What's round on the ends and high in the middle?

OHIO!

We are finishing up a fun month-long study of our home state. We are participating in some academic enrichment classes with our homeschool group on Monday afternoons. The theme for this month was Ohio. I was fortunate to be able to teach Ray and Adam's class. We made Ohio flags and learned a whole bunch about the symbols of Ohio (state seal, bird, flower, tree, motto, etc.), famous Ohioans, and Ohio wildlife. We learned about products grown, raised, and manufactured in Ohio. We made Buckeye necklaces and marched to music from the OSU marching band. We even memorized a poem called "An Ohio Pledge"by Marcia Schoenberg. (Check out The Ohio Reader, B is for Buckeye, and Cardinal Numbers all by Schoenberg.)

Ray's favorite parts of our Ohio study were learning about the Wright Brothers (who were born and raised in Ohio) and making a collage of Ohio animals and having the opportunity to touch some furs and skulls from Ohio animals.

Adam wouldn't tell me his favorite parts, but I think they were eating apples while we learned about Johnny Appleseed's journeys through Ohio and eating chocolate/peanut butter buckeyes. (He definitely takes after me!)

Today we culminated our Ohio study in a special way... with a visit to the Ohio Statehouse! My friend Kelly works across the street from the Statehouse in downtown Columbus. She also does a lot of work in the Statehouse. She invited us to take a tour of the Statehouse. Her mother and daughters met us there and I brought my nephew Carter along as he had today off school. So it was a big field trip adventure. I am embarrassed to admit that I've lived here all my life and I've never been in the Statehouse before today!

For the boys a big highlight of the tour was going through a maze of underground tunnels to get from Kelly's office to the Statehouse.

Our tour started in the map room where we got to explore this giant floor map of Ohio's 88 counties.
Before checking out the Senate and House chambers, we stopped in the beautiful rotunda where Kelly taught the children a bit about what goes on in this beautiful building.
Ray and I really loved looking up at the dome over the rotunda.Although the children are too young to really understand the significance of the Statehouse and all that goes on there, they really enjoyed the adventure of going there and exploring. We even ate lunch in the cafe! It was a great finish to a wonderful month of learning about our state.

Autumn Visitor

Ray was delighted to find this little guy chowing down on the seeds from the sunflowers we grew. The squirrel knew we were watching him from our window less than four feet away, but he didn't care. He stayed a long time and filled his belly quite full.

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!

John Chapman, affectionately known as Johnny Appleseed, was born 236 years ago today. We've had a great time reading about him as part of our tall tales and Ohio studies. We've had lots of delicious fun with apples over the past few weeks.

Adam Appleseed...Ray Appleseed....
Happy birthday Johnny Appleseed!

Soccer

Today Ray played in his first soccer game. He is playing on a recreation center team along with several other homeschool boys we know. His coach is one of our friends and the league is fairly non-competitive with a focus on teaching. They don't really keep score. It's a perfect place for him to learn and get positive experience playing sports.

Ray's team is called "The Flyers." He is #5. He is the youngest boy on the team. (It's really for six through eight year olds.) He was so proud of his uniform and very excited to be playing in a real game. He really gave it his all. I was proud of him for following directions and staying in the game - running hard and trying to figure out what he was supposed to be doing each moment. The team had only practiced once. (They got rained out this week.) He did remarkably well considering his lack of experience and instruction. He had a great time. It will be interesting to see how his skills and confidence develop as the season progresses.

Go Flyers! Go Ray!

Today's Biggest Accomplishment

Are you impressed? It's a lego post office. I followed the directions exactly. Usually I like to be more creative and free-form but Ray insisted that I build this exact post office.

My efforts were not in vain. Ray was very impressed by my work and my willingness to do what he asked me to do. He made me a reward chart!

Here's what Ray's current incentive chart looks like:

When he works hard on something or is extra-good/obedient/cheerful, he gets to put a sticker on his chart. Halfway up each ladder he gets a piece of candy. When he reaches the top of each ladder he earns television or computer time. (Yes, Adam has a chart too. Yes, we've resorted to bribery at this point.)

