Monday's Nature Walk

We went to Skidaway Island State Park yesterday and there are two story lines to this tale. One, we were going to meet another homeschooler and her child and two, I wanted to check out Skidaway because of the Sensory Hikes they have on Fridays from 8-9pm and because I haven't been there.

The hsler we were to meet got lost on the way there so after waiting 45 minutes, we started the trail. Of course, I didn't have her cell number with me and I neglected to give her mine and yada, yada, yada. I'm finding out that I'm pretty horrible at making new friends! Anyways, we walked the trail and as we were ending our walk, we met up with her and her adorable 5yo girl and decided to go to the playground to let the kids play. That is the short version of the day, here's the more detailed version with pictures...

I just want to say that all these pictures that I've been posting may make walking trails look easy and fun. It's not all the time but it is worth trekking through heat and sweating a good clean sweat to see your kids being observant and curious. When I suspect a trail is long, I carry a backpack with insulated water bottles, first-aid kit, binoculars, magnifying glass, bug spray, sunscreen and our nature journals with pencils. Carrying a backpack is no fun but with younger kids, I don't wish to take any unnecessary risks.

On the Skidaway State Park Sandpiper Nature Trail there were signs that provided a key to identifying animal tracks, on the sign was opossum, squirrel, bobcat, deer, and raccoon examples. Camille took to this immediately and all through the trail was looking for tracks. I need to make sure we carry our book, Animal Tracks of Florida, Georgia and Alabama with us when we venture out.

Camille is pointing at white-tailed deer tracks.

When we study Botany later this year, I plan to use Botany in a Day for myself because I enjoy learning about different plants I see while we're out walking. My nursery specialist mother would be pleased. I suspect this is from the Aster family. I can't decide if I just need to learn more about identification or if I need a better field guide for flora and fauna.

A feather we saw on the trail, we just looked at it. I'm always a bit worried about picking up stuff.

These tracks could be opossum tracks but I suspect they are armadillo tracks based on our book.

This is why a Saw Palmetto is called a 'saw' palmetto, at the base of the palm leaves they have a saw toothed edge.

Hi, Mr. Skink, I see you!

Camille has a vivid interest in holey trees. I'm keeping this in mind for our botany studies later and I'm glad we'll be studying botany from April to August of 2009, plenty of time to explore different concepts.

I can't help but take pictures of the scenery.

This track confused us, and still does. Either it is a double print of a white-tailed deer or it is a track of a feral pig. It could be a double register (I'm learning!) We're still unsure but we're looking it up in our books.

Another deer track.

Ending our day at the playground with another homeschooler & her daughter (not pictured).

3rd Grade Goals

I will use this as my barometer throughout the year to monitor Camille's and my progress because it is not just up to her but up to me as well to teach.

Language Arts

Reading Objectives:

1. Know common third grade-level sight words.
Source: http://gemini.es.brevard.k12.fl.us/sheppard/reading/dolch.html
2. Decode phonetically regular multisyllabic words.
3. Identify antoymns, synonyms, homophones and homographs.
4. Use index, glossary, and table of contents to locate information in books.
5. Read grade-appropriate fiction and nonfiction material fluently, both silently and aloud.
6. Show comprehension by answering questions (or narrating) about a finished text.

7. Experience a wide range of literature selections, including fiction and nonfiction books, multicultural folktales, myths and legends, and poetry.
a. Be able to describe and define simile, metaphor, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.
8. Differentiate between fiction and nonfiction, biography and autobiography.
9. Follow multi-step written instructions.

Writing Objectives:

1. Switch to cursive in all written work, with practice to perfect letter shape, size, slant, and spacing.
2. Write frequently, exploring a range of genres, including stories, personal narratives, poems, essays, and reports.
3. Organize writing in coherent paragraphs.
4. Know and use the correct format for a friendly letter—including heading, saluation, body, and closing—and the correct way to address an envelope.
5. Distinguish between complete and incomplete sentences.
6. Use capital letters correctly.
7. Use periods, question marks, exclamation points, and quotation marks correctly. Use commas between the day and year when writing a date, between city and state when writing an address, and in series within sentences.
8. Use apostrophes in contractions and in singular and plural possessive nouns.
9. Indentify common prefixes and suffixes.
10. Know common abbreviations.
11. Indentify nouns, proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives; and past, present, and future tenses of verbs.
12. Use conventional spelling for the bulk of written work.

