Welcome to Dana's blog!
homeschool Pizza Hut Bookit registration link
http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment_online/homeschoolform.asphomeschool update
I signed us up for a tour of a city bus. We get a ride and everything!LOL That was actually the deal breaker for me!LOL And I'm leaning towards signing the boys up for the homeschool day of Cyberchase. Harry adn Digit will be there. It's $12 from what I can tell,l but I"m pretty sure that I have some sort of credit w/them. The next day is a free day, but it's Sat and it's free to the community! I'm sure that it will be PACKED! But Mat could see the snake exhibit again (which I was totally unimpressed w/and Joey refuses to enter the room based on fear). HOwever, the $6/each gets them 5 hours--I need to find out if they stay all 5 hours or if it's come, do your thing and leave. They'd get alot more personal attn the 'pay day'. The alternate reason that I"m doing this is to see how Joey reacts to the characters. In the past, he has NOT liked them! Absolutely TERRIFIED! And w/us doing to Disney in a few months, I'd like to see what to expect. I"m not going to shell out big bucks on a character breakfast only to have JOey refuse to enter the room!Civil War pics
The surgeon cutting a hole in Mat's head:
Look who's not got the right hand up!
Limberlost pics
Lady bug snack:
plant indentification:
I educated someone about HSling today...........I hope!LOL
I'll have to tell you all how I educated the lady who is the gf of MIL's 1st cousin if I have all of this straight!ROTFL! at lunch today. She's very vocal--very polite, but very vocal. She was very concerned about how the boys would fit in at college since they were homeschooled. I nearly spit my drink!!!! And since they wouldn't have a diploma.......OMW! I told her htat colleges could care less about diplomas and that they really want SAT/ACT and essays (and interviews when applicable). She mentioned the 'real world'. I couldn't bite my tongue any longer at that point. I told her taht the boys LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD! They go EVERYWHERE w/me! Now, Donnie was ALL OVER THIS! He said that he got a job in the factory and was LOST! (He thought it was really neat that DH was taking Mat to IA in a few weeks on a work trip.) And after I ran down our normal 'socialization' lists, she sounded like she thought they would survive just fine!ROTFL!!!!!!! She did also ask about cirriculum and how we get that. Of course she also thought that we had traditional school. She was quite surprized that they boys were basically self taught, too. But then that surprizes even HSlers sometimes!LOL
field trip
We went to that virgin timber today. It was nice, but I saw much better at the Spring Mill State Park in all honesty. It was PERFECT for the little ones tho--I think we hiked a little over an hour in good terrain. The other mom got her stroller all the way thru it anyway. I was able to remember more leaves than I thought and the snails were a HUGE hit and crawling all over them!LOL Unfortunately, there was no info to guide us so we had all these numbered posts and no idea what they meant!ROTFL! But it was still and nice, fairly close and free field trip.
I did not sleep well last night and had laundry ready to hang on the line at 7:30.......so I had that up and then worked out. CLeaned the bathrooms and showered. Then I made my phone calls. Mat reserved "Freckles", which is written by the lady who wrote The Girl of Limberlost, at hte library for me (to read to them). Then I called Limberlost to set up that field trip. It'll be a hike and I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turns out that they have a HS day in August. I went ahead and registered us cuz it sounds really neat! They have 6 stations that they rotate them thru--about bats, birds, IN mussels, monarchs, make a snack and I can't remember hte other one. TOTALLY up my boys' alley! Then after you eat your picnic lunch, you get to go to the wetlands and do a plant identification! All for $4! This includes all the stuff in a regular tour (that is normally $2/person). So I'm putting that out to the group vs. me setting up a tour for just us. I will if they want, but I'm not sure that I'd go since we are doing this.
I made the rest of my phone calls in route to the woods. It was kind of funny cuz the family that I was meeting pulled up the stop sign opposite us to turn ont he road!LOL By the time it was over, I realized that I had a SCREAMING headache. I had told her that I'd go to this thrift store w/her (she's heard that it's nice, but has odd hours) and I wound up stopping to get a Coke and debating on whether or not to try. Again, as I pulled up where I needed to turn, there she sat coming out so I surmised that it was closed and went on home. I told the boys to strip (poison ivy and oak were rampant there) and leave the clothes on the tile and go to the basement and LEAVE ME ALONE! I went in my room, pulled all the shades and slept until my neighbor called. It's too late to start the clothes now so I'll do them in the morning.
We're having tuna salad since we didnt' eat it last night (DH did) for supper so that's easy. And I need easy. My head is better, but I"m not in the clear. I've been sneezing w/a runny nose all morning. I don't know what the deal is w/that either. Mat's got an 8 o'clock game (last one of the season!) and it's a home game so then I can crash and hopefully sleep well. I"ll be up early to mop tomorrow.......
cheap, useful experiment
Toothpaste:
Crush some Tums (really fine--you might need a blender or food processor)
baking soda
water
Mix 1/2 tsp calcium carbonate (TUMS) and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and add enuf water to make pastelike. That's your toothpaste.;)
For experimental purposes, add different flavors and food coloring and rank. Also encourage to make a slogan/commercial. My boys LOVED this!
The Lincoln Museum
This was our school for today! We went to The Lincoln Museum and had a great time! It's a very nice museum and a shame to see it close! There was interactive stuff for the boys to do and it was a very nice building and very well laid out! A staff lady caught on to Joey rather quickly. She asked if we were HSled and I thought it was cuz of Mat, but she then commented that she heard Joey REALLY reading (she was impressed). She was quite informative.
The real highlight of this trip was that I met an online friend there! I have met her and her DH at the HS convention (so I knew that she was safe!LOL) and we had our children this time so that was fun. Plus she bought me a Vera bag from the sale so I picked that up.;)
We stopped by Limberlost on the (long!LOL) way home and saw Gene Stratton Porter's home, but it was closed.:( We'll try to make another trip up there and check that out. I saw that there was at least a walking tour.
We also stopped at Walmart and got Mat the drinks for his snack day for baseball. They were on sale. Plus I snagged gas fro $3.81. Sadly that's a good price for around here.
HS convention (more!LOL)
Went to the HS convention yestserday. It was AWESOME! There was a seminar on 'how moms should raise their teenage sons (or something like that)'. OH MY WORD! Of course I've done almost everything WRONG he mentioned!ROTFL!!!!!!!!! Dh is on board tho (he was at a different seminar). You can buy CDs of the speakers so we got that one (For DH to hear) and then two by Dr. Whitcomb on Creationism. Mat heard his The Genesis Flooda nd asked for me to put it on his MP3 player. TOO BAD I'VE SCREWED SOMETHING UP AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW! I deleted the discs cuz I wanted to name the files (which are HUGE pains for me, but in order to know which track to listen to in order, you need to) and it's telling me that that they are reserved on my playback list or something and I can't copy the CD???!?!?!? I'm so lost. And if you even go over the 'options' button on jukebox, it freezes up!But I got all of the cirriculum. LOTS of extras. I got Mat some (mainly) Latin root words (and little bit of greek tossed in) and a book on the Oregon trail. He and Joey play the computer game nad last time their goal was to see who could kill the ppl off the fastest.;) This is a nonfictional book about a family w/7 children and they were orphaned on the way. I also got him a book about the Hindenberg and Titantic and a big book on Lewis & Clark. he was VERY excited about the 1st two, but it might take some convincing on the 3rd one. I was thinkign I might be able to make it into a coop lesson.;)
Plus a met a lady online that I had never met and had lunch w/an 'old' online pyscho.;)
HS convention
I was thinking today, too, that God arranges that whole convention around ME!ROTFL! Last year, I just KNEW taht I had to hear Kevin Swanson and walked away w/such PEACE about him! This year, I've been VERY MUCH IN PRAYER about Mat's behavior and low and behold, dear old Norm (Wakefield for those not on a personal basis w/him!LOL) has given us a direction to head w/that! AND it's got DH to thinking. We listened to Norm on the way home last night (cuz no boys in the van!LOL) and I asked DH at the end what he thought. He said it was alot of info and that he need to hear it again. I nearly FELL OVER DEAD!!!! So we listened to it on the way to church this morning again!!!!!!! And HE asked to hear Dr. Whitcomb!
For more about Norm Wakefield, www.spiritofelijah.com is what I"m referring to.
Tonight is PJ night at kid's club. One less step when we get home......except taht JOey has black playdoh under his nails and it looks gross!LOL
Research paper
I saw him sitting at the kitchen table w/snacks and can of root beer and it took me straight back to college! I so remember writing papers!
