HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA AND DEANNA!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA AND DEANNA!!!



Yesterday was Deanna's 17th Birthday!!!

Tomorrow is Joshua's 18th Birthday!!!!

I can't believe it.

I now have 2 "adult" children with another very close behind.





To Joshua,

Even though I know you won't read this, I want to tell you anyway.

I love you so much.

I am so proud of the man you have become.

You are so smart.

You are so caring. You always put others before yourself.

You have so many talents.

Thank you for being YOU!!!







To Deanna,

Even though I know you won't be reading this either, I'm still going to tell you....

I love you so much!

I am so proud of the young lady you are.

You are so giving.

You are so bright.

You have so many gifts to give to the world.

Thank you for being you!!





You'll have to excuse the pictures. SIGH.... They both HATE having their pictures taken. What's a mother to do????

Fly on the Wall - January 2014

                                                                        

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 15 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

 Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://www.therowdybaker.com                                  The Rowdy Baker

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                          Just A Little Nutty

http://themomisodes.com                                       The Momisodes

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                           Spatulas on Parade

http://thesadderbutwisergirl.com                                   The Sadder But Wiser Girl

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                          Follow me home . . .

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/                  Stacy Sews and Schools

http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com                           Searching for Sanity

http://thelazymomcooks.blogspot.com/                       The Lazy Mom’s Cooking Blog

http://www.menopausalmom.com/                             Menopausal Mother

http://victoryrosevintage.wordpress.com                       Victory Rose

http://www.pinkheartstring.com                                  Pink Heart String

http://www.spinstersnacks.com/                                 Spinster Snacks

Deanna - We need to start our own store called “Burnett Sized - When Family Size Just Isn’t Big Enough”.

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Colin - This family is full of crazies!!!

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Joshua - I hate Thorsdays, they are so unLoki.

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Joshua - It’s a sad day when you type Leonardo in the search box and DiCaprio comes up before da Vinci.

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Never NEVER NNNNNNEEEEEVVVVEEEERRRR bring up the country of Djibouti around your kids… You will never hear the end of booty jokes.

Colin - I bet the grass in brown in Djibouti.

Joshua - I bet it stinks in Djibouti.

Deanna - Dang! I didn’t know Djibouti was so big.

And on and on and on and on……..

And let me apologize to the people of Djibouti on behalf of my heathen children.

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Deanna - Why does everyone think Joshua is funnier than me???

Me - You’re a different kind of funny.

Deanna - And what do you mean by that?????

phone rings

Me to The Hubby - Deanna wants to know why everyone thinks Joshua is funnier than she is.

Yes, that’s what I said.

Deanna - Wait!! Tell me he didn’t say the same thing!!! What do you mean by different?????

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Jacob (in his best Arhnahld impression) - Hi. I ahm Deaaanna Da Brows. Muh eyebrows will beat you into submission.

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Cailey thinks that cat burglars steal cats. Cailey - What if a cat burglar comes  and tries to steal Derpy???

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Apparently we have a clepto cat. Derpy keeps stealing things dragging them under the girls’ bed. Deanna was seriously upset to find a pair of Joshua’s underwear. Although, Derpy did leave a present of pipe cleaners and crayons in Cailey’s shoe.

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Cailey bumping into Deanna - Sorry, I hope I didn’t hurt your internal orgals.

(no, that isn’t supposed to be organs ;) )

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Jacob just started a new job at the same place The Hubby works. He comes home and says this - I found my toe twin today. You know how I dropped that wood on my toe the other day? So did so and so. He took his shoe off and his toe looks just like mine!

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Whenever that stupid Miley song comes on Cailey changes the words, like so:

I came in like a

tennis ball

soccer ball

football

It drives Deanna crazy.

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At the Christmas party for The Hubby’s work, the owner mentioned a special kind of Christmas bonus this year. Every employee got $50 to give to another employee. They were to go to the office and put down which person they wanted their $50 to go to.

The Hubby gets in the van and says, “I know I’m getting $50 from 3 people.” He then names them. I asked if he gave his to Jacob. “No! I didn’t even think about that!!” Good grief!!!!

