Review: KinderBach Beginner Piano Music Curriculum

I am always looking for fun things to do with my little man, who is 6. I've also wanted to have him try some music lessons, but he's really too young (and too wiggly) for traditional piano lessons. I play the piano, but I knew Isaac wasn't ready for sitting down with me at the piano to learn with the piano books I could find at the music store. I was delighted to have the opportunity to review the KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner, meant for children ages 3-7, to see how he liked it. I received a 6-month subscription for us to try. There are currently 6 levels with a total of 240 lessons available, with more coming.

Let me tell you - this program from KinderBach has been a huge hit! Karri Gregor, the author, clearly knows young children, because there is very little sitting involved, and lots of FUN in these early music lessons! Each video lesson is between 3-4 minutes long, and if there is any coloring or other activity to do, it's done during the video. There are pictures associated with the concepts, like a little house for Dodi the Donkey, who lives over the two black keys on a keyboard, and the Beat Bugs, who help introduce counting beats per measure. There are songs to sing, and MOTIONS to do. We were standing up tall for high notes, squatting down low for low notes, and hanging out in the middle for middle notes. Isaac loved it, and wanted to do a week's worth of lessons each time! In our short time using the program, I've heard him clapping along with songs in the car to the beat - that's a pretty big improvement.

We used my iPad Mini to watch the videos, and that worked out very well for us. There are printable workbooks to go along with each level, and we printed off the Level 1 book to have ready when we did our lessons. You can see the printer icon in the image of the lesson screen, which also makes it simple to print the page you need when you open the lesson, if that works better for you.

There are lots of fun activities that go along with this program, and if you have children who like to do that kind of thing, you will be able to have lots of fun. Isaac enjoyed the video lessons, but wasn't terribly interested in the activities. He did agree to do some of the coloring, but would only do what was absolutely necessary. I was tempted to print and laminate many things, but resisted the urge, because I knew we wouldn't use them. My girls would have loved all that stuff at this age, though.


We did most of our lessons at the piano, and kept our crayons handy over there. When the lessons required a keyboard, Miss Karri told us right at the beginning. One of the best parts of this program was Isaac getting to play a song right away (by week 3). Also, even though I let him go through several lessons at once, there is a lot of review throughout the program, so I didn't worry about him missing something. We could always go back and review a lesson.

The Teacher Corner contains lesson plans for each level, along with the Teacher Guide, which includes lots of activities to go along with Levels 1-3; Audio MP3s for all the songs; and links to download the student books. Additionally, you will find a storybook, coloring pages, and song books with additional music to use with students. The resources in the Teacher Corner are really intended for use in a classroom setting, but there are lots of fun activities in there, like puzzles and games, etc. that you could print and use at home, too. I could see those being VERY helpful if you had lots of little people trying to do the same lesson.

In order to use this program, you will need a few things:

• A computer or tablet for watching the online video lessons and downloading the student pages
• An internet connection, faster than dial-up, to stream the videos
• A printer, for printing out the student pages and any activities you'd like to use
• A keyboard with at least 3-4 octaves, if you don't have a piano
• Some basic craft supplies: crayons and scissors
• Some lessons call for a rhythm instrument, and Miss Karri shows you how to find something to use, like a pot and spoon, if you don't have one already

The only thing I noticed about streaming the videos is that they have to stay pretty small in order to be good quality. They were all right on my iPad, but they wouldn't have looked very good on my full-sized monitor. There is an iPad app which puts all the lessons right at your fingertips - the app itself is free, and you can try the first two lessons of Level 1, but after that you have to purchase more lessons. There doesn't seem to be a way to log in to your KinderBach account and use your subscription through the app.

KinderBach is currently offering their Online Piano Lessons with Teacher Corner Membership for $95.88 per year, which works out to $7.99 per month for full access to levels 1-6 and all corresponding materials. If you've ever paid for music lessons, you know that's a great deal - and it's for any and all children in your family who might want to use it. I love having this resource for homeschool music lessons - one less thing that requires me to leave the house! You can try two weeks of lessons for FREE to see how you like it!

If you'd like to know more about KinderBach, you can find them on Facebook (Facebook for Teachers, too), Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

Click here to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Crew!

Our First Egg Case Has Hatched!

