A squatty potty!

Thanks to Molytail, I had didn't miss One Child Policy's post about The Squatty Potty.
I had actually heard about the squatty potty recently from a friend who has a brother on a teaching stint in Asia somewhere, so when I read the blog post this morning it wasn't a totally foreign concept to me, and after reading the post I can definitely see advantages to these types of toilets.

Nothing bugs me more than going into a public washroom, or any washroom, and seeing the toilet seat covered with pee. What really bugs me about it is that it probably happened because the person didn't want to sit on a seat supposedly covered with someone else's invisible germs but yet has no problem leaving full evidence of germs all over the seat for someone else to either sit in or have to wipe up. Gross! The squatty toilet would elminate that problem.

I have a cousin that recently did a teaching stint in China. I can't wait to ask her about these.

Anyway, this is a very different post from me but I just had to share it with the ones I love. The next toilet that goes in my place may just be a squatty potty. :)

Routines

Lifestyle Homeschool has a couple of excellent posts today on routines. Establishing Daily Routines talks about what a routine is and why it is important. Writing a Daily Routine outlines som very practical steps and tips to writing a routine. This is something I have done in the past and it was very, very helpful. I need to go back to it again and I just love the simple steps she's given to doing it. Looks like there's more coming to this series too so keep an eye out for it.

Two Kinds of Writing

Jeannie Fulbright makes some more good points in her blog post today, Academic Writing vs Creative Writing. It's definitely worth taking the time to check out. And she's promising more to come on the subject.

Good points...

...made in today's post by Jeannie Fulbright. I just wanted to put it here so I wouldn't forget about it. Here's a quote from it - "Anytime we make decisions based on fear of failure, fear of inadequacy or based on our emotions, rather than a strong peace from God - we are may be falling onto a trail that is dark and much more difficult to traverse - and it often leads us where we didn't want to go."

A couple of things...

...that caught my eye in my google reader today.

From Homeschool Nations Nova Scotia blog - Nova Scotia homeschoolers hold an annual end of summer "Not Going Back to School Camping trip". And they even have a facebook group. how cool is that!


From Stellae Boreales blog - The Stellae Boreales, an advanced performance group from SuzukiMusic in Ottawa, have arrived safely in China. You can follow their tour through their blog. I happen to know that there are some homeschoolers in the group. :)

A day of remembrances and celebrations

July 1st - Canada Day. A day to celebrate our country and the freedoms we enjoy. It has always bothered me how little the activities that I've seen at Canada Day celebrations actually have to do with what the day is supposed to be about. I'd love to see activities that teach, or review Canadian history, geography, politics, etc. There's no reason why that couldn't be incorporated in the games that are a part of most celebrations. Even the decorations could help in that respect, with a little bit of forethought. It seems, however, that people are content just to party. Oh well.

Mind you, with all that's happening in our country lately it seems our freedoms are slowly slipping away from us and we have less and less to celebrate in that regard. I'm still thankful for the freedoms that we do have, but I'm also sad for some that I see slipping away.

A few years back, while studying with my son the book No Man's Land, by Kevin Major, I discovered that there are a lot of Newfoundlanders that actually struggle with celebrating Canada Day on July 1st. July 1st to them is Memorial Day - the day they remember the terrible battle at Beaumont Hamel when the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was nearly wiped out. Kevin Major's book is an amazing read about that battle.

Many communities in Newfoundland start the day, July 1st, with Memorial services and end the day with the Canada Day celebrations. It's a day with a mixture of remembrance, mourning, and celebration.

Maps of War - great resource for Social Studies

I love this site! - Maps of War I almost didn't check it out because the name didn't appeal to me, but luckily the blog where I discovered it had a map from the site embedded into their blog so I actually saw how neat it was. What made me love it even more is when I read their Sharing Policy. They actually want you to copy, paste, and share their maps, as long as you link back to them.

Here are my favorite from the site:











I can so see using these maps as a base for unit studies. I want to incorporate at least one, if not more, of them into my plans for next year. I will show DD the map and then we will dissect it bit by bit and do more research inspired by the map bits.

Thanks to Phyllis for posting about it!