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Deanna, Cailey and I were discussing doll clothes and what they were made of. We mention polyester and taffeta.

Jacob - I thought that was old people pudding.

Me - What?

Jacob - That taffeta word.

Me and Deanna - You mean tapioca!

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Christmas Day and I am playing Battleship with Colin.

Me - I, 1

Colin - You did????

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Joshua - Do you know the actress So and So?

Me - No, I don’t think so.

Joshua - She was in such and such.

Me - Oh, yeah!

Joshua - She is also on the show XXXXXXXX.

The Hubby - Yeah, but she dies.

Joshua - Gee, thanks.

The Hubby - Oh, are you starting back at season 1?

Joshua - I’m not so sure now…..

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Colin, with tape on his nose - Do I need Proactiv?

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Wheel of Fortune is on the TV with a split screen. Vanna and the letter board are on the bottom and the contestants are on the top. Colin - Are those people really big or is that lady really small?

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So, there you have it, folks! The crazy things that have been heard around our house!!!

Don't forget to check out the amazing bloggers that are taking part in Fly this month!!!

Oil Pastel Stained Glass Windows

The other day I went into Big Lots looking for pillows. Cailey had complained that hers was too flat. While I was browsing through the store my eyes landed on a set of oil pastels for $4!! YIPPEE!!!! I had to grab them!! Cailey and Colin had never worked with them before!

So, I get home and I am thinking about art projects for history this week. We are still studying the Middle Ages. Then it hit me! Cathedrals! Stained Glass! Oil Pastels!! PERFECT!!!

Yesterday I Googled medieval cathedrals and let the Cs look through the beautiful pictures. Then we read about how they were made.

After that I showed them how to use the pastels and set them free to work on their "windows".









Cailey created a beautiful butterfly window. She had such fun with this. She is such an artsy girl anyway.  She could spend hours drawing.







Colin's is a knight! I had to correct The Hubby very quickly.... He was calling it a monster. GASP!! Couldn't let Colin hear that!! ;)

Colin is 6, and as many little guys, he has a very short attention span. He has no patience for projects that take too long, no matter how much he enjoys them! LOL  I always try to encourage him to finish the projects, but I don't push.





HAVE FUN LEARNING AND CREATING!!!

What Kind of Homeschooler Am I? And How Many Kinds Are There?

The answer to the first question is easy for me. I am an "eclectic" homeschooler. This means that I pull from a lot of different homeschooling types to get at what works best for my family.

On to the second question, not as easy an answer.... There are as many types of homeschooling as there are homeschoolers. BUT there are a few categories that a lot of them would put themselves in (there are many more than I name).



Montessori - classified as child-led, hands-on, independent learning style  created by Maria Montessori  (this is just MY watered down definition) For more info click HERE



Boxed Curriculum - the parent purchases a complete line of curriculum from one company and uses that exclusively. Some of the company names - Bob Jones, Sonlight, Abeka, just to name a few



Public/Private School at Home - the children learn through an on-line school connected with either a public school system or a private school



Charlotte Mason - in which children are taught as whole persons through a wide range of interesting living books, first hand experiences, and good habits. (copied from the Charlotte Mason site) This one is a little hard to define on my own but here goes... No text books are used (YAY), living books only. There's a lot of copy work, reading and nature studies. This is known as a gentle approach to homeschooling (much like Montessori). There's even a website devoted to bringing you as much as it can for FREE! They have complete lesson plans, too - Ambleside Online.



Unit Studies - multiple subjects are taught within the parameters of a single topic. Now, this is NOT how I do unit studies. LOL I guess I should start calling them something else....



Unschooling -  No set lessons or subjects. The child is free to choose how much they want to learn, when they want to learn  and about what. Oh, the MOST appealing type for me but I just can't bring myself to give up control. LOL



Now, those are just small definitions, just to give you an idea. And those really aren't all the types that there are, just the most popular.

