• Sep. 4, 2008
starting botany
We have been starting a study in botany for science. It is interesting because I am learning about both vascular plants and non-vascular plants.
Vascular means that the plant has veins, which are not like ours that pump blood. Plant veins carry water and other nutrients to the plant. Most plants are vascular plants.
There are only a few non-vascular plants. Moss is one of them. Moss usually grows on trees and rocks. These plants get water by absorbing it like a paper towel. The water spreads to as much of the plant as it can. If the water can't spread to all the parts of the plant it will dry up and maybe die. We are going on a nature walk tomorrow to look for moss.
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• Jul. 1, 2008
Just Say NO!
"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" ~Proverbs 1:10. Today we started to read through the Book of Proverbs, one chapter a day. I had to pick out one verse that I wanted to memorize that might help me grow closer to God. I picked this verse because it means to follow God by avoiding sin and walking away from temptation. I think this is a good place to start, because it means I can just say "NO!" to sin. Which means when people try to tempt you, you just say no.
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• Jun. 23, 2008
Mummification
I think it's cool how the ancient Egyptians used to mummify their dead. They take out the heart and wrap it up and replace it. The other organs are put in coptic jars. They used a hot hook and put it up the nose to take the brain out. They wrap up the body in linens and other stuff. When they are done they put a golden mask on the face and put the body in a sarcophagus. That gets put in another wooden coffin, which is put in another coffin. I think they paint the face on one or both coffins. They put the coffin in the tomb in the pyramid and make booby traps so no one can steal the treasures or the mummy. Sometimes they bury favorite servants with the mummy. They also bury food in there so that the mummy can eat when he comes to life again.
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• Apr. 7, 2008
Mars...a place I'd like to visit someday.
Mars has the biggest volcano in our solar system, called the Olympus Mons. We're going to make a model of it for school this week! Mars is visible in the night sky with the naked eye. It is red and easy to spot because of its color. It is red because it is made of a lot of iron and the iron rusts to a reddish color. Mars has a thin atmosphere so we couldn't live there. It would also be too cold!!! The atmosphere makes the day sky look orange/yellow but the night sky looks blue. Some scientists would like to build an ecosystem on Mars someday. I would like to visit that!
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• Mar. 23, 2008
interesting calligraphy
In a recent issue of God's World News, I learned about a neat way of writing. In Japan they have calligraphy contests. That form of writing is called Shodo, which means "the way of writing". It has to be taught in elementary schools in Japan, but is an elective in high schools there. It is very particular. The strokes have to be made a certain way. If the student messes up, they have to start all over again. The students get special tools to use for this writing.
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• Mar. 7, 2008
Keepers Club
We have a Keepers of the Faith club that my mom teaches at a co-op down the street. This week we decorated flower pots. About three weeks ago we each planted one flower seed and one vegetable seed in dixie cups. I planted a pumpkin seed and Bachelor's Buttons. The pumpkin seed did not sprout. The flower seed has the second set of leaves now and will need to be re-potted. That's what the flower pots are for!
So far this year at Keepers Club (since January), we have done counted cross-stitch, rubber stamping cards, watercolor pictures, cake decorating and then the seed planting and flower pot painting activities. I wish we could do calligraphy and candy making before it's over, but we don't have too many more weeks. Then we break til fall. I think next week we are doing decoupage plaques with pictures and our favorite quote or Bible verse.
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• Mar. 3, 2008
Clay Signature Seals
At the end of last week, my two brothers and I made our own clay seals like people used to use in the ancient middle east. Because most people could not write their names, they each had their own design. We used air-dry clay and rolled it out to 1/2" thick. Then we each did our own design and punched a hole out in the top using a straw so we can hang up our seals once they are all finished. I put clouds and rain with a heart on the bottom and an "S" on the other side. We still have to coat it with a mix of glue and water. It was a fun project. I think it's a lot easier to write my name!
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• Feb. 27, 2008
Cake Decorating
Today at Keepers Club we were learning to decorate cakes. First we frosted the cakes with white icing. Then we took a little white icing and added paste coloring with toothpicks. I had pink icing. It was very messy! After we got the color right, we put the icing into decorator bags made of either plastic or parchment paper. The bags had decorative tips at the bottom. One was a star tip and the other was a circle tip. I used both and they made cool designs! When you put the icing in the bags we had to squeeze very carefully and not too hard. Then we pressed gently on the bag to make the design with the icing. For my design I put little stars and my name. Then we got to take the cakes home. It was yummy!!!
