Sorry!

Sorry about that! I posted a personal post on the wrong blog. It's deleted now and moved over to the correct place. To my subscribers...I hope you enjoyed the off topic post.

Writing Strands

Up until now I've used Spectrum workbooks to teach language arts topics. I've been very please with the results so far. However, I noticed that towards the end of her recently finished writing workbook (grade 2) , that my daughter was able to technically complete the assignments correctly without applying herself or bettering her writing. I decided it was time for a change.

After some research and thought, I ended up chosing Writing Strands Level 3. We just started it last week and I'm please already. I can see that it is going to develop her writing significantly.

The book is set up in fourteen exercises, each covered over several days. It is written to the student in corny conversational style. It guess that makes it more enjoyable for them. My daughter certainly thinks the authors were weird (that's a good thing). As the student reads through the lesson, they are instructed on what to do and how to do it. Examples are given to show them what to do. Every so often, the student is instructed to show their parent their completed work. I've been sitting with her and helping her out more than the book requires.

I'd like to give you an example of an early exercise. My daughter was given the sentence, "The boy found the dog." and instructed to improve the sentence by adding bits of information to it step by step. She was given questions to help her come up with ideas of what to add. After all the steps were completed she ended up with this sentence:

The nine year old boy used his rope to tie up the white boxer he found in the park.

As you can see, that sentence definitely has more information and is more complicated than the beginning sentence. I thinks it is a pretty good sentence for an 8 year old. It's not the way I would write out that information; I'd write a whole paragraph detailing the setting and other details but they only wanted a sentence at this point. Paragraphs come later.

Now I have found a flaw in the book. In exercise 1, the student was instructed to write a two-word sentence and then to add just one word to it, making a three word sentence. Then the student was to add one more word to make a four word sentence. Then again and again. The problem we ran into was that her starting sentence could not be added to just one word at a time and still make sense. I ended up changing the directions to have her add one piece of information (like she was required to do in exercise 2) rather than just one word. That worked out fine. However, the goal was for the student to make a more complicated sentence while following directions exactly. Those two goals could not be completed simultaneously with her chosen starting sentence.

So what is my initial impression? I think this curriculum is going to improve my daughter's writing. However, I think she's going to need to me sit by her side and help her out until she is used to following the book's directions and has a little more experience. Older children with more writing experience will probably do fine with the self-directed nature of the assignments unless there are more like exercise 1. I also think that exercise 1 needs to be rewritten and will be writing the publishers shortly.

Snow Benefits

Yesterday we receive our first and probably last significant snow fall of the season. I use significant somewhat humorously because for us that means we got more than a dusting that melted within the hour. It means we had enough to cover our lawns or about two to three inches. It means we got to enjoy the peaceful whiteness surrounding us for a day. It means we took the morning off and spent the morning outdoors playing in the fluffy, cold, white crystals we call snow. It means I had yet another opportunity to be thankful that we homeschool...


I awoke, cold and still sleepy, around 7:00am. I longed to remain in bed where it was warm and cozy. Next to me, my youngest slept peacefully. I could probably get another thirty minutes of rest before he awoke. Remembering that we were expecting snow overnight, I sighed and slipped out of my warm covers to see if the promises became a reality. Not expecting to really see snow, I peered out my second story window. Shockingly there was a blanket of snow on the ground. It was only two or three inches deep but that was enough for us. Rather than waiting for them to waken on their own, I entered my children's room to wake them.

Of course, they wanted to go out and play immediately. I was game. We all got dressed up and head out the door without even stopping for breakfast. The kids begged to go see their friends, G & A. Because I knew public school was delayed two hours, I agreed and we headed over there. The kids had a ball and enjoyed seeing and playing with their friends. They don't get to see them often. Then some homeschooling friends, the K family, woke up and joined the fun. All the kids were having a blast out in the snow. After a while, G & A had to leave for school so we all went across the street to the K family's home. The kids played until 2pm, alternating between playing outside in the snow and coming inside to play and warm up. The kids loved it.

At 2pm, I finally dragged the kids home to eat a late lunch and get some school done. It was very nearly a perfect day.

While all this was going on, I was reflecting on how nice it is that we can take full advantage of days like this. When the weather is perfect for play, be it cold and snowy or warm and sunny, we can take the time to enjoy it because we don't have anywhere we must be and we can easily fit school in later.

It's a Bloggy Giveaway

It is time for the Winter Edition of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnvial. Hundreds of bloggers from all over the web will be offering up a variety of giveaways. All you have to do is head on over to Bloggy Giveaways to find links to all the participating blogs and their prizes. Enter as many as you wish and you just may be a winner.

This will be my first time participating. I'm so excited. I can't wait to spend hours and hours surfing blogs and entering contests. I'll be checking out the blogs while I'm there and hoping to find some new ones to add to my reading list.

As soon as I heard about the giveaway I started thinking of a prize that I could give away. I finally came to the conclusion that there's no better prize for a homeschooling blog to give away than something related to school. That's just what I'm giving away: school supplies.

Everything you see listed in the photo (except for my dining room table, of course) is included in this giveaway. Here's a list:

• Wide-ruled filler paper (325 sheets)
• 3 college-ruled spiral notebooks (70 sheets each)
• Package of Paper Mate pens (10 pens, blue)
• Package of #2 pencils (10 pencils)
• Package of mechanical pencils (10 pencils, .7mm)
• Bottle of all purpose school glue
• Transparent tape
• Package of pink erasers (2 erasers)
• Pencil sharpener
• Fiskars' scissors for kids (comes with a blade cap)
• Package of unlined 3x5 index cards (100 cards)
• Package of unlined 4x6 index cards (100 cards)
• 4 story starters flip books
• Multiplication & Division Math Bingo Game
• Addition & Subtraction Math Bingo Game (this one has been opened and used once)

To win, all you have to do is leave me a comment but check the small print below first.

The small print: One comment per person please. Please be sure to leave your email address or have it easily accessible via your profile so that I can contact you if you win. Entries without contact information will be ineligible. The comments will close at midnight Pacific time on Friday Feb. 1st. Winner will be selected randomly and I will notify the winner by email on Saturday. Winners have 3 days after I notify them to reply with their shipping address. If I do not receive your shipping address within three days, the prize will be given to the next randomly drawn name. This contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike. You must have a U.S. mailing address to win.

