FROGS & FRACTIONS

Catching Up....MARCH 2010

2010-06-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Physics Class...budding young scientists

Observing Bird Nests at Science Class

Owen at Science class...painting a bird house.

How Cute Is This? Went to take a shower and Owen left me a note:)

Owen's DEAD SEA experiment....salt, water, raw eggs...egg will float in salt water, just as people float in the dead sea.

2010-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Julia showing off new banister....we tore down the wall in foyer....lets see...two years ago..finally finished it this year!

If only she was always this sweet...LOL...just kidding, she is a little angel.

2010-03-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Jack and Julia at the Theater for the final performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Taking a bow on stage

Owen, trying on the King Hat

Owen and Matthew with Jack after show

Julia and Maddy after the show

2010-03-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Owen setting the table all by himself! Maddy and Gabby making cookies

Savannah, Owen, and Matthew showing off their newly caught fish!

Christmas Party 2009...ICE FISHING....this was FUN!! Even the teens wanted to do it!

Chase and Frank ice fishing!

Cathing up for the last four months....

2010-03-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Julia painting an ornament at the Girl Scout Party Julia's troop leader, Ann...she is such a blessing..a wonderful person!!

The girls showing off their newly earned badges

Owen and a friend painting memory boxes

Big duck, little duck, and Owen...we take these guys everywhere...even vacation, LOL

Boy has life been busy when you throw a kindergartener in the homeschool mix..he's a full time job! So, in lieu of posting nothing...I am going to post photos from the past year with just captions...hey, its better than nothing...enjoy:)

2010-03-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

Julia's sewing project: Pillowcase for her and matching set for her doll. Boys accidentally looked like twins..and they refused to go outside until one of them changed:)

Owen Dissecting his Owl Pellet for science class

Kiko enjoying her new pillow sewn by Julia and Owen

Our resident seamtress using her favorite sewing machine ( from Grandma Lorraine) to sew a pillow for our new cat, Kiko.

2009-11-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

Lizards

more mice

chameleon outside the show

Been a While....

2009-11-08T11:17:00.001-08:00

Life....just life...thats why I am way behind on posting....no excuses here..just plain old life...and its a good life...heres a bunch of pictures...making it short so I can get them all on today:)

Repticon....Worlds Largest Reptile Show

2009-11-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, I would like to hold a python..thanks

I am sure my mom loves this, LOL
Mice for sale...in case you need to feed your python

Okay, this is so gross!

2009-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

Owen and his best friend Matthew The Older Craft-grades 4-7. We made ponchos for girls and matching ones for dolls.

2009-09-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Biology Class. Students Making Knox gelatin cells

Monarh Chrysalis ready to emerge as a butterfly

Incline plane experiment for Owen

Art Class for Owen, using anything BUT a paintbrush!

Sink and Float in Science Class

Just some pictures from this week.....

2009-09-15T05:10:00.000-07:00

Boys Making Homemade Animal Cells

Owen's Math Spider

Various Species Around The House...Kiko would like the tadpoles for dinner:)

Monarch Butterfly

2009-09-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

These are our monarch caterpillars. They started as microscopic eggs...and look at them now!

2009-08-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

Owen's Week: He learned about the great squid, brought his praying mantis egg sack to his first show & tell, enjoyed watching his painted lady chrysallis emerge into a butterfly, and studied and African Savannah ( made a prairie dog and lion). He does so many hands on projects everyday, I couldnt possibly list them all here..but these were his favorites!

MHEA Art Contest!

2009-08-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Julia received third place for "The Reading Room" and Owen won second place for "Yummy Cookies". Owen's painting will now go onto the next level. This is his very first award! We are so proud of both of them.

Biology Class: Using Correct Latin terminology

2009-08-20T04:41:00.000-07:00

BIOLOGY CLASS

I am teaching a Biology class to two additional students besides my own.

Its a totally hands on class using my very favorite Real Science 4 Kids....( the books I sell at conventions). Today we had a scavenger hunt searching for specific species within our home using the correct Latin Terminology. Scientists around the world refer to animals and plants using their Latin name. Latin is a universal language in the scientific world. The name of each animal is spoken as its genus followed by species. This was great fun and they really caught onto the concept of classification.

