Jun. 8, 2009 - Guam Quarter
We were able to attend the ceremony for the introduction of the Guam coin into circulation, part of the DC and Territories Quarter program. For more information on the Guam quarter visit:
Guam Quarter
Anyone under 18 at the ceremony was given a free Guam quarter;
For activities for kids related to the Quarters program visit:
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/
For teaching aides:
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/
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Jun. 6, 2009 - We grew a pineapple!
When our friends were leaving island we bought a pineapple plant from them and continued the lengthy process of growing a pineapple. Our friends had already had the plant for several months. A few months after we got the pineapple it flowered. Here is it is on week three from when it flowered:
Following the typical timeframe for pineapples to ripen, it took about 17 more weeks for the pineapple to ripen. Our pineapple is 2.6 pounds. The plant grew two shoots, one on either side, which we learned are called ratoons. We have left them on the plant and will continue to water them and we may get pineapples from them after another year. It is a long wait but fun to watch. We had a little accident when one of the neighbor kids fell against the plant and so we had it propped up with boards. We are SO glad that it continued to ripen despite the injury.
Here it is at week 16. Notice the ratoons:
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Jun. 4, 2009 - Summary of our Homeschooling Year
Four Beyond Five in a Row chapter book units with lapbooking
(Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Fine Arts):
Thomas Edison, Betsy Ross, Homer, Boxcar Children
Other Units: Castle Diary, Arabella, Wilma Unlimited (Homeschoolshare.com)
3 R’s:
Math U See – Gamma and Beginning of Delta
Growing with Grammar – Grade 3 and started Grade 4
Institute for Excellence in Writing
Bible:
(Home)
Jesus in the Spotlight by Kay Arthur
Five in a Row Christian Character Supplement
A Girl of Beauty by Carol Fiddler
Princess and the Kiss Life Lessons
Jotham’s Journey
(Church)
Torchlighter dvds
Grapevine Old and New Testament Timeline
8 Swim lessons and trips to the pool
Weekly Jump rope class including 2 performances
Hike to
“ice skating” 1X
Rock climbing 1X
Piano lessons - Sarah
Recorder lessons with Mom, (including two recorder performances at church); piano lessons with Mom, a few flute lessons at church - Joy
Cake Decorating lessons
Knitting lessons
Visit to
On Guam --Fish Eye Marine Observatory, War in the
Nature journaling: 13 entries
Timeline numerous additions
Reading Rainbow Young Writer and Illustrator contest (Joy)
Drama class with Covenant Players
Several lessons of Chinese (Learnables)– Joy
A Few lessons of Spanish – Sarah and Joy
Library summer reading program
Quick Study Labs summer science club
Bookmobile and library- numerous visits
Shepherd’s Fold Christian Camp
Kid’s Klub biweekly- Bible and Arts & Crafts, games
SAT10 testing (Joy)
PASS testing (Sarah)
Home Depot kid’s workshop (5 times)
Read alouds mom read: Swiss Family Robinson, Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, Carry on Mr. Bowditch, Clara Barton, Amelia Earhart, A Door in the Wall
Geocaching numerous times
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May. 22, 2009 - teachable moments
We really struggle with grammar, spelling, and writing in our home school.
It always helps to have them writing about a subject they are passionate about.
Oldest dd is definitely a "people person" and a history lover so it is easier to get her to write about those subjects. Then, recently she came home all excited from the neighborhood "club" where she was elected to be the secretary/reporter. She eagerly wrote up an interesting article (with horrible grammar LOL mind you) but let me edit it before she rewrote it out. I am hoping there will be additional editions!
Second dd is definitely a hands on learner and an animal lover. Since she has been spending lots of her free time catching butterflies that some people thought were moths I had her learn the differences, catch one, study it, draw it and write about whether the one she caught and sketched was a butterfly or moth -- and why. A perfect entry for our ongoing nature journal!
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May. 6, 2009 - my top 5 favorite recipes
It's mango season here! Yippee! Here are a couple recipes I am using to take advantage of the season:
1) Mango - Black Bean Salsa
Ingredients: 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (7 ounces)mexican whole kernel corn, drained 1 medium mango, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes 1/4 cup finely red chopped onion 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Preparation: In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve with baked tortilla chips, if desired.
I got this recipe from Feeding Children website years ago but it can also be found at allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mango-Tango-Black-Bean-Salsa/detail.aspx
2) Add pureed mangoes to homemade yogurt. Here is a crockpot recipe for yogurt:
http://www.nourishingdays.com/?p=912
Following are also in my top 5 fave even tho they don't include mangoes:
3) Orange Chicken Stir Fry - easy and popular!
Ingredients:
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel ( I prefer calamansi peel)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch squares
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped carrots, slightly steamed;
crispy chow mein noodles (optional)
Directions:
1 In a small bowl combine the orange juice, grated peal, soy sauce, salt, garlic and brown sugar. Mix well.
2 Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. When oil begins to bubble, add chicken. Saute until cooked through (no longer pink inside), about 7 to 10 minutes.
