Tim And Angi » Homeschool http://www.timandangi.com/blog Random ramblings of a homeschooling family. Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:16:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Tim And Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/feed-logo.png http://www.timandangi.com/blog 100 50 Tim And Angi - http://www.timandangi.com/blog It’s Cool To Homeschool Blog Hop http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/08/09/its-cool-to-homeschool-blog-hop/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/08/09/its-cool-to-homeschool-blog-hop/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:25:33 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=3694 It's Cool To Homeschool Blog HopMama to 3 Blessings is hosting a Homeschool Blog Hop and I thought I’d join up and visit other homeschoolers.

If you are joining us from the blog hop, WELCOME! My name is Angi. My husband, Tim, is a ghost writer on here, too. We have two terrific boys, Little T (7) and Drama King (6). Little T led us down the homeschooling path when public school was unable to met his unique needs. He has Apraxia (speech disorder) and unofficially diagnosed with ADHD. So he is a ball of energy that is understood only 25% of the time. His dream job would be a professional wrestler. Drama King, on the other hand, is neurotypical and very bright. He aspires to be a million things. Earlier this year, he wanted to be a architect. Just last week, he wanted to be actor. Today, he says he wants to be an animal doctor. It’s been an interesting journey with these two guys.

As for homeschooling, we do not follow a curriculum.  We are life learners, unschoolers, or whatever else you prefer to call it. Learning is all around us and we provide the tools for our boys to find learning in everything. Does that mean we don’t pick up curriculum from time to time? Of course not. We provide whatever method works for each child. Homeschooling has allowed us to provide stuff early for Drama King and hold stuff back until Little T is ready without the fear that Drama King becomes bored (as I did in school) or Little T learns to hate learning all together (as my brother did).

I hope you’ll stick around for a bit. I’ve got a lot going on behind the scenes because we just got back from our mini vacation. Some giveaways are coming. A handful of reviews including an educational site. Oh and make sure you bookmark or follow us so you don’t miss Blogmania, a two day giveaway extravaganza. We will have multiple prize packages each valued over $50 and you can hop around all the other Blogmania blogs and enter to win all of their prize packages. Blogmania prizes all combined is already over $30,000. Maybe you win one prize, maybe you win a couple prizes, but I can almost guarantee you will find a blog that you didn’t know existed but cannot stop reading.

I’m heading off to bed but will be hopping around the other blogs tomorrow.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/08/09/its-cool-to-homeschool-blog-hop/feed/ 6 Organized The Boys’ Computer Nook http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/05/10/organized-the-boys-computer-nook/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/05/10/organized-the-boys-computer-nook/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 17:50:26 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=2641 Tackle It Tuesday MemeAfter Little T dropped a soda can onto the floor which proceeded to burst and soak everything within reach, we were forced to put together the boys new computer desks. These desks were picked up on sale and we used some discounts and coupons we had which made them inexpensive enough to get two of them, one for each child. These were planned to be a birthday gift later this year so this was obviously not planned to be done last week.

Over the past month or so, we’ve been picking up little things to go on their desks and tucking them away. Scissor, tape dispenser, paper clips, pencil cups, and other various desk items are just a few of the items we’ve picked up. We bought everything in twos, typically one in red and one in blue. We, also, tucked away the two mailboxes that Grandma Deb picked up on clearance after Valentine’s Day. They boys love sending and receiving mail and I thought what a fantastic way to send little notes to the boys at their computers.

Midway through Day 1

Midway through Day 1

Tim moved out the old desks for me early Monday morning. Grandma Deb came over to help out that afternoon. She watched the boys and helped them clear out the clutter that accumulated under their desks. I put together the bottom of the first desk but my back starting hurting so we called it a day.

End of Day 1

End of Day 1

Day 2: Grandma Deb came over again to help out with the boys which made putting the desk hutch a snap. I, also, got some of Little T’s desk put together but after a while I called it a day.

End of Day 2

End of Day 2

Day 3: Grandma Deb came over again to help out with the boys which made finishing up a breeze. Tim helped out this round since he was off work at this point. With his help, we were able to complete Little T’s desk and begin moving the desks into the computer nook. Of course, this instantly meant the boys wanted to start putting away their new stuff.

