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Working through review materials

5/15/2013

Here toad is supposed to read a list of words as fast as he can. He didn't do so well. I"m impressed that the lad can do this now in about 2.5 minutes (down from 4.5)

Right now we are continuing to work our way through review materials.

Scaredy cat reading system by Joyce Herzog. The lad is understanding vowels and what not better. It's cool to see his understanding grow.

Mammoth Math. We do one page a day, no more than that. The lad finds it hard, but he's getting it. It's good to make him think. Part of the reason it is hard is that I'm doing grade three with him rather than grade two. But at this stage in the review it's basically review of grade two and it's showing him that he can do this, he just needs to think on it a bit.

Working through the word search.

We're continuing to work through the Christianity Cove study on the Lord's prayer. yesterday we did a wordsearch, this gave us an opportunity to really think about some of the words used in the Lord's Prayer and what they mean.

We've also started a new review from Birdcage Press. The lad is learning Eygptian terminology while playing games. He even had fun playing it with one of his friends yesterday. It received a thumbs up! :)

Muffins and Learning

5/15/2013

Did you know that making muffins incorporates alot of schooling?

Reading, math (if you double the recipe), following directions, chemistry and in our case....also art! :) yes, that's an angry bird you see drawn in our muffin mix.

He attempted to do so in the liquid portion as well, that didn't work out quite and well but certainly made the liquid squeal as it was being poured in with the dry ingredients.

Banana Wheat Muffins, Directions

FIRST preheat oven to 400.   Child can do this part easily.

In a bowl mix

1 cup mashed bananas (about two large)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted (didn't know this could be so much fun for a lad to do.   He had a hoot cutting it up and stirring it ah!!! I'm melting, I"m melting)
1 tbsp molasses (we didn't have molasses so used honey)    Gave us a chance to talk about substitutions and how they can be made, even how Jesus died in our place (he substituted himself for us) and it's all good.

Reserve this. (explain what that means to a child if they don't know). Practice spelling it in the mixture to if you'd like.   Really...it's fun! :)

In a different bowl Mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour (we might have accidentally used multi-grain ... it works too)
1/2 cup wheat bran (we might have used oat bran ... it obviously worked as well)
1 tbsp baking powder (this is what we use in making volcanos right mom? So why don't the muffins explode in the oven? - excellent science lesson right there)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (according to the lad, cinnamon tastes horrible on it own)
1/4 tsp salt

OPTIONAL ingridents (we chose NOT to add these)
1/2 nuts of your choice added into the dry mixture.
12 banana chips (these would be placed on the top of the muffin just before baking)

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

I would highly recommend if your child is younger, unskilled or nervous that YOU place the muffins in the oven. It's just a safety thing. The lad will bring the trays to the oven, but he'll stand back to let me place them in.

We learned that our oven has a hot spot as 8 of our muffins turned out dark and the rest turned out just fine. Two of them got immediately eaten anyways, we just pulled off the black stuff.

As you can see we made a double batch. The muffins turned out quite nice and have been being enjoyed by all. We're freezing a few for our yard sale later this spring. The lad wants to make some money selling things and this is good work on his part. :) (and excellent schooling).

Would it be quicker for me to do them on my own? For sure, but it's a whole lot more fun to do them with a lad and it's good schooling too. :)

Newspaper Schooling

5/10/2013

Grand River Asian carp catch is 'bad news'. This article in the paper this morning led to a discussion on invasive species.

So we learned more about the different types of carp, and how they are dangerous to fish in Ontario.

Then we took a look at some of the other invasive species of water critters in Canada.

Round Goby (this we have seen, caught and killed) zebra mussels (have brought these home to study), spiny water flea, rusty crayfish, sea lamprey (have seen pictures of), bloody red shrimp, Eurasian Ruffe

And the rest we looked them up.
The Spiny Water Flea - here's a link. They eat the food native species need to survive.

