Homeschool Blog Awards Swap

I participated in the Homeschool Blog Awards Saturday Swap for the first time this month. While it was kind of stressful for me (after all, how do you figure out what to send to someone you don't know AND get it mailed on time, which I didn't, when you are busy homeschooling), it was fun too.

My swap partner was Cocoa from Chocolate on My Cranium. It was fun "meeting her" for the first time and visiting her blog. She's got a great blog with lots of photos from their many adventures. She's living a life that my family has been rather wistful for lately...on a farm.


She sent me some wonderful, aromatic, homemade, goats milk soap. One of them found itself at my bathroom sink right away. It is doing a great job serving it its dual purpose; cleans wonderfully while not bothering my sensitive skin and adds its wonderful fragrance to the whole bathroom. She also sent me a few purple pens to enjoy. I had mentioned in my questionaire that I enjoy a good quality pen and that I like purple. These have become my favorites. One of them has found its way to my car so I always have one with me.

Sammy wanted to show you all what he thinks of our new soap. He says it smells great!

The next Swap is May 1oth. If you want to participate, keep on eye out for the announcement at Homeschool Blog Awards.

India Mahal vs. Ever After

My husband received a very nice letter from Ever After, the store I was visiting when the India Mahal Restaurant owner decided to go ballistic on me.

Check it out at his blog. You'll see just how friendly and caring they have been to us. Visit them! They are a great little gift store. They have a variety of specialty items from colored cocoa to exotic-flavored lip balms, from games and learning kits to Webinz. Say hi from, JoAnn.

Oh, and don't forget to avoid the India Mahal and its owner.

India Mahal Restaurant - Part 2

If you read my blog regularly, you know that Sammy, Josh, and I had a horrible encounter with a mean, nasty little man who owns the Indian Mahal Restaurant in downtown Tacoma. If you read that story (or read it now), you'll also know that an employee was also assaulted by the same man.

Check out his blog for his brief account of their encounter. It's a little less than halfway down the page under a post titled "What is Your Kung-Fu?"

Money Management-Grocery Savings

Once, in response to me telling my son that we couldn't buy something because it wasn't on sale. my son told me, "Mommy, you don't always have to buy things that are on sale!" He doesn't say that anymore. He knows that if he asks for something and it isn't on the list, or at the very least, not on sale, he isn't getting it.

One of the good things about homeschooling is that the kids pretty much have to run all of my errands with me. Through this they gain valuable life skills such as how to stretch your money further by buying only items that are on sale, have a coupon, and that you will eat. Today's grocery trip was an excellent example.

I bought $340.14 worth of food for only $161.97. That's a savings of $178.17. I get this kind of savings by buying items that are on sale (club card), using store coupons, using other store coupons that Albertson's will except, and using coupons from the Sunday paper. If you think that the Sunday paper isn't worth the cost, consider that I saved $20.90 today using coupons from past Sunday papers.

In addition to this, I earned 4 free movie tickets (to add to the two free movie tickets I received during a previous trip) and a coupon for $10 off my next shopping trip.

My son now understands the value of sales and coupons. He'd rather spend that $178 saved on doing something fun, buying toys or new clothes, going on vacation, or fixing up the house so we can move some day. I think he'll enjoy the free movies, too. We'll probably be using some of them to see Prince Caspian next month.

Drying Dishes

I've decided to add another category to this blog....Toddler-schooling. This post fits that category quite nicely as it features my very own toddler, Josh.

Josh is very happy if we let him sit on the counter while we are working on the kitchen. It doesn't matter if we're putting together sandwiches for lunch, cutting up meat or veggies, cooking, or doing the dishes. He just wants to be on the counter. Yesterday, he insisted on helping with the dishes.

First, he dried that tiny aluminum baking pan and this pink plate that goes with Mika's Easy Bake Oven. He did a great job.

Here he is drying a yellow plastic cup.

And, in case you don't believe he's really drying dishes...here he is stuffing the towel into the cup to dry the inside. Altogether, he only dried about 5-6 items but he is only 14 months old after all.

Next time your school-aged children try to say they can't wash or dry the dishes, show them this post. Then tell them to get washing. : )

Tacoma Kids Weekly - Week of April 28, 2008

There are plenty of free events to choose from at the end of this week. Of all the options, Camlann Medieval Village is my pick of the week. I'm so sad that I'll be out of town (at a retreat) and will miss the May Fest. We'll be going to the summer festival for sure, though.

