Half-Pint House

To My Friends in Public (and Private) Education...

...this post is for you. Hope you all have a great start to the school year!

Homegrown

Here it is, everyone: three months of work rolled up into a juicy red tomato. I just stood there and ate almost the whole thing (I didn't eat the whole thing because M10 stood by me and ate the rest).

My dad used to tell me about eating homegrown tomatoes from his grandpa's garden when he was a kid. He said he would eat them like apples. I never believed that because I thought tomatoes were nasty.

But these? These are not nasty. I just stood there and ate it like an apple. I can't wait to do it again.

Interesting Finds

Here are some things I've seen lately worth taking note of:

Blog and Mablog: Doug Wilson on girls and education

Grant's Farm: St. Louis folks, it's back to school weekend at Grant's Farm. You can park for free on Saturday and Sunday and your kids 10 and under will get a free hot dog and drink. 

Fabric.com (again):I found a 30% off coupon this week - 2PLTRY9 - As such, I have a new cover for my glider rocking chair, this pattern to make this skirt and this one, a new lunch bag for me as well as my girls (five different pieces of oilcloth), and several other fun prints for various things. I loves me some coupon codes for fabric.com!

My family on Awkward Family Photos: One of the commentators, in their haste to make fun of my kids, mistook her homemade Easter dress for a Lilly Pulitzer. And that's 700 kinds of awesome. Thanks for the tip, Chelsea! I stopped checking those comments a while ago.

Shoplet.com and the Head of the Class Contest: I think we might win this, but they are gaining on us. If you haven't left a comment over here yet, would you think about doing that soon? Thanks.

The iBible: I have no words.

Neighborhood Watch, the paintball version: What scares me is that Craig thinks this is a good idea. As if we don't have gun-happy neighbors enough already.

The Pioneer Woman: Brisket. Yum, yum!

Pondering

Somewhere in the vast universe that is the blogosphere I read a post today. That post was talking very positively about another blogger. That blogger was deemed valuable due to their large and engaged readership. In other words, the value of the blogger is only as deep as the number of their comments.

I know I sometimes whine about the popularity game that is the blogosphere. In truth? It's probably because I can get a bit jealous that I'm not one of the popular girls. But in reality? I really don't care that much. I didn't really care in high school, I really don't care now. Except that when value is assigned to popularity, then sometimes I do care. Because I'm human and that's what I do. I care. And I also take things personally, but that's for another post, eh?

It could be telling that the majority of the blogs I continue to read belong to people I "met" when I first started this venture in 2004. They are my enduring blogfriendships. I don't leave a lot of comments on their blogs, they don't leave a lot on mine. But I count their space and place in the blogworld as very valuable.

And I just had to say that tonight.

Night!

Overheard

My two youngest kids are in the kitchen watching an old Miss Pattycake dvd they unearthed and I just overheard this conversation:

K7: She has a GREAT house.

E5: Yeah, I wish we had a house like that.

K7: Me too. If I had a house like that I would totally teach preschool in it.

The Notebook

One might think, by my title, that I'm referring to one uber-cheesey chick flick (which I have not seen). One would be wrong.

Instead, I'm referring to the notebooks I made for each of my kids for this school year. And I wouldn't even bother posting about them except that I've been asked to expound on what the heck I'm talking about by a couple of real-life friends and I figured if I was going to explain it all, I might as well just Explain It All. To you, too.

As M10 is a 5th grader this year and E5 is officially of proper kindergarten age I did the only thing any self-respecting homeschool mama would do. I panicked. For a bit. Just a teensy tiny bit. And then I started thinking.

Last May I heard of another friend who makes assignment notebooks for her kids. That's all I know about it. I kept meaning to go over to her house and take a look at what she meant by that but it never happened, so after ruminating on the idea of "individual assignment notebooks" for three months, I came up with what I think will be a pretty workable solution for us this year.

But we have only just completed day two of our homeschool year, so ask me again in five weeks, you know what I'm saying?

First off, and on the recommendation of another friend who ordered this without seeing it yet, I, too, got myself a copy of The Well Planned Day. Because I'm crazy like that.

I meant to take a picture of the cover, but I forgot, so here's the first week of school planning I did:

I did a sketch of this, including all the Sonlight reading and specific math lessons and basics on everything else for the first ten weeks of school. 

I then made four individual binders, one for each girl (two shown here):

The covers were designed on Scrapblog.

Next, I printed copies of certain pages from the My Student Planner from CurrClick for each girl:

They have one for boys too. And also a combo pack in case you are one of those strange types who have children of both genders. We don't know anything about that.

So, from here you see that tab marked "Week 1"? I made 10 of those. Now, putting 10 weeks worth of assignments in one binder proved to be too much, so I had to break out some basic black binders for the extra 5 weeks. I marked those "_____'s Upcoming Work". 

