Nov. 23, 2009 - Finding Color
My sweet Preschooler and I went on our very own nature walk today to seek out color on a somewhat drabby day. This November has been a very mild one, indeed, but also has lacked sunshine. So we determined ourselves to find our very own "sunshine" by finding colors in the brown of late autumn.
At first, it seemed everywhere we looked there was brown, which we still found beauty in.
Here, we found STARS! She said they look like fireworks too.
Then we started noticing all the pretty green around still, even after the frosts.
And the pretty green lichen and white fungi were plentiful.
We couldn't decide if we wanted to call these berries "red" or "purple", so we called them "red purple".
And finally, there was this neat looking orange fungi. We thought they looked like orange fingers!
But the most colorful thing I found in nature today, was my sweet Gabby Rose.
November 21, 2009 - I Miss Him!
This past week has been extremely hard for me. I lost my Great Grandpa, who I was very very close to. I can honestly say that he was THE best grandpa I've ever had. I am so thankful for the last 5 years of being able to grow closer to him, of course, it wasn't as long as I wanted, but I am very glad I had them. It was wonderful! It was wonderful to grow as close to him as I did.
Over the past 5 years, he really opened up to me about his WWII experiences which he hadn't shared them at all before. When I presented him the Armed Service album I made for him at his 65th anniversary, he was moved to tears. I knew that all the efforts and the sleepless night I spent on it was so worth it! Getting to know him was truly a blessing to me. I pray it was to him also. Since I did that for him and grew closer to him through it, I have a very important place in my heart for the armed service men. When we took him to the cemetery, they gave him a beautiful military salute with Taps and a 21 Gun Salute. I bawled through the whole thing. Knowing that his service was important to him, and that was so very important to me because of him. It was very hard to sit through for me.
Sitting in his funeral service remembering all the times we had together, the tears just flowed. We would color when I was younger and as I grew up, we would sit on his front porch and play cards. He taught me to play rummy, war, slap jack, and more. One of the last times he played cards he was 87 and got down on the floor with the Littles to play go fish with them. It wasn't easy for him to crawl on the floor but he showed his love to his family by doing it. He truly was a family man. That was all he was worried about: his family. He made it known that his family was all that was important to him.
I truly miss him. I miss his hugs. I miss his smile. I miss his playing cards. I now found myself crying when I pray because he is no longer on my list and it reminds me he is gone. I just miss him! But he lived a full and meaningful life. A life devoted to his family. I praise God that Grandpa knew our Savior and that I have the hope to once again see him on Resurrection Day. It hurts and its hard to have to wait for that day, but I know that the day is drawing close. OH, what a glorious day that will be!
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. Adonai ELOHIM will wipe away the tears from every face, and he will remove from all the earth the disgrace his people suffer. For ADONAI has spoken.
Revelation 21Love you, Grandpa!
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away."
Please continue to pray for us and also my Great Grandma who is by herself now, and also for my Uncle Keith. It's been hard for them too.
©AmandaDixon2009
November 20, 2009 - Washing at 90 degrees
Recently PJ read a story about shrinking clothes in the machine. We got talking about it and I thought it would be a good life lesson to see for real what happens when you wash at 90°C.
It took us a few weeks to find enough things to wash because I wasn't willing to actually ruin anything that wasn't already ruined in some way, and therefore no use even to a charity shop.
We got together a shirt, two jumpers, a pair of gloves, a woollen scarf and a white flannel. That was thrown in to collect any colour runs.
We cut some bits off the shirt and the scarf and only washed one glove so we could visually compare the difference at the end. We measured the other items. LJ then commented that surely it would cost a lot of money to run the machine on a long 90° wash. He was right, of course, but I told him that if it saved him ever doing it for real, it would pay for itself several times over. I have ruined several things over the years, haven't you?
As predicted some things shrank.
The dark threads in the scarf shrank more than the white threads, so it ended up wavy and a LOT shorter than before.
Amazingly the shirt did nothing. I think it was because it was already ruined and had no more colour to lose. The white flannel came out just as it went in.
One of the jumpers shrank round the neck and by 8 cm across the chest, but one of the reasons I had thrown it in was because of the tomato stains which I had failed to get rid off. The near-boil wash got rid of them!
The other jumper went baggy and grew a fair bit. I had forgotten that could happen. The applique designs ended up rather crinkled though.
They were quite impressed by the results. I just hope it was a lesson well learned!
November 20, 2009 - Growing potatoes
I have just heard about this project on a home ed yahoo group which has been operational for at least a couple of years. It is called Potatoes for Schools. Although the material goes on about schools, several home educating families have been involved in the last few years. I have just registered with no problem. The registration deadline is Friday 5th Feb 2010.
