The Radish Feast Begins

Each year, I try to grow a little something that we can eat. Thus far, it's been a miserable failure, and each time I think about gardening I think back to The Carrots. The measly carrots. *sigh*

But now we own our own house, and it came complete with a big ol' raised bed and a pile of compost. It seemed irresponsible to not even try to grow a few things. 

So I planted some radishes a few weeks or so ago, and those buggers are just now starting to get ripe. And by "get ripe," I mean, get good and rooty. I mean, seriously, HOW DOES ONE KNOW WHEN A RADISH IS DONE?! The part you eat is underground!! Hellooooooo, creator of the universe, that is one messed up plan!

However, I noticed that a radish or two had started peeking above ground, so I quickly shuffled everyone outside for The Picking Of Our First Fruits. One radish had a good six inches of plant matter so surely we thought we were good to go. Wrong! Not two seconds after my boy plucked it out of the ground, I heard the hubs yelling, "IT'S TOO LITTLE! PUT IT BACK IN!!!"

I'm not sure what he thought was gonna happen while the preemie was out in the air. Start crying and demanding mom, I imagine. I checked back on that radish today and its six inches of greenery have wilted to the ground. Apparently you can't pull a radish out, stick it back in, and expect it to grow. Who knew.

So our first feast from the garden included two radishes. I cleaned them, split them five ways, and we all toasted each other during dinner with our radish bits held high. Celebrate the small things, you know.

Hubs keeps saying to me, "Plant more! Plant more! I want lots of stuff growing in our garden! A pile of radishes at the table!"

Later that night I picked up three bunches of radishes from the store, and the tookish side of me wanted to stick those things in the ground and see how quickly my man noticed my Gardening Prowess. Ha ha, I'll be the Queen of Radishes yet. Good and spicy.

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The Hobbit And His 8000 Talking Friends

During the school year, I read out loud to my kids about an hour a day. I consider myself an adequate narrator, in that I have good diction and sufficient volume. However, as I mentioned previously, not all voices are suited to "vocal acting," and I'm definitely one of them. 

When it comes to using varying sounds for different characters, I've got two options: 

1) My regular voice  

2) My voice about one octave higher 

Seeing as I've never read The Hobbit myself, I had no idea that the book was full of so many characters. Thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard--not to mention the trolls and the goblins and the spiders, and of course, GOLLUM. When I got to the chapter where Gollum has a bunch of speaking parts, I worked myself into a hoarsey mess while saying again and again, "GOLLUM," and "MY PRESSSSHHHHHUUUSSSS." I eventually showed my kids a video of what Gollum is supposed to sound like, thank you, Andy Serkis. They just shook their heads at my total inadequacy. 

Well, we were rolling along just fine until we got to the chapter with THE DRAGON. [For those of you who've not read the book, spoiler alert, THERE'S A DRAGON.] A DRAGON WHO TALKS, I might add. Well, I took a deep breath and did my best dragon impersonation, trying to imagine what a big ol' scary talking dragon might sound like. Not two sentences in, my ten-year-old looked at me with disgust.

My boy:  "Oh, for crying out loud, Mom. That is not what a dragon sounds like."  

Me: "How am I supposed to know what a dragon sounds like?!" 

My boy: "Well... use a lower voice. And... add heavy breathing."

At this point, I was laughing so hard I was crying, all the while both boys were imitating a rather squirrel-sounding dragon. I finally collected myself to start reading again, but lo and behold, I could not, COULD NOT say the dragon's lines without dissolving into laughter. Fortunately, we also have the audiobook at home, so I can make the guy on the CD do the hard work of voicing the dragon. This is definitely a case where a MAN is needed for the job. No frou-frou dragons allowed in this house!

[Oh great. I have just sidetracked myself into quoting the first Shrek movie.]

Donkey:  "Oh, what large teeth you have! I mean, white sparkly teeth! I know you probably hear this all the time from your food, but you must bleach or something 'cause that's one dazzling smile you got there! And do I detect a hint of minty freshness? And you know something, you're... 

