Hey, all you arrogant, socially-phobic homeschooling moms out there!

Jesse Scaccia from Teacher, Revised has written a blog post entitled, The Case Against Homeschooling. The article was poorly written, considering the web site says Mr. Scaccia has the following qualifications:

"He holds dual degrees in English and education from the University of Connecticut, a master’s in education from Connecticut, and a master’s in journalism from New York University."

Impressive.

So, why is such an educated adult man stooping to the level of teenage chatroom "smack" talk? Well, I'm not positive, but I think it's a ruse. He spends several paragraphs listing all of the commonly-heard "negatives" about homeschooling, yet at the end of his post he invites homeschoolers to consider writing for the site because all of a sudden he notices they have no homeschoolers giving their opinions.

This just all appears to be a little too "set up" for me.

First of all, why would a web site that promotes "perpetual revision" of everything about school from lesson plans to classroom management strategies to teaching philosophies - everything, right down to the seating charts - try to discredit a relatively small group of individuals who teach differently from the regular schools as well as each other? I can't think of a logical reason someone with his educational backgroud would write something like this.

Secondly, in my opinion he wrote this nonsense, got a rise out of several homeschoolers by insulting them, and then proceeded to invite them to write for the web site. Very strange.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Mr. Scaccia seems to be a homeschooler of sorts himself, with the web site stating:

"Jesse Scaccia has taught high school-aged students in Brooklyn, San Diego, and Cape Town, South Africa, where he currenty teaches at a home for young men."

He did get a rise out of many homeschoolers. Some left comments on the web site. Others posted rebuttals on their blogs , including Spunkyhomeschool and Notes from a Homeschooling Mom - which were not only inspiring, but also entertaining to read.

I started reading the comments on the Teacher, Revised web site, but didn't get through them all. I don't exactly enjoy reading comments like Mr. Scaccia wrote, but by the same token I don't enjoy reading some of the comments from homeschoolers.

In the comments sections I have seen at the end of this and other articles, it would seem that homeschoolers as a whole feel the need to justify what they do by citing their high test scores - to prove their competence as educators, or stating their kids are at least five grade levels above their peers - again to prove their own competence, or to show how much better their kids do than those public school kids, or that their kids are involved in seventeen activities - that socialization thing again, or their kids excel in sports and have thousands of trophies - to prove they're well-rounded and not just boring, overachieving bookworms.

Why?

Like Tammy Drennan of Education Conversation has said:

"When we do step into independence, it should be with confidence – so much confidence that we not only don’t care if the state approves, we would reject any offer of its approval as an insult. It is the state that should be seeking our approval and not the other way around."

So be confident. Ignore comments like this. When you do comment, don't try to show our detractors how competent - or even superior - we are. Ask them what they're doing about the problems in their schools. Better yet, ask them about the goals for their students - after all, that's something we should have in common - trying to give our students the best education for them.

Google Books - Like going to the library!

On Google Books web site not only can you find snippets and previews of all types of books, brand new and older, you can find full views of books as well that are considered public domain. This includes textbooks from the 1800's and early 1900's. I have found that the language from the earliest books may be a little difficult to understand, but they have perfectly wonderful readers and nature study books, history, biographies as well as books encompassing other subjects, all for free to download into a pdf file.

You can view these books right from your computer, or print them out - I recommend just reading them on the computer, or at least just printing out select pages for the student.

Some of my favorites are several books by Emma Serl, the author of Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons. The math books are great, too. (Although, it was called "arithmetic" back in the old days.)

There are also novels by authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens.

I think it's interesting just to go and look at the old textbooks, like math textbooks, and see how advanced they were. I have found that more difficult concepts are introduced at an earlier age in the older books compared to today's textbooks. What do you think?

Nintendo Wii and Ipod Giveaway

Christian Personal Finance is celebrating it second birthday and is giving away a Nintendo Wii and Ipod. You register by mentioning their giveaway on your web site and leaving the URL in the comments on this post.

Hurry and enter by June 4!

Math Teachers at Play Blog Carnival

The new MTAP blog carnival is up at Let's Play Math! This edition features articles about math journaling, kids and money, unusual ways of practicing math facts - and more!

Cool Chicks Coffee Company

I found an online business run by two homeschooled girls, ages 11 and 7 - Cool Chicks Coffee Company. They really don't have much information about themselves on their web site (understandably so, I guess) but they do have coffee and tea for sale and a nice uncluttered web site. There's nothing that says what brand the coffee and tea are, unless they have their own brand as well - which wouldn't surprise me!

Go here and take a look!

Don't forget the contest at Simple Schooling!

Just a reminder of the classroom contest at Simple Schooling! I know I've mentioned it before. If you go to the web site you'll see that you don't really have to have a classroom - just show your space where you have school - whether it's in a special room, the corner of a room, in the kitchen (where we are most of the time), or under a tree!

Go on and let everyone see your space!


(Picture from the University of Melbourne web site: “This fifteenth century classroom is believed to be the one to which the young William Shakepeare crept 'like a snail unwillingly to school'. Only recently has a more flexibly organised room begun to emerge”. K-6 Best Years of Their Lives?, Primary English Teaching Association (of NSW), 1979.)

