Treasure Hunt Reading!

To change our reading up a little bit, I decided to create a treasure hunt for my 4 year old. It took maybe 3 minutes to do :) I wrote out simple instructions like "Go to Mom's bed" "Go to the fish" etc. At the end, she had to find a cup in the kitchen with her surprise in it. She had a few M&M's in hers, but you could put some yummy fruit or marshmallows or even a smoothie in it. She was so excited to find every clue, she was shaking with excitement as she picked up each paper and then squealed with delight after reading each one. You can make them more complicated depending on their reading level and even make fun riddles. Just a fun way to show kids all the ways reading comes in handy :)

I'm sure everyone has done a treasure hunt, but here is how we did it. For the set-up, write out 5-10 clues. Start with an original clue ("Go to Mom's bed"), then put the next clue at mom's bed (maybe the clue on mom's bed says "Go to the car") so then the next clue would be on the car and so on. The very last clue leads to the treasure :)

Peep and the Big Wide World Giveaway

There is a wonderful giveaway and introduction to a wonderful resource for teaching children Spanish. There are darling little videos that teach science concepts. Then there are videos giving ideas for experimenting with each concept. What a wonderful idea. Go see this wonderful giveaway at SpanglishBaby.

Yoga in Spanish Giveaway

I just heard about a great giveaway. There are two yoga workouts, one for adults and another for children. They are in Spanish by a wonderful Colombian lady, Ana Lilian. I love Colombians and the way they speak Spanish. You will understand what I mean when you listen to her speak. Since I am not a native speaker, I always say that just my heart is Latina and more specifically Colombiana. Great opportunity! Go here to enter.

5 Books Every Homeschool Should Have

I am Ginny's oldest daughter Amy, who recently reluctantly began blogging after overcoming my fears that it would take over my life. My personal blog about homeschooling and rearing children, inspired by the Suzuki Method of learning instruments, is http://www.mothertonguehomeschooling.blogspot.com.

A couple of months ago I read a list online of "5 Books Every Cook Should Have," which got me thinking about what types of books each homeschool should have.

5 Books Every Homeschool Should Have

1. A history book that reads like a collection of stories. This year we are reading Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster for a class taught by my mom. By telling stories from around the world during Lincoln's lifetime, Foster brings history to life and helps the reader feel the spirit of the times. To know history is to better understand humanity if the book depicts it well.
2. The complete works of William Shakespeare. Through her character Crawford in Mansfield Park, Jane Austen expressed the importance of Shakespeare so eloquently that I will not attempt to improve upon it. Crawford said: "But Shakespeare one gets acquainted with without knowing how. It is part of an Englishman's constitution. His thoughts and beauties are so spread abroad that one touches them everywhere; one is intimate with him by instinct." We owe so many words, metaphors and similes to Shakespeare; to know Shakespeare is to know English.
3. A science book that reads like a collection of stories. In my opinion, all good writers are primarily storytellers. Science can be a pageturner, too. Last year we worked in The Joy of Chemistry by Cathy Cobb, with me doing the reading and then sharing it with my children. Now I know that chemistry affects me every day, running my car, cooking my food, even making post-it notes sticky. To know science should be to gain a greater understanding of how the world works.
4. A math textbook that uses literature, comics, stories and puzzles to show the relevance of math to everything. When my mom told me to use Algebra by Harold Jacobs, I complied. In no time, though, as my daughter and I anticipated the next lesson each day, I found myself wishing that he had written more than Algebra, Geometry, and Mathematics: a Human Endeavor. If math at all levels were taught in the Jacobs way, everyone would know that to know math is to be able to quantify, measure, and analyze the world. Numbers surround us every day, and we need to know how to manage them.
5. A classic novel your child returns to repeatedly throughout their childhood. I hope every homeschooling parent can assist each of their children in finding a book they have a strong personal affinity for. Mine as an adolescent was Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt. My oldest daughter Karina's is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and my second daughter Katie's is Watership Down by Richard Adams. I am currently hunting for the right book for my oldest son, Tommy (10). To read should be to communicate with a book on a personal level, to fall in love with a story and feel its resonance in your life. Education would be empty without this.

Christmas Activities

I love Christmas! 5 activities we love to do together as a family each year are:

*Sing Christmas carols around the piano. It is such a special, family bonding time. This year we are starting something special. We are having an "extravanza" where everyone in the family is preparing something musical to perform (singing, guitar, piano, anything). I will let you know if it becomes our next tradition.

*Have a big Mexican dinner for Christmas Eve, Noche Buena. We have enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, chips and salsa, flan, tamales, and cheese dip. So yummy! Add a pinata, a great story like The Legend of the Poinsettia and it is a beautiful way to start the evening!

