Hello again!
It's been a while but I'm finally back after some summer relaxation.
Thanks for sticking with me!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
If Life Had an "Undo" Button
When the kids began using our computer's word processing program, one of the very first things I taught the kids was how to use the "Undo" button. This nifty little button was able to reverse most of the errors that occurred during their typing. It brought back lines of text which had been accidentally erased. It turned off all sorts of functions that even I didn't know how to otherwise undo. (My son, even from a pretty young age, was quite good at discovering how to use various functions in the program and never once deleted my hard drive. I learned a few things by watching him!)
I was thinking today that sometimes I wish life had an "undo" button. Perhaps it could reverse time so that I could take back something I said. Perhaps it would allow me to change my tone of voice or the look on my face which often says more than the words themselves. Maybe it would help me, after seeing some end result, to go back and do something over a little differently, kind of like I "undo" some formatting that I thought would look good, but didn't.
Maybe I could press "maximize" to maximize my time or the money for my budget. Maybe I could "minimize" all of the things that get in the way of our time as a family or things that become stressful. Could I squeeze together my "margins" so I could get into a new dress? Could I "insert" some time to read a great book for myself?
Of course, if I had an "undo" button, maybe others would, too. Maybe they would go back and delete something that seemed embarrassing to them but brought joy to me (like those cute things our kids do before realizing that someone's watching).
It was just a fun opportunity to remind myself to think before I speak and act. When I get typing quickly, for instance, I tend to make more mistakes. The same is true when things get crazy around here.
Until I get an "undo" button, I've decided I'm going to just be content with my "home" button.
I was thinking today that sometimes I wish life had an "undo" button. Perhaps it could reverse time so that I could take back something I said. Perhaps it would allow me to change my tone of voice or the look on my face which often says more than the words themselves. Maybe it would help me, after seeing some end result, to go back and do something over a little differently, kind of like I "undo" some formatting that I thought would look good, but didn't.
Maybe I could press "maximize" to maximize my time or the money for my budget. Maybe I could "minimize" all of the things that get in the way of our time as a family or things that become stressful. Could I squeeze together my "margins" so I could get into a new dress? Could I "insert" some time to read a great book for myself?
Of course, if I had an "undo" button, maybe others would, too. Maybe they would go back and delete something that seemed embarrassing to them but brought joy to me (like those cute things our kids do before realizing that someone's watching).
It was just a fun opportunity to remind myself to think before I speak and act. When I get typing quickly, for instance, I tend to make more mistakes. The same is true when things get crazy around here.
Until I get an "undo" button, I've decided I'm going to just be content with my "home" button.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Review Game--Good Idea that Never Materialized
At the beginning of the last school year I thought it would be fun to keep a running list of things the kids had learned so that we could play various review games during the year and at the year's end. I thought it would be fairly easy to jot down something at the end of every couple of school days on an index card for this purpose. My goal was to write down a new vocabulary word, science or history fact, math topic, etc. on these cards.
While I still think it was a good idea, it just never really happened. As I was looking ahead to the coming school year, I wanted to use the idea but actually carry it out.
What would have worked better? Was it just a habit that I never formed? Was it something I should have assigned to the kids at the day's end? Has anyone ever succuessfully carried out this type of idea? I'd love to make this work.
While I still think it was a good idea, it just never really happened. As I was looking ahead to the coming school year, I wanted to use the idea but actually carry it out.
What would have worked better? Was it just a habit that I never formed? Was it something I should have assigned to the kids at the day's end? Has anyone ever succuessfully carried out this type of idea? I'd love to make this work.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Summer Literature: Paddle-to-the-Sea
There are a lot of great book lists out there. This summer we've been making our way through some of them. This week we had the opportunity to read Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling. It's a sweet story paired with lots of great geography. We discussed the book and traced the boat's travels on the map. We then watched the Oscar-nominated short film. I think I'm enjoying reading some of these books for the first time just as much as my kids. I'm a sucker for a great happy ending. I told them they could type their reactions onto my blog (which they thought needed more color, apparently).
Their basic summary of the book:
Paddle-to-the-Sea was a tiny canoe made by an Indian boy in Nipigon Country, Canada. The boy wanted it to sail to the sea. It had to go through five Great Lakes: Huron, Superior, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. It sailed over Niagara Falls and through the St. Lawrence River to the North Atlantic Ocean. It even ended up in France!
DD5's thoughts:
Their basic summary of the book:
Paddle-to-the-Sea was a tiny canoe made by an Indian boy in Nipigon Country, Canada. The boy wanted it to sail to the sea. It had to go through five Great Lakes: Huron, Superior, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. It sailed over Niagara Falls and through the St. Lawrence River to the North Atlantic Ocean. It even ended up in France!
