kids

How I’m Organizing Our Homeschool

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment

It’s not pretty. In all honesty, I have about 3 days mapped out so far. I want to see how we do and what is working for us.

My homeschool space doubles as our dining room. We have two bookshelves dedicated to homeschool materials. I recently put up a small whiteboard and bulletin board set. I’m using these to keep info that we need every day. I’ll probably write the date on the whiteboard to help us all keep track.

Each of the kids have their own binder where I am keeping supplemental material and where I hope they can store their work. I also have a binder – it’s pretty rudimentary right now. I have a copy of each IHIP and a calendar for keeping attendance. I also have a place for my daily plans. I have been scratching them out on looseleaf paper organized by subject for each child.

I plan on using the internet extensively for material to fuel hands on learning. I’m really excited about science experiments, demonstrations, and projects. I have a ton of recycables and basic art supplies on hand.

I reviewed their IHIPs and started looking at the resources I’ve accumulated. I have started what feels like a small library – not that we didn’t already have one – but I purchased some workbooks and went through the books we already owned looking for non-fiction I could use for different subjects. I found out that we have a crap-ton of dinosaur books.

I felt that we needed an easy start so I used their Brain Quest workbooks to jump start our first few days. I like these because they help me to see what I need to cover in each grade level. I’m using these as a guide and a starting point for topics. We are going to be covering each topic in more depth and according to my child’s individual needs. For instance, my second grader is a developing reader. We are going to use the first BQ worksheet on digraphs as a starting point and continue practicing them throughout the week. I am going to accomplish this with worksheets I found on Pinterest. We’re also doing that with math. We are going to be working towards better understanding of the hundredths place value so we’ll study that for about a week.

I am going to cover some topics with both my 6th grader and 2nd grader. We’ll be doing a coordinated study of U.S. History dating from immigration across the Bering land bridge to… however far we get. We will also be doing Art, P.E. and music together. Music isn’t even a required subject but I think it would be terrible to miss so I’m on the hunt for some materials. In lieu of having a solid plan for Music, we’re going to start with classical composers.

I am excited and nervous about that first day. I’m not planning on jumping into lessons right away. I am going to use the first day to get them excited. We’re going to name our homeschool, talk about how we learn best, make lots of slime and maybe go on a walk. I want to find out what they want to learn about and do so I can incorporate that.

Homeschooling Resources

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m writing as a newbie to homeschooling.

I’ve never done it before but we decided as a family that it was our best option this year. Our district is offering a hybrid school week – with in person learning for two days and distance learning for three. They are also offering a distance learning only program. Neither of those feel like great options for us. I’ve been exploring how to start for a few months because I wanted to be prepared.

Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com

Homeschooling has always appealed to me and I’m kind of excited! One thing I like about it – flexibility! We are going to go at our own pace and schedule. I can also spend extra time on things that interest my children and on things that they need more help with.

In order to start homeschooling in NY, you must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to your school district. It should include your children’s names, ages and grades and state that you are homeschooling for the year. If you’d like some help writing one – you can use mine!

After that, you have a certain amount of time to submit an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP). This follows the state’s requirements and includes the curriculum you will use to teach your children. I’ve seen examples that are both very simple AND extremely detailed. Here is a shell to get you started!

Your child is required to be in attendance for the substantial equivalent of 900 hours or 180 days. You should keep some kind of record in case it is requested and for your own purposes. My plan is to use this academic calendar and mark whether each child is “present” or “absent”.

I’m using Brain Quest workbooks to get started and to get a better idea of what needs to be covered in each grade. I don’t think these will be adequate to use for our whole curriculum but I do like them as a beginning framework. I have no idea what 2nd and 6th grade look like these days!

I’ve also been following a classmate who’s been homeschooling for 5 years and runs a successful blog and home business. Kristy has made a great list of her articles and ideas that will really help new homeschoolers! I always love the chance to give her a shout out!

That’s what I’ve got right now! Let me know if you have any questions or ideas about homeschooling in the comments below!

