And The Winner Is!!

Congratulations to Wendy, fellow Twitterer. Wendy was one of four people to enter the contest. My daughter pulled her name out of the hat, this morning. Wendy has won the set of three 4th grade workbooks, from Sylvan Learning Center. I have contacted Wendy, and she has 48 hrs to respond, and claim her prize. Should she not, another name will be drawn.





Lesson Plans for 4/1/09: Half Day

Language Arts: nouns
Spelling: Lesson 26- write each spelling word two times each, and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 26- use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Math: Multiplication, division, word problems

The Moon and Stars Themed Unit

Tomorrow for Science, we will be doing a themed unit, on the Moon. You can get this free themed unit, at School Express They have tons of free themed units for you to download, or print. Plus tons of other helpful education links. Below is a short video, of the moon, and stars set to music. It is quite lovely, check it out. Plus you can join the Nasa Kids Club for all kinds of fun activities, for your kids to do.



Lesson Plans for 3/31/09:

Half day all this week, yay

Science: the moon
Writing: Write a story abut going to the moon
Spelling: Lesson 26- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 26- look up the definition of each word
Math: Multiplication, division, word problems

My Kids Are Crazy, and Only One Day Left For Contest

I think my kids have lost their marbles. On Thursday, we scrubbed, and cleaned to get the pool all sparkly clean. Not an easy task, I might add. On Saturday they begged my husband to let them go swimming, and he let them. My daughter had teeth chattering, but she did not want to get out. My husband got in too, and I think they all need to see a shrink. While it has been warm, that water, which we just put in, is freezing. Not me, no way, not until about May.


At the top of this blog, you will see a contest for a set of Sylvan workbooks. Tomorrow is the very last day you can enter, with the winner being drawn on the 31st. I have four entries so far. It is easy to enter, and easy to win. This contest is sponsored by Sylvan Learning Center, do not miss out on these awesome 4th grade workbooks.

There is no school tomorrow, so I have no lesson plan to post. Have a great Sunday, everyone.

Pool Safety Keep Your Kids, and Grandkids Safe

As some of my followers know, we have a pool, and two children. Every year, we go over pool safety, and incorporate it into school. These safety tips can be used at a public pool, or even at the springs. The most important point they make, is that you must always watch your children. A child can drown in just minutes, if you look away to talk to someone, or answer the phone, etc. One thing I did not see them say, that we stress very much is rough play. We all know playing rough, and raising cane in the water is great fun. However, it must be kept to a limit especially when there is many people in the pool. Plus jumping off of sides, or ladders in shallow water, another tip I did not hear. Head injuries can be very damaging, and it does not take much of an impact to cause severe disabilities, or death. We test our children every year, sometimes more than once, to be sure they are aware of the rules, and safety issues. My son writes a report, and Caitlin has to answer some questions. Be safe this summer, and enjoy your pool.

American Idol My Top 10 Review

Tomorrow is test day, so I get to do my American Idol post today. In case you missed it last night was Motown night, with Smoky Robinson as the mentor. My top three picks for this week were:
Adam, Allison, and Matt. Adam, was all cool, and dapper looking his singing was superb too. He is my pick to win, with Allison in second. Speaking of Allison she was smoking hot this week, I loved it. Matt is my third top favorite, this week. He is shy, and somewhat reserved, but he gets better every week. His smoky, sexy voice, isn't bad either. Who did you like this week?










Tomorrow I will post the Pool safety tips, and videos, that we used for health class today. Have a great day, everyone.

History of Communication

Today for Social Studies, we are studying the history of communication. I found that I could not really find a lesson plan I liked on this topic, for a 3rd grader. Until I found a free themed unit, at School Express. They used to have a rule, that you had to sign up for their newsletter, to download their themed units, which is free by the way, but that seems to not be the case anymore. You can go to their website, and download any of their free themed units. I love this communication history one, and am glad I looked there. Here is a short video on the History of Communication, as well.



Lesson Plans for 3/26/09:

Health: Pool safety
Wrting: Write a story about pool safety
Math: Problem solving, multiplication, division
Language Arts: Compound words, plural nouns
Spelling: Lesson 25- put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 25- write each vocabulary word, and the meaning 2x each
Spanish: review

Ron's Pond Scum Very Cool Science

Today for Science class we will be exploring different protozoa , at Ron's Pond Scum This website is so cool. He has taken algae, and other slimy stuff, from his garden pond, and put them under a microscope. He shares the microscope pictures, and details of what each little critter is. This is a great Science project for all kids learning about Protozoa, and such. This is part of our animals, and habitats lesson studies.



Lesson plans for 3/25/09:

Social Studies: History and development of communication
Writing: What is the best form of communication, and why
Math: Multiplication, division, problem solving by adding or subtracting
Language Arts: Compound words, singular and plural nouns
Spanish: review
Spelling: Lesson 25- Write each spelling word two times each, and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 25- Use each vocabulary word in a