Just some silly pics from the Winter Fair

Ape Style.

The boys enjoyed the horses far more than I expected.

MACHS Conference

The Manitoba Association of Christian Home Schoolers puts on a conference in Winnipeg every year. Last year, while trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was soon to be a teacher, I decided to go. It was not what I'd expected, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was incredibly encouraging, as long as I didn't buy into the fear and panic of the other newbie moms.

It wasn't hard to spot the new homeschool moms in the crowd, they were the ones who looked like they were going through childbirth all over again. Most of them seemed to have put off the planning stage too long, content to just cross that bridge when they came to it. Now they found themselves knee deep in homeschooling and all the criticism that comes with it, without a plan. Feeling like they didn't have a clue what they were doing, or how to respond to the unrelenting questioning of the homeschool sceptics.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. I was already experiencing some of the scrutiny that comes along with homeschooling, and I was terrified of the onslaught that was to come. After all, if it was this bad already, when he was only 3, how bad would it be later when he "should" be starting kindergarten? I decided to check out the MACHS conference mainly for the Curriculum Hall. At least I could get some sort of an idea of what curriculum I would use.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the conference extremely informative, very encouraging, and not boring. They have a different guest speaker each year, along with smaller sessions that you can attend, and a large Curriculum Hall. There are a lot of programs to choose from at the Curriculum Hall. After I got there, I was so thankful that I'd gone the year before I really needed to make any plans. I didn't feel the stress like the moms I was talking about earlier. I was able to just soak it in, sitting through the sessions, listening to the questions and answers of new homeschoolers as well as the veterans, browsing curriculum, and just generally observing Manitoba's homeschoolers. It was wonderful.


I came home with very little books (spent very little$, yay!), but I did come home with a few gems.

Gem # 1 -> 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy

Gem # 2 -> Rod and Staff Preschool ABC series.


With the two of these combined, I know had a plan, and the first year's books. With that sorted out, I found myself much less worried about starting to homeschool. 


Now that I've given you a good run down of last year's conference experience, there's not a whole lot to say about this year. The one major difference was that after last year's conference we decided that I would be good for Jesse to come too whenever possible. It wasn't easy, but he did make it work this year. I think he was just as grateful and pleasantly surprised this year as I was last year. Plus, it made for a nice little two day get away for us. :)


We spent a little more money on books this year, but still not lot. I will post book reviews later on anything that I think is worth it. 

Whether you're just considering homeschooling, or you've been doing it for years; I highly recommend attending next years conference.

http://www.machs.mb.ca/

100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum

This book is not perfect; it will eventually become outdated. However there are some wonderful things to learn about yourself and your kids within these pages. The book is not just about curricula; it also talks about learning styles, and teaching styles. Well worth the read if you're even just considering homeschooling.

ISBN 10: 0805431381 / 0-8054-3138-1 
ISBN 13: 9780805431384
Publisher: B & H Books
Publication Date: 2005
Binding: Softcover

Selecting the right curriculum can be a time consuming, heart wrenching task for any family that chooses home education. Now, homeschooling guru Cathy Duffy makes choosing the right resources for your child easy!

Cathy guides you through the process, offering her "Top Picks" from each subject area, narrowing down to a manageable number of choices. Parents no longer need to sort through the entire universe of products before they can find something suitable.

In 100 Top Picks, Cathy narrows the focus and simplifies the curriculum selection process with questionnaires and charts. She walks her readers through the process of figuring out their preferences in terms of a philosophy of education, learning styles, and goal setting.

A major feature of 100 Top Picks is the charts showing the 100 Top Picks in relation to educational approaches, learning styles, and practical features such as prep time needed; design for independent, one-on-one, or group learning; and ease of use for the teacher.

Complete reviews of each of the Top Picks provide parents the information they need to make the best choices for each of their children.

100 Top Picks gives parents just the right balance of guidance and choices so they make well-informed choices in their curriculum purchases.

Rod and Staff Preschool ABC series

• Adventures with Books
• Bible Pictures to Color and Bible Stories to Read
• Counting with Numbers
• Do It Carefully
• Everywhere We Go
• Finding the Answers
• &
• Going on Eagerly
• Hearing and Helping
• Inside and Outside

At last year's MACHS conference my mission was to find Liam some small, simple workbooks that would introduce him to school without too much pressure or difficulty. I wanted to teach him to want to do school. 

