Our last Robotics Meeting

Wednesday was our last club meeting. All the students ended up with some form of a working robotic arm, powered by syringes and tubing filled with air or water. Most of them picked up an object and some of them even would move the object to a new location. It was really fun to watch them work successfully. Some of the kids built a kind of hand or squeezing mechanism at the end of their arm. One boy used an electromagnet to pick up a staple and drop it off. All gave a presentation of their project, and learned from eachother. Everyone got a big, blue ribbon and a decadent chocolate cup cake.

School day # 166

Today is day 166 out of 172 (the “legal” number of) days we have set aside for school. We are itching, twitching, poking, and giggling. We are cramming to finish all our books and take the last of the last tests. To measure how far we’ve come and where and when we should pick up in the fall. It is probably good that there are laws and standards for home scholars. Citizens must be accountable. I am also glad I live in one of the states with fairly minimal governmental controls. I can’t help wishing we had fewer, or somehow I could just not care so much about them. I meticulously record each hour spent doing school just in case the state should ask for my records. Those standardized tests hang over my head like judgment day looming. I can’t help but think how our school would be different if I didn’t think so much about those tests. I like to see high tests scores. We get a little wrapped up in it. But what if there weren’t numbers to look at. What if we just looked at the people? What if I wasn’t so afraid of the government’s judgment of my children’s academic accomplishments? I think my school would be different in a few ways. We probably would never need to take summer vacation. We would learn and live at a more relaxed pace. We’d have less school books and read more. We would do more hands on projects. We would cook and exercise more. Life would be pleasanter. Would my children receive the education they needed to succeed? What would happen if everyone had the freedom to be themselves all the time? Would there be more or less educated people? Making grades helps our children prepare for college I suppose. But then what? Last week the news reported that about 50% of new college graduates cannot find work right now. What if they had learned more life skills and less book knowledge? Would they be starting businesses instead of moving in with Mom and Dad and flipping burgers? Would some of them be too busy inventing new technology to go to college? Self discipline is good. Learning is good. Having high expectations of your self is good. Making sure all children all know the same certain facts at the same time is...organized. Is it really good? It is manageable if you have large volumes of children surging through your school every single year. Should home scholars be held to the same constraints? Is there a way to do things differently inside of an actual school? If the government didn’t force us to educate our children a certain way would our society fall apart or get better? What percentage of people would go on a crime spree and what percentage would live happily and successfully on their own inspiration? Are there so many lazy, dull, illiterate people because they have always been forced into learning, or are they predestined to be that way? For now these questions will have to wait. I’m too busy making my children finish their worksheets. Maybe I will be re-thinking my school this summer. I don’t have the answers, but I think we should all be asking these questions, and working to find better ways to educate our children and to help them find a future.

More Crazy Robotics Fun

We are nearing the end of our school year and our first robotics unit. I have to say, I may have bit off more than I could chew this year, but it turned out to be a really fun experience for myself as well as the kids who joined our club. We successfully finished all our projects! We had an extra long session this week to give everyone time to finish their arms. The kids were inventing great things that I'm sure there are technical names for, but I have no idea what they are. We figured out the pneumatics method of making our arms move and one of the boys added water to his tubing, increasing the amount of power it gave his arm. Wow! Great thinking! When these kids left my house the kitchen looked like a disaster area. That's how you know we had a great time! It is now all cleaned up and I can't wait for next month when each student will give a short demonstration of their robotic arm. Here are some pictures from our session.

Incase you are interested in starting your own robotics club, I bought my curriculum through the 4-H web site. I chose Junk Drawer Robotics, but there are three different curriculums to choose from.
http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/4-h-robotics/junk-drawer-robotics/

Serendipitous Field Trips

An impromptu trip to the library provided us with an unexpected educational experience. As we approached the square,we heard bagpipes. The boys broke into a run and stopped a good way from the bagpiper. He sensed their excitement, turned and marched toward them slowly, playing his Scottish tune. He marched right up to them and finished it. Then he knelt down on one knee to talk to them. It turned out that he was a fire fighter who was there for a fire and police meeting. But he also took the time to play his pipes out in the square and talk to little boys. They peppered him with questions which he patiently answered.

