June 17, 2009
Pregnancy/Childbirth Books for Sale
A Cooperative Method of Natural Birth Control - Margaret Nofziger
The Birth Partner - Penny Simkin
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth Third Revised Edition - Korte and Scaer
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom - Christiane Northrup
The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy - Vicki Iovine
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way - Susan McCutcheon
Spiritual Midwifery - Ina May Gaskin
Special Delivery - Rahima Baldwin Dancy
Heart & Hands, A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth - Elizabeth Davis
Immaculate Deception II - Suzanne Arms
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn - Penny Simkin
Birthing From Within - Pam England
The Pilates Pregnancy - Mari Winsor
Gentle Birth Choices, plus video (VHS) - Barbara Harper
Holistic Midwifery - Anne Frye ($50)
Myles Textbook for Midwives - Bennett/Brown (hardcover)
Many of these are well-loved, and I'll adjust the pricing accordingly. Please email me at mamalynx@gmail.com for pricing and payment info. And thank you so much, those of you who linked my sales at your blogs - that's a great help! Anyone may feel free to do so!
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June 9, 2009
Sale!
Yes, folks, it's a sale!
The economic times have hit us hard. Jeff has been unemployed for several months now, and I'm liquidating books and curricula to help us out of this hole.
I'll be adding more to this list, so please check back! For most items, make me an offer (an offer that includes shipping cost and bears market price in mind). I have listed a price for certain items. Please email me about item quality. Elson readers are all the older versions, not the recently republished versions.
I have struck through the items that have been sold, and am marking the items that are pending.
Educational Materials:
Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World (the white one)
Homeschooling For Excellence - Colfax
A Charlotte Mason Education - Catherine Levison
More Charlotte Mason Education - Catherine Levison
Stories and Poems For Exceptional Children of All Ages - Howard Bloom (used with Lightning Literature) (pending)
What Your 3rd Grader Needs to Know
What Your 4th Grader Needs to Know (pending)
Latin Book One - Horn
Using Latin Book One - Horn
Using Latin Book Three - Horn
The Elson Readers Book 3
Classical Rhetoric and Its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times - George Kennedy
The Harp and Laurel Wreath - Berquist (pending)
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum - Berquist (pending)
Elson Primary School Reader Book Two
Learning All The Time - Holt
Dumbing Us Down - Gatto
American History to 1877 - Eisenstadt
The Landmark History of the American People - Boorstin
Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics - Liping Ma
Latin Via Proverbs
Science Explorer - Chemical Building Blocks
Literary Lessons From Lord of the Rings - Teacher’s Manual ($50)
R.E.A.L. Science Pre-Level 1 Chemistry
Introduction to Classical Studies - Memoria Press (pending)
Exploring the Sky - Moeschl
The Writing Road to Reading - 4th and 5th editions
Spell to Write and Read - Sanseri
Civilization - 10th edition (history text used with Connect the Thoughts curriculum)
Tapestry of Grace Year 2 Units 3 and 4 (with Loom disks, $40 each) (pending)
Rod and Staff English 3 student text and teacher’s book
Elson Grammar School Reader Book Three
Education in Ancient Rome - Bonner
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Norms and Nobility - David Hicks
Science and History:
The Druids - Stuart Piggot
Stars and Planets - Muirden
In The Shadow of the Alamo - Sherry Garland
Backyard Ballistics - Gurstelle
Literature/Mythology
A Wonder Book - Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales - Hawthorne
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court - Twain
Parenting and Health:
The Ten Principles of Spiritual Parenting - Mary Doe
How to Raise a Healthy Child In Spite Of Your Doctor - Robert Mendelsohn
A Mother’s Guide to Raising Healthy Children Naturally - Sue Frederick
Yoga Made Easy - Howard Kent
Taking Charge of Your Fertility - Weschler
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom - Christiane Northrup
The Wonder of Boys - Michael Gurian
Firm for Life - Anna and Cynthia Benson (pending)
Music:
Music Theory - George Jones
INXS - The Official Autobiography
Elementary Harmony - Robert Ottman
Organization:
Organize Yourself! - Ronni Eisenberg
The Family Manager’s Everyday Survival Guide - Kathy Peel
Confessions of an Organized Homemaker - Schofield
Confessions of a Happily Organized Family - Schofield
Gardening:
Lasagna Gardening - Patricia Lanza
Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots - Lovejoy
Miscellaneous Books:
Home Buying for Dummies
I also have many books on childbirth/midwifery, plus a complete set of Great Books of the Western World that I'm willing to sell (pending). I'll put the childbirth/midwifery books up soon, but don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you're looking for.
Email me at: mamalynx@gmail.com
Posted by lynx at 1:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
March 11, 2009
Simon Bolivar, Redux
Okay, I'm sold.
The three-week study of Simon Bolivar is, in reality, an excuse to jump into the study of South America for a few weeks. We can do that.