Thursday, May 1, 2008
Visit one of numerous Seattle museums for free tonight...
The Museum of Flight is free between 5pm and 9pm.
The Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Hall of Fame is free between 5pm and 8pm.
The Burke Musuem is free between 10am and 8pm.
The Museum of History and Industry is free between 10am and 8pm.
The Seattle Art and the Seattle Asian Art Museums are free between 10am and 9pm.
The Henry Art Gallary is free from 11am to 8pm.

Friday, May 2, 2008
The Children's Museum of Tacoma is free all day today from 10am to 7pm. Don't forget that Tacoma and Pierce County residents can visit the Children's Museum of Tacoma for free anytime they wish by visiting their local library and checking out a Play Pass.

This event is a bit further out (an hour or so) but may be worth it especially if you are studying or have studied Native Americans this year. A pow wow is taking place at Edmonds Community College this weekend and is being described as one of the largest pow wows in Washington. The event takes place at 7pm tonight, 1pm and 7pm Saturday, and 1pm on Sunday.

Saturday, May 3, 2008
The May Festival at Camlann Village is going on this weekend today and tomorrow from 12pm to 6pm. The cost of admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and children, and free for the under 5 crowd. Camlann is a wonderful Medieval Living History Museum. Volunteers, dressed in period clothing, interact with visitors. I HIGHLY recommend visiting Camlann whether or not you are studying medieval times. The May festival includes maypole dancing, crafts, and mynstrels. Wear medieval clothing is encouraged but not required. Rentals are available at Camlann. You can also eat authentic medieval food at Bors Hede. A feast is also being held but requires advance ticket purchase.

It is time for Home Depot's kids workshop. May's project is a flower pencil holder. Stop by any Home Depot between 9am and 12pm to participate. The class is free and all supplies needed are included. Bringing your own tools (hammer, wood glue, and multi-tip screwdriver) is not necessary but you may need to share with other families if you choose to use Home Depot's tools. I highly recommend you bring a pair of need-nosed pliers to hold nails while your children hammer; these are usually not available at the clinic.

Visit Michaels' between 10am and noon and let the kids create a keepsake handprint. Cost is $5 per child and includes all supplies needed.

It's farmer's market season. Enjoy the Gig Harbor Farmer's Market between 8:30am and 2pm. You can pick up some fresh produce and flowers or just browse through the crafts offered by various local artists.

It is opening day of boating season. The decorated boat parade takes place from approximately 10am to 4:30pm. My family likes to take a picnic lunch to the north end (on the shore of Lake Washington) of the Seattle Arboretum and watch the boats sail by. This year's theme is "3 ring circus" so the boats are bound to be colorful and lively.

The Tacoma Art Musuem is celebrating its birthday with a free day for everyone. The event will include entertainment, cupcakes, and hands on art activities from 12pm to 5pm. Tacoma City and Pierce County residents can visit the museum for free anytime by checking out a pass from their local library but they can't get cupcakes there any day.

Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration is taking place at the Seattle Center starting at noon. The event features a lion dance, youth drill teams, martial arts, taiko drums and more.

Have fun!l

Toddler-schooling

Because this is primarily a homeschooling blog, I mainly focus on my older two school-aged children. However, younger kids in homeschooling families learn, too, simply by coming along for the ride. This post is all about Josh and his learning adventures today at the Pacific Science Center.

When it comes to Josh, no day is complete without Climbing 101. Today was actually more like Climbing 301. First, he climbed onto the dining room chair, a feat I did not know he could do on his own. Then, he stood up and climbed up onto the table. After scooting across our rather large table, he then attempted to climb down into his chair that hangs off the edge of the table. Today's table adventure was his first of probably many table climbing adventures. Who knew a 14 month old would be able to do this?

Of course, Josh gets dragged along on just about every field trip we take. He just loved the Pacific Science Center with all the stuff to see and touch. Here he's moving a water sprayer.

When we reached the entry to the room containing the animatronic dinosaurs, he saw and made a beeline for this lever that controls the movement of some dinosaur fossil jaws. We had to drag him away from it.