I'm so excited! I had to come over and post about our new critters. The first egg case laid by our praying mantis, Scipio, hatched! If you missed hearing about her, you can read my posts here and here. Emma saw the babies in the jar while we were making lunch. There are lots of them, and we've separated out several to put in their own jars. Because they are carnivorous, they will most likely eat each other if we leave them all in the same container.

The tricky part is getting them into something that will contain them. They're so small, they could easily get out of the lid we had on Scipio's tank. We kept the egg case in a quart-zied mason jar, with a piece of nylon panty hose over the top. Today, we pulled out all my jam and pint-sized canning jars, put some coconut bedding in them, small sticks for climbing, and then put the lids on with pieces of cut-up flour sack towel. I didn't have enough knee-high nylons to make covers for all those little jars!

I looked up what to feed them, because I have no live food for them at this point, and learned we could feed them ground meat. I had some thawed, thank goodness, and stuck it on their climbing stick. They really liked it! I saw some of them fighting siblings away from the food. Hence one of the reasons they need to be separated.

They are so terribly cute - they look like mini Scipios, except they are twig-colored for camouflage. They already act just like adult insects. We watched one sway back and forth, checking us out, while sitting on Abbie's hand, and we've even seen them cleaning their tiny feet and legs, just like their mama used to do. They got all defensive when I tried to move them into their own jars.

You should hear us all crooning at these little insects. They're adorable and we're besotted. We've missed Scipio a lot since she died, so having her babies in the house now is just that much more fun for us. In the pictures below, you can see how tiny they are. Aren't they amazing?

What this means, of course, is that I need to get the other two egg cases into some kind of container with a better lid, so if those hatch too, I won't have a battalion of little mantids running amok.

Boost Your Blog 100 Day Challenge

I'm excited to participate in the Boost Your Blog in 100 Days Challenge, coordinated by my friend Thaleia over at Something 2 Offer. She's a busy homeschool mom of 4, and created this challenge as a way for folks to get to know more bloggers and encourage each other in the process. Along the way, we will learn about things like Twitter, SEO, Blog Post Topics, Pinterest, and increasing blog traffic.

The first 10-day challenge started yesterday(!), and it is to comment on 10 blogs for 10 days. Thaleia is providing the links to the blogs for each day, so all you have to do is click and comment! Anyone is welcome to participate in the challenge and learn along with us.

Mark Twain Said...

Is this the same as sleeping with books under your pillow to absorb the information by osmosis, do you think?

What's For Dinner: Ravioli Casserole

One thing I have never quite mastered is meal planning. I know my life would be simpler if I made a meal plan, but I never remember. I should go do that as soon as I'm done writing this post. We will see!

Anyhoo, how does one who does not plan meals ahead manage to come up with anything for dinner? Well, I'll tell you. I try to keep standard (for me) ingredients on hand, so when I'm ready to make dinner, I can take some meat from the freezer (or, hopefully remember to thaw it the night before) and pull something together. Sometimes this works better than others. Occasionally, when my husband asks what we're having, I reply with something like, "Funny you should ask! It started out to be one thing, but when I started to make it, I realized I didn't have everything for the recipe, so I had to improvise." Heh.

I love to use my slow cooker. There are a couple of nights each week that go much more smoothly if I have dinner in the crock pot. This last week I made a recipe I hadn't made it quite some time, remembered how much I enjoyed it, and thought I would share it with you! It's from a lovely cookbook called Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting, by Rick Rodgers. Actually, the version I have is (ahem) a few years old and it's simply called Ready and Waiting. The recipes in this book are fabulous. Mr. Rodgers calls for real, whole foods, and while they do take some planning and preparation time, they are worth it!

Additionally, Mr. Rodgers provides clear instructions for every single step in his recipes. When I purchased this book, I was a newlywed, and had very little experience in the kitchen. I mean, there are steps to things (Mr. Rodgers calls them "principles of good cooking"), and I had no idea what I was doing. This cookbook was a wonderful addition to my collection, and I've used it often over the years. It does more than provide recipes - it teaches you how to use a slow cooker. I've been flipping through it again, and have found more recipes I'd like to try. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family! does 

Ravioli Casserole

From Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting, by Rick Rodgers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 - medium onion, chopped
• 2 - garlic cloves, minced
• 1 - 28 oz can peeled tomatoes in thick tomato puree
• 1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb bow-tie pasta or fettucine, freshly cooked
• 1- 10 oz packaged frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed to remove excess moisture
• 2 C ricotta cheese
• 1/2 C freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic, stirring often to break up lumps, until the meat loses its pink color, about 5 minutes. Tilt the pain to drain off excess fat, then transfer the beef mixture to a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker.
2. Add the tomatoes with their purée, the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and pepper, stirring to break up the tomatoes with the side of a spoon. Cover and slow-cook for 7 to 8 hours on low (200˚ F). 
3. Skim the fat from the surface of the meat sauce. Stir in the cooked pasta, spinach, and ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, and slow-cook for 5 minutes. Serve the casserole directly from the slow cooker.