The site says:
Potatoes for Schools offers a valuable learning experience where you can find out where potatoes come from, how they grow, what you can do with them and how they can make primary learning an exciting experience.
Get some real hands-on experience by taking part in the Grow Your Own Potatoes project. There are 12,000 free growing kits available for primary schools, containing Vales Emerald and Rocket seed potatoes.
The teacher’s centre includes lesson ideas to support the children’s activities; grow it, cook it, play it and colour it. There is also a whole range of worksheets available which cover science and other areas of the curriculum. The image library has sequences of images that can be used as part of a wide range of activities.
How about actually going to see where potatoes grow? The farm visit section contains advice and a farm database.
Hope this is of use to some of you!
Sarah
November 20, 2009 - Schoolhouse Store - BF
Here are the details of TOS's Schoolhouse Store's Black Friday Sale!
Black Friday Sale
You do NOT want to miss the Black Friday Sale in the Schoolhouse Store. There are four levels of gifts--wait until you see the wonderful goodies! Watch your email for details and visit the store November 25-29!
November 20, 2009 - Shameless Plug
Yes, this is a shameless plug on behalf of my familia...I'm sure y'all have heard that the Home School Blog Awards are going on... if not... they are. :) Well I would like to present to you where my votes are going...
My familia:
In the Best Homeschool Mom Blog, I'm voting for Walking Therein
In the Best Teen Girl Blog, I'm voting for A Pondering Heart
In the Best Teen Group Blog, I'm voting for Feelin' Feminine
In the Best Teen Guy Blog, I'm voting for On The Road To Manhood
In the Best Homemaking or Recipes Blog, I'm voting for A City on a Hill
In the Best Family or Group Blog, I'm voting for Gleaning the Harvest
In the Best Blog Design, I'm voting for Gleaning the Harvest
In the Best “Live-What-You-Believe” Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for A Dusty Frame
In the Best Variety, I'm voting for Penny Raine
In the Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for Heart of Wisdom
In the Best Crafts, Plans & Projects Blog, I'm voting for Seven Sisters
In the Best Eclectic Homeschooling, I'm voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Thrifty Homeschooler, I'm voting for Money Saving Mom
In the Best NEW Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Geographical Blog, I'm voting for For the Time Has Come (Costa Rica)
In the Funniest Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for
I would sooo appreciate if you would take 5min or so of your time to go vote for these choices. The voting ends at midnight on November 21st which is Saturday, so hurry over!
And that is my shameless plug. :D Thanks y'all!
©AmandaDixon2009
Nov. 20, 2009 - Cute Quotes
Here's a couple that make me smile:
Later in the day, after we told the kids that we would be having another baby, my 5yr old son piped up with:
"Mama! You're going to need four arms! You're going to have to grow another pair!"
"I am?"
"Yeah, for the new baby!"
He's probably right!
My sleepy 3yr old daughter wandered through to breakfast the other morning and said:
"Is it Christmas time?"
"No, not quite yet."
She replied "After breakfast will it be Christmas time?"
(Congratulatory flowers from my mom!)
Have a wonderful day!!
Nov. 19, 2009 - Here's a Thought...
Constitution = 17 printed pages to run the entire country.
"Health Care" bill = 2,074 (unread) printed pages to ruin - eh hemmm - run 1/6 of our economy.
What's wrong w/this picture?
Nov. 18, 2009 - Homemade Spray Disinfectant
2 c. water
3 TB. liquid Castile Soap
20-30 drops of Tea Tree Oil
~Mix well in a spray bottle.
~Squirt on everything from baby's bottom to the cutting board!
Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><
Nov. 18, 2009 - Homeschoolers and Health Care
For all my homeschooling friends who think ObamaCare will solve their financial and health insurance woes, think again. It may give you temporary relief for your financial headache, but it may also invite government nannies into your home to improve your child's well-being and health.
HR 3200 that passed the House of Representatives, currently has a provision for funding states that implement a "voluntary" home visitation program for parents with young children or who are expecting. (See Sec. 1904 sec. 440)
The intended purpose is to " improve the well-being, health, and development of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children."In America we used to believe that was the role of the parent, but now it's the role of our benevolent and compassionate Uncle Sam. A gaze over the Atlantic will show us exactly where we're headed,
"Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents.New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought to be at “greatest risk of unintentional injury”.
Council staff will then be tasked with overseeing the installation of safety devices in homes, including smoke alarms, stair gates, hot water temperature restrictors, oven guards and window and door locks.
The draft guidance by a committee at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has been criticised as intrusive and further evidence of the “creeping nanny state”.
Where are the safety devices for the "creeping nanny" who keeps sticking her nose into our personal lives?
Why homeschoolers support this bill or President Obama is beyond my understanding.
-Spunky
Cross-posted, with permission, from SpunkyHomeSchool
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