We'll still share great homeschool tips, experiences, and support each other through our homeschool journey.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Homeschool Roster Has Moved
I appreciate your readership and don't want to lose you, so please visit Homeschool Roster at it's new home at http://www.homeschoolroster.com. I'm still fiddling around and trying to figure out what to do. WordPress.org is very humbling to an HTML-geek like me. Anyway, I'll figure out what to do. Meanwhile, please re-subscribe because the feed address has changed as well. I won't be back here, so please don't leave me any messages at this location.
We'll still share great homeschool tips, experiences, and support each other through our homeschool journey.
We'll still share great homeschool tips, experiences, and support each other through our homeschool journey.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Watcha' Readin'?
I have no idea how this happened, but I'm raising a princess. She loves to style her hair, loves wearing dresses (finally - having an older brother slowed this down), loves wearing pretty shoes, and loves Cinderella and any other princesses. She talks about getting married when she grows up and speaks about her husband. I can't tell you how many times she has been "pregnant," sometimes with twins. Minna Beana even knows how to nurse her babies from watching me nurse her younger brother.
This is somewhat funny to me because I never dreamed of getting married.
I just figured it would happen. I never imagined having kids. I thought I would never be ready and it would be too hard. I ask, "are we ever really ready?" I keep my hair short because I never really learned how to style it and it's convenient; the peanut gallery wants that to change. I love princess dresses and did watch Princess Diana get married. Oh yeah, I love pretty shoes, but only own three pair.
I enjoy raising my princess. She motivates me to be more of a "lady." Afterall, she
will be learning alot of how to be one from me. My biggest challenge has been hair maintenance because I do hair once (in the morning as w/make-up if I use it) and that is supposed to take care of it for the day. Because she has more hair than I do, throughout the day maintenance is required. For now, I can get away without doing much because she "looks cute," but I want her to know how to properly groom herself, so I find myself fixing hair throughout the day. Actually, she does a pretty good job herself, which she just figured out. Maybe, this raising a lady stuff isn't so hard; if only that were true.
It only seemed appropriate that Minna Beana's book choice for the week is Cinderella. I asked her what her favorite parts were and she shared the following:
Mommy - "Ms. Beana, what do you like about Cinderella?"
Minna - "I like that she gets married. I also like when he sees her."
Mommy - "When he sees her?"
She took the book from me and started flipping through the pages.
Minna - "Here," she pointed.
The page she showed me was when the prince first sees Cinderella at the ball in her pretty dress and he is marveling at her beauty. A romantic at the age of four (4). If she ain't a princess, then she is definitely a "girlie girl." I guess I better hang up my worn tennis shoes and sweatpants. I've got an example to set.
After reading the book, check out Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella with an all-star, muti-ethnic cast that includes Brandy as Cinderella,
Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother and Broadway actor Paolo Montalban as the handsome prince. Along with the excellent singing, because most of the actors have Broadway stage experience, there is humor (Whoopie and Jason Alexander to name a few), and Hollywood spectacular with a budget to match.
Related Post: The Joy of Reading
This is somewhat funny to me because I never dreamed of getting married.
I just figured it would happen. I never imagined having kids. I thought I would never be ready and it would be too hard. I ask, "are we ever really ready?" I keep my hair short because I never really learned how to style it and it's convenient; the peanut gallery wants that to change. I love princess dresses and did watch Princess Diana get married. Oh yeah, I love pretty shoes, but only own three pair.I enjoy raising my princess. She motivates me to be more of a "lady." Afterall, she
will be learning alot of how to be one from me. My biggest challenge has been hair maintenance because I do hair once (in the morning as w/make-up if I use it) and that is supposed to take care of it for the day. Because she has more hair than I do, throughout the day maintenance is required. For now, I can get away without doing much because she "looks cute," but I want her to know how to properly groom herself, so I find myself fixing hair throughout the day. Actually, she does a pretty good job herself, which she just figured out. Maybe, this raising a lady stuff isn't so hard; if only that were true.It only seemed appropriate that Minna Beana's book choice for the week is Cinderella. I asked her what her favorite parts were and she shared the following:
Mommy - "Ms. Beana, what do you like about Cinderella?"
