Category Archives: Uncategorized

Comet Stargazing and Home Education Log

Dear reader,

This week we woke up our kids very early and took to the darkness outside looking for the comet A3. We saw it, too. It was an amazing sight even though it only lasted a few seconds and we all saw it (except for the two toddlers).

Lilli and Vivi wrote journal entries about it. Lilli, a perfect memory with 0 errors or need for improvement. Vivi in gorgeous letters. She needs to work on the legibility of her writing, but she has chosen incredibly beautiful decorated letters, which I love and I told her, I will have to copy some of her incredible letters.

My focus will be on practicing with Vivi so she can improve the legibility of her writing while keeping her wonderful letter design. I enjoyed her work so much and I was full of pride.

Lilli researched and taught us what a comet as well as a, meteor shower is, wrote this in her journal.

Both Lilli and Vivi drew the comet.

Home Education Log: Learning activities with our kids

This is not an entire list.

We discussed our ancestry, DNA, DNA tests related to ancestry, neanderthal DNA in humans in research, history of our families which interested and intrigued our oldest kid.

We did Halloween inspired art and crafts.

Alex drew a ghost and many more cool drawings. He was inspired by documentaries and videos we watched on the history of Halloween.

We watched documentaries about the history of Halloween, kids stories, and more on this topic.

I finished a Halloween paper doll: I love fashion illustration and I incorporate it into our art activities.

This lovely fashion witch was designed in 2014. Back then my illustration skills were beginner level, but the dress designs were gorgeous. With my new skills, I drew a new doll and copied the same exact dresses, added the witch hat and broom.

We found old art of mine and discussed my art progress at which point I took advantage and gave a speech about improving one’s skill. I allowed the kids to see my bad beginner art that I am ashamed to show today and explained how I learned to draw figures by watching experts and used that fuel to inspire them by assuring them they too will be much better in their art.

I helped the kids finish Math worksheets they did not finish during their week.

We studied the Celts, specially regarding our own Celtic roots.

Lilli and I did Math: skip counting, addition, multiplication, and division.

Vivi and I worked on addition.

The kids have been sick, so we have not been to Jiu-jitsu class. They have been playing in the yard and “working in the garden”.

The kids read children’s books.

Lizzie and I wrote a poem together (she created the story) and she did the ending in prose using many words that start with g. Then she wrote the poem by hand. Her intention was to improve her handwriting of the letter g and she succeeded, her g was beautiful after such practice. She will be choosing her next letter to work on and we will repeat this exercise.

Lilli started the new Duolingo Music course.

Lilli returned to her Duolingo Spanish course.

I created children’s songs inspired by Lilli. Lilli created pictures to go with the song. I added AI music to the songs. We sung and sung and danced.

Lizzie decided to write a song. She created a story and we will be working on turning it into a song.

Lilli, Lizzie, Vivi worked on Math, Science, Grammar, Art on Outschool.

Links

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-neanderthals-inherited-genome-now-extinct-lineage.html

https://phys.org/news/2024-09-archaeologists-ancient-neanderthal-lineage-isolated.html

And you, would you share your home education efforts with us?

With love,

Eve

Pandacorn. We had AI create music for our song

Dear reader,

Eve improvised the first two sentences of this song. Then created the third stanza to make it longer.

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Song 1

Then created a fourth stanza and the girls requested specific changes to create a more childfriendly song.

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Song 2

Lilli’s Pandacorns 🙂

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We made two AI songs (If you do not like AI, then please read our poetry instead)

Daddy is very technologically forward. He convinced us to create an AI song. We were both afraid and excited, mostly afraid. Daddy got us a program probably because he knows that we have been writing songs and singing it badly in the kitchen, wait, that is mommy. The girls have good singing voices….

We created two songs with the Pandacorn lyrics. We loved the results and we will create more like this. Currently obsessing over the pandacorn.

You are free to use the songs if you wish in any capacity.

This is song 2, lyrics above, children’s version.

This song is Electronic Dance of song 1, lyrics above.

Talk soon,

Eve

Magnificent Letter G: handwriting practice with poetry.

Dear reader,

Lizzie does not want to learn cursive. I listen.

But she came to me and requested help.with her letter g, lowercase.

She collaborated with me to create this G poem and practiced until we loved her letter g.

