Carnival of Homeschooling at Norfolk Homeschooling Examiner

This week's Carnival of Homeschooling at the Norfolk Homeschooling Examiner is broken into parts:

Part 1: The Lazy Days of Summer

Part 2: To Unschool, or Not

Part 3: This is the Homeschool Life (Interesting article here about a YouTube criticism of homeschooling)

Part 4: Books, Books, and More Books

Part 5: Crafty Homeschoolers

Part 6: Online Resources

Enjoy!

Balloons and Knits

I apologize for the lack of comics this week. My house was taken over by a pack of balloon animals.

The balloon sculpture workshop went well, in case you were wondering. I started reminiscing about my list of lessons from making balloon animals.

Marina has been a knitting up a whirlwind lately. I thought I would post pictures of some of her work.

The poncho doubles as a convenient blanket/tent for cats.



There is actually a breed of dog that looks like a panda. Marina wanted to knit one for a friend of ours. Her first attempt didn't work out as well as she wanted. It looked too panda, not enough dog. I suggested a tongue, but it didn't work too well.
It looked a little sick.



The second was much more dog like.



This little guy is a favorite. She got a book of unusual animal knits called Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh. It included the Loch Ness monster. I'm waiting for her to make the kraken.

Home Spun comic strip #369

At this point, you may have noticed the theme for the week.

This is creativity's downside. The inability to throw anything out because "we can make something out of this." I've started to try to treat this problem by limiting the amount of time I keep an empty container. After all, I know we will eventually have another empty container!

Creativity with Impermanent Markers

Last night, in the midst of eating the Enterprise, my mother asked how I could stand eating something I worked so hard to create.

Which started me thinking...



When I was little, I once watched a documentary about the Buddhist monks making mandalas. They spent so long applying their colored sands to the different sections of intricate patterns and when it was finished, they poured the sand into the ocean as an offering. If you ever get a chance to watch one being made, it's a beautiful process. I enjoyed the process. It is as if the process itself IS the artwork, not the result. That was how my young mind saw it.

A lot of the artwork I do has a non-permanence about it. My cake creations, my garden, and facepainting are some of my favorite forms of artistic expression, but they don't exactly scream museum piece.

I think the thing that attracts me is their short life. I love creating interesting things! I love using my creativity to figure out how to make cakes into different shapes without sacrificing flavor. I love seeing how my garden looks after I've weeded and trimmed. I absolutely love the feel of painting on someone's face or arm! There is something about the challenge of a moving canvas that appeals to me.

When I finish, I share my work. I admit, I enjoy hearing praise for my effort, especially if it was something tricky, but then what? It's done. I've released it to the world and I'm ready to turn to something new. It's the way I am. The creating is what drives me (sometimes it drives me crazy, but that's another story) not the result. The result is, well, icing on the cake.

I remember how some of my art teachers would push me in high school. It wasn't enough that I had poured my heart into a lovely pencil sketch, they wanted me to paint. When I worked hard on a pen and ink drawing, they wanted to see it in color. When I painted it was either too flat or too shaded, depending on the teacher. I remember being critiqued for a sketch appearing too realistic. Why don't I try to do something more modern? What about sculpture? My teachers tried to instill the value of artwork never being "done." I know their hearts were in the right place. They were trying to nudge me into untested areas. But I never like to be forced.

I know my mother encouraged this. Her artistic ability was recognized early on. She took art classes when she was young. I remember looking at some of her pastels and oil paintings when I was little and wishing I could draw that well. I also remember her stories of how much she hated it when her parents would give away her work without asking her. If I'm remembering correctly, she understood how it felt to be pushed, so she didn't push me when she saw my ability. I guess I developed into a pretty headstrong and fussy artist. Ha! Mom unschooled me in art. Thanks mom!

My point is that I am more a vessel of my creativity. It flows through me and into the world. I don't own it, I don't control it. Once I let go of my art, I hope it makes someone happy from seeing it, but in my mind I've already started on the next project.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is my husband's birthday.

He is my best friend. My support system. He's good at humoring my schemes and plans and boosts me when I get frustrated. Because of him, I've water skied, street performed, gone to Europe, homeschooled and blogged.

He is a romantic. Last weekend we saw Up for Father's Day. I don't know which of us was more affected by the relationship between Carl and Ellie. I know he held my hand pretty tight during the film.

He has a great sense of humor. If anyone ever downplays the importance of a sense of humor, all I can say is it has kept us going through the 20 years we've known each other. We met in 1988 and I can honestly say we are still very much in love.

Today my soulmate is 49. Happy birthday sweetheart! Wait till you see the cake I'm making for you! (I'll post a picture here later.)