These little workbooks were quite possibly the cheapest thing at the curriculum hall, but they were just right for Liam. They're nice and small with simple pictures, and simple instructions. I don't know about other kids, but I've discovered that Liam is very easily distracted by too many extras on workbook pages. If there's too much colour or too many bold pictures on a workbook page, he just can't focus. These books have none of that. They're all black and white line drawings, and there are no extra pictures; only pictures that pertain to the work at hand.

The books are sold is two sets. A through F, and G, H, I. They are intended to be done in alphabetical order, but its not necessary. A, B, C, and D can quite easily be done interchangeably, and E is intended to be review. F is intended to be a little more difficult, and should probably be done last. 

We haven't started G, H, I yet, but by the look of them, I think we will do those ones in order.

Rod and Staff also has a preschool series for 3 to 4-year-olds, but it is very basic. In my opinion its not worth it. At that stage, just give them colouring books and craft supplies. 

After the preschool series Rod and Staff skips right to Grade 1. From what I can tell, the Grade 1 program is focused on learning to read, and it looks like it could be a good program. However, we will not be finding out. There are just too many books and too much money involved. The rest of the curriculum, from what I've seen, seems to be more suited to girls, and/or kids that learn well in the traditional school room setting. It looks decent, but not for our boys. 

In short, I think the Rod and Staff Preschool ABC series is amazing, but that's pretty much the only Rod and Staff curriculum that I'm a fan of. 

"Why?"

Clipping fingernails is always a struggle in this house. 

A few days ago I was attempting to clip Liam's nails when he

asked "Why?" like little ones so often do.

I showed him these pictures.

 

He lets me clip his nails now. :)

"Summer" Buzz, Truck, Van, Car, and Swiper the Fox

Summer buzz cuts came a little early this year.

I always think Elias looks like a plane when he's got a buzz.
He's got that "V" like strip of reflective blonde hair that looks
to me like detailing on an airplane or something.

"Truck, Van, Car."

Say truck?, "Yeah, ruck"

Say Van?, "Yeah ban.....dad"

Say Car? "Yeah C no..."

Its the same every time.

"Swiper the Fox"

GONE!

This is a picture of where our Microwave used to sit.

This is something I've been working toward for quite some time now, and I'm happy to say we've finally done it. We've ditched the microwave!

If you haven't read up on microwave use, I highly suggest reading this article.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx

As always, I suggest reading the article for information and sifting it through the screen of your own common sense.

When I read about the dangers of radiation, my common sense screams out "Why are you eating that?!Why are you feeding that to your kids?!". It just doesn't make sense to me that we go to such lengths to make sure that the radiation waves stay "safely" contained in the microwave, and then we promptly remove the very thing that has absorbed the majority of the radiation and EAT IT!? Even without any scientific proof, this just doesn't make sense to me.

With all of that said, I've know about this for a while. Ditching the microwave was not something that could be done overnight in this house. First, slowly but surely I had to change my kitchen habits. To reduce microwave use, the two biggest factors in our house were:
1. Making sure to take meat out of the freezer well in advance. I often find myself taking out enough meat for 2 or 3 meals. That way I only have to remember once every two or three days. I also make sure that we never run out of eggs. If I forget to thaw meat for supper, we eat eggs.
2. Eliminating leftovers. I have become very careful about not having leftovers. Of course we still have leftovers occasionally, but I try to pay close attention to my family's eating habits so as not to make too much steak, or rice, or broccoli, or whatever. When in doubt, I make less than we need. After all, we live in North America so it is highly unlikely that we actually need as much as we think we do. And if the we find ourselves unsatisfied with the amount of food for dinner, we can always grab an apple, or some other whole fruit to finish off the meal.

With those two uses eliminated, we were recently down to 2 regular uses for our microwave. Tea, and wheat bags. Anyone who knows me, knows how important these things are to me. My emotional sanity relies heavily on my morning and evening cup of orange pekoe with Manitoba honey and cream. This is my twice daily escape from stress, my moment of "Me time".  Wheat bags are also seriously important, because I just can't sleep if I'm not warm. I can always take a bath, but I definitely prefer to just heat up a wheat bag.

So, I hung on to the convenience of these two microwave uses for a long time, but from now on I'll be making single cups of tea(or reheating in a pot), and using a hot water bottle(or heating a wheat bag in the oven). The changes will be a little hard to get used to, but I think I can do it.

As a bonus, I just may have found one of the only suitable spots for a plant in my kitchen!