Back to school

So. My boys have been back in school for three weeks. I know many are just heading back now. I've been watching and listening...it's rather fascinating seeing the different approaches taken. Having homeschooled from 2005 to 2019, I feel like I have some unique insights on schooling at home and thought I'd take just a minute to offer a few recommendations. 

Here are a few things I've found useful over the years:

Dry erase boards. We've tried big dry erase boards mounted on the walls but ultimately found that lap sized boards work best...like these. They're super handy to have for working out math problems, spelling a few words for a paper, making a quick chart, and heaps of other things. Seriously, we use ours all the time even now.

Deck of exercise cards. I don't use them these days; but, when the boys were younger, I had this deck of cards. When they started getting antsy or needed a break, I'd flip a card and have them do the exercise listed. The more antsy (or more troublesome, lol) they were, the more cards I'd flip. :) There are plenty of different decks or you can just keep a list of exercises handy or even just have them run laps. The point is that getting kids moving is a necessary and good thing. (These days, my boys know themselves well enough to know when they need to get up and move.)

Sticky tabs. In about middle school, we started using a lot of sticky tabs, specifically these. In each boy's books, I'd put a green tab on the start of the assignments and a red tab on the pages where they could stop. Blue tabs were for anything of note. So much easier to keep track of things.

Sidewalk chalk. For littles, especially, sidewalk chalk can be a great tool. You can use it for spelling lists, diagramming the solar system, drawing out a game board where the kids are the game pieces, and all sorts of other things. Plus, drawing or writing with the chalk gets 'em moving. :)

Games! I know that many of the remote schooling options happening now mean that parents aren't in charge of what's assigned and all, but games are always useful to learning in my opinion. You can use them to reinforce a skill or idea, and they provide a nice break from the books/screens. When mine were smaller, I liked these books for game ideas. As they got older, we've played so many others. (If you're looking for something specific, shoot me an email. I probably have suggestions.) 

Printer. Obviously, when we homeschooled, I printed things at home to use. Now that we're in online learning mode, I'm actually finding that the printer is still very useful. With most of the work being done online, mine have found that having an actual hard copy of things is nice for reviewing. So. We're printing as we go.

Focus on strengths & learning style. Just as a general reminder, focusing on your kid's strengths and learning style is oh-so-helpful. It's been years, but I remember finding this book useful, as well as this one. The main point is that it's both easier and more efficient to work to your kid, not the generic student. Know how he learns best and what he's strongest at...what will interest him and enable him to shine.

Okay. That was all. Just wanted to share a few random recommendations. Hope everyone's school year is off to a strong start, no matter how weird and different things may be! 

Clearing things out...part 2

**UPDATE: Thanks, all! Everything's spoken for!**

...continued from the previous post...to recap:

So. I've been purging regularly...with a heavy round earlier this year. And now that we're no longer homeschooling, I've got a number of things we're no longer using. Whew. Given time and space constraints and such, I'm just going to list them all here. Please email me (use that "contact me" link up above) with item number(s) you want and we can arrange local pick up. First come, first served. I'll try to update here as things are spoken for. 

(At this point, I'm not wanting to ship things so am really only looking for local folks. If, though, you really, really want something and are willing to cover the shipping cost, contact me and we can talk.)

25. Discovering Mathematics 7A set. Includes main text, teaching notes & solutions book, two copies of the student workbook (I had two boys using this simultaneously and they both did all their work in separate notebooks), and workbook solutions book. All in very good to like new condition. Altogether retails for more than $80, asking $20.

26. Discovering Mathematics 7B set. Includes main text, teaching notes & solutions book, two copies of the student workbook, and workbook solutions book. All in very good to like new condition. Altogether retails for more than $80, asking $20.

27. Discovering Mathematics 8A set. Includes main text, two copies of the student workbook, and workbook solutions book. All in very good to like new condition. Altogether retails for more than $50, asking $15.

28. Discovering Mathematics 8B set. Includes main text, two copies of the student workbook, and workbook solutions book. All in very good to like new condition. Altogether retails for more than $50, asking $15.

29. Key to Fractions workbooks 1 and 4. Used these randomly for review. These are the unused or duplicate workbooks (recycled all the used ones). Very good condition. Retail for about $5/each, asking $2 for the both of them together.

30. A-Plus Notes for Beginning Algebra: Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1. Purchased used and used it for review. It's a bit beat up around the edges but otherwise good. Retails for about $20, asking $3.

31. Key to Algebra workbooks 1, 5, 8, 9 and 10 along with answer books for workbooks 1-10. Again, used these randomly for review. These are the unused or duplicate workbooks (recycled all the used ones). Pretty good condition. Retails altogether for more than $50, asking $5 for everything.

