Math is my favorite subject. I love teaching it and I love seeing the "flash" in our children's eyes when they "get it". Fridays are our Math game day.
I thought I would share a cool link to games for all ages.
http://www.dr-mikes-math-games-for-kids.com/index.html
We played this game today:
The Arithmetic Math Game
http://www.dr-mikes-math-games-for-kids.com/arithmetic-math-game.html
It is a little long. I suggest modifying it to eliminate fractions, unless it is something you are working on with your child. We did it with fractions and Hakon started to lose interest. So note to self--no fractions unless we are learning fractions in our book.
I hope you enjoy it and it helps your children grow a love of math.
FFF
Hyndla
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Whole Year has passed....
And what a year!
So many things have gone on...I have another daughter in college, a son on the varsity wrestling team in 9th grade and winning! We are still plugging along on educating our youngest three...this year the Renaissance.
Everyone is growing and thriving.
Stay tuned for a re-ignition of our Odinist Homeschooling Blogspot!
FFF
Hyndla
So many things have gone on...I have another daughter in college, a son on the varsity wrestling team in 9th grade and winning! We are still plugging along on educating our youngest three...this year the Renaissance.
Everyone is growing and thriving.
Stay tuned for a re-ignition of our Odinist Homeschooling Blogspot!
FFF
Hyndla
Monday, November 30, 2009
December??!!
I can't believe tomorrow is December! Where did the year go? Things have been so busy here.
This year I have been working full time and homeschooling...it has been exhausting and time consuming, hence I have been scarce online, but it has also been rewarding. Although I am not here during the early morning and early afternoon, our older girls have really stepped up. Everyone gets their school work done and I have popped home once and a while. I always find a quiet home with studious children working away on their subjects. We have scaled way back on some things, but have still remained true to our Classical education...and it is paying off.
Erika who has fought her way through Augustine's Confessions and a few books of the Bible--which has been tortuous, but also very educational--is writing a paper on "Sin and Moral Relativism." Quite a task, but her consultant, who is a published writer is very excited. She is getting gritty with persuasive writing, which is integral to the rhetoric stage. She has made amazing strides in her understanding of complex subjects. It may seem odd for an Odinist to study such a subject, but she has communicated just how glad she is an Odinist and how crazy Christianity is to her. It really has given her the opportunity to undertake a detached study of a subject that has torn our Folk apart spiritually. At any rate, it has sparked some great conversations.
Gunnar who has been devouring books as of late, has really jumped both feet into History. Again, really delving into the Medieval era and how christianity impacted our people and destroyed our cultural and spiritual foundation. He has been reading up on some modern history. He is really taking off with Math too. Since this is probably my last year educating him at home since he is trying to get into a Math and Science Magnet High School offered here in Vancouver, we have been really hitting the math books hard and he has really risen to the challenge.
Hakon has really taken off too. He has been really been developing his love of building and creating. He loves to build something out of virtually nothing. It is great. Also, I pushed him in his math and he has, like his brother, risen to the challenge.
Thora has not homeschooled any classes this year. She has decided to take all her classes at Clark. She is doing some amazingly beautiful art. She has been perusing schools...did you know that UCLA is the 7th ranked school for art in the country! I thought that was cool since it isn't an art school. She has really been working to find an art focused college that has a strong foreign language department. She has 3 years of French and 2 college semesters. She loves it. Right now she is taking Spanish since they didn't have the next class in their foreign language series available. She is quite proficient. Anyway, she is on the hunt for a college that has everything for her in one spot...lol.
Astrid has become quite an adult. She is finishing up her AA in pursuit of a degree in either language or history. Both she loves, but she is still up in the air. She is getting ready to get her own apartment. How fast they grow up. She is so responsible and adult-like. I am very proud of her. :)
My baby girls are growing with both having a birthday. Freydis is now 5....5!!!!! I can't believe it. A kindergartner...she has been writing more and more. I am thinking of starting "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" or whatever the name is :D. She knows her ABCs and has been working on the sounds, but very casually.
Sigrun..my big three year old...3! She is a doll face that is our snuggle bug. Nothing particularly educational except she is pretty good at her ABCs and loves Muzzy :).
Well that is an update on our educational adventure. Our family goal is to get out of debt and me home by September when I will only have the girls and Hakon at home. We have been winning in our finances, so it is only a matter of time till we are free.
Hail!
