Lucas Miller: The Singing Zoologist

Okay folks, no disclaimer here. This is not a paid review, nor was I asked to do this review. I am writing this review because it *needs* to be written. Earlier this year, two of my children and I went to the reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto down in La Porte, TX. They had a children's area, and that is where we met "The Singing Zoologist", Lucas Miller.

We were amused at his "Send them Back to Brazil (Fire ant song)". It was quite entertaining, and you know what, it was educational. Educational and fun? No way. I had to hear more, so I bought his "I love Earth" CD. Wait, I mean, Troy had to hear more, so I bought the CD. Then, after browsing through his stuff and seeing he had a book on Bluebonnets, I knew I had to have it too. Bluebonnets *are* my favorite flower, after all. The "Bluebonnet Time" Book came with a CD. BONUS! SCORE!

Moving on...we went home (to Nanny's house) and had to listen the CD right away. Hilarious, and once again...educational. Unfortunately, I forgot that CD in the player when we came home. It was okay, we still had the "I love Earth" cd to listen to. I think we listened to it several times, and one day I grabbed it for the kids to listen to when we went somewhere with hubby in his truck. Go me, I left it in there and kept forgetting to get it out. Then one afternoon, about two weeks later, I recognized a tune my hubby is singing as the "Mako Shark" song.  This guy, big tough mean (looking) guy....

Wait, not only that, he is also busting out with lines from "The Chimichanga song". He was helping me write my science lesson plans for Troy by suggesting songs. I can tell you also that *I* have been educated tons by the songs from that CD. I never knew why the Eagles came close to extinction, where the fire ants came from, or about the wolves at yellowstone...until I listened to this CD. That is a slim run down. I have actually learned a lot more. You know what though? My *kids* have learned too.

Another "funny"...my mother gave the CD to my 15 year old son to bring home with him. We went out to a Mexican restaurant, and he starts singing "The Chimichanga song". Turns out, he's been listening to it. On his own. No one made him. This kid:

So, he is at the table, in the restaurant, singing about his chimi and my husband joined in. I joined in. The five year old, he joined in to. The other restaurant goers...they thought we were nuts, but you know what? I bet they don't know half as much as we know now. 

Have I mentioned that I bought all of this to benefit *Troy*? You remember Troy, this cute little precocious five year old?

We also bought a story book, "Fifi the Ferocious" (which Troy says "Feee-rocious"). This is Troy's favorite book. Yeah, he can recite it without it being read to him, but we still read it. It is well loved. It has gone on playdates, to the park, mother's day out, and on many car rides with us. He likes to share it with others, because he loves it.

As I said, I bought all of this thinking it would be fun & educational for Troy. Little did we know how much we would all learn from it. Little did I know how many laughs our family would get from it, and how it would be something we would bond over. This has enlightened us, and educated us together. We have memories built around these things. I love knowing that my children will be passing Lucas' material down to their children.

I recommend every family (not just homeschoolers, like us) go pay his site a visit, and that you get his "stuff".  I don't care if you are 1 or 99, you will enjoy it and you will learn. If you have a chance to go see him live, do so. He has a facebook too...and guess what? He actually interacts with you there.

 

Wordless Wednesday

A thought to Share

At a sermon a long time ago, the preacher said the following and I have always kept it close because I *love* the message. I thought I would share:

When the goal is not right, God says "no".

When the time is not right, God says "slow".

When I am not right, God says "Grow".

When everything is right, God says "GO!".

Anyone else WAY behind on buying their curriculum?

I am so far behind on buying curriculum...I mean, far enough behind to make my stomach do little flips. We still need (no, I am not kidding):

For Michaela:

Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1

The Art of Argument

The Bridge to The Latin Road

Vet Tech Program

Vocabulary Builder

For Troy:

Math You See Primer

I also need to get something for Bible and Character training. This does not include any list of books we need to buy for Tapestry of Grace. I can't risk looking at the library for the first few weeks because we will be traveling a lot, and that just doesn't add up. We may be out of town for a month, and the library would certainly NOT appreciate that. 

