Horsing Around At Home

Farewell to Whitney Houston

2012-02-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

Another unbelievable tragedy has happened. The death of another pop music icon, Whitney Houston. I have always been a fan of her music. She was a beautiful woman with an amazing voice. So sad to see her leave so soon.

image from photobucket

Another thing that I love about homeschooling

2012-02-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

I love that we can grab our school work and go out in the yard on a nice day to work on it. The birds are chattering, wind chimes are chiming, and the little stray cat comes over to sleep on a lap while we read. So peaceful!

Our guinea pigs are getting big

2012-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a few pictures of our growing little guinea pigs. They are getting quite handsome as they grow up, and the best thing about the growing up process is that they are finally starting to calm down. For awhile, I did not think Jinx and Gwin were going to work things out but I guess they figured out there really were not too many options since they are sharing a cage.

Gwin

Jinx

Aren't they cute?

Another thing that I love about homeschooling

2012-02-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

I love that between 6 and 6:30 a.m., our house does not turn into a three-ringed circus. No yelling for others to get out of the bathroom or to hurry up so that no one is late to start their 6-8 hour day inside a building.

The Saturdays

2012-02-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the plan for chapters 1 and 2 of the Saturdays.

~Acid and neutralization
~the author's voice
~creating a full description
~vocabulary words
~Bach
~Germany
~Tchaikovsky
~Russia
~cholera
~pen and ink drawing
~Ben Franklin-bifocals
~France
~amber
~coatimudis
~camels

I cannot believe all of these great lessons are in just 2 chapters of the book! It will take us a while to get through all of this good stuff. This book is also rich in vocabulary and that is always a bonus!

One thing I love about homeschooling

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love that my kitchen windowsill has a variety of unidentified growing plants in canning jars that have been there for years.

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

2012-02-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

We are working on The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright. Sadly, this is our last Beyond Five in a Row literature study but I guess all good things must come to an end (Chaucer).

Here is a summary of The Saturdays from goodreads.

Meet the Melendys! Mona, the eldest, is thirteen. She has decided to become an actress and can recite poetry at the drop of a hat. Rush is twelve and a bit mischievous. Miranda is ten and a half. She loves dancing and painting pictures. Oliver is the youngest. At six, he is a calm and thoughtful person. They all live with their father, who is a writer, and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, who takes on the many roles of nurse, cook, substitute mother, grandmother, and aunt.

This book has a lot of new topics for us, as well as a few topics we may just review. See you on Saturday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO L 11!!

2012-02-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Today is our good buddy L's eleventh birthday!! I cannot believe it!

We just wanted to wish a very happy birthday to our very special, funny, smart friend. Your around the world-themed party was fun and the cake pops were amazing! Have fun being 11!

Rainforests

2012-02-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

We have been trekking through the rainforest this week, and I wanted to share a few great resources that we used along our journey.

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/curriculum/resources

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/sites/default/files/site-documents/education/documents/guatemala-slideshow.pdf

The rainforests are amazing places but they are disappearing fast. The rainforests are home to millions of species of plants and animals that remain undiscovered and many of the animals we know of are going to be extinct soon if things do not change. We need the rainforests for our own survival as they provide about 28% of the world's oxygen turnover, food, and many of our medications come from plants that are found ONLY in the rainforests.

Help save the rainforests.

Quote

2012-02-01T06:09:00.000-08:00

"My kids only come around once in my lifetime, and they (hopefully) won’t be with me forever. I chose to have them, and I choose, freely, to make them and my family a priority in my life. This stage of life won’t last forever. While it does, I’ve climbed on for the ride."

- David Albert

Chemical compounds

2012-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

Another science-related project from Marie Curie.

We worked on constructing a few chemical compounds. We learned that most kinds of matter are made up of 2 or more different kinds of atoms joined together in a molecule. For example, salt is a compound made from the elements sodium and chlorine. We used World Book's Learning About Matter as a guide to construct chemical compounds for ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, and ethyl alcohol.

This book does a great job explaining concepts.

Activity to make chemical compounds out of clay and straws.

Ammonia

methane

carbon dioxide

ethanol/ethyl alcohol

I am glad that I found this book at the library. It really helped to demonstrate how individual atoms work together to make chemical compounds.

Periodic table

2012-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

We learned a lot about the periodic table with our study of Marie Curie, and I wanted to share a few great links that we used.

Homeschooling ideas.com
The periodic table of videos
interactive periodic table
another interactive periodic table
artistic videos of the elements

A fantastic organizing site

2012-01-28T05:58:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to pass along this site. It is fantastic! There are all kinds of goodies to be found here for organizing, meal planning, and storage solutions and a whole lot more. So if you are in the mood to get some cleaning or organizing done, head over there and check it out.

Organized Junkie

Quote

2012-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

"School was the unhappiest time of my life and the worst trick it ever played on me was to pretend that it was the world in miniature. For it hindered me from discovering how lovely and delightful and kind the world can be, and how much of it is intelligible."

- E.M. Forster

Currier and Ives artist study

2012-01-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

This week's artist study is on Currier and Ives. Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives were partners based in New York City from 1834-1907. They mass-produced copies of fine art paintings through the process of lithography, where black and white prints were made and then hand colored by artists in assembly-line fashion. They produced and sold over 1 million prints, making art affordable for everyday American families to own and enjoy.

So today in class, this assembly-line fashion was used. Each student colored in their assigned portion of the picture and then passed it to the next student. Very clever!

Here are a few original works by Currier and Ives from Wikipedia.

Parlez-vous francais?

2012-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

We decided to tackle a little bit of French with our Marie Curie unit. I know, it seems like we have been working on Mrs. Curie for a long time now and we have! There was just so much good stuff, I did not want us to miss anything.

French comes into play because Marie Curie moved to France and had to learn French in order to attend the Sorbonne. We are just learning the basics, like hello, how are ya, good, my name is....., and numbers up to 30. If the kiddos decide they want to take it further, then we will and if not, we will say Au revoir to French. I took French in college about a million years ago but I am pleasantly surprised at how much I remembered. I guess I was awake for this class.