32. TEXTBOOK & TEACHER GUIDE SOLD. Harold Jacobs Elementary Algebra. Includes hardcover textbook, teacher's guide and solutions manual. Purchased everything used and they remain in good condition. Retail altogether for about $65, asking $25.

33. SOLD. Forester Algebra & Trigonometry. Includes hardcover textbook and solutions manual. Got these from another homeschool family and they're still in pretty good condition. Retail right now for about $150 (hard to find), asking $30.

Okay, whew. That's it for now. Help me clear out my front room, people! :) 

Clearing things out...Part 1

**UPDATE: Thanks, all! Everything's spoken for (except for the scanner)!**

So. I've been purging regularly...with a heavy round earlier this year. And now that we're no longer homeschooling, I've got a number of things we're no longer using. Whew. Given time and space constraints and such, I'm just going to list them all here (and in the next post). Please email me (use that "contact me" link up above) with item number(s) you want and we can arrange local pick up. First come, first served. I'll try to update here as things are spoken for. 

(At this point, I'm not wanting to ship things so am really only looking for local folks. If, though, you really, really want something and are willing to cover the shipping cost, contact me and we can talk.)

1. SOLD Professor Noggins Earth Science card game. Like new condition, though it's an older edition. Retails for about $10, asking $2. (Great for earth science review!)

2. SOLD Prime Pak card game. Like new condition. Retails for about $15 (though hard to find), asking $3.

3. SOLD Quick Pix Not Just a Geography Game. Like new condition. Retails for about $10, asking $3.

4. SOLD Box set of 20 Horrible Histories paperback books. The box lid is a little banged up and the books are in like new condition with the exception of some minor corner bending on a few of the books. Set retails for about $50, asking $25. (I found these books fascinating and highly entertaining but my boys weren't as taken with them.)

5. TEACHER BOOK SOLD. Minimus Starting out in Latin set. Includes the Teacher's Resource book, the Pupil's book and the audio CD. New. Altogether retails for about $130, asking $40. (We ended up using a different Latin program so I can't speak to how these are.)

6. Writing & Rhetoric Book 8: Teacher's Edition. Very good condition. Used this but had my son write his answers elsewhere. The cover and first few pages have a slash in the middle for some reason (it came that way but wasn't worth it to me to return it) but it really doesn't affect anything. Retails for $23, asking $3.

7. The Middle School Writing Toolkit. Like new. Retails for about $20, asking $3.

8. SOLD Caught Ya Grammar With a Giggle. Like new. Retails for about $15, asking $3.

9. Wordsmith Craftsman. Very good condition. Used with my boys but had them write in separate notebooks. Have two copies of this...only difference is the color of duct tape I labeled them with on the cover. Retails for $15-20, asking $3/each.

10. SOLD Sentence Composing for Middle School. Like new. Retails for about $24, asking $3.

11. SOLD Learning Language Arts through Literature: Gold Book plus accompanying World Literature Anthology. Good condition. Had my son write his answers in a separate notebook but did circle question numbers in pencil. Together, these retail for about $50, asking $8 for the set.

12. SOLD The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Like new paperback. Retails for $8, asking $1.

13. SOLD The Westing Game. Like new paperback. Retails for about $4, asking $1.

14. SOLD Tales from Shakespeare. Like new paperback. Retails for about $6, asking $1.

15. SOLD How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids. Like new paperback. Retails for $7, asking $0.50.

16. SOLD From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler. Like new paperback. Retails for $9, asking $0.50.

17. SOLD Eddie Bauer's History of Flight 15 paper airplane set. I honestly have no idea where this came from and haven't looked at it closely. It looks intact and complete. Yours for $2. 

18. Aristotle Leads the Way student guide. This accompanies Joy Hakim's The Story of Science text. It was a bit too young for my boys by the time I used the text but seems really fun. Like new. Retails for $13, asking $2.

19. SOLD Binder with print outs for Elemental Science: Earth Science & Astronomy for the Logic Stage. It's been a good while but I think this was the ebook edition. Retails for $26, asking $2 (heck, you'd pay that just for the binder, which is in great condition).

20. SOLD The Book of Time timeline spiral bound books (I have three copies). I thought this was a terrific plan but we didn't end up following through. All three books are written in...but very minimally. I've photographed an example page where a boy made an entry. Each book has only a handful of entries. Retail new for $27/each, asking $2/each.

