First Summer in School

Assalamu Alaikom; Hello dear readers,

Our first year of homeschooling is coming to an end; we have about 2 or 3 weeks left.  My idea when I started was to school during part of the hot summer months and to take more breaks during more pleasant months.  We did do that, and so now we are still in school while everyone else is on summer break.  It feels a little funny for me since I'm so used to the traditional calendar.  Summer is for being on vacation!!  But not necessarily in Texas.  Nope.  The days are long, humid, and scorching hot.  Pefect for staying in.  So we're still waking up, doing morning routine, then starting school.  More often than not, the older two are done around lunchtime, so there's plenty of time to play with friends and to go out if we dare, although we save that for evening.

We had two awesome days last week, masha'Allah, and these kind of days reinforce my love for this new way of living.  What happened both times was that we wanted to go out early in the day (once for a library storytime, second time was to go to a farmer's market which lead us to the Heard Museum).  We headed out before it got to be too hot outside and enjoyed a couple of hours in some really neat places.  That day at the library, the two littler ones and I sat through a toddler storytime while the older two worked in their Language, History, and Math books at the study tables in the library.  Once they finished their work they browsed for some books they were interested in finding and were ecstatic to find and check them out (!).  After we got home and had lunch we sat at our school table and finished off what was left on their daily agenda while Aisha (now age 2 1/2) napped.  It was perfect, masha'Allah.  I was loving that day, how we had a useful morning outing and still got a full school day in.

Yesterday was similar.  We were walking outside on the trail for a litlte morning exercise when I decided to go to McKinney's farmer's market to check their local veggies.  We drove out there only to find NO MARKET on Friday. They're open on Saturday only.  8-12.  Ok, well my oldest one knew we were in McKinney and that the Heard Museum was nearby, so he asked if we could go to the Butterfly Garden at the Heard.  Ummm, YA!!!   It was almost 10:00am so I figured we had about an hour left before it got too hot.  We zipped on over there and had a blast looking at their outdoor wildlife sanctuary and of course the gorgeous butterflies.  There are a couple of pics on my phone but I'll need to upload them to my laptop and then I'll add them to this post, insha'Allah.  We got home aroun 11:30, washed up, ate lunch, and then went up to school.  Musa took his math test and we did a long history lesson with Heba and Musa.  Maryam did her math and phonics, too.  Alhamdullah, we got everything on the agenda done and there you go!  I'm so happy I didn't try to keep the summer school-free.  Having something constructive to do for 4-5 hours a day is a good idea no matter what season you're in!!  Thank to some of the subjects we've studies this year, the two older ones have some interests they're working on in their free time.  Musa is painting and putting together a model of the solar system.  Heba is searching for crafts inspired by the ancient Romans.  Alhamdullah, it's really been a great year despite some of our rocky patches.

Weekly Meal Planner

Assalamu alaikom wa rahmatullah, greetings and peace to my dear readers. 
Last week was not organized, meal-wise, and we payed for it (literally and figuratively!).

Today I went to get some chicken for next week and decided to ask the butcher to cut me a roast.  Then I saw they had some preseasoned kabobs all packaged up.  I figured that would do for today's lunch, and right next to them were packages of seasoned chicken quarters in a tikka masala sauce.  Those will work great in the oven with a salad on the side.  So, here's the tentative plan to use all these meats, insha'Allah, most likely with giant salads to go along since my husband alone can eat a whole big bowl of salad!

Monday: Roast the chicken masala quarters in the oven. Sides of rice and salad.
Tuesday: Pot roast in the crock pot, steamed broccoli, possible salad
Wednesday: hopefully leftovers
Thursday: Shakrieh (cooked yogurt with stewed beef in it, side of rice)
Friday:  Drumsticks... in the oven, roasted.  Salad and/or carrots and potatoes.
Saturday: not sure

Lunches:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on homemade bread
Tacos
Pasta with homemade pesto (basil is ready to be picked and used)
Boil some frozen ravioli with a side of veggies
Tuna sandwiches

Snacks: as always I carry those reusable bags I blogged about filled with walnuts and dried cranberries or just plain almonds.  That's what you'll find in my purse, so we snack on those when we're out.  At home I cut up veggies like colored peppers, cucumbers, and put the little cherry tomatoes on a plate and watch them disappear, masha'Allah.  In the mornings we like to have a green smoothie or just fruits.  Yes, my kids do eat junk food, don't think we're all that healthy. They are allowed a bag of Cheezits or some type of cracker/pretzel each day.

Elson Readers

I'm so happy about these books that I have to put in a good word.  They were originally written in the early 1900's by the same author of the well-known Dick and Jane stories, William Elson.  They start at the prereading level called Primer and go through grade 8.  What's so neat is the idea behind these.  They are a collection of short stories, fables, poems, national songs, plays, and history.  They are a collection of quality stories that, over time, foster an appreciation for good literature in the child.  You won't find any pop characters or silly storylines.  These are collections of old tales and well known stories.  My kids have really enjoyed them so far, and we've had them for about a month or so now.  What's nice is you can read in any order you like, you don't have to go in order. 

