Make Your Own Chocolate Kit: Need I Say More?

The girls and I had a wonderful time learning about, making, and eating (that's the best part) chocolate with this kit. Read more about it over at Curriculum Choice!

Testing, Testing

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Last week, I threw into our mix a bit of standardized testing. My state's homeschooling laws require that standardized testing take place every three years beginning with third grade. Now that my daughters are older, I prefer to test annually, so they get a better taste of such requirements.

Different states have different testing requirements. In my state, I have only to choose a nationally-normed test, which allows me many options. For several years now, I've selected the CAT/5 Survey test. This is a short-form test, with six sections of 20 questions each, as opposed to the Full Battery.

Why the Survey test? Because it saves time and because it lessens the chances that the test will cover concepts we have yet to cover. I've found that the latter situation does nothing but ruffle my children's feathers and stress everyone out to a painful degree.

Why the CAT/5? Because homeschooling parents can administer the test at home. Another test option is the TerraNova, but I don't know anything about that one. I stick with what I know.

Then there's the ITBS and the Stanford Achievement Test. To administer the ITBS at home, a parent must hold a college degree and be accepted as a test administrator, which for me is one too many hoops to jump through. The Stanford also requires the degree as well as teacher certification and test-administration experience OR video training and pre-approval as a Stanford test administrator. Again, too many hoops.

Instead of giving the test at home, I could easily locate an ITBS testing center and drop off my daughters. For a few hours each day over three days. For a price, in terms of money, time, and stress. No, thank you.

There are several services that will mail you the testing materials and score the test for you. I've used both Family Learning Organization and Seton Testing Services with great satisfaction. Three others I've seen online are Thurber's Education Assessments, Crosspointe Educational Services, and Brewer Testing Services. But I don't have any experience with either of those.

As the girls move from middle grades to high school, I'll reassess my decisions on standardized testing depending on our needs. But right now, I'm happy with what we're doing.

Giving Up on My Hair

If you know me IRL, then you know my hair. It is curly and it is red. According to one friend, she can always find me in the crowd at church, thanks to my hair. The color part gets help these days as I approach "a certain age," but I will not go gentle into that particular good night.

Several years ago, I wouldn't go gentle into the curly night, either. When Himself and I met, I used the round-brush technique to dry my hair. Every. Single. Day. Since I have a lot of hair, this took a considerable amount of time. As well as a toll on my hair. But I was committed to straight hair.

On a camping trip during this same period, I decided to let my hair dry by itself after I'd showered. A friend was amazed. "I didn't know you had curly hair!" she exclaimed. I guess I shocked her. Really, curly hair can be a bit startling, especially if you're not expecting it.

However, not long after Miss Priss was born, I gave up straightening my hair. Shocking, eh? I know, but I was busy with other things. I didn't have the time to mess with it.

But I didn't give up messing with it entirely. Over the years, I sometimes dried it with a blow dryer and then put it in hot rollers in an attempt to control my curls. Other times I wore it short. I've coated it with gels, pomades, de-frizzers, curling balms, pomades, etc.

The thing is, everyone in my family of origin has curly hair to varying degrees except my mama, whose hair is stick straight (and she has kept it permed for decades). And we've all messed with it. Curly hair is versatile, since you can wear it straight, wavy, or curly, depending on how much time and effort you feel like investing in your hairdo.

But I recently had a revelation. I came upon Lorraine Massey's book, Curly Girl, at a used bookstore, and I bought it. Massey has a interesting viewpoint: stop fighting your curls and just go with it. Oh, and ditch the shampoo. According to Massey, shampoo is awful for curly hair. There's a difference between cleaning one's scalp and cleaning one's hair; and curly hair requires a different method than straight hair due to its molecular structure and moisture needs.

So I've been trying it. I've shampooed once in two weeks so far, and I concentrated on my scalp only. It's taking my scalp a while to get used to no shampoo. But I can already see some benefits -- at least, enough for me to continue with the experiment. Here's a recent photo of me (well, mostly my hair). (Thanks to Tiny Girl for her photographic expertise):

In the interest of truth in journalism, I used a dryer with a diffuser to finish things off, a method of which Massey approves.

Before the experiment, I only washed my hair about twice a week anyway, and I may eventually return to that method. I'll have to wait and see.

What I won't return to, however, is fighting my curly hair into submission. As Popeye used to say (and probably still does), "I yam what I yam."

Finally, a Daily Schedule System That WORKS!

 

In our years of homeschooling, I've used a variety of scheduling methods. I've tended to stay with one for myself, but the girls' I've altered and changed in an attempt to find what works best. Here's what I have learned:

• Weekly printouts with each week's assignments designated by day (which is the system I use for myself) tend to disappear during the week.
• Daily printouts of each day's work disappear during the day -- at least with one my children they did.
• With printouts, one child tended to check off assignments diligently, and the other needed reminding. Frequently. As in several times a day.
• Whiteboard method, with each day's assignments listed to be check off as completed worked well, but the large whiteboard took up quite a bit of room in my small kitchen AND hid a lovely painting (a fact Miss Priss detested). Also, I had to write out each day's complete lessons and assignments each day. (Quelle surprise.) I thought I'd take the board down every day after lessons were completed, but I didn't. (Ditto.)

A few weeks ago, I came up with our new system and it is working well. I designed one template (which I have available on Scribd in both Word and PDF formats, so download at your pleasure), printed it out, and then secured it in an 81/2 x 11 frame. I included everyday lessons on the printout, so I only have to write in that day's reading assignments and activities directly on the frame's glass. I use a fine-point wet-erase marker (Vis-a-vis). The girls use the same marker to check off assignments as they complete them. A quick spritz and wipe, and it's all ready for the next day.

Here's a peek at the Scribd document:

  Today's Schedule PDF by The Bluestocking Belle

You can alter it to best suit your family's needs. Or use it as a beginning point to create your own.

This system has been a wonderful solution for us. It only takes a few moments to jot down that day's readings and activities; there's no paper schedules for the girls to keep track of; and it's easy to alter if need be. Plus, I write down my errands in the Notes section, so the girls can see my agenda for the day.

And everyone can now see the lovely painting in the breakfast room.