Ok... I am now gonna be posting websites to share on Wednesday!!!
So for today's WEDNESDAY WEBSITE post, take a look at this trip through SPACE with vocals... I love it and the kids and I have tried singing it all afternoon... The words are printed there with all the facts about the Milky Way... and this wonderful universe... You can check it out here...
Well, today was a great day... I had to work a 12 hour shift, but we only had 1 baby which left me and my co-working BFF lots of time to get other things done...
So, I started on my summer HS plan and also got a jump on our schedule for next year...
It seemed to fly by, partially because I didn't have my 2 kidlets asking me all sorts of questions and I guess that I have finally become more relaxed about our homeschool life... I hope to get several lapbooks done and work one some notebooking this summer...
This week has been really unorganized for us...*L* Sometimes it just seems that no matter ho much you plan, you just don't get everything done...
We continued with "Handwrting without Tears"...DS really loves doing cursive with this program... He absolutely hated the ABeka cursive... We quit it half way through the year last year...
DD worked on counting to 30 and writing her numbers to 20... She can write all her ABC's on command now and knows her vowels...(YEAH!!!)
We started working some more with plants and started some seeds.. (Marigolds, gourds, Impatiens)...
We did some more with our "worm" habitat...We now have some egg shells breaking down for them to eat...
We started history this week with another go-around with "Story of the World"...This time it's going so much better as DD is older and understands more of it.. We also made a cardboard loom and worked with some yarn andpretended we were early farmers using the wool from our newly tamed sheep / goats... They loved doing this... We also did some more "cave" paintings using finger paint this time...DD was fascianted with the story of the young Nomad girl... DS thought it was cook they ddn't have to take a bath...*L*
We talked the "Fertile Crescent" and where it was located and found it on the globe and the map...DD kept referring to the fact that it really wasn't shaped like a moon... (that's a 5yo for ya'...*L*) Even thought it is similar in shape, I thought...
I used Abraham in our teaching this week as he too was nomadic and we talked about the struggles early man had compared to out comfortable life today...
We are still working on 3 digit addition and subtraction...I think in a couple of weeks we may begin on the multiplication tables with DS....
I need to order our butterfly house and the larvae... I also need to get our tadpoles ordered... I am hoping to get to these for May.... I am ordering them from Earths Birthday Project... They donate percentages to conservation / habitat growth.... They also have butterfly and rainforest lesson plans online...
Well, that was pretty much it for us in a nutshell this week... Hope you had a great week!!
A couple of weeks ago, my DS had a animal science class at our co-op where they learned about "Penguins"... He became really interested in learning more about them, so we are going to do some more with them this week... We're going to do a unit on Mr. Popper's Penguins... I found a unit to help with this here.
1. We will be finding out where they live
2. Naming / labeling the continents
3. Making Antartica with sugar cubes
4. Doing a science experiments on why ice melts
5. Review thermometers and their use
Then we will talk about the penguins.
1.What they look like
2. Label the parts
3. Make some construction paper penguins
4. Talk about their waterproof feathers for science
5. Label the different species of penguins
I have a penguin video and we will also be watching "March of the Penguins"...
Enchanted Learning has all kinds of worksheets and information to use with the penguin study...
Belinda Mooney also has some great "Penguin" printables that we are going to be able to use with both kidlets for math and some games...You can find them here.
Today we spent part of the day talking about nutrition and the food pyramid... I found 2 great books at the library and got some free info, worksheets, and posters from the USFDA...
So here is some of the things we used for our lesson... One of the books is a "Reading Rainbow Selection" by Lorren Leedy... The other is by Gail Gibbons...
We took a look at our favorite foods and talked about where they would fit in the pyramid and then we looked at our house menus and if they were balanced and healthy...(I could use some work in that area..*L*)
Then we cut up some magazines and made some posters of "Healthy Sally" and "Junk Food Johnny"... We just made peopl using the pictures of food from the magazines... The kids loved this...
Yes, time for that little rodent to pop his little old head up and look around...
We actually started our precursor to this day earlier in the week by reading about a family in Ontario who were going out into the "forest" ... On their journey they saw a groundhog and that led us into the discussion about the animal and the upcoming "holiday"...
So, here is what's on our plan for some fun today...
You can find some neat printables here. And you can find a really neat and FREE lapbook from HSShere. It is all about the groundhog and has vocabulary, habitat, diet, class, etc... a complete science lesson...
Enchanted Learning also has a lesson / worksheet set on Groundhog Day and the animal... Complete with a craft.
The cute little Groundhog Mask also from Enchanted Learning..
I was surfing the net (surely not playing on the internet, yes...I was!! *L* ) and I came across this website.
It is a "Math Blog" and has some great ways to learn math using decks of cards... From addition to subtraction to multiplcation... and how cheap can that be, plus the kids love a variation in the usual day...
So next time you are at the Dollar Tree, pick up a few extra decks and see what you can come up with...
So far, we have gotten quite a bit done that I had set out to do with our list...We have gotten about half of our winter unit done...It's been alot of fun and informative as well... I have ordered a book from Amazon called "The Big Snow" , which I hope comes this week so we can incorporate it in our unit this month...I also got "Mr. Popper's Penguins" to use...I found a free unit stdy to go along with it here. We are also gonna try and watch "March of the Penguins" and National Geographics' "20 years with the penguins" which the kids got for Christmas...
Tonight we watched the "Backyardigans" movie on Nickleodeon... It was pretty neat... I wished I had taped it as it would have been fun to watch later on when we were doing our unit on "Knights"... *L* Oh well, i I could only figure out the VCR...*L*
Then, we sat down and worked on DS's "Crystal Growing Kit". So, for an hour after we placed the chemicals and the starter stone together, he came in and out of the school room watching...Trying to not miss a single bit of the growth...I hated to remind him it would be a week before we had crystal growth... *S* But he was so excited to watch it... Not bad for a $6 kit...
Well, I have to run for now... So much to plan and get going for the rest of this week... I worked this weekend and it always throws my Monday off after my work weekend... (I don't know why, I guess it's just a change in our regular schedule)...
Every semester I try and write an overview of what we will be doing for the upcoming period... So far, I really haven't even started for this term, and we are "officially" starting back to school Monday... It looks as if I will be spending Saturday afternoon and Sunday working on plans...
So, here is a rough draft that I have come up with so far...
We will continue to use Abeka for our math and language arts while supplementing with Follett Spelling2 and World of Language 2...
For science, we are using some Sonlight and some great books I have picked up with experiments...
For history, we are still doing the Story of the World...
And then we are gonna do a few units along the way and some books from HSS and FIAR... (this is the best part of my kids day, they love the cuddle and read time) My kids like to do this stuff even on the weekends... which means they really enjoy it... (My 4yo dd asks to do school all the time)...
Topics to cover:
Winter (using a free unit study) and read the Big Snow (HSS)
Creation (using some books and units from HSS & FIAR to go along with it)
We are doing this also in the Contenders class at our co-op with Dinosaurs...
the Great Kapok Tree
Night of the Moonjellies
Pocket Full of Cricket
Madeline (for DD)
Mike Mulligan and a unit on Knights and castles (for DS)
Looking at it in print makes it seem like too much even though we only use portions of it all and are sorta eclectic in our approach... But hopefully it will be fun for both of them and fun for me as well...
If you have a schedule for the next semester and units that you are going to do, I'd love to hear about them...
We are taking it easier this month because of the holidays and I want the kids to have the opportunity to enjoy the season and really appreciate what it is really a celebration of...
We are going to be finishing up "The Quiltmakers Gift"... we started it last week and the kids have really enjoyed reading it...
We are doing some "Gingerbread" math... I have a website that will generate math worksheets with the Gingerbread theme... We are playing a really cool game where we roll dice and based on what we roll, we draw parts of a Gingerbread Man... The kids are loving it... It's actually math that my 4yo and 7yo can do together... I just use 2 die instead of 1 for 7yoDS and let him add them...
We are working on the continents for my 4yo... and just reviewing them with my 7yo..
We are reviewing "stars" for science... And discussing the North Star... and the Northern Lights.. We are reading a great book called "Children of the North Lights"" (I was amazed when I looked this book to buy becuase my kids love it, over $300 US)... and Norway, Sweden, and Scandanavia...
We are learning some Christmas related vocabulary words and doing our regular spelling list this week...
DD is doing some cut / paste activities with plants and animals...
and then we are gonna play the rest of the week by ear.. (like baking cookies, having a playdate, and just snuggling and reading books together)
Here are some of the crafts and things we have done for our study of Thanksgiving...
DD's Turkey made with feathers and a pine cone beak... DS's Wampanoag village complete with a wetu... and the kidlets playing with their Pilgrim paperdolls... and the "walnut" Mayflowers we made...(they actually floated)...
We have begun our unit on Thanksgiving this week... We are reading Goody O' Grumpity this week and doing the unit from HSS and I also have a unit we are doing along with it I got from Budget Homeschooling... The kids like to hear the letters from the Mayflower and the Tribe which we have been getting by e-mail from Scholastic... and we discussed where certain phrases used in modern culture actually came from, like "minding your P's and Q's"... Hopefully, we will be productive this weekend and actually make the spice cake recipe in the end of Goody O' Grumpity...