The Curriculum Choice

(Picture from Family Education)

Curriculum Choice is a new site where you can get curriculum reviews as well as learn about different homeschooling philosophies and styles. The site is authored by a diverse group of homeschooling parents. They also have curriculum give-aways!

The site is new, so if you go to the site looking for a curriculum and it isn't listed, let them know. This is from their web site:

If you would like us to review a particular curriculum, send us a product to give-away to a lucky CC reader or advertise on this blog then go here for more information.

The CC Team

Check it out!

Why are there more girls than boys being homeschooled?

At least this is the case according to the latest statistics on homeschooling from The Condition of Education 2009.

According to Greg Toppo of USA Today, "The ratio of home-schooled boys to girls has shifted significantly. In 1999, it was 49% boys, 51% girls. Now boys account for only 42%; 58% are girls."

Mr. Toppo asked one of our own homeschooling bloggers, Henry Cate of Why Homeschool, about the trends in homeschooling presented in the report.

Please check out Why Homeschool and participate in a couple of extremely short surveys - very, very short (one question each)! Even if you only have girls (as I do) be sure to vote in both and help out Henry Cate and the other folks at Why Homeschool!

Thanks!

Homeschooled Kids Blog Carnival is up!

Inspiration! edition. The Homeschooled Kids Blog Carnival is up at On Living by Learning. There is a lot going on from the introduction of a brand new blogger, to a word challenge, a berry delicious recipe, a challenge to play outdoors, coin collecting, karate, twittering - and much more!

Make a worm farm this summer!

This is an idea from Homeschooler's Notebook newsletter:

Preschool Science: A Worm Farm!
by Rachel Paxton
---
Preschool-aged children love to play with worms (at least my boys do!). You can turn their curiosity with worms into a science project with just a few items from your house and garden. Here is what you'll need:

Empty two-liter pop bottle
Exacto knife
Dirt
Small shovel
Sand
Grass clippings
Kitchen compost (apple peelings, etc.)
Worms

Before you let your child loose in the garden, you will need to use the exacto knife to cut off the entire top of the pop bottle.

Help your child create a label for the container that has the child's name and "worm farm" printed on it. You can make it by hand or on the computer. Tape the label to the front of the container.

Go out to the garden with your child and let him/her shovel a couple of inches of dirt into the plastic container. Pat the dirt down so the next layer of sand won't filter through. Explain to your child that they need to be careful not to shake or jar the bottle or the sand and dirt will become mixed up. Add a thin layer of sand, and then continue with a couple of inches of dirt and another thin layer of sand. The top layer should be dirt. Leave an inch or two of space at the top of the bottle.

Next add a few grass clippings on top of the last layer of dirt. The worms will need food, so add a few pieces of fruits or vegetables in with the grass, such as apple or orange peelings. If you are lucky enough to have worms in your yard, help your child dig for a few worms for his/her worm farm. If you can't find any, go to your nearest bait shop and buy a small package of night crawlers.

Let your children play with the worms before putting them in the worm farm. Help them make observations about their worms. Check out a book about worms at your local library or search for information online about worms. Talk to your child about how a worm's job is to eat waste and mix it into our soil to fertilize it.

After your child places a couple of worms into the worm farm, they will be able to see for themselves how worms mix up soil. When the worms dig through the container, they will leave a trail of sand behind them that your child will be able to see mixing into the dirt.

For the most worm activity, place the worm farm in a dark place or tape a piece of paper around the worm farm to keep the light out. Worms do most of their work at night.

Your preschooler will have a lot of fun creating a worm farm. From digging in the dirt, to playing with worms... what's not to like!
---
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of five. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and more, visit http://www.christian-parent.com/

Subscribe to all Homeschool Mom newsletters by clicking here.

The latest homeschooling statistics...

Spunkyhomeschool has a post up about the latest statistics regarding homeschoolers.

Dog drinking in slow motion...

This video shows how a dog drinks. Particularly pay attention to how the tongue cups! Wild!

Kids who have difficulty with handwriting...

Let's face it. Some children (probably the ones that don't belong to us!) seem to have been born with a writing implement in their hand. Some kids need a little extra help to develop legible handwriting. At Heart of the Matter Online, Angela has compiled a lot of helpful suggestions on how to improve your child's handwriting. Below are the links to both parts, which I thought were cleverly titled.

That Doesn't Even Look Like Writing, Part 1

That Doesn't Even Look Like Writing, Part 2

A little pep talk...

I found Tammy Drennan's blog quite a few months back when I needed a pep talk. I don't think she writes very regularly, whether because she's too busy or for whatever reason. When I found her blog, she hadn't written in quite a while, but I went back and read every single post. I thought it was that good and exactly what I needed. She made me think of what education really is, as well as the role of the government in our lives. Her words made me infinitely more confident. It was like a long, cool drink of water on a hot day!