Rusty Crayfish - here's a link. These critters have aggressive eating habits.

Bloody Red Shrimp - form dense clouds, compete with native species for food, here's a link.

Eurasian Ruffe - this one surprised me, I thought from the name it was some sort of small critter, but it's a fish. They compete with perch and reproduce rapidly. Here's a link.

It was eye-opening to the lad and I just how many invasive species there are in Ontario. Not just water critters, but plants and other living creatures as well.

Cool MOM! This is just COOL!

5/7/2013

NEAT!
Was the expression I just heard from one seven year old lad.

He's having fun experimenting with chalk, water and microwaves today.

So let's today follow the thought processes of one child, age seven, learning to think through what he wants to do.

He started with just chalk and a microwave. it took 10 minutes before the chalk got hot, but when it got hot it got VERY hot quite quickly.

But it didn't do what he hoped for. He wants the chalk to melt.

So together with Dad he figured out how microwaves work. So how to add water....that was the question.

Do you dip it in water?
Let's try that. Nah...that doesn't work.

Do you sink it on a plate of water?
Well it works a bit, but not very good.

checking to see how it is coming along

Do you put it entirely in water in a cup?
Well that works great! WOW MOM!!! look at this, MOM come quick!

BUT problem, whenever it bubbles it spills over and cleaning up the mess is a problem.
So now what?

MOM! Can I use this? (a glass jar)
Sure
Oh...it's too big.

different coloured chalk provided layers. The lad found this fascinating.

What Can I use that I can keep?

Mom interjects this comment: what can you use now, but then later clean, so you can store your melted chalk in something different later (like your jar)?

Son: after looking around the kitchen. MOM! Can I use this? (bigger measuring cup). Sure.

So... he's having fun and he's learning, and it's all good. :)

face paint! Look MOM! I'm a pig warrior! (he likes the pigs from the angry birds game)

A lad worked hard and learned while doing so

5/4/2013

Do you see this mostly empty area?
It was filled with all sorts of metal recycling items.
Parts of cars, old metal easy up parts, metal from old cages, and pop cans.
Today the lad learned about taking metal out to the recyclers.   We talked about how metal can be reused, what sorts of metal, what kinds of things can be made from old pop cans, and why they like to take old metal back.

We found our way to the recyclers. it was a new place to us and took a bit of figuring to get to, but we made it okay. On the way we talked about a dream to make an outdoor cattery... or what the lad calls a cat coop. :)   We got on that discussion when I mentioned where we got his cat Milo from.

The lad helped us unload the pop cans and then helped me safely back up after we went on the ramp to be weighed.   He was a good spotter, I am NOT a good backer upper. :)

How is this homeschooling?
1. teamwork
2. practical learning: hands on seeing what metal is, sorting it, crushing it to conserve space,
3. the answering and asking of questions
4. conservation of the earth
5. saving money, earning money
6. starting and finishing a project (saving pop cans and then selling them)
7. attention to detail

Before we left the lad also had this brilliant idea about making money at the yard sale next month. He dug up some of the maple trees in the yard and has temporarily planted them in one of the raised beds. His goal: sell them for $1 each. He'll need to keep them watered, but dad and I will help him remember. And he'll need to look for pots to put them in (gardening centres we hope will help with this aspect of things).

After the recyclers we stopped at a friends house to pick up my old doe Slip. She was staying at their house for the winter since she didn't like the cold. we took their younger doe here for the winter. It worked out well.

The lad played while I helped her pack for a weekend away. Being 8.5 weeks pregnant makes for some exhausting days and she needed a bit of a push to get some things done. I helped her brain work and her body to pack. :) Even loaded the car for her. The lad did an excellent job of entertaining her children during the whole process.