3 Add orange sauce mixture to chicken and cook until sauce begins to bubble. Add cooked carrots and cook for 1 minute or if starting with raw carrots you should cook longer until tender; Add flour, a little bit at a time, until sauce has thickened to your liking. serve hot over rice and top with crunchy chow mein noodles.
Makes 4 servings
similar recipe found at:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Chicken-Stir-Fry/Detail.aspx
4) Grilled Chicken - Apple Wraps
see Parenting Magazine:
http://www.parenting.com/recipes-article/Recipes/Quick-Easy/Grilled-Chicken,-Apple,-and-Cheddar-Wrap
Ingredients:
4 lg tortillas
4 tb lowfat sour cream
2 tb spicy brown mustard
1/4 ts ground rosemary
2 c chopped chicken; cooked
1 md Granny Smith apple; unpeeled, quartered, core
1 c shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat tortillas until warm and soft; cover with foil to keep warm and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mustard, and rosemary; spread equal amounts on each tortilla.
3. Top tortillas with equal amount of chicken, apple, and cheese; wrap tightly and place seam-side down in a shallow baking dish or on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
5) Baked Oatmeal (this recipe came from the Five in a Row message board years ago):
1/3 c. cooking oil (I use olive oil) 1/2 c. sugar (or substitute honey) 1 large egg, beaten 2 c. uncooked oats (rolled oats are best) 1 1/3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2/3 c. milk
Combine oil, sugar (honey), and egg. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm.
Variations: Add 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 med. apple, cored and cubed; Add 1/2 c. raisins and 1 tsp. cinnamon (opt.) Sprinkle 1/4 c. shredded coconut on top before baking.
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May. 2, 2009 - Home Depot kids' workshops
My kids are enjoying going to the Home Depot kid's workshops every now and then. The first one they did in MA with their grandfather and they did another with him last month when we were visiting there. This morning their Dad took them. Though I already know what the project was this morning, I haven't seen the final project -- i assume the reason being that Mother's Day is coming!
This is a great "date" activity for Dad to do with his girls! They give out aprons, and pins and certificates for each project they complete -- all for free. The projects we have done are:
boats, birdhouses, art easels, leaf presses, fire engines, wheel barrow planter.
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Apr. 12, 2009 - Mom trying new things~
Homeschooling Moms ....What things have you tried or learned to do because you are homeschooling that you may never have tried otherwise?
I have:
- learned to play the recorder
-started jumping rope for exercise and fun
-learned some Chinese
-done some worship dance at church with my kids
-enjoyed some new art techniques
-started reading books in new ways
-begun to cut my apple crosswise to see the star in the middle!
-done some nature journaling
and a number of other things!
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Apr. 12, 2009 - Cake Decorating
My sister has a fantastic bakery in Plymouth, MA called Piece of Cake which has inspired me and my girls to give cake decorating a try. Living far away from MA, we seldom have a chance to learn from her, but when we are in the area, as we are at the moment, we frequent the shop whenever we can.
Judy helped S+J to decorate this gorgeous teapot cake
for their grandmother's birthday this week. We planned a surprise tea party for her at the shop. Such girlie fun they couldn't contain their excitement! The girls have also helped out with cookie decorating, answering the phone and serving customers as much as they can.
Last year on Guam we took some lessons from a friend with some other homeschoolers. The kids made cupcake cakes
carousal cakes 
and cookie cakes
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Mar. 17, 2009 - Homeschooling on the Road!
Travelling during the school year can be both a challenge and an adventure. Seeing as we live on Guam our travel always involves airplane travel and sometimes includes travel by road. Our travel has added so much to our learning experience!
On a past furlough we were based out of southeastern Massachusetts where we visited Plymouth, Cape Cod (including Martha's Vineyard), Boston, cranberry bogs in our back yard and apple orchards in the western part of the state. We had meetings to travel to that took us through farms in NY, and another set that meant a road trip to Virginia where we visited Jamestown and Williamsburg, passed through Amish country in PA as well as visiting Philadelphia. A visit to a supporting church in Hawaii took us there as well!! What more could we ask for during just a few short months? Talk about amazing firsthand history and geography lessons! For scrapbooks of our history learning visit: History Field Trips (scrapbookmax.com) and for nature learning: Furlough Nature Learning
For these and other trips, I often print out travel log books for the kids to complete from Enchanted Learning. These include a page written in anticipation of the trip, daily logs, and a summary for after the trip. Check it out: Enchanted Learning Vacation Memory Book.
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Mar. 6, 2009 - Children's Church Materials
On my family's personal website I have an extensive number of lesson plans that I have written which I hope may be helpful to someone for church, family or other ministry purposes. Topics are related to the parts of the worship service such as prayer, praise, the Word, the Lord's Supper, giving, etc.
Other materials that I would recommend are the Bible Timeline (see my blog entry with that title) as well as materials by Voice of the Martyrs. They have a wonderful set of dvds which include full lesson plans on such people as Eric Liddell, Jim Elliot, William Tyndale and John Bunyan. Check it out: Torchlighter Series I have also used their books titled The Story of Saint Valentine and The Story of Saint Patrick with good success.