As usual, he's afraid of nothing, not even moving, biting robotic dinosaurs. He stood there staring at them asking us, "What's that?" (He really does say, "What's that?"...to everything.)

This wacky pendulum thingy was a favorite. You turn it by the knob that he is holding and it continues to spin in a crazy sort of way.

Here Scott and Josh are building something with these cool, interlocking wood pieces.

I was off watching Mika and Sammy putting on a show in bird costumes when I looked over at Scott and Josh to see this. Josh was going through the diaper bag looking for his teething tablets. When he found them, he handed them to Scott as if to say, "My teeth are bugging me. May I have some?" Scott gave him a couple, which he happily ate.

I've begun calling Josh "My Little Scientist" because he is constantly exploring and experimenting with anything and everything. When you hold him, he points to everything and asks, "What's that?" So, if you ever see one of us holding him you'll like hear something like, "That's picture. That's the wall. That's a flower. That's a sticker. That's a red car. That's a blue car. That's my nose. No, don't put your finger up my nose. That's my eye. No, please don't poke out my eye. That's a dog. That's a..." You get the picture.

Pacific Science Center

Today, we went on a completely unplanned trip to the Pacific Science Center. It was Saturday. Due to a tournament (that Sammy isn't in), there were no taekwondo classes today. It was probably the last chance in a while we'd get a chance to do something fun on a Saturday. So, we said forget responsibilities and things that need to be done, and hit the road.

While the trip wasn't planned, there were a few exhibits that I've been wanting to take the kids to see because they blended perfectly with our recent study of rocks and our current study of astronomy. We learned and we had a blast.



They had this cool model of the our solar system showing the relative size of the planets. The model included Pluto so we got to see how small it really is in comparison to the other planets which helped explain recent changes in Pluto's classification.



This handy, dandy little scale shows you how much you'd weigh on each of the planets which led to further explanation of gravity. Both kids checked out their weight on the scale.

Mika, according to the scale, weighs 1,591.8lbs on the Sun, 21.8lbs on Mercury, 51.6lbs on Venus, 57.3lbs on Earth, 151.3lbs on Jupiter, 65.3lbs on Saturn, 58.7lbs on Uranus, 65.9lbs on Neptune, and a whopping 4lbs on Pluto. The flash obscured her Mars weight. I found a website were you can convert your own weight for each planet; the results are similar, but not identical to, the weights this scale gave us.




This nifty little display showed us how many Jupiters would fit inside the sun and how many Earths would fit inside Jupiter. Reading about the relative size is one thing, but actually seeing it in three dimensions really helps to understand just how big Jupiter and the Sun really are.

Thanks to my husband generously agreeing to watch Josh, the kids and I were able to view a planetarium show while we were there. (Kids under 4 are not allowed in the planetarium except for special lights on shows.) Sammy and I also went on a simulated tour of the International Space Station.


Prior to beginning our astronomy unit, we finished up our rock unit. The Strange Matter exhibit at the Pacific Science Center had several hands on activities about rocks, crystals, and atomic structure in addition to many other topics. Here, Sammy is taking his turn at viewing opal (embedded in another type of rock) through magnification.

In this photo, Sammy is viewing four different types of crystals through magnification. Two of the crystals shown were salt and alum which we grew at home. They also had a GIANT crystal on display.

In this photo, the kids are checking out these rotating tables full of ball bearings. The signs talked about atom structure and bonding and gave suggestions for what they should do and look for.

Field trips like these really expand our learning and make it so much more fun. They kids get to see, touch, hear, and feel what we are learning about. They gain a better understanding of our subject matter and often ask probing questions that lead to great discussions. We love field trips and they'll always be a part of our homeschooling experience.

India Mahal Restaurant

Do NOT patronize the Indian Mahal Restaurant!

Indian Mahal Restaurant

823 Pacific Ave.

Tacoma, WA

This morning, I took my children over to Ever After, a gift store located immediately next door to the Indian Mahal Restaurnt. While waiting for Ever After to open, I took note of the restaurant. My husband recently tried Indian food and mentioned liking it. I thought about coming back with the family soon to try it out. After my experience with the owner today, I will never step foot into that restaurant and I hope you won't either. This man should not be in business working with the public nor does he deserve your hard earned money.

