It's Life in a Day day

The day's not over yet!

Producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald are asking the YouTube Community to film their day today (July 24, 2010) and post them for a global experiment to create a user-generated documentary film shot in a single day.

The project is called Life in a Day and is an amazing idea in my opinion. I definitely decided to participate. Kevin Macdonald is asking people to film parts of their day as well as answer questions about themselves like: What do you love the most? What do you fear the most? What makes you laugh? What do you have in your pockets (or pocketbooks)?

Most films are made to allow us to live outside ourselves, live vicariously through a fantasy and live an adventure we may never get to see or feel. But this film allows us to be ourselves and I think that's amazing. Even if our films don't get to be a part of the final cut, the videos submitted will be available for all to see. The ordinary lives of some are extraordinary to others.

I think this is also a wonderful educational opportunity for our children. Taking part in something like this will allow them to express themselves and learn more about living this life. Having them think about those questions, their loves and fears, is really good for them. Even discussing what's in their pockets and allowing them to explore why that would be significant is important.

I have this book I picked up at the book store called Little Big Minds that is about teaching children philosophy and teaching them to be philosophical. Nick really likes the book and even brought it up today when we were discussing this documentary experiment. He loves considering the big questions and talking about worlds outside of our own. I like the idea of getting children to think and talk about the big questions. We shouldn't be afraid of getting philosophical and shouldn't be afraid of asking children too. You'd be amazed at how much your children think and can express when given the opportunity.

I think this documentary about human life on Earth is a wonderful beginning discussion about our lives and how we choose to live. If we were going to film our lives, what would we consider to be the most important aspect? Do we currently spend a lot of time working on that aspect? Should we be refocusing how we spend our lives? These are good questions to ask ourselves and our children. When we focus on what we consider to be really important, then we can begin to make our lives better lived.

Philosophy aside, the Life in a Day experiment should prove to be an interesting one. I can't wait to see the final product.

...
Here's a glimpse at one of the videos we intend to send in. This mule deer -- we call her Momma though she more of a Grandmomma now -- comes by our house every day, so this really is Life in a Day for us.

Creating a homeschool education plan

Whether you are doing school-at-home or unschooling, having a plan will make your child's education (and each day) go wonderfully.

In Nevada, homeschooling parents are required to attach an education plan to their Notice of Intent to Homeschool form. A plan not only helps you prepare for the school year, but also helps you get organized (maybe help you plan a school supplies shopping trip).

A very general plan would look like this:

English, reading, writing, composition:
• paragraph writing
• poetry and chapter books
• plot, details, foreshadowing, metaphor
• short report writing

Math:
• measurements
• geometry
• decimals
• fractions

Science:
• volcanoes
• earthquakes
• weathering
• bones
• circulatory system

Social studies:
• American history 1492-1800
• geography to follow history study
• maps
• following the campaigns for government study
• learning to make a budget
• learning about credit cards and banks

This general outline would allow you to be flexible when needed and give you an idea of what kind of books you would need to get from the library or store, or locate websites ahead of time that offer videos, practice, experiments or lesson plans you can use.

If you are unschooling and are fully against creating a curriculum, keep in mind that your child needs to be exposed to as many topics as possible in order to decide what he or she wants to learn. A very minimal plan, like having a collection of books lying around that your child may want to explore, or offering a selection of various videos to watch, will go a long way to helping your child discover his or her own educational path. If you are required to file an education plan with the state you are homeschooling in, like you do in Nevada, find out the minimum requirements needed to do so, so that you are allowed maximum flexibility (and still feel like you are being honest). In Nevada, you only need to list your educational supplies, so a plan could look something like this:

English, reading, writing, composition:
• books of poetry, mythology, biographies and fiction
• dictionary
• online encyclopedia
• newspapers
• journal and other writing supplies

Math:
• learning measurements with cooking
• learning time with clock and datebook
• calculator
• learning money on shopping trips

Science:
• videos on the ocean
• videos on insects
• book on the body systems
• book of science experiments
• Discovery Kids magazine
• Zoobooks

Social studies:
• history museums
• government participation (helping with campaign)
• child's atlas
• maps
• learning budgeting with allowance

This plan allows you to work around your normal life as you would if you are unschooling, but also is a reminder that you are constantly teaching your child and that every opportunity can be used as an educational opportunity.

Field trips still rock

I believe most people who went to public school would agree that the best days were the ones on which we took field trips. Field trips were a break from the norm and despite our best efforts to just have fun and forget that we were at school, we still learned something.

Well, why would we home-schooling parents take that excitement away from our students? Field trips are still very cool and our children will learn a lot. Kids do learn best when they are having fun.

