The girls and I have lots of funny conversations throughout the day, and many of them turn into great teaching opportunities - sometimes I am teaching them, and sometimes they are teaching me!
One morning, Delaney was making up silly math problems for me.
"What's a dinosaur plus a cat?"
"A Dino-Cat!"
"What is a gazillion jillion plus a million?"
"A Gazijillion Million"
I asked her, "What's 2x plus 3x?"
She cracked up at my ridiculousness, and told me it was 5x.
So I said, "If a equals 1, and c equals 3, what is a + c?"
She thought for a moment and said, "4".
Then she made up one, "If t equals 3 and r equals 2, what is t+r?" She correctly figured out that her answer would be 5.
Sophie did not want to be left out, and said, "How 'bout u equals 3?", and the new problem was t + u.
Delaney considered this, and answered "t + u = f. Because f equals 6."
A few of my favorite math blogs are Let's Play Math and Moebius Noodles. They both stress the importance of letting kids play with numbers and concepts. It is amazing how our brains work and put together concepts through playing with them, and how those same concepts become difficult to learn as an older student looking at a problem set. This 10 minute conversation of ours was a perfect example to me of how letting the girls do a little bit of silly problem solving can lead to the understanding of much bigger things, even at the ages of 4 1/2 and 2!
May 02, 2013
April 24, 2013
The Cook Book
Delaney and Sophie love to be in the kitchen with me. They are both getting very good at legitimately helping me cook, from stirring to pouring to chopping things with a knife - BOTH of them! Sophie is closely supervised, of course, but Delaney is proficient enough that as long as I know what she is doing, I don't feel like I need to be right next to her anymore.
One day just before Easter, Delaney sat at her table, diligently writing another book. She brought it to me, and was super excited.
"Mom!! I wrote a COOKBOOK!!"
And she certainly had.
After I looked at it and complimented her, she said, "Ok, let's go to the kitchen."
The kitchen?
"Yes! We have to make the recipe now!"
To sound a bit like our favorite writer Dr. Seuss , if your four year old wrote a cookbook, now what would you do?
So off to the kitchen we went.
Delaney found a bowl and a spoon and all the ingredients that her recipe called for. She decided on 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of melted butter and 3 eggs. She put it together all by herself, with the exception of melting the butter, since she isn't quite tall enough to reach the microwave. She had me heat the oven to 200 degrees. She greased a pan, poured her concoction into it and set the timer for 4 minutes.
When the timer went off, it wasn't looking quite how she expected. I explained that sometimes when you try to cook (or write) a new recipe, sometimes you have to adjust the heat and cooking time to get it right. She decided to increase the cooking temperature to 350 degrees, and leave it in the oven for about 20 more minutes.
This was the final result.
She tasted it hot. We put it in the freezer, and she later tasted it cold. She had mixed reviews, but ultimately decided that she is "a total natural at this." ;)
Since then, she has made up a recipe for ranch-filled tomatoes.
Cut the top off of a cherry tomato.
Dig out the seeds with a spoon.
Fill with ranch dressing.
Replace the top and eat. Yummy!
She made her own salad yesterday with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, sweet peppers and carrots.
As well as a drink made from water and the seeds and a little bit of juice from her tomatoes.
These have been the ideal moments for me to just say "yes" and see what will happen. She has learned a lot about measuring and baking and creativity, trying new tastes and being confident in her experimenting. She is also learning how to handle it when things don't turn out quite the way she expects. I am a little glad that she hasn't requested any taste-testing services yet, though...:D
One day just before Easter, Delaney sat at her table, diligently writing another book. She brought it to me, and was super excited.
"Mom!! I wrote a COOKBOOK!!"
And she certainly had.
 |
| " How you make Easter Eggs. Shooger." |
 |
| "Butter. 3 eggs, four minites. Cook them for four minites then take them out and cool them!" |
 |
| An apron for cooking. |
The kitchen?
"Yes! We have to make the recipe now!"
To sound a bit like our favorite writer Dr. Seuss , if your four year old wrote a cookbook, now what would you do?
So off to the kitchen we went.
