Nature Explorers--From Flower to Seed

Though I LOVE being outside and observing God's creation, I am HORRIBLE about incorporating recess into our day.  To be honest, it is hard work getting everyone out of pajamas (Yes, we stay in our PJ's most of the day) and out the door in a timely fashion.  In fact, the boys will say to me, "Are we going somewhere?" or "Who is coming over?" if they find me taking a shower or putting adult clothes on.  Sad but true.)

Therefore, I am incredibly thankful of my most recent blogging discovery.  Let me introduce Blissful Moments.




Jennifer, the writer of this blog, creates science lesson plans each week.  Much like Carisa at 1+1+1=1, encourages and holds me accountable to playing and learning with my Tots, now Jennifer helps me enjoy nature with my children and provides an easy lesson plan for me to follow.  Each week, just like Tot School, I can link up and share with other moms who are doing the same thing.  We can encourage and learn from eachother.

On the day I chose to do science, we all went outside.  (I stayed in my pj's, but the boys got dressed.)  With camera in hand and Mr. Smiley in the stroller, we gathered blooming, dried, and dead flowers for our experience with science. We were going to study plants from "flower to seed."

Along the way, we spotted this butterfly having her morning cuppa'. 

This is our collection of various flowers around our house and in the garden.  The boys began by tearing the flowers apart.  It really hurt my eyes to do this to God's beautiful creation, but the boys delighted in destroying the flowers and learning what parts were actually in the flower.

Mr. Smackdown singled out the sunflower and took the flower apart layer by layer, seperating the parts as he went.

 

 

Mr. Me-Too also had fun.  But he is only 3 and well . . . he is 3.  But he did have fun cutting up the flowers and entertaining Mr. Smiley at times.

And while our dissection occured, Mr. Smiley entertained himself by discovering how his brother's Big Wheel worked.  He made plenty of race car sounds and enjoyed steering his new vehicle.

I know that Jennifer's blog will bless our family.  I already saw the blessing, kind of, of doing this simple science lesson.  Yesterday, I gave Mr. Smackdown our old digital camera.  It became his quest to go on a nature quest and capture God's creation in action.  Ummm . . . . he took over 400 pictures. 

Like mother, like son. 

It's in the Pocket of the Pants I Wore to the U2 Concert, Officer

I just posted this over at My Charming Kids, but thought I would share on my own blog. 

I mean, I blog my life. 

Let me ask, how was your day?

Mine, wasn't the worst day that I have ever had, but it certainly revealed my . . . well . . . sin nature. 

Marriage was supposed to be my mirror.  But I tell you, children . . . and parenting Hottie Hubby's children (OK, they are mine, too) is like having a magnifying glass glued to my heart. 

September 18th, 2009 finished with bright flashing lights in my rearview mirror and brought a complete wordless summary to the end of my rather crapy day.

Grace.

The police officer pulled me over for speeding. Yes, it is possible to speed in a minivan.

I was trying to catch up with the Hottie Hubby, who was pretending to be a race car driver.

Today, I also threw a John Deere toy tractor. I thought I broke it.  But I didn't.  However, I have broken another toy this week.  A motorcycle. I acted like a baby. I expected a 1 year old to hold still while I put on his diaper.  I questioned a 5 year old why he would laugh hysterically at something my 1 year old was doing that really wasn't so funny.  I scolded my dog for her obnoxious farts.  I was addicted to tweeting.  I put a disposable diaper on my child.  I stirred up strife with my 3 year old.  I got frustrated at my husband being kind to me.  I also had to try and explain to my children why we didn't allow our dog to have puppies.  That only beget more questions about anatomy that I really didn't want to discuss.  Is it so wrong to not want puppies?  (Did anyone pronounce that with an accent like in Nacho Libre?)

I felt guilty about my mothering.  This is what I thought about as I sat waiting for him to make sure that I wasn't a convict.   In my mind, I simply thought, "It figures.  Payback for being so nasty."  (Has anyone heard of the song Nasty Dan by Johnny Cash?) 

But because the police officer listened to my story about leaving my drivers license in the pocket of the pants I wore to the U2 concert this past Sunday (yikes--that was an inadvertent confession that I had been driving without my license all week!) . . .  I honestly hadn't meant to do this.  I would have eventually put the blasted mug shot back in my wallet once I realized that it was missing.  

. . . . and told me that he would only give me a warning--I experienced God's grace.

He gave me two police officer badge stickers for the boys. He thought they would like them. I told the officer they would be over the top excited. He said that would make his day.
   
Ahh . . . no, grace made my day.

Do you think he would have like to have had his picture taken for my blog?  I debated and decided to pass on offering that tantilizing opportunity to him.

Thanks, Mr. Policeman.  Thanks, God.

Rocketing into Phonics With Great Speed

Though my formal training was a double major in secondary education and English, I "accidentally" stumbled upon teaching kindergarten. 

It was working with kindergarteners that I was introduced to the honor of teaching someone how to read.

Wow.  Powerful.

I came to discover that there are products that work, and products that only create more confusion to an exception-filled language.  Kindergarteners like facts.  They like some predictability.  They like some structure.

Last year, Mr. Smackdown and I entered the world of letter recognition and basic sounds.  It was a horrible experience.  I was expecting my child to perform and behave like children in a large classroom instead of honoring the fact that he is my son, and I DIDN'T have to repeat familiar history.

I had MANY long conversations with the Lord about how I could share my love of reading with Mr. Smackdown, without carrying over last year's frustration.

Enter Rocket Phonics.  God heard my desperate plea.

What is Rocket Phonics?