On a recent camping trip Nick and I took to Great Basin National Park, I took advantage of every educational opportunity (because I'm that way). We took the Lehman Caves tour (the longer 90-minute one) and had fun. The tour guide, of course, was filled with information about how the caves formed, the different kinds of formations you'll find in the caves, the life inside the caves and the recent human involvement.

The cool thing about Lehman Caves is the very rare shield formations. There are about 300 of them inside the caves. Also because there's minimal life inside the cave (the tour guide said the largest was a small scorpion) we could take lots of flash photography without disturbing any precious ecosystems.

So I came up with a pretty cool slideshow (and learned a lot about Garage Band and iMovie with this one) that I want to share. In a couple of the photos you will see what looks like black writing on the ceiling and some of the stalagmites are broken off. The black writing is actually old graffiti. Decades ago, people were allowed to take a tour all by themselves and they would take candles and burn their names or initials into the ceiling. They were also allowed to take souvenirs, so that's why many of the stalagmites were broken. We were told if we touched anything, we'd disrupt the continuing growth inside the caves because the oils on our hands would prevent water from flowing in that spot. We were also told that if we were caught touching anything, we'd be escorted out and talking to law enforcement agents.

When we were on our way back up, he asked us all to stand in this one area (where the previous tourists had burned their names into the ceiling) and asked us if we were at all nervous about standing 200 feet below the surface in a highly active earthquake area. None of us were until he mentioned that. Luckily, he put our fears to rest by saying when an earthquake hits an empty cavern underground, it doesn't cause everything to come crashing down. The waves just cause a loud echoing noise, which he demonstrated once we got back to the entrance.

If you live in the area or are visiting Eastern Nevada, I highly recommend taking the tour. They don't allow children under 5 to take the longer tour, probably because of the longer walk. Passages sometimes are very narrow and it would be extremely difficult to carry a tired child through the tour. They also recommend you buy tickets at least a day or more in advance in order to make sure you get the tour you want.

Positive attitude goes a long way for dyslexics

Is a really creative mind the cause of dyslexia or is dyslexia the cause of a really creative mind?

Every time I read a book or story written (or directed) by someone who is dyslexic, they either see their condition as a gift or a curse.

I really enjoy the ones who see it as a gift because they have a really positive attitude, a strong spirit, and despite being told they were stupid when they were younger, they persevere like nobody's business.

That is the kind of attitude I want my son to have. He knows that dyslexia causes him trouble, but he also knows that he's intelligent and creative and much better than me at video games. OK, he's much better than me at a lot of things. I think the fight he puts up to conquer his dyslexic symptoms will give him the fight he needs to conquer the successes out there waiting for him.

...
The most passionate books written by a dyslexic person (who struggled for years to write them) are written by Victor Villasenor. The first book of his I read was Burro Genius: A Memoir. It is so beautifully written and really helps you understand the life of a dyslexic person who has always been told he was stupid and would never amount to anything. You get to see inside his mind and feel his feelings. This book is not for the weak, but as parents or caregivers of dyslexic children, we should all try to understand what their lives are like. I cried not just for Victor but for my mom and all who grew up and went to school before dyslexia was truly understood. I highly, highly recommend this book and others written by Villasenor. And don't worry, after the sad parts are the really great revelations that make your mind spin and let you know that everything will be OK.

Beauty in the basin

Nick and I recently took a trip to Great Basin National Park, here in Nevada. It's a geologic wonder, containing the second highest mountain in Nevada (Wheeler Peak at more than 13,000 feet high). It's a very beautiful area and it was a nice, relaxing little vacation for us.

I always look out for wildflowers, new birds and cool rock formations when I go on a trip. Here's a few of the wildflowers we saw on the trip. Soon, I'll post a slideshow of the tour we took in Lehman Caves which is a geologic wonder on its own. Enjoy!

Recognizing personal victories

We had two personal victories yesterday that I just have to share.

The first involves Nick's pet mouse Jessica. I always feed our rodents fresh fruit and vegetables because it helps extend their short little lives. But Jessica didn't seem interested in them. I worry because mice are omnivorous and it's important for them to have their vegetables. She wouldn't touch carrots, leafy greens, or even some fruits. You can get children to eat a lot of different kinds of fruit but not this mouse. (It was so much easier to get Nick to eat his vegetables than this mouse!)

After much experimenting I found she'd at least eat blueberries, blackberries and watermelon, but that was pretty much it. So I continue to put different kinds of fruits and vegetables in her food dish in the hopes that we will find something she'll eat. (Don't worry, she eats her nuts and seeds.)

So yesterday when I put a small bit of zucchini in her bowl, I assumed it would stay there and dry up. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw it mostly eaten a few hours later!