I broke down and bought the main recommended text:
I highly recommend this book. It covers the history of each country in South America in a style that is easily readable, but not condescending. It includes information about local flora and fauna, and resources. It does not shy away from discussing the drug trade. I'm glad I bought it, as the library system simply has nothing comparable.
And South America is fun, and interesting. So we will, after all, follow the progam.
Posted by lynx at 8:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
March 9, 2009
Simon Bolivar
Tapestry of Grace has us scheduled for a three-week study of Simon Bolivar's life and deeds.
We plan to read about him, yes; but can anyone give me a compelling reason for spending three weeks on him? Right now, I'm thinking we will condense the study into one week, and move on.
Am I missing some reason to go in-depth here? In 5th and 7th grade?
Posted by lynx at 12:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
March 6, 2009
Field Trip
We took a little field trip last Friday, to do something I never, ever thought I'd do: take part in a political protest, in front of the White House.
We attended the D.C. New American Tea Party, and had a great time! I will happily go again. Approximately 300 people were there, all energetic, all enthusiastic, and all fed up with the way the government is handling our money.
One of the piggy pork balloons
One of my favorite signs
It is true, and funny, that more conservative folks don't know how to have a good protest. We tried, but it's just not in our natures. We're not good at outraged chanting. We're outraged, yes, but screaming and chanting slogans? It's just ... not us. Or maybe it's just the more libertarian conservatives, because Republicans chanted well enough at their rallies. Either way, this Tea Party group need some work. Yes. Nevertheless, we were all having a good, outraged time, and I hope there are more. I am happy to do this. Thrilled!
And we all had a good laugh at the Wall Street Journal column covering the event (no, I'm not going to bother linking). This columnist described the gathering as a group of zombies, chanting dead slogans from the zombie Right. I ought to go back and count the number of times he used the word "zombies." If he uses the word enough times, that makes it true, right? Plus, if you want to make your point that this was an insignificant, tiny gathering of whiners, you'd do better to ignore us completely. Spending an entire column to proclaim our irrelevance doesn't quite get the job done. Who's whining?
Afterwards, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Smithsonian. For Friday science (and history) we took in their exhibit on atomic power/bombs. To tie in with history we viewed the flag that flew at Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812, the one that Francis Scott Key was watching when he wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner." That, folks, is an amazing thing to see.
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February 10, 2009
I Can Die Happy Now
My favorite band has a Whedon connection.
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February 3, 2009
So ... Whatcha Doin'?
Big things may be happening here, but you get to wait until I know if they're happening or not.
In the meantime, my science post struck a chord with many of you. The lack of decent science curricula is, I think, the single biggest curriculum problem homeschooling has. More specifically, it's the single biggest secular curriculum problem. So I will write more about it, soon.
In the meantime, here's our homeschooling update:
For science, we went to the National Zoo, and learned many things about pandas.
In history, we are doing Tapestry of Grace Year 3, Week 2: "Napoleon: The Man and His Career." Yes, yes, we are still enjoying Tapestry of Grace. Honest. But I'd like to make a note, here: TOG is meant to be an almost all-encompassing curriculum. And, frankly, using it like that gives you your best value for the money. Lately I've been encountering some virtual eye-rolling, and exhortations to not burn my kids out with overkill, by having them do TOG *and* LCC, etc.
Many new homeschoolers start off with an overabundance of zeal, trying to combine every program, every method, in an attempt to give their student that mythical education "without gaps." And then they burn out, because it can't be done. I can see why people who don't know me might look at the program I've worked out for my kids, and shake their heads.
However, every piece of curriculum is a tool, and your homeschooling lives will be much, much more relaxed and productive the faster you realize this. TOG is not all-encompassing for us. We use the parts I like, and we use it within my framework. And as such, it fits in very well with an LCC framework, because I make it do so.
Sometimes I wish we had some kind of universal internet signifier, so that people who do not know you would know to not respond to you as if you are a newbie.
(Selections marked with an asterisk are part our our Latin-Centered Curriculum (LCC) reading, or selections scheduled in Classical Writing.)
Connor's Reading (D):
- The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier
I had to buy this, as it was nowhere in our library system. It was well worth the purchase. It's always nice to find that your student can't put down the school assignment. - This week he finished Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
- Selections from The Struggle for Sea Power
- The Iliad*, using Drew Campbell's most excellent study guide
- Julius Caesar*
Aidan's Reading (UG):
- Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake 1805
This is a big hit, too! - Selections from Story of the World 3
- D'Aulaire's Greek Myths*
For the Lower Grammar kids TOG schedules a good selection of fairy tales, which fits in perfectly with their LCC literature. This week we did Rapunzel, as well as a book called I, Crocodile
We made salt dough maps of imaginary lands. I have not yet taken pictures of those, but will try to remember to do so later this week.
For our study of the presidents, we are using the ones found here. And really, every week I check Rivendell Press and plunder everything she's posted. I'm so glad that she's a few weeks ahead of me!
