Unit Study Week-Detectives and Mysteries

The case files are ready.

The credentials are ready to be filled in.

The kids and I have been looking forward to this week. We're going to take time to follow and interest and see where it takes us. 


The goals:
-To learn about and do something fun 
-To follow an interest that we all share


To prepare, the kids spent the last school day last week covering math, grammar, piano practice, Latin, and Spanish. These are subjects that won't get much coverage with the detective unit.


Subjects that will get a lot of coverage this week are Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, History, Science, Logic, and PE.


I did some looking for resources online and have four major sources:
Squidoo
Homeschool Share
Scholastic (and search detective)
FBI (fun and games section)


I added other activity ideas as the inspiration hit.


I've inter-library loaned a couple of non-fiction books about detectives and science projects related to detective work.


I've also collected our dozens of detective books and inter-library loaned some more. These include Cam Jansen, Jigsaw Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, Concord Cunningham Scripture Sleuth, High Rise Private Eyes.


I'll report back on the activities we use.


Activity #1 For Fun: Watch G-Force, Disney's (PG) movie in which an elite team of special agent guinea pigs has to save the world. The kids really enjoyed the movie despite a few scary parts and typical PG-ish humor. It was a good way to get a "spies in action" feel. We also talked a little about detective-themed words like what a "mole" is (not the mammal).

Promoting Good Will in the Family--An Experiment

Is bickering an inevitable occurrence when people are living and working closely together?

I didn't want to believe it was inevitable, but it seemed to be happening quite a bit between my kids in the first weeks of January.


Enter two items that really got me thinking:


1. I was part of a discussion in which several parents put forth the idea that bickering is largely just a manifestation of feelings of selfishness. 


It seemed quite logical. When I'm focused on myself and my needs and wants it's easy to become discontented. In that case, I'm much less interested in what others need and want.


2. I read in the February issue of Family Fun Magazine about one family that celebrates Valentine's Day by giving gifts within the family. They secretly draw names and purchase small gifts for each other. At a special Valentine's day meal they reveal which name they drew.


Couldn't these ideas be combined?


After talking it over with dh, I announced to the kids that we would be celebrating the first 14 days in February in the loving spirit of Valentine's Day.


1. We would exchange names secretly.
2. We would think of non-monetary ways to show our love toward that person.
3. We would have a special Valentine's Day meal and reveal which person we had been secretly doing good for.
4. In order to "throw others off our trail" we could also do kind things for the others in our family, but we could not neglect the person we'd chosen.


The kids' immediate reaction:


1. Excitement
2. "Why do we have to wait until February?"


Yes, why would we wait? Why not build on the excitement of the day (this was about halfway through January) and try the experiment early.


The results:


We exchanged names and spent the next two weeks thinking of nice things to do for the other people in our family. The kids began by giving out extra hugs all around. Eventually they added more concrete things to do for others. I had several offers to load the dishwasher and take out the trash when they weren't assigned. The kids were more likely to invite each other to a 2-player video game instead of playing 1-player more often. I found myself saying "yes" to more of the kids' requests for my time and attention. These are just a few examples.


When the two weeks were over, we tried to guess which person had been our secret    do-gooder. We gave examples to support our theory, telling good things we had seen people doing.


One thing dh liked most about the experiment was that it made a person think not just about the person they had chosen. They also thought about what they could do for the others as well.


Ds8 was excited to tell people outside the household about the project. He hoped they would share it with their families and that "the tradition would go on".


Dd6 summed up her experience by saying that she was happy she drew Mom's name because she loves me and thought of ways to be nice to me.


Wouldn't that warm any heart?


Everyone agreed that they'd love to do the experiment again for the February days leading up to Valentine's Day. They're already thinking of new ways to do good. They're also dreaming of the mousse pie we'll have for our "big reveal" meal.

Is it my turn to pick the CD?

Is your household sometimes filled with the sounds of "No, it's my turn to..."

As an adult it sometimes boggles my mind that kids get so upset about (what seem to me to be) some very little things in life. I try to understand that these things are actually a very big deal in their eyes. Yet how can we avoid confrontations like this?

For us the answer came from above: God blessed us with two children, one born on an odd-numbered day and one born on an even-numbered day. I don't think of this as a coincidence. It's been a gift. It's alleviated some of the arguing over whose turn it is to do anything from choose what CD we'll listen to at lunch to who gets to give the offering envelope at church.

It might seem absurd that we "plan out" something as little as this. But I assure you, it's helped both of my children to remember that everyone needs their turn at things. Anything that helps them see this and then apply it in other situations is a valuable learning tool around here.

Mom's Reading-Cynthia Ulrich Tobias

One of the biggest things I look forward to this time of year is having time to read some of my most motivating school-related books.