Minna - "I like that she gets married. I also like when he sees her."
Mommy - "When he sees her?"
She took the book from me and started flipping through the pages.
Minna - "Here," she pointed.
The page she showed me was when the prince first sees Cinderella at the ball in her pretty dress and he is marveling at her beauty. A romantic at the age of four (4). If she ain't a princess, then she is definitely a "girlie girl." I guess I better hang up my worn tennis shoes and sweatpants. I've got an example to set.
After reading the book, check out Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella with an all-star, muti-ethnic cast that includes Brandy as Cinderella,
Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother and Broadway actor Paolo Montalban as the handsome prince. Along with the excellent singing, because most of the actors have Broadway stage experience, there is humor (Whoopie and Jason Alexander to name a few), and Hollywood spectacular with a budget to match.Related Post: The Joy of Reading
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Get Educated In Five (5) Minutes Or Less
Do you remember speed reading? Well, I once took a class to learn how to read some ridiculous amount of words in an also ridiculous amount of time. Not only was I supposed to be able to read the words, but also comprehend them. I actually did pretty well, but I guess it is like typing, which I never took in school. By the time I came around, keyboarding was available and that is the direction I took, but I was always amazed at people who could type a cazillion words per minute. I still peck away on the keyboard and do pretty well. I just couldn't get a job requiring a fast typing speed. Well, like the speed reading and the typing, if you don't use it, you lose it.
As a Mom, there are a lot of things we have/need to do and not much time to do them. We probably would do pretty well with the speed cooking, speed washing, speed diaper changing, etc. because we do them ALL THE TIME! We practice everyday! As we accomplish these great feats, our lists seem to grow rather than reduce. The blog/Web site, 5 Minutes for Mom, realizes that five (5) minutes is about all of the time that mommies have to spare in our busy schedules, so they have made it easy.
The good thing is that we have more than five (5) minutes to consume the wonderful resources and information provided at their newly redesigned site as well as sister sites that they launched today to make moms (and dads) lives easier. If you would like some great, sometimes quick (you may find yourself spending more than five minutes because you can't pull yourself away), useful information, then visit one or all of these wonderful sites:
5 Minutes for Mom - Bringing Moms Together
5 Minutes for Special Needs - Support, Insight, Inspiration
5 Minutes for Books - We're Reading Into Everything
5 Minutes for Parenting - We're In This Together
and drum roll please...
***5 Minutes for Going Green - Green Looks Good On Everyone***
The last site/blog is highlighted because I am one of the weekly contributing writers along with several other amazing and talented blogging mommies. It is an honor and a treat to be a part of the "Green Team" and to share a little "green talk". Another great thing about these sites is that you don't have to speed read and take it all in within five (5) minutes.
As a Mom, there are a lot of things we have/need to do and not much time to do them. We probably would do pretty well with the speed cooking, speed washing, speed diaper changing, etc. because we do them ALL THE TIME! We practice everyday! As we accomplish these great feats, our lists seem to grow rather than reduce. The blog/Web site, 5 Minutes for Mom, realizes that five (5) minutes is about all of the time that mommies have to spare in our busy schedules, so they have made it easy.
The good thing is that we have more than five (5) minutes to consume the wonderful resources and information provided at their newly redesigned site as well as sister sites that they launched today to make moms (and dads) lives easier. If you would like some great, sometimes quick (you may find yourself spending more than five minutes because you can't pull yourself away), useful information, then visit one or all of these wonderful sites:5 Minutes for Mom - Bringing Moms Together
5 Minutes for Special Needs - Support, Insight, Inspiration
5 Minutes for Books - We're Reading Into Everything
5 Minutes for Parenting - We're In This Together
and drum roll please...
***5 Minutes for Going Green - Green Looks Good On Everyone***
The last site/blog is highlighted because I am one of the weekly contributing writers along with several other amazing and talented blogging mommies. It is an honor and a treat to be a part of the "Green Team" and to share a little "green talk". Another great thing about these sites is that you don't have to speed read and take it all in within five (5) minutes.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
One World, One Dream
Another four years has passed and the summer Olympics are upon us.
