homeschool vibes

MZB: Book Report #1

2008-08-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

TITLE:GOING HOME
WRITTEN BY:EVE BUNTING
ILLUSTRATED BY:DAVID DIAZ.

This book is about Carlos and his family going to Mexico for Christmas. They stayed at their grandfather's and aunt Ana's house. While they were there they learned that their parents loved it so much in Mexico. The only reason they went to America was so thier children could have better opportunities.

I loved the book,the color in the art, and it is a great book !
MZB

Home Educators Workshop

2006-10-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

Tips and Tricks:Using Manipulatives in the Curriculum

Monday 11/13/06 9:30-12:30pm

$17 (includes some material fees)

This hands-on workshop focuses on creating various types of manipulatives, and offers techniques for implementing them into the multi-age curriculum. Graphic organizers, origami, and found objects are just some of the materials parents will learn to customize to fit their own personal style of home instruction. Not only will 'newbies' greatly benefit from this 3-hour workshop, but veterans as well.

All participants will receive take-home resource packets. Sorry, no children permitted.

For more information contact Mu:
homeschoolvibes@yahoo.com
(862) 452-8698

Childrens' Cooking Group

2006-10-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most important life skills we can offer our children is the ability to prepare wholesome, nutritious meals. In the age of fast food, artificial ingredients, and microwavable everything (as well as the innumerable disorders caused by them- diabetes, obesity, ADHD), it is imperative that we start to instill healthy habits now. This is exactly what we aim to do at Planted Seeds Alternative Academy childrens' cooking group.

Following are some of the many benefits participants will gain from our hands-on sessions:
*culinary skills
*kitchen safety and cleanliness
*food presentation
*table setting and basic napkin folding techniques
*meal balancing
*how to read food lables
*certificate of completion

Children will have fun and develop self-confidence while learning delicious recipes, simple enough to repeat at home. Classes are kept small (no larger than 6 students) so each participant may get as much as possible from her/his time in the kitchen. For the sake of variety, there are several 'specialties' to choose from:

*Basic-
offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner (also offered as vegan/vegetarian)

Ethnic-
offers culturally inspired dishes: African/African American, Asian, Latin, Mediterranian, Italian, etc.

Family Night-
offers instruction on preparing a 'Sunday night' dinner for the family

Baking-
offers simple breads, cakes, and pies

Classes are set in the professional kitchen of a local East Orange restaurant, and are approximately 1 1/2-2 hours long, 1 time per week; they will be offered as either a 3-week or 5-week session (with the exception of Family Night which will be offered 1 time per month). *The Basic menu will always be 3-weeks only.

UPCOMING CLASSES:
Basic-
Breakfast: Western omelet, homefries, and salmon cake with drink
Lunch: Pizza Mexicana and green salad with drink; deep fried tortillas with salsa
Dinner: Shrimp kebobs over spiced couscous and cucumber salad with drink

Mondays
November 20 and 27, and December 4
Pt. A: 10:00-11:30, ages 8-12
Pt. B: 1:00-2:30, ages 13-18

__________________
FEES:
Registration- There is a $20 non-refundable registration fee due before enrollment is assured, as well as 50% of tuition. The remaining tuition must be paid no later than 1 week prior to the session start date.

This fee will be waived for those who wish to enroll-and pay in full- for two sessions directly following their first preference (ie, instead of $60 for 3 sessions, $40 for the following 2 will be discounted). Family Night is not included.

3-Week Session- $75

5-Week Session-$125

Family Night- $60 (class held 3rd Sunday of every month, 12:00-4:00)

For more information or to register contact Mu:
homeschoolvibes@yahoo.com
(862) 452-8698
Remember space is limited, so act fast!

what a weekend/beginning

2006-10-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, have we been busy!

As has been the tradition virtually every year this past decade, we took part in not only the East Orange Library book sale (yeah, got some gems there), but also the Cherokee Nation of New Jersey's powwow. It was beautiful, as usual. The children were so excited, like they had never been before.

M. and B. had fun inside the teepees.

The traditional dancers were awsome,

and M. and B. even mustered up the nerve to join in the circle when the audience was invited. R. didn't, but was doin' his thing outside the circle though. (You betta work!)

We met a woman there who is a 19th century re-enactor (?), and had some of her wares displayed.

One of the cool things was that I recognized a few of the things from my great-grandmothers kitchen when I was growing up. Also, on another table she had a basket with actual cotton plants inside, and gave me a two or three- with some of the stems still attached. I can't wait to incorporate them into my upcoming history workshops! I don't believe most children understand what it was like for African-Americans to pick cotton before and after emencipation; I myself was an adult before I actually felt real cotton. I think this will help put somethings in better perspective.

Well, anyway that was Saturday, and we had a great time. Now for today...

It used to be that we went hiking on a regular, until I took an outside teaching job, started a new family business, got pregnant, etc., etc. Sooo, three years later, and I finally catch a scheduled guided hike that coincides with a day off, and my not being to tired to actually go. Well, of course we missed the guide -5 people trying to get out in an hour, & R. needing to stop for film was bound to not be on time- but we ventured out on our own anyway.

We hiked the Rahway Trail at South Mountain Reservation. I thought I remembered it being rough, and I was right. Well, most of it was alright, but there are definately challenges- especially if you have a baby on your back! In one area a big tree has fallen since we were last there, and we had to climb over it.

Besides all of that though, it was a beautiful day. The weather was wonderful, the sights were awsome, and I got to spend quality time with my babies. Isn't life grand?

Check out these sites for more info. on South Mountain Reservation:
South Mountain Conservancy- can get guided hike schedule & trail map here
Wikipedia
NYC parks info.
NYNJCT Botany
bike trails- helpful info. for hikers

Craft/Bake Fair in Montclair

2006-10-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

There will be a homeschool craft/bake fair at Brookdale Park's play area in Montclair, NJ on Friday October 20, 2006.

This will be a great opportunity for children to learn basic entrepreurial skills through selling their self-made (w/wo limited adult assistance) wares of baked goods, jewelry, candles, etc.

Admission and set-up is free. Bring your own table or blanket, price list, and don't forget change!

So get those imaginations into high gear! Hoping to see you all!

The Patchwork Quilt

2006-10-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Valerie Flournoy- author
Jerry Pinkney- illustrator

M. and I recently read The Patchwork Quilt together. It is about an African-American family who comes to understand the message the grandmother strives to teach to them: that the tradition of making a handmade family quilt is important because it tells the story of a particular family, and travels on to future generations.

Initially, only the young granddaughter was interested in learning the ways of 'old'- how to cut, piece, bind, and quilt, all by hand. A family misfortune soon takes place though, and by the end of the book the entire family learns to love and appreciate the quilt that grandmother began.

Lessons:
Following are some of the lessons that can accompany The Patchwork Quilt:
1) Ask questions and discuss events specific to the book.

2) Ask questions that are specific to your child or family so that a deeper comprehension may be obtained.
Ex. *If you were to make a patchwork quilt and needed special pieces from used clothes, what clothes
of your own would you use? Explain why.
*Do you think that important family stories have been lost because the art of making family quilts has
been lost? What are some family stories that you would like your children to know about?

3) Search the web or borrow a book from the library, and assist your child in constructing a simple 9 piece
block quilt. The fabric may be new, but using old clothing will have more personality, and fit with the
theme of the story.

4) Read up on quilts made by African-Americans during the anti-bellum period. What do the different
symbols mean? Were their quilts special for more reasons than just family history?

Subjects:
Reading, Math, US History, Critical Thinking, Art

M's Teeth Lapbook

2006-09-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here is M's lapbook.

In the second photo are printouts from enchanted learning. The top left is a filled in diagram of the parts of the tooth, and next to it is the same one (blank) which she filled in. Below that is the glossary for those tooth parts.

The last photo shows the extension with cut out and glued pictures of 'Things Good For Teeth' (above), and 'Things Bad For Teeth' (below).

On the right flap there are cut out and glued pictures of 'Good Teeth' (above), and 'Bad Teeth' (below).

B's Bat Lapbook

2006-09-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some of what my little ones have been working on the past couple of weeks. B. (ds,8) wanted to study bats, and since M. (dd,6) recently lost 2 more teeth, she wanted to study that subject. How could we tackle those while having fun, using great creativity, and applying the knowledge on our own terms? Why, with lapbooks of course!

Above is the cover of B's 'All About Bats'. He drew a bat at the top, but it's kind of hard to see. Next is a look at it opened.
1) The purple is a flap book with 3 sections. On the top of each is the begining of a joke, and underneath is the punch line.