My notes:

• This recipe was posted with permission of the creator, Rick Rodgers.
• My husband requested that I leave the spinach out, so I have.
• Instead of "tomatoes in thick purée," I use crushed tomatoes. I have one who doesn't like chunks of tomatoes. (Also, I am not sure I've ever seen a can labeled, "tomatoes in thick purée.)
• I make my own Italian seasoning from this recipe. I ran out of Italian seasoning from my little jar one night, so Googled how to make my own. It's easy to do, I had all the listed ingredients, and one batch lasts a long time. It does say to combine the ingredient in a spice grinder, but I don't have one, so I just mixed them together and put them in a little container.
• We like it with cottage cheese just as well as with ricotta cheese. 

Party at Church!

A Girl and Her Dad...

will make really cool tunnels in the sandbox!

Drawing with Rich Davis

A few years ago, someone posted a link to Rich Davis' blog, Draw With Rich. If I recall correctly, people were looking for some art ideas. I have followed his blog ever since, and have enjoyed drawing all the little things he posts. Recently, he started posting some step-by-step drawing instructions for different buildings. He's developing a new game. The idea is to give the instructions to children and see how well they can follow along, without much coaching. This week, we drew the first one in the series, the barn. We worked from this picture:

And here are our drawings! 

I have no idea why Isaac decided to draw a big swirl, or write "DOG." However, I thought he did pretty well on his barn for a boy of 6 who mostly refuses to hold a pencil. Of course, you could see it much better before he got ahold of the silver Sharpie, but I digress. The girls both had fun with their drawings, too, and you can certainly tell that Abbie took more care with hers than the rest of us. I was thinking, "This was supposed to be a quick, fun start to our morning, not take you all day, dear child..." That's all right, though. We're looking forward to next week's drawing.

Chicken Pies at Church

We've recently started attending a small Moravian church, and we love it. We attended a large, contemporary church for years and loved it, but I've realized that my children do better in a small church environment, and so do I.

One fun thing our church does is make chicken pies. They make a lot of them, usually more than 200 every time. This past weekend, my children and I were able to help them. One of the best things about homeschooling is the ability to take a day or two and do some things we wouldn't be able to do if we had a traditional school schedule.

The entire process for making chicken pies at our church takes 3 days. We were not able to go on Thursday of last week, when they cut up vegetables to cook with the chicken (carrots, celery and onion) and pre-measured ingredients for the pie crust. On Friday, when we joined them, the first thing we had to do was put on hair nets! Aren't we lovely? ;-)

Then, we set to work assembling the boxes for the pies once they were ready. Emma and I folded them, while Abbie helped put on stickers and keep count so we knew when we'd done enough.

We also had people making dough, and cooking chicken outside in a tent. It was SEVEN DEGREES F that morning - that is COLD for North Carolina! Those men were champs, though, and just kept bundled up while they worked.

Once the chicken was cooked, we had to shred it to get it ready to put into the pies. Also, someone was in the kitchen making gravy from the broth. When a batch of dough was finished, it was divided into sections and weighed so that each pie would be uniform. 

On Saturday, we finished up shredding the rest of the chicken, and got to work assembling pies. There were some crusts that had been made before hand and frozen, ready to be separated and put to use. They also have this amazing pie machine that flattens the dough into top-ready crusts, and will also put it into pie plates with nicely crimped edges. That is quite a piece of technology! It certainly made the work go more quickly. Some of the ladies told me that before they had the machine, they would have to stand and roll out dough for 200+ pies. I can barely manage to do crust for one pie competently. Wow.

It was fun to participate in this activity that is so important to our church. They measured chicken for each pie, added gravy, butter, and pepper, and then put the top crusts on. Emma, Isaac and I worked with our friend Thelma to cut out little shapes from dough to decorate the top of each pie, too.

We even got to bring one home for dinner!