In our homeschool schedule we have a mandatory 30 minutes (45 minutes for 4th grade) of "Structured Reading".  This time is spent reading quality books that I've usually selected for them.  They're usually tied in to our science or history lessons, but I sometimes have to read those books out loud b/c they're written on more advanced levels.  Anyhow, if we're caught up on those books then I pick a couple of stories out of the Elson readers for them to read.  Little Maryam loves reading them at bedtime, though!!  (Don't worry, they're allowed to read "junk" books the rest of the day if they want! And they do!!)

Here's a link to the Elson Readers on amazon. (love amazon)

Bottom line, I highly recommend these for quality reading for your child of any age.  It's a bunch of different styles all in one book.  And somehow, the stories are just fascinating.  Probably because they usually have a moral or a really interesting plot.

The ubiquitous question: "but what about socialization?"

Assalamu alaikom

I do think that's the first question I get when people ask about homeschooling.  Funny thing is, for people who do homeschool, it is one of the last things we talk about if we even talk about it at all.

Each situation and family is different, so take what you read here with a grain of salt.  For us, though, wondering how they would be 'socialized' never factored in our decision making. 

Let's look at the first issue, which is the biggest reason I initially considered homeschooling.  I wanted our religious beliefs to be the normal frame of reference for my children.  I could see that what lay ahead of them was a double life.  The one at home and the one at school.  You could say that is a little pessimistic of me, but during their last year at public school I could see the influence sneaking in.  Why would I have such a nagging feeling when I'd drop them off in the mornings?  I seriously would feel like keeping them with me instead of watching them walk into school.  They were struggling with what we had been teaching them and what they were living with 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. And by the end of the day, they'd get in the car conflicted, angry, aggressive, and we'd all take the brunt of it for a couple of hours after school.  Often, I could pinpoint the problem to social issues, and it bothered me that they were so stressed out by school. 

So... knowing that little bit of background, you can imagine that I wouldn't mind if my children weren't hanging out in that environment any more.  Not that I have a problem with any of those kids in particular; it's the environment of all of those people together for the whole day.  This is the first aspect.  I don't mind that my kids aren't "socializing" in the schoolyard arena.

Secondly, it did take a few weeks for the kids to stop talking about their school friends on a daily basis, but that's normal.  We all go through that when we leave college, leave a job, or move to another city. It takes times to transition from not seeing those people everyday!  Thankfully, this transition went very well and quickly.  Going on summer vacation helped.

Further, we entered a whole new paradigm.  We literally shifted our perception of LIFE!!!  While I researched and prayed about homeschooling, I started to see how we'd have to shift our perspective a little.  Especially me.  I had to embrace the love!  Lots of kids at home most of the day with just me.  Most people wonder why or how I would choose to do that.  They want to know how I don't go crazy and how I get alone time.  Well, I wanted to have a lifestyle with my children IN it rather than them be OUT of it except for afternoons and weekends.  So I decided that instead of leading separate lives we'd go through life together. 

As you know,life is BUSY!  We're pretty busy, too.  Schoolwork takes up our mornings up until lunch, and sometimes a little bit after lunch, but after that we're doing lots of stuff.  The kids are in sports, scouts, and see relatives and friends often.  They make friends on their teams, in their troops, and with loved ones of all ages.  We take them to volunteer, to visit elderly relatives, and on vacations that we might not take if we were tied to the school calendar.  They interact with people all the time, it's just not with the same 30 people every single day, day after day.  I never doubted that their extra-curricular activites would be lacking.  In fact, I wonder how I'm supposed to keep up with the driving around and with scheduling everyone without double-booking!

Since there are four of them, they always have someon to talk to or play with, masha'Allah, at home.  It's a blessing, really. They play board games, put together puzzles, paint, color, dress up, and most fun: play nerf guns with darts in the house!  Being together all day is pretty good training, actually. They get to practice patience, respect, and self control ALL the time with each other.  There are too many 'teachable moments' related to character.  What's nice, though, is that I am here to talk to them, to guide them, and to give them the chance to grow.  These things take time and patience, and I'm happy they're under my supervision while they're learning these virtues rather than them being somewhere else. 

On a final note,  I know they won't be exposed to a lot of mainstream and common school issues, but that is fine with me.  I don't think it will matter to them as adults, in the big picture.  What does matter is that this works for us, and by the grace of Allah, we're doing it.  For how long, for how many kids, I don't know.  We're just taking it one day at a time.  

CNN Student News

A member on my homeschooling board talked about this link to CNN Student News today.  After checking it out, I've decided to use it frequently during the week.  It's a 10 minute podcast of world news that is aimed at a junior high and high school audience.  However, I'm sure older elementary kids could easily benefit from watching the news clip.  They have maps, quizzes, and discussion questions too!