The graceful groom
In Ancient Greece
Was in gloom all week:
Ghastly days, lost grace,
His good wife, a ghost,
In the green garden.
Heart goes grey,
Galaxies away,
Gracious goddess:
Gown, crown, greatness.
Green grape dance to the god,
Bring my wife back.
The god’s generous reply,
A glistening sun ray,
And a goose to greet.
In two years time,
Sacrifice a goat,
And your girl will grow
From the goose,
Take care and groom her
Be warned: if you neglect her,
Your guilt a curse will be
To grueling loneliness.

End of story by Lizzie

The groom agrees, he will not neglect the Goose. Two years pass slowly, the groom Has been taking good care of the goose, the Groom brings the goat to the altar, and Prays, Grape god returns, Two years have Passed, Your wish shall be granted, goose Into wife, I command. The groom reunited, He is happy again with his wife. This story Ends with a happy ending.

Lizzie practiced her letter g handwriting by writing the poem on a paper and her creative writing by creating this poem with me as well as writing the ending all by herself.

©evelovestar

Benefits of cursive and Lilli’s handwriting

Dear reader,

I was born and educated in communist Cuba and that means that I had to learn cursive handwriting.

I remember that for not connecting 2 letters on a test, a point would be removed, that is how strict that education system is. On top of that, I remember end of year notebook reviews to review the legibility and good practice of our notetaking and if we kept our notebooks neat for the entire year, we would get up to 5 additional points.

Being educated in Cuba alone was not enough for me to have legible cursive (not cute, legible, there are many levels of cursive).

However, my father was a Spanish teacher and he has amazing cursive and calligraphy. He critiziced my clumsy cursive, and I had to compete with him, he was never impressed. He was the type who would paint signs by hand.

On top of that, my childhood poet, Jose Marti, talked of handwriting. I like the old literature of the 1800s when handwriting was supreme and remember seeing lots of it.

Benefits of legible cursive writing ( my experience)

  • People assume you are more educated
  • People assume you are smart
  • People assume you are classy
  • People look at you like you are unique
  • You have better handwriting than most other people you know
  • You have a creative side, at least you can do letter art
  • You can create signs, some arts, and crafts
  • You can pivot into calligraphy which is beautiful, creative handwriting
  • You can work on legible handwriting: PS, I have earned money on my legible handwriting
  • You will probably have the best handwriting at your job and be chosen to take meeting notes
  • People will comment on your handwriting, even when you are not present
  • Some might ask you to write certain things for them
  • If you are really good, you can earn money from your calligraphy
  • People might assume you are teacher material
  • You can teach children handwriting
  • People might keep notes you wrote for them
  • Any handwriting you post online will get lots of attention because most people can’t do what you can

I have been practicing my calligraphy and I started trying digital calligraphy: It is not easy at all. But, why not: I think life is about choosing what to learn and lerning a little bit more every day.

With handwriting and calligraphy, practice is key.

This Lilli that I worked digitally, writing with my computer mouse (though this writing is imperfect) is actually the work of a veteran with years of cursive practice. I should actually be better at it.

Regardless of my perfectionism, my goal is not perfection with my handwriting.

My handwriting goals:

  • Legibility
  • Getting better always
  • Unique letters
  • Feminine designs: swirls, hearts, dots, and fabulous flourishes
  • Artsy letters

Teaching handwriting to my kids

I do not tell my kids come and practice your handwriting for an hour. Instead, I will seat down for 2 hours and practice my own calligraphy. They will wonder what I am doing, come see over and over again, and they will decide that they can do better.

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Lilli, my artist child (they all show artistic capability, yet Lilli calls herself an artist and seems to be the one who is more willing to be exactly like mommy (I was the same way with my mom and her crafts, not cooking).

Vivi also started decorating her letters, yet she has to work on her legibility. I keep on telling her legibility over beauty. Unless you have a secret something you are writing: I write secret notes in illegible cursive…

And just yesterday, while I worked on this publication, my oldest daughter, Lizzie came up to me to daclare she wants better handwriting. She has however, worked on her handwriting evvery time I did. Lizzie is very strong minded and chooses when she will work on what. She did not want to work on her handwriting when I started, howevver, she saw our handwriting, compared hers to ours, and naturally started writing more legible, her letters were more evenly sized, etc. Of course, now that she requested it, I am going to bring out all my efforts to give her as good a foundation as she will allow.