I am stressing. I did not budget for our vacation, our homeschool stuff AND my illness. Boo!

The A to Z of "why" we homeschool

I was inspired by this blog post at "The Homeschool Post". I certainly can agree with the A-Z's that this other Heather shared, and wanted to do my own. Some may overlap, and some may not. I think that this is an excellent exercise to thoroughly examine our reasons for the decision we have made in our home.

A- Accountability to God to train our children up in his ways.

B- Belief in knowing that following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to educate our children at home will plant seeds to sow great fruit.

C- Cherishing all the moments that would be lost if our children were being sent away for 8+ hours a day to be a number in a seat in an government institution.

D- Daydreams are building blocks of exploration into new areas of knowledge, and the children can explore the things they dream of instead of being trained to pass a test.

E- Excellence in homeschool is not how high one can score on a benchmark, but how excited they are about learning.

F-  Foundation...God is welcome here, his plan is the foundation of all knowledge. Too bad the public schools have chosen to ignore this fact.

G- Grace, as shown to us through Christ can be  modeled for our children and learned through practice and imitation.

H- Honesty. We all know what is expected of one another, and no administrator or teacher around here will have a hidden agenda.

I- Individuals. Yep, each of our children are an individual and at home they can have their individual needs attended to and adjusted for. They learn *their* way.

J- Jokes, laughter, joy...it is welcome at home.

K- Kooky, cause we can be and we don't care if anybody thinks we are. :P

L- Limitless: the subjects we can study, the hours we can spend on learning, the goals we can achieve, the people we can talk to in all walks of life.

M- Meals with the family are better for our children, and honestly for society in general.

N- No one is left behind. No, really! It's not a policy, it's just the way it is.

O- Oppression of our beliefs is not a factor, at home.

P- Playtime is also learning, not just a chance to get away from being confined in a seat for hours. We are never confined.

Q- Qualified, because God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

R- Restroom...pretty simple here. If they need to go, they can, at anytime. No, they don't have to raise their hand or get a hall pass.

S- Socialization, the true kind, not the kind you get from being in a classroom with people all the same age being trained to raise your hand and walk in lines.

T- Talks...the kind that would be missed if the children were away for the majority of the day.

U- Uncomplicated social structure...free of drug pushers, sexual indoctrination, and bullying.

V- Virtue (noun) is taught here. Defined: Moral excellence, goodness, righteousness.

W- What we wear is not of anyone's concern...pajamas are just fine for school, shoes not required. The latest fashions and trends only matter if *we* want them to. Our kids are free to express themselves as they wish, with a few guidelines from Mom & Dad.

X- (E)Xtra hugs and kisses when they are needed, extra snuggles too

Y- Young...they are only young once, and we intend to be the ones who have the most influence over them during this time. They don't need confromation to society, they need a firm foundation in who they are.

Z- Zoo's are a lot less crowded when the majority of other children are in public schools. This goes for many other cool field trip destinations too!

Last night...

Last night I had a surge of energy that I have not felt in weeks, due to the fact that I have been ill with a flare of diverticulitis. My brain was firing at rapid pace and I was creative and witty and jolly. I had probably hundreds of blog "ideas" rush through my head. Yes, I should have taken notes because this morning I can think of not *one thing* that I was going to post. Hopefully my juices will "flow" once again and I will be back in full force. :)

 

I'm just not that type...

Theme parks?

Beaches?

 Vineyards? 

Shopping?

Those are al well and good...really. I don't mind a little bit of any of them. But when it comes to rest, relaxation, VACATION...I am not THAT type of girl. 

Me? This is the kind of girl I am...

or

or

I'm a get into nature, kick back, enjoy the sites and sounds of the simple life kind of girl. That is where my peace, rejuvenation, and joy comes from when it comes to "getting away".  Talk about getting closer to God...

So, what type of girl are you? (or guy)