Update: Here is the cake before it was totaled in the birthday nebula! I'm happy with how it turned out.

And it tasted good too. The only problem is one of the warp nacells (this is what my husband said it was) kept falling off. I probably should have only used half a cherry. Live and learn.

Home Spun comic strip #368

Luckily, they did manage to finish the Trojan Horse. (OK, Sierra was older than Aña is in this strip, but still, the cookie appetite never goes away.)

Carnival of Homeschooling at Our Curious Home

The Carnival of Homeschooling: Summer Transition edition is up at Our Curious Home. Now that many of us are taking a break, please take advantage of your extra time to do some "summer reading" at the carnival!

Home Spun comic strip #367

This week's comics were a bit of a rush job. I did it amid writing my final quarterlies, taking the kids to two summer reading game kickoff parties, and celebrating Father's Day. I'm still in awe of comic strip artists who have strips seven days a week. I'm amazed I finished three strips this week.

I think I may take a comics break next week since I'm still waiting for things to calm down here. Sierra is trying out tap dance on Tuesday, I have my husband's birthday to prepare for on Wednesday and a balloon sculpture workshop next Saturday. And I admit to being a bit rain weary. New York has been very soggy all June.

Dads

Dads are so important.

They are the strong protecting presence in our lives. They may not know it, but children are watching them, learning from their example. Even the cats are watching.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful examples of loving fathers in my life. My husband, my brother, my sister's husband, and so many relatives and friends who are good fathers.

And of course, my own father.



To all of the fathers, grandfathers, and godfathers, I hope you are all enjoying your Father's Day and cherishing the love surrounding you!

Home Spun comic strip #366

It is always a relief when the blackout is over. Blackouts are only fun when they don't last long enough to spoil all the food in the refrigerator!

Home Spun comic strip #365

Thanks to all who commented on their blackout activities!

Poe's Cottage Tour

Today we took a trip to the Bronx to visit Poe's Cottage with some homeschooling friends. This was Edgar Allen Poe's last residence (after that he traveled around until his death). It is a very small house with low ceilings (to conserve heat). Here was where he wrote Annabelle Lee, The Bells, The Cask of Amontillado, Landor's Cottage, and the Domain of Arnheim. He live there with his wife, Virginia, his mother-in-law, and Mary Louisa Shoe(?), who was Virginia's nurse when Virginia was dying of tuberculosis. Virginia had asked Poe to move to the country on a Valentine's Day. They rented the house from a man name Valentine for $100 per year. The house is actually across the street from where it originally stood. It was moved into the park when apartment buildings were being put up in the area.

We learned the some interesting facts today. Poe hated cities. He wasn't a people person. Chase found it ironic that they ended up building a city around his home. Marina didn't know he spent a year at West Point before flunking out. The cottage has Virginia's original straw mattress. Chase was able to take a picture of her bed.

This bust of Edgar Allen Poe is the original which was made when the park was founded. Lighting wasn't good in here, so I tried to lighten the picture a little.



Here are the kids on the front steps of the cottage. I think they enjoyed their visit!

Carnival at The Daily Planet

The latest Carnival of Homeschooling: A Summer Party edition is happening at The Daily Planet. Please take some time to look at this week's articles by fellow homeschoolers!

Home Spun comic strip #364

All the rain we've had lately made me reminisce about blackouts we've dealt with. In some ways, I like blackouts. They force us all to unplug and just enjoy being with each other. But they can be disruptive. I have a harder time getting my children to bed when there are no lights. Logically, it should be easier, but the idea that they have no control over the lights being turned off keeps them awake. I also have one child who is afraid to sleep in the dark. So we spend the night making shadow puppets, talking about everything, and perhaps play a few games of twenty questions. I also bought each of them a small lantern that runs on AA batteries. That helps. I should make sure I'm stocked up on batteries. You never know when the lights are going to go out!

I would love to know how others make use of their blackouts!

Fly Away Free

Sierra successfully raised five butterflies. We are all very proud.

We waited for a dry, sunny day (not as easy as you might think) to release them. Friday afternoon proved to be our best opportunity. Daddy wanted to say goodbye too, so we waited until he came home from work.

Below you see Sierra with her butterflies outside of our house. Honestly, I didn't think this would work too well. The flying they did inside of the butterfly habitat made me unsure of their talent for fluttering.




However, once the door was open, they seemed to quickly figure out the mechanics of their gift. Each butterfly quickly flew into the sky and disappeared from view.


