Aug. 17, 2009 - New Template and School Books
I know. Your staring in astonishment at my blog. Wondering how on earth it could transform into this beautiful array of colors. Well, it was not by my doing. While I was chatting away happily with my dear friend Sam on the phone, she all of the suddenly told me she had this website she wanted me to look at and sent me this link. When I clicked on it, my blog popped open (she used a tiny url so I wouldn't recognize it) and it had a new template. Sam and Eyebright had been plotting it for awhile. So here it is in all it's glory.
That's not the only thing this post is about though. We started school last week. I had been missing it and was glad to jump back in right where I had left off when the move got to busy and I had to stop. Kekoa was doing SOS on the computer, but it stopped working and he is now doing some school with me.
Homeschooling in the motor home is not as hard as some people seem to think it is. Right now I am doing a bit of an easier schedule because of our tight budget and space issue, but it's not really a problem.
Math: Saxon. I'm going back over some of the simple math because that's what we had at the time and I don't think I'm quite ready for Algebra yet. Kekoa is not doing this one with me. I wasn't really ready for that yet.
English: Writers Express, A Handbook for Young Writers, Thinkers, and Learners. I'm also reading The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) Expect a review on the ladder later.
Bible: The Pilgrim's Progress. I'm having a bit of trouble getting through it, but I am enjoying it so far. Kekoa is not reading it with me because I was already half way through when he started doing school with me. I am doing The Fallacy Detective with him though.
Spelling: Spelling Power. I've done a lot of spellings, but I always seem to come back to this one. Simple and to the point.
History: Robin Hood and the Crusades Unit Study E-book. This has it's dry points, but it's covering some of my favorite subjects! We are also reading The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. We both have really been enjoying it and Kekoa told me it's the only thing he looks forward to in school.
I would like to start doing Geography when we move into a house, I'm not sure what I'll use for that though. Any suggestions?
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May. 23, 2009 - Sharen my Book Learnen
Only, in this case it would be my computer learning.
For school right now I have been doing a unit study on Robin Hood. I begged to do this because I absolutely love the hero's story. Never mind if half of it probably is not true! He has got to be my favorite legend.
So anyway, since I am still near the beginning of this study I have been learning about a few things up to Robin Hood. Such as, Richard the Lionheart. I wrote a short little thing about him... I wouldn't really call it a report. I know it will probably be dry dust for all of you, but still, I thought I might share it.
Richard the Lionheart
(1189- 1199)
Richard is most known for leading the final crusade into The Holy Land, and his attempt to reclaim Jerusalem. He is also well known as one of the reasons legendary hero Robin Hood fought off Prince John.
Who is the real Lionheart though? When did it all begin and why was his lust for battle so great? Who were his real enemies, and who stood by him to the end? Read on to find out.
Born the son of Henry II, and Elinor of Aquitaine Richard had to fight for his place in the family early on in life. His family was constantly at battle with one another, and although Richard's Mother adored him, his Father wished for another son to be his heir. Richard fought for his proper place though, and in 1188 was crowned King.
It did not take him long to make enemies with the people of England by raising taxes for his crusade.
He joined up with King Philip of France, and they headed for Jerusalem, stopping in Cyprus to win a victory. Next stop was the siege at Acre, but here is where things started to go wrong. Germany and France were constantly at each others throats, and Richard did not get along with Philip. They were soon defeated and Philip had had enough, he went back to France. Richard loved to have someone to argue with though, and he found it in his biggest enemy, and biggest admirer, Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria.
In the year 1191 Richard attacked Jerusalem, only to be defeated by Saladin's army. He tried three more times, but they all ended the same way. Not good for England. Finally when The Lionhearted realized Jerusalem could not be his, he signed a treaty with Saladin. The crusaders were left with a small amount of land, and pilgrims were aloud passage into Jerusalem.
