Can Nutrition and Exercise Cure Dyslexia?

Campster shows off her color wheel painting

Sorry for my long absence.  Following the homeschool conference at MASS HOPE in late April, I had a lot to think about.  Having determined that Campster, now 8, is definitely dyslexic, I sought out advice and help at the conference, and from friends and family with experience.  What a vast difference in approaches I found!  (But more about that in another post to come).

For now, I had my "path forward":  Nutrition and exercise.  What?!  What do nutrition and exercise have to do with dyslexia?  Well, first of all, we were able to determine that one of the causes of Campster's dyslexia is that the two sides (hemispheres) of her brain were not talking to each other.  Here is a simple test to determine this:  Tactile Localization.  Campster failed this test horribly.  Whereas the other children could do it, no problem.

At MASSHOPE, we were blessed to have the speaker, Dianne Craft, talk about the corpus collosum, that section of the brain in between the two hemispheres.  It is made up of mostly DHA.  Children who are dyslexic need Cod Liver Oil (full of DHA) in order to build up their mid-brain and allow the communication between the two hemispheres to happen.  We have been taking Twin Labs Emusified Orange Flavor Cod Liver Oil, three times a day, ever since.

Secondly, Mrs. Craft talked about doing exercises for the brain, which cross over that mid-line between the hemispheres.   At first, Campster could not do this.  Wow!  We were so amazed.  But, within a week of doing "Writing Eights" everyday, she could do it smoothly.  We will continue to do these exercises at least four times a week for six months.

Having done these for a couple of months now, Campster is showing much improvement.  She is reading with enthusiasm!  She tied her own shoelaces, which she has never been able to do before.  We have hope that she will be a reader after all!

Wish you were here!

Growing Up

In our family, a working definition of a "grown up" is someone who no longer lives with their parents, and pays all their own bills.  It is our desire to see each of our children become grown ups someday.  As much as we love our kids, we do not want them living in our home forever.  And, have you noticed?  There is a lot of that going around.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am not judging those kids who chose to continue living at home or the parents who support them.  My dearest friend is twenty-eight years old and still lives with her parents.  However, she has an amazing prayer ministry.  She cooks and cleans for the family.  And she has plans to be a missionary.  There are situations where having your child continue to live at home is the wise thing to do.

It may be that when the time comes, one or both of our daughters may choose to stay home.  I don't know. Sher Bear says that she will always live with us and take care of us.  Perhaps we will need taking care of by the time she is grown.  LOL!  We will cross that bridge when we come to it.  But our intention is for all three of the kids to have the skill set, ambition and opportunity to make their way in the world and move out of our home.

Jor Man turned eleven years old this week.  And we took the opportunity to reassess what he is learning.  Big Dad and I explained that our intention is for him to use this time to discover God's gifts and talents, and explore how he might use those to support his family someday.  He balked.  He didn't want to think about it yet.  Yeah, well, who really does?!

We ensured him that this is just a time of exploration.  He could identify several interests to pursue, and change his mind if he wants.  Now is the time to do this.  We would like for him to have a good first guess (or two) at his future career by age 13.

Then, at 13, we will begin to pursue appropriate apprenticeship opportunities.  Trying out a job before you put your time and money into preparing for it, gives you the chance to find out if you really like it or not - before you've invested "too much" to change your mind.

Hopefully, assuming the field he wants to go into does not require an advanced degree, he will already be working, maybe even in his own business by age 18.  Then he will be in the position to move to his own place and support a family.

But for now, exploring the possibilities looks like talking with mom and dad about his interests, praying and asking God for direction, reading books and getting a firm handle on how much life really costs.  Our first go around, one thing was for sure, Jor Man want to be rich.  (Don't we all?!)

So I decided to begin a unit study in financial stewardship.  Here's the plan so far:

Reading The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey.  Jor Man has been reading (and enjoying!) five pages a day, writing down three things he learned in his journal, and then we discuss it together.  This has started many interesting conversations about such things as whole vs. term life insurance, car payments, credit card debt, and pawn shops.  I love this book because of its biblical basis.  It also warns against using debt as a tool for creating wealth.  This principal would have saved so many people during the recent financial crises.

We watched Maxed Out, a movie about the debt crisis in this country, on NetFlix.  I liked it because it showed many, many real examples of people in debt.  It also showed the desire of credit card companies to pray on the poor, and on college students.  It is important to me that my kids understand that the credit card companies are not their friends.

