And one blurry one of Sam and Isaac with no lights on (camera couldn't focus, it was too dark). Isaac has his head lamp on. :~)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Surviving with out power
And one blurry one of Sam and Isaac with no lights on (camera couldn't focus, it was too dark). Isaac has his head lamp on. :~)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
This little light
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Our bed
The one with Sam is him deciding it's time for Papa to wake up and read to him.
And the one of him with his arms by his head is how he was sleeping, I just thought he looked funny, so I added it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Apple Pickin' II
Today (Wed), we went to the library this morning, for story time. Isaac wasn't really into it, he'd rather play with the train set there. This would be the exact same trains he has at home (minus the track), but what ever he still enjoyed his time there.
Apple Picking
Monday, September 22, 2008
Camping this weekend
And for the first time this season, Isaac was interested in going in the lake, unfortunately for him, it's a little too late in the season. No Frozen babies, please. So Papa helped him play, while staying dry.
Of course he still managed to get his feet wet, too bad they were in his shoes at the time, lol.
We roasted marshmallows and made smores, we also cooked veggie dogs over the camp fire, and they came out good (you never know with veggie dogs, slightly over cook them and they turn into rocks). We were camping with three other families from our homeschooling group, and we all shared dinner and breakfast. It was so much fun, I can't wait to go next year, although perhaps a little earlier in the season, so we don't freeze as much.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
NBTS
Isaac loved it. In particular he loves the slide!!
He went up and down over 20 times, he loved it!! Infact he loved it so much that I started to seriuosly look into getting him a swingset with a slide. Found out the nice wooden ones that we like are a tad over our budget. So we decided to put getting one on hold for now. Then out of the blue Sam's mom sends me a link to Craig's list with a swing set. Perfect!! It has TWO slides, a straight one and a twirling one.
So we went to check it out yesterday and as soon as Isaac saw it he was soooo excited. He went running to it, like, "Hey! there's my swing set." He doesn't even get that excited at the park. He went right up the ladder and down the slide. It's like it was meant to be. We are going tonight to pick it up. I'm so excited. I can't wait for Isaac to see it in his yard.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Here is little Isaac helping out with Papa's drill.
He's in the living room by the hall to the bedrooms. All the scraps on the floor are from the wallpaper removing. Wallpaper is evil!
Nakey Isaac and Papa, in front of a closet that no longer exists! Where Sam is will be were the fridge will be going and where Isaac is there will be a pantry closet. BTW, I pulled all the framing off around the doors and such, it was a lot of fun, I love demolition!! I also pulled out half of the cabinets on my own, Isaac helped a little too. :D
Monday, June 9, 2008
Unschooling article
I LIVE THEREFORE I LEARN: Living an Unschooling
LifeBy Pam Sorooshian
Unschooling is both easy and difficult to describe. The easy answer is that unschooling means "not schooling," but it is a lot harder to explain what we do instead of schooling.Unschooling means not depending on the usual school methods. It means no lesson plans, no curriculum, no assignments, no quizzes or tests, no required memorizing, and no grades. It means that the parent does not become the child's schoolteacher— it means not creating a miniature classroom in the home.Instead, unschoolers focus on living a rich and stimulating life together. Seriously, that's it. We do not "school," but, instead, we concentrate on living a life filled with opportunities and possibilities and experiences. Human children are born learners. Literally. What unschoolers aim for is keeping that love of learning and intense curiosity alive as the children grow up.How do we do this? In practice, it is going to look very different for each unschooling family. "We follow our interests," is the unschoolers' anthem. And, each family's interests will lead to all kinds of learning—history, math, writing, music, reading, science, and all the other real-life subject matter that is valuable and interesting. But we won't think of them as "subjects." We'll just think of them as interesting and fun and fascinating and something we want to pursue further or not. One thing will lead to another and life goes on and kids learn and parents learn and life is full of opportunity everywhere we look.It is natural for people to learn—each in their own way. It is natural for children to want to understand the world around them. They also want to join the adult world and become competent and capable adults themselves. They'll strive for this in their own natural ways. Unschooling parents work on creating a home environment that supports their children's natural desire to learn and grow.Each child is unique and experiences the world in a different way than any other person and expresses themselves in ways that are different from every other person. There is no curriculum in the world that is designed specifically and dynamically for any particular child, but an unschooling lifestyle can, in effect, provide a 100 percent individualized learning experience. Unschoolers aren't likely to learn exactly what the professional educators and textbook publishers think they should—so, in that sense, they will have gaps in their learning. But they'll learn so much more, too, that is not included in those lists of "learning standards." What is important for one person to learn is not necessarily important for another and we don't really have any way of predicting what will be important to know in the future. We DO know that learning that is forced or pressured is not lasting and that most of what kids are "taught" is not truly "learned" in any kind of lasting way unless it is something in which they are interested.Unschoolers also have in mind a lifelong timeline for learning. We don't worry about whether a child is "at grade level" because we know that children are learning "something" all the time and that they will eventually learn whatever they need to know for whatever reasons they have. We don't worry that they'll miss something important because, if it is important, they'll realize that and find a way to learn it.A true unschooling slogan is, "Life is learning, learning is life." Unschoolers simply do not think there are times for learning and times for not learning. They don't divide life into school time or lesson time versus play time or recreation time. There is no such thing as "extracurricular" to an unschooler—all of life, every minute of every day, counts as learning time and there is no separate time set aside for education.Is unschooling right for everyone? My answer is, "It depends." I think ALL children can learn and grow and thrive as unschoolers. But, I also think it takes an intensity and focus on living life with a great