FFF
Hyndla
This year I have been working full time and homeschooling...it has been exhausting and time consuming, hence I have been scarce online, but it has also been rewarding. Although I am not here during the early morning and early afternoon, our older girls have really stepped up. Everyone gets their school work done and I have popped home once and a while. I always find a quiet home with studious children working away on their subjects. We have scaled way back on some things, but have still remained true to our Classical education...and it is paying off.
Erika who has fought her way through Augustine's Confessions and a few books of the Bible--which has been tortuous, but also very educational--is writing a paper on "Sin and Moral Relativism." Quite a task, but her consultant, who is a published writer is very excited. She is getting gritty with persuasive writing, which is integral to the rhetoric stage. She has made amazing strides in her understanding of complex subjects. It may seem odd for an Odinist to study such a subject, but she has communicated just how glad she is an Odinist and how crazy Christianity is to her. It really has given her the opportunity to undertake a detached study of a subject that has torn our Folk apart spiritually. At any rate, it has sparked some great conversations.
Gunnar who has been devouring books as of late, has really jumped both feet into History. Again, really delving into the Medieval era and how christianity impacted our people and destroyed our cultural and spiritual foundation. He has been reading up on some modern history. He is really taking off with Math too. Since this is probably my last year educating him at home since he is trying to get into a Math and Science Magnet High School offered here in Vancouver, we have been really hitting the math books hard and he has really risen to the challenge.
Hakon has really taken off too. He has been really been developing his love of building and creating. He loves to build something out of virtually nothing. It is great. Also, I pushed him in his math and he has, like his brother, risen to the challenge.
Thora has not homeschooled any classes this year. She has decided to take all her classes at Clark. She is doing some amazingly beautiful art. She has been perusing schools...did you know that UCLA is the 7th ranked school for art in the country! I thought that was cool since it isn't an art school. She has really been working to find an art focused college that has a strong foreign language department. She has 3 years of French and 2 college semesters. She loves it. Right now she is taking Spanish since they didn't have the next class in their foreign language series available. She is quite proficient. Anyway, she is on the hunt for a college that has everything for her in one spot...lol.
Astrid has become quite an adult. She is finishing up her AA in pursuit of a degree in either language or history. Both she loves, but she is still up in the air. She is getting ready to get her own apartment. How fast they grow up. She is so responsible and adult-like. I am very proud of her. :)
My baby girls are growing with both having a birthday. Freydis is now 5....5!!!!! I can't believe it. A kindergartner...she has been writing more and more. I am thinking of starting "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" or whatever the name is :D. She knows her ABCs and has been working on the sounds, but very casually.
Sigrun..my big three year old...3! She is a doll face that is our snuggle bug. Nothing particularly educational except she is pretty good at her ABCs and loves Muzzy :).
Well that is an update on our educational adventure. Our family goal is to get out of debt and me home by September when I will only have the girls and Hakon at home. We have been winning in our finances, so it is only a matter of time till we are free.
Hail!
FFF
Hyndla
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saxon Geometry
After having to use mediocre Geometry math textbooks and lame public school materials, Saxon has finally come out with a Geometry textbook. I may be slow on the uptake, but I just found out after hunting for Geometry texts for Erika this year.
I am ecstatic! Finally! Our Saxon collection is complete!
Check out: http://tinyurl.com/lo79dy
This the cost from the publisher, but you can get it on Amazon or a different supplier (there are tons out there just google it!) for around $80 without shipping.
FFF
Hyndla
I am ecstatic! Finally! Our Saxon collection is complete!
Check out: http://tinyurl.com/lo79dy
This the cost from the publisher, but you can get it on Amazon or a different supplier (there are tons out there just google it!) for around $80 without shipping.
FFF
Hyndla
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
What Have Your Kids Been Reading?
Hail All!
So what have your kids been reading?
We have reading hour during the day in the late afternoon and Library Day once a week...which is today!
Erika- I am so proud of her, she has been reading the books she couldn't get to over the school year. Aristophanes and Sophocles :).
Thora- I have forgotten, she reads so many. She loves those Victorian Era books from authors like Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, etc... EDIT: So I forgot all about the Angela Barret books..she is an illustrator for children's stories, mostly Grimms Fairy Tales. Thora just bought three of her books. Angela is an AWESOME illustrator. The lil girls love the books too. Keeps them captivated with rich art work and vivid stories. This is one of the books Thora bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Max-Eilenberg/dp/0763631604
and...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/184362298X/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V4SWH8/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
Beautiful!
Gunnar- Not much really. He read a book about Abraham Lincoln, a sniper, books about jiu jitsu, judo, etc... LOL...such a jock :) OH Ya, Harry Potter.
