Reeling and Writhing and Fainting in Coils --Home Schooling adventures and information
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What a Wonderful World!
'What a Wonderful World' has always been one of my favorite songs -- I had the Louis Armstrong version playing at the birth of each of my two sons and yes, they have taught me what a wonderful world it is. I am creating this lens to share the ideas/links that we are finding as we explore the world of home schooling. I hope that others may benefit from our experiences and find their own wonderful world.
New Topic of Study: Mesopotamia
February 20, 2008
Okay so, we are about to begin our newest history topic -- Mesopotamia. Should be interesting. Have come across some interesting material already and am including the links below. I am curious what my philosopher son will think of Gilgamesh... and nerving myself up for how the Conqueror will view him!
Ancient Mesopotamia
Links to materials on Ancient Mesopotamia
- Gilgamesh for children
- Gilgamesh is one of the greatest epics ever written -- and the first one whose author's name is known, if I am not mistaken but it is not necessarily the easiest or kindest read for children. This link lists books/versions that are aimed at bringing the major points of the story to children.
- Internet Ancient History site
- Paul Halsall is a professor of Medieval history who has done the invaluable service of bringing source materials for history to the web. His work and his person are greatly respected by his students and many of his colleagues. Check out the rest of his site for material on other periods as well.
- Suffolkweb kids
- Just found this site -- looks to have some interesting links... of course, I love the British Museum:>
- Amazon's Mesopotamia books for kids
- Here are books on the subject that are available through Amazon. Will post reviews of them as we read them!
Reeling, Writhing and Fainting in Coils
Day to day musings on the experiences of life with boys
February 1st
Bear with me. I am just starting out with this lens. Its main purpose is to provide a resource for educational links. Occasionally I shall break into a song and dance about my own experience as a home schooling Mom of two little boys. Grin. They are fun and always educational!
I am also hoping to put up lists of our favorite books. One of the best things about being a homeschooler is that I get to read and read and read! There are so many wonderful books out there -- both for adults and for kids. I just can't wait to share them with other interested folks.
First -- a little about me: I am a secular home schooler. At this early point in our journey (the boys are 6 and 3), we are still learning our way and figuring out curricula. At the moment we are using an eclectic mix of Charlotte Mason, Well Trained Mind (Classical) and Unit studies. There is so much out there to learn and do... one lifetime will not be enough. I am also fascinated by the educational philosophies of Maria Montessori and Rudolph Steiner, both of whom had some wonderful insights into childhood learning. If any of this intrigues you -- read on.
Bear with me. I am just starting out with this lens. Its main purpose is to provide a resource for educational links. Occasionally I shall break into a song and dance about my own experience as a home schooling Mom of two little boys. Grin. They are fun and always educational!
I am also hoping to put up lists of our favorite books. One of the best things about being a homeschooler is that I get to read and read and read! There are so many wonderful books out there -- both for adults and for kids. I just can't wait to share them with other interested folks.
First -- a little about me: I am a secular home schooler. At this early point in our journey (the boys are 6 and 3), we are still learning our way and figuring out curricula. At the moment we are using an eclectic mix of Charlotte Mason, Well Trained Mind (Classical) and Unit studies. There is so much out there to learn and do... one lifetime will not be enough. I am also fascinated by the educational philosophies of Maria Montessori and Rudolph Steiner, both of whom had some wonderful insights into childhood learning. If any of this intrigues you -- read on.
An introduction to the boys
From another blog I have:>
Here is an excerpt from a blog I started in 2006. My eldest was then 5, my youngest a newborn. For those who are interested in following our explorations, this is a nice start!
__________________________________
Oh, grin. You should've seen the scene the other day. My DH and I went off to do some errands - we left the boys (X, the baby, asleep) with a young woman named Hannah. (She has left now, gone back to Salt Lake City with her boyfriend.). We weren't gone that long but when we returned, there was Jed trying to teach Hannah how to play chess. Now really, the person Jed needs is J. Butler. They would understand each other perfectly, I suspect. Anyway, here is poor Hannah, all of 18, puzzling over the chess board. My five year old apparently picked up on her supreme ignorance of the game and used it to his advantage. He was 'modifying' the game rules so as to improve his chances of winning. She looked so entirely bewildered when we walked in that I had to go back into the back room and laugh. Jed had her coming AND going. "Now the knight usually moves like this" he said, showing her the correct positioning of a knight "except when you have already moved a king and a rook. Then the knight can do this" and he swooped down and took one of her pieces. "I can do that because I have 'castled' my king and you haven't." He looked quite pleased with himself. Ah me%u2026 His grandmother D, my husband's mom, informed me that he tries to do that with pretty much any game he plays with her as well. "He makes up some interesting rules." She told me "and they are all designed to benefit him! I let him get away with it for awhile and then I put my foot down." Well, to be fair, he comes by it honestly. My grandfather used to cheat at every game HE played. Of course, he expected to get caught. I remember once when he had bullied me into a game of cards. He was cheating blatantly and I was ignoring it. Finally, in frustration my grandfather threw down his cards and roared "I QUIT! I will NOT play with someone who doesn't even KNOW when she is being cheated!" Ha! I won! I hadn't wanted to play, after all. Grin. Poor man. That, of course, was about as subtle a piece of manipulation as I have ever pulled. Am not very good at manipulation - despite what one friend thinks. She insists that I am like the Japanese women, letting people think that they are getting their own ways when, in fact, I am pulling the strings. Truth is, I don't have the patience for such deviousness. And I am far too arrogant. Just call me 'Dragon lady'!