That being said, there can be reallllllly big debates in the homeschooling world over what constitutes unschooling or if someone that uses boxed curriculum or an online school is "really" homeschooling. Let me put in my 2 cents. WHO CARES??? I mean, really??? What does it matter to YOU?? The whole reason that we homeschool is to do it OUR OWN WAY, whatever way that may be. So what if someone says they unschool but they make their kids do math everyday??? So what if someone uses boxed curriculum? No skin off my nose. They are still doing what they feel is the best for their families and I  have no right to judge.

Ok, climbing down off my soap box. ;)



Now, WHY do I consider myself eclectic?

Well, I hate text books, so no boxed curriculum or online schools for me.

I can't give up control to be a complete unschooler. (Although I do give the kids a lot of control over topics and subjects. I just make sure they do their math, language and reading every day.)

I tried Charlotte Mason for a little while but it wasn't a good fit for us. We like twaddle too much. (See numbers 4, 6 and 7.) My definition of twaddle - light reading for F-U-N!!! As long as my kids are reading SOMETHING I am happy. Now, that being said, I do encourage them to read classics, non-fiction and historical fiction. They can usually be found reading 2 different types of books at a time, one "twaddle" and one of the other. ;)

We MUCH prefer "living books" over text books. I just happen to believe that you can also learn from "twaddle". ;)

I pull a lot from the IDEAS of unschooling, Charlotte Mason and Montessori.  I believe in a more gentle, don't rush, hands-on approach. Kids need to be KIDS!! No pressure! Don't beat the fun out of learning. 

Psst! Can I tell you a secret??? I don't grade. Nope. Not at all. I don't believe in it. Either they have an understanding of the subject matter or they don't. And if they don't, we will keep trying different approaches until they do. I also don't believe in tests. I don't think they are a good measure of how much a child knows or how much they have learned. I understand its uses in a traditional school setting but still question its usefulness even there. I think a much better measure is to have the child SHOW you or explain to you what they have learned. Around here you would be hard pressed to STOP them from showing or explaining! LOL



What we DO-

Lots of hands-on learning. My kids love crafts and projects. They really learn a lot more when they are active and involved. I try to do a lot of hands-on with math and science, especially.

Lots of reading. I have always loved reading to my kids and they love listening.

Lots of watching. YouTube, Netflix, DVRed stuff. There's no end to the great stuff you can find for kids to watch AND learn.

Lots of games. On-line, board and mommy made. Kids LOVE games!! Learning should be FUN!

Lots of getting out and about (when it isn't freezing). Museums, parks, zoos and just traveling! We go to Lowe's and Home Depot for their kid workshops almost every month. There are just so many things to see and do and a lot of it is FREE!!! Can't beat that!!!

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE creating my own "curriculum". I love the research involved. I love taking a topic and finding different ways to approach it. I love that I can tailor anything to fit each child's needs.



For more info on the types of homeschooling click HERE.



So, there you go. My 2 cents on homeschooling styles.



Oh, I wanted to leave you with 2 free and complete curriculum sites that go from K to 12.

Ambleside Online - Charlotte Mason

Easy Peasy All-in-one Homeschool (no "style" definition) - I use a lot of links from this one. ;)

Mozart - Resources for a Unit Study

I am finally adding some music resources on here! LOL We "do" music all the time but we more or less just listen and discuss. Every once in a while we might do like we did with The Nutcracker and I will have them paint or draw how the music makes them feel or what it makes them think of.

This will be just the first of many art and music unit study resources that I will do here. I have Jackson Pollock on my next list (his Birthday is January 28th)! ;)

ANYWAY, Mozart's Birthday is January 27th and I thought there may be some people out there that will be needing some ideas and resources. ;)

I've been thinking about writing up a post on how we do nature studies. Is that of interest? I have tons of great pictures! :D

I've also been thinking about a post on my "methods"....... I consider myself an "eclectic" homeschooler. Any interest there?

As always, I try to include resources for a variety of ages. 