Yea! Now I am filled with hope that I can get this mouse to eat her vegetables. I have a lot of squash options I think. Maybe I can try cucumber, but I think I may have tried that before. In any case, I'm just so excited.

Want some educational value in this? Well, Nick and I learned mice have individual tastes too. We had one mouse that would eat cilantro of all things, and one that preferred carrots and pumpkin seeds. My rat isn't that picky but he won't eat the celery stalk, just the leaves. It's crazy I tell you.

• • •
The second victory is probably more exciting than the first for any mom.

Every time I start to load the dishwasher I have to wander the house looking for stray dishes that somehow didn't make it to the sink. I allow Nick to take his drinks and snacks to his room (he has a table to put them on) with the warning that he needs to bring his dishes back to the sink when he is done. I never really expect that he'll do it without constant reminders, so I frequently go back to his room to give him those reminders. Still, the dishes seem to multiply while on his table in his room.

So in the morning, I went to his room to gather dishes to put in the dishwasher and there were four cups, a bowl and a plate sitting on his table. They all appeared overnight apparently. In my calmest, mom-like pleading, I again mentioned that he needed to remember to bring his dishes to the sink when he was done. He apologized AGAIN and we went on with our day.

At night, he took a hotdog and apple juice to his room. I knew full well that plate and cup would remain in there if I didn't go back and gently remind him to take them to the sink. About 20 minutes after he went into his room, I went back. I looked at the table and they were gone. I wasn't sure what happened. I asked him where they were and he said he took them to the sink (with that "duh, mom" tone like he did this all the time). I was shocked and I think I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, not sure what to say next.

THEN, to top it all off, he had his retainers on! He had already brushed his teeth without me asking him to do so. I was floored. That's two in a row where I didn't have to remind him to do something.

So, like any mom wishing to have this happen more often, I feverishly praised and thanked him. Yippee! I'm so happy!

Now I'm going to go check his computer desk to see if the chocolate milk cup is still there.

The Last Airbender movie disappointing

My son, Nick, and I have been following the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" show on Nickelodeon since it first started showing. I love the show. It is beautiful and moving, funny and suspenseful, and all over wonderful. I love the message it sends of finding peace through non-killing ways. I wouldn't say nonviolent because Aang, the Avatar, must still fight in order to stay alive and save people from the Fire Nation, but he has a rule that he lives by and that is not to kill.

So when we heard about the live action movie coming out (probably due in part to their awards and nominations for the cartoon), Nick and I were so very excited. We wondered how they would throw three seasons worth of material into a couple of hours and pondered the idea that they may break it up into separate movies so they would be able to truly tell the story (which is what they did).

We had been counting the days until it came out. Finally July 1 arrived and we all (our whole adopted family) decided to go this weekend. We were so excited to finally be able to see it on the big screen.

Horrible. That's all I can say.
What a huge disappointment! I can't imagine the writers for the TV show were involved at all in the movie because it had none of the personality that made the show so wonderful. I highly doubt the writers or director of this movie ever saw the series. The characters were not well developed. They didn't even pronounce the characters names the same way they did in the show. The plot and scenes were all out of order. Some of the very important characters were not in it at all and some of the most important parts (like the ending scene of the movie) were completely fabricated (and very badly at that).

There were parts of the movie where, if you had not followed the series like Nick and I did, you would not have known what was going on. There were other parts where, if you did follow the series, you would have said, "What the ...? Where did that come from?" Even as a follower of the show, I was lost in some parts.

And the pace was just gut wrenching. It was so dull and slow at the beginning. I felt for sure it was going to pick up and we'd have our wonderful story, but it never did. It just kept going on and on and on.

And the humor from the show was just tossed out. The thing that made the show so wonderful was its full range of emotion. Aang, the main character, is just a goofy kid and Sokka, the Southern Water Tribe warrior, was comic relief throughout the show. But in the movie, everything was serious and there was no fun at all. I recall about three humorous parts in the whole movie. That's it.

I'm not difficult to entertain
I'm no movie critic. I'm not that picky when it comes to movies, so it is really bad when I decide about 20 or so minutes into it that I want to leave. I had this huge hope that it would get better, but it didn't. The final scene (the totally fabricated one) had some decent special effects, but still wasn't worth the money I paid to see it.

We were all very disappointed. Those of us who followed the show felt it could have been so much better. Everything was already written for a screen, so it wasn't like they had to make it all up. The scenery and everything was already laid out for them, but they clearly paid no attention to the actual show when producing this film. I understand some embellishment here and there, but they took a beautiful idea and destroyed it.

And for those of our group who did not follow the series, they were a bit confused and bored. They were more impressed by the special effects because they didn't realize it wasn't supposed to be that way.

