Gray's Academy

New Blog

2007-09-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we are home owners. Yay!

And to mark this new stage in our lives I have started a new blog - Here It Is

It is still in it's beta so please let me know if you experience any problems or notice any issues.

You may have noticed I haven't been posting as often since we started getting ready for the move but I am going to try to get back to posting once a day a.s.a.p. So bookmark the new site!

friends and the fair

2007-09-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Listen to ipod

dinner with bestfriend

all the girls playing

saying good-bye

last piano lesson

dinner with her other bff "E"

at the L.A. County Fair on Sunday

In the Little Red School House

Making a rag doll

Z and her Raggedy Ann

The 15 story ferris wheel

Top O' the World

Come one, come all

2007-09-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well we have now been able to visit most of our friends. There are a few that we will have to wait to see when we come back. The week before last we had five playdates with friends and this week we had four plus a visit to our old homeschool park group where Z got to play with about fifteen very good girlfriends she had made over the last two years there. That day worked out really well.

I am so happy and grateful that both Z and I got to spend so much time with our good friends here. It makes me sad to leave a place with so many cool, supportive, like-minded and kind friends.

I am really excited and gratified by how many friends are already planning trips to come visit us this year. So far three of our very good friends are making plans to come visit us while they are visiting other family in the midwest. We have one family coming in October, one in May and one without definite plans but a lot of enthusiam. *smile*

I had to explain to Z that Indiana is not a place most people can justify going to on vacation unless they are bundling it in with a trip to see family or a cross country drive or something.

I am so happy to be able to say we have a guest room now (plus Z's trundle bed and a futon in the basement.) And, of course, all my good internet buddies should totally let me know if they are in the area so we can meet up in real life.

Today is a big day - I have finally finished packing and the movers are coming within the hour.

Homeschool schedule

2007-09-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

Z and I can't wait to start homeschooling!

Today I rewrote my schedule and I feel like everything looks really good though I still need to do a bit more research.

We are going to do classes four days a week.

Math - 30 mins a day - using Livingmath.net books and games working on concepts from Everything You Need to Know About Math Homework 4th - 6th Grade

Language Arts - 30 mins a day - using Classical Aesop curriculm but using Beatrix Potter instead of Aesop and working on concepts from Everything You Need to Know About English Homework 4th - 6th grade

Social Studies - 30 mins a day
Day One - Reading from Renaissance era biographies
Day Two - Finish Reading if necessary, make a Bio Page for history notebook and add words to Renaissance Glossary
Day Three - Geography work book or Geographunny book
Day Four - Reading a story from a different culture integrated with geography

Science - 30 mins a day
Day One - Nature study with journaling
Day Two - Continue with local flora and fauna study
Day Three - Science Experiment and Log
Day Four - Other

Reading - 30 mins a day - Reading classical stories, biographies and poetry

Japanese - 20 mins a day - I am still not sure what we are going to do for Japanese... :(

Then sometime in the afternoon Z will do an "enrichment" class - art, crafts, cooking, and "other"

Then one day will be our field trip day. There are so many new things in S.B. that we want to see. In the winter that day might be for projects or movies or something indoors and warm.

I am not sure about her classes yet. She will still take piano and hopefully voice, but I am unsure if she will continue with gymnastics or start dance. I am not sure if we will take anymore classes as I don't want to get over committed.

a house is a place to hold your stuff

2007-09-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

I spent five hours packing Z's room today, and I am not even done yet (!!!).

I had to work on it by myself because I wanted to throw a lot of stuff away and Z would never let me. She is very attached to her junk, I mean... her priceless items.

Honestly, she feels a very strong attachment to everything she has ever made, every piece of paper she has ever written on, any toy anyone once gave her that she played with one time before forgetting about it, and most items of clothing she has ever worn including handme down boy's pajamas that are at least four inches too short for her.

But it is not fair to only make fun of Z.

Pere and I have a ridiculous amount of kitchen items for a tiny 8x8 kitchen. I was packing them tonight and I couldn't help but think "What the hell are we doing with all this stuff??"

We have all the normal stuff like

The Kitchen Aid

Food Processor

Blender

The Crock Pot

Rice Cooker

The Electric Mixer

We got the fancy stuff

The Good Silver

The Crystal

The Cake Set

The helpful stuff

Lots of twine

The Hand Blender

Mortar and Pestle

The Japanese cooking stuff

Sushi Maker

Special bowl to cool sushi rice

Steamer

and all uber necessary

Hello Kitty Waffle Machine

Fondue Set

Cake Decorator

Canape Bread Molds

Pasta Maker

Creme Brulee kit

Apple corer, peeler, slicer

and, of course, S'more Maker

And that's not all of it... thank God I am getting a bigger kitchen.

byes

2007-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

I was thinking I would write about how Z received a "talking to" tonight regarding how she is not the parent and she is not to tell us what to do or speak to us in a sassy manner.

But instead I remembered the nice time we had at a friend's house today. Z's little friend made her the sweetest going away picture book that she illustrated herself. Z and I both got to talk with our friends and then we all played the fun new game Whoonu together. It was hard to say good-bye so instead we all went and had ice cream at one of the places our families had first gotten together at.

Finally when it was time to say good-bye there were tears on Z's part. This is all very hard for her. She had to say good-bye to many friends the last few days.

As far as our moving goes we have one week till the moves come and 13 days until we fly away.

Look, and aqueduct

2007-09-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Nine hundred and ninety-nine books on the wall, nine hundred and ninty nine books.,, take one down, stick it in a box, nine hundred and ninety-eight books on the wall.

Guess what I have been doing today?

Also there has been some stress and I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve or somehow otherwise royally frakked up my neck on Monday. Since they I have been doing ice and heat and massage and stretching and now beer. I am really hoping this whole beer things works... I don't have time to be injured.

Pere has officially started working from home. It is really wonderful to have him home again. The arrangement is not ideal at the moment since we are packing so he is set up with his computer right in the thick of things at the dining room table. Z and I are trying not to be too distracting. But in our new house he will have pretty much have the whole basement to himself.

This morning Z was eating her peanut buttered toast and she holds it up for me to look at, "Mommy, look an aqueduct."
And yes, her toast resembled the Roman water conveyer. I had to laugh. It felt like something I should share with Carolyn at Hoagiesgifted for her YKYTPOAGCW...page.

Z is also obsessed with time these days. She really needs to wear her watch instead of asking me the time every 3 and a half minutes... But I am not sure that would really be much better because when she is within sight of a clock she gives me constant updates on how much time we have until the next event in our lives, "Only four minutes to lunch", "Seventeen minutes until time to leave for gymnastics", "Only eight minutes until daddy is done."

To end on another Z quote, today I heard her say "He looks a fool", which is a very old-fashioned way of saying "He looks foolish," which in itself is an old-fashioned way of saying something much more crude. ;)

Living Math

2007-09-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to share what I think is one of the best resources for math on the net livingmath.net

I found myself on this site again today after Z and I reread four of her old math themed picture books

One Grain of Rice by Demi

The Big Buck Math Book

Millions to Measure

On Beyond A Million

Z has had all these books for several years and already learned their concepts. But we like to revisit her favorite picture books.

She really loves learning about math by reading about it. She or I make up word problems as we go along when we are inspired by ideas in the books. For example, she mulitplied 250 million by 500 million to find out something about people eating popcorn in America... (I forget what the problem was exactly.)

Also, when she was younger, her most favorite Math books were from the Time Life Series "I Love Math"

Anyway Livingmath.net has many great lists of math books by concept and grade level as well as inspirational articles and even their own math/history lesson plans.

I was searching there today because Z loves learning math this way so much that I am rethinking my idea to use EPGY. EPGY was great but also expensive. It would be more work for me but I know I could put something really great together using the living math approach that Z loves so well.

Labor Day

2007-09-04T16:22:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Channel Islands house to get together with friends and family for Labor Day. Pere brought his homemade chili and fancy macaroni and cheese (fancironi). We had our Pale Ale and Arrogant Beer. We played board games with Z and walked to the beach and talked and ate and had too much chocolate cake.

It was a really great party. Of course I forgot my camera...

The night before we had our friends A and M and their daughter E. Z and E played a game in her room for hours! We four adults talked and talked, and as always, had to end the party before we were ready to be done.

We are really going to miss everyone. But I am trying not to think of it too much. I trust that I will see everyone when we come back for visits. I know it won't be exactly the same. We won't be in their lives every week. But that will make the times we get to see them during visits even more special. Also it is so easy these days to keep up with friends over email.

I really appreciate how supportive everyone has been even though it is hard to leave one another. Last night some friends that we really respect were so happy for us that it really warmed my heart.

Teaching Meme

2007-09-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from Patience at Homespun.

I am a good teacher because ... I really value knowledge. I love to learn myself. I care that my child is emotionally safe and I believe that to really learn she should be excited by and engaged with what we are doing.

If I weren't a teacher I would be ... A writer or a trainer. I wrote professionally before having Z. I love doing the research that comes with writing on a new subject. I also used to train adults when I was an efficiency manager. I enjoy developing training materials and helping people figure out how to make it work for them.

My teaching style is ... academic and old fashioned in someways. I read all six of the original Charlotte Mason volumes when I just started learning about homeschooling (Z was two) and her old-fashioned yet highly sensible approach really appealed to me. On one hand it was quiant, with the handicrafts and daily exercises, but what she said about parenting and the nature of educating and learning really spoke to me. (At this time I also read Maria Montessori's books, and John Gatto. I checked out teacher's textbooks from the library and read Vygotsy, Dewey, Skinner, Gardener, Piget, Erickon, etc.)

I learned a lot and developed a style that is based partly on what I learned from my readings and partly from what I learned just by teaching Z.

My classroom is ... the dining table, the couch, the car. I keep things organized, I am more comfortable that way.

My lesson plans are ... also organized. I want Z to have a lot of free time in the afternoons to expore things on her own and follow her own passions. To give her all that time we need to be efficient about our lessons in the morning. I have definite ideas regarding what (and how) I want her to learn in every subject. Since I really believe she learns best when she is excited and engaged I search far and wide for just the right resources for each subject and then I present them in the order that I have learned will draw her in.

We certainly go "off track" sometimes but I don't sweat it. She is far enough ahead and those days are a nice change of pace.

One of my teaching goals ... is for Z is enjoy her education. I want her to be excited to do her lessons. I would say I have two "foundational" goals. One is the "plan" of what I want her to learn and the other is that she likes what she is doing.

The toughest part of teaching is ... trying to be in good temperment all the time. Day after day after day everything goes swimmingly. Z and I get along very well. But some times our stars get crossed and things are difficult.

The thing I love about teaching is ... being with Z. And the planning. *wink*

A common misconception about teaching is ... that only teachers can do it. I think any reasonably intelligent person who is also mentally sound can educate their child. The way I do it takes energy and patience and creativity and consistency. But there are lots of way of doing it.

The most important thing I've learned since starting teaching is ... that there are a lot of important things to do doing school hours that aren't "lessons." We like to get together with friends, go to LEGOland or the Zoo, have lunch with grandma, go on walks, etc.

Friends

2007-09-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

We have a full schedule ahead of us playdates and parties with friends.

Today is Z's bestfriend's birthday party. I realized last week that this girl is an amazing artist.

Tomorrow we are having family friends over for dinner. Z calls their daughter her "evil best friend." Not because the girl is evil but because when they used to play pretend the friend liked to play the "bad guy". All of Z's other friends will only be the "good guy." This girl can be anthing she wants to be. I can see her being some kind of writer or Literature professor.

Monday we are getting together with another "best friend" for a labor day party. She wants to be a marine mammal trainer.

Tuesday we having a playdate with a little boy that Z has been friends with for two years. He is going to be a rock star.

And then Wednesday we are having another playdate with another little girl "bestfriend". I could see her being an actress or writer, she makes up great stories.

Thursday she has classes.

Friday I am hoping to set up a playdate with our friends in Camarillo. (Hmmm, writer, diva and athlete? wink*)

(and of course I am very good friends with all the moms)

We have our move date and only 19 more days before we move. Homeschooling can wait. Being with friends is what we really want to do.

gifted & homeschooling

2007-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Since this blog is supposed to be about homeschooling my 6 year old gifted daughter I guess I should actually write about that every once in awhile...

Z has been very good lately. She has very helpfully been going with the flow while I try to get so many things done. (Including feeding a stray cat and her two newborns that we found in the parking lot...)

All Z's teachers know now that she is moving.

Her gymnasics teacher, of the last two years, has been testing their class for "level four". Z is doing cartwheels off the balance beam now.

Today Z did great at voice. Her singing was noticably better than even last week. She did Honey Bun so well her teacher said that if Z made a demo that she should definitey use that song. I don't see why Z would need a singing demo at this age but it was an interesting thought. Z did have a demo for voice over work but she was actually working as a voice over actress then.

Her piano teacher was very sad. But she told Z "You have to practice very hard before you leave so that you can show your new piano teacher all you can do." And Z has been doing so. Piano is one of the only things I am making sure she does everyday.

