I Believe I Can Fly….
03 Nov 2011 1 Comment
in Curriculum, Our Progress, Schooling Tags: astronomy, GRAIL, History, MoonKAM, NASA, Science
I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky. I think about it every night and day…
When I was a child, I wanted so very much to become an astronaut when I grew up! As far back as I can remember, I dreamed about the stars and heavens. At night, I would stare longingly up at the sky (something that has never changed). I’ve always been in absolute awe at the wonder and beauty of the heavens. As I grew, I studied all I could about astronomy and NASA and the history of space travel. For years, I took any story on astronomy or space travel out of the newspaper and put them up on my bedroom walls. One of the greatest birthday presents I ever received was when my mom wrote to dozens of former astronauts and asked them if they would just send me a picture or write a letter, and she gave me everything that they sent. I was part of the astronomy club in high school. My senior project in high school was on the Space Race, and once I got to college, the first classes I took were the astronomy classes.
I tell you all this so you can understand how much I truly LOVE all things space.
So, when we gave the kids the choice of what science they wanted to focus on this year, and they picked astronomy, I was pretty excited. I was hoping I could get the kids to be excited about it, too (maybe not as much as I am, but excited nonetheless.) I think astronomy is a great science to begin with, because it touches so many of the other sciences. It also inspires a lot of imagination and creativity.
In preparing for our lessons, I like to try to keep up to date on what is happening now in astronomy news. So, one day, I was going through my NASA app and found a story that really caught my eye. NASA is having a contest for kids to name two spacecraft. You have to admit, it would be pretty awesome to name a NASA spacecraft. 
Here’s the deal on the contest. In September, NASA launched to satellites into space; they are currently on their way to the moon. Once they get into orbit around the moon, in January, they will spend a bit of time getting synced up together and will begin orbiting the moon together. Then, beginning in March 2012, they will work together and start mapping the inside of the moon, by measuring the changes in gravity as they orbit. The mission, called GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory), is amazing. To think, we can know what is happening inside the moon, just from measuring shifts in gravity, just amazes me! Currently, the two satellites are called GRAIL 1 and GRAIL 2. However, NASA would like the kids to rename them. So, our children will be working on coming up with a name for each craft, and the reasoning behind the name. NASA is looking for something with substance and meaning. I think it’s a great opportunity for the kids! We even spent some time looking at the history of space travel, in particularly, going to the moon, in order to help them understand a little better, and maybe even come up with some ideas. We will be submitting our names next week.
Alright, that was cool enough, right? Yeah, I think so. But wait! There’s more!! Be prepared to have your mind completely blown!! 
So, on each of these two satellites, there is a camera that will be taking pictures of the moon. But, not just any pictures….pictures that kids will take! This part of the mission is called MoonKAM, which is Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students. Here’s the deal. Teachers can register their classrooms to be a part of the MoonKAM program. Then, the students in the class will be able to get online and tell the camera what to take pictures of on the moon. They will be able to have the cameras zoom in and out and then decide what they want to take pictures of. Now, hold on……WE’VE BEEN APPROVED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS!!!!!!!
That’s right, our little homeschool co-op is going to be part of a real live NASA mission!! Right from our very living rooms, we’ll be able to get online and communicate with satellites that are ORBITING THE MOON!!!
Mind=Blown!
I don’t even know how to convey the excitement I have over this! And when I told the kids, they were ecstatic! We were all pretty sure that it would just be for kids in “regular school.” But, I thought, it won’t hurt to try! And BAM, just like that, we are going to be part of something truly historic and monumental! I just can’t even tell you how amazing this is!! I’ve always wanted to be part of NASA, and now we’ll all get that opportunity. It’s just completely astonishing to me!!
I am truly grateful the kids will be able to experience all of this, especially during the year we are learning about astronomy! All the pieces just fell into place and it’s just perfect. This, I believe, is an experience they will always treasure.
Planning, planning, and more planning…
31 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Curriculum, Our Progress, Schooling, Start Up Tags: co-op, curriculum, Field trips, History, Living History, planning, real science 4 kids, Science
It has been a very busy two weeks!! I’ve been buzzing around like a little worker bee, trying to get my hive all ready for the school year. It is amazing how much time and energy it takes to get this all together. But, it is SO worth it!! I am incredibly excited to get started with everything!
Ok, so we’ve gotten all of our curriculum now. Hooray for that!! Now, it’s lesson planning time! I was super happy to pick up a great lesson planning book at Target. It was just what I was looking for, and there it was for only one dollar!! So, the plan is to have all my lesson plans done, at least until we take our December break, before we start our school year in two weeks. Ideally, I’d like to get the whole year planned out, but we’ll just take one step at a time.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before or not, but we are doing a little history and science co-op with another family. Kelly, the other mom, and I worked hard to select just the right program for science. After much research, deliberation, and prayer, we settled on Real Science 4 Kids. I was so excited when all the books came and I was not at all let down by the program! We will be starting with astronomy this year, which everyone is excited about. We’ve already got some great field trips planned. It really helps to have a planetarium close by! We also have an amazing resource with the Las Vegas Astronomical Society. My goal is to get the kids as much hands-on learning as possible. For history, Kelly found this amazing history program called Living History. I am blown away by the amount of good information contained in these books! Why did I not learn a lot of this information in school?? The answer, I’m afraid, is because history has been rewritten to fit the progressive agenda. I’m finding that as I am preparing to teach all this material, I am reading through these textbooks any time I can. I find it funny that I spent so much of my school time trying to avoid reading textbooks (mostly because they were totally dry and boring), and now I am looking forward, with great excitement, to reading these books! We are going to be doing US History this year, and next. We’ve got some super fun things planned already for the kids! I’m anxious to get started!
