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Amazed!!!
Jul. 13, 2009
Weeks 34-36
Well it looks like I will probably never get around to writing an excerpt about each individual week so I will just combine the last 3 weeks of our homeschooling year into one year.
Yes, we finished Core 4!!! The last 3 weeks were really fantastic. I know I say that every week, so you can take that with a grain of salt, but we covered so many profound topics and had some really great discussions!
We covered Chicano rights and Cesar Chavez, Native American rights, more Black rights, and women's rights. We discussed the Vietnam War, and in particular our family's perspective of it, since I was born in Saigon and left in April of 1975. I think when the children are older, I can see if my parents will talk to them about it. They never would talk to me much about it, but maybe now that so much time has elapsed, the memories won't be as painful. We can at least try.
We have really loved Core 4. This Core truly had no duds, IMO. Not that there were many duds in previous cores, but there was always a book or two that I could have done without. Not Core 4. We really enjoyed every book, the readers and the read alouds, and we can't wait to see what Core 5 will unveil for us!!
The language arts program was great as usual, and MUS continues to work well for us.
L. finished up her Core PK 4/5 stuff and is reading so well I don't know what to do with her. She just turned 6 but has finished the Regular readers for LA 2. I think I will have her wait until she does LA 2 Intermediate since I want her to do the grammar that goes with that program. So we'll see!!
Okay, I think this is it for this blog piece. I have lots more stuff to blog about but I am glad I at least got this done. |
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May. 18, 2009
Week 33, May 11-15, 2009
Another week covering Civil Rights. This time we discussed Chicano rights, Native American rights, and women's rights.
When discussing Chicano rights, we learned about Cesar Chavez and his method of fasting as a non-violent protest. We talked about whether we'd do it for something we believed in. Both girls said emphatically no! But we did discuss why it would be beneficial to do so, when one is making progress in a struggle for rights. We talked about how, if someone was fighting for something important like equal rights, if that person hit a roadblock--such as a unjust law that the government is adamant about not changing--that doing something as drastic as a fast might achieve quick results. We discussed how it might even be a win-win situation for the cause. If the government did change policy due to one important leader's fast, then the people got what they wanted. If the government did not change policy and the fasting leader died as a result, then the people would really turn against the government, since the leader has thus achieved martyr status and might become more powerful in death than in life, as his/her legacy would continue for years afterwards.
When discussing Native American equality, we revisited some of the tragic events that we learned about last year, about how our own US government cheated and abused Native Americans. We had a very interesting discussion based on this question:
"White Americans sometimes say that it was not wrong white settlers to take land from the Native Americans. They say that the Native nations 'did nothing' with the land, but the white settlers took over and built America into a great nation. What do you think about this argument?" (The Story of the U.S.A. Book 4, by Franklin Escher, Jr., published by EPS, copyright 1993, page 51)
I personally had never heard of this argument, so I thought it was a great foundation for a discussion. To set up for the discussion, though, we had to really go over why there was such a big conflict. We discussed the Native American belief that the land is for everyone to share and that no one should own any one piece of the land. We contrasted that with the white settler's beliefs that every person can buy land that will then belong specifically to him/her. That set up the basis for the huge clash in culture and belief between Native Americans and whites. K. initially said she thought it was good for the whites to develop the land and build roads and buildings and bridges and the like, but that "they should have set aside land for the Native Americans". I reminded her that they did sort of do that when they set aside "reservations". We then discussed how reservation land was usually land that wasn't really profitable or fertile for the whites and how, when the whites decided they needed more land, they violated treaty after treaty and invaded even reservation land. We then discussed another cause for the conflict and that is the Native American desire to live a simple life off the land, with no real desire to "build up a city". We discussed why that belief isn't wrong, and both girls thought that those who wanted to have that life should have it.
So..we concluded that there were no easy answers and that this question continues to rear its head in other countries and with other cultures.
Lastly, we discussed womens' rights. We read about womens' suffrage and the fight for that, and we discussed the feminism of the 50's through today. We hit a very sticky spot that I had failed to pre-read. Sigh. I thought we were just reading about women's suffrage and equality in the workplace and education. But towards the end of the reading, there was a discussion about abortion and abortion rights. Sigh. I stopped reading at that point, but by that time, K was reading over my shoulder and A wanted to know why I stopped. So I felt that I had to plunge ahead. So I had to explain to the girls what an abortion was, and what our beliefs as Christians are wrt abortion. We discussed the real debate between pro-choice and pro-life advocates--when life begins, and the Biblical definition of when life begins. We then talked about what the current law is, and why some Christians continue to try to change policy wrt abortion. I think overall the discussion went well, but I really wish I had remembered to pre-read it and prepare for it!
In science, we learned about solids, liquids and gases and the effect of heating and cooling. We also read about boiling and freezing and what affects the weather.
K began The Seventeeth Swap for her reader and I started it for A's read aloud. It is a very charming story so far. No read aloud for K. Taking a break!
Blessings,
A.H. |
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May. 17, 2009
Week 32, May 4-8, 2009
Another week of great discussions.
It seems that we will be covering the Civil Rights Amendment in the next few weeks. Our first lengthy discussion was about the Civil Rights Movement as it pertained to Blacks or, to be more PC, African-Americans. Chapter 2 from The Story of the USA was about the Jim Crow laws and subsequent segregation and the long road back to integration, from Plessy to Brown v. Board. The readings mentioned that even today, cities are not fully integrated. This surprised K., and so we plunged into a very long discussion of the segregation in cities today. We talked about how most cities are divided up into sections--poor areas, middle class areas, upper middle class areas and upper class areas. In addition, some cities seem to have specific ethnicities living in their "own" specific parts of town. While it is legal for any person to live anywhere in the city, there are still barriers such as what a person can afford for housing and where a person feels comfortable living. We talked about, e.g., how a person who may have endured a lot of racial prejudice may feel more comfortable living with others of the same race to reduce the chance of having to endure any further prejudice. We talked about how, because of the inequality that Blacks endured in the workplace and in academia, many Blacks could not make enough money to live in the "nicer" parts of town. We talked about affirmative action, how many universities and colleges offer scholarships to attract qualified students of specific minorities, in an attempt to undo some of the injustices of the past. We discussed how this can and has caused hostility with whites who feel that some schools will accept minority students who are less qualified, just to have the numbers.
Whew! What a heavy discussion. In fact, we realized that we had discussed it for nearly an hour and a half and had to quickly rush to Chik-Fil-A for lunch and then dash to piano lessons!
The next day we discussed in more detail what the fight for equality for Blacks involved--we discussed MLK and his method of non-violent protest, including boycotts and sit-ins. We talked about Ms. Rosa Parks, and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. We ended with the assasination of Dr. King. For our discussion questions, we talked about whether we personally would be able to use non-violent methods if we were attacked. This is such a sticky topic. I have taught my children that they are allowed to defend themselves if attacked. I did discuss other things to do, like walking away from the situation and/or informing a person of authority. But I do not want my children to lie like limp rags while someone is truly threatening their lives or safety or in any way harming them. In fact, I will be signing up the children for karate/self defense classes this summer and A. is already in karate classes year round.
Our last heavy discussion was about JFK and his brief time as our president. We discussed why someone might want to assassinate a president or important leader and why some people might care about the religious beliefs of the president. We discussed JFK's actions at the Bay of Pigs and whether we thought it was the right thing to do or not. K and A both said they thought that he was right not to really involve any US troops but that honestly, he should not have supported the exiles with weapons to begin with. They both thought that he should have just granted them political asylum and told them to trust God, more or less, and to try to move on in their new country.
Heavy stuff! We finished up our excellent Bible study book, Starting Strong this week with a lesson on how a seemingly insignificant spark could light a big fire. We read the story of Naaman and how his servant girl's advice to him helped turn this skeptical leader into a believer. We discussed ways to be encouraged and strong for Christ, even if we think we're just one person. We talked about how one person could make a wealth of difference.
Otherwise, K finished up Bruchko, and I finished reading A School Story to A. K and I finished listening to Miracles on Maple Hill on audio. We were supposed to start In Search of the Source as a read aloud, but I decided to do that book during the summer. So we are enjoying a nice read aloud break right now, at least K and I. LOL
In science we covered musical sounds, how some animals "see" with sounds, and what things are made of (atoms and molecules).
God bless!!
