Here's the Holiday addition to the Boys' Poetry series, Stuff That Hasn't Been...

STILL MORE STUFF THAT HASN’T BEEN

A winter that isn't cold.

A holly branch without leaves.

A jingle bell That doesn’t ring.

A Christmas tree without a trunk.

A wreath that isn’t green.

A fireplace without a fire.

A cookie that hasn’t been baked.

An ice skate without a blade.

A snowman that can’t melt.

A santa without a sleigh.

A blizzard that doesn’t blow.

A snowball without snow.

A sled that doesn’t slide.

A snowtube without air.

A mitten without a thumb.

An ICICLE that isn’t cold.

A snowflake without a design.

A mug of hot chocolate that isn’t hot.

A snowboard without bindings.

A skier who doesn’t have skis.

A roasted marshmallow without a stick.

An igloo that isn’t made of ice.

A dog sled without dogs.

A sweater that isn’t warm.

An arctic fox without fur.

A glove that doesn’t have fingers.

A polar bear that can’t swim.

A snow angel without wings.

A snowmobile that can’t drive.

A blanket  that isn’t snuggly.

A pair of boots without soles.

A hibernating animal that isn’t asleep.

-December 2007

Boy, life doesn't get much better than that...  singing fun Christmas songs with friends who are all decked out in their pj's, lounging on pillows surrounded with brownies, pretzels, cookies - AND getting to wear silly elf hats or reindeer antlers!  Now, that's a good time!

We attended HAHSA's Christmas Party this evening and the boys had a blast.  In addition to the silly headwear, everyone left with goodie bags full of neat holiday treats.  We made up our own version of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' and burnt up alot of energy marching around the room as we sang 'Frosty the Snowman'. 

Today, we spent the afternoon at Lorien Nursing Home.  A group of homeschooling families joined together to sing carols for the residents.  The children gave a wonderful performance and everyone especially enjoyed the jingle bells.

After the singing was over, we share hand-crafted cards and spent some time getting to know some of the folks.  Some children played a few songs on the piano.  We made a display that included a Christmas tree crafted of the children's construction-paper hands.  It was a pleasant afternoon and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

I love word games!

One of my favorite all-time games is Boggle. As a matter of fact, I would play Solitaire Boggle for hours at a time when I was a young girl.

When I received a Big Boggle game as a pre-teen, my passion for the game just increased.  The larger game board permitted me to continue to challenge my game skills.  I started to stake my claim as the 'Queen of Boggle'...

As an adult, I have kept my zeal for the game and was overjoyed when I discovered Boggle Supreme, an interactive Boggle game which allows me to compete against the computer.  I love it! 

I played Boggle Junior with the boys as toddlers which didn't quite provide the full experience of the game (in my opinion).  This version of the game helped them more with letter recognition than spelling or phonics.  It just didn't hold their interest.

So, as each boy showed a genuine interest in reading, I would have them sit alongside me as we played a Solitaire game of the computer-based Boggle Supreme using the classic version (shown above) and turning the timer off.

Initially, I would find a word, type it out as shown on the notepad (e.g. 'they'), then I would ask the child to sound it out.  Actually, I would do progressional spelling - first, typing in the word 'the'; then 'they'' then 'thee'.  Once the word was read successfully, I would ask that the word be defined by having the child use it in a sentence or give an example.  Instead of feeling like this was a drill, the boys thought this was a further extension of the game.  They really enjoy that exercise and often still do it without any prompting.

What is particularly effective about this game is that it will not allow you to mis-spell a word; it will not accept it.  The player can receive incremental hints when stumped and also read definitions for correctly spelled words (note:  the game requires words of three letters or more).  The boys can choose to use the keyboard to type in the word or guide the mouse over the cubes, and click each letter in sequence - as each letter is selected, it is highlighted (as shown above) which allows the boys to easily track their spelling. 

All of my boys have learned to read by playing Boggle using this approach.  Its been very fun and relaxed and, best of all, it has given us a chance to spend time together playing one of my favorite games (which, hopefully, has also become one of their favorites as well).  I highly recommend this game not only for entertainment and wholesome family fun, but as a great teaching tool.