A bientot!

Quote

2012-01-24T05:50:00.000-08:00

Growing crystals

2012-01-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

We decided to try and grow our own crystals as a hands on project for our Marie Curie unit. While Marie studied magnets, her husband, Pierre Curie worked on crystals. We thought we would give it a try. It was really quite simple, and I think the crystals turned out pretty good.

Supplies: Borax, a clean jar, a white pipe cleaner cut into 3 equal pieces, a pencil, and some string. Blue food coloring is an option for those who want a little color in their crystals.

What now? Here is a link if you want to print out the directions. Basically, you boil some water. While you are waiting for your water, cut your pipe cleaner into 3 equal pieces, twist them together in the middle and pull each piece out so that the pipe cleaner takes the shape of a snowflake. Make sure that the pipe cleaner snowflake fits inside the jar without touching the sides. Tie one side of your string to one of the snowflake arms and the other side of your string to a pencil so that the snowflake hangs inside of your jar but does not touch the bottom. Your water should be ready by this point so fill your jar with the boiling water at a ratio of 1 cup boiling water per 3 tablespoons of Borax. You have to add the Borax 1 tablespoon at a time and stir it just a bit to make it dissolve faster. No worries if it does not completely dissolve. Add your blue food color if you are doing so at this point. Now you can hang your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar letting the pencil rest on the top but make sure that the snowflake is completely covered by the water/Borax mixture.

This needs to sit overnight undisturbed so that the crystals can take their form.

In the morning, just pull your faux crystals out by the string and see your newly formed crystals. This picture does not do the crystals justice. They are actually very shiny and glass-like, and you can see repeating patterns which constitutes the crystal.

The only 2 things I would suggest now is not to tie the string too tight because as you can see, I had a hard time cutting it off due to crystal formation around the string, and we used a little tape on both sides of the pencil to help hold the pencil in place. Otherwise, a great activity!

A funny quote I read

2012-01-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

I was blog hopping for a bit tonight, and when I came across this quote, I just busted out loud laughing. The quote came from an unknown author in response to a book by Hillary Clinton called It Takes A Village.

"Hillary Clinton says it takes a village to raise a child. I've seen the village; and I don't want it raising my child." - unknown

This is really funny to me!

A new favorite science resource

2012-01-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

I checked out The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science at the library, and it is now on my favorites list. What a great book! It is written in words that science-challenged folks can understand. The experiments are easy and fun to do.

Check this book out if your library has it or pick up a copy from your local bookstore.

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

2012-01-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

Topics of study chapters 13, 14, 15

~Marie Curie's daughter, Irene
~Albert Einstein-an introduction to the scientist with wild hair
~the Treaty of Versailles-another time frame topic
~kidneys- we used Apologia human anatomy

We really enjoyed working on this literary unit. It took us down a few trails that we had not been on before.

Now, we are off to the rainforest!

A10's owl drawing

2012-01-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

A10 has recently become obsessed with owls, and I do mean obsessed! She has read every book in the library she could find and draws at least 10 owls a day. She can spout off facts like a professional bird handler. I thought this owl drawing was particularly nice so I wanted to show it off.

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

2012-01-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Topics of study chapters 9,10, 11, 12

~Spanish-American War
A time frame reference
~the importance of asking questions
~using transitional words and phrases

~Bavaria
~periodic table of elements

~the dangers of radioactive materials
~line technique-fine arts
~a famous sculptor-The Thinker by Auguste Rodin
~generosity-comparing Marie Curie to George Washington Carver

Quote Antoine Henri Becquerel

2012-01-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

“Decisiveness is often the art of timely cruelty.

Antoine Henri Becquerel

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

2012-01-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

Topics of study chapters 5, 6, 7, 8

~locate and read about the Baltic Sea

~locating information through books, periodicals, the internet, newspapers, almanacs, and encyclopedias.

~nutrition and the brain lesson from the manual

~begin to learn basic French with Berlitz
Marie Curie moved to France to go to the Sorbonne but she spoke Polish, not French. She had to learn French quickly, and she did! In fact, it was said that she spoke French so well, you could not hear her Polish accent.

~magnets
Marie studied steel and its magnetic properties.
experiment
experiment

~crystals
While Marie studied magnets, Pierre studied crystals.
make your own crystals
another make your own crystal link

~Henri Becquerel
~Uranium
~writing your own thesis

Good stuff!

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

2012-01-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Friggenwhat? Try saying that 13 times in a row. Friggatriskaidekaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th.

Image from the web

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. This is a day that brings out the superstitious side in many people.

Friday is considered an unlucky day and the number 13 is considered to be an unlucky number.

Many people believe that bad things happen on Friday the 13th so they do not even leave home that day. There are an estimated 21 million people with friggatriskaidekaphobia making Friday the 13th the most widely-spread superstition.

Image from wikipedia

There will be 2 more Friday the 13ths in the year 2012 which are oddly enough spaced 13 weeks apart. One in April and one in July.

You can read about friggatriskaidekaphobia here.

Marie Curie

2012-01-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

While working on our Beyond Five in a Row literary unit of Marie Curie, I found myself fascinated by this woman genius and all of her accomplishments. I started to wonder how much people knew about her or if they even knew who she was.

So just to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to asked a few friends, family members, a few homeschoolers, and a few kids we know that attend public school. I wanted a wide and random group. Not to embarrass anyone or put them on the spot but to simply find out who recalls facts on this very important person in history. I admit I did not recall a lot of information about this amazing pioneer of science but I did know that she had something to do with radiation and x-rays.

So the results of my questioning went as follows: 2 people thought she was a psychic fortune teller, 3 people had never heard of her, 2 of the kids from public school said they thought they had heard of her but had no real idea who she was, and only 1 person actually knew who she was and some of her accomplishments. I am beginning to find that the longer we homeschool, the less I feel like I really learned when I was in school. I know I was there but I guess somehow I did not retain the information for long-term use. Sorry for the digression and back to the point, Ms. Marie Curie.

Image from Wikipedia

So lets learn about Maria Salomea Sklodowska aka Madame Curie.

Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867. Her given name was Maria Salomea Skłodowska. She grew up in a poor family with 4 siblings. Her oldest sister died from typhus, and her mother died from tuberculosis when she was 10. If this was not enough to deal with, during this time period, Poland was under strict Russian rule and Polish people were not allowed to speak Polish, teach Polish, or learn any Polish history. Anyone caught doing so would be breaking the law. Maria's parents were very proud of their Polish history and taught their children even though they knew they were breaking the law.

Maria's older sister, Bronya, went to France to go to medical school. When Bronya completed her studies, Maria went to the Sorbonne University in France so that she could go to school to become a scientist. While at the Sorbonne, Maria began to go by the name Marie. That is where she met Pierre Curie, an instructor of physics and chemistry. They were married in 1895. They had 2 children together, Irene and Eve. Unfortunately, Pierre died in an accident in a street in Paris in 1906. He fell under a heavy horse drawn cart and one of the wheels ran over his head. He died instantly.

Picture from google image

In 1898, after exhaustive work, the Curies discovered the element polonium, which was named after Poland. They also discovered radium. Radium gets its name from a word made up by Marie Curie, radioactivity.

Marie Curie was a friend to many famous scientist like Henri Becquerel, Wilhelm Rontgen, and Albert Einstein.

Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win 2 Nobel Prizes. A link to Nobel Museum.

Picture from google image

This is just a brief summary of the life of Marie Curie. As you can see, she was a very important person in the field of science. She was a very strong and dedicated woman, and it is a good thing for us that she was!

Quote by Marie Curie

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

Marie Curie

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

2012-01-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Topics of study for chapters 3 and 4

~the Alps and Carpathian Mountains

~lakes
Did you know that the Dead Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Aral Sea are not seas at all? They are actual lakes?

~Kulig streamers and sleigh bells
This sounds like great fun. Kuligs are festivals celebrated in Poland that include sleigh rides. The sleighs are fixed so that many people can ride them. The sleighs are decorated with streamers and sleigh bells and people dress in costumes.

~the power of an education

~the metric system

~sugar from beets
Did you know that almost 40% of the world's sugar comes from sugar beets? Sugar extracted from sugar beets is exactly the same as sugar extracted from sugar cane.

~Poland's monetary system
One Polish Zloty is worth about 50 cents in American dollars so how much is 10 worth?

~generosity

~realizing your dreams

We are going to get busy working on some physics lessons and work with the periodic table. Big scientific fun is on the way.

Quote from Marie Curie

2012-01-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

Marie Curie

War Horse-the movie

2012-01-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Poster from Fandango

We went to see the movie War Horse over the holidays. I knew we would see this movie just because the word horse was in the title. My kids are all about horses even if a war is involved. I was a little hesitant because of the PG-13 rating but I am very glad that we went ahead and saw the movie. There is a good bit of violence in this movie but the movie setting is World War I, war is violent.

Steven Spielberg is a master storyteller. This is a visually stunning, action-packed, emotional movie. The movie was adapted from the novel War Horse by Michael Morpurgo which was published in 1982. I wish we would have read the book first but....... The setting is rural England and Europe during World War I. It is a movie about a friendship between a young man named Albert and a horse he names Joey. (Joey is played by 14 different horses). Albert works very hard to train Joey and win his trust. Albert and Joey are forcefully separated because of the war and the storyline follows the life of Joey and all the people he inspires as he progresses through the war. I will leave it at that because any more would just spoil it for those who have not seen it.

I highly recommend this movie. It is a little long but you will be glad you watched. When the movie we were watching was over, the audience clapped and a few went out sniffling.

You can see trailers and pictures here.

Please see this movie!

Do NOT be fooled by this sweet face!

2011-12-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

So as you know, we recently brought home 2 guinea pigs. No problem! Our last guinea pigs lived to be more than 6 years old, and they were NEVER a problem. But, do you see this cute little face below? This guinea pig has the cutest face but the worst personality I have EVER seen in a guinea pig.

I AM TROUBLE!

I really believe that he is part Tasmanian devil! He uses the bathroom in the food bowl, he bites to the point of drawing blood, he squeals for no apparent reason, and he chases the other poor little guinea pig all day and all night. The cage is complete chaos! The bedding is mostly outside of the cage because of this Tasmanian guinea pig. Once he starts to chase the other guinea pig, it just shoots out of the cage and ends up everywhere.

Earlier today, we actually went back to the store and had a conversation with the "Professionals" and they said they have never heard of a guinea pig acting like this. They said "He is unique." Great! Just my luck to get a "Unique" guinea pig. I wanted a normal guinea pig. They said we could bring him back and get another but of course, C12 is not interested in this idea. She likes his Uniqueness.

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

2011-12-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

Topics of study for chapters 1 and 2

~Exploring our Timeline--The late 1800s
We started with the year Marie was born, and we will continue to work on this until the year of her death. Interesting to note that Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in the same year.
Wikipedia timeline 1867

~Poland
National Geographic Kids

~Tuberculosis
info for kids

~Malachite
info

~Barometers

~intro to physics
I found an awesome website completely by accident. It is called Kidipede. There are a lot of resources available for teaching physics. Lucky for me!

~Doing what needs to be done

~Russian rulers--The Czars and Empresses
We are just going to do a brief intro to get familiar with the names and time periods.

~The Riviera (Someone please take me there now.)

~Appreciating Polish culture

That is a lot to cover from just 2 chapters but the lessons were just too good to miss.

2011-12-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Ornaments

2011-12-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

I think this is the final ornament for our exchange. So cute!

Thanks to all who participated in the 2011 Five in a Row ornament exchange.

Christmas piggies

2011-12-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

Here are our new little guinea pigs.

When our other guinea pigs passed away several months ago, we always knew we would get more some day. Christmas seemed like a good time to just that.

We decided to go with males this time since EVERY female animal we have gotten was already pregnant when we got them. You can see how this might be a problem, can't you? We have been fortunate to experience the wonder of animal births and babies 4 times in the last 6 years but I think we get it now, and we will no longer be needing this type of experience for a LONG while.

