June 2017

June was busy for a summer month, but it seems that as Kylen has gotten older, our summers have gotten busier.  He finished some subjects in late May but needed to continue others into June and opted to do math throughout the summer rather than buckling down and finishing.  Even though we are fairly strict about staying on track, it has always been a challenge to complete all subjects by summer when we often have only four school days/week instead of the traditional five.  The fifth day has been used for co-op attendance and other activities.  It's been worth it, but it's resulted in doing some schooling through the summer.

The play Kylen and Greg were cast in kept them busy multiple evenings each week, plus basketball one evening when possible.  Kylen also started voice lessons, which I am very happy about!  I've been encouraging him to take voice for several years, because I figured it would come in handy with his interest in music and ministry.  After a year of theater, he realized the value of it!  His instructor is an incredible teacher, and Kylen has noticed great improvement in a short time.

On June 2nd, we got a new niece!  She had a rough start, but when my brother and his wife finally took her home, they also took an incredible testimony.  This picture shows one of the many ways God showed His Hand at work.  The picture on the wall in her room?  Her name is Daisy!

Another graduation!

We attended our co-op's year end party.  Since we haven't been sure whether we'll return in the fall, they honored me with a certificate and gift for my service.  This is where I've put most of my volunteer time the past 10 years, between teaching, serving on the board, and leading in various capacities.  At times it felt like a full time job, because I poured everything I had into it.  This is where we met some of our closest friends, and this is the group of people who have impacted our homeschool journey the most.  The last few years, I've slowly moved toward "retirement" - handing off extra jobs and not taking on new ones.  In a lot of ways, my experience here was similar to being plugged into a church.  I got to know people, learned from them, worked through conflicts, and tried to make it the best place possible for our kids.

We enjoyed a dessert outing with friends.  :)

Here is company trying our Chewbacca mask! (And he wore it quite well, I might add!)

Something shocking and sad happened.  A relative who had just graduated from college, healthy and in the prime of life, was killed with her fiance in a car accident.  They lost control during adverse weather conditions, skidded across the highway, and hit a semi head on.  Both were killed instantly.  I never got to meet her fiance, but she was one of the happiest people I have ever known.  I had just seen her a few weeks prior at her sister's wedding reception, which made it all the more shocking.

You will be missed, sweet Debbie!

I posted about Father's Day here.

Kylen and I had another mother/son lunch outing.  This is a place called The Well Coffeehouse.  It's a cute place, and they specialize in healthy food, which I appreciate.  The problem is that they chop their veggies so large, Kylen and I didn't enjoy the sandwiches we tried nearly as much as we could have.  The ingredients are fresh, but it would be nice to get a bite of veggie, meat, and sauce together instead of just cucumber or tomato or sprouts.  We also did not care for the healthy drinks we tried.  I have a few healthy drink recipes that we love, so I know it's possible to make them taste good!

Kylen waiting for me to get back to the table.

I had a fantastic lunch with a friend at Beverly's in CDA.  When Greg and I ate dinner there 10 years ago, we didn't think the food was worth the price.  But my friend had been there for lunch and liked it.  In fact, it was one of the best healthy lunches I've had at a restaurant.  This was the "British Columbia Salmon Skewers" with jasmine rice, soy glazed broccolini, and hoisin-ginger vinaigrette.  They came by with a selection of warm bread/rolls to choose from, and we also shared a cute pot of coffee with all the fixin's.  Oh!  And their Caesar salad was excellent!!!

I will be doing a separate post about Greg and Kylen's awesome experience with Liberty Lake Theater.  It was a big part of June, but it didn't end until mid-July.  :)

The Best Teacher Gift Ever

If art appreciation is to be my last class, it was a good one to end on!  I had 20 students, making it one of the more popular classes, and I didn't lose a single one until the last trimester when a student stopped attending that hour.  On the last day, they gave me the most perfect gift imaginable: a collection of handwritten scriptures with illustrations that can be displayed on my desk.  I had told them that I wish there was a desk calendar with quotes, scriptures, and artistic illustrations.  Someone was paying attention!  I will treasure this as one of the best gifts I have ever received.

Here are just a few pages:

Co-op Christmas Party 2014

This was my third year of organizing our co-op's Christmas party.  I alternate "big party" years when I do crafts and prepare more elaborate games around a theme.  Two years ago was pretty time-consuming, but this year was even more so!  The theme was "A White Christmas."  I didn't get inspiration from Frozen, although all the promotion probably influenced me subconsciously!  Lol!

We had a performance by the handbell class, followed by the usual potluck, followed by crafts and games, which ran in parallel.  We also had giveaway drawings for several winter-themed items such as a snowman cookie jar, talking snowman, and Olaf popcorn tin.

CRAFTS
There were four craft options.  The first was paper snowflakes coupled with a snowflake making contest.  There was a box in the center of the table for entries. Unfortunately, most of the children didn't put their names on their snowflakes, and the helpers must have forgotten to remind them.  We did the judging later at home and had to toss most out for lack of identification. If I did that contest again, I would need to find ways to improve on this.  Maybe put a sign with red letters on the front of the container saying "Don't forget your name!"

