What About Socialization?

Many of my book friends are feeling a little cramped in their current locations, and are raring to move on to new places and new adventures. I told them I’d help find them some new friends.

If you’d like to invite any to come stay with you, let me know and we’ll see what sort of travel arrangements can be made. My only requests are that you contribute to their travel journals at http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and that you help them make the same sort of arrangements when they’re ready for another adventure!

Check out the list of books ready to be released into the wild.

EDIT: The following are now spoken for:

Oak Meadow materials
What Your 6th Grader Needs to Know
Natural Speller
Shakespeare for Kids
Shakespeare & Macbeth
Home Economics for Home Schoolers
Cuisinaire rods
Science in the Kitchen
Simply PE
Minimus
Latin for Children
Story of the World
*possibly the Sonlight cores as well

American Science & Surplus is probably one of the coolest stores on earth. They specialize in selling the kinds of stuff that you would never go looking for, but that you have to have when you see it.

Living in the Chicago area, I’m lucky to be only a 15 minute drive from their store. But I was double-lucky on my last trip there, when I learned of their annual warehouse sale.

Clearly, a field trip to their suburban storehouse was required. And as soon as we pulled in to the parking lot, I could see that we were in good company.

Entering AmSci headquarters, we first walked past a series of cubicles decorated with stuff that I recognized from their catalogs and store: inflatable moose heads, misappropriated lab equipment, and plastic jeejaws of all descriptions.

From there, we passed into the warehouse proper, and I was immediately reminded of the closing scene from Indiana Jones. But instead of crates of ancient artifacts, the shelves were lined with everything from electronic components to discontinued toys to scientific and medical apparati of curious appearance.

We grabbed a cart and started threading our way through the narrow aisles. I could feel the press of people lining up behind us, and since the aisles were not wide enough to let one cart pass another, I felt a bit rushed.

So after the first few times that Lydia asked if she could get one thing or another, I finally told her (and myself), “We’re not going to be saying ‘no’ to much of anything today. If you think you might want it, throw it in the cart!”

We ended up spending just over $100 dollars, and ended up with an enviable trove of goodies, including:

• 4 Gooseneck LED reading lights, in pieces
• A Halloween votive candle holder
• 4 sheets of magnetic sparkly paper
• 12 sheets of sparkly paper
• A new hot glue gun
• A combination laser pointer / gooseneck LED light
• A bunch of anti-static bags
• 23″ inflatable ghost with LED eyes
• 30″ inflatable spider with LED eyes
• 32″ inflatable bat with LED eyes
• Plastic vampire teeth
• 6×8 tarp
• Pair of boot liners
• 2x 115 volt stepper motors
• 24V and 12V cooling fans
• 4 packs of dripping blood window clings
• 4 small DC motors
• 5 velcro tie straps
• Pink, blue, and green gel-filled, prism-shaped ruler
• SOMETHING SECRET from the US Navy that’s going to my Dad at Christmas-time
• Prang air-hardening modeling clay
• Transparent plastic anatomical frog model
• Harry Potter physics experiment kit
• 2 pieces of polished petrified wood
• 2 massive, plastic-coated, donut-shaped magnets
• A miniature disco ball
• Set of 5 Dremel bits
• An eyeball straw
• A glow-in-the-dark 3d fossil puzzle
• 2 sheets of magnetic frogs
• A box of 64 quarter-sized ring magnets
• 8 bottles of white glue
• A pack of “Easy Squeezy” clay
• A pack of “base ten” cards

Funfunfun. Now, my secret laboratory feels much better-equipped…

So I’ve been gathering together a couple of resources for the co-op’s PE program in the fall. One of the other board members, who taught public school in her pre-homeschooling-mama life, passed along her early 1980s college textbook on the subject, in hopes that I might be able to sift a few ideas out of the dated educationese.

And now I see what I’ve missed out on. If only I had THIS chart when I began our homeschooling journey, things would’ve been different. I would’ve known exactly how to best effect a positive self-concept in my child. Instead I’ve had to muck around without completely inscrutable flowcharts. Poor kid, I hope she’s not scarred too badly.

So you all will be spared my fate, I have chosen to share my discovery with you here. My eternal gratitude to the committee of experts who produced this groundbreaking chart.

I’m so excited!

I’ve been working with a small group of women on a new co-op to start in Fall 2008. And it’s all starting to come together! We have a get-to-know-us event coming up that ought to be fun– making Artist Trading Cards.

Website is still getting cobbled together, but there’s some really-poorly-formatted information up at the location in the meantime.

Here it is: The Community Co-op . Be kind, I do know it is hideous. I don’t do html and wanted to get something up there. The ever-talented husband will be launching a multi-featured lovely site there as soon as he’s done being a perfectionist about it.

(I am of the “schlock-things-together-and-call-it-a-day” school of crafting, writing, decorating, and every other -ing. He is of the “I’m-going-to-measure-to-make-sure-this-is-absolutely-perfect” school. We make a good team. How he puts up with me, I’ll never know.)

But I digress. It’s really fun for me to see all of these nebulous plans and hopes start coalescing into something real.

(My Great (x3) Grandfather McKinney in the Civil War)

For the last week or so, I’ve been ditching the schooltime classical music in favor of a bunch of Smithsonian Folkways recordings. Woody Guthrie & Mahalia Jackson are every bit as important as Puccini. More relevant, too, since we’re studying American history at the moment. Ms. Lydia will be wandering around singing “In the Pines” for weeks now.

Also, while we’re on the subject of American history, we’ve been watching Gone With the Wind for the last few days. I’m ashamed to say I’d never seen it before, and wow, wow, wow! It’s amazing. Yes, I do realize that everyone else in the world already knew that.

So many Civil War books this past month. I really hope that there is at least one read-aloud book before summer that won’t make me bawl. Probably not. I do so love all of the literature I’ve been exposed to in Sonlight this year, even if most of it makes me cry. I’m rather sappy that way.

(our snowy backyard)

I’m really ready for spring. How about you?

I was poking around online looking for some more information about the standardized tests that one of the local homeschool groups is administering this year, when I ran across these gems:

“Although [these test] scores are very helpful for professionals, nonprofessionals can confuse them with IQ scores, so they are generally not reported to parents and lay organizations. Percentile ranks and stanines are better suited for general audiences.”

“Only someone who is thoroughly familiar with the student, the curriculum, and the instructional resources that are available can choose wisely among the various educational options.

While education professionals are best qualified to interpret and use this test information, parents also play a critical role in their children’s education. If you would like to help as a parent, please contact your child’s teacher to discuss some ways to cultivate your son or daughter’s reasoning abilities at home.”

Translation: Please, folks, leave it up to the professionals! We know that you’re all clearly too stupid to process these test scores, let alone manage your child’s education.

So after I finished alternately laughing and swearing at my husband about the arrogance and condescension of these test authors, I thought I’d come share the love with all of you.

But, for the love of all things holy, DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!

So today involved emotional breakdowns, the Powerpuff Girls, and Nintendo DS. And not much else. Why are you laughing again?

Yesterday was one of those Hallmark-perfect days that you dream about when you think of the joys of homeschooling. Let’s take a few quick peeks. (Cue the softfocus lens)

10 AM: Here in the living room, you see the child lying on the couch, listening with rapt attention while Mom reads to her about the Constitution.

12 PM: The whole family now gathers at the table for their afternoon meal, a healthy and delicious melange of noodles and veggies. The child begs to continue reading The Voyage of Lewis and Clark while eating.

1 PM: Now Mom is cheerfully cleaning the house, popping in every once in a while to answer a question or two about the math that the child is diligently working at on the dining room table.

4 PM “Awh, mom, can’t we do some MORE schoolwork? Please?”

6 PM: Child grabs two volumes of the encyclopedia to bring with her to dinner at the restaurant.

9 PM: Mom tucks the smiling and cooperative child into bed to rest up for another day.

So, I figure since I now have this whole homeschooling and housework thing down, it’s pretty much easy sailing from here until she’s 18.

What. Why are you laughing at me?

It’s been extremely unseasonably warm here in Chicagoland for the last few days.  So we decided to spend the day at the lovely Morton Arboretum with our friends.  It is a different kind of beautiful out there this time of year– gold and russet grasses, bright purple rosebush canes, and multicolored mushrooms.  Lydia was very sad that she had forgotten her camera at home.

We had planned on “starting schoolwork again” that day, which must’ve gotten my head stuck in “I must make this a learning experience” mode.  While Lydia and our 4 year old friend were running around trying to see who could find the biggest rock to throw into the pond, I was on the trail, shouting, “Hey guys! Come see this cool mushroom!” and “Wow, I think this is an owl pellet, come look!”

Lydia reluctantly approached.  ”I’m looking at this owl pellet to see if we can find the bones from his last meal.  Look, honey, I think that’s a mousejaw.”  This yielded more squeals and an announcement from Lydia that she was going to stay as far away from me as possible, thanks.

The four-year-old was focused on scientific experiments: determining how far he could run from us before his mom freaked out and testing to see which pebble made the biggest splash.  But the squeal of “Eeeeeww, mom, why are you poking at that poo with a stick!?!?” sent him running in our direction.

“POO I want a stick so I can poke at poo too! HA HA HA, Lisa, look there’s more poo! I’m going to find some more poo to poke” and off he ran.

His mother can cherish memories of our lovely trip to see some nature; the constant reminders of our beautiful day will be at hand for quite some time.

“HEY MOM let’s go out today and find some more poo! I said poo, did you hear me say that when I said poo?!?  Wait I think there’s some can I pick it up, huh can I mom pllleeeeease??”

I hope she speaks to me again.