Its scary that we actually had nine species of animals in our house and yard, LOL...all pets! The kids are holding their "Clue Cards" over the correct species:)

First Week Of School

2009-08-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

Owen's Marshmallow Math ( his very favorite)!

Animal pattern block math

Owen with his animals made by vegetable stamping ( we used a real potato and carrot)

Native American Crafts by Julia:

Tepee and Possibles Bag ( early American hunters used these)

School Year Has Started!

2009-08-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well, we started school last week. I just finally getting around to posting:) We are using a literature based program from Winter Promise called All American II. Here is a link to read all about this fabulous hands on history program. I love this curriculum as you can teach different grade levels together. The independent work is grade specific. The kids LOVE this year as US history is their favorite!
http://www.winterpromise.com/all_american_2.html

The boys will be using a combination of Calvert School spelling and grammar mixed with Wordsmith ( a middle school writing program). They also have a wonderful series of historical fiction integrated throughout their language arts program. Frank will be using Thinkwell Algebra and Jack will be using Saxon 7/6 with the new online Saxon Teacher.

Julia will be continuing Writing Tales, a classical approach to writing combined with Calvert spelling and grammar. Math will be Saxon 5/4 with the new online Saxon Teacher.

All three will enjoy ( okay, maybe enjoy might be a stretch, LOL) The Great Editing Adventure.

Here are some links if you want to actually see the curriculum:

http://homeschool.calvertschool.org/why-calvert/homeschool-curriculum

http://www.commonsensepress.com/wordsmith/wsapp.htm

http://commonsensepress.com/wordsmith/wordsmith.htm

http://www.writing-tales.com/

http://saxonhomeschool.hmhco.com/en/saxonteacher_demo.htm

http://www.thinkwell.com/homeschool/product/intermediatealgebra

Owen will be completing Winter Promise Animals and My Worlds combined with Sonlight Language Arts Kindergarten. He also will be completing some American History K hands on activities. Math will be Hands On Saxon. We were planning on sending him to a 5 year old transitional K program, but honestly, the price was astronomical for something I can certainly do myself. Social events are quite abundant for his age ( story time, K-1 homeschool group, play dates, and more) so I think we have made the right decision. I would have honestly liked a little break three days a week, but I also enjoy having him here and teaching him to read. Its so very exciting and rewarding!

http://www.winterpromise.com/animals_worlds.html

http://www.sonlight.com/la-k.html

I will post pictures of our first week in just a bit.

End of Year Thoughts....

2009-05-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see, its been three weeks since I have posted anything. The month of May is always so busy...its hard to find time:) I guess I will use the summer to catch up and post pictures of this past year and our adventures during the summer. Well, we have decided as a family to homeschool next year as well. I am in the midst of ordering curriculum and I will post what we have settled on shortly. Choosing curriculum is so incredibly hard as there is SO MUCH available:) Wonderful programs!!! I cant wait to start....:)

As this year comes to and end and I reflect all that has happened, I can honestly say I cant imagine ever going back to public school. Dont get me wrong, we LOVED our school and LOVED most of our teachers...but there is something so incredibly special about seeing your children learn in the modality that suits them best. Each of our children has a certain way they learn best. Jack is extremely visual, Frank is completely tactile, and Julia is our auditory learner...Owen follows Jack and is visual as well....I have adapted each of our subjects to suit their individual learning style...which in my opinion is a HUGE benefit of homeschooling. I cannot tell you the difference in their attitudes towards learning since I figured out each of their learning styles. It makes a world of difference in both attitude and aptitude. They actually ENJOY spelling and ENJOY writing....they LOVE history and LOVE hands on Chem...and LOVE math....it is just so exciting!!!

If I ever do go back and teach in a classroom setting, I know this experience will help immensely. I cant imagine having a class of 30 and having to figure out each learning style...it took me several months just to pin down my own four kiddos...I give teachers ALOT of credit. Its an incredibly difficult profession!

2009-04-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Pre-K Science Week

2009-03-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, Owen got these cool dinos that started at just two inches tall...now they are over 12", just by soaking them in water. He actually remember the term Polymer from our snowmaking earlier in year! I was so proud of him..He graphed their growth each day on a chart. He learned science and math in a real world setting.

The kids were studying mixtures this week. We had fun experimenting with heterogenous and homogenous mixtures.

Baby Turns FIVE!