Buttermilk Falls (Ithaca, NY)

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment

Buttermilk Falls is in Ithaca, NY near a busy shopping area. Our trip here was Eh…

We stayed Wednesday night to Friday morning due to campground availability – weekends are heavily booked at the state parks right now. I overheard a park employee describing it more like a city park and while that didn’t feel exactly true, it was funny to see store building tops from our walks. I imagined sneaking away to Starbucks a couple of times (especially on Thursday when I had the boys alone).

I could have made it a little better with more planning – like calling the park to see what was going to be available.

Swimming will be available starting July 4th and is only open on Fri, Sat, and Sun. We went on July 1st – 3rd. The bathrooms are not open in the lower park until sometime in the late morning as far as I can tell. The ones in the campground are closed from 11-12 and 4-5 for extra cleaning. I know most of this is because of COVID-19 precautions so I can’t really complain.

The campground was nice but very stony. We bent our stakes trying to get them in the ground and sort of worried about our tent caving in or a strong wind blowing it away. It did not blow away. We appreciated that the site was shady and near the bathrooms.

We definitely did some hiking – going from the campground to the lower park entrance twice and back via the Owl Creek trail. We also hiked to the scenic overlook via the same trail. It’s amazing! You can see across to farms on the other side…of something 🤣 (maybe Cayuga Lake?). Near the overlook is also a huge rock wall presumably created by glaciers which people have signed by scratching their names with a rock. That’s where we saw our first snake. We saw our second snake on the portion of the Rim trail that leads to the park entrance. I had the boys make a list of everything else they saw.

  • lots and lots of chipmunks – these guys were everywhere!
  • squirrels
  • several different varieties of butterflies
  • frogs and tadpoles (learn more about frogs here)
  • dragonflies

It was a hot few days – we kept hydrated and took lots of breaks when we needed to.

Another hiking option is the Rim Trail/Gorge Trail loop. These are two seperate but connecting trails – currently they have them operating in a loop due to COVID-19. They describe them as fairly challenging so I didn’t attempt without another grown-up but I saw other families doing it.

Other nice things to do included a playground and large playing fields. My 6 yr old gave the playground two thumbs up!

The park was beautiful and I would visit again on a day trip during the week. I’d camp on the weekends if it was available.

Amenities: fairly nice camping, swimming, bathrooms, hiking, playground, large picnic area, ball fields

Rating: ☆☆☆ 3/5

Pokemon Go fans: We didn’t have a chance to play! But I checked a map and there doesn’t seem to be any pokestops or gyms at this park.

Get Your Game On! or How I Turned Our Summer Around with Gamification

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment

I was worried that my kids were going to be spending too much time on electronics this summer. I had let them have free reign for a few days and they began to look like little zombies. In response,  I made a daily to-do list with time for electronics scheduled in after they completed what I thought were worthwhile activities including time for play. 

We had a few good days with it and then we were all sick of it. I felt like an enforcer and the kids felt nagged. Neither of those feelings were what I was going for. 

Then I changed my perspective…

My main goal was to keep them busy and off the electronics. It wasn’t to micromanage their day. Inspiration finally struck at 2 a.m. the other night.

Photo by Lucie Liz on Pexels.com

I turned their day into a game or “gamified” it.

Google says gamification means “the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.” 

An article titled Gamify Your Life from entrepreneur.com says that playing a game can trigger intense emotion and winning brings a great deal of satisfaction to a person. This is due to neuro-chemical activity in the brain including dopamine – which produces the sensation of pleasure. If you organize your to-do list to include pleasurable activity when you complete other tasks – you are starting to use this concept. You would be teaching your brain to associate completing those tasks with enjoyment. 

That accurately describes my new approach. I took the same to-do list and turned it into a menu of activities they can do to earn points. The points can be used towards time on the television and game systems. This is another important component of gamification.  Entrepreneur.com cites Tom Chatfield who did a TED talk – one of his points was that every bit of effort should be rewarded. 