2)The yellow is an accordian fold expansion that opens up to 35 in. so he will have space to add more things (colored photos, etc.) as time goes on. So far he has a small crossword that we laminated so that it can be filled in over and over with a dry erase marker or Indian wax pencil.

3) Under that is an origami bat he folded. The 2 front flaps will open to a few physical facts (ie., has fangs, nocturnal), and then those pulled upward will expose the inside back of the bat where he will draw the lungs and heart.

4) Below that is a blank diagram printout from enchanted learning that he filled in.

5) The pink will be for his bibliography- all the places he found the information he used.

6) The dark green with the mounted white opens up to a 'pop-up' bat printout, and has a pull tab with the names of various types of bats.

7) Under that is an orange 'Bat Facts' pocket with pullout note cards.

8) The white on the top right hand corner is a flip book of food bats eat. Each page has a photo of each food written.

9) The last thing he has so far is a drawing of what a bat's lungs and heart looks like.

B's Book Review:
Outside and Inside Bats
by Sandra Markle
"This is cool because it has a vampire bat sucking blood from a bird's foot. I like the colorful and real-life photos because they show the kidneys, stomach, intestines, lungs, and heart. I think you should get this book."

Bat
by Caroline Arnold, photos by Richard Hewett
"I like this book, too. It has a photo of a little brown bat's skeleton, and says there are more than 950 species of bats today. I really think you should get this book, too because it has really good facts."

Bats: Shadows in the Night
by Diane Ackerman, photos byMerlin Tuttle
"I think this is the best book! It says that the flying fox's wings can stretch out 6 ft. wide. That's as tall as my father!!!!!!!!

The Magic School Bus: Going Batty- A Book About Bats
by Scholastic
"In this book I like the cartoon looking pictures better than the real photos in the other books. I like when the people and the bus turn into bats. This one came on t.v., and I like it better because it shows everything happening. I think you should get the book and the video."

Nice article

2006-09-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just read this article about the growing number of African American homeschoolers. Check it out.
http://www.sfgate. com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi? file=/c/a/ 2006/09/25/ MNGLCLC58S1. DTL

Ramadan is here!

2006-09-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's Ramadan, our holy month; I can hardly believe it's been a year!

There's much the children and I plan to do, and of course that includes cool projects. One is about the Kaba. The Kaba is THE masjid (house of worship): built by Abraham and Ismael, the direction which all Muslims pray towards at least 5 times a day, and millions make pilgrimage to every year. This project will use an empty orange juice or soy milk container mounted on cardboard (or something of that weight), and the information will be given in the form of various folded manipulatives.

Another project will be a Fast of Ramadan lapbook (Oh, how we love our lapbooks!). This one will feature the meaning of the fast and why we do it in this month, recipes for suhur (early morning breakfast) and iftaar (dinner/ the breaking of the fast), other obligations during this month, etc.

I don't know what else we will be doing as of yet, but I'll more than likely let you know (wink).
Also, I'll be posting pictures soon for these, as well as other projects and events, so check back.

Peace.

Finally...

2006-09-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

we made it to the Montaclair Library's homeschool meeting today. I've known about it for a couple of years, but have never been able to get there. Our restauarnt is closed this week though, so I jumped on it; so glad we did.

Everyone was so friendly. Even the children seemed nice. My daughter was quite shy initially, but the girls really invited her in, so after awhile she joined and had a great time. My boys were a little different: they mingled a little, but due to shyness decided to stay together rather than totally get out there. That's o-kay though. All things in their own good time. They still liked it, and asked when the next one would be. I sure hope we can make it...
_______________________________________________
I know I've been away for quite awhile, but I do plan on posting much more, as well as adding cool,informative links. Check back often.

planetary age

2005-12-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

for the past couple of weeks bilal has been studying the solar system. of course, that means projects. one of them that he'll probably start today is a chart comparing the earth ages of people we know (mainly family members) to the ages they would be on other planets. he already did his own age for another solar system project he started, and found it to be lots of fun. for instance, on earth he was 2,937 days old and just over 8 yrs, but if he was on mercury he would have been 49 days old and 33 yrs.

we found a cool site that allows you to type in your b-day, then just click on each planet for a quick conversion. i don't have the site url right now, but i'll have it next time to pass along. also, i'll give ideas on how to construct your own-- great family fun!