skip counting magic

Ahh, multiplication facts.
How you eluded me.
Your numbers jumping all around in my head like popcorn in a pan.
Frustration and tears.

This and That. Doing something New.

Hello Dear Reader.
I'm in a quirky mood this evening and my mind is hopping along from topic to topic.  Hopefully, you don't mind a bit of this and that! :)

The Saddness of Snowflakes

notice the hexagon?  and the teary eyes?

 

We had our first "real" snowfall yesterday, so the youngest and I skipped around in our Science curriculum to do the short unit on seasons.  This sweet youngest child of mine is so tender and so, well, six years old, that when we talked about each snowflake being unique and made only one time- she wept.  She crawled into my lap and put her head on my shoulder and felt the heavy sadness of beauty lost.

That's when I remembered the website k12 had linked to for another lesson.  It has the most stunning photos of real snowflakes!  So we made paper snowflakes and then visited this website to view pictures of real flakes.  Beautiful!

The Perfect Class Size

The best defense I've ever heard for home schooling has come from one of my best friends.  She also happens to be a teacher by trade.  Also, she is married to a high school science teacher.  Together they have four children whom they home school.  Together they also rub shoulders with a lot of teachers, teachers who sometimes question them, understandably, about their decision to home school.

 A great blog post on what I really have realized I aspire to.  Good, simple cooking.  Leaving time and energy for life.  Enjoy!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/a-recipe-for-simplifying-life-ditch-all-the-recipes/