Journal entry 8

In my life this week… The rest of the town was on spring break, but we decided not to be.  So it was a normal week with out all the extra stuff.  That was nice. In our homeschool this week… I told Charry we would start studying matter, since we just finished space, and she informed me we had already done that.  "Sure, but that was last year, it's not like you remember all that much."  "I remember there are three stages, solid, gas and water."  She remembered more than I thought and made me smile.  We are studying matter.  I learned milk looks cool when you put it in oil.  Hopefully we will learn why also. Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… Keeping a deck of cards in your purse means you can have math fun anywhere.  My deck also happens to be "Crayola" so we could learn about the color wheel too. I am inspired by… Life of Fred, and the author Stanley Schmidt.  Besides having such an irregular constant to vowel ratio in his last name (6:1, ratios are cool), his books have reminded me why I always loved math.  And I'm hoping to buy the whole set, get re-caught up on my math and go back to school next year.  Fingers crossed. Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… This week we had none of the usual places to go so instead we helped my brother with puppets one night, saw the Snail People at a library event, and finished the week with an impromptu trip to Powell's, the biggest book store in the world.

Things I’m working on… Making my crafting blog not boring. I’m reading… Well I'm about to be reading, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  I read it once before in college and could use to simplicity now.

I’m grateful for...

A week with out obligations, we could be home or around and not be watching the clock or constantly on the move. I’m praying for… My sister as she moves and gets things set up for our Mom and Dad.  Moving is a big challenge without making things ready for someone else to move in too. A photo, video, link, or quote to share… The building was shaped like a triangle, it got wider as you when along.  This is why I don't live in the city, things are just strange there.

Easiest egg dyeing method ever

With easter coming up quick I have been looking at all the fun, creative, child friendly egg dyeing ideas.  Now that my kids are grade school age, having little dishes or dye all over the place is less intimidating.  But I thought I would share one of the easiest egg dyeing methods I have ever tried.

The set up is simple, 4 to 6 eggs in a colander in the sink, pot of eggs on one side, muffin tin to place dyed eggs on the other.  Additional supplies, vinegar and food coloring squeeze bottle style.

First pour vinegar over eggs, turn them to make sure they are all the way covered (the color will only go where the vinegar is)

Second drop food coloring on eggs, Charry (age 4) loved this part.  Swish eggs a bit, rotate colander so the dye spreads out.  Then add another color dye and swish again.

You end up with tie-dye looking eggs and all the mess is in the sink ready to be washed down the drain.

The best part for me was not having to worry about one year old Merry dumping things all over.  I wish I had taken a picture of the eggs too but you will have to try this out fr yourself to see the final results.

Space, or "why not Pluto"

Our Space unit started out a tad bit boring.  We read from the text book then answered the questions.

 Then I got a tad more creative and we started a lapbook style folder.

 In our lapbook we made a picture model of the solar system, a moon phase chart and and solar energy report.

We also had our plate Earth and seasons mini-book.  To teach seasons I reused one of my favorite lesson ideas.  Only this time we were stuck at McD. so no glueing.  Instead Charry had to color the rays of sunlight.

We had a plethora of outer space books to supplement out text book, unfortunately most were written before Pluto's infamous demotion.  Luckily my daughters have gotten used to my sense of humor.  When ever Pluto was referred to as "a planet" we talked about writing letters to the scientist who demoted poor Pluto.  We thought they should replace our books since it's their fault the books are wrong.  On the plus side they may not remember the names of the planets but they know the name of the dwarf planet.

Right about the time I was out of ideas I got the Magic School Bus Space DVD  I grew up with Miss Frizzle and was happy to share the magic with my kids.

  

I also got this science kit.  It was full of easy to do at home experiments.  While a bit spendy I thought it was well worth the price.

We filled a second folder with the experimental data and learned a bit about making a hypothesis. Charry had trouble because she either knew for sure why things happened or didn't know at all.  It was tough making her guess when she didn't want to be wrong.

It was a fun unit both for me, putting it together, and Charry, doing all the projects.  I'm looking forward to next year recycling some ideas, building on others and hopefully a few new things thrown in the mix.