This brings quite a bit of excitement to me although my introduction to most of the U.S. athletes will be during the games. I don't keep up with a lot of the sports like I used to. No longer do I lose my mind and appetite whenever the 49ers lose another game. I have come to realize that they don't pay me enough (or at all) to do so and it's just a game.
The Olympics are different. The athletes are people like you and me. There is more of a possibility that you or I could have been one of them. They are sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers who had a dream and the passion, drive, and commitment necessary to follow through on honing a skill that would possibly bring world-wide recognition as being the best of the best. For many of these athletes, personal recognition is not as important as the fact that they are representing their country as the best in their sport. The Olympics is the one time where people from all countries come together and for a little over two weeks, their diverse backgrounds, country turmoil, and sometimes politics even though that has threatened to become an issue this year, are able to be set aside while each athlete concentrates and works toward the same dream - to represent well and win a medal (gold preferred, but a silver or bronze isn’t too bad either) for their country.
When I started watching the Olympics (1976), many of the athletes competing this year were not even born. I remember watching with my mother as Nadia Comaneci (who also married Bart Conner from the 1984 U.S. Men's gold gymnastics team), a cute, 14-year-old Romanian who made every performance appear effortless and almost like an afterthought. She was the first woman (a mere child at the time) and Olympic gymnast to earn a perfect 10 (seven to be exact) for her show stopping performances and perfection. You think there is no such thing as perfect, well, Nadia was PERFECT! If you missed her performance and even if you got to see it live, it is worth watching again. Her rhythm of movement was absolutely beautiful. Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto also gave a command performance, that same year, through a broken kneecap injury that only confirmed the importance to these athletes of winning a medal for their country.
The year I most remember and still makes me smile is the 1984 Olympics when I watched as the U.S. Men’s gymnastic team took the gold for the first time in history. I believe I ate and slept in front of the television (which may have been partly due to my crush on Mitch Gaylord - first American gymnast to score a perfect 10 in the Olympics). 
That was definitely a nail biting competition.
If you saw her, then you will never forget Flo-Jo
whose flashy, self-designed and made outfits didn’t manage to overshadow the talent and sportsmanship she possessed? She owned the Seoul Track & Field events (otherwise known as the "Games of Flo-Jo") in 1988 winning three gold and one silver. I really enjoyed watching her run with her team mates in the 4 x 100m relay as she brought up as anchor. I also have some memorable moments from the winter sports held that same year (both winter and summer Olympics were held the same year until 1992). For those Cool Runnings fans, the 1988 winter games debuted the Jamaican Bobsled team depicted in the movie.
A few people to keep an eye on this year are Dara Torres, a 41 year old first-time mother, but five (5) time Olympian and already a winner of four (4) gold medals and five other Olympic medals. Cullen Jones (go English major :)) has made his mark within the past few years, but is now on his way to the Olympics settings records everywhere. Get to know this swimming sensation.
Make memories with your children and don't have to hear about the amazing
feats of the athletes from someone else. You can also incorporate a study of the Olympics as part of school using Amanda Bennett’s Summer Olympics 2008 Unit Study. It is planned for a four week study. Homeschool Share also offers a lapbook option for you lap bookers.
Also, look out for some new sports that have been added, which include BMX bicycling. I'm still waiting for the addition of Homeschool Mom where events include cooking, cleaning, teaching, carpooling, among others, while maintaining our sanity. That sport would be appropriate for either the summer or winter games. What do you think?
Official site of the 2008 Summer Olympic games. The opening ceremony is Friday, August 8. Let the games begin!
A little trivia...What soap opera has the theme song that was dubbed "Nadia's Theme?"
