Showing posts with label home school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home school. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Why oh why?
Why is it so hard to stay motivated? Probably because Jillian isn't into homeschooling right now and so it's easy to brush it off. Especially since I'm so tired. Water cycle is coming along slowly but at least it's not dead in the water (haha!). I'm going to try a new schedule tomorrow that is a little bit Montessori inspired. Each day I'll write up her required work of the day and set up 2 work sessions which she'll choose what she does when. So for example, I'll have: 1 math lesson, 1 math game (we have several homemade math games as well as math manipulatives and a learning pallette from Usborne which we love), 1 phonics page, 1 reading period, 1 lapbook session and something else. That's my rough idea anyway. I think she'll enjoy the freedom a little bit more, for sure! It's better than the $7200 I'd pay for the Montessori school a couple of towns over from me, although it does sound really really cool there. That's about it for now, brief post.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Recipe of the week (w/e 9-14-09)
Nothing too much new to report except that I've instituted a new policy...we will try a new recipe every week. Last night I made a really yummy supper called Pork and Apple Pan-Fry and Jillian wouldn't even try it. It was sweet and a really nice texture and everything but she was resistant. So I said to Dan, you know, Jillian used to try everything and now she's getting a little pickier. I think we need to have a new recipe every week to try new things. So we agreed. I'll post the recipes here and let you know whether it was a bomb or a hit:
Pork and Apple Pan-Fry
-1 T all purpose flour
-1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bitesize pieces
-2 T olive oil
-1 onion, finely chopped
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 T very finely chopped fresh rosemary (I used dry and it was fine, next time I'll use a little less than 1 T though)
-1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
-2 dessert apples, peeled, cored and chopped
-generous 1 C vegetable stock (I used a C made with buillion because I didn't have stock)
-3 T sour cream (mine went bad so I used vanilla yogurt instead and it was good but really sweet so I'll use plain yogurt or sour cream next time)
Put flour in a bag or sealable bowl with salt and pepper to taste, add the pork. Shake to coat the pork, then turn on a plate, shaking off excess flour. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook pork, turning frequently, for 5 minutes or until sealed and browned all over. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Mix in the rosemary, carrot and apples, then cook for 4 minutes, or until the apples begin to break down. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until reduced and thickened (I added a little more flour and it still took the entire 20 minutes). Stir in the sour cream and heat through before serving. Serve with rice or egg noodles for a bed.
The reviews:
Me: Loved it but would prefer it with egg noodles rather than the Pasta Roni I made...2 saucy things together weren't that good.
Dan: Loved it
Aunt El: Liked it, but it was a little too sweet for her taste
Jillian: Blech, kind of like green olives
Allyson: Ate about half, seemed ok with it
The bottom line, I'd definitely make it again because sometimes the kids need to try something more than once but I'd tweak it from how I made it. Enjoy!
Pork and Apple Pan-Fry
-1 T all purpose flour
-1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bitesize pieces
-2 T olive oil
-1 onion, finely chopped
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 T very finely chopped fresh rosemary (I used dry and it was fine, next time I'll use a little less than 1 T though)
-1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
-2 dessert apples, peeled, cored and chopped
-generous 1 C vegetable stock (I used a C made with buillion because I didn't have stock)
-3 T sour cream (mine went bad so I used vanilla yogurt instead and it was good but really sweet so I'll use plain yogurt or sour cream next time)
Put flour in a bag or sealable bowl with salt and pepper to taste, add the pork. Shake to coat the pork, then turn on a plate, shaking off excess flour. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook pork, turning frequently, for 5 minutes or until sealed and browned all over. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Mix in the rosemary, carrot and apples, then cook for 4 minutes, or until the apples begin to break down. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until reduced and thickened (I added a little more flour and it still took the entire 20 minutes). Stir in the sour cream and heat through before serving. Serve with rice or egg noodles for a bed.
The reviews:
Me: Loved it but would prefer it with egg noodles rather than the Pasta Roni I made...2 saucy things together weren't that good.
Dan: Loved it
Aunt El: Liked it, but it was a little too sweet for her taste
Jillian: Blech, kind of like green olives
Allyson: Ate about half, seemed ok with it
The bottom line, I'd definitely make it again because sometimes the kids need to try something more than once but I'd tweak it from how I made it. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Shocker, havne't blogged in over a week
Man, I'm bad at this blogging regularly thing! Just a quick update on us. We've started lap booking the Water cycle and it's pretty fun! We've also mastered a few more origami shapes. On to Allyson which is the real story of note...she's been having physical therapy for a couple of months for a gross motor delay. We originally had her evaluated for speech which, although she didn't qualify for services then, has not improved much since. I took her to the doctor this morning for a follow up ear exam to make sure there wasn't any recurring fluid issues. She had a tympanogram done and her right ear measured perfectly but her left ear was flat :( So now she has to go to an audiologist next week so they can see if she's deaf/has hearing issues in that ear or if it's just left over pressure from her cold 2 weeks ago. WTF. I hate dealing with this. Nobody wants anything to be wrong with their children and this is really a lot to deal with but I'd rather face it and find out what's going on so we can move forward. *ugh* Well that's about it for us. Oh, I started a new exercise class and lost 5 pounds and 1 inch in a week! woohoo!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Who we are, besides sheep.
My first post! :) Although it goes against one of my personal mottos (don't be a sheep!) I am being a follower. My old friend (old as in, long time, not eldery!) Missy, also homeschool mom with kids around Jillian's age, moved here from homeschool blogger so along I came. I hope I can make this pretty, figure out how to add things to it and love it. If not, I'll start blogging on myspace pretty soon...that one I can use!