Like I said, we went to Ever After this morning. While there, my son told me he needed to throw up. I quickly asked if they had a restroom and was directed to the back door and down the hallway. We made a fast beeline there, leaving my daughter in the store (it felt very safe) with our things. My son ended up throwing up on the floor of the hallway. After cleaning it up, we went to leave and found the door back into Ever After was locked from the other side. Oops! So, I tried the next closest door which ended up leading to India Mahal's dining area. I just thought we could quickly walk through. No big deal. We walked about 10 steps through when my son realized he didn't have his bag so we turned back.

When we got to the hallway door, the restaurant owner came at me (in an aggressive stance) and yelled at me, "What are you doing in my restaurant?" I calmly explained that I was shopping next door and my son got sick and needed to use the restroom but we got locked into the hallway so we tried the closest door to get out. He responded by backing me back into the hallway and yelling at me to get out of his restaurant. I, getting a bit angry at this point, asked him if I should just be locked in the hallway all day. He yelled back, that it wasn't his problem and blocked the doorway so I couldn't leave. I can't remember everything he said (other than to repeated say "It's not my problem.") but I don't back down, even from a 6 foot tall man yelling at me while I'm holding a baby and trying to keep my 6 year old away from him so at this point I asked him why he was being such a ________. He didn't answer. He just screamed at me to stay out of his restaurant and it wasn't his problem. I told him I would be informing everyone I knew and the world, via the Internet, not to visit his precious restaurant. What a jerk!

He continued yelling at me and blocking the door to his restaurant and was between me and the locked door to the store I had come from so I had to find another exit. I ended up having to walk, with my toddler and sick son, around the block to get back to the store where my 8 year old daughter was waiting for us. The employees/owners (I'm not sure which they were) apologized for the door being locked and for my unlucky run in with their neighbor. The male employee explained that this guy is always unpleasant and that he had a major run in with him too. He had been in the bathroom and there was pounding on the door. When he opened the door, the restaurant owner began yelling at him and actually grabbed and shook him. Meanwhile, the female employee/owner had to call the police. They ended up filing assault charges against the guy. I'd say he definitely has a problem!

So, PLEASE, don't patronize this restaurant! If you have a blog and are local, please pick up this story and spread the word.

Toast the Knees?

Before starting on their language arts and math work for the day, we spent over an hour reading for our astronomy unit. In our spine, Kingfisher's Astronomy: Discoveries, Solar System, Stars, Universe, we read a basic introduction and some history of astronomy. The book had a short snippet on Eratosthenes, a Greek astronomer in 200 B.C. Having saw that name in the book when I did a quick glance through it at the library, I also picked up another book about Eratosthenes. That book, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth, was quite interesting.

So, what's with the funky title of this post? The kids got a kick out of my incorrect pronunciation of Eratosthenes. I pronounced it Air...uh...toast the knees. That got the kids going as we laughed about toasting our knees. Turns out, the real pronunciation is fun, too. It's Air...uh...Toss the Knees. So, instead of toasting our knees we are throwing them around.

Anyway, back on track. We learned that the early Greeks knew that the earth was round as early as 450 B.C. and that Eratosthenes accurately calculated the circumference of the earth around 200 B.C. (He was 200 miles off which is pretty close when you consider that the actual circumference is 24, 662 miles). Now, why is it, that school never taught me that people knew that the earth was round 2000 years before Columbus? Did you? And how did people go so far backwards as to believe the earth was flat 2000 years after they knew otherwise? Interesting!

One of the things I liked about this book is that it provided plenty to talk about other than Eratosthenes. There were mathematical concepts that my kids haven't yet learned that I needed to explain a little. I needed to explain what papyrus scrolls were and how they were the "books" in those days. The book mentions Ptolemy III and that he hired an official flatterer so I explained flattery. There's little tidbits of ancient Greek culture: the lyre, the Olympics, boys going to school but not girls, the importance of scholarly pursuits in Athens, a couple of important Greek discoveries were mentioned, some geography, and Greek vocabulary (gymnasium, museum, stade, bematist). Most importantly, the book emphasizes the importance of being curious, observing the world, asking questions, and seeking answers to those questions. All this in a 48 pages children's book! It took us an hour to get through it. Amazon has the reading level listed as 4-8 which is incorrect. It is more appropriate for 2nd through 4th grade.