Since it's the end of the year, I thought someone might need a little pep talk. We all get tired. We all get discouraged at times. If this describes you, I hope Tammy's blog is your drink of water...your pep talk...your end-of-the-school-year rah-rah's!

Here is an excerpt from one of her latest posts:

Righteous Indignation by Tammy Drennan

A little righteous indignation, please. One of the things that fueled the American Revolution was old-fashioned righteous indignation – who did King George think he was to muscle us around as if we had no rights, as if we were his naughty little children?

We seem to have lost the capacity for this healthy emotion that keeps tyrants at bay and feeds our passion to live free and completely.

Now we ask, “Who are we to imply that we know better than the state?”

Before you think that many of us are exempt from this shift in attitude, consider that a significant number of homeschoolers seeks state recognition of their children’s diplomas. Think about it – one of the most independent groups in America today still vacillates in self-doubt.

Why do we yearn for affirmation from the state — as if we are inadequate until our government tells us otherwise? Where is our sense of pride and self-reliance, of confidence and independence? Where is our outrage that a government that is supposed to be under our critical eye is instead the critic and we the critiqued?

Send in your submission to MTAP blog carnival!

Tomorrow is the deadline for sending in your submission to the Math Teachers at Play Blog Carnival. Just go here and scroll down.

CM Blog Carnival - Fullness of Living Edition

Jean Renoir Drawing, 1901

Go here for the blog carnival at Higher Up and Further In. There is an artist study, poetry, scheduling advice, and advice on organizing high school literature.

Check it out!

A Father's Day pencil holder craft...

This is from Art Projects for Kids.

Teenage Affluenza

I think more kid suffer from this than we realize.



(H/T Henry Cate at Why Homeschool)

All work and hardly any play in Kindergarten.

According to the Alliance for Childhood Kindergarteners today spend two to three hours in instruction and testing in reading and math, while spending thirty minutes or less on play time. Also, according to an Alliance for Childhood report summary on these statistics, Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why children need to play in school, some children are getting as little as 19 minutes of play. As noted by an article from the New York Times, "Kindergarten Cram", children that advance at an early age academically do better than their counterparts, but by fourth grade these advantages disappear and the playing field levels out.

Excerpt:

Regardless of the cause, Miller says, accelerating kindergarten is unnecessary: any early advantage fades by fourth grade. “It makes a parent proud to see a child learn to read at age 4, but in terms of what’s really best for the kid, it makes no difference.” For at-risk kids, pushing too soon may backfire. The longitudinal High/Scope Preschool Curriculum Comparison Study followed 68 such children, who were divided between instruction- and play-based classrooms. While everyone’s I.Q. scores initially rose, by age 15, the former group’s academic achievement plummeted. They were more likely to exhibit emotional problems and spent more time in special education. “Drill and kill,” indeed.

On a personal level, when I was in Kindergarten, I remember learning the ABCs and growing grass in a hollowed out eggshell that we had painted faces on, and playing Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone? We learned about sharing and colors and getting along. We fingerpainted and pasted (anyone else old enough to remember paste?) and colored. We weren't grilled on our "math facts" or phonemes or letter blends. We weren't made to sit in a chair and color in little circles beside the correct answer.

For more on how to implement play into your day, here is some information from the Alliance for Childhood:

Time for Play: It's Fun and Fundamental

Play in the Early Years

Tips for Parents: When Kindergarten Testing is Out of Control

Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children need to play in School

The Playwork Primer

Also see the article Kindergarten Cram for a parent's perspective on the state of today's Kindergarten classrooms.

(H/T Janine Cate at Why Homeschool)

Do kids really know math today?

I saw this story from Right on the Left Coast: Views from a Conservative Teacher. He went to a fast food restaurant with some friends and, for some reason, the tax rang up too high. The young cashier failed to notice that the tax was 30% of the bill. I've had similar situations at fast food eateries, which seem to employ a lot of teenagers, when a glitch or something has happened and they have no idea how much change to give me. Is this due to a lack of math skills, calculator dependence, or teenage apathy?

I suppose we'll never know for sure!

Another fun and educational video site...

The web site is Travel Films Archives. Although these films wouldn't be of much use in showing how things are today, they are of historical value and entertaining as well. Their web site description says this:

Travel back in time and around the world with The Travel Film Archive. The Travel Film Archive is a collection of travelogues and educational and industrial films – many of them in color - that show the world the way it was between 1900 and 1970. Our holdings include archives of the renowned travel filmmakers Burton Holmes, Andre de la Varre, and James A. FitzPatrick, as well as footage shot by many other intinerant cameramen.

Click here for the index of films.

Dimensions - Splendid Geometry videos!

I found out about the Dimensions web site through a blog called 10 Minute Math.

Dimensions has videos to do with the subject of geometry. There is a lot of historical information. Each video highlights a partiular mathematician and what they accomplished. They are presented in the first person, as if you are listening to the historical figure tell you about themselves, and it is very engaging.