The kids get a visual reminder of their point earnings because I am handing out poker chips as they complete things. I assigned higher values things that I especially want them to focus on. Everyday simple tasks that can be done in less than 5 minutes are worth less. If they go through a simple morning routine of getting ready each day – they can earn their first 40 or so points. It sets them up for success and even their minimal efforts are rewarded. 

There are some other elements that are covered in both the TED talk and the article that I haven’t incorporated yet – so I’m going to be thinking about it. One that I think will require deeper thought because I find it very important is the incorporation of both long and short term goals. 

Applying the principles I covered here was easier than you’d think. I feel that the most important element is the point system. However, I think the visual appeal will turn out to be important as well:

If you compare these two lists – which is more fun and exciting? I feel like I threw a smiley face on the first one at the last second to save my butt. I’m really proud of the second one – I tried to find more exciting fonts and came up with a cool title! 

My kids are highly competitive – so I had to lay some ground rules fast. I told them that this game is about their own personal growth and that they should not brag about or compare points.

If you want to try it – here is the list I made! Get Your Game On!

If you want to try gamification in your own life – I recommend Habitica. You have a little character and they level up when you complete your daily tasks, to dos, or complete a habit you want to adopt. There are pets to collect and you can level them up too. It’s a to-do list that’s fun for grownups!

A book review, revisited

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

Tip: Read what the baby bird says/thinks in a squeaky, curious voice.

Originally published in 1960, this book contains a message important for today.

A baby bird falls out of his nest and is looking for his mother and he meets many animals. They are NOT his mother. Finally he meets a “thing” who is very different and does not communicate in the same way. There is a surprise twist which always gives me hope for humanity. Someone or something can be different from you on the outside and you may not communicate in the same way, but you will have the same values. I feel like this book is great for teaching open mindedness, acceptance, and respect for nature.

My mother read me this book frequently as a child always using a squeaky, curious voice for the baby bird. I have continued this tradition by reading it to both of my children. I have even caught my oldest reading it to my youngest – of course he was using the baby bird voice!

My oldest loves this book and when I brought it up to him, he said “Of course, I remember it! It’s amazing!”

(I originally posted this on a blog I was trying to start about a year ago and have decided to add and expand on it. The title is a link to Amazon – where the hardcover book is currently on sale for $3.82 – I was very pleasantly surprised!)

25 + Bored Jar Activities

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment

Everyone is panicking over what the kids are going to do this summer and while Pinterest is FULL of ideas like this – I thought I’d add my contribution.

Our Bored Jar – crazy stickers and some blue cardestock!

I wrote ideas that incorporate several areas of learning and will appeal to my target audience (school age kids). Most of my ideas can be done independently but some might require adult guidance. I’m planning to join the boys for many of the activities because I included things that will also appeal to me….shhhhh….it’s not cheating!

One thing that I recommend is that you have the materials handy for any activities you include. Many of the ideas I wrote can be done with practically anything you have around the house. The general idea is to write out or type a bunch of ideas – so that when the children say they are bored – you can send them to the jar.

The jar can be decorated and it doesn’t even have to be a jar!  Use a shoe box, a Ziploc bag, or a Tupperware container – it’s all up to you. I used a jar and some funny stickers I had around the house. Cut out the ideas and put them in the jar. If you’d like to reuse your ideas – you can attach them to card stock or craft sticks for added durability.

The mess I make when I cut things out…

Feel free to use some or all of my ideas from the list below for your “Bored Jar” – and if you’d like to share some of your ideas, email me. I created the original list in Google Docs and it is available to print here.