So, what are you waiting for? Leave me a comment and head over to Bloggy Giveaways and visit the other participants.

Heart of Wisdom Blog Contest

Heart of Wisdom Blog Contest: A Free Book Random Drawing will be held every Monday through the months of December and January at the Heart of Wisdom Blog. Each week one Heart of Wisdom subscriber will be randomly selected to receive one FREE Homeschool Book or Heart of Wisdom Ebook from Homeschool-Books.com. A new title will be given away each week. Click here to enter.

I'm excited about finding out about this contest. I only wish I would have heard about it at the beginning of December to increase my chances of winning! I've been looking at HOW on and off for a couple of years but have been too chicken to change what I'm doing homeschooling-wise and try something different. I'm hoping I win so I can get a copy o fthe Heart of Wisdom Ebook and learn more about their approach so I can finally decide if I want to try it or not.

Local Events - January 26, 2008

Looking for things to do in Tacoma with kids?

Each week, I plan on blogging about free and low cost events that may be of interest to homeschoolers (or families) in the area. Generally, this list will center around Tacoma but may include events in surrounding communities that I found and thought could be interesting. I will try to have the post up by Saturday each week for the following week beginning on Monday. Links to additional details will be provided when available. If you are looking for something to do on this Saturday or Sunday, you'll want to follow the label, "Local Events" in the sidebar to the right and find last week's post.

Pickings are slim during the winter and this week is no exception. Just wait for summer; the weekly posts will be a mile long with multiple choices for each day. Here's this week's choices:

1. Visit the Children's Museum of Tacoma for free on Friday. Doors open from 10:00am to 7:00pm. All you have to do is show up. They ask that no groups come to First Friday but that doesn't mean you can't meet up with a friend or two. Mark your calendar because every first Friday of the month is free. It's kind of nice to go on First Fridays because there tends to be more people there which means your kids will have more "friends" to play with.

2. Can't wait until Friday? Visit the Children's Museum of Tacoma any day of the week for free. Stop by any Tacoma Libary or Pierce County Libary and check out a "Play Pass." Play passes allow up to four people free admission into the Children's Museum of Tacoma. Check your libraries online card catelog before leaving to make sure the passes aren't checked out. If your branch's copies are all checked out, maybe there is another nearby you can hit on they way. You must have a library card to check out the play pass and can keep the pass for up to a week. A friend tells me that Pierce County patrons can keep their pass for three weeks.

3. While you are at the Tacoma Library getting your play pass, stick around for preschool story time at the Tacoma Library. Preschoolers can enjoy story time at 10:30am on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays at various branches. Check out the link for details. We are partial to the downtown Main branch. One of the librarians, Laura, is awesome.

4. If you are looking for fine arts enrichment rather than play time, stop by any Tacoma Library branch for the Tacoma Art Museum's play pass. Just like the play pass for the Children's Museum, you can get into the museum for free (up to 4 people) any day of the week. Like the Children's Museum play pass, you must have a valid Tacoma Library card and can check out the pass for a week at a time.

5. If you don't have access to the Tacoma Library, visit the Tacoma Art Museum on Sunday, February 3rd for the FREE Threads that Bind Community Festival. It takes place between 12pm and 5pm and will celebrate art, culture, and Black History Month. There will be "spoken word", gospel music, and dance performances. The kids can participate in hands-on art projects or help with a community patchwork quilt.

6. Saturday February 2nd is the day to visit Home Depot. The first Saturday of each month, they host a kid's clinic which is tons of fun for the kids and completely free (supplies included). Drop in any time between 9am and 12pm and work on a wooden project kit with your kids. Kids new to the program will also receive a free Home Depot apron designed after the ones the employees wear. Each child completing the kit will also receive a pin for their apron and a certificate of completion. Their website does not yet list next week's kit but there are usually several available to choose from. Tools are not required but if you wish to bring your own you'll want a hammer, a screwdriver (I use a multi-tip one), needle-nose pliers (to hold nails while your kids hammer...keeps your fingers safe), wood glue, and a ruler (if you must have everything perfectly symmetrical).

7. If you are looking for some exercise and fresh air, Saturday February 2nd and Sunday February 3rd are the days to drive on over to NW Trek for the Winter Volksmarch. Get into the walking portion of the park for free by participating on Volksmarch and if you finish the 5K or 10K walk you'll receive a coupon for a 1/2 price tram ride (same day only). Registration is from 8am to 1pm and you must finish before 3pm to get your tram coupon. Last tram leaves at 3pm so make sure you finish early enough to get over to the ticketing window and then back to the tram station. I would shoot for finishing even earlier to ensure the tram doesn't fill up before you get your token. Half price tram tokens will cost you $7.50 for adults, $5.00 for children ages 5-12, and $3.50 for children ages 3-4.

8. If you are up to a quick craft, stop by Michaels' between 10:00am and 12:00pm and let the kids make a "Pop-Up Groundhog". This event is designed for kids between 5 and 12. Each 30-minute session begins on the half hour or hour (10:00, 10:30, 11:00....). No registration required; just drop in. All supplies are included for a $2 fee per child.

That's all folks. Have a fun week!

Love Bug Wooden Gift Bag

Looking for something to do with the kids tomorrow?

Stop by Michaels' to make a Love Bug Wooden Gift Bag. Their kid's club is geared towards children ages 5 - 12 and cost just $2 per child. All supplies are included in the cost. I have not yet taken my kids to one of Michaels' Kid's Club events so I can't vouch for whether it is worth your time or money but I'll post a review once we able to make it to one. It won't be this week as we are already booked.

Sessions are 30 minutes long and begin each half hour (10:00, 10:30, 11:00...) between 10am and 12pm. No pre-registration is required.

Little Travelers

Do your kids like going to children's museums? Mine do. So far we've had the privilege of visiting the Tacoma Children's Museum, the Hands on Children's Museum in Olympia, and the Seattle Children's Museum. They've been begging me for a trip to Bellevue but we haven't gotten to it yet.

Last year, my grandmother generously bought us a membership to our favorite children's museum, the Hands on Children's Museum in Olympia. We took advantage of our membership and enjoyed many visits with it. Our membership just ended. My grandmother, again, generously provided cash for a membership renewal. I've been trying to decide how to best utilize this money. Should we go with the same museum? Or should we go with something new? The other day my answer came in the form of another homeschooling mom cluing me in on a great membership which I am now sharing with you.