I had promised Sierra she could try to hold one before she let them go. A couple of them obliged before winging it. What is it about holding a butterfly that is so magical? Sierra's face glowed as if a fairy had just whispered a secret into her ear. She could not have been happier! And her happiness makes me very happy. I'm glad I gave this project a third try.

Home Spun comic strip #363

We still have days like this, except it's just cats that cross the keyboard. The other day Romeo sat on the keyboard as I was writing. I kid you not, he typed b y huggggggggg. I was amazed. He also managed to sit on Ctrl V, which pasted a sentence I had copied from Chase's quarterly report. It took me years to figure out the keystroke for pasting text. This cat is a genius.

Caterpillars of Learning

Congratulate us. We have become the proud caregivers of a brand new Painted Lady butterfly! Our project has been going well. Sierra was very excited to see the first butterfly hanging from the remnants of its cocoon. She fussed over it all afternoon, partly out of necessity since Dusty had noticed it fluttering in the mesh habitat. Sierra spent the rest of the morning asking me questions. Why isn't it flying yet? (It just came out of its cocoon) Can we feed it now? (I think we should wait for its wings to dry) How long does it take for the wings to dry? (At least an hour) Has it been an hour yet? (It hasn't even been five minutes) On and on it went.

I started thinking about this transformation. The caterpillars didn't hold much interest for the kids, other than to find out if they were entering chrysalides yet. All caterpillars do is eat and poo. I guess I should be thankful they don't cry, but I feel a little sorry that their baby stage was so overlooked.

When I think about it, how bad is a life where all you do is eat? Wouldn't it be great if we could eat ourselves into a stupor, make a cocoon, and emerge into this beautiful winged creature?

Then I started thinking of it in terms of learning. We also go through that caterpillar period of eating and pooing, a period where only the most basic needs must be met. In our cocoon period, we begin to address the higher needs of the mind, a period of knowledge and spirituality. As the cocoon becomes clear, the butterfly prepares to emerge. How cool is that! In clarity it is ready to step out into the world. Emerging from our cocoon is a difficult process, much like a second birth. Think of the growing pains that our young people go through between their late teens and mid-twenties. That process of becoming an adult can be stressful struggle. We want to fly, but we were so safe in our cocoons. Unfortunately, not every butterfly emerges.

Those who do emerge still have challenges. After the butterfly is born, it releases meconium, which is all the unneeded material and color left over from its transformation. Just as we leave behind our childhood to enter the world, the butterfly must leave this behind to fly. It pumps its wings to open them and dry them, preparing them. This is the work we do as we struggle to begin life as an adult.

And then it flies! How wonderful to reach this point! You've succeeded my little butterfly, the world is yours to sample. Enjoy the nectar of the flowers, find a mate, and do your best to keep away from the predators.

And so another life lesson from watching animals:



You can't live your life in a cocoon. Feed your body, feed your mind, feed your soul.

Update: All five butterflies have now emerged! We've never been so successful with this. It's quite a momentous occasion. No wonder people enjoy raising butterflies! Now to convince Sierra to release them in the next couple of days...

Guest Writer: Video Games in the Learning Environment

Today I wanted to share a piece written by Mary Ann, who coordinates the newsletter and email loop for the Tri-County Homeschoolers. I thought it fit in well with this week's computer-focused comics.

My ds (now 21) spent major amounts of time playing video games when he was growing up. When he was not in school (from ages 9 - 13), in fact, it probably comprised the majority of his time. When he returned to school at 13, he still spent most of his free time playing games. At 21, he rarely looks at them anymore - he's just gone on to other things.

Nevertheless, I worried a lot during that period about the amount of time he spent with them. Eventually, I began to see the games as a way in which he learned best. They were his entry into a lot of different areas. Let me give some examples. One of his first interests from when he was only 2 or 3 was airplanes. His father bought him MS Flight Simulator at 6 and together they learned how to 'fly' all different kinds of planes all over the world. When he started, he knew almost nothing about flying a plane and there was a lot of trial and error. Sometimes he would work with a neighbor who was somewhat proficient at simulator flying (as well as being a pilot). Eventually, he learned to go on boards and read tips and strategies for handling different planes. As he became more proficient, he began posting on those boards, which involved a lot of technical writing. Around 10, he became interested in radio-controlled planes and we would spend hours at the airfield in Croton Point Park talking with the men (there were never any women there) about planes and flying. He got a RC Flight Simulator so he could practice flying radio-controlled planes. At 12, he started taking flying lessons at White Plains airport, eventually completing a solo flight at 16. In addition to his flying lessons, he was required to attend ground school, which covered graduate-level science material - navigation, instrumentation, meteorology, physics, communications, etc. Most of the history and geography he learned revolved around planes. I would come into his room and he would have the world map spread out on his bed and be flying somewhere. So, these flight-related games led into almost every traditional school subject area.