A.H. |
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May. 17, 2009
Week 31, April 27-May 1, 2009
We had some fantastic discussions this week, so instead of blogging an update on everything we have been doing, I will just hit the highlights of our discussions. These discussions have been sparked by what we are reading in history, from our readings in The Story of the USA and Landmark.
We started with readings about the Cold War, as the US and the Soviet Union emerged from WWII as the two superpowers. So we discussed the pros and cons of a democracy and communism. We discussed some of the pros of a socialistic or communistic society--no unemployment, and health care, food, housing, etc all provided by the government. We discussed the type of people who might like socialism and we thought about what situation we might be in such that we might prefer socialism.
We then moved into a discussion about LBJ and his initial popularity as he carried out JFK's programs, and his subsequent slide into unpopularity as he continued and escalated the war in Vietnam. Discussing the Vietnam War was always a touchy topic for me when I was in school. I hated the way everyone talked about the Vietnamese people as "them". I always felt that Vietnamese people were depicted as either small and weak, or pigheaded and cruel. I absolutely did not ever like watching movies about the War. No matter what angle the movie or book was, I just never felt that the essence of Vietnamese culture was captured, nor the spirit of the Vietnamese people. Oh well. I hope to bring some of that into our readings, as I am sure that in future years, we will be discussing this in greater length.
In Starting Strong, we studied the life of Joseph. We talked about how things that we think are "bad" sometimes end up being something "good". We discussed how only God knows what will happen in the future, and that if we learn to trust Him in our "bad" times, we will be able to grow and see Him more clearly during the "good" years.
Reading wise, K started Bruchko as her reader. I read A School Story to A since I thought Bruchko might be too graphic for A. We continued Miracles on Maple Hill for K's read aloud.
In science, we finished up colors, and began a unit on sound. We discussed sound waves and how we hear.
L is still chugging along. Finishing up all her kinder stuff and reading well past 2nd grade level.
Ciao!
A.H. |
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May. 17, 2009
Writer's Circle for Weeks 26-33
I have been terrible as usual about blogging!!  But we still have been doing our Writer's Circle, though I bailed out of it weeks ago. The kids are great writers and I hope to have a desk so I can write too. No, I currently do not have my own desk!!! A desk is necessary, IMO, for keeping proper order. LOL
Anyway, with no further ado, let me get onto the children's work.
For week 26, K had to write one of those poems that have a shape. She did a great job with hers, though I can't format it correctly on the blog. I did take a picture of it, though:
Here is the text of it:
The
World
is a growin'
and children
are playing
here
comes the balloon man so wee!!
leaves are a growing and snow is a melting,
here come the spring showers so
wee! I build a new playhouse while
daddy is sleeping, mom bakes me some
brownies
so wee!
I swing on the
swing set here come
my play fellows I"m
loving the
spring tiime
so wee!
Yes, I am her mother, but seriously, I think it is an excellent poem!!
A. had to write a description (no matter how fantastical) of her dream room:
My dream room has a roller coaster in the middle. I paint my own room teal and turquoise yellow and purple. One color on each wall. My room is shaped like a square.
I'm beginning to think I need to set more guidelines on A's writing. She is such a writer and what she turns in for writing assignments, while good, does not reflect her abilities at all. LOL
For week 27, K had to design a board game, so there was no real writing. She designed a cool board with pieces and her own die and we played it and had fun. The game was called Toliver's Secret. The objective was to smuggle the bread from the house to the person who was to deliver the message. Of course it was based on the book of the same name. LOL You collected courage points during your route and the person who gets to the end and has the most courage points wins. It was a fun game.
I cannot find A's week 27 assignment, but we did our WC on it. I am so bummed. It's been so long, she can't remember what it was about and neither can I. ARRGGGG!!!
For week 28, K had to write a short story. She wrote a great one about an elephant, but I can't find it now to put it in the blog. Boo, me! I bet I put both K and A's week 27 and week 28 assignments somewhere together. I'll definitely put it in the blog when I find it.
Somehow I found A's week 28 assignment. She had to write a poem about something she loves:
Love drawing.
My brain enjoys it.
Think I will be an artist when I grow up.
I also found another poem she had written earlier this year that I wanted to go ahead and put in here:
The Seed
Seed, quiet, like a mouse
Something that goes into wood.
Sounds like a tiger with a black and white tail. A drop of rain. Bright red on the
Green grass. But it's really something you plant.
For week 29, K had to do an assignment called "respond to reading" where she had to chart some of the books she wrote and her response. No real creative writing this week, just a good review of her stuff and what she liked.
A's assignment was to write a descriptive paragraph about someone she loves. It looks like she wrote a poem instead. Oh well, here it is:
My little brother FQ
Who plays around everyday
Who even does school
Who isn't potty trained
Who is happy and sad
For week 30, K had to do an ABC book where she had to make another chart. She would go from A to Z and put a literary element for each letter, using examples from all her books. For example, she could choose a character whose name started with A, then choose a descriptive word starting with the letter B for any of her characters, etc. It was really more of an exercise than a creative writing assignment so again we don't have much to blog.
A's assignment was to write about one of her accomplishments:
I learned to ride a bike to get places faster! I didn't like to balance on the bike. I had to pedal, slow down, stop and balance.
A spent week 31 doing "research" about horses (which she is incidentally allergic to). She had to learn the difference between domesticated horses and mustangs.
K wrote an essay about what a hero is:
Who is a hero? Are you a hero? Do you know a hero? Is your mom a hero--or is your hero less personal?
I opine that a hero is one that undertakes something others don't do. Someone who shoves through the barriers to find a new world--a world that they themselves have the key to.
But a hero can also be a personal hero, one you want to be like, or admire. Like a mother, or a athlete you like--someone that has a distinctive place in your heart or mind. Your hero can be anyone, depending on your interests or weaknesses. Your hero may be someone who saved you from falling into the water or is good at the sport you love. Or anybody. A hero is brave, specail for sure, we love our heroes!
Well, I opine that my kids are great! LOL I seriously have never heard her use that word before but I am really proud of her for correctly using an underused and unusual word.
So for week 32, A presented her research paper. She left out a few details, but I really think this is more my fault than hers. I basically leave her on her own to do these assignments, so I think she will miss stuff here and there. My goal when she does this program again is to do better with this. Obviously! LOL
Mustang horses are free roaming and they are brought by the Spanish and North Americans. Domesticated horses are tame and trained. Since mustang horses are wild you can't sit on them but on domesticated horses. Most horse camps have tamed and trained domesticated horses.
K worked on a book review for week 32:
Charlotte's Web is about a pig, not a dirty grumpy pig, but a kind, sweet pig.
Wilbur was saved from being killed by Fern, the farmer's daughter. She raised him like a baby, loving and caring for him.
When Wilbur was old enough, Fern sold him to her uncle so she could visit him whenever she wanted. IT was there that Wilbur met Charlotte, and he also learned that the Zuckermans would eat him and he would never see snow. But Charlotte promises that Wilbur will not die....
One morning, Mr. Zuckerman hired man, Lurvy, got up to feed Wilbur, he looked up, and there, weaved into Charlotte's web were the words SOME PIG. Soon, everybody came to see Wulbur, he was famous. Soon, later, it said TERRIFIC, then RADIANT. So Mr. Zuckerman decided to take this famous pig to the fair.
Naturally Charlotte went with Wilbur, though she would soon lay her eggs and die. The last web she wove was in Wilbur's crate, it said HUMBLE, the very word for Wilbur. Wilbur did not win the blue ribbon, but he did win a medal, then Charlotte laid her egg sack and died after saying goodbye to Wilbur. But she kept her promise, and Wilbur saw his first snow. And not that snow, but many more, and he died the way Charlotte did. He was grateful to her forever.
So just a few editorial things to make it better, and of course next time I should tell her that a book review should not reveal everything about the book, including the end. LOL
This past week was week 33 for us and K had to give a speech based on her book review. She had to make note cards and she gave it for our Writer's Circle.
A had to think about some of the books she had read, and try to work out if there was a scene in any of her books that she'd like to act out or write a screenplay for. So she decided that she'd like to play Betsey in B is for Betsey. Here is what she says:
I am writing a book on B is for Betsey. I play Betsey, my friend is Ellen. The most exciting part is when Ellen gets to go with Betsey all summer. And when Betsey goes to school, because during the day, the school becomes a circus.
Well, I am finally caught up on doing those!! Again, I will vow to do better. I hope to get a desk soon !