Bookish Inspiration

I joined an online book club via Facebook, and someone posted this lovely snippet from the poem, "Despondency Corrected":

Books are yours,
Within whose silent chambers treasure lies
Preserved from age to age; more precious far
Than that accumulated store of gold
And orient gems which, for a day of need,
The sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs,
These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.

William Wordsworth

Co-Op Update

This last week at our little Charlotte Mason co-op, we started some fun things. First, we started a new Shakespeare play: The Tempest. I'm looking forward to this one! I like them all, but this is a great story. I think it will be less. . . disturbing than Macbeth. Ha! I told the girls we might need to make our own stop-motion video. I see peg people being involved. They were less excited by this idea than I was. I don't get it.

Our latest hymn is one that was new to me, called "My Anchor Holds," written by William C. Martin and Daniel Turner in 1902. My friend Sara, who is in charge of our hymns, told me it should be in every hymnal and we should all sing it every week, she likes it so well! The meter is a little different from most hymns I'm familiar with, but it's fun to sing, and it's hard not to sing with gusto. It feels like a marching tune. Here's the first verse and chorus:

1. Though the angry surges roll
   On my tempest-driven soul,
   I am peaceful, for I know,
   Wildly though the winds may blow,
   I’ve an anchor safe and sure,
   That can evermore endure.
   • Refrain:
     And it holds, my anchor holds:
     Blow your wildest, then, O gale,
     On my bark so small and frail;
     By His grace I shall not fail,
     For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.

We're using this video on YouTube to learn it. It's not a professional recording, but the congregation sings really well and you can hear all the parts being sung!

Our most recent folk song is "Green Grow the Rushes O," and we're enjoying that very much, too. It's not "Green Grow the Rashes O" by Robert Burns; lots of people sing that. This is an older song, with unclear origins, and is a counting song, similar to "The Twelve Days of Christmas." The verses have some religious references, and some astrological references, and some things that are simply unclear. Here are the lyrics, starting with twelve, because otherwise it would be REALLY long:

I'll sing you twelve, O, green grow the rushes, O!

What is your twelve, O?

Twelve for the twelve apostles,

Eleven for the eleven who went to heaven,

Ten for the Ten Commandments,

Nine for the nine bright shiners,

Eight for the April raiders,

Seven for the seven stars in the sky,

Six for the six proud walkers,

Five for the symbols at your door,

Four for the gospel makers,

Three, three, the rivals

Two, two, the lily-white boys, clothed all in green-O,

One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so.

Some of the references seem obvious to me. Others of them seem rather strange. I did an internet search, and didn't come up with much definitive information. For example, I found lyrics that said "Eight for the April rainers," which, according to Wikipedia, could refer to the "Hyades star clust, called the 'rainy Hyades' in classica times and rising with the sun in April.' " However, in the video below, they say "April raiders," and that made sense to me, too, because I've read that people used to watch for raiders to visit their shores when the weather improved in the spring. If you know where I might find out more information on the song, I'd love to know! I've checked in my folk song books, but it's not in any of them.

I found this video on YouTube of two gentlemen who seem to be bards performing it with motions and everything. (If you're interested in the bards, check out this website. There are some great songs.) It's a great deal of fun to watch. I'm hoping to convince the kids to learn the motions and perform it at the end of the year. 

I love sharing our music with you. It's probably my favorite part of co-op.

And, one more thing, just for fun. We worked on our dry brush skills last week, and we each made a "splotch book" in our nature journals by blending colors and seeing what effects we created. You can read a bit about that, and see a picture of a splotch book, here. My middle child, Abbie, painted this lovely sunflower for me this morning using dry brush. I'm going to make it into a bookmark.

Isn't it pretty? I love when she paints things. :-)

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Hangout with Shirley TOMORROW!

I posted recently about Shirley Solis and her new parenting program. I have been so very blessed by Shirley's free videos, and the information she's shared in the two Google hangouts I've attended. As a mom of 6, Shirley has learned a lot about parenting, and her heart is to share what she's learned with parents everywhere. Her approach is child-honoring; it sets kids up for success, and gives them tools to help them remember to what they need to do and do it well. She trains her children to make a positive impact with their lives. Her tips are good for parents and kids, and designed to help your family life run smoothly.

On Thursday, January 23, at 8:30 pm Eastern time, Shirley is offering another Google hangout. The topic is "The Twelve Most Life-Changing Tips I Could Give Any Parent." I'm excited to hear what she has to say! Click here for all the details and to sign up for the hangout.