Delaney found a bowl and a spoon and all the ingredients that her recipe called for. She decided on 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of melted butter and 3 eggs. She put it together all by herself, with the exception of melting the butter, since she isn't quite tall enough to reach the microwave. She had me heat the oven to 200 degrees. She greased a pan, poured her concoction into it and set the timer for 4 minutes.
When the timer went off, it wasn't looking quite how she expected. I explained that sometimes when you try to cook (or write) a new recipe, sometimes you have to adjust the heat and cooking time to get it right. She decided to increase the cooking temperature to 350 degrees, and leave it in the oven for about 20 more minutes.
This was the final result.
Since then, she has made up a recipe for ranch-filled tomatoes.
Cut the top off of a cherry tomato.
She made her own salad yesterday with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, sweet peppers and carrots.
April 18, 2013
Author Preview
Delaney has written a little library full of books so far. Here are the cover pages...
I keep a stack of paper in the living room for her. She began folding and stapling them together to make a book on her own. I love the determined look on her face when she writes, and the way she doesn't even hear me talking to her when she is in the midst of a story.
There is an free site, Youblisher, that allows you to upload files and publish them in a flippable pdf format. As soon as I turn these into digital books, I will be sure to post them for your reading pleasure!
Ted and the Candy Maker...a book about a boy and his friend.
Clown's Lips...a tale of the various ways a clown looks.
First Day of July...an unusually cold July complete with hot chocolate.
Lovely Day. A Poem and a Song.
Three Facts About Spiders. Folk tales of how three spiders got their names.
Sophie and Delaney Out Under...A tragic story of two sisters drowned at sea.
The Cookbook. I am going to have to do a whole post on this one. :)
I keep a stack of paper in the living room for her. She began folding and stapling them together to make a book on her own. I love the determined look on her face when she writes, and the way she doesn't even hear me talking to her when she is in the midst of a story.
There is an free site, Youblisher, that allows you to upload files and publish them in a flippable pdf format. As soon as I turn these into digital books, I will be sure to post them for your reading pleasure!
April 13, 2013
Privacy
I've mentioned on our family blog, but failed to post here, that I am going to be changing my blog settings to "private", which means I will have to approve my readers. If I have your email, and I know that you read this blog, you will soon receive a message to confirm your invitation. If you haven't sent me your email, and you'd like to continue reading, please leave me a note in the comments, or you can email me at nikki dot linn at gmail.com. And if you forget, please just click the link to be invited once the blog is private.
Hope you keep reading! :)
Hope you keep reading! :)
March 29, 2013
Doubts...and Reassurance
We have been doing many of the same activities over the last few weeks. Delaney spends most of her time writing stories, drawing pictures, writing letters to family members and reading books. We listen to cello music and the girls paint how it "makes them feel", in Delaney's words.
Sophie continues to love the alphabet magnets and we work on putting them in order and spelling her name. I downloaded the app, Endless Alphabet, after reading some comments that Brandi made about it, and we absolutely love it. Sophie has to match up letters to spell big words like "gargantuan" and "invisible" and then a cute little monster acts it out while the narrator tells her what it means. I am dying to see if she will incorporate all of these words into her vocabulary as she starts speaking more.
I limit my girls' screen time so their eyes don't fall out and their bodies don't become too stationary, but there are so many fantastic apps for the iPod and android tablet that I don't feel guilty anymore when I let them play for awhile. The land of Motherhood can be such a judge-y place, and I think moms are often made to feel like if they are not talking/interacting/playing/reading with their children every moment, that they are doing something wrong, or being selfish, or any number of other things. I have been having a bit of a rough week in this respect, beating myself up for my "lack of". I need to just *stop* and realize that I am doing just fine. My kids are happy. They are learning. They are playing with each other more every day, making up cute little pretend games. They are both curious. We all love books. There is nothing wrong with playing computer games for an extra 30 minutes or sitting around reading books all day long, doing "nothing". It's okay if we stay in our pajamas until noon, and then enjoy a midday bubble bath. That's the beauty of homeschooling.
Some days I begin to question my belief in child-led learning, and second guess if I am teaching Delaney enough math, and if I need a curriculum, and if I am going to fail her academically some day, and a million other doubting-myself-questions.
