This week was a little off so one night we sat down to finish up school for the day after supper. The topic turned to death and age, and I have really been wanting to have a talk about how they are a chosen generation and what that meant. Isaac had mentioned a few times that he was scared to die and this was another moment we took to discuss why we shouldn't be scared of death. Isaac made the familiar "It's so hard to..." excuse.
Oh, how we all complain at some point or another about how hard something is. Life, tests, school, car problems, whatever. Name it and we've probably complained at some point about how hard life is.
We talked about Joseph Smith and his trials. We talked about the pioneers. We talked about the apostles and life after Jesus died. We talked about my struggles, our families hardships, the colonists (Jamestown and Mayflower) hardships and the list went on. Eventually we weren't even talking about what we were "supposed" to be talking about or on track with our school work. I don't know if it helped quell Isaac's fears, but I had their attention for about an hour. By the time they had to go bed no one really wanted to as we had enjoyed that time together, the talk, and the questions that were brought up.
As was stated on here before, I also bought the Noble Birthright Curious Beings Epic Adventure. I have learned so much in the three short weeks we've been studying it. The points that are presented, especially scriptural, have opened up some huge discussions on the topics. I don't think Curtis and I have had as many discussions about something in a really long, long time. It is drawing us closer. It is opening up many more facets for us to follow. It has been wonderful.
Showing posts with label Dawn S.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dawn S.. Show all posts
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Fish Traps
I was so interested in the Curious Beings Epic Adventure, I bought the Noble Birthright curriculum. So far I'm loving it! I'm learning more than the kids probably are, but it is fitting in nicely with our school and I think the kids are getting something out of it, at least occasionally.
Like the Indian Fish Trap project we decided to do this week.
I looked up how to make these simple traps. I wasn't going to get real technical about it since we are not "outdoorsmen". A bottle, some string, a box cutter and duct tape is all we needed. Cut the top of the bottle off, invert it back into the bottle, punch some holes around the rim, tie it together, add your string, and tape it for good measure. We were ready. Off we march to the pond/swamp/lake.
Jesse with the trap. (Anyone notice how short the string is?)
The choice location
Baiting the trap with bread
The Launch
Simeon getting grossed out by the algae as we pull the trap in
SNAPP!!! The string broke and the trap is floating freely in the pond.
Now to try and get it out, with branches at least 10 feet too short.
Branches didn't work and we had nothing else to try to get it out with, so we decide to pack up and return later with intentions of fishing out the trap (no pun intended, hahahhahhhaaa).
We return with Curtis and three more traps. All of which snap, get loose or get thrown out too far and we loose all of them. Curtis, not wanting to get in trouble for polluting local lakes/ponds or endangering wildlife, wades into the pond to retrieve all the traps. I don't think he was enjoying himself to the fullest.
Notice the big knot in the line. He was also grossed out by the algae. I don't suppose it's because he had to step into it and now his shoes are full of it?
But, here's the ray of hope!!! We caught a fish!! He was in the first trap we put out. We released him right after his picture was taken.
All in all the only casualty was a pair of Curtis' shoes. A friend of his from work happened to stop by too and helped us get the other traps we lost in by use of his fishing pole. I think if we do this ever again, it would work better in a stream or river. The fish were biting around 1:00 pm because after we lost the first trap we saw fish jumping around it and saw some of them in the bottle. I do know these traps work, so if its ever a need that we have to catch our own fish, this will work if no other means are available (like the grocery store, or even your own fishing pole).
Like the Indian Fish Trap project we decided to do this week.
I looked up how to make these simple traps. I wasn't going to get real technical about it since we are not "outdoorsmen". A bottle, some string, a box cutter and duct tape is all we needed. Cut the top of the bottle off, invert it back into the bottle, punch some holes around the rim, tie it together, add your string, and tape it for good measure. We were ready. Off we march to the pond/swamp/lake.
Jesse with the trap. (Anyone notice how short the string is?)
The choice location
Baiting the trap with bread
The Launch
Simeon getting grossed out by the algae as we pull the trap in
SNAPP!!! The string broke and the trap is floating freely in the pond.
Now to try and get it out, with branches at least 10 feet too short.
Branches didn't work and we had nothing else to try to get it out with, so we decide to pack up and return later with intentions of fishing out the trap (no pun intended, hahahhahhhaaa).
We return with Curtis and three more traps. All of which snap, get loose or get thrown out too far and we loose all of them. Curtis, not wanting to get in trouble for polluting local lakes/ponds or endangering wildlife, wades into the pond to retrieve all the traps. I don't think he was enjoying himself to the fullest.