I want to go through Richard Bolles classic, What Color is Your Parachute, with him.  Perhaps we can further narrow down the field.  This book looks at many different areas to determine what job would best suit you.

When we were first married, almost twenty years ago, Big Dad did a form of intensive career counseling, called DOMA.  It was so helpful to us in determining that he wanted to get his Masters degree in Human Resource Development, and go into corporate learning and development as a career.  Ralph Mattson, the creator of DOMA, has written a book, Discovering Your Child's Design.  This book, from a Christian perspective, takes the parent through the process of learning more about God's specific design for each child.  We plan to read this and go through the process over the next couple of years for Jor Man.

Next we will read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki.  I realize that there is a teen version of this book.  But, really, the grownup version is so "dumbed down" that it is easily accessible to an eleven-year-old - especially when he is checking in with mom and dad every day for comprehension.  The book is not well written, but the information is invaluable.  I will add the caveat that "Rich Dad" recommends using debt as a tool to build wealth, which I do not agree with.  That is why we are reading The Total Money Makeover first.

My favorite book for understanding how wealthy people get wealthy, Rich Dad's Cash Flow Quadrant, is next.  Also by Kiyosaki, it carries the same caveat.  It explains, in detail, the different ways to create income.  I think it will be revelatory for Jor Man, and I cannot wait to hear what he thinks of it.

Lastly, I want Jor Man is read the book, The Duggars:  20 and Counting! I have been reading it, and am inspired by their financial principles.  Not only are they debt free, they have no mortgage, and they have passive income from commercial properties.  (Rich Dad would be proud).  While the book is interspersed with stories about parenting, marriage and faith as well, I was struck by their faithfulness to God's plan to not owe money to anyone.  God regularly met their needs, just in time, in miraculous ways.

This has been my experience of God's faithfulness.  Countless times, by trusting in God, and doing as He instructs, I have seen God bless me financially.  This is not the prosperity gospel.  I do not believe that you will be rich if you really believe in God.  It certainly didn't work that way for either Jesus or Paul.  But I do believe that God is faithful to meet our needs if we will trust Him instead of trusting in debt.

The Campster, with her awesome new reading skills, noticed and read to me the other day from the top of a dollar bill, "In God We Trust".  She was amazed to find that on the dollar.

Perhaps our forefathers meant it as a reminder to each one who holds a dollars in their hand, not to trust the dollar, but the Lord.

Wish you were here!

Reading is a Super Power!

Halloween 2008, Camster as Ariel with "red" hair

There are two things you should know about Campster.  Both are recent changes for her.

The first is that, while she used to be a blond, she is now a red head.  Really.  She has wanted to be a red head since she could say red head.  She's been very consistent about it.  And, as providence would have it, she's got the right coloring for it, just not the "right" hair color.

Two years ago for Halloween she was Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  And she wanted very much to have red hair for that.  So we dyed her hair using a semi-permanent (washes out in 28 shampoos) hair color and only left it in for a few minutes.  The result was barely noticeable, but was definitely red when the light hit is just right.  She was thrilled.

Campster emptying her stocking.  Note the dye, left

Fast forward to this Christmas:  Campster again was asking for red hair dye, and Big Dad thought that Santa ought to oblige her.  So guess what she got in her stocking.

We used the exact same dye as last time.  But, for whatever reason, (poor judgment, bad memory, living on the wild side), I left it in longer this time.  Now her hair is truly, really red.  Thankfully, she loves it again, and has vowed not to shampoo so that it will stay that way.

Okay, now for the second change.  She's a reader.  For Christmas, she got "Come Back, Amelia Bedilia" and before any of us could read it to her, she decided to read it herself.  And she did.  She went from sounding out each and every word, excruciatingly slowly, to reading this book with no problem.  She even read words and phrases she's never encountered before.  It was amazing.  This from my kid who told me the one thing she did not want to do this year was learn to read.

Campster's new red hair!

I wish you could have seen her face.  She was so proud of herself.  "Mom!  Dad!" she would shout, "I'm reading! It's like I have a super power!  I can read!  Reading IS a super power!"  She proclaimed.

And she's right about that.  Reading is a super power.  It changes everything.  Now that she knows she can read, there's been no stopping her.  She's not attempted a chapter book yet, but I'm sure that will happen soon enough.  She's reading every street sign, every magazine cover (uh oh!) and everything she sees.