I'm motivated to use this because our history cycle starts with Ancient History and slowly moves forward over a four year period.  This means we're not covering American History or much civics during these 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.  So just to make sure the kids get exposed to what is happening today, I thought this little ten minute news would help. 

Even families who are not homeschoolers could use this during summer vacation!  It could be a fun little activity to do at breakfast or after lunch or something. Everyone could watch the news clip and discuss for a few minutes, look at the maps (they look nice), and share their thoughts. 

Thumbs up from me!

How Do I Love Thee...

Iron Skillet, How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways...

I love my iron skillet.  That big, heavy, black, oily pan permanently affixed on my stove top.  How did I not always have one!  My mom used one off and on when I was growing up, and it stayed in that little cabinet over the stove/vent thingy.  I didn't get what was so special about it.  I remember her using words like 'season it' and 'iron', but I didn't get why it was any different than our other skillets.  That's about the end of that memory, but in recent years she's started using two skillets in her house all the time.  It would come up occasionally that she'd be cooking something up in the iron skillet, and it got me thinking.  I thought they were relics of days gone. Of pioneer days long ago.  That it was a family treasure passed from generation to generation (after all, Mom was using her mom's skillet).  Well, imagine my delight (and suprise) when right there in Target what did I find hanging right in front of me but some iron skillets!!  Well I did the sensible thing and bought one! (they're not expensive either. this one was just under $20)

I went home, googled iron skillets to see what the deal was with them, and then started my seasoning process.  I scoured off the factory coating of whatever-it-is they put on there.  Then I heated up my oven really hot, coated the skillet with some Crisco, then put in the oven upside down (with a pan under it) for an hour or to cook that stuff in.  That is what 'seasoning' your skillet means.  It's the process of getting enough grease in it to let you cook on it without everything sticking.

I repeated this process a couple of times before cooking in it.  Now the main ideas here is not to scour the skillet EVER again!!!  Once you get that slick layer on it you can easily scrape off any bits of food, rinse with warm water, and then wipe it with a cloth or paper towel if you use them.  Voila.

But what is the draw to it?  It's hard to explain.  I was first interested in it when I realized my favorite egg frying pan had lost its nonstick layer.  Hmmm... where could that stuff have gone?  Oh, what's that... into our bodies?? Ya. Most likely.  K..... no thanks, I don't want to buy another one of those.  I pulled out my other nonstick skillet and found that most of its stuff was missing too!  Eeeek!!!

I've since quit using any of my old nonstick cookware unless I'm really pressed for a pot or pan.  My first choice is the skillet, and for everything else I use my stainless steel pots I got in Jordan when I first got married (my lovely mother in law gave them to me).  The steel pots aren't in the same category as the iron skillet, don't get me wrong, they're just better for me b/c they don't have chemicals on them.  Iron is the way to go!!!

A few things to keep in mind:
*keep it dry once you've washed it (get droplets off) iron rusts.
*the handle gets as hot as the skillet, so don't grab it with your bare hands
*once it starts to get hot, boy it will get hotter and not cool down for a while
*use a metal spatula and not a rubber one (i don't like using wood either for some reason)
*say bye bye to your old cookware because you won't want to go back!
* wait till it is very hot before you put your food in there. hotter skillet=less sticking

Mmmm, this could be YOUR breakfast :)  (actually this is not my skillet, it's my mom's)

Well, my post is just to share the love.  I love love love the skillet. I use it everyday. 

Interurban Railway Museum

How did I not know about this well kept secret in Plano?!  This railway museum is in downtown Plano which we hardly ever go to. However, I grew up just south of Plano and never heard of it.  I've lived here for two years now and just recently learned of it.  I took the kids for the first time a few months ago, and I was very impressed.  Let me explain.

It's the same building used in the 1800's that was the substation for this Interurban Railway that ran from Denison to Downtown Dallas.  It was a really big deal because it used electricity and because it connected people all across North Texas.  Many parts of the original building have been preserved and are still there.  Inside, you get some background on how Plano was settled and started.  There are many great blown up black and white photograps all over the place.  If you like to see how people dressed and what old towns looked like (cars, horses, buildings, roads) then you will be in for a treat. 

It is a small building, so dont' be misled by the name 'museum'.  It's just two rooms and a hallway!  Also, inside, they talk to the kids about how they converted A/C power to D/C power and then they get to figure out now to put wires together to make a light bulb light up.  My older ones stayed in that room for about an hour!!!

We went today for the second time to show the place to my mom.  There is an old railcar sitting outside the building, but they're in the middle of renovating it and cleaning it up so we weren't able to walk inside of it.  Insha'Allah next time we will.

Admission is free, donations recommended.  Check it out if you're local!
Interurban Museum