[the Dragon looks closer and Donkey sees she's female] 

Donkey:  A girl dragon... Oh, sure, I mean of COURSE you're a girl dragon! You're just reeking of feminine beauty!"

As I was saying. We are nearly done with our reading of The Hobbit, and I can say that as a first-time reader, the book is AWESOME. So full of creatures and adventure and I cannot wait, cannot wait, CANNOT WAIT to see what Peter Jackson and his team of MAGICIANS do to transform the book into film. I will be seeing both movies in the theater, because they are certain to be brilliant. Also: Richard Armitage plays the main dwarf, Thorin, and how could one such as I not want to see that on the big screen? I've already warned the hubs that he should expect a little starry-eyed drool to escape from my person. I mean, what's not attractive about a big, hairy dwarf? Nothing, I say. Nothing. 

Disclaimer: All links to amazon are affiliate links. Your purchases help pay for my admittance to the theater. December 2012!

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Our Day At The Food Bank

It isn't easy finding places for young kids to volunteer. No surprise, considering that most youngins have the attention span of a gnat and get tired of "working" after ten minutes. Not to mention that the majority of kids age five and younger are little factories of slime, and who really wants that coated all over their food - slash - program - slash - whatchamacallit? Not me. 

So imagine my delight when all three of my kids reached the magic age of six and up [THERE IS A GOD] and could help out at our neighborhood food bank. The greater Portland-area homeschoolers have a set time every other month where any of us can show up to help. Kudos to the volunteer coordinator at the food bank for being prepared and having our work well-organized. Orderliness is next to godliness, I like to say.

We joined with three other organizations for the afternoon to complete our job, which was to scoop from 100-pound bags of rice and repackage it into two-pound bags of rice. Scoop it, bag it, weigh it, box it, done repeat done. All we saw for three hours was rice, rice, rice.

We worked beside bankers, construction workers, and other homeschooling families. It was great to see people of all ages collaborating to help the hungry families in our area. The work was rewarding, and surprisingly, my kids labored tirelessly and without complaint for the duration of our shift. Other people would come alongside my kids to help them pack or tape boxes, and I was so happy to see them interacting with adults in a mature, respectful way. I never know quite what to expect when I take my tikes out into the world, where they basically represent the Entire Homeschooling Movement. No pressure, right?

We finished our afternoon of volunteer work with a guided tour of the food bank. See kids? We took a field trip aaaand checked an item off Mama's summer list, ALL IN ONE DAY.   

Fellow Portlanders: Find out how you too can volunteer at the food bank! It's fun!

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Big Honkin' List O' Summer Plans - The 2012 Edition

I haven't made a list of big ol' summer plans since 2009. You know what we did the past two years? Found a place to live and (subsequently) moved. My kids inform me that I've robbed them of two full summers. Robbed them! I don't know what they mean, because what about this list doesn't sound like fun? 

• Hop in the van 
• Drive to a house 
• Walk through the house 
• Touch nothing! Say nothing! Do nothing!
• Wash, rinse, and repeat 

We finally bought a house and my next move will be to the nursing home. Or the insane asylum. Keeping my options open, you know.

Anyway, we travel-schooled to San Francisco this past spring, so check check! No need to leave the house this summer! Oh, I kid. Surely we'll make it to the library at least once or twice. [maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh!]

So now that we're settled and moving nowhere, (nowhere I tell you!), I can get back to the business of scheduling some fun. I'm of the personality where fun doesn't happen unless it's put on a list. Look out, kids. We're gonna spontaneously work our way through this organized outline of fun, yay!

Here goes.

Big Honkin' List O' Summer Plans

Feed Our Minds

• Read The Hobbit together as a family  (Done!)


• Study bridge types and memorize the bridges of Portland


• Map every country that participates in the London Olympics


• Complete five projects from Art Ideas


• Listen to the radio theater version of The Chronicles of Narnia

Fuel Our Bodies

• Eat at least one thing we've grown ourselves  (Radishes--done!)