Yesterday we made little Mayflower boats from Walnut hulls and pretzel sticks and cardstock sails... They actually floated... and DH loved eating the walnuts...*S* (I will post pictures of these tomorrow)... I think we will begin on our Wampanoag long house next weekand we are going to be making some felt medallions like the pendants worn by the Wampanoags... I also have a craft idea from Family Fun for making little Pilgrim boy and girl napkin rings from the kidlets pictures... They will really like that...
This week we covered alot.. we learned the parts of sentences (naming and telling)... We worked on "Synonyms" again... DS worked on filling out forms... and DD did the letter "K" and writing "5 and 6"... We did lots of workbook pages... and then DD did some "cut & paste" things and worked on patterns... We finished our "Halloween" projects and finished "Bats and Spiders"... DS did some review on addition with carrying...
We are still reading Mr. Popper's Penguins as our evening reading and I have found a unit study on it for us to start... Basically it's just a simple activity, so it would be something to do with Daddy too..
Today we are supposed to go and see the "Nutcracker" per formed by the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet with friends... DD is sooo excited... she wants to wear her leotard and tights and I am having to convince her it is too cold...*L* (to be 4yo again..*S*) ...
Today the kidlets and I went to a class at the library on "MUMMIFICATION" ...
And our "victim" was a Chicken who had the unfortunate name of KING CLUCK...*LOL*
It was really interesting... First you take a small "uncooked" chicken... and then you just follow the rest of these directions... (which we only completed steps 1-7 at this particular class, the rest will be completed at a later date)...
Materials Needed:
One chicken
4 containers of salt
1/2 cup spices (cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and such)
paper towels
plastic gloves
zip-lock freezer bags (gallon size or larger)
gauze strips
plastic containers to hold chicken in bag (incase of leakage)
Procedure:
1. Wearing gloves, students will remove entrails from the chicken (Optional: These can be preserved in smaller baggies and put in baby food jars. Later, students can decorate the baby food jars with clay heads, turning them into canopic jars.)
2. At a sink, thoroughly rinse both inside and outside of chicken. Do this until the liquid runs clear.
3. Using paper towels (many will be needed), dry the chicken thoroughly inside and out, especially under the legs and wings. This is critical, since any moisture can create problems with the mummification process.
4. Rub the 1/2 cup of spices all over the chicken (inside and out). Any mixture of sweet-smelling (and cheap) spices will do. The purpose is to mask the odor of the decay which is about to take place.
5. Rub salt over the entire chicken, making sure that every inch is covered (and very dry).
6. Fill the cavity with salt.
7. Place the chicken in a Zip-loc bag. Seal the bag and place in a plastic tub (or bowl) in case the bag begins to leak. (As the process occurs, liquid will drain from the carcass).
8. Once a week for 4 or 5 weeks, open the bag and remove the chicken (be sure to wear gloves!). Weigh the chicken each time and record the weight. The chicken must be re-spiced, re-salted (inside the cavity and out), and replaced in a clean bag.
9. Repeat this process each week until no more liquid accumulates in the bag.
10. When the chicken is done, remove it from the bag. Then wrap it in gauze strips or ripped muslin strips. Decorate with handmade "authentic" Egyptian amulets, medallions, jewels, etc.
11. Create a sarcophagus for the mummy using shoe boxes. Spray box with gravel paint. Decorate with hieroglyphics and pictures of Egyptian gods.
12. Students can bury the sarcophagus (with mummy inside) and dig it up later in the year.
I remember exactly where I was that day... I was working a 12hr. shift at UT in the NICU and our unit secretary came rushing in and said a plane had crashed into the first tower... It was a shock as we all thought that it had been an accident and we turned on the TV that was positioned on the wall and gathered around our 50+ bed unit... We watched in horror as the tower smoked and then as the second plane went crashing into the 2nd tower...and then as a 3rd plane crashed into the Pentagon. It was horrible picture and all I could think about was wanting to go home and hug my little boy who was 16 months old at the time and being kept by my mom...These graphic images are a part of my memory as if I was physically there... I was witnessing history and horror at the same time... My heart and tears go out to each one who lost someone that day.. The "innocent" lives that were taken... And I can only think to myself how thankful I am to have the "FREEDOM" to live here in this beautiful country of ours and that my children and I don't have to live in the fear that others in so many places today do.. I pray for people in countries that live every day with terrorism and the worry if your family will be safe today...