In other news, we had birthdays. Connor is now 13, and Aidan is 11. We also found a group of kids that meets once a week to play D&D, which is just the social outlet the older boys needed. It seems wrong to me, though, to gather on a weekday afternoon to play D&D. I think that once every couple of weeks all the boys ought to meet on a Friday night and sleep over, playing D&D late into the night. Isn't that how it's supposed to be done?
Posted by lynx at 9:55 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
January 18, 2009
Science!
Y'all know that we've never really done science in our homeschool. Not formal science. We try, and fail. And try again, and fail.
We don't fail because we're not science-minded, or because we don't have an interest; I think we fail because we do have an interest. Looking at elementary science programs usually led me to screaming off into the night. And frankly, most junior high programs aren't much better. They generally give bits of information with little depth, are full of busy work, and require "experiments" that are really demonstrations that do nothing to inspire curiosity.
The higher levels of Singapore Science held us for awhile, because they contain more critical thinking and open-ended questioning than most texts. And the experiments require cooler materials. I am, so far, more likely to go back to that than any other. We also quite liked Real Science 4 Kids' Chemistry program, but it is short.
(And anyway, why do I need a program to teach science to kids who just yammered at me for the last hour, telling me everything they read about the potential for life on Mars, and at how many atmospheres humans can function, and the exact mechanisms of death in space?)
But the time has come to try "science" again, mainly because I want to shore up a few things before sending my oldest out to the community college for real classes; and I think my current approach will serve us much better than the various programs available. So here I present to you one version of a not-formal-science curriculum:
We are using the Elements Newsletter from How To Teach Science to learn about the periodic table. This is something you can do as a family, with all age groups. It's easy, and it's fun. For instance, after reading about hydrogen this week, the older boys and I ended up spending time at the website for the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Center, an excellent example of how you can use science and factual information to create alarm about anything. Now, that's a valuable lesson about science.
When my budget permits, I'm going to sign up for a subscription to the Bite Size Physics website. This is something the older two can do on their own, and if we aren't able to do the demonstrations ourselves, we can watch YouTube videos of them. The little boys will enjoy either the experiments or the videos.
We are going to borrow Physics In Your Life from the library; this lecture schedules optional readings from Conceptual Physics. All in all, this will be the equivalent of a decent, pre-math physics survey.
Posted by lynx at 10:31 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
January 15, 2009
Who Ate the Reading List?
As I sit down to plan this next semester (yes, I got a late start), I find that my reading list is ... gone. Completely and utterly gone. Not only have I lost the list of works I had planned to be read this year, I've lost the list of what we have read.
Oh, boy.
And as I look ahead, I see that most of TOG's literature selections for the next 18 weeks are just not in my plans. They're fine choices, but they're not my choices. So far, it seems to me that TOG's rhetoric-level literature is very good, but I find a lot of what I consider "filler" in their lower levels.
Here is my reconstructed list for the rest of the year, for Connor (2nd half of 7th grade):
Novels
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
A Christmas Carol (Or, if he thinks it's too late to be reading Christmas stories, perhaps Oliver Twist or really, any other Dickens. I'm not picky.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The Princess and the Goblin
Short Stories
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Selections by Rip Van Winkle
Selections by Poe
Poetry
The Pied Piper of Hamelin - Robert Browning
Selections by Poe
TOG Schedules Island of the Blue Dolphins. I remember reading that, for fun, in jr. high. Do I want to schedule it as a school assignment? I'm asking, seriously. I don't remember it well enough to make that call. TOG also schedules "worldview" assignments for the rhetoric level, aimed at getting teens missionary-minded; I may take their assignments and turn them into a study of comparative religions. Hinduism seems to be first up.
At any rate, this list is *plenty* long. It's only meant to take us until summer. And at the same time he's reading those, he's also reading the Iliad, he's nearly finished with Julius Caesar, and he'll read The Merchant of Venice.
So, PLENTY. Maybe even too much. Now I've got to figure out what the heck we did read this year, already.
We're about to start on TOG Year 3, which roughly covers the 19th century. My challenge in planning for this is to remember to not go too deeply into TOG, and to remember that it is not my real focus. Everything is going well. We are progressing. Soon, Connor will take the NLE Lain I exam, and Aidan will take the Intro to Latin exam; Connor will take the National Mythology Exam. Both boys are in a PE class this year, and are starting up with a D&D/RPG group. Connor is doing well in Boy Scouts, and is currently the leader of his patrol; Aidan is on track to get his Arrow of Light and cross over to Boy Scouts later this year.
And the two little ones are mostly tagging along, refining their reading and writing, and creating elaborate games.
And no, no, no, we are not planning on going downtown for the Inauguration. Yes, it's historical. But no.
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January 8, 2009
Alien Earths
My kids have been clustered around the Alien Earths website for nearly two hours.
It contains an infrared, edge-on galaxy viewer (very, very cool!); and the ever-popular "Planet Families" game, in which you get to build star systems. Fun stuff!
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