• Visit three new fro-yo or ice cream shops


• Try five green smoothie recipes


• Pick berries


• Make an entire meal using ingredients primarily from our local farmer's market

Serve Our Community

• Start a pick-up game of kickball


• Tidy our neighborhood park


• Share popsicles after sports' class


• Give cold drinks to workers in our 'hood


• Volunteer at our local food bank  (Done!)

Now if all that combined doesn't sound more fun than a trip to Disneyland, well, don't tell my kids.

Updates on each of the above to come! Meanwhile, have you guys planned anything fun for the summer?

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Great Audiobooks For Kids (Read By NPH)

Back when my kids were little fuss-buskets in carseats, I used to toss them a snack or jingle a toy to keep them happy in the van. It was much like having three puppies around, you see. But now they've grown up into dogs and merely bark and growl at each other in the van. Ahhh, maturity.

I've tried many things to keep them content while we buzz about town. Reading a book makes them sick. Looking at their sister makes them hurl. Listening to me sing Adele makes them want to stab their eardrums with an ice pick. Well, never mind, I'll find...something they like.

Like audiobooks, for example. We've listened to many. Well, we've started listening to many. My mama always told me to give a book three chapters before giving it up. With audiobooks, I can tell within the first 30 seconds if we'll be able to listen to the voice of the reader or not. I'm telling you--wow--there are a lot of people out there who should be doing something besides recording their voices. Surely there's a shortage of mimes in this world. Surely.

However. One day we stumbled upon an audiobook read by Neil Patrick Harris, and I'm telling you, THE ANGELS OF 1990'S HEAVEN CAME OUT AND SANG. His vocal acting ability is brilliant. Both the hubs and I were listening to the book with pure enjoyment. The kids enjoyed the audiobook, too. Go, Doogie, go!

What follows are all of the audiobooks I could find that he has narrated (all Beverly Cleary books, which we adore). We've listened to them all, on one road trip or another. Enjoy!

Henry Huggins

Henry and the Clubhouse

Henry and the Paper Route

Henry and Ribsy

Ribsy

Socks

Disclaimer: Clicking on the amazon links and then purchasing anything on that site gives me a small percentage of the sale, which means I get to buy more dog toys for the car. Thanks!

Do you have a favorite audiobook for kids? If so, comment below! For more tips, head over to Works For Me Wednesday!


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Book It Reading Program For Homeschoolers

**Enrollment is now open for the 2012-13 school year!**

I'm reading yet another lighthearted poetry book to the kids these days. I find that we actually enjoy the stuff when we don't have to cut through thirty-eight layers of meaning just to grasp the gist of the poem. Poetry is also a lot better when the subject is food--take for example this small excerpt by David Canzoneri and Bill Martin Jr.:

Let there be pizza on earth, 
And let it be eaten by me,
Let there be pizza on earth,
As far as the eye can see...

I love pizza so much I could write a poem about it myself. That's why when I saw that Pizza Hut has a BOOK IT program for homeschoolers, I signed my kids right up. There's nothing more important than gettin' my pizza fix encouraging kids to read. Besides, the whole thing reminds me of the thrill of filling up my BOOK IT button before my older brother could recite the words "MY SISTER REIGNS SUPREME."

Speaking of supreme, that's always my pizza of choice. Hubs and I like to split a large while the kids each get their own (free!) personal pan.

With the homeschool program, the dictator teacher gets to set the rules herself, determining the number of books or pages or hours the kid has to read (per month) in order to earn his coupon. The program runs for six months, October through March, so each eligible child (grades K-6) can earn up to six free personal pan pizzas a year.

Enrollment starts now and runs through September 1st. It's easy to sign up online, and the packet with a year's worth of coupons arrives via mail early fall.

Does anyone else participate in a reading rewards program?