The other crafts were a melted snowman ornament, mittens cards, and pet peppermint snails:

Clear Plastic Ornament, Epsom salt, Peppercorns, Orange Foam, Ribbon

Note Card, Paper, Hemp Cord, Mini Clothespins, Tissue Paper

Spice Drops, Peppermint Candies, Pull & Peel Twizzlers, Sprinkles, Orange Segments, Small Candy Canes, Small Bowls, Sugar, Large Gumdrops (not pictured)

Wish I could take the credit for coming up with these, but I got all the ideas from the net.  All three had lots of color options for individuality.  The snails were by far my favorite.  Saw the mushrooms and snails on Martha Stewart's site and expanded on the idea by adding the bowl for a "cage," sugar, sprinkles for food, and candy cane/large gumdrop for snails to "climb" on.  I love that no frosting or other adhesive was required.  You simply use a plastic knife to slice off a little of the spice drop, and the stuff will stick stronger than glue.  A toothpick was used to scrape away sugar where the sprinkle eyes and licorice stick (or Twizzler pull apart) antennae would go.  The antennae didn't fall off mine even after excessive handling.

GAMES
Some of these games were planned for specific grade ranges, but many would work for almost any age.  There was a prize bowl with little items found at Michaels, Target, and Hobby Lobby that included balloons, bouncy balls, small plastic puzzles, jumping frogs, and mini bulbs:

Winter Olympics
*Arrange students into groups.
*Announce a contest category such as “The Tallest.”
*Each group selects one person to represent their group. Chosen people come forward.
*Reveal action/measurement selected people will do to win such as “Whoever has the tallest thumb.”
*Chosen people compete.  Winning team gets point.
*Do several rounds.
*Each person from winning team gets item from prize bowl.

List of Contest Ideas

*The Tallest....Thumb *The Longest....Hair *The Fastest…Plastic Cup Stacker (10 cups per contestant)
*The Highest….Jumper *The Funniest…Face Expression *The Longest....Stare in Staring Contest
*The Fastest….Word Looker-Upper *The Nearest…Birthday to Christmas
*The Smallest....Shoe Size *The Fastest....Alphabet Song Singer
*The Farthest....Length to Throw Paper Airplane *The Largest….Bubble Blown
*The Fastest…Sum Adder (21+37+44=102) *The Strongest....Thumb in a Thumb War
*The Longest….Thrower and Catcher (Two People Needed) *The Best….Coin Spinner
*The Most…Colorfully Dressed *The Fastest....Crab Walker *The Greatest…In Age

Supplies

Dry erase board and marker, plastic cups, dictionaries, paper, bubble gum, plastic balls, coins, stopwatch

Act or Draw

*Player pulls out a slip of paper and must act or draw until someone guesses what it is.
*First to shout out correct answer goes next then picks item from prize bowl.

Supplies

Dry erase board and marker, 40 slips of paper with words in bag

Snowball Relay

*Divide into teams.
*First player on each team is given a Styrofoam ball (snowball) and pencil.
*Players place their ball on the floor in front of them.
*On your mark, they use pencil to push snowball across room, around obstacle, and back to next in line.
*First team to finish wins.  Winners get item from prize bowl.

Supplies

Styrofoam balls and pencils, cones

Snowball Toss
*Have students form 2 lines.
*On go, front students toss marshmallows through wreaths into buckets (wreath directly in front of bucket).
*Decide how many marshmallows they must get in to pick a prize from bowl.

Supplies

2 bags marshmallows, 2 wreaths, 2 buckets

Penguin Shuffle

*Players stand side by side with their "eggs" (beanbags) on top of their feet.
*On go, they shuffle to line without dropping their "eggs." First one to succeed wins and picks prize.
*If more kids than beanbags, divide into teams and have them line up.  Front players race, run back when reach line and hand beanbag to next player. Players winning team choose something from prize bowl.

Supplies

Beanbags

Snowflakes Keep Fallin’ Off My Head

*Divide players into equal teams.
*Determine starting and ending points, about 10 feet apart for each team.
*Give first players a paper snowflake.
*On go, they place snowflake on their head and clasp hands behind back.
*They walk to the turning point and back. If the snowflake falls, must start over.
*Winning team gets item from prize bowl.

Supplies

Paper snowflakes

Traditional Games with a Winter Twist

Snowman/Frosty Says instead of Simon Says
Ice Light (fast), Snow Light (slow) instead of Red Light, Green Light
Freeze Tag: works as is!
Frozen instead of Statue

Trivia Game
Our co-op leader expressed interest in doing something special for the teenagers, and I thought that was a great idea.  I did a trivia game years ago when a bunch of my extended family was together for Christmas and thought it would be fun for the teenagers.  You have to find out "unusual" information about everyone and form that into trivia questions.  I interviewed some of the kids/parents and also got information by sending an email out.  As an extra motivation, we sponsored a drawing at the end for a gift card to a location of their choice.  They pretty much just had to show up to be entered once and got a second entry for a correct answer to a trivia question.

Questions to Get 'Em Thinking
Any strange collections?  Maybe she collects dryer lint or price tags.
Does he have surprising dreams for the future?  He'd like to be President or invent a new soap?
Any odd food combinations?  Ice cream with ketchup and that sort of thing.
Has he experienced anything unusual such as visiting 20 countries or being abducted by aliens?
Does she have extraordinary abilities?  Maybe she can do handstands while bicycling.
Has he had some surprising forms of employment or volunteer work?
Funny nicknames?
Habits such as avoiding cracks in the floor?
An unusual interest or hobby?
An obsession of some sort?  Maybe a fascination with ants or likes to stare at the wall for hours?
Terrified of butterflies?  Has 20 pet tarantulas?  Once sneezed 50 times in a row?  Can blow a bubble larger than a microwave?  Nearly got ran over by a buffalo?  Can't stand it when people hum?  Typically goes to bed past 4 a.m.?

It took an hour to get through about 40 questions, one per student.  I had a second set prepared we didn't get to. As an extra diversion, I brought a squiggle pad and invited them to do drawings while we played. They could give me their drawing at the end for a chance to win a small prize.  We chose the winners at home and sent them ice cream gift cards through the mail.

CONCLUSION
This was a labor intensive party, but it was very well received.  There were minimum 50 signed up for each craft, and they took a week to prepare, not counting making demos and figuring out pricing. Most of the games were much easier, although the trivia game was pretty time-consuming. After the party, it took three days to unpack everything, which is like getting back from a two week trip!  I'm glad I did it, but I'm looking forward to an easier party next year!

We Got Our Christmas Stuff Put Away!

Sunday, actually - two days ago.  I haven't put up the Valentine theme, so it looks pretty bare in here.

I let Kylen sleep as long as he wanted this morning.  I honestly don't know when was the last time we allowed him to do that, because he would snooze past 1 if we let him.  Sure enough, he got up around 1:20.  There's been bugs flying around, and Greg woke with a sore throat.  Plus, we got up earlier than usual yesterday for the first day back to co-op.  So I figured he could benefit from extra sleep.  Meanwhile, I finished up a photography book for some friends.

I'm teaching a preschool class this trimester.  Ever since I taught it a few years back, I've been telling everyone it's the easiest grade, and people have always been surprised.  Well, it really was the easiest class I ever taught.  Most of the children were calm, great about staying in their seats, and didn't seem to have any expectations of me.  My biggest challenge was a couple of unresponsive children who didn't want their existence acknowledged and one who loved to talk constantly.  And there were a couple who were out of the nursery for the first time and didn't want to leave their mother.  But for the most part, it was a piece of cake!

Throughout the day, several moms expressed their appreciation that I stepped up to fill the sudden and unexpected need for a preschool teacher.  I really didn't think it was all that praiseworthy, being such an easy class.  And besides, I already had lesson plans made from the first time.  Plus, I have a co-teacher who will likely cover the second half of the trimester.  No problem!

Well, I will never look at preschool the same way again.  The class started in a state of total and complete chaos.  Only seven children were there, but we had the full range of personalities.  One of my assistants had to track down two different students at different times who fled the room.  I asked a mom how they usually deal with that, and she said someone stands or sits in front of the door.  We didn't have anyone babysit the door, but I had my chair near it and made several lunges over the course of the class.  There were a couple of students who pouted off and on.  One girl spent a good portion of the hour sucking her thumb and asking to do something else.  I also had a couple of unresponsive students who didn't want to do anything at all.  One actually had her head on the table part of the time and looked miserable.

Thank the Lord, my lesson plans had a couple of very engaging activities, and both my assistants were fantastic.  The 13-year old was wonderful at working with a couple of the girls.  My adult assistant has had prior experience teaching AWANA to the same age group, and I was just amazed by her.  When the class ended and I was out of material, she entertained the children another 15-20 minutes.  I hadn't anticipated needing to extend the last class by that much time.  What a blessing she was!  Wow, God is just so good!!!

I was a bit shell-shocked, but now that I've had some time to think and talk to several people, I may have some insight into why it's different this round.  The biggest reason could be that I am teaching the last hour instead of the first.  By the third hour, this age group is tired.  They've had a busy, fun couple of hours filled with activity and stimulation.  Their concentration is decreased, and since they just came from lunch, those who ate anything with sugar are probably wound up.  Being only three and four years old, some may still be nappers, which could explain why a couple were so unresponsive.  I don't think there is anything I can do to address these differences, but I am still excited about teaching them.  It's just that I will need to rethink my next three lesson plans a bit, perhaps make some changes.  As I've said before, it always amazes me how different every trimester is at co-op, even when there has been little change in the people attending or the age range or the class material.  I think this is a big reason why homeschooling has such huge academic advantages.  It's easier to adjust lesson plans for a small group than for an entire class.  One size simply doesn't fit all!

August Update & School

August was a more typical summer month than June and July.  We went camping, visited the lake and enjoyed dinner a couple of times with friends, relaxed, and resumed our "moving back into the basement" process (sorting, getting rid of, putting away).  Our garage is finally looking less like a junk space!

I did begin taking my new medication shortly after posting the July update. Thankfully, I have not struggled much with side effects. My doctor recommended slowly working up to full dosage, and I'm not there yet. I have a little stiffness, but for the most part I feel pretty good! (Well, other than my back going out a few days ago.)  I still have some breathing problems occasionally, but I have high hopes that it will eventually go away.  So far, I like this new medication much better than the previous one.  The improvement in my mental outlook is amazing.  I'm considering doing a post about my overall experience.

School
Our co-op had registration last week.  All summer, we thought there would be a guitar class offered for advanced students.  Several other parents were hoping for that as well.  When we checked the schedule, it was another beginner's class!  Oof!  I was surprised at how many students from last year went ahead and took it anyway.  Latin from the Roots Up 2 would have been a perfect alternative, since Kylen took Roots 1 at co-op last year.  Nope, that one got moved to last hour.  There really was nothing he could take that made sense, so I added a chess class at the last minute.  I actually don't care for the game myself, so I won't be teaching much!  I figure, the students can learn through experience.  :-)  I had a backup plan in case no one signed up, but I got a class of 6!  First hour he's taking German again and, last hour, basketball.  He's excited about his co-op classes!