Listening and Speaking Skill Objectives:

1. Make short oral reports.
2. Tell stories to a group; present short dramatizations.
3. Memorize and recite short poems.

Study Skills

1. Be able to use the dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus.
2. Be able to use the telephone directory.
3. Alphabetize material to the third or fourth letter.
4. Be familiar with the use of the library.

Mathematics Objectives:

1. Number Theory
a. Counting by 1’s through 10’s
b. Even and odd numbers
c. Word numbers 0-999,999,999
d. Roman numerals

2. Place Value
a. Ones’, tens’, hundreds’ and thousands’ place
b. Ten thousands’ place
c. Hundred thousands’ place
d. Millions, ten millions’, and hundred millions’ place

3. Number Order
a. Ordinal numbers to 100
b. Estimation
c. Greater than and less than
d. Equal and not equal
e. Associative, commutative, and distributive principles
f. The number that comes before and after a given number

4. Addition
a. Addition terms
b. Regrouping
c. Word problems
d. Word sentences
e. Equations

5. Time
a. Hour, half hour, quarter hour, five minute and one minute
b. A.M. and P.M.
c. Word problems
d. Equivalents
6. Subtraction
a. Subtraction terms
b. Regrouping
c. Estimation
d. Word problems
e. Equations

7. Money
a. Counting coins and bills
b. Adding, subtracting and multiplying money
c. Word problems

8. Multiplication
a. Multiplication terms
b. Facts for 0-10
c. Word problems
d. Regrouping
e. Equations

9. Geometry
a. Shapes and solids
b. Symmetry
c. Congruent and similar shapes
d. Geometric terms

10. Fractions
a. Fractional part of whole and set
b. Fractional words
c. Comparison of fractions
d. Comparison of fractions and decimals
e. Equivalent fractions
f. Mixed numbers
g. Reducing fractions
h. Add and subtract like fractions and mixed numbers
i. Word problems

11. Decimals
a. Tenths of a whole
b. Comparison of decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers
c. Word numbers
d. Addition of decimals in tenths

12. Division
a. Division terms
b. Facts 0-10
c. Single-Digit divisor
d. Double-digit quotient with regrouping and remainder
e. Word problems

13. Measurement
a. Inches in halves, fourths, and eighths
b. Centimeters in tenths
c. English units of measure
d. Metric units of measure
e. Map reading
f. Temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius

14. Graphs
a. Bar graphs, line graphs, pictographs and grids.

15. Area, Perimeter, and Volume
a. Perimeter of shapes
b. Area of rectangle and square
c. Volume of cube and rectangular prism
d. Word problems

16. Ratio
a. Comparison of two numbers
b. Word problems

History

1. Study the administrations of the Presidents as we approach them within our history studies.
2. Study the career of Napoleon and the French Revolution.
3. Survey key events that launched the Industrial Revolution in England and America.
4. John Marshall and the Supreme Court
5. The Louisiana Purchase
6. The War of 1812.
7. South America’s history and survey of South American culture, flora, fauna and Simón Bolivar.
...more to be added

Geography

1. Revise and reinforce basic geographical concepts covered in previous studies.
2. Define and describe the major kinds of climate and relate these to geographical locations.
3. Survey major rivers of the world.
4. Geography studies should be closely linked to history topics.
5. Memorize the states and their corresponding capitals, including state abbreviations of the United States by region.
6. Be able to identify and locate the continents.
7. Be able to indentify and locate major countries of each continent.

General & Life Science Objectives:

1. Study human anatomy and physiology
a. Five Senses
b. Major organs and systems
c. Study germs, bacteria and viruses
d. Learn the introductory components of animal and plant cells.
e. Introduction to DNA
2. Learn about the history of medicine, be able to identify a scientist to a single major contribution.
3 Study botany physiology, anatomy, classifciation and reproduction.
4. Learn the introductory components of agriculture
5. Learn to use scientific tools such as: pocket microscope, stethoscope, and continue to learn key classification and indentification processes.
6. Continue using the scientific method to assimilate science topics learned through experiments.
7. Continue to build observation skills during nature study and experiments.

Foreign Language Objectives:

1. Read foreign language texts appropriate to skill level.
2. Write sentences and short passages using correct grammar and vocabulary
3. Build vocabulary and oratory skills in chosen language through games, skits, recitations and conversations.

