Resources.

I love finding resources to use on our homeschooling journey. Love it. So. Today, because it's our "off" week from homeschooling and I find myself going through all sorts of things prepping for the rest of the month, lol, I thought I'd share a few...

1. 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know. My pal Kelli posted on her blog about this book not long ago. She also has three boys she's homeschooling. I love that, and am looking forward to adding this book to our reading here. (I'm impatiently waiting for it to be delivered, lol.)

2. Wipe off maps. Remember when I was telling you how I was going to start using index cards in our geography studies? Well, we started that last week and it's been great. One thing that I tweaked from where I got the initial idea, though, is that rather than solely using a big wall map or the globe, I've been using these wipe off maps that I have. I give each boy a map and call out the places listed on the index cards. They label them on their own map. It's been going pretty well, and I'm excited about the potential. 

3. Free downloads. Awesome stuff going on over at Five J's. Check it out. Be sure to look at their Homeschool Resources tab, too! (Incidentally, this blog and some others I've been reading lately have me thinking I may reorganize my own blog here to include more links and information and such. Maybe soon, okay?)

4. Units of measurement. In lieu of finding resources, sometimes I discover that I need to make my own. Since I was having a hard time finding anything that worked for what I was looking for, I created these little half-sheet pages:

Basically, I just wanted a nice, straight-forward reference that not only converted measurements (and most that I could find for kids only did one or the other...for instance, only showed how many inches in a foot but not also how inches and centimeters compare) but visibly showed a comparison. I'm a very visual learner. It helps me. ;)

So. For each set of measurements, there are three pages...one with US measurements, one with metric measurements and one comparing US and metric. The bar dealios on the bottoms are all roughly to scale (unless the label is in parentheses, which happens just once because I couldn't adequately represent a 1/1000 of a liter). I'm thinking I'll go through and hand-draw some arrows on the labels on the bars, as I feel they're a little confusing unless explained.

Right now, I have sets for length, mass, volume & liquid volume. I printed mine all out on this tagboard paper (because I think it looks cool and "educational," lol) but haven't decided yet how I want to bind them...whether I want to just add a binder ring, keep them clipped so I can spread them out or something else. For the moment, then, they look like this:

Anyhow, if you'd like a copy, you can download it here. (Just print them on 8.5x11 paper and cut them in half.) If you do use them, would you mind letting me know what you think and if you find anything that could be improved/corrected? I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Okay, I guess that's it for now. If you know of other resources that you enjoy, PLEASE share. ;) 

Asher update.

The cast is off! Two casts and 8 weeks after this...and we're down to just a brace! Yup. Went in this morning. Doctor says everything is looking good...you can see the extra bone growth on the x-rays (where the bone is building new bone to try to straighten itself back out...should look identical to the other arm within the year)...and the break is barely visible. Ash still has some mobility issues with his wrist, so has the brace. He doesn't *need* it, but feels more comfortable with it and will probably still wear it to karate for a bit. The doctor didn't think it would be a problem at all (just take some readjustment to using the arm again). So, we'll just watch it over the next couple weeks. 

Whew.

Just for kicks.

So. Sunday we randomly decided to take advantage of one of our local free offerings. We went on a tour of the Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser) plant here in Fort Collins...the one we've driven past numerous times but never stopped at. Honestly, it was something to do. :) Actually, though, the tour turned out to be pretty cool. The boys enjoyed seeing the steps in the beer making process (they love factories and machinery), thought it was cool anyhow since they'd learned that parts of "Star Trek" (the 2009 version) had been filmed in an Anheuser-Busch plant, and liked seeing the Clydesdales (which are huge). Here are some pics of the "process"...

The scale of these tanks and such was amazing. Plus, our tour guide was pretty entertaining...with an impressive memory for all the numbers involved. The tour ended with some decent free samples in the hospitality room (though none for the boys, obviously, lol). And here are the boys after all that:

See? They were smiling and happy, honest. ;) And, in trying to keep with my resolution to take at least 15 pictures of Nathan and me together this year, here's one Noah snapped in the Clydesdale "hamlet":

(While most of our fellow tour-goers were still sampling beers, we took the boys back over to see the horses again. It was pretty quiet in there.)