__________________________________
Oh, grin. You should've seen the scene the other day. My DH and I went off to do some errands - we left the boys (X, the baby, asleep) with a young woman named Hannah. (She has left now, gone back to Salt Lake City with her boyfriend.). We weren't gone that long but when we returned, there was Jed trying to teach Hannah how to play chess. Now really, the person Jed needs is J. Butler. They would understand each other perfectly, I suspect. Anyway, here is poor Hannah, all of 18, puzzling over the chess board. My five year old apparently picked up on her supreme ignorance of the game and used it to his advantage. He was 'modifying' the game rules so as to improve his chances of winning. She looked so entirely bewildered when we walked in that I had to go back into the back room and laugh. Jed had her coming AND going. "Now the knight usually moves like this" he said, showing her the correct positioning of a knight "except when you have already moved a king and a rook. Then the knight can do this" and he swooped down and took one of her pieces. "I can do that because I have 'castled' my king and you haven't." He looked quite pleased with himself. Ah me%u2026 His grandmother D, my husband's mom, informed me that he tries to do that with pretty much any game he plays with her as well. "He makes up some interesting rules." She told me "and they are all designed to benefit him! I let him get away with it for awhile and then I put my foot down." Well, to be fair, he comes by it honestly. My grandfather used to cheat at every game HE played. Of course, he expected to get caught. I remember once when he had bullied me into a game of cards. He was cheating blatantly and I was ignoring it. Finally, in frustration my grandfather threw down his cards and roared "I QUIT! I will NOT play with someone who doesn't even KNOW when she is being cheated!" Ha! I won! I hadn't wanted to play, after all. Grin. Poor man. That, of course, was about as subtle a piece of manipulation as I have ever pulled. Am not very good at manipulation - despite what one friend thinks. She insists that I am like the Japanese women, letting people think that they are getting their own ways when, in fact, I am pulling the strings. Truth is, I don't have the patience for such deviousness. And I am far too arrogant. Just call me 'Dragon lady'!
Meet Master X
A story of the younger boy
Here is a story from 2006/2007 about my younger son. He is a personality all his own!
_____________________________________
The other day, while Jed worked seriously on building Axonn (A bionicle creature from the Legos universe), X sat at the dining room table 'drawing.' He is my artist child - loves play dough and painting and drawing. He'd been working a bit when he called to me (I was in the kitchen, cleaning as usual!): "Mommy, draw me purple boon!" "You want me to draw a purple balloon?" "Yep!" "Okay" So, like the dutiful mom I am, I walked out and drew him a purple balloon then went back to cleaning. A moment later, "Mommy, draw me new purple boon." "You want a new purple balloon? Why? I just drew one!" "That one popped." I think my jaw must've dropped. A purple balloon drawing had popped? But I am well trained so out I came and drew the balloon. He considered it for a long moment then "Draw X crying because purple boon popped, pease Mommy?" So I drew X crying. He nodded, consideringly. "Now draw Nani hugging X crying because he purple boon popped." Ummm... I did so. He was satisfied with his storyboard and went back to his own work, all the while talking to his drawings confidingly. I just shook my head and laughed and went back to my own work.
------
A few months later...