So, for my red headed super hero reader, 2011 is going to be a super exciting year!

Wish you were here!

Free Homeschooling

Homeschooling doesn't have to cost anything.  Really.

(Although, I do recommend that every homeschool family have an HSLDA membership.  It's important to protect yourself, and your membership helps keep homeschooling legal in all 50 states.)

I absolutely adore curriculum.  It's really fun to look at and play with and plan for.  But in reality,  sometimes the kids like it.  But more often than not, we spend a whole lot of money on something that looks great, only to find that, after a day or two,  the kids are no longer keen on it, and the haranguing begins.

Cause if I've spent a lot of money on some curriculum I thought was going to be wonderful - well, then we must use it, right?

On the other hand, if I get my stuff for free, then I don't much care whether the kids love it or never want to play with it again.  I have the freedom to let them enjoy it or not.

Please be aware:  While I have personally looked at all of these websites - it is not possible for me to have looked at all of the games/links as there are literally thousands.  Please, please, never let your child access the internet without your supervision.  Computers with internet access should be in a common area, where you - the parent - will be aware of what your kids are being exposed to.  I know of several Christian, homeschooling families who trusted their kids to know what not to look at - and their kids were inadvertently exposed to, and subsequently addicted to porn.  Be careful!!

Here are some free curriculum sites (in no particular order):

MULTIPLE SUBJECT, GRADE SCHOOL AGE GAMES:

Starfall:  Early primary phonics, math, silly learning games.  My kids love it.

Learning Games for Kids:  Like the name says, lots of games in all areas.  Let them choose and you sit back and watch them learn.  :)

Gamequarium:  More games for elementary school age.

Game Classroom:  Kindergarten through sixth grade games in all areas.  These games are developed to match state standards.  (Is that a good thing? - LOL!)

Arcademic Skill Builders:  More K-5 games in all areas.

ABCya!:  Lots more great games.  I like playing the one where you fit the United States in the map, one state at a time.  My high score is 320 on hard.

Fun Brain:  Reading and Math games for grade school age.

Sheppard Software:  Hundreds of educational games, activities, quizzes, articles and more!

Funschool:  Worksheets, online games, craft videos - it's got it all.  But I detest the commercials.

PBS Kids:  Games, coloring sheets, and worksheets associated with all the PBS shows.  Mostly fluff and commercialism, but some good stuff.

HISTORY/SCIENCE:

National Geographic Kids:  Lots of interesting things to do and see.  Plus some learning games.  Warning- definitely a site that believes in evolution and that the world is billions of years old.  If you, like me, believe in young earth and that God created humans - then you will want to be sure your kids understand that this site does not support that.


Answers in Genesis kids' section:  Fun videos, worksheets, coloring pages, crafts, etc.  Love it!


Usborne Quicklinks:  Links to educational websites galore!

MATH:

A+ Math:  Math games, worksheets, flashcards.


Timez Attack!:  Teaches all the multiplication facts, 2 x 2 through 12 x 12.  Fun!!


Manga High:  Lots of math games for upper elementary and middle school students.


Cool Math:  Higher level math games, primarily for older kids (and adults).  


Sum Dog:  Math games that cover 100 numeracy topics at 10 levels.

The Math Worksheet Site:  Make up worksheets and charts based on what your kids are currently studying.

TYPING:  

Learn2Type:  Like it says, free online typing tutor.




SPELLING/VOCABULARY:

Spelling City:  Spelling and vocabulary for all levels.  Use their suggested lists or make your own list and convert it to word searches, games, and tests.  


READING/BOOK LISTS:

Book Adventure:  This Sylvan sponsored site offers both reading suggestions for all ages, and quizzes to check for comprehension.  If your child is an independent reader, you can set up rewards for him/her to get when then read a certain number of books and score well on the tests.  Nice!!


Ambleside Online:  Book lists (some are free online and some you get at the library) and guidelines for the popular Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.  Great place to get inspired.  


GEOGRAPHY:

Seterra:  Fun online geography practice.  Better than just a quiz - actually helps you learn the major citys,  countries, etc.



Wish you were here!

Not Reading

John Holt recommended in his book, Teach Your Own, that homeschooling parents ask their kids three questions:

1)  What are you already doing (learning about, studying) that you want to keep doing?