2009-03-20T04:17:00.000-07:00

No more babies in this house....Big Boy Owen turned five today...and we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese....Pizza and sugar, sugar, sugar...he had a hard time falling asleep tonight...Jack and I made the cake with WWI on it, LOL......

Owen is very into WWI right now..not sure why...but we had fun making the cake! His favorite gifts: cap gun, money from Grandma Lorraine and the Grow Your Own Dino from Grandma & Grandpa

Physics & Bio

2009-03-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

The boys are completing Physics Quest 2009 and one of their experiments was to determine if adding Splenda to water changes the index of refraction. Basically, they added dry water gel crystals to water where they quickly absorb hundreds of times their weight in water. The crystals are invisible in water but if Splenda is added, or if they are exposed to oxygen...they begin to appear. They learned about the index of refraction and how to use this property to determine how many Splenda packets I secretly added to each cup of water.

This is a "lung" Owen and Julia made in Biology class. There is clear celo across the bottom representing the diaphragm ( the muscle that makes the lung work). When you pull and push on the yellow handle, the "lung" inflates and deflates just like inhalation and exhalation.

Deflated

Inflated

This is "Heart Guy"...poor guy is having his "blood" manually pumped by a four year old...from one part of his heart ( orange balloon) through the body ( see the little red guy in the middle?) to the other part of the heart ( pink balloon).

This is really teaching the basics of how our heart pumps blood throughout the body and then the blood returns to the heart.

This was a big hit! Julia assembled it herself and Owen loved playing with it when she was done.

Art Day at Our House...

2009-03-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been considering running inexpensive art camps during the summer...These are my "experimental subjects"...friends and neighbors who are trying out my camps...the verdict? I think its a go for summer 2009..more on that later....

e.e. cummings...

2009-03-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

My beautiful niece, Jillian, read this poem at my sister's funeral. It brought tears to all that were there....

Wizard of Oz Auditions

2009-03-12T06:04:00.001-07:00

Well, the kiddos auditioned for The Wizard of Oz. The show is at the end of May. JD and Julia both got called last night for parts and they are very excited! Congrats to our resident actors once again...

This really seems to be their "thing"...so we will be busy rehearsing for the next two months....they just LOVE IT! We love seeing the perform!!

My Big Sister & My Guardian Angel....I will miss her forever...but I know she is in a better place...rest her soul...

2009-03-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

Her Life: May 14, 1963-February 14, 2009

My sister and I were only 17 months apart. We grew up as crazy sisters in NY.....doing all the crazy things girls do. Her untimely death in a tragic car accident on Valentines Day 2009 really made me think about life and choices we make and how in an instant our lives can change forever. I am so very grateful for having known her as long as I did. She was just 45. Its a loss I cannot describe in words. A terrible loss inside my heart that will never go away, but I do know she is in a better place and I know one day we will see each other again and I can tell her all the things I didnt get a chance to say......Maureen was the most generous, kind person I have known. She would have given you her only dollar, which she had done many, many times for all sorts of people, even those she didnt know. She leaves behind two beautiful daughters, whose father died last year as well. This is a very sad time for our family but I wanted to share her photos and memories so everyone can be reminded how precious life is and how if we all lived our lives as if it was our last day on earth...well, this earth would be a much better place to live...

Owens CO2 experiment...blowing up balloon with Alka Seltzer

2009-03-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

Well, some of you know I LOVE Science!! The boys are participating in Physics Quest 2009, a really cool middle school science contest. They are competing against kids around the country and learning so much as we go..its very exciting! Owen loves to watch them blow up stuff ( aka chemcial reactions) so I decided to get him some of his own reactions to test...here is one with a film canister and alka seltzer & H2O...this occupied him for over an hour...and he really loved doing it.

Chemistry Experiments-Acids and Bases

2009-03-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

This is chemistry class for Julia and Owen. I am representing RealScience4Kids now at conventions and I have to say, I would buy their products even if I didnt work for them. These books are awesome. Totally hands-on science...tons of experiments and the graphics are amazing. Imagine kids saying "Let me read the physics book first, no fair!"...Music to my ears...LOL..anyway, these pictures are some of the labs we do on a daily basis...we are studying acids, bases, and more. The kids tested all the liquids in our fridge to determine the acidic levels and whether they were safe for Jack to drink....( he has severe reflux) Apple juice and water came up as the winners..with milk right behind...they had fun testing lemonade and orange juice...and vinegar too! We had to boil red cabbage as our indicator..the house smelled for hours but boy did they learn!

