Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Homeschooling Article
Well, this rather slapped-together article has begun to spark some serious discussion in homeschooling.
College Students Fail Civics Test
This article points out some serious flaws in our best colleges.
If you go to the site referenced in this article, it's even worse to see how poorly elected officials did on this quiz.
My highest level of education is some college, with no degree; I scored 81.85%.
Next year my oldest will begin a 3-year in-depth study of government. I hope at the end she will score even better.
Tapestry of Grace, the curriculum I use, is one of the few I've seen that includes governmental studies as a key component.
If you go to the site referenced in this article, it's even worse to see how poorly elected officials did on this quiz.
My highest level of education is some college, with no degree; I scored 81.85%.
Next year my oldest will begin a 3-year in-depth study of government. I hope at the end she will score even better.
Tapestry of Grace, the curriculum I use, is one of the few I've seen that includes governmental studies as a key component.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Life Happens
The last three days have been a lesson to me in flexibility, patience, and honoring God's commandments.
A young couple in our church had a family member in California die. I could see she really wanted to be there, but with three young children on a 3rd class petty officer's salary, it was not likely to happen. I encouraged her to look into Space A MAC flights, and also offered to watch her kids if she wanted to go. Friday morning, her husband called mine and asked if we could take all three kids until Tuesday. He told us that we were the only ones they felt they could trust with their precious children - what a blessing to hear that!
Years ago *we* were blessed with wonderful people who would watch our young children on a moment's notice. This is certainly a blessing to a young military family far from home. These people have become our forever friends whom we will never forget.
All through Scripture God calls us to show our love for our neighbors in practical ways. Sometimes this isn't convenient or easy. I learned long ago that it is more important to be available for the new homeschool mom who needs to vent than to finish the lesson plan for the day. My kids have learned to be flexible, and to understand that people are more valuable than books. This is one of those life lessons they wouldn't have learned in school.
In this particular instance, it hasn't been at all easy to serve. I haven't watched a two-year-old for more than a few hours in a long, long time. In addition, he has a medical issue which requires me to watch everything he touches and puts in his mouth. Doable, but challenging.
To add to the challenge, we just got a new puppy whom we are working on housetraining. I haven't been able to keep as close an eye on him as I would like, so we've had lots of accidents. Plus, I've been so busy caring for two young ones, a puppy, and a house, that I didn't have time to put together lesson plans for homeschool today.
No worries, right? Well, I got up early after a sleepless night to get things going, only to find that my two youngest both have fevers. I've struggled all day to keep on top of things, but all my plans have gone awry.
Still, there have been moments of joy. There was genuine laughter from sharing old jokes with new kids. The two-year-old has entertained us hourly with his antics and impish smile. With two of my kids down, the oldest from both families stepped up to the plate with chores. The new puppy is too adorable for words. My dear husband has been home the whole time and is a great help. Still, I'll be glad when mommy and daddy come home tomorrow.
And if they asked me again tomorrow, I would would smile a sincerely genuine smile and say, from my heart, "Absolutely."
A young couple in our church had a family member in California die. I could see she really wanted to be there, but with three young children on a 3rd class petty officer's salary, it was not likely to happen. I encouraged her to look into Space A MAC flights, and also offered to watch her kids if she wanted to go. Friday morning, her husband called mine and asked if we could take all three kids until Tuesday. He told us that we were the only ones they felt they could trust with their precious children - what a blessing to hear that!
Years ago *we* were blessed with wonderful people who would watch our young children on a moment's notice. This is certainly a blessing to a young military family far from home. These people have become our forever friends whom we will never forget.
All through Scripture God calls us to show our love for our neighbors in practical ways. Sometimes this isn't convenient or easy. I learned long ago that it is more important to be available for the new homeschool mom who needs to vent than to finish the lesson plan for the day. My kids have learned to be flexible, and to understand that people are more valuable than books. This is one of those life lessons they wouldn't have learned in school.
In this particular instance, it hasn't been at all easy to serve. I haven't watched a two-year-old for more than a few hours in a long, long time. In addition, he has a medical issue which requires me to watch everything he touches and puts in his mouth. Doable, but challenging.
To add to the challenge, we just got a new puppy whom we are working on housetraining. I haven't been able to keep as close an eye on him as I would like, so we've had lots of accidents. Plus, I've been so busy caring for two young ones, a puppy, and a house, that I didn't have time to put together lesson plans for homeschool today.
No worries, right? Well, I got up early after a sleepless night to get things going, only to find that my two youngest both have fevers. I've struggled all day to keep on top of things, but all my plans have gone awry.
Still, there have been moments of joy. There was genuine laughter from sharing old jokes with new kids. The two-year-old has entertained us hourly with his antics and impish smile. With two of my kids down, the oldest from both families stepped up to the plate with chores. The new puppy is too adorable for words. My dear husband has been home the whole time and is a great help. Still, I'll be glad when mommy and daddy come home tomorrow.
And if they asked me again tomorrow, I would would smile a sincerely genuine smile and say, from my heart, "Absolutely."
Monday, February 1, 2010
Cons of Homeschooling
Every once in awhile I'll come across an article or blog about the "cons of homeschooling." Unfortunately most of the time they aren't really cons but veiled digs at non homeschoolers.
That's why this article is so refreshing. These are thoughtful, real reasons why homeschooling is hard.
But, I still think it's worth it.
That's why this article is so refreshing. These are thoughtful, real reasons why homeschooling is hard.
But, I still think it's worth it.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Egg Experiment for Biology
My oldest is studying Apologia's Exploring Creation With Biology
this year. Many of the experiments so far have been microscopic, hence no photos. I didn't realize this experiment was on a macro level, so I only got a picture of the last step.
Anyway, the first step of this experiment consisted of soaking a raw egg in vinegar. This dissolves the shell while leaving the semipermeable membrane intact. Osmosis allowed water from the vinegar solution to pass through, swelling the egg.
In the next step, the egg is now soaked in corn syrup. Now, osmosis causes water from the egg to move out of the membrane, which causes the egg to shrink and dimple.
In the final step, the egg in soaked in distilled water. Once again, the water passes into the egg through the membrane, causing the egg to again swell.
At this stage, the egg looked and felt like a bouncy ball, and the yolk was barely visible. The membrane was tougher than at the beginning of the experiment, but was still breakable.
There was another experiment on diffusion, so we could see the difference between osmosis and diffusion. We didn't get any pictures of the other experiment.
this year. Many of the experiments so far have been microscopic, hence no photos. I didn't realize this experiment was on a macro level, so I only got a picture of the last step.Anyway, the first step of this experiment consisted of soaking a raw egg in vinegar. This dissolves the shell while leaving the semipermeable membrane intact. Osmosis allowed water from the vinegar solution to pass through, swelling the egg.
In the next step, the egg is now soaked in corn syrup. Now, osmosis causes water from the egg to move out of the membrane, which causes the egg to shrink and dimple.
In the final step, the egg in soaked in distilled water. Once again, the water passes into the egg through the membrane, causing the egg to again swell.
At this stage, the egg looked and felt like a bouncy ball, and the yolk was barely visible. The membrane was tougher than at the beginning of the experiment, but was still breakable.
There was another experiment on diffusion, so we could see the difference between osmosis and diffusion. We didn't get any pictures of the other experiment.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Water Bears
My two youngest have been studying science using Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day for the past two years. Last week we studied a very unique microscopic creature - tardigrades, otherwise known as Water Bears. Today I came across a video of them:
Aren't they cute?
Aren't they cute?
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