God bless,
A.H. |
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May. 9, 2009
Week 30, April 27-May 1, 2009
This week we were somewhat rushed since I was going away for the weekend and had to leave on Friday. So we did a lot of our Friday work on Thursday. I love how the kids can direct themselves when we have a change in plans!
We wrapped up WWII this week, and read about all the plans to recover from the war. We also read about the beginnings of the Cold War and all the Soviet satellite countries.
We finished up both Thimble Summer and The Winged Watchman. We started Miracles on Maple Hill for K's read aloud, on audiobook. I still love the audiobook thing!! Thimble Summer was nice and The Winged Watchman was touching. Miracles is okay so far though I have to confess that K and I don't really like the readers for the audiobook. There was only one reader for Roll of Thunder, and she was excellent. We prefer one reader over a cast, which is how Miracles is set up.
We read "listen children" by Lucille Clifton, which we really enjoyed. The girls had to think a bit about what the poem meant. K really likes poems written in dialect.
We read more about light this week and related topics. Mirrors plus bending and reflecting light, in addition to how the human eye sees.
The girls continued on with their math and language arts.
And of course, L. cruised on as usual. She is nearly done with everything. She will have a great year next year.
We're getting near the end!!!
A. |
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Apr. 21, 2009
Week 29, April 13-17, 2009
We continued on with Ephesians this week, finishing up chapter 3 and going through chapter 5. We discussed unity among Christians and living as representatives of Christ.
Our Starting Strong lesson was about choosing to do what is right but unpopular versus following along in the crowd. The scenario is an unpopular girl at school that no one wants to be friends with. One girl, though, feels compelled to reach out to her, but worries what her friends will think. Our study came from Luke 1: 26-38, the story of Mary carrying the Christ child and doing what she knew was right. We discussed situations where doing the right thing might make us unpopular or might lead us to sacrifice a great deal.
We continued reading about the middle years of WWII, during the wars on both the Pacific front against Japan and on the European front with Germany. We also read about entertaining the troops and how women were managing on the home front, taking over jobs that their husbands and sons previously held.
For K's read aloud, we finished up The Winged Watchman. A very touching ending and a very good book overall. We also began Thimble Summer for K's reader and A's read aloud. This is the same author of Gone Away Lake so we already were familiar with the style. This book seems very different though. A finished up Frindle for her reader. I am impressed that she understood just about all of the story. She is really getting much better.
Our poetry reading was written by Sonia Sanchez and was called "To PJ (2 years old who sed write a poem for me in Portland, Oregon)". We had a nice discussion about dialect and when and why it is used in literature.
Nothing unusual for L this week. She is cruising.
More next week!
A.H. |
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Apr. 21, 2009
Week 28, April 6-10, 2009
We had a very busy weekend, so our Monday was very slow. This past weekend, K. had her dance competition (her studio did very well and one of her performances came in 4th overall) and my parents came up to visit. They got to see some of the competition as well. That was really nice, to see them!
We finished up Ecclesiastes and started Ephesians. We read up to chapter 3 this week. Our Starting Strong lesson was about making difficult choices that may either make you unpopular or leave you on the outside of the crowd. Our Bible study came from Exodus 2: 1-10. I am so grateful for this book. The scenarios presented are very much like the scenarios our children will face in life and it is great to discuss these things with our children. It is just great to discuss the Biblical way to handle tough spots, like the one we read about this week, where a girl is invited to a slumber party along with all of the other girls in the class, but she is unable to go because her parents won't let her. Last year's slumber party resulted in some wild behavior and this girl's parents won't let her go because of that--she ends up being the only girl in class who is not going.
This week in history, we covered the biggest tragedy of WWII, that is, the concentration camps and Hitler's attempt at genocide. We also covered the turning of the tide in the war, with American involvement, and the Allies beginning to strike back. Reading about the Holocaust is always such a sobering thing, but it really needs to be done. We continue to be amazed at how many people carried out Hitler's orders and how many higher ranking officers remained loyal to him, even though his orders led them to sure death.
We finished up In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson and highly recommend it! Very delightful! A. finished up A Llama in the Family and began Frindle. Like all Andrew Clements' books, this one is quite enjoyable. A. has to narrate this one too but did a fine job. K. had to find alternative reading material since she finished the Jackie Robinson book last week. We read The Winged Watchman for her read aloud. Such brave people to take such risks to hide Jews and fight the Germans in the Underground Resistance. It always leads me to ask myself what I'd do in such a situation.
For science, we learned about floating and sinking, pressure, simple machines, and engines.
Once again, L. had a good week, just humming along with her programs.
That is it for this week!!!
A.H. |
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Apr. 21, 2009
Week 27, March 30-April 4, 2009
We continued reading through Ecclesiastes this week. The girls seem to understand well what it means to "chase the wind" and when things are "meaningless, meaningless!". LOL
We started up with Starting Strong again. Our first lesson was about valuing God's opinion of us over others' opinions of us. We studied 1 Sam 16: 1-13, the story of how God chose David to be the next king. David was an unlikely choice, since he was the youngest of Jesse's sons, but we learned that what God values (our hearts) isn't necessarily what people value.
We continued studying about WWII in our book, The World Wars. We covered quite a bit this week, going from the Battle of Britain, and the German invasion of Eastern Europe, through the war in N. Africa and Hitler's betrayal and invasion of the Soviet Union, to Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific and the involvement of the US.
We were very impressed with the Russian people. We read about their resistance to Germany, even when they were attacked unawares, and their grit and spiritual strength during the Siege of Leningrad. Up until now, we haven't read much about Russia and of course, growing up as I did in the public school system in the 1970's and 1980's, we weren't taught much about Russia at all. I was near tears during some of our readings this week.
For K's reader and A's read aloud, we began a very pleasant book called In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. What fun! We have enjoyed this book so far with its mix of humorous and poignant stories. K could not help herself and read the whole book the first day. I also realized that A. had no idea how to play baseball or any rules of the game. I had to take the time out to explain that to her. It made me think--I had not thought much of "teaching" my kids Physical Education because they are in dance, gym, yoga, tennis, etc. and are physically very active. But I remembered that PE in schools also taught kids how to play many different games, games that are important to our culture like baseball, football, soccer and basketball. So I'm considering doing something about that..but not sure what.
Anyway, for K's read aloud, we read The Winged Watchman which has good adventure and spirit so far. A. is reading A Llama in the Family and enjoying it. She is narrating it to me since we don't have the comprehension questions for it. It was added to the curriculum after we bought the instructor's guide and I'm too cheap to buy the new IG. LOL
They are also moving along fine in math. A. does need more practice problems than what MUS gives us. MUS does offer a package for "extra practice sheets" so I believe next year when we order her next level, we will get these. I am no good at making up math problems and I frequently find the free online worksheets to be lacking.
For science, we continued reading from The Usborne Science Encyclopedia. We read about friction, gravity, moving in a straight line, and appropriately enough, moving in curves, or bending.
L. continues to do very well with her stuff. She is so far ahead in reading that I don't really know what to do. She has cruised through SL's 2nd grade "regular" readers, which are, actually, pretty easy for her to read. I believe she actually reads at 3rd grade level, and she has great spelling skills and can probably spell at first grade level, if not 2nd grade. However, she has not had any grammar (she's only 5!) so next year we will do the grammar pages from SL's LA 1. However, I am stumped as what to offer her for reading. I considered doing Core K using the 4 day program, and letting her read the books left over for her readers. We'll see. At any rate....she's just a gem to teach.
FQ is really enjoying all of his preschool readers. He will start SL's Core PK 3/4 next year and I believe he will do fine. He is getting his letters and numbers down. He is also just a cute kid. 
Oh, I almost forgot--our poetry readings were by J. Kennedy--"One Winter Night in August" and Mary Ann Hoberman--"The Folk who live in Backward town". A. has developed a real love for poetry. She makes sure we read all of our poetry readings for the week.
That concludes week 27!! We are nearing the end...
A.H. |
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Apr. 6, 2009
Week 26, March 23-27, 2009
After our sun drenched beautiful vacation in Jamaica, we plowed back into our books.
We read chapters 9-12 in Ecclesiastes, again, reminding ourselves of what is important in life and what we should be focusing on.