Samples of Lilli’s font. Her font turned out better than my font, becasue I tried to make mine complex and it was too much, Lilli’s letters also turned out more even than mine.

Thank you for reading,

Please tell us your insights about handwriting, cursive, or calligraphy,

With Love,

Eve

Learning Italian with Music: Phrases I understood

Dear reader,

(If you are learning/ teaching Spanish, scroll all the way to the end of this post for my Spanish lesson)

Learning a foreign language by listening to music is both enjoyable and effective. By regularly exposing your ears to the sounds and rhythms of the language, you train yourself to recognize its unique patterns. Start by focusing on familiar words and phrases—this helps you connect the lyrics to meanings you already know. As you listen, you’ll naturally pick up new vocabulary, and recognizing recurring phrases can build your fluency. Music also helps with pronunciation and intonation, as you hear native speakers or singers using the language in a fluid, natural way. Repeating this process deepens your understanding and brings the language to life in a fun and engaging way.

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Note: I already knew a little, tiny bit of Italian when I started this, also Spanish is my first language:

Continue reading “Learning Italian with Music: Phrases I understood”

Duolingo Language Learning: I use it for easy home education

Dear reader,

(Spanish learning/ teaching? Scrool to the end for my fun lesson)

It is true that I love language study and learning and I love Duolingo, even though I am not happy they do not have a level two once you finish you language course. I finished my Latin course and got bored, picked up 2 more languages…

This is my Duolingo report this week:

I guess I have a need to prove I am a real person. Why?

With the modern trend of everything we find being AI, I do have a need to prove that I am a real person who really studies language and teaches her children.

Just today we did Halloween arts and crafts…

Anyway, let us connect on Duolingo if you use it, find me as Eve Sanchez.

Why Duolingo

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I am currently trying to have more XP on Greek, also struggling with my Greek.

I do not need to learn a language, but I attempted to get my kids interested in Spanish, my first language, and they do not want to be told what to learn, they have their own opinions and ideas, which is really cute…

I joined Duolingo to inspire my kids to learn languages because they imitate anything I do: no pressure.

It worked because they started learning languages too. They are not organized and quit their own Duolingo, yet, Lilli does my Latin lessons at times, Vivi is learning the Greek alphabet with me, they have a Dinolingo Spanish course, Lilli took a Latin class, Lilli and I have Latin jokes, Alex does the Greek lessons with me and repeats the Greek words, Lilli and Vivi took Spanish classes: it worked, but my inspiration effort is ongoing.

Part of my effort is to have them observe my own learning, as well as to experience my learning methods which are varied and colorful, on top of that to expose them to different languages: music in Spanish and Italian; Italian, Latin, Greek words, phrases, and entire videos or podcasts being broadcasted in our house; and more.

And you,

Are you learning or teaching a language? Which? Do you have tips?

Do you listen to music in your target language?

Learning Spanish?

Check out my cool Spanish with poetry clas:

Purchase the class through this link which includes a children’s printable workbook, a test, and more:

https://payhip.com/b/NLMdU

But first, take the free lesson on this blog:

Spanish lesson 1. Rima y Ritmo: Poetry with a native poet (1)

With love,

Eve

Home Education: a day in our life

Dear reader,

There’s no glamour in our life as we home educate our children.

As parents of 5, life is complex but rewarding. We have a lot of love and big messes to clean up, lots of hungry believes to feed, and a busy schedule.

This week is a special one. We have our kids in classes with new tutors. We have been going to Jiu-Jitsu classes for over a month and now it’s routine, the children know their chores by now; finally I am used to our new schedule.

As we move forward, my plan is to solidify our daily home education situation so that everyone is aware of what they need to do (bare minimum) and any extra is ideal.

We have 3 big girls learning at home. They all go to Jiu-Jitsu, have tutors on Outschool, and have their own passions and pursuits. 

Everyday Learning by Lizzie, Lilly, Vivi

Outschool Tutoring: Everyday the girls have different classes with tutors on Outschool. I used to have them in several classes a day, but it was too much. Now they each have several classes a week and we re-watch their classes and study their subjects. Lizzie, our oldest checks the Outschool schedule for all three.