As part of the TechBrick Presentation Team, Nate served as the Scribe during an exercise where his teammates continued their research and worked on the first phase of solar viability as an energy conservation solution.

For this exercise, they needed to answer this question: Is the house in the right position for solar power?

To answer that question, they setup their house model with a northern orientation on a sheet and, then, using a chart of azimuth and angle, measured the resultant angle on the roof.  They graphed their findings and will next calculate the cost vs. benefits of the installation of solar panels for this house.

Check out this neat interactive Sunshine Applet to determine the most intense sunlight and the highest risk for sun damage for the day.  You can specify your location then change the time of day or day/month to see the sun's path and light. 

Quinn and Kent are studying the 'Flags of the World' poster with great interest.  They are comparing and contrasting the designs and colors.  I was later told that Quinn was the Reader and Kent was the Counter.

Interested in learning about how the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans celebrated the first Thanksgiving together at Plymouth Plantation?

The Scholastic website about the First Thanksgiving  is a great resource to help teach students about this period in American history with Thanksgiving activities, resources, lesson plans, and teaching ideas about the voyage of the Mayflower, the daily life of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, and the first Thanksgiving feast.

It's important to have your facts straight though, so be sure to check out the Native Americans website as it does an amazing job of providing an accurate history of Thanksgiving and its ultimate declaration as a national holiday. The Historical Documents website offers you the chance to read the First Thanksgiving Proclamation  - June 20, 1676. 

To bring the subject to life, be sure to include the Plimoth Plantation website and plan a family trip soon.  We hope to visit there in the near future!

Nate woke before the sun today to head to Blue Bell, PA with his fellow TechBrick teammates to participate in the FLL scrimmage competition held by Lansdale Catholic High School and  Montgomery County Community College (this scrimmage is considered to be one of the oldest and best as it most resembles the true FLL competition).

The team was awarded the coveted Lansdale Catholic sword of Gracious Professionalism.  Nate was very proud of the Robotics Scrimmage Medal that he was presented along with the rest of his team.  Its safely displayed in his room.

Here's a shot of Nate launching the robot to run the Power Puzzle mission.

Part of the Research Team, Nate had a speaking part to close out the oral presentation.  Though this was his first public speaking experience in this sort of setting, Nate nailed it!  He was loud and proud and even got the desired chuckle from the judges.  We are just so proud of him!

The boys created these Lego Insects for the 3D Lego Club meeting today...  (Kent did get some help from Dad).

Today, we attended HAHSA's 2nd Annual  'Homeschool Family Pride Day'.  We attended last year also and just made a few minor revisions to our poster.  Check it out:

Not to be excluded, Kent announced that he wants to have piano lessons with Mrs. Cathy... boy, she had no idea she would be in such demand!  Today was Kent's first lesson and he did a fine job.  Our piano must be exhausted!

The P.E. Program for Homeschoolers started up again at Towson University. The boys could hardly contain themselves!

Nate and Quinn both got a chance to play hockey while Kent worked out on the gymnastic equipment.  Due to a smaller pool of undergrad students participating in the program, enrollment was limited to only 25 students... we were glad that we registered early!

Seeing how much Quinn has enjoyed his piano lessons, Nate asked if he, too, could learn.  Today was Nate's first formal lesson with Mrs. Cathy and she was quite impressed with him.  Mrs. Cathy commented that he has great form and discipline and she's confident that he will be a quick learner.  After his lesson today, Nate spent over an hour practicing much to Quinn's chagrin since he wanted time to practice too.

Our family is participating in a Postcard Exchange Program with fellow unschoolers around the world.  We've received several postcards so far from folks in the U.S. and abroad such as:

• Independence, Missouri
• Venice Beach, California
• Ankeny, Iowa
• Madrid, Spain 
• Lignano, Italy
• Westport - County Mayo, Ireland
• Wellington - North Island, New Zealand

Just today, we received a postcard from Manchester, New Hampshire!

Earlier this month, we mailed out over two dozen postcards just like this one:

We're hopeful to find some new postcards waiting for us in the mailbox soon.  This is such a motivation for the boys to explore geography.  They love searching our maps and Google Earth to identify where the senders live.

I want to share how we are exploring geography in our home right now – as our boys are really embracing it! 

