Classical Conversations Supplements

When I need a break from my kids I have found some CC supplements on the internet...if you need a break too here is a list.
Science

 Magic School bus gets eaten (Cycle 2 Week 2 Types of consumers and parts of the food chain)
http://www.gamequarium.org/cgi-bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=3421

Magic School bus wet all over (Cycle 2 week 4   The natural cycles)
http://www.gamequarium.org/cgi-bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=7605

Magic School bus gets planted. (Cycle 2 week 4- The natural cycles)

http://www.gamequarium.org/dir/SqoolTube_Videos/Science/Plants/Photosynthesis/the_magic_school_bus_gets_planted_9681.html

Magic School bus all dried up (Cycle 2 week 5- Animals adapting to environmental change)

http://www.gamequarium.org/cgi-bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=3418

Grammar

Pronouns Schoolhouse Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg9MKQ1OYCg

Nouns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-ukN1Rvb8

Interjection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP4N27kbMdk

Verb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4QEzJe6_ok

Adverb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7wnT8iiR8w

Conjunction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3QDGslpL5U

Preposition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4jIC5HLBdM

Adjective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYzGLzFuwxI

Why I homeschool my kids :)

My whole life I think I have been a minimalist.  I like having a small house because that means there is a minimal amount of square footage to clean.  I like spending a minimal amount of money for every item I buy.  I like to do the minimum amount of work to complete any project.  So you may ask, why do you homeschool?  Isn't it a lot of work? 
I have prayed about what to do with my children's education since their birth, I never imagined I would be one of those home schooling jumper-wearing "hippies".  But while I was praying I felt like God spoke to me, this is not one occasion where I want you to take the easy minimal route, I want you to home school these children.  
Now that I've been homeschooling for about 6 months, I have to say, that I think it is easy in a lot of ways.  On most days, we get up, no need to rush off anywhere, I get to have my coffee, have a conversation with the kids, it's very relaxing.   Many days we start off by reading books for a while before we start "school".  
I hear tales from my sweet friends, who are rushing off to school, rushing back to school to wait in long car lines to pick up their children, rushing to do homework, rushing to feed the kids supper, rushing off to sports or cub-scouts,  rushing to get their kids into bed and starting all over the next day... and then I think to myself,  maybe, home-schooling is actually the right choice for a minimalist!  :)

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

3 eggplant, peeled and sliced in 1/4"

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 Cup of Parmesan cheese

6 Cups of Spaghetti sauce, divided ( I like homemade)

1 (16 ounce) Package of mozzarella cheese shredded 

1/2 Cup of parmesan cheese (you need a total of 1 cup of the parmesan cheese)

1. Sweat the 1/4" slices by sprinkling with sea salt and letting sit for 30 min.
2. Rinse, pat dry with paper towel get good and dry
3. Dip slices into beaten eggs then dip in a mixture of 3 Cup breadcrumbs and 1/2 C parmesan cheese
4.  Place on baking sheet coated with Extra Virgin Olive Oil then bake for 7 minutes at 450 degrees, flip and bake an additional 5-7 minutes depending on how crisp you like it.
5.  In a 9X13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom.  Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese.  Sprinkle Basil on top.
6.   Bake in preheated oven now turned down to 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

The Notebook...not the movie or the book

Jeanne came up with this idea and I love it!
Step One....buy a notebook or find one that you already have that still has some blank pages.


Step two...on the inside of the front cover, write down phone numbers of anyone whose number you need to know frequently but haven't memorized...i.e...dentist, school, pediatrician, friend....you get the point.


Step three...on the first blank page divide the page into four segments...upper right things I need to buy, upper left...things I need to do....


If someone recommends a book, gives you directions, a confirmation number, a website, any information you may need at a later date,  write it in this notebook.  


Instead of having little pieces of paper lying all around the house keep your notebook on the counter or by the phone....

You can use a page a day or a week


I am finding that I get a lot more done with this method, it's easy, cheap and efficient.  

THE CHART

This is a great way to train your child without guilt or screaming.  I got this idea from a friend and it has really helped at our house.  Ethan must get 9 of the 10 categories "X"ed to get the reward.  Right now the reward is getting to play a little Wii at the end of the day.  

So far, he didn't get to play one night since we've instated this chart.  That night there was lots of crying and gnashing of teeth, but now we don't fight about getting school work done, he know the consequences and doesn't like them.  

Trouble with Math

Whether your kids go to public school, private or are home-schooled, this website is a gem.  Sometimes our children have a hard time understanding math when we explain it or even their teacher at school.  So the next time you are stumped go to Khan's Academy.

This man made youtube videos from basic addition to calculus. 
Here is the link

http://www.khanacademy.org/


The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission of providing a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Despite being the work of one man, Salman Khan, this 1600+ video library is the most-used educational video resource as measured by YouTube video views per day and unique users per month. We are complementing this ever-growing library with user-paced exercises--developed as an open source project--allowing the Khan Academy to become the free classroom for the World.

The Battle of the CAR SEAT!!

The Battle of the car seat.  This lesson took me a long time to learn and I'm not sure I've mastered it, I get another chance and child to work on this one.  I've tried screaming, spanking, sheer force and it really didn't work at getting the kids into their car seats willingly.  Until my sister told me this nugget of wisdom.

• Keep little treats in the car such as a little box of raisins or orange tic-tacs and after the child gets in the car seat, they get a treat.  My kids get in the car now and are excited to jump into there seats and wait for their treat!