I am an unschooling mom so but ambivalent about posting lesson plans, however at least one of my kids actually likes to do these and enjoys them so I have no problem suggesting as a tool for learning.
No one says you have to mark or grade them they can be a good way to discuss things or bring up ideas and concepts.
I particularly like these Lesson Plans which are bases on story telling.

I am a huge Anansi fan so these are great, You will find lessons for the Anansi ( the clever spider), lesson plans on Rudyard Kipling takes, and many other fables, etc.

The Anansi ones have coloring pages, workbook type activities etc.

The have lesson plans for different ages- each story has plan for plan that goes from age 4-8 years ( roughly)

Well, it looked like the glue I bought might work. I even took some really good advice and kept the clamp on the kit. it looked ugly but it worked. Until my son decided to work on his Bruce Lee impression all over the family room and whacked a large stick on the set, ARGH. This time the head not only snapped off- but wires are broken as well. NO hope for this set. I probably could spend time soldering them back and trying again but I give up.

I spent money on clamp, special glue, special glue that didn’t work and my time. No more. A used set is 40.00 at EB Games.
I am no hurry to run out and buy however. I didn’t mind when the set broke by accident but the working with a stick 2 minutes after i said nos tick down here put me over the edge and I am not that sympathetic.

If my daughter- who is innocent party were to complain I might go and get but little ninja is not getting his drums back soon.

This is becoming a nightmare. I spent a big chunk of the day trying to find the right glue to fix this drum set for my kids PlayStation video game, Rock Band. My four year old was playing yesterday ( he plays on expert!) and the green drum head snapped off. You can see pic of what it looks like in my original post about fixing broken Rock Band drum set.

I a not sure if what have done will work. I did buy a new hot glue gum0 one that melts at high temps. I have not used it yet, I spent a LONG time in Canadian Tire looking at glues. Most of the glues stated they would work on MOST plastics or rigid plastics. I was tempted to buy Gorilla Glue but it said “most” plastics. Also at epoxies. I was a but confused by quick set and regular epoxy. One glue set in 5 minutes and the other in 60. Which one was strongest?

Anyway0- I ended up asking a young kids who knew more than I thought he would. He recommended a silicone based glue and I bought LePage PL Premium. ( it comes in giant tube that looks like caulking) and cost 4.99.

I tried to fix the Rock Band drums set when I got home and hand some major stumbling blocks. I had no clamps. I used the glue- which I am not convinced is the right one and then had to use tape to hold together. An hour later 4 year old wandered in and I explained to him not to touch the drum set he seemed to understand and then promptly lifted the set up and apart.

ARGH.

I decided the tape was a bad idea and went back out to Canadian Tire to get some clamps that would work . Came home and redid and clamps worked perfectly. The “old” glue that hadn’t dried was still there and did my best to get off. I don’t know how well this will work- the glue did not seem like ti would harden at all. Concerned that the old glue will affect new stuff from setting.

So far spent about 15.00 on this attempt to save 40.00-80.00 on a new set of drums.

we went for sailing lessons today- at least DD did.. DS wasn’t old enough so he got to hang out with me at Costco. Whoopee. Actually- he had a pretty good time. I cannot get over the different dynamic there is when i have just one child with me. I really ENJOY them/ I feel less like referee or arbiter of all that is fair in the world- who got the bigger sample of cheesecake or the purple gummy bear , etc.

So at Costco he got to have a whole chicken fingers and fries to himself- and learned he didn’t need a whole one anyway.
He got all my samples … was his lucky day they were giving out dubble bubble bubble gum and a whole tootsie pop. Made up for the brie last week.
We had a nice time chatting- very relaxing not have 2 different conversations at the same time. I didnt realize how stressful it is for me to hold two entirely different conversation with 2 people at the same time. no wonder my brain hurts. Was pleasant hearing what my 4 year old had to say without being interrupted by older sibling- and better was the no shreiking for my attention.

I am not sure what I learned from this- I know I like to spend one on oe time but what is happening when we are al togehter that makes it so stressful? Why is it the tree of use will be in a room for an hour an dwhen I get up to go to the bathrrom all hell breaks loose?
What message is being given>? Does he like to stir up trouble when I am gone? Done she provoke him? Does my presence do something?
I wonder because I would like to have some of the peace I have when it is just 2 of us and have it translate over to when there are 3 of us.

Disaster. My son walking around like he lost his best friend.
The drum set for Rock band broke. The green drum head snapped. The wiring is okay but not sure I can fix. EB Games sells replacement for 80.00. gulp. You can also get on Ebay for about 40.00 shipped. I am going to try and fix first with glue.
The drum set is the same for both the PlayStation 2 and playstation 3 console.

Here is what it looks like:

Picture of Broken Rock Band Drum Set

My best bet seems to be an epoxy of some sort or a hot glue gun. My glue gun I bought at dollar store and don’t think it will be hot enough. A long time ago I used to use use glue pellets and a hot pan to to do some craft projects but no clue where I would that.

I will pick up some glue tomorrow and make repair this week.

