campy

A lot of people have been asking a lot of questions lately about our homeschool. We're getting ready to go to the Outer Banks on a camping trip, but when we return I'll start posting more about what we do. I plan on discussing what books we use, how we socialize, our schedule, and how it works for us. Feel free to write with any questions you might have and I'll be giddy to reply.
Have a swell weekend! I'll put up some pictures here when we get back.

"Some days are fancy days." -Allie

letters to the president

On Tuesday, like many other schools across the country, we watched President Obama give his speech on education, responsibility, and accountability. We began that day by discussing goals: by defining the word, talking about the difference between short-term and long-term goals, understanding why they're important, and figuring out how we can achieve them. The kids then wrote a paper listing their goals, picked the one they thought was most important, and illustrated it.We followed that by talking a little about the President and why he is qualified to speak about working hard to meet your goals, taking responsibility for your education, and being accountable for your own actions. The kids enjoyed learning about his childhood and thought he was very interesting.It was then time for the speech to begin. My kids paid close attention and were suprisingly quiet throughout. When it was over, they were quick to point out their favorite parts of the talk, how likeable the President seemed, and asked if we could start homeschool at 4:30 in the morning. (Um, nope.) They wanted to know if it would be okay if they wrote a letter to Obama (they love to write letters...more on that in another post), and of course I said that would be wonderful.
Here's what they wrote:

Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for the speech you made about education and responsibility. I liked when you said failure doesn't define us, it teaches us to try again, and when you said how other students became great heroes, inventors, and leaders. Also I liked the story about your mom. I am in 4th grade in homeschool. I like to study Greece. My goal is to become an archaeologist. I liked how your speech inspired me to reach my goal. You do an excellent job as president. I am glad I saw you twice in North Carolina when you were campaigning. Thank you for working so hard for us! Your Friend,
Ian

Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for the speech you made about education and responsibility. I liked when you said your mom woke you up a 4:30 in the morning. I also thought it was very inspiring and made me want me to work harder. I also liked how you reminded us to not quit and to keep trying. I am a 2nd grader. I like math and art. When I grow up I'm going to be a zookeeper. Thank you for your work. You are a nice man.
Your friend,
Allie
They also enclosed the drawings they made of their most important goal, and Annie, my four year old, included her lovely drawing of her being a famous "arter." Then they addressed the envelope and ran outside to put it in the mailbox. They told me they should hear back from Obama "in about a week." I told them to relax and be extra-patient.

I thought it was a terrific, inspirational speech that was perfectly targeted to any school-aged child. And it motivated me to be a better teacher.

you're welcome for the most pretentious kid update ever

I was stringing tape around the baseboards of the girls' room so I can paint tonight, and I overheard my seven year old daughter teaching my four year old daughter Latin vocabulary. Adorable.
That's all for now. We've been too busy to update, which is a good thing, I think.

still summer

Mercy on us, little children...!

We found a copy of Myths Every Child Should Know (1905) on Amazon...for $1. It was edited by HW Mabie, and has a few stories from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Hawthorne's writing is so playful and gentle in these retellings, and my kids (although quick to point out the gorier stuff he omitted) are as crazy about them as I am...his joy is contagious. You can read his tale of our beloved Chimaera here.

According to Allie's wanted poster: Catch the Chimera, get a kingdom, the princess, $200 and a dog. How could Bellerophon say no? (Answer: He couldn't. Man needs a dog.)

We're taking a break tomorrow. The kids are having friends over for water balloon/water gun fights, and we're going to eat cookies (Christmas cookies in August!) and be merry. Thursday we'll be back to work, and will hopefully get the play finished then. The sets are mostly done, and I have to say, they're pretty fantastic.

Four year olds are the best storytellers.

The girls and I were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for Ian to finish his guitar lesson for the week. Allie was drawing, filling her sketch book with daisies and smiling puppies, loving family and happy owls. Annie was drawing, too. She was sketching a story while she was telling it. It went something like this:
"I am the princess. I am the daughter of the king. I have a golden bride and I ride Pegasus all around. Then one sad day I got stolen. I got stolen all the way to Egypt. The mean men left me in the desert and I was lost. I was surrounded by camel balls."
"You were surrounded by what, dear?" I asked delicately, noticing that the other parents in the room had grown very quiet and were working hard to not look at us.
"CAMEL BALLS. Camel balls were EVERYWHERE!" Annie yelled dramatically, flinging her arms over her head and spinning around. She stopped and looked at me so, so seriously.
"They were going to EAT ME."
I sighed.
"You're talking about 'cannibals,' aren't you?"
"YES! And then Pegasus flew all the way from Greece and saved me and then I flew up to France on vacation. The end."

We've been working like little bees on our play, which we hope to have ready on Monday. I'll put it up here when it's done. It's going to be a winner, I promise!

score!

We just got back from our favorite used bookstore in Raleigh, where we picked up children's books a-plenty: several books by Roger Lancelyn Green, a beautiful book on the history of the Statue of Liberty, two books on Troy, one lovely illustrated hardcover on King Arthur, one on Greek heroes, and one on fractions. The kids also picked up some personal reading...a few Goosebumps, Gregor the Overlander, Little House books, and a cute polar bear story for Annie. (And a book on Spacemen 3 for me, because I refuse to grow up.) All totalled up, we spent slightly less than $30. That makes today a good day, in spite of having to barefoot-chase our escaped dogs all over the neighborhood, having guests show up unexpectedly, and being kind of sleepy. Yes, indeed, that definitely made up for it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stand over a vent and cool off.

space is the place

If any of you knew us before we got our new house in May, you would know how giddy I am, all the time, that I have this space. We went from having a corner of the living room in a 1200 square foot house to having a spacious, open loft. It's a tingly little thrill, every time I walk upstairs. I have a lot planned, but I'm pleased with the way it's coming along so far.

Blackboard in mid-air. (Actually, it's painted on a white wall, but that's not very interesting.) We're going to put molding around the board...I think it will look much nicer then. We're also going to paint the room, but I'm not sure when. It depends on whether or not I can ever make up my mind. I've got eight different shades of blue-grey on the front room wall, and it's been that way for a month. It looks modern and artsy, and I might just leave it like that.
Learning! Mission accomplished.

more excuses

Sooo. We have been doing some really nifty work, and we got our class set up a little more (thank you, Ikea.) I'll post some pictures later. Right now, I'm enjoying summer. Iced tea and a good breeze and a good game of Mouse Trap with the kids. Perfect.