We're using the same currick as last year for math, history, science, and current events.  I told Kylen he could choose two instruments to continue lessons.   He picked violin and piano, although I'm sure he'll keep practicing guitar on his own.  We didn't know he could learn violin and fiddle on the same instrument!  He just had his first fiddle lesson, and this is the first week he has had daily practice doing both styles.  We all love how it sounds!  Makes me want to jump up and dance a jig!

For college preparation, I am getting information from Lee Binz.  I've subscribed to her Total Transcript Solution and plan on making a transcript this year to practice for high school.

Math ~ A Beka Algebra I
English ~ My own thing (creative writing, essays, reports); I will be using one of Greg's software projects - his time manager - to record how much time Kylen spends on his stories.  I want to get a feel for how to work it into a high school English credit.
Vocabulary ~ We purchased an electronic dictionary to speed the process of looking up words while I'm reading aloud. Kylen enjoys playing games on it!
History ~ Sonlight read alouds from Core H and a thorough notebook based study of the 50 states using a variety of resources, including A Beka's My State Notebook, materials by Joy Dean, a video series, recipes, etc.
Science ~ Evolution: The Grand Experiment Vol. 2 Living Fossils (including DVD and teacher's manual)
Current Events ~ God's World News
Language ~ English from the Roots Up 2, German at co-op
PE/Sports ~ Basketball at co-op, exercises from private trainer sessions, tennis downstairs
Music ~ Violin/fiddle and piano lessons
Bible ~ Evening reading and discussion; The BBC Manual (haven't gotten far, but impressed with this book so far!  only dislike is the different Bible version used - Greg has Kylen look up the reference verses in his own Bible.)

We'll be easing into school next week and should be going full steam by the second week in September.  :-)

Don't be a Scrooge! ;-)

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kylen's Costume at the Christmas Party

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Party: Crafts

We had six craft options: dried cranberry ornaments, embossed gift tags (set of 4), cider mix, bottle cap magnets, hankie dolls, and ribbon bookmarks. The last three were planned by me.  Parents were permitted to pay at the party. Each craft was on its own table and had a sign with directions and an envelope with the names of those signed up and how many of each craft they planned to do. We had extra supplies for last-minute folks, but having people sign up really helped with preparation!

You may recall that Greg is crazy about bottled Mexican Coke?  Scandalously, I don't like anything carbonated, but he and Kylen guzzle it regularly for dessert.  I've been saving the caps for quite some time in the hopes of eventually using them for something.  Last year, I fell in love with bottle cap crafts during my art class, so these came to mind pretty quickly for the party.  They're fast and easy, too.  You cut out an image printed on cardstock, glue it inside a cap, spread it over with glitter glue, and stick a magnet to the back.  The caps are magnetic, so no glue is needed for that last step.

Bottle Cap Magnet Craft Table

Hankie dolls or "pew babies" can be as elaborate or simple as you like.  I chose "simple" from the instructions here and gave the option of white or tan.  Requests for the two colors were about equal.  I prefer tan, because it has more of a vintage look (wrinkles and all!!), but it also requires dying the hankerchief with tea or coffee and letting it dry.  Thankfully, they dry extremely fast.  I used instant coffee stirred into hot water and soaked them two hours.  I tried soaking one all day, and it looked identical to those soaked two hours.  Not sure why?  Who knows, maybe they only needed 5 minutes - I should have tried that!  I'm guessing it was due to using instant, because the length of soaking time was supposed to affect the shade.  Anyway . . . Fold one side 1/3 of the way down, knot the right and left top corners to make the hands, place 3 cotton balls centered under the fold, tie and knot a 12" length of thin ribbon around the cotton balls to form the head.  For fancy, add lace around the head for a bonnet or at the bottom of the "dress," sew on eyes, or make pink circles for cheeks.  There are other variations, but I like this easy no-sew version!

My third craft was ribbon bookmarks, another idea adapted from my class last year.  I had grand plans for vintage buttons and lace  - until I went shopping for supplies!  Who knew, vintage buttons are expensive!  I was sad to let my original vision for this craft go, but in order to keep prices practical, I used mostly ribbon, bulk buttons for filler, and a few vintage style buttons for variety.  It's not that the ribbon bookmarks with regular buttons aren't lovely; they just didn't go as well with the theme.  These bookmarks have a nice feel and are fun to play with while reading.  For Christmas, I especially like the fabric poinsettia buttons.  They look wonderful when paired with a green button opposite them.

That wraps up my posts on our co-op's Christmas party!  Right now I'm getting much-needed relaxation with my family while recovering from a virus (sore throat, some coughing, much better today though).  Kylen and I have been alternating between playing Wii Animal Crossing City Folk and the new Wii U Scribblenauts Unlimited.  Oh, and Andy Griffith on Netflix.  I haven't played a video game through with him - just the two of us - in many years.  It's fun!!

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Party: Games

We needed games that were old-fashioned, simple, and suitable for large groups of various ages. I thought 3-legged races sounded fun and remembered wheelbarrow races from childhood.   Puzzles, tag, and dice have been around forever.  The card puzzles were made using Christmas cards we've saved through the years, and Pass the Present is similar to the classic game of musical chairs.