Then, she asks me with questions about the aurora borealis, which she learned of while she was watching her very favorite show from the BBC, "Walking With Dinosaurs" (it's on Netflix if you have a dinosaur lover). We looked up pictures and definitions and learned so much. Did you know that the different colors in the aurora depend on electrons striking oxygen or nitrogen at certain altitudes? I certainly didn't!
And then there was the evening that I pointed out the constellation Orion in the sky (she still has a love affair going on with the sky) and she immediately ran inside, found her constellation book and drew Orion, Sirius and one other unlabeled constellation that I am supposed to look at and identify. (Who knew I would be the one taking the tests? :) )
I've probably said it before, but my very favorite thing about homeschooling and letting her tell me what she wants to learn is how much I get to learn too. She was interested in past U.S. presidents a month or so ago, and we checked out some library books and learned some very interesting facts about our nation's leaders that I would probably never have known had she not been intrigued. She is also curious about gemstones and jewels and how they are formed. Back to the library we went, and we (both) studied those books, learning where and how they are made. (We are saving the rest of that study for when Grandma Gail comes to visit. She is a jewel expert.)
All of these things remind me that I am on the right path, and as long as I nurture the girls' curiosity, and encourage each learning endeavor, we will all do just fine.
 |
| Writing letters and drawing pictures for the Easter Bunny |
 |
| Read-a-thon |
 |
| Cello art by Delaney |
 |
| Cello art by Sophie |
Sophie continues to love the alphabet magnets and we work on putting them in order and spelling her name. I downloaded the app, Endless Alphabet, after reading some comments that Brandi made about it, and we absolutely love it. Sophie has to match up letters to spell big words like "gargantuan" and "invisible" and then a cute little monster acts it out while the narrator tells her what it means. I am dying to see if she will incorporate all of these words into her vocabulary as she starts speaking more.
I limit my girls' screen time so their eyes don't fall out and their bodies don't become too stationary, but there are so many fantastic apps for the iPod and android tablet that I don't feel guilty anymore when I let them play for awhile. The land of Motherhood can be such a judge-y place, and I think moms are often made to feel like if they are not talking/interacting/playing/reading with their children every moment, that they are doing something wrong, or being selfish, or any number of other things. I have been having a bit of a rough week in this respect, beating myself up for my "lack of". I need to just *stop* and realize that I am doing just fine. My kids are happy. They are learning. They are playing with each other more every day, making up cute little pretend games. They are both curious. We all love books. There is nothing wrong with playing computer games for an extra 30 minutes or sitting around reading books all day long, doing "nothing". It's okay if we stay in our pajamas until noon, and then enjoy a midday bubble bath. That's the beauty of homeschooling.
Some days I begin to question my belief in child-led learning, and second guess if I am teaching Delaney enough math, and if I need a curriculum, and if I am going to fail her academically some day, and a million other doubting-myself-questions.
Then, she asks me with questions about the aurora borealis, which she learned of while she was watching her very favorite show from the BBC, "Walking With Dinosaurs" (it's on Netflix if you have a dinosaur lover). We looked up pictures and definitions and learned so much. Did you know that the different colors in the aurora depend on electrons striking oxygen or nitrogen at certain altitudes? I certainly didn't!
And then there was the evening that I pointed out the constellation Orion in the sky (she still has a love affair going on with the sky) and she immediately ran inside, found her constellation book and drew Orion, Sirius and one other unlabeled constellation that I am supposed to look at and identify. (Who knew I would be the one taking the tests? :) )
All of these things remind me that I am on the right path, and as long as I nurture the girls' curiosity, and encourage each learning endeavor, we will all do just fine.
March 04, 2013
The (Lack of) Value in Test Prep
I have to go on a bit of a rant here.
If your kids are in school, or you have anything to do with the education system, you are familiar with standardized testing and the term "teaching to the test". Arizona gives the AIMS test, other states have varieties of the same. Schools are becoming increasingly focused on AIMS test scores and teaching topics that are found on the test rather than authentic learning. This is teaching the students how to fill in the right bubble, but not much long term knowledge that will actually help them enjoy learning independently, or become educated, successful adults. I love how this blogger's daughter put it: "I have a box, and I know what to put in it."