I want you to know I do not promote things for the sake of promotion. Shirley is wonderful, and I know you will be blessed by her teaching. Come over and join us!

More from our Mantis

Our praying mantis is still alive, much to my surprise. A couple of weeks ago she laid a second egg case, and it looked to me as though she were dead at that time. The next morning, though, the kids saw her move a leg, so they took her out of her cage and she was still with us. We misted her with water and got to watch her drink, and then fed her a cricket, which she consumed with gusto. She's still hanging in there! She's lost a couple of her feet, so she has a harder time holding on to things, but she still climbs to the top of the cage and seems to enjoy coming out to be with us. As I type, she's sitting on my shoulder, watching the kids lower stuffed animals on a rope over our bannister. She thinks they're quite silly, I can tell.

She had an experience this week I thought I'd share. Because she's elderly, she doesn't try to escape anymore, so we can set her someplace and find her there later. We like her to have a bit of freedom, you see. We had just come home with a fresh box of crickets, so we put her on the lid of her cage and fed her one, and let her stay there to eat it. We went about our business, putting things away, and honestly, I forgot she was out.

All of a sudden, I heard Abbie hollering at one of the kittens. This kitten, to be exact:

The kittens are fascinated with Scipio. They are all excellent bug hunters, and Scipio is easily the largest insect they've ever seen. They spend a lot of time on top of her cage, gazing at her, wishing she would come out to "play."

Percy discovered the mantis on top of her cage and decided to hop up and investigate. I am not quite sure what he did to her, but she was not impressed and went into her fiercest stance. Check her out!

Aren't her wings magnificent? I'll tell you what: I have been stabbed with one of the hooks on her front legs, and it HURTS. I found this picture on Wikipedia of a mantis' front leg:

See that spike on the tibia? She uses those to hold on to her prey, and also to defend herself. They provide an effective defense, that's for sure! 

We managed to get Percy away and rescue Scipio, who did not, in spite of her advanced age, have a heart attack. It was fascinating to see her defensive display. It took her several minutes to calm down afterwards, too. She would turn her head at any motion (mostly Isaac), ready to strike if necessary. This was the first time we'd seen her wings all the way out. Praying mantises can fly, but they usually don't, and she has never tried in the house. 

In the kerfluffle, the kittens knocked her first egg case off the lid of the cage where she'd laid it. We have it in a mason jar with a lid made of an old nylon stocking. This will hopefully allow air into the jar and keep the babies from escaping if and when they hatch. We will have to get her second egg case out and put it into another jar, but it's attached to her favorite stick and we haven't found a replacement yet. We need to get on that - I do not relish the thought of hundreds of the little beasties running amok in the house. The kittens would probably have a field day, though.

I never knew having a bug for a pet could be so much fun! If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to try keeping one for a while and observing the behavior.

Always more to learn, yes?

A good friend told me she tries to start every new year reading something about parenting. To be honest, that had never occurred to me! I'm not sure why not - I can use all the help I can get. It seems that just when I think I have my kids figured out, they throw me a curve ball. It does seem appropriate to read something to refresh myself on my parenting: what I know to do, what I may have let slide.

For 2014, I'll be watching these free videos from Shirley Solis. I've already started, and I'm impressed with what I've seen so far. The tips she gives are already making a difference in my family. I hope you'll check out what she has to say, too.

Are you frustrated with your children's attitudes? Do you wish the children helped around the house a little more? Would you like some creative ways to train your children?

Building Character with Children is a brand new video-based program with homeschool mom, author, and speaker Shirley Solis. In these short, 7-minute videos, Shirley shares her experience as a mom of 6 children, with tips and tricks to build strong, desirable character traits in your children!

In Building Character with Children, you will learn:

How to train your children to learn a new habit in just a few minutes a day (so you won’t have to keep repeating yourself!)

 The 3 reasons why your children don’t do their chores AND what to do about it!

What to do about sibling rivalry and how to resolve conflicts easily and peacefully!

The #1 reason why children are lacking character today and how to change that!

New Year, New Plans

Happy New Year! Are you glad to see 2013 leave and 2014 come in? I certainly am. There were many wonderful things in 2013, to be sure, but there were also some less fun things, and I am glad those are behind us.