I have another X story. X. can be very clever. He has been trying to come up with solutions to his mother's (and father's) habit of denying his requests. The other day, he told me that he wanted to watch a movie. I said 'Not today.' He thought about that, hard, for a few moments and then announced 'Mommy, you are X and I am Mommy.' I shrugged, 'okay' I said, not thinking through the implications. 'X., you go to bed. I am going to watch a mobee!' I looked at him, he looked hopeful. I said, in the guise of X 'But I don't WANT to go to bed!' 'You go to bed!' he said firmly 'You too little!' Hmmm... He has tried that switch tactic a couple of times without much success
_____________________________________
The other day, while Jed worked seriously on building Axonn (A bionicle creature from the Legos universe), X sat at the dining room table 'drawing.' He is my artist child - loves play dough and painting and drawing. He'd been working a bit when he called to me (I was in the kitchen, cleaning as usual!): "Mommy, draw me purple boon!" "You want me to draw a purple balloon?" "Yep!" "Okay" So, like the dutiful mom I am, I walked out and drew him a purple balloon then went back to cleaning. A moment later, "Mommy, draw me new purple boon." "You want a new purple balloon? Why? I just drew one!" "That one popped." I think my jaw must've dropped. A purple balloon drawing had popped? But I am well trained so out I came and drew the balloon. He considered it for a long moment then "Draw X crying because purple boon popped, pease Mommy?" So I drew X crying. He nodded, consideringly. "Now draw Nani hugging X crying because he purple boon popped." Ummm... I did so. He was satisfied with his storyboard and went back to his own work, all the while talking to his drawings confidingly. I just shook my head and laughed and went back to my own work.
------
A few months later...
I have another X story. X. can be very clever. He has been trying to come up with solutions to his mother's (and father's) habit of denying his requests. The other day, he told me that he wanted to watch a movie. I said 'Not today.' He thought about that, hard, for a few moments and then announced 'Mommy, you are X and I am Mommy.' I shrugged, 'okay' I said, not thinking through the implications. 'X., you go to bed. I am going to watch a mobee!' I looked at him, he looked hopeful. I said, in the guise of X 'But I don't WANT to go to bed!' 'You go to bed!' he said firmly 'You too little!' Hmmm... He has tried that switch tactic a couple of times without much success
Books we found for the Egypt Unit
Here are a few titles we used in this Unit:
Easy Readers:
Magic Tree House: Mummies in the Morning
Magic Tree House: Research Guide -- Mummies
Tut, Tut by Jon Scieszka
Novels:
Place in the Sun
The Golden Goblet
The Cat of Bubastes
Picture Books:
Muti's Necklace by Louise Hawes
The Scarab's secret by Nick Would
Bill and Pete go down the Nile by Tomie De Paola
Tutenkhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda
The Winged Cat by Deborah Nourse Lattimor
Zekmet the Stone Carver by Deborah Nourse Lattimor
The 5,000-year-old puzzle : solving a mystery of ancient Egypt / by Claudia Logan
Mummy Math by Cindy Neuschwander
Pyramids by David Macauly
The star-bearer : a creation myth from ancient Egypt by Dianne Hofmeyr
Adventures in ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey
Videos:
Nat'l Geographic -- Mysteries of Egypt
Pyramid -- based on the Book by D. Macauly
Research Books:
Ancient Egypt by George Hart
100 things you should know about ancient Egypt by Jane (Jane Alison) Walker
Science in ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods
Usbourne Internet Linked Ancient Egypt
We read some of the Story of the World Volume 1 but found several rather glaring errors and so do not suggest it as a main source. The truth is, this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There is an enormous amount of material available. What I found interesting was the number of books that were written by Egyptologists for children. I guess that if you have a passion, who better to share it with than children? Hope you have as much fun with this as we did. We will be coming back to it again and again!
Easy Readers:
Magic Tree House: Mummies in the Morning
Magic Tree House: Research Guide -- Mummies
Tut, Tut by Jon Scieszka
Novels:
Place in the Sun
The Golden Goblet
The Cat of Bubastes
Picture Books:
Muti's Necklace by Louise Hawes
The Scarab's secret by Nick Would
Bill and Pete go down the Nile by Tomie De Paola
Tutenkhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda
The Winged Cat by Deborah Nourse Lattimor
Zekmet the Stone Carver by Deborah Nourse Lattimor
The 5,000-year-old puzzle : solving a mystery of ancient Egypt / by Claudia Logan
Mummy Math by Cindy Neuschwander
Pyramids by David Macauly
The star-bearer : a creation myth from ancient Egypt by Dianne Hofmeyr
Adventures in ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey
Videos:
Nat'l Geographic -- Mysteries of Egypt
Pyramid -- based on the Book by D. Macauly
Research Books:
Ancient Egypt by George Hart
100 things you should know about ancient Egypt by Jane (Jane Alison) Walker
Science in ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods
Usbourne Internet Linked Ancient Egypt
We read some of the Story of the World Volume 1 but found several rather glaring errors and so do not suggest it as a main source. The truth is, this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There is an enormous amount of material available. What I found interesting was the number of books that were written by Egyptologists for children. I guess that if you have a passion, who better to share it with than children? Hope you have as much fun with this as we did. We will be coming back to it again and again!