Some people like tests. I am actually one of those weirdos...I loved taking the ITBS when I was in grade school. It was fun for me. The difference is, however, that when I was in elementary school a zillion years ago, the focus wasn't on the test. I had some fantastic teachers - Mrs. Grossman in kindergarten, Mrs. Byram in 2nd grade, and Mrs. Berg in 4th grade spring to mind - who knew how to keep school interesting and fun, and differentiate learning for all of the kids in the class. By middle school, the content was changing, but we LEARNED, and learned interesting, useful things. We didn't "test prep". We just had one week of the school year during which we took the test, we were allowed to snack during class and didn't have any homework. Woo hoo!
Hailey returned to public school in January, and on her first progress report, I found she was being graded for "AIMS Test Prep". There is a program called Study Island from the Dept. of Education that is basically a zillion multiple choice tests in the subject areas covered by AIMS and worded like the AIMS. She is assigned a bunch of these weekly in math and language arts. In previous years, they were assigned, but they were not graded. I received a progress report today from her Language Arts teacher, and her grade has dropped a few letters because she hasn't completed these multiple choice tests.
Now, forgive me but I am wrong, but I think that she should be doing some actual work in order to learn and practice these skills...not sit in front of the computer for hours and fill in bubbles and try to do them as fast as she can so she can go do something more interesting. (That's what I would do, anyway.) And the fact that her grade depends on these makes me SO MAD.
The validity of the AIMS test has been questioned by many (that particular study looks at high school, but it is applicable to the lower grades.). The benefits of standardized testing have been questioned for years, and teachers in Seattle and Chicago have flat out refused to give standardized tests recently. It is becoming a national movement that teachers, parents and students are joining. These teachers, parents, and students believe that the tests are a waste of time, waste of money, and destructive to quality education in the classroom. (Which they are.) Even young students are writing protest letters. I love this one from a 5th grader in Maryland.
Now, my child's grades throughout the year are based on practicing for a test that has about 0% value in the real world?
So again, forgive me if I am not upset because she isn't completing these tests on her own during her weekends, or if I do not force her to sit in her room and complete them instead of spending valuable quality time with her family, doing fun things like playing games (in which she learns communication and strategy), going outdoors (learning about nature and the environment, and soaking up some vitamin D) or simply having good conversations with her family (vocabulary, persuasive speech, descriptive language, grammar, history, science...shall I go on?)
Completing AIMS test preps are a waste of her time and our family's, and I don't support them. Please, please, Kingman Academy of Learning, go back to your roots when the charter school was about academic excellence, not high test scores. I want my girl to enjoy learning, and be creative and think critically. These tests do exactly the opposite. I can't be the only parent who feels this way.
Did you know that you can legally opt your children out of standardized testing? The United Opt Out site offers a lot of information regarding opting out. There are also many Facebook groups for individual states, including one moderated by a teacher in NY who has a lot to say about standardized testing and the Common Core Standards.
Thankfully, Arizona's homeschooling laws are fairly liberal on the subject of standardized testing. If the laws have changed, however, by the time Delaney and Sophie are of "testing age", we will be opting out.
P.S. I have a few friends who are teachers, and I know you teach with your whole heart and love those students to pieces. Bless you. You probably hate all of this as much as I do. :)
If your kids are in school, or you have anything to do with the education system, you are familiar with standardized testing and the term "teaching to the test". Arizona gives the AIMS test, other states have varieties of the same. Schools are becoming increasingly focused on AIMS test scores and teaching topics that are found on the test rather than authentic learning. This is teaching the students how to fill in the right bubble, but not much long term knowledge that will actually help them enjoy learning independently, or become educated, successful adults. I love how this blogger's daughter put it: "I have a box, and I know what to put in it."
Some people like tests. I am actually one of those weirdos...I loved taking the ITBS when I was in grade school. It was fun for me. The difference is, however, that when I was in elementary school a zillion years ago, the focus wasn't on the test. I had some fantastic teachers - Mrs. Grossman in kindergarten, Mrs. Byram in 2nd grade, and Mrs. Berg in 4th grade spring to mind - who knew how to keep school interesting and fun, and differentiate learning for all of the kids in the class. By middle school, the content was changing, but we LEARNED, and learned interesting, useful things. We didn't "test prep". We just had one week of the school year during which we took the test, we were allowed to snack during class and didn't have any homework. Woo hoo!
