tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4407496629947726562009-06-10T07:05:07.165-05:00Yarns of the heart is a blog about parenting, homeschooling, unschooling, relaxed schooling, eclectic schooling, and education philosophy.Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.comBlogger129125http://feeds.feedburner.com/CloseYourEyesAndHangOnTight?format=skin39.496547-88.173485CloseYourEyesAndHangOnTighthttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-4493225061804618602009-05-23T18:57:00.012-05:002009-05-23T21:05:51.161-05:002009-05-23T21:05:51.161-05:00

I thought I'd wrap this year up in my last post, but Melissa still had a couple weeks of school left, so I should have known there would be more to share.While I was in Brazil, Melissa reconnected with her love of law enforcement. She and her dad went to a book store where she got a criminology book called The Gift of Fear. She read it every spare moment. One day her teacher said, "Melissa, this

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com12http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/05/shes-still-got-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-80483626058974239772009-05-13T06:35:00.009-05:002009-05-13T09:44:16.187-05:002009-05-13T09:44:16.187-05:00

The school year is coming to a close and I've decided to put my blog aside for awhile. But to tie up some loose ends, here you go:Melissa has loved her freshman year at the public high school. She got straight A's first semester, and with only about 10 days left, she's got solid A's in every class. She played basketball and was on the track team. She sees the problems with the traditional school

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com11http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/05/lets-wrap-it-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-29035004944068331522009-05-09T17:41:00.006-05:002009-05-09T21:52:04.340-05:002009-05-09T21:52:04.340-05:00

Just a couple days ago, Meg and I returned from Brazil. Here she is in the historic part of Sao Luis in Northeastern Brazil (my kind of field trip!). We traveled with four other ladies from our church and visited a missionary couple we know there. As part of our trip, Meg got to sing to a few hundred people, and we provided a children's program while the moms were in seminars.I was very impressed

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com6http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/05/back-from-brazil.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-51601524583332935612009-04-18T23:26:00.009-05:002009-05-12T15:41:47.648-05:002009-05-12T15:41:47.648-05:00

Congratulations to Micah for winning our Mother's Day give away from Persimmon Lane! You will be contacted right away to make arrangements for the delivery of your goodies!Thank you to all of you for your thoughtful comments....some truly lovely sentiments about motherhood! The winner was chosen randomly from among all of our participants. We hope you enjoyed being part of our giveaway...

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com0http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/we-have-winner.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-84218731607665691422009-04-18T22:45:00.015-05:002009-04-19T09:47:14.371-05:002009-04-19T09:47:14.371-05:00

I will be away from my blog for awhile because Meg and I are going on a trip together. I'll tell you more when I get back. So as I pack and head out, I want to leave you with something fun--A Mother's Day Giveaway!My friend Duska has just opened an etsy shop called Persimmon Lane. So as a way to introduce her and to give me something fun to do on my blog, here you go. To enter, leave a comment

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com15http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/mothers-day-giveaway.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-67247672453480073762009-04-17T09:57:00.007-05:002009-05-13T07:43:59.678-05:002009-05-13T07:43:59.678-05:00

Every Friday I get The Scout Report from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This week they highlighted the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Here's how they describe it:Created by science teachers for science teachers, the Teacher Institute Podcasts are five-minute podcasts that give educators science facts, science history, and pedagogy tips for new teachers. The podcasts are hosted by the

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com7http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/homeschooling-for-free-science-links.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-71403377394639211402009-04-16T15:34:00.005-05:002009-04-16T21:13:58.448-05:002009-04-16T21:13:58.448-05:00

Our public school district allows homeschoolers to take classes if we notify them by May 1 of the previous school year. So with that deadline coming up, I asked Meg what classes she'd like to take next year. She said she just wanted choir again."But this is your last year. Maybe you feel like you've missed out and want to be able to say you experienced more of high school." She has brought that

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com8http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/education-observations-from-my.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-63665875625974910292009-04-14T07:30:00.003-05:002009-04-14T09:20:34.604-05:002009-04-14T09:20:34.604-05:00

Why do you homeschool? Is it for the educational excellence, the values education, the religious training, the sleeping-in? Karen at Stone Age Techie wants to survey as many homeschooling families as possible and compile the information for us all. She says, "I believe that schooled children will benefit from our stories, because we homeschoolers show every day that education must be shaped to