Christmas Card Puzzles ~ Ideal for Young Children

Cut Christmas cards into 4 pieces each. Mix them up face down, and give one piece to each player. On go, players must find the other pieces to their card. First group to put their card together wins.  Add or remove sets each round according to the number of players.  The backs were numbered such that a final winner could be chosen by randomly calling out a number between 1 and 4.

Three-Legged and Wheelbarrow Races

Players pair up for 3-legged and wheelbarrow races. For 3-legged races, tie ankles together using a bandana. One puts his arm around the other's shoulders to help maintain stability. For wheelbarrow races, one player holds the other's ankles while he runs on his hands.

Sock Tag

Each players tucks a sock into the back of his pants with part of it hanging down like a tail. Everyone runs around and tries to pull each other's sock. Last one with a sock wins. This game has a problem with children wanting to stand against the walls to protect their socks or team up to go after individual players. A firm leader is needed to keep it fair.

Pass the Present ~ Ideal for All Ages
Similar to musical chairs. A wrapped gift is passed while music is playing.  Player caught holding the present when the music stops is out. Last player left wins. It's important that the person operating the music have his back to the players so that he can stay completely impartial.

A Bit Dicey ~ Ideal for Older Kids
Each player places a single popsicle stick in his mouth. When the timer starts, players pick up dice and vertically stack them, one at a time, on the end of the stick. The dice cannot rest against the nose or touch any part of the face. If a die is dropped, player may take a replacement from his pile to use in its place. First player to stack all his dice or to stack the most after 60 seconds wins.


I didn't have a chance to visit the gym where most of the games took place, but Greg said they went well with the exception of the dice game.  Whenever the dice fell - which happens a lot - they would go bouncing and scattering everywhere.  In fact, 5 didn't make it back!  Lol!  I had imagined the students would be sitting but found out later they were standing, which probably exacerbated the bouncing and scattering problem.  This game has great potential, but I'd recommend playing it sitting down on carpet.

A major highlight of the party was to be the prize table. I wanted items that were worth winning and representational of the past, which I was hoping would make the experience a little more educational.  Manning the table involved taking tickets, giving demos, answering questions, and best of all: sitting down!  A perfect job for me!  Game volunteers were given 10 tickets/game that they could hand out to winners. Most items were one ticket, but a few pricier ones were two.   Winners had the option of picking out 6 marbles or chocolate coins, one of which could be large. I had cinch pouches for carrying them.  The miniature wagon was just for displaying marbles, although I got lots of inquiries on it!  Karla might recognize the Coke. I cruelly stole it from a boy at her Christmas party during the white elephant gift exchange.   Yes, I had my greedy mind fixed on that Coke for 15 long turns until mine finally came.  (Don't feel too bad, since I think he was able to steal something else he liked.)  It came with a box of ribbon candy, and those were a couple of the first prizes to go!

Prize ideas: books by Jane Austin or other period writers, Little Golden books, yo-yos, marbles, Jacob's ladder, pick-up sticks, wooden toys, Tiddly Winks, Tickle Bee, barrel of monkeys, jacks, paper dolls, Slinkys, Coca-Cola memorabilia, Fisher Price toys, etch-a-sketch, Gumby, ribbon candy and similar edible items, hand-crank music boxes, chocolate coins, old-fashioned magnets and signs, kazoos, aprons, paddle balls, balancing birds, Rubik's cubes, sock monkeys, alphabet blocks, tin lunchboxes, mini tea sets, vintage style stationary, puzzles, calendars, glass ornaments, and mittens.  I didn't have all of these, but I had a good variety!  We considered the cost of the prizes to be a donation from us, so anything that didn't get picked we got to keep.  There were some pretty neat items left!  :)



Overall, I think the games and prizes portion went pretty well.  Next up: crafts.

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Party: Schedule

Praise the Lord - our co-op's Christmas party was a success!  I worked on the planning and preparation for several months.  This was our schedule, which needed some adjustment:

11:00 Setup
11:30 Dress-Up Contest
11:45 Scripture Recitation
12:00 Potluck, Music & Slideshow
12:30 Crafts & Games
 1:00 Yo-Yo Competition
 1:30 Cleanup

We advertised in our weekly newsletter (e-mail) and placed a sign-up sheet out the last couple weeks of co-op.  Over 130 people signed up, and almost all made it!  The sign-up sheet included a place to record the main dish and dessert or salad each family planned to bring and whether they wanted to help out in setup, crafts, games, or cleanup.  I emphasized areas we were short-handed as we went along, so that those who signed up later would know where we had the greatest need.  We could have used a few more in crafts, but for the most part, I think it was well balanced.

Greg and I and a few others arrived a half hour before the setup crew, but we were still scrambling to get everything ready!  And that's with very little decorating!  We purchased rolls of red and green plastic to cover the tables quickly.  Two were enough for about 28 long tables.  We covered food, seating, and craft tables.  I brought a separate gold tablecloth for the prize table.

We did spend quite a bit of time on centerpieces over the weeks leading up to the big day.  I found the idea of using canning jars with epson salt for snow and miniature decorations.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find many small vintage-looking objects, although I did get lots of bottlebrush trees!  I used miniature bulbs, presents, drum ornaments, a couple park benches, and sprinkles of glitter.  Greg attached a beaded string to the outside and taped a light to the underside of the lids.  We found the lights in the wedding section at Michaels.  Tweezers are a must for arranging!  These turned out nice, though not as "old-fashiony" as I was hoping.

The dress-up contest required about 35 minutes, but that's because our judge did a superb job of improvising as he interviewed each child.  They were to pick a historic period or character for inspiration, and he asked each one who they were supposed to be.  His extensive acting experience, great sense of humor, and quick wit garnered lots of laughs!  I'll post a pic of Kylen in his costume soon.  :)

For the scripture portion, I asked one of our younger students to recite Luke 2:1-14.  He was finished in under 5 minutes, but it averaged out with the dress-up contest.  Where I really messed up was the potluck.  A half hour might be OK if lines diddn't exist!  15 minutes in, some hadn't even gotten their food yet.  I'd start the party a half hour earlier next time to accommodate line time.

Drink options were ice water, coffee/tea, cider (used up two gallons), and Coke (used up 3 1/2 cases of 24 from Costco).  Greg is addicted to bottled Mexican Coke, and it was his idea.  Several parents said it was a major highlight for their kids, so that was a great call on his part.  Plus, Coke is quite vintage!  Just don't forget a bottle opener.  (Don't worry - we didn't forget.)

Taken at the party!

Crafts and games were alloted one hour, and that was about right.  Clean-up took longer than I anticipated, and we left before it was completed.  I need to find out a more realistic estimation.  I was thinking it would start before games/crafts ended, but we had one game that went long.  In the future we might be able to start cleanup earlier.

One of our members created our co-op's first ever recipe book!  We didn't get as much participation as I hoped, but I thought it was a neat project for her to take on.  They made their debut at the party with an old-fashioned cover!

I'll do separate posts about the crafts and games; otherwise, this is going to get very long!

Art Drawing Activity and Game

One day in art class we did a drawing activity called See If You Can Draw and played a game I made up using a Squiggle Art pad.  It was fun to see what the kids came up with!

See If You Can Draw
I got the idea here.  Give each student a full sheet of paper and a pencil.  Pick ten objects and say them one at a time.  You can even have them rhyme and/or have everyone take turns saying what everyone is to draw.  Start with the teacher.  Have a timer for each item.  Warn them that they will need to fit all objects on the paper.

See if you can draw something blue.
See if you can draw an old shoe.
See if you can draw your best friend.
See if you can draw a road with no end.
See if you can draw something you can't reach.
See if you can draw a day at the beach.
See if you can draw a frog on a log.
See if you can draw a puppy dog.
See if you can draw a window with a view.
Now, see if you can draw a picture of you!

Squiggle Art Game
Give each student a pencil and sheet of paper removed from a Squiggle Art pad.  (Each sheet will have a line or "squiggle" that doesn't look like anything yet.)  Give them 30 seconds to make a drawing from the squiggle.  Whoever wins gets to spin to see which direction is up for the next round.  My assistant and I took turns standing off to the side so we could choose the winners without knowing who drew them.

Beach in a Bottle

I thought this craft had a lot of potential but didn't like the "cheap" feeling of the plastic bottle, especially with older students in the class.  I wanted something more classy and decided to try using a glass bottle with a cork.  It worked well, although a couple boys pushed the cork in too far.  Thankfully, I had a few extras.  I found the bottles at Michaels.

The first step is to remove the cork!  Using a funnel, pour 1 tbsp of course sand into the glass bottle.  Students were allowed to choose white or black.  Most picked white sand, and there are other colors available at craft stores.  Be sure to use course sand!!!  Fine will mix with the oil and produce an ugly, goopy mess that will have to be thrown out.

Students had the option of adding a small glass white or blue marble and 7 small shells.  Mix 2 drops green and blue food coloring into 2 cups of water to get turquoise.  You could mix other colors such as blue or red.  Tinted water will lighten in the bottle, so go darker than you want.  Fill the bottle half to 2/3s full using the funnel, put on the cork, and swish around.  Carefully dump water out, so most of the sand stays inside.  Pour in fresh tinted water, and repeat.  It will "clean" the sand, getting rid of some of the smaller particles that make the water cloudy.  I figured this out during class when a student noticed my example was clearer than hers.  While experimenting at home, I had emptied my water out several times to try different tints and inadvertently cleaned my sand in the process.

Next, students could add a pinch of glitter.  I had silver, gold, and red to choose from.  Fill bottle almost to the top with mineral oil, again using the funnel.  Rub tacky glue around inside top of the glass lip, just a few millimeters deep.  Press the cork in securely, and wait for glue to dry.  Turn the bottle on its side, and gently rock to create a "wave." 

The glue a little further down the cork may never dry completely and may mix with the water, but I don't think it's a problem.  The cork does a good job keeping the contents inside.  It's more of a precautionary step and probably wouldn't be needed if the students handle the bottle carefully.  Speaking of which, I can't even fathom what a big chore it would be to clean up should one of these break.  The combination of oil, dyed water, and sand isn't good for a carpet!  I emphasized to both students and parents that this isn't a toy.  It should be treated more as a breakable decoration.

Some students opted not to use the oil and instead filled the bottle all the way with tinted water.  This eliminates the "rolling waves" look but still looks pretty.  Another variation is to skip both oil and water and just use sand with the shells on top.  A small piece of paper rolled and tied with a piece of twine would make a fine addition: message in a bottle.  For that version, the shells will stay on top better if fine sand is used.

Tip: test experimental items in the water before adding the oil to make sure you like how they look.  One of my shells floated on the water instead of sinking, which was annoying.  Once the oil is added, you don't want to pour anything out or things get very messy.

Fabric Paint Decals

This was one of my favorite crafts from the art class. I found it in a book called FamilyFun Boredom Busters by Deanna F. Cook. One girl liked it so much, she made it part of her birthday party!

You need dimensional fabric paint in a variety of colors. "Scribbles" brand seemed to work better than "Puffy." I purchased a 20-pack of 1 ounce bottles and had a ton leftover. Depending on how large you make the decals, you can fit several on one plate. They were meant to be miniature, but Kylen made a large one that worked great. (It's still on his bathroom mirror after nine months!)

Tape a piece of wax paper to a flat surface (I used paper plates for easy transportation), and gently squeeze paint onto the paper. The book recommended using a toothpick for shaping, but I found it best to move the bottle around while squeezing to make the exact shape more directly. The toothpick tends to cause thin areas, especially along the edges, which makes it harder to peel off without breakage or warping. A simple, cute design to warm up with is an apple tree. Start with a brown trunk. Add the green top above and grass at bottom, making sure it's touching the trunk. Then add small dots of red for apples. Allow to dry over night. Permanent markers can be used to add very fine details. such as the pupils of eyes.

Warning: these are addictive! Greg teased me for repeatedly going back and making more after I was "done!"

Art Icebreaker: Pass Around

On the first day of art class we played an icebreaker game that was well received. I saw the idea at KinderArt: #9 on this page.

Each student is given a piece of paper with his name on the back and a pencil. They have 10 seconds to make one type of line (wavy, zigzag, curved). When the time is up, yell, "Pass!" Students pass their paper to the left, and they again put one line of some type on the new piece in front of them. This keeps going until pages are covered fairly well. Say, "Stop!" and each student has to retrieve his own paper. He then finds the most interesting section and crops it down to fit the frame. The design is colored in (we used marker for more vivid colors); and they have an instant, nonobjective, modern piece of artwork.

I found 6x4 frames at Wal-mart for $1.50 each. Most of the students chose blue, green, or black. Pink, orange, and purple were not popular (despite there being girls in the class!). To make cropping easier, we removed the clear plastic protectors from inside the frames. Their transparency allowed the students to move them around to decide more easily on the best area to keep. They could then trace a line around them, color the area inside the line, and cut that out for the frame.

Nonobjective, abstract, or nonrepresentational art is artwork that doesn't look like anything you would recognize. Usually, the work is all about colors, shapes, brushstrokes, size, scale, and, in some cases, the process of creating it!

Co-op Art Class

The art class I taught at our co-op September through June was my first experience offering a yearlong class (lasting all three trimesters) rather than my usual one trimester, or eight week courses. It was a very educational experience for me as well as my students!

There were a couple reasons I decided to teach a yearlong art class. Yearlong classes are a bonus in that they stay on the schedule between trimesters. This makes life easier for our scheduler - one less hole to fill! I had been thinking it would be good to try it at least once. Then, academic classes are nice, because they make lost study time at home feel more worthwhile. My classes tend toward the fun side, so I felt I should try something more academic. Plus, I've always wished we had done more crafting in our homeschool. This was meant to be a last attempt to make up for that before Kylen entered junior high.

Overall, I think it was a good class and the students learned a lot. Because we only had one hour, I had to choose between doing longer crafts and incorporating an educational portion consisting of videos and printouts. I decided to go with shorter crafts. Fortunately, I was still able to use the full hour a couple days each trimester for more involved crafts. I'll be sharing my favorites!

It was wonderful discovering so many amazing artists and art forms I didn't know existed, but it also felt like too much time and creative energy were focused here. I found out that shorter commitments work better for my style and personality. In the future, I'll stick with one trimester classes, though I'm glad I tried it once! It was a great learning experience!

Homeschooling: The Extras (Part I)

I probably couldn't remember all the extras we've done this year, but I can give a quick overview! In terms of extracurricular activities, I would categorize us about middle-of-the-road. Now if I could drive, we'd likely be at the extreme end of busy, so it's probably good I can't. Gives us plenty of time to chill, sleep, think, and read.

The most valuable "extra" in our homeschool journey has been our co-op. We've been attending three trimesters a year, eight days a trimester since 2006. Besides the obvious benefit of enrichment classes (some of which would be impossible outside a group setting), we've been blessed to meet some of our best friends there. This year included drama, basketball (during lunch), the science class I mentioned, an inventions and technology class, strategy games (chess, Risk, etc. - taught by me), and art (also taught by me).  We were blessed to have a drama teacher who very kindly used a play written by Kylen.  I was an assistant and got to witness his work being brought to life under the hand of a truly gifted instructor.  It was an amazing experience for both of us!  Kylen would love to do more acting and is hoping for more drama classes in the future.  We'll see!


In addition, our co-op offers 2-4 field trips a month, of which we aim for one. This year we've toured Cabela's, a dam, and a frozen yogurt shop (yum!); watched high quality performances by two different children's Christian theater groups, and attended hands-on impressionism and soil exhibits at a museum. We also helped with our co-op's Christmas party.