They are both around 3 months old. They have been really shy so far but I know in time, they will come to appreciate the insanity that comes with living here.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce Gwin and Jinx. The brownish one is Gwin, and the gray one is Jinx. How did they get their names? From the Inkheart Trilogy authored by Cornelia Funke, of course!. There are 2 martens in the book and now there are 2 guinea pigs named after them. Martens are in the weasel family and look very similar to ferrets.

Jinx in his new home.

This is Gwin sitting on a towel on the floor. He is already contemplating his next move so he can escape.

They had never seen each other until yesterday so I am very glad they are getting along okay. Knock on wood!

Here are links to my other post about Emily and Danny. They were the sweetest little guinea pigs. We use to call them the Gennies but I do not like that for male guinea pigs so we made up a new nickname for them, the Gimmies.

Quote by Marie Curie

2011-12-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
Marie Curie

Marie Curie

2011-12-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

We have finally started our study of Marie Curie. I waited to work on this Beyond Five in a Row title because it is a unit that is rich in science. We will be learning a great deal about the periodic table and physics with this unit.

My beloved Beyond Five in a Row manual.

The book in which this literature unit is based.

A secondary reader for the unit.

Resources from the Five in a Row forums.

We will get to complete a lot of experiments with this unit which my kids love. However, we will not be working with radium like Marie did. I think you can figure out why.

FIAR ornaments

2011-12-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

Pictures of a couple more lovely ornaments.

I think we should be getting a few more. It is so much fun checking the mail and not finding bills, bills, and more bills but instead, getting a nice ornament made especially for us.

More horse resources

2011-12-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to add a few more great horse resources.
National geographic kids
Horse facts
Spirit
Draw a horse

Serious brag post

2011-12-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

I know, no one likes to hear other people brag about how great their kids are at this or that and of course, people think their kids are the cutest and the smartest, etc........... but I usually do not brag about the greatness of my kids but I will make an exception in this case.

So today, we went to the last day of photography class which C12 was taking. C12 is in advanced photography, oops, was that another brag? Sorry! Anyway, they have been taking classes for one day a week for the last 14 weeks. Today's class was a photography contest where others we able to view and vote on selected pictures in selected groups. There were some really good pictures, and it is obvious that these kids learned a lot over the 14 weeks. The pictures were grouped into categories, ie, animals, portrait, scene, and a few other categories. They had ribbons for first place and ribbons for honorable mentions in each category, as well as a first place ribbon and $25 gift card from Wolf camera for the one photograph that was the "Best in show." C12 came home with 3 ribbons for first place and 3 ribbons for honorable mentions. She also won the $25 gift card for Wolf camera for the portrait that she took of A10. If you have read this blog long enough, you know that I am not comfortable putting pictures of my kids on the web so that is why that picture is not included. I would tell you how GREAT the photo is but that would be more bragging, and I try not to do that.

I took pictures of the pictures so they are clearly not as good as the originals that C12 took.


A compilation of the ribbons.

This photo won first place in the scene category. This was taken in the woods at her dad's fire station. It represents fall foliage in case it is not obvious.

Shadow comes in first place for his big, fat yawn in the animal category. He was very proud when he heard the news.

Ms. Cookie only got an honorable mention. She thinks she is way more photogenic than Shadow.

C12 won 2 first place ribbons for the portrait of A10 and another honorable mention for a different portrait of A10. A10 is feeling pretty proud of herself right now too since she is the reason that C12 won 3 ribbons. I think C12 will have to share the wealth with her model.

So there you have it. One completed brag post. I hope it was not too nauseating for you.

C12 is becoming a great photographer. She cannot wait until next semester starts but in the meantime, she will be taking pictures and using the techniques that she has acquired so far.

CONGRATULATIONS C12!

More ornaments

2011-12-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Take a look at these awesome ornaments we recieved this week.

The ladies and children at FIAR are so creative.

Thanks for all the ornaments.

The Bermuda Triangle

2011-12-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

We have completed our brief study of horses, and we will now move on to a study of the Bermuda Triangle, aka the Devil's Triangle. This was a requested topic as my kiddos love all things supernatural and paranormal.

Map from Wikipedia

Where is the Bermuda Triangle? The Bermuda Triangle has its points on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda.

There are many theories about the strange goings on in the Bermuda Triangle but no one knows for sure. Some experts believe it has to do with the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Some believe that aliens in UFOs from another planet are to blame. I hope by the time we finish up this unit study, we will have some clarity on the topic of the Bermuda Triangle.

Here is a wealth of information and great links by Sheri at The Shades of Pink blogspot. Thanks Sheri, you saved me a lot of time looking.

Wikipedia

Here, here, and here are great resources that I found.

Norman the Donkey

2011-12-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of blog posts about animals so I thought I would do one for Norman.

This is Norman. He lives with our horse Rain. I do not think she really likes him all that much.

He is sweet for the most part, especially if you have a carrot but you have to be careful because he has been known to mistake fingers for carrots.

Rain and Charlie Rose

2011-12-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

We were looking through some old photos the other day and came across this one of Rain and her baby Charlie Rose.

So sweet! Charlie Rose is now 4 years old.

2011 Five in a Row Christmas ornament exchange

2011-12-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

We signed up for the 2011 Five in a Row ornament exchange. We participated last year and received some really nice ornaments. We have received 9 so far and I wanted to show them off because they are so special.

Here and here are last year's ornaments.

We had a lot of fun making our ornaments. I did, however, forget to take pictures of ours. Oops!

We are looking forward to getting the rest of the ornaments. Thanks to all who participated!

Happy birthday Aunt R!

2011-12-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Today is Aunt R's birthday. I will not mention how very old she is but compared to me, she is just a youngin.

So happy birthday Aunt R! See you soon for cake.

Horse-opoly

2011-12-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

We have been playing Horse-opoly all week. It is a really fun version of Monopoly except it has a horse theme. There is a lot of information about each breed of horse on the cards. So when you buy a horse breed, you can learn all about that breed on the back of the card.

Horse-opoly is played with the same type of game board, money, and cards as the traditional version.

