Flat Marcus

My cousin's kid is reading Flat Stanley in their Kindy class and we are the lucky recipients of his self-portrait flat person, Flat Marcus. This is the first of this we have ever done before.

Now, the instructions said to take *a* photo of Flat Marcus and to write about our community. But I'm what they label an "over-achiever".

Here is Flat Marcus peeping from our mailbox.

We took him to many places but here are some highlights. Above: Raymond James Stadium home of the Bucs. Below: Flat Marcus tanning himself on Clearwater Beach. (note: I laminated him because I knew were were going to get him wet and I am supposed to send him back).

He visited University of Tampa and the Plant Museum which looks like a fairy tale castle.

It said sending a souviner was "optional" but we all know that to over-achievers optional means must. So, Flat Marcus will go back to three dimensional Marcus with some beach sand and rabbit wool.

And being that this is set for Kindy aged kids, I had the brilliant idea of creating a photo book instead of filling out a boring old survey. We included a map of where we live (printed off Google maps) along with dots to show the places Flat Marcus went. Each page opens like a book with one side the photo and the other descriptions of our lives, community and where we took Flat Marcus.

I tried to write it like a story book, making it easy for Kindy kids to understand with short sentences for each photo and still be somewhat exciting.

I mailed it out this morning and completely forgot to take a photo of the book before it got packed away with a small baggie of super soft white beach sand and super soft white bunny fur.

I hope I the kids get an opportunity to do this again soon!

Engrossed

I learned my lesson the last time I made pita bread, that cranking up the oven to 500F during an 100 degree day just isn't really very smart. So today, now that the weather has turned to cooler days that hint at autumn, I thought it would be a great treat to make today.

Learning still, from my tendency to just do it myself rather than letting the kids help, I let the kids help. Home Economics has become a core subject.

I was really happy with their ability to use a rolling pin. Though I mixed up the dough in the Kitchenaid and manned the fires of Hell oven, there wasn't a whole lot else for them to do.

Don't mind the marker on her hand, it won't wash off so I didn't worry about it getting in the food. Who bought non-washable markers anyway? Oh, me. Right.  



I have found that I actually crave good pita bread with a generous smearing of raw, local honey more than chocolate chip cookies. And that is really saying something. 

My favorite quote of this whole thing was Olivia exclaiming "Oh my God, we're EATING SCHOOL!"

Behaivor vs. Consequence

Some of you know I'm currently working on an AA in Early Childhood Education. I really have no desire to become a standard public school teacher at any point, it was honestly just a whimsical choice at the beginning of my studies. It seems that whatever guided me down this path was spot on. Though not for the purpose of educating the masses, the curriculum is helping me discover things about homeschooling and parenting that I had learned but forgotten over the stressful years of schooling, single parenting and birthing many, many kids.

One of the lessons I have re-learned is the value of behaivor versus consequence and the rationalizations of a young mind. Some of you may know this, it might be new to others, and yet still, some may be like me and have learned it but lost the knowledge.

Consequences have no value if they are not directly related to the behaivor.

Read that again.

Absorb it.

Read it a third time if you need to. I did.

I can't tell you how many times I've been at the end of my rope disciplining my kids. I get so frustrated and angry that behaivor correcting becomes reduced to harsh punishment that doesn't correlate to the unacceptable actions. I'm not perfect and that's okay, only if I strive to be better.

Many times I've sent the kids to be early, put them in time out, or taken away privedges based on behaivor I didn't take the time to understand. How can a young mind rationalize that the punishment for not cleaning their rooms when asked becomes early bedtimes? The room is still a mess, going to bed has nothing to do with messy play. And by the time we're done arguing and yelling over their lack of obedience the kids are crying, I'm angry and neither is a good way to form relationships with others. The work will be there in the morning and the consequence if they are still not cleaning will be something dramatically different at nine a.m.

How can a child understand what is expected of them if they haven't been taught? A dog is obedient, a child is not. Yelling and screaming only pushes the young mind to detatch from the present. Long drawn out discussions (which is usually just the parent talking) have them zoning out even if you get a head nod at the appropriate time. A child doesn't learn to obey, they learn to live in a socially acceptable way with those around them based on self control not parental control.

Applying the proper consequence to an undesireable behaivor links the two together in a child's mind. Consistentcy in consequences is another key to helping children understand what is acceptable and what is not. As is realistic parent expectations. These are based on the emotional and physical skill level of the child which you can find information on based on age. These standards can help you determine what is acceptable for you to expect at any given developmental stage and to curb your unrealistic expecations to their level.

The younger the child, the more immediate the consequences should be. Telling a three year old that because they stayed up too late at night last night and therefore needs to go to bed earlier tonight creates confusion and will most likely result in a difficult bedtime. There is too far a space between behaivor and consequence. Though an eight year old might be able to rationalize that consequence.

The goal of consequence (which can be negative or positive) is to create an environment where unacceptable behaivors are undesireable to the child based on experiences that reinforce positive social behaivors. Not based on fear.

Did you get that? They're not based on fear.

Physical or emotional abuse might get your child to respond but they'll be looking for loop-holes. They'll continue the behaivor if they think they can get away with it. There is no inner desire to control behaivor other than fear of punishment which is a whole nother blog post and completely different from consequence.

Punishment and Consequence are not the same.

These past few days I've been really taking a look at how I respond to behaivor in my kids. It's hard to always be patient, loving and kind when I am tired, frazzled and busy. The few additional moments it will take me to properly redirect and apply consequences for undesireable behaivor will save me time later on when they are at a maturity level that has higer self-control.

I urge you to look at your parenting skills and see if there is an area you could brush up on. Becoming parents didn't have our brains automatically downloading The Good Parent Handbook and life can sometimes get in the way of knowledge we've previously accumulated.

Parenting is a full time job, we need to keep current on our skills, recognize when we've lapsed and work towards being the loving, caring parents we know we can be. Remember, we're raising people that will someday be parents themselves our jobs here are crucial.

Smithsonian Museum Day Sept 25th

Don't forget to claim your ticket for free admission for one person plus guest valid on September 25th, 2010 from Smithsonian Museum. There are hundreds of museums participating in this program. We're going to use ours to visit Cracker Country, a local Florida Pioneer historical museum.

Last week I won one of Cracker Country's Electronic Field Trip DVD's. With my procrastination issues, giving me a deadline field trip of the 25th to get our lessons in really helps.

What museum are you planning on attending?

Pompom garland and Unschooling.

I saw somewhere online a string of pompom garland. I can't recall where the inspiration came from so I can't site it here but I did want to say that this is not an original-me idea. After seeing it, though, I've been itching to make it for my girl's room.

Today, we set out to get supplies for our project. I've been trying to make a concious effort to school my kids where ever life takes us. It's a whole new approach that I have tried to embrace in the past though have never been able to get institutional instruction fully out of my head; Desks + tomes + quiet = learning. I've changed a lot lately. This is one place I think I'm succeeding.

We went to the store, gathered up our goodies, talked about money and budgets. I only had a certain small dollar amount to spend and I find being honest with the kids about where we stand financially helps them to understand I can't afford everything in the whole friggin store. We discussed coupons and sales, finances and how wages are earned, all while walking the aisles of the craft store.

When we left the next store didn't open for 9 whole minutes. For those of you without kids, let me just clarify that children are not patient beings. Nine mintues outside a store in the heat with five impatient people can drive you over the edge. So, we went for a walk.

We looked at the plants that grow outside the building. We picked a few flowers, saw some bugs. We watched a huge flock of birds at least a hundred feet up in the sky, circling. Something I'd have missed if I was head down, arguing with a three year old. This led to a discussion on scavenger birds, birds of prey and carrion. My oldest and I figured out how many minutes we'd have to walk one way before having to turn back if we wanted to get to the store exactly at ten. We mentally tried to factor in rate of walking and other scenarios like pace, leg length, if it started raining and if you ran into obstacles.

Who knew so much could be learned in nine minutes outside of Best Buy?

Then coming home I spied a neighbor had left some small pieces of a tree they cut down on the curb. They'd been there for days and I hated to see them get thrown in the trash. So, we went down the street and had log roll races back to the house. It beat gym class dodgeball, by far.

With the baby in bed and the kids cooled off with some homemade lemonade we set about making pompoms. Lots. And Lots. of pompoms.

The girls wrapped the special pompom shaper things with their chosen colors. And carefully cut them apart before I tied them together.

I'm a little sad to say they ended up abandoning me to the last of the pompom making.

But not before we talked about how many would fit in a twelve inch space if we spaced them by different intervals. How many we'd need if we wanted garland made X long. Then talked about what kind of patterns we could make.

It's saddening to me how much I have let slip by because of preconcieved notions on education. How much of my kids thought processes I've dismissed because I was too busy and didn't feel like involving them. It's wildly amazing to hear them problem solve and come up with ideas that I never thought of.

When I involve them in my whole life it's no difficulty to appreciate and be impressed by them. We get along better and problems work themselves out before I grow irritated and angry. They want to talk to me and learn and explore and play.

And there is no reason why it all can't be done together.

Sewing with Kids

Sewing is a passion of mine. I love perusing stores, ogling beautiful fabric and imagining fantastic creations coming to life under the foot of my machine. I love making things for pennies what costs dollars in the stores. My kids watch me sew. Much of what I make is for them so they have a vested interest in my creations.

But they don't like to sit idly by while I get to play with all the cool fabrics and gadgets. They want to create, too. We've done one sewing lesson a few months back which was a huge success. The pillows are still in use. They ask me continuously when we're going to have another lesson but time just hasn't allowed for it.

When we went to the fair earlier in the year, the kids each won a fairly large stuffed toy. I hate these things. They're made of scratchy, cheap fabric filled with those little styrafoam balls. They take up about 6 square feet of my tiny house and make a terrible crunching sound when they're hugged. It makes my skin crawl like nails on a chalkboard.

So, when they ripped I left them on my sewing desk. I gave the kids excuses about how busy I am and how it prevents me from fixing these holes in their beloved toys. I had hopes that I could secretly toss them out when they weren't paying attention and they'd never realize it. Yes, sometimes I employ subterfuge. Unfortunately, I was thwarted. They incessantly asked me when I'd get to fixing their toys so they could resume loving them to tiny pieces. I finally got sick of it today.

I made up a little sewing kit for the kids that I had intended to introduce them to when they were "old enough". But with our new ideas of unschooling, their requests for repair turned into teaching.

I've found that telling a child they cannot touch something because it is dangerous only fuels curiosity. Not to say that certain dangers shouldn't be avoided but sometimes education when they are interested helps build respect. I've found this true with sewing. Telling my three and five year olds "NO!" that pins will hurt and poke them has tiny fingers itching to grasp those shiny little pearls that stick out of my stuffed pumpkin. Showing them what they are used for, giving them the opportunity to use them curbs desires and forms respect. Pins are tools, not toys.

We discussed the parts of a needle, how fabric was woven and the importance of working to fix things we own instead of wastefully discarding them.

They learned how thread and needle come together to mend and create.

They worked for what they wanted instead of pushing it off on me.

They grew in confidence while they concentrated.

And were delighted that their hands made results that impacted their own lives.

Cordelia's fair toy didn't have a seam to mend so I introduced her to a stitch ripper. She was so proud when she finished as she was aiding me with my projects. And I was proud of each of them.

Sometimes, I forget how talented and "old enough" my kids are. Sometimes, the easier way of doing it myself or not doing it at all takes away the opportunity to involve the kids in our whole lives.

Me and Failure? We're tight like this.

I'm thinking of writing a book called Crystal's Homestead Disaster Manual. What do you think?

In a long line of Things That Have Gone Wrong, including failing my semester exam yesterday, another rabbit died this morning. Or sometime last night. Hard to tell with rigor set in and voided bowels strewn around the cage.

I am trying very, very, very, very hard not to get depressed or cry over this. But the long running streak of failure has my head full of doubt over whether this is the right path for me. I'm questioning everything.

"I failed one small section of my exam which I can retake tomorrow" turns into "maybe I'm not a smart enough person to be college educated. Why do I need a degree anyway I'm a stay at home mom?" 

"My little rabbit that never really seemed to grow like the other doe I got at the same time, just unexpectedly died." morphs to "Rabbits hate me. If I can't keep a rabbit alive more than a few weeks maybe I should just scrap the whole homesteading thing and sell off the remaining three to homes where people have a harder time killing things."

The small fig tree covered in ripening fruit I bought yesterday after my FAILURE notice in a bout of I-need-instant-gratification-to-make-me-feel-like-less-of-a-loser is now a mocking reminder of my own fig I bought two years ago that has yet to produce anything.

I can go on and tell you all the crappy things that are going around right now like how we're all getting sick, how my car now is having problems, how my new spinning wheel is crooked and either defective or I've somehow bent it and I can't really use it...but I really don't want to get even more depressive than I already am.

I'm trying, truly, to see the good that's around me but it's so very hard. I try and focus on something to help lift me up and I just get more frustrated and more overwhelmed. I'm locked in my confused head with a sore heart and am struggling to pull myself up out of this ditch I've dug. If anyone has words of wisdom or sage advice, I'd love to hear it. Even just a "wow, that is shitty." or a virtual pat on the back would be so very much appreciated.

I've been quiet

Lately, it's been hard to get my thoughts and feelings together to make an adequate blog post here. There's so much going on and realizations and developments with me internally, I've been at a loss on how to express that in written words. Or even if any of it is meritous enough to be put to print.

How could I make a compelling read if I can't even sort my own faculties out?

The honest truth is right now I'm nervous, scared, intimidated and desperate. Things that don't bode well for good parenting, let alone a good blog post. I feel scattered and lost. If I think too hard about any one thing or the whole mess of everything that threatens to topple down on me, my eyes get moist and my throat hitches. Such is how I have been feeling lately.

But isn't that part of all this? To let everyone in the world know that I am no different than anyone else? That I too, have dips in my life as well as high points? Though, when I'm in a dip it seems the highs are never attainable and are so very, very few. This blog is a chronicle of my days and I try and fill what I share with open honesty. Just looking back at my own posts is a reminder that there is hope. There have been other times when I've felt this way, lost in a sea of never ending tidal waves and the days have passed by and what had seemed an unsurmountable mountain looming before me had slowly become reduced to mere pebbles under my feet.

This vast mountaious range that sits blocks me now is no different, even if my heart wimpers at the work to be done. It seems like too much and it is a lot. More than most would care to tackle especially with the number of passengers I am taking on this trip. Though my heart might tremble and my head feel disorganized, just to sit here and not start the climb is unaccepable to both. It is just merely not an option.

Today, I am making tiny steps as I do everyday, though it's hard to notice. In a few short hours I will go sit for my first semseter exam. Completely unprepared -because there really is no way to prepare other than taking the classes I'll be quizzed on- but I'll go and I'll do it and I'll give it my best. This one boulder before me will become that little pebble under my boot.

Which is really all I can -and will- do for the rest of it.

Aztecs, Mayans and Incans...Oh, my!

Yesterday we finished up our unit study on Aztecs, Mayans and Incans. I used the thematic unit pictured below. I really enjoy these books. They use a mix of fiction and non-fiction books and incorporate many different types of topics for a well-rounded lesson on their own. Plus, they're reasonably priced!

Over the course of the past few weeks we've read a fiction book on the Mayans (The Corn Grows Ripe) and another on the Incans (Secrets of the Andes). We've watched short animated movies through Brain Pop and did vocabulary, geography and tests through there as well.

We watched Cracking the Mayan Code, a PBS movie through NetFlix streaming, last week. Then we read the DK Aztecs non-fiction book and discussed all the things we've learned about them and the Conquistadors. We also read Amazing Mayan Inventions and made drawings of our own inventions. I printed out things through Enchanted Learning for some Mexico worksheets including coloring the Mexico flag.

With our heads swimming with codices, step pyramids and gold we rounded out our studies with a hands-on project: Geosafari's Mayan Dig.

I found this on clearance at my local Lakeshore Learning. Even not on sale it's a fairly good price. It comes with a very comprehensive booklet with math problems and little worksheets for the artifacts you find. You could really do a fairly complete lesson just with this kit. There is a little scraper and paint brush and a clay brick. Alex has been anxious to do this for awhile.

It's a lot more work than you'd think, scraping away slivers of clay while trying to find the four artifacts hidden within. He held his own for a good bit.

But then his hands got tired so I took over. It would have been better if his sisters got into it more. Then they could have swapped scraping jobs. Apparently, being an archeologist isn't as much fun as Indy makes it look.

Finally we found something!

What is it?! What could it be!? The kids were delighted when we started pulling out items and it renewed their enthusiasm for the tedious task of scraping the clay. I think that euphoria is what archeologists live for. Maybe they just like getting dirty, too.

I was actually quite impressed with the size and quality of the "artifacts" in the kit. The three big kids are outside playing archeologist and curator as I type.

Now, on to Ancient Egypt. I have a Dig kit for that too!