Here's the chart Ray made me:

He informed me that when I get halfway up the ladder he and Adam will "go outside and let you be" and when I get all the way up the ladder I will earn a nap! Wow! Now THAT'S an incentive!

Happy weekend!

Saint Matthew, pray for us.

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of the the patron saint of our parish, Saint Matthew the Apostle. Jon has a particular devotion to Matthew because he is also the patron of accountants. After dinner Jon took the boys up to church and took their picture by this statue of Saint Matthew. He likes to joke that in this statue Matthew is holding a copy of the first tax code. That's accountant humor for you! We enjoyed learning about Matthew today and asking for his intercession. Saint Matthew, pray for us.

Gentle and Simple

"Be gentle with yourself and with your children."

My friend mentioned that quote from Charlotte Mason (I think) on Friday and it has been my mantra ever since. I need to post it on my wall, write it on my mirror, and tattoo it on my arm. Really.

As I wrote last week, we hit a bit of a wall in our homeschooling and parenting efforts. The boys, especially Ray, were frustrated and showing signs of stress. Both boys were misbehaving. I was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Jon and I really took some time to look at what we're doing and expecting of the boys. We changed a few things, easing up in some areas (school/schedule) and tightening the reins in others (behavior). It seems to be working. I guess that will be the continual process of parenthood.... re-evaluating and changing course as necessary.

As an over-achiever and a former school teacher, there are so many things I want the boys to learn, know, and do. I think about what the children must be doing at Kindergarten today and I want Ray to do all of that and more. I compare him to what I think Kindergarteners are and/or should be doing. That is not gentle. It is not the most loving thing I can do for him. I am trying to be better at fully embracing who he is, how he learns, and what he most needs each day. After all, that's one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling. He doesn't have to do what they are doing at school. He can learn differently.

I recently read about a study that concluded that homeschooled children of parents with degrees in education don't do as well as homeschooled children of parents with no background in education. I can really understand that dynamic. I am struggling to let go of the textbook/grades/classroom mindset so that I can be a more effective teacher. It's not that we're doing less school. It's that we're doing it a bit differently. We are spending as much time as possible outside. We are taking things in much smaller doses throughout the day instead of trying to focus all morning and "get everything done." I have changed our schedule and eased our pace and we all are feeling better this week. Interestingly, I think the boys are learning MORE and enjoying learning better. I am enjoying it more too.

Maybe many or most children struggle to adjust to new school schedules, especially once the newness and excitement die down and expectations are raised. One of the homeschool online networking groups I belong to has been filled with questions and advice about how to help resistant kindergarteners. The veterans are all encouraging moms to be gentle and keep things simple and ENJOY their children at this age.... to read, read, read.... to keep learning fun and active. I am taking that advice to heart. There will be lots of time ahead for more formal book work. I want them to love learning, not dread it.

There is a great article today at Faith and Family Live:
http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/features/simple_school
It's all about keeping things simple for young students. I think I'm going to go wallpaper my bathroom with the great advice it gives! Check it out!

Here are the boys enjoying some simple art time on our back porch:

Art continues to be Adam's biggest love. Look how peaceful he looks as he paints.

We are having a really fun time this week learning about American Tall Tales. The boys love these stories. In addition to an armload of library books, we've been enjoying a American Tall Tales CD by Jim Weiss and Disney's American Legends DVD versions of these great stories.
Finally, I have been wanting to share a peek at the binders we are making this school year. Each boy chose his favorite color binder and then decorated a page to slip into the cover.

They loved decorating the separator pages for each section. The sections are: Liturgical Year, Alphabeep (We are taking one letter each week and learning about all kinds of vehicles that start with that letter. We practice writing the letter and the names of the vehicles.), Nature Journal, Around the World (We're doing some basic Geography activities), and Special Projects. When we do narrations, coloring pages, and special activities, I put them in the binder. It is already becoming a nice portfolio and keepsake. The boys are so proud of their work and so am I!


Whatever you are doing this week, be gentle on yourself and keep things simple. Pray for me and I'll pray for you.