Austyn is distracted

Austyn is still so distracted by his Christmas gifts. Much of what he got was educational, so I've let him be, but I'd really like to get into more activities instead of just reading. I'll have to try some tactics to gain his interest next week. I think I'll get everything ready to do some activities and lay out what we need so he can see for himself how much fun and how interesting it will be. This week was mostly reading with a little bit of math (his idea). I've been doing a good job of letting him be to learn and getting in there when there are learning moments. Unschooling seems to be working but I do feel anxious at times worrying that everything is going as it should be. It's so hard to change my view from that of mainstream society and deschool myself. It's also hard to let go of control (which I love to have). I read somewhere that deschooling could take a lifetime.

One point to be had is that he is mostly interested in building things with lego and with the project fair coming up there is no shortage of lego builds to share. He does need to get started on his display for the project fair soon though.

“The most important thing any teacher has to learn, not to be learned in any school of education I ever heard of, can be expressed in seven words: Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.” ~ John Holt

A Sign For The Door

I saw a sign on the lego room door. Austyn put this sign on the door and when I saw it there I couldn't help but get a picture of it. It reads "AUSTYN LEGOZ" I think he meant to do an S but did it backwards and just didn't bother to rewrite it all. LOL! It is another example of how he is just learning and practicing things all on his own.

"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him."
~John Holt~, (1923-1985) American Educator, How Children Learn

Reading My Library

We have entered another challenge. This one can overlap some others. We are going to read our library. We are to go through the children's section of our local library and select books starting with the "A" authors and make our way through them all. Our librarians already think we are nuts, I'm sure, with the amount of books we take home and read. We are in two other challenges. One is 100 books a month (click on the logo on the left side bar for more information or to join in) and Book Sharing Monday (also found on the left side bar) It's going to be strange for the librarians to have whole sections of the shelves empty at one time. LOL! I can't help it... I'm laughing just thinking about it. And what a great way to find some really great books that we'd normally never read. 
Now I'm not sure what we'll do when they transfer to the new location. It may affect us for a week or two. I guess we'll deal with that when it comes. But in the mean time this is going to be fun! Join us?! Click on the logo above to learn more.

Tobogganing

 

 

 

 

 

We went tobogganing for the first time this season. It was fun but the snow wasn't thick enough in some spots. The kids like to slide down the slide when we go because with snow on the slide and their snow suits on they go really fast. Ausyn added snow to the slide to make it go faster. Daddy even had some fun as you can see by this last photo.

“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.” ~ Unknown

Book Sharing Monday

 

Bubblegum Delicious by Dennis Lee and Illustrated by David McPhail is a book full of poems. My kids and I really enjoyed this one. I'm not sure if it's because of the fun in each poem or because of the great illustrations. Here is the first poem from this book.

Bubblegum Delicious

Bubblegum delicious,

Bugglegum delight,

Bugglegum de-lovely in the

Middle of the night

Wrap you up in bubble wrap,

Wrap you up in gum,

Wrap you up in wonderful

'Cause you're the special one!

The Holidays Wrapping Up

We had some good days for our holidays. Here are some pictures.

  Every Christmas Eve we open one gift before anyone shows up. This is their Christmas Eve Gift. Only they did it this year. My hubby and I didn't purchase gifts for each other (cut backs... LOL!)

We were excited to have Grandparents (including my Dad, which makes me feel so happy) stay over for Christmas Morning. It made the tree look like it was overflowing with gifts. The great thing about this year is that many of the gifts were clothes or educational.

 

After opening gifts Zoe played dress up over and over and over...

 

After opening gifts Austyn got to work building and Grandpa helped! What a great time they had together!

 

 

After our Christmas at home we visit with relatives and have more fun. Here the kids are dressing up and playing with their cousins.

New Years Eve is tonight. I guess this finishes off the holidays for us. It looks as though we'll just be home working on our business and spending time together.

"Happy New Year To All My Fellow Bloggers!" ~ Me

 

 

100 Books-A-Month Challenge

Here is our list for December. We did well considering the busy time of year. I plan on staying relaxed with our homeschooling so I expect our reading habits won't change much. We all love to read!

Read to both children:

1. ABC Rhymes by Carol Memling
2. A Carol for Christmas by Ann Tompert
3. A City Christmas Tree by Rebecca Bond
4. A Creature was Stirring. One Boy’s Night Before Christmas by Carter Goodrich
5. A Firefly in a Fir Tree by Hilary Knight
6. A Kangaroo Joey Grows Up by Katie Marsico
7. A Million Dots by Andrew Clements
8. A Pioneer Christmas by Barbara Greenwood
9. Are You Grumpy Santa Claus by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis
10. Arthur’s Christmas by Marc Brown
11. Baboushka. A Christmas Folktale from Russia by Arthur Scholey
12. Bees by Susan Ashley
13. Boogie Knights  by Lisa Wheeler
14. Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell
15. Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop
16. Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan
17. Christmas by Alice K. Flanagan
18. Christmas Around the World by Emily Kelley
19. Christmas Cricket by Eve Bunting
20. Christmas in Mexico by Cheryl L. Enderlein
21. Christmas in Sweden by Cheryl L. Enderlein
22. Christmas Tree by Robert Frost
23. Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell
24. Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett
25. Cowlick! By Christin Ditchfield
26. Cuckoo by Lois Ehlert
27. Deck the Hall illustrated by Sylvia Long
28. Disney, Pixar, Cars by Ben Smiley
29. Dolphins by Seymour Simon
30. Edgar, Allan, and Poe and the Tell-Tale Beets by Natalie Rompella
31. Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail
32. Emma’s Christmas by Irene Trivas
33. First Night by Harriet Ziefert
34. Frog Fish by Colleen Sexton
35. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
36. Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
37. Hanukkah by Miriam Chaikin
38. Hannukkah! By Roni Schootter
39. Happy New Year! By Emery Bernhard
40. Henry Bear’s Christmas by David McPhail
41. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
42. Hooray for Fish! By Lucy Cousins
43. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss – 2 times
44. I Don’t Want a Posh Dog! By Emma Dodd
45. If you take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
46. Jingle Bells by Nick Butterworth
47. Little Tree by E. E. Cummings and by Chris Raschka
48. Living Color by Steve Jenkins
49. Look-Alikes Christmas by Joan Steiner
50. Maisy’s Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins
51. Math Attack! By Joan Horton – 2 times
52. Merry Christmas, Merry Crow by Kathi Appelt
53. Merry Christmas, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
54. Mistletoe by David McPhail
55. Mother Goose Numbers on the Loose by Leo and Diane Dillon
56. New Year at the Pier by April Halprin Wayland
57. Noel by Tony Johnston
58. Olivia helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer
59. One Little Chicken A Counting Book by David Elliott
60. Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison
61. Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern
62. Polly’s Christmas Present by Irma Wilde
63. Prairie Christmas by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
64. Pulleys to the Rescue by Sharon Thales
65. Red Riding Hood by Christopher Coady
66. Redwoods by Jason Chin
67. Sam’s Wild West Christmas by Nancy Antle
68. Santa Claws by Laura Leuck
69. Silent Night A Christmas Carol Is Born by Maureen Brett Hooper
70. Super Swimmers by Caroline Arnold
71. The Boy Who Cried Wold by B.G. Hennessy
72. The Boy Who Drew Cats by Margaret Hodges
73. The Christmas Promise by Susan Bartoletti
74. The Christmas Visitor by Anneliese Lussert
75. The First Christmas Stocking by Elizabeth Winthrop – 2 times
76. The Fright Before Christmas by James Howe
77. The Gingerbread Boy by Richard Egielski
78. The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews
79. The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst
80. The Gingerbread Man by Barbara McClintock
81. The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel
82. The Legend of Papa Noël A Cajun Christmas Story by Terri Hoover Dunham
83. The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
84. The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown
85. The Little Match Girl by Jerry Pinkney
86. The Lion and the Little Bird by Elisa Kleven
87. The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt – 3 times
88. The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Hazelaar
89. The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers
90. The Nutcracker Doll by Mary Newell DePalma
91. The Nutquackeer by Mary Jane Auch
92. The Ox and the Donkey by Günter Spang
93. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore, Illustrated by Gorinne Malvern
94. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore, Illustrated by Dudley Moseley
95. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore, Illustrated by Gennady Spirin
96. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
97. The Reindeer Christmas by Moe Price
98. There is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me by Alice Walker
99. The Secret Keeper by Anna Grossnickle Hines
100. The Shoe Tree of Chagrin by J. Patrick Lewis
101. The Story of Christmas by Barbara Cooney
102. The Story of Santa Claus by Tom Paxton
103. The Trees of Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco
104. The Twelve Days of Christmas by John O’Brien
105. The Velventeen Rabbit by Margery Williams – 7 chapters
106. The Wild Christmas Raindeer by Jan Brett
107. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
108. Through the Animals’ Eyes by Christopher Wormell
109. To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda – 2 times
110. Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco
111. We Were There by Eve Bunting
112. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak – 2 times
113. Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? By Jan Brett
114. Winter Lights by Anna Grossnickle Hines
115. Woodland Christmas by Frances Tyrrell
116. Grains by Emily K. Green
117. Sorting by Size by Jennifer L. Marks
118. Monster Hug! by David Ezra Stein

Read to Zoe:
1. Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik – 4 chapters
2. There Is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me by Stefano Vitale
3. Do Your Ears Hang Low? By Caroline Jayne Church – 2 times
4. Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine – 18 chapters
5. Little Bunny Foo Foo Told and Sung By The Good Fairy by Paul Brett Johnson
6. To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
7. Five Little Ducks by Raffi
8. Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton
9. L’imagerie des bébés Les animaux savages by Nathalie Bélineu et Emilie Beaumont
10. coucou bébé Les animaux de la forêt
11. Dinosaur Roar! By Paul and Henrietta Stickland
12. The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst – 2 times
13. The Gingerbread Man by Barbara McClintock – 2 times
14. Thumbelina by Lauren Mills

Read to Austyn:
1. Cars Rushing! Honking! Zooming! By Patricia Hubbell
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl – 16 chapters
3. Into the Deep The Life of Naturalist and Explorer William Beebe by David Sheldon
4. Fantastic Flights by Patrick O’Brien
5. How Big is It? A Big Book All About Bigness by Ben Hillman
6. Henry’s Night by D. B. Johnson and Linda Michelin

Austyn Read on his own:
1. What do Wheels do all Day? By April Jones Prince

Novels/Reference (usually with Austyn only and only read parts of interest):
1. Paddle-to-the-Sea by Clancy Holling – 1 chapter
2. Apples and Angel Ladders by Irene Morck – 2 chapter
3. Cars on Mars – reference
4. A Pioneer Christmas: Celebrating in the Backwoods in 1841 by Barbara Greenwood – Read over half
5. Kingfisher Voyages Ancient Egypt by Simon Adams
6. Insiders Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley
7. InSiders Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Ken Rubin

Books on Tape/DVD:
1. When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornella Funke (not sure how much they really heard)
2. Reading Rainbow. Buried Treasures Featuring these books: Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki and Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki

My own reading:
1. The Unschool Manual by Mary Griffith
2. Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery by David H. Albert
3. Letting Everything Become Your Teacher by Jon Kabat-Zinn