January always brings change, doesn't it? Resolutions, of course, and I'm revising our homeschool plans, evaluating what's working and what isn't. We had a rough start to our school year, and didn't really get going until October. Top that off with a lack of motivation that has run rampant through my house, and we are 3 weeks behind where I'd hoped we'd be at this point, which means we will finish our current school year in the middle of September, 2014 if we keep to the same schedule. I am hoping to be able to move things along a bit, but if that's what happens, the world will not end. I keep telling myself that. There is no point in panicking, right? It is what it is.

We've been plugging away with Ambleside's Year 7, and for the most part, it's been great. Here are some of our favorites:

• Watership Down - the girls both enjoy reading this, and I've been listening to the audio book to keep up with them, and it's been great.
• The Brendan Voyage - What a FANTASTIC story! We're reading this as part of our geography studies, and it's an amazing book. I highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to exploring other books by Tim Severin.

What has been less fun:

• The Birth of Britain, by Winston Churchill - This book is no one's favorite. We tried reading it aloud, and we tried having the girls read to themselves. Abbie says it puts her to sleep. We're going to switch it out for The Middle Ages by Dorothy Mills. 
• Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott - The girls are having a difficult time with this book. I've been listening to the audio book, which is excellent, so I'm going to have them listen to it as well. I know they will get more out of it that way, and I do want them to get into the story.

I'm also going to implement more read-alouds. I purchased the TruthQuest guide for the Middle Ages last summer, and spent quite a lot of time collecting books to go along with our studies. I don't feel the girls have extra time in their school day for more reading at this point, but they're always up for reading with mom, so I'm going to read at lunch, I hope, and perhaps in the evenings as well.

When we started our school year, I gave the girls their own planners, along with a copy of the PDF schedule printed out from the AO website. For the first month or so, I sat down with them and showed them how I would schedule the work for the week, and then let them try it on their own. They haven't done very well with that. I'm in the process of entering everything into a homeschool planning program, which has an app that will allow me to push schedules to their iPads, or print them out for them. I am hoping this will help them get more work done. Also, they know they don't get to do any fun things until school and chores are finished. 

Another thing I've found is that we need to severely limit their time on their iPads. They were birthday gifts a couple of years ago, and we have let them have free access to them, with limits on internet connectivity. What I should have done is keep them with me until I saw proof of finished chores and school, so we're now backtracking and setting those boundaries. I wish I had been more savvy about the need for limits in the beginning, because taking them away at this point makes them feel as though they're being punished. However, it needs to happen, and I am setting the same limits for myself - my internet access will be very limited until all the kids are in bed in the evenings. Hopefully that will help me stay on track with things I need to do, as well.

Isaac and I are going to start working together on a more regular basis, too. I have a confession: he is so very difficult about doing any school work that I haven't pushed getting into a routine with him at all. We need to start working on some things, so I've gone over a book list for a Year 0.5 which was put together by some of the lovely women at Ambleside Online. I have several of the books - certainly enough to make a great start, so I'm going to put together a little schedule for him with lots of fun things, some handwriting and reading practice, and some math. We were using MEP, but I think we are going to change over to Arithmetic for Young Children by Horace Young. It's in the public domain, and has the student do lots of active things, as well as mental math. I think that will go over better with Isaac at this stage than MEP. He was capable of the work, but not very interested in coloring things in a particular pattern. He loves to teach things to me, and I think this book will allow for that nicely.

I got some great ideas for Year 0.5 at the Wise Owl blog. That's also where I found the link to Young's math book. She has a daily schedule typed up in the post I linked, and I put it into a table so I could see how it looked on a weekly basis. If you'd like to see that document, click here. 

Have you made any changes in your homeschool? I've heard lots of talk about reevaluating and reworking among my homeschool friends. I'd love to hear what you're doing too!

IEW's 12 Days of Christmas Giving

If you're interested in learning more about the Institute for Excellence in Writing, sign up for their 12 Days of Christmas Giving! From December 26th - January 6th, you will receive an email with a special link to download a free gift.

Click here to register, and see today's gift!

Comfort Food for the Holidays

When I was growing up, I was blessed to live next door to both sets of my grandparents. I am not sure my parents always felt that way, as it did present some unique family challenges, but I loved it. My Grandma Shauver passed away almost 5 years ago, and I miss her terribly. The holidays can be hard when you're missing loved ones, as many of us know.