A little bit about us: I'm a very happily married mom of 2. Jilly Bean is 6 and, although she'd be in K in public school, we are working on first grade here at home. She's quite bright in many regards, although her reading comprehension is leaving a lot to be desired. Her actual reading skills are great but I don't know how much she takes away from a story. Allyson is 2 and not doing much of anything other than writing on my teacher's manuals when I'm not looking. haha. This is our first year homeschooling officially although we did start a little bit last spring to get our toes wet. I'm glad I'm in NH where K isn't mandatory and nobody is looking over my shoulder this year because it's been a bit of a disaster. Not unlike a shark's feeding style (attack when the seal swims by) I'm definitely more of an opportunistic teacher. The shark is really the best analogy that I can think of...I see an opportunity and I grab on and don't let go and milk every drop of possibilty out of it. :) This morning Jillian asked me if I knew how to make origami which launched us into a search on the globe for Japan, research and a discussion about the culture and of course, a crash course in the paper folding art. We made dogs and kitties today which were painfully simple but will probably do some harder ones in the next few days. I'd like to look into some japanese cooking as well. Had I tried to plan a lesson about Japan it would have bombed, but that's just my style. :) With that said, I also have respect for structured lessons. Our curriculums are Bob Jones Science 1, Saxon Math 1 and I really really really want to start Five in a Row to strengthen Jillian's reading skills but I can't spend the money right now so it can wait until Dan has a job :) Oh yes, my husband...he's been laid off and hopefully close to a job offer but time will tell. Organized learning around here comes in fits and starts and is best when sitting Indian style next to the coffee table, hence our new school blog title: Living Room Learners. We work in the den too :) I'm quickly learning this year (ok, it's been nearly 7 months so I guess not that quickly) that, while some structured learning is important (handwriting, concrete math skills, spelling) spontaneous learning is equally important and sometimes more successful. So here's our outline in the 5 W and an H form:
Who we are: Jennifer (mommy, perpetually 26), Dan (30), Jillian (6) and Allyson (2).
What we use: Bob Jones, Saxon, various workbooks for writing, enchantedlearning.com for spelling
Where: the coffee table and computer desk in Tiny Town, NH
When: sporadically, when we feel like it.
Why: Because we live in a mediocre to crummy school district; because I love teaching; because I believe my children should be fully entrenched in their morals before society can heap their sludge on them; because we believe that our children belong with us as parents and we can do the best job...afterall, a school can't have the same heart and soul invested into a child and that child's future as a parent can.
How we want to move forward: I'd like to try FIAR as well as lapbooking which we've looked into a little bit but may require more organization than I'm capable of.
I'm done for now, time to go do the mommy thing. Look forward to blogging more and reading others' blogs.
A little bit about us: I'm a very happily married mom of 2. Jilly Bean is 6 and, although she'd be in K in public school, we are working on first grade here at home. She's quite bright in many regards, although her reading comprehension is leaving a lot to be desired. Her actual reading skills are great but I don't know how much she takes away from a story. Allyson is 2 and not doing much of anything other than writing on my teacher's manuals when I'm not looking. haha. This is our first year homeschooling officially although we did start a little bit last spring to get our toes wet. I'm glad I'm in NH where K isn't mandatory and nobody is looking over my shoulder this year because it's been a bit of a disaster. Not unlike a shark's feeding style (attack when the seal swims by) I'm definitely more of an opportunistic teacher. The shark is really the best analogy that I can think of...I see an opportunity and I grab on and don't let go and milk every drop of possibilty out of it. :) This morning Jillian asked me if I knew how to make origami which launched us into a search on the globe for Japan, research and a discussion about the culture and of course, a crash course in the paper folding art. We made dogs and kitties today which were painfully simple but will probably do some harder ones in the next few days. I'd like to look into some japanese cooking as well. Had I tried to plan a lesson about Japan it would have bombed, but that's just my style. :) With that said, I also have respect for structured lessons. Our curriculums are Bob Jones Science 1, Saxon Math 1 and I really really really want to start Five in a Row to strengthen Jillian's reading skills but I can't spend the money right now so it can wait until Dan has a job :) Oh yes, my husband...he's been laid off and hopefully close to a job offer but time will tell. Organized learning around here comes in fits and starts and is best when sitting Indian style next to the coffee table, hence our new school blog title: Living Room Learners. We work in the den too :) I'm quickly learning this year (ok, it's been nearly 7 months so I guess not that quickly) that, while some structured learning is important (handwriting, concrete math skills, spelling) spontaneous learning is equally important and sometimes more successful. So here's our outline in the 5 W and an H form:
Who we are: Jennifer (mommy, perpetually 26), Dan (30), Jillian (6) and Allyson (2).
What we use: Bob Jones, Saxon, various workbooks for writing, enchantedlearning.com for spelling
Where: the coffee table and computer desk in Tiny Town, NH
When: sporadically, when we feel like it.
Why: Because we live in a mediocre to crummy school district; because I love teaching; because I believe my children should be fully entrenched in their morals before society can heap their sludge on them; because we believe that our children belong with us as parents and we can do the best job...afterall, a school can't have the same heart and soul invested into a child and that child's future as a parent can.
How we want to move forward: I'd like to try FIAR as well as lapbooking which we've looked into a little bit but may require more organization than I'm capable of.
I'm done for now, time to go do the mommy thing. Look forward to blogging more and reading others' blogs.
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