2)  What would you like my help to do (learn, study)? and,

3)  What do you never want to do again?

This time, Campster said that she doesn't want to learn to read this year.  Granted, her reading is better than it has ever been.  But at 7 years old, she is not reading chapter books like Jor Man was.  And she does not feel confident about her reading.  She frustrates herself when trying to read.  I have wondered if she is dyslexic.  She will write whole sentences backwards, from right to left, and not notice the disparity.  I have been reading The Gift of Dyslexia in an effort to determine how best to assist her in reading.  But I have not yet come to any conclusions.

I assured her that I would not "make her read" at all this year.  She was relieved.

So I find it so sweet and wonderful that when Sher Bear was feeling ill, Campster offered to read to her.  Nope, no reading in this house!  LOL.

Wish you were here!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Despite Campster's serious look, everyone was having a great time.

Libraries in Connecticut sponsored a summer reading program this summer, complete with prizes from Barnes & Noble, Quassy, and Rockcats baseball.

All three kids won free tickets to a minor league, Rockcats baseball game.  We just had to pay for the adult tickets ($8 a piece) and parking ($3).  The kids even got free hot dogs and waters!

Minor league baseball is, in my mind, so much more enjoyable than major league. There is a strong feeling of community!  It's not as crowded, and there is much to see and do.

The view from our seats.  Not bad!

Always learning, the kids had fun finding their seats using the numbers and letters on their tickets.  Then we talked about the scoreboard, and reviewed the rules of baseball.  There's lots of counting involved in a baseball game.    We also noticed the sign tracking the speed of the pitch, and the many billboards to read.

At the minor games, every break is time for some other community group to be acknowledged.  On the field, children raced, danced, did Tae-Kwon-Do demonstrations, and sang the national anthem.

There were give aways, and the kids all got soccer balls (which we put in the car right away).  We even met Miss Connecticut, who was very nice.  The girls thought she was a princess, because of her tiara.  They had never heard of beauty pageants.  Jor Man got autographs from two of the teams three mascots.

Wish you were here!

The Boy and The Moon

Recently, we attended a BBQ at my friend's house.  Among other things, we were celebrating the publishing of her hubby's book.  He is an accomplished artist, whose illustrations have been in magazines.  The Boy and the Moon is his first book.  And it is wonderful.

The story is so cute, and has a clever turn at the end.  In fact, you may find yourself discussing homonyms.  You will also enjoy a discussion of the moon and its phases.

But what will really bless you, are the amazing illustrations.  You know how the moonlight has a mysterious, glowy, dreamy quality to it?  Jim captures that in his illustrations.  They are so beautiful!  And it reminds me of the fun, fanciful "Where the Wild Things Are," but without the scary monsters.  I hope that he will be nominated for a Caldecott award.  (Note to self:  Find out how to nominate someone.)  I might have to get two copies so I can rip the pages out of one and frame them.

Beauty Mom, Fun Friend, and Awesome Artist

The book will be released on September first.  I really want you to go to Amazon and preorder one.  Not because the author/artist is my friend's husband (although. . .) - because you will LOVE it.  And then you will know what to get for all those kids on your Christmas list.

Please comment when you have the book in your hands, and tell me how much you love it.  I'll pass your comments on to Jim.  This is one of those books that you will keep on your shelf after you've culled out the twaddle.

Wish you were here!

The New Chefs

Campster's Gluten-Free, Butterfly-Shaped, Pepperoni Pizza

My kids have always liked to help out in the kitchen.  Now that I am done with my chef job, and back to my full-time mommy job, I decided I'd like the kids to do more of the cooking.

Cooking is the perfect unschooling medium.  It involves planning the menu and writing it out, reading the recipe, shopping for the ingredients, economizing the purchases, coordinating the time it will take to cook with the time it will be served, measuring ingredients (fractions!), time and temperature, safety training, nutrition. . . I'm sure I've missed some, but you get the idea.

We have conversations about why eating only mac & cheese for three meals a day would not be good for your body.  We talk about carbs, proteins, fats and sugars.  We categorize foods into meats, dairy, grains, vegetables and fruits.  We pick fresh produce from the garden.  And we butcher our own chickens.  Lots of botany and biology going on.