*Go Christmas caroling. It is always fun to bring Christmas cheer to neighbors and friends. The littlest kids have to bring along Christmas bells so they can contribute even if they don't know the words.

*Do an advent calendar. It is fun to add to the excitement counting down the days. We did this advent last year and will pull it out his year.

*My husband brings out simple wood scraps and we put together a little manger scene. The kids can fill it up with hay. It helps remind us of the real reasons of Christmas

This is part of the Dora Christmas Carol's concert. Look at more entries answering the question, "What are Your 5 Favorite Holiday Activities to do with Your Kids?" here.

Why I Homeschool!

This year I have started homeschooling my oldest. She is in Kindergarten. I know we are just starting out, but to me, it is a big deal. I am starting out what I want to do with homeschooling.

I have had to do some real thinking about homeschooling. Yes, I was homeschooled and I liked it. Yes, it seems very natural to me. But yes, homeschooling will be a lot of work! I needed to make sure that I felt like this was the right move for me, my husband and my family. I better really believe in it because it will definitely take enough work and there will be hard times.

As I studied and taught in elementary education, it was so interesting for me to see what public school was like- the good and the bad.

So why am I homeschooling my kids? Is it just because I was homeschooled?

First off, let me answer a few questions...

Do I think public school is bad? No

Do I think children will be ruined if they go to public school? No

Do I think moms that don't homeschool are not good moms? No

Do I secretly think every mom should want to homeschool? No

Should everyone homeschooling? NO!

Are there advantages to public school? Yes

Are there advantages to homeschool? Yes

Here are the reasons why we are homeschooling right now:

-I want to be a part of my children's education. I want to learn along with them and help them develop a love for learning. I want them to view "school" as fun, exciting and an adventure! I want to involve my husband as much as I can.

-We want to build strong family relationships. I feel like I will have more one-on-one time with my children. They play with each other so much and I think that is a good thing :D

-We feel that our children can progress academically if they are taught at their level and at their learning style. I can give my kids so much more instruction at their level than all the hours in school in a day. I can see when I need to slow down and when I need to speed up. One of my daughters only speaks Spanish when we sing, so we sing a lot :) My oldest needs to feel very confident in reading one vowel or set of words before we move to the next level.

-I want my children to have plenty of time to play with friends. I don't want them to be too busy with homework in the afternoon that they can't have unstructured play with friends of all ages! I also love having flexibility to do fun field trips and outings.

-I am used to the idea of homeschooling from the wonderful example of my mother and I love teaching!!!

As they get older, like middle school age, we will probably be homeschooling for other reasons like not wanting them to be exposed to some stuff out there. I don't want them to be super sheltered, but I think it will be okay for them not to see and hear some stuff :)

Am I worried about them being socially awkward? No. I feel like I have no problems making new friends or talking with people. It wasn't hard for me to go to high school or college. I believe that there are lots of weird homeschoolers because their parents don't relate socially very well or they never let their kids play with other kids :) Let's be honest, there needs to be more normal homeschoolers out there!

Are there problems with homeschooling? Yes, but I hope to make up for those problems. I want to give my kids opportunities to work and learn in groups. My husband wants them to learn how to deal with people with a variety of backgrounds. There are other things to consider, but I feel like right now homeschooling is working for our family. I want to evaluate each child as to what would be best for them as we continue homeschooling in the following years.

We're starting a fun adventure right now! Why do you homeschool? Or what do you think is great about homeschooling?

Books are along the wall you can't see :)

What Happens to Old Homeshool Moms?

They resurrect as a homeschool grandmom.

My life has changed drastically in the last two months. Our son Jason´s oldest daughter, M, was diagnosed with Leukemia. She was a thirteen year old, healthy girl trying out for the volleyball team for her first year in public school this year. What a blow, no volleyball, no first dance, no school, much less facing no hair. Those losses seem trite now to the loss of feeling good enough to sit up all day or see friends or just be home instead of the hospital.

My husband and I decided to help out by moving me to Houston. I am now in an apartment near our son´s house. Kim drives to Houston every weekend to see me. I am homeschooling M and her sister, L, every day. So from 8:00 to 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00 they are here and we are learning tons of things. We do classes over the phone with their cousins in Seattle. A teaches Essay Writing, Shakespeare and Grammar-Vocabulary. I teach Spanish and History.

I help out when needed by the family, still play some tennis, and play the rented piano. I have a new ward to get involved with.

I will start blogging about some of the resources we are using and activities we do.