

December 2015 for our previous zip code in Limestone, Maine 04750

Austin did a little math by finding the weekly average for every week. Then we compared our findings. Comparing the daylight hours of Maine to North Carolina was particularly interesting.

We then used youtube to find a video on why these hours are practically an hour off in the same time zone. This video is called, "Mechanisms of the seasons." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLRA87TKXLM

We watched the video. Then I told Austin to be earth. I had him note where specific landmarks might be on his body and spin on a axis. He then spun around me (the sun) in an imperfect circle, "Oh, you're further away. It must be winter." It was quite interesting. We noted that he could not realistically turn 365 times for real. 

Over the next few days, we found a globe at the local library and used a paper bookmark (string would've been better) to compare the globe to maps. Austin noted that the main focus on a map was quite larger than the true size of land masses surrounding their focal point, despite their sizes and distances on the globe.

On Monday, we learned about the sun's analemma. I couldn't figure out how to read the chart until Austin showed me piece by piece. The analemma is a figure 8, with a heavy bottom. It is used to accommodate the earth's axis as well as the not-so-circular orbit of the earth around the sun. I haven't found any good instructional or explanatory videos that I felt would be understood by a pre-college student. We may learn more about this later.

We also started discussing the 6 time zones of the US. We learned that there is 15* of space between each longitudinal line - 24 hrs x 15 = 360* aka a circle known as earth. Austin and I made jokes of time travel learning about the Prime Meridian. If either of us ever becomes very wealthy, he will make sure he uses his jet to keep us alive forever lol. He certainly does understand that a calander date does not change biological aging, but boy wouldn't that be nice?! 

We're still reading, so I will be back......

DuoLingo Language Learning App

Today, I want to share DuoLingo with you. This is a free Apple App that lets you study language by listening, reading, typing, and speaking. The app keeps track of your progress, so that you repeat lessons for memorization. I am learning Spanish and Austin is learning German. We use the same device, but different login names. There are lots of language options and users submit advanced forms, so the app evolves as the language does.

With Spanish, I started out learning words like apple, door, window...etc. then these words were introduced in sentences that I listened to. I needed to remember their possessions, like la or el, Las, or Los. Then I was I troduced to sentence structure, like we and they. It's pretty easy, but I do forget some things, so the refreshers are nice. Austin has some issues with speaking to the app, but I think his voice cracks are recognized as accentuations. He's having trouble grasping sentence structure, but he's determined.

I've been having fun with this app ever since it was shared with me. The teen that told me of it started with French and recently added another language to her list of languages to learn. She checks her known languages for refresher updates and then proceeds to the next language. Wow, such a smart cookie!

This app is amazing! The last time we went to a mexican restaurant, I asked if they sold REDDs Apple ale in Spanish and responded 'No, much thanks. I'm driving an automobile to my home' all in Spanish. I also practiced spanish with my dear friend in Mexico City, who moved back to Mexico and opened a slew of video rental stores. He just had a baby with his wife. I miss my friend so much! It's nice to be able to say a few words to him in his primary language.

This app is a great resource to learn a second language. I found it to be a lot more helpful than Spanish in Three Months (audios and book kit at B&N for $12). I cannot believe it's a free app. Download it for yourself, try it for a few days, and let me know what you think. 

Target Wonder Packs

On December 6th, Target (will have) released a line of grab-and-go craft kits called "Wonder Packs." Seeing this reminds me of the first time I saw Crustables, frozen PB&J patties. On the plus side, we can use the contents of these Wonder Packs to make our own at home. Check out the kinds of kits they have:

https://corporate.target.com/article/2015/12/holiday-wonderpacks-improv-everywhere

I don't know whether to think this level of convenience is sad or helpful. I think it's nice that Target has wrapped things up in a neat little box. 

