flynn011

Chores, chores, chores! They gotta be done, but how do you go about it -- especially when the kids are home 24/7, and you've got more than a full-time job trying to run a household and teaching your family (not to mention the other balls you're trying to juggle in the air, whatever they may be)? Everybody needs to pitch in! Over the years, I have read books like Managers of their Homes , and more recently, Homeschooling at the Speed of Life * which are very good about scheduling, but I usually find -- as I'm sure most of us do -- that one person's plan for organising the household isn't always exactly right for my family. So, right now, I do two things with my four kids.  I give them regular, almost-daily chores, and I give them a Monday job, a Tuesday job, etc.   We call these once-a-week jobs "fish jobs" because I once saw an episode of Supernanny where she had the children use magnets and string as fishing poles to catch magnetic little fish with chores...

Our history co-op of 16 children met up at Oxford Castle today, taking a school's tour and having a workshop about castles. Busy Timmy and his friend climb the Oxford Castle motte (for the fiftieth time!)  We have been studying Our Island Story, and most recently, about England just after 1066. England's third Norman king, Stephen, basically stole the throne from his aunt, Matilda, but after fighting a civil war for 14 years, they eventually agreed to let Stephen stay king as long Matilda's son (later Henry II) could become king next. Some of these historical events played out at Oxford Castle, so it was neat to be in the very place where Matilda escaped from the tower on a snowy evening, wearing white bed-sheets so she wouldn't be seen. The view from the top of the tower Catapault-building Workshop: launching marshmallows at the enemy's castle True to form, a 2-hour session lasted us all day, since once the tour and workshop were over, we used the rest of the day t...

I've still got the flu, but find a bit of time to surf the web.  Here's one of my favourite Facebook sites, having a blog hop.

Dear All On a recent Yahoo! group, someone had posted this list of questions for newbies and veterans alike which I thought would serve as a good review as 2012 closes. As the New Year approaches, re-think and review your homeschooling values Thanks to Mary Beth from the "homeschoolingboys" Yahoo group for allowing me to reproduce the list here. > This review process will be a work in progress > for quite a long time, as you will think of more things to add to to > the lists, so you will want to review it periodically. Here are the > lists you should make: >  > 1. What things did you do or learn in school that have served you well > in your adult life? (Be sure to include them in your curriculum.) >  > 2. What things did you do or learn in school that have proven to have > been a waste of time? (Don't bother with these.) >  > 3. What do you wish someone had taught you? (Be sure to include them.) >  > 4. There is a reason God...

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I just had a glance at my blog and realised that I've hardly been posting photos lately, so the posts look really bland. Sharing Thanksgiving with our British Friends! (Gratuitous busy picture to catch your eye) So, for a visual feast, I'm including some photos from a recent field trip we took with our homeschool history group to St Albans. (Click on the images to make them larger) St Albans Trip A little over an hour's drive toward London is the city once called Verulamium by the Romans when they occupied England (roughly 43 AD to 410 AD). Shortly before the Romans left, and during a period of Christian persecution, a local, rich pagan named Alban gave sanctuary to a Christian. While in hiding, the Christian had many conversations with Alban, and eventually, Alban converted to Christianity. One day, Alban swapped clothing with the Christian, who was able to sneak away in disguise, and then, when Alban was captured, he refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods and was or...

My previous post was about the morning schedule I've devised in order to juggle the homeschooling of my four children, aged 12 to 5. Now I'm going to look at some afternoon schedules.  One thing to notice is that I have more time with my Year 7 Ambleside Online student, that I've scheduled in some free time for the younger ones, and that we have instituted a new 4 o'clock tea-time session, where we share a pot of hot tea, some cookies, and a low-key learning experience like music appreciation or picture study. All this is based on the Charlotte Mason method of education, and one which suits my humanities background really well. First, let me show you the afternoon schedule for my Year 7 student. Afternoon Schedule for Phoenix (Ambleside Online Year 7) One-on-One with Eldest Child You will see that, after lunch and violin practice (and some chores which I haven't indicated), I spend some time reading with her.  She is someone who has always relished the chance to sit...