We began our study of WWII in earnest, this week. We started with an overview chapter from our Landmark book, but we quckly plunged into The World Wars. We read about the rise of Hitler and Mussolini in Germany and Italy, and the rise of power of the Japanese military. We discussed the state of many of the newly created countries in Europe after WWI, and how fragile their governments were. We talked about the race hate and propaganda that littered German streets and airwaves. And we finally read about all the events that led to the Hitler's invasion of Poland in September of 1939, marking the beginning of WWII. Tough, heavy stuff.
For her reader, K. finished up Gone Away Lake, and A. finished it up for her read aloud. They both enjoyed this book, though I believe A. liked it more than K. I read Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt to K. for her read aloud, and A. finished reading Lumber Camp Library and began A Llama in the Family. She really liked Lumber Camp Library.
For our poetry, we read "Cardinal Ideograms" by May Swenson, and "Some Opposites" by Richard Wilbur. Both enjoyable and whimsical poems.
For science, we read some basic facts about our planet, and some of the fuels that we use. We discussed alternative energy as well. We finished out the week by discussing forces and why things move.
So a full week after a great 2 week vacation.
More later,
A.H. |
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Apr. 6, 2009
Spring Break, March 2009, Jamaica part 2, the actual trip!!
So we finally arrived at our awesome resort, called FDR. This is our second time staying here--we were here about 4 years ago. Two years ago, we stayed at their sister resort, Pebbles. While both resorts are really nice, I definitely have a preference for the original resort. I think the food is better at FDR and also the adult activities. The children's activities seem pretty good at both resorts, though since FDR is larger, they seem to offer more activities.
The best thing about both resorts is that they are all inclusive, and that included in your all-inclusive price is a vacation nanny. One nanny per family. We have enjoyed our nannies in the past and the one we got this time was no exception. I will admit that they aren't super animated, but they do a good job of escorting the kids around and playing with them and getting them food and drinks. And of course, F, and I loved having the free time to do our things. The great thing about both resorts is that they cater strictly to families, and they are fairly small. Since they are family and locally owned, they carry a distinctive local flavor that one wouldn't get at chain resorts like Beaches or Sandals or what not.
Here are the girls with our vacation nanny, Sherika:
The kids filled their days taking tennis lessons, playing on the beach, playing at the pools, going down the super slide, and doing lots of arts and crafts. We all ate breakfast and lunch together. There was a separate kids' dinner buffet, which the kids really enjoyed with their nanny, while F and I had dinner at the big restaurant in the evenings.
Here is K. eating birthday cake--someone had a birthday during his vacation so everyone got to celebrate!
And more pics of the kids just enjoying the beach and the pool:
The food was really good! We had good Jamaican food every day for most of the meals--bammy, ackee and saltfish, curried goat, rice and peas, jerk chicken, and a lot more that I can't remember. I love the way Jamaicans cook veggies. Just nice and simple with a little butter and slight salt. You can just taste the great flavors of the veggies since they are not cooked to mush. LOL
Here is FQ enjoying a Jamaican treat, a beef patty:
I enjoyed using the fitness center, taking the biking tour, and taking the yoga and aquaerobics classes. The fitness pro there was the same one from 4 years ago and he makes his classes tough! Yoga was a new thing this time, so I took full advantage of it. Again, the classes were good and challenging. I was really impressed because I have taken classes at resorts and on cruise ships and they are usually geared for beginners, since I guess they don't want anyone to pass out during their workouts. LOL They also had daily beach volleyball games for the men and yes. They were competitive, even though they all pretended to be on vacation and relaxing. LOL Of course we spent a lot of time on the beach, just reading, lazing around, swimming and snorkeling.
Right before my yoga class:
And F playing volleyball:
And here we are, taking a stroll on the beautiful beach:
Perhaps the best thing is that F's brother, who still lives in Jamaica, came to visit! Here is F, Aunt T. and all the kids:
Just the big "kids" and little JJ, the baby:
Well, as you can see, we had a great time and will certainly be returning again.
This resort really tops the list for family friendly. I would not recommend it for couples or singles at all, LOL. But for families that want a good locally owned and operated Jamaican resort, this is it!!!
Thanks for reading and sharing!
A.H. |
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Apr. 5, 2009
Spring break, March, 2009--Jamaica, pt 1: incompetent airline agents
Well, I declared a 2 week spring break just because I could. LOL I love being that aspect of homeschooling. It was actually a big deal for me to do that because I usually try to cram as much school in as possible. But since we were planning to go to Jamaica, I thought we could start early with the Jamaican laid back attitude and just get rested and ready for our trip.
So we were planning to fly out on March 12, a Thursday. We just finished up some stuff from the week before, which wasn't much, just corrections and the like. We did one art lesson, which means that we finally got to lesson 11! I think I have failed in art this year so I will have to get a class or something next year! LOL But we are planning to do a lot of art this summer, to catch up.
But mostly we just played and packed and rested. We had our usual classes.
And the big day finally came. Our flight was at 6AM, which meant that we had ourselves and the kids at the airport by 4AM. I checked us in online the night before, but had to use the "self-service" kiosk to check our bags in. After going through everything--including scanning all our passports (again!), the kiosk told me that I had to see an agent. Fine. I got in the line to see the agent. I smelled a bad rat when I got in line. There were NWA agents and Delta agents and even though their two companies merged, they were not working together. The Delta agent wouldn't help me because our flight was booked through NWA, so after a lot of waiting around, a NWA guy finally checked our bags in for us and we headed toward security. We heard a lot of other customers calling out to the agents, saying that they were told by the kiosk to see an agent, that their flights were in 30 minutes and they had to finish up their check in, that they were disabled and needed to have their seats changed and couldn't do it with the kiosk. And those agents told each and every one of these customers to "go to the kiosk", despite those customers saying, "but we were just there and it told us to see an agent." It was a bad omen.
So we got to our gate after clearing security and the first thing I noticed was the announcement that our flight was delayed for an hour and 45 minutes. This would mean that we would miss our connection that would take us to Montego Bay. I immediately got in line with several other people to get re-routed. The Delta agent who handled this was very professional and efficiently and clearly the best employee from both airlines. She announced that she would do her best to re-route everyone, but that anyone with a cell phone should get it out and call the NWA 800 reservations number to re-route themselves. Honestly, this is what I should have done. But since I was at the front of the line, I let her try to re-route us. She couldn't, from her computer. She said we had to go back to the ticketing counter, that she thought their computers would pull up more flights for us. So we went back to the ticketing counter.
This was the worst thing we could have done. Remember those incompetent agents from both NWA and Delta who did not want to work and kept telling people to use the kiosk even though the kiosk wasn't really working? Yep. Same folks. So the NWA agent spent nearly 2 hours on the phone, trying to find a flight for us. We told him we were willing to fly out of the 3 other major international airports that were within a 250 mile radius. I am not kidding--we stood there for nearly 2 hours with this guy while he used his computer and tried calling every major airline, trying to get us out to Jamaica. At one point, he had us re-routed to an airport in TN, where we would spend the night. We would then take a flight early Friday morning from TN to GA, then GA to Montego Bay. We could leave Jamaica one day later (Wednesday instead of Tuesday) so we could still have a 5 day vacation. We figured this was fine and that we could just call the resort in Jamaica and have them push our reservations back a day. So we waited for 30 more minutes for this agent to get that set up for us.
After 30 minutes of watching him be put on hold on the phone, he finally hung up the phone and told us, "we can't do it. There is no flight this week that will get you to Jamaica." We were speechless. No flight at all? At this point, we were tired and upset and so we just had them get our checked luggage from the plane and they did. We gathered up our children and started to drive home. It was about 8AM, and we had been at the airport for 4 hours.
We decided to pick up breakfast at Waffle House on the way home to make up somewhat for this horrendous morning. As we were driving, I started thinking. How can it be possible in 2009 not to find a flight at all that would take us to Jamaica? It cannot be possible. Anyone could take a flight to any major city, then to another major city, etc., until one finally landed at the final destination. So while waiting for our Waffle House food, I called my best friend and vented the whole story to her. She also could not believe it and was at her computer, so she went to Travelocity and requested 6 tickets to Jamaica from our city and/or any one of the major airports near us. She got several hits. Of course. The NWA agent just got tired of working for us and gave up and thought we didn't know anything about traveling.
So when we got home, after eating and getting the poor children into bed for a nap, I went to my computer and found the same thing my friend found. Numerous flights leaving either that day or the next day, all arriving in Jamaica. I called that 800 reservations number for NWA, talked to a very competent person, and told her what happened.
