A Must-Read-Blog Entry at Parentatthehelm.com

http://www.parentatthehelm.com/6666/homeschooling-parent-responds-to-disneys-teacher-of-the-year/

I found a link to this post on the current CoH. I strongly recommend you take the time to read this well worded and thought-out response to Disney's Teacher of the Year article.

Rhythms and Routines

As many of the nights are starting to get cool and translate into crisp mornings, the rhythms of the world around us change. Birds are beginning  to seek each others' company and flock. Overhead we hear the call of the geese which brings to mind the changing seasons. Tomorrow is Labor day, our unofficial end of summer here in the US. Early risers will notice that the morning hugs its dark cloak just a little longer, reminding us that we will rise in the dark in not too long a time. Children are seen running, back-packs bouncing, to school and we too have started our new school year.

This will be our third and possibly final homeschooling year (more on that some other time). Our first year was fairly regimented and strict and I wasn't much into lesson planning, unsure on how to proceed.  The second year was laissez-faire and while satisfying in a creative way, not very satisfying in an academic sense. This year I have our academic day planned out with the help of a free, academic software called Skedtrack.

Click on this image for a screenshot of Missy's Math Lesson Plans

What we all love about the year (so far) is the predictability of the day. We can run school pretty much on auto-pilot. Each morning, when we log in we can see at a glance what is on that day's menu (so to say) for both children. Having a clear visual has had another benefit. The kids take ownership of their learning and love to click the completed button when they have completed a lesson. I am able to plug in our school year, include vacation and holidays and personal days, as well as sick days. The time it took to customize it and enter the lesson plans for two children was labor intensive for sure, but what I spent in time and labor then, I save now when I most need it.

I have left my blog to it's own devices these past months having been very busy with a multitude of responsibilities. Summer came, a new puppy came. Then, mid August my husband left on a month long trip. He is expected back in a few days. In his absence (and he took off from work in July) I had to increase my presence at work. All of this left me little time for blogging. But looking at all my favorite blogs many of you took a hiatus of sorts as well. I look forward to blogging more in the coming months. I have also started a small cooking blog. My little food blog is more designed to be a record of my recipes and fiascos for my children some day (I pdf the files),  than something that would ever make it to foodgawker.  But I am having fun with it and that is what counts. My biggest challenge is the photography aspect of it. I borrow my daughter's dinky point and shoot and I don't have good light in the house either. Yet another challenge to overcome. 

One of nature's  rhythms is calling right now.... time to walk the pup. 





Archie Revisited.

This is Archie. He is a 4½ month old Airedale puppy. His favorite activities include playing, eating, playing, eating, bugging us for food, eating paper products, goosing people in the rear, jumping and play biting (which still hurts).

 

Big teeth and these are just the milk teeth.

 

Trying hard to sit still for a nano second.

Airedales have classic large noses.

It's hard work to drive Mommy nuts.

 

Swimsuits shrink when exposed to water - HONESTLY!

So, in a moment of insanity I decided to take the kids to the pool today. We diligently applied sunscreen and wriggled into our swim attire. That is, the kids wriggled. I on the other hand wrestled. I hadn't worn my suit in 2 years and the last time I handled it I sent it through the washing machine. And even though I followed the manufacturers directions explicitly (I think) the darn thing shrunk. It must have. There couldn't be an other reason (stop snickering!). Of course we got ready just to find out the pool wouldn't open for another hour. I decided I needed a lengthy visit to the bathroom. After all, bloating was most likely the reason I looked and felt like a overstuffed pork sausage in its casing. After my visit to the porcelain temple I felt I could actually breathe a little (stop laughing. OK, really.... stop laughing!!!!). Thankfully we are not going to a club pool but a little, dinky community pool. I am sure I'll look just fine.

See? I told you it would work out....

Oh, well, fine.... this isn't really me. It's close though. Really close. Honestly. We could be twins.


A woman can dream right, even if she is a mother...

Two different birds, very different nests.




Our neighborhood is very mature with towering trees and mature shrubs and bushes. That of course attracts all kinds of birds. Here are two examples of what likes to nest in our garden.

This Robin's nest was abandoned by the parents. It was built by our deck under the eaves of the roof over our porch. This Mama thought we were too loud and abandoned the nest. Unlike the Robins who built a nest in a decorative wreath on a friend's front entrance door and didn't mind people coming in all day and night. After my children and I admired and studied the nest we donated it to another homeschooling family with the request that they pass it on to the next homeschooling family after they were done. The four young birds that never were still had plenty of admirers.

 


This is a Cardinal's nest slapped together in our honeysuckle shrub.  I removed it after the young were gone and the nest had been abandoned.


The difference in the construction of these two nests is remarkable. The Robin's nest is a tightly woven, sturdy structure, glued together with mud and lovingly padded with soft grasses inside. The Cardinal's nest is barely hanging on. Slapped together with twigs, some plastic and a few dry leaves the nest  looks as though it couldn't withstand much more than a gentle breeze. Yet, both birds successfully raise their young every year.

Garden Friends

A beautiful visitor to our garden a few days ago.

One Word - Yuck!

This is a screenshot of weather.com from our location.