Hakon- Tons of animal books...he has really been interested in science.
My lil ladies, Princesses...tons of princesses and fairies. They pick out books every time we are at the library. I must say they found the most awesome author...
Elsa Beskow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Beskow
Her books are unbelievably rich in content and illustration. Every page pulls you into the Swedish countryside, sea, glen, you name it. We brought ever book home that was at the library and each story was beautiful. She is very much the Beatrix Potter of Sweden.
Even our oldest children loved the stories and illustrations.
So...any cool finds this summer?
FFF
Hyndla
So what have your kids been reading?
We have reading hour during the day in the late afternoon and Library Day once a week...which is today!
Erika- I am so proud of her, she has been reading the books she couldn't get to over the school year. Aristophanes and Sophocles :).
Thora- I have forgotten, she reads so many. She loves those Victorian Era books from authors like Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, etc... EDIT: So I forgot all about the Angela Barret books..she is an illustrator for children's stories, mostly Grimms Fairy Tales. Thora just bought three of her books. Angela is an AWESOME illustrator. The lil girls love the books too. Keeps them captivated with rich art work and vivid stories. This is one of the books Thora bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Max-Eilenberg/dp/0763631604
and...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/184362298X/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V4SWH8/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
Beautiful!
Gunnar- Not much really. He read a book about Abraham Lincoln, a sniper, books about jiu jitsu, judo, etc... LOL...such a jock :) OH Ya, Harry Potter.
Hakon- Tons of animal books...he has really been interested in science.
My lil ladies, Princesses...tons of princesses and fairies. They pick out books every time we are at the library. I must say they found the most awesome author...
Elsa Beskow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Beskow
Her books are unbelievably rich in content and illustration. Every page pulls you into the Swedish countryside, sea, glen, you name it. We brought ever book home that was at the library and each story was beautiful. She is very much the Beatrix Potter of Sweden.
Even our oldest children loved the stories and illustrations.
So...any cool finds this summer?
FFF
Hyndla
Friday, June 12, 2009
Biology and the Metzger Garden
This year with Science we did biology, and one just can't skip the family garden in biology!
Our books:
7th grade: Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
4th grade: The Natural World by Lisa Watts
Reference: Square Foot Gardening
Lasagna Gardening
Our procedure:
4th grade:
Read, Narrate, Sketch, Experiment
7th grade:
Read, Outline, Sketch, Experiment
Our garden was just one 'experiments' of many, but it was the ongoing one, still in progress. Here is a slide show of some of our lettuce, our first harvest of the season :).
The younger girls just hung out and observed nature in an unschooling fashion. Just letting their natural energy flow. Freydis and I did a Charming of the Plough Blot for the gardens before they were planted. We galdored Fehu, and I believe that the energy raised has made our garden quite successful.
The boys have been tending the garden the most with watering, weeding, catching snakes :)
Ahhh....the natural world...
Just a little peak at our work:
Hail our Holy Mother Jorth!
FFF
Hyndla
Our books:
7th grade: Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
4th grade: The Natural World by Lisa Watts
Reference: Square Foot Gardening
Lasagna Gardening
Our procedure:
4th grade:
Read, Narrate, Sketch, Experiment
7th grade:
Read, Outline, Sketch, Experiment
Our garden was just one 'experiments' of many, but it was the ongoing one, still in progress. Here is a slide show of some of our lettuce, our first harvest of the season :).
The younger girls just hung out and observed nature in an unschooling fashion. Just letting their natural energy flow. Freydis and I did a Charming of the Plough Blot for the gardens before they were planted. We galdored Fehu, and I believe that the energy raised has made our garden quite successful.
The boys have been tending the garden the most with watering, weeding, catching snakes :)
Ahhh....the natural world...
Just a little peak at our work:
Hail our Holy Mother Jorth!
FFF
Hyndla
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Foreign Language Suggestions
So for a possible upcoming trip to a certain South American location, our family is learning Spanish...yep I said it.....Never thought in a million years I would say it, but yes...Spanish. Asrekyr already knows tons of Spanish because he grew up in Rowland Heights...a non suburb, suburb...ahem....where as I was from total suburbia So Cal....LOL...OC! So I don't know a lick of it.
Astrid has already had 4 years of Latin and 2 years of Spanish, so she is a great resource, but we need instruction, so I got this cute series for the girls (really all of us) which is called Kids love Spanish.
It is by two sisters that are from So Cal who grew up learning Spanish.