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com2http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/survey-for-home-educators.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-37440953159896615842009-04-13T09:57:00.007-05:002009-04-13T11:15:10.714-05:002009-04-13T11:15:10.714-05:00

Jamie from SteadyMom.com has been asking me some great questions and I have been so distracted around here that I haven't been answering. But no more! Today I begin on her questions.Here's the first one:I wonder if you could address how you handled the issues of Quality Control in your homeschool. So in areas like books, television, and video games for example, how did you make sure that your

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com16http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/quality-control-in-homeschool.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-48076833004214961762009-04-09T11:25:00.008-05:002009-04-09T11:45:22.093-05:002009-04-09T11:45:22.093-05:00

Well, I 'm a little busy today and wasn't going to post anything, but in my email I had a link to free Dover samples, and just had to share. If you click this link you'll get to this week's samples. I especially liked the first one: cupcake coloring page and recipe. They also have dinosaurs and mermaids and how to draw birds, among other things. All great stuff to capture someone's interest.Happy

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com4http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/free-dover-activities.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-45131412464134324222009-04-07T10:51:00.012-05:002009-04-07T11:07:54.174-05:002009-04-07T11:07:54.174-05:00

It's Spring Musical time around here. Meg and Missa are both in Willy Wonka, Jr. at our local theatre. Meg is the candyman/narrator, and Melissa is Mrs. Bucket, Charlie's mom. It's been a great show. This week they are doing school shows, which means kids come in for field trips. And since they are during the day, Missa has to miss some of her public schooling. That makes life a little more

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com18http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/spring-musical-time.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-2755270711952897332009-04-01T08:45:00.003-05:002009-04-01T08:45:01.404-05:002009-04-01T08:45:01.404-05:00

Spending a week with two three-year-olds reminded me of a few things. Oh, and they're not twins. One is adopted from China. During the waiting period, my friend got pregnant and the girls were born about six weeks apart.As we went through the week, I relived my days with Meg. One of those little girls, Lena, reminds me so much of my fiery, dramatic middle child. Lena could go from screaming

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com9http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/04/raising-future-leader.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-13368167339027452712009-03-30T09:17:00.010-05:002009-03-30T12:23:58.950-05:002009-03-30T12:23:58.950-05:00

I got home late Saturday night, flying into St. Louis from Austin, then a two hour drive home. Peter rode with his dad to come get me. I was glad because I'd missed his entire Spring Break at home. So we talked nonstop, catching up on everything about school and life. I really love talking to Peter. He has such interesting insights into things. We talked about the classes he'll be starting (today

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com10http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/im-back.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-35400378376098984632009-03-22T21:24:00.003-05:002009-03-22T21:43:16.522-05:002009-03-22T21:43:16.522-05:00

This week I am not writing to you from Central Illinois. I'm in Austin, Texas. A friend was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, has started chemo treatments, her husband had to be out of town, and she has four kids under 9 years old, so she needed some help. They flew me down here, and I am abruptly thrust into the life of a mom with little ones. I am way out of practice! The first day my feet

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com14http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/this-week.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-44833306019279999372009-03-19T14:32:00.010-05:002009-03-19T16:50:41.503-05:002009-03-19T16:50:41.503-05:00

My friend Christy called today with a homeschooling question: Spelling. Her 12-year-old would like to be a better speller, but he just can't seem to remember some of those pesky blends like "is it ir or er?" They are working on words he routinely misspells, but she says he just can't get it and is very frustrated.I told her not to worry too much, since he loves to read and reads all the time, but

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com11http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/how-do-you-spell-homeschool-is-that-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-32123997618731780442009-03-18T11:35:00.012-05:002009-03-21T20:53:15.485-05:002009-03-21T20:53:15.485-05:00

Peter is about to finish his second quarter at the University of Chicago. This is finals week for him, but it isn't too stressful, he says. One class required a final project, another a paper, then there is a Calculus exam, and he might be getting out of his German final. I forgot to ask him about that. So he's hanging around the dorms until Friday when he takes the train home.He called yesterday

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com16http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/reflections-of-unschooler-in-4th-grade.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-54143398302143055432009-03-16T10:19:00.006-05:002009-03-16T11:37:04.198-05:002009-03-16T11:37:04.198-05:00