Next, I printed off 10 copies of the days of the week, each printed individually on separate sheets of paper:

I put those in page protectors and put one set behind each of the weekly tabs. Also, behind each weekly tab is a copy of each girl's individual assignment sheet:

With this sheet I actually penciled in the subject column and certain things on the daily boxes that I knew wouldn't change from week to week. I made copies of that page so I wouldn't be writing those same things over and over and over. I got this brilliant idea after I had done just that about four times. I learn the hard way.

As well as one of these sheets:

I didn't make the specific chores permanent. I figured I wanted wiggle room to change them periodically or add to them here and there. But this way each girl has a very clear outline of what I expect them to do each and every single day.

You might have noticed the circled "T"s in certain boxes of the individual sheets. I put those there because I wanted the girls to understand they still had to do those things on that day, but the "T" is for "together" and it is something we will all do as a group. The together stuff is outlined better in my notebook, not theirs (see my planner above).

Now then, in addition to this, I went through many of their workbooks and just tore the pages out and three-hole punched them and slotted them in behind the day I wanted them to do it. For instance, behind the week 1, Tuesday section of K7's notebook are these pages:

So far, this system is really working well for us. But I did mention that we've only done two official days of school, right?

I also seriously feel the need to mention that this is the plan I made that I think will work for me and my family this year. It very well may not be the plan that will work at all for yours. 

Did you hear that? Let me say it again:

This is the plan I made that I think will work for me and my family this year. It very well may not be the plan that will work at all for yours.

Okay, I feel better now, having gotten that off my conscience. Homeschooling mamas can be pretty bad about looking at what someone else is doing and panicking that it's not what they are doing. Conversely, homeschooling mamas can also be pretty bad about looking at what someone else is doing and critiquing it to the death. Funny thing about that, though. Somehow, I don't think that trait is unique to homeschooling mamas. But I digress.

So that's that. The Dunham Family Homeschooling Organizational Strategy for 2009-2010. Have any of the rest of you posted yours? Let me know so I can come take a peak and start to panic that it's not what I'm doing. *grin*

Well, the Dyson People Never Called

If you'll recall, I had to get a new vacuum cleaner last December. The Half-Pint House is very tough on vacuums. When we were first married, I went to Wal-mart and pretty much bought the cheapest one they had. I was ignorant. I learned.

My parents bought us the next one we had and it did well for a couple of years, but didn't cut the mustard over the long haul, either. That was the year I decided to invest a portion of our tax refund on an Oreck, thinking such an expensive, light-weight piece of machinery would be worth the price. It wasn't. We kept it for several years (including one very expensive repair), but it still wouldn't do what vacuums are famed for doing.

So last year I made a plea to Dyson to offer me one of their well-known and supposedly reputable dirt suckers. Surprisingly, they never did. So I took suggestions and ended up with the Hoover Tempo Widepath. It worked great for five months. Yep. Five months.

Yes, we are the Griswolds of vacuum cleaner experiences, too. I was tired of fighting the dumb thing so I Googled for a Consumer Reports recommendation on a vacuum and landed on the The Boss. And believe me when I say this, I want this thing to boss us around. I want it to stand up and take command, take charge and do the job!

I'm hopeful, if not a bit desperate.

He stands in a place of honor, where he is needed most, just outside the kitchen and in the dining room, permanently plugged in. Like this:

As hopeful as I am that The Boss will do the job, I'm still seriously interested in the Dyson people making me an offer I can't refuse. How about it, Dyson? I'm thinking a little vacuum challenge is in order. Is your machine really better than The Boss? Send one to my house and prove once and for all what you are made of, because if The Boss doesn't work, instead of another vacuum cleaner, I'll be getting a dog.

PS: The comments speak. Sorry, Dyson, you lost your chance. I'm now interested in a Kirby or a Miele. Peole at Kirby and Miele, you can contact me at halfpinthouse at gmail dot com to enter the Dunham Family Vacuum Cleaner Challenge.

Fabric Selections: Michael Miller Pretty Bird Collection

The following fabrics are ones I have available for you to choose from for your custom made order for zippy bags, tea take-alongs, verse packs, and more. from my shop, Half-Pint House Handmade.

Click here for more fabric options.

Michael Miller Pretty Bird!

Pretty Bird 1: Orange Swirl                           Pretty Bird 2: Orange Flowers on White

Pretty Bird 3: Cornflower Blue Flowers        Pretty Bird 4: Yellow Swirl

Books on the Brain

I'm consumed with books right now. Planning them, finding them (this is harder than it sounds...), gathering them, soon-to-be reading them.

I've always had the girls read their individual readers at their own pace and haven't really worried about it too much. We've never really processed them very much because, frankly, when you are teaching four kids you just count on some of them to do certain things on their own. Individual readers fall into that category for me. I make everyone have a one-hour down time after lunch in which they are to read their scheduled reader for a minimum of what I've requested. After that they are free to read any book they choose for the remainder of that hour.