So. Unexpectedly nice time. ;) Anyone know of some other fun, and preferably inexpensive, outings locally that we should explore? When was the last time you did something touristy in your own hometown? :)

Quote #5.

This week's quote:

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. –Mark Twain

Man. It’s like Mark Twain was talking directly to me. I know that I get hung up often times on planning…wanting to get things just right before actually acting on them…waiting for some magic sign before moving forward. I know, too, though, that many times just getting started and doing what I can is better. It’s considerably easier to refine something that’s in progress than it is to improve upon something that doesn’t yet exist. :)

Ten on Tuesday (homeschool edition).

1. The record. I don't really know why, but I've been going through old homeschool stuff and making a rough record of our journey so far...not a scrapbook or anything fancy, just a list. It's been good. Not only do I feel better for having it all in one place, but I feel affirmed...I can see that I've actually been doing stuff with these boys. ;) My point, if, in fact, I have one, is just that making a list really can make you feel better. 

2. Yoda dialogue. Yup. I actually did this with the boys. Here, for those who were wondering, are the Yoda lines I started with:

• Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan has.
• Around the survivors a perimeter create.
• Fear is the path to the Dark Side.
• Named must your fear be before banish it you can.

Nothing fancy. Just had the boys figure out how the line would be written "properly" and then had them diagram that sentence. I don't think the boys even realized they were doing grammar. Perfect. ;)

3. CitizenKid books. I just came across this line of books and wanted to share. They're awesome. I've checked out a number from our local library (and via their library exchange program) but went ahead and bought this one. I'm envisioning a unit this spring where each boy actually creates his own country and goes through the process of finding a spot (and talking about what would make a good spot), organizing a government (and talking about the various options), and creating the symbols (and comparing those to others around the world). Fun!

4. Latin for me. So. Remember how I decided I'm going to take the plunge and teach the boys Latin? Well, I'm still all for that. But. I had an "ah-ha" moment last week. After seeing this review online, I really want to take these video lessons. I'm not sure they'd work for the boys as of yet but figure that this would definitely increase the odds of me sticking with it...if I feel more confident going in, kwim? So. I'm going to get this curriculum for ME to start. I figure I can get through at least the first ten lessons pretty quickly on my own and then possibly keep going even after starting the other curriculums I have with the boys. But at least then I'll feel better for knowing something...and I think it's good for the boys to know that adults take classes and learn new things, too. :)

5. 7ate9. We got the boys this game for Christmas. We finally played it recently. Noah loves it (mostly because he's better at it than his brothers, lol). Asher's frustrated by it (mostly because it's really hard to play a card game that depends on speed when you can't hold the cards in both hands). And Micah just thinks games are fun. From a mom's perspective, I think it's dandy...easy to pack and play when you're out and about and great for quick math skills (you have to add or subtract to the number on the card and then play a card out of your own hand that fits...trying to get rid of all your cards first).

6. Bed. I just thought this was cool and wanted to share. My guys have all, on occasion, had difficulty remembering which direction "b" and "d" face. I've tried various tricks to help them remember, mostly to no avail. The other day, I came across this blog post. I showed Micah. He hasn't slipped up once since then. Cool. (I've also actually caught him using this for the "9" and "p" directions.)

7. Index card geography. I love this idea (and this blog!) and I'm definitely going to incorporate that into our geography studies! I went and bought a new outline map last week and will start this afternoon. Yay!

8. Maps. Came across these...wish they had a written explanation to accompany them, but still pretty cool. Btw, I've actually only looked at the first three maps, so don't ask me about those other ones. ;) 

9. More maps. And, while you're at it, a friend just pointed out this awesome scratch & dent sale where you can pick up Blacklines Maps of World History for cheap! I've had this on my wishlist for awhile now but hadn't gotten around to convincing myself to pay that much for it. So happy this morning! (Hurry, though, they're going fast!)

10. One more geography thing. (Hmmm. Apparently I've been thinking about our geography studies a bit lately, lol.) I don't know about you, but my younger two still have considerable trouble distinguishing between cities and countries and states and all that. We're working on it and I'm not really worried or anything. But. To help things along, hopefully, I made this little chart (click for larger):

I'm going to post it in the "school" area for reference when we're studying geography. If you'd like a copy, please feel free. (Right click on the image above for a JPG file...click here for a PDF.)

And that's that for today. ;)