I would say these videos are suitable for middle school and up, as well as maybe some late elementary students who are interested in geometry or history. Just about any age would enjoy watching the videos (especially the one on Escher). I have posted the first two below. The first one is on Hipparchus (the father of geometry) and the second is on Escher (one of my favorite artists!). There are about ten videos in this section. You can also subscribe to their RSS feed and get videos sent to you that way.

There is a toggle button for a full screen version. These videos are free to download and embed. They also sell them in DVD form.

Feelin Funky Friday!

Don't you wish Michael Jackson had stayed so cute and clean (I mean the music was "clean" back then - no "Billie Jean" or anything) and innocent like he is here? Don't you just want to squeeze his cheeks? ;) He was cute as a button!

I was around three years old when this video was made, but I do remember them being on variety shows and even in a Saturday-morning cartoon when I was older. Does anyone else remember that?

Also, notice one thing - this is NOT lip-synced. They are really singing AND playing instruments AND dancing. This is REAL talent.

I love music from this era because it's generally clean and just good fun music that you can dance to. I remember when my oldest was a toddler. We would watch VH1's 8 Track Flashback and have a lot of good fun dancing to it!

What kind of music do you like?




Jackson 5 I Want You Back 1970
by tempona

NEA got out the vote.

So much for impartiality.

The NEA contacted a six-year-old boy last year, asking him to cast his vote for Barack Obama in November.

Here is his father's response:

In response, I would just like to say three things:

1. This makes 19 times you’ve contacted Josh Pullen to try to persuade him to vote for Barack Obama (through 9 pieces of mail and 10 phone calls). Once was fine, twice was tolerable, but 19 contacts is ridiculous.

2. Your staffer should at least know how to spell Senator Obama’s first name correctly.

3. Josh Pullen, this person you’ve contacted 19 times, is MY SON. HE IS SIX YEARS OLD.

Please make it stop.

The boy's father is a third-grade teacher at a public school.

Just some videos my kids insist on watching over and over!

We have a cat named Georgie, hence the first video of The Seekers singing Georgy Girl in 1964. I know every generation says this, but music was so much better back then! I can't say that about the 80's, but I definitely can say that about 60's music!





I suppose I'm feeling nostalgic. Did anyone else watch - and love - Gilligan's Island like I did?




And who can forget that classic island version of Hamlet?

Pray for Jessica Hulcy

I don't know Jessica Hulcy personally, but I do know she is the c0-author of the Konos curriculum, which has probably been a blessing to a lot of people out there. Jessica was badly injured in a car accident on May 19. She's in the hospital and, according to the web site where you can get updates, she is in for a long road to recovery. I thought someone might want to see how she's doing and maybe contact her.

From the Homeschool Classroom - 25 bookmarks!

Actually, they are talking about the electronic type of bookmarks. In this article they list 25 bookmarks you should have on your computer.

Actually, it's missing at least one - Mia Zagora's Homeschool Minutes!

Do you have any favorite bookmarks you'd like to share with us?

This story is not funny...

Actually, I feel extremely badly for the girl, her parents, her teachers, her classmates... everyone. However, as someone else wrote, how much of this situation do you chalk up to irresponsible behavior? I'm not going to elaborate on it too much. A girl didn't wear undies on picture day. An embarassing situation arose. You can read about it here and here.

I have daughters. I think we'll do a study on the history of underwear, and it's usefulness today. That should be interesting.

Showing appreciation for teachers...

Darren at Right on the Left Coast: Views from a Conservative Teacher has some words about being appreciated by his students. Homeschoolers often have teachers as well through co-ops, tutors and other situations. The idea that the principal at Darren's school had would be appreciated by all educators, and something perfect for the end of the school year.

Another art project...

Gail Bartel of That Artist Woman has a post up about working on new projects. She also has step-by-step instructions - with photos - for an art project for Grade 3, seen above.

Very cool!

Painting a Cityscape

Painting by Suzanne O'Driscoll

Grab your tempera paints, fat black markers and some paper and head on over to Art Projects for Kids for a project by Kathy Barbro!

Tips for Senior year...

For those of you who have rising seniors, get a head start on having a great senior year by reading this offering from Heart of the Matter!

Enjoy!

The Carnival of Education has been set up...

at The Education Wonks. There is discussion about everything from charter schools, testing, saving for college, and links to videos of interest. There are thoughts about NEXT year, a teen newspaper, and Open Court resources.

Check it out!

Free Phonics Lessons

Here's a free web site I just found out about. Just as the title says, there are free phonics lessons. I reviewed some of them and it seems that these lessons are for children who are, maybe, a little older - maybe first or second grade (?) - and have had some experience with reading but they are having problems. The lady's voice on the lessons talks to the child as if they should be able to use these independently. The lessons aren't colorful with songs or pretty pictures or anything like that, so they would be ideal for children who are easily distracted. In fact, the voice tells you that the lessons aren't fun, but sometimes we have to do things that aren't fun - if I didn't know better, that voice sounds like me! ;)

The Phonics Page is put together by a Christian organization and has Christian content, in case you are looking for "secular" materials. The movies require Quicktime to view them, which is free.