For now we have settled on Sher-Bear cooking breakfast, Campster cooking lunch, and Jor Man cooking dinner.  They plan the menus out a week in advance and help with the grocery list and shopping.  I encourage them to think ahead a couple of days and see what they might need to either defrost or to prepare in advance.  For instance, on Sundays we always have a potluck lunch after church.  So Campster needed to prepare the pot roast (crock pot overnight) and the brownies the night before.  And Jor Man is making Coq Au Vin for dinner Monday night, so it will start cooking Sunday afternoon.

This morning, Sher Bear cooked scrambled eggs and bacon for us.  I supervised, but she did most of it herself.  Before we eat, we all say "Thank you" to the chef, (who is beaming) and then we give thanks to God for the food.

Wish you were here!

Skills

Jor Man with the Coconut he found and opened

Dakota's comments on the last post really made me smile.  I love ALL your comments.  Keep them coming.  But what you may not know is that Dakota and I know each other in real life.  In fact, she's the person who encouraged me to start writing this blog - and the person I am usually thinking of when I write it - My audience of one, and the rest of you are all gravy!!  Wonderful gravy.  Dakota challenges me with her questions and makes me think about why I am doing what I am doing.  Not that I haven't thought about it before, but putting into words clarifies it for me.

But back to Dakota's comments.  For the record, I also started out as a Classical-minded, Charlotte Mason leaning educator.  I still am.  I love the classics and good literature.  I read "The Well-Trained Mind" through several times before my oldest child turned 3!!  We have a lot in common, Dakota and I.  (The two best ways to totally overwhelm yourself before starting homeschool are to read through The Well-Trained Mind, and to browse through the Rainbow Resource Curriculum Guide.  The options are indeed endless.)

It is so easy for me to fall back into that - it's deliciously comforting to me in theory.  I love the idea that I could educate my children in such a way that they would have read all of those wonderful books, and had a very rigorous and thorough education.  It's just that when I tried, I found a different reality hitting me in the face.

At Auto Safari Chapin in Guatemala

I didn't like the struggles with my kids (mostly Jor Man, since he was the guinea pig first born).  It broke my heart to see his initial joy and enthusiasm toward learning turning into a grimace, a pout and then all out defiance.

Reading John Holt's "How Children Fail" was such a revelation to me.  I was expecting my children to produce a certain result.  And this had slowly become so much more important to me than the fun of learning.  I saw in that book that I was producing for some unseen (and some seen) critics of my homeschooling.  I felt I had to produce brilliant and well-schooled children in order to "prove" that my choice in homeschooling them was somehow justified.  (As if I could convince anyone who doesn't want to believe in homeschooling.)

Hitting the wall came for me in fits and spurts.  I noticed how much they learned when life created a necessary school break.  Instead of "regressing"  when we took a break, they excelled.  It got downright embarrassing.  They did better when I didn't teach them than when I did.  Hmmm.  So much for proving myself.

Sher Bear's drawing of the boy we met carrying his parrots on a stick

I noticed the "teachable moments" - those times when they were really excited about about a beaver, a fly or a plant they found in the yard.  I noticed how a movie could open up a whole discussion about something, that (prior to the movie) they had not been interested in.

Piece by piece, I realized that my teaching them was not the joyfilled, fun experience we were all hoping for.  I organized, planned and imagined wonderful times of learning - and in practice, there was arguing, groaning and (yes) yelling on my part.

I considered sending them all to school.  Perhaps it was just that I was a poor teacher.  Or perhaps teaching and parenting was too much for me.

After digging for Mayan artifacts in the mud, Sher Bear does her "yucky" face

But I found something else.  I clung to the moments of wonder.  Instead of urging them to get back to the table and finish their worksheets, I entered into their questioning of the world.  Discovery became an adventure - OUR adventure.  And they started asking me for help.

"Mom, could you help me figure out how to skin this snake?"  Umm, ugh, okay.  "Mom, can we find the chicken's brain?" (while slaughtering our chickens)  "Mom, how do you spell Birthday?"  "How do you make a B?"  "How many quarters do I need to buy my doll a backpack?"

This Monarch butterfly is one of the many Campster will catch this summer.

All the subjects flowed naturally from their curiousity.  I no longer needed to coerce them into learning.  I just needed to be willing and flexible.  Suddenly, I was the best "teacher" ever.  They were learning, and I was helping.  I wasn't getting in their way.

