Studio Ghibli Movies

We waited with baited breath for the arrival of Ponyo to our local movie rental store, and when it finally did I'm not sure who was more ecstatic--the kids--or me--but the woman behind the counter must have thought we'd lost our minds!

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese manga artist, a prominent film director and animator of a number of popular animae feature films.  Miyazaki has attained international acclaim partly due to his relationship with the Walt Disney corporation.  It wasn't until 1997, when Princess Mononoke was released in the West that his notoriety began to grow.

Laputa

Miyazaki's films usually incorporate the recurring theme of humanity's relationship with nature and technology, and the struggles involved in living a pacifist's lifestyle.  The heroes in his stories are often strong, independent girls or young women, and the villains tend to be morally ambiguous antagonists presented with redeeming qualities.  All themes that resonate strongly with me, and which I am glad to share with my children.

This is a list Hayao Miyazaki movies--the linked entries will take you to locations where you can watch the movie in its entirety free online:

• Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind(1984)
• Laputa: The Castle in the Sky(1986)
• My Neighbor Totoro(1988)
• Kiki's Delivery Service(1989)
• Porco Rosso(1992)
• Princess Mononoke(1997)
• Spirited Away(2001)
• Howl's Moving Castle(2004)



Howl's Moving Castle

• Ponyo(2008

I would recommend highly all of the Studio Ghibli movies, but if you're not so piqued about the animes, I strongly recommend watching at least Castle in the Sky, though I really love Howl's Moving Castle (who am I kidding?  I love them all!), and the kids especially like My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo.  My husband liked Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke better than some of the others, but we all agree that Hayao Miyazaki'smovies are absolute favorites.

Be sure to look for english-dubbed versions, though I also like to watch them in Japanese, sometimes with subtitles, sometimes without.  Because the nature of the Japanese language injects so much oral inflection into the spoken word that it's really more moving?--powerful?--more evolved? to listen to the stories as Hayao Miyazaki wrote them.

Homemade Playdough

I make a lot of things from scratch in my home.  A lot of our food is made the old fashioned way, from scratch--without the aid of a boxed or packaged-mix.  I do this partly to prevent ingestion of preservatives, dyes, and other harmful chemicals, and partly to stretch our budget.  I also make a lot of our school supplies by hand; a little creativity goes a long way, and since kids are generally less particular than adults, it doesn't take much sometimes to make something that thrills kids.

I've been making our playdough myself since Winter was two.  The recipe was given to me by the developmental therapist who was coming to see us regularly at that time.  I've since given up the assistance of professionals regarding Winter's possible autism-spectrum disorders, but we still make good use of the playdough recipe that I've deemed "Really Great Homemade Playdough".

Playdough is a terrific manipulative for any child, but especially for children who might be struggling with some sensory issues.  It's calming to sit working with the dough; it can help children to clear their mind, focus--I like to use it before school-sessions sometimes, to help Winter prepare himself for what's expected of him during lessons.  Play dough is also a great tool to use if your child struggles with fine-motor skills.  Winter has difficulty with handwriting, and with using scissors (basically anything that requires more nimble hand-action), so again, playdough is a benefit to help him strengthen and practice using those muscles that he has less control over.

This recipe is very soft, and smooth, so it's pleasant to use.  The kool-aid fragrance is invigorating, but we've also used cinnamon and cloves in dough, particularly in the fall season and around Thanksgiving.  The fragrances only add to the sensory experience, which makes it an enjoyable experience and easy to entice a reluctant learner into participating.

REALLY GREAT HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

1) Sift in a Large Bowl:

2-1/2cups flour

1/2cups salt

2packages kool-aid(for color)

 2) Bring to a boil 2cups water.

 Have ready 3tablespoons any oil.

 3) Add boiling water to sifted mixture; stir with wooden spoon until well combined.  Allow to cool until you can handle it to knead the dough smooth. 

4)  Store in 1gallon ziplock baggie.

I have not had good luck using food colorings on this recipe, but kids and parents alike typically like the dough, as it is soft and smooth.  I've even given the playdough out for Christmas gifts and birthdays, and it is an easy fix for a group activity when cousins and friends visit.  And with so many benefits it's hard to judge such a versatile manipulative by it's clean-up alone.