We have always had several maps on display on our kitchen walls (and still do).  They are a great reference and handy.

Well, I decided to put a poster-sized US map on our kitchen table and it has turned out to be a wonderful inspiration for our boys….

It’s a comprehensive map of the US – ours is the USA Wall Map from Maps International. We laid it out on the tabletop (oval, seats 6) and it fits perfectly.  We placed smiley face stickers to represent relatives around the country and star stickers to represent significant places for our family (honeymoon, vacations, etc.).  Then we covered it with some clear vinyl sheeting cut to size (I got this at JoAnn’s – very affordable, especially with the 40% off coupon).  We chose to staple the sheeting onto the table to make it semi-permanent – using a staple gun, we attached the excess length of the sheeting to the underside of the table – it took 2 of us to do this properly.  Please note: our table needed some cosmetic help anyhow – its still sturdy but not really attractive anymore.

Anyhow, this has turned into a marvelous thing.  Our boys were immediately curious about the stickers and it allowed us to talk about some family members we don’t see very often and to reminisce about all of the great places we’ve been together.

Now, many of our family meals end up relating to US Geography, of some kind.  And, it has encouraged the boys to engage in a lot of discussion independently.  We are using our US Map placemats regularly now.  We’ve discovered that you can’t have too many of these placemats and that each style has something different to offer.

I’ve also stacked some reference books nearby – most of these I picked up second-hand.  I see the boys paging through them frequently and coming to me with questions and projects that have peaked their interest.

Your State Flag by John Robert Gebhart

Our Continent – A Natural History of North America by National Geographic

Travel Guide USA by Readers Digest

Fabulous Facts about the 50 States by Wilma G. Ross

A is for America by Devin Scillian

Complete Book of American Facts & Games by McGraw-Hill

Kids America by Steve Caney

Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States

The boys’ favorite card game right now is ‘Five-State Rummy’ by School Zone.  I also keep other geography-related card games/flash cards nearby for them to sort through for reference – again, I usually pick these up at yard sales.

Some fun games and puzzles we’ve been enjoying include:

The Scrambled States of America

Professor Noggin’s Geography of the United States

Sequence States & Capitals Game

Take Off!

United States Puzzle

We found this great free online interactive game too – US Map Puzzle by Owl & Mouse Educational Software.

We have a magnet board that we have hung on the side of the island in the kitchen.  I purchased the KidUSA Activity Kit by Barker Creek.  This set is a lot of fun – the kids love it.  It features State Birds, Flags, Capitals, etc. The activity book has great reproducibles and is interactive with the magnet sets.  (You can pick it up cheaper on other sites – be sure to compare before you buy).

I am thinking about letting the build their own US Geography Notebooks, so I picked up these resources which are full of great ideas!

Kids Learn America! Bringing Geography to Life with People, Places & History

Our Fifty States by Teacher Created Materials

If you’re looking for a way to link reading with US Geography, here are some great resources:

Read Across America – Exploring 7 US Regions through Popular Children’s Literature

Read & Write Across America – Studying the 50 States through Literature

Another fun idea is to subscribe to Highlights ‘Which Way USA’ Book Club.   I’ve picked up most of ours from eBay.

We've also joined a postcard exchange group.  Its been alot of fun for us and its always exciting to get mail.  We keep the postcards in a photo album which is kept on the coffee table.  I think that if we do notebooks, I'll probably use the postcards as the springboard and start with pages for each postcard we've received.

I hope you found this info useful.  I’d love to hear what others are doing!  Please share…

We joined fellow HAHSA members on a mind-boggling field trip to see BODIES - The Exhibition in Rosslyn, Virginia.  WOW! is a mild reaction.  It took us nearly 3 hours to make our way through the entire exhibit and all of us were awe-struck with what we saw.  It was a perfect introduction to the wonders of the human body for the boys.  To be able to see the actual body parts and their relationship to the rest of the body was absolutely amazing!! 

Quinn started piano lessons today with Mrs. Cathy and the anticipation was nearly killing him all morning.  The session went longer than expected since Quinn's enthusiasm convinced Mrs. Cathy to listen to the various original compositions that Quinn had been working on during the past several weeks. Mrs. Cathy commented on his obvious interest in Music Theory and plans to help him focus on being able to put his songs on paper in the coming weeks.

