Sona Creidhe Homeschooling

Despite last year's complete failure as gardeners, the kids and I have decided to give it another shot this year. Mommy has decided to cheat a little this year though by buying a few starter plants. Hopefully that way we'll have a better chance of SOMETHING growing. *laugh* So as not to completely bypass the beginning process, I did however buy a few packets of seeds and we joined the Tomatosphere project again.

I bought starters of- thyme, Italian parsley, and strawberries

Seed packets of- eggplant, spinach, zucchini, and grape tomatoes

I also got an English Ivy plant for inside and then of course we have the Tomatosphere seed packets.

We've had the starter plants for almost two weeks now and they are actually doing well (surprising for us I know!). The Italian parsley is growing really nicely and MonkeyBoy has been kind of excited to see white flowers show up on the strawberry plants. We haven't started the seed packets yet but that is on our agenda for this week.

I guess to say our foray into gardening last year was a total loss would be a lie. After all, MonkeyBoy's little pot of mixed flowers survived and even continue to bloom in our windowsill throughout the winter. Seriously, one of the flowers grew upwards two feet and then bloomed a pretty yellow flower. We're all waiting to see what it can do when it's the right season!

So far the CSI Unit Study is going slowly but we have been working on it. Big B has been reading the CSI books I got from the Library and I think his favorite thus far is Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand by Dana Kollmann. Sis hasn't really started reading the books yet but in order for us to continue with the unit study she at least needs to skim them so we're all "on the same page" so to speak. Then again, I can't talk because I've had my nose in Rosalind Miles books the last few weeks. LOL

As I said, I also bought a Fingerprint Kit for us to use and it's been hell trying to keep everyone out of it until we're ready! Even MonkeyBoy keeps telling his siblings to touch something so he can "lift your fingerprints and steal your DNA". *laughing* I'm afraid of what he might do once we get to the hair sampling part. HAHA.

Since deciding to do a CSI Investigation unit study we have developed an addiction. Yes, the older two kids and myself are hopelessly addicted to watching CSI (the original series). The addiction is so bad that not only do we watch the new episodes but we also watch older ones on Spike TV from 4pm until 7pm Monday through Friday. Every once in awhile we actually watch it the whole three hours while throwing food at MonkeyBoy so he'll leave us alone but usually we catch an hour of it a day. Considering this is the only TV we watch, I'm not going to feel too bad about it.

You should hear the language in this house though! This is some of the things said in my house this week...

*Big B to Sis after she entered his room looking for her pen* "Did you have a warrant giving you permission to enter my room? You do know that anything acquired without a warrant cannot be used in court right?"

Sis- "Tell it to the judge criminal!"

*MonkeyBoy to Sis while charging her with eating his cookie*- "I am going to send these crumbs to Trace and you better HOPE nothing comes back on it! I'll take a Qtip and steal your DNA!"

Sis- "I'll bite you if you come near my mouth!"

MonkeyBoy- "I'll send your spit to the lab!"

*Big B to Sis*- "Don't you think my room would look cool decorated in blood spatters?"

Sis- "Whose blood are we talking about here?"

Big B- "Are you volunteering?"

Sis- "MOMMMMMMMM, Big B wants to use my blood to decorate his room!"

Mom- "Big B, that would leave evidence all over your walls linking you to whatever crime you commit against your sister!"

Big B- "That's true...damn!"

Yes, we're a sick bunch but it's been fun!

MonkeyBoy has been practicing writing his letters alot lately. He likes to have you write a word and then let him copy it and he's getting pretty good at it. He also knows most letters by sight now so since this seems to be the way he likes to learn then we'll do this for awhile. He's also obsessed with counting and money as well so it has been quite interesting around here. I reviewed the Jumpstart World 1st Grade CD-rom last month with MonkeyBoy and that has also been his favorite thing to do. Surprisingly he has mastered alot more of it than I expected and it helps me gauge what he needs help with.