All printable resources are free unless marked with $$$.

























































Lapbook - Homeschool Share

Lesson Plan and Printables - Instructor Web

Notebooking Page - Homeschool Helper Online

Notebooking Pages - Practical Pages

Notebooking Pages, Bio Sheets, Mini Books - HSLaunch

 Worksheets, Coloring Pages, Printable Bio - Making Music Fun

Worksheets and Info - SchoolExpress.com

Coloring Page - Crayola

Coloring Page - SuperColoring.com

$$$$

Currclick Products

Teachers Pay Teachers







Info, Photos, Games - BBC

Info (Audio) - Classics for Kids

Info - Mozart Project

Info - Classical Music About.com

Info and Music Pieces - DSO Kids

Info and Music Pieces - Last.FM

Info and Photos - Garden of Praise

Info and Videos - Biography.com

Interactive Info - Starfall

Lesson Plans for The Magic Flute - Keeping Score

Links - The Piano Student

Links - Easy Fun School

Mozart's Musical Diary (Interactive) (scroll down)

 YouTube List 

YouTube List Specifically for Kids





HAVE FUN LISTENING AND LEARNING!

Learning Factors and Multiples and Comparing Fractions

Cailey started learning about factors and multiples last week. At first she was having a lot of trouble remembering the difference between the two. So, I Googled. LOL I saw a lot of really cute ideas for helping kids learn the difference. The only problem? I can't draw. Not even decent stick people... SO, I made MY versions. ;)







Here are the 2 charts that I made. She keeps them in her Chair Buddy and pulls them out whenever she needs a little refresher.









Then I made little flip books so she could practice her tables, factors and multiples.



Here are some of the links that I came across in my search!



Math Is Fun

Johnnie's Math Page

Young Teacher Love

Ms Glanz



We have now moved on to comparing fractions! Here are some great links to help with that!

ABCya - scroll down to numbers

YouTube

Worksheet Fun

Flapjack Educational Resources



HAVE FUN LEARNING!!!

Squirrel Appreciation Day - Resources

Squirrel image - TheGraphicsFairy

I had written up a unit on penguins for Penguin Awareness Day (tomorrow) but then I realized, so had everyone else! LOL Do you really need another one? Probably not right now. So, I decided to go ahead and post the one I did for Squirrel Appreciation Day (January 21st). I haven't seen any of those yet! LOL

The thing is, a lot of bloggers do the same theme around the same time. Right after I posted the one for Winter Olympics, I saw dozens of others. DRAT!! If I had waited just a little longer I could have added them to my list! LOL The same with the penguins. I had my list all written out when I started seeing all the others. Now I'll just wait until the rest are done, add them to my list and post at a much later date. LOL Turn it from Penguin Awareness Day to just a study on penguins. ;)

I am at a loss as to what to do about the Iditarod unit. It has been really hard to find a lot of resources for it. Do I wait and see if any more come out? Or do I post it soon? Hmmm....

As always, I try to include resources for a variety of ages.

All printable resources are free unless marked with $$$.















































































One of our favorites





Another favorite



A lot of the above books are also available for Kindle but are probably cheaper in paperback.





































Lapbook - Homeschool Share

Unit Study and Printables - St Aiden's

Coloring Pages - Animal Place

Coloring Pages, Crafts, Worksheets and Activities - Twiggle Magazine

Coloring Pages, Crafts and Worksheets - DLTK-Kids

Coloring Pages, Crafts and Worksheets - Activity Village

Coloring Pages, Crafts, Worksheets and Clip Art - Scholastic Printables

Early Learning Printables - Making Learning Fun

Printable Craft - Learn Create Love

Printable Activity Pack - Nature Detectives

Worksheets and Coloring Pages - Education.com

Worksheets and Notebooking - A to Z Teacher Stuff

Worksheets and Notebooking - Kidsparkz  (some members only)

Anatomy Nomenclature Cards and Food  3 Part Cards - Montessori Mom



$$$$$

Currclick Items

Teachers Pay Teachers 









Activities - Squidoo

Activities - NWF

Art Project - Deep Space Sparkle

Crafts - The Crafty Crow

Crafts - Artists Helping Children

How to Draw a Squirrel - Art Projects for Kids

Info - All Ab0ut Squirrels

Info - Nat Geo

Info - Kids Play and Create

Info and Activities - Kids Discover

Research Activity - Education.com





HAVE FUN LEARNING!!!!