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Mar. 6, 2009 - Purity Study
A bunch of us homeschoolers here on Guam will be simultaneously working through a study on purity with our sons and daughters using The Princess and the Kiss and The Squire and the Scroll storybooks and Life Lessons bible studies.
If you are using the Princess Life Lessons and could use a
pdf of the Memory Verses click here
(I copied mine on pastel cardstock and cut out for my dds to use for memory work.)
pdf of the Memory Verses for the Squire and the Scroll click here
Check it out at Revive our Hearts Ministries.
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Mar. 5, 2009 - Using your Kid's Artwork
Here are some of the practical things I have done with my children's artwork:
*scanned and made them into postcards or stationary and packaged them to give the grandparents (alert: the grands may want to keep it rather than to use it as stationary so you may want to give duplicates of the different designs)
*bought plain white gift bags for them to decorate for use instead of wrapping paper
*have the kids decorate butcher paper for wrapping of extra large gifts.
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Mar. 5, 2009 - Getting Dad Involved
When I asked my husband to help with the science lesson on pulleys for our Homer Price study, I had something simple in mind. I should have know he would go all out! An elaborate design was planned and out came the tools. Now we can more easily transport the multitude of stuffed animals and dolls to the top of the bunk bed. Doesn't every family need one of these?
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Feb. 17, 2009 - God's Word for me today
came from Streams in the Desert devotional:
"I will move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children...." Gen. 33:14
This is a picture of Jacob's loving consideration for his children and the cattle in their journey. "He knew exactly how far they could go in a day, and he made that his only consideration."
This devotion goes on to share how, though we have never passed this way before, Jesus has. While I do take comfort in that, today as I read that the Holy Spirit brought conviction that I need to also live out that consideration for my kids, particularly in our homeschooling experience. There are areas we struggle with where I know that we are way behind and it causes me stress at times.....I take it out on them....There are extra things that I know the girls would like to learn to do and study more but we simply have to push forward in the 3 R's first...I push too hard at times....
I pray that I would remember that if I am walking with the Lord step by step in this journey we will go exactly as far He wants us to. He will lead me at the pace that I need to lead my kiddos.
May we all find just the right pace God has for us and neither run ahead or lag behind!
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Feb. 8, 2009 - Bible Timelines
I am excited about the new curriculum we are beginning in our children's church program -- biblical timelines. The study follows the teacher as she stick figures the main events and people in the Old and New Testaments chronologically. Check it out...you can view a sample. Call or write for group pricing. A mention of my referral will award me a discount for future purchase. You will also receive a 20% for your first purchase if you mention my recommendation. Call 1-877-436-2317.
Grapevine Timelines
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Feb. 8, 2009 - Passover Activities
*red (crepe paper) covering around the doorframe
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Feb. 8, 2009 - What a difference a few minutes makes~
I have been thinking about how differently my day goes when we get started nice and early with school (8:00 - 8:30) compared to when we stall a little and start as little as 30 minutes later! If we don't get started early enough to get the bulk of our heavy schooling done by lunch then things just really go downhill.
It is a challenge, though. And, it all starts the night before! Getting the kids to bed early enough, getting myself to bed at a decent hour so I can drag myself out of bed to exercise in order to wake up my body and brain more fully! Ahhh for more discipline!
I am convinced that many kids could be performing so much better with adequate sleep (and healthy meals!). I see how early the school kids get on the bus, and I hear how late they stay up and it all doesn't add up to enough sleep!
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Feb. 5, 2009 - Jumping Rope
We really enjoy participating in a jump rope class with a bunch of other homeschoolers. When I say "we" I include myself since I am also jumping with the class. I need the push towards better fitness and to also be an example to my kids.
Regular exercise not only helps improve health but is also shown to be linked to better academic performance and attitude. What family couldn't use a boost in attitudes with their students?
Jumping rope is an efficient way to exercise since every minute of jumping rope is equal to jogging for 3 minutes. It is also inexpensive.
Give it a try!
Here we are performing a jump rope routine at our church's talent night:
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Feb. 2, 2009 - Curriculum Choices
Right now we are using:
*Beyond Five in a Row
*MathUSee
*Sequential Spelling
*Growing with Grammar
*Institute for Excellence in Writing
*Learnables Chinese
*Beyond Five in a Row Bible and Character Supplement
*A Girl of Beauty - Developing Character in Young Girls by Carol Fiddler
In past we have used:
*Before Five in a Row
*Five in a Row
*Reading Made Easy
*Handwriting without Tears
Bible Materials we have used:
*ABC's of Handling Money God's Way (Crown Financial)
*God and Me Devotions for Girls
*Jesus in the Spotlight by Kay Arthur (inductive Bible study on the Gospel of John)
*Leading Little Ones to God
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Jan. 27, 2009 - Pinata Alternative
Today we tried something new at our neighborhood Kid's Klub. We made a pinata ball by wrapping candy in crepe paper as you would a ball of yarn. We had several of these mini balls and made a circle and threw them around. As the candy fell out the kids grabbed it. It worked pretty well and some of the kids said they liked it better than a pinata because sometimes with a pinata not everyone gets a chance to hit it.
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