This brings quite a bit of excitement to me although my introduction to most of the U.S. athletes will be during the games. I don't keep up with a lot of the sports like I used to. No longer do I lose my mind and appetite whenever the 49ers lose another game. I have come to realize that they don't pay me enough (or at all) to do so and it's just a game.The Olympics are different. The athletes are people like you and me. There is more of a possibility that you or I could have been one of them. They are sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers who had a dream and the passion, drive, and commitment necessary to follow through on honing a skill that would possibly bring world-wide recognition as being the best of the best. For many of these athletes, personal recognition is not as important as the fact that they are representing their country as the best in their sport. The Olympics is the one time where people from all countries come together and for a little over two weeks, their diverse backgrounds, country turmoil, and sometimes politics even though that has threatened to become an issue this year, are able to be set aside while each athlete concentrates and works toward the same dream - to represent well and win a medal (gold preferred, but a silver or bronze isn’t too bad either) for their country.
When I started watching the Olympics (1976), many of the athletes competing this year were not even born. I remember watching with my mother as Nadia Comaneci (who also married Bart Conner from the 1984 U.S. Men's gold gymnastics team), a cute, 14-year-old Romanian who made every performance appear effortless and almost like an afterthought. She was the first woman (a mere child at the time) and Olympic gymnast to earn a perfect 10 (seven to be exact) for her show stopping performances and perfection. You think there is no such thing as perfect, well, Nadia was PERFECT! If you missed her performance and even if you got to see it live, it is worth watching again. Her rhythm of movement was absolutely beautiful. Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto also gave a command performance, that same year, through a broken kneecap injury that only confirmed the importance to these athletes of winning a medal for their country.
The year I most remember and still makes me smile is the 1984 Olympics when I watched as the U.S. Men’s gymnastic team took the gold for the first time in history. I believe I ate and slept in front of the television (which may have been partly due to my crush on Mitch Gaylord - first American gymnast to score a perfect 10 in the Olympics). That was definitely a nail biting competition.If you saw her, then you will never forget Flo-Jo
whose flashy, self-designed and made outfits didn’t manage to overshadow the talent and sportsmanship she possessed? She owned the Seoul Track & Field events (otherwise known as the "Games of Flo-Jo") in 1988 winning three gold and one silver. I really enjoyed watching her run with her team mates in the 4 x 100m relay as she brought up as anchor. I also have some memorable moments from the winter sports held that same year (both winter and summer Olympics were held the same year until 1992). For those Cool Runnings fans, the 1988 winter games debuted the Jamaican Bobsled team depicted in the movie.A few people to keep an eye on this year are Dara Torres, a 41 year old first-time mother, but five (5) time Olympian and already a winner of four (4) gold medals and five other Olympic medals. Cullen Jones (go English major :)) has made his mark within the past few years, but is now on his way to the Olympics settings records everywhere. Get to know this swimming sensation.
Make memories with your children and don't have to hear about the amazing
feats of the athletes from someone else. You can also incorporate a study of the Olympics as part of school using Amanda Bennett’s Summer Olympics 2008 Unit Study. It is planned for a four week study. Homeschool Share also offers a lapbook option for you lap bookers.Also, look out for some new sports that have been added, which include BMX bicycling. I'm still waiting for the addition of Homeschool Mom where events include cooking, cleaning, teaching, carpooling, among others, while maintaining our sanity. That sport would be appropriate for either the summer or winter games. What do you think?
Official site of the 2008 Summer Olympic games. The opening ceremony is Friday, August 8. Let the games begin!
A little trivia...What soap opera has the theme song that was dubbed "Nadia's Theme?"
Monday, July 7, 2008
Watcha' Readin'?
I love to read even though I can't tell you when I last read a book from cover to cover. I have read quite a few magazines because that is about all of the time and attention span I have to spare. It is really important to me that my children read and I also hope that they enjoy reading too. So far, we are heading in the right direction. They still enjoy mommy reading to them and since I only have one reader, they need me to read to them. My daughter has been expressing her interest to start reading for quite a while, so we have been practicing and hopefully, she will be able to read to her little brother before long.
I intend to make a reading corner in their bedroom, but until then, they enjoy reading in mommy and daddy's bed. The older two listen the best they can while all of us try to keep the baby from falling off of the bed. He gets very busy playing and jumping and hasn't gotten the fact that he should sit and not jump. I often wonder if he is paying attention and every once in a while he will roll over and point to what is being read. I think he gets it.