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12 Ways To Reuse Cereal Bags

**Updated to add some new uses!**

Cereal bags. An empty one appears every couple of days in my house, just begging to be reused. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Crush graham crackers or cookies to make crumbs
   
   
2. Use to marinate meat (fold and close the end with tape; place in or on another container to catch spills)
   
   
3. Pack sandwiches for a picnic--either put a sandwich or three in one bag, or cut the bag to wrap a flat sheet around each sandwich (this is good when you need to label the sandwiches)
   
   
4. Fill with veggies to keep them crisp in the fridge
   
   
5. Shape cookie dough into rolls using a cut-apart bag
   
   
6. Tuck one in the diaper bag for stinky diaper disposal
   
   
7. Flatten chicken breasts or steak
   
   
8. Line the platter used to take burgers to the grill
   
   
9. Bag chicken bones and fat to keep the flies (and pets) out of the trash
   
   
10. Lay on the counter as a liner for packages of meat
    
    
11. Put pieces of broken glass in a cereal bag first before disposing in the garbage (prevents tears in the plastic trash bag)
    
    
12. Pour cooled and thickened fats from your meat into a cereal bag to help contain it in the trash (and remember--fats should never go down the drain--it leads to clogs and is also very hard for the water treatment plant to separate the fat from the water)
    
    

What ideas can you add to the list?


For a whole bunch of other frugal ideas, head over to We Are That Family!


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Beethoven's Wig

I grew up with music in the home. Beach Boys via record, Lawrence Welk on TV, and Roger Miller in the tape deck.

So obviously, my musical taste is EXQUISITE.

Hubs made a short attempt in college to refine me. It was futile. He would mumble something about "classical" not being a generic term for all "elevator music," but that it represents a time period zzzzzzz in music history, listen to the sound of me not caring, excuse me while I fall asleep in your Braharms.

Music majors.

During our early years of marriage, I took the opportunity to clean house, and by "clean house," I mean, "got rid of his stuff."

Including most of those "classical" CDs.

Awesome.

Especially now that it's time to pass on a musical heritage to my kids.

Fortunately, the library has saved my ever-widening butt. I've even found a set of CDs that mix Hubs' classy taste with my love for, well, nonsense.

Introducing: Beethoven's Wig (♫)

Oh, people. I'm a sucker for cleverly-written (often humorous) lyrics. All the songs on the Beethoven's Wig CDs are set to the tune of symphonies (or piano classics), and get this--actually teach something about the piece of music.

I KNOW.

BRILLIANT.

Best of all, I can listen along with the kids without desiring to stab my eardrums.

MMM-HMM.

Here are the CDs currently available:

• Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies

• Beethoven's Wig, Vol. 2: More Sing-Along Symphonies

• Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing-Along Symphonies

• Beethoven's Wig 4: Dance Along Symphonies

• Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Piano Classics

In the interest of full disclosure, no one asked me to promote these CDs. But if you do click those links and buy something on the amazon site, I get a minuscule percentage of the purchase. The earnings I receive by being an affiliate help feed my family addiction of throwing pennies in a fountain twice a year.

You can check out the full list of Beethoven's Wig CDs and then send that link to your wealthy relatives. Wealthy relatives who happen to have a penchant for classical music with some zany lyrics thrown on top.

Okay. Tell me a little tidbit about your experience with classical ("classical") music.


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Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The February 4, 2012 Edition

Oh, I'm still hogging books from the library, never you fear. And this week I decided to post 'em on this here blog.

I Am America (And So Can You!) :: Ah, Stephen Colbert. He's so gloriously offensive in a non-offensive, funny way. I have caught myself laughing out loud, literally, LOL, which my boys inform me is 707 on a calculator turned upside down.

Star Wars Character Encyclopedia ::  I happened to grab this book off the shelf and hubs said to me, "Oh good. Read that. And memorize it. Then you'll be a wife I'll rise up and called blessed." I told him I was really looking forward to learning about Spock and his friends. (Gets him every time!!)

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True :: This book delights the skeptic in me. And it's well written; well thought out. I could skip at least half the chapters, because really, I already know that fortune telling and astrology are bunk. But what about evolution? Vaccinations? Global warming? Yep. Those chapters are not for the faint of heart. Which is why I loved them.