Horse sense cards have funny things for you to do.

Horse play cards.

Smokey was our banker for the last game. Don't tell him but he was not the best banker. He never paid me when I passed go.

I am sure we will play this once more before we wrap up this unit which will be Friday, I hope. Then we are going to canter over to a study of Marie Curie from Beyond Five in a Row.

Horse unit study resources

2011-11-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

We are ready to get back to work after a much needed break. We will start off with our favorite animal. You guessed it, the horse and anything horse-like. My kiddos already know a lot about horses just because they love them and wanted to learn everything about them but we have never taken on the topic as an official school topic so at the request of C12, we are now doing just that. They started learning about horses when they received a horse for Christmas from the principle 5 years ago. Now, this was DEFINITELY NOT my idea but how many kids really get a horse for Christmas? But not only did we get one horse, we got 2 horses. YEP! We adopted a pregnant horse. What are the odds of that? The birth of little Charlie Rose was a really exciting day and a day I know my kids will never forget!

We will be using Amanda Bennett's Horse unit study as our main guide.

Here are a few of the resources that we have accumulated over the years.

We also have almost everything you can put a horse's picture on, T-shirts, mugs, blankets, notebooks, screen savers, pencils, pillowcases, picture frames, mouse pad, and I just cannot go on. We have a playroom full of acrylic horse, plastic horse, stuffed horses, stick horses, painted horses, horse posters and calendars, fuzzy horses, etc............ They even have used horseshoes as decorations in their rooms. So, I think you can conclude that we love horses. You may have figured that out just by the name of our blog.

This should be a fun unit to work on. It will certainly be an easy one for me to teach.

Free ebook

2011-11-27T08:00:00.001-08:00

This is a great ebook from Heavenly Homemakers. Gifts in a jar. Please download it before it is removed.

2011-11-26T17:49:00.001-08:00

I*AM*THE*FULLEST*PERSON*EVER!

2011-11-24T06:29:00.000-08:00

clipart from the web

Remember when you are gobbling up your food, to say thanks for all you have.

Camouflaged Cookie

2011-11-23T05:56:00.000-08:00

Cookie loves to hide in pine straw and leaf piles.

So cute!

Renaissance wrap-up

2011-11-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

We are finally nearing the end of the Middle Ages. What a fascinating time period! Full of plague, beheadings, and barbarians.

The Renaissance began in Italy during the late middle ages. Roughly from the 14th to the 17th century. In a nutshell, the Renaissance or rebirth was all about rediscovering literature, art, philosophy, music, science, and religion. Humanism was also developed during the 14th century.

So, what did we cover? A lot! Italy, Florence, Venice, Renaissance artists and writers, science, alchemists, The Medici Family, inventions, patrons, Popes, architecture, Shakespeare, The Globe Theater, and explorers.

I am sure I am leaving a few things out. This study could have easily taken a year or more but this is also a topic that will repeat itself in the high school days. High school! GASP! This is not too far awaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

We will be taking a much needed break for the week of Thanksgiving and then we will be right back at it. We will be working on a horse unit study which should be easy and fun since my kiddos are very horse-savvy.

Finally, ice skates!

2011-11-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

So, we finally broke down and bought the punks some ice skates of their very own. YEP! It was long overdue! They are ice skating weekly and taking lessons and those old, clunky, brown rental skates were just not doing them any favors. They decided to go with the basic Riedell figure skating skates. They have a lot of padding inside for comfort. We also picked up a pair of blade protectors for the blades. A10 chose purple and C12 chose black. C12 is very practical that way. The skates are very sleek-looking.

The box is even pretty.

A10's skates.

C12's skates.

I am very happy that they were finally able to get their own skates and so are they!

Inkspell the movie countdown

2011-11-16T13:24:00.000-08:00

We cannot wait until the Inkspell movie comes out! Count down the days with us.

Counting down the days.

Renaissance resources

2011-11-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

A few great Renaissance resources.

The Renaissance Connection

Usborne quicklinks

Usborne quicklinks

Heading to the Renaissance

2011-11-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

We are still working our way through the Medieval Times, and we are finally up to the Renaissance. There is so much to cover!

So far, we learned about castles, art, food, clothing, Camelot, Joan of Arc, the plague, feudalism, the Magna Carta, Marco Polo, religion, the Catholic church, knights, chivalry, crusades, heraldry, 100 years' war, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Blood Mary, and Medieval science, technology, and inventions. We also learned there was a lot of beheading going on in those days. Off with his head!

I have always wondered why kids play Marco Polo in the pool. Here are 2 thoughts on the subject.

It has been said that around 1312, Marco Polo had his eyes cut out by pirate traders for allegedly insulting the ship's captain so when Marco returned to Venice, the local children made fun of him and stole his walking stick which made him chase them around.

Another thought is that Marco Polo was an explorer and kids close their eyes so they can "Explore" their pool area.

Here are a few additional resources for what we have worked on already.

Marco Polo interactive map with questions.

National Geographic website, Marco Polo.

Interactive notebook.

My other links page.

We are having a blast with this unit! So many interesting topics to learn about.

I love fall!

2011-11-09T06:07:00.000-08:00

More cat naps

2011-11-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

There is just something about a sleeping cat. Yawn! I just wish they would sleep at night instead of day.

Dreaming of mice and birds, I am sure.

Inspiring Thought

2011-11-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

Educating our children doesn't have to be a complicated process, it just needs to be a thoughtful process. ~ Valerie Bendt (from her How to Create a Unit Study book)

Ring Around the Rosie

2011-11-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

Odd to think that a nursery rhyme about the bubonic plague would be a favorite of so many young children. I remember playing and singing this when I was little but I never knew what it was about. I liked the falling down part the best! While studying the Middle Ages, we discovered the origins and meaning of the song. Very interesting!

Ring around the Rosie-- refers to a red mark, supposedly the first sign of the plague.

A pocket full of posies-- people would put posies in their pockets to help cover the scent of death when they had the illness.

Ashes, ashes-- for the bodies that were burned (to ash) to stop the spread of infection.

We all fall down-- Basically means death. The Plague took victims who were rich or poor, young or old.