Gardening

Cloudsome hosts a Sunday Garden Tour on her blog every Sunday during the summer. This year she explained the tour and started it in May. I love the idea! I discovered it thanks to Becky at Farm School. Today Becky posted pictures of her blooming lilacs and I'm so jealous! I love lilacs but every time I've tried to grow one my DH has mowed it down. I'm thinking maybe he doesn't like lilacs. :)

I'm a gardener wanna-be. I've been one for years. You'd think I would have learned something by now but I'm still struggling. A few years back I wrote a gardening column, called Green Thumbs and Greenhorns, for our local newspaper hoping that I would learn something from other gardeners. It was fun and I did learn a lot. We even started a gardening club for a little while, but it dwindled out, much like my garden.

I even have a blog called Green Thumb Wanna be. I started it way back in 2004. It dwindled out too. Every spring I get the gardening bug and I think this will be the year, but it doesn't happen. Same thing happened this year. Back in February I had big plans, and they were good plans too. I was really looking forward to fulfilling the plans, but then life got in the way. I guess I should probably go back to that blog and explain what happened. Maybe it's not too late to do something with it.

I do have a small corner garden in my back yard where I have some lovely perenials donated by family and friends. They have managed to survive over the years. I was actually out weeding them a little yesterday and dreaming of doing more. I'd love to be able to take pictures of each of the plants that I have back there and make a little book about them, naming and describing their growth. Some day.

For now, however, I content myself with virtual garden strolls such as the one Cloudsome allows me to enjoy. Maybe some day I'll be able to participate rather than just watch. :)

Teachable Moments

Today little one and I had some fun making letters and shapes with hair clips. It wasn't a planned activity - it just happened.

She was sitting on my knee as I was checking my email. I had some hair clips on my desk. She started playing with them and I got the idea to make a letter A for her with them, as that is the first letter in her name. She was thrilled. Then I moved the clips and made a tringle, which she also liked, and she proceeded to ask me to make a square.

I was hoping she was going to attempt to make some of these things herself but she was more content to tell me what to make and watch me make it. We didn't stay at it long but that's okay. I'm sure we'll do it again soon and one day she will be making attempts to make things on her own and tell me what she made.

I love to look for teachable moments in the day. You don't have to have a big lesson plan or certain supplies. Learning can be a natural part of ordinary moments in the day.

Check out Melissa Wiley's post

Today Melissa Wiley has an excellent post, that is actually a repost of something she wrote a while back - "Home Education: Delicious and Nutritious". In the post she addresses a lot of the questions and comments homeschoolers often encounter. It really is worth reading.

Speaking about resources...

...the June Edition of The Heart of the Matter is now posted. You can download the whole edition as a PDF or you can read it online. Lots of good stuff there.

Two great resources - the internet and the library

My two favorite resources for homeschooling, and everything else, are the internet and the library. I find both invaluable.

We have always made great use of the library. We made it a point to visit regularly. The kids would pick out books that they were interested in and I'd pick out books that I hoped they would be interested in. :) We would get books to read purely for pleasure and books that would hopefully be pleasureable as well as educational.

Unfortunately for us our small local public library became a part of the high school library and we were not comfortable in going to it during school hours. Instead we took advantage of a library in a bigger community about an hour away. We all looked forward to library day when we would pack up the van and take off for the day. We'd spend an hour or two at the library and then we'd head out to eat somewhere and then hit the stores for a little while before we'd head home. Usually the kids were busy checking out their books during the ride home.

As the children got older I discovered more and more what a great resource we had on hand in our own house with the computer and an internet connection. Through this resource we could connect with people from all over the world. We also discovered that there were lots of great learning related sites for all different subjects available through the internet and we've taken advantage of a lot of them over the years.

In my mind a library card and an internet connection are two very important and very useful resources.

Licking beaters

I made cookies today and I was reminded about a funny that happened here a nice while back.

Around my house it's a normal thing that whenever I use my mixer, which is often, someone comes running to lick the beaters when I'm done. I think that's why the Dairy Queen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard commercial - the one where the guy talks about getting his tongue stuck in the beater - struck me so funny.

A few months back I was looking after a couple of little guys, ages almost 1 and 3. I made cookies one day while they were here and my Little One, 2, came running to get a beater. I gave one to the 3 year old and he looked like he wasn't sure what to do with it. He watched my little one and soon started in to licking and making "mmmmm" sounds of joy. I asked him, "Doesn't your mommy let you lick the beaters when she makes cookies?" His reply to me was, "No, she washes them."

