Brown-Eyed Girl

Something new happened today. Karley has always kept herself busy when Julia and I "do school." But today was different. She was cranky, and nothing really seemed to make her happy (note: this photo was taken yesterday, not today). By the time we finished up (shortly before noon) Karley was downstairs by herself on the floor crying. I asked her what was wrong and what I was able to get out of her was this:

she was angry with me because I had taken her playmate away from her.

Now this is one angle to homeschooling that I had not considered. I'm hoping she doesn't feel this way too long. I try to include her with her own "school work," but so far she has not been interested.

Well, six weeks down and still going fairly well....more next week.

Cave Wall Painting

Julia and I each made "cave wall" paintings using crumpled up brown paper bags and paint. Julia's picture is the bottom one. She says the animal on the left is a horse, in the center is a mother deer with her fawn, and the creature on the far right is a mammoth coming straight out of the page. In my cave wall painting I show a father teaching his son how to hunt his first mammoth. Our work is proudly displayed on the wall!

Today we made a model of the Nile River. It is a roasting pan with potting soil, a foil-lined river, and we planted seed along the "banks" of the river. We flooded the Nile (which it used to do each year....not sure if it still does that now...I doubt it...modern people tend not to like floods) and we will continue to add water (and flood the banks) to see how our "crops" grow. Not sure about the success of this one. When I say "flooded" I mean FLOODED by a 5 year old!!!

Apple Hill....again

Glad I was sitting on the uphill side of the car!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Roller Skating!

PACT's back-to-school social event was held last week. Rollerskating at John's former preteen hangout, Roller King in Roseville. Our girls had been excited about it for a week and kept asking me if it was easier than ice skating which they tried last winter at Northstar. We told them that yes, it is easier but still takes a little getting used to. Julia and Karley skated holding on tightly to one of us around and around the rink several times. Both of them fell and both of them got to a point where they were frustrated and I was beginning to think that this whole thing was a mistake. But after a little break and a little ice cream, Karley said she was ready to roll. So she and I go out again and this time she is doing great! She is so much stronger and more confident. She even pulls away from my hand to go meet a new friend and skate with her. Within moments Julia finds these two new friends skating together and holding hands so she make a bee-line over there. Another girl, who is also in computer class, sees Julia heading for Karley and her new friend and she joins in too. Before you know it there is a girl clique formed at the roller rink! It was amazing, like they had just aged 10 years. The four girls (soon to become five girls) acted like they were long lost friends and headed off to go play air hockey. They played and played until the last song warning was announced and then they got back out there and skated. It was a great night!

I'm Back!

Well, after a long week and a half I have my computer back! Hurray!!! We have been doing well and staying busy of course. Don't worry, I have many stories to share (with photos!), but I'll save that for when these two are in bed and the house is quiet. I can't believe we are about to wrap up our 6th week tomorrow. The time is going by quickly and Julia's skills are improving. I'm noticing big changes with her reading, writing, and math skills. She is enjoying our history lessons and our science reading and notebook pages. When we get time we squeeze art in there too, but unfortunately we have missed it some weeks between trying to get the "basics" done and fitting in the classes on campus (not to mention homework for her Kindergarten class).

So, bear with me.....more homeschooling stories ahead........

Computer Woes

Well, my "new" computer needs servicing. It seems that the DVD drive that has been so tempermental from the beginning is actually defective and the Toshiba tech support woman didn't even want to try to fix it over the phone. This means of course that I have to take it in to an authorized dealer for servicing. It is still under warranty (just 27 days left!) so I kind of have to do what they want, I guess. The bad thing is that their authorized dealers are in either southern Cal or the Bay Area. I guess we are still just a cow town here. Of course, that also means that they won't cover the cost of shipping to or from the dealer. So I'm looking at shipping off my precious computer to some faceless company to replace the drive. My other option is to drive all the way to Concord to drop it off and then drive back a week or so later to pick it up. None of these options sound good, and it will likely mean I will be without my trusty computer for a week or two. I'm sure I'll have many stories to share once I get it back. Wish me luck!

Karley Christine

I don't know if its just that she is in preschool now or what, but Karley sure seems grown up these days. I bet she has grown a bunch the last few months. She is harder to carry around, not because she weighs so much more, but because her legs are getting so long! Of course, she doesn't really need to be carried anymore, but I guess I do it because I still can. I know my baby is growing up and one day, before I know it I won't be able to carry her around (and someday she won't let me!).

Karley started out as such a mystery. Even determining whether or not I was pregnant with her was a bit tricky. But now it seems impossible that there was ever life without her. She is sweet, smart, funny, and has a beautiful smile. I still think of her as my "breath of fresh air" when my day hasn't gone so well with her sister. Can you tell this was one of those days????

What do archaeologists do?

I was reading the rest of our first chapter in our history book, Story of the World. This chapter is an introduction and it has two parts: What is History? and What is archaeology? Today I read the archaeology part and asked a couple of review questions. Julia was sitting on the couch beside me and Karley was eating her apple, off to the side. I asked the first question, "What do archaeologists do?". As Julia is pondering her response Karley chimes in with, "They eat!" Gotta love that girl!

Cool Science

(spider before the big catch)

Yesterday I was walking down the sidewalk on my way back home from a neighbor's house. As I approached our nextdoor neighbor's house I noticed a HUGE spiderweb with a HUGE spider in it. It was a cool looking spider and a very impressive web. I went in the house and told Julia that I had something to show her. I grabbed the camera and Karley decided to come with us. We looked at the big spider and talked about the large web. Next, I asked the girls if they thought the spider was going to catch anything in the web.