Native American History Pockets-Julia

2009-03-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

Julia is studying Native American History through a super curriculum called Memorable Places In American History. She does hands on activities everyday like history pockets, crafts, art work, cooking, sewing, and more. Historical fiction and geography are incorporated daily. Our main history spines are the Smithsonian Childrens Encyclopedia and An American Story..no boring textbooks here...:)These are fabulous books!

More of her projects....

Native American Studies Julia and Mt. Vesuvius for Owen ( he's following the big boys with Ancient History)

2009-03-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

Roman History Pocket, Jack

Owen with his very own Mt. Vesuvius...the older boys made them too, but of course they dont want their pictures taken, nevermind posted on a blog, LOL..now the little ones, thats a different story..they beg me to take pics. The boys are starting the fall of the Roman Empire...so we will have lots of hands on projects coming up..and I will make them take some pictures, LOL.

2009-02-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

JD's birthday dinner at home....

JDs 11th Birthday Party IMAX "Sea Monsters"

2009-02-07T03:58:00.000-08:00

Oldie but Goodie...and very spoiled!

2009-02-07T03:55:00.001-08:00

Here is Raspberry....she will be 15 years old this April!

PRESCHOOL PLAYDOUGH PYRAMID

2009-01-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

Well, the most important thing "I Learned Today" is to never answer the phone and leave a preschooler unattended while making playdough, LOL.....his favorite part was "adding more flour"

2009-01-30T05:31:00.000-08:00

Heres our cutie pies....

2009-01-30T05:29:00.001-08:00

I just love this picture of my hubbie...hes with Australian friends.....in Kuwait

2009-01-30T05:24:00.000-08:00

Finally a picture of us....took me a month to find one, LOL!

2009-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Well.....this is Christmas last year without Daddy....He was deployed......I finally located the pics....I dont have this years developed yet....BUT I got a new camera for Christmas so I will be able to post much better photos from now on!

Grandma Lorraine....she came this year also!

Morning Glory...

Julia's heartwarming and very sweet Christmas List:

Daddy to Come Home

A Real Baby Sister

A Horse

So......She got a furreal pony.....closest thing to a real horse that Santa could find! A baby was out of the question...we already have a theory on that one..."People over 40 should NEVER have babies, LOL"...its just too exhausting! I never have enough sleep and when I am awake, I am still tired....

Cant wait to post this years photos...will do so next week:)

2008-12-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

Brownie Swim Party at YMCA

Love this photo.....JD's teacher took this last year and framed it for us....when Big Frank returned from the desert, he visited all of the kids classes....they loved it!

Father Daughter Dance....Dad was deployed again this year..... but she went with her friend's dad and had a wonderful evening. We are forever thankful to that family. Good News....Dad was home for Christmas!

Mohenjo Daro-The Lost Civilization...the citadel and all made from clay.

Museum Science Class

2008-12-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

While waiting for the boys to finish their class, we found some penguins to entertain busy boy. Very proud to spell his name in heiroglyphics.....

Didnt want to get too close to the mummy......

Walk like an egyptian...the kids are studying ancient Egypt so this was a real treat!

Rosetta Stone.....

2008-12-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Theater Friends Backstage......

OPENING NIGHT!!

2008-12-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

And its over......

A beautiful lake dancer....

King George and crew.....

King George.... love the old man beard... CHEERS to our resident actor!!!

TWEEN MURDER MYSTERY DINNER on a Real Prairie!

2008-11-23T19:26:00.001-08:00

Murder on the Prairie...Murder Mystery Event on a Real Prairie...very cool! Homeschool TWEEN GROUP

2008-11-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

White Crown of Egypt

2008-11-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

These are pharoah crowns we made to remember Upper and Lower Egyptian head gear. Pharoahs wore white or red for Upper and Lower Egypt...notice the cool cobras on the front....wax paper is a wonderful thing, LOL.

MEMPHIS MINING FIELD TRIP

2008-10-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Ju making mom a nervous wreck..she is about 200 feet up on top of a rock pile!

Girls trying to climb to the top!

Still climbing...notice the cars below???