The Tacoma Children's Museum has a membership that they call Little Travelers. This particular membership comes with all the benefits of the basic family membership and something so worth the extra $25 you'll be amazed; unlimited visits into participating reciprocal museums. The closest museums participating in this reciprocal program are the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett, KidsQuest Children's Museum in Bellevue, Hands on Children's Museum in Olympia, Tacoma Children's Museum, and Portland Children's Museum. Sadly, Seattle does not participate. I know some of these are a bit further away but if you could pack up a lunch, gas up the car, and take a special day trip knowing that your destination was free (with membership) would you do it once or twice a year? I would. Plus, if you ever travel, there's 150 participating museums all over the US so you may be able to drop by the children's museum there too.

So what does this cost? First, let's look at what this would cost if we were to get a basic family membership covering at least 2 adults and 2 children at each museum and if we went to each one just once with those same 2 adults and 2 children.

Imagine - membership $70, visit $28
Kidsquest - membership $80, visit $28
Hands On - membership $90, visit $31.80
Tacoma - membership $75, visit $24
Portland - membership $80, visit $28

So, to get a membership at each one separately it would cost $395. To visit each museum just once, it would cost $139.80. Now how much do you think this Little Traveler's membership costs? Would you be surprised to hear that you can go to all five of these museums as many times as you want in a year for just $100? Yep, that's right! If you buy your Little Traveler's membership at the Tacoma Children's Museum, it will cost you $100. If you buy the same type of membership from Portland, you'll pay $125. Imagine will ask you for $130. Hands On charges $150. And if you buy it from KidsQuest, you'll pay a full $175.

THE SMALL PRINT: This membership does not get you birthday discounts nor discounts in the museum store at each museum. Only the museum from which you purchased your membership offers the extra frills. Guests are probably not included; Tacoma gives you 8 guest passes to their museum only and the reciprocal museums probably only admit named family members in for free. Each museum has the right to limit the number of people who can get in with the membership so you may need to call ahead and find out how many people your destination museum allows in on the reciprocal membership and possibly pay admission for the extra people in your group.

For complete details and a list of all 150 participating museums, go here.

Coming Up Soon

I have a busy day at home planned for today. I'm working on a big project (Yes, Scott...another project...but you'll like this one...I promise).

In addition to the unnamed project (unnamed because my hubby is gone for the week and I want to surprise him), I have many things to do:

• Burn a DVD
• Buy 1 item at the store
• Prepare a couple of packages for mailing
• Take above packages to the post office
• Wash dishes
• Wash laundry
• Have the kids do their school work for the day
• Go to taekwondo class with Sammy
• Take care of a toddler

So, I won't have anything to post today (well, other than this non-post) until later. I hope to get online tonight and tell the locals about this great membership deal I was recently told about. It's perfect for kids 8 and under. So if you have kids in this age range and live in Puget Sound area, check back first thing in the morning and it will be up waiting for you.

I'm also working on my next edition of Things to Do. Being that it is winter, there isn't a lot going on but I've found a couple of events for you and I'll keep looking for more.

Have a great Wednesday!

So, What Did You Do This Weekend?

So what did you do this weekend with the kids? Was it life as normal or did you get out and do something special since it was officially a holiday weekend?

I soooo wanted to do life as normal. I've had an insanely busy few weeks and I just want to get back to my normal busy life. But I can't turn down free or nearly free opportunities for fun out in the community either. So that's what we did.

Saturday we had my daughter's birthday party. She turned 8 last Tuesday but we waited until the weekend after to celebrate because I couldn't pull it together last weekend. My dad came up for it and was still here the next day so we stayed home Sunday. I was finally able to cooked the lasagna I'd been promising my daughter too. Boy was it good too!

Yesterday we woke up to gorgeous blue skies. We just don't get to see blue skies all that often during the winter here in the Pacific Northwest so it was quite a treat. I wanted to be out and absorb the sunshine I so desperately need to feel alive. I was considering going to NW Trek to take advantage of the free kiddos and the sunshine. But it was so cold and Josh was still recovering from a cold so we opted to go to the Washington State History Museum instead.

After the kids finished up their basic school work (language arts and math), we headed downtown. We parked at the Tacoma Dome Station parking garage and headed across the street to Freighthouse Square. We wanted to stop by City Blocks to check out Dan Parker's studio. He is a certified Lego Professional (one of only three in the US). He's got some neat finished projects lying around to look at (a small Statue of Liberty, a large Statue of Liberty, an Empire State Building, a Space Needle, a Star Wars battle cruiser, and a Christmas village to name a few). He also had a table of Duplos and a table of Legos set up for the kids. When we were finished there, we headed out to the museum.

Upon arriving to the museum, he headed upstairs to the History Lab, a place for kids to do some hands on exploring. We found out that they have a puzzle activity for the kids. They give you a question about a historical person and you have to find the correct answer. To do so, you go from station to station finding the answers to various questions. Within the answers are circled letters which, when put together, spell out the mystery person's name. Just ask for the sheet at the entry desk. Our mystery person was Bertha K. Landes, Seattle's first woman mayor. She was mayor in the 1920s.

We headed across the street to Starbucks for lunch. There's no place to eat at the museum itself and we wanted to escape the too loud hip hop concert playing in the lobby (a MLK special event). The kids enjoyed chocolate donuts and hot chocolate with their lunch.



After lunch we headed into the Great Hall of Washington History. This is my favorite part of the museum. Rather than reading about each exhibit, they have scenes set up with these beautiful monochromatic statues who talk to each other. It's like you are fly on the wall in an historic scene. It's really a cool place and my kids enjoy running from place to place exploring all there is to see. Exploring this hall in detail takes more than a day. The front desk has a scavenger hunt for this part of the museum for the kids as well. We hunted for an hour and didn't find four of the items. A nice gentleman working there helped us locate what we were missing and the front desk awarded each kid with a cool pencil made from a tree branch. Sammy is using his for school work today.

Who says history is boring? See how much fun it can be by checking out the Washington State History Museum sometime. It is free the third Thursday of every month from 5pm to 8pm. For easy and free parking, park at the Tacoma Dome Station and take the light rail two stops to the museum.