I admit we haven't been doing Japanese. I haven't really been doing much with Z at all. I am driving around quite a bit so we are listening to the second book in the Indian in the Cupboard series. At home she is also reading the Spiderwick books, some poetry books, and HP5.

I am itching to start homeschooling but I think we are going to wait the three more weeks until we get to Indiana. We will spend the rest of our time here visiting with family and friends when we are not running errands and taking care of business.

I should say again how proud I am of her and how easy she is being while I am trying to deal with all this other stuff. Tonight, for example, she played with children's toys in the lounge at CarMax while we took care of selling the Jetta. We will only need one car in S.B. and we have chose to ship the BMW.

She also kept herself busy playing with her fairy dolls in ehr room while I was on the phone booking a flight for the cats. :)

quotes and pics

2007-08-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine I have been running my rear off the last two days getting papers signed and faxed, visiting the bank and the UPS store, etc

But it is ever so much better to be busy like this then to be waiting to find out where my life is going like I was for almost the last two months.

It might seem like this is all coming together fast but in reality Pere and I have been working hard behind the scenes to make this happen since July 1st. It included a trip where we left L.A. at 11:00 at night on Friday and didn't arrive at our destination in Indiana until 14 hours later (we couldn't land in S.B. due to bad weather so we had to drive) and me having to actually yell at Enterprise rent a car for 15 minutes straight in a room full of people who couldn't help but listen.

Oh yeah and looking at the most disgusting house ever. Imagine if you locked 20 cats in a house for 20 years and let them use the carpeting for a litter box... *shiver*

I have to try not to think about that... yikes!

Well anyway I am very busy and I don't have that much to write about as I am sure you don't care to know how much it is going to cost us to ship four bedrooms worth of furniture and 85 boxes of books over 2000 miles... double yikes!

So Instead I will share some recent pictures of my favorite girl

Here is she in her nightgown cutting up pictures for a "new home/new life" collage.

Here she is resting on a George Seurat bench at the O'Hare airport

This one is of her with a "Detective Kit" she put together with help from her Nancy Drew books

Yesterday we went with Z's piano teacher and some students to the Hollywood to hear the Philharmonic practice. Here is a pic of Z at the bowl and Z wth her teacher.

Now for a couple quotes

Yesterday she was play fighting with her Pere and she said "Ill met by moonlight proud Oberon!" The thing is that she knows the correct quote but she said Oberson because Pere is a man, of course.

Also she was sitting a reading quietly next to me and she exclaims, with exasperation "I can HEAR my EYELASHES!" Apparently her eyelashes make too much noise when she blinks. LOL!! If you have seen her in person it is even funnier because she does have these huge long eyelashes... *grin*

the house

2007-08-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

So here are two pictures of the new house. I am pretty sure we will have to name it. I name everything. Our Jetta is Chickie, our BMW is Black Beauty, or Jeep was Betty. Or cats all have more than one name - like Mandy is also Poof-poof Sneaky-eyes.

Here is our new kitchen

and a view of the back yard

Harry Potter goodies

2007-08-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

Our friend H, who was Z's librarian and is now a librarian at a big library in Indiana, sent us some goodies from their book seven release event. I had seen pictures and the release party looked amazing! Here are the goodies she sent us.

a several page version of the Daily Prophet. Z read it all today

A version of Mrs. Weasley's clock. I can't wait to make this project.

Also a lightning bolt sticker, a Marauder's Map and two S.P.E.W. badges

Of course Z had to dress up in her Harry/Hermione cloak, witches hat and glasses.

Recently Z has been reading some kids books, like Spiperwick and Bunnicula. We also listened to The Indian in the Cupboard. That story was great! I highly recommend it. We are also listening to The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I remember liking that when I was little but not so much now. Indian in the Cupboard is better. I also read Spiderwick. I was okay. The first book is not a whole story in and of itself so I will have a read the next one to see if I like it.

For bedtime Z asked me to go back to reading Robin Hood. At one point we were singing a song as Frair Tuck and Robin. It was great fun!

Update on the house hunting...

We found a house. We made an offer. They made an counter offer. We accepted. Now we are just waiting to sign stuff. Once it is all a done deal I will post pictures. :)

A great life wherever we go

2007-08-27T08:21:00.001-07:00

A lot of you know that I feel like I already lead a very good life. A great life even. We have family here. Pere has a very good job with a boss he likes working for. Z has so many good friends and wonderful teachers. I have friends too and access to a lot of cool homeschooling resources.

Yeah, we couldn't really afford to buy a house (only a townhouse or condo), but in a couple more years we would have been able to do that too.

So what am I thinking to move away from the great life I was living?

Well, when we went to S.B. this summer we all really felt like it was a very special place. We tried to imagine the kind of life we could live there. We were realistic about it. We didn't imagine anything too much, just being able to afford a house with a yard for Z to play in and garden. We knew that Pere would be able to work from home again which is good for many reasons. We would have a good library, and farmer's market, and even our favorite brand of beer.

And of course we would get to be around my family. I haven't really lived with my sister since I was 11 and she was 19, except one summer when I lived with her in Hawaii when I was 15. My sister and I, despite our age differences and different lives really have a lot in common. And when I found out I was pregnant with Z my sister was the first person I called.

Also her boys are so good and sweet and funny. She did a great job raising them. The younger boy (a junior in highschool) is still at home and is so incredible with Z. *sigh* He really is such a sweetheart. Z cried so hard when we left him earlier this summer. This time she wrote him a sad letter.

And then there are my parents. I used to live close them in Florida and would come to my father's karate dojo twice a week. My dad and I are close and I am really looking forward to having him in my life and also for Z is get to be close to him too. My mom loves to cook from scratch and sew and read. We like a lot of the same movies and books and activites. I have always said that my Mere, Pere and Z are like my own "holy trinity". And she is so devoted to Z. Both she and my sister were doing little "happy dances" this weekend everytime Pere and I got s step closer to moving there.

So while I know Pere and I are the kind of people that will make a great life for ourselves where ever we go we all feel that S.B. has many special qualities that make us excited to try a life there, not in the least of which is our family.

It is really happening...

2007-08-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

We are in S.B today. We flew in on the red-eye flight last night (actually there was bad weather and we couldn't land in S.B. and had to fly back to Chicago and drive in... but let's try not to think about that.)

Today we looked at some houses. I think we found the one we want. We are going to look at more tomorrow and we might even make an offer this weekend...

Right now I am watching Shrek Two with my mom and sister. Z is sitting with her cousin and his girlfriend. Her cousin is so sweet with her. *smile*

meez

2007-08-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Oo! oo! I made a Meez. (Thanks for the idea Patience!)
That was fun!

What goes around comes around

2007-08-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

I have had people accuse me of being "too" nice before. And I am sure several people have thought I was a real witch.

I am surprised to get this blogger award but really gratified too. I really do care about my blogger friends and I try to think of ways to express that to them but the words I type on their blog don't do it justice.

Big Hugs to my blogger friends who think I am "nice". It is NICE to be thought of that way.

Now to tag a few NICE friends

Mariposa
Nina at Preschool at Home
Kate at Growing the Garden State

In our new home area we will have

2007-08-22T18:50:00.001-07:00

My parents
My sister, brother-in-law and two nephews
to only walk a block or two to parents or sister's house
Z learning how to do "stuff" with Papa
Z learning to sew and bead and cook with Meme
Z playing soccer and video games and bacci ball and croquet with cousins
an active and friendly neighborhood
Pere working from home again
family over to eat Pere's spicy food
A nice "cook"s kitchen"
Train trips to Chicago
Walks library and downtown
a home
Other family often visiting
Old friends
Real wildlife and native flora
Symphony
A children's choir
A Math center
a Civic theatre with youth acting classes
A Gem and Mineral Club
A Harp teacher
Fencing classes
Several Dance schools
A YMCA with gymnastics, racquetball, swimming, and more
Amish and Mennonite communities
Snow
Nature center classes run by Park Rangers
Baton twirling classes
Children's cooking classes
Gardening
A top twenty college
The 6th best library in the nation for a town that size
A tea house at an Inn
A real live Chocolate Factory
A Planetarium and Air/Space museum
Lots of Parks
Four seasons
Close Proximity to Lake Michigan
Three asian grocery markets
Thai food and sushi
Studios for local artists
Art musuems
Children's museum
Children's Health museum
Botanical Gardens
A zoo
A Farmer's Market
Drive-in theatres
New and used bookstores
Farms
Renaissance Faires
Gaming store
Summer Shakespeare productions
Synagogues
LEGO league
Astro camp
Berry Picking Farms
Lots of local music and art shows
A Broadway League
Solstice Parades
Annual neighborhood events
Camping
Lake Michigan
Free concerts downtown every Friday
Gutter Sundaes
Japanese Garden
White water rafting
Lower cost of living

Science, Swimming and Sinner... I mean Dinner

2007-08-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today Z wanted to do a science project from her eco-science book, Planet Patrol, first thing after breakfast. We read about CO2 and how every mile you drive puts out around one pound of CO2. The experiment was only to track how far we drove that day and then do a one to one conversion.

But I made up someting more.

First I had Z write down all the place we usually go in a week or two - piano, voice, gymnastics, park, grocery, Target, friend's houses, grandma's houses, etc. Then using the new "Distance Measurement" feature in google maps she measured how many miles away all those places were by marking lines along the route and then multiplying by 2 for the ride home. Then she added up all the numbers, including some fractions, and came up with around 360 lbs of carbon dioxide that we would be putting into the air in a two week time (although we don't usually drive that much, but sometimes we might.)

Then we did the same thing for our new neighborhood and the classes I intend on enrolling her in and she got around 40lbs in two weeks. But we would be within walking distance of her grandma and we don't have any friends to visit there yet.

None of it was exact but I thought it taught her a few interesing things.

Then we drove (about 15 miles) to a friends house for swimming and snow cones. We are trying to visit all our friends as much as possible before we move.

Zoe was crying about it today. She wants to move but she is very sad about leaving her best friends. I told her that it is totally okay to feel that way. And I just held her. But we were very happy to hear that those friends are going to visiting near our new home in May. I invited them to stay over with us.

This evening we are having some special friends over for dinner - some of you know of E and E'sMom. Z is especially sad about "leaving behind" her friend E. Me too. But Pere will be able to work from anywhere and we plan to come back to L.A. often for long vacations.

Things we are looking forward to

2007-08-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

My parents
My sister, brother-in-law and two nephews
Only walking a block or two to parents or sister's house
Z learning how to do "stuff" with Papa
Z learning to sew and bead and cook with Meme
Z playing soccer and video games and bacci ball and croquet with cousins
Being part of an active and friendly neighborhood
Pere working from home again
Having family over to eat Pere's spicy food
Having a nice "cook"s kitchen"
Train trips to Chicago
Walking to the library and downtown
Owning a home
Other often visiting family
Old friends
Real wildlife and native flora
Symphony
A children's choir
A Math center
a Civic theatre with youth acting classes
A Gem and Mineral Club
A Harp teacher
Fencing classes
Several Dance schools
A YMCA with gymnastics, racquetball, swimming, and more
Amish and Mennonite communities
Snow
Nature center classes run by Park Rangers
Baton twirling classes
Children's cooking classes
Gardening
A top twenty college
The 6th best library in the nation for a town that size
A tea house at an Inn
A real live Chocolate Factory
A Planetarium and Air/Space museum
Lots of Parks
Four seasons
Close Proximity to Lake Michigan
Three asian grocery markets
Thai food and sushi
Studios for local artists
Art musuems
Children's museum
Children's Health museum
Botanical Gardens
A zoo
A Farmer's Market
Drive-in theatres
New and used bookstores
Farms
Renaissance Faires
Gaming store
Summer Shakespeare productions
Synagogues
LEGO league
Astro camp
Berry Picking Farms
Lots of local music and art shows
A Broadway League
Solstice Parades
Annual neighborhood events
Camping
Lake Michigan
Free concerts downtown every Friday
Gutter Sundaes
Japanese Garden
White water rafting
Lower cost of living

Firefly Academy

2007-08-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

We are moving.

to the land of fairy gardens

dirty feet

stolen raspberries

and fireflies we can catch in jars

Pere is going to work at home and we are going to own a home with a backyard that might look something like this

in a house that could look like this

We are going to move here *grin*

grade level

2007-08-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today we were asked twice what grade level Z is in.

The first time it was at the grocery and the bagger saw her pushing the cart and he said "What grade is she in?!" and I said "First grade" and he said "Wow, she's smart!"

Now I don't know what being smart has to do with pushing a grocery cart and I didn't ask. But Z asked me once we were out of earshot 'Why did you say I'm in first?"

"Because he actually only wanted to know what age you are."

She nodded and seemed okay with that.

But later this afternoon she was playing with two girls in the pool. One is six and one is seven. Z came over to me and said that the seven year old said that Z couldn't be in fourth grade because you have to be ten to be in fourth grade. The seven year old was right there so I said to her,"Well we homeschool so Z can work at whatever grade she is ready for. Right now she is doing fourth grade math and between fourth and sixth for other classes."

