This Little Piggy Missed The Market

After this dissection, the kids are ready for anything!

Did you ever think they would be smiling this much?

Scientists in the making, everyone of them.

If you would prefer a virtual dissection, this site is excellent. There is even an online quiz for follow up. We loaded the site onto the big screen and used it as a lab manual. Tried to follow the lesson step by step, beginning with anatomical regions.But we did have a bit of trouble with the wireless mouse, so there was a frustrating delay. The kids were troupers as they waited patiently for the moms to float around the room with hard copy dissection plans to help them identify the organs of digestion.But we worked out the technical difficulties in time for the respiratory and nervous systems. It was the most informative lesson, so far. I don't know how the remaining labs will measure up (star fish, earthworm, grasshopper, clam, etc....). Maybe the shark will catch their interest.

Waldorf What?

When the link to Homeschooling on a Shoestring was published , there was some discussion about the overview of teaching styles. A friend of mine, who happens to be a very talented artist, was curious about the Waldorf Style. We hadn't heard of it before, at least not under this label. According to the post, it is a teaching style that integrates head, heart and hands. It involves art, faith and lots of hands on activities. While there are many elements of Waldorf philosophy that are not compatible with our Classically Catholic teaching style, we have occasionally borrowed ideas to make our curriculum more colorful and whimsical. Follow this link to Serendipity for free downloads of creative lesson plans and charming stories about fairies and gnomes that will make language arts and math the favorite subjects of the day. Since the author is all about keeping it Catholic, you will also find stories of the saints beautifully woven into the presentations. I imagine our summer will b...

It's A Boy!

And another boy! Double the blessing, and born on a special feast day as well! They look and sound more like the Sons of Thunder than Saints Peter and Paul- but the official names are Christopher Jax and Michael Gage. The proud parents are looking pretty good themselves, but I promised not to post their pics until they've had a good nights' sleep. Behold the Handiwork of God!

Confessions of an Organized Homeschooler

Hello, my name is Suzanne and I am a control freak. Now this may be news to some of you, but my husband and children have known this dark secret for many years now. They have collectively sought help, but to no avail. They are doomed to live with a choleric perfectionist, till death do us part, or till legal age, in the case of my minor children. I tried to develop a twelve step program for the condition, but it was too organized and micromanaged to counteract my controlling tendencies. And now I see the same traits in a couple of my children. They are schedule makers and list checkers, with clean rooms and bossy attitudes. It is difficult for a born organizer to comprehend how the free spirited bohemians of the world cope. I’ve witnessed my own flesh and blood sleep through buzzing alarms without a care in the world, amongst a pile of dirty laundry and dessert bowls. They can rise at the crack of noon, sniff a shirt to see if it can be worn a third time, then dig through a heap to fin...

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