All Done

All Done

Tada! The boys new desks and freshly organized computer nook. Over the weekend, we put the computers and accessories on the desk. Now, the only thing left to figure out is where we’ll hang their calendars. I figured we’ll play it by ear until after we get all the accessories in place. Oh, and we’ll need to find a lighting strip that will fit under the shelf to light up where the monitor will be placed.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/05/10/organized-the-boys-computer-nook/feed/ 2 Emergency/Medical IDs http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/03/11/emergencymedical-ids/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/03/11/emergencymedical-ids/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:36:10 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=2369 A few years ago, we decided to get the boys ID cards that would have our phone number in case they were separated from us. We had concerns about Little T not being able to communicate with anyone due to his Apraxia. We researched a variety of ways to get the emergency information into a portable method that the boys would actually use. Jewelry was out because most are geared to medical conditions of which Drama King has none.

Then, we stumbled across the perfect solution. National Emergency / Medical ID provides an ID that is similar in size to a driver’s license and contains both emergency and medical information for children age 0-21. And when we got ours, we were able to get a 2 for 1 deal and free yearly updated cards for one low price. And because we got ours from a kiosk in front of a store, we also got badge holders for the boys to wear the ID cards around their necks. This was great because the boys loved to wear my old work badges and these would have their own information.

We received two ID cards per child. We kept one for each child on a lanyard on my desk at home and one in their backpacks in the car. Whenever we are planning to go somewhere, the boys put on their lanyards before we leave the house. We tuck them inside their shirts and remind them what to do if they cannot find us. And for those spontaneous stops, we have a spare card in their backpacks already in the car. I am thankful we’ve never needed them but they have offered much peace of mind for any parent.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/03/11/emergencymedical-ids/feed/ 0 Happy Valentine’s Day http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/02/14/happy-valentines-day/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/02/14/happy-valentines-day/#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:14:13 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=2178 gang02

Our boys participated in a homeschool country wide Valentine exchange. Since the valentines were coming from various places, it also allowed for a geography lesson. Each family was asked to send some interesting facts about their state. I have lived in the same city my entire life and when looking for interesting facts about Arizona, I still learned something. I knew that Arizona was admitted to the union in February but it never clicked that it was on February 14th.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2010/02/14/happy-valentines-day/feed/ 0 Our World Is A Little Cleaner Today http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/06/11/our-world-is-a-little-cleaner-today/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/06/11/our-world-is-a-little-cleaner-today/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:53:12 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1217 We walked to our neighborhood park this afternoon and along the way our boys decided to help make the world a little cleaner. They each picked up as many trash items as they could hold in their little hands and carried them all the way to the park. When we got to the park, they each threw the items in the trash and were very proud of themselves.

On the way home, they repeated the process and threw the items in our garbage. They were so proud of themselves for helping the environment that I asked them if they wanted to bring a small trash bag with us next time. They were very excited about that idea because they could pick up a lot more with a small bag then they were able to carry today.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/06/11/our-world-is-a-little-cleaner-today/feed/ 0 New Paint Job http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/05/17/new-paint-job/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/05/17/new-paint-job/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 08:00:46 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1131 Drama King asked ever so nicely to paint a “project” so out came the paint, paper and brushes. He took out his own scissors (the ones etched with his name) and completed his project. He said he wanted to finish “touching up” his project later so I let him keep the paint out. About an hour later, Tim and I heard the garage door opening and closing so Tim went to check it out. A few seconds later I hear him scream for me to come help him.

I get up and walk towards the garage while trying to figure out what what going on. When I got to the garage, I saw it. The boys decided to paint our van and the garage wall. Thankfully, we only buy washable paints and the boys were able to easily wipe off the paint with a little water. Of course after an incident like that, we attempt to figure out who’s idea and why? This round it was Drama King’s idea because he doesn’t like the color of the van and the garage is unpainted unlike the rest of the house. At least they had a reason!