I thank each and every soldier who has unselfishly given of himor herself both past and present calls of duty and those out there now protecting my life and the life of my family and for the sacrifice they and their families have made for this great country of ours... I pray that God will keep you safe and that your journey will end in victory...
And it is because of this fight that they deserve all our gratitude and appreciation for all they have done to keep us free...
Today, I took the day to talk to my kids about what happened that day and why... I used this opportunity to show them the pictures of the towers and the devastation that occured and how we should be thankful that we have the freedoms that we do.. We read "the Pledge of Allegiance" book and said the pledge and then prayed for the families of those who had lost someone and those that had family fighting for our safety now...
I hope that my children are able to take away that "FREEDOM" comes at a cost and we should all be glad to pay for it... and that most of all that we should be thankful for the blessing of this great country...
A productive day...Our third day at co-op ran much smoother than previously... My kids have now gotten the swing of where they are supposed to be and when.. (even my 4yo DD)..
In Phonics we studied the letter "C" and made "clown" puppets, had a puppet show where each child had to say something about "C" with his/her puppet... and then ate "cookies" ...
Then in "Countries of the World", we again studied more on Australia... and I had some "aboriginal" artwork and a boomerang (thanks to a friend who loaned them to me) for show and tell.. as well as, some pictures and some money from Australia... We discussed more of the outback and the words used in Australia that are different from our terms...we read "Marsupial Sue" and listened to the song on CD and then for our finale, we made a "PLATYPUS"... we used brown lunch bags and stuffed them with shredded newspapers... then we stapled the top closed in a point... then we glued on the beak, flat tail, and flippers... and the finishing part was the googly eyes... I think they really enjoyed it...
In my DS's "Contenders for the Faith" class, there was a guest speaker... She worked as a animal rahabilitationist... Taking in injured and abandoned animals from the mild to the wild... having at any time from her current 28 animals to 80 animals at her home... It certainly takes a special person to do such a job because it is very costly to take care of all the animals, plus the time and energy spent on their care... She came and gave an excellent talk and introduced the kids to some great animals...
The first animal was a baby squirrel that had been injured in a tree cutting accident... (the only survivor) and had lost part of its tail and had multiple stitches in various parts of its little body... The kids learned that the tail is used for balance and also for communication with the other squirrels.. the squirrel then went on to make the boys cackle when it "pee'd" on the handler's shoulder...
Then she got out 2 "Screech" owls (one grey, one red).. Smaller than the Barn owl or the Horned owl.. they have fixed eyes, no ears (those things on their heads are just tufts of feathers), and contrary to popular belief, a owl CANNOT turn his head 360 degrees, only 280... *L*
She then showed the boys a "Virginia Oppossum" (or road kill as they are commonly referred to around here).. And another fallacy is that they can hang from their tails... No they can't as their tails can't support their weight... the tail itself is called a prehensile tail in that it acts like a third hand... She is a marsupial with a twist in that her pouch is vertical.. and she can have as many as 25 babies at one time...
From there was the "Desert King Snake" ... a beautiful constrictor with brown and cream markings... so she had a brief discussion on proper handling of snakes and "cold-blooded" behaviors etc.
Then was my personal favorite, the "Leopard Tortoise" from the Sahara...bought in the pet shop by someone who once they got it home decided that it didn't do tricks and got rid of it.. They can live to be 150 yrs. old and up to 90-100lbs. in weight... plus they are extremely smart creatures..
And never, never, give an animal cow's milk!!!
So all in all, it was a productive, educational, and enjoyable day... Maybe the trend will continue tomorrow..
Today we had a field trip... and went to a Panther Creek State Park. They were having a wildlife program called Predator and Prey.
There were 8 children and 4 moms which made the perfect size group... Not too big nor too small for activities..
Crystal, the Ranger, started the class by feeling the kids out on what they knew about animals in the area and quizzed them on some basic terms that related to the class, like "predator" (those animals that hunt), "prey" (those that are hunted), "nocturnal" (sleep during day and hunt at night) and such... Then she went on to talk about different animals in the area and their place on the food chain... They talked about why Panther Creek was named such...(a long time ago, a man shot a "panther" that was roaming in the area and it supposedly fell in the creek)... It was a great class...
Then the children got to play hide and seek in teams... Each pretending to either "predator" or "prey"...Each child had to decide what animal on he/she was going to be, then they would act like that animal and either hunt or hide from those "hunting" them.
They had a great time... Learned some stuff... and then we went to Chik-Filet... *L*
We didn't get to finish all that we had hoped to do this week... We had some unforseen problems... (the fridge on the fritz and my pregnant sister had some complications, which thankfully have resided for now)....(THANKS TO THE GOOD LORD FOR THE BLESSING HE HAS GIVEN HER and HER HUSBAND) !!!