Then I asked her if she knew what homeschooling was. She nodded and said "I wish I could home school."

But then the two girls cornered Z and started quizzing her "What's 1000 plus 1000?"

Kind of laughing, possibly with the strangeness of the question, Z says "2000"

Then there was two thousand plus one hundred, and One million plus two million! and even "What is one thousand plus a million thousand hundred?!"

Z was laughing kind of uncomfortably and answering all their questions. I let it go on because I wanted Z to get a taste of what the reaction can be if you tell people that you are six and in fourth grade. I had told her before that some people will have strange and possilby negative reactions to it.

Also at the library today the story time lady who is there to read to individual kids read Z a Maisy book and a book about puppies. Z definitely looks like a six year old and I was surprised that she would try to read Z a touch and feel puppy book. Again I didn't say anything. Z seemed capable of handling it herself. Usually she gets a sticker for reading to the story time people herself, but this lady is new. She was nice and I appreciate what she is doing. I am not trying to take anything away from that. It just wasn't working for us and I wonder what kind of books they read to kids in first grade.

I'll have to talk to Z tonight and see how she feels about all that.

*update*
I talked to her over dinner and this is what I think. Z has such profound confidence in her own self-worth that if someone treats her strangely she thinks theat's their problem. And then she doesn't really think about it again. I have written before about Z's world". Well, in Z's world everybody likes her and if they don't then they must be having an off day. *wink*

pictures and music mornings

2007-08-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

Here in L.A. we have a radio program on Sunday mornings called Breakfast with the Beatles. I am a huge Beatles fan and at one point I thought I had every song they ever released in America plus some stuff they did in a German club but this program has so may songs I have never even heard... it is interesting but also disconcerting.

Well anyway I was listening to Breakfast with the Beatles on the way home from Escondido yesterday morning and I remembered how we often had music playing at my house when I was a kid. Most of my Beatles albums are the same ones my Mere used to play on the record player when I was a kid. I remember going through phases where each album was my favorite. I started off liking their earlier stuff when I was younger and got more into their later work when I was a teenager. But their music was always there for me and my many moods.

So was Elton John and his Yellow Brick Road, and Creedence, and Jethro Tull, and many others. And I had my own music, starting in 1984 - Van Halen, Men at Work, Duran Duran, The Cure, Depeche Mode, etc. But always there was the Beatles.

I am also really into classical music, and some reggae, and old Top 40 like Prince, Phil Collins, Billy Joel and Cyndi Lauper and New Top 40 like Gwen Stefani and Green Day.

We have a lot of music at home including a bunch of musicals that Z has been really into since she was two or three.

Getting back to the Beatles... well that is what I want to do, get back to the Fab Four. I want to have my own Breakfast with Beatles every week. I want Z to grow up knowing all their songs like I do. I am think every Friday morning is a good time to listen to them. Maybe Monday will be Classical. The other days can be Z' pick days, and Me pick days, and Morning Becomes Eclectic days. *smile*

So special music days is the new thing I will be adding to our curriculum this year.

***********************

Here are some pictures I took recently

Today there was the cat in the tree outside my second story window. We call him "Little Merry" because he is a smaller version of our cat Merry. He got down just fine.

This is a picture of Z floating in the tub. I was about to wash her hair and she looked like this and I wanted to capture her "floaty" look.

Sometimes she looks serious like above and sometimes she looks like this. *smile*

Stone Brewery

2007-08-19T11:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Pere and I drove down to Escondido to visit the Brewery and Bistro where they make Stone Beer.

Pere got introduced to Stone Beers, specifically Arrogant Bastard, soon after it was first created at a fellow techie's party down in San Diego almost eleven years ago. But it wasn't until we visited those friends again at their new sheep ranch in Colorado about five years ago that we really started to appreciate the brew.

About two years ago the Wholefoods near us started carrying Stone beers and since then we have been devotees and vocal advocates.

If you think it is weird that we would drive two hours and stay overnight in a hotel just to drink some beers at least know we are not alone. *grin* Check out their press and read how Stone Beers are considered the third best in the world and the number one rated beer made in America.

Seriously, this beer tastes good. Now if you are used to drinking what Stone calls "fizzy yellow beer" it might take several tastings to appreciate a Stone Beer. They are very bitter and some, like their Imperial Stout, extremely full bodied. I am not a huge drinker but Arrogant Bastard and Stone's Pale Ale are the best beers I have ever tasted.

They have honestly ruined me on most other beers. This is a such a common occurance in that Stone puts out a beer called Ruination.

Stone is also a very cool looking beer. Their mascot is a bad gargoyle and their slogan is "You're Not Worthy." But it isn't just talk. Like I said, the beer is bitter and dark. Also the alcohol content is significantly higher than regular beers. Even their Pale Ale is stronger than Guiness. Here is a link to their alcohol content and bitterness ratings.

So if that all that doesn't have you beer drinkers searching for a local Stone distributers let me add that Stone Brewery is also an environmentally conscious company. Their bistro is organic, free-range and local, their beer only has four ingredients -hops, barley, water and yeast (i.e. no corn syrup)

and they are soon to start using biodiesel in their distribution trucks.

First we arrived at the Brewery/Bistro and had lunch there. I had Pale Ale and Pere the Barley Wine. We ate BBQ duck tacos and mushroom and jalpeno "pillows"

After lunch took a walk in their gardens

We came back in the late afternoon to take a tour of the Brewery and learn about their beer making process. It was very funny and educational.

After the tour we got free samples of four different beers.

We stayed for dinner then and shared Buffalo Burgers and Thai Curry Pork Tenderloins.

Pere noted that he had tried six different beers that day (Barley Wine, Pale Ale, Smoked Porter, IPA, Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard)

At the shop Pere bought a growler of Double Arrogant Bastard

I bought a tank top

and a t-shirt

It was a really fun trip, it was nice for us to be able to get away and drink responsibly knowing that Z was safe with her Grandparents. But now we are all home again, so I must go!

Lazy days of summer

2007-08-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

This squirrel was looking at me from my front window...

It is soooo hot here, above 100 some days. I would rather stay in the house with the air-conditioning running but I told Z I would take her to the pool today.

She also made herself a Ninja Warrior obstacle course out of rocking chairs, the dining table chairs, a ribbon, a rug, and three pillows. Then she ran the course pretending to be different people from the show and did the announcers voice. She has sooo much energy...

I am feeling more like that squirrel...

Back to the Future

2007-08-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is how Z dressed herself today. She looked so grown up to me. She even had a little purse that her Japanese tutor gave her. Can't you she her looking almost just like that ten years from now?

She wanted to make a fake I.D. to put in her purse so I cut a card to driver's license size and a cut up a little picture of her face and taped it on. Then Z looked at my DL and made up her own information and wrote it down on the card. Now it is behind the little plastic window in the purse. I also gave her an extra Blockbuster and library card. She took some change from her bank for the coin pocket. Then she carried the purse around with her to the market and voice lesson.

It is not like she is totally turning into a little teenager though.

She also played with her LEGO's and watched cartoons.

On a sadder note Z heard about the problems in Darfur. Now she wants to send a donation to the children there.We are going to match her contribution as we always do but I want her to do some research on the subject so she can decide where exactly she wants the money to go.

Last night when she said her prayer of Thankfulness with her Pere she thanked God for living in safety and having a house and food and asked God to take care of the children in Darfur.

all is well and treasure hunt

2007-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today Z had her yearly check up at the Doctors. I am very happy to report that other then being skinny everything is normal. *wink* She is 46 inches tall (average for her age), 36 lbs, has 20/20 vision, got everything perfect on the hearing test and all her fluids tests came back normal and good. Her spine is not curving and her ears, mouth, eyes, etc all seem healthy. :)

This afternoon I wrote up some treasure hunts for her. One had specific things she had to find around the house and another had descriptive terms like "wooden" and "magnetic"

Right now she is practicing for her voice lesson. She has a lot of songs from Mary Poppins right now "Supercalifragalistic, A Spoonful of Sugar, Jolly Holiday, Let's Go Fly a Kite and Stay Awake. I am letting her sing along to the dvd we have of it.

Homemade Prizes

2007-08-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Shaun at Red Sea School I am offering a homemade prize to the next three people who comment on this blog post.

Before you post please read the full rules below.

Here’s the deal, from Kim at Relaxed Homeskool

If you are one of the first three commentors on this post, then you are in. I send you a homemade gift sometime, er, soon. When inpiration and time collide for me (usually 2am). [As in, let’s all be patient with each other.] In return, you go to your blog and make the same offer. So, you’ll be making 3 things and receiving one.

Kim’s list of useful FAQ’s:

What if you don’t have a blog?
Well, if not, I’ll host your request here. But only if you are a really awesome knitter. Haha. Okay, I’ll do it no matter what. If you join the exchange on your blog let us know here!

What if I don’t like my gift?
Too bad. Mom taught us all how to be gracious.

What if I’m not crafty or artistic?
So? Do it anyway. There are millions of things to be made and some part of you needs to get in to the process of creating something with your hands. It is therapeutic and eye opening. Even if it is a paper airplane. You could always do an artist trading card…they can be easy or hard, depending upon your effort.

What about shipping?
Like I said, an artist trading card? That might cost one stamp or less. But if you want to make a bust of the recipient out of pine, go ahead. [And yes, I will ship overseas! ]

What? I have to give someone in cyberspace my address?
Well, yeah. So you should probably only sign up here if you have read or known me for a few months, that way you know I am a fine upstanding citizen who will only plague you with annual Christmas cards after the exchange.

Also, you don’t have to be a homeschooler, but you can’t be related to me by blood. You can be a lurker, but then you will have to de-lurk at least temporarily. Come on, you know you want to!

I am excited! I have no idea what I will make you but I promise to try read hard to make it something cool. (also I am not a knitter!)

my sweety

2007-08-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Z and I have been getting along great recently. Actually we usually do. She is a very affectionate child and I am happy to share cuddles and lovey sentiments as long as I can get them. She is growing up all too soon for my tastes.

I have really been feeling her "bigness" recently. She is so long and gangly. And sometimes, especailly regarding her sense of humor, she seems so mature.

I realize I have been trying to go back in time with her recently, or at least hold on to what little time I have left of her being... little. I am reading her this book about a four year old British boy named Sprout who rides a tricycle to his morning preschool, collects stuffed animal elephants and likes to hide in weird places and worry his mom. I know it is young for her but it also has that particular British humor that is delightful at any age. Happily for me Z seems to enjoy these stories.

We are also rereading My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards. These harmless and charming stories are probably set in the 1940. They are well written and clever of course but there is also something interesting about reading the liberties and freedoms kids had back in those days. Little children did a lot of things on their own that we can't allow our children to do these days. I really enjoy these books myself.

On her own Z is rereading Order of the Phoenix, Bunnicula, The Good Fairy/Bad Fairy book and her new book of poetry.

Today we have no plans and are just hanging about the house.

So far I have done a full load of laundry, scrubbed both bathrooms and the kitchen floor, scrubbed kitchen counters (I even moved all the appliances an stuff away and scrubbed underneath), vacuumed, read I Love Math with Z and played The Game of Life with her.

Z made her bed, made up a song, practiced piano, did I Love Math, played with magnetics, played with LEGOs and played The Game of Life.

Fair

2007-08-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the fair.

We talked about what were each of our top three things we wanted to do.

Z:
Cotton Candy
Ferris Wheel
Gem and Mineral Display

Mere:
Corn Dog
Gem and Mineral Display
Ferris Wheel

Pere:
Livestock display
Wooden Toys
Ferris Wheel

We didn't get around to the cotton candy ut Z seems to have forgotten about it and the wooden toy display wasn't there. But otherwise we did all our favorite things and more.

View from the Top of the Ferris Wheel

View from the other side

Bubbles

A collection of eggs (from the "collections" hall)

Some pictures for Ami of an Alice collection

This rabbit is REALLY huge. You can't even tell!

Z in the house of mirrors

In the Monkey maze with Pere

used books

2007-08-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I went to coffee with our older friends and then to my favorite used bookstore. I was really in a rush and only had 10 minutes to looks around. But I was so delighted with what I found.

I actualy found another I Love Math book. This is one of Z's favorite series. She started on them when she was 4 so they are way too easy for her now but I bought it for her anyway because to her they are like dear friends. This one is all about the math you found in nature - like patterns, temperature and classifying.

I also found Bunnicula for fifty cents and I had recently thought Z might enjoy reading that. It did keep her occupied while we were waiting for our lunch later today day.

This is the Golden Book of Children's Poetry. It is from 1963. It has 85 poems with the sweetest illustrations.

Here is a picture from Moon Song by Mildred Plew Meigs (dont you love that name?)

This is a geography book in a series that I collect called Brown Paper School Book. I love when I find one of these. I have two for math, two for science, one for history and now this this geography one.

Since we are studying insects for science this fall I thought this cool coloring book would be a nice addition. It is not just a coloring book but each coloring page is faced by an informational page with animals grouped by different way - like water insects or night insects. There is even a page on fireflies!

Lastly, right behind the check out counter I saw this book. It is in PERFECT condition with it's dust cover and everything.

This is the front of the book

This is the back cover which is upside down from the front. The book is divided between pictures and tales of good and bad fairies

Here is an example of the art work inside. I love Brian Froud.

playing

2007-08-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a nice day. My back is getting better. I even did a light workout.

After her lunch Z played with some pirate and skeleton figures we bought her in Ojai last spring. She had set up this whole battlefield scenario with cannons, and a lake and boats and ladders. Then she came and got me and explained what everyone was doing. I like how the good guys were being led by Xena

She also had a gymnastics class. Here she is walking backwards on tiptoe across a low beam and also one of her doing a cartwheel. As you can see she loves gymnastics.

Rolling, Shaking and Two Cups of Coffee

2007-08-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

Last night around one in the morning we had an earthquake. It was only a 4.5 but it originated just a couple miles away.

I woke up and I was very disoriented. At first I thought I was still dreaming. The rolling feeling was gone before I understood what was happening. I got up to check on Z. She was awake but she didn't realize that we had had an earthquake.

Well I had a hard time falling back to sleep and this morning I could hardly pick my head up off the pillow. So I made myself a double dose of java for breakfast.

Now I am feeling quite energetic and thinking how I might make my own version of the Thanksgiving Tree from Nina's blog.

On Z's third birthday we came up with two prayers to add at the night. After her regular prayer asking God to bless her loved ones I say a prayer thanking God for Z and for keeping us safe and giving us a good day or at least the chance to learn something on a "bad" day. Then Z and Pere say a prayer first thanking God for the "basics", "the hosue in which we live, the bed in which we sleep, the clothes we wear and the food we eat" and then they each add what they are speciically grateful for for that day.

I know there have been a lot of studies showing how people have better mental and even physical health when they practice daily gratitude. Plus I just feel like it is the proper attitude to have.

school uniform

2007-08-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today Z wanted to wear her new white dress and a flower behind her ear.

Here she is in the morning doing her math at the dining table

I love her little feet

After math she played piano

our school uniform requires spinning

Today I wanted to keep a list of all the songs she made up. But we had friends over from lunch time until after dinner and Z didn't have time to sing. Instead she played LIFE, went swimming, played Fluxx, and ate crepes at the mall.

But last night before bed she sang:
a song of gratitude about ice cream
a song about the strength of her pinky finger

This morning she sang:
a song about how she is not roast beef
a song about saying bye to daddy first
a song about sleeping with a baby
A song "Oh my sweet mommy
You are so good and nice
Oh sweet mommy
I beg you kiss me twice"
A song about letting the cat Mandy out
A tune about putting the dishes in the dishwasher
One Short Day from Wicked
a Song about how Anything Can Happen - (that is more like a real song and she has been singing some version of it for a few days)

Slowing

2007-08-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I am yearning to have a slower life. I want cold days and rainy days where we can just stay home and cuddle and eat soup I made from scratch.

I want to have time to walk places and I want to see things when I walk, like trees and birds.

I don't want to spend so much of my life in the car sitting on the 405 and the 101.

I feel like Z's childhood is slipping away. I want her to climb trees and play in the dirt in the yard. I want a yard.

I just want to slow down it all down for another five (or ten) years.

2007-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

This morning Z did piano, her times tables and read some in her book on arthropods.

Then we had friends over for a playdate. The girls pretended to be fairies and geologists. At one point they were chanting "We Are Ge-olo-gists!"

After her piano lesson we played a game of Life (you know the old board game). I remembered that I really liked that game when I was a kid and it is still pretty fun. We've played it three times since I bought it yesterday afternoon.

Now she is soaking in the bath.

Sunday I went through the clothes in her room and took out the ones that are too small for her. I came away with NINE little plastic bags of clothes and shoes to donate. But at least now when she asks if she can wear a dress I don't have to say "No, that one is too short."

We also stopped and bought her a couple of beautiful white dresses from the consignment shop. I hope to be able to post a picture of them soon.

Okay now she is out of the tub and now she is singing a song about her pajamas.

Update - How things are going

2007-08-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well we are more than half way through summer. Where did the time go?

I had some homeschooling goals that I wanted to accomplish this summer with Z and that has been going so-so.

I pretty much forgot about the typing. Mayhap I will remember this afternoon. Then again, maybe not. *grin*

She has got a lot of her multiplication table memorized. I am pretty happy with how she is doing there especially since I kind of forgot to do that much too. :P

We did finish King Arthur last week. Now we have nothing to read.

When we haven't been doing any school work, which is most of the time we are playing lot of board games, having pool parties and visiting with friends. Z is also reading to herself, singing, pretending to be a computer programmar and drawing.

We have been working some extra on manners... Z was back-sliding a bit. But she really does want to do better and thus she is.

Yesterday we went to Staples and I came to the sad realization that I already own everything they have there... no back to school shopping for me. I have ever type of paper, and writing instrument, and adhesive, and pin, and paint and paperclip... oh well.

We also went down to L.A. and celebrated Pere's parent's anniversary. Thirty-eight years together. Isn't that great?!

Raging Waters

2007-08-04T19:33:00.001-07:00

Today was Z's first trip to a water park. These pictures are from the website as I didn't bring my camera with me.

This was her first ride - a raft that we could all go on together.

Then the three of us raced side by side on this one, twice!

Then we went on another three person raft but this one the slide was fully enclosed and in the pitch dark. Very cool! There is not a picture of it though.

This was a slow tubing circle that we went around FIVE TIMES. It was relaxing and fun!

Here are two of the kids parks that we played in.

This ride - The Dark Hole - was a two person ride also totally enclosed and dark, hence the name. Z went on it twice. :)

Now we are all super tired and a little burned. But it was great fun.

ouch

2007-08-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

So last night I was weight lifting and I aggravated a bulging disc in my lower back. *sigh* I have had this injury since the day I got back from my honeymoon and I feel like such a dolt. I was too lazy to change the 20 lb dumbells I use for my arms and it was just too much for my injured back.

Luckily this is not as bad as it has been before. I was able to walk and even take a short drive today.

Also today was our last lesson with Ms. Kana, Z's Japanese tutor. It was a very sad moment. She and Z both cried. :(
But we do have a plan to go to Japan in a couple years and she invited us to visit her there. She was a really great teacher, sooo nice! She told me last week that Z is learning stuff taht they teach to 9 yo's in Japan. Isn't it amazing that she, who has no formal background in teaching, was able to teach Z so much?

We will really miss her.

don't be concerned and another song

2007-08-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

For those of you who might be concerned about the dark tones in some of Z's songs - don't be. Those of you who have met her - well you see that she is a happy-go-lucky kid.

I talked to her about that song a couple times now and she convincingly assures me that "sometimes songs sound like that." *heh* I feel like I can't question her too much about whether she is experiencing those dark feelings because she knows that I know that she isn't.

Maybe she will be like Duran Duran... I mean, What the heck were those songs even about!!?!

I think she just has a good vocabulary and pulls together words that rhyme to create a mood. KWIM?

Here is another one she made up a couple weeks ago that I managed to write down.

When twilights falls the whole world is above me
The world that I always wanted to be
I wonder if you feel it
what it is like
to be in this world
a world that is so unlike
the world I am supposed to be in
Some body please
I know what is happening
Everybody thinks that it is supposed to be wrong
and look now it is raining

On my planet things are dark
On my plane things are worthy

listen, I hear the rain
listen it is starting to pour
even on my planet there are things that can be more
On my planet there are things that aren't on yours
On my planet things are different
You think that everybody is equal
But no no not in my land

Listen it has become quiet
It is over, dawn falls
We go to sleep
We... nevermind
You wouldn't understand

If you come to our world you would see things are different
They are better
I need to go back there right now
I need to go back to my planet right now
My hibernation begins

my thoughts? very weird. kind of cool. it had a kind of alien theme and a modern dance that went with it.
trivia - she sang this while putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

Swimming * Cleaning * King Arthur

2007-08-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to a new friends house for a pool party. Poor Z was so cold her tiny body was racked with shivers. I am sure some of you can picture it. *grin* Finally she ended up just sitting on the edge of the pool in the sun watching the other girls swim around. I felt kind of sorry for her. But she insisted she didn't want to leave. Soon the other girls bailed out and they all jumped rope together.

Today we had a friend over to our, warmer, pool. The girls were playing some make-believe game and kept calling out asking the strangest questions.

"Is Britian the same as England?"

"Is Wales near the ocean? Which ocean?"

"Do they speak English in Wales?"

"Can an orphan move out of an orphanage at sixteen?"

At dinner time she told me the story was about an orphan traveling to her home in Wales via submarine...

*****

I am be cleaning. Well, more like putting things in bags to give away. That counts as cleaning right? I have over a dozen bags of books, half a dozen of clothes and a few of videotapes. I amost feel like I should get rid of all my videotapes as we pretty much only watch DVD's. But as you will read below, they have their uses.

Next week, because I am not going to have any time until next week, I plan to go through Z's dresser and toys. I know it is going to be difficult. I am pretty sentimental but Z thinks old pajamas are mementos...

******

Today we finally finished reading King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Then we watched a DVD of Excalibur I picked up from Blockbuster. I had her close her eyes during the nude scenes but otherwise there was nothing too objectionable... except for the whole INCEST bit with Morgana and Arthur. ewww.

Also the DVD skipped and froze up on us just as Percival (and not Sir Bedivere) went to throw Excalibur back into the lake. I was so annoyed. Luckily I have a videotape of the movie so we were able to finish watching it.

But anyway, while Excalibur is a very cool movie Z agreed that the book was way way better. Maybe when she is older she will want toread Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur.

This was the first time I had ever read all the stories. I had read about Tristam, Gawain, Galahad, the search for the Grail, Launcelot, etc. But this story really had a lot more to it. Also Z remembers the names of everyone and what they did a lot better than I do and we both just read it... I feel so old.

Singing and Songwriting

2007-07-31T09:04:00.001-07:00

Thank you everyone who wrote regarding Z's song.

That is pretty typical of the kind of songs she makes up everyday. That is a pretty good one. She also makes up less good ones. *grin*

Usually though she just sings them out to the ether (and whomever happens to be listening) and then they disapper forever.

I try to write them down when I can but a large portion of them come while I am driving or otherwise doing something that doesn't really lend it self to writing. But I do have the voice recorder and when we are in the car I sometimes give it to her to sing into.

The interesting thing is that, so far, Z has always made up better songs when she is doing it completely spontaneously. But when she tries to sing into the recorder or tries to make up a song for an audience her songs... well I guess I would describe those songs as less inspired.

Also Z hasn't previously wanted to write down any of her songs. She doesn't mind if I do but she feels, rightly, that stopping to write down a song while she is "in the moment of creation" causes her to lose that moment.

So that song yesteday was interesting to me because it was a very good song she made up "on purpose" and then wrote down by herself. I think this is an important and logical next step in her musical life.

Forte, I did ask her later what she was thinking about when she made it up. She said she didn't know. I am not worried about the dark tone though, that is really typical for her.

Asking the Wrong Questions

2007-07-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

I want to recommend a blog called Asking the Wrong Questions

The blogger, Abigail, is not a homeschooler as far as I know but she has very interesting and well-written reviews of books, movies and t.v. show, many of which I am a big fan of (Jane Austen, Dr. Who, Veronica Mars, Firefly, Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows and Philip Pullman's Dark Material's trilogy)

Wrong Questions is one of only Four non homeschooling/gifted centric blogs that I read. The other two are the hilariously funny QC Report and Chef Ann Cooper, Renegade Lunch Lady who writes about changing the way American feeds kids. The other blog I recently started reading is written by an amazing literary prodigy, 9 year old Adora Svitak .

the music

2007-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Z and I met my MIL at the Grove in L.A. for lunch and a movie.

I really like the Grove. When Z was 9 months to 21 month we lived very near there and Z and I would go there at least once a week.

Today we ate at Marmalade Cafe and did some shopping at World Market and some boutiques. I got some more earrings. Z got a green parasol.

Then we went to see the new musical movie Hairspray. It was fun. Queen Latifah was great!

Z had a very hard time not getting up and dancing during the musical numbers. She did shake and shimmy and clap and groove in her chair though. That girl sure can dance!

Later at the grovery store she told me she made up part of a song and she needed to write it down. This is what she wrote:

This Place Has Changed
There are some things that cannot abide.
There are some things people cannot hide.
There is something different about this place.
I cannot see my own true face

This place is changed.
This place is ruthless
This place has changed
I am homeless

This place is at war,
they've set me up as a lure.

Everything has changed about this place
I cannot see my own true face.

That is all she wrote while we were at the store. I am not sure what she was thinking of but when she sang it she seemed to have something in mind.

dinner and homeschooling

2007-07-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Z and Pere and I went to see the new Simpson's Movie. It was very funny! And pretty too - good graphics.

Then in the evening we drove down to L.A. to Pere's parents house. Here is Z playing near the pond in their back yard.

Then we met Tante Juliet down in Manhattan Beach for dinner. Here is a picture of Z playing on the red dog fountain.

I got some great presents. Pere got me the original British version of The Office on DVD (!!! love it!!

Tante Julie some Hello Kitty pajamas,

Pere's parents a signed book about a Geisha and CD of Japanese music

and Z got me a Sonoma cookbook and some very pretty earrings that she picked out herself. :)

and Hey O's mom! Guess what. Z is back to wanting to "homeschool" This morning, before we even had breakfast , I found Z digging through a bin of homeschooling books.

"Mommy, where is that green science book were were using last year, the about the environment, with the experiments?"

"Planet Patrol?" I asked

"Yes. I want to do some of those experiments now."

I convinced her to wait until after breakfast. :) During breakfast we listening to a great CD of French children's music that our Belgian exchange student got my for my birthday last year. Then we read about air pollution and looked up the air quaility index on the EPA site. (wow south central CA and some areas New Jersey are bad!).

Then Z did her experiement. She rubbed petroleum jelly inside three jears. One she set outside, one in her bedroom and one in the living room. After a week we will check and see how much pollution they have caught inside.

big fat sigh

2007-07-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last night was my "at home" birthday dinner. We had one of my favorite meals, crab with lemon and butter and Key Lime Pie.
It was so good! It was so good that I ate too much. I ate way too much. *ugh* I felt like that blueberry girl in Willy Wonka.

I am sure there is a lesson to learn in there somewhere... something about moderaion...

We also went to see a friend in Midsummer Night's Dream at the Theatricum Botanical. Z was in that play two years ago and I sat in on a lot of rehersals and seem to have memorized all the lines. This was also a student production and really fun and funny to watch.

I was inspired by Mariposa and did some reorganizing of Z's room. She has gotten more into writing and doing projects that require paper and tape and scissors these days so I organized her "writing supplies".

Today we are supposed to go see the new Simpson's movie (Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig) and then have another birthday dinner with Pere's family.

Right now Pere is teaching Z HTML. Pere starting programming when he was six and he has been wanting to spend some time with Z doing some basic stuff.

Visuals

2007-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

For Language Arts I am doing Classical Writing Aesop that I wrote about HERE. But instead of Aesop I will use Beatrix Potter Tales. With it I will cover grammar, vocabulary, spelling, comprehension, writing and handwriting. Here are some vocabulary words from The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies - soporific, improvident, sufficiently, profusely, resourceful, decayed, and enquired. Hopefully these stories will work well, If not I will have to find something more advanced.

We will spend 30 minutes a day on language arts.

Here is but one of the poetry books we will use. Z loves poetry.

I am going to use this book to figure out what grammar I should be using while implementing the classical writing method.

We do a lot of science. This is a really cool book my sister bought Z. Our plan is to read it and make a card or board game from the info we have learned. We will spend 30 minutes a day on science.

Once a week we will do an experiment from this book.

an example of an experiment

another science book we will be using

examples from inside

it is pretty meaty

We will still be using this book for art. Once a week Z will do her own art project giving an example of the term we have learned about. This might be 30 - 60 minutes depend on what she wants to do as a project.

example from inside the book

Here are some of the books she might be reaing for our home "bookclub", if we don't do it with the homeschool group.

I got this book last year for history. We didn't use it much. Maybe we can incorporate it this year.

example of inside

My plan for history is to read biographies of famous people from the Renaissance time period as well as defining key terms. I wrote about it HERE. We are probably going to do history for 30 min a day 4 times a week.

Z liked this geography work book.

And this book which is pretty funny. Geography will be 15 - 20 min twice a week.

It has some illustrated portions that are like a comic

We will keep up her Japanese but I am not sure what we will be using. Our Japanese teacher is moving back to Japan in a few weeks. I would like to find another teacher but if not I will do the best I can on my own. We will probably do Japanese twice a week.

Z will still be doing 30 minutes of piano a day. 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening.

For P.E. she has gymnastics once a week plus plenty of informal swimming, bike riding, yoga, etc.

Other classes she will take are voice and Shakespeare. She doesn't really formally practice for them as she sings all the time anyway and the acting also comes easily.

This is pretty much what we did last year. The classes that I teach are between breakfast and lunch (except the 15 mins of evening piano practice.) Then her classes are in the afternoon (piano, voice, gymnastics, and Shakespeare) - they total 4 hours a week and are all very close to our home so the travel time is negligible. That leaves her about 6 hours of free time a day (not counting meals or reading in bed at night.) I feel pretty good about that and about the quality of her education. *smiles*

handkerchiefs

2007-07-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

When I was in 7th grade I developed really bad allergies. I spent a lot of time with a sore red nose from wiping it with scratchy tissues.

So one thing I do now when Z has a head cold (like she has today) is cut up an old soft cotton shirt into hankies. These hankies are ever so much softer on her little nose than a tissue and at the end of the day I wash them and they come out even softer.

This weekend is my birthday party. But I am thinking now we might have to cancel our plans to eat out at a nice restaurant near the beach because I don't want to infect everyone. That is okay though as long as I still get my presents. *joking*

Tomorrow we are supposed to see a good friend perform in Midsummer Night's Dream. I am wondering if I can load Z up on children's cold medicine and sit off in a corner somewhere... I don't know yet.

There does seem to be some kind of summer cold going around though. I talked to another friend yesterday and she said her whole family has been sick for two weeks. :(

Thankfully, though she is expelling some yuck from her nose Z doesn't seem to be feeling yucky. She is singing and laughing and running at at least 75% of her normal energy (which is still a good 15% more than most people.)

I don't know what we will do today. Z wants to play board and card games (what a surprise... :P). I want to write a post about my homeschooling plans for the fall. We will see if we can do both.

excuses

2007-07-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

I just haven't felt like blogging recently and it probably shows.

This coming year Z might be joining a homescoolers book club. They are reading middle school level books and the rate of one a month.

If she doesn't do this I was thinking we could do it together at home at the same rate, or close to it.
This is a list of books I will be choosing from: I will probably choose 4 books at first and then reevaluate.

Swallows and Amazons
The rest of the Oz books
The Jungle Book
The Black Stallion
rest of Narnia
The Book of Three
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Bunnicula
Rabbit Hill
The Boxcar children
A Wrinkle in Time
Indian in the cupboard
Lost years of Merlin
Dark is Rising
Redwall
Rats of Nihm
Lord of the Rings
Stuart Little
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Cricket in Times Square
Sword in the Stone
Treasure Island
Black Beauty
The Borrowers
Five Children and It
Trumpet of the Swan
The Great Brain
The Children of the Green Knowe
The Phantom Tollbooth
Watership Down
The Door in the Wall
The Wheel on the School
Books by Edward Eager
Eva Ibbotson, Island of the Aunts
Dick King-Smith (Babe, the Gallant Pig

sick and Harry Potter

2007-07-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (that was Tuesday right?) I felt terribly tired all day. I actually almost fell asleep in at her piano class. D'oh! Then this morning I work up with a sore throat and an upset tummy. :(

So I spent much of the day on the couch resting. I figured since Harry Potter is still real big in our minds that today would be a good day to have a Harry Potter movie marathon. We started before 9:00 and now, after 5:00 we are on the Goblet of Fire. *jeez*

Speaking of Harry Potter, I wanted to say that I am glad that my daughter has Harry Potter in her life. Just the spectacle of it, the shared worldwide obsession, will be defining time period she can look back upon. In my childhood we had Star Wars. I think Harry Potter is Z's version of that. (I also compare Pirates with Indiana Jones.)

And Z has been really into HP sine she was 3 1/2. There have only been a couple months of the last three years that she hasn't been reading one of the books.

Part of me is sad that the books are over. But at least there are two more movies (which I admit are nowhere near as good as the books) and J.K. Rowling is supposed to be writing an encyclopedia to share the information she knows about the history and future of characters.

Are there better books then Harry Potter? Definitely! Just as there are better movies than Star Wars. But still there is some special about them that speaks to lots of people. I mean, when is the next time people are going to line up by the thousands to get a book the moment it is released?

I am glad that my daughter got to be part of this extraordinary shared experience.

Sleepover Milestone

2007-07-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Z went on her first sleepover last night.

It was with E, an older PG girl (10 yo) that are family friends of ours. I am good friends with the mom (some of you know her) and I feel really comfortable with them and that Z would be safe.

The girls went swimming first and then played some games and then sang and danced to Wicked for a couple hours before going to bed. Z said she missed me some when she was falling asleep but otherwise she had a blast and is ready to do it again soon.

I missed her right before bed too.

This afternoon we went over to a friends house for a playdate. We all went swimming in their pool and the girl's also played in their bouncy house.

Then this evening I dropped my cell phone in the sink while I was washing and we had to take an emergency trip to the mall. :(
While I was there I checked out the new i-Phones. *drool*

Snape Video

2007-07-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

So I have watched this a couple times since finishing the book.
It is a Snape montage from the first two movies. I got it a long time ago. It has been sitting on my desktop for a couple years.

It doesn't have any spoilers but some speculation. It is funny and sad and the song is one I particularly like - Simon and Garfunkel - I am a Rock

Watch It On Youtube

Pictures from the Previous Week

2007-07-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

First here are some pictures from Friday night.

Z in line with her three girlfriends.

After we all got our bracelets ten of us went to dinner together. Then the girls made HP related crafts (Z made a time turner and a pensieve) at Micheal's next door to the bookstore.

It is midnight at we are in line to buy the book!!

Got it!!!

Pictures from Z's recital last Sunday

Pictures from Summer Sounds last Thursday

making her Cuban paper dolls

HP7 (no spoilers)

2007-07-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

We just finished reading - it was all day yesterday and until dinner time today. We all really liked it but I need some time to digest it all to really figure out how I feel about everything.

Harry Potterific Weekend of Ninja Prowess Reading Marathon

2007-07-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

or HPWNPRM for short.

Tomorrow morning we drive down to have coffee with our friends and then the HPWNPRM starts. First Z and I are going to see Order of the Phoenix again. Then we will be hanging out with a group of friends at the Barnes and Noble for hours waiting for book 7 to be released at midnight.

Saturday we wake up bright and early. No t.v., no internet, media at all except book seven which we will be taking turns reading aloud to each other. We will stay sequestered in our house, our only fuel soda, pringles and perhaps, throat lozenges. We need to finish the book by Sunday night so Pere can go to work on Monday.

It is going to hard. But if we loose our faith in our reading prowess we can revive ourselves with a rousing chorus of "Weasley is our King"

playing catch up

2007-07-19T08:04:00.001-07:00

Almost all of Z's classes wanted to do extra lessons to make up for what she missed while we were on vacation.

Tuesday was the craziest day. She had piano at 12:00 and then a voice lesson at 1:15 that we drove to but it got cancelled at the last moment, and then two hours of gymnastics from 3 - 5. Then a redo of the voice lesson at 6:00.

Yesterday we stayed home all day. In the afternoon we had some friends over to swim in the pool. But overall the day was slow and relaxing.

Today we are back running around. We are going to the Hollywood Bowl again this morning. Then a picnic lunch there with friends. Then back home for Japanese at 3:00. And then gymnastics at 4:00.

It is kind of like when you have a job and you go on vacation and when you get back you have this big pile in your inbox and it is like you didn't really have a vacation at all. Now in Z's case she likes her classes but for me it is a lot of extra driving around and sitting quietly while Z does something. *wry grin* (but actually I have been doing some writing and planning)

I think that after this week we are pretty much caught up though.

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Meanwhile most days we are still doing homeschooling. I would say we are doing Homeschooling One Half. She has got piano (a couple of new songs to work on), Japanese, math and King Arthur. We are almost done with King Arthur and then I was thinking about watching Excaliber with her but I might have to check it out myself because I think there were was graphic scene with Launcelot and Guinevere.

On her own she is busying herself with her snap circuits (designing her own cuircuits), her science encyclopedia, Harry Potter, various websites on nutrition, and singing.

Inevitable focus

2007-07-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

I posted a very similar version of this on the HG board today. The topic there was timely for me because I have been thinking about Z's abundant talents and interests since this weekend.

We have had both the blessing and the problem of Z's teachers wanting her to focus on their subject. Her piano teacher wants her to spend all her free time on piano. Her voice teacher is ready for her to start a more time-consuming training program. Her agent obviously wanted her to drop everything for an audition. She isn't taking dance right now but I know that the good dance school around here get very serious and time consuming when the kids are eight.

Anyway this is what I am dealing with:

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My daughter is into musical theatre - so she wants to sing and dance and act. She also is interested in composing her own material. Right now she takes private lessons in piano, and voice and does Shakespeare theatre during the school year.

Secondly she is very interested in most branches of science. She wants to be an astronaut and a Doctor. She also collects gems and minerals and arthropods and reads science text books for fun (when she is not reading sheet music.)

Third, when she was around 2 1/2 she gave herself the lifetime goal being a polygot. Currently she takes private lessons in Japanese but she has also learned some Spanish, French, and Hebrew. (she is also known to read foreign language dictionaries for fun)

Fourth, she is very physically active. She would live at her gymnastics school if she could. She is not taking dance now because I made her take a break but she has taken and loved both dance and martial arts and wants to get back into them. She also likes any sport we have introduced her to - tennis, swimming, basketball, soccer, etc.

Fifth, she loves to read. She reads all the time, mostly fantasy books and poetry. She is often reading more than half a dozen LARGE books at a time.

Sixth, she is no social hermit. She has a lot of friends and we have two homeschooling groups we go to as well as playdates every week.

Last, but not least, I personally think it is very important for her emotional and mental health to have significant down time every day. Often her down time is taken up with reading or composing or singing. But she could just lie down if she wanted.

Last summer she started doing some professional acting and last January it got to be too much. I was more than willing to drop that. But all these other things are really important to her.

I am in a state of worrying about Z's near future and how she is going to continue pursuing all her many interests. I understand that she will have to spend more time on some things and thus less time on others. If she gets more into the whole performing arts thing maybe she will have to explore science or languages at specialized camps during the summer.

Right now we are able to keep a healthy balance. But I feel like to get to the level she wants to be at in her various activities (i.e. a challenging level) she will have to give up some things. Or at least not do all of them at the same time.

Planning for all this is kind of stressing me out these days.

We Will Rock You!

2007-07-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks Kate! for nominating me as a Rockin Girl Blogger. Ahhhh, if you only knew... I should dig out the pics of me when I had dyed black hair and wore a leather jacket. *grin*
Instead I am going to show what I think is a hilarious picture of Z rockin' out in her car seat.

(she looks like a weird Van Halen groupie...)

And I would like to nominate 5 ladies I have actually met in real life and found them to be Rockin!

Mariposa - you are beautiful, deep and tres stylish!

Forte - you're funny and fun!

Jaime - nice, funny, and easy to get along with.

Quinn - hilarious and very smart with a very smart and hilarous blog

and H.A. and P.A.. who have a private blog and would like to keep it that way - because you two are super cool and you rock in the library and on the mandolin!

performance

2007-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

Z performance went well. Her piano playing was technically sound but somewhat wooden which I chalk up to her only having three days to practice before the show. Her singing was quite cute and good. My bias opinion was that her song was the most appealing performance out of the 20 kids performing. *grin*

Z was the youngest. Then there was a handful of kids 9 - 11 and the rest were teenagers. We left before the last 3 violinists and since they were the oldest they were probably really really good.

I have wanted Z to volunteer to perform at old folks homes for a long time. I have an idea that she and Pere could perform together. And now that I see how welcoming and appreciative the audience there is I think I will try to set something up for them.

Z is very comfortable with older people. There was a lady sitting next to her last night who was in really bad shape, extremely thin, couldn't speak, etc and Z was very concerned about her and asked me a couple times if there was something we could do for her. I also remember her visiting my grandfather at his home and how she just jumped right up on his lap and brought him back from a lonely place. :)

It is harder for me because I am very sensitive and I get to feeling worried and sometime outraged for them if they are not taking care of well. And then I feel loneliness for them if I see them sitting all alone... well, I am sure you can image.

not so posty

2007-07-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting as much recently because I have a big life changing decision I am trying to work out (something good, don't worry) but I can't really post about it yet and since that is all I am really thinking about I am having a hard time coming up with topics.

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But today was good.

We just had some good friends over that have a 10 yo PG daughter. Z loves her friend E and I just love talking with her mom, my friend, A and Pere gets along well with the father/husband. We have been inviting them over for Pere 5 hour chili for a couple years now. It is so good to have some local friends who actually like to eat our food. :)

Anyway we had a great dinner and evening with them and set up plans to have Z have her first sleepover with E in a couple weeks.

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Earlier this week Z's piano teacher invited her to play at a concert at the Jewish Home for the Aging. None of us were sure that Z would be prepared because she went three weeks without even touching the piano. But Z really wanted to do it so she practiced a lot the last two days and then today she went and played for her teacher to see if she was ready. And, yay, she was.

So tomorrow evening she will be playing two songs on the piano and singing to an audience besides judges or parents of other piano students. :)

Summer Sounds

2007-07-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today I took Z to the Hollywood Bowl for a children's music and art program called Summer Sounds. Today's theme was Mexico.

First she colored a skull in the theme of the Mexican holiday The Day of the Dead.

I really like it.

Then we watched a show with a Mariachi band and traditional Mexican dancing.

Z (in the yellow shirt) dancing with her favorite senorita.

After we had a picnic and playtime at the park with our homeschool friends. I think Z was putting on her own show.

first in line

2007-07-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

We went to the movie theatre that is within walking distance of our apartment. I brought a back-pack with books for reading, an activity book, crayons, modeling clay, and snacks.

When "Goblet" came out I got to the theatre something like two hours early and I was still like 50th in line. Yesterday I was determined to be closer, much closer. I figured Z and I would at least be in the first ten. You might have guessed by the title though that we were first (and second.)

Yeah, we waited for a long time but we had a really good time. Z and I made tiny models of Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Voldemort, Scabber, Crookshanks, and some dragons. We met people that we knew and hung out with them a bit. We met the people in line with us and one little girl came over to color with Z.

I know it is probably going to be almost two years before we see another HP movie and I wanted it to be more of an "event" rather than just a movie. I think sitting in line for it makes it seems more special. And, of course, we got the best seats in the theatre. *grin*.

It was a very good movie. A lot was changed, of course. But I expect that so it doesn't really bother me. Z was very sad at the end and I was too! But I don't think it was any more scary than "Goblet" and perhaps even less so.

She didn't finish reading the first HP book. We got too caught up in playing with the modeling clay. But when we got home she took out Goblet of Fire and started re-reading that... *sigh*

homeschooling lite

2007-07-11T08:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was another day set to homeschooling lite. She did piano, math, Japanese, Reading (King Arthur) and typing.

Then we also played some board games and card games. In the afternoon I worked in my room, preparing my books to be sold and Z played in her room drawing, reading and, of course, singing.

I wanted to share what I think of as a good example of limiting TV and computer time. Yesterday after lunch Z asked if she could play on her computer. I said "No, you played on it a lot yesterday. I want you to find something else to do today." So instead she went to her piano and composed some of her own songs and sang along to them for awhile.

In the late afternoon we walked over to the park. At six she is starting to be the oldest kid at the playground. :(

Last night she asked if she could spend all day today reading the first Harry Potter book. Her goal is to read the whole book in one day. I figure she will have plenty of time to read while we are sitting in line for the movie of the 5th book for hours this afternoon. I told her she still needed to practice piano but otherwise she could read all day. I wonder if she will really want to.

Back home

2007-07-10T07:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it really seemed like we were back home. Z practiced piano for the first time in almost 3 weeks (boy, she had gotten rusty!). Then she did math for half an hour and then I read to her a chapter from our King Arthur book.

After those three things I just let her do what she wanted. She chose to read a science book about human anatomy. We also walked to the market and watched a Poirot episode.

She had her piano lesson in the afternoon. That went pretty well.

After that I asked her to practice some typing with her Spongebob computer typing program. And then she went swimming with some of the neighbor girls until dinner.

At bedtime we took turns reading a new book on arthropods that she got from her Aunt. It is really an awesome book. I had the idea that we might make a trivia game on arthropods using the book. Z wants to start on that today.

My goals for her this summer are to finish King Arthur (almost there), be better at cursive and typing, keep up with piano and Japanese, and memorize her multiplication tables.

Sewing

2007-07-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today Z went to a sewing birthday party at Jo Anne's Fabrics

The girls each had their own sewing machines and sewed denium bags and then added embellishments.

I was really happy to see Z handling the sewing machine. It got me inspired to take out my machine and sew with her.

Here is the (mostly) finished product. She wants me to hand-sew a pocket onto it on at home.

back home

2007-07-08T07:58:00.001-07:00

So we are finally back home from our trips.

It has been almost three weeks. Z somehow seems older, like she had one of those jumps in vocabulary and thought proceessing. You know what I mean.

I also noticed that she finally seems secure in all those skills that kids are supposed to have. She can now ride her bike with confidence and ease (and enjoyment.) She can do a cartwheel. She can catch and kick and dodge a ball with some accuracy. She can jump in a pool and swim all around and she she can jump rope. I am happy for her.

When we got home the first thing she asked was if she could go into her room and read. She went in and read some non-fiction geography books... Then a book of poetry that she memorized a poem out of and then came out to recite it to us. She had said "Yay! Something to read besides Harry Potter!" That was the book we brought with us on the trip - book six. And she did finish it.

yet? no, not yet.

2007-07-06T14:58:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of noises going on inside my head these days. Where to live is probably the loudest.

Pere said last night that buying a house is the biggest decision we will make until we buy another house. That, of course, just makes me want to put my head in the sand. I am an impatient girl but if I can't make a decision now then I would rather not even think about it.

Part of me really wants to Just Settle Down Somewhere Finally (!!!), because Pere and I have lived in six places since I was pregnant with Z.

Another part of me wishes we could just travel around the world, and stay, at least a year, in France. *grin*

A third part of me is afraid to commit to buying a house. There are so many things that can go wrong. I shiver at the thought of them. Yet, I tell myself, many people less capable buy houses. And then I try not to think of the people I know who are having forclosures or getting upside on their mortgage.

I really don't know what I want yet. I am not ready to really figure it out because I know that when I figure out what I want I WILL make it happen. That is just how things go with me. I think it is one part planning, on part willpower, and one part magic. But, in the past, when I have really wanted something... wanted something enough to write it down and image it and then work towards it, I get it. But when you have that kind of power you have to accept the responsibility that comes along with "be careful what you wish for".

So right now I am planning but I am planning for a lot of different things. I am also writing some dreams down (that is where the magic comes in) but I am not lending my will towards anything in particular... not yet.

Friends in Santa Barbara

2007-07-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today we went with some friends to a park in Santa Barbara

The playground was huge and had a cool castle theme

Z practiced her Ninja Warrior skills

The girls

Walking hand and hand

We went to the pond and all these turtles came over and wanted to be fed

Aren't they sweet together?

Z and C and S tromping through the path

Bicycling and the 4th

2007-07-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Z and I went to the park at the beach to ride our bicycles

On our way

At the Park

This is her taking a break to run across the park

At the Beach

This is a good example of what I mean when I said "We make our own fun." Z didn't have a toy so she used her croc to make a "waterfall of sand"

On the 4th we had some friends over. We all walked down to Fisherman's Wharf for a little fair.

The girls were sweet.

They had a lot of fun on the bounce house maze

They did a lot of fun things at the fair.

We went home and cooked-out for dinner. But then walked back to the marina to see the fireworks.

The big finale.

Some things I wish

2007-07-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish I could just put Z into a good public school and she was just smart enough to get all A's and be at the head of her class and get be editor of the school newspaper and become the valedictorian and win a scholarship and be voted "most likely to succeed."

But research shows that those kids are usually MG or at most HG. There is a socially optimal intelligence. It is those who would be a bit challenged to do the above.

But can a kid really be happy, and appropriately stimulated and challenged working several grade levels below their true ability? Should they "coast" even if they had the temperament to be satisfied by that? Do you really think that is the right thing to do?

Sometimes I look a schools with beautiful campuses and interesting course catalogs and think "Wouldn't it be nice...?"

But then I look at the end of year standards for the grade that Z would be entering this fall. It has stuff like:

blend two to four sounds into a recognizable word (e.g., /c/a/t/ = cat; /f/l/a/t/=flat)
read common word families (spill, fill, gill, etc.)
understand, count, read, write, and use numbers up to 100
demonstrate the meaning of addition and subtraction and use these operations to solve problems
Count by 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100

And I just know that Z is not going to be satisfied being at the head of that class. It is not just a matter of boredom either. Spending twelve years in a woefully inadequate environment can do all sorts of things to you emotionally not to mention academically.

Not that I would ever want to change Z. The storybook school life is not for her, she will have a totally different story to tell.

Channel Islands house

2007-07-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

We made it to the Channel Islands house last night. It is so nice we have this place to escape to. It was about 114 degrees in our town yesterday

The water was really still this morning. (I took this picture from the deck.)

We have a rocking chair here so Z and I were able to do our normal morning snuggle. :)

Today we don't really have any plans beyond going to the beach. Z and I are without a car today but pretty much everything we need can be reached with our bikes.

Last Day in Indiana

2007-07-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

We said by to our family.

Then we went to an art museum in Chicago. We came specifically to see this picture.

Otherwise my favorite was the art.

Pere's was the armour

Z's was the minitures

We got in pretty late. Today I am just doing laundry and ironing and this evening we will go to the beach house.

Update in trip

2007-07-01T04:59:00.000-07:00

Friday we drove about an hour and a half to another town where our good friends H and P live. H was Z's librarian when we lived at the Channel Islands house. Two years ago they made the move to Indiana and they really love it here.