So, when you study astronomy, don't forget to Toss Your Knees!

P.S. So far today has been a good, productive day. We spent over an hour on astronomy. The kids finished their language arts and math for the day which took about an hour. Mika is upstairs working on revising her 12 page story and Sammy is bouncing between practicing taekwondo, studying the world map in the back of his dictionary, and playing with Josh. Over two hours of "school" has happened and it is only 11:00am. Whoo hoo! I like days like this.

Mika's MAP Assessment Results

Ok, so I've disappeared for a few days. I've been busy! Well, actually I'm always busy but I've been preoccupied with trying to figure out what Mika's MAP test results mean for our future in homeschooling.

I'm pretty sure I understand now why she hates school and complains so much.. "Mom, do I have to do this page? I already know it," is a common complaint. School became more tolerable this year when I quit trying to teach and just let her get the pages done on her own. To get it over with as quickly as possible. She almost never asks for help and seldom gets more than 1 or 2 wrong, if any. She enjoys our unit studies in which we read books, do projects, carry out experiments, and do field trips. It's her 3rd grade english and math that she hates the most.

First of all, if you remember, I posted about how the test frustrated and upset her because the questions were so hard. I talked to the test proctor who explained to me, again, how the test works. It is a computerized, adaptive test that tests grades 3 through 12. When the student gets a question correct, the next question is more difficult. When they g et a question incorrect, the next question is easier. It is designed so that the student gets half of the questions correct and half wrong. The test goes back and worth to determine the student's level.

We got her scores back yesterday. In math, the subject she hates the most, she got a score of 215. This score is in the 88th percentile for 3rd grade. Another chart that came with the results indicates that her score falls between the medium score for 4th and 5th grade. In reading, her score was 225 which is the 99th percentile for 3rd grade and is the median score for 9th grade. In language usage, her score was 231 which is not on the chart at all. The median score for 10th grade is 225. Her reading and language uses scores indicate that she should be in a 4th grade gifted class for these subjects.

After receiving her scores, I called our teacher/contact at Columbia Virtual Academy and asked if she thought these scores were accurate. Our discussion included the fact that she scored in the 97th percentile over all on the CAT-5 test in October. Her language arts and reading scores were in the 99th percentile. So, we have two different types of tests showing similar results. Her teacher also mentioned her writing ability based on the samples she has read. I got the feeling she believes the results are accurate.

So, what do I do now? Our teacher/contact at CVA recommended some reading by Nancy Atwell. Atwall writes books on how to teach creative writing and is geared towards middle school. She thought it would be good to take her to meet some real authors and attend some writing conferences like Get Lit. She also recommended that I scrap the language arts workbooks and teach LA in context.

I don't feel prepared to teach language arts in context. At the very least, I need some sort of guide, a list of things students need to learn about before graduation. Is there any such thing? I have a writing curriculum on its way that will probably work well from what I've been told. But what about grammar? And literature? And spelling? And what about the other subjects, should I adjust them too?

So, I'm researching. I'm trying to figure out what to do for next year.

Tacoma Kids Weekly - Week of April 21, 2008

Monday, April 21, 2008
It's family game night at Izilla Toys tonight at 5pm. This toy store provides a variety of games for all ages, pizza, and refreshments. You just bring the family.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
It's Earth Day Trail Day at the Adriana Hess Audubon Center and Tacoma Nature Center. Enjoy one of several nature walks and learn how to help the earth. The event is free but pre-registration is requested.

Friday, April 25, 2008
Spring Art Walk is taking place in Olympia from 5pm to 10pm. This event includes more than 300 artists, hands on family activities, entertainment stages, and street performers.

Here's the perfect event for kids who love Webkinz, the Webkinz Extravaganza at Ever After in downtown Tacoma. They'll have games, prizes, and activities for customers and the first 500 customers will receive a free webkinz with any $10 purchase. The event takes place today through Sunday. See link for details.

Saturday, April 26, 2008
Spring Art Walk in Olympia continues today from noon to 7pm. Besides the free entertainment mentioned for Friday, the Procession of Species (a parade of sorts) and an "instrument petting zoo" from 1pm to 4pm at the Washington Center for Performing Arts.

Fort Nisqually comes alive with the first event of the season today. Travel back in time and experience the fur trading era with volunteer actors dressed in period clothing who demonstrate period crafts. Event takes place between 11am and 5pm. Cost is $4 (adults), $3 (seniors, students ages 13-17), and $2 (children ages 5-12). Living history can really make history come alive.

The Puyallup Library is having a "Day of the Children/Day of the Books" event with crafts, music, clowns, balloons, face painting, and free books for kids. This event takes place from 1:30pm to 4pm.

A demonstration of the Xeko Card Game is being held at the Tacoma Borders Store from noon to 4pm. This trading card, educational game looks really neat.

Have fun!

Spring Fair Fun

After a slight delay involving hunting down where both my older kids lost their jackets, we made it to the Puyallup Spring Fair. We had a great time. Here's some pictures of our fun and what we did.

The kids took advantage of the wait for our first show to go visit with the reptiles of Brad's Reptile Show. Then they hit the booth for a stream preservation group and made some bookmarks. While there, they also got to see the beginning of the salmon lifecycle. The booth had about 7 tubes showing different stages of salmon growth from brand new egg to tiny fish. It was pretty cool.

I read about Charlie the Noise Guy a couple of years ago but this was the first time we've been able to see him in action and what a treat it was. At the show we saw, I noticed that all of the kids were just dying with giggles and laughter. They all, boys and girls, obviously loved Charlie. I also noticed that every parent in the group was equally enjoying themselves. Charlie, you see, was a boy who got into trouble often because he loved to make noise. Then as a children's librarian, he brought fun into story time but adding sound effects to the stories. Now, he makes a living by making noises while telling stories and jokes. He'll even teach you how to make a few of them. What a fun way to make a living!

My son was especially enthralled with Charlie, so much so, that he ran over there and gave him a big hug. He wants to be the Noise Guy Jr. Charlie was very friendly and handled my son's excitement very well. If you ever have a chance to see the Noise Guy, take it.

After the Noise Guy, the kids got their faces painted for free. Mika, of course, got a horse.

Sammy opted for a dragon. In the photo, he's trying to make the biggest smile he can.

Josh, by the way, got a couple of paw prints painted on the back of his hand.

I think the highlight of Josh's day were all the bleachers available for climbing. He didn't waste time; he hopped right up on them and up he went giving mom no time time relax.

Mika wasn't aware that I snapped this photo of her studying the chicks until we looked at the photos this morning. They were pretty cute.

Josh didn't know what to make of the goats and sheep in the petting farm. He mostly stood in the middle of the pen pointing at the animals while looking at me with a look that seemed to say, "Mama, look! What is that strange thing?"

Mika asked about this pretty milking cow and was happy we found it. You see, the cow if full of water which you can "milk" out of the cow by squeezing her teats. Mika waited for and took two turns.

Sammy had to get in on the action too. I just don't see the draw of a fake cow.

Of course, Josh has to do everything his older siblings do. He was actually in there with teat in hand, shaking it, trying to get it to work.

Sammy loves just about any character he can find. He hugged a squirrel right before we found this clown. Josh, on the other hand, was NOT please that I sat him with the clown to try to get a picture of them together. Mika usually stays far away from characters, clowns, mimes, and other strange things as well.

I think the highlight of the day for Sammy were the Dragon Steps. They are a group of people who like to play with fire. They stated, several times, that they were professions and warned people to NOT try this at home. Here are two skimpily dressed girls playing with some small flames to get the show started. The one in the back was doing what looked like a belly dance sort of dance with the flames. The one in the front was putting the flames out either in her mouth, on her tongue, or along her waist. This was a rather sensual start to the performance, making me mildly uncomfortable.

This guy was cool though. He was, by far, the best part of the performance. Here he is quickly swinging two flames on chains in circles towards his chest. They appeared to be skimming along his skin as they went around.

For his grand finally, he blew his flames into a big flame in the air. Sammy asked if we could come back today to see it again.

Unfortunately, the African Acrobats cancelled the whole weekend. I was looking forward to their show. It was quite disappointing. We substituted a magic show by Steve, the Pretty Good which had Mika confused and in awe.

We were pretty tired when we finally walked in the door to our home at 9:30pm. The kids had fun, though, which was the whole point.

