2014 Summer Reading List

I love to read, but with all the writing I do, plus homeschooling, plus my part time job, I don't really get a lot of time to do so. I have found that this has made my writing suffer, reading and writing go hand in hand. So I decided I'm going to have to find the time to read.

Since Sam doesn't really like to read, I decided to make both of us try a summer reading challenge. We're both going to try to read seven to 10 books, and we'll be keeping a log for accountability.

Sam actually reading!!

Chasing Dragonflies for Science Class

At the beginning of this year, I took up photography when I bought a new camera. I decided that as a blogger, I needed a better camera. I just couldn't get the close-ups I wanted with the camera we had.

This lead to an obsession with macrophotography, specifically dragonflies. Consequently, Sam became obsessed with dragonflies as well, so I turned it into a learning experience and began teaching her everything I was learning about the insects. She thorughly enjoyed learning about them, and goes out with me anytime I "chase dragonflies" (as she calls it).

A male Golden Winged Skimmer

 

Netflix Movies for Kids on Thanksgiving

If your like my husband, you're still cooking dinner and have been since early this morning. If you need something to keep the kids busy while you put the finishing details on dinner before the company arrives, here are a few movies and shows that you can stream on Netflix that should keep the kids out of your hair for a few minutes.

I've listed the times of each movie so you know how much time you have to get those finishing touches done!

Homeschooling Isn't Just For Kids

I absolutely LOVE to learn new things. It keeps my mind active and life enjoyable. To me, learning is the meaning of life. There is so much to learn about in this life that we couldn't possibly learn it all.

But I'm damn sure gonna try!

As a writer, learning new things is imperative. In order for me to think of new ideas, I'm constantly reading, and studying. My coworkers call me a nerd, and I'm okay with that. Because I am. I admit it.

But we all need to continually learn. Our brains are hard-wired for learning. The more we learn, the more synapses we create, even as adults. This helps to fight neurological diseases such as Alzheimers. The saying really is true, if you don't use it, you lose it.

My latest thing is taking online classes, or MOOCs as they are called. Massively Open Online Courses. There are several websites that allow you to take courses from big name universities such as Stanford, Harvard and Duke, all for free!

I've taken a number of different courses including:

• Human Physiology - Duke University
• The Upper Limb - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
• ADHD Through the Lifespan - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
• Medical Neuroscience - Duke University
• Virology - Columbia University

I'm currently finishing The Upper Limb course, and I'm retaking the Medical Neuroscience course simply because it was so fascinating. Plus, they're going to dissect a real human brain and I just can't miss that!

You also get a statement of achievement if you get over a certain percentage in the class. So far, I've gotten two, and one of which I am particularly proud!

Reading - Inspired by Penelope Trunk

My husband hates to read, and unfortunately, that apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sam doesn't like reading much either. I'm the only weird one of the family, I love to read, but as a writer, that's kind of an occupational hazard!

So how do you get a kid who despises reading to actually read a book? 

This is one of the main reasons I let my daughter take my college level courses with me on Coursera because she loved to read all the quiz questions. At least she was reading, right?

One of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, also homeschools, more specifically, she unschools. She's not afraid to let her kids play video games all day and let them guide their own learning. Because of this, her kids are brilliant.

Combination Curriculum: Unschooling and Classical

Although I haven't been posting on this blog like I should be, we've still been homeschooling. We probably haven't made as much progress as I would have liked, but we've also been doing a combination of unschooling and our current curriculum.

I've recently been taking a number of different classes online at Coursera such as Human Physiology, and a course on the Upper Limb. Sam has become fascinated by my classes, which lead me to try a course of unschooling with her and let her take the class with me. She even started her own notebook.

Sam's notebook for our class "The Upper Limb"

Family Household Rules

I'm really not a rules person. I've never set rules for my family and I've never really had a problem.

But things are getting a bit out of control!

 

2013 hasn't started out the way I intended. We have an inspection of our home coming up and since we're hoarders clutterbugs, we've got a lot of cleaning to do. Unfortunately, my husband is still out of work due to his hernia, and I'm the only one bringing in any money, which means I don't have time to clean. But I have a list a mile long of things we need to do to get the house ready for the inspection.

On Choosing a Curriculum

Strict Curriculum vs. Unschooling

Taking our puppy outside allows Sam plenty of
opportunities to learn about nature and get
plenty of exercise.

Both my husband and I have ADHD, so we knew our daughter would have it without a doubt. I also knew a traditional school setting wouldn’t allow her to excel, and certainly wouldn’t foster a life-long love of learning. When I decided to homeschool her, I found there were quite a few ways to do it. Choosing a curriculum proved difficult because most of them were patterned after a traditional school curriculum.

I came across a book called The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith. After reading just a few pages, I knew this was the way to go. Since ADHD causes my daughter to jump from one thing to another, I knew trying to set up a strict curriculum would only aggravate both of us. But, when I read about how unschooling worked, I was ecstatic.

On Being a Stay at Home Mom

The clutter was driving me nuts!

I had no idea what I was getting into. I quit my job because I could no longer work for someone who didn't have one shred of integrity. I thought being a stay-at-home-mom would be a cake-walk compared to my career. WOW, I was so wrong. 

The first few months of my SAHM life was completely chaotic. I’m a creature of habit and routine. Since I quit my job, I had no routine. I also had no reason to get up at 04:00 am to work out, and nowhere I had to be. It was almost as if I had lost my life’s purpose.

Why I Chose Homeschooling

When I got pregnant 6 years ago, I was on the fence about sending my daughter to formal school versus homeschooling her myself. I didn't have the greatest experience when I was in school. I didn't have any friends and I was routinely picked on by bullies. My mom told me it was because they were all jealous, and looking back, she was probably right. I had a high IQ, and I was told by adults that I was very pretty.