Thank you to my friend at The Expanding Life for nominating for the Lemons to Lemonade Award! The award is given to blogs that show gratitude or a good attitude. That's very encouraging because my life is not perfect, by any means, but I do try to focus on what is good, and I'm glad it shows. As a recipient of this award, I get to send out some bloggy link love to my friends. Here are the rules:1

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com9http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/lemons-to-lemonade-award.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-84240649257709261422009-03-14T09:13:00.004-05:002009-03-14T09:24:33.715-05:002009-03-14T09:24:33.715-05:00

Today is the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago. Melissa is up there, marching with the high school band (she's in the color guard). They left early yesterday morning and will be back late tonight. I found this video of boats dyeing the Chicago River green. It's a long tradition, but I've never been there to see it.And here's an article about dyeing the river. I wonder how long they'll get away

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com4http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/dyeing-chicago-river-green-for-st.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-56250814247294772892009-03-13T08:49:00.013-05:002009-03-13T11:44:15.714-05:002009-03-13T11:44:15.714-05:00

Melissa is taking Spanish 1 at the high school. Every quarter she has to do some extra assignments they call "culture credit," and one of the choices is to create an educational game to learn Spanish vocabulary. I think they are pretty cool, so I wanted to share them with you.Here's a Bingo game that teaches color words. Just cut out the little Spanish words and put them in a bag or bowl, then

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com1http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/free-spanish-vocabulary-game-bingo.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-37812839758778934082009-03-11T06:05:00.003-05:002009-03-11T09:49:26.249-05:002009-03-11T09:49:26.249-05:00

What happens if you leave a working computer available to kids in rural India? They've never used a computer, they don't have a teacher, and they don't know English. Here's a TedTalk by Sugata Mitra, and my favorite line from this video is, "We can see what a group of children can do if you lift the adult intervention." This is a fascinating topic for me because I believe kids are over-educated

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com10http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/can-kids-teach-themselves.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-39993479362898494692009-03-09T03:00:00.026-05:002009-03-15T18:51:19.335-05:002009-03-15T18:51:19.335-05:00

Today's the day! Welcome to our first Virtual Field Trip. You get to pick where to go first, and you can take all the time you need. Want to explore more? Follow links and do online searches. Why not find library books and movies about these places? The sky's the limit!We have thirteen states, two foreign countries, and an imaginary world to explore, so we better get started...If you want to keep

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com16http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/seatbelts-everyone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-3213914892896198042009-03-08T18:50:00.002-05:002009-03-08T18:55:48.213-05:002009-03-08T18:55:48.213-05:00

I'm having too much fun preparing for the field trip tomorrow, and I think I know why. I'm an education empty-nester! My oldest is at college, the next one is almost 17 and very independent in her schooling, and my youngest goes to public school. I don't have any little ones anymore! I also have more time than most of you to put into something like this. So be prepared. Jena the elementary school

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com3http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/preparing-for-virtual-field-trip.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-81951900640615080402009-03-07T13:45:00.004-06:002009-04-10T08:19:31.210-05:002009-04-10T08:19:31.210-05:00

If you are home schooling high school (or an advanced child), you should know about MIT OpenCourseWare, especially their website designed for high schoolers. They have video and written material to help explain science and math concepts. I even found papers by MIT students on stage technology (sets, lighting, etc).Being the interest-led type of teacher that I am, I would set my kids loose on this

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com2http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/bring-college-into-your-homeschool.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-56427985312413543292009-03-05T10:20:00.013-06:002009-03-09T17:10:23.554-05:002009-03-09T17:10:23.554-05:00

Now this is enthusiasm! Stone Age Techie's kids built their own school bus and are ready to go! They plan to sit in their school bus on Monday with mommy and her laptop, reading through the posts you all send me. You have to see her post about creating the bus!Thanks to everyone who's sent in posts. We have some great places to go next week, but we could still use more, so send me a link to one

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com3http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/are-you-ready-for-field-trip.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-440749662994772656.post-74385198771542790922009-03-04T11:31:00.011-06:002009-03-04T15:40:36.694-06:002009-03-04T15:40:36.694-06:00

I saw this at Pack of Hungry Snails and had to share. This is one talented artist.

Jenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05157041381940903012yarnsoftheheart@gmail.com6http://www.yarnsoftheheart.com/2009/03/exactly.html