The first description shows an inflatable sled, flashlight, and glow sticks for a night time sled ride. I can imaging a kid receiving this, anticipating the first snowy nightfall, assembling the path, and having a lot more fun that just daytime sledding. I also imagine half the glow sticks not working, the sled popping, and feeling pooped by a lackluster experience that is nothing like they imagined. Still, the basis of the idea is really cool. In this example, we could treat it like any boxed curriculum and use it as a base to branch out from. Challenge: night time sledding with glow sticks and a sled. Make it better. We can do that! Add some music, hot cocoa, make it a race, milk jugs to illuminate the glow sticks...We can! 

I think these kits are pretty cool. I would not buy them, but I would copy their contents with items purchased individually. I would most certainly buy a book of Target's Wonder ingredients and instructions. Seriously, they could sell me a buyer's catalogue. Why not? Nestles does it for their recipes. 

I slurped this DIY from 17 magazine:

I found this one in Southern Living (Ty Flipster):

I also found a very cute DIY cookie recipe in a jar:

For details, click the videos on this link to Brother P-touch:

http://www.brotherptouch-usa.com/

What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment.  

Funky Frame

I think this is a wonderful concept...maybe not for babies, but for supervised children. I could see a 7+ year old girl grabbing her watercolors, markers, crayons, and chalk to the family room to draw a new masterpiece. After, the supplies are put away in their place. When people come to visit, she proudly announces, "I drew that!" Guests praise and encourage her artistic abilities. When mom sees her feeling funky, mom suggests she draw a new picture, 'it has been a while and you come up with the best pictures.' It sounds wonderful!

Please note: There has been debate that the baby pictured could shake the roll off of it's track and be pummeled by paper. The track is pretty high up and I don't think it would hurt once it was light enough to be shaken off of its track. Others argued that the baby would draw all over the walls. We expect our babies to read in Kindergarten, but not have the capacity to "only draw in this square?" At 3 years old, Austin could comply with basic commands and directions, but I'd suggest that this be used in an active household area (living room, family room, kitchen) and for a slightly older child.

A stud finder will assure that the brackets do not fall after installation. Still, young artists should be instructed to ask for adult supervision when they need a new sheet. 

The paper roll is called a "Butcher sheet." The frame is attached longitudinally, so that the paper runs through the top and out the bottom. This frame is window-sized, which you can get for pennies at the thrift shop.

Tell me in a comment: What do you think of this idea? Go ahead and be honest if you think it's a dangerous or ridiculous idea.  I have mixed feelings about it, but I definitely would make it for my 14 year old, if he enjoyed art.

Snowflake Craft and or Gift

I saw this project on Pintrest and thought, 'Yeah, I can do that!' You can apply this craft to any age from toddler to senior and the finished object is really quite cheque...or at least unique. Grandmas and aunties alike would love to receive such a one-of-a-kind thoughtful gift.

You will Need:

- Popsicle sticks

- Glue 

- Paint (brushes, water cup, palate)

- Strips of ribbon or thread

- (optional) glitter, Pom-poms, stickers, ribbon...go wild!

Tips & suggestions:

With standard-size sticks, you will use between 4-20 per snowflake depending on the design you choose. Tongue depressor sized sticks are also an option.

I used a hot glue gun, but squeeze glue is preferrable for gentle hands.

I was lazy and spray painted one side of the sticks in the yard with white paint from a previous project, but hand-painting is much more fun. 

I used leftover ribbon from my hair bow phase, but you could also use a skein of Red Heart

Steps:

First, you want to paint your sticks. If the design will be free-hanging, remember to paint both sides. Paint a few extras in case you mess one up in construction. Let them dry completely.

While the sticks are drying, you can think of your design. I had Austin assemble the remining sticks into different shapes at the table, but you could also draw different designs, test them out, and choose together. You can even break a stick in half to make super original designs (touch up the broken edges before assembly). 

Once you've chosen and tested your snowflake design, touched up any paint spots, and assured that they are completely dry, you can start assembling it. Lay the pieces out and glue them together. Our sticks laid on top of each other, so waiting for glue to dry is...keep blowing on it or use a glue gun.

Finally, you can add embellishments and accents to your snowflake. Every snowflake is supposed to be different, so it's impossible to mess up. If your snowflake is large, you might want to knot the ribbon/thread. If it's light, a double-wrapped piece of tape might do just fine.