My older kids were aghast at the thought that there were little kids in the world that didn't know the pleasure of licking a beater! DD, 15yo, wasn't impressed that I gave what normally would have been her beater to the little guy. I had to get another beater out of the drawer, dip it in the batter, and give it to her. :)

In his mom's defense I have to say that I mentioned it to her, hoping I hadn't taught them something she didn't approve of, but she assured me she was fine with it but she hardly ever baked so that was why licking the beaters was foreign to him.

His response cracked me up because he apparently thought that I didn't wash my beaters, but let people lick them clean instead. I assure you that isn't so. The beaters do get washed once they've been licked clean. :)

I've had the same little guys here the last few days and today when I used the beater I had three little ones running to get a beater. Last time the 1 year old wasn't quite old enough to get the pleasure but this time he came running too. I had made cookies the day before when they were here and I had taken an extra beater and dipped it in the dough for him. He loved it! Today he came looking for his as soon as he saw the others with theirs.

And yes, I did wash them once they had licked them clean. :)

Little One Makes Her First Letter...

...quite by mistake, but that's okay. :)




Quite some time ago I read about Tot School on this post at Love's School and meant to join in the fun, but I didn't get around to it until now. Carissa started and hosts a Tot School meme. I love the idea of posting about Little One's growth and learning. I wish I had started it long ago.

Little One loves to join us at the kitchen table when DD and I are worked on school work. I give Little One a piece of paper to scribble on and provide her with one writing instrument at a time from a big assortment of markers, crayons, and leads. She happily scribbles while we work. - at least for a while. Some days she'll sit there a long time, other's not so long.

Friday she was happily scribbling when she decided she wanted me to scribble with her and she started asking me to make different people's names. This is a game we have played many, many times. She actually learned to recognize the first letters of our family members when she was quite young through playing this game. She didn't know the letter names, and still doesn't, but she knew who they stood for. Anyway, I wrote the names as she asked me, in between helping DD with her math, and Little One continued scribbling away. Suddenly she exclaimed, "I made me!" and pointed at a spot on her paper. I was shocked to see that, sure enough, she had made a scribble that looked very much like the first letter in her name. I know she didn't try to do it but it is still exciting to think that she recognized what the scribble looked like.

I don't know why I never thought about it before, but that day I decided I'm going to start saving her daily scribble sheets and using them as records of her learning. I'll date them and write little notes on the back and put them all together into a little booklet for her. It will make a great record of her growth and learning and will be so much fun to look back on.

A cleaning fit at our house means...

...company's coming

...mom's cranky

...mom has something she should be doing but she's avoiding it

...we've just come back from visiting someone else and Mom realizes what a state our house is

...mom's been reading blog posts about other people working on cleaning and she's feeling guilty


Got this idea from Dana's post, and she got the idea from Sylvia's post, who was inspired by Dawn's post. I changed it up a bit though because I wanted to ask like one of the commentors on Dana's post "What is this clean of which you speak?". Loved that comment! I sometimes go into short cleaning fits but seldom, if ever, does one last long even to actually end up with a clean house. :0)

Dawn's post is a wonderful, inspiring post and I really wish I could have her great attitude, but when I read her statement "We don't clean up messes to have a clean house. We clean up messes so there is room for more mess!" I just can't seem to take the next step with her and "think of cleaning up after my kids as replacing a canvas". I wish I could, but I can't. My response is, "Why clean it up if it's only going to get messy again." Sad, I know. I was really, really inspired by Dawn's post, until Dana's and Sylvia's post revived the real me.

I have to share a funny that happened while I was typing this post. I originally titled it "A cleaning frenzy at our house means..." until I looked in the dictionary to double check the spelling of "frenzy" and I discovered that it means "wild excitement", and I just couldn't bring myself to use it because cleaning does not excite me at all. I decided to try "spree" as a replacement, until I discovered that it means "a noisy frolic", and decided that wasn't right either. It may get noisy when I clean, but it's not fun and I associate frolic with fun. So I decided to try "fit" as a replacement. "any sudden, uncontrollable attack; an outburst, as of anger; in an irregular way". Yep, that's the right word. :)

"Whereever you are, be all there"

Anne included the quote "Whereever you are, be all there", by Jim Elliot in her amazing post today, How to Practice Being Present to the Presence of God, and it jumped at me. You need to go read her post because it goes in a different direction than I'm going here and it is so inspiring. Don't miss it.

Anyway, the quote itself reminded me of the two blog posts that I referred to in my Become involved with the kids and have fun post from yesterday. I kind of get the idea that God is sending me many differently worded, but same meaning, messages.