The Greatest Video Game Music :: I stumbled across this at the library. And you know what? My boys love it. LOVE IT. They recognized just a few of the songs, but that's all it took to get them hooked. And I gotta say, the musician in me adores these pieces too. Well done, London Philharmonic! So stinkin' classy and fun.

I'm a Scientist: Kitchen :: Geared for young scientists, this book contains basic kitchen experiments, using materials you likely have on hand. I have this *thing* for bright primary colors and this book is loaded with cute, cute images. And lemme tell ya, I don't use the word "cute" very often, let alone twice in a sentence.

What you been readin' lately?


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Language Arts Resources For Elementary School

I think I could homeschool a hundred years and still not come up with a perfect list of language arts resources. But that won't stop me from telling you what I am currently using with my grade schoolers, for what that's worth! Here are my recommendations, separated into the ten components that I listed before.

Listening:  I've already proclaimed my dedication for reading out loud to kids. Here's the magic formula: pick a good book, and read it out loud to your kids. Wash, rinse, and repeat. I use the Sonlight and Veritas Press websites as my guide, but any ol' "book about good books" will do. 

Reading:  When I read out loud to my kids, I prefer to read a step or two above their current reading level. But when I pick out books for them to read on their own, I aim right at their reading level or even a little bit lower. I'm a big believer in a child experiencing great pleasure while reading, and using the early years to let them feel "happy" with each book they encounter. Once my kids have learned to read well on their own, they've always bumped themselves up to the next level of book without my interference. As for resources, I use the same things I listed above.

Handwriting:  I have used Handwriting Without Tears for both learning to print and learning to write cursive--both with happy results. And just so you're not mislead, there have still been tears. That, I'm finding, is just the nature of handwriting. In the off years where my kids just need practice, I've used A Reason for Handwriting, with my eye on the Evan-Moor books too.

Spelling:  I've used only Sequential Spelling, which I start in first grade. What this curriculum gives you is a huge list of related words on each page. I can tell you this works well with kids who are naturally good spellers--I've yet to try it with my spelling-challenged child. One online resource I hear good things about is Spelling City, which works alongside any spelling curriculum.

Memory work:  I started having my kids memorize verses when they were young. As the years have gone by, though, I've added other things to our memory work: facts from history and science, grammar rules, multiples in math, Latin roots, and anything else that is pertinent to what we're learning in school. I know many who attend Classical Conversations groups for this very purpose.

Copywork:  Each year, I pick out verses, poems, and quotes that I want the kids to memorize, and each week I have them copy an age-appropriate amount of this text. It's a cheap way to double-up on subjects. The Writing With Ease books also contain weekly copywork assignments. 

Dictation:  Like copywork, you can pick some text from one subject, read it out loud, and have your child write what you say. Unfortunately, I never thought to do this until the kids were older, so I use Writing With Ease to remind me to include this each week. 

Narration:  This is where the Writing With Ease books shine. Each lesson includes an except of a quality story, followed by about ten comprehension questions. The kids are taught to answer in complete sentences, and once those questions are done, the kids are asked to summarize the story in about three sentences. It's really, really good practice for skills they'll use their whole lives. 

Grammar:  A wise old owl once told me to start grammar in third grade. Honestly, there's enough going on in the earlier years with learning just the basics of reading and writing. Oh sure, I probably doled out little grammar bits here and there, but nothing substantial. I use the Daily Grams and Easy Grammar workbooks, which I've found to be quick and easy for my kids to do on their own. They're also effective--there is that. For learning parts of speech, I pull out our Mad Libs books. How else would we learn that "fart" can be both a noun and a verb?

Creative thought:  I've not done much in this area. I know. Help. One year I googled "sentence starters for kids" and used a few of those. Here and there I've used Writing Strands with positive results. That's all I've got.

I'd love to hear what's worked for you! My list is by no means fabulous or complete.

Disclaimer: The amazon links are affiliate links. If you click and purchase anything off that site, it helps fill my piggy bank with pennies. Much grass.

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