DD5's thoughts:
“I felt happy for Paddle at the end, because he made his adventure all through and kept his courage.”
“I liked the book better because it showed all of where Paddle went but the movie just showed only parts until the lighthouse at the sea.”
DD8's thoughts:
“I liked everything. I liked when he made it to the Soo Locks. I liked the ending because the Indian boy found out that his boat made it all the way to the sea.”
“I liked the movie because it had details, closed captioning, and it was short.”
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
When do the kids listen to audiobooks?
In answer to The Mama's question I thought I'd give some idea of how we've used audiobooks.
We've done audiobooks at various times including:
-in the car while traveling (if it's a book everyone in the family will enjoy).
-during afternoon quiet time, each in his own room.
-during lunch sometimes.
-during the summer months when bedtimes are later each might read in their own rooms or listen to a book on tape before lights-out.
One thing I've noticed is that the kids are very willing to listen to something on tape or CD that is above their level, something they would not otherwise have taken off the shelf. It's happened with both of my children that they've enjoyed certain books this way. Often they return later to these books and they become some of their favorites. As a side note, ds8 has spent many hours reviewing history by listening to Story of the World on CD.
We've done audiobooks at various times including:
-in the car while traveling (if it's a book everyone in the family will enjoy).
-during afternoon quiet time, each in his own room.
-during lunch sometimes.
-during the summer months when bedtimes are later each might read in their own rooms or listen to a book on tape before lights-out.
One thing I've noticed is that the kids are very willing to listen to something on tape or CD that is above their level, something they would not otherwise have taken off the shelf. It's happened with both of my children that they've enjoyed certain books this way. Often they return later to these books and they become some of their favorites. As a side note, ds8 has spent many hours reviewing history by listening to Story of the World on CD.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Books on CD-Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
The kids have had a good time listening to these clever stories first published 100 years ago. They're on my list of classics-I-should-probably-have-read-but-didn't. Now I can enjoy them with my kids.
The kids can appreciate them on their own level. They love hearing about the outrageous antics of the characters as well as the crazy explanations for how things came to be (how the camel got his hump, why cats will always be enemies of dogs and men and why they prefer to be alone...).
I can appreciate them on a different level. I find myself laughing out loud at Kipling's clever use of words. How can a story go wrong when the father's name is 'Man-who-does-not-put-his-foot-forward-in-a-hurry', the mother's name is 'Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions', and the daughter's name is 'Small-person-without-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked'?
But I wonder what kind of looks we'd get from the kids if dh and I started calling each other 'my Lady and Delight of my Life' or 'my Lord and Treasure of my Soul' (as in the "Butterfly That Stamped"). Those would surely provoke eye-rolls.
The kids can appreciate them on their own level. They love hearing about the outrageous antics of the characters as well as the crazy explanations for how things came to be (how the camel got his hump, why cats will always be enemies of dogs and men and why they prefer to be alone...).
I can appreciate them on a different level. I find myself laughing out loud at Kipling's clever use of words. How can a story go wrong when the father's name is 'Man-who-does-not-put-his-foot-forward-in-a-hurry', the mother's name is 'Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions', and the daughter's name is 'Small-person-without-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked'?
But I wonder what kind of looks we'd get from the kids if dh and I started calling each other 'my Lady and Delight of my Life' or 'my Lord and Treasure of my Soul' (as in the "Butterfly That Stamped"). Those would surely provoke eye-rolls.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Music Exploration-George Gershwin
Although we're on our relaxed summer break, I happened to come across a fun-looking book/CD combination through the library.
It was really great. It tells the "why" and the "how" of how Rhapsody in Blue came to be. The kids were excited by the story and loved the catchy music, included on the CD. After reading the book and listening to the CD, the kids each spent some time using Finale Notepad to create their own original sheet music.
Gershwin kept a composing notebook, where he'd keep ideas of little themes of music he thought of. He never knew when they might be useful. As a future idea, the kids would like to keep examples of little themes they make up like this. Who knows when they might come in handy!
It was really great. It tells the "why" and the "how" of how Rhapsody in Blue came to be. The kids were excited by the story and loved the catchy music, included on the CD. After reading the book and listening to the CD, the kids each spent some time using Finale Notepad to create their own original sheet music.
Gershwin kept a composing notebook, where he'd keep ideas of little themes of music he thought of. He never knew when they might be useful. As a future idea, the kids would like to keep examples of little themes they make up like this. Who knows when they might come in handy!
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