He also loved the strategy games where you progress through different levels. When he was younger, he was relentless in learning them. He would get a new one, play it intensely for a period of time until he mastered it or solved all the levels and then he would lose all interest in it. On to the next one! He did this over and over and I finally realized it wasn't about the games per se, it was about learning and achieving a certain level of mastery. These are valuable skills - he showed persistence, dedication and an unstoppable willingness to learn.

Many of these strategy games involved moving through history, running businesses or building cities and/or whole worlds. There was a tremendous amount of knowledge one had to acquire to play them successfully. As a mathematician, I was often struck by the higher level of mathematical skills he needed. These games are essentially a system of equations which one must optimize in order to 'win' the game, or at least progress to a higher level. Changing one factor usually affects all the other factors and thus it's incredibly complicated to figure out the best course of action. This is essentially what he was doing - learning to solve a system of incredibly complex simultaneous equations. It's a very high level of mathematical thinking, way beyond straightforward arithmetic calculations, which were also an integral part of the games.

In his teenage years, he progressed to the massively multi-player games. Here, it was necessary to assemble a team of people who worked together to compete against other teams. Having learned Spanish in school, he would often go on the Spanish servers and work with a team of people who were native Spanish speakers. He used this time to improve his Spanish communication skills, since by this point, he had progressed to using a headset to communicate with other players. Since the games that he enjoyed were being played all over the world all the time, he would encounter people from many different countries and cultures. For a period of time, he was part of an international team that 'met' every afternoon from 3-6 pm to play a particular game. They each had roles to play and jobs to do for the team and it became a learning experience in organizing and leading a group of people. We often discussed some of the differences he noticed in interacting with people from other cultures. Did he discuss those difference with the people with whom he was playing - probably not much, they were too busy trying to win the game! But that didn't keep him from learning about those other cultures.

All along, he hated any kind of creative writing, but he frequently went on boards for his favorite games and posted tips, wrote strategy manuals and communicated with others who were having trouble progressing through the games. He loved being able to share the knowledge he had acquired with others who were not at his level of learning yet. So, in spite of hating to write, he ended up doing quite a lot of it.

There is definitely a cultural bias against games. However, I saw that he learned a tremendous amount from them and he developed skills that are useful in any walk of life.

~Mary Ann (reprinted with permission)

Home Spun comic strip #362

Carnival of Homeschooling at Principled Discovery

I can't believe I missed the deadline for a carnival at Principled Discovery! I love the theme of this one too! The latest Carnival of Homeschooling: Field Guide to Homeschoolers is at Principled Discovery. Grab your binoculars and take a look at this week's variety of homeschooling articles.

Notes...

Marina caught her first bank mistake. I'm very proud. She noticed that the bank had started deducting $5 per month from her account but there was no reason given for the deduction. We helped her look into the issue and it was corrected. I don't know if I would have been that diligent about my account at her age. Wait. I take that back. I know I would not have been that diligent!

We've been watching the DVD series The Adams Chronicles. I remember my mother watching this program on PBS when I was a kid. She watched it, I saw historical figures and did other things. This time I'm actually watching it with Marina and I'm learning so much about how government has never changed. It is very interesting, as well as more child-friendly, compared to what I have heard about the more graphic cable series John Adams. The Adams Chronicles is a bit more ambitious than the newer series, covering four generations of Adams rather than just the life of John Adams. This is good for giving a sense of the family and bad as it glosses over some periods. In the scholarly PBS style I grew up with, narration helps bridge some of the gaps in time. I would love an occasional date flashed along the bottom of the screen as well.

Chase spent six hours volunteering at our church's annual Festa Italiana this weekend. He gave out sodas and water at the drink booth while the rest of us did our part spending money at games. Chase did the best at the games when he wasn't working. He won a skateboard and then later won a goldfish for Sierra, after Sierra tried unsuccessfully to get the ping pong balls to land in the little fishbowls. (Unfortunately, the poor goldfish didn't last too long and there was much sadness. But she gave it a good life for its short time with us.) When Chase wasn't busy, he spent a lot of time observing some of the games and said he thought the Fire Truck Race might be rigged, or at least gave an unfair advantage to number nine, because it won almost every game. That race involved rolling a ball toward holes that make the trucks move slow, fast or fastest. It's possible that if the game trailer wasn't balanced it would give the best advantage to a middle number like nine. Anyway, I had no luck at that game.