The halfway point....most of the parents were way behind....! LOL

FIELD TRIP: Memphis Stone and Gravel To Learn about Geology and the Mining Process

2008-10-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Girls getting ready to excavate! I coordinated this trip..first one for our homeschool group. Each mom or dad received a really cool speckled stone coffee mug. This was a 3 hour field trip packed with info for kids and adults too!

Dont look down....or fall over the edge, LOL....real mining facilities are awesome....

Kids climbing up enormous rock piles.....like a dream come true for them....I was scared out of my mind...but they loved it!

Top of a peak.....

COOKING PARTY

2008-10-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

12 little chefs at Ju's Birthday Party.....cant believe she is nine! This is a picture of our appetizer, fruit salad on a stick!

Getting all the details in order....including fresh flowers....

Games and secret ingredient hunt in the outdoor party room...aka...garage!

Which Way Do We Go?????

2008-10-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

More Mud Island Trip

2008-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Can you say Catfish?
Dad riding the duck!
Kids walking down the Mississippi River.....

MUD ISLAND FIELD TRIP

2008-10-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Funny Boy & His PRE-K SCIENCE

2008-10-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well, here is pre-k polymers! "Real" hatching dinos......okay, this was so cool for a four year old...cool for a forty year old too, LOL.

Hey, where's the toilet paper???

2008-10-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Found some more mummie photos....and now we are definitely out of toilet paper!

Snow in Memphis?

2008-10-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is...homemade snow....the vote is in...polymers are fun!

Polymers & Other Fun Stuff

2008-10-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is hydrophobic sand...from our greek studies, the kids figured out quickly, it meant "afraid of water"....hence it is sand that stays dry, even when placed in water. It is sprayed with a hydrophobic coating and sold as "magic sand"...very cool!

How to Read This Blog

2008-10-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. A few people have told me they have trouble finding things on our blog. If you want to see school from the beginning, just scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "older posts".

2008-10-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur Fossils at Pink Palace
Wow, buttons galore!
Cute as can be.......
More fossils
Fossil rubbings....

Boys Gone Wild.....and other mummy stories

2008-10-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

So we temporarily suspended our main house rule "keep your hands to yourself"...the boys sure had fun wrapping up their sister like an Egyptian mummy.....the boys look pretty scary too:)
"

Our Attempt At A STONEHENGE CAKE!

2008-09-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I had this great idea to make a Stonehenge Cake, I mean how hard could it be??? Well, alot harder than making the real stonehenge,! LOL...what a disaster, but very tasty!

STONEHENGE

2008-09-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

We studied Stonehenge a few days ago....ours doesnt exactly look like the real thing ( below) but the boys sure had fun building it...

O's ALPHABET WALL

2008-09-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is O's Wall...well, it will be a whole room actually going around the top of the ceiling...each letter is made with some type of material ( beads, stickers, yarn, googly eyes). He LOVES this so much and is very proud to hang these up.

"G" for GOOGLY EYES

2008-09-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Can you say "g" for googly eyes? This is Mr. Funny....he is making all his letters with "stuff". He wouldn't dream of using a crayon or pencil, LOL...the messier the better. We are hanging the letters with clothespins around the top of the room.

DISSECTION: OWL PELLETS

2008-09-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a very fun science lab day! We have been studying zoology and today we started the study of birds, specifically the "birds of prey". The kids dissected owl pellets today to figure out what exactly the owl ate before regurgitating a huge pellet. The pellets were sterilized and safe to dissect. Heres the verdict: JD-his owl ate 2 rats and one bird, FP-3 rats, Ju-2 rats. The boys were able to resconstruct most of their dead rodents. I have to say, they were really into this....two straight hours, piece by piece.....it was awesome!!!

Clones?

2008-09-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

So, we have been studying cloning,LOL...looks like our experiment worked, LOL..identical in looks and personality.....

Funny boy...takes after his brother, Mr. Comedian

2008-09-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Its that time again.....

2008-09-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, its time to think about our costumes for this year......I just had to post this one. Total: 15.00 for all four! I will post previous years if I can find them....

Third Grade BROWN BAG BOOK REPORT & O's NATURE COLLAGE

2008-09-16T08:31:00.001-07:00

Ju had fun creating her "brown bag" report on Keeper of The Night while O took some time out of his "busy" day to go on yet another nature hunt...this time he wanted to add his handprints and convinced the big kids to do it also....can you say "paint everywhere", LOL! If you look closely, you can see where he glued tomatoes to the poster board...I really should be watching my children better, LOL.