The Best Kind of Day

Have you ever wondered how some of us define just about anything as school? Well, here's an example.

With the exception that I'll have virtually no time to get my work done, today is going to be a near perfect homeschool day for my kids.

ART: They started the day but taking initiative and making a fun Mother's Day project involving construction paper, Popsicle sticks, googly eyes, scissors, glue, and permanent markers. (Yes, they know Mother's Day isn't for another month.)

MATH: I'll have the kids do their next lessons in math while I'm getting ready for the rest of our day.

LIFE SKILLS: all the chores they have to do before we leave which includes helping to care for their toddler brother

PE: Then, we'll head out to the YMCA for half an hour of swimming instruction followed by another half an hour of free swim.

Then, we'll head over to the Puyallup Spring Fair which fits under many headings. Here's what we hope to fit into our fair schedule in school terms.

SCIENCE: Brad's Reptile Show, Swifty Swine Racing Pigs (youtube video)

FINE ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES: Sarakasi African Acrobats (video at the very bottom of the link)

HEALTH/SAFETY (as in, don't do this at home): Dragon Steps

CAREER EDUCATION: Charlie the Noise Guy and everyone else

Career education is a required homeschooling subject here in Washington state. While the laws list that we must teach it, they fail to explain exactly what it is. I define it as "teaching kids about different types of careers available to them." So, as part of career education, I expose them to not only your standard careers that you see as you study various subjects (like the astronauts will be learning about in our new astronomy unit study) but the nonstandard fun careers that amazing people find a way to make money doing. Charlie the Noise Guy is an excellent example of someone taking something fun and turning it into a career. He likes making noises and it always got him into trouble as a kid in school. Now he makes money doing the very thing that teachers and librarians tried to make him stop doing. I just love it!

WRITING: I may consider making them write tomorrow about their favorite part of the Spring Fair.

the Hardest Thing

Do you want to know what is really bugging me right now? Well, do you?

The weather is what is bugging me right now. How am I suppose to teach a hands on, experiment-filled, activity-based unit study on astronomy when we can't even see the sun, moon, planets, and stars? How are we going to see how the sun's rays fades the color out of paper if there is no sun? How are we going to build and use a sundial when there are no shadows? How are we going to record the phases of the moon when it is hiding behind clouds? How are we going to scope out the constellations, nebulae, planets, and moon craters when the sky is solid black?

Isn't the weather aware that I need its cooperation for the next two or three weeks? Geesh, you'd think it had a mind of its own!

Map Assessment Results

Do you remember that horrid test my kids took last week? Well, I got Sammy's test results back over the phone today with hard copies on their way in the mail. Mika's results are still in limbo as they have been unable to retrieve them (it's a computerized test).

Despite my strong negative opinion of the test, it appears to be accurate. The results put Sammy right about where I would expect him to be. I'm still wondering how Mika's results will turn out since she was very upset throughout much of the test.

Here's the bottom line for Sammy.

First of all, you need to know that he turned 6 halfway through this school year, making him a kindergartner by age. He is officially in the first grade though. This test considers 50th percentile to be normal for that grade level.

For math, he tested in the 98th percentile for first grade.
For reading, he tested in the 68th percentile for first grade.

The results are just where I'd expect him to be because he enjoys and excels in math. Language arts subjects, like spelling and reading, are more difficult for him because of the language delays he dealt with for the first 5 years of his life. Apparently, he's caught up now, given that he tested above average for the grade level ahead of his age. LOL

Sammy likes to eat Smarties candy. He says he likes them and eats them because they'll make him smart. I guess they work. : )

My Letter

April 15, 2008

Dr. Terry Bergeson
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Old Capitol Building
600 South Washington
Olympia, WA 98504

Dear Dr. Bergeson:

Yesterday, I watched the evening news which included a story about the Seeds of Compassion children's event at the Key Arena featuring the Dalai Lama. The story explained how you encouraged local public schools to take advantage of this opportunity and take their students to see the Dalai Lama speak. You mentioned how Buddhist children would like the opportunity to see their spiritual leader and how it was a great opportunity for all children. I agree with your assessment and applaud your willingness to go against the often tauted "separation of church and state" when it comes to mixing religious instruction and public schooling.