Jiu-Jitsu Classes: Monday through Thursday all three girls go to Jiu-Jitsu class. Classes are not mandatory, we usually take Tuesday off and go Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. Going to start taking them on Saturdays as well. While Lizzie waits, she reads and while Lillinand Vivi wait, they work on art and animation on the phone.

Chores: The three big girls have minimum daily chores:

  • Lizzie checks the outschool and Jiu-Jitsu schedules.
  • Lizzie helps her younger sisters log Into Outschool classes.
  • Lizzie cleans the kids eating and art tables on top and underneath.
  • Lizzie keeps the computer area tidy.
  • Lizzie helps with cooking lunch for the children as needed.
  • Lizzie also does a great job of helping take care of her toddler siblings: Alex and Vicky. She is a very helpful big sister and an example to follow.
  • Lilli’s chore is to keep the living room organized, includes the stairs and furniture
  • Lilli also helps her little siblings.
  • Lilli helps Vivi finish her chores also.
  • Lilli in in charge or the art material organization and sharpening pencils.
  • Vivi’s chore is to clean the dining room and kitchen floor and the dining room table.
  • She also helps with her siblings.

Arts and Crafts: Lilly and Vivi draw every day. Lizzie does digital art and animation on her computer.

Personal Passions and Pursuits: Lizzie has her Youtube channel. She creates videos, edits them, and with very little help schedules her videos. Lilly and Vivi help at times.

Lizzie also has her Roblox games. She works on making her games better, shares them, makes friends with players. Her goal is to be a game designer.

Future Plan.

  • Daily cooking/ baking with the kids
  • Daily language learning. Fun language opportunities
  • Handwriting practice
  • Storytelling initiative
  • History. Choose interval and continue making it interesting

Home Education Log

This log in no way represents the bulk of our effors, rather, every now and then, I share images I collect:

Lizzie (11)

Started a new Earth Science class on Outschool with a british tutor. All of her attention is going into this class. She liked this class and liked to answer questions of her teacher. She read on this subject and told me things about the topic.

https://outschool.com/classes/intro-to-earth-science-parts-1-2-geology-weather-oceans-space-science-pa0JObd9?refuid=XqYUyJwg

I am helping her with note taking, something she does not like but I am convincing her of the importance of it.

Lizzie also started a new Math tutor meeting.

Lizzie has been learning hoe to draw a face realistically with this amazing Outschool class:

https://outschool.com/enrolled/7a3f1cc0-94b4-4482-892a-fe603420cedf?utm_campaign=share_invite_link&usid=XqYUyJwg&signup=true&activitySlug=become-a-master-of-drawing-sketching-part-1-age-8-12-self-paced-YN8e3Rlk

Lizzie got her first Jiu-Jijsu promotion which was so good for her.

Lizzie goes to Jiu-Jitsu class every week, we try to go minimum 3 days a week:

Update: Lizzie knows a lot of mythology from a mythology class she takes, as well as history classes she has.

Lizzie continues to work on her games.

Lizzie creates and edits videos for her Youtube channel.

(3524) The sisters – YouTube: Home Education Log

We practiced fractions including addition.

Lizzie’s Roblox classes: Added a new song to a game, added a new feature to Skyler town game, added a feature to build on one of her games, new building feature in the VIP room in the game, made game passess on Robux day, created multiple animations for a game.

Lizzie is getting ready to celebrate her birthday and receiving a Robux gift card.

Lizzie has 2 grammar classes witha UK teacher. She recommends these classes, she enjoys them, and she recognizes how much she has learned.

Lizzie is great at animation and continues to practice

Lizzie is taking great pride in completing her cleaning tasks.

Lizzie also cooks and loves it: he favorite things to cook: pasta, potato soup, grilled cheeses, sausages, pancakes, bean patties, want to learn to make rice, and lentils.

Lizzie has been reading while waiting for their sister’s class to be over at Jiu-jitsu class.

Lizzie learned a crochet stitch while waiting for her sister’s class at Jiu-Jitsu class.

Lilli (9)

Lilli also has a new Math tutor

Lilli got her first Jiu-Jitsu promotion

Lilli loves her signing class on Outshool, learned several Disney songs.

Lilli has been creating amazing art digitally and on paper.

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Lilli practices and thus is getting great at her fashion illustration.

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Lilli is practicing her name in cursive and now does it super cute.

Lilli also created a font with Vivi’s help.