P.S. I wish I could post a ton of photos for this trip but there is no flash photography allowed and the lighting is low so I didn't bother dragging the camera along.

Feeling Bad but Good

I'm feeling bad that I haven't posted all weekend. Please forgive me if you've been looking for some new and exciting content. I've been busy and barely sleeping all weekend.

First of all, we surprised my daughter with a sort of surprise birthday party. She knew something was up but didn't know who it involved. She had a wonderful day playing with 5 other girls, a boy, and her brother. My dad came up as well bearing gifts a girl's gotta love. A beloved family friend came too. I made her THE cake that she wanted and decorated so it would all be festive. Fun day equals lots of work for mommy.

Before that, I was busy finishing up a DVD slideshow for her. As a gift this year, I made both of my older kids a DVD featuring themselves. The video begins at their birth and ends about the week before I created the DVD. They got a kick out of watching themselves grow up over the course of about 250 photos and 25 minutes. Of course, they are set to the best songs too. It was alot of work but so worth it. I ended up being teary-eyed several times while making each, especially while previewing them to see how they turned out. The combination of seeing them little, all those memories, and the song lyrics just did me in.

While finishing up my daughter's DVD I got a self-esteem boost because I realized just how many opportunities we are giving our kids by homeschooling them. Because we homeschool we are able to make field trips, activities, and fun projects a priority. They will have so many good memories when they grow up simply because we stepped out in faith and homeschooled.

Speaking of field trips...we've decided to stop by the Washington State History Museum for a while tomorrow while it is free. I hope any locals reading got/get a chance to take advantage to the free events this weekend and week. To everyone who isn't local, I'll be posting how to find all these opportunities in your neck of the woods soon.

NW Trek

This weekend NW Trek is having a special event that they are calling Kids 'n' Critters Naturefest. For the next three days (January 19-21), up to four kids ages 3-12 get in free with a paying adult. Pierce County adults, AAA members, and military can expect to pay $13 each. If you live outside Pierce County, you will pay $15. This is a good time to visit NW Trek if you've never had the chance to because they will be offering special crafts, games and activities for the kids. These activities are designed to teach so it is a perfect excuse for a field trip. Because of the special pricing, expect more people that usual. Show up early for the best experience.

When you first arrive at NW Trek, you'll wind down a narrow road through the trees. Enjoy the scenary as you leave the city feeling behind. Eventually, you will find a series of small parking lots situated in such a way to minimize their impact on the forest. Remember where you parked so you can find your car when you go home.

This huge moose statue will greet you just outside the entrance area. He's a great photo opportunity.
After you pay, you will be given a colored token and told which tram to show up for. While you are waiting for your turn on the tram ride, enjoy the trails. There are plenty of benches to rest on, if you need, along the way. As you walk, you will have the opportunity to see some of the local wildlife. The animals in NW Trek, to my understanding, are no longer able to live in the wild so they serve to help educate us while they are cared for here.



This nice kitty was taking a snooze the day of our visit. You'll also see other kitties, bears, wolves, and a variety of birds (including a beautiful now-flightless-due-to-an-injured-wing bald eagle).

You can also check out this cool petrified wood slab which explains how you can read its history by looking at the distance and anomalies in its rings.



The Cheney Discovery Center has a cool beehive where you can watch the bees work, small animals, and other things to discover. There is also a research cabin where kids can pretend to be field researchers watching the bears.

When your tram time is nearing, you'll need to head over to line. Get there early to have a better chance of getting your seat of choice. On the way, you'll see this beautiful view of Horseshoe Lake. You'll be traveling around it soon to get a closer look at the free roam animals.

My husband and my son waiting for the tram. My husband doesn't always get to come along with us on field trips but we like it when he can. We brought Flat Stanley (a topic for another post) along with us too.

When it is nearing time for your tram to leave, the park employees will probably enlighten you with some facts about animals and their antlers. These are real ones left behind by the park's animals.

One of the highlights of the tram ride is being able to see the park's herd of bison. On our last visit, 1 1/2 years ago, we were blessed with the opportunity to see the mommas with their calves.

The males were not too far away.


Or you might see a herd like this one: geese, a deer, and a swan. If I remember correctly, there were goats and another type of bird nearby as well.

We got to see the momma and kid up close because the animal caretakers fed them right next to the road of the tram.


And this ram was so perfect, he looked unreal.

If you are lucky, you'll get to see some moose. They are shy animals. This visit we were lucky; not only did we see a moose, we saw several. This was the first time we had ever seen a moose at the park; we were beginning to think they were fictional creatures.

And a lone creature. Doesn't he look like he's enjoying the peace and quiet next to the lake?

I hope you enjoyed my tour of NW Trek. If my little one gets better over the weekend (he's fighing a cold), we just may have to head over there on Monday. If not, we'll have to mosey on over there another time. If I hear of another event there, I'll be sure to post about it.

13 Free Things to Do This Week

Here are 13 fun and interesting things to do with your kids this week in and around Tacoma....STARTING TODAY!

1. Visit the Pt. Defiance Zoo. Tomorrow, January 18th, is a free day for Tacoma residents. All adults must bring along proof of residency to get in free of charge. They offer Tacoma residents a free day most months of the year.

2. Visit the Tacoma Art Museum. Today (and every third Thursday) admission is free all day.

3. Visit the Washington History Museum. Today (and every third Thursday) is free from 5pm to 8pm. It will also be free all day Monday for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. We went back in August and I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was. Even the kids enjoyed it.

4. Visit the Museum of Glass. Today (and every third Thursday) is free from 5pm to 8pm. If you can't stop by on a Thursday, visit the bridge of glass. It is GORGEOUS and open to the public at all times.

5. Check out City Blocks at Freighthouse Square. City Blocks is the studio of Dan Park, a LEGO certified professional. While there you may see his Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Space Needle. This is his working studio, not a store, but it is open for you to come look and see his work and a play place is provided for the kids. We have not been there before as I've just recently read an article about him. The link has a short video about him.

6. Take in a story time at the Fernhill or Swasey libraries. Both offer 10:30am story times each Friday for preschool. Young school-aged kids (k-1st) may enjoy the story too.

7. Got older kids? Take your teens to the Tacoma Library Main branch on Tuesdays from 3:30-5:30 for board games and card games with other teens or on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 for book club. They will be discussing Twilight by Stephanie Meyer this coming Wednesday.