All in all an excellent homeschooling day, which rounded out an excellent homeschooling week. If all weeks went like this one life would be very grand indeed. :)

Review and Giveaway: Ring the Bell

5/3/2013

Disclosure

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the DVD Ring the Bell for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. All opinions expressed are mine alone. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

About Ring the Bell

Ring The Bell shares the story of a slick, big city sports agent Rob Decker who seems to have it all. But on his latest mission to sign a high school baseball superstar, Rob becomes stranded in a small town where the simplicity of life—and the faith of the people—stand in stark contrast to his own fast-paced, win-at-all-costs mindset. Torn between these two worlds, will Rob have the courage to let faith transform his life? This heartwarming story of redemption is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family.

Ring The Bell features a host of well-known Christian music artists, several former and current Major League Baseball and more.

Ring the Bell is available on DVD for only $19.99
Website: http://ringthebellthemovie.com
Watch the Trailer: http://ringthebellthemovie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RingTheBellTheMovie

My Review

The initial part of this movie started very slow and the acting appeared to be forced.    It took a while for the actors to get a good flow going.    I was pleased that as the movie progressed, the acting and flowed changed. The characters appealed to meld better. There were still awkward, somewhat forced moments, but overall it became good.      I actually enjoyed the last half hour of the movie quite a lot.     I found myself routing for the main character Rob Decker to make some better choices in his life.

This is a movie that I think my parents would very much enjoy, and would be an interesting discussion movie for a group of young people.

I would have no issues having my whole family watch it as well. It is a clean, easy to view movie.   Nothing that I could see that would set off parental alarms.

The Giveaway.

isn't it fun when I get to offer a giveaway as well? You can get your own copy of this DVD if you win. :) Enter below. :)

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Review and Giveaway: Insects by Hands Of A Child

5/2/2013

For the past month we've been reviewing Insects, a lapbook on Insects.
Vendor: In the Hands of A Child.
Product: Insects.
Price: Currently available for $9 (normally $15)
Geared for : K-6

What this is...

I started out homeschooling doing lapbooks. I love scrapbooking and this seemed a natural fit for me.   What I quickly learned was that I very much DISLIKE making lapbooks using file folders. Can't stand it.   So I decided as much as I like the concept of file folders doing them as such isn't a good fit. Therefore, we make books on cardstock and normal paper. We cut, we glue, we make up our own minds about where we want to put things, and we don't fiddle with creating elaborate lapbooks out of file folders.

What this means is we can add to our lapbooks as we gain new information OR as we find information that answers questions that the lapbook gives us, but doesn't answer as face it...you simply cannot answer every single question a child might have.   So I LOVE doing lapbooks my own way. :)

This lapbook is designed by In the Hands of a Child.   I must say, of all the companies I have used for doing lapbooks this company is one of my favourites. They do a thorough job. Their lapbooking elements fit well with the material taught, and they tell me how to make the different elements. Most can be figured out, but some... well... take some teaching. :)

This lapbook covers the anatomy of an insect, type of insects, vocabulary, habitats, hibernation and migration and so much more.

Insect we found, we wonder what type of moth or butterfly it will become.

Things I wish were different

I wish the lapbooking elements were placed throughout the book rather than all at the end. I find myself needing to flip pages as I've printed off the elements I need but not the directions. If the elements were within the study it would make it easier to simply proceed through the instruction part in an orderly fashion.

My Opinion

I like this insect study. It is quite a good one.

I really appreciate how they give options with the unit for making the lapbooking elements age appropriate...cut and paste for children, or write in the answer, or do a simple copy over words.    Means if I had more than one child I could do this with all of them with little extra effort on my part.

I have to admit, we haven't quite finished it, we are having fun doing it and making little side trips into....I wonder about (today it was antennae, how do they help tell temperature differences) so we've been looking that up and learning more.

I love materials that not only answer lots of questions, but also encourage lots of questions that require further study.   This unit does exactly that.

I recommend you get if you have someone in your household interested in insects.   :)

carefully watching the caterpillar. Note: we brought home some moss from our insect walk to help encourage more insects into our backyard. Moss brings in small and tiny insects which my son just loves to observe.