Egypt Unit Studies Links
Egypt
Here are some links we found helpful
- Ancient Egypt for Kids
- Mr. Donn has a number of useful links for lower school subject.
- BBC History Site
- BBC History site on Egypt
- Mark Milmore's Ancient Egypt
- Mark Milmore has compiled some useful material on Egypt
- Pyramid Building instructions
- Great fun -- build your own pyramid and learn math and engineering all at the same time!
- History Links:Ancient and Modern World cultures
- Lots of links to history sites.
- Paul Halsall's Internet History Site
- Brilliant and nice, P. Halsall is a professor at Fordham. This site provides links to primary source material for all sorts of periods as well as a list of films and books.
- NOVA online - pyramids
- NOVA's site on Pyramids
- Books on Egypt for kids
- Suggested books on Egypt
- Neferchichi's Tomb
- Good website on Egypt for Kids. Mentioned in Magic Tree House book -- Mummies.
- Ancient Egypt Teacher's Resource File
- Links for teachers
- Free Mazes
- Here are some Amazing Mazes
- Sacred Texts Archive
- Here are links to some Ancient Egyptian Stories that would complement any unit study on the subject
General Unit Studies Links
Here are links to sites that list various unit studies. Use their ideas or build your own using theirs as models
- Teachers Unit Studies
- Aimed at PS teachers, these can still be modified to your own uses.
- University of SC Unit Studies site
- These Unit studies were created by Students in the Education department.
- Oakes Academy Free Unit Studies
- A growing site: They will be releasing a CD with the whole collection, they say, in March 2008.
- Texas Mini Unit
- A christian homeschool site with lots of wonderful ideas
- Home school Share
- One of the very best sites for units from Five in a Row. Check this site out. You will be pleased.
- Harry Potter Unit studiesS
- So yes, here are links for HP Unit studies. What can I say? We love the books... don't care what the author's background is -- they are brilliant and so rich with material to study.
Basic Home School Links
General links to Homeschooling information
- Home School Organizer Online
- A brilliant resource for organizing your homeschool information and resources
- Free Forms for Homeschoolers
- A useful collection of forms
- Home school in the Woods
- Links for homeschoolers
- World and Homeschool
- For world culture resources and homeschooling
- Homeschool central
- Free Homeschool resources
- Homeschool for Gifted and Creative children
- Interesting links
- Home school glossary
- Terminology for the terminally confused!
- Easy Fun School
- Useful and interesting site
- Homeschool Share
- One of my favorite sites: So much good stuff!
- Great Math Links
- A list of useful Math links
- A to Z Homeschool
- One of the Basic links:>
- Let's Homeschool
- A nice collection of materials from Down Under
- Michael's Home Education
- A very well organized and useful site
- Homeschool Lesson Plans
- How to create and organize Lesson Plans -- the way one family does it.
Great Stuff on Amazon
Home school books I like
The Complete Home Learning Source Book: The Essential Resource Guide for Homeschoolers, Parents, and Educators Covering Every Subject from Arithmetic to Zoology
If you buy no other book, buy this one. A wonderful, valuable resource
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/09/2009) 
Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense
Written by an English teacher who homeschools his own. An interesting and intelligent insight into the problems/solutions for educating children
Amazon Price: $11.97 (as of 12/09/2009)
Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,200 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Home Education on the Internet and Beyond
Helpful for keeping the costs down..
Amazon Price: (as of 12/09/2009)
Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
A scathing review of the public school system written by a veteran teacher
Amazon Price: $9.07 (as of 12/09/2009)
Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow.: Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love
A lovely gentle book. Quaker ideology -- very kind
Amazon Price: (as of 12/09/2009)
Great Stuff on Amazon
More useful and interesting titles on learning and teaching
The Book of Learning and Forgetting
Fascinating book on the process of learning
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/09/2009)
Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Karen Pryor is a dolphin trainer. Her insights into training, however, have practical applications for parents as well. A brilliant and kind book
Amazon Price: $11.56 (as of 12/09/2009)
Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence
A very interesting book especially in light of all the violence that we see around us.
Amazon Price: $13.63 (as of 12/09/2009)
Preschool and Kindergarten Links
- Sand paper letters
- A great Montessori tool for teaching letter recognition and pre-writing skills
- ABC and Names
- Another technique for Letter Recognition
- Author Jan Brett's Website
- What can I say? She is brilliant!