Dakota, you mentioned skills like reading, writing and math.  I know you well enough to know that you read volumes to your kids.  They will read.  You don't need to teach them.  They'll get it.  They'll start asking you how to spell words and how to make the various letters.  They'll become interested in numbers, counting, and how many.  Before you know it, they'll be doing division, and you will have never "taught" them it.  That's how its happening in our house.

Campster and Sher Bear climbing the steps of an old chapel

If your kids are begging you to teach them to read, facilitate their learning.  Doing it every day is great if you want them to read early - but if they get frustrated - back off.  Kids who feel like mom or dad (or teacher) is disappointed in their progress start to shut down.  Every time my daughter reads, she's so much better than the last time.  It's a natural developmental process.  Like talking.  Like walking.

When my kids were learning to walk, I sometimes did egg them on.  It's fun.  And as long as it was fun for them, they would humor me and try.  But sometimes, I think, they didn't want to.  They resented the pressure.  Imagine if there was a school for walking.  Imagine we sent our kids to walking school, and they were graded.  Some kids were considered remedial walkers.  Really - that sounds absurd.  Or talking school?!  We play with kids when they babble.  It's fun and that is how they learned to talk.  We talked with them.  Can you imagine step by step instructions for teaching your child to talk?  "Teach your child to walk and talk in 100 easy lessons".  Crazy.  So why is reading, writing and math any different?

Jor Man overwhelmed by his club sandwich!

By not teaching my girls these things, I have noticed the natural development that occurs in these three areas if children are left to investigate them at their own pace.  It's so amazing.  Just like walking, talking, and feeding oneself - children naturally learn to read, write, and do math.  It's built into our development.

These are skills.  I agree with Dakota.  We can place them in a category different than, say, American History.  We do use them everyday.  Even without trying to.  Give your children an environment that is full of real life (not an isolated existence in a classroom full of their peers), and watch them develop naturally - with all the love for learning that God gave them.

Wish you were here!

P.S. - Dakota - I love you whether you homeschool or not - whether you unschool or insist on doing the trivium.  Whatever works for you and your kids is wonderful.

Ambience and Fraud

Sher Bear takes a break from swimming at Tiquisate, Guatemala

People comment that my kids seem well educated.  How can they tell that?  I wonder.  I think it must be their vocabulary.  All three kids, but Campster especially, have an amazing repetoire of words they use in everyday conversation.
How did that happen?  Here's a few guesses:

1.  They don't go to school.  Because they are around Mom, Dad, and other grownups most days, their vocabulary reflects the word choices of adults over those of children.

2.  They don't watch television.  We have a plasma.  But we do not have cable tv or sattelite.  Instead we watch hand-picked movies from time to time.  Everytime I do get a chance to watch tv, I am amazed how dumbed-down much of it is.

3.  We read, a lot.  Big Dad is especially great about reading to the kids.  I prefer books on tape.  But one way or another, they listen to or read plenty of good literature.  That's not to say that we completely disallow "twaddle", but that is not the bulk of their reading.

4.  We don't "talk down" to them.  Big Dad and I talk about almost anything in front of the kids.  And we discuss it as though we are talking with our adult friends.  The kids have great insight and opinions on things.  And when they don't understand a word, they ask us.

Like today, in the car, I said the word "ambience".  I can't remember what the context was.  But Campster asked me what that meant.  We had a whole discussion on the feel of certain rooms.  And we decided that the ambience in the girls' room is much improved now that the old wallpaper is gone and the new wainscoting and beautiful pink paint is in it's place.

And then this evening, Jor Man and I were looking at a video on the internet, and they said that someone was a fraud.  Jor Man wanted to know what fraud meant.  We talked about the Wizard of OZ and how he wasn't "The Great and Powerful OZ" after all, but a fraud - a lie.

And since I don't have any great pictures of vocabulary - I thought I'd post this cute one of Sher Bear swimming in Guatemala.  She loves swimming!

Wish you were here!

Chocolate

Cacao growing outside of Tiquisate, Guatemala

There, on the tree.  That football shaped, greenish fruit growing out of the trunk or branch.  That's it.    That's a cacao pod.  That is where chocolate comes from.

I remember seeing it for the first time when I was nine years old, and thinking it was the strangest thing - stuck there on the side of the trunk.

But, oh, how I love chocolate!  Jor Man went through a phase a couple of years ago when he was very interested in making chocolate.  We tried it, and failed miserably.  It didn't even taste good.