My Son's Opinion

I like this study mom, but there is SO much gluing.
Can we do less gluing?
But I like it! I didn't know that flies and bees were different kinds of insects.

Disclosure

I was offered a free unit in exchange for my fair and honest review. I was not forced to have a good opinion, just merely to tell you what I thought.

The Giveaway Portion

You too can do this study! Woot woot! I've got permission to do a giveaway. :) To get your very own copy of this study enter my giveaway and see what happens.

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Our Father ... learning the Lord's prayer

5/2/2013

Today we continued our study of the Lord's prayer.
Todays' lesson was called "the difference between prayer and Much speaking".

This was a difficult lesson for me to figure out how to do as it was meant to be done using a helper and a group of children.

part of what we did to show the difference between praying to God and just making noise was to show the difference in how people sing the Lord's prayer to make noise and a show, and those who sing to actually pray the Lord's music.

Pretty, sounds good, but seems more "noise" oriented than prayer.

This one had us thinking less noise oriented then the one above.

The rest of the lesson went well, the lad seemed to "Get" it so that is a good thing. :) We have not worked on memorizing the Lord's prayer yet.

Two idential containers. One with empty words, one words with meaning. How should pray?

Review and Giveaway: Can't-Wait Willow!

5/1/2013

Today i am reviewing a book called Can't Wait Willow! I am doing this review on behalf of FlyBy Promotions.

This is a children's book published by Ideal books, it is part of the series called Shine Bright Kids. For a preview you can go here.

About Shine Bright Kids:The Shine Bright Kids series provides children and their families with a relevant framework to help instill solid values and teach the importance of making good choices. The principles that will be explored include: using good judgment, taking responsibility, having a positive attitude, and demonstrating perseverance.

This book is about a young girl who needs to make a decisions on the way to the circus. She has a star that accompanies her and helps to show if she's making good or bad decisions.

The author's website has great resources to support the book, including a printable poster with 'Ways to Shine Bright,' as well as reward chart you can use at home with your children. If you go here there are "go alongs" for the book, activities to encourage children to continue using the lesson taught in the book.

My son's reaction

My son is age seven. He was really ho-hum about this book. "It was okay mom". When I went to read it to him the next night "BUT MOM... we read that last night, do we have to read it again?" We'll be putting it into our "to be given as a gift box" as it really is a nice book, but the lad is not into it at all.

My reaction

If you have a youngster that struggles with making good decisions, this book is a good way to encourage dialogue between you and your child. This book is an aid to figure out why some decisions can be good, but really not good at the time. Why some decisions simply might not be good when you look at what your goal is. This book can help you make conversation with your child in a non-confrontational manner. It also overall is just a good story.

Disclosure

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Can't Wait Willow! for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. All opinions are mine or of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Giveaway!

I get to give away one copy of this book.

Use the form below to see if you too can have a copy of this book. :)

Entry -Form

Forward>>

Working through review materials

Muffins and Learning

Banana Wheat Muffins, Directions

Newspaper Schooling

Cool MOM! This is just COOL!

A lad worked hard and learned while doing so

Review and Giveaway: Ring the Bell

Disclosure

About Ring the Bell

My Review

The Giveaway.

Review and Giveaway: Insects by Hands Of A Child

What this is...

Things I wish were different

My Opinion

My Son's Opinion

Disclosure

The Giveaway Portion

Our Father ... learning the Lord's prayer

Review and Giveaway: Can't-Wait Willow!

My son's reaction

My reaction

Disclosure

The Giveaway!

Who Am I?

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2013 TOS Reviews

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Banana Wheat Muffins, Directions

Disclosure

About Ring the Bell

My Review

The Giveaway.

What this is...

Things I wish were different

My Opinion

My Son's Opinion

Disclosure

The Giveaway Portion

My son's reaction

My reaction

Disclosure

The Giveaway!

Who Am I?

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2013 TOS Reviews

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