The latest addition to the Stuff that Hasn't Been Poetry Series:

EVEN MORE STUFF THAT HASN'T BEEN

A VOLCANO THAT NEVER ERUPTS.

A PERSON WITHOUT A BRAIN.

A TELEPHONE THAT DOESN’T RING.

A COMPUTER WITHOUT A KEYBOARD.

A SNAKE THAT DOESN’T SLITHER.

a LIBRARY WITHOUT ANY BOOKS.

A COOKBOOK THAT HAS NO RECIPES.

A ROADMAP WITHOUT ANY ROADS.

A BOOK THAT HAS NO PAGES.

A CEREAL WITHOUT A BOWL.

A SHELF THAT ISN’T STRONG.

A LLAMA WITHOUT ANY EARS.

A WORD THAT HASN’T BEEN USED.

A CANDLE WITHOUT A WICK.

A RABBIT THAT CAN’T HOP.

A BIRTHDAY WITHOUT A CAKE.

A SPIDER THAT CAN’T SPIN A WEB.

A HAWK THAT DOESN’T HUNT.

A RADIO WITHOUT CHANNELS.

A GEM THAT ISN’T SHINY.

A WAR THAT NO ONE DIES IN.

A GARDEN THAT DOESN’T GROW.

A BEAVER THAT CAN’T SWIM.

A TRAIN WITHOUT A STATION.

A ZIPPER THAT DOESN’T ZIP.

A STATE WITHOUT BORDERS.

A BAND-AID THAT DOESN’T STICK.

A HARP WITHOUT ANY STRINGS.

A LEGEND THAT NO ONE TOLD.

A COW WITHOUT ANY MILK.

A DOOR THAT DOESN’T OPEN.

A FISH WITHOUT WATER.

A PHOTOGRAPH THAT HASN’T BEEN TAKEN.

Bob the Blue Jay

By Nate

Once upon a time, there was a bird named ‘Bob.’  Bob was a blue jay. Bob lived in a red birdhouse that hung in an old oak tree in Oklahoma. 

He loved to play with his friends, Jack and Sam.  Jack and Sam were blue jays too.

They liked to play lots of cool games like tag.  They liked to fly places.  Their favorite place to fly was West Virginia. They were fast flyers.  It would only take them 5 minutes to get there.  When they arrived, they would take a bath and eat lunch.  Then they would make new friends and play games.  When they flew home in the evening, they would get home in time to eat dinner.

Bob’s dad liked to fly and get food for dinner.  Sometimes he would bring home worms.  Sometimes he would bring home grasshoppers.  Bob liked grasshoppers very much.  They were his favorite food.

One day when Bob and his friends were flying to West Virginia, a great big storm came.  They couldn’t make it to West Virginia and they couldn’t go home because the storm was too heavy.  So, they decided to go to a nearby tree and wait until the storm was over then go home. While they were resting in the tree, they fell asleep.  When they woke up, the storm had passed and the sun was shining.  They flew home and their parents were very happy.

The End

Kent dictated this to mama with a huge smile on his face...  this write-up will be included in the upcoming issue of KidView (a magazine published by HAHSA homeschoolers).

I’m a Football Player!

By Kent Bero

I am on the North Harford football team this year.  My team has 5 and 6 year olds.  I was 5 years old when practice started but now I am 6 years old.

I think that football is fun because I get to tackle people.  I play all of the positions.  My favorite position is ‘Defensive End’ because I made the first tackle in the game.  I like to play ‘Tight End’ too because I am fast.

I like wearing my uniform.  My uniform is green and white.  My number is 41.  I have to wear pads under my uniform so I won’t get hurt.  I wear pads on my shoulders and legs.  I have to wear cleats instead of shoes so I won’t slip.  They make me run faster.

I go to practice almost every day and we play games and scrimmages every week.  We don’t keep score but I know my team has won some of the games.  We are a pretty good team.

If you are familiar with Dorling Kindersley (DK) books, then you'll be thrilled with to know that you have access to the DK Clip Art library for free!  As the world's leading publisher of illustrated reference books, this clip art collection is full of wonderful images for you to download and use in a myriad of ways. You can easily search through thousands of images - a simple browse by categories from A-Z or by school subjects.

