Grandma Rosie's Texas Home
• Sat 2 May 2009 - AFA Homeschool channel
• Fri 24 Apr 2009 - NASA Science News for April 24, 2009
• Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 3 North Carolina homeschooled kids ordered to public school
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Friday March 13, 2009
Parental rights to choose the best method to educate their children are under attack once again. A North Carolina judge orders 3 homeschooled children to enroll in public school as a result of a divorce case. Even though the children have been thriving the last 4 years of homeschooling and testing above average, the judge feels the children would be better off in public school.
I don't know all the ins and outs of the case and I know that divorce cases can get really ugly, but it is unsettling to see parental rights stripped away like this. The judge says that "public school would be a great option for them," however, it's not an option at all, but now a requirement. They no longer have the freedom of educational choice...they have a judge-ordered requirement for public school, leaving no options at all. It is not all that unusual for a divorce custody case to jeopardize homeschooling. It is very unfortunate.
This is very reminiscent of last years California case. These children were also ordered to enroll in public school; but the appeals court overturned this decision and concluded that parents, not the state, would decide where children are educated. Here's hoping that the North Carolina case will ultimately have the same outcome and parental rights to choose the best method to educate their children will prevail.
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• Thu 26 Feb 2009 - Pretty Sky Alert
• Thu 19 Feb 2009 - NASA Science News for February 20, 2009
• Thu 12 Feb 2009 - Wonderful Site..Ten Years Of Betsy Ross Paper Dolls.
• Sat 7 Feb 2009 - Trip to the Ft Worth Stock Show
Friday was Our Field Trip to the Ft Worth Stock Show! This is my little dark eyed beauty on one of the John Deere Tractors. I think she sat on every piece of heavy equipment in the place! She also had to stop at every stall and visit every horse. But I must admit, there were hundreds of bunnies and I had to see them all.
Velvet and her friend Emily.
What's not to love about this?
A big dose of CUTE!
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• Wed 4 Feb 2009 - NASA Science News for February 4, 2009
• Sat 9 Aug 2008 - Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) *Or* any year homeschooling
A friend sent me this. It is priceless!
Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) *Or* any year homeschooling
Originally written and produced by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris
Originally performed by Gloria Gaynor
Mercilessly altered with apologies by Natalie Criss
First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach
´Cause I´m not certified.
But we spent so many nights
Reteaching homework that was wrong.
I grew strong,
so now I teach my kids at home!
We study math
and outer space.
I just kept on despite the fear
with a big smile across my face.
I bought a set of Base Ten blocks.
I bought books with answer keys.
My parents think we´re nuts,
but they don´t even bother me
Come on, let´s go walk out the door.
We´re on the road now,
'cause we´re not home much anymore
My friends would laugh and say we´d be unsocialized.
I heard one mumble
that I´d give up by July.
Oh no, not I!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to read
I know we´ll be alright.
I've got all my life to learn.
I've got energy to burn.
and I'll survive.
I will survive.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart.
Decided to attend
a play date at the local park,
and I met oh so many moms
who offered eagerly t o help.
They used to cry.
Now they hold their heads up high,
and so do we!
My kids are cool!
They´re not those chained up little people
stuck inside at school.
So if you feel like dropping by
and just expect us to be free
you´d better call ahead first
´cause we´re probably busy!
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• Tue 1 Jul 2008 - NASA Science News for July 1, 2008
• Thu 15 May 2008 - Homemade Chalk
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Best for ages 4 and up
Materials
- Toilet tissue tube (or an ice cube tray to create smaller chunks for younger hands)
- Duct tape
- Aluminum foil if you are using a toilet paper tube (or petroleum jelly if you're using an ice cube tray)
- Disposable plastic container
- Plaster of Paris (Playbox plaster of Paris, about $4 for 4 1/2 pounds, dickblick.com)
- Water
- Liquid tempera paint (Prang Ready-To-Use tempera paint, about $5 for six colors, dickblick.com)
- Spoon
Instructions
Step 1
Cover one end of the toilet paper tube with duct tape. Loosely roll an 8- by-41/2-inch piece of aluminum foil and slip it into the tube so that it lines the inside, fitting snugly. (Or coat the inside of the ice cube tray with petroleum jelly.)