Rocket Phonics is a unique reading program--multi-sensory and game-based--for children ages 4-10 that takes children from non-readers to 5th grade reading level in 1 1/2 - 2 years.

But Rocket Phonics is so much more than that . . .

From our experience so far, and we have been moving rather slowly, I can already tell that Rocket Phonics meets the many needs of different learners, from a kinesthetic learner  to an auditory student, to a visual pupil.

 (Can you guess what letter Mr. Smackdown is?)

You begin by becoming familiar with the sounds and letter symbols on the Play and Read game cards.

After playing a lot of fun games with your child, you can enter the book with gusto and allow the Rocket Phonics peeker to fly.  There is always great ceremony when the peeker travels to our school time.

In a short time, your child begins to sound out words.  It all happens in a matter of pages.  Herein lies the confidence boost.  After becoming familiar with the first 9 sounds, your child begins to read short words.  It opens up a whole new world that they didn't know existed. It makes them hungry to learn more.

Now, I am only going to give you a sneak peak at my truly personal current thoughts regarding this unique phonics program. Why?  I wouldn't be that believable if I said, "It's great.  Buy it!"

We are only 1 1/2 months into the Granola School year.  So, at the end of the Granola School year, I plan on giving you an extended look back at our experience with Rocket Phonics.  I will evaluate whether we continued to see huge strides being made in Mr. Smackdown's ability to read, his reading comprehension, and if he has further grown in his phonetic/blending confidence. 

Thought 1:  Off the bat I like the program because there isn't a lot of stuff.  I am finding that having to manage multiple individuals has made me less organized.  As a result, I can't handle "stuff" in the school room.  I need to see it easily and grab it quickly or it does not get used.  The entire Rocket Phonics program fits in a discreet, manageable box.  I don't even use the box at this point.  All I need is our current Rocket Phonics book (there are two), Rocket-shaped peeker and Play and Read game cards. 

Thought 2:  Mr. Smackdown likes Rocket Phonics.  It is fun for him.  He has had success.  He is my best critic of whether a program is an effective teaching tool.  He is learning and applying what he is learning when he doesn't even know he is learning.  (My logic is dizzying, I know.)

Thought 3:  I don't feel guilty about going at Mr. Smackdown's pace.  The Rocket Phonics book isn't set up according to days.  It has sections . . . but they don't make you feel like a section has to be completed within a certain allotted time.  An unseen person who doesn't know my child isn't bossing my child around about performing a certain way within a certain time period.

Thought 4:  Mr. Me-Too can easily jump in with whatever we are doing.

(Playing the game of Memory with our current letters/sounds.)

(Playing Bingo)

Thought 5:  Mr. Smackdown and I use the same book.  There isn't a teacher manual and a student workbook.  For some reason, Mr. Smackdown likes it that we are "on the same page."  (No pun intended.)  I think it makes him feel like I am learning to read at the same time as him--thus building confidence.

In summary, so far I think that the Rocket Phonics program is a well thought out phonics curriculum.  It has excellent instructions, that equip even the novice phonics teacher to teach their child.  In fact, there are provisions for possible problematic areas and troubleshooting suggestions to foster continued success for the student.

Rocket Phonics has stretched my ways of teaching reading.  I am beginning to think outside of the box, having fun with blending sounds, even if they aren't words!

The Rocket Phonics program is available for purchase for $160 or three payments of $53.34.  I would encourage you to jump over to their website, as I really have failed to do the program justice!  Also, check out what some other homeschooling families think of  Rocket Phonics!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. 

This is what we got her for lunch.  Though it felt like a sugar fest, it was, at least, mostly organic.  That has to count for something, right?

I think birthdays are BIG deals.  Heck, it is the day that God's miracle is revealed from a very small place.  It makes me want to give my Grandma Jean a bear hug for allowing God to use her to make my mom.  A birthday is the day that God launches His most recent masterpiece.  It is a day to celebrate life.

So we celebrated.  I think Mr. Smily celebrated a little too much.

And my mom was auditioning for the Got Milk ad campaign to make the boys feel a little bit better about their mustaches.   

 

 

 

To celebrate my mom's life, the boys entertained her with aspirations of becoming a pirate, with the expert guidance of my fabulous Mother's Helper, who will be given the name, Ruth. 

 

 

 And Mr. Smiley was content to have Mom push is bottom up the tunnel.  

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I'm so glad that God made you and we got to spend time with you on your special day!

Marinara Sauce for Shelly

I love this easy tomato sauce and try to can some each fall. 

Fortunately, I have learned from 3 full years of having a garden, that it is important for me to plant 4+ Roma tomato plants in our garden.

As a result, I was able to can a whopping 7 pint Mason jars!  (I 4x'ed the below recipe.)

Linguine alla Marinara

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 lb of ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
• salt to taste
• 12-16 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• 1 lb whole wheat pasta

Saute olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and season with salt.  Raise the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, and cook briskly, stirring often, until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce (about 15 minutes).  Add a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.  Pass the sauce through a food mill or puree in a food processor.  (To be honest, I often leave the sauce chunky.)  Return to the pan and add the basil.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Serve over whole wheat pasta.

After reading my recipe, I discovered that I often complicate the process.  You don't have to do what I am about to tell you.  But maybe keep in it mind when a recipe tells you to take the skin off of your tomato.

How to Skin a Tomato

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Take your red fruit (yes, it is a fruit because it has a seed!) and gently slice an X at the base of the tomato.  You want to just break the tomato's skin. 

Drop the tomato into the boiling water for 10-30 seconds.  With a spoon, rescue your tomato from the whirlpool and allow to cool.  The skin of the tomato should peel right off.

Voila!  A peeled tomato.  Don't forget to put the skin in the compost pile!