The boys have been diligently selling our farm fresh eggs for well over a year now.  As a team, they are responsible for the entire process from beginning to end (except for the actual egg laying, of course).  The steps are noted here... 

1. Collect the eggs from the henhouse
2. Store the eggs safely in the refrigerator
3. Gently wash and dry the eggs
4. Sort the eggs by size and color
5. Pack the eggs in cartons
6. Solicit sales from friends and neighbors
7. Deliver the cartons to the customers
8. Collect the money from the customers
9. Deposit the earnings in savings
10. Record the earnings on the Goal Sheet

The boys have done a fine job of fairly allocating the various responsibilities among themselves.  Each takes a turn playing the salesman so as to experience the thrill seeing the end result of their efforts.  And, today the reaped the reward of their hard work and discipline.

Originally, the boys were going to save up for a trip to Legoland in California, but opted to instead aim for a more reasonable goal and agreed upon the a lacrosse goal.  So, we agreed to buy the goal from Dicks Sporting Goods since we had a coupon to save an additional 10% off any lacrosse equipment.  The boys had did their calculations and we stopped at the bank on the way into town.  Nate had the honor paying the cashier and all three of the boys were beaming with pride as we rolled the cart out to the parking lot to load the large box into the truck.

On the way home, we stopped at Michael's to buy some neon orange duct tape to use to seal the frame where the metal frame connected to prevent rust.  Then we headed home and waited with great anticipation for Daddy to get home from work to help with the assembly.

We are so pleased with the boys and hope that this lesson repeats itself many times over the course of the coming years.

We spent the day with other homeschoolers at a workship with David Albert at Stony Run Friends Meeting in Baltimore.  While Mom enjoyed the many talks given throughout the day about unschooling, the kids had plenty to keep them busy PLUS a Pizza Party!

Today we joined hundreds of homeschool friends as we celebrated the fact that we aren't going 'Back-to-School'...  HAHSA hosted this fun event for all local homeschoolers to gather at Annie's Playground.  We took some of our watermelons with us to share with the attendees.

The boys have now published the sequel to the original poem, Stuff that Hasn't Been:

MORE STUFF THAT HASN'T BEEN

 A pig without a snout.

A Banana that hasn’t been peeled.

A camera without batteries.

A bike that has no pedals.

A body without a heart.

A pen that has no ink.

A beach without sand.

A bed that has no mattress.

A plane without wings.

A tennis ball that can’t bounce.

A train without an engine.

a pumpkin without seeds.

A creek without water.

A duck that doesn’t quack.

A gun without a trigger.

a map that has no treasure.

A cookie without taste.

A knife that is not sharp.

A hammer without a handle.

A dog that can’t bark.

A spider without a web.

A roller coaster that isn’t fast.

A dragon that doesn’t make fire.

A picnic with no food.

A vacation without people.

A computer without numbers.

A house that no one lives in.

A football game without a field.

A ship that doesn’t float.

A superhero without powers.

An M&M without chocolate.

Nate and Quinn attended Camp Invention again this year at Forest Hill Elementary for a week long day camp.  Each child kept an Inventor's Log and received a Patent Certificate for Innovative Achievement at the end of the week to commemorate their unique creations and ingenuity. 

 Quinn shows off his team's rocket design.

Nate's Team worked very hard on this model of the perfect bathroom.

Behold.. the Mega Bug!

The John Smith shallop arrived in Havre de Grace for a day of events commemorating John Smith's exploration of the Upper Chesapeake. At the marina, we were able to view the shallop, meet the crew, and tour the interactive exhibit tent. 

^{"Located where the Susquehanna River meets the Bay, Havre de Grace's location was described by John Smith as "Smiths Falles". To mark the location and others along the headwaters of the Bay, Smith and his crew ...cut in trees so many crosses as we would, and in many places made holes in trees, wherein we writ notes, and in some places crosses of brasse, to signifie to any, English-men had beene there."}

^{The shallop’s visit to Havre de Grace was part of the 2007 Maritime Heritage Festival.  There were many reenactors offering the chance to handle and sample various artifacts.  The boys had a mulititude of questions, mostly in regards to the weaponry.}

^{Quinn bravely took the musket and proved himself worthy to defend the family, need be..}

^{Ready... Aim...}

^FIRE!!!!