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Has been joining me for language learning on Duolingo.

Joined me for dance lessons on Youtube: belly dance, a fun Indian dance, tap dance, hula dance.

Has been joining me for Italian music learning and Italian karaoke.

We baked tiny breads together and Lilli drew designs on the bread.

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We practiced fractions with our baking dough which was very fun.

Lilli is working on her chores more, helps Vivi with her chores also.

Lilli (and Vivi) made tiny food for Barbie. It is a new thing they want to try where they preopare real tiny food for Barbie but they eat it. Well, this time I baked tiny cookies and tiny breads but I liked the idea of the girls learning some simple recipes or food preparations.

Vivi (7)

Vivi also got her first Jiu-Jitsu promotion

Vivi started a Dinolingo greek course (which she might abandon eventually, but it is ok)

Vivi loves her singing class most on Outshool and learned Disney songs.

Vivi makes stories for this Outschool class:

https://outschool.com/enrolled/9bd85f06-a78c-4f4f-8d69-aea01456e65b?utm_campaign=share_invite_link&usid=XqYUyJwg&signup=true&activitySlug=lets-tell-a-story-practice-public-speaking-grammar-and-sentence-structure-esl-friendly-wrkVX5Fc

Vivi tried dancing class with mom.

Vivi kind of started her Spanish Duolingo course again.

Vivi has been practicing her animation skills

Vivi is finishing her chores more than ever before.

Vivi has upgraded her digital art/ digital coloring game:

Alex (4)

Alex joined me in my Greek course in Duolingo and he likes the word that means to be in Greek, he was so excited becasue he was getting the answers right.

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Alex is repeating words in Spanish.

Alex is doing great in his game art creation

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He has been trying to write his name

Alex is getting much better at drawing in real life

Vicky (2)

Vicky used the potty.

Vicky has been repeating words in Spanish.

She is talking more and more.

She draws with her sisters and is very helpful with cleaning and picking up.

How is your home education journey going?

Eve

Leaning Tower of Pisa. Intro for children

Dear parent,

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of the most famous architectural landmarks in the world, known for its tilt. Located in Pisa, Italy, the tower is actually the freestanding bell tower, or campanile, of the cathedral of the city.

Ice Cream tower

History and Construction

  • Construction Began: August 9, 1173.
  • Architect: The exact identity of the architect is still debated, but the project was overseen by Bonanno Pisano.
  • Construction Duration: The construction took about 200 years, with several interruptions due to wars and engineering challenges.
  • Height: Approximately 56 meters (183 feet) on the higher side.
  • Material: The tower is constructed primarily of white and grey marble.
A fox girl with wings holding the tower by Lizzie

The Tilt

  • Cause of the Lean: The tilt began during construction, due to the soft, unstable ground beneath the tower, which consists of a mix of clay, fine sand, and shells. This ground couldn’t support the tower’s weight evenly.
  • Angle: The tower’s tilt reached about 5.5 degrees before modern restoration efforts reduced it to about 3.97 degrees.
  • Efforts to Stabilize: Over the centuries, many efforts have been made to stabilize the tower, including adding weights to the opposite side and reinforcing the foundation.

Cultural Significance

  • Symbol of Pisa: The Leaning Tower is a symbol of Italy and the city of Pisa, recognized worldwide for its unique architecture and history.
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site: The tower, along with the cathedral, baptistery, and cemetery in the Piazza dei Miracoli, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Tourism: Millions of tourists visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa every year, and it has become a popular spot for fun photos that play with the tower’s tilt.

Fun Fact

A girl standing far in front of the tower, making her really big in comparison by Vivi

The tower was originally intended to stand vertically, like other bell towers, but its tilt has made it far more famous than it might have been otherwise. The lean has become a part of its charm, and today, it’s celebrated as an iconic historical and architectural marvel.

Then we searched the fun pictures and found many cool ones on Pinterest of people holding, pushing, or eating the tower which are super cool and inspirational. This inspired their currect art project. See the pictures I shared on my Homeschool Pinterest board, they inspired my kids Leaning tower art:

Pinterest: Leaning Tower of Pisa. Intro for children

This serves as history, culture, architecture, geography, and language, I strudy Italian so I take any chance to learn and speak, currently I am listening to Italian music.

This was fun for us,

If you created art inspired by this, please share with us,

With love,

Eve