If you have younger children or children who do well with lessons that are colorful and fun, I recommend Progressive Phonics and Starfall.com. Progressive Phonics has free books at each level for you to try, and they are inexpensive (around $20 for the whole shebang). Of course, Starfall.com is free! Both of these are colorful and fun.

Have a Reading Camp!

Tommy and friends

Over at Growing Green at the Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy there is a great idea posted about having a reading camp - at home, of course! You might even get together with other homeschoolers to do some of the activities listed.

Also, if you're looking for some great fun reading for this summer - or for next year during the school year, look for Learning Page in my sidebar. Learning page is for around grades K through 3 or 4. They have materials on many subjects, including printable worksheets, and everything is free to download.

Learning Page has a book series called Tommy Tales, suggested for grades 2-3. Tommy Tales is about a boy named Tommy Tomkins. Tommy and his friends find themselves in all kinds of strange situations. There are worksheets that coordinate with each book, as well as lesson plans that cover geography, science, history, etc. Fun!

Prism Experiment

Raindrops are little prisms!

Learn all about prisms as well as how to make your own prism at Steve Spangler's Science blog!

Bitsy is one tiny cat!

Bitsy is a year old and quite possibly the world's smallest cat. Both of her parents are normal size cats. Bitsy may have set a world record!

Yikes! Kids in the Kitchen!

Here's a recipe from the blog Mike's Life for beef stew that kids can whip up. I don't know that we'll make this recipe, since my kids gag at the thought of putting anything besides cheeseburgers, mac and cheese or spaghetti into their mouths! I, on the other hand, LOVE beef stew. I love it. I crave it. I love to make it in the crockpot with lots of veggies AND hunks of beef - not beef flavoring or ground beef, but hunks of real beefy beef.

I will admit, my 11 y/o can work the microwave and 8 y/o is learning this valuable skill, but that's about all they know about the kitchen. I have had them help me with cookies on a few occasions. They have attempted to wash dishes a couple of times. Oh...and 8 y/o can make great sandwiches. However, I am not one of those homeschooling moms whose kids have their own little kitchen utensils and they spend the day happily making delicious gourmet treats, afterwards cleaning up without a complaint after their wonderful day in which no bickering has occurred. Sigh.

But I digress. Here's the recipe!

We started our kids on cooking quite young, and here’s an early recipe we taught them – the skill is in the preparation, the cooking time is satisfyingly long, they can add or subtract ingredients to their taste and they practice many key skills whilst cooking a cheap and healthy meal.

Kid’s Stew (to serve four)

750 grams (about 1.5 lbs) of Braising steak (cheap cut like brisket) chopped into chunks

Season and then brown the meat on very high heat with some olive oil

Slice two onions, 4 cloves of garlic and a Chorizo sausage

Fry those in the oil at medium heat until the onions are transparent

Now add spices – 3 teaspoons paprika, 2 strands of saffron, black pepper

Add meat back in, then 4 tablespoons tomato purée, mix well

Add enough water to cover the meat, put lid on and cook for a 3 hours, stirring from time to time

With half an hour left to cook add fresh herbs from the garden (I use a little mint, lots of parsley and sage)

Take the lid off the allow the liquid to reduce

Serve with hunks of home made bread

VariationsYou can add any of these ingredients at the water stage:
Potato chunks
Sliced carrot
Any type of bean of lentils
You can also spice it up with a chopped chili or some mustard

For more, go here.

(H/T Growing Green at the Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy)


What do your kids cook? Please share by leaving it in the comments section!

Don't forget Father's Day!

Hey, it will be here sooner than you think! Kathy Stemke, children's author and blogger at EducationTipster has a great writing/art activity for children to honor their fathers on THEIR day.

What do YOU do for Father's Day? Leave a comment and share!

Update: Here are some bookmarks you can just print for Dad!

Carnival of Homeschooling #177 - Baseball Edition

The 177th Carnival of Homeschooling is now playing at The Homeschool Dad - check it out! There is quite a lineup! From birthday reflections, to a bit of baseball nostalgia from The Homeschool Dad himself. There are parenting tips, tips for manging your autistic student, tips on organization, literature - you can't read just one!

It's safe to say they have all the bases covered!

Hey, and don't forget to turn your speakers up!

Maybe this is what's wrong with math in schools?

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is releasing
the results Tuesday. They say that only 27 percent of the more than 600 candidates who took the test passed. The test was administered in March of this year.

The teacher’s licensing exam tested potential teachers on their knowledge of elementary school mathematics. This included geometry, statistics, and probability.

Further:

Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester was not surprised by the results. He told the Boston Globe that these results indicate that many students are not receiving an adequate math education.

Hmmmm..."these results indicate that many students are not receiving an adequate math education"

Spunky Homeschool has an interesting perspective on this story.

Source: WPRI

Bad Math Pun

The Square of the Hippopotamus

The wives of three English country gentlemen all became pregnant at about the same time. Two of these gentlemen provided the traditional cow hide as a bedcovering, while the third gentleman sent off to Africa for a hippopotamus skin to use as a bed covering for his wife. The first two women each had a boy while the third was blessed with twin boys.