This year has been different. DD, almost 16, is my only "official student" and, while I started the year all excited about the fun we were going to have together, it hasn't been as much fun as I thought it would be. I'm realizing, however, that I'm probably to blame for this. I was not as present with her in her studies as I could have been. Instead of my dream of us enjoying our time together she ended up spending much of her time holed up in her room working on her own, with me checking in once in a while to see how things were going.

Off and on throughout the year I would realize that I needed to be more present for her and I would work on doing that for a while, but I soon forgot as I got caught up with other things. The posts the last couple of days have been a great reminder for me and the last two days have been some of the most fun of the year. We worked, talked, and laughed together. It was great. I hope I don't forget again soon.

Cool Mom Song!

You have to check this out!

Go Fish - The Mom Song

Become involved with the kids and have fun

In Melissa Wiley's post Drawing Together she tells about some "family drawing time" they've been enjoying as she "strewed herself" by becoming involved in the activity and instantly became a" child magnet".

I read Melissa's post right after reading Dawn's post Letting Go and Having Fun where she shares about "one of the most plugged in and conscious days" she's had with her kids in a long time.

The two posts just seemed to go together so well that I couldn't not point it out.

I really wanted to title this post "strew yourself and have fun" but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it because of how it might be misread. Sad, because it would have made a great title.

It's Carnival Time!

The 5th edition of the Canadian Home Educators Carnival is up with visits with homeschoolers in 5 of our provinces. Sure would be nice if we could get visits into each of the provinces. The Carnival blog has a new feature in the side bar - blogs featured in past editions are now listed in drop down menus according to their provinces. Right now some provinces don't have any blogs listed but hopefully it won't take long for that to change. There's a call posted for the next edition, which is to be posted May 27th. Sure would be great to see every province represented in it. Help spread the word about it to increase the chances of that happening.

The 125th Carnival of Homeschooling is also up. Sure hope the Canadian Carnival reaches that mark at some point and that it has grown as big as the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Some people may wonder about the need for a Canadian Carnival of Homeschooling when there is already a general carnival of homeschooling. I don't know about you, but much as I like to read about people from all over the world that have the same interests as I do, there's always something special about reading about people closer to home that share your interests. I think both Carnivals are important.

We all need somebody to lean on

Let's face it, there are times when we all need someone to lean on. In this day and age it is great that when we don't have people near us to turn to we can still get the help and support we need through the internet. For the 5th Home Educating Blog Carnival, in order to learn about different support systems that are available for Canadian Home Educators, it was suggested that we write about our local support groups, or online support groups, that we enjoy.

Homeschooling in Newfoundland and Labrador is not always easy, because our geography has us so spread apart. There is a fairly large group of homeschoolers in the St. John's area, but the rest of us are spread out all across the province.

CHENL, Christian Home Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador, is a provincial homeschool association that was formed in 2003 and is still active today. They offer an annual conference, I attended this year's conference just this month, and also have an email discussion group for members.

In our area this year we have five families that are homeschooling and we have made an attempt to get together regularly. Every second week the moms have attempted to get together one night just to relax and chat. In between these weeks the mom's and children have attempted to get together one afternoon a week for some learning and fun. I say attempted because it didn't always happen, but it sure was great when it did.

These are my only two "in real life" support groups and I am grateful that I have them, but I truly don't find that they completely meet my need for support. For that reason I am so thankful for the online support group that I have been privileged to participate in.

My greatest form of support has come from a private email list that I have been a part of since 1999. It was started by a lady that was at one time living and homeschooling in Newfoundland and knew the need for homeschooling support in Newfoundland. She and one of her friends moved away from Newfoundland but wanted to continue supporting Newfoundland Homeschoolers, so she started the email list. The list, however, has evolved over the years and is no longer specifically for Newfoundland Homeschoolers. New members can be invited to join by present members and members have come and gone over the years. We are presently a group of approximately 20 ladies all across Canada in different stages of homeschooling. The founder just graduated her last child this year. Though there are many miles, or kilometers :), between us we have grown quite close and we support each other through all of the different aspects of our lives, not just the homeschooling. I am so thankful for this group of ladies.

My newest form of support has been checking out homeschooling blogs - both personal blogs and blogs of different homeschooling organizations and resource people. I love getting a glimpse of the lives of homeschoolers around the world, but I especially like checking in on Canadian homeschoolers.

I think it is important to connect with someone, somewhere, somehow, to help you along the homeschool journey. It's not an easy road to travel on your own.