It looks like this week will continue to be busy. I just realized I also managed to create not one, but two scheduling conflicts over the next two weeks. And here I thought May was the busy month...

Home Spun comic strip #361

Brambles: The Unkindest Cut

Today was a beautiful day. After several days of rain, it was nice to go out in my garden and juggle and weed. In that order. Because as I juggled, I couldn't help but notice how healthy the plantains looked, spreading their large leaves across the lawn. I pulled out one. The still damp earth gave it to me roots and all. Any gardener knows how gratifying it is to pull a weed and have it come out with all of its roots. Which means you need to pull another. And another. Who needs drugs and alcohol with this kind of high?

Later I noticed the vines on our blackberry brambles. I think they are morning glory vines, but they are a bit more aggressive and their roots run very deep. Definitely not as gratifying to pull up, but if I don't make the attempt they shade out a lot of my plants and I lose fruit and flowers. So I started unwinding and pulling, trying not to loosen the pale berries that were forming.

Blackberry brambles don't seem to understand when you are trying to help them. For yanking out the vines, I have an armful of scratches. I feel like I was attacked by a pack of cats with razor sharp claws. Which would be possible around here, but they are not to blame today.

Why do I give my sweat and blood to my garden?

That's why.

Worlds can be found by a child and an adult bending down and looking together under the grass stems or at the skittering crabs in a tidal pool.
~Mary Catherine Bateson

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we only will tune in.
~George Washington Carver

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
~E. E. Cummings

Home Spun comic strip #360

Will Three Times be the Charm?

Sierra is raising painted lady butterflies. I can't help feeling a bit nervous. This is the third time we've tried butterflies over the course of our homeschooling career. The first two times were less than successful.

The first time, the caterpillars made it to their cocoons and we happily transferred them to their butterfly home. We were all very excited. Marina couldn't wait. She decorated the thin board box with rocks and flowers in anticipation. I was so proud of our success. When my mother came over, I decided to show her the future butterflies. I picked up the box.

Now remember I said it was a thin board box? We're talking cereal box thin. Maybe thinner. With big plastic windows for viewing. And Marina had put rocks inside. Not little pebbles, but large fist size rocks. When I lifted the box it collapsed in my grasp and--I cringe even all these years later--I crushed several cocoons. I dropped several notches in the mom polls that day. I think I cried more than Marina did over their loss. Two cocoons were saved, although only one butterfly survived to be released. The other came out with a bum wing. Marina took care of it for the extent of its life.

The second time we did caterpillars, our problem was a little different. One caterpillar was unusually larger than the others. It went into its cocoon a full week before any of the others. I silently urged the other caterpillars to hurry up, but before the last caterpillar climbed to the roof of the special larvae cup, the first butterfly emerged. In the cup. The very small cup with the remains of sticky caterpillar food at the bottom. Because it didn't have room to spread and dry its wings, we ended up with another flightless butterfly. I don't even remember if the other butterflies emerged that time. Marina said one did. It could be they were affected from arriving on a hot day and being stuck in the mailbox since we were out that morning.

After that I vowed I would never do butterflies again because it was too painful for me. But Sierra loves bugs and my sister bought her a kit for her birthday. My sister is much better at this. She's raising monarch caterpillars with her boys. I wouldn't want to be responsible for a monarch with my track record. But we are trying the painted lady butterflies again. This time we have a better enclosure, one of the mesh pop-up habitats. We also have six cats, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

If your child likes bugs, I encourage you to check out What's Bugging You? This blog is done by Dr. Art, who used to work at the Natural History Museum of L.A. when my sister worked there. He is responsible for helping Marina overcome her fear of bugs when she was five and we're happy to find him in the blog world!

Home Spun comic strip #359

Carnival of Homeschooling at WhyHomeschool

I am pleased to announce the latest edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling: The Baby Bop edition at Why Homeschool. Henry writes this one in honor of their newly adopted son. Congratulations Henry and Janine! Please head over and wish them well and while you are there check out some of this week's homeschool blog offerings!

Home Spun comic strip #358

The mailman is a vital part of our homeschooling life. We are lucky to have one of the best mail carriers in our area. Really. I was at the main post office and when one of the clerks saw our address he said, "Oh! You have Donald! He's the best!" My children can talk his ear off, but he's always attentive, very cool about homeschooling and he'll even buy stamps for me if I need him to. He even helped with a project when we were looking for a listing of postal abbreviations. Most important, he brings our online book orders, which can be pretty heavy. We tip him with baked goods. Keep your postal carrier happy and your postal carrier will make sure your books don't get wet.