American Girl History, Addy (1864) and Samantha (1904)

Last week when we finished our Samantha unit I realized I never blogged about Addy.  That was because Addy was a hard era to teach.  Trying to explain why people would have slaves is tough.  That  and limiting our studies to just slavery is an injustice to the people and culture in America during the civil war.

 Charry is an avid reader so getting her to read the books was no problem.

 For her file folder she wrote a "feelings poem."  It was a simple list of the emotions Addy felt most in each book.  We talk about whether being free made her able to feel differently and if she still felt bad/sad after being free.
She also made a comparison book of Addy as a slave and Addy free.  We talked about what was better (better food and being able to learn to read) and what was worse (not being with her entire family.)
We then made Quilt Squares to tell a story.  We picked a story from the Bible because the Bible was very important to both slave and free.

Photography was all black and white during Addy's time so Charry made a black and white chalk drawing to decorate the front.

 We also used the Addy paper dolls and craft book (the Jacob's ladder was one of the projects) to round out the unit.

Our Samantha Unit had a lot more to it.  1904 was a time of change, women wanting to make a difference, and many inventions.  It was a more positive time to study.

 I decided to have Charry do more writing, including her first typed report.  After she managed to get the title typed out I took over typing.  It was a learning experience for both of us, and one I don't plan on repeating this year.  Maybe next year after we work a bit more on organizing ideas.

We also worked on comparisons.  She drew out what visiting was like then vs. now.  This was extra humorous to me because at the time we were visiting Grandma's yet Charry had no idea how today was any different.  Once we pointed out a few differences she caught on and finished the project.

 She then colored the states, well at first she didn't color the ones that weren't states but colored everything else, including Canada and Mexico.

 The Samantha "Just for fun book" was a lot of fun.  She ran off with most of the activities before I had a chance to snap a picture.  And the papers dolls were used as a reward if she finished math early.

So two more done and only 4 more to go, we are half way done!  

Journal Entry 7

In my life this week… This has been a good week for me, at least I think so.  Daylight savings has messed a bit with my sleep but that's to be expected.  I'm starting to get caught up on house work which is a good thing. In our homeschool this week… We've managed to stay on target this week, amazingly.  Charry finished up her space unit (hope to have blog post done next week).  She also finished her "Samantha" unit (1904) and is starting "Rebecca" (1914). Merry learned where hobbits live and what a real Tasmanian Devil  looks like.   Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… There are so many different games and tricks for teaching your kids.  When one sound interesting try it.  If it works keep doing it, if it doesn't try something new. I am loving the "Life of Fred" series, besides being a text book for my kids it has been idea books for me.  One thing the author talks about doing with his own kids is "Questions," it's a game where you ask your kids questions.  The only catch is in order to learn anything with this game someone (i.e. you) has to know the correct answer.  So we've been playing a modified math only version.   My younger daughter doubles numbers, adds, and subtracts.  My older daughter multiplies, divides, and finds squares.  Sometimes they do just one equation other times they recite a number family.  It has made car rides interesting. Things I’m working on… Social networking.  I've been a consultant with Close to my Heart for five years or so and now they are giving us websites to help marketing.  I am so nervous about sharing info and linking sites but I do like making money (and the products are fabulous).  caytw.ctmh.com is my page if you're interested.   I’m reading… School books, lots of school books.  I finished reading "Life of Fred" up to "Farming," and I am reading through the American Girl "Rebecca" books.  Back when I read the series there were only three American Girls so I have to catch up a bit to have teaching ideas for Charry. I’m cooking… I did make pie for pi day.  Well I stuck premade frozen chicken pot pies in the oven.  I didn't use the microwave opion so I think it still counts as cooking. I’m grateful for… My kids, my husband, my life.  It has been a long couple of years and I am grateful to God for keeping us in His arms. I’m praying for… My parents.  Always and lots, I love you both very much. A photo, video, link, or quote to share… Merry made me move where I was sitting so there wouldn't be "stuff in the back ground.  She wanted to add her own "stuff."  I especially like to gift. I think I look frumpy but it was taken and edited  (on the i-pod) by my six year old and that makes it my favorite picture of the week.