Laundry Learning

*first published on Project Laundry List  http://www.laundrylist.org/en/blog2/laundry-learning.html 

"I hate laundry." I hear these harsh words a lot throughout my mom friends. And, truth be told, when there is a lot going on around here, laundry can feel that way. But recently I've been taking a new approach to Laundry Day. I call it Laundry Learning. As a homeschooling family five -three of which are school aged- I like to pull lessons from every day life. It makes things go smoother, lets me get more done and infuses boring lessons with necessary -and fun- life skills. Yes, I've turned laundry into a school lesson.

Not only do little helpers make the work lighter, they can also do some basic learning skills. The three year old can tell me the color of whatever she's hanging or attribute it to a certain member of the family. The kindergarteners can match, practice hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. We can make patterns with the clothes on the lines. Older kids can do fractions with folding, discuss global warming and energy reduction, solar energy use and track weather patterns. We can estimate and count the number of pins it takes to hang the clothes.


Learning is everywhere, even in the most mundane and disliked chores. Try out Laundry Learning and see how it can transform your lines.

Farmer U

A few months ago I sent in my eighty dollars to Penn State to enroll in their online Beginner Farmer Course. The nine unit lesson is broken up by different farming categories which you can take in order or break up as you need with no time limits on completion. There's a general overview of farming, fruit or vegetable farming, farm implements and safety and others.

I finished my first course a few weeks ago. Wow.

At first, while I was reading the materials I wasn't sure if it was going to work for me. The reading material is based on Agriculture in Pennsylvania, of which I am ridiculously far from. But the lesson worksheet had nothing to do with PA. It focused on my soil, my region, my farm.

I was asked to question my little five acre's land formations, soil content and farm viability. What and how would I sell my products to become an in-the-black farm? What are long term goals as well as starting out ventures? What is biosecurity and how is it applicable to my farming procedures?

I sent in my worksheet via email to the instructor who got back to me faster than I expected. He asked further questions, requesting I elaborate on points I made in my answers. Probing me to dive further into the land I already own and my visions for it. He was patient and informative, giving me more resources to look at and leaving me with an open invitation to ask more questions.

It was wonderful and eye-opening and only the first of nine lessons. Thinking about that bare five acres in real ways is molding the vision into something that just might be. There is so much I don't know about managing a successful income sustaining farm, or even a hobby farm. Hell, I've never even held a chicken before. Having to take an indepth, hard look at what I really have to work with and want to accomplish makes having these dreams that much closer to reality even if I don't get to pet the livestock.

There are a couple other courses through Cornell that start up after the growing season is over in late September that I'll be looking into. They're more expensive but learning is just about all I can do right now. I'm greedy for information. I heard a funny quote once that has stuck with me, though I can't site the source:

"Read, read, read. Learn all you can about the animals you want to keep. And then remember, they didn't read the same books."

Alphabet Scramble Game -Tutorial

This is a fun homeschool game that combines reading, spelling and writing. It helps exercise imaginative and problem solving skills and can be exciting and fun too! I call it Alphabet Scramble. It costs less than five bucks to make and can be used for multiple grade levels.

I bought these tiles from Michales. With a 40% off coupon they came out to be about $2.50 (reg. $3.99)  for the package of sixty tiles. If you have a scrabble game that you can recycle the cost will be much less.

Materials

One 8x12 piece of canvas
ribbon or braided string approx 12" or a lone shoestring
Fabric Marker or permanant marker
Alphabet tiles or recycled scrabble tiles

Using the canvas and ribbon make a drawstring bag. You can really make this any size as long as hands can get into it to pull out tiles. Mine has ties on only one side. I used a scrap piece of canvas to write the name of the game on it with the fabric markers and attached this to the front of the bag.

Fill it up with the tiles.

Set your kid to work.

You can change the rules of the game to suit the skill you want to improve. Alex took a handful of tiles and has to write five words at least four letters long. I had him write the set of letters he pulled out above each set of words he wrote. (Creation was the biggest one so far!)

For the littler girls, that are kindy/1st grade, I'll have them make three letter words. You could add a timer, set a certain number of tiles to pull out, play a game where two people go head to head, making words with the same letters and then compare after giving points for each word or number of letters used in each word. There are a lot of possibilities with the game.

I'd love to hear your own Alphabet Scramble game stories!

That's not homeschooling. Oh, wait...

Before anyone says it...yes, I know one of the kids is still in pj's while we're homeschooling. I don't really encourage dressing on days when we're not going out and there's noone visiting. It creates more laundry. Don't judge.