I'm also eyeballing quite a few other holiday DIY's, like sock snowmen, felt trees, paper plate trees...There are so many lovely ideas for holiday crafting and gifting! Have you made these before? Are you planning to make them? If so, please share in a comment.

Thrifty Holiday Gift Exchange

Austin is an active member of the local library's Teen Library Council. It's very important to me that Austin learns integration with his peers as well as a selfless sense of humility for the smaller humans in this world. I always remind him that, "Somebody did it for you when you were that age." It has proven to be quite productive to his social skills. For example, I was VERY proud when he took it upon himself to be a knight at the princess party and impressed by his patient authority over the sweet little girls in their adorable frilly dresses. He also surprised me on game night. When one of the younger boys became upset about losing, Austin encouraged him and helped to avoid a meltdown by saying, "Now that you know my strategy, I'm not sure I want to play you again. You might beat me." Later, he told me that he gave the boy 'a run for his money,' but winning is 50/50 based on your AI players.

For this season, the TLC has done Operation Christmas Box. Oh my, it was such an exciting and hectic event. The boxes had to be reorganized at a designated person's home. At the end of our Teen Movie Night, we gathered for one of the members to do a blessing for the boxes (our mod wasn't affiliated on-shift for this). The blessing couldn't have been anymore appropriate and touching. These kids never stop amazing me!

The teen Christmas party is tomorrow. We agreed to a $5 cap on a Secret Santa gift exchange. I was kind of worried about how to choose $5 in gifts that were neutural in gender, desirable, and not all candy. I tried not to take authority because this is Austin's gift bag to fill. It was SO hard that Austin allowed me to choose one of the 5 dollar gifts. 

If you're trying to figure out what to get as neutural gifts for a kid of an unknown age, please review this list of 2015 Dollar Tree finds. It's a good idea to keep a few pre-wrapped gifts in your trunk for when your cousin bring his girlfriends kids or the neighbor's little one just doesn't take a hint...you never know. Every kid deserves to be included, right?!

Here are some of the things we eyeballed in the Dollar Tree:

- puzzle boxes

- 2 for $1 jingle antlers

- an ear flap hat of Santa or Frosty

- stockings both big and small (for money or candy)

- a very small wind-up toy train and tracks

- ornaments

- Snowglobes both small and large

- tons of choices in candy

- goofy stuffed animals

- candy canes of assorted flavors

- 2 ceramic ornaments with 3 paint colors and a small brush

- stickers

- coloring/activity books

- a print of 'A Christmas Carol' as well as other Christian reading and mini-bibles

(Oh how I love my Sheetz cup - for size, NOT included)

We chose 5 of the things from the list above. Feel free to guess as a comment, tell us which 5 items you'd choose, or just vent about the surprise guests/gift exchanges you've experienced. "Look, it's the gift of warmth" *passing a trunk hoodie wrapped in a Walmart bag and duct tape* You know, you can avoid this nightmare by packing an emergency gift. 

(You see two. Now guess the other 3)

Introductions

This is my very first post. Yay!

Let me start off by introducing myself and my family:

- I'm Karen. I graduated from Glen Burnie High in June of 2002. Austin (my son) was born in November of 2001, so I received my final 5 credits from a state-issued tutor. I attended Anne Arundel Community College thereafter, where I had a great interest in Psychology, Human Services, and English. I hope to return to college soon, so that I can earn the remainder of my credits towards an associates degree.

- Austin is my only child. He is 14 and absolutely loves technology. Right now, he wants to be a famous youtuber when he grows up. This is our first year of homeschool, so I'm trying lots of different ways to teach him. His favorite is, of course, youtube instructional videos. He also enjoys writing sentences for his vocabulary words. 

- Ray is my boyfriend and partner in crime. We met in Maine back in 2008, so I think of him more as a husband. This one followed me to my knitting group every week, wooing me with Big Cheese pizza and claw machine prizes. Despite what little time we spend with each other, he's my right hand man, my therapist, my backup, and my speed bump when I start to go off the radar. 