Summer Vacation

We've been avidly enjoying our summer vacation.

The boys are eating up the free time (among other things),

and I've been taking the time to pursue some of my many interests.

But here is a brief glimpse into some of

our summertime activities.

Nothing beats eating blueberries right off the bush.

  A flair for dramatics.

"Workin' Girl"

A stunning yellow flower in my garden.

Putting on fruit.

Time for cole-slaw! Yay!

Stunning red flower in my garden.

Bean-blossoms.

End of the Year Assessments

With our 2009--2010 school year drawing to a close I find myself taking a look back on the last year.  Taking a scrutinizing look at all the things that worked for us, and all the things that did not.

After a rough start in the fall getting into a consistent routine, we eventually managed to get quite a bit accomplished this year.  Though we'd done preschool and kindergarten at home, this was our first "Official" year homeschooling; our first year accountable for what Winter's learning. 

Taking into consideration Winter's learning style and his unique needs as a child on the Autism spectrum, I had already learned that strict adherence to a structured routine helped him to function throughout the day.  For our first year of serious schooling I simply adjusted the routine we already had established.  The problem I had with that was Winter's stubborn resistance to change, and to formal schooling.  It took us until well into January before Winter and I had really broken in the new regimen; consequently our school-year ran late--it is now the end of June and our last day of 1st Grade is schedule for Saturday, July 3rd.

Winter is not a self-motivated child, and so the practice of unschooling that is becoming so popular among many homeschoolers--does not work for us.  Personally I like the principle behind the ideal, but I have no doubt that left to his own devices Winter would simply park himself in front of the nearest computer and play video-games all day, every day.  Also, I feel that a certain amount of formal schooling is beneficial so long as the individual's learning style and personal needs are considered.  And so, following a story-time period we congregate at the kitchen table for lessons five days a week.  

This year I mainly focused on the 3-Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Handwriting is a major struggle for Winter, but he's made great strides with it this year, through copy-work and journalling.  His reading ability exploded in the fall--we suspect he was reading some on his own when we started the school-year, and after persistent  demands for a period of oral reading during our formal school time, Winter's abilities were revealed.  He is currently reading at a 3rd to 5th grade reading level, and still sometimes insists that he's "not a good reader".  


We've covered most of the same maths that first-graders in the system would have learned: addition, telling-time, patterning, skip-counting, measuring inches and centimeters.  I also introduced greater-than and less-than, place-value, and money.  I would have been well-satisfied if he had memorized all of the addition math-facts, but I think he had a good firm foundation, and I intend to increase attention to math in the new school-year.


Alright--science isn't one of the 3-Rs--hell, it's not even an 'R', but this is a scientific homeschool, and so science education played a headlining role in our curriculum.  My husband and I strive to provide a scientific foundation with our very lifestyle, so the inquiry and process habits were already there.  I simply provided direction with the Earth-Studies Units, which look at science through the history of our planet Earth.  We studied the Big Bang theory, the Hadean Eon, volcanoes and plate tectonics, the Archaean Eon and evolution.  We looked at the Proterozoic Eon through a unit study regarding microscopic life, where I introduced the microscope to not only my children, but also my nephews.  And we looked at the start of the Paleozoic Era with the Cambrian Explosion and vertebrates vs. invertebrates.
  


I tried to provide a science education that was both factual and hands-on.  So we utilized reference books, as well as performing hands-on experiments and multi-sensory activities such as games, videos and documentaries, and data-keeping through lapbooking.


Overall I think our first year of serious schooling was a success.  Winter made good progress and we've all learned a lot about what works for our family, and what does not.  We'll be celebrating our accomplishments this Sunday with a bar-b-que, as requested by Winter, and he will receive his awards and a new TinTin book as a prize for all his hard work.  Then I'm looking forward to a few weeks off to regroup before we start again.  Hooray for summer vacation!

Homeschooling Research

Since I began the homeschooling journey, beginning with the momentous decision to keep my children out of the school-system, I have sought to learn more about said system

Sharing My Garden Enthusiasm

Summer is nearly upon us, and I am in full garden-mode right now.  My mind obsesses over the garden and its many facets.  I'd spend every waking minute in the garden--if only my body didn't protest so!

New Bee-Lens Finished at Squidoo!

As promised the link to the finished bee unit-study lens: