4 Across Count Down Zeus on the Loose

Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola :001_smile:

All About Spelling :001_smile:

:bigear:

My ds 10 has a university, classics major tutor him weekly through literature. They are finishing up The Golden Goblet soon. I'd like the next book to reflect the time period we are studying in history. My ds reads and comprehends at a high school level, but is very sensitive to content. Do you have any suggestions for the next book? I'll be reading Farmer Boy and By The Great Horn Spoon aloud to him and ds7. Thanks for your help! :001_smile: ETA: Forget the mythology suggestion...I changed my mind. Wish we could edit titles! Thanks!

My 2nd grader: History...Early 19th Century...using the Times Traveler cd as a spine and adding in more hands on (not doing much of the paper craft things they suggest, but creating a full Native American out fit and lots of cooking) Science...RSO Earth and Space (LOVE this!) Phonics/Spelling...AAS Writing...WWE Level 1 and soon moving to 2 Reading...I See Sam books and others Grammar...FLL Math...Math Mammoth Blue Series and TT 3 and lots of math games Picture Study and Composer Study

First thing in the morning after breakfast has worked wonders for us. I used to start with math because that is their least favorites subject. There would be complaining and crying and fits over it and it set a really bad tone for the rest of the day. I decided to start with a read aloud so we could get some cuddle time in before we dove into our school day. I am AMAZED at how that has changed the atmosphere of our school day! We do math right after it and I rarely have complaining! :001_smile:

We're working our way through Real Science Odyssey Earth Science and LOVING it! The experiments are really fun and directly demonstrate what you just read on the information sheet. My goal was to add more hands on stuff to our day and this science curricula was just the ticket. There is an experiment every science day (T,Th)! Last year we enjoyed doing chemistry experiments in Super Science Concoctions. We're studying Native Americans and Pioneers for history. We're making a complete Indian outfit and cooking many of the foods the Pioneers ate. That's been fun. :001_smile:

What a neat story! I believe in God Winks! Happens to us too! For instance: We moved into an apartment that had a fireplace. We didn't have any fireplace tools to tend to the fire but we didn't have any money to buy any either. I went out to check the mail the next morning and there were some fireplace tools just sitting there. I looked around a little freaked out, shrugged my shoulders and thanked God for the provision! Also, just this month, we were looking into getting a larger monitor for our computer. We don't have a tv so we use our computer to watch movies and our monitor is 19 inches. After looking, we decided that was not the best use of our limited money. A few days later, my dh went over to his friend's house and his friend asked him if we wanted his 26 inch monitor to use since he just bought a new one. Crazy, huh!? And finally...we got into a pretty bad car accident on the 12th this month. Our only car was totaled and we were taken to the ER by ambulance. Just after we were brought in, a child in the room next to me was not "responsive" and needed to be transported right away to another hospital. Because we were brought in, the ambulance was already there and ready to take the child. We had also just decided to sell our car, and now that it is totaled, we don't have to mess with trying to sell it! People can say it's just "coincidence", but I don't believe it is! :001_smile:

I have had the same experience. I don't think they even notice what is missing, but I have noticed them playing with things they haven't played with in a long time. Taking away some of their "too many choices" has really helped them already. I did tell them the toys we took out are going to go to the Hospice Thrift Store. I told them the money the store would get for their toys is going to help families who have a loved one that is dying. I explained what hospice does and they gave it a "thumbs up". They liked knowing they were helping others even if in a non-direct way. :001_smile:

Alright...I started the process with simplifying my boys' room. I was really worried about their reaction and frankly, it was an emotional process for me (but those are my own issues I am working through regarding stuff being tied to love). My dh took before pictures and once we are done, I'll take after pictures. I got rid of a bunch of items, but I know there is more. My dh, seeing this was emotional for me, suggested I have a box to put items in that I was unsure about getting rid of and then I'll visit that box in a month a decide what to do. We prefaced the process by talking to the boys about the vision we have for our home and for them as individuals. We made sure they realized we weren't just taking things away from them, but also giving them stuff in return (calm, peaceful, uncluttered environment for them to be able to do the things they love...imagine and create.) I wanted to be able to give them something tangible back though too. After Christmas, my dh and the boys are going to make them fold up tables that go under their loft beds that they will be able to use as project tables. My youngest is excited about having a place for his LEGO creations and my oldest can't wait to have space for his crafting, experiments, etc. When they walked in after my dh and I spent 3 hours in there, they were so excited! I heard exclamations of, "I love it"! "There is so much room!" It was not at all what I was expecting, but exactly what I wanted to hear. Hope that will encourage some of you who are a bit worried about your kids' reactions. I'll let you know when I post about the before and after. I'm still in the process of simplifying, but so far so good! :001_smile:

Something else I came across on the internet that might be helpful: http://rhythmofthehome.com/ It's an online magazine and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I read it. :001_smile:

LOVE the idea of the curtain on her loft bed. What a fun "secret" place for her. Bolded: Yep. Take your time. It's a big change and sometimes change takes time. I plan on introducing the changes slowly. One of my boys does not do well with too many changes done quickly. After all, I am trying to cut down on the behavior issues, not enhance them! ;)

Here's the blog...http://www.simplicityparenting.com/blog/ So much for making my google reader leaner. :glare:

1) One for each pot you are stirring? But, then why do you need four pots? ;) 2) Yarn...nope. Don't need it. BUT, I was thinking about taking up knitting as a hobby. 3) Don't touch the books! :D 4) You HAD to bring up the purses. :glare: I *just* purged my bathroom today and it felt sooooo good! Trust me. :001_smile:

What about getting rid of the stuff that the book described as not being "keepers" but then adding a few new things she'd get excited about that would allow her to be creative and let her mind and heart soar. He used the example of adding fabric, a clothesline, and clothespins that a child would be able to create a "secret" place with. A place where she could pile up pillows and read or draw or play house in. My dh and I are throwing around the idea of doing this with the boys. We plan on getting rid of some things that may be difficult for them to part with (broken Playmobil), but hope to replace it with some things we know they will love (LEGOS).

I am totally on board with the simplifying. I am reading the book but am only on chapter two. So much of what I have already read are things we have tried to do in our home from the beginning, but have strayed a bit. The book is helping me to get back to that place. This quote really hit home and is something I am going to give some serious thought to as far as the internet being a HUGE distraction for me and threatens my connection with my boys: "Simplification is about stripping away the distractions and clutter that monopolize our attention and threaten our connection. It's about giving kids the ease to become themselves, and giving us the ease to to pay attention. To more fully develop, and to trust, our instincts." For me, it is not just about going into the boys' room with trash bags and getting rid of their stuff. It's about me getting rid of so much of the stuff that is consuming me (too many kitchen utensils, decorations I have to dust around every week, bottles of lotion, too many blog is my google reader, half used bottles of shampoo that have multiplied, needlework I "plan" on getting to, jars of candles I don't like the scent of, ect.) I don't want to spend time taking care of stuff that isn't necessary. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book and making great changes to the environment of our home. I think we all will benefit from it.

My dear, sweet cousin lost her 23mo ds 7 months ago due to the cord on a Roman Shade. You all were praying for Little Ben during that time (thanks, again). So many people think, "does that *really* happen". Tragically, yes it does.

I've been using the CDs as our spine for our study of US History and LOVE them! I add in living books for my older ds to read on his own and I have a read aloud going each week having to do with the topic we are studying. I find the activities to be engaging and fun. We haven't been using the schedule they provide because it would not allow us time to really dig into the topic. Last year we only used the Colonial and the Revolutionary War cds, and this year we are taking the whole year to do the Early 19th century. For instance, I think the unit only allow 2 days in the schedule for Native Americans, but we are going to take 9 weeks to do it. We are also going to take 12 weeks to study Pioneers. :001_smile:

Have you read Karen Andreola's book A Charlotte Mason Companion? Sonja, of Simply Charlotte Mason (my personal favorite CM site), has a one-day seminar on DVD w/workbook that I found full of information. I have seen it f/s on the boards here for reasonable prices. Here is another site...http://www.pennygardner.com/index.html And another...http://charlottemasoneducation.wordpress.com/ Other blogs you may find helpful: http://jimmiescollage.com/ http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/ :001_smile:

Personally, I think ALL of Christopher Nolen's movies are worth owning. We have all of them (we are big fans and think he is a genius writer/director) and we never tire of watching them over and over. In fact, we just watched Inception for the 3rd time last night!

:iagree: I was just looking at this today...http://www.artinactionathome.org/athome

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23 :001_smile:

I can't remember exactly where we dropped it, but I know we got through all of the geometry stuff but then dropped when subtraction was being taught. *I* couldn't wrap my head around how I was supposed to teach it. MM is doing the trick for us now!

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this great resource! :D