However, as I set my heart on remembering all the things I loved about her, I can't help but remembering how she loved to cook. She was a particularly excellent baker, and even made my wedding cake. One thing I especially loved was her macaroni and cheese. I collect mac & cheese recipes, but hers remains one of my favorites.

When I was a newlywed, I asked her for her recipe. I was just learning to cook on my own and wasn't very confident in my skills. I will never forget the phone conversation we had:

Grandma: First, cook your macaroni.
Me: How much?
Grandma: It depends on the number of people you want to feed.
Me: Um... all right. What's next?
Grandma: After it's cooked and drained, add some milk until it sloshes.
Me: What? How much is that?
Grandma: It depends on how much macaroni you have.
Me: (confused, but willing to continue) Ok, what's next?
Grandma: Then you add an egg or two.
Me: How many?
Grandma: It depends on how much macaroni you cooked.

Do you sense a theme in our conversation? I will never forget "milk until it sloshes." I seem to recall measuring and writing down a recipe back then, because I just couldn't wrap my brain around listening for milk to slosh. However, it really did work that way, just like she said, and that's how I make it now.

Recently, I made it to take to a church potluck. My dish was emptied quickly, and our pastor said at the end of the meal that several people had asked for the recipe. I was shocked! This is not what anyone would call "gourmet." It's quick to prepare and requires no planning, as long as you have the basic ingredients on hand, which I usually do. I made it because I learned of the dinner on the day it was happening and didn't have time to come up with anything more creative. However, it went over so well, this just might be my "signature" pot luck dish. I couldn't find the recipe I wrote down years ago, but I figured it out again for my church friends, and thought I'd share it with you as well. Click the link below for a printable version. I do hope you enjoy it!

I would love to hear of any favorite family recipes you'd like to share. I enjoy hearing about different family traditions and memories.

Grandma Shauver's Macaroni and Cheese

What's Your Blood Type?

Do you know what your blood type is? I know mine, because it was written on the little cards on the bassinets at the hospital when my babies were born. Actually, I wasn't sure if it was my blood type or theirs, but it turns out to have been mine: AB+. I asked my husband, and said he's pretty sure his blood type is O-.

At our last co-op meeting for 2013, my friend Sara, had us all test our blood types for nature study. She got some kits, which included cards, anti-A serum, anti-B serum, and anti-Rh serum, along with color-coded toothpick stirrers and needles to poke our fingers. The needles were pretty big, so she very kindly allowed us to use the finger-poker they use with their diabetic son.

First, we watched this helpful video explaining about blood types:

After poking my finger, I put a drop of blood in each of three spots on my card, then added the appropriate serum and mixed them. After a few minutes, I could see where my blood was beginning to clot and where it was not. My blood clotted with both the anti-A serum and the anti-B serum, but not the anti-Rh serum, so I knew I had both the A protein and the B protein, and my Rh was positive.

It was fascinating to see how the kids' blood types turned out! Of course, none of them was going to be the same as mine, as they got half their DNA from their dad and he's O-. Turns out we have 5 separate blood types in our family:

Beth: AB+
Todd: O-
Emma: AO-
Abbie: AO+
Isaac: BO+

When Sara's boys were tested, they were surprised by some of the results. Sara and her husband both testsed Rh negative, but a couple of the boys tested Rh positive. A bit of quick research showed that you can have one positive Rh allele and on negative. Genetics are never as simple as they seem, are they?

I learned that while Todd is a "universal donor," meaning his blood type can be donated to anyone as long as they are Rh-. I, on the other hand, am a "universal recipient," meaning I can receive blood from anyone, but I can't donate to anyone unless they have my specific blood type.

This was a neat experiment! It goes along with biology and anatomy/physiology studies, and it's just fun to do even if you're not specifically studying those subjects, too. Of course, if we need to know our blood types for an official reason, we'll ask the doctor or donate blood. :-)

Nothing says Christmas like...

A praying mantis! Am I right? Okay, I'm just kidding.

My children found a praying mantis on our front porch in early-mid November. At least, I think that's when it was. Emma and I tag-teamed and caught it, and put it in our little critter carrier - one of those plastic boxes with a vented lid which we keep handy for just such an occasion. We had a fish tank sitting empty with no fish, so the girls got busy and cleaned that out while Isaac and I zipped over to purchase crickets, a mesh and coconut bedding. We found some nice climbing sticks, and with a small plastic dish for water we got our new friend settled into her home. I don't normally keep living creatures we find outside as permanent residents, but I knew this mantid was nearing the end of her life if left outside, and thought in this case it would be all right.