I am not a fan of the falling down part anymore!

2011-11-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

Creativity takes courage.

Henry Matisse

2011-10-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Fabulous Medieval Times links and resources

2011-10-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have found a wealth of helpful websites and resources for the Medieval Times so I thought I would share them all together in one blog post. So here they are.

You can design a coat of arms here and here.

Have fun with online jousting.

A unit study.

Life in the Medieval Times worksheets.

More notebooking pages from Notebooking2learn. Just scroll down a bit.

The Door in the Wall unit study by Sheri. She has a lot of great links.

Dynamic2moms have great lessons for Medieval Japan.

Middle ages for kids.

Make some parchment paper.

Find out about surnames and ancestry here.

Information on the black plague.

As you can see, there is a lot of great information for the study of the Medieval Times which makes it harder to narrow down what we should study and what we should save for later.

Medieval Times

2011-10-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

We are moving on with our Medieval Times (also known as middle ages) study. Here are a few resources that we will be using.

Beautiful notebook pages by Betsy Stout available at Currclick. There are a lot of free printables on Betsy's Homeschool launch page.

Geography Through Art by Geography Matters. We will use this for Coat of Arms and sketch a castle.

This is a card game in which you quiz the other players on their knowledge. There is an easy level and a hard level.

This has turned out to be a great resource.


Since we will be learning about castles, I thought I would incorporate a castle puzzle to work on together. This is a beautiful castle called Neuschwanstein.

2011-10-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky."

Charlemagne 742-814

Interesting shot of the moon

2011-10-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Viking resources

2011-10-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Finally finishing our voyage with the Vikings.

Here is a drawing by A10.

Here are some of the other resources that we enjoyed.

From dynamic2moms

Beautiful notebooking pages by Betsy Stout available at CurrClick

We played this very simplistic game to learn the geography and routes taken by the Vikings.

We also put together a longship craft and read a few other books about the Vikings. It has been a fun journey learning about these characters but now we must sail on to other parts of the Medieval Times.

Spirit Halloween store

2011-10-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

So my kids love this Halloween store called Spirit. They set up shop every year around the end of September and somehow, we end up there at least once a week until the beginning of November at the request of my kids. The last time we went, Picture Girl decided to take some pictures.

Zombie babies. Don't delay, adopt one today!

Momma!

Scream. Hello Sidney!

I have no idea!

The Exorcist.

Frankenstein.

This chilling sight is called eaten alive. This massively large rat is eating this dude alive. So gross!

Vampire.

This store has some really creepy stuff. I guess my kids have a dark side because they really like going there.

Happy Halloween early.

No Stress Chess

2011-10-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Our study of the middle ages has brought us a new favorite game. I would not have thought that Chess would be a major source of entertainment in our busy house but I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of time my kids (and myself) have spent playing this game.

Chess was played throughout the middle ages and the rules were modified many times but generally have remained the same. Fortunately for me, when I decided to add learning to play Chess to our middle ages activities, I found No Stress Chess. This is such an easy way to learn how to play Chess.

Basically, there is a set of cards which explains how each Chess piece functions. For example, pawn, the first time a pawn is moved, it can be moved 2 spaces straight ahead but from then on that pawn may only move 1 space straight or diagonally. The board also tells the starting location of each Chess piece. How smart is that! So, if you have no idea how to play, you simply pick a card and follow the instruction for the Chess piece. After you catch on, you can flip the board over and play without cards.

Here are a few photos of the game itself.

No Stress Chess is one of the best games I have purchased. I highly recommend it!

Now for a little background on the game Chess. Some believe that Chess originated in China somewhere around the 2nd century B.C. and others believe its origin to be 6th century A. D. India then spreading to Persia and later into Southern Europe.

The game of Chess was also said to be popular with The Vikings. The Vikings carved their Chess pieces out of walrus ivory and whales' teeth. Below you can see a few of the original pieces called The Lewis Chessmen.

History of chess
Lewis chessmen-Wikipedia

pictures from Wikipedia

We have really enjoyed our new found game. The game has been left out of the box and ready to play at a moments notice, and it has been played a lot!

Professor Smokey

2011-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

Smokey is always with us during school time. He does not want to miss out on anything. He is our offical homeschool mascot.

Finally FALL!

2011-10-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

It is finally starting to feel like fall. So we made a quick trip (5 whole minutes) to the local family farm to pick out some pumpkins. Here are a few shots by C12 of all the goodies that were available.

We also left with apple bread and boiled peanuts.

Some pictures from Clearwater, Florida

2011-10-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Gulls were everywhere! Most people refer to Gulls as Seagulls but they are actually just Gulls.

I am not sure which was more beautiful, the water or the sky.

This is the bluest sky I have ever seen.

The Pier.

Clearwater is a very pretty place! It is also the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium which we also visited and LOVED! Pictures will come later.

Great new Viking link

2011-10-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

from Dynamic2moms.

I just found this the other day, and it is a fabulous resource for Vikings. These ladies do a great job!

2011-10-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

"All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education."

Sir Walter Scott

Just got back..........

2011-10-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

from Clearwater Florida.

I am too tired and not unpacked yet so more details will come later.

Voyages of the Vikings

2011-09-29T06:43:00.001-07:00

We are about to take an adventure to the Middle Ages to meet up with the Vikings. The word Viking conjures up all kinds of images. Images of pirates, raiders, explorers, and barbarians wearing horned-helmets. For the most part, these images are correct minus the horned-helmets. Historians believe that the horned-helmets depicted in most pictures would have been hazardous and cumbersome in the close-quarter style Viking combat. Many Vikings were in fact dirty, crazy-haired pirates that took whatever they wanted from whomever they wanted whenever they wanted but many lived on farms raising pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, geese, and chickens. They grew different kinds of grains and various types of vegetables. The Vikings lived in long houses made from wood, stone, or blocks with thatched roofs. Their clothing was simple. Men wore tunics and trousers and women wore long dresses with aprons. Vikings made their clothing from wool, linen, and animal skins. (Information can be found here).

Here are a few books and other resources that I have found so far for our study.