And here is the clincher. She told me that we were indeed already booked on that flight from TN to GA, and GA to Jamaica--all the next day. These were the flights that that agent was working on getting for us. Apparently he had done it but had no clue that he had done it. In addition, he had also managed to book the return flights for the Wednesday instead of Tuesday, but again, had no clue that he had done it. So the only thing, the reservations agent said, was to get us from our city to TN. However, she noted that there was a flight for later tonight leaving a major airport that was 90 miles from our city to GA, so she just put us on that flight. We would stay the night in GA and fly out the next day from GA to Jamaica.
So we all took a nice 3 hour nap, then woke up and drove the 90 miles to the other airport and finally flew out to GA. The Delta and NWA agents there were completely competent and everything went smoothly. As God would have it, we have several very good friends who live in GA, so one of them put us up for the night. In fact, it was great to visit with them, as they are my hubby's childhood friends from Jamaica.
The next morning, we flew out without incident to Montego Bay. Finally.
The good that came out of this: visiting with our friends in GA. They are cool folks! They had attended the 2008 Beijing Olympics and want to go to World Cup in South Africa in 2010. So...we are totally hooking up with them!!! We really want to go. We'll see what comes of that, but the seeds have been planted.
More later,
A.H. |
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Apr. 5, 2009
Writer's Circle, March 6, 2009
For week 25, A's assignment was to write a self description. Here is what she wrote:
I walk away when I am angry. I share things like my doll and my teddy bear. Sometimes my teeth shine. They're pretty. I'm pretty. My hair is pretty.
She will be repeating this LA next year for the most part, so I'd love to see what she writes next year. LOL
Here is mine:
I am a Christian homeschooling stay at home mom. I trained for 11 years in the medical field and became a family doctor, but I decided that I prefered to stay at home. I have a wonderful husband and we have been married for nearly 13 years now. My hobbies are cooking, reading, swimming, aerobic walking, and playing around with the computer. I also love to travel. I aspire to learn many different languages. I have 4 wonderful children who are true blessings. God has been very good to me.
K. had to write a "cause and effect" paragraph:
Nobody knew. Nobody knew how it started. But what they did know is that the stock market crashed. That was the cause. The cause of one of the most terrifying times in history. People went hungry and lost their jobs. Men rode the rails. People's houses and stores got taken away from them and nobody knew what to do. It was the domino effect that did it. One stock market crashed and people lost their jobs, then these people could not afford what they used to so more people lost their jobs, and so on and so on. Then people saw that the money that was being lost and began to hang on to their money and there went more jobs. Where would it end? Fortunately, it ended when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected in 1932, and it didn't really end then, but FDR helped some , and he also established insurance and other things to prevent a depression again. Slowly but surely, the effect of the stock market crash lessened and the country stood itself back up.
Well, mine wasn't as elaborate.
I ate some buckwheat pancakes once. It was my first time trying out buckwheat. Immediately after putting in my first mouthful, my tongue and lips and palate began to burn and get numb. I spat out the mouthful and said, "oh no, I must be allergic to buckwheat." I did not swallow this stuff. But soon after, my eyes began watering, my nose began running, and I was breathing very fast. I began to break out in hives around my mouth and face. The numbness and burning feeling in my mouth continued. Thank God I was able to breathe! I laid down, too cool to take Benadryl, and after a few hours, I was better.
The introduction of buckwheat in my mouth set off an intense allergic reaction, since my body must not like buckwheat and was fighting it. Histamines were released to fight the offending allergen, and the histamine thus caused the watery eyes, runny nose, hives, numbness, burning, etc. Had I had a stronger reaction, I might have had my throat close! Indeed, the next time I ingest buckwheat, this may happen!
Oh...and I don't know what I was thinking. I will definitely take Benadryl or any fast acting anti-histamine the next time, unless I have an epi-pen!
Okey dokey, that was it for this week!!
Blessings,
A.H.
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Mar. 11, 2009
Week 25, Mar 2-6, 2009
We read from Ecclesiastes this week, from chapter 1 through 6. I love Ecclesiastes and am glad we read it. It is so poetic and it really reminds me of what I was like before I was a Christian. Lost, chasing the wind, going from one "high" to another, one "fun thing" to another. It makes me just so grateful that God brought me back home with Him.
We read Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt as our history reading. It was very enjoyable and we all felt like cheering at the end. We continued with Gone Away Lake for A's read aloud and K's reader. It has become very interesting and we really like it. K and I especially appreciate it because it is a mental rest from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is emotionally very draining to read, or in our case, listen to. A started Lumber Camp Library, which she is enjoying.
For science, we studied heat. We learned about conduction, convection, and heat rays.
We also read "The Floor and The Ceiling" by William Jay Smith. We thought it was a very neat poem.
I admit we rushed a bit through our school this week. We start our 2 week spring break next week! Off to Jamaica we go!! Whoo whee!!!
A.H. |
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Mar. 11, 2009
Week 24, Feb 23-27, 2009
Well this was indeed a very interesting week.
We read selections from Matthew and Luke. We read Matthew chapters 5-7 and selections in Luke chapters 6 and 11.
We read from the Story of the USA about the roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and FDR and the New Deal. We read about the same topics from our Landmark book as well.
We began Gone Away Lake for K's reader and A's read aloud. Very enjoyable story so far!! We also began Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I bought the audiobook for this as I thought we'd be pressed for time. I am really glad I did. This is a tough book. It is excellent, and I am so very glad we're reading it, but it deals with some harsh racism. We are a biracial family, as you can tell from our pictures, and we live in a fairly diverse and liberal city, so my kids aren't exposed to much racism or prejudice. I don't mean just against them, but other people. So right from the first chapter, we encounter that harsh racism and it just got progressively worse. It is so hard to believe that that sort of thing happened and continues in many parts of the world. We have had many good discussions on it but I am sad that we have to have these discussions at all.
In science, we read about the history of measuring things, time, what energy is, and the different types of energy.
We read "Catch a Little Rhyme" by Eve Merriam and "Michael is afraid of the storm" by Gwendolyn Brooks. We thought "Catch" was cute and that "Michael" captured well the feeling of a boy growing up and being ashamed of being afraid.
A. fiinished up Misty of Chincoteague. It wasn't her favorite but she ended up doing okay on the comprehension questions so I feel better. LOL
L. plowed on, reading everything in sight, doing great with her MUS Alpha, and continuing with her ETC workbooks. I seriously do not know what to do with her reading. She is reading up the Little House on the Prairie books.
Great week as usual!!
Blessings,
A.H. |
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Mar. 4, 2009
A Typical Monday
I get asked a lot about what a "typical" day is like for us. I have a hard time really answering that question because every day is so different! There is no real "typical" day! But then again, if I think about it, we do have "typical" weeks.
So I thought I'd write a little bit about what each day is like for us. I'll start with Monday, since it's (duh) the first day of our week.
Monday, like every day, I try to get up by 8:30AM and go down to the kitchen to "get ready". I should make my breakfast and eat it before the kids get up, but for some reason, I am never in the mood for that. I do start making my coffee or tea. I'm serious about my coffee and tea, so this whole thing is a bit of a production--from the grinding of the beans to the assembly of the vacuum coffee press. By 8:45A, K's alarm goes off and I start yelling up the stairs for the girls to come down. They are supposed to be down and eating breakfast by the time I come back from walking the dog, which is around 9:15A.
By 9:30A, the girls are all at their desks in the homeschool room. They are allowed to be in their pjs (they always are) and are not required to have their teeth brushed, nor hair done, and they don't even have to have their breakfasts eaten. They all have independent seatwork to do. On Mondays, the girls all have to teach me the math that they learned last week, to ensure mastery. This is a part of Math U See's philosophy. So they all take turns "teaching" their math to me, one at a time. The others stay at their desks and work on something else when the one is teaching me. If they have taught it to me adequately, they get to proceed on to the IMac, where they watch their current week's math lesson on DVD. They then go back to their desks to do Monday's math assignment.
At their desks, they also work on their language arts workbooks, copywork (A), handwriting (A and L), and read their readers (K and A). L is usually finished with her seatwork in about 20 minutes and gets her read aloud books and her reader and joins me on the couch. The older girls continue their independent work.