Our girls love it. The ladies look like Folk, they can relate with the kids and it is colorful, clear and fun. I recommend it to anyone having 2-5 yos wanting to learn Spanish.
Our next favorite is....of course...MUZZY! We have been using the German one for years (now because where we are visiting that is a common spoken language ) We have the French and the Spanish one (which is having trouble working). We have so much fun with it, I suggest it for everyone. I have a blast with it.
Finally, Lyric Language Spanish, it is awesome. It is all songs, but very catchy and it teaches all the proper grammar and usage. We had the cd many moons ago for Astrid when she was little and she still remembers the songs. We now have the DVD AND CD and the DVD ROCKS. It is a sing-a-long with both english and spanish words. I REALLY like it and it is right up there with Kids love Spanish, but for older kids. AND the main family is Folk, which is easy for the kids to relate to and non distracting.
Next is Rosetta Stone. It is ok. I don't like the overtly multicultural brainwashing. Also, all the "Western" languages are multicultural, but the "Eastern" strictly Asiatic representations.....hmmm..... Think China had a hand in that? The teaching in it is good so far, but when a learning program has political subliminal messaging that is contrary to your beliefs, it is down right distracting and makes it MORE difficult to use.
Another don't...well don't if you are a visual learner. It is a cd set called Spanish Complete by VocabuLearn: Language Power. The whole thing is English word and spanish word. No rhyme or reason. I don't really get it...lol....I guess I am used to organized teaching first you learn the ABCs, family words, etc...Not this one. Only thing that is good is the pronunciation, so repeating them constantly is helpful there. If you are auditory...like Asrekyr...it will be more for you. :)
There are two websites that excellent foreign language resources: edhelper.com and enchantedlearning.com . For kids that is. We have printed off worksheets and laminated all their flash cards. These are membership sites, but only $20 a year each...very cheap as far as curriculum goes.
Ok enough blathering...stay tuned...I will be posting more info on curriculum and what works and what doesn't.
BTW...Thank you Frithwulf (an Odinic Sister in Cordoba, Argentina), you have been a huge help...she has answered all my naggy stupid questions about her country :D!
FFF
Hyndla
Astrid has already had 4 years of Latin and 2 years of Spanish, so she is a great resource, but we need instruction, so I got this cute series for the girls (really all of us) which is called Kids love Spanish.
It is by two sisters that are from So Cal who grew up learning Spanish.
Our girls love it. The ladies look like Folk, they can relate with the kids and it is colorful, clear and fun. I recommend it to anyone having 2-5 yos wanting to learn Spanish.
Our next favorite is....of course...MUZZY! We have been using the German one for years (now because where we are visiting that is a common spoken language ) We have the French and the Spanish one (which is having trouble working). We have so much fun with it, I suggest it for everyone. I have a blast with it.
Finally, Lyric Language Spanish, it is awesome. It is all songs, but very catchy and it teaches all the proper grammar and usage. We had the cd many moons ago for Astrid when she was little and she still remembers the songs. We now have the DVD AND CD and the DVD ROCKS. It is a sing-a-long with both english and spanish words. I REALLY like it and it is right up there with Kids love Spanish, but for older kids. AND the main family is Folk, which is easy for the kids to relate to and non distracting.
Next is Rosetta Stone. It is ok. I don't like the overtly multicultural brainwashing. Also, all the "Western" languages are multicultural, but the "Eastern" strictly Asiatic representations.....hmmm..... Think China had a hand in that? The teaching in it is good so far, but when a learning program has political subliminal messaging that is contrary to your beliefs, it is down right distracting and makes it MORE difficult to use.
Another don't...well don't if you are a visual learner. It is a cd set called Spanish Complete by VocabuLearn: Language Power. The whole thing is English word and spanish word. No rhyme or reason. I don't really get it...lol....I guess I am used to organized teaching first you learn the ABCs, family words, etc...Not this one. Only thing that is good is the pronunciation, so repeating them constantly is helpful there. If you are auditory...like Asrekyr...it will be more for you. :)
There are two websites that excellent foreign language resources: edhelper.com and enchantedlearning.com . For kids that is. We have printed off worksheets and laminated all their flash cards. These are membership sites, but only $20 a year each...very cheap as far as curriculum goes.
Ok enough blathering...stay tuned...I will be posting more info on curriculum and what works and what doesn't.
BTW...Thank you Frithwulf (an Odinic Sister in Cordoba, Argentina), you have been a huge help...she has answered all my naggy stupid questions about her country :D!
FFF
Hyndla
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