8. Visit the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. The bridge spans I705, taking walkers from Union Square to the Museum of Glass' main entrance. The bridge is always open to the public and worth seeing even if you don't go to the museum itself. Make sure you visit both during the day and at night. The daylight and the nighttime back lighting make it appear totally different.

9. Go letterboxing. This fun hobby combines hiking with a treasure hunt with rubber stamp making. Make a "signature stamp", print up clues to the box you want to find, and go hunting. If you've never letterboxed, check out the link thoroughly so you fully understand the "rules" to keep it fun for everyone involved. Rehide the boxes well!

10. Take a hike at the Tacoma Nature Center. While there, take a look at the 100 year old ant hill. The ants should be in hibernation so this would be a good time to get a closer look or take children who may be afraid of getting close to a giant anthill. There are also seven letterboxes hidden along the trail if you letterbox.

11. Go hunting for historical markers and take your photo with them.

12. Visit Never Never Land at Pt. Defiance Park. This fun play area is slowly disappearing due to age, weather, and vandalism and is no longer being maintained by the parks department. Take a stroll down memory lane at the link (bottom of page) and then go see what it looks like now. Discuss the effects of age, weather, and vandalism with your kids and how we can help keep things nice for future generations.

13. Go to Naturefest at NW Trek. Ok this one isn't completely free but up to 4 kids get in free with every paying adult. County residents pay $13. Not a bad price. Tram and special activities run Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (January 19-21) for this special Martin Luther King event. Tram limited to the first 1500 visitors so go early.

Go ahead! Be spontaneous! Put aside formal school for a day and go have fun.

To see other Thursday Thirteen lists go here.

Happy Birthday Mika!

Happy Birthday Mika!

Today is my daughter's 8th birthday. She's growing up so fast. If you are so inclined, head over to her blog and wish her happy birthday. She'd love i!

Other Home Depot Kids Kits

I recently posted about completing the Castle Bank at Home Depot. I thought I would share the other kits that we have completed so far at Home Depot. My kids look forward to going each month and seeing what they get to make next.

Our first project was a bi-plane. Getting the vertical pieces between the two wings in was tricky. We brought our planes home and painted them. The kids occasionally take these down from their shelf and play with them.

Mika wanted help painting her plane. She's a perfectionist like her mother. So I went in after her and made sure everything was covered and cleaned up the white parts.

We painted the top wing white and then added scrapbooking stickers before we painted the plane pink. After the plane was dry we removed the stickers to reveal white lettering. My daugher never knew you could do this so it became a learning experience for her.

This is my son's plane. He loves it just the way it is.

This is the art caddy. See the little holes on the sides? They each hold a crayon. We decided to use them as toolboxes instead; they hold our tools for Home Depot (a small hammer, a multi-tip screwdriver, a pair of needle-nosed pliers, a tape measure, and extra finishing nails. I need to add a small bottle of wood glue to them. The first Saturday of each month, the kids don their Home Depot aprons, grab their toolboxes, and out we go.

These fire truck banks are pretty cool. They have a covered hole on the bottom to let the money out and the ladders are removable.

Some day I'll pull out the paints so that the kids can catch up on painting their projects.

Pacific Science Center

If you live in the greater Seattle area or plan on visiting Seattle sometime, the Pacific Science Center is a great place to visit. It's a fun place for kids and adults alike. It is a wonderful place for homeschoolers because it is full of all kinds of learning experiences.

Recently I took the my kids there. It was my second visit (my first was over 11 years ago) and their first. After spending more than 5 hours there, they did not want to leave. They loved it that much. We are looking forward to going back.

The Pacific Science Center has not one, but two, IMAX screens. They show a wide variety of IMAX films from great documentaries, to IMAX versions of movies showing in the regular cinemas, to 3-D films. Because we were studying Lewis & Clark, our first stop was to view "Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West". This film blesses you with spectacular scenic views while walking you through a recreation of Lewis & Clark's famous journey. After seeing the IMAX film, rent the movie from Blockbuster Online so you can see the special features which take you through how they filmed the movie.

Our first stop after the movie was the animatronic dinosaurs, of course. They were really cool! All throughout the exhibit you can find tons of information about the dinosaurs that have been recreated for your enjoyment.

The butterfly house was a hit. Imagine being inside a lush tropical green house surrounded by butterflies. It's beautiful. It's warm (nice during the winter). It's peaceful. Here's a photo of Sammy studying a laminated card to identify the butterfly that the lady is pointing to. He really took it seriously.

The science center is constructed of a U-shaped building(s) with an outdoor courtyard. In that courtyard is a variety of fun things to do. There's a bicycle that you can ride on a 1 inch rail several feet above the water, a giant hamster wheel, a huge granite ball you can roll around, and these fun water cannons.

There's also a whole section devoted to learning about how the human body works. Here's my daughter learning about calories and how much you have to work to expend different amounts of calories.

There was a room filled with sound and music experiments also. Here's Sammy trying out different sizes of metal bowls to see how they each emit a different pitch.

We found another sound experiment outside. This one was about sound collection. One person stands and talks into the dish,using a normal voice, through that small blue circle. Way over that way is an identical red dish where your friend is hearing, quite clearly, every word you are saying.

Another fun spot in the Pacific Science Center is their indoor tidal pool touch tank. I could not pull my daughter away. We had to stop by for a second visit to it before we could go home.

They even have a place for the 4ish and under crowd. It's next to the touch tank. They have several of these bead thingies for the kids to eat play with. Josh seemed to enjoy looking at everything we had been exploring but he really appreciated his own play place.

There were also plenty of soft climbing toys for him to practice cruising on and a water table waiting for him when we go back.

We couldn't leave without checking out their real and casted dinosaur bones. Just be careful that the big one doesn't eat your head!

We also pretended to be archaeologists. Dragging my son away from this one was difficult.

Then we went upstairs and looked at more dinosaur bones and eggs. It was a neat building full of bones.

I hope you enjoyed this short tour of the Pacific Science Center. If you didn't get enough, feel free to OD feast on over 8 minutes worth of photos from our trip. Or, even better, stop by there yourself.

Fun Bird Facts & Creativity

We started our bird unit finally. I had planned on starting it Monday but I was having printer issues which are now fixed. Since we are doing a lapbook, I needed to get the little books printed out before we could really begin.