deal of gusto on the part of unschooling parents. Unschooling parents work hard. For example, they must develop a very high level of sensitivity to their children to know what to offer, when to support, when to back off, how busy they want to be, how much solitude they need, when to nudge them a bit with encouragement, when to get more involved, and so on. AND parents need to be able to always have their kids and their interests in the back of their minds, thinking always about what would interest them; bringing the world to them and bringing them to the world in ways that "click" for that particular child. And it takes a great deal of trust that the child will learn without external pressure.We could do the curriculum—I could put together a few hours per day of "school work," insisting that my children do it. But I've read everything I could get my hands on about learning and I've had 30 years of teaching experience and I know, deep down inside, that any coercion in learning creates either open resistance, passivity, or apathy, and I don't want to create any of those in my children. Learning feels good—it might be hard, but it is also pleasurable. Coercion feels bad and trying to learn under coercion is not pleasurable, even when we make the best of it. Children who have only experienced the pleasure of unforced learning show the effect in their incredible creativity, confidence, intensity, focus, persistence, self-knowledge, and strong sense of personal responsibility.Not all parents WANT their children to grow up strong-willed and truly independent- minded. And, it is fair warning to say: "Be careful what you wish for." If what we mostly want is for our children to respect us and to adopt our beliefs and goals, unschooling may not be for us. Many parents have a general definition of "success" in their own heads, and what they want is for their children to achieve their version of success. Many want their children to offer living proof that they were good parents—they may even be especially interested in outcomes that will impress friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Again, unschooling is probably not a good fit under those circumstances.Unschoolers do have goals, though, that impact our day-to-day interactions with our kids. We want our children to discover their life's passions and to jump into them with both feet, with confidence and trust in life and themselves. We want our children to know, deep inside themselves, that they are strong and capable and can make their own individual choices. We want them to be willing to buck the mainstream culture AND buck the counterculture and think for themselves and do what they think is right and good and worthy and valuable.I think, most of all, we want them to love being alive—now and in their future.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Our house
homeschooling
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Busy busy
Here is one that was on the web that someone else took.
Let's see it's all so blurry, LOL. Last week I don't think too much happened, nothing that is coming to my very tired mind.
Yesterday, Cinco de Mayo we had a party at a friends house, again it was a blast! I forgot my camera, so no pics. There was a pinata, that Isaac didn't get to take a swing at, but after he had the stick and was practicing on the ground. Next time for sure! He also had his first lollipop (it was the organic no HFCS type, so not too bad). He loved it, although I had to wash a couple of times, boy I forgot just how sticky they are.
Today we stayed home. We did go out for a nice walk/run, 3 miles. I really needed to get out and so did the dog. It was so nice out, minus the black flies that have come out in full force. And then the best part, the bank came back and agreed to the final price, so everything is all set we just have to sign the papers on Monday!!! I will be posting pictures next time we go, not sure if I'll do it here or on Picasa. Probably both. Anyway, I have to get to bed, just thought I'd update, since I never have time during the day.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday
So we went outside and played for a while with some of our friends and then we went to White's Park for some more fun.
Some fun at the park
Isaac having fun, and meeting new people. This little girl really seemed to like him, and she kept coming over to him and touching him, and at one point asked Isaac to take her shoe off, I told her Isaac is a little to young for that, and she is moving a little too fast. LOL
Tuesday we went to our N-A-P meeting (natural attachment parenting), and then to St. Paul's School where they have a little park. Isaac had soooo much fun. He really loves going down the slide. When we first got there he was going down, but he'd fall back as he was going or get his feet stuck under him. But by the time we left he had mastered the slide, and I could just sit him at the top and he would wiggle himself down and then slide on his own, staying in a sitting position and then stop at the bottom. Of coarse this was followed by him pointing to go down the slide again and again and again (how do you think he mastered it). We both ended up with a little pinkness to our skin when we left, but no sun burn this morning. We'll have to remember to pack some sunscreen next time.
Monday, April 14, 2008
out and about
When we got home Isaac still seemed to be interested in being outside so we walked around in the yard and did some exploring. Later we went for a two mile walk, which was really nice since it warmed up some.
I meant to mention the other day that all the teething issues we had last week were well deserved I found *3* new teeth in Isaac's mouth! Hopefully the molars come in one at a time, or Isaac is in for a rough ride!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday and Sunday
Today we went up to the bead store in Enflied to get some amber so I can make a teething necklace for Isaac. It was a LOOOOONNGG drive, and it would have cost me the same to have just ordered one from one of the moms that sell them online. Oh well, at least I get to design it myself (if I ever have time).
Then we drove over to the house to see if we could figure out how to lay out the kitchen. It was an even longer ride there, since Isaac was not very happy about being in the car. At least at the house he got a chance to run around a little. We still haven't heard from the bank, hopefully they come down a little in price. I can't wait to just say, "This is our house" and not worry that something will go wrong.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Uh oh the dog is starting to bark. I swear, never a moments rest! LOL Oh and Isaac's up.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Pics for today
April 9 2008
When we got home Isaac slept for almost 2 hours!! And then we went exploring outside. We heard a barred owl and a wood pecker. Isaac helped me rake out the leaves and then he "cleaned out" the bird bath, and after I had to clean him.
We are still going through the inspection process of the house. We found some issues, but it looks like we should be able fix them. Sam is going there tonight with a guy that does foundation work to get an estimate for the sill work. I'll put up some pictures when I get a chance.