Here is the actual paper. Yes, his handwriting really is THIS BAD! But the content was really good. I don't know why the 2nd page of the paper is so fuzzy! And he forgot to write down his bibliography stuff so he's doing that page on Wed:
Not a coffin........
Mat's research paper is on minerals and gems. He handed me his rough draft today. I was reminding myself to be POSITIVE and not look solely at the grammar. The content was quite good. He told about gold, silver, etc. He gets to emeralds and says, "They are the 55th anniversary stone (not a coffin). I just CRACKED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Emerald is my favorite stone and I guess I"m going to tell DH that he can get me that over a coffin for our 55th wedding anniversary gift!LOL
Mat's new friend........
Mat's got a new friend from the HS group and they have LIVED on the phone and I've been frazzled. So I sent the mom an email trying to explain where we were coming from w/o being rude (cuz that's not my intent). Turns out she felt the same way so we are going to come up w/some ground rules. She also explained a bit about why they decided to HS. THEN she went on to say what a great influence Mat (in like the 2 weeks this has been going on) has been on her son!!!!!!!! Um, WHAT? MY SON?LOL She talked about how he's reading for FUN now cuz Mat does and about how he's watching more educational shows vs. cartoony type stuff cuz Mat loves Mythbusters, etc. I was FLOORED (and need to remember to forward that email to DH!LOL), but it was really the shot in the arm that I needed.........Animal School
This is really good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVxT4XO0ZuY
Creation Museum
WOW! What an AWESOME PLACE!!!!!!!!!!! Please understand that I totally LOVED this place! We were there from a little after noon until nearly 5!!!!!!!!
HOWEVER, I really did not feel like they had much information about some things (not in the exhibits. That info was FANTASTIC!). They give you a map and on the back are all of the fees. BUT there is NOTHING about the movies and stuff that they are showing. I could find NO info about what the planetarium was showing. I could find no info about what "Men in White" were (and if it cost money), etc, etc. They seemed to presume that you knew quite a bit about the place. OTOH, the staff ROCKED. SUPER friendly and they definitely go out of their way to help/answer questions. I was just frustrated that this was laid out in black in white, yk? The guide also says that you can walk thru in 2 hours. HOW is beyond me! Maybe they mean just the actual walking part, but there are 2 (free w/admission) movies that are 20 minutes each! Another 6 min one and you have to time these or there is time standing around waiting. So that is my only complaint!LOL
We did kind of freak cuz we bought the planetarium tix and about halfway thru the exhibit, I asked DH for the time, he said 1. WHAT?!?!?! It should've been 2! We both thought KY was on eastern and apparently it's on central (hence the cell phone time!LOL). So I ran to the desk to ask cuz we were going to try ot change ticket times, but she said that they run on eastern. WHEW!LOL
And this place is in the middle of NOWHERE! We got there about 11:30 and decided not to eat there (normal museum food prices FYI) and picked Steak'n'Shake on the GPS. There was NO BUILDINGS where it sent us!LOL But the closest food place is 5ish miles away. So be prepared if you go!LOL It's just frustrating for me cuz I prefer to sample local flavors and DH gives you the option of McD or BK. Not my idea of fun!LOL
So we got home about 6:30 and I got the van vacuumed out and loaded the frozen meat for tomorrow's chili. I heated up the cheesy potato ham potato soup, but there was not enuf for me so I ate the last of the waldorf salad. I think that finishes off the leftovers! WAHOO! I'm now ready to tumble into bed.;)
Creation Museum Pics
Joey went through this dark tunnel all by himself!
I thought this was hysterical for an obvious reason:
First century synagoge replica that they have open for meditation:
link for Pizza Hut book it!
Register now for 2008-09 bookit thru Pizza hut! If you aren't familar w/it, it's a program to promote reading for chlidren up to 6th grade. They will each receive 6 coupons for free personal pan pizzas!
http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/k6enroll.asp
Took me less than a minute....... And they now have a Preschool form!
teaching can be hard......