  

The Shooting Range at Cabelas

Yogurt Shop

Impressionism Exhibit

 "PE" has consisted primarily of basketball, bike rides, LOTS of basement hockey, and recently a whole lot of rollerblading. A friend kindly offered us a ride to a once/month homeschool skate day, and it appears that may become a regular event on our calendar! During the summer, Greg's dad takes Kylen on weekly park outings for tennis and other activities.



Sadly, February marked the end of Upward basketball, since Kylen will exceed the grade limit next year. Between practices and games, it provided two solid months of exercise over the last 6 years. We liked how it was Christian based with a focus on good sportsmanship and values rather than competition. Next winter we'll have to look for something else!

Dribbling in Last Game

Can You Spot Kylen?  Smiling, Lower Middle

 I'll be doing one more post on homeschooling "extras," and that should wrap up my homeschool series!



Money Fun

Money Fun was the fourth class. (No need to cover Class #3, as it was DEGO Day, a term coined by one my students meaning Domino + LEGO. A theme combining two past favorites and fairly self explanatory.) This one required an absorbent amount of prep time, as there was a tremendous quantity of information to wade through and my money knowledge was very sadly lacking. I had great difficulty selecting which facts to include, making sure it was at their level and not too tedious. In the end, I think it was a bit much for their attention spans. Still, the class went quite well. I tried to balance facts with visuals and activities.

We started with a brainstorm session of synonyms for money (refer to a thesaurus) followed by the history behind one term: “bucks.” Hint: It has to do with hunting and trading. I rolled quarters down the table and asked the kids to grab ‘em as they went by. Unfortunately, this proved too tempting for many students and they kept taking other’s quarters despite repeated warnings. I talked a little about the manufacture of U.S. coins, explained how their edges came to have ridges (this is quite interesting), and gave examples of things that can be done with them. We had a contest to see who could keep his coin spinning longest.

Next, I gave a short history on our paper money and showed printouts from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. I talked about sheets of bills and shredded bills, past and present denominations, and shared a little money trivia. Things like the largest denomination ever (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in 1946 worth about twenty cents at the time), oldest known paper money (China, of course; 140 B.C.), and the World record for the largest bill.

Crisp new dollars, straight from the bank, were distributed. This is an age that really appreciates a buck, and I got quite a reaction when they found out they could keep them. I briefly touched on defacement and counterfeit laws, showed examples of money origami, and walked them through the steps of making a triangle from a dollar.

My husband is from Europe, which proved convenient for this class. His collection of foreign currency came in handy for show and tell! I gave each student a 2009 edition Disney dollar. We took a vacation there a few months ago, and I purchased extras for future use. By the way, for the Disney fanatics out there, this is a fun thing to collect. They change their designs each year in denominations of 1, 5, and 10.

This theme is worth doing again, though I might try and reduce the quantity of factual material.

Group Game Day

My second co-op class was Game Day. Unfortunately we had to stay home due to flu, but I sent a list of games for my assistant. I will only share those that the kids enjoyed most.

Four Corners
This was their favorite. I remembered it being one of my favorites from grade school and was happy to find it on the internet, as the rules were a bit fuzzy. I am thrilled they liked it so much. I only wish I could have been there to see it played! Like a little, happy piece of my childhood being reenacted before my eyes.

To begin, four corners (or general areas) of the room are labeled from the numbers one to four. One player is designated to be "It" or "The Counter." This player sits in the middle of the room, closes his eyes, and counts to ten. The remaining players choose any one of the corners and quietly go and stand there. When "It" has finished counting, he calls out one of the numbers. All players who had chosen that corner are out of the game and sit down. Then, "It" counts again and the remaining players move to a different corner.

The last person to still be in the game wins, and usually becomes the new "It."

If "It" calls out an empty corner, he either calls a new number right away or the players rotate to a new corner, according to different versions of game play.

ZIP/ZAP/ZOP

Players form a circle, facing each other. Someone begins by pointing to another person in the circle and saying "ZIP!" That person then points to yet another person and says "ZAP!" That person points to another person and says "ZOP!" This continues, but the words must be said in order: ZIP, ZAP, ZOP. If someone makes a mistake and says a word out of order, that person is out of the game. Eventually, the circle dwindles to only 2 people, who are staring at each other, yelling ZIP!, ZAP!,ZOP! Until one of them makes a mistake.

COMIC STRIP MIXER
Depending on the number of players, you will need to cut several comic strips into separate panels. I had 9 students and used three comic strips, three panels each. I printed my own after searching on this web site and this one. It took some time to find ones that I thought were both funny and appropriate for my age group. The best candidates seemed to be Peanuts, Garfield, Rose Is Rose, and Winnie the Pooh. Calvin & Hobbes and Dilbert might be good for older kids.

After separating the panels, mix them up! Have all the students face each other, perhaps sitting around a table so that they can’t see each other’s backs. Use clear tape to attach one panel to each back. On “GO” they must get up and arrange themselves in the correct order so that the comics can be understood.

I had two black and white strips and one in color. I thought the color comic might have an advantage, because it would be easier to distinguish from the other two. To make it more even, I used a marker to outline each of the black and white panels, using two different bright colors for the two comics. I also had a problem with the lettering in the comics printing out clearly and traced over all the letters with a fine black tip pen.

This game was a bit short, so it might be good to take twice as many comics and do two complete rounds.

Other old favorites were 7-Up and Simon Says.

Award ribbons or stickers can be handed out to all the students at the end of class for good sportsmanship.