more for you :)
www.unplugyourkids.com
http://kidswhothink.blogspot.com
http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com
www.pepperpaints.com
http://intermissions.typepad.com
http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/

One more for you.

www.toadhaven.com - one stop of ultimate homeschool madness :)

cool websites

check 'em out:

http://www.storynory.com/ - listen online or download free mp3's for children's super cool stories
http://www.poissonrouge.com/ - developed for younger kids but it's trilingual so it's good to work on French and Spanish too.
http://www.krampf.com/ - wicked cool science expiments for kids. watch his FREE science video's
http://www.starfall.com/ - reading help
http://www.amblesideonline.com/ - free curriculum
www.spellingcity.com - spelling help

Learning without books???!!!

It's an awesome feeling you get when you see your child soak up knowledge and the quest for knowledge when they are unaware of the process. What I mean is those questions like, "What's this?" As they show you the prize they found along the local creek (see pic) and you then get to explain the different animals and creatures and the habitats of the creek life. They retain those learning memories so much better. It must go into a different part of their brain. I must say though, I have learned through my daughter's adventures that when she says, "Hey Mom, what's this?" I usually have to prepare myself to turn slowly around and with caution to most likely be presented with something slimy, creepy, crawly, still alive and try to decipher without showing my utter fear what it actually is and whether or not it bites! I love to watch her and her friends in their learning journey! Life is such a great textbook, too bad most of us don't read it ourselves! She sees so much beauty in those creatures that I find repulsive, it's a beautiful thing in itself! I want to be her when I grow up!

ah ha

Re-reading my post for my progress with the Rubik's cube. I saw a trend, sad but true, that exact same process can be applied to my former style of homeschool. Understand this is only an example of my learning process and my desire for something better. I know it's far from ideal and I want to change. Here's my evolution...very similar to the Cube.
1. Try to "solve" J's "puzzle" of education on my own.
2. Look to the internet for constant help, guidance, evaluation of his "puzzle" aka his education.
3. Try to "re-arrange his stickers" with the unspoken motivation that he isn't correctly put together in the first place.
4. Get mad - not at him but at me. Why can't I teach this child? Why isn't my DNA able to produce an "easy, teachable, gifted child"? Why don't I have more brain cells to figure this out?
5. Acceptance. It's okay. This perceived "lack" will not lead to his demise. All is well in my soul.
6. Play with him. Not because I am going to "teach him something" or "fix" him but just for the fun and enjoyment of the game: education.
7. Freedom, peace fullness, joy, relax = ahh haa moment.

Now that I know better, I will to do better.

Reading and the Rubik's

YES!!! I have solved the Rubik's cube without help. It's only taken me only 6 months. Here's the cycle of my progress:
Step 1: try to solve the Cube and come to the conclusion that this Rubik's cube is somehow flawed an incapable of being solved.
Step 2: look up on the internet how to solve the blasted thing...... without success.
Step3: Try to take all the stickers off and rearrange in completed order
Step 4: Those damn stickers are impossible to get off without industrial solvent
Step 5: Get pissed off at the Universe for not giving me more brain cells
Step 6: Accept the fact I am not a genius - I have to admit this was a LOOOOOOng process for me
Step7: Don't touch the cube for 4 months because it is my symbol of a sub-genius IQ
Step 8: Use it to keep my hands busy just for fun with no interest in solving
Step 9: Have an "ahh haa" moment, learn the key, and solve the puzzle
Step 10: board with the whole thing and on to something else

Yesterday when I solved it for the first time something really interesting happened completely unrelated to the Cube. Jake had a piece of the "learning-to-read" puzzle fall into place for him. I think God put those two events together for me. Here's my thoughts.
1. Struggle is normal, appropriate and even necessary. The trick is not to get frustrated by the process. Love the process, accept the process, and allow the process without rushing.
2. Laugh at it. Yes, it's funny how many times my sweet-pea J can sound out the word "H-A-S" but no more funny than me making the same mistake on the Rubik's cube 900 times. That's a conservative estimate too. Laughing puts it all in perspective. Who cares if he doesn't know the word "has"......EVER it won't wreck his life nor will my lack of ability in solving the cube.
3. Take time. It won't come in a hour, day, month or even a year. But constant familiarity helps - enjoy it and take the pressure OFF.
4. Finally, the puzzle will solve it's self...always. It's by accident without any extra skill on the teachers part or the student. It just clicks and it is.....in it's own time.

This morning J was working on his English and looked at me 3 quarters of the way though and looked at me and said "Mom I don't even need you to help me anymore". It's true, I hadn't even noticed but he did his reading without me, and didn't even sound out the word H-A-S once. How does that happen?