We are using the Live 'N Learn Folder based on Birds that I got from the HomeschooleStore. There are several versions of it (based on age groups). We are using the Grade 4 and up because that's the one I happen to have. Looking through it, it looks like we'll be learning some fun and interesting facts about birds and completing some fun experiments and crafts.

Today we learned some facts about some amazing birds. Did you know...

• The smallest bird is a Bee Hummingbird. It is only 2 inches long and weighs less than a penny. The smallest bird egg (also from a type of hummingbird) is the size of a small pea.
• The largest bird is the Ostrich, of course. But did you know it stands 9 feet tall? Ostrich eggs are the largest bird eggs at 6-7 inches long.
• The fastest flying bird is the Spine-tailed Swift. It can fly 106 mph. The Peregrine Falcon can reach speeds over 200 mph in a dive. The Ostrich can run 43 mph. The Gentoo Penguin takes the gold for swimming the fastest.
• The Wandering Albatross has the longest wingspan at 12 feet which is 3 times the length of its body.

After learning some fun bird facts we tried to flap our arms wings at the same speed some birds flap theirs. We came to the conclusion that we could keep up with crows and robins but keeping up with the chickadee (270 beats every 10 seconds) and the hummingbird (up to 700 beats every 10 seconds) was hopeless.

Then we moved on to some creative writing. Here's the question: If a hummingbird had a conversation with an albatross would would they say? What do YOU think they would say? Here's my kids' answers:

Mika's:
Hummingbird: Hummmm....
Albatross: What?
Hummingbird: Hummmmm....
Albatross: Huh?
Hummingbird: Sorry. I was doing yoga.

I think she was kind of witty. Here's Sammy's:

Hummingbird: Hello. Can I tell you a funny story?
Albatross: Yes, you can tell me a funny story.
Hummingbird: This is the story. There was this snowman that was like a regular snowman but then it comes to life somehow. There was nothing on it to make it come alive. Then the snowman sees a ghost. The ghost said, "Get to a normal snowman." Then it gets to a normal snowman. That's it.
Albatross: That was a funny story.

He thought he was hilarious. I have no idea where he got one from especially since I reviewed the two birds to try to give them some ideas of what might be said between them. But, since it was creative writing, I let it be.

13 Reasons I Like Homeschooling

I decided to do a Homeschooling Edition of Thursday Thirteen. To see other Thursday Thirteen participants, click the header graphic.

Here are 13 reasons I like homeschooling, in no particular order:

1. Field Trips We love field trips. I enjoy them as much and sometimes more than the kids do. So far this year we've been on several. Our annual family camping trip to Cannon Beach became a field trip: we explored the tide pools around Haystack Rock, visited Ecola State Park where Lewis & Clark saw a beached whale, and visited Fort Clatsop where Lewis & Clark spent the winter in the Pacific Northwest. We have also visited the Hands On Children's Museum, the Pacific Science Center, and Camlann Medieval Village. We saw the Sound of Music at a local playhouse and went to the Tacoma Symphony.

2. Projects On of my kids' favorite thing to do for homeschooling is projects (second to field trips). They love making things and doing experiments. We've done many quick science experiments. Some other things we've done is build a giant model ear out of household items and crawl through it, make a salt dough map of the USA, make homemade musical instruments, and attended a few Home Depot workshops to make wooden items. We have a large dragon marionette that has been in process forever that we need to finish soon.

3. Lapbooks We just completed our first lapbook on the Grinch. My daughter, who generally complains about doing school, asked for more lapbooks in the future. I'm hoping to complete lapbooks on birds, horses, and medieval times in the near future. I may look for or attempt to create lapbooks for some of our other units this year as well.

4. Choice of Study We get to chose what we want to study each year. This has the potential of making school much more fun because you can pick what your children enjoy learning about as a starting point for science, history, literature, writing, reading, vocabulary, and spelling. In the homeschool world we call this doing unit studies. My daughter loves horses so we are including a horse unit later this year. My son loved our in depth study of hearing and sight earlier this year.

5. Safety One thing that would scare the daylights out of me is sending my kids to school for six hours a day. As homeschoolers, we spend all of our time together which means I know where they are, I know who they are playing with, and I know that they are safe. With the current state of things, I would be worried about what kind of friends they are learning from (ie. bad language, bad behaviors, bad influences). I would be worried about bullies and gangs. I would be worried about guns and knives being brought to school (even elementary schools). We've all heard the newsstories of school shootings...there was one at a local high school here last year.

6. Individualized Curriculum Besides chosing what topics we'll study, I like that I can tailor my curriculum choices to what works for each of my children. Public schools don't have this much freedom; all of the kids use the same basic curriculum whether it works well for them or not. My daughter's math curriculum wasn't working for her so we tried something else and then something else again just in the course of this year. She likes the newest one so I'm hoping it will work. My son, on the other hand, is still using the first one.

7. Scheduling I love that homeschooling doesn't take a ton of time on it. Our basic stuff (spelling, phonics, grammar, reading comprehension, handwriting, and math) only takes us about two hours a day. This means we have the rest of the day to read, work on fun projects, do science experiments, go on field trips, and attend fun classes. Of course, I try to fit in running errands, shopping, and housework in there somewhere also. If I have a lot of errands and appointments, I can also pull out today's work and take it along with us. We have clipboards that open with storage inside just for this purpose. It has enough room for today's papers, a couple of pencils and an eraser in it.

9. In-depth Study With only two students and the basics only taking a couple of hours, we have the time and ability to go in-depth with a study that interests us. Where school textbooks can usually only devote a few paragraphs (or a chapter at the most) to a subject, we can spend as much time and energy as we want on a topic. It isn't unusual for us to check out 20 books on a subject, watch a movie or two that go with our study, throw in a field trip, and complete an art/craft project as well. Plus all these fun things help solidify what they learned. They'll remember that field trip or project better than they will remember those couple of paragraphs.

10. Lots of Books Our library allows us to check out 50 books on my card. It isn't uncommon for me to max out so I signed the kids up for library cards as well. We get books on our chosen topic of study as well as books to read just for fun. We usually don't get to all of the books we check out but we have lots of choices and do read many of them. A downside to this is that it gets very expensive if you are late returning all those books. At $0.20 a day per book, it adds up fast!