  • Draw your favorite animal in different color than you usually see it.
  • Design a tree house for you and your friends. 
  • Draw a self portrait using only squares.
  • Write a new story featuring your favorite character from a book or TV show.
  • Design your dream house in 3D – use legos, cardboard, recyclables or anything else you can think of!
  • Make a gift for someone.
  • Make a birdhouse or a yard decoration.   
  • Make an item for a fairy garden. 
  • Create a magic wand.
  • Hide a treasure and draw a map.
  • Design a spacecraft. 
  • Draw a  blueprint for a new machine.
  • If you made a robot, what would it do? Write, draw or build a model of your robot. 
  • Make a list of things that you are grateful for.
  • Write a thank you letter to someone who has helped you.
  • Ask an important question you have been thinking about.
  • Who do you admire? Write a letter telling them why.
  • Think about a play made from your favorite book. What would some props be?
  • Read a poem and then draw a picture about it.
  • Look at a famous piece of art. What does it make you feel?
  • Draw a picture of two animals combined together.
  • What do you want to do when you are older? Find out 5 facts about it.
  • If you were the president, what are three things you would do and why?
  • Make your own desert  island with clay, blocks, or recyclables.
  • Make a list of your 10 favorite toys, games, movies, or books.
  • Read about someone who is doing a job you’d like to do when you are older.
  • What are three things that help you when you are feeling sad?
  • Draw a picture of your family using only circles. 
  • Paint or draw or make a collage using your favorite color only.
  • Pick a historical event and share 5 new things you learned about it at dinner.

Do you think this will help keep the kids occupied this summer? Comment below with your ideas!

Making Large Paper Mache Dinosaurs – pt. 2

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment
My husband says it looks like a dinosaur right now…a zombie dinosaur 🤣.

Alright, Scotch brand masking tape for general purpose for the win!

I continued using larger pieces of paper scrunched and otherwise manipulated to add more body.

I focused on the sides and head when I added shape. I also wrapped the legs with more paper to bulk them up.

It would be pretty funny to have a dinosaur with teeny tiny legs.

If you are as crazy as me and want to attempt this –

1. Use large pieces of masking tape to attach all of your paper and do not go bargain masking tape shopping for this large of a project

2. Do not worry about perfection – think of it as impressionism or giving the general idea of something at this point. You are going to add more layers and can add detail later.

He is about a third of the way covered at this point with another coat of  paper and glue.

It helps smooth out all of his “insides”. We added his feet with tape which the mastermind behind this madness drew and cut out.

The stegosaurus is almost the same size as my large dog…

The madness will continue…

The next step will be continuing to seal in his insides so he’ll be less zombie-like and we’ll be adding spikes and plates.

I’ve already asked the mastermind what color we’ll be painting him and he is considering grey.

Does anyone know if stegosauruses were grey?

Also, a triceratops has been added to the dino wish list. 🤦‍♀️

A serious question – what does one do with large paper mache dinosaurs when they are completed?

Comment below if you have any ideas!

The Family’s Favorite Podcasts

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

We typically listen to a rotation of 3 podcasts at bedtime that both my kids agree on (they are 6 and 11). I’m going to provide a review of each and you’ll also get their opinions.

Wow in the World – hosted by Mindy and Guy Raz with appearances by a giant pigeon named Reggie and produced by NPR.

Guy Raz plays the neighbor on the straight and narrow while Mindy lives in a gingerbread castle and sells burgers made out of bugs occasionally.

There is a lot of comedy but it’s such a “smart” podcast. They focus on many different science disciplines and explain current scientific studies to kids. For example, they discussed genetics while on a time machine journey to find the first human being with blue eyes.

They just wrapped up their 4th season but they also added a shorter show that they release several more times a week – Two Whats and a Wow that has a gameshow-like format.  Full episodes air on Mondays.

Wow in the World is their favorite podcast – but I sometimes think it’s not bedtime appropriate because it is very high energy. I get lots of pushback when I try to suggest something a little more peaceful and they go to sleep fairly well with it – so it stays in the rotation.

I’m excited to keep listening to this show – they have other resources available on their website and have a membership program with exclusive content. A book is being released on June 30th titled Wow in the World: Two Whats?! and a Wow! Think & Tinker Playbook: Activities and Games for Curious Kids which is the #1 New Release in Children’s Science on Amazon. You can find other places where the book is available on the Tinkercast website here.

The Kids Say –

11 yr old:  “It’s a great podcast especially if you want to learn about science, some episodes that have gross jokes might not be great for bedtime. Overall, it’s a great podcast!”

6 yr old: “It’s a good show to listen to at night time. My favorite part is that it kind of inspired me about other things.”