Art Objectives:

1. An introduction to representational drawing geared to the attention span and motor coordination.
2. Learn to recognize the elements of shape and are introduced to various choices of how to interpret the lesson, in their own creative rendering of the subject and background.

Music Appreciation

1. Learn about 4 composers during the year through biographies.
2. Be able to identify the 4 composers major compositions by the end of the year.

Books For Sale- Medieval

If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard
ex-library book, good condition with dust jacket, ©1961
$7.00

I'd Be Your Princess, A royal tale of godly character! by Karthyrn O'Brien
ISBN 0-7847-1350-2 with dust jacket
$3.00

Going West - Journey on a Wagon Train to Settle a Frontier Town by Carol A. Johmann
ISBN 1-885593-38-4. Brand new, retail $12.95.
$7.00

The Way Home Princess Story by Max Lucado
ISBN 1-4003-0554-3. Brand new, retail $16.99.
$7.00

Growing Up with the Norman Conquest by Alfred Duggan
Ex-library book, excellent condition- a treasure of a book!
I'm struggling to sell this. © 1965. $9.00

The King's Book by Louise A. Vernon
ISBN 0-8361-1933-9. Brand new. $7.00

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger L. Green
ISBN 0-14-036670-9. Retail $4.99, Great condition.
$2.00

Sightseers Viking World- A Guide to 11th Century Scandinavia with Fold - Out Map
ISBN 0-7534-5237-5. Brand new condition, retails for $8.95.
$5.00

Ten Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb (Dover)
ISBN 0-486-42843-5. Brand new condition. $1.00

...If You Lived in the Days of the Knights by Ann McGovern
ISBN 0-439-10565-X Brand new condition.
$3.00

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
ISBN 0-684-82697-6. Brand new condition.
$8.00

A Pilgrim Who Made Progress - The Life Story of John Bunyan by William Deal
ISBN 0-913367-39-7. Good condition, back cover torn a little but spine intact.
$2.00

Girlhood Journeys- Juliet, A Dream Takes Flight
England, 1339
Book One of Girlhood Journeys Collection by Anna Kirwan
ISBN 0-689-8000983-2
$3.00 Great Condition

A World Explorer Marco Polo by Charles Graves
Ex-library with dust jacket, another treasure I'm reluctantly letting go.
$8.00

Luther's Small Catechism
Hardcover book, © 1965. Excellent condition and perfect Q&A of catechism
$4.00

The Man Who Laid the Egg by Louise Vernon
ISBN 0-8361-1828-6. Brand New. $7.00

Elizabeth Tudor, Sovereign Lady by Marguerite Vance
Ex-library book with dust jacket, a little worn but excellent living book.
$8.00

Who in the World Was The Forgotten Explorer? The Story of Amerigo Vespucci by Lorene Lambert
ISBN 0-9728603-8-X. Brand New
$4.00

Pocahontas, Girl of Jamestown by Kate Jassem
Part of the fabulous Troll Associates books. ©1979
$3.00

The Time Traveller Book of Viking Raiders (Usborne)
ISBN 0-86020-085-X. Great condition
$3.00

Children and Games of the Middle Ages (Crabtree Publishing)
by Lynne Elliott. Brand new! ISBN 0-7787-1381-4
$6.00

The Arthurian Tradition by John Matthews
ISBN 1-85230-713-7 Like new condition, excellent book!
$5.00

The Beggars Blessing by Mark Hamby
Lamplighter Publishing, Brand new condition
$3.00

The Neptune Fountain- The Apprenticeship of a Renaissance Sculptor by Taylor Morrison
Excellent condition and book! ISBN 0-8234-1293-8.
$4.00

Traveling Man- The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354 by James Rumford
Hard to find, beautiful book! Ex-library. See inside at Amazon
$6.00

The Illustrated Kings and Queens of Great Britain by Edward Horton
ISBN 1-85648-304-5. Like new condition.
$7.00


Paypal only to my email address (triviumacademy at hotmail dot com), all forms. Add $2.00 per book for shipping, all books will be shipped Media Mail to continental U.S. only. Will Ship on Mondays (Sept. 8th, Sept. 15th)

Prices are negotiable within reason. First to pay is the new owner of the book, no holds please. Books are removed from post when they are sold.
Thank you!

There are also Ancient Books for sale at this post...