Now, I’ve just got to get our math and reading lessons planned out, and we’ll be all good to go!
It’s almost time for us to start our school year and I’m just giddy with excitement. I’m sure the kids don’t feel the same abundance of jubilation, but that’s alright. I know they are going to get a great education this year — and a ton of amazing experiences!! What an adventure we are about to embark on!!
Hey Mr. Postman, look and see. Is there a letter in your bag for me?…
17 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Curriculum Tags: happiness, History, Living History, Math, Math-U-See
It’s here! It’s here!
Can you tell I’m excited??
Over the last couple days, I’ve gotten half of the curriculum materials I ordered! Woo-hoo! Now, I really feel like a kid at Christmas. It’s so fun to open up the boxes and check out all the new materials. Ok, I admit freely that I am a complete and total nerd, but I’m comfortable with my nerdiness and figure I might as well embrace it. So, with all my nerdy excitement, I opened up our math books and manipulative blocks. We also got a skip counting cd, which I promptly put into the computer to play, much to the chagrin of one of the kids. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this math program!
All the little manipulative blocks are super fun, and besides using them for math, the kids love to build with them. So, when we got two new sets, we were all very excited! The new sets meant two things. First, I have a great deal more blocks to use and there shouldn’t be a problem having more than one child use the blocks at a time. Second, the kids can have the old set to just play with. I can assure you, they were very happy to hear about that! Now, of course, we also got the math books, which for me are just as exciting as the block. Not so much for the kiddos. However, I have to say, this truly is the best math program I have found, and that is because it is a multi-sensory approach to learning math. Not only does it appeal to different senses, but the program teaches the “whys”of math. For me, that was huge! I struggled with math for so long in school because I simply didn’t understand when to use what technique. It’s very frustrating to be able to do the math, but not grasp why you are doing it or when to use it. I like to call Math-U-See a common sense approach to math. Simply said: it rocks! I am thoroughly excited!
We got our math, with obviously was exciting on its own, but then hubby brought the mail in from the mailbox. (The math came via UPS.) Hooray hooray – another package for me!! Woo-hoo! And what was it?? History! Yea for history! Probably my most favorite subject! Oh yeah, let the nerdiness shine through! Seriously though, I think history is so very vital to know. How else are we to really understand what is happening in the world around us now? Cliche or not, history does, indeed, repeat itself. It is very cyclical and if one can see the patterns and pay attention to human behaviors, it becomes easy to make sense out of current events and even reasonably look ahead. I really truly believe if you learn history, you will learn most other subjects
along with it, by default. You have to read and write when learning history. In history you will learn about science, inventions, geography, geology, pop culture fads, philosophy, psychology, religion, critical thinking, and really much more. There is so much out there to absorb, all under the umbrella of history. Now, let me say, I was very very picky about what history program we used! I didn’t want anything with whitewashed history. I didn’t want any progressive rewrite of history. I wanted to make sure the history being taught wasn’t slanted to the liberal side of things. That being said, I also didn’t want something that was overly right-wing. My goal with history is to present it to the kids in as pure a form as possible and then let them draw their own conclusions. I want them to think for themselves and use reason. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a history program out there that is completely unbiased. But, I feel I’ve found a verygood program. My good friend, Kelly, actually found it for us. It’s simple and to the point. No flashiness. Just straightforward, concise, and pretty darn accurate. There is a lot of room in the Living History curriculum to bring in other sources – like say…the original sources. If you are learning about George Washington, for example, why not use his own words instead of the words of some scholar that probably just wrote the things that fit what he wanted. Let’s learn from the original words of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc. Let’s learn from Lewis and Clark and the Native Americans. Let’s learn from those who were actually there – not someone else trying to put their spin on the events. Also, with this history program, the kids will be making their own history book as we go. I’m very excited to get started with it! We will be doing history, as well as science, in our little co-op with Kelly and her family. Working in that group setting will allow the kids to bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other. It will allow for discussion and a good deal of critical thinking. It is going to be great! I can’t wait to get started!!
Ask and ye shall receive…
08 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Curriculum, Our Progress, Resources Tags: curriculum, decisions, God, Heavenly Father, Overwhelmed, prayer, the Lord
Wow, what a week! I’ve been driving myself nuts trying to choose the different curriculum programs I want to use. There is just SO much out there to pick from. Trying to weed out what I feel is good has been literally exhausting! After looking and looking I was beginning to wonder if I was fighting a loosing battle! Then it occurred to me: Ask Heavenly Father to help. Hello! Duh! What the heck have I been doing? Sure, seek His input as to whether or not to go the traditional homeschool route, but then don’t ask Him concerning the curriculum to use. Gee whiz and good grief! I should have done that at the beginning of this search process! I could have saved myself many headaches, much time, and many nights of fitful sleep! (Yeah, you know you need help when you are literally having nightmares and dreams about curriculum!)
So, anyway, once I asked Heavenly Father to help me discern what would be right for our family, the answers came immediately! I just love that!! When the Lord says to ask, He means it! (If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)) I tell you, the Lord blessed me with some wisdom and I am so very grateful for that! After all, He sees the end from the beginning and He can direct our lives so much better than we can! Once again, my testimony that we must trust God and His will for us is strengthened. How amazing that the Lord will bless us each, individually, because He truly loves and cares for us!
So, I found (or rather, I was guided) to a great reading and a wonderful science program! I’m SO excited!! The more I find and get settled the more excited I get. It’s a little ridiculous how overjoyed I am about things. I feel like a little kid at Christmastime again. Now, if I can just get some of my enthusiasm to rub off on the kids…..