Each week, one of the children will feature a special book they enjoy reading (or one that was read to them). We will start off the week with Schubaboobaly's pick of One Moose, Twenty Mice (also available in Spanish). This book is a Barefoot Book publication. These series of books, are fun, colorful, attention capturing, and all of my children absolutely love Barefoot Books.
One of my aunts buys alot of books for my children and one of the Barefoot Books she gave to my oldest, which I used to read to him, he now reads to his brother and sister. So, these books are great for the early listeners as well as the early readers.
This board book is a little longer than some of the other board books I've read. Throughout the story of patchwork pictures, bright colors, counting from one to 20, the lingering mystery remains, "...where's the cat?" This is a great book for enfants because of the colors and the introduction to animals (even the spiders and mice are cute) and also for teen toddlers because of the ascending counting skills it promotes. The felt, patchwork pictures make me want to break out needle and quilting hoop to create some of the pictures. Several of the pictures would make great wall hangings.
Schubaboobaly enjoys sitting and "reading" through the book.
Every once in a while, he will bring the book over to me and show me the pictures. It won't be long before he's reading to mommy.
Related Post: The Joy of Reading
I intend to make a reading corner in their bedroom, but until then, they enjoy reading in mommy and daddy's bed. The older two listen the best they can while all of us try to keep the baby from falling off of the bed. He gets very busy playing and jumping and hasn't gotten the fact that he should sit and not jump. I often wonder if he is paying attention and every once in a while he will roll over and point to what is being read. I think he gets it.Each week, one of the children will feature a special book they enjoy reading (or one that was read to them). We will start off the week with Schubaboobaly's pick of One Moose, Twenty Mice (also available in Spanish). This book is a Barefoot Book publication. These series of books, are fun, colorful, attention capturing, and all of my children absolutely love Barefoot Books.
One of my aunts buys alot of books for my children and one of the Barefoot Books she gave to my oldest, which I used to read to him, he now reads to his brother and sister. So, these books are great for the early listeners as well as the early readers.This board book is a little longer than some of the other board books I've read. Throughout the story of patchwork pictures, bright colors, counting from one to 20, the lingering mystery remains, "...where's the cat?" This is a great book for enfants because of the colors and the introduction to animals (even the spiders and mice are cute) and also for teen toddlers because of the ascending counting skills it promotes. The felt, patchwork pictures make me want to break out needle and quilting hoop to create some of the pictures. Several of the pictures would make great wall hangings.
Schubaboobaly enjoys sitting and "reading" through the book.
Every once in a while, he will bring the book over to me and show me the pictures. It won't be long before he's reading to mommy.Related Post: The Joy of Reading
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Share Your Snapshots
At Homeschool Roster, a SNAPSHOT is a "glance, in written form, of an event in which a camera (still or video) wasn't available to capture that quick moment of a memorable experience." I may take a liberty in the next few months and add to our definition, but until then, that’s what it is. Sharing your SNAPSHOT is easy and can be done through the following steps:
Schedule
Each month will have a SNAPSHOT theme.
Participation
Anyone may participate.
Posts
Please mention SNAPSHOT in your post and link back here so that you can claim SNAPSHOT fame and provide others a way to learn about how they too can participate.
Length
I love details, but as we know in the blogging world, it's better if posts are not competing to remove War and Peace from its ranking level. That being said, write what is needed for the reader to enjoy and appreciate your SNAPSHOT as much as you do.
Submission
When submitting your post, include the link to your post and not to the homepage of your blog. You're posting to share, so make it easy for people to locate and read about your SNAPSHOT. Of course, pictures are not necessary, but if you have one, then include it in your post.
SNAPSHOT Button
If you would like to use the SNAPSHOT Button, then copy and paste the code shown on the left sidebar under the button. Please use this code (don’t right click on the banner and save the image) shown so that you will always have the current button.
Content
I reserve the right to remove links to inappropriate posts.
Was that easy enough? If you still have any questions, then please E-mail me.
This month the theme is “free for all.” You can write something about any SNAPSHOT in your life. Let’s see how you are with no limits…Read my first SNAPSHOT.
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