I had a friend a long time ago tel me something that rang so true- however at times I forget it when I need to remember it most. She talked about how most of our anger and frustration came from fear- fear of losing something, fear of pain, fear of unknown.

We have had some unusual stress in our life. It seem like everything that could go wrong- has gone wrong. Cars breaking down, new house issues, kids out of whack, and some enormous financial pressures. As a result my husband and I have been bickering- a lot.
Today I say down and really though hard about how to fix where we are at- blaming each other- hurt feelings, sniping, bitterness and the rest. I just can’t seem to make it right and I think the thing my husband needs most is something I don’t want to give him. He needs me to validate him- telling him he is doing the “right” thing, be proud of some sacrifices he feels he is making.
If it were my children I wouldn’t think twice about it. I can;t even give my husband the same accord I would give my kids. Why?
The way he is reacting to pressure is with anger, Lots of sniping and criticizing and more. Is it anger? I though so until it donned on me that the anger he feels is at himself. He is afraid. The fear of letting us down- letting me down. Fear that he isn’t a good enough husband or father or fear he may fail. This in turn comes out in burst of anger .
And my reaction- well it has been tor react. How is this working for me? It isn’t. Makes him feel worse and even more of a failure and it escalates. If this were happening with one of my children I could see it clearly- but I just didn’t see it in my husband.
I will remember this over the next days and weeks and try not to react to the anger and work on seeing his fears.

I came across this article about coffee for sale - a steep 25.00 for 12 oz. Why does it cost so much? Becasue its picked by monkeys! I am not kidding.

The coffee is being sold by Vancouver’s 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters and the beans are picked rhesus macaque monkeys in South India. The monkeys pick only the best berries, eat the fit surrounding the coffee bean d and store int heir mouth. The beans are cleaned and ready for roasting. ( Yukkkkk!)

The SL 795 will be available in the company’s Kitsilano store at 2152 West 4th Ave. beginning tomorrow.

“It is only in limited amounts,” said Piccolo. “This is a unique discovery and we want out customers to have great coffee.”

Piccolo expects the 12-ounce bags, which sell for $25, to sell out quickly.

I am thinking about the ethics of this- We have cows and horses do labour- not sure why making monkeys work seems odd to me.
Do they have a union? Who is making sure these mneky are treated fairly? What does PETA think about this?

One of homeschool groups is having a potluck Friday night. I generally look forward to them and this one I am so-so about. My husband has been away on business and I have been driving kids around and spending a lot of times with other homeschooling families socializing. Feel like I need a bit of down time. I love our friends and other homeschool kids- just feel a bit out of balance. Maybe I just need to see my husband.

I have to make a dessert to share and trying to come up with something different than my usual brownies. I thought I might get adventurous and make chocolate eclairs. I don’t think they are that hard and not something you see very day.

I most like will end up making lem squares. My sister-in-law makes a kind of neat dish- crushed up Ritz crackers, sprinkle Skor bar but on top and pour can of sweeten condensed milk over top and bake. Sounds weird but they are delicious. They are pricey to make and I think the Ritz crackers may have trans fats, I will have to check. Really want a big WOW factor… These pot lucks are good place to experiment with new recipes.

I am looking at the theme for this blog and think I HATE it, hate the colours, hate the layout, everything. I am in a bit of a funk. I avid putting in new themes because it takes so long to get them just right. I initially installed this blog for another person- who never used it and now I have to revamp.

Any theme idea appreciated! I prefer 3 columns and with widgets.

My almost 5 year ls son has a bit of a screen addiction. Since her was quite small he has always loved movies, TV and now video games, When he was three he carried around a little DVD player so a movie was always close at hand.

I lean toward unschooling and try not to get bent out of shape over it. The last couple of weeks I will admit i have been mildly concerned. I do not restrict the time the kids spend on TV, computer or video games and have no intention of doing so. I will however re-direct or engage with them if I think its because of boredom. They will almost always say yes to the park, a swim or a hike.
I don’t think the concept of unschooling is to disengage with your kids an leave them on their own ( at least when they are small) to flounder. You need to expose then to stuff- even if it means put out some paints and paper on the table and hang back.
Anyway- I digress- would be too difficult to put all my thoughts about unschooling and children into one post.

I was starting to get a bit worried about the amount of time my son is spending playing video games. When I get doubts like these it helps to read information by othre unschoolers. I particularily like Joyfully Rejoycing ( Joce Fetteroll) who writes a an article, My son plays Nintendo all dayabout just this dilemma.

The article is very long and worth reading even if video games are not an issue here are a few quotes:

A guess would be that games make him feel powerful and competent. The world is not a friendly place for wee little kids. They want to do so much and rules and society and even their 4 yo bodies prevent them from doing what they want to do. But games they can do. They can beat the bad guy. Or get the car around the track faster than anyone. Or collect hundreds of gold coins.

Some kids have desires that are in keeping with what they can do physically and socially. Some kids don’t. For instance some kids are perfectly fine accepting the pace at which they learn to ride a bike. Some kids want to be able to ride well before they have the mental and physical development to be able to do it. And it’s frustrating to them.

Isn’t Joyce great?