Want to go for a walk?

The day started out with Camille sharing her snail anatomy picture that she did on her own based on a poster in our learning room. When I say started out, I mean this was around 7:30 am.

By about 8:30 am, I had the itch to GO somewhere and DO something so I asked Danny, "Do you want to take Jack for a walk?" We gathered our drinks, bug spray, camera and Jack and hopped into the car. We drove to a nearby trail where Danny, dh and I had explored before but Camille had not.

I promise there is a Horned Spider in this picture, but after taking 5 photos I could not get the camera to translate what I was seeing. So here's the background of where the horned spider has it's web. Lol.


The trail we walked surrounds a wetland area, here we stopped to see the fiddler crabs, we'll see them many times during our walk today. We watched them for about 15 minutes here.

This poor turtle trying to bask in the sun! If we got too close to the edge of the bank, he'd (or she) would dive into the water. Jack (our dog) was tugging at his leash and Danny was too excited to see the turtle to keep quiet so taaa daaa, a blurry picture of Mr(s). Turtle. Camille observed that it has a yellow bottom and black dots on its legs.


I saw this tree and I wonder what it is, whether or not the fruit is edible and safe for humans. My first thought was a crab apple tree but I'm not sure. We'll be looking this up (don't tell us).

When dh, Danny and I walked this trail a couple of weeks ago, this flower was magnificent. This is the only trace I could find of it on the trail, a withered specimen of its former glory. A friend has said it is part of the passion flower group.

This is what the flower looked like when we saw it before, a picture I found on the web. Isn't it gorgeous? It was so unusual that dh and I looked at it for a long time.


On the trail there are exercises to do which the kids loved. Two seconds after this picture was taken, Danny fell and cried a little because it scared him. This picture is such a reminder of, "whatever my sister can do, I can do!" Lol.

Here's Camille putting Jack's leash around Danny's waist. The leash is designed for this, Danny was excited to be able to have Jack's leash.

Hi, Mr. Fiddler Crab.

We watched for a while before moving on.

"Mom, look at this branch! Woodpeckers and other animals have been just eating away at it! What types of animals do you think would do this kind of damage? We can talk about it when we get home," Camille said in such a genuine way that although she was mimicking me, she truly meant that she wanted to find out more. Lol! Ah, eight years old...

This picture turned out too bright but I thought it was beautiful.

Hello Mr. Short-Horned Grasshopper!

We didn't see the hundreds of them on the trail that we had seen previously, we counted 4 alive and 2 dead that we saw. Dh said that I need better field guides because the Peterson First Guide to Insects did not give us a lot of information about the short-horned grasshopper. That was last time we walked this area, this time the kids just wanted to watch him.

A plant I want to identify, the clusters of seeds? berries? are interesting as well as the vibrant color.

More exercises on the trail...

More beautiful views of Georgia wetlands.

This is exactly the way I like to see a 2 hour walk end. I love those two so much!

September in Savannah

These are events happening around Savannah, GA that are either cheap or free but educational.

At Oatland Island
Medieval Festival

Sat. September 27th, 2008

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

$7.00 Adults ages 18-63

$5.00 Children ages 4-17, Seniors ages 65 and over and Military (must show ID)

FREE Children 3 and under

Travel back in time to the days of Lords and Ladies at the spectacular Medival Festival. See knights doing battle, try out a trebuchet and take part in the music and merriment. Special entertainment and food highlight this incredible event.

Skidaway Island State Park

Sensory Awareness Night Hike
Every week on Friday 8 PM - 9 PM

Learn about creatures that come out only at night along the Sandpiper Nature Trail, then awaken your senses with experiments on this hike. Meet at the Interpretive Center. Time varies so call ahead. $3 parking. 912-598-2300.

1st Ever Dragon Boat Race
September 20 - 20
Phone: 912-644-6414
Admission: 1000-Team
Location: Tom Triplett Community Park
Visit the Web Site

The dragon boat races are a team event with a variety of groups competing for the best time. Two authentic Chinese dragon boats will be used, which are exquisitely hand painted, and have a large dragon’s head with a wild mane and fierce open jaws.