- I have one more family member: Poppy. He's a Chi-Terrier that we adopted in 2010 from Guilford animal shelter. Poppy is the most appreciative, self-sufficient creature in this entire house. He's smart and spoiled. Right now, I'm laying on the bed with Ray, Poppy, and abut 8 dog toys...every night.

Oh, let me tell you our daily  homeschool schedule. We started on August 3 2015. We have school Monday through Friday, with special themed activities on or near holidays. I wake at 6-6:30 when Ray hops in the shower, but I don't wake Austin until about 8. I let him watch the news while I set up the table. My master binder tells me where we left off the day before and where we will start for the day. 

1. I open his assignment binder to the math section and that's where we start. The number of problems depends on the extent of work each problem requires. Right now we're attacking lateral equations, so it's about 4 problems a day right now. We use AOP LifePac math. I also purchased Saxon Algebra 1/2 and a Spectrum Algebra workbook, but I find that the LifePac and youtube instruction are the easiest for us to follow.

2 A. For Vocabulary, we use "1,100 words you need to know for the SATs" each day, there are 5 vocabulary words. The words are introduced in a paragraph. The student has to use pick which word works for each of 5 sentences that are unrelated to the paragraph above it. Then they have to match the definition to the word. I also make Austin write his own sentences, which he loves because I let him use computer screen names and game terms (as long as they're capitolized and he uses proper punctuation). I learn new vocabulary myself.

2 B. We recently added a language arts section, which Austin is not thrilled about. A friend of mine found LifePac grade 9 curricula at a thrift shop for $8.99 a piece and I just couldn't resist. Ask and you shall receive books to teach the boy. Before this, I used parts of speech worksheets, grammar practice worksheets, novel assignments, journaling...With this Language arts set and the vocabulary, English feels a bit more complete.

3. Right now, we're studying Taxonomy as 10th grade Science with LifePac. We just finished 9th grade Science with LifePac. I'm learning to lengthen and branch out from our lessons with videos and activities. In a few days, we will be watching an hour long documentary of the Tree of Life and discussing the different theories of how life originated besides creation versus evolution. I don't see how evolution could start without Divine or special creation, but that's subjective.

4. For history, we use another LifePac. We're ending the grade 9 and will start grade 10 soon. I use lots of videos and activities for history as well. We study bits and pieces of scholarly articles, do projects for timelines and read 'baby books' that I can find for free at the library. Many of these books are narrated on YouTube for free, if they're not accessable. We apply our geography in odd ways. For example, we just watched a video on how the sun hits the earth. I stood in the center of the room and made Austin be the earth. He had to spin on an axis and rotate around me for what we respectively noted as being 365 days. I had him identify parts of his body that would be North America,  the equator, and such. We also used our recent print of the daylight hours in NC and compared it to the sunrise/sunset of Maine to see how the equator affects day time differently than daylight savings reflects latitudinally. 

5. Specials - I don't give Austin extended holidays because I find them unnecessary when an average instructional day is 3-6 hours, depending on the quality of his attention and length of interjections. Instead, I give him holiday packs. I find holiday-themed worksheets, activities, games, and videos for him to do. On Veteran's Day, I tried giving him a pack to do independently. He neglected it almost entirely. For thanksgiving, I gave him a folder of work that we did together. 

Here's a link to a video of me giving a visual description of our Thanksgiving workbook:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88mKRG0Y71g

I do allow Austin to have lesson days off on holidays and trips, but we chose to work a seasonal lesson on Thanksgiving day and took the next day (Friday) off.

I will be sharing our activities, worksheets, games, and crafts in as much detail as possible with you on this blog. You can use the 'Keyword Search' box for a specific holiday, subject, theme...etc. Remember, just because it's designed for a 14 year old boy, you can alter it for a student of any age. I always tell Austin, "We'll get through this together" when he struggles with concepts and methods. We certainly will get through it together. Hopefully, this blog will help make the journey a little less bumpy.