21. SOLD More Word Winks. New. My boys loved these but this was an extra. Retails for $13, asking $1.

22. SOLD History Pockets: Explorers of North America. New. From the days of old when I thought I was going to do more activities, lol. Retails for $14, asking $1.

23. Epson Perfection V500 Office scanner. Gently used. Being sold "as is"...bought this years ago, used it sparingly, and it's been sitting quietly on a desk since then. Asking $35 OBO.

24. TAKEN Set of six plastic drawers. Used and in decent condition (some warping and should be wiped down but I haven't done that because I'm feeling lazy, lol...will wipe them down before you pick them up). Free if you buy anything else and can pick them up.

Okey-dokey. Back in a minute with a post full of math stuff...

What's what

Sorry. I know I haven't been posting much. April and May are always busy. Here's a bit of what's what around here right now:

- Let's see. Micah has officially finished eighth grade, and I've officially finished homeschooling boys. We wrapped up our school year last week and both Asher & Micah will be at CEC starting in August. I've been selling off homeschooling supplies through our local homeschooling group. (Fortunately, I generally do some purging each year, so I don't have a huge backlog.) I've also, though, been keeping some of the supplies/curricula because I just can't seem to part with them or think I might still need them for reference, lol. It's a process. 

- Micah continues to love rock climbing (and is thrilled to be back to it after I imposed a break from it while he was wearing a walking boot due to a sprained foot)...is now scheduled for the steps needed to register for his high school classes this fall (and is looking forward to it!)...and had his follow up down at Children's Hospital at the start of the month. The doctor is sticking with her original diagnosis but is happy with how well we've been managing to abate the symptoms thus far through supplements and dietary changes. For now, we'll just continue to monitor the condition. 

- Asher has been busy. He's finishing finals right now (CEC's last day of school is Monday)...continues to train for his second degree black belt testing this summer...volunteered at Habitat for Humanity again with me last weekend (we learned how to install windows!)...has registered for his classes for fall (he's switching to full time at CEC so will have four college classes)...is getting ready for his Costa Rica school trip in June...and landed his first job! It's a paid summer internship at a local manufacturing company and he starts a week after his classes end. Whew. 

- Noah has final projects/papers this week and final exams next week. As a procrastination technique, he's also been teaching himself some Japanese, lol. After his finals are done, we'll be loading up his dorm room and moving him back home for the summer. It'll be a bit of an adjustment again to our grocery budget, lol, but we're looking forward to having him around. :) (He'll be back in the same-ish dorm next fall (different building but mostly everything else is the same).)

- Nathan is busy at work. He flew out to Florida earlier this week and has a full company gathering in a week or so (flying in all of their employees around the world to be in one place for the first time ever). When he manages a bit of time, he's been rock climbing with Micah a few times and is his annually unhappy self about allergy season, lol.

- As for me, I've been busy with all of the above...getting people to activities and appointments, going to various appointments and gatherings myself, finishing up the school year, being sore after boot camp, complaining about still needing to wear sweaters and boots (it's currently snowing...again), and all the normal things. :) (On the plus side, since I need to look for one regarding the weather, lol, all the stupid snow and rain means that we haven't yet had to turn on the sprinkler system. So that's something.)

And that's some of what's what around here lately. :) How's your spring going?

FIRST LEGO League state tournament

Yesterday, Nathan took Micah down to Denver for the FIRST LEGO League state tournament. (Micah's team, if you recall, had earned their invitation to the tournament last month with a 1st in Robot Performance and a 3rd Overall Champion.)

This year's venue was at the CU Denver commuter campus and was, I'm told, lovely. The 73 teams set up...

...and then spent the day with judging sessions (for core values, robot design and project presentations), practice robot runs, and scored robot runs. Though the team didn't beat their high score in the robot run from qualifiers (nor did any other team), their robot performed well and earned them a fourth place finish in the robot performance. 

After the competition portion of things was over, there was a bit of waiting for judges to tally results and come to decisions. During part of that, Micah enjoyed some time with the coach's youngest...who simply adores Micah. :)

And then it was time for the awards ceremony...

(Here, by the way, is a break down of the many different awards that the tournament gives out.) 

The ceremony began with participation medals for everyone...

And then...

Drumroll...

Micah's team...DNA (Defending Noble Astronauts)...took FIRST in Research! I'm so very proud of them! After the many hours these kids put in learning about space radiation and interviewing experts (in person, via phone and via email) and finding a feasible solution to be presented and then honing that solution after judge input at qualifiers, this was incredibly well deserved.

And, on top of that, Micah's coach earned the Coach of the Year award! Yup, it was pretty cool (and, again, so well deserved!). Congratulations all around!! It was a long but rewarding day...

Whew.