Savannah Jazz Festival
When: 9/21/2008 to 9/28/2008
What Time:
Where: Forsyth Park

The 27th Savannah Jazz Festival, celebrating jazz as a living art built on a constantly evolving tradition will offer all types of jazz, from Dixieland, traditional swing, straight-ahead and bop to melodic standards, and funky down-home "gutbucket" blues. The Festival kick-off on Saturday night (Sept 20) will be a Jazz Concert-Wine Tasting event to raise money for the Backus Children's Hospital. The Ben Tucker Trio is headlining on this evening.

Bacon Park Forest Discovery Walks
September 21
Phone: 912-233-8733
Admission: Free
Location: Bacon Park Forest

Wear long sleeves, pants, and sturdy shoes; bug spray is a good idea. Walks meet in northern corner of Bacon Park Tennis Courts, located off Skidaway Road just south of Bonna Bella Road. Map & Directions here.

Ancient Period Books for Sale

I'm clearing out our books and I have a lot of fabulous titles, some are out-of-print treasures and others are highly desired titles that other curriculums use.

Ancient Greece. The Original Olympics by Stewart Ross
ISBN 0-87226-596-X. Retail $18.95
Very little shelf wear, great condition. $8.00

The Value of Honesty The Story of Confucius (Value Tales)
by Spencer Johnson ISBN 0-916392-36-8
Great condition, $6.00

Who in the World was The Acrobatic Empress? The Story of Theodora
by Robin Phillips ISBN 0-9728603-9-8. Retail $7.50
Brand New Condition $4.00

Who in the World was The Unready King? The Story of Ethelred
by Connie Clark. ISBN 0-9728603-7-1. Retail $9.50.
Brand new condition $4.00

The Empty Pot by Demi
ISBN 0-395-61780-4.
Like new condition $3.00

The Roman Fort by Peter Connolly
ISBN 0-19-917108-4
Like new condition $8.00


Medieval period books to be listed in another post.

Terms: Paypal only to my email address, all forms.
Shipping is $2.00 per book to the continental U.S. only. Will Ship September 8th, Monday.
Prices are negotiable within reason. Please no holds, the first to pay for a book is the new owner. Books are being removed from this post as they are sold.

Finding What I Lost

I didn't know I lost it, it was gone and I didn't even miss because I wasn't focused on it. The 'it' is the joy of motherhood. I'm not saying that homeschooling is the complete and only cause of the lost joy but for my journey, it was a major part of it. Danny was 2 when I started homeschooling Camille and from the time he was 2 to now, he's 4...I've been missing the complete joy of being his mother.

I've spent hours researching, reading, worrying, contemplating, planning and various other focuses that I deemed important but I wasn't the mother I should have been to him. I wasn't the mother I initially wanted to be for him. Over a period of time, I went from a mother who played on the floor with her children to being preoccupied with busyness and still wanting/demanding first time obedience.

I look back at the last two years, at all the temper tantrums and acting out on Danny's part as a sign that I failed him. That sounds self-defeating but it's true. I failed him. I had other homeschooling parenting books and parents themselves presenting a much more rigid, strict way of discipling than I was doing and I felt I should do the same. It's wasn't my preference (but I didn't know that at the time) but I felt comfortable because it was how I was raised. Now after a bit of self-searching and being exposed to opposite ways by yet another group of homeschoolers, I feel like I've found what I had before homeschooling—the joy of being a Mom.

I'm reading The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and I'm rediscovering the Mom I used to be before homeschooling. I feel so blessed to not have strayed too long from the path that I originally felt called to although that path became very blurry by the information overload that I experienced in the first two years of homeschooling.

I think as a woman, it can be easy to lose sight of all the different goals we have for ourselves, marriage and children. Our lives started a new direction with homeschooling and it's taken me two years to find my bearings in many directions, now I can refocus on the most important part of the journey- being there for my children.

I have to end this here, Camille and I are going to have some mother & daughter time alone.

Strong Enough to Bend

It's our 6 year Anniversary and this song is so beautiful, I'm dedicating it to my husband today.

Strong Enough to Bend by Tanya Tucker

There's a tree out in the backyard
That never has been broken by the wind
And the reason its still standing
It was strong enough to bend

For years, we have stayed together
As lovers and as friends
What we have will last forever
If we're strong enough to bend

When you say something that you can't take back
Big wind blows and you hear a little crack
When you say "Hey well I might be wrong"
You can sway with the wind till the storm is gone
Sway with the wind till the storm is gone

Like a tree out in the backyard
That never has been broken by the wind
Our love will last forever
If we're strong enough to bend

When you start thinkin' that you know it all
Big wind blows and a branch will fall
When you say "Hey this job takes two"
We can sway with the wind till the skies turn blue
Sway with the wind till the skies turn blue

Like a tree out in the backyard
That never has been broken by the wind
Our love will last forever if we're strong enough to bend
Our love will last forever if we're strong enough to bend.