FQ usually is running around playing with his toys but he joins me and L. on the couch with his "school books" as he calls them. I read L's books to her, and then she reads her reader to me. I also read a few books to FQ. It's usually around 10:30A by now and L is done for the day. I send her upstairs to get dressed, brush her teeth, wash her face and do her hair. FQ usually goes up with her and they find things to do to keep themselves amused. They sometimes do some coloring or art work or just play with blocks or Legos or have a picnic. They are really very cute when they play. L sometimes does her Rosetta Stone at this time--she does 25 minutes on it, just like her sisters.
At around 11A, I summon the older girls to the kitchen table. By this time, both girls will have done their seatwork. We do the Bible, history and science readings together. At noon, we are done and I send the girls upstairs to get dressed, brush teeth and hair and wash up.
We're done with lunch by 1P and K goes upstairs to do her 25 minutes of Rosetta Stone. A. practices her piano, and we do her spelling. By then, K is done and I send A. upstairs to do her RS while I work with K. on her spelling and read aloud. At 2:10P, I send K upstairs get dressed for her private tennis lesson. I take her to the courts by 2:30P. She is there for an hour.
Back at home, I get afternoon snacks ready and read A's read aloud to her. After this, she is done for the day. We then all get in the car to pick K up at 3:30P.
From 3:45P-4:10P, K finishes up anything she hasn't done and has her snack. Then at 4:10P I drive K to her gym practice, and she's there until 7:30P. We get back home at around 5P and get ready to have dinner. We tie up loose ends at this time--L. practices her piano, and I do anything with A. that we didn't get to. Usually though, A. works on her various creative writing projects--she writes stories for fun and has at least 5 or 6 filled notebooks full of stories. L. also has a notebook she writes stories in, but she also likes to draw and do crafts. I usually walk the dog again at this point. The girls usually get into their night clothes at this time as well.
We eat dinner at around 5:45-6P. At 7:10P, I pack K's dinner, along with her chocolate milk. She drinks her milk first and then eats her dinner in the car. We're home by 8P usually and we start the night snack/dessert process. LOL They also get vitamins at this time. By 8:30P, everyone is upstairs for brushing teeth and face and going to bed. Ideally, lights are out by 9P.
Whew! And that was Monday! Monday is a not-so-busy day for us!!! Now, I'm describing what I do when F. is not home to help us. He's home to help us at least a third of the time. So he usually helps out with either the readings or sometimes the driving around. He helps with getting dinner, playing with FQ, and sometimes he takes both L and FQ out to the park. He's really a gem. I tell everyone he's my homeschool secret weapon!!!
Well, that is it! I hope you all enjoyed seeing a slice of our life. Okay, next time, Tuesday!
Blessings,
A.H.
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Feb. 27, 2009
Writer's Circle 2/20/09 and 2/27/09
The girls did their assignments last week but we didn't have time to gather for our circle. So we did both last week's and this week's circle time today.
So A's assignment last week was to write about "A Blessing in Disguise":
I dropped the bird food in the fish tank and my clown fish got stronger. Oh my! The bird food is a medicine to the fish!
And this week her assignment was to write a description of her dog. She had to be specific about her dog:
Jake has brown eyes and has a pattern on his hind leg. He has no fur in some places, tall pointed ears, black and brown fur.
I had talked to A. about writing more in her weekly assignments. You would never tell from her assignments what a writer she is. She writes stories in her free time. She has notebooks and notebooks full of stories. I spoke to her about making her assignments more like the stories that she writes for fun, because those stories are long and full of detail. Hopefully, she'll do a better job next week.
Here is my "blessing in disguise":
I was walking my dog, Jake, in our neighborhood. Jake is a very sweet dog, but like many dogs, when he sees other dogs, he sometimes turns to them and tries to sniff them. Usually that is it though—he doesn’t chase after them or become aggressive. Today, however, when we walked past a clearing in the Greenbelt, he suddenly began to growl. He turned his head towards the wooded area in the Greenbelt and strained against his leash to go into the woods. “No Jake,” I told him, trying to steer him back onto the sidewalk. But he insisted on heading towards the woods. “No, Jake,” I said more firmly, and pulled harder on the leash. Jake again strained against the leash, turning his body towards the woods. And that was when it happened—the leash suddenly went ping! and went limp in my hand. The next thing I knew, Jake was running away from me and heading into the woods. “Oh no,” I thought. That is the last thing I needed! I threw the broken leash on the ground and ran after him into the clearing. He was barking loudly now, rushing toward some unknown destination in the woods.
When I finally caught up to him, he was sniffing around a large rock “What is it, boy? What’s bothering you?” I looked at the large rock and that was when I saw it. A flash of bright red cloth, ripped and trapped under the rock. Hmm….I thought, leaning down to pick it up. Suddenly, Jake raced off toward another area in the woods and I ran after him, leaving the red cloth where it was. There, in between a clump of bushes and a large tree, laid a small little disheveled looking girl, with torn red pants and a skimpy red sweater. She was asleep on the ground, and I went over to her to gently wake her up.
“What happened to you, little girl? Who are you? What is your name?” It turned out that she was walking with her parents and a large group of people and had started to run after a butterfly. She didn’t tell anyone and by the time she had given up on catching the butterfly, she realized that she was lost. She had tried to lean up against the rock and that was how she had torn her red pants. Thank God she had only been missing for 30 minutes. We found her parents and brought her home. It was truly a blessing in disguise that Jake had run so strongly and broken his leash.
And here is my description of Jake, our dog:
Jake is a medium sized, 40 lb mixed breed dog. He is about 9 years old, and I adopted him from the animal shelter when he was just a year old. He has medium length, straight coarse black hair with some tan mixed in. He is mainly black though. He seems to be part Chow, part Shetland Sheepdog, and part German Shepherd, but of course, one can’t really be sure what he is. His nose is longer and his ears point up. He once had a tail covered with soft black hair, but unfortunately, it got matted and I de-matted it and it hasn’t grown back properly ever since. I feel terrible about that. Also, for the past few years, he has been losing hair in an area near his neck. It first started as a small patch with a one inch diameter where his collar was, so I removed his collar. However, the hair never grew back and he began to lose more hair, again without it ever growing back. So now, he has a large square patch approximately 3in. by 3in near his neck. The vet says that it looks like the skin beneath is scar tissue so hair probably won’t ever grow back. We don’t know what started it—it probably was not due to the collar though.
Jake is a sweet and friendly dog. I wish I could say he was really smart, but he’s of average intelligence. It takes him several tries to learn something. However, he does know “sit” and “stay” and he’ll actually stay for a few seconds. He also has very good leash manners. I trained him to pee on command though every now and then he’ll have an accident in the house. Usually that happens when there is a break in his routine. He mostly just sits around and hangs out with us, though he used to love running around in the back yard. He is quite mischievous and knows very well how to escape from the back yard. We now have a wireless fence and he has to wear a collar to stay in the yard.
I love Jake. He is a very sweet dog.
K's assignment last week was to describe our family traditions:
Do you have family traditions? You do? Well that is probably because you belong to the Harson familly or the Golers or the Trifs. Well the point is, in my family we don't have many traditions, so I'm writing an essay on what traditions I would like to have in my family.
First of all on Veterans Day, Christmas, New Years and Thanksgiving, all of my family will get together. Everyone will stay for at least a day. We will play and talk and do anythign that will remind us of why we are here and then for a couple of hours, we will try our hardest to act the way they did when the holiday started.
And the other thing would be on Halloween, to dress up and go trick or treating. Half the time with our family, and half with our friends. Then we would go home and trade candy. On Christmas, in addition to giving presents to our Secret Santa, we would all bring Christmas ornaments for the host (or hostess) to thank them for providing there home.
Does someone prefer trick or treating to going to a Fall Fest? LOL I guess we can try that next year!!
K's assignment this week was to write a dialogue between 2 creatures who had just visited Earth:
Treon: I'm glad we got sme earth soil.
Zephline: When we get back to Plin we can see if Plin zars grow in it.
Treon: I don't think they will, they didn't have any earth zars. They only had those flimsy flow-wirs and tommy-to plans.
Zephline: even if zars could grow in earth soil, they probably would grow wetter in plin soil.
Treon: Well Duh!
Zephline: I wonder what kind of plans tommy-tos are. I wish we could have stayed longer.
Treon: Me too but earth is too hot.
Zephline: That's an understatement! We would have died without our super coolers!
Treon: Plin is farther away from the Plin sun than Earth is from their sun.