I recently read You Can't Make Me But I Can Be Persuaded by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias.
I enjoy reading anything by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias.
*They're pretty quick reads.
*They have well-tested ideas.
*They're extremely motivating to me in dealing with strong-willed souls (who shall remain nameless).

This book was no exception. It reminded me to step back and assess our situations from the strong-willed's perspective and to keep our main goals in focus at all times. It was also a good reminder that some of the very traits that the strong-willed child will exhibit now (much to our frustration) are the same traits that may help them forge through life's obstacles and fearlessly face life's challenges.

 

All Good Things Must Come to an End

This past week we wrapped up our school year. It's always fun to look back at our notebooks and see what we've learned. It's also enlightening to look at piano books and handwriting samples. The kids know they've accomplished something at the end of it all.

I also love this time of the year because it gives me the opportunity to do some reading of my own. Yes, I'm sometimes able to squeeze in some just-for-fun literature. But much of what I read this time of year is homeschool-related. I love things that give me fresh ideas or motivation to keep going.

I'll be writing about some of these books in the days to come.

Life Skills--Sous Chef

It often seems easier to just do things for the kids instead of taking the time to clean up their food preparation "mistakes". (We've had a couple good puddles of milk and juice which stand out in my mind.)

I know that in the long run having them as helpers truly will save time.

At 5 and 7 years old they truly do seem more developmentally ready now to tackle more kitchen chores.

Ds7's new sous chef chore this week was learning how to peel vegetables. He did well and we didn't find any fingernail shavings in the dinner, either!

Turn out the lights, the party's over

I've often been one to spend the last couple days of a vacation feeling a little sad to see it go. In my head I know it's silly--I'm still on vacation. Why waste the last moments because you're disappointed that they're over?

I'm trying to have a much better attitude this time around. After a nice week-long spring break it's time to get back to school. None of us are really itching to do it, but we all know it's time. After all, we only have about 40 school days left before a longer summer break.

Here's my plan for a successful first day back, and hopefully then, a great start to the rest of our year:

*Be clear about expecations.
 -I've mentioned the end of break a couple of times so that it wouldn't come as a surprise.
 -We'll talk after dinner tonight about getting back into the swing of things and put it in a positive light.
 -I'll remind the kids where to go tomorrow morning to find their assignments (they'll be taped to the fridge).

*Have something to look forward to.
 -When laying out tomorrow's assignments I've tried to plan a couple less "booky" subjects in addition to their more academic subjects to ease back into schooltime.
 -I'll plan an extra family movie night for something to look forward to. (We usually do movie night on Fridays.) It's a good reminder that we "work while we work so we can also play while we play".

*Be patient, be patient, be patient.
 -I'll remember to do my deep breathing and you remember to do yours. After all, one of our reasons for homeschooling is to develop a strong family relationship. We're in
this together. Time flies. We're going to enjoy each other while we can.

Cleaning Up a Little at a Time

At the beginning of the year I made a pact with myself. I have a lot of things in my basement (and various nooks upstairs) that need to be gone through. I'm sure a lot of things could be thrown out.

Since our monthly garbage bill is the same whether my trash can is half-empty or completely full, I made a goal to try to get my money's worth. I've been trying to have a full can each week. If there is a bag's worth of room in the can on the night before trash day, I've been trying to go through something that could be thrown away.

So far this plan has worked out pretty well. Most weeks the can is pretty full. I've probably gotten rid of at least 4 or 5 bags of trash that otherwise may not have been gotten to yet. It's also a good time to review those school "projects" still "adorning" our home. Is it time to take a photo and toss the original project? After all, how long does it take before salt-dough castles start to attract unwanted visitors?

When the cat's away, what will the mice do?

Do you leave "lesson plans" for your "substitute"?

I was going to be away for a couple of days this week. I left my husband in charge of the kids. I didn't leave instructions for any schoolwork other than a packet full of worksheets intended more to keep them busy on the morning he had to take them to work with him.

I returned from my retreat refreshed and renewed...and completely surprised.
Not only had the kids done very thorough, neat work on the worksheets, he had also taken them through a writer's workshop and part of a mini-unit he found (by himself) at theoldschoolhousestore.com.

It was a good reminder that it can be very beneficial for both the kids and me to find someone that loves a particular subject and would be willing to mentor them in that subject. My husband is so good at writing and the kids did a really nice job in their writer's workshop. What a nice surprise.

(The sink was completely empty of dishes, too!)    :)

Staying on Track

What do you do to stay "on track" when things are crazy around the house?

One way I accomplish this is to buy a "complete" workbook each year. (I usually purchase the grade level above what my kids would be in school since they're working above grade level in most subjects.) I've been really pleased with Scholastic Success With 3rd Grade this year. Language arts, reading, math, and map work are all covered in pretty good detail.

If we're ever traveling to a far-away field trip or things are just too crazy to plan "regular" subjects I pull this out and feel my sanity returning with every moment.

What do you do to stay "on track"?