Step 2
Set tube upright (duct tape side down) on protected surface.
Step 3
In a disposable plastic container, help your child mix 1 cup plaster of Paris with 1/2 cup water. Stir slowly and thoroughly until plaster is dissolved, about 1 minute.
Step 4
Immediately add 2 tablespoons paint (or more for brighter chalk color, but be careful it can stain). Mix thoroughly.
Step 5
Spoon into the tube (or ice cube tray). Tap gently so mixture settles to the bottom.
Step 6
Let dry overnight before using.
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• Sat 26 Apr 2008 - The Physics of Whipped Cream
• Mon 7 Apr 2008 - 35 Kitchen Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom
• Tue 18 Mar 2008 - Vanishing Rings of Saturn
• Fri 28 Dec 2007 - Science Projects: Polymers ..I love this site
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Science Projects: Polymers
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Science Project: Make a Colorful Bouncy Ball
Polymers are used to make numerous things, including clothing, plastic containers, nonstick cookware, and bulletproof vests. Try this experiment to see how polymers can make a toy.
Materials:
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1 tablespoon white glue
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1/2 teaspoon borax
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1 tablespoon cornstarch
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2 tablespoons warm water
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2 plastic cups
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2 wooden craft sticks
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Food coloring
What To Do:
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Pour the glue into one of the plastic cups. Add a few drops of food coloring to the glue and mix with one of the craft sticks until it's the color you want.
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In the second cup, combine the water and borax together and mix with the second craft stick. Stir until dissolved.
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Add the cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution to the glue and let stand for 15 seconds.
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Stir with a craft stick until fully mixed together and it becomes very difficult to stir.
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Mold the ball in your hands. It will be sticky at first but will become more solid as you roll it in your hands.
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You now have a bouncy ball. Try bouncing it. How high does it go? Store your ball in an airtight container or Ziploc bag so it doesn't dry out and crumble.
What's Happening?
The white glue contains polyvinyl acetate, a strong and flexible polymer that gives the ball strength. Cornstarch contains amylopectin, a polymer whose shape is best described as "branched" - it sticks out like the branches of a tree - and gives the ball the property of elasticity. Elasticity allows the ball to return to its original shape after being compressed or stretched, such as when it hits the floor. So instead of splattering everywhere, the ball bounces back up. The borax is needed to help the glue and the starch stick together. This connects the two polymers into a netlike formation, keeping the ball from crumbling or becoming slime when it is bounced.
Science Project: Make Scented Gel Air Fresheners
Polymers have numerous uses and have made our lives much more comfortable. One way is to help make your home smell fresh.
Materials:
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Unflavored gelatin
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Water
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Fragrance oil
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Food coloring
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Table salt
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Small jars
What To Do:
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Boil one cup of water and stir in four packages of gelatin until dissolved. Remove from heat and add in one cup of cold water.
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Add about 10 to 20 drops of the fragrance oil to the gelatin. If you would like, add a few drops of food coloring as well.
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Add one tablespoon of salt to the gelatin mixture to keep mold from growing.
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Carefully pour the gel into the small jars. Allow the gel to set either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
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Set them around your home and smell the fragrance coming from them.
What's Happening?
Gel air fresheners are able to scent the air for a long time because gelatin is a polymer. Specifically, the polymer is collagen, a protein that forms a matrix-type structure, allowing the gelatin to hold its shape. The fragrance oil particles are suspended in the matrix of the gel, which keeps the scent trapped inside. As the gel evaporates, the scent particles are released from the matrix, causing a continuous scent to be released from the air freshener.
From the Archives: More Chemistry Projects
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• Fri 28 Dec 2007 - Bath Salts and Soft Water..Homeschooling project
Not just the scents are at work here to make your bath more relaxing. Try this project and learn what salts can do.