Here's to six years and many more being strong enough to bend honey.
I love you.

First Quarter Studies

In Bible, we'll be studying Genesis chapters 1-11 using Explorer's Bible Study, Discovery level, Genesis book.

I'm excited to take the journey with Camille as we move away from Bible stories and start studying scripture. We're starting at the beginning and we'll work our way through the Bible in years to come but this year we're studying Genesis.




In Math, we're using Horizons Math 3 as our main math program and the first quarter (lessons 1-36), review all that has been learned previously with a few new terms & concepts being introduced. I am so grateful that we have the Teacher's guide! Camille sees the difference in the text, now the typeface is smaller in year 3 and she feels like it shows that she is growing up.

As a supplement this year, we're going to use Times Tales to help with multiplication and division math facts.




We are starting Prima Latina this quarter with the DVDs.








We are continuing with Écoutez Parlez, French Oral Program this year, reviewing Unit 1 during the first quarter.





We started Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl, Updated by Margot Davidson during the last portion of our 2nd grade year. We will continue to work through the book this year with great pleasure. Hillside Education has released an Answer Key and Teacher guide free of charge as a .pdf file.







We are continuing on with the Explode the Code series, starting with Book 7.










We are continuing our poetry memorization with The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist. This quarter we will be memorizing Bird Talk, Merry Sunshine, Foreign Lands, Windy Nights, and Bed in Summer and adding to Camille's growing poetry notebook.





We are cheerfully continuing our history studies with Tapestry of Grace, this year we'll be using Year 3 Redesign. We will also be using Tapestry's Writing Aids, MapAids and possibly Evaluations.

For the first quarter we will be studying 1800-1825: Napoleon Bonaparte, Lewis & Clark, the Louisiana Purchase, Moving westward, the Supreme Court, Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe as well as studying about South America.

We will be making a quill pen, moccasins, silhouettes, creating maps plus a salt map, cooking South American dishes and making our first attempt to make pottery.


In Science, we'll be studying the human body with Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese with complementary reading from the Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5 as well as other living science books.

We will be creating paper bodies again (we did this in first grade) but Danny will be joining us as we use My Body by Teacher Created Resources.

The kids are itching to use the stethoscope I got for them... :)




Once a week, Camille will work in this informal logic workbook.








At lunch every day we'll be listening to Antonio Vivald's music and I will read this biography to the kids while they eat.








At afternoon tea, twice a week, we'll read Grimms' Fairy Tales. I'm contemplating whether to get an audio version for this or not. We'll see how it goes.







As part of our attempt to have masterly inactivity, the kids have chosen to have an exercise session 2x a week, alternated with afternoon tea.








Camille and I are very excited to start Drawing With Children 2x a week, alternated with handicrafts. We have our art boards and markers all set to start. For handicrafts, we're starting with needlepoint and I even found a little project for Danny!





For character study this quarter we will be focusing on Willingness, I will pull this theme out of all our reading where I can and read from Keepers of the Faith's character book on Willingness at least once a week.

Danny will be starting Horizons Preschool and enjoying reading time with me as well as joining Camille in the studies above as much as possible. I am piggybacking Danny onto Camille's time, while she does what work she can independently, Danny will be doing something with me.

Of course we are continuing our nature studies but these are informal because we never know what God will reveal to us from day to day in our adventures. I'm very excited to start this new year, albeit a bit scared of teaching both kids, there is a wind of change flowing through our homeschool as we embrace a more structured day which I hope will produce many fruits with the kids.

Local newspaper quotes about standardization

From Connect Savannah, writer Stacey Kronquest's article, Testing Boundaries: Parent Coalition pushes back against current standardization

"Almost 40 percent of Georgia's eighth graders failed the standardized math test."

"But the validity of Georgia's tests was called into question this year. Eighty percent of sixth and seventh graders failed the Social Studies CRCT, prompting Georgia Secretary of Education Kathy Cox to throw out the score because they weren't deemed trustworthy assessments of what was being taught."