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/05/17/new-paint-job/feed/ 0 Sourdough Starter http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/04/10/sourdough-starter/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/04/10/sourdough-starter/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:52:28 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1105 We bought some sourdough starter a week or so ago. We increased it and shared it with some homeschool peers. We have made a couple loaves of bread but are still getting used to making our own bread. Due to the bread being so thick, we bought a Kitchenaide stand mixer. We’ve also used it to make some other things, too.

The boys love using the mixer to help make their own bread. They want to mix everything in it so we have to help them understand what can and cannot go into the mixer. All in all, it’s been fun and will get a lot of use in the next few days.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/04/10/sourdough-starter/feed/ 0 Butterfly Send Off http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/22/butterfly-send-off/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/22/butterfly-send-off/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:02:29 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1099 This afternoon we released our little butterflies. Tim setup the video camera on the tripod to capture the release on film but it appears the movie may not have come out very well so he’s working on it. While the camera rolled he also snapped a handful of photos of the release.

We opened up Little T’s cage first and John Cena and Big Show quickly fluttered away. Next, we opened Drama King’s cage. Cat and Turtle fluttered off behind John Cena and Big Show. Moe stayed behind and appeared to not have any interest in leaving. He hobbled around on the ground for a while until we noticed that one of his wings was malformed and he was unable to fly very far. The boys followed him around watching him while I constructed a wire cube with 2 missing sides to allow for easy access to the put food inside the cage. i covered the cube with a mesh laundry bag. We added a child sized clothes hanger at the top and hung the cage in the opening between the living room and dining room.

Drama King is worried about his new pet but at the same time is very excited about having a butterfly. He held her when we were attempting the release and we got a photo of him and Moe. I’ll be uploading though to the album soon so go check them out.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/22/butterfly-send-off/feed/ 0 Shaking The Habitat http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/20/shaking-the-habitat/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/20/shaking-the-habitat/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:23:11 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1089 We watched last night as Moe, one of the caterpillar turned chrysalis, shook the entire habitat in his attempt to escape the chrysalis form and emerge as a beautiful butterfly. This process is lengthy so we missed the actual emergence which occurred while we were fast asleep.

The boys watched the butterflies flutter around this morning and we will release them into the wild on Sunday. We have been opening the curtains so they can soak up all the sun rays they need. We also gave them some sugar water to drink.

The remainder of the caterpillars the rest of the unschoolers received are in various states. It’s amazing that all of these caterpillars came from the same source and were roughly the same age when we received them; however, they have all taken different amounts of time to become butterflies. One person noticed that each household’s caterpillars are on similar schedules but they differ from household to household.

This has been an interesting experiment for the family. I even had the boys put together a journal where they drew about each step of the process and “wrote” what they learned.

Photos have been added to the album.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/20/shaking-the-habitat/feed/ 0 It’s Chrysalis Time http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/13/its-chrysalis-time/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/13/its-chrysalis-time/#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:29:30 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1087 We awoke this morning to our first chrysalis. JC is beginning his metamorphosis stage. The remaining 4 caterpillars are now hanging from the lid this evening so we assume they will be in the chrysalis stage by morning. Oh and the unnamed caterpillar finally got a name, Turtle. Turtle was the last one to hang from his lid so he is definitely the baby of the bunch.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/13/its-chrysalis-time/feed/ 0 My mom … According to Little T (age 5) http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-%e2%80%a6-according-to-little-t-age-5/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-%e2%80%a6-according-to-little-t-age-5/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:24:31 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1075 1. What is something mom always says to you?

I don't know

2. What makes mom happy?

I don't know

3. What makes mom sad?

I don't know

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?

A little tiny baby

6. How old is your mom?

6

7. How tall is your mom?

9

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

play on the computer

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?

I don't know

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

I don't know

11. What is your mom really good at?

I don't know

12. What is your mom not very good at?

wrestling. you no good wrestling. daddy's good at wrestling.

13. What does your mom do for her job?

is this the last one?

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?

you tell me

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

i don't know

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

poop poop head (that's his signature answer when he is overloaded and will no longer cooperate)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

18. How are you and your mom the same?

19. How are you and your mom different?

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?