Materials:
What To Do:
- Mix together the Epsom salt and sea salt in the mixing bowl.
- Add glycerin to the salt mixture and mix through. The glycerin is not necessary, but it helps the colorant and oil get dispersed evenly through the salt.
- Add a few drops of fragrance oils and a few drops of colorant. (Both of these items can be found at a local craft store.) We recommend getting skin-safe colorant from a craft store or else leaving out the colorant.
- Wet your hands with tap water, add a drop of soap to your hands, then run together to form a lather. Observe how much lather forms, then rinse off your hands.
- Fill a sink with water and add about an 1/8 cup of salt mixture to it. Use your hands to stir the water to help the salt dissolve. With your hands still wet from the salt water, add a drop of soap to your hands and rub them together to form a lather. How much lather formed this time?
- Store the rest of your salts in a jar, keeping the lid on tight to keep moisture out. Use about 1/4 cup of the salts in your bath.
What's Happening?
You may have noticed that it was much easier to form lather (and more of it!) when using the water with salt rather than the water with no salt. This is because of the difference between hard water and soft water.
Most households in America have hard water. Hard water has a high mineral content, usually with calcium and magnesium, whereas soft water contains very little if any of these minerals. Generally, hard water is not a problem until it is used for cleaning purposes. The problem lies in the calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water - they react with the soap, forming insoluble gray flakes called soap scum rather than a lather. This results in more soap needed to get clean and the bathtub getting a grimy ring around it from the leftover soap scum. One way to soften hard bath water is to add bath salts. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium and potassium ions from the salt, allowing the soap to lather much more easily. (If your home has soft water, you may not notice too much of a difference in how well the soap lathers in the water with your bath salts and the water without the bath salts.)
Another benefit of adding bath salts to your bath has to do with osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water through a membrane (such as your skin) to achieve equilibrium. Your body contains water and salt, whereas an ordinary bath contains mainly water and very little salt. Therefore, water will pass through your skin in an effort to balance the concentration of water and salt in you and in your bath. This excess water causes pruning. Adding bath salts to the water causes a more equal balance of salt and water in both you and in the bath, so less water enters your skin and less wrinkling occurs
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• Wed 26 Dec 2007 - Free E books.....
I have been using this site since Thanksgiving. You can download three e-books a day for free. Lots of great classics here as well as other good stuff for homeschoolers. You'll love it!
WOWIO
Please be forewarned: This is not a Christian site. Many of the books posted are not for Christian Homeschoolers. Just take what you like and ignore the rest.
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• Mon 17 Dec 2007 - Great give Away at Wisdoms Way of Learning.
• Tue 11 Dec 2007 - 12 blogs of christmas!~
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The 12 Blogs of Christmas
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12 of your favorite homeschool bloggers have reviewed some of the best HomeschoolEStore curriculum available, have interviewed our inspired and talented publishers, and have challenged YOU to great contests and loads of fun! 12 winners will receive a $50 gift certificate to HomeshcoolEStore.com!
No purchase necessary to participate. Contestants may enter only 2 of the 12 contests. HomeschoolEStore employees and their families as well as HomeschoolEStore publishers, employees and families may not participate.
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I have been honored with an invitation to participate in this great contest sponsored by The Homeschool e-Store. I am hoping to get many entries! Here are my guidelines for this contest.
This is a writing contest. You can enter any type writing you would like. A poem, a story or any form you would like your tale to take. This is open to all homeschool students of any age.
Ok, here we go:
It is Christmas Eve, the Christ child is born and you are there. You can be anyone or anything you want. But your piece must be written from the viewpoint of your chosen character. Are you a wise man? Maybe a lamb belonging to the Shepard's. You might be the beautiful star the wise men followed. You could be the Angel who spoke to the shepherds are maybe you were in the Heavenly Host and sang. Write and tell us what you saw, what you did and what your impressions were of that Holy Night. Mail your entries to me at doug@itexas.net |
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• Tue 11 Dec 2007 - The 12 Blogs of Christmas...From my HomeschoolE Store newsletter!
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