Hailey returned to public school in January, and on her first progress report, I found she was being graded for "AIMS Test Prep". There is a program called Study Island from the Dept. of Education that is basically a zillion multiple choice tests in the subject areas covered by AIMS and worded like the AIMS. She is assigned a bunch of these weekly in math and language arts. In previous years, they were assigned, but they were not graded. I received a progress report today from her Language Arts teacher, and her grade has dropped a few letters because she hasn't completed these multiple choice tests.
Now, forgive me but I am wrong, but I think that she should be doing some actual work in order to learn and practice these skills...not sit in front of the computer for hours and fill in bubbles and try to do them as fast as she can so she can go do something more interesting. (That's what I would do, anyway.) And the fact that her grade depends on these makes me SO MAD.
The validity of the AIMS test has been questioned by many (that particular study looks at high school, but it is applicable to the lower grades.). The benefits of standardized testing have been questioned for years, and teachers in Seattle and Chicago have flat out refused to give standardized tests recently. It is becoming a national movement that teachers, parents and students are joining. These teachers, parents, and students believe that the tests are a waste of time, waste of money, and destructive to quality education in the classroom. (Which they are.) Even young students are writing protest letters. I love this one from a 5th grader in Maryland.
Now, my child's grades throughout the year are based on practicing for a test that has about 0% value in the real world?
So again, forgive me if I am not upset because she isn't completing these tests on her own during her weekends, or if I do not force her to sit in her room and complete them instead of spending valuable quality time with her family, doing fun things like playing games (in which she learns communication and strategy), going outdoors (learning about nature and the environment, and soaking up some vitamin D) or simply having good conversations with her family (vocabulary, persuasive speech, descriptive language, grammar, history, science...shall I go on?)
Completing AIMS test preps are a waste of her time and our family's, and I don't support them. Please, please, Kingman Academy of Learning, go back to your roots when the charter school was about academic excellence, not high test scores. I want my girl to enjoy learning, and be creative and think critically. These tests do exactly the opposite. I can't be the only parent who feels this way.
Did you know that you can legally opt your children out of standardized testing? The United Opt Out site offers a lot of information regarding opting out. There are also many Facebook groups for individual states, including one moderated by a teacher in NY who has a lot to say about standardized testing and the Common Core Standards.
Thankfully, Arizona's homeschooling laws are fairly liberal on the subject of standardized testing. If the laws have changed, however, by the time Delaney and Sophie are of "testing age", we will be opting out.
P.S. I have a few friends who are teachers, and I know you teach with your whole heart and love those students to pieces. Bless you. You probably hate all of this as much as I do. :)
February 27, 2013
Learning How to Draw
Delaney loves to draw. She spends hours and hours of her day with a pen or crayon or pencil, and draws amazing people, letters, and animals.
A few of my recent favorites...her detail astounds me.
I have found several step by step tutorials online for her, and she does very well following the directions and creating various pictures. You can find several links at my "Homeschool-Art" board on Pinterest.
Recently, she wanted to draw Kai-Lan, so I did a Google search and found this tutorial (and lots of others!) at bluetadpolestudios.com.
She did her best...and was very successful.
She has also begun to illustrate within her words. These photos really do not do her creativity justice, but if you click on them, you can see her art a little more clearly. My favorite is the unicorn in the letter "E" on the second page.
Some days, I worry that I don't have enough "structure" in our day, and that I should be making sure that we get to enough subjects in a week and I should be finding ways to challenge her more. Then she comes up with this incredible art, and I know that we are doing just fine. :)
A few of my recent favorites...her detail astounds me.
 |
| A river and a waterfall, a princess with shoes, dress, crown, earrings and rings. |
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| She has been drawing "constellations" - see the upper right hand corner. |
I have found several step by step tutorials online for her, and she does very well following the directions and creating various pictures. You can find several links at my "Homeschool-Art" board on Pinterest.
Recently, she wanted to draw Kai-Lan, so I did a Google search and found this tutorial (and lots of others!) at bluetadpolestudios.com.
She did her best...and was very successful.
 |
| "The unicorn and the lion were fighting each other for the ... |
 |
| ...crown all around town. The unicorn won. " |
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