Now that his battle for Jerusalem was over though Richard realized his way home had been cut off by his enemies. He had to get back to England though so in 1192 he disguised himself and started to work his way through Austria. He was caught by King Leopold in Vienna and sent to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry the VI. Henry wanted 150,000 marks before he would let Richard go, so England started saving at once. Although they never reached the correct price their King was set free.
Richard set foot on English soil once again in 1194, but didn't wait long to leave again. This time he was bound for France, to fight one of his foes` from the crusades, King Philip. He would never see his homeland again, in 1199 while in the midst of a battle Richard was shot in the shoulder. He never recovered, and died on French ground.
Richard was King of England for 11 years, but he was always somewhere else fighting because that's what he liked best. No advances had been made during his reign, and England had gained nothing. Yet, this King has been remembered through out the ages as one of the greatest historical figures.
My next one will be on Saladin, don't worry I won't be sharing them all.
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May. 19, 2009 - Homeschool Tag
I thought this looked fun!
1) How long have you been homeschooled?
I've always been homeschooled.
2) What grade are you in?
Ninth
3) What is your favorite subject(s) in your homeschool?
I am really enjoying history, and math right now.
4) What is your least favorite subject(s) in your homeschool?
I'm not really sure I'm liking it all right now.
5) What is a current/previous homeschooling challenge you’ve faced?
To DO school. With the days getting warmer, and my life turning upside down it easily slips from my mind.
6) What are you looking forward to over the coming year?
Camping with my family, meeting new people, learning new things.
7) Name three things you like doing in the summer with your family.
Camping, taking walks, and road trips!
8) What other activities do you enjoy, such as sports, hobbies, etc.?
Riding horses, writing, reading, blogging...
9) Are you taking a foreign language? Are you going to in the future? Which one?
No, not at the moment. I was taking Spanish several years ago and would like to again sometime.
10) Where do you homeschool? (Kitchen table, livingroom, etc.)
Mostly on my bed, but with a computer, all my school books, my math papers, pencil, eraser, white bored, and a cat, things get pretty crowded so I often move to my bedroom floor. ; )
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Apr. 14, 2009 - China Study
For school we have been studying the country of China. I've learned so much about this amazing country.
The thing that has really made me see the country as a whole new place though was some videos we got from Netflix about it. It's actually a T.V. series called Wild China, and although it clearly has evolutionists views it has still been very enjoyable.
At first when I found out I had to watch it I was positive it would be boring.
When it started though my mouth was soon hanging open at the beautiful landscapes and some of the mind boggling creatures. Although the show does tend to make me sleepy, it's not in a boring sort of way.
Some of the animals were just so interesting I had to share!
The Snub Nosed Monkey
Woah! What a weird animal! Although they get their name from their nose, if I had named it I would have called it the Puffed Lip Monkey. That's what seemed to stand out to me anyway.
Kitti's Hog Nosed Bat
I can't believe there is a bat as small as a bee! The way these little animals live is truly amazing to me.
Red Panda
I've always loved the Red Panda's. With that sweet innocent face, how could you not!
After learning more about these amazing creatures I am still trying to figure out why some people think they were created by a mere accident in nature? Even when they have God's name written all over there very being people are still blind to his awesome power.
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Apr. 3, 2009 - Report Card? What's a Report Card?
Over Spring break I had my cousin over to stay the night. We hadn't seen her for several months so when she got into the car we asked the normal questions,
"How are things going?"
"How is school?"
My cousin being public schooled proceeded to tell us that school was going OK, what she was learning in some of her classes and what she thought of some of her teachers. She then told us that she had gotten her report card the other day, and pulled it out of her backpack.
"Actually I have it right here if you want to see it?"
She handed it to me and as I unfolded this piece of paper commented on the fact that I had never seen a report card before.
Eyebright said she was just going to say the same thing, and before she new it my cousin had a whole waiting list of homeschoolers who wanted to see what a report card looked like.
Although my cousin probably thought it was kind of sad, I thought it was awesome!