Big B and Sis have both been keeping up on their Copywork, Vocabulary, and Reading with a half-hearted effort on Math and Algebra. We all know we need to pick up the pace in that area it's just something none of us enjoy so we avoid it right now. I think the New Year is going to see us buckling down quite a bit though.

I took the reins on the Copywork and Big B is copying Robert Frost while Sis is copying Maya Angelou. I think both are great examples of prose and while I also need to have them do copywork that will teach them proper puncuation, I think it's important for kids to know Poetry and be able to name the authors when they hear the works.

Vocabulary and Reading have of course been centered around our CSI Unit. Sis hates all the technical words I'm having her learn but Big B has completely embraced this and is even talking about going to college for Criminal Justice in hopes of working CSI some day. Because of that I'm making sure that I don't glamourize the work these people do like they do on TV. The kids are learning the truth about crime scenes and all the gory stuff that goes with them.

My being sick has kept us inside alot lately as has the cold weather (no snow just cold) but I'm hoping to remedy that soon with some field trips to fun places. I have some pictures I need to upload from various homeschool endeavors so keep an eye on the Flickr badge on the left there for some new and exciting pics very soon!

Last week we finally went on our first field trip in a long time. Unfortunately, my health puts quite a damper on things pretty regularly but when we were offered the chance to attend with our new homeschool group I didn't care how I felt, we were going!

The group down here is small but very nice. I met several really nice women and my kids even made a few friends as well. Sis made lots of friends actually and they've all been calling each other ever since. Big B was the only person his age there but luckily we had a teen girl for a tour guide so they at least had music they could talk about. Lil Man made a new little girlfriend and all of us thought it was so cute watching them walk around holding hands. Yes, at the age of almost 5 he is already a ladie's man. I'm in trouble!

Our field trip was to a place called Wildlife West in Edgewood. Wildlife West is a wildlife preserve and "enhanced zoo," that is nonprofit and run completely by volunteers. The best part is that most of their volunteers are kids under the age of 18! It's great to see all that these kids have built and done with their own two hands.

Our tour guide, Karrie, was very good and did a wonderful job telling everyone about the animals. The kids got to see mountain lions, a black bear, birds of prey, and lots more. After we ate lunch in the pavillion the kids were taken on a tractor ride around the property and then it was time to go.

All in all we were there for about three hours and between the intense heat of the day and all the walking I was one wiped out mama by the time we were finished. I was quite proud of my older two kids because thanks to their time at the Wildlife Sanctuary they were able to help the tour guide with even more info on the birds.

The lady who leads the homeschool group and I have been talking and I think we're probably going to be able to come up with alot of future plans for this group like a Teen Group, field trips, tours, swimming dates, and all kinds of good stuff. I look forward to helping Theresa make this a great group and with all the great moms I met last week, I think that will be very easy.

Also, make sure you visit my review blogs at Sona Creidhe Reviews to enter the giveaways I'm having. Hurry though because winners will be chosen tomorrow afternoon!!

Over the last few weeks the kids and myself have been considering whether or not we want to continue with homeschooling for another year. So many ideas and plans for last year that just never came to fruitation. Can I really give these kids what they need when I'm the only parent in the house who is for homeschooling? Am I helping or hurting these kids by having them learn at home? Should someone like me even be doing this?

So many questions with so many answers but of course, never the right one.

Big B wants to continue homeschooling so he can do the Dual Program at the college and still have his freedom. The only problem is that Big B wants to play football and that isn't going to happen unless he is in public school. As he put it "So I can go play football and get a crappy education or I can not play football and get a good one?" and he is pretty much right. Playing football is his dream though and I don't want to see him lose that. I'm a perfect example of what happens to a person when they give up on dreams and life in general. I want more for my kids.

Sis still just can't understand that if she goes back to public school she most likely won't be in the 7th grade. She fiddled around all year and truly learned next to nothing (even on an unschooling level she picked nothing up) so now if she wants to start junior high next month she's going to have to work for it. Over a year's worth of learning in less than a month. Of course, the only reason she wants to go to public school is because all her "friends" (I put that in quotes because they're actually spoiled, rude, and bitchy) on our block are PS kids. What she's not getting is that she won't be in class with any of them and going back just to hang out really isn't going to work.