He gave us quite a lesson. We learned that bagpipes are played at many fire fighter and police meetings and funerals because when the Scottish and Irish emigrated to America, no one wanted to give them jobs. So they became fire men and police. Those were undesirable jobs back then. It was only natural for them to reflect their culture in their ceremonies. He also showed us how his bagpipe worked and we talked about how it was similar to the recorder. That was exciting for the boys because they have been learning to play the recorder in music time.

It was so nice to bump into a fantastic role model while we were scampering around town. This happens to us from time to time and it enriches our home school experience. It makes me think of the missed opportunities for the children who spent that day cooped up taking a C-SAP test. That makes me sad. I wish more people knew what a great reward for their children and for themselves it can be to educate children at home. It allows for serendipity to take place in our lives, for a deeper family connection, and for our children to be the individuals that they are without the hindrance of social conformity. In my opinion, those things provide us with a richer life than the money I could bring in at a job, or the feeling of security that the government was taking care of my children's education.

Celtic Knots

Today we are studying the vibrant Celtic Warrior Queen Boadicea! We also started exploring the complexity of Celtic knots, which I find a fascinating form of design. I think they are especially beautiful when worked into knitting. The boys are experimenting with drawing some. We found a great web site that had helpful printable grids and directions for drawing Celtic knots. Check it out.
http://mysite.verizon.net/mihaloew/celtic/class_basic.shtml#sample

Garden Days Again

It is only February, and around here usually that means screaming wind and icy snow. But this winter has been rather mild, and we are predicted to have an early last frost; So when The sun was shining and the snow was melting yesterday, I looked out the window at my kids and decided to join them. I ended up where I always do, poking through my garden. First I scraped aside some mulch and peered down at the slumbering garden patch. Instead of frozen tundra, I saw brown, moist, gooey dirt. Much like a perfect pan of brownies. I could hold myself back no longer! I grabbed my shovel and started turning it over.

Before long, I had the spinach patch done. The boys soon joined in, collecting handfuls of worms and watching them work their way back into the ground. It was what I would call, a perfect afternoon. It may freeze up soon for another month or two, but we got our little garden fix and we're happy.

Valentine's Day Fun

I remember valentine's day being one of my favorite holidays as a kid. I always looked forward to sticky sweet pink cup cakes and the Valentine exchange at school. We make our own Valentine parties at our home school now days and we all really have a lot of fun with it. I do very little planning which usually consists of picking up small valentine themed items while I'm getting groceries and hiding them in a drawer for the big day. Then I pull them out one by one and slip them into little moments throughout the day. Here is what we did this year.

We started with pink heart pancakes for breakfast. A drop of almond extract really adds the finishing touch to make these pancakes extra special. It makes them taste just a little like sugar cookies. We used red food coloring to make them pink.

Later, I ran out to the play house and slipped a few cheapo valentine cards into the boy's little mail box. Kids love to get mail and my boys found a small mail box at the thrift store a while back and placed it right outside their play house. They love to go outside to play and check to see if there are some cookies or little notes in there. I frequently try to place things in there to surprise them.

At lunch time, We sucked on conversation hearts, and traded them with each other.

The boys had some of their own plans as well. I made sure I bought the supplies they needed on grocery day and let them loose in the kitchen this afternoon. They made a big chocolate chip heart cookie for their Dad and a special pink love potion for me. I incorperated it into our special valentine's dinner. I made meatball sandwiches with tomato sauce. Everyone likes that and it's red. We handed out our valentine cards to each other and ate the treats the boys had made. Instead of buying cards for the boys, I went with the mouse theme we've been working on for Etsy and sewed them small felt mice that fit inside red felt hearts.

After the kids were in bed I brought out the Wild Man mud Bath Salts and Muscle Rub form Wild Rose Herbs; one of my favorite Etsy shops.We made a relaxing spa night at home.

No diamond rings, or giant boxes of chocolate and yet a surprisingly satisfying Valentine's day. Although my husband does get credit for bringing me some lovely flowers.

Bible verse of the day: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.