Here is a picture of Z reading to their daughter, 3 yo, HS. Such, a grown up girl moment!. They had a good time together.

Here is a pic of the new baby AS. She let me hold her a lot. That was really nice!

Here is P playing his mandolin for Z.

We also visited H's library, which is should have taken pictures of because it was the best children's library I have ever seen!
It was really nice to see H and P and their growing family and their nice house and town. I am really happy for them!

Yesterday I didn't feel good so Pere and Tante Suzette took Z to the park.

They fed the ducks.

Z loves tire swings.

Z's favorite was this huge steep rickety slide.

Look at those dirty feet. Those are the feet of a happy child. *wink*

In the afternoon I was feeling better so we checked out the local library. It was pretty nice! They had a good homeschooling section and their children's section is bigger than my local library. The children's section has a train theme and this corridor of luggage is the entrance.

In the evening we had a cook-out at my sister's house. She lives right on a park - the one that we have been going to every night to catch fireflies. Here Z and her cousin Alex are playing soccer.

She asked me to take this picture of her enjoying at hotdog.

Here is Z and Alex playing soccer with some neighbor boys. They also played dodgeball and caught fireflies together.

South Bend is a real neighborly place. My sister has been here almost ten years and she knows everyone. When we went out to the bar I think she knew like ten people there. Then yesterday at her cook-out two neighbors and a friend stopped by.

Z was so sad to leave their house last night because that was the last time she would be seeing her cousins and uncle on this trip. They have to travel to Indy for a soccer game today. After we said our good-byes and started walking she broke down crying, so we went back. Then my sister suggested that Alex and his friends walk us home. :)

She cried again several times before bed. She really loves her family and I know it is hard for her to leave.

We are leaving this evening, first stopping off in Chicago to go to an at museum. I think I won't be able to post until tomorrow.

babysat

2007-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight Z's cousin Alex babysat her so Pere and I could go out with my sister, brother-in-law, mom and dad. We went out to dinner and then to an outdoor bar with live music.

Z got to do all her favorite things with her 16 yo cousin. They watched Spongebob, played Mexican Train dominos, played soccer and played croquet. They had pizza and ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate sauce.

Then they walked over to the park to catch fireflies.

My mother left the bar first and drove by the park to check on Alex and Z. She said that when she pulled up Alex and Z were sitting with their backs against a big tree and looking up at the sky. Z told her grandmere that they were watching the sunset.

When I came up just after that my nephew said "Look at the sunset!"

It was quite beautiful. :)

I am so happy that Z is getting to spend time with her cousins. I only wish she could have spent more time with them sooner.

Our firefly summer

2007-06-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night's jar full of fireflies

Thursday morning we drove to an Amish/Mennonite Farmer's Market
She got her first balloon hat

Hugging her Tante Suzette
Sometimes I feel like a horse would be more fun than a car

We took Z to a local children's museum
She hung from this for 40 seconds
She enjoyed playing shop

Then she played a fairy game with the Ent in grandmere's backyard

And joined in a game of croquet with her cousins.

Tuesday in Indiana (& Wed. morn in Michigan)

2007-06-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Z with the raspberries she picked from the yard

The campsite

Lake Michigan

Playing bocci ball

Playing soccer

The fairy house

The Whole Yard

The Inside

The Outside

Roasting marshmallows

Alex made the best ones

Side Trip to Michigan

Drawing with her cousin Alex on the way back

So Far

2007-06-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday our flight was delayed for three hours so we didn't get to my parents until very late.
But my sister and my brother-in-laws and nephews came to meet us and have alate dinner anyway. It was great to see everyone.

Grandmere made Z this "magic carpet" and had all these fairy dolls for her to play with.

She also made her a wonderful magical fairy garden and fairy houses.

Here is the river which is a block away from their house.

Today they took Z to a Rock and Mineral museum and store. She got two new rocks for her collections

She played soccer with her cousins

And held a bird at a neighbor's house

My favorite part is all the fireflies. I haven't seen any since I was very young and Z never has. She thinks they are magical.

Here she is in the park trying to catch some. (she caught many)

you can kind of see some in this picture. But it is really beautiful - they are like mobile Christmas lights.

Microbiology

2007-06-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Z's microbiology class.

Pere went with her on the bus to the university for this class. I said back at the hotel and hung out with some friends.

Pere brought back some pictures and a report.

lab partners

looking at her bacteria sample

some bacteria

looking in the microscpe

a break to play outside

All the kids really liked the classes. I know Z got something out of it because she was drawing bacteria on her napkin over dinner last night. And she and Pere kept telling me how many bacteria were probably on every surface that I touched.

After dinner Z played in the pool with her new friends and then we had to say good-bye.

Before bed lastnight and even this morning Z has asked about her friends so I know they are on her mind. I hope she isn't too sad about leaving them.

Looking back

2007-06-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Stomp session got me thinking about Z's natural inclination towards music and performing arts.

She has many things that she loves, some are foreign languages, physics, nature, her I Love Math books, and reading (of course).

But when she was 3 she wasn't memorizing the names of dinosaurs, or heavenly bodies, but poetry. She was so into poetry that I even made that her online name. She had memorized Halfway Down the Stairs when she was 2 or 3. And went on to memorize many others.

She was making up poems then too. There was one I was looking for but I guess I only have it written down at home. It was the second one I remember writing down and she wrote it when she was two or early three. But I did find this one that she wrote at three:

Daffodils grow in my tender soul, I tend to them and watch them grow.

She was always coming up with stuff like that. I should have written more of them down. Soon the poems turned into songs.

At that same age (2 - 3) she was really really into musicals. She would insist on listening to the same ones over and over and was able to memorize them and sing them. Here is her singing from Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical

And the things she did back then that really freaked me out were more often coming from a talent that is realted to musical memory. Like her recognizing incidental music from the Harry Potter score played over the speakers at a toy store, after only seeing the movie twice, and being able to remember what was happening in the movie when that music was being played.

Sure, she was also starting to reading. And also insisting on doing 30 - 40 minutes of math and Spanish. And wanting me to read her everything. But when I look back I think I can see a stronger connection in music and performing than in anything else except reading.

She was not the kid who drew all the time or who built with blocks all day. But the toddler who would bring sheet music to bed for reading material. She was the three year old that memorized all of Les Miserables.

On one hand I have tried to be supportive about the musical stuff. I got her a really good piano teacher and voice teacher and I have also tried to set her up with fun situations for acting. But in my heart I was never really comfortable with the idea that she might want to make a career out of it. I could see that she would be good at it. But I feel like science or even foreign languages would be safer.

I don't know if that means I am going to be making any changes. There are some I have in mind. But looking back I am able to see this thread of passion and talent that may be stronger than the others. And I am looking at her now and seeing that the only thing she does every day on her own, other than read, is sing. I have been unwiling to admit what that might mean about where her future happiness might lie.

But I decided last night that I need to be more open to the idea that Z might find the most joy in her life performing.

That is all. I just going to be more open to the idea in my own heart and mind.

more non-identifying pictures

2007-06-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

This morning Z had a session on "Values" and giving back to the community.
Then there was the Keynote address.
After that we hooked up with two families from CA with boys for lunch

Then Z had her afternoon sessions: Forensics and Stomp (like that theatrical production)

She said that so far she liked Stomp best. I don't know what to infer from that except that Stomp was the physical/performing arts/musical activity and, as usual, she does have an affinity for such.

After that we went to a Q & A about the Davidson Academy in Reno. (It sounds really good)

We had dinner at the pool with some of my good online friends.

Then we all went back to our hotel room and the girls played.

Gosh, they just play so nicely with each other! I loved eavesdropping on their talks.

Then we moved the party over to another hotel room where the girls started the Anti-Picture Taking Club. There was much chanting, and hiding, and screaming and giggling, and eventually a leader (decided by who could stack the highest tower of Bandu blocks) with several lieutenants, and then of course, they all became co-leaders with various duties (Z was in charge of organizing pillows)

Here are pictures of four girls under pillows

Now we are trying to get Z to bed because she has to wake up early again.

Here is a good example of how she always has to be sitting in some weird position. *grin*

Day Two

2007-06-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today's schedule
Breakfast
Game Room
Speech from Bob Davidson
Lunch with many friends. We had to sit at two tables

Then Z had Zome class

Then she went swimming with her friends.

Here they are trying to see who has the smallest feet.

After swimming more Game Room. Then we all went out to Sushi - 17 people in our group. 6 other friends had to sit in a different area. All around town wherever we go we see people we know. It is pretty amazing.

Here are the girls walking to dinner.

After dinner it was a few more hours playing Apples to Apples and other games in the, you guessed it, Game Room.

Today was really nice. I am feeling less overwhelmed by all the excitement so I could relax and enjoy myself more. I have talked to so many interesting people. Pere is having a great time too! Tonight he played Upwords with another dad and I have seen him passing out his business cards all over the place.

Do I really have time for this?

2007-06-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

My day so far

Woke up at 6:00 a.m.
At the airport by 7:00
Plane delayed
Got on around 9:00
Stop over in Dallas
Can you believe there are two other DYS families on board?
Arrive an hour late
Spent most of the next four hours in the Game Room
Z met old friends and new friends and played many games.
I met old friends and new friends and I wish we could all just stay in one big hotel room and have a PG Slumber Party. :)

I am having a wonderful wonderful time!

weird conversation

2007-06-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the daughter of an elderly neighbor was hanging out at the community pool. She is my age and she has a daughter Z's age. Z sometimes plays with her when she comes to visit her grandmother.

Well the elderly neighbor really likes Z. Z helped her get her mail when her wrist was broken and we sometimes visit each other and have tea and talk about scrapbooking or travel. We see her a lot outside and she always talks to Z and asks when she is doing. Well, I guess my neighbor must talk about Z to her daughter because she was asking me some weird questions yesteday.

This lady seems kind of nice but stand-offish. Anyway yesterday she asked me "So when did you know that Z was gifted? Did she do something that made you think 'She is really gifted!"

"Ummmmm...." I was caught off guard and tried to think what to say "Well, yeah. You know... "

"Like what?" she asks.

"Well... ummmm... Well she was walking at nine months and reading before she turned three." I said in what I hope was a you-know-how-things-are voice.

She didn't say antyhing or even look at me.

Okay....

Then she turns to me and say 'So did you have her I.Q. tested or something?"

"Yep," I nodded "When she was four..."

Again she doesn't say anything, then, "So is she some kind of genius or something?"

I gave a little *heh* "No... We don't really use the word genius. I think a genuis is someone like Einstein. But really it is not a scientific term or an official ranking or something. Z is just gifted."

After that I got up and walked away. Luckily I knew someone else at the pool that I could talk to. I talked about Will Farrell movies with him.

I can only imagine what my elderly neighbor must have been saying to her daughter to get her to ask me those types of questions. And it wasn't like she was asking me in a nice way. It was like she wanted me to defend myself.

Oh yeah, before she started asking about the gifted stuff she said "You homeschool Z right?" I said that I did and she said "Doesn't she ever just say that she doesn't want to do any school?"

I sat there for awhile thinking about it. There have been times when she maybe didn't want to do particular subjects in a particular order or times when I think she didn't want to practice piano. But I couldn't think of a time when Z said she didn't want to do school. "No, not really." I said.

Just then Z came over and I said "Hey Z, So and So was wondering if you ever tell me that you don't want to do your homeschooling that day." Z looked at me like I was foolish and said "No." and then jumped back in the pool.

Anyway, overall it was a very off-putting conversation.

Father's Day in L.A.

2007-06-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

We had a nice time visiting Pere's family in L.A..

Cher Pere

2007-06-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for singing when you found out that I was pregnant. Thank you for coming with me to all those OBGYN appointments. Thanks for holding my hand.

Thank you for sitting behind me in lamaze class and for holding me and rocking me back and forth during labor pains and then for totally supporting me in getting the epidural.

Thank you for sleeping on that little cot in the hospital room with me.

Thank you for waking up early and holding and feeding our baby so I could sleep.

Thank you so much for being so in line with all my wishes and dreams for her. Your support means everything to me.

Thank you for being so damn funny and for laughing at my jokes.

and thank you for being deep (and having layers... like an onion) *grin*

Thank you for being ready and willing all the time for whatever I have planned even though I know you would rather be sleeping. And thank you for planning fun things too.

Thank you for working so hard to take care of us.

Thank you for being so cool.

Thank you for singing to me (on our first date, at our wedding, at that karaoke place, and every other time. Thank you for singing WITH me in the car. :)

Thank you for the phone calls and thank you for coming home for dinner every night.

Thank you for playing with, singing to, teaching, and reading to our daughter. Thank you for "talking" to her for me when days are long and I run low on patience.

Thank you so much for your wonderful meals. You really show how much you care for us with them.

Thank you for always supporting homeschooling. I couldn't do what I do without you.

Thank you for all the nice presents you have given me like that first Palm you gave me in Florida, a couple laptops, tickets to see Mandy Patinkin, my bike, Lakers tickets (those close seats were pretty awesome).