So this week, we have been working on the book Abuela's Weave... (as I had mentioned in an earlier note)... We have been doing a mini-lapbook type activity to go with it... So far, we have done a color wheel, which my 4yo DD loved and we have talked about the classifications of birds...(written out by my 7yo DS)... we've visited Guatemala in the globe and colored maps and flags... We've also discussed similie's and DS wrote out some examples from the book...and lots of other things... We;ve talked about mass production and the culture in Central America... We worked on more conversational Spanish, "how are you, what's you name, the days of the week, God bless you"...etc...
We also had a few bible verses that we spent some time on... Dealing with kindness and the Golden Rule...(Matthew and 1 Samuel)
I've also begun planning some other things for the coming weeks... I'd like to do something with the "Very Busy Spider" for my 4yo and then maybe something on "Sharks" for my 7yo... (his favorite topic lately)... And we are going to start an "All about ME" unit and talk about the human body some more... (I just bought a great new book from Sam's on the Human Body and it is in great detail, but on a level that is right for the kids to understand)...
I only wish I could have taken them to Davy Crocketts cabin yesterday or today as they were having a celebration and then maybe to Panther Creek Park for another wildlife class... But I think there will be plenty of time in the future for those and this was one week where the fact that homeschool can be done around any schedule really worked for us...
Well, off to bed... I think we are going to take the kids to a "Back to School" bash tomorrow... Hot Dogs and Inflatables...Woo-Hoo!!! (they will love it and it will be a fun surprise for them)...
Today was our first day back at our CHEF co-op... It was a busy but beautiful day...It was so encouraging to see all the excited faces and all the new families that had joined us this year...
My kids were so excited that they had trouble going to sleep last night... I was able to get them up very easily this morning, even though it was almost an hour earlier than normal for them...
The co-op is offering some great classes this year and I have taken advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that were available...
DD is taking her favorite, "BALLET" (taught by a former HS graduate), and then off to "Phonics" (taught by dear old mom), then off to "Organized Play" , (which is great for a 4yo)...
DS is taking "Art", then a "Craft" class, then "Contenders for the Faith" (which mom is assisting with) ...
After these morning classes we have a 30 minute lunch break and 30 minute family / group devotions with the Pastor George...(their is such a large attendance this year that we had to alternate our lunch schedule and make it into 2 different periods)..which is truly wonderful!!!
Then in the afternoon, DD takes a class called "All about Forests" and then "Countries of the World" (again taught by dear ol' mom)...DS is taking a "Time and Money" class, and then "Financial Peace for Kids" (a Dave Ramsey course)...
To finish what is already a hectic day, we head from there to Karate for both kids and then they play with some other kids while I and some other mothers do an hour long aerobic class...
To make it easier on us, we've made Thursdays our new "PIZZA" day at our house... *L*
well, so long for now, it's almost past my bedtime... Happy Learning!!!
Monday has turned out to be a very productive day for us..
A friend told me about a website that has some booklists / lesson plans that are more in the Five-in-a-Row style and and so I thought I would try some.. I am enjoying this resource and really appreciate my friend telling me about it... I like to use varied curriculum so the kids are always excited about something new..
So, today we began with "Abuela's Weave"... It is a wonderful story about a lil' girl in Argentina.. We were able to discuss life in South America and the types of homes (thatched roofs and mud/stone dwellings)...
We then looked at the globe and my 7yo DS found it very easily and both kids were able to tell me it was located in Central America...
We talked about the Quetzal and that it is an "honored" bird in many Central and South American cultures... We discussed the Mayans and looked at some Mayan architectur online, as well as, some beautiful tapestires online....
We also were able to discuss how it's not nice to say ugly things about others and how it hurts their feelings... (in the story , Abueala has a birthmark on her face and people made fun and said terrible things about her) And we discussed how God makes everyone different and special in his/her own way...
I am already planning what we will do tomorrow and the rest of the week... I think that this weekend I will get a potholder set and let the kids make some to explain a loom and the use of it...
Well, tonight we tried to have a lesson in Astronomy.. It didn't work out...
The Perseid Meteor shower (which started Aug. 9th) was supposed to be at its peak tonight... At 3am, I am up looking out into the sky... (with telescope ready)...
NOTHING....I saw NOTHING.... The sky itself was dark, but very cloudy and overcast...
And you can get some ideas for the book 
So next time you are at the Dollar Tree, pick up a few extra decks and see what you can come up with...