Notice the big knot in the line. He was also grossed out by the algae. I don't suppose it's because he had to step into it and now his shoes are full of it?
But, here's the ray of hope!!! We caught a fish!! He was in the first trap we put out. We released him right after his picture was taken.
All in all the only casualty was a pair of Curtis' shoes. A friend of his from work happened to stop by too and helped us get the other traps we lost in by use of his fishing pole. I think if we do this ever again, it would work better in a stream or river. The fish were biting around 1:00 pm because after we lost the first trap we saw fish jumping around it and saw some of them in the bottle. I do know these traps work, so if its ever a need that we have to catch our own fish, this will work if no other means are available (like the grocery store, or even your own fishing pole).
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Salisbury Reading and Other Comments
Out here in Nebraska, we don't have a colloquium. I would love to have one, but as such so far, I'm one of a handful of spread out families that homeschool here. I'll just have to include myself in your colloquiums from a distance. *wink, wink* Curtis and I have read some books and discussed them. When I can pry him away from the computer we usually have some really good discussions.
I wanted to list some of the books that I have found to be really good and interesting.
The Secret Life of Bees (This is one of my favorites and just read it this spring).
Anne of Green Gables and other books by L.M. Montgomery
Bleed, Blister, And Purge: A History Of Medicine On The American Frontier
No Time on My Hands (Pinnacle Joe's wife's memoirs; she revitalized quilting)
A Midwife Story (Midwife that delivered for the Amish)
This week we are reading:
Dawn: Robinson Crusoe
Erma Bombeck: When you look like your passport photo, it's time to go home.
Native Americans in Nebraska
Isaac and Jesse (LOL): Flower Fables
The Tempest (Shakesphere)
Hannah: (Core) Still working on Fancy Nancy
Simeon: (Core)Thomas Train books (He spelled TRAIN this week from memory)!
I wanted to list some of the books that I have found to be really good and interesting.
The Secret Life of Bees (This is one of my favorites and just read it this spring).
Anne of Green Gables and other books by L.M. Montgomery
Bleed, Blister, And Purge: A History Of Medicine On The American Frontier
No Time on My Hands (Pinnacle Joe's wife's memoirs; she revitalized quilting)
A Midwife Story (Midwife that delivered for the Amish)
This week we are reading:
Dawn: Robinson Crusoe
Erma Bombeck: When you look like your passport photo, it's time to go home.
Native Americans in Nebraska
Isaac and Jesse (LOL): Flower Fables
The Tempest (Shakesphere)
Hannah: (Core) Still working on Fancy Nancy
Simeon: (Core)Thomas Train books (He spelled TRAIN this week from memory)!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Environment #1: Lecture
Well, here goes. I go off on tangents and then when I take a breath, notice my childrens' glazed over eyes, or that they aren't even in the room anymore, I rethink my plan of lecturing.
Before I had kids, I taught at a public school and had the fortune of attending a conference in which I got to choose a class on story telling. How to do it "interestingly". The first rule is to NOT HAVE THE BOOK IN FRONT OF YOU. What? You mean I can't READ the book to the children? I have to TELL them the story? Have any of you read those books about the African spider, Anansi? They are kinda like the Aesop Fables, only with African touches to them. In one of the books, the story is about a rock. The instructor told us to go find a rock and then proceeded to show us how to just lay the rock on the floor and tell the kids the story, all centered on that rock. I tried it the next week with the class. I'm so painfully shy sometimes, but I sucked it up and tried it out. It was awesome! The kids were attentive and quiet. I was out of my seat and talking with my hands, but that rock was the main focus of the story and it was really a wonderful lesson to me and how to teach children. Who doesn't love an object lesson?
I know this isn't supposed to be about story telling, but rather about lecturing. I have one kid with ADHD who is super smart but just can't sit still long enough to get the whole lesson in. I have another one that would rather read all day. I have two others that if it doesn't involve trains or something that fits into a specific agenda (say, tea party, wearing the color pink, or asking why she wasn't the first born child), I'm not getting anywhere. I've discovered that if I can come up with object lessons or something that involves movement, I get some great results.
This year I started out with a curriculum based on the classics. I got copies of the McGuffey readers, spelling lists, and grammar lessons from the 1800's. They are so cool, but I gotta tell you, boy some of that stuff is dry and puts me to sleep while I'm trying to teach it to the kids. Snooze fest! (Sorry, should I not say that too loudly?) We all better start wearing football helmets our heads bob around so much. I decided to do more oral stuff with the kids and shorten the lessons. This is helping; they see us making progress and feel like they got somewhere and at the end of the week we do a bit of review and move on if they got the concepts. I know they need more writing experience, so I'm not abandoning the lessons completely, but I found I get more back when we all get to participate instead of just me droning on.
I think I'm going to try that storytelling out a bit more than I have.
Salisbury Family Reading
Mom: I picked up Robinson Crusoe today. The original wasn't in, so I got the illustrated version. I also really wanted to check out a book on the Lost Colony of Roanoke, after researching some stuff online. Never found anything at the library about it. Bummer.
Isaac (Love of Learning): I think reading is still a bit hard for him. His eyes don't work together so it makes tracking difficult, but I find him reading more and more the less I prod. He's into the Weird School books. I hear they are really funny. Ugh..and Captain Underpants. Dribble. (but who doesn't enjoy some of that now and then?)
Jesse (Love of Learning): He's reading BeastQuest. He is Curtis' #1 fan for computer games, so he loves this fantasy sci-fi stuff. But, he's also read Moby Dick, Black Beauty and a few other classics.
Hannah (Core): Fancy Nancy. She's doing pretty good on reading the site words. Curious George and Dora books are not far behind.
Simeon (Core): anything with trains: Thomas the Tank Engine specifically. He clears out the whole shelf. He's not really interested in any other books...wait, take that back. Recipe books. I have to fight with him for them. He sleeps with them, eats with them, they go to the bathroom, church, stores, appointments and for rides with him.
As a family:
Aesop Fables
Flower Fables (Louisa May Alcott)
Before I had kids, I taught at a public school and had the fortune of attending a conference in which I got to choose a class on story telling. How to do it "interestingly". The first rule is to NOT HAVE THE BOOK IN FRONT OF YOU. What? You mean I can't READ the book to the children? I have to TELL them the story? Have any of you read those books about the African spider, Anansi? They are kinda like the Aesop Fables, only with African touches to them. In one of the books, the story is about a rock. The instructor told us to go find a rock and then proceeded to show us how to just lay the rock on the floor and tell the kids the story, all centered on that rock. I tried it the next week with the class. I'm so painfully shy sometimes, but I sucked it up and tried it out. It was awesome! The kids were attentive and quiet. I was out of my seat and talking with my hands, but that rock was the main focus of the story and it was really a wonderful lesson to me and how to teach children. Who doesn't love an object lesson?
I know this isn't supposed to be about story telling, but rather about lecturing. I have one kid with ADHD who is super smart but just can't sit still long enough to get the whole lesson in. I have another one that would rather read all day. I have two others that if it doesn't involve trains or something that fits into a specific agenda (say, tea party, wearing the color pink, or asking why she wasn't the first born child), I'm not getting anywhere. I've discovered that if I can come up with object lessons or something that involves movement, I get some great results.
This year I started out with a curriculum based on the classics. I got copies of the McGuffey readers, spelling lists, and grammar lessons from the 1800's. They are so cool, but I gotta tell you, boy some of that stuff is dry and puts me to sleep while I'm trying to teach it to the kids. Snooze fest! (Sorry, should I not say that too loudly?) We all better start wearing football helmets our heads bob around so much. I decided to do more oral stuff with the kids and shorten the lessons. This is helping; they see us making progress and feel like they got somewhere and at the end of the week we do a bit of review and move on if they got the concepts. I know they need more writing experience, so I'm not abandoning the lessons completely, but I found I get more back when we all get to participate instead of just me droning on.
I think I'm going to try that storytelling out a bit more than I have.
Salisbury Family Reading
Mom: I picked up Robinson Crusoe today. The original wasn't in, so I got the illustrated version. I also really wanted to check out a book on the Lost Colony of Roanoke, after researching some stuff online. Never found anything at the library about it. Bummer.
Isaac (Love of Learning): I think reading is still a bit hard for him. His eyes don't work together so it makes tracking difficult, but I find him reading more and more the less I prod. He's into the Weird School books. I hear they are really funny. Ugh..and Captain Underpants. Dribble. (but who doesn't enjoy some of that now and then?)
Jesse (Love of Learning): He's reading BeastQuest. He is Curtis' #1 fan for computer games, so he loves this fantasy sci-fi stuff. But, he's also read Moby Dick, Black Beauty and a few other classics.
Hannah (Core): Fancy Nancy. She's doing pretty good on reading the site words. Curious George and Dora books are not far behind.
Simeon (Core): anything with trains: Thomas the Tank Engine specifically. He clears out the whole shelf. He's not really interested in any other books...wait, take that back. Recipe books. I have to fight with him for them. He sleeps with them, eats with them, they go to the bathroom, church, stores, appointments and for rides with him.
As a family:
Aesop Fables
Flower Fables (Louisa May Alcott)
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