Art Class

Niles is taking on art class for 6 weeks from another homeschooling Mom. Here is the lion he drew in class. The video is actually me forgetting to turn it back to picture form, but you can see the lion a little better, and it's like 3 seconds.

Niles makes soup

Niles made a bean soup for dinner this week. It came out really well! Luca didn't care for it but he's only five, so I wasn't surprised, but even Nate liked it! He was very proud. Here is his recipe:

1/2 lb garbanzo beans
1/2 lb kidney beans
32 oz vegetable broth
2 cups water
10 oz tomato puree
1 small onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste

soak beans overnight in water
drain and rinse
have Mom slice up onion and cook in oil until soft, put in large pot
add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil
turn down heat to simmer and cover, stirring about every hour or so. Let cook at least 2 hours, but all day is best and makes the house smell good [his words :-)]

We adapted this recipe from Cooking the Israeli Way by Josephine Bacon, which we found at the Library.

Iditarod Mystery Book

Niles just finished The Mystery on Alaska's Iditarod Trail by Carole Marsh. He had it figured out by the very end and was pleased w/himself. He really enjoyed the book and I would recommend it. It has lots of facts about the race, the dogs, and Alaska woven into the story. It made a nice addition to our study of the race.

She has a whole series of mysteries that take place all over the world, in real locations she has visited and researched. I know we will be checking out more of them! I got this one from our local library.

Hands of a Child Kit Packs

Dear Valued Customers,

Due to the new CPSIA law In the Hands of a Child, for the time being, is discounting our Kit Pack inventory in order to lessen our possible loss in the event that an exemption is not granted.

While we are still praying for this situation to work out for all small businesses we feel that it is in our best interest to lessen our possible loss. And what better way than to pass the savings on to you, our wonderful customers, who are praying with us through this difficult situation!!

Please help us clear our shelves and enjoy a 35% savings on all Kit Packs!! Savings will be automatic! Spread the word and help us empty the shelves!!

This sale will continue until our Kit Pack inventory has been exhausted, so purchases will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

Once they are gone, they are gone!

In the event the law is modified, In the Hands of a Child reserves the right to bring back Kit Packs in the future at full price without any discount, implied or expressed, during this sale.

Cannot be combined with any other offer, special, discount, coupon or sale.
Super Member discount DOES NOT apply to this sale.
Tax and Shipping not included in calculating discount price.
Not valid toward prior purchases.
No rainchecks.

Reading, Writing and Cleaning bathrooms?

Niles is currently reading The Mystery on Alaska's Iditaord Trail by Carole Marsh. I thought this might be a good way to get Niles interested in the race beforehand. He seems to enjoy it so far, although he'd much rather be rolling about and wrestling with his sister. I'll be home all day today so that should help some. He keeps asking for 'breaks'. I just got up, can't I get a break? I just read a chapter, can't I get a break? Most days it helps to have a sense of humor. We're going to attend our first homeschool coop this morning too, if I can get my act together quick enough. I'm tired and there's so much to do housewise....Grandma is coming for a visit at the end of the week, which means the house must meet "white glove visitor" standards. This may be a fine lesson in home economics this afternoon! For all the boys!

Phil the Bagel

Niles and Luca found this idea in a magazine [Ranger Rick I think] and wouldn't stop bugging me until we made them. So here is the bagel inspired by Groundhog Day.

With school officially back in session here at our house, I've started adding my 5 year old to the process. He will be ready for Kindergarten next year and I need to decide if he will be homeschooled too, if I will continue to h/s Niles, etc etc. We have the big magnet and charter schools lottery coming up shortly. So I need to decide, do I put in for a shot at any of those.

It is going well and I am enjoying it for the most part. There are difficult times, but not DIFFICULT times. So it's seems fairly manageable. I find getting work for Niles to be easier than for Luca, since I wonder where to start with him. His preschool doesn't focus so much on academics as so many of them do. Instead they work on the socialization and emotional aspects of the kids. They do a lot of work helping the kids recognize what emotions their friends are feeling, how to make friends, conflict resolution [don't just take the toy, ask if you can have it when they're done type stuff]. Spending a day in the classroom is very informative, as you can see how some of the kids are getting it and using their words vs. the kids who are still learning it. Having had to pay for a social skills class for my eldest, I know just how valuable these skills are. And Luca, while not as shy as Niles, is certainly not as outgoing as Nate.

Anyhow, because of the way Kindergarten is structured, this means that Luca will start at a disadvantage to the kids who have spent the past one or two years reviewing letters, working on counting, etc. All the things that used to get taught in Kindergarten. So I decided since Niles was still working in the afternoon when he gets home from preschool, I'd start doing a few things w/Luca. We're using the Five in a Row program for daily reading and some activities and I've been doing some coloring pages with letters and a Kindergarten Singapore math book too. Mostly, it's covering same/different type stuff.

Speaking of which I need to run and grab him from preschool now, so I guess I'll have to write more later. At least I feel like we're making progress and moving along.

The 2009 Iditarod Race

We are participating in the e-Iditarod race this year. It looks like fun and I'll post info as we get going! I think this will be an interesting project and a fun winter thing for Niles to do. Since we won't be getting any snow, he can at least live vicariously by following a musher through the journey....