I asked my cousin, while we were in Guatemala, to get us one so that the kids could see for themselves where chocolate comes from.  He got us two!!  These were yellow (ripe?).

We played with them a bit, first, of course.  And then we cut them open.

Campster and Sher Bear playing with the cacao pods

They cut very easily, which surprised me.  The skin in hard like a winter squash, but the inside is soft.  It's whitish inside, and then there are little beans, cacao beans in the white.  It doesn't look a thing like chocolate - or taste like it.

Pretty much every kid I know has smelled unsweetened cocoa powder, or unsweetened baker's chocolate and taken a taste. Horrible bitter stuff!  Well, straight cacao beans make that seem yummy!

What the cacao beans look like raw

Jor Man tried tasting one and hated it!!  Before the beans can be used, they are roasted.  Then they add fat and sugar, and sometimes milk.  Well, that's the short-version.  If you want to read about how to really make chocolate, The Story of Chocolate is a great book for kids.  It has information on the history, geography, and manufacturing process.  We read that and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl one year.  Of course we watched the movies, too.  It's fun to compare the old and the new - an opportunity to compare and contrast.  Makes a fun unit study.  Delicious, too!

Wish you were here!

Counting Ping's Family

Yesterday, the girls were reading "The Story About Ping", by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese, again.  It's such a great book.  I love all of the opportunities for learning in it.  We have discussed geography - the book takes place in China on the Yangtze River.  We have found it on our map.  We discussed that this is the same country that the movie "Mulan" is based in.  There is also reference to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.  So we've talked about directions.  Which way does the sun set at our house?  Yup.  It sets in the west here, too.    It's fun to show them this with a compass.

That's a lot of ducks!

I love that Ping disobeys because he doesn't want to get spanked.  And how he gets lost from his family because of his disobedience.  There is also a boy who disobeys his parents.  Perhaps we could decide that this is a good thing because Ping lives - but the family will now go without dinner!  (Not okay in my book.)  Don't miss the opportunity to discuss the importance of obeying your parents.

In the end, Ping finds his family, but he must decide whether or not to join them, as he knows he will be spanked for being late!  He decides it is worth it.

But the part of Ping that the girls picked up on yesterday was the numbers.  Ping's family is described several times as consisting of Ping, his mother and his father, two sisters and three brothers and eleven aunts and seven uncles and forty-two cousins.  (Love the large family).

Math-U-See Starter Block Set

The girls wanted to know, "How many ducks does that make in all?"  So I asked Campster to get the Math-U-See blocks I bought for her at the MASSHOPE convention.  These are plastic unit blocks in different sizes and colors.  What you can't see in the picture is that there are two layers, and under what you see are four red "100" blocks.  The girls are loving using them to figure out any math problems they come up with.  I opted this year just to get the blocks.  I hear from many friends that the curriculum is wonderful.  But I have not used it myself.  I showed Campster the blocks at MASSHOPE and she really liked them.

Ping, his mother, and his father.

So we started with a 100 block to place the other blocks on.  Then we added one green block for Ping, followed by a green block each for his mother and father.  Don't miss the opportunity to recognize that we now have three ducks.

Two sisters and three brothers

Eleven Aunts

Then we added his two sisters (using the orange 2 block) and his 3 brothers (using the pink 3 block).  How many ducks do we have now?  Campster told me eight.  When I asked how she knew that without counting, she told me that she saw that it was two less than ten, and she knows that is eight.  (Hmm.  Don't remember teaching her that.  Could it be that she is learning math without being taught?)

Next we added Ping's eleven aunts.  Campster knew that eleven would be a ten and a one.  By making the largest block a ten, it shows place value.   Now we have a total of ten and nine - which is nineteen - or twenty minus one.

Seven uncles = Six plus one

Forty-two cousins

Next the Campster wowed me with her suggestion.  Rather than add a seven block for the seven uncles, she suggested that we do a six and a one and fill in the missing block in the upper right corner.  Now we have two rows of ten and six.

Last we added the forty-two cousins.  Campster grabbed four tens and a two.  Hard to "read" it this way, though.  Let's put all the tens together, and then the ones.

Sixty-eight ducks!!

Now we can count six tens and eight ones.  Sixty-eight ducks!  That's a lot.  (We "only" have 51 quail!)  The girls felt happy with their successful counting of the ducks.  Then we put all the ducks (blocks) back in the box for next time we want to do some math.

Isn't math fun?

Wish you were here!