I haven't found any good living books about mantids, so if you know of one, I'd love for you to share it with me. I went to my trusty Handbook of Nature Study for information, only to learn that Miss Comstock didn't cover them in her volume. I was able to learn a bit from our nature guides, and beyond that, I'm just going to share what we've observed about her while she's been with us.

We named her Scipio Alfred Manty, a name which seemed to fit this elegant insect. It happens to be a boy's name, because we assumed she was a boy and had no idea how to figure out whether she was or not when she first came to us. However, after some searching on the internet, I learned that females have five abdominal sections, while males have more. We counted - a task made simpler because she spends most of her time hanging upside down on the lid of her cage - and found five sections. At least, we were pretty sure. It's hard to tell through the mesh and I wasn't keen to try to flip her over when we had her out of the cage. Our suspicions of her being female were confirmed last week when she laid a large egg case. I'm in the process of procuring something that will hold the little mantids when they hatch, because otherwise I think we'll have at least a hundred of the little beasties running around the house, and that would fun for no one except the cats.

So, what have we observed about this beautiful creature? First, she has become quite used to me and my family, and can distinguish between us. She seems to trust me most, and is fairly comfortable with the girls holding her, but she is not as keen to hang out with Isaac, although you can see from the picture that she has been amenable to hanging out with him occasionally. It did take her a few days before she determined she could trust us not to hurt her, but once she decided to like us, she would come right over and climb out on a proffered hand when we lifted the lid of her cage.

She doesn't seem to be able to see underneath herself at all. Her eyes are
positioned on top of her head, and when she climbs on us, she feels carefully with each foot to make sure she has solid footing before proceeding. Her eyes themselves are fascinating. Sometimes they appear to be clear with small black pupils, while at other times they are completely black. I read that because they are diurnal, or prefer the day, their daytime eyesight is better than their night vision, and her eyes do seem to darken at night, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

She is an amazing predator. The first time we put a cricket in her cage, we watched her head turn quickly as she locked her gaze on her unfortunate prey. We weren't able to see her capture it, but a short while later we found her happily munching away, hanging from the top of her cage. Her jaws are incredible. Perhaps all insects have mandibles like this, or at least the carnivorous ones, but this is the first time I've been able to observe them in action up close. They have several parts and seem to operate from side to side, rather than up and down as people's do. We were able to feed her a cricket from a pair of tweezers and observe her eating up close. I tried to post a video, but I'm having an issue with it, so I'll try to fix it when my in-house tech support gets home.

Let's see, what else? She has wings, but prefers to walk. She's never tried to fly, and we've had her out all over the house, climbing on us and the furniture. Her front legs have some wicked spikes on them, and it hurts when she stabs with them! She got Emma's hand while we were trying to catch her, and once I made the mistake of trying to pick her up and she got my finger. I didn't make that mistake again! She can climb just about anything, although last night she did slip off a  plastic spray bottle on our side table (kept for squirting naughty kittens away from the Christmas tree).

When she's observing something, she sways back and forth. She reminds me of a snake charmer when she does that. I read that it might help her distinguish something moving (such as prey) from the rest of her surroundings. In the wild it also seems to help with camouflage.

She is quite fastidious and often cleans her feet. She is very cat-like in that way.

Since she laid her eggs, she's slowed down quite a bit and seems less agile. I'm afraid her time with us might be nearing its end, and indeed, if she had remained outside she would have laid her eggs and perished with the first frost. I'm delighted to have had a few weeks observing and getting to know her. I never thought I'd welcome an insect into the house like this, but we've had a great time and learned lots.

Fun Living Math!

Someone just shared a link on Facebook to the Arithmetic Village website. The author, Kimberly Moore, wrote some fun little books to introduce arithmetic concepts to children, and she is now offering them as a free download! She also has some cool printables to go along with them.  Here's how you get the download:

1. Go to her online store. Click on the "Free for download" link. You will be asked to sign up for her newsletter.
2. You will get two emails - a "welcome" and a "confirm your subscription" message. Confirm your subscription; you'll get a "subscription confirmed" email.
3. In a little while, you will receive another email with the link to download your files. 

I know this seems a little silly, but all the emails you receive are titled "Arithmetic Village Free Downloads," and it can be a little confusing.

I wasn't asked to review the books, just thought they looked like a nice way to "play math." Check them out!