This year things will be similar to that with this one big exception: the book journal. I've struggled to implement book reports with the girls, but I think I have a good plan for it this year. I gave both of the older two a notebook with an ability-appropriate book report form taped inside. I found the book report forms here. Next to that they will keep a running list of the books they read throughout the year. After they finish each book they will write up a report about it right here in this same notebook. When they complete 5 reports they will choose a reward out of a jar.

That's where I could use some help. What sorts of things would you consider putting in a reward jar for kids who have done something like this? So far I have two: dinner out and choose a new book at Borders. I need some more creative ideas that aren't terribly cost prohibitive.

What would you suggest?

Also, speaking of books, one of my biggest problems is organizing all the weekly books we have in a central area. It is not uncommon, indeed, it is very very common to hear me say, "Has anyone seen _____________?" It is too common. I'm hoping this new solution will help us out this year. I've gathered all the books for read-alouds and individual reading as well as the book journals and put them in, you guessed it, another covered crate.

And as an added bonus, the crate happens to match my window treatments:

Now then, to finish stringing and hanging the other one that has been draped over my stairs for the last three months...

Also, since we're on the topic of books, I've decided E5 has gotten the shaft in the picture book department. By the time she was on the scene we'd pretty much moved into chapter books as a family and I haven't done the best job of reading all the great picture books we have to her. So in addition to the scheduled Sonlight reading, I'm adding in two picture books/day of books we already have.

And, speaking of Sonlight, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about this: If you register for a new Sonlight account, use my rewards ID code: MD20171763. I will get some kind of awards points and you will get $5 off a $50 purchase. Win, win.

Okay, enough about books. What about my book report jar rewards? I could seriously use your help!

The Problem With Sleeping In

Warning: Random bits of useless information ahead. Detour may be necessary.

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I didn't wake up until 10am this morning. Gasp! Shock! I know. I also didn't go to bed until almost 2am this morning, so the math makes sense, but still. I can't keep this up. The problem with this routine is that it perpetuates itself and here I am, wide awake at 12am again. Only I don't have the luxury of sleeping in until 10 again in the morning.

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So, we're starting school back up again on Monday. I think I could possibly be the most prepared for this I've ever been. My oldest is entering 5th grade this year and I also have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a kindergartener. It's about time I got myself organized in this department. The problem, though, is in implementation. I can organize just about anything. Maintenance, however, is not one of my strong points. But I have higher hopes this year because of the way it is all organized. Ask me again in four weeks, I guess.

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C8 turns into C9 soon. As she's read all of the Little House on the Prairie books too many times to count, I thought it would be fun to introduce something sorta new, but also familiar. Enter the The Girls of Little House. Now then, I have no idea of the quality or content, but they look good, and we all know we DO judge books by their covers, so there's that. Most of the original versions are going out of print and are being replaced with abridged versions with realistic covers instead of the traditional illustrations. I snapped up as many as I could off of Amazon (with the 4 for 3 plus free shipping deal), Half.com, and Paperbackswap.com. I think there was only one I couldn't find and am not willing to spend $35 on. Should make for a pretty sweet birthday gift. Shhhh, don't tell her, okay?

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I'm working on making a bunch of these right now:

I found the tutorial here. They are rather addicting to make. So far I've made one for a friend's birthday present, three for hostess gifts (filled with Trader Joe's yumminess), one for my hall closet upstairs (to organize bathroom stuff in - need to make 4 more for that closet!), and these three for some of my Classical Conversations tutors to organize their weekly supplies in. I need to make 5 more for them. Oh, and also I need to order more fabric. Note to self: order more fabric soon.

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Speaking of Classical Conversations, my group has 45 kids enrolled. I was taking a head count for our upcoming back-to-school family picnic and if everyone comes, including spouses and siblings, we'll have 100 people there. Dadgum. We're sorta official now.

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I have a love/hate relationship with my blog right now. As if you couldn't tell. I don't know if I'm bored with it all or just too lazy anymore. Pretty much everything I want to say can be done quickly in a status update on Facebook. Also, the design. I need one. Until I do something about it I may just keep changing these canned templates over and over and over. It's what I do.

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I'm at that point in our school planning where I'm deciding on all the extra-curricular activities for the year. So many things to do, limited amount of time in which to do them. I need to be reminded of my philosophy of extras. That philosophy is this: Will said activity add lasting value to their lives, both throughout childhood and adulthood? Ballet and bowling will most likely not. Piano and choir most likely yes. American Heritage Girls? I have no idea.

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I received a surprising phone call from my group ticket sales lady with the Cardinal's this week. She wanted to offer me two tickets to an upcoming game against the Astros in one of their party rooms, including food and drinks. I waited a minute for her to tell me the special group price, but she said they were free. Yippee! We already had 4 tickets to the nosebleed section for that same game, but I sold them in a hurry. That money will now pay for babysitting while Craig and I go act like we belong in a section better than normal for us. Think we can pull it off?

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Okay, that should just about do it. It's late again and none of us wants a repeat of this blogging scenario tomorrow night. Ahem...