I hope this will be enough.

This is a simple, fun game I found to print off and play. Mostly it was about the routes that the Vikings took during their explorations. Great mapping skills.

BBC primary history-Vikings

resources for teaching

Viking Quest game

I also purchased Viking notebook pages from CurrClick produced by The Notebook Nook.

We are going to be learning about daily life, exploration, boats, weapons, and the places that the Vikings explored and discovered.

Dophin Tale movie review

2011-09-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is a GREAT movie!! Such a relief to go to a "Kid appropriate" movie with no underlying adult humor in it. The cast delivered awesome performances but with a cast like this, you would expect no less.

Cast: Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris  Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Morgan Freeman, Austin Stowell, Frances  Sternhagen, and Austin Highsmith

I do not want to spoil it for anyone but there is an additional storyline going on in the film.

A must see movie. 

Website for Winter the dolphin

Photo gallery for Winter

Live Winter webcam

Nationwide homeschool go to the movies day

2011-09-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Today is the first ever nationwide homeschool go to the movies day. The featured film is the new Dolphin Tale movie. We cannot wait to see it!

See you at the movies.................

Periodic table

2011-09-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a formal unit on the periodic table, and I found a few great resources to share.

Periodic table game

Quick six

Elements bingo

Enjoy!

Homeschool meme

2011-09-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Kendra from The Pumpkin Patch tagged me to participate in this year's homeschool meme. What a surprise! Someone wants to hear what I think. I actually did not know about this until a few days ago when I was reading her blog and saw my blog mentioned as a tag. So here is my late response.

1. One homeschool book you've enjoyed?

There are so many but if I have to pick one, I would say A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola.

2. One Resource You Wouldn't Be Without?

Five In A Row! This has been the foundation of my kid's education since almost the beginning. I could not have made it through without Five In A Row. I learned a great way to teach my kids in a way that is hands on fun with great retention of knowledge.

3. One Resources You Wish You'd Never Bought?

I would have to say Learning Literature Through Language Arts. It was just too easy for my kids.

4. One Resources You Enjoyed Last Year?

One resource we enjoyed last year.............this is a hard one because we enjoyed most everything we used last year. Okay, pick one. I would have to say the Evan-Moor Ancient history pockets. We spent a lot of time on the ancients and these pockets came in really handy.

5. One Resources You Will Be Using Next Year?

Next year, we will be using Latina Christiana II.

We will complete Latina Christiana I this year so I would like to continue with part 2 for next year.

6. One Resource You Would Like To Buy?

I think I would have to say Foundations in Personal Finance High School Edition Homeschool Pack.

I want to make sure my kids do not make the same mistakes that my husband and I made, and this looks like a great resource to teach.

7. One Resource You Wish Existed?

WOW! Another hard question. There are so many resources available to homeschoolers today, I honestly cannot think of one right now.

8. One Homeschool Catalog You Enjoy Reading?

I get so many but I usually put most of them in the recycling bin without looking at them. I do like to look at the Timberdoodle catalog. They have a lot of neat things.

9. One Homeschooling Website you Use Regularly?

I am a regular on the Five In A Row forums and I have 3 blogs that I visit often. Which are Pumpkin Patch, Blog, She Wrote, and Jimmie's Collage.

Thanks Kendra for the tag. I had fun playing along.

Voyages of the Vikings

2011-09-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

I hope this will be enough.

This is a simple, fun game I found to print off and play. Mostly it was about the routes that the Vikings took during their explorations. Great mapping skills.

Remembering 911

2011-09-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

So 10 years have past since the terrorist attack on America. It seems hard to believe it has been 10 years, and it also seems hard to believe that this tragic event took place at all.

I know life is busy and everyone has their own problems and issues to deal with but please take at least a moment to remember all the innocent people, the fallen heroes, and their families on this day.

I challenge anyone to watch this video and not shed at least one tear. Turn on the volume for this.

9/11: The Most Powerful Photos.

September 11th anniversary pictures. You must look at these!

I would also like to give a special thanks to my husband who is a fire fighter. He gets up each day and goes to work never knowing what the day will bring. And, yes, some days bring trash can football, lots of working out, and playing video games but many days bring unimaginable conditions that must be dealt with quickly and professionally to ensure a life will continue the next day. Fire fighters deal with a lot of stress in their jobs, and they need our support and encouragement EVERY DAY! It is simply not a job for everyone. So for these reasons and many more I want to thank my husband for being the best fire fighter he can be and giving my children someone to look up to and be proud of!

Around the World in 80 Days

2011-09-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Topics of study for chapters 25-30

Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30

~map lessons: label San Francisco, New York, Salt Lake City, Colorado, Oregon, Missouris, and Utah. Shade the Rocky Mountains, and label the Great Lakes.
~Native Americans, Sioux and Pawnee
~intercontinental railroad
~suspensions bridges

Topics of study chapters 31-37

Chapters 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and 37

~map lessons: label Newfoundland, Queenstown, and Scotland
~English culture, police, laws, food, and custom homes
~ship terms

We also worked on vocabulary words for each chapter and discussion questions from Trail Guides to World Geography.
We officially tracked Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's journey around the world with the map below from Wikipedia.

We did character studies for Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout.
So in the end, Mr. Phileas Fogg did make his journey around the world in less than 80 days but just barely!

We watched a DVD from 1956 by Warner Bros after completing the book. In the DVD, Passepartout is a very funny person and very lady-crazy. A lot different than what we all pictured him to be. Mr. Fogg, on the other hand, was exactly as the book portrayed him.

Around the World in 80 Days chapters 17-24

2011-09-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Still cruising around the world.

Topics of study for chapters 17-24

Chapters 17, 18, 19, & 20
~map lessons: label the Strait of Malacca, Sumatra, Singapore, and the Pacific Ocean
~study the Chinese culture and life in China
~origami
~reefs and their effect on sea life and on ships
~compasses

Chapters 21, 22, 23, &24
~map lessons: label Yolohama, Nagasaki, Shanghai, and the Tropic of Cancer
~equinoxes An experiment from National Geographic Kids
~learned about Japan
~map of Japan
~kids web Japan
~learned about meridians and parallels

We also worked on vocabulary words for each chapter and discussion questions from Trail Guides to World Geography.
We are still tracking Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's journey with the map below from Wikipedia.