What If World – hosted by Mr. Eric, and self produced by Eric and Karen O’Keefe – brings you to a world of imagination inhabited by wizards, dragons and anything else kids from all over the world suggest.

Meet the president- Fred The Dog, who has sometimes been a zombie.  What if World is in its third season. Mr. Eric incorporates important life concepts such as tolerance, kindness, and honesty. Episodes are released on Mondays.

My boys both like this podcast but I feel it is more appropriate for my youngest. He has sent in a couple of suggestions and while they did not make it in the show – he has received a personal reply both times. I like the focus on imagination and I have fun listening to the voices. This is very good for bedtime. What If World can be found here if you’d like to visit and find out more.

The Kids Say –

11 yr old: “What if World is just a great overall podcast, great for listening, especially with a lot of imagination. I just really like all of it.”

6yr old: “I like everything about it, almost.”

Story Pirates – produced by Gimlet Media, it is both a serial type story and features submissions by kids that have been turned into “sketch comedy and song”. Currently in its third season, the story pirates are in space meeting aliens and have recently been the subjects of an intergalactic reality TV show.

They often have special guest appearances by well known actors and actresses. The podcast has produced three books and offers a Creator Club with exclusive content. The kids like this podcast and we definitely listen when new episodes are released on Thursdays. Visit the Story Pirates here to find out more!

The Kids Say –

11 yr old: “Story Pirates is very fun and I like how they do kids stories but sometimes the continuing story is hard to follow.”

6 yr old: “Same for me.”

Other podcasts we have tried out: The Two Princes (features two princes who travel together to break the curse that affects both their lands), Circle Round (stories adapted from other cultures and retold), Science Adventure Stories for Kids (featuring Simon – the mindful frog).

Comment below if you have any podcast favorites that you think we should try!

Making Large Paper Mache Dinosaurs – pt.1

/ Marjorie Sanpietro / Leave a comment

My 6 year old is a very creative kid and when he decided that we needed to make were some BIG dinosaurs – my brain went right to paper mache for this project because it’s inexpensive and these dinosaurs don’t need to weigh 100lbs each.

I was really impressed when I suggested it to him, because he knew exactly what I was talking about and related it to a display he had seen at school. He decided that he’d like us to make a stegosaurus first AND THEN if that worked out, we could try a T-rex. 

To begin with, I needed some reference material. We looked at a couple of his dinosaur books so I could get a general shape for this stegosaurus. I drew and cut the torso pieces out. I created the head and tail pieces separately so that I could try to position them a little different from the rest of the body – realism counts when you’re making dinosaurs, y’all.

The boys helped me out by tracing my first pieces onto other cardboard – you need at least two of everything to give it some volume because we’re going for 3D! They also helped by making some plates, spikes, and feet for the stegosaurus to be used later. 

To continue building the shape, I connected the top of the stegosaurus more narrowly than at the bottom. I attached the main pieces by adding strips of cardboard of the correct width along the sides and held the whole thing together with masking tape, slightly angling the head and tail. Before I closed Mr. Stegosaurus completely up, I stuffed him with recycled newspaper to give him some mass for better stability.

Here’s Mr. Dinosaur in our living room – hanging out waiting to be permanently sealed up – you can see the tape starting to have some problems.

I’m not sure what was going on with the masking tape – maybe it was too cheap for the job? We put the stegosaurus aside for a few days but the situation became critical when it didn’t seem to be staying together anymore. 

It was definitely time for some good old fashioned glue and paper. I typically use an approximate 50/50 mixture of water and PVA glue. We tore up scrap paper and pasted it on the frame of Mr. Stegosaurus – sealing up all the seams and making any last minute adjustments.

Next we started bulking up the body. I used paper towel rolls to begin forming the legs and then larger pieces of paper scrunched and otherwise manipulated to add more body.

At this point – we were using the same crappy masking tape and I got frustrated – so it’s been sitting for about a week now. I did go buy some better masking tape. We’ll see how it goes…to be continued.

Comment below if you’re excited to know how this project turns out!