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• Feb. 22, 2008
Snow...
Last night it snowed. This morning I got up and saw that there were about 2-3 inches on the ground. Me and my sisters and brothers played in the snow after a lunch of pizza. My sister and I were trying to make an igloo but my little brothers kept knocking it down. We also made snow angels. If you don't know how to make one, this is how you do it: You carefully lay down on the ground and move your arms and legs like you are doing a jumping jack. When you are done, you carefully get up and turn to look at your impression in the snow. It will look like an angel with wings and a gown. My brother Will was throwing snow balls at me when I was trying to make a fort. We had lots of fun! Now for some hot chocolate!!!!
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• Feb. 21, 2008
Lunar Eclipse
Last night I saw the lunar eclipse. Our moon is called "Luna". The earth moves between the sun and the moon, so that the moon does not really shine. The earth's shadow passes across the moon, blocking the light that the sun usually shines on the moon. So the moon ends up being a golden color because the sun's light has to pass through the earth's atmosphere and the blue light does not go through. So you are left with a goldish color. The moon was really bright and full and we could see the craters very clearly with just our eyes, but we used binoculars too. It had snowed so it was really, really cold.
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• Feb. 20, 2008
The Ancient Ruler Sargon
One story about Sargon is that he was found in a basket in the Euphrates River by a servant of the king of Kish. (Sargon's life sounds very much like Moses, who was found in a basket in the Nile River by the daughter of pharoah). Sargon was trusted to be the cupbearer for the king of Kish. Except that Sargon was not trustworthy. He got the army to kill the king and then rose to power through the military. He had a military dictatorship and conquered all of the cities in Mesopotamia. He had his army stationed in each city so they would follow his laws. Sargon united Mesopotamia through force. This still happens today in other parts of the world.
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• Feb. 18, 2008
The Nile River
The Nile River is located in Africa, in Egypt. It flows north rather than south like most other rivers. The northern-most part of the river separates into tributaries and forms a delta. It's called a "delta" because it is shaped the Greek letter "D". The Nile River floods once a year. This helps the crops to grow because it deposits the silt along the banks. Some farmers dig canals and then dam them up with rocks to keep water nearby. We did an experiment where we made our own Nile River and flooded it to make the grass seeds grow.
It was fun learning about the Nile River.
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• Feb. 16, 2008
Ziggurats and stuff...
Last Friday we learned about ziggurats. Ziggurats are large flat-looking pyramids that were used as temples to worship idols. There are a lot of them found in ancient Sumeria in the area called Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq. Mesopotamia was in the fertile crescent and between two rivers: the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The people of ancient Sumeria were really smart. They had running water and flushing toilets in some homes!
Did you know that ancient rulers in that area would be buried with their best servants and even food? They were also buried with treasures. They thought they had a second life. We do have a second life, but we will have it in heaven where God will provide...so don't be buried with servants and food - you won't need it!
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• Jan. 27, 2008
time travel
Last night I watched the Disney movie "The Minute Men". These three boys were time-traveling. Their purpose was to help people, which sounds like a good idea. But when they changed the way that things were, then they ended up making a black hole that was going to take out the whole earth. Maybe changing history is not very good. It would be cool to travel in time to see stuff, but not to replace or change things it would change history overall. Now I am interested in learning more about time travel.
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• Jan. 24, 2008
An Introduction...
Hi! I'm Sara. I'm in third grade this year, and this is my online homeschool log and yearbook.
I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and we live in Pennsylvania in the Amish Country. I'm involved in cheerleading and 4-H and go to a co-op once every week where my mom is teaching a Keepers at Home class. My favorite studies are Mystery of History/Story of the World and Exploring Creation with Astronomy. I don't really like math. I just finished reading Charlotte's Web and Paddle-to-the-Sea. We use the Charlotte Mason method so I give lots and lots of narrations. I go to a Discover Joy club and a Bible club every week and love singing hymns. My mom is going to teach me to play the piano once it is repaired. Bye for now!
