September 7, 2016

Science fair fun

My son is participating in a home school science fair this Thursday.  Originally he was going to do an experiment about ant pheromones, but the ants didn't want to participate.  There were a lot of tears because right now he Loves ants.   I quickly found a dog experiment to do, since he also Loves dogs.
His experiment was, "what color can dogs see best?"  His hypothesis - "I think dogs will see red best because my dog notices me more when I wear red."

August 31, 2016

Technology ruining families

I recently have heard an add on the radio for a cable/internet company.  Mom is talking about her kids, all boys, and in the background you here kids playing and some crashing sounds.  Then mom talks about having cable/internet, you here silence, and then a quiet giggle.

It's got me thinking "What in the world is wrong with us?!?"

Why are we encouraging families that happiness is children (and adults) sitting quietly in front of a screen.  I will admit that my family definitely spends way to much time watching tv and playing video games, but my kids also go outside, play with friends (or just hang out being silly teenagers), and play with toys (ok just the youngest does that).  It appalls me that so many commercial are telling families "keep your kids happy and quiet give them the fastest internet".

I know how crazy and loud it can get when kids are playing and having fun.  In fact most days I enjoy the sounds of nerf gun wars, giggling girl talk, and what ever fun they get into.  The noise is how I know they're having fun.  When things get quiet, I get worried.

I couple summers ago I had seven kids running around my house for a week.  My four kids, their two cousins, and a friend of my youngest's.  All my friends kept saying how crazy I was.  But it was great!  Everyone had a companion to hang out with, so no sibling fighting.  Sure it was loud, and sometimes a little bit crazy, but I couldn't have been happier.

Instead commercial telling us we need the newest, biggest, fastest device/cable/internet/tv, we should have commercials that remind us spending time with family and friends is more important.

~Earthy Mom

April 26, 2016

Learning about Rocks & Minerals

We recently learned about rocks and minerals in science.  Potato really loves science, especially when we do hands on experiments.  We used Quizlet.com to learn rock and minerals identification.  We also did two experiments and went on a hike to a local granite quarry.

March 10, 2016

New journey, Homeschooling, how we got here

Potato and I have started on a new journey, homeschooling.

Potato is in sixth grade this year and has really been struggling.  I've shared many of our struggles on my personal facebook page.  Trouble started within the first week of school.  We live within a mile of the school, which means he has to walk.  Originally he was very excited, but walking and carrying a heavy backpack for my tiny guy (52 inches, 54 pounds and hypotonia) was just too much.  I thought no problem I'll just drive him to school, which worked for about a week.  Then he started refusing to go to school.  Every morning was a battle.