Which goes to show that: The sons of the squires of the hides is equal to the squire of the hippopotamus.

Math Student Bill of Rights

From Math Mama Writes

I have the right to:

• Learn at my own pace and not feel stupid if I'm slower than others,
• Ask whatever questions I have,
• Need extra help,
• Ask my teacher for help,
• Say I don't understand,
• Not understand,
• Feel good about myself regardless of my math abilities,
• Not base my self-worth on my math skills,
• View myself as capable of learning math,
• Evaluate my math teachers and how they teach,
• Relax,
• Be treated as a competent adult,
• Dislike math,
• Define success in my own terms.

Adapted from the Math Anxiety Bill of Rights by Sandra Davis, in Resource Manual for Counselors/Math Instructors: Math Anxiety, Math Avoidance, Reentry Mathematics, ed. by Donaday & Auslander (1980).

I put this into my syllabus for all my lower level classes. I also have it on my office wall.I tell students that schools aren't always the best way to learn math, because they can make it pretty hard to learn at your own pace, if the course is paced faster than you need to learn it.

The "Train Wreck" called Everyday Mathematics

Our school system was using Everyday Mathematics (often referred to as "fuzzy math" by critics) at the time my oldest child was ready to start school. My next-door neighbor used to complain about it when her sons were in elementary school. I have also seen copies at the local used book store. I have been reading about EM for a few years now, and you never see glowing reviews of EM except on the web sites of vendors, or the web sites of teachers who are "in the tank" for "reformed" curricula.

This is an account of Barry Garelick's experience with his daughter's trials with EM. Essentially, in order for her to learn math he had to tutor her, as a lot of parents are doing these days. Mr. Garelick is an analyst with the U.S. EPA and lives in the Washington DC area, and he majored in mathematics at the University of Michigan. He is also a columnist for EducationNews.org.

By fourth grade, I was seeing some of the confusion caused by EM’s alternative algorithms. This aspect of EM has been written about extensively so I won’t dwell on it here except to say I wanted to make sure my daughter understood the standard algorithms for two-digit multiplication and for long division. Her teacher insisted they use the alternative algorithms offered by EM; she did not teach the standard algorithm for long division. Some of the teachers at her school offered tutoring services, so we hired one of them to teach her the standard algorithms.

The teacher/tutor did as we instructed and after four sessions, my daughter was excited to show me how she could do long division. She wrote out a long division problem but got stuck along the way when she didn't know the answer to 28 divided by 7. Long division is predicated on students knowing their multiplication facts.

My daughter was not alone in this; many of the students in her class did not know them. Perhaps her tutor had discussed what to do in such instances. It was apparent that whatever she told her was not to brush up on her facts, but rather go back to first principles, since my daughter was now drawing 28 little lines on the sheet of
paper and grouping them by 7’s.

Read the rest here.

I know EM has - or used to have - a web site offering support for parents and children. However, apparently not everyone knows about it or it is no longer in existence. It seems I read some time ago that California schools are dropping the program. I wonder if our school system still uses the program and, if so, why?

Jan Mader of Ignite to Write

I subscribe to the blog of children's author Jan Mader, which is called Ignite to Write. She gives a lot of helpful tips on writing and teaching writing and things to write about. Her latest post asks her readers to ask her a question about writing, and she'll answer it. So, if you have a burning question that you have been itching to ask - but haven't had anyone to ask - then here's your chance! I've posted the newsletter below.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ask Me Anything!

I've been bad. I promised a Friday night post and I was pooped! After three terrific days at thehorse show, I'm ready to get back to anything that has to do with writing and hope you are too.

Do any of you have questions about writing that you would like to ask me? This idea occurred to me after one of you emailed me last week with a really good question.

Writers: Ask me anything. I've been through the publishing process from rejection to publication and back again. If I don't know the answer, I'll find it for you.

Teachers, Parents, and Homeschoolers: Is there any area of writing that is difficult for YOU personally? Can I give you ideas for writing exercises that will help you meet state standards in a creative way? Tell me what you need or ask me anything. Since I get the privilege to work with kids at every grade level I have loads of writing activities that are just begging to be shared!

I'll look forward to hearing from lots of you. My answers will be posted under your question (comments) so that everyone can read them.

Blog Carnivals!

The next Carnival of Homeschooling is May 19th. Get your submissions in by tomorrow 6 p.m. PST! The Carnival will be hosted by Home School Dad. You can make your submission here. Your submission can be about anything to do with homeschooling, education or family.

The next Hands on Homeschool Blog Carnival is going to be June 8th at Science of Relations. Submit your article here. This is an ongoing blog carnival.

Math Teachers at Play is not a carnival I submit to, but it's great to read! The current issue is up at Homeschool Bytes. The new issue will be up on Let's Play Math! on May 29th. If you would like to make a submission about primary, middle school or high school math, click here. The carnival occurs biweekly, and submissions are due the Wednesday before each carnival at 11pm CST.