Book Report Day & Craft

2008-09-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

Younger Group Craft and Book Reports

HOMESCHOOL GROUP CRAFT grade 4-7

2008-09-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

Our first older craft ( grade 4-7) was this past week. What a super nice bunch of kids. Here is a picture with their "pet rocks". They also each did a book report. It was great!

Even Our Cat Has Good Table Manners.....now if only it would rub off on the kids!

2008-09-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

THE BUTTERFLIES HATCHED....We had five altogether....and off they went into a beautiful blue sky....J and O made "wishes"...it was so very sweet!

O's Greenhouse and Nature Collage

2008-09-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

O was sort of mad that none of his things were on this blog...so here we go. This is a greenhouse and a nature collage that we did last week.

BUTTERFLIES IN MOTION

2008-09-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Well, being that we dont have enough pets...we decided to go ahead and get some caterpillars and watch them turn into beautiful butterflies. These are monarchs and they just entered their chrysalis (cacoons).....they should join our pet collection as beautiful butterflies in about two weeks. There are five altogether. This is mainly Ju and O's project. Ju is taking notes and graphing the butterlies' progress. Owen is visiting them often so they dont get lonely.

CELLS

2008-09-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today, the boys had a lesson on cells. Ju followed along but had a different assignment at her grade level. Monday we will be observing real cells under a microscope so we did a VERY HANDS ON lesson and made our own animal cell with jello and other food items, correctly representing 16 parts. Talk about messy!!!

CELL-O DAY

2008-09-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

For the Blog Challenged

2008-09-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

For those of you that have never used a blog, specifically, Gramdma and Grandpa and also Gramdma L, just read down as you go and then click on older posts ( at the bottom) and you can see everything from day one!

My so called POND

2008-08-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well. two months ago I got this great idea to build a pond, you know for decoration and enjoyment. I was planning on sitting with my iced tea watching the cascading falls......then one day as I went to put some bleach in it to sanitize the water, a large toad jumped up....so I thought to myself, if I bleach this pond, he will die.........hmmmmm.......well, so much for watching my beautiful cascading falls.....it is now a FROG POND......as in several toads, more toads, and even more toads.....the kids love it....I am not so sure....will keep you posted.....We are studying frogs, later in the year, so this will come in very handy. We are having pea gravel delivered to spruce it up...maybe that will scare away the frogs. CAN YOU SEE THE LARGE FROG, TOP CENTER ON THE MIDDLE ROCK? Hes the one that you can pick up and hold ( if you so desire).....

2008-08-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

WEEK THREE

2008-08-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well, the locust bisquits we made were a hit. Do you know in ancient times they fried locust ( yes, the bugs) in oil and ATE them for dinner. We made some and quite frankly, they were good. We studied Noah's Ark this week and watched some cool documentaries....the kids would like to go to Mt. Ararat...explained that unless God intervened with some cash, we wouldnt be going anytime soon, LOL....I forgot to take photos of these little boogers. I made one in the shape of King Tut, just to see if anybody could guess what it was.....okay, nobody guessed....I think I need a job, LOL.....

WEEK TWO

2008-08-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Wish I had time to really write this all down....I dont even have time to take a shower....LOL...not complaining, just explaining why our blog is so messy and never up to date. Anyway, week two was exciting with science class at Pink Palace, family bowling, ballet has begun, confirmation class for F, a sleepover at our house....just what we need, more wild boys...LOL....the kids are doing great...We changed some of our language arts curriculum...the joy of homeschooling is you REALLY get to know your kids....their strengths and weaknesses and you can change or adjust as needed. One of their favorite activities this week was making a "travel bed" like they had in 3000BC. A donkey could hold hundreds of these at one time....nice to know if we ever have to travel across the desert....hey, we can send one with dad next time he goes back! LOL

2008-08-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

WEEK ONE More Experiments

2008-08-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, week one was exciting, so exciting, I didnt have time to post a darn thing, except some pictures. We are studying ancient history and the kids made ancient tools that they carved by hand, a ziggurat made with cornmeal (very ancient temple), brown paint and boxes, millet seed planted to determine the best soil for growth in Mesopotmia ( now Iraq/Syria) and also some clay people to represent early man. The boys are busy with their 6th grade curriculum while J keeps herself busy with third grade stuff. O is just busy.....no explanation needed. I think this is going to be soooo fun!!! We had pe at the Y and art...followed by Raquetball team for both boys...( and I thought football was dangerous, LOL)...wish they would wear helmets for racquetball!)