Oh yea, we are reading the bible in chronological order in 1 year. WOW! I have no idea how I"m going to pull this off. I'm just praying that Mat only asks what questions God wants him to. It's been less than a month that I had to explain abortion. I was showing him about how the election process works (primaries) and we were looking at nominee's platform and he asked if abortion was like abolition!ROTFL! He aws very confused since we don't see slavery.;) So last night I'm reading about Tamar and how she pretended to be a prostitute to decieve her FIL and get pg by him...... UGH !I don't even understand why they had those customs! For those unfamiliar (as i would've been had I not read), it's in the passage where the man is instructed to sleep w/his (deceased) brother's wife and he spills his seed. I just pointed out that God is not happy when we disobey!ROTFL
The fun never ends here. He's listening to a 4.5 hr book on CD about being a youth growing up under Hitler........
Mom, what's an Adolph (now he knows who Hitler is and what he did in very broad terms). Huh? What's an Adolph? (very LONG "A"). Me remembering what he was doing said, you mean Adolph Hitler? Yes. It's his name. What's his name? ADOLPH IS HIS FIRST NAME!ROTFL Really????
See, I can answer THOSE types of questions!ROTFL!!!
Mom what's a concentration camp.......so I know he's learning and we are talking.
Mat's school
THANK YOU GOD! I told him last week that if things didnt' markedly improve, he was going to PS. I was at my wit's end about things. Little did I realize that he had EIGHT tests and quizzes in taht itme span! I can not tell you what an improvement I have seen! He STUDIES and REVIEWS! WHAT A CONCEPT?LOL I told him the improvements need to be maintained. But it is so nice now. I hated to say it (and I would have done it), but I explained ot him that it is my responsibility for him to get an education and if he wasn't going to comply at home, I was goign to see if he would comply w/the state.......it'd have truly been a nightmare, but thankfully he realized that HE would be miserable there and stepped up to the plate.Anatomy lesson plans
Week 1: Brain & Nervous System
Experiments:
1) Reading Rainbows—paper is in w/the instructions
2) Think Fast, Act Faster—ruler
3) Look Again—scissors, Styrofoam plate
4) Through the Looking Glass—pencil, stopwatch or watch w/second hand, hand mirror
5) Strong Sight—pencil, paper, tape
Week2: Senses & Nervous System
Experiments:
1) Smell like a Salmon—cotton balls, garlic, paper cup, blindfold, paper towel, yardstick
2) Tastes Good to Me—4 glasses, water, measuring spoons, sugar, salt, vinegar, unsweetened grapefruit juice, pencil, paper, Q-tips, glass of water
3) That’s No Apple—potato peeler, knife, carrot, potato, pear, onion, 12 toothpicks, plate, glass of water
4) Running Hot & Cold—3 bowls, hot water, cold water, lukewarm water, timer
Week 3: Digestive System & Respiratory System
Experiments:
1) Tooth Detective—styrofoam plate, scissors, pen
2) Balancing Apples &
3) Huff & Puff—washtub, apple juice container
4) Can’t Keep It In—stopwatch
5) Bag it—glass, distilled water, bromothymol blue, straw, timer
Week 4: Circulatory System
Experiments:
1) The Beat Goes On—stethoscope, stopwatch
2) Thump, Thump—stopwatch or watch w/second hand
3) Blood & Gore—measuring spoons, white corn syrup, cup, water, toothpick, red food coloring, cornstarch, soy sauce
4) Piping The Blood—light, mirror, magnifying lens
Week 5: Muscular System
Experiments:
1) Bet You Can’t—straight-backed, armless chair
2) Hand Puppet—sharp knife, chicken foot, needle-nose pliers
3) Stretch it out—carpeted floor
4) Muscle Fatigue—table & chair, tennis balls, stopwatch
Week 6: Skeletal System
Experiment:
1) Skeleton Man—hole punch, small paper plate, 19 pipe cleaners (12” long), 24 wagon wheel noodles, scissors, ruler, 12 oz plastic drinking glass, 12 plastic drinking straws, cardboard, pencil
2) Bony Blocks—toilet paper rolls, heavy book
3) Feet & Feet—tape measure, pencil, paper, calculator
These experiments are from Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese
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About Me
We live in a log cabin on 4 acres. We have miniature horses and pigs to feed out in the summer. We also have a garden and like to grow all kinds of new and fun things!
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The Hobbit (Tolkein)Family (Kingsbury)
Homeschooled, but still Married (Wilson)
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (Weaver)
Bad Girls of the Bible (Higgs)
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