Dolphin Tale

2011-09-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the first nationwide homeschool movie day to view Dolphin Tale. This movie is based on a true story about a dolphin named Winter who loses her tail in a crab trap. The movie has an ((((ALL STAR)))) cast including Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Kris Kristofferson, and newcomer Cozi Zuehlsdorff (a fellow homeschooler). We had the opportunity to meet Cozi at our recent homeschool convention. She flew in from California for our convention. She had a booth to promote the new movie and to sign autographs. On display was one of the prosthetics used by the dolphin. It was an amazing creation and very heavy. We enjoyed our visit with Cozi and cannot wait to see the movie.

See you there!

Our new home

2011-09-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

It is still under construction but not bad huh?

NOT! This is a big house that sits up off the lake. I think the "Real" owners went bankrupt and now it just sits unfinished.

Cookie

2011-09-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

Just chillin' out!

Around the World in 80 Days chapters 11-16

2011-09-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Topics of study for chapters 11-16

Chapters 11, 12, & 13
~map lessons: label Calcutta, Hong Kong, and the Andaman Islands
~phases of the moon

Chapters 14, 15, & 16
~map lessons: label the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, China, and Japan
~continue study of Indian and Hinduism

We also worked on vocabulary words for each chapter and discussion questions from Trail Guides to World Geography.
We are still tracking Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's journey with the map below from Wikipedia.

Guess who is turning 5?

2011-08-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

Shadow!!!!

Say what?

No wonder I am so tired. I am getting old!

Present time! Shadow got a new shaggy mouse, a bag of treats, a whole can of food to eat all by himself, and some catnip to give him an energy burst. Go Shadow!

Cat cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MR. SHADOW! WE LOVE YOU BUDDY!

A quote from Hippocrates

2011-08-30T10:42:00.001-07:00

Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can cure the patient with food.

2011-08-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE KING OF POP

2011-08-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Today Michael Jackson would have been 53 years old. We are going to wish him happy birthday anyway.
So happy birthday King of Pop.
Michael's kids celebrate in Gary, Ind

Around the World in 80 Days chapters 5-10

2011-08-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Topics of study from chapters 5-10.

Chapters 5 & 6
~map lesson: label Italy and the city of Turin, Egypt, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Yemen
~Suez Canal
~canals as a way of transportation and trade
~Cape of Good Hope

Chapters 7 & 8
~time zones

Chapters 9 & 10
~Strait of Bab-el-mandeb
~Egyptian history and culture
~Indian history and culture

We also worked on vocabulary words for each chapter and discussion questions from Trail Guides to World Geography.
We are still tracking Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's journey with the map below from Wikipedia.

Around the World in 80 Days chapters 1-4

2011-08-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Highlights from the first 4 chapters.

Chapter 1
~comparing life in England to life in America in the 1800s
~learning about the countries that make up the United Kingdom and its history
~thermometers
~map lesson: labeling the countries of the UK and labeling London, Liverpool, Glasgow

Chapter 2
~studied Paris, France
~map lesson: labeling England, London, Paris, and France

Chapter 3
~learned about the different modes of transportation and the history of transportation

Chapter 4
~played a game called Whist

We also worked on vocabulary words for each chapter and discussion questions from Trail Guides to World Geography.
We will also be tracking Mr. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's journey with the map below from Wikipedia.

What a long day

2011-08-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Where in the World game

2011-08-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

We have been playing a new game that I picked up at the homeschool convention this year that I thought would go well with our around the world study and of course, I was right! There are actually 6 different games to play. Four of the games are for ages 8 and up and two are for 12 and up. So far, we have played 3 of the 6 games, and they have been really fun!

I think games can be great learning tools and a great way to spend time with your kiddos.

Thermometers

2011-08-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today, we spent some time learning about thermometers. We did a really cool and easy experiment to demonstrate how a basic bulb thermometer works.

I checked out this book from the library so we could get a better understanding of the history of thermometers and how they work. We also took the opportunity to learn a little more about Galileo.

We examined all of the thermometers that I could find in our house. Surprisingly, we have a few different types.

A meat thermometer.

A digital thermometer.

This type of thermometer is based on Galileo's thermoscope. The temperature was around 74 in our house so we thought we would put it outside for about 20 minutes to see how the temperature would change. After the 20 minutes, the temperature went up to 84. Then, just for fun, we put the thermometer in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and the temperature cooled off to around 68. This is called a "Slow thermometer" so it does take a little time to see a change. This is also really neat and decorative thermometer.

This is our outside thermometer. Holy COW! It is measuring a temperature around 107. It was actually around 95 but since this thermometer sits in the sun, it made the reading go up. It did feel like 107 though.

We decided to try our hand at making a simple replica of a bulb thermometer.

What you need to have and do:

A glass jar with a lid that you can make a hole in for a straw.

A straw and some food coloring. You can do it without food coloring but it is easier to see with it.

You need some type of putty or a piece of chewing gum to seal around the hole in your lid and the straw.

Ice cold water. You will need to fill the jar almost to the top but strain the ice out first.

After you fill the jar with the water, add the food coloring if you are using it.

Put the top on and seal around the straw.

Place the jar in really HOT water and watch. We decided to make 3 minute checks. This is after the first 3 minutes. As you can see, the colored water is beginning to rise up the straw.

After about 6 minutes, you can see how much the colored water has moved up the straw.

This is after 9 minutes.

And at 12 minutes, the water was coming out of the end of the straw.

We also noted that when the hot water in the bowl started to cool down, the colored water in the straw went back down into the jar as seen in the next 2 pictures.

Going back down.

Down, down, down! Eventually, the straw was empty.

We read various books about thermometers and my kids did a notebooking page with an illustration on some of the things they learned. (Below)

So that is it for thermometers. We really learned a lot of information, and we had fun doing it.

Two gorgeous men!

2011-08-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

HANDSOME!