Remember Someone Forgotten for Memorial Day

Up the street from us there is an old, run down house.  Peeling paint, cracked sidewalk, and a rusted out car on the law complete the forlorn look of the place.  A tattered black POW/MIA flag flutters from a makeshift flag pole and a pot of faded plastic flowers hangs year 'round from a branch in the yard's only tree.  In the summer dandelions and tall grasses grow knee high and in the winter snow piles high around the house, smooth and fluffy except for a few footprints between the house and driveway.

The first time I saw the house, a little shiver went down my spine.  It looked so forgotten and unhappy.  At night it looked downright creepy.  Through an open window I could see the single bulb of a shadeless lamp spreading a feeble light around a room piled high with boxes, stacks of papers, and seemingly useless debris.  I wondered what kind of a person could live in such a house.

Learning Amidst the Chaos (Part 1)

 The past three weeks have not been particularly great for getting "formal" school work done, but there have been so many wonderful learning opportunities to be had that I am once again reminded, in so many ways, how fortunate our family is to be able to school our children at home.

It's Six O' Clock: the True Story of a Day in My Life

It's six o' clock and Dad's almost home:

The baby attempted to completely unload the clean laundry basket.

The local chemist is hard at work on a top-secret potient.

Brilliant minds work at this table.  Think Dad will be impressed with our completed bean sticks for learning place value?

The baby emptied the kleenex box.

Playing outside was lots of fun, but the fire place was so inviting.  "We'll hang up our coats after we have some hot chocolate, okay, Mom?"  Was that really two hours ago?  Where does the time go?

I was going to vacuum....really, I was.

Breakfast, lunch and snacks....oh, my!

Someone decided to move into the living room, packed ALL their clothes into a laundry basket, sat on top of it all, and asked their brother to push them down the stairs.  Mom was so relieved that there was no blood or broken bones she forgot to have the mess cleaned up.

Oh, well.  At least there's chili in the crockpot....if we can only find a place to put our bowls so we can eat it.

Some Fun Things We've Done Recently - Feb. 21, 2011

I haven't posted anything along these lines for awhile because my creativity with hands-on projects has been put on hold for a bit now that the baby has learned to crawl.  Our fun stuff has turned into reading lots of books and coloring or drawing pictures to put in our portfolios and playing lots of games.

We've read so many fun books recently, it would be impossible to list them all here, so I've tried to pick our top 10:

What's in Our CD Player - Feb. 21, 2011

Here are some of the CD's that have been a favorite at our house over the past week or two:

 

These two Cd's are part of the Classical Kids collection and are two of the most-listened-to CD's at our house.  Fun stories and classical music introduce kids to the composer's music and give some background information on their lives.

This one keeps the whole family entertained.  We've had the flu go through our house, and this was a favorite for passing the time while recovering on the couch.

Another sick-day pick.  Although the holidays are long over, we keep this CD around because it is wonderful for relaxing to on a snowy day.


Mom's pick for a sick day.  I love the music and it inevitably puts the kids to sleep.



Just for fun!  I generally find nonsense lyrics annoying, but this one has such great, catchy tunes I can't help but like it.  The kids love this CD and often check it out of the library for road trips because it is so much fun to sing along to...and Mom and Dad can't help but join in!

Changes for the New Year

After not really blogging for what seems like a LONG time, I feel as if I should come up with something profound.  But when it comes down to it, when I read homeschooling blogs, I don't necessarily look for profound.  I simply enjoy hearing what everyone is doing.  So, if you are looking for words of wit and wisdom read no further.  For the rest of you...

Back Online

Dear Computer,

I missed you when your hard drive crashed.  Life just isn't as much fun without my email, facebook, or blog to write.  I missed my cyber friends and their blogs.  I missed printing out worksheets from online and I missed being able to order library books online.  I'm so glad your back, up, and running.

I didn't, however, miss my kids often bemoaning the fact that they used their weekly computer time early on in the week and didn't have any left over.  I didn't miss the movies we watch on you since our dvd player broke.  I didn't even miss the news, which I read on MSNBC due to the fact that we have no tv.  In fact, I rather enjoyed being completely clueless over the holidays.  One could almost pretend that life revolved only around the happy family times we enjoyed and that the rest of the world really didn't affect us.

Your arrival is met with mixed feelings.  All in all, though, I'm glad you're back.  If only I didn't have to tell the kids....

Sincerely,
A Reluctant Fan