(injecting venom and beginning to wrap meal)

Then....BAM....a bee flies into the web!!!! Just that fast! The spider quickly made its way to the trapped bee and injected its venom into it (this we learned from reading about spiders as part of Julia's Charlotte's Web lapbook we are currently working on). Then the spider spun web and very quickly wrapped up the bee. It was lightening speed! I've seen bugs caught in webs before, but I don't think I have ever seen one in action like this. The girls saw the whole thing. I had my camera. It was like it was just meant to be with us there to witness the whole thing. We could not have asked for better timing. And then after the spider wrapped its dinner up into a small ball of web, it did a quick patch job on the web and then went to the center and rested (it even looked tired!). The whole thing was really pretty amazing. And so much more interesting than reading about it in a book.

(meal safely wrapped up...yum)

What is a new scrapbook-loving, homeschooling mom to do?

Scrapbook cool binder cover pages, of course! Here are photos of Julia's Life Science binder (Kindergarten and 1st grade) and History binder (Kindergarten through 4th grade). I hade a lot of fun with them and this week we are adding both science and history to our already busy days. Twice a week we will work on history and twice a week we will work on science (mom reading, Julia narrating back, coloring pages, map work, special projects, etc) and add pages to the notebooks. These areas should be more interesting and fun than strictly working on reading skills, writing skills, and math skills. Oh yeah! And one afternoon a week we will continue with our art lessons...probably Friday afternoons. Whew!

Hip Hop, Apple Hill, End of Week #3

I guess it is a bit early to be counting down the weeks. Let's just say that this past week has not gone as well as the first two. It is going to take awhile to get used to having the "disruptions" created by Julia's classes on campus.

Today was supposed to be a fun fieldtrip to Apple Hill, but Julia has a way of making things go not as planned. I was hoping she would play the "big girl" role among all these preschoolers, but she was probably the only one to have timeouts during the fieldtrip, and much of the time she spent up ahead with the tour guide and far away from me. Needless to say we came home early and the girls are up in their rooms taking much deserved naps.

Yesterday, however, was a fun day. Julia had her Hip Hop class and it was so fun to watch. She was smiling from ear to ear the whole time and MOVING the whole time. After it was over she was so tired she couldn't even get herself in the car. As I was buckling Karley in, I looked over to find Julia with her feet on the ground and her head resting in her carseat. She was beat. And for one of the first nights ever she went to bed without complaining and with her door closed. Too bad Hip Hop is only once a week!

Good Find

I found this link on one of the Yahoo groups I'm on. Very cute.


http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ab28k5yac4

Busy Days!

It has been a couple of very busy days in our house. Yesterday Julia had both her Kindergarten class and her Computer class (Karley also had preschool). After 2 and a half years of Julia worrying about Kindergarten, we got through the day without a hitch, and more importantly, without tears. Today Julia had her P.E. class. We also got through without problems, despite the fact the teacher is male. I think these classes will be a great way for her to do her own "networking." She makes friends so easily and quickly. It amazes us that she is actually OUR daughter sometimes. Tomorrow is Hip Hop. I'm trying to convience her that even though it is a dance class, a pink ballet leotard with tulle skirt is really not necessary.

Friday I think we are still heading to Apple Hill for Karley's preschool fieldtrip. I have several new projects for Julia to start and some things I would like her to finish before we start the new things, but I figure this is Kindergarten afterall....I might as well take advantage of all the fieldtrips I can. There will surely be days when I will wish we could take a trip to Apple Hill!

On-site Classes

The class sign-up procedure at Natomas Charter School goes like this:

1. You can choose up to 7 classes.
2. Classes are given a grade range, say K-3
3. If more children than the alloted number sign-up for a given class, the class is filled by a lottery system.
4. No news is good news. If you don't hear back from them all is well and they enrolled your child in all the classes you requested.


Well, I thought we were in the clear, but I received a phone call yesterday saying that Julia did not make the Spanish class. I was told that she was on the wait-list and that it was possible that she would make it into the class afterall. I asked where on the wait-list she was. Dead-last I was told (actually just three kids on the wait list). We had indicated that Julia would like to take the Computer class if Spanish was full and I asked if it was still an option. I was told, yes, that class was not full. So I told the woman that I would discuss this with Julia and get back to her.

I go downstairs to tell Julia. It was late afternoon and she was deeply involved with her TV program. I told her that what I had to say was important. That I needed a decision from her and that she would not be able to change her mind later. I explained the situation and she said she wanted to wait for Spanish. I ask, "Are you sure?" She says, "Yes" and goes back to her show. So I head upstairs and when I get halfway she says, "WAIT! I think I want to take the computer class." I tell her that she can't change her mind she needs to decide and then that is it. She says, "I know I want to take the computer class. Besides, Grammy can always teach me Spanish."

As it turned out 3 of her 4 chosen classes were filled by lottery: Kindergarten class (which she made), Spanish, and Hip Hop (which she also made). Kind of interesting that the only class on her prefered list that did not need a lottery to fill was PE. So after the Monday holiday she starts her Kindergarten class in the morning (somehow, someway I have to get both kids to their classes, miles apart, at the same time.....) and Computers. Wednesday afternoons she will have PE and Thursday afternoons she will have Hip Hop. This should be interesting....