What's going on in Our Homeschool

School has been temperamental recently... there were birthdays, and this past week has been a week of me getting used to contact lenses (YAHY) and trying to fix my blog. Not such a bad thing because Rebel has been reading some of the Horrible Histories books by Terry Deary, although Asterix did sneak in there a bit (he's fantastic for those learning Latin BTW), and we did listen to a couple of Columbus Day shows, one from Homeschool Radio Shows (great site) and the other from You Need a Story (also great!).
There were a couple of parcels from my Mum with some books in (mathematics and English amongst others... the kids have enjoyed these), including some of the aforementioned Horrible Histories. The kids worked some on the books.
Then there was the outdoor time, the library book reading, and the expressed interest in Mars mentioned (Lego Mars Mission was rebel's birthday present) on top of it all.
Finally, we are loosly working with Katherine and Elizabeth over at Serendipity. That is definitely worth a look!

Distractions, Distractions...

In order to prevent this:



From distracting Rebel, I set M'Lady to this:


Do you think Swiffers might come in child sizes?

In case you are wondering, the jar of water is Rebel's design of "Making a Tornado" with a spoon to create a mini-whirlpool in the jar. Apparently this fascinating thing is enough to occupy two kids an entire morning... and M'Lady for TWO entire mornings. Shame it makes so much racket...

It is that time of year again

It seems that those who are not yet back to school are busy planning, while those who are back, are trying to figure out their 'new stuff'.
And then there was the 4Real Learning Conference which I was not able to attend... but lucky me, Dawn, Meredith and Jennifer have ALL put their talks online THANK YOU ladies!
I of course, am no exception to the planning rule! AND I also promised you an update.

Last week, some of our new curriculum came in... and it has definitely been a hit. While Rebel was thus occupied with school work (some of which required much Mother-Input), M'lady was working on a few things.

Ever ready to learn, we started on a pouring exercise. Yes, I know the measuring jug is large, but it is what we had to work with!

She did not seem to mind very much!

And while Rebel was working on his Tornado project...
M'Lady could be found, sorting some glittery pom-poms into an egg carton. Apparently this was a fascinating task. She took her time playing with it.
And then, when all else fails, my ultimate occupying the little one suggestion is.... (wait for it)...


BATHTIME!!! This never fails to work... EVER. She will sit in the bath and occupy herself for a VERY LONG TIME. It's all good...

In the meantime, Rebel, who is supposed to be cleaning up his mess, is instead...
DISTRACTED by the mess. There in the hallway, he suddenly decides that he can't wait to read the book he just pulled off of his shelf.

And like I said, so many others are planning too...
Elizabeth shares and inspirational photo.
Katherine shares one of the most beautiful learning rooms I have ever seen.... and if you enjoyed that, then perhaps you'd also like a sneak peek at Elizabeth's room too!
Theresa shares her math centres, and her three part card holders.
Dawn, that planning maven, has her plans and themes for September up.
Kristine allows us to peak at her notebooks while Jennifer shares her first day back.
Dy shares how her new school year is going!
Since Kim is hosting the Loveliness of Back to School carnival, I'll leave it there so you can check in with her next week and see what everyone else is doing!

What to do with a Disruptive 3 year old

Maybe that should really read "What should I do with a disruptive 3 year old?".


If the truth is told, she is really not that disruptive. She can be loud. And yes, she does play with Rebel's toys, but she should not be the cause of Rebel being unable to do his schoolwork, and yet, she IS. I mean, how distracting is reading the yellow pages?
Not very, but Rebel really finds anything she does distracting!
So off to the bookstore and home library I went. In search of my Montessori books. I love Montessori for preschoolers. They have so many different activities that we can do with them. I made a few for M'Lady... I have beads to string, small shape puzzles, items to sort... but apparently good old fashioned Cuisinaire Rods are great for sorting ;)

Then there was the Target $1 spot. Definitely worth looking at, although I can tell you that it must have been picked over because mine had no small globes :(
Oh well... I will keep you posted on my search for entertaining activities for small children!

Sharing some more..

And there is the wonderful Toddler Carnival over at Sweetness and Light. Check it out for ideas of things to do with your toddlers and wee ones!

And a couple of wonderful links I tripped over going through various blogs on my ever expanding blogroll... but they fit the criteria of helping with Toddlers. Guess what my biggest hurdle during school the last week or so has been... ;) Fantastic resources with ideas, downloads and in the first case, a store!

Montessori for Everyone

Montessori by Hand