Thank you for taking care of me. You never complain. You have so much patience and kindess and love.

You're totally awesome!

You are the best father I have ever seen and you are the perfect husband for me.

You being in my life makes it more special. It makes it better than it was or would be without you

My projects

2007-06-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

As the end of our official school year wound down (although learning never really stops) I found myself feeling kind of listless and bored.

I suffer from ennui from occasionally. And when it starts pull me down I know I need to find a project.

This time fall homeschooling planning has saved the day. I have been having fun with it all week!

I have a huge library at home that rarely fails to excite me. I collect rare and out of print children's books and it gives me a special pleasure to take them down and read them to Z.

I also have a passion for planning, researching and lists. I love matching beautiful books to Z interests and temperament. It has completely diverted me from my ennui. :) I have worked out a great language arts curriculum although I am still trying to figure out which literature to apply it to. History is mostly wrapped up - it is a matter of picking out the perfect biography books. I am having trouble picking between two plans for science. But there is no real hurry.

One thing I think I have worked out is that the lessons will still be done by lunch time so Z will still have her afternoon's open for free play, play dates, etc. I have always felt that Z needs free time just as much if not more than her lessons. Plus I like to have my free time too!

Before I was a mom and before I was a writer I was an efficiency expert. Early on I worked for Motorola and I would learn a job and figure out the fastest and best way to do that job and then write up an SOP and train the workers. After that I worked for a technical company doing the same type of thing. I went through all the processes in the company and changed things so that what they were doing made much more sense.

That is just how my brain works. I do the research to figure out what makes sense in that time and place with those people. Then I make several plans and work them through and find out which one works best for each person and each job. Then I train the people. It doesn't always work. Adults can be resistant to change. But it usually wasn't my job to make the people work properly which is what managers are for. Interestingly, people who were more motivated to do well at their job rather than maintaining the status quo usually appreciated the changes I made as it made their jobs easier.

But my natural tendencies and talents in this area have corresponded really well into homeschooling.

I know Z so well ( she is almost convinced I have psychic powers) that my main difficulty is finding the proper resources to fit her temperament. But for me that is part of the fun. :)

I know it probably sounds weird to get so much pleasure out of being efficient but really I can't imagine being any other way. :)

History

2007-06-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

This week I have been spending all my free time designing Z's fall curriculum.

Yesterday I figured out our History program.

We will be doing the Renaissance this term and we are going to do it 2 - 3 days a week.

First we will be watching a PBS mini-seriesin the evening as a family Medici - Godfather's of the Renaissance The Medici's were patrons to many famous men of the Renaissance.

We will also be reading biographies. Here is the list I have so far:
Filippo Brunelleschi
Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Thomas More
Queen Elizabeth
Christopher
William Shakespeare
Copernicus
Galilei Galieo
William Harvey
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Walter Raleigh
Gutenberg
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo
Ferdinand Magellan and other explorers
Medici
Francesco Petrarca
Machiavelli
Rapheal and other painters
Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and other scientists
Martin Luther and John Calvin

We will be incorporating narration and writing into these readings.

Lastly Z will be creating a Glossary of Terms with information from that time period on Humanism, Astronomy, Protestantism, Inquisition, The Courtier, Merchants, Navagations and Maps, Alchemy, Colonization, Exploration, Puritans, 30 Year War, Sisten Chapel and more.

I think the first day we will read and then second day she will narrate and write on the bio and the glossary.

Eye of the Tiger

2007-06-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

When I was writing about testing Z (she did like 5 tests that morning...) I didn't think how that might appear.

You are all so nice that you don't really ask me those hard questions, like "How does Z feel about all that testing?" I think that is a valid question.

In our case it is not a problem. Yesterday morning, while we were doing our normal cuddling in the rocking chair, Z asked me if she could do some more tests and was disappointed when I said no.

Yep, she actually likes tests.

Her Japanese tutor thinks it is the funniest thing. She started quizzes this year and she would try to pull off a mock stern voice and say "I am going to quiz you on all this next week." (She is so sweet she can't really do "stern"). And Z would clap and cheer. Now Z gets to have a quiz in Japanese at least once a month. It would be more but I think it takes a lot of work to make the quizzes. Z's two favorite things about Japanese are quizzes and singing.

When we had her I.Q. tested at four she loved it and at the end asked if she could come back the next day. She likes tests, quizzes, competitions, talent shows, etc.

I was going to write a post on Monday called Eye of the Tiger (remember the song from Rocky III?) Because a lady at our homeschool park day, upon me pointing out to her which child was mine, said "Oh her! She's got the Eye of the Tiger."

She went on to tell me that she watched Z going backwards on the monkey bars with a demeanor of total focus. I laughed and said it was such a coincidence that she should use tht term since we planned to watch Rocky III that night.

But anyway, I think the reason that Z likes tests so much is, at least, twofold.

One is that she has never been in trouble for not getting 100% on a test. For me the point of testing is to see what she knows and where she needs help. There is nothing wrong with genuinely not knowing something.

Secondly Z does have the Eye of the Tiger. I am sure there is a little stress involved in testing but she likes that. She has always asked me to set up obstacle courses for her and then to time her and she will try to beat her time. When given two options she almost always chooses the harder one.

Thing is, I am like that too. I like to challenge myself and I think tests are fun instead of scary. So maybe, without really trying, I have conveyed that attitude to Z.

some Language Arts ideas

2007-06-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

So I am going to try Classical Writing Aesop with Z. I looked at their message boards and it says that the it is for 3rd - 6th. Their "Homer" series isn't until middle school.

This is how it works.

Day 1
You pick a piece of classic writing like a myth, fable, fairy tale, etc. Your student reads the whole piece. You note the title, the original historical setting, why it might have been written, what was the message and any additional background. Discuss the characters, plot, action, outcome, moral issues. Note something good and bad about the literature.

Day 2
Spelling, Dictionary Skills
Pick our spelling words from the piece - students can copy them or have them dictated.
Then from the piece choose vocabulary words and look them up in a dictionary, noting their root words (Latin or Greek?)

Day 3
Grammar
Use a passage from the piece to implement the grammar you are studying. For example - subjects and predicates, direct quotes, adverbial conjunctions, etc
So if you were trying to teach verbs you could have the student pick out all the obvious verbs. Make three columns and list the verbs under their types: Action, Being, and State. Also you might mark off 10 - 12 words from the passage and ask the student which part of speech they are.

For grammar I am going to use Everything You Need to Know About English Homework 4th - 6th grade" and apply it in this way.

Day 4
Copywork and/or Dictation
Just work at the student's level here. I am going to try dictation with Z.

This curriculum also recommends setting aside another 30 minutes a day for writing projects. I am not sure what I am going to do for writing yet. Z will be working on our homeschool newspaper that I am creating with the kids.

why test

2007-06-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

One reason I did these tests is so I can use the info to ask for accelerated classes for Z. Now I can say that she is "at least 4th grade level" and that might mean something to the people in charge.

I haven't figured out how to test her for history or science, which I think would fall somewhere between math and reading comprehension depending on the topic.

For history and science we follow her interests and not the state standards so the things she has learned might not be on grade level tests. Although we covered a lot of topics we didn't do the "mile wide inch deep" type curriculum taught here in CA.

For science she studied human anatomy, global warming, nutrition, environmental protection, rocks and minerals, forensics, microbiology and space flight (at astronaut class). Her science class did extreme weather, poisonous snakes and spiders, swallows, dinosaurs, terrariums, states of matter, the solar system, planting bean seeds, and marine biology. She also did many brainpop movies.

For history we are following more of a Well Trained Mind path and starting with ancients and moving forward from there. If I tried to test her I think 3rd or 4th grade is supposed to spend the whole year on CA state history. But unless we do it concurrently we aren't going to get to that for awhile. But I don't think the CA state elementary tests ask about the fall of Rome, Egyptian burial techniques, human evolution , Greek mythology and Homer, the Black Death, the barbarian hordes, the Vikiing judicial system, or ask for the name of the knight that sits at the Seige Perilous. *grin*

On my own I would place her between 5th - 7th grade for science and history with lots of gaps and lots of indepth knowledge. But it is easier to test her in math and language arts and then be conservative and use that grade level when need be.

testing

2007-06-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

So this morning I decided to give Z some end of year tests to see where she is in Language Arts. I found this site for K12 placement tests and I tested her on reading comprehension and language skills.

For reading comprehension I started with 5th grade but it was too easy. So I gave her the highest test they have, which is for 8th grade, and she got all but one right on that. So I don't really know where she is on that...

She also got two tests for Language Skills (grammar). The first one was too hard. The second one was right on the money and that was for 5th grade.

Then on another site I did a spelling placement test and she placed 4th grade.

So, it is like I thought, math and spelling (both 4th grade) are her relatively weakest subjects.

It was surprising in a way because I usually underestimate what Z is really doing. I thought spelling and grammar would be 3rd grade... I haven't really taught her much of either, so what she learned she mostly figured out on her own.

But still the questions on the tests did seem really easy and I am not sure I believe that that is really the level regular school kids are working at. I mean they said that Z could be taking Literary Analysis and Composition...

Other than testing Z did two sessions of EPGY math, half an hour of piano, a chapter from King Arthur, had lunch with her Pere, and then played at the park with her friends for 3 hours. Now she is in the bath tub banging on stuff. :)

dress

2007-06-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Z's Grandmere got her this dress from Maui.

tea party

2007-06-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today was Z's Tante Juliet's annual tea party. This year Z got to spend the night with her aunt and then help her bake for the party.

Tante Juliet dreams of opening her own tea house someday but until then we get to taste her treats on special family occassions but this is the most elaborate (and yummy!)

She usually makes four courses including tea sandwiches, homemade scones with homemade jams, and some special dessert. This time it was cake that Z helped to prepare and the Gray family fudge recipe.

I am lucky to have married into a family of such good cooks.

a house is a home for me

2007-06-09T06:55:00.001-07:00

So the housing prices are finally coming down some here in Southern California.

Last weekend we went and looked at twelve open houses and saw that we might actually be able to afford something we would like come November.

Of course we are really excited about this and while I know it is a few months away I find I am now constantly looking at and thinking about houses for sale. :)

****************

The other thing my brain is stuck on is my job... that is homeschooling.

I am still not sure what my curriculum will be in the fall. I have gotten several good resoures recommendations from friends. Rght now I am checking out Classical Writing - Aesop , which looks good but not as complete as EPGY Language Arts and Writing, which is what I really want to use but I am concerned about the cost.

So far my tentative fall curriculum looks like this
Math - EPGY
Language Arts - EPGY
Spelling - Espindle
Science - books from library on physics, chemistry and experiments from Mr. Wizards plus weekly science class
History - Renassiance and Explorers (also library books)
Geography - workbook
Music Appreciation - ?
Piano class
Voice class
Japanese class
Art - A - Z guide to Art
P.E. - gymnastics, kung-fu, yoga/pilates, swimming
Drama - Shakespeare class
Field Trips - monthly with homeschooling group
Reading - classics at home, modern fiction with homeschooling book club

American Girl

2007-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today Z and I met K and her family at the American Girl Place.

Disneyland

2007-06-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Z and I went to Disneyland where we met up with our good friends from Raising K

We had an awesome time! The girls got along fabulously. And Z rode on all the rollercoasters! She did Thunder Mountain, The Matterhorn, and even Space Mountain!

Did I say it was the end of school?

2007-06-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

For some reason Z had a end of 3rd grade test for EPGY this week. I wasn't expecting it since she was already doing the 4th grade work...

Anyway I think she did well on the test but I found that she really needs to learn her multiplication tables.

So besides piano and Japanese I want her to continue math over the summer. I found a cool website that has printable and customizable math sheets - http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/ So that is what she will work on when she in done with EPGY at th end of the month.

And so while we are at it I think it would be good if she learned to type better.

So I have a couple goals this summer that I would like Z to meet.

Not that she is against the idea. This afternoon we were totally open and free to doing whatever and she wanted to play a math board game called Allowance and then read her Kingfisher book on Forensics and then read one of her Horrible Histories books. :)

Angelina

2007-06-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

We got home about 7:30 this evening to find a neighbor trying to catch a one footed duck and her ducking. He wanted to take it to the wildlife rescue place. Long story short a neighbor caught the duck and I caught the duckling and we put them into a box but the mother got away and then to our dismay she flew right away. We waited at the spot with the chirping duckling for about an hour and a half but she didn't come back although we thought we saw her fly over a couple times. We looked around different areas of the neighborhood for her but we couldn't find her.

So about 9:00 we drive just the ducking over to the rescue place. It slept in my hands in the car. It was the sweetest little thing. Z cried on the way home because she wanted to keep it. When she went to bed she prayed to God "If we ever find another duck and duckling please don't let the mommy duck fly away. And if she does let us keep the duckling."

Also Sunday Z built this "cave" in her room out of chairs, blankets, and boxes.

She sat in there reading books with a flashlight