I just wanted to share with you another facet of homeschooling; it happens everywhere and anywhere. Like the kitchen floor. I'm not exactly sure why they decided this would be the place to do some art. They have desks of their own, though they're a bit small, and the dining room table too but this day they decided to triangulate here. Each equipped with their own project.

Perhaps it's was because they could spread out. Discarding their scraps any ol' place around them.

Or maybe because it made collaborating just a bit easier.

Whatever the reason, when I see stuff like this I have to take a deep breath, quell that inner freak that thinks they should be at name-labeled desks (we used to have them) sitting quietly (they're listening to The Avett Brothers whom I'm currently obsessed with) creating something that has step-by-step directions and looks the same as everyone elses (I'm actually not sure what they ended up doing).

Then, I have to reassure that institutionalized freak that they are, in fact, learning. They're cooperating. They're talking nicely to each other. Doing that socialization thing everyone is so hopped up about. They're appreciating music and experiencing sounds of different instruments (they play a wicked banjo and Livi loves the banjo). They're creating, imagining, using scissors (fine motor skills) and tape (that's mixed media, ya know), sharing and doing something they love, not something I forced them to do.

Sometimes, learning is just all in how you look at life. At least, I'm learning that.

Heifer Homeschool

I posted last month about our decision to gift shares of livestock through Heifer International. We donated braces of rabbits and flocks of chicks to the adults in our lives. I'm a fan of the Heifer FaceBook page and this month was rewarded with a wonderful website: Heifer Education.

Holy cow! (pun intended) I wish I had stumbled across this before we made our donation gifts last year. But that's alright. Now I can integrate these lessons throughout the year which will make 2010's holiday gift giving that much better. I have big plans for these lessons!

I'll be talking to my church about the possibility of a Locavore sermon, informing them on the importance of local food consumption. We'll be heading to some local farms to learn about our local produce and how food travels.

I'm going to put the word out to do a Read to Feed with our local homeschool chapters, raising money to donate to Heifer while encouraging reading.

 
The main site offers free interactive games, worksheet print outs, maps, lesson plans and a whole lot more. Wow, global food awareness and livestock. Two of my favorite things. And if that's not reason enough, it's free.

Right now, Heifer is spreading the word. They're focusing their efforts towards Haiti relief. You can read more about it here. The people o Haiti lost everything, including life supporting livestock. Consider sending them a tax deductable donation today and teach your kids about the importants of global food awareness at the same time.

Home School Signing

For our home school we have chosen to learn ASL for our second language. It has been a fun and rewarding addition to our education. The kids and my own. Amelia (and Max) have been exposed to signing since birth. Emmy knows roughly fifty to seventy signs. Alex is getting really good at finger spelling and reading. Livi and Cordi use signs to communicate with Emmy which eases some of the two-year-old frustrations she has.

Emmy almost never talks without at least signing a few things. Weeks ago, she fell off the bunk bed and had a mild concussion, the paramedics looked at me like I had three heads when I said "She's not signing!!!" Their response was "Oh, is she deaf?" which she isn't and they discredited her lack of signing but to me, signing goes hand and mouth with her communication skills and her lack of signing was a blaring signal to me something was very wrong. Thankfully, a few hours later both her verbal and signing speech returned.

Our preferred method of learning signs for the little ones is through the Signing Time DVD's.  these colorful, vibrant, musical movies bring signs to life. There are companion CD's, flashcards and books and even an iPhone app. They also have a downloadable free curriculum.

The songs are fun and wonderfully produced making them bearable for repeat play, which their sure to get. It's also totally adorable to see my 2 year old sign "signing time" when she asks to watch. Being able to clarify Emmy's imperfect baby speech by signing has be tremendously helpful to my sanity.

I've just started a signing program through Signing Online which is an online class. Fantastically priced at $50 per course (4 courses total), quick and well done mini movies of signing and cultural education of the Deaf community, Signing Online is a winner for home study. An extra $20 a course and you can receive CEC's nursing and teaching. I plan to finish out the four courses and then start Alex on them possibly next year.

If you're unfamiliar with the benefits of signing to young children, I encourage you to visit the links above and do your own research. Even if you don't pursue it as a second language or communication, signing can still be beneficial and fun.

Olivia signing "Doctor" and Cordelia signing "Bird"