Tiny Turtle

Guest post today by Lil! juvenile midland painted turtle

We found a tiny turtle at Magee Marsh along Lake Erie this weekend. It was so cute I wished I could take it home.

baby painted turtle

 

I observed that it had a very orange belly and some stripes on its shell. It looks like its shell was layered like shingles. It was trying to jump out of our hands.

 

painted turtle egg tooth

 

I observed that it had a teeny tiny sharp part on its beak. I thought it was an egg tooth. I put the turtle in a safe area near the marsh.

When we got home, we looked up breeds of turtles in Ohio and identified it as a painted midland turtle. We also confirmed that turtles do have egg teeth to help them get out of their shell.

Tiny Turtle

Guest post today by Lil! juvenile midland painted turtle

We found a tiny turtle at Magee Marsh along Lake Erie this weekend. It was so cute I wished I could take it home.

baby painted turtle

 

I observed that it had a very orange belly and some stripes on its shell. It looks like its shell was layered like shingles. It was trying to jump out of our hands.

 

painted turtle egg tooth

 

I observed that it had a teeny tiny sharp part on its beak. I thought it was an egg tooth. I put the turtle in a safe area near the marsh.

When we got home, we looked up breeds of turtles in Ohio and identified it as a painted midland turtle. We also confirmed that turtles do have egg teeth to help them get out of their shell.

The Great Fruit Fly Experiment

Fruit flies. They are the bane of every person who keeps fresh food in the house, especially those of us who keep produce on the counter. how to kill kitchen fruit flies

When we were recently infested, on a day of a house showing no less, I turned to Facebook fans for suggestions. Lil and I chose several techniques to compare in an impromptu science experiment.

three fruit fly traps

Fruit Fly Science Report

by Lil Tayse-Baillieul

Question: Which fruit fly trap works the best?

Process: We put a little wine and soap in a small jar. We also did apple vinegar with soap and covered with plastic wrap. The third thing was put a funnel in with apple vinegar.

We put the three jars out to see which one works the best.

Observations: It took about one hour for the fruit flies to start to get trapped. The red wine had a fruit fly die first. We put bigger holes in the plastic wrap and it started catching flies. The funnel jar didn't have any fruit flies in it.

Alex tried vacuuming up the flies with the Dirt Devil vacuum. It didn't work.

Rachel tried swatting the flies with her hands. It worked but it was hard and slow.

The fruit flies were gone from our kitchen in one day with the traps. The red wine trap had the most flies.

Conclusion: Put red wine and soap in a jar to trap fruit flies.

dead fruit flies in jardead fruit flies in wine trap

This is the way unschooling works for us - we have a problem or interest and we investigate together. We don't invest in 'schooly' materials but use what we have on hand. In this case, the fruit fly experiment provided an avenue for us to talk about the scientific method and controlling variables while solving a real and observable problem with things we have on hand.

And now we know - to most efficiently trap fruit flies, leave an open jar of red wine with a little dish soap on the counter.

Affording Homeschool

Next to legal requirements, one of the biggest barriers to homeschooling is financial. affording homeschool

Homeschooling is cheaper than schooling in that we don't have to pay for registration fees, uniforms, teacher gifts, and extra curricular costs but we do have to purchase our own materials and pay for homeschool classes. The biggest financial drawback to affording homeschool is that most families can't manage dual incomes and homeschooling.

How can a family afford to keep one adult out of the nine to five? And how can they still pay for classes, materials, and travel?

When I left my salaried job, it was to be a temporary stay-at-home-mom to Lil until she started school. The decision to homeschool made us adjust to the idea that I might never bring in a full-time paycheck again. Instead we rely on Alex's decent but not excessive earnings. We manage to make a single income work two ways: smart spending and secondary income.

Smart Spending

We are not the most budget oriented people, but we do try to make well considered purchases.  Here's how our spending breaks down:

Invest in quality

  • shoes - one or two pairs per person
  • art supplies - in lieu of art classes
  • kitchen tools - in lieu of relying on processed food
  • clothes - we invest in wool socks and outerwear for comfort and durability
  • technoloy/gadgets - we research and spend wisely on computers, smart phones, and tablets. When we upgrade, we resell the old version.
  • food - we spend a lot of money on food and liquor because cooking and dining are our biggest

Beg/Borrow/Barter

  • library books - we visit weekly
  • thrift store or hand-me-down clothes for Lil
  • nature - our playground, entertainment, and toy
  • furniture - most of our furniture is handed down from family
  • childcare - bartered with friends
  • goods and produce - I often trade my writing and marketing services for local goods and produce my family needs

DIY

Discounts

  • educator - many stores and organizations offer teacher discounts available to homeschoolers. Gift Card Granny has a lengthy list of national teacher discounts.
  • single person memberships - whenever possible, we buy a single person plus a guest membership at museums, allowing Lil to attend with one of us
  • sales - we don't coupon much but do stock up during school supply sales and end of season garden clearances
  • wholesale co-ops - I manage co-operative groups to buy spices, bath and body supplies, and flour at wholesale prices

Alt Society (i.e. saving habits against the norm)

  • single car family
  • combined trips to save gas
  • telework - Alex works from home as much as possible to save on commuting costs
  • very few activities for Lil - she's not interested and we're not inclined to push her into money-intensive classes
  • infrequent date nights - Alex and I go out to dinner or the movies once a month at best
  • resist the latest and greatest - many of our belongings are timeless (i.e. old) not trendy. We wear items out until they are truly not usable again.