11. Socialization Being with my children all the time means I know who they are playing with. Homeschooling allows me to set up play time with kids I believe are good influences and avoid bad influences altogether. Of course they need to know how to handle negative people and they do still come in contact with them on occasion. But, because I'm with them, I can guide them through the interaction rather than them having to go it alone. Homeschooling also gives my children the chance to interact with kids and adults of all ages; a very valuable skill. I am proud of the fact that my daughter likes to play with just about anyone between the ages of 0 to about 10. She's 8. Public school segregates children into age groups, giving them little chance to interact with a variety of ages. In our town, they even did away with scheduled recesses. The teacher chooses, if and when, their class gets to go to recess which means we usually see only one or two classes using the playground at a time which further segregrates the kids.

12. Parent-Child Bonding My children and I are very close and enjoy each other's company immensely. This comes from being together all of the time. We know each other intimately. Even though we are together nearly 24/7, we also take opportunities to go on special dates one-on-one leaving siblings home with dad. Of course, in the name of sanity, I do find some time for myself. My kids hate it when I leave without them. Apparently, nearly 24/7 isn't enough time for them!

13. Field Trips Yeah, yeah, I know I said this one already but we really do love field trips. Future field trips include (hopefully) a trip to Woodland Park Zoo, Portland Zoo, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, a planetarium, Camlann Medieval Village (again), a lighthouse, a local newspaper, Fort Lewis Military Museum, a horse stable, Emerald Downs (horse racing), horseback riding, an observatory, the Seattle Aquarium, and a jeweler. Some of these might not make it into our schedule but they are on a list of things we want to do this year.

14. Physical Fitness and Play (Since #13 was cheating.) Homeschooling gives us the time and opportunity to fit in a lot of physical activity and play time. In addition to unstructured play at home, we have many scheduled activities. Our current schedule includes: Awana (1x weekly), swimming (2x weekly), gymnastics (1x weekly) and church. My son also takes taekwondo 3 times a week. While it may seem like a busy schedule, we can utilize school hours making it do-able. Most of our field trips involve a lot of physical activity and play as well. At our local public schools, the kids get PE twice a week. Our school district also did away with scheduled recess, giving each teacher the choice of if and when their class gets recess. We know some public schoolers and some of them only get one 15 minute recess a day.

Learning WrapUps

Math. You either hate it or you love it. Regardless of how you feel about it, it is one subject that you must learn (the basics at least) just to get by in life. Fortunately, we can make the process of learning math more interesting by using manipulatives. I have used tons of manipulatives in my attempts to get my math-hating daughter to at least tolerate math. Most have failed. One has succeeded.

Learning WrapUps are a cool way to help kids learn their basic math facts. Learning WrapUps are key-shaped manipulatives that you use to match up a value on the left with the answer on the right. I'll use addition for an example. The addition set comes with 10 keys held together with a rivet. In the middle of each key is a + sign and the number you will be adding (ie. +1, +2, +3...). On the left of each key are the numbers 1-12 written out of order down the length of the key. On the right side of each key are the answers again written out of order. The goal is to wrap a connected string around from the left side over to the correct answer on the right side, around the back to the second number on the left, then to the correct answer, around the back to the third number on the left and so on. There is an animated clip showing this on their website if you are having trouble visualizing this. When you've done all the problems on the key, you hook the string at the bottom of the key and turn it over. There are lines on the back...if your string lines match the lines on the back of the key, you got all the answers correct. It's an easy, self-correcting way to practice your math facts.

The basic math set comes in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. They also come in other subjects like pre-algebra, states and capitals, vocabulary, spanish, and science. We bought the basic math facts set that comes with a rap CD that raps/chants you through each key giving you enough time to follow along.



Here is our set. You can see two of the sets have one key completed and ready to have the answers checked. The CD are shown in the photo too.

Here is a photo of my daughter working with the division set. She's not quite ready for this set but likes doing the 1s and 2s. As you can see that aren't too big which makes them very portable.

I'd like to tell you that my kids think these are as neat as I do but they don't. My son thinks they are pretty cool and will work with them without being told. He's my math loving child. My daughter doesn't like them but then again she doesn't like anything that has to do with math. However, she will tolerate them which is a huge step up to getting her to practice/learn her basic math facts with other methods.

I think they are great for several reasons:

• There's no paper waste.
• They are portable.
• They are easy to use.
• They teach the facts out of order so they are learned better.
• They don't make my daughter cry.
• They are durable.
• They come with ideas of how to make them into a game (races).
• You can use them for several children over many years.

Did I mention that they are portable? I'm going to keep ours in the car so the kids can use car time to practice or take them into the doctor's office to work on while we wait.

And, you should know that I'm not getting paid in any way for this post. My goal of this website it to share about our homeschooling, including things that we like and things we don't like. This just happens to be one that I like.

Oh, and they also sell another cool thing called a Learning Palette that I haven't tried yet but can't wait to get for my youngest as soon as he's old enough for it. I'll be using them for preschool skills but they go up to 5th grade, I think.

YMCA Homeschool

I said I would update on how today went so here I am.


We arrived fifteen minutes early so that they kids would have time to change. After they were all ready to go we proceeded to the pool to wait for class. I forgot that the pool's clock is five minutes slow so they were shivering and freezing by the time the teacher showed up.

The homeschool beginning swim teacher is a homeschooling mom with five kids. I was pleasantly surprised by how she handled my kids. She had four kids in class; two were barely swimming and my two who don't swim at all. She handed the two swimmers off to her husband (he was the volunteer helper) and gave all of her attention to my two. Sammy is only slightly afraid of the water. It really isn't a big deal and I expect him to move forward with no problems. He enjoyed the class and liked her. Mika is the one with the huge fear and the teacher handled her wonderfully. She explained that she herself had just conquered her own fear of water and learned to swim a year ago. She also taught her terrified adopted daughter to swim last year. So, she knows what it is like to be afraid of water and won't try to force Mika to do anything she isn't ready to do. Mika declared her the best teacher "even better than Amy" who was the previous swim teacher that she really liked before she got the one she really hated. She's looking forward to going back to swim class on Thursday. Yea!

