the great backyard bird count 2010

the great backyard bird count 2010

“All you have to do is watch birds in your yard, a nearby park, or maybe at your school. Then you tell us what you saw by entering your bird list online. We collect that information from people all over the United States and Canada so scientists can learn what kind of birds are being seen in the winter and whether there are more or fewer of them than before.”

view their top 10 list of birds to refresh your memory
before you do your 15 minute watch
or get a list of birds in your area,
and combine your ornithology studies with parts of a bird nomenclature cards
from montessoriforeveryone.com
parts of a bird nomenclature cards - montessori for everyone.com

happy birdwatching!

Leave a comment »

we moved to maryland

…hence the lack of posts.
maryland state flag
i’m trying to get our house in order
(in ALL senses of that tired, tired, tired expression),
get familiar with maryland homeschooling guidelines
and then begin our homeschooling journey again SOON inshaAllah.
in the meantime,
i think i’ve inundated my homeschool email account
with just about every applicable, local homeschool yahoo group out there,
including MD/DC/VA educators, southern maryland homeschool network, sankofa homeschool community, and homeschool activities metro dc,
as well as subscribing to email newsletters to the smithsonian, national children’s museum and other interesting (and mostly free) organizations
– one of the reasons i just LOVE the DC metro area.
busy, busy, busy, y’all!
(i’m still below the mason-dixon line. i can say “y’all”.)

Comments (1) »

book: help me be good series

a children's book about teasing
by joy berry.
we just read a few of these titles
and will be getting more.

the series includes the following titles:
“Being Lazy, Being Forgetful, Being Careless, Being Messy, Being Wasteful, Overdoing It, Showing Off, Being a Bad Sport, Being Selfish, Being Greedy, Breaking Promises, Disobeying, Lying, Interrupting, Whining, Throwing Tantrums, Complaining, Teasing, Tattling, Gossiping, Being Rude, Snooping, Cheating, Stealing, Being Bullied, Being Bossy, Being Destructive, Fighting, Being Mean”

each book:
1. Defines a misbehavior
2. Explains the cause of the misbehavior
3. Discusses the negative effects of the misbehavior
4. Offers suggestions for replacing the misbehavior with acceptable behavior

she has other series as well.

i think it helped that we were discussing the behavior objectively because
the girls were surprisingly candid and thoughtful
about their behavior and that of others.

Leave a comment »

book: when royals wore ruffles

when royals wore ruffles by pamela jaber
when royals wore ruffles
by pamela jaber
a fun, witty book on fashion through the ages.
don’t forget to bring your attitude!

Leave a comment »

a typical homeschool day

thought i’d share a schedule of a typical homeschool day:

7 am homeschool prep
8 am breakfast & dress
9 am – 1 pm homeschool:

  • circle time
    • greeting & alFatiha
    • date & current events
    • song/rhyme/poem
    • surah of the week
  • independent work & presentations
1 pm lunch & free play
2 pm quiet/nap time
3 pm outside play
6 pm dinner prep
7 pm dinner
9 pm bath, story & bed

notes:

  • i treat a schedule as a guide. i try to stick to it on a regular basis, but i’m still flexible, because if our eyes are open there are many teachable moments in just living life.
  • what happens in the gaps? life.
  • i try not to do personal stuff in the morning, like check email, facebook or blogging. i distracts me then and often for the rest of the day.
  • i try to put a load of laundry in right after breakfast, other than that, the chores can wait.
  • the girls often help with making meals and chores — it’s the montessori way!
  • i have not included extracurricular/enrichment activities, but they’d be worked in as necessary, preferably outside of our main homeschool hours of 9am-1pm.

“Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them.”
- william arthur ward

Leave a comment »

baby’s first circus

ringling brothers circus
get your baby a FREE ticket to any ringling bros. and barnum and bailey performance
anytime, anywhere, no expiration date!
http://www.ringling.com/TextContent.aspx?id=11738&parentID=348&assetFolderID=352

Leave a comment »

musalla kids newsletter

http://www.musalla.org/Musalla_kidz_5.html
musalla kids newsletter
is a bit of islamic studies, values and social studies all mixed together.
it uses stories, word searches and games to help discuss 46 topics
from sharing to not observing certain holidays like valentine’s day.
it also has poems, stories from the seerah, the basics of islam and more.

Comments (2) »

cities on the cheap

http://www.citiesonthecheap.com/
find your city
and then find homeschooling activities and events in your city
on the cheap!
cities on the cheap

Leave a comment »

free admission from bank of america

http://museums.bankofamerica.com/
get FREE general admission to participating museums, zoos, science centers, botanical gardens, and more
on the first full weekend of every month
by just presenting any bank of america card.
bank of america
get back some of that bailout money!

Leave a comment »

taming TV

http://www.tvsmarts.com/
these folks comb through scheduled TV programming
to provide a list of educational public and cable shows for each week.
so, we can watch TV responsibly
instead of it watching us.

Leave a comment »