"A typical first grader going to public school in Chatham County takes seven to twelve standardized tests, not including practice tests."

"Nationally, there is a rally cry against NCLB (No Child Left Behind), with education experts such as Alfie Kohn arguing that "people with little understanding of how children learn have imposed a heavy-handed, top-down, test-driven version of school reform that is lowering the quality of education in this country."

"[Michael] Moore, [a professor at Georgia Southern University in the Department of Curriculum], says that testing in Savannah schools is equal to a least one month of teaching."

"The [Parent] coalition has met with the Savannah-Chatham Board of Education and district Superintendent Thomas Lockamy twice, and insist they want to help the district in two areas: to align student evaluation with the vision of the Board of Education — "to ignite a passion for learning" — and to assist the district in finding out why teachers are leaving."

"The coalition claims there is some sort of standardized test given in 70 out of 180 school days, and because the stakes are so high, teachers are forced to teach to the test. Teacher are in agreement that the pervasive testing culture not only affects teacher retention, it is anti-learning."

It continues on to say how parents are sending their children to private schools and why teachers are leaving the district. The District Superintendent is planning on conducting a test audit in a sampling of different schools.

THIS is a major reason why we are homeschooling. Even in kindergarten, Camille was put through testing boot-camp where the kids were taught catchy songs about passing the test and her elementary school even had a PARADE complete with T-shirts for parents to buy. Camille was absent from school that day, due to the fact I didn't want to put her into a situation to defend my choice of her not participating, and that was the only day she missed out of the entire year which messed up her perfect attendance record. I do have to say that since homeschooling, she has had perfect attendance for two years straight.

I don't tend to write about reasons to homeschool, but the current public school testing culture is a major one. I'd love to keep this article, highlight it and laminate it for the next time someone asks why we homeschool. I pray that the Parent Coalition in the Chatham County school district can be instrumental to positive changes, the kids need it desperately.

The article quoted above has not been changed with the exception of added information to explain who is being quoted, which was also in the article. The article is how the author wrote it as shown in the Connect Savannah Aug. 27-Sep. 2, 2008 newspaper, page 8-9 of the News & Opinion section.

First Soccer Practice

He's officially in soccer now. I had very mixed emotions during his first practice and I realized suddenly that I had expectations. Danny was the sweetest player out there, he allowed the other boys to take his soccer ball, even though he wasn't supposed to. There was a little boy who didn't want to play who was crying and Danny kept going up to him and telling him it was okay and patting him on the back. He ran his little heart out the minute we arrived, kicking his little soccer ball all over the field and not once using his hands. A proud mama moment!

Then...
He kept calling the coach 'mummie', "Mummie, can I go over there?", "Mummie, can I get a drink?" It was sweet that he was asking but he wasn't listening to his Coach Mummie. She would give instructions and Danny would be thinking or doing something else. I don't know why I expected him to get it the first time, that's when I realized that I had expectations that weren't coming to fruition.

I will have to work with him about what she was trying to teach him, the poor coach was overwhelmed and she's a volunteer. I want him to listen and follow directions, it seems it will be something that is built up instead of instantaneous. I had to keep telling myself that this is for fun, if he doesn't get it- it's okay as long as he's having fun and to let the coach worry about teaching him.

Dh wasn't able to attend the practice with us due to a meeting, I don't know if my presence on the field is actually helpful for Danny or not. He kept looking back at me instead of listening. Sigh. I have mixed emotions about the whole charade, I want to be there so that I can see him doing this but then again, I don't want to be there feeling like I did yesterday. After practice, I went up to the overwhelmed coach and told her that this is Danny's first organized activity. I didn't want to say aloud that Danny hasn't been to preschool or been in a school setting. It was obvious to me that the other children had been and they understood what it meant to listen to the teacher.

For the first time, I felt a little embarrassed to say that we're homeschoolers. Danny hasn't technically been homeschooled yet, so I didn't want his lack of school experience (at home or elsewhere) to reflect what a homeschooler's lifestyle is like. It's completely silly, I know. I'll talk to the coach in private about Danny's lack of organized experience and explain that we'll be starting preschool at home soon. Until then, I'm going to work on my own perspective of this whole affair, sheesh.

Soccer is just his first sports activity, as any parent, I want him to do well but most of all I want him to have fun. It's going to be a learning experience for all of us. We hope after soccer season ends that both children will be able to participate in karate.