One Child Policy Homeschool

The One Child Policy Homeschool Blog chronicles the life of a homeschooling American family living in China. Their blog is informative as well as entertaining. You can learn a lot - a lot! - about China simply by reading it. Also, her daughter, who she calls "Sprite", has a blog as well where she features some of her crafts and things. This would be great for your kids to look at and get some ideas for crafts. The things she does aren't elaborate or expensive.

If you want to know what it's like to live in China, go give it a read! Today's post is about the slippers "Sprite" made for her for Mother's Day, along with a picture. Her daughter also has some web sites which are on something called Squidoo Lenses, which I MUST find out more about.

Check it out!

The meaning of "Freedom"...

With some authors, I'm never sure where to put their articles - like this one. I have separated my homeschool blog from my politics blog, as the politics part is - more often than not - negative - and a lot of people stay away from politics for that reason, so I thought it best to separate the subjects. Plus, I seem to have a lot to say about both.

The blog Right on the Left Coast: Views from a conservative teacher is about both education and politics - the politics of education, if you will. I suppose the two subjects can't help but be intertwined sometimes since our government is so involved with the schools. I love reading blogs by people who actually have knowledge about what they write. (Unlike yours truly - who has no experience teaching other people's children. I get most of my information on education news from people like this.)

At any rate, I'm posting this on both the politics and homeschooling blogs, because I think it's appropriate. Actually, I'll just post a snippet of Darren's comment on the subject of freedom, and I hope you'll click the link and go to his blog to read the rest.

"Too many people have only the vaguest notion of freedom. We in America have enjoyed its fruits for so long that many seem to have forgotten all the work required to care for the tree."

Homemade laundry detergent project...

I receive a newsletter from The Simple Dollar. Now Trent has started making videos. I must admit, his videos are are thorough as his blog. I thought this might be a good homeschooling project. I'm not sure if we'll try it or not because, as my husband pointed out, we don't really know what it would do to the washing machine. But it certainly seems interesting!



Hey, if anyone tries it, please leave a comment and let me know how it worked!

Having the self-control to wait for the second marshmallow.

"Is this what 'marshmallow roast' is supposed to mean?"

Yesterday, I received this post in an RSS feed I receive from Joann Jacobs based on an article in The New Yorker. I love it when people do studies and the conclusion agrees with the teachings of the Bible! The article is about a study that was done in the 1960's where children were given the choice of having one marshmallow immediately, or waiting 15 minutes and getting two marshmallows. The conclusion was that children who could wait for the two marshmallows went on to do better in almost every aspect of life, including socially and academically, if they were in the small group that could wait. They even got higher scores on the SAT.

The Bible has a lot to say about self-control, even including it in the fruit of the Spirit in Galations 5:22. I'm afraid, as a parent, I don't always model self-control or take the time to teach it to my children. Sometimes it's just easier, especially when you're engaged in an activity that requires concentration (like typing this post or talking on the phone) and your children are nagging you or fighting with each other, it's not always easy to pull yourself away long enough to deal with the problems at hand. It's easier just to say whatever will make them be quiet in the shortest amount of time rather than take down the Bible and show them what it says about whatever problem they're having - and self-control is probably at the root of a lot of their problems, and our own. Think about it - overeating, too much TV, overspending, overscheduling, overworking, too much of "good" things - it's all related to lack of self-control.

For more on what the Bible says about self-control, here are some verses online. However, I would suggest just going and getting your Bible. You wouldn't want to spend too much time online, you know! ;)

Billions of dollars for 0-5 education?

(This painting is entitled Preschool Paint by Susan Beauchemin and can be found at DailyPainters.com.)

Here is an interesting article from The Washington Post.

An excerpt:

President Obama has pledged to spend $10 billion more a year on "zero to five" education, and his 2010 budget makes a $2 billion "down payment" on that commitment. (Billions more are already in the "stimulus" package.) Any number of congressional leaders want more preschool, as do dozens of governors. Not to mention the National Education Association and the megabucks Pew Charitable Trusts, which is underwriting national and state-level advocacy campaigns on behalf of universal pre-kindergarten. At least three states are already on board.

Underlying all this activity and interest is the proposition that government -- state and federal -- should pay for at least a year of preschool for every American 4-year-old. One rationale is to boost overall educational achievement. Another is to close school-readiness gaps between the haves and have-nots.

Almost nobody is against it. Yet everybody should pause before embracing it.

I don't know why anyone continues to support the "zero to five" education initiatives - like Head Start. I've always thought the Head Start program sounds more like government-subsidized daycare, so why don't they call it what it really is instead of getting the NEA involved? Someone I know worked in the grocery store business for many years. During the last couple of years working in a small-town grocery, there were some ladies who came in from the local school to buy supplies. One of the supplies on their list was baby formula. My mom asked why Head Start was buying baby formula, and they told her that they take babies as early as six weeks old. Why? There is already government-subsidized daycare. If they want to improve it, I'm all for providing a safe, nourturing environment for babies and toddlers. I know there are a lot of single moms out there who need a good place to leave their children while they work.