Secondary Income

My cooking class, writing, and social media management jobs earn a bit of extra money but only roughly 10% of our family income. I could accept more clients and schedule more classes but I can only spend so much time working when I also want to give attention to Lil and her education. My secondary income is limited by this paradox.

When Alex travels for work, he is paid a per diem for food and incidentals that usually surpasses what he actually spends. We funnel this and any other bonus money into our travel savings account.

Speaking of travel, we take advantage of a airline miles credit card for major purchases. These miles combined with Alex's frequent flyer miles give us the option of free flights. Similarly, we often use free hotel stays through Alex's loyalty points.

We have been fortunate to receive a few inheritances over the years that we save as our emergency fund. Knowing this sum is available should we ever need it helps us stay comfortable with our single income situation.

Every family's financial situation is unique. I share how we make homeschooling affordable simply to note one way to do it. Others work split shifts or make do with less. I believe there are real financial trade-offs to home education but the benefits are equally great.

If you homeschool, how do you manage the finances?

Ohio Homeschool Rules {Back to Homeschool}

Welcome to 'Back to Homeschool' week on Hounds in the Kitchen! First up: homeschooling legal requirements. Whether families choose to unschool, follow curriculum, or road school, we all must do a few basic things to stay 'legal': notify the school district and assess progress. Each state differs in their educational requirements; below, I explain how my family follows Ohio homeschool rules.

Notify

back to homeschool Before the beginning of the traditional school year when the child turns six years of age, parents in Ohio must notify the superintendent of their home district in writing of the intent to home educate. The notification letter must contain specific information about the student, qualifications of the parent (minimum of a high school diploma) and a list of intended home education subjects and materials to meet the minimum 900 hours of instruction. Read the Ohio Administrative Code for all the details needed in the notification letter.

I use the Ohio Academic Content Standards to develop our list of intended subjects. Our materials include the collection of the Columbus Public Library, encyclopedias, field trips around the world, and nature. I can share share our letter via email if you wish to use it as a template for your own.

According to code, the superintendent has fourteen days to respond with a letter excusing the child from school attendance. In our experience, the Columbus Public Schools exceeded this period but did eventually send the excuse letter for Lil's 2011-2012 school year. As of today, August 27, 2012, we are still waiting to hear back from our letter sent August 1, 2012.

When I receive the excuse letter, I scan it in the computer and save to Dropbox to have a digital record. Then, I keep a copy in my purse to receive teacher discounts and prove home education excuse in the unlikely event that someone would accuse Lil of truancy.

Plan a Portfolio

There are two common ways to assess annual progress in Ohio: via standardized tests or a portfolio review by a certified teacher. Given that opposition to standardized tests are one of the reasons my family homeschools, we go with the latter option.

I keep a binder filled with clear document sleeves in our family desk. Throughout the year, I tuck writing samples, ticket stubs, artwork, and other tangibles of our unschooling in the sleeves.

At the end of the year, Lil and I go through the papers and decide what best represents our year. I then three-hole-punch the materials and thread them into a folder labelled with the appropriate homeschool year. I reuse the plastic sleeve binder for the next year.

Alex's parents homeschool Lil one afternoon a week. They keep their own portfolio by printing a picture and writing something about what they did every session.

Certify

The final step in our homeschool year is assessment. We chose Lil's homeschool gym teacher, Chris Quickert, for an evaluation interview. Lil read him a picture book, shared artwork and pictures, and told him about her unschool year. I learned some things at the interview too: when Coach Chris asked Lil what she liked best about homeschooling, she answered 'reading'. What does she like least? Math from a book, meaning workbooks that we haven't touched for months.

Chris provided a very simple letter that certified Lil was progressing. I sent his 2011-2012 evaluation letter to the Columbus City Schools superintendent with our 2012-2013 notification letter.

How do you keep track of the legalities? What else do you hope I'll cover in Back to Homeschool week?

How to Harvest Hickory Nuts

Post by Lil, age six  hickory tree

This is how you harvest hickory nuts. You have to a hickory nut tree. The bark is jaggedy and there are many lobed leaves on each branch.

ripe hickory nut

This is how you know the nuts are ripe: it has to be brown and also green. When it's hickory nut season you let them fall down and pick them up off the ground.

Lil using bench vice

You have to have a vice to crack them. It's hard to crack the shell open. Squirrels crack the shells open with their teeth.

After the squirrels drop the nuts, they can hit the roof of the garage or the ground. It gets the ground kind of messy so watch out for that.

inside of hickory nut

The meat is ripe when it is light brown. It tastes kind of like pecans. I usually eat them raw.

hickory nut meat

I like doing hickory nuts because the inside is yummy.

Note from Rachel: Encouraging your child to collect, crack, and consume hickory nuts is a most glorious waste of time learning activity.