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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-%e2%80%a6-according-to-little-t-age-5/feed/ 0 My mom … According to Drama King (age 4) http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-according-to-drama-king-age-4/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-according-to-drama-king-age-4/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:12:43 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1065 1. What is something mom always says to you?

Nice things

2. What makes mom happy?

Doing good things

3. What makes mom sad?

Pooping in my pull up

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Good things

6. How old is your mom?

I don’t know. You tell me.

7. How tall is your mom?

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9 (as he counted from my toes to my head)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

work

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?

work

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

I don’t know. What that mean?

11. What is your mom really good at?

Jak and poop game (PS2 games that I help him with)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

racing

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Keep working

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?

everything

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

playing

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Dora

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Race, find dinosaurs, find pieces of dinosaur bones, open pumpkins, watch cowboys, and he kept going on and on.

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Playing games

19. How are you and your mom different?

You’re mom and I’m Drama King so you’re different. You’re bigger and I’m smaller.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Pooping in the potty (I have no idea)

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?

Restaurants

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/10/my-mom-according-to-drama-king-age-4/feed/ 0 Metamorphosis: A Journey To Adulthood http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/metamorphosis-a-journey-to-adulthood/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/metamorphosis-a-journey-to-adulthood/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:29:31 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1053 The boys and some of their unschooled friends have a terrific science project underway. Each family will raise 5 caterpillars from their toddler years through adulthood. Once they have emerged as a beautiful painted lady butterfly, we will watch them for a few weeks and then release them into the great outdoors. We picked up the toddler ‘pillars on Thursday (3/5) and the boys insisted they must name the little guys. Drama King named his Cat and Moe. Little T named his John Cena and Big Show. The last little guy remains unnamed but the boys have decided that he belongs to Tank. We hope to get photos at various stages and if lucky, we’ll get a video of a brand new butterfly as it emerges from it’s chrysalis.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/metamorphosis-a-journey-to-adulthood/feed/ 0 Daisy and Clover http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/daisy-and-clover/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/daisy-and-clover/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:58:50 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=1051 Soon, we’ll have a mini pot of each type growing in our house. Target had complete plant kits in the bargain bins for Saint Patrick’s day (clover) and Easter (daisy). Drama King will be maintaining the yellow pot (daisy) and Little T has the terracotta pot (clover). Once the plants are large enough, we can transplant them to our back yard.

We planted them on the 3rd and the clovers sprouted just 2 days later. The daisies have yet to sprout but we have hope for them.

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]]> http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2009/03/07/daisy-and-clover/feed/ 0 Some Updates http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2008/11/23/some-updates/ http://www.timandangi.com/blog/2008/11/23/some-updates/#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:43:54 +0000 Angi http://www.timandangi.com/blog/?p=534 I haven’t updated in a while due to converting to a new script so I thought I’d update now. Not a lot has been going on out of the norm. The boys have been, well, boys. They are hyper, rough-housing, rambunctious little boys.

Little T’s speech is getting better which is odd because he’s been out of formal speech therapy since the end of May. We are still fighting to get him back into speech. He has been turned away by almost every speech center in town because they don’t accept our insurance or they don’t think he’s “severe” enough to need their assistance. We have one more place to try before we ask our insurance for other options. We haven’t heard from them so I plan to call them on Monday. Little T has been practicing his ABCs by singing. He recognizes more and more letters lately. I think he might recognize them all in upper and lower case but I haven’t tested him yet.

Drama King has gotten more vocal lately. He loves to talk and talk. He is recognizing more and more letters now. He recognizes his name in print. He has a huge fascination with sending and receiving mail. He’s been writing to anyone who will write back. He loves learning about animals of all types but his favorites are otters and dinosaurs. We’ve been practicing writing his name and he’s getting quite good at it.

Tim has been working hard getting our business of the ground but has taken time out to help teach the boys about photography. They love to get the camera out and stage photos of everything. They have recently gotten into video when they realized our camera had video capabilities. They just finished a photo shoot so I’ll be uploading those soon. I’ve thought about getting them a kid safe camera but they are so expensive that I’ll wait to see if they remain interested in photography.

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