Maybe I'm just a cynic. I don't know of a valid reason that the NEA would care to be involved in what is basically daycare. (I said "valid" reason...I believe I know the reason, but it's not valid.)
The Washington Post article makes some good points and gives some myths that people believe about preschool programs. I recommend reading the full article at the link above.

Source: The Washington Post

(H/T Edspresso)

Kerplunk! Whirr! Squeak! What's all the buzz about?

ZOINKS! Math Teachers at Play Onomatopoeia edition is up at Homeschool Bytes! This edition has something for everyone - as usual! So POP on over and SLURP up some good brain food with a plethora of goodies from the etymology of math words courtesy of Pat's Blog, to quilts and math crafts from Let's Play Math and SquidKnits, to fractions on a plate, to tips on teaching kids with dyslexia, Fibonacci sequences, and the first in a series explaining square roots!

So SCOOT, SWISH, SCRAPE, FLUTTER or CLICK on in to Homeschool Bytes and see what's CRACKING! It's a SNAP!

Before you go, enjoy this video!

Rosetta Stone Contest

You could win Rosetta Stone Curriculum! Just post the paragraphs in between the asterisks (**) in your blog, then go to this page and leave a comment that you have done this making sure to leave your blog address. How easy is that? If you don't have a blog, there are other ways to win. Just read the last paragraph on this page to find out how!

**

Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!) This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://jeneralities.com/ and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!

**

The Toymaker

One good thing about the Internet is the speed at which you can find fun activities for your kids (or yourself). Paper toys are one of my favorite thing. Once kids get tired of them or (the more likely scenario) they tear up, you can just throw them in the recycling bin (or garbage can if there is a lot of tape on them). One site I go to for paper toys is The Toymaker, which is the site of children's author Marilyn Scott Waters, and her May newsletter is up here. She also has free paper toys to print and make. We especially like the marble mice (they really roll, with the help of a marble) and the Brownie math toys. The penny butterflies are amazing as well.

Here is a video review of The Toymaker book of paper toy projects. Some of these projects, and more, are on The Toymaker web site.

Books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Here is a really cute web site about books written by children's author Amy Krouse Rosenthal. There are some videos as well.

Check out the web site and take the quiz to find out if you are a "duck" person or a "rabbit" person! You can also sign up for the e-newsletter, download wallpapers, or send e-cards.





My kids thought the Duck! Rabbit! video was hilarious!

SpellQuizzer - A review...

What is SpellQuizzer?

SpellQuizzer is a spelling program for helping children master their spelling and vocabulary. There are pre-made spelling lists you can download and use from the SpellQuizzer website. However, you can use the words from any curriculum, as SpellQuizzer was not designed with any one spelling curriculum in mind. In fact, it should compliment virtually any spelling curriculum since you create your own custom spelling lists. There is a page on the Spellquizzer web site specifically for homeschoolers.

The software has a built-in spellchecker that recognizes both US and UK English spellings. The spellchecker warns the user when creating a spelling list if they enter a word that appears to be spelled incorrectly. Because of this safeguard it's reasonably safe to let children create their own spelling lists guided by the curriculum they are working on. It was easy to enter your spelling words and record the words. The first time I used it I didn't have a microphone, so I just put a short definition of each word. Even though it can be used without a microphone, I highly recommend getting one. Microphones aren't very expensive, and it was nice.

(If the parent is creating the lists in SpellQuizzer it's always a good idea to try to make the sound recordings amusing for the child. Funny phrases or voices make it more fun for the child and help to keep them engaged. If you're like me, you don't always think of making their school work fun!)

There are several free downloadable spelling lists for SpellQuizzer on our web site at SpellQuizzer.com. These lists include pre-made sound recordings. They are in the process of adding new lists to the site weekly. We used it with our Abeka curriculum, and it worked fine. However, with new spelling lists being added, it sounds like you wouldn't necessarily need a spelling curriculum.

Users can easily export and import SpellQuizzer spelling lists to share with other SpellQuizzer users. Because of this members of homeschool groups can share their lists rather than everyone having to record their lists individually (assuming everyone is on the same curriculum). If a user doesn't have a PC microphone (many computers come with them now free but they get lost or tossed in a drawer and forgotten) they can usually be purchased at any department store's electronics department for under $10. We purchased my microphone at Big Lots. There's no need to invest in an expensive microphone as the inexpensive models usually produce acceptable recordings.

On some Windows installations Microphone Boost isn't turned on by default. This can result in audio recordings made using a PC microphone being unacceptably faint even with the sound level turned all the way up. This affects all programs that work with a PC microphone and not just SpellQuizzer. There are instructions in the SpellQuizzer help file and also on the web site for turning Microphone Boost on if such a problem is encountered.

If you think you might like to try SpellQuizzer free for 30 days, just go to this page and download it. Thirty days should be enough time to see if it's going to work for your family or not.

To see a video demonstration of SpellQuizzer in action, click here!

Homeschooled Kids Blog Carnival

The Homeschooled Kids Blog Carnival is up - go see what wonderful things they have for your consumption today!

Carnival of Teaching Challenges

Yet another blog carnival for you to enjoy! Teaching K-6 blog carnival is up!