Don't go
I know the temptation to go see something even when everyone else it saying it's horrible. You have to see for yourself. Maybe your tastes are different. Well, I will remind you that bad movies like this come out on DVD quickly so they can recoup their losses as quickly as possible. If you must see it, wait until then and rent it. Otherwise, save yourself the money and heartache. I was so saddened that they ruined the beauty of the show like they did. If you are a follower of the show, don't see it. It will disgust you too.

Thankful for my baby

I just heard from a friend who had lost her baby. She and her husband were so excited, but that all came crashing down a week and a half ago.

I feel thankful that I had no complications when I was pregnant and everything went as planned. Nick, so named when I was 4 months along in pregnancy, was bouncy on the inside and still bouncy now 12 years later.

No matter what kind of complications we have now with his education, personality and just growing up, I thank God every day I have him.

We should all be thankful for what we have.

Teaching him to be the best he can be

When I had my son tested for dyslexia, they did several tests on him to gain an idea of his overall intelligence and abilities.

After all the testing, we discovered that my suspicions of dyslexia were true. But we also discovered that his IQ is really high, but only because it was skewed by one score in particular. All the other areas he was tested in, he scored in the average range, but in an area called perceptual reasoning he scored off the charts (literally).

I asked what "perceptual reasoning" meant and I was told it probably meant he was good at LEGOs and would probably do well in engineering in the future.

Flashback
When I was in high school all the kids had to take an assessment that was going to let us know what career would suit us. I was a good student and I learned easily, so I did well on the test on all parts. It was decided I'd be good in the engineering field.

No one really explained what that meant to me and I decided it must have something to do with math and I despise math. So, I got a degree in Literature and work in graphic arts. I decided being creative appealed to me a lot more than math.

If someone had taken the time to explain exactly what engineering really meant, especially the part where you get to be incredibly creative AND you get paid more, then my life would have taken a drastically different turn.

I do appreciate my education in art and literature, but maybe the grass is greener on the other side? Oh well, c'est la vie.

In the here and now
So, back to the situation at hand. I still don't know exactly what the high score in "perceptual reasoning" means to my son.

I started thinking: How do I use this information to his advantage? How do I turn him into the best engineer he could be? How do I find out what he would be really good at AND enjoy? Most importantly, how do I go about teaching him?

He was already fascinated by architecture and I had already gotten him a book on famous buildings in the world. He really does love his Legos. He loves building, and has shown an incredible interest in video games that have build levels.

Well, I think I just answered many of my questions. The thing I really needed to do was just let him discover on his own what he'd like to do. However, while letting him explore on his own, I watched and shared in his fascinations. That helped me steer him along his path.

No schedule for us
I couldn't have done that though with a regular school schedule. (Yes, this is another shameless plug for unschooling.)

In public school they spend the first month or so of every new school year reteaching the things they feel certain the children must have forgotten over the summer. Then instead of going on to new areas of study, they just "enhance" upon the same old information taught the year before.

In the two years I had put my son back in public school (after having him out for a few years), they taught him all the same math skills, all the same literary skills, all the same history information, etc. In his second year of math it was addition again for the first six weeks. They increased the number of digits he had to add, but really once you teach a kid to carry over the excess really good, it doesn't matter how many digits you have.

I put him back in public school thinking I could get help with his dyslexia. Boy was I wrong. I knew we were going to be better off going back to home schooling.

Off on tangents
When I first started homeschooling, I created a curriculum and tried my best to stick to it. But as I was working with my son, we would go off on tangents. He really likes to talk about what he's learning and really likes to express himself and his ideas. I'm NOT about to put a stop to that. NO WAY! So I started letting him explore.

I didn't realize I was unschooling at the time (I didn't know the term for it). But I know it's right for us now.

I would suggest unschooling to anyone who doesn't like to squeeze into a schedule. First of all, you don't feel any pressure to get a certain worksheet done or get a certain writing project out of the way.

Secondly, when your children do want to explore something, you can let them. Why in the world would you put a limit on a child's desire to learn something? That's why I love unschooling. I love, love, love to learn new things, but I only learned to love learning when I got into college and got to choose what I wanted to learn.

So I decided to let my son learn the college lifestyle now and learn what he wants to learn. He's still gets a healthy dose of math, writing, literature, history, science, art and more. It's all included; it's just a part of everyday life. And the whole goal of an education is to gets kids ready for living life, right?

•••
I don't know if it was the LEGOs that made my son smarter, or if it was because he was smart that he was so good with them. Every year for birthdays and Christmas, he begs for more LEGOs. I figure if they are helping him learn more about being an engineer, then why not! One of the co-founders of Google made a printer out of LEGOs when he was in college. Must be great toys!