Zephline: Earthlings look so funny! Instead of snakes or spiders or grubs out their heads they had that stuff that laidy down, and some people made it stick up!
Treon: They looked very funny! I"m glad you have snakes and I have a spider.
Zephline: And no wings! How funny they looked without wings! Oh look! Plin! Oh I'm so glad to be home!
Treon: It's so much more beautiful than I remember.
Zephline: What are you waiting for? Let's go!
ZOOM!
Now, I totally misread the assignment. I thought it was just supposed to be a dialogue-ish piece about a science topic. LOL So here is mine:
“Look—there it is again! Did you see that????!!!” I pointed vigorously to a spot in the distant night sky.
“I don’t see anything—are you sure?” My best friend, Ouida, was straining her eyes to see through the Orion Starblast Astro telescope that we chipped in to buy together. She is such a great friend. I am pretty sure anyone else would have called me crazy.
“There—right by Venus. A little north of it. There is something there, it’s big and keeps blinking in and out.”
“Oh! I see it! You’re right! It’s not a star and I’m sure it’s no planet. What is it?”
“I think it’s getting bigger!!!!”
“No way! Bigger???”
We spent the next few hours of the night, taking turns looking through the telescope and feasting on Hot Chile Doritos, the only Doritos variety that was vegan. I’m the vegan, Ouida happily eats everything.
Three hours later, Ouida said to me, “You know, I do think it’s getting bigger. I’m really tired and need to go to bed, but I think we should look tomorrow and see if it’s getting bigger.”
So the next night, there we were, on the balcony of our shared condo on the 35th floor, looking through our telescope again.
“Lana, it is bigger!!! It’s huge now! Look!!” Ouida pulled on my sleeve excitedly.
“My goodness! It is huge! And it’s getting bigger and bigger at a faster rate! It’s as big as a…..” I stopped suddenly and Ouida gasped. She didn’t need the telescope to see it now.
But it had turned a bright purple and then suddenly disappeared.
“What????!!” We both said breathlessly.
“Do you think that it’s a…..” Ouida quavered.
“A what?”
“A UFO?”
“C’mon, Ouida. Really?”
“Well…let’s get it’s coordinates with our computer and see where it would land if it were to land. Remember when we were reading that book about UFOs and it said that UFOs usually turn bright purple before they land?”
“Well…..yeah. There have only been 2 UFO landings here on Mars Colony though. And they were both pretty bogus.”
“I know but still…”
So we ran inside and got our computer and worked out the coordinates. We then hopped into our Mars landcruiser and went to the designated place. I was a little wary, but at the same time, I thought it would have been cool to be able to report a UFO landing.
It turned out that Ouida was right.
For there, right before our very eyes, was an enormous slimy looking saucer.
Oh well. I will try to read the assignments better next week. LOL
Hope you enjoyed our writings!
A.H. |
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Feb. 23, 2009
Week 23, Feb 16-20, 2009
Our week was very interesting. First off, I substituted the assigned Bible readings (2 Sam 11 and 2 Sam 13) with selections from Psalms. If you are wondering why I did that, just look up those chapters in your Bible and you will work it out pretty quickly!. I was pretty upset that SL had assigned those readings, since we are doing Core 4 and those themes seem way too mature for the intended age group, which is 9-12. I did write a letter to SL about it, so I hope they look into it.
It seemed that this week we got to the end of a lot of things. We wrapped up our readings about WWI in The World Wars book. We finished up Cheaper by the Dozen, and we even finished up K's reader and A's read aloud, Hero Over Here.
I wanted to indulge in a few minutes just to give my thoughts on these books. The World Wars is certainly not a "nice" book. It is pretty graphic and spared no details. The photographs were at times very shocking as were the descriptions and readings. However, we have learned quite a bit about WWI and I feel that the book really covered this tragic period in our history very well. So I give it a thumbs up, with reservations. I think it may be too graphic for children who may really be sensitive or on the younger side of Core 4.
Cheaper by the Dozen was certainly very enjoyable. It was the 2nd book so far, though, that had some cursing in it. We had a good talk with K. on what cursing is, and why we don't use it, and I tried to skip it when I could when I was reading aloud. A few times I was caught unaware and said the word out loud, which made me really flushed! LOL I know SL sometimes gets flack about using books with language in it, but I am glad they aren't willing to toss out great books just because of some mild language. I think it is an excellent time to explain to your children what cursing is and why it is not appropriate language to use.
Hero Over Here was also a good book showing a side of WWI that is not well known. There was a flu epidemic that spread like wildfire throughout the world toward the end of WWI. The epidemic killed more people than the war did! So it was very good to be exposed to that part of our history as well.
We reviewed different types of protists in science this week.
K. moved on in math and A. had a review week. She may have another one. I am a bit perplexed as what to do with her. She knows the math, but makes numerous "mental" mistakes, due largely in part to lack of focus. However, she doesn't have ADD or anything like that, she just needs the right environment, I think to do math well. She doesn't make mental errors in any other subject. I am going to try having her do her math at the kitchen table, next to me.
L. had her usual good week. No major issues or concerns.
That is all.
God bless,
A.H. |
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Feb. 16, 2009
Writers Circle, Feb 13, 2009
Our writer's circle this week was really nice. Unfortunately someone (I won't mention any names) didn't get her state research paper done so that will be published at a later time when that person can get her act together and write the paper. At least she has done all the research and cards for it!!! She keeps saying that the writing part will take only a few minutes and that is true but she won't make the time for it, citing excuses such as laundry, cooking, cleaning and playing chauffeur to the family. Anyway.......
A's assignment for this week was to write a "family dictionary", a listing of all the special terms and names that we use specifically in our family. I've had to modify her work somewhat to keep it somewhat anonymous, but anyway, here it is:
L**i: a nickname for my silly little sister
Onion Head and Brain: a plain nickname for me
K*t**: is my name for my big siser
Daddy: my daddy
Ma: my mommy
Ba: the Vitamese name for grandma
Owm: the Vitamese name for grandpa
Uncle B**: because we all call him that
Auntie: because of Suey
York: my uncle yukon Ohnoon
I believe she made up the last 2! I know which aunt and uncle she is talking about but we don't call them that! LOL
I didn't do one because it merely repeats hers.
Here is K's research paper on Connecticut:
Connecticut
By K.
In 1635 Thomas Hooker of Massachusetts decided that Massachusetts was growing too fast for him. He heard of a large river and fertile land to the west and set out for it. He and his neighbors named the place Connecticut Colony. Connecticut Colony joined with New Haven Colony to become a large part of present day Connecticut.
The name from the Mohegan Indians and it means “long river place” or “beside the long tidal river”. These same Indians lived where Connecticut Colony was. When the white men were clearing farmland, the Indians begged them not to cut down a certain white oak. They believed that the Great Spirit told them signs through the tree. The settlers agreed and the white oak became the Connecticut state tree in 1947.
King James II wanted all of New England under one governor. In 1687 Governor Sir Edmond Andros came and demanded that the people of Connecticut give him Connecticut’s charter, the paper that gave them rights as a colony. Legend says that when they were debating over the matter, somebody stole the charter and put it in the white oak. Connecticut grew steadily and on Jan 9, 1788, it became the 5th state.
Numerous historical museums, fun outdoor activities, and interesting wildlife make Connecticut a fun state to live in or visit.
There are many fun museums to go to in Connecticut. One place is the USS Nautilus Memorial in Groton. There, visitors can sit in submarine control room or look through a real periscope. Another place is the Pequot Museum in Mashantucket. There, visitors see how Pequot Indians lived. Visitors can also see how they made things. Noah Webster’s House is in West Hartford. Noah Webster was the first person to make a dictionary. Visitors can also go to the Webb house in Wethersfield, where General George Washington and the patriots planned the battle that ended the Revolutionary War. Many historical things happened in Connecticut and historical museums are great fun to visit.
There are many fun things to do outside in Connecticut, and the weather is also very nice. In the summer, the weather hardly ever goes over 35 degrees Celsius, so there are many outdoor activities to engage in. Long Island provides a great place to go fishing or boating. And since no place in Connecticut is more than 120 km from water, swimming is a popular pastime. Good weather and beautiful scenery make picnicking a popular pastime as well. In the fall, leaves fall from trees in a beautiful array of colors. In fact, many visitors come to Connecticut just to see the brightly colored leaves. Just like in the summer, there is good weather. In the winter, the temperatures hardly go below freezing. This weather is good for skiing in the Mowak Mountains. Many people also take sleigh rides. Children also enjoy the endless snow in their mouths, making snowmen and snow angels and snow forts and having snowball fights. In the spring, amateur gardeners begin planting. Connecticut usually loses frost around mid-April so around this time there may be light flurries of snow. Connecticut has temperate weather so residents enjoy outdoor activities year round.