Have you ever eaten hickory nuts? Do you like Lil writing on Hounds in the Kitchen? She wants to know!

Homeschool Report Card Fall 2011

One of my favorite tasks when I taught at the Jewish day school was grading and writing report cards. It has to do with my judgmental nature, I think. Of course I delighted in making this report of our first official quarter homeschooling. child finger knittingDates: August 2011 - December 2011

Achievements: Reading fluency Writing complete sentences Spelling creatively but understandably Basic addition fluency Counting coins Butterfly life cycle Plant bulb life cycle Basic anatomy and dissection principles Acids and bases exploration Weight, distance, and volume measurement Basic American revolutionary war history Natural and Ohio history Finger knitting Hand sewing Digital photography Water color painting Making lardo and many other meals Literature - Thanksgiving picture books, Winter holiday picture books, Bone series, Saving the Griffin

Classes: Weekly Creative Movement class Weekly African studies Culture of Japan class (6 weeks) Homeschool gym (6 weeks)

Field Trips: Ohio Historical Society Franklin Park Conservatory Columbus Museum of Art Columbus Zoo The Wilds Urbana, Ohio - Johnny Appleseed Museum, Freshwater Fish Farm, Cedar Bog Serpent Mound and Murphin Ridge Inn in Southern Ohio Laura Ingalls Wilder Play Cuyahoga Valley National Park Nutcracker School Program Lawrence Orchards Branstool Peach Orchard Apple Hill Orchard

Forcing Bulbs with Kids {Lesson Plan}

Every year I force bulbs into blooming to brighten the dull days of winter. Alex delights in the 'dominance over nature' implied by forcing but Lil and I just love watching things grow. This year, our bulbs became a science project for Lil.

child measuring amaryllis bulbLil chose several paper white narcissus and one amaryllis bulbs from our favorite local nursery, Oakland Park. Fancy-grade amaryllis can be very pricey but the $6 version thrill kids just as well as the unusual and expensive bulbs.

We set up the bulbs in little pots and jars around our dining room with south facing sun. Lil chose three that we would study.

child graphing height of flowers

We worked together to make a graph that would measure the height of the bulb. We labeled the x-axis with 'date' and the y-axis with 'height in centimeters'. We decided to measure from the top of the round part of the bulb and recorded our first height. Lil chose three symbols to represent the three different bulbs so we could record them all on the same graph.

Every two or three days, Lil measured and recorded again. After one week we had to add a second sheet of graph paper for the ever-increasing height of two of the bulbs.

In two weeks, two bulbs had bloomed and reached their maximum height. We thought we had a dud in the third bulb but now, three weeks after the forcing began, the third bulb is growing.

I used a similar set of bulb activities to teach measuring, estimation, and natural science to a class of second and third graders when I worked for Torah Day School of Virginia. They loved watching their individual bulbs grow, though we all agreed that twenty blooming paper whites in a room created an overwhelming smell.

Below, find a basic lesson plan for anyone who is unfamiliar with forcing bulbs and might want to do this with a group of children.

child measuring amaryllis bloomforcing bulbs science lesson plan

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Forcing Bulbs Activity

Age: 6-10 years old Time: two weeks divided as 1 30-minute set up, 1 30-minute conclusion, 10-minutes every two-three days Objective: Gain experience measuring, estimating, and graphing. Observe parts of a plant and bulb growth.

Materials: 2-4 paperwhite or amaryllis bulbs per individual or small group of 2-3 students; bulbs should be specifically labeled for forcing, i.e. they have been exposed to very cold temps for at least 3 weeks. one half pint jar or other container per bulb sterile peat moss (for amaryllis) toothpicks graph paper (print your own here) foot-long ruler bamboo stake and twist ties (optional) pencil with eraser

Procedure: 1) Use toothpicks to suspend bulb just under the top of the jar or container. The thick base of the bulb should be slightly submerged in water when you fill the jar. For amaryllis, plant in a pot of peat moss with the skinny top well out of the soil.

2) Fill jars with water and water amaryllis pot.

3) Set up a graph with date along the x-axis and height in centimeters on the y-axis. Allow space for at least 14 days and 70 centimeters.

4) Use foot-long ruler to measure the initial height of all bulbs. Choose a consistent base from which to measure which might be the emergence of the white tip out of the brown bulb.

5) Every two or three days, measure height and record on the graph. Water when bulb is no longer touching water or soil is dry. Optionally, ask children to record their observations in a log for every measuring date.

Questions to pose: What is happening to the bulbs? Look on the top, the bottom, the sides. What are the parts called? Reference this bulb anatomy diagram as necessary. What do you think will happen next? How much do you think this bulb will grow in the next few days? When do you think it will bloom? What makes you think that? Which plant has grown the most? Which grew fastest? Use student generated graphs to answer.

6) As the plant becomes very tall, insert a bamboo stake in the jar/pot and use twist ties to stabilize if necessary.

7) Conclude by asking students to draw, verbalize, or otherwise express what they learned.

8 ) Enjoy the blooms!

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Are lesson plans something you would like to read more often? If so, what additional info do you need or what is extraneous?