I feel like my daughter has just already given up and if I try to help her she fights me and then all we do is fight. Definately not the relationship I wanted to have.

MonkeyBoy is excited to be starting "Kindergarten" this year. If he was in public school he would still be a preschooler because his birthday is in November but I printed up several "What Your Preschooler Should Know" type lists and he has covered everything on them so there's no sense in doing it for another year. He's the only one of the three that I feel like I won't screw up if I homeschool him. I guess it's just because I can start from the beginning with him whereas the other two were in 4th and 9th grade when we started.

So that's it for us right now. Just trying to decide what we're doing and figuring out the new "year". I do know that if we homeschool again this year we will do better and have more fun than in the past. Me being sick is no excuse and I really need to learn to adapt.

The tomato seeds (and other seeds) we planted almost two weeks ago that is. It sounds goofy but the kids and I are ecstatic over this because we all have black thumbs. We fully expected everything to either not grow at all or die quickly.

On April 3rd, Lil Man and I planted a small pot of mixed seed flowers just for him. He talked about how big his flowers were going to grow and how pretty they would be. The Grim Plant Killer hangs over this family so heavily that while he was dreaming about his plant, I was trying to think where I could buy a small potted plant in a week or two so he wouldn't know his had died. Bad mommy, I know.

The next day we started our Tomatosphere experiment. Two days earlier I had gone to Blahmart and bought one of those Jiffy Greenhouse Kits along with a strawberry plant kit, and some organic garden soil for when we transplanted the seedlings outside. Tomatosphere suggested peat pellets and I have to say that the Jiffy kit is a lifesaver if you totally stink at gardening!

We planted the tomato seeds, spinach seeds, Blue Boy seeds, and Marigold seeds in the greenhouse kit on April 4th. The way the kit works is you add water to the bottom of the container and wait for the pellets to soak it up. Then you put the seeds in the middle and voila, just wait for them to sprout!

While we were waiting for the pellets to soak we started the strawberry kit which was alot of fun. You start with a brick of coconut fiber, add water to it, and watch it expand. When it has completely soaked you scoop the "dirt" into the pot, plant the strawberry plants, and again you are done! I'm telling you, it's like Gardening For Dummies!

By April 7th we already had germination! About 1/2 of the sprouts started to show from everything but the strawberry plant. Anyone know how long that is suppose to take? Packet "R" of the tomato seeds were the first to sprout but Packet "S" wasn't too far behind. By April 10th all of the tomato seeds that were going to germinate had done so. Out of 64 pellets for tomatoes planted (with a seed each) I think we only had one seed from each packet not germinate. We are still keeping an eye on them though just in case. Pretty good odds if you ask me! The Tomatosphere site says you get 70 seeds but we only got 67 (the cat ate three that Lil Man dropped).

Lil Man's plant sprouted on the same day as the others so we had all kinds of greenery around here! The site says that you transplant the seedlings at around six weeks but ours are already too tall and the roots are too long to be in just the peat pellets. So Today we planted all of the "R" and "S" seedlings and their pellets in seperate large containers (to keep inside).

We also began digging a shallow trench in our back yard along the house to plant the Marigolds, Blue Boys, and a variety mix that I have in a few days. Our back yard is nothing but sand, some weeds, and an indentation where we're guessing a pool use to be so we have alot of work to do on it. The little guy thought he was being a help by putting all of the pellets together that were left after we transplanted the tomatoes. Now we don't know our Blue Boys from our Marigolds from our Spinach. This should be interesting!

I think the best parts so far are hearing Lil Man tell people that we are growing Martian tomatoes (I can not wait until he sees GREEN tomatoes starting! FUNNN!!!) and the joy and relief on the older two kids' faces from knowing that WE are actually growing something.

I can't get the Flickr plugin to work so I can add pics to this post but you can see the whole set HERE.