.

The Bero Brothers can now add another feather to their cap as their poetry has just been published in KidView, a bi-monthly magazine sponsored by HAHSA.  Inspired by a casual conversation had during a long drive one morning, the boys began spouting off a litany of thoughts that they compiled into this poem:

Stuff That Hasn’t Been

A fence that hasn’t been built.

A bird that hasn’t flown.

A road that hasn’t been driven on.

A castle that has no king.

A circus that has no tricks.

A river that doesn’t flow.

A car that doesn’t drive.

A computer game that no one plays.

A plant that doesn’t grow.

A flower that doesn’t bloom.

A tree that has no leaves.

A treasure chest that no one dug up.

An island that hasn’t been discovered.

A sky that has no clouds.

A toy that isn’t fun.

A sport that no one plays.

A fruit that hasn’t been picked.

A cat that doesn’t meow.

A farm without a farmer.

A rooster that doesn’t crow.

An Earth without water.

A bakery without flour.

An oven that doesn’t heat.

A candy without sugar.

A person that can’t breathe.

A cowboy without a hat.

A knight that has no armor.

A sign that has no message.

A movie that has no actors.

A light that doesn’t shine.

A food that hasn’t been eaten.

By Nate & Quinn Bero

The boys attended a class presented by TEAM DNR today in which they learned all about Atlantic Coast Horseshoe Crabs.  This interactive program introduced the students not only to the anatomy and life history of this local crustacean, but discussed some of the management issues Maryland is facing in relation to these creatures. 

We joined in the fun at HAHSA's Math Club for some games and graphing fun.

Quinn plays COUNTDOWN with some friends.

Everyone wants to know who had the closest guess - to see who wins the prize!

Along with some homeschool friends, the Bero boys represented HAHSA at the 2007 Engineering Challenge sponsored by the Baltimore Museum of Industry. 

Teams were divided by age: K-1 (Quinn, Kent et al AKA 'The Thunder') & Grades 2-3 (Nate et al AKA 'R.A.N. Motors).  Their teams competed against over 40 teams in the Safe Racers Challenge.

Our little engineers certainly learned alot about design and durability at the competition, as well as teamwork, public speaking and presentation skills.

The Thunder's egg ultimately required Emergency Care and had to be taken away by an ambulance!  It was a fun day for everyone.  We plan to participate again next year.

The Thunder Team watches as their Safe Racer is weighed and measured.

Down the ramp it goes!

Nate checks to see if the egg passes inspection and is ready to take the helm.

The R.A.N. Motors Safe Racer is ready for the launch.

Nate has registered to join TechBrick which will compete in the First Lego League Power Puzzle Challenge in 2008.  The team members gathered for a 2-day camp to get to know each other and lay a foundation for the upcoming quest to work towards a successful solution to the challenge - the details of which won't be announced until September!

One of our absolute most favorite shows is the Super Scientific Circus presented by Arts on Stage each year at Goucher College in Towson.  Entertaining and highly educational, this show is a homeschool parent's dream come true!

This comical presentation shows kids that science is fun and amazing and everywhere.  It incorporates physics, chemistry, biology and demonstrates how magic really is the putting science to work.  We just love this show!!!

Nate and Quinn participated in the Junior Naturalist Program offered at Eden Mill Nature Center for the first time this morning.  Today's topic was Animal Habitats.  The class explored the park to determine what makes a good habitat and what creatures might be living near the center.  They learned alot, had a nice hike and came home with a neat little guide filled with their own explanations and illustrations to use for future trips.

Hundreds of homeschoolers gathered at the Churchville Rec Center today to celebrate HAHSA's Kick-Off Event.  Although the day started out rainy, the skies opened up and let the sunshine in.  We had cotton candy, popcorn, lemon sticks and snowballs along with crafts and field games for the kids.  The turnout was far more than expected and by the end of the day, we had nearly 70 families register for membership!  We received a citation from the County Executive and also one from the State Governor.