Now that you have opened the doors to religious instruction (or instruction by religious leaders) using public time and funds, I believe you have an obligation to give equal time and funds to encouraging the other major world religions. These would include, but not be limited to, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Mormonism, and Christianity. I'm sure the Pope, Billy Graham, Thomas Monson, and other religious leaders will be thrilled to receive your invitation to come speak to Washington public school students about nonreligious topics such as compassion.

Thank you for your courage in stepping out of the box to allow all students equal opportunity to see their religious leader speak and to learn about each of the major world religions as part of their public school experience. I look forward to your announcement that public school students will be visiting with these other religious leaders in the near future.

Sincerely,

Separation of Church and State

There are many reasons why we chose to school our children and home. One of them is the hypocrisy found rampant in the public school system and I just saw a perfect example of that on the evening news.

The dalai lama is up in Seattle, only 30 minutes from here, and its been big in the news. Today's story was about the Seeds of Compassion children's day at the Seattle Center and touched on how the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction encouraged schools to bring their students to see this event. She talked about how the Buddhist kids would obviously want to see their spiritual leader and how it was good for all kids to see him speak on compassion.

How does the Superintendent of Public Instruction urging local public schools to take their students to see the Buddhist leader fit with separation of church and state? Apparently, separation of church and state only matters when you are talking about religious beliefs that center around the Bible. And to prove that, here's a direct quote from the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction in response to whether she would arrange for schools to bring their students to see the Pope, the Catholic equivalent of the dalai lama.

Her answer, "No, I probably couldn't get away with the Pope but the dalai lama is a man of the whole world."

Huh?

If the schools are going to use public money to take kids to see the Buddhist leader, I think they should be fair and represent all of the major religions. It's all of none; they need to make up their mind.

Tacoma Kids Weekly - Week of April 14, 2008

I knew I was forgetting something this weekend. I just figured out that it was this post. I don't have a lot of time but I'll try to find some of the best things going on this week for you.

Wednesday, April 16

The UPS String Orchestra is giving a complementary concert, Baroque Bash, at 7:30pm.

Thursday, April 17

Puyallup Spring Fair begins today and runs through Sunday, April 20th. Students ages 6-18 get in free on Thursday from 3pm to 10pm. Adults can purchase a discounted ticket for $6.50 at Fred Meyer or Safeway. We traditionally make the spring fair an inexpensive trip by forgoing rides, opting instead to enjoy the free entertainment and exhibits. Enjoy pig races, the Konzelman Family, African acrobats, face painting, and a petting farm just to name a few options. Bring snacks and a picnic dinner to save on food costs. Parking is free. If you do wish to enjoy the rides, tickets will be on sale $7 for 14 rides (certain rides excluded) today.

Today is also the day for the Third Thursday Artwalk in Tacoma. The Tacoma Art Museum is free all day. Other venues, including the Museum of Glass and the Washington State History Museum, are free from 5pm to 8pm. If you are learning about the Old West and/or railroads, the Washington State History Museum would be a great place to visit right now.

Friday, April 18

The annual Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival begins at the Seattle Center. The festival features Japanese performances, exhibits, demonstrations, costumes, martial arts, food, and hands on activities for the kids. The festival takes place now through Sunday from 10am-6pm.

Saturday, April 19

It's April Pool's Day at the Eastside Pool in Tacoma. All ages can take a water safety class and then enjoy a free family swim. Check in at 1:15pm, water safety class is from 1:30 to 2:30, and family swim is from 2:30 to 4:30. You must participate in the water safety class to enjoy the free swim. This is a great way to get the kids ready for summer.

Today is also Parks Appreciation Day throughout Tacoma. Join other volunteers in sprucing up the parks for the upcoming season. Many parks will be involved and anyone can help out. This is a great way to remind the kids to appreciate and take care of our natural spaces. Check out the link for locations and what to bring.

Charlie the Noise Guy will be doing a show at the Lakewood Pierce County library at 10:30am. I haven't seen him personally but a stop at his website has had been wanting to see one of his shows.

Sunday, April 20

Stop by Borders in Puyallup for a Xeko Card Game Demo between 1pm and 4pm. Learn about this eco-adventure game and enjoy free goodies. This event is for ages 6 and up. It looks interesting. There will be a demo in Tacoma next week.

Sorry for the delay and short list. Have fun!