After class we returned to the locker room to change and get ready for gymnastics class. It took us 20 minutes total...proof that I could never volunteer and pick the baby up from the nursery before the allotted five minutes was up. We headed over to gymnastics which is both a good story and a bad. It is good because, despite what the coach had told me, they are learning much more in homeschool gymnastics than in the evening recreational gymnastics. The stuff they had them do was much more gymnastics-like and harder. Think beginning to learn head-stands, hand-stands, cartwheels, and working on the bar vs. jumping on the trampoline, jumping/rolling in an obstacle course, and minor tumbling. It is bad for the same reasons. It is WAY over Sammy's head and he was in tears five times because he couldn't do the things he was being told to do. Mika was also in tears once because she couldn't do something that a couple of the other girls could do. I explained that they had been learning and practicing that a lot longer than her (today was her first time ever trying that particular thing). I also didn't care for how the one coach talked to the kids either. I think he may have a grudge against homeschoolers based on how to talked about the class, how to talked about the kids, and his tone talking to the kids today. He also happens to be the preteam/team coach and Mika wants to be on preteam. I'll be keeping a close watch on this, of course.

All in all, the homeschool program looks like it could work. I'll be keeping an eye on the gymnastics program and that coach. I'll also be researching gymnastics instuction elsewhere in case we chose to leave the Y.

First Day at the YMCA Homeschool

Today is our first day being involved with the homeschool program at the YMCA. My kids will be taking swimming for half an hour twice a week and gymnastics for an hour once a week. I'm nervous about how it is going to go because of all of our previous problems with the YMCA and my almost volunteering fiasco. I'll update how it went and my impressions later when we return.

Grinch Lapbook

We took the month of December off as far as formal schooling goes but that doesn't mean that the learning stopped. We still managed to fit in some learning in the form of fun activities. During the month, we:

• completed a few days worth of our formal language arts and math curriculum


• attended a holiday concert at the local symphony


• saw a showing of The Sound of Music at a local playhouse


• read many Christmas books


• completed the You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch lapbook

The last item in my short list is what I want to tell you about today.

I got this lapbook from the Homeschoolestore which I love. I love that I can look for something to go with a subject we are learning about and have it in moments (everything is in pdf form). This works very well for people like me who are not very organized and never prepared. They also have weekly freebies which is always appreciated by this homeschool mom. This week they are offering a Valentine's Day notebooking set which also includes Valentine's cards and matching envelopes that you can print for the kids to make their own cards.

Anyway, back to the Grinch. This was the first lapbook we have completed. I attempted to complete a different lapbook with my kids at the end of summer but they were not interested in the least. My kids, however, love the grinch. They love the book. They love the cartoon. They love the film. And they loved completing this lapbook.

The lapbook was designed for upper elementary students according to the cover. My kids are in 3rd and 1st grade but we were able to make it work. We read the book. Actually, I think my son read the book 50 times! We watched the cartoon. I printed the booklets and then cut and folded them for the kids. Doing this laborous part for them ensured that I would be able to get them to complete the project rather than listen to them whine. My daughter was able to complete most of the booklets on her own. For my son, I explained the information needed and then had him narrate a simple answer back for me to write down. Am I worried that he didn't do all the research and writing himself? No, he still read the book, watched the movie, observed what researching information looked like, participated in discussions, and came up with answers to the questions. Knowing him, he'll also look through his lapbook many, many times until it falls apart from excessive wear. This will solidify what he learned over and over again.

I was surprised about how much the lapbook covered. There was vocabulary, sequencing, biographical information on three different people, making comparisons, creative thinking/writing, and learning the parts of a plot map. I would have never come up with so many different things to learn from a simple children's book!

Here are the kids with their completed lapbooks:

My daughter surprised me by asking if we could make another lapbook soon. She never asks to do anything for school other than go some place fun or be done for the day. Lucky for her, we'll be working on a bird lapbook next.

Home Depot for Kids

If you and your kids enjoy crafts, this monthly event is a must. The first Saturday of every month from 9am to 12pm, Home Depots across the country sponser a kids workshop (ages 5-12) that is fun, relatively easy, and totally free. All materials and tools are provided. There is even a dedicated store employee available to answer questions and assist when needed. All you have to do is show up at the correct time and help your kids complete the project. Their website indicates that no pre-registration is required but that the workshop is "while supplies last". I advise calling your local Home Depot to verify that they are participating and details for their store. Here's our experience:

My kids love Home Depot's workshops! They get dressed and complete their morning chores without complaining so we can get there early. Once they are ready to leave, they don their orange Home Depot aprons (provided free on your first visit) and grab their tools (we prefer having our own). When we arrive, the employee in charge hands us the monthly kit. While tables are provided, we prefer to work on the floor because it makes hammering easier. We find some place out of the way and spread out our pieces. Here are the kids with the pieces to our Castle Bank which we made this past Saturday. If you look to the right of my son, you will see the toolbox that we also made at Home Depot. It is actually a coloring toolbox that has holes for holding 8 crayons upright on the sides but we use it to hold our tools. In it we put a small hammer, a multi-tip screwdriver, a tape measure, a small bottle of wood glue, needle-nosed plyers, and extra finishing nails we've accumulated. The box is too small for the hammer but we make it work.

My kids aren't able to complete the projects themselves. I've found my job is to interpret the instructions, hold nails while they hammer, and finish tightening screws. While the necessary tools are provided (hammers, screwdrivers, and glue), I strongly recommend you bring along a pair of needle-nosed pliers for holding nails while your kids hammer. You'll wish you had them the first time your fingers get smashed.

Once the kids are done with their projects, they get the cooresponding pin to add to their collection on their aprons. They also receive a certificate of completion and get to take home their completed project. Here are my kids holding their finished Castle Banks. Click on the photo for a closer view. After finishing, my like to bring them home and paint them. Acrylic craft paint works well. You can spray on a coat or two of sealer to protect the paint also.

My kids love the projects that they have completed. So far, we have made a bi-plane, a fire truck bank with removable ladders, the toolbox, and the castle bank featured in this post. We've also seen a baseball bat holder, a memory box, napkin holders, and many other neat projects in store. Some of the projects they can play with (like the airplane and fire engine), some can be used in your home (like the napkin holder and baseball bat holder), and many of them make great gifts.

Homeschool subjects covered and benefits include:

• arts/crafts


• woodworking


• painting


• following directions


• hand-eye coordination


• tool safety


• sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, pride (the good kind)


• parent-child bonding

Give it a try sometime!