- Free World U
- Actually more that a Pre-K site. This provides stuff for grades through 12
Worksheets and Printables
- Handwriting
- Handwriting worksheets
- Donna Young's Site
- One of the standard sites for printables
- Free Math Worksheets
- Just what the title says
- Blank and Outline Maps
- Useful for History, Geography, and Culture studies
- Moms Break Free Printables
- An eclectic mixture of printables
- The Learning Page
- More printables
- ABCTeach
- Loads of Printables
- Free Arthmetic Worksheets
- Aimed at Primary/Elementary school
- RHL School Free Learning
- Loads and loads of worksheets
- Learning Pages Sites for Teachers
- Aimed at teachers, usable by anyone. Lots of links to free printables.
Curriculum Resources
General, Classical, CM and Montessori Links
- Curriculum Guides and Resources
- Interesting selection of resources to explore
- Well trained Mind
- By the Authors of the Book. Interesting resources.
- Centaur systems -- Ed. Software for Classics
- For those interested in a classical education, here is a site with some classical materials.
- The Classics Pages
- Looks like a fascinating site for classists and those who wish to teach the material. The credentials of the author look to be quite respectable.
- Internet Classics Archive
- Classical texts in English
- Bullfinch's Mythology
- Just what it says!
- Oxford's list of Resources for Classics
- Again, just what it calls itself
- Pinax Online
- Sources on the Ancient Greek World
- Free Classic Books online
- One way to save a few dollars: Get books free!
- Penguin Classics
- Reading guides from Penguin Publishers -- a nice teaching resource
- Literature.org
- Online Literature Library -- another source for free online classics
- Sacred Texts Archive
- Interesting and diverse collection of online texts
- Simply Charlotte Mason
- One of the *classic* sites for CM fans
- A to Z Home's Cool
- A collection of Links re: CM Method
- ABC's of Charlotte Mason
- Alphabetic description and links
- Ambleside Online
- Christian site. Provides a standard CM Curriculum and links with others who are following it. Please note that many of the books suggested are a bit old fashioned and that they are, of course, ethno-centric. Not a surprise given who CM was! Still a useful site.
- MOntessori Homeschooling
- This site looks interesting.
- Montessori at Home
- Guide to Montessori Links on the web
- A to Z Montessori
- A to Z's collection of Montessori Links
- Montessori for the Earth
- Online Montessori school
- American Montessori
- Resource Directory for Montessori schools
- Montessori Philosopy and Practice
- A good introduction to the ideas behind the practices
- Schiller Math -- Montessori style
- Products for teaching math using Montessori methods
- MontHome -- Montessori Homeschool
- Free ideas for Montessori homeschooling
- Montessori Mom
- Free materials and lesson plans
- Montessori Materials.org
- Free Montessori Materials
- Childrens Literature Guides
- Wow, just found this site. Looks like fun!
- Primary Resources
- A british site with some interesting material including suggestions for teaching welsh
Great Stuff on Amazon
Beautiful art books
Once Upon a Banana
A brilliantly funny book -- both parents and children will enjoy it. No words but the stories one can tell....!
Amazon Price: $15.38 (as of 12/09/2009)
Sound of Colors (English)
Written by an artist who was going blind. A powerful and beautiful book.
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 12/09/2009)
Anamalia
Amazon Price: (as of 12/09/2009)
Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor Book)
My sons and I love this book. Again, the imagination evident is superb. Well worth reading,
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/09/2009)
Language Links
Here are some websites that offer audio files as well as basic documentation on a variety of languages.
- Latin Language
- A site for Latin learners
- Diction Domain
- A broad collection of links for language learners
- Celtic Language Links
- Haven't explored this yet but it looks interesting: A selection of links to a variety of Celtic/Indo European language site.
- BBC Irish language site
- Interesting site for those interested in the Irish language
- Bibliotheca
- Library of texts in various languages -- for advanced language study
- Irish Peace
- Irish Language materials on the web
- FSL Activities with M. Renard
- French language games and activities for children
- Textkit: Greek and Latin
- Downloadable texts for teaching Greek and Latin
- Academinc Info: Greek Language
- An academically inclined link list for learning Ancient Greek.
"The Benefits of a Classical Education. Worth a read.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/edu"
General Unit Study Sites
Visit these sites to get ideas or use the ones they offer!
- Theme Pages
- Themes for Elementary students
- Finding Homeschool Support
- Unit studies and a whole lot more
Book Reviews and Free Book sources
- Charlotte Mason Reviews
- Just found this site: reviews of CM materials and links to places to buy them.
Blog Posts from Google
New Text List
New Text List
New Text List
by Mom2boys
SAHHSM of two little boys. Attended University of Hawaii, University College Dublin and University of Washington. Degrees in Art and History. Fascinat... (more)
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