I Finished the 5 Pillar List! Whoo Hoo!

I started working on my 5 Pillar Certification reading list a little over 2 years ago. I am so excited that I just finished my last book, "Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers". Yippee! I have worked very hard to complete this challenge that I placed upon myself, but sometimes I struggled to read books that were not MY choice. I think this experience was one to help me over the hump of transitioning to Scholar Phase and beginning to fill in more of the holes in my education, in areas like biographies, plays, and non-fiction works. I have a lot more work to do in order to feel "well-educated".

I have come to the conclusion that a college education is not much of an education at all. Sure, I learned small amounts about literature, web-design, math, and history...but, my current readings have taught me far more than what I learned in college. I feel so blessed to have found Leadership Education (a.k.a. Thomas Jefferson Education) and to be experiencing this for myself while my children are still young to learn at home in a way that makes their education truly theirs and not some rubber-stamp education provided by the government. I hope that everyone who reads this post will continue their education by reading the good books from the great minds of history.

I have only cracked the surface!

Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers

In an attempt to teach my children more about music and the great composers, I am using "Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers" by Patrick Kavanaugh. I decided that in addition to reading about these composers, we must also listen to their music. The Internet has so many great things to offer, and in this area it was difficult to find free resources, but I prevailed after much searching and felt it was wise to share this research.

Online Resources for listening to these composers mentioned in the book:

1. Johann Sebastian Bach - Musopen - Incompetech
   
2. George Frederic Handel - Musopen
   
3. Franz Jospeh Hayden - Musopen
   
4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Musopen
   
5. Ludwig van Beethoven - Musopen
   
6. Franz Peter Schubert - Musopen
   
7. Felix Mendelssohn - Musopen
   
8. Frederic Chopin - Musopen
   
9. Franz Liszt - Musopen
   
10. Richard Wagner - Musopen
    
11. Charles Gounod - FreeScores
    
12. Cesar Franck - FreeScores
    
13. Anton Bruckner - FreeScores
    
14. Johannes Brahms - Musopen
    
15. Antonin Dvorak - Musopen
    
16. Edward Elgar - Musopen
    
17. Ralph Vaughan Williams
18. Charles Ives
19. Igor Stravinsky - Musopen
    
20. Olivier Messiaen

I was not able to find much on a couple of the composers, probably because they are more recent and do not have much royalty free music out there.

Finally! Sam's Prom Pictures

I hate waiting on other people to get pictures. These were taken by Sam's dad in front of his house. They got to Prom too late to get formal pictures, which upset me more than it does them (Sam and Brian). I'm sorry, but you need good Prom pics! I tried to make them a little better here, but the lighting is all wrong.

Aren't they so cute!

Slime Monsters!

My post today on "In the TJED Trenches":

I forgot I was supposed to post today...hee hee!

One of our favorite science experiments turned into a slime contest to see who could formulate the best slime.

The contest was for each child to research different recipes they could find for polymer solutions to make Gak, Slime, Flubber, or Silly Putty. They could then experiment with the different recipes in order to determine which recipe was the best. I encouraged them to come up with variations of their own based upon the recipes they tried. Chris really got into the slime making, as you can see here, and decided that combining Silly Putty and Slime recipes turned out the best. I was going to post the recipe and then realized it might be better to let you find out through your own slime contest....learning through experimentation really does work!

P.S. As I'm typing this my daughter, Marly, walked up to read what I was typing and said, "That was really good slime, too."

Getting Ready for Homeschool

For Planning My Education and What I'm Going to Do for Those I Mentor - I keep all of these in a notebook that I lovingly call "My Brain" with the following tabs: Curriculum, Planner, Each Child's Name, and My Name.

Curriculum Tab

• Course of Study - I type in all the books I plan on using for the family by subject and print it out.
• Curriculum Key - to keep track of what I abbreviated each item to be. (Ex. - Story of the World, Volume 1 = STOW1 in our planners.)
• Classic Book Lists - Classics For Young Children, Classics for Youth, Classics for Adults
• Curriculum Purchasing - I love this form to help me choose where to buy and the cheapest price I find it for.
• Other Curriculum Lists - School of Abraham Good Books List
  

Planner Tab

• Weekly Planner - to write in what we actually do. I do not plan assignments at all. The blocks are empty to write in whatever you need. It includes a To Do list and Notes area. My blocks are: Devotional & Read-A-Loud, Do Together, Child 1, Child 2, Child 3, and My Reading.
• NOTE: During the Transition to Scholar Phase, the Scholar begins taking over their own planner and book list responsibilities and reports to me as part of their accountability. This usually starts in about the Project Scholar phase.

Each Child's Tabs

• Book Lists - I fill in the books, journals, videos, etc. that each person uses. Scholars are to keep track of their own.
• Individual Forms - Scouting or Church Achievements or Awards that they are working towards. I have checksheets for the things each person is working on. (If you are LDS you can go to http://www.scoutsoft.net/sb05071.htm.)
• Misc. things that apply to each person.

My Name

• Moor House Academy forms - Educational Self Assessment, Family Vision, and Master Actualization Plan.
• TJed Notes - from A Thomas Jefferson Education and Leadership Education.
• Book Lists (same as children's).
• 5 Pillars Checksheet - This is an important part of my education. I keep track of my progress through the 5 Pillar Certification.
• 100 Books from the George Wythe College Reading List Checksheet - Again, this is another important part of my education. It feels wonderful to see my progress and know that I am truly moving forward in my own Scholar Phase.

Other

• I have to have a catch-all place for stuff I might need.

"There Goes My Life"

I've been sitting here listening to the song "There Goes My Life" by Kenny Chesney and bawling my eyes out...not quite...but getting teary anyway. It has been a hard year in some ways, learning to let go of my oldest baby. It's weird to think that we are at the end of the song when just a few years ago I was at the beginning...

She had that Honda loaded down.
With Abercrombie clothes and 15 pairs of shoes and his American Express.
He checked the oil and slammed the hood, said you're good to go.
She hugged them both and headed off to the West Coast.

[Chorus:]
And he cried,
There goes my life.
There goes my future, my everything.
I love you.
Baby good-bye.

There goes my life.
There goes my life.
Baby good-bye.

I Love you, Sam!

What did you say?

Some interesting things said in the Batchelor Home lately:

"I'm not being selfish. I'm just doing what I want."

"I said I washed the laundry. I never said anything about folding it."

"Was that the tent that just blew over the house?"

"Look at what I just peeled off my ear!"

"You might want to pop that." - Ah, the teen years.

Mom: "Where's your flashlight?"
Child: "I think I left it in someone's car."
Mom: "No! Don't say that! That's evil!"