Connecticut provides a home for numerous plants and animals. Trees such as ashes, beeches, birches, elms, hemlocks, maples, oaks, pines and evergreens grow in Connecticut. In Sessions Woods in Burlington, visitors many see chipmunks, turtles, frogs, foxes, skunks, rabbits, raccoons and owls. At Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, visitors see sharks, seahorses, seals, jellyfish and crabs. In spring Connecticut’s state flower, the mountain laurel, bloom all over but best in rocky soil. Turtles, fishes and whales live in the sea, while along the coast, waterfowl, ducks, partridges, pheasants, thrushes and bald eagles make their homes. There are various plants and animals in Connecticut and outdoor lovers have a splendid time observing it.
In Sylvia McNairs’s book, America the Beautiful Connecticut, she says “(In Connecticut) There are no towering mountains with year round snowcaps. There are no huge canyons. Its beaches are not bordered by steep cliffs. Its waterfalls are modest, not gigantic.” She also says, “Connecticut’s beauty is soft and alluring, rather than spectacular.” Connecticut may be small, but it is mighty, almost like a fairyland, it’s a fun place to live.
References
Books:
Burgan, Michael. Voices From Colonial America: Connecticut. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007.
Girod, Christina M. The Thirteen Colonies: Connecticut. San Diago, CA: Lucent Books, Incorporated, 2002.
Heinrichs, Ann. This Land is Your Land: Connecticut. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2004.
Heinrichs, Ann. Welcome to the U.S.A.: Connecticut. Minnesota: Childs World 2006.
McAuliffe, Emily. Connecticut, Facts and Symbols. Mantato, MN: Capstone Press, 2003.
McNair, Sylvia. America the Beautiful: Connecticut. Canada: Children’s Press, 1999.
Websites:
State of Connecticut, “The Official State of Connecticut Website”, www.ct.gov/, 2002-2009. Accessed February 2009.
Even though K. hemmed and hawed and didn't use her time well, I think she still put out a pretty good paper. I did help her with the editing, but she did almost all of the writing. I helped redirect her when her supporting sentences were not supporting her topic sentence (not often) and with some issues on the structure of her paper. But overall, I would say she wrote most of the paper. Our next research paper, she will work much harder in the weeks prior so that she isn't doing things at the last minute, and I plan on giving her a lot of instructions at the beginning and then just letting her write it. Also we have plans on having her learn to type this summer so I think she will type her own paper next year. All in all, a good experience for her! |
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Feb. 16, 2009
Week 22, Feb 9-13, 2009
We were able to get everything done this week even though we pretty much lost a day due to A.'s orthopedics appointment. We managed that by doing all of our readings for Wednesday (her appt. day) on Tuesday. Daddy was home so that helped us get a lot done!! Yay for Daddy, our secret weapon.
So this week we covered 2 Samuel 8 through 10. We read about David's many victories and his kindness toward Mephibosheth, one of Saul's sons. SL had assigned 2 Sam 11 for part of the week, which I decided to skip. I couldn't find a suitable version of the Bible that handled the Bathsheba story without too much detail, so I figured we could skip it until it comes up again in a Core!!!
In history, we continued reading about WWI in The World Wars. As the war is coming to an end, we are reading about some very sad and tragic things. So many very young soldiers losing their lives, the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian revolution. We also read about the effects of the war to the soldiers emotionally, how some of them never really recover from "shell shock". The US has finally joined in on the war, and it looks like Germany is finally getting exhausted.
We finished up All of a Kind Family, which K read as a reader and I read to A. as a read aloud. It was a very cute and enjoyable book, and we enjoyed the details of Jewish customs and holidays. We continued with Cheaper By the Dozen for K's read aloud, and A. continued reading Emily's Runaway Imagination. Daddy is reading Cheaper to K when he can and reading on his own on days when he can't read to her. You can hear both him and K. laughing out loud. It's great to read and laugh!!!
We read about protists this week for science. We are still reading from Biology Level I.
The girls are still continuing onwards with their math. K. started Epsilon last week and started using the fraction overlays this week. A. had some trouble with math this week, not so much with this week's material, but old material, so we will have a review week next week.
L. keeps plugging away, reading everything in sight and doing great with her core. She is also a math champ! She tried out for the pre-team in gymnastics a few weeks ago and made the team, so she has a new gymnastics day and time!! She is also continuing with dance and piano.
We read Triolet Against Sisters by Phyllis McGinley and The Sloth by Theodore Roethke. We were pretty impressed that the sloth poem gave us such a strong impression of how slow a sloth was.
That's it for this week. We accidentally read next week's science readings a while back when I read the wrong schedule , but that means that we get a week off of science!!!
God bless,
A.H. |
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About Me
HELLO!!!
This blog is a place for us to publish some of our children's work and just to journal our amazing educational journey.
Recent Posts
• Weeks 34-36
• Week 33, May 11-15, 2009
• Week 32, May 4-8, 2009
• Week 31, April 27-May 1, 2009
• Writer's Circle for Weeks 26-33
GENERAL HOMESCHOOLING
• First week of the new school year! 8/16/08
• Week 4, 9/16/08
• Week 5, 9/22/08, learning from last week
• Week 6, 10/3/2008
• Week 7, starting 10/6/08
• Weeks 8 and 9, starting 10/13/08 through 10/24/08
• Week 10, 10/27-10/31/2008
• Week 11, Nov 3-7
• Week 12, Nov 10-14
• Week 13, Nov 17-21
• Week 14, Dec 1-5, 2008
• Week 15, Dec 8-12
• Week 16, Dec 29-Jan 2
• Week 17, Jan 5-9, 2009
• Week 18, Jan 11-16, 2009
• Week 19, Jan 19-23, 2009
• Week 20, Jan 26-30, 2009
• Week 21, Feb 2-6, 2009
• Week 22, Feb 9-13, 2009
• Week 23, Feb 16-20, 2009
• Week 24, Feb 23-27, 2009
• Week 25, Mar 2-6, 2009
• Week 26, March 23-27,2009
CHILDREN'S WORK
• A's work to date 7/26/07
• K.'s work up to date 7/26/07
• K's poems 7/26/07
• K.'s work up to date 8/12/07
• A.'s work to date 8/12/07
• K's work up to date, 10/10/07
• A.'s work to date 10/28/07
• K's work up to date, 10/30/07
• K's work from LA 3 Advanced
• Writers Circle, Feb 13, 2009
• Writer's Circle 2/20/09 and 2/27/09
• Writer's Circle, March 6, 2009
• A Typical Monday
TRAVELS
• Traveling 8/4/07
• Back from Peru! 9/22/07
• Field Trips!
• Travels--June 2008, part 1, Las Vegas
• Travels--June 2008, part 2, Destin, FL
• Travels--July 2008, part 3, Gymnastics camp
• Travels--July 2008, part 4, Guanajuato, Mexico
• Travels, Aug 2008, Part One, NYC--US Open
• Travels, Aug 2008, Part Two--NYC, Manhattan
• Travels, Aug 2008, Part Three--Prague
• Travels, Aug 2008, Part Four--Vienna
• November Field Trips
• Spring break, March, 2009--Jamaica, pt 1: incompetent airline agents
• Spring Break, March 2009, Jamaica part 2, the actual trip!!
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| You Are a Mac | 
You are creative, stylish, and super trendy.
You demand the best - even if it costs an arm and a leg. |
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| You Are Austin | 
A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
You're totally weird and very proud of it.
Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.
Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick |
| You Belong in Paris | 
You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris.
You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe. |
| What Your Pizza Reveals | 
Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either.
You aren't particularly picky about pizza. It's so good... how could you be? You fit in best in the Western part of the US.
Your taste in food tends to favor what's rich and comforting. You prefer food that will definitely satisfy you.
You are eclectic, stylish, and totally random with your choices.
You are deep and thoughtful. You should consider traveling to Paris.
The stereotype that best fits you is guy or girl next door. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being average. |
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