MY THEME SONG! You Must Watch This! CLICK TO SEE IT!

2008-08-27T19:53:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6P2w5GkXmU&NR=1

Week One!

2008-08-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Getting close to our first day of "h" school

2008-08-04T05:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, so we have decided to homeschool our children....those of you that know me will gasp with disbelief ( and many of you have already) at the thought of pulling our children out of public school to start this homeschool journey.

The goal of education ( in my opinion) is to promote lifelong learners....kids who want to learn not just to make an "A" and then forget the material 6 months later....but kids who will remember what they learn and use it forever. Kids who will be HAPPY!!!!!!!

As I think about a witty reponse to end the odd silence that occurs when first telling someone of our decision, I am quickly reminded that I dont have to explain anything to anyone. My true friends and family will know this is a decision we did not take lightly. I guess our answer would be that homeschooling is not for everyone but it is most definitely for us! Its a committment like no other....... and one that will change young lives forever. If you are up for the challenge it can be the most amazing, fun, and rewarding experience of your life! Its a whole new way of life for our family.

So now for the fun stuff....after 3 months of researching curriculum, we finally settled on Winter Promise, a literature based curriculum based on The Charlotte Mason approach. I was trained extensively in graduate school using this method and my hope is to eventually open a small school using her methods. ( I figure I will try it out on my own kids first, LOL)

Here is a link to read about Charlotte Mason and her methods:

http://www.winterpromise.com/charlotte_mason.html

If you want to see the history/literature curriculum we are using, please click here:http://www.winterpromise.com/ancient_world.html

(Its a very long page so please read all the way to the bottom. Check out all the hands on stuff we will be doing. I will post pictures as we go along each week.)

F and JD will be completing the Jr. Quest for The Ancient World.

Ju will be completing the younger Quest for The Ancient World

Little "O" ( not using real names as this is a public domain) will complete: I'm Ready To Learn
http://www.winterpromise.com/ready_to_learn.html

Now for Language Arts and Math:
Ju: Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, level 3
All About Spelling..hands on spelling
Writing Strands, Level 2
Historical Fiction, narrations

Boys:
Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, level 4
Sequential Spelling 3 & 4
Writing Tales, classical writing program..very fun for BOYS
Historical Fiction analysis, coordinating with their WP History

Math:
FP: Teaching Textbooks, grade 7 ( pricey, state of the art, but well worth the money and they get to use the computer, so they are hooked)
JD: Teaching Textbooks, grade 6
JU: Saxon, grade 3
O: Included in his Ready To Learn Program, and of course weighing every piece of fruit in theproduce aisle at Kroger

Science: ( all the kids, but they each have different levels of work to complete, based on their grade)
Biology and tons of labs

Now for the EXTRAS ( to make sure they are social, LOL)

Pink Palace Museum, science and astronomyand lab classes taught by a real scientist, how cool is that??? They are registered for the whole year.

Art Classes weekly with Mrs. Baldwin

Extra art class for Ju at The Brooks Art Museum ( once a month)

P.E. Class weekly at the Y

Chess Club ( FP)

Ballet ( Ju)

Assorted Plays at the Harrell Theater ( JD, JU)...they audition soon, will let you know

Raquetball team ( JD)

Computer Classes in Sept, Nov ( FP and JD), (learning computer programming and robotics)

Brownies ( Ju)

Library Hour ( 2 times week) O

FP: Confirmation classes on Sunday...he will be confirmed in May 09

JD and JU: Quest Sunday School

Fun Stuff:
Our local homeschool group has social events ( and lots of them) for each age group. There is a scavenger hunt pool party, book club reports, and crafts ( I am running the crafts) for the older kids. Our first craft is "homeschool rocks". I will post a picture shortly.

Thinking about.....

Basketball
Promiseland ( like Sunday school at our church on Wed nights)

so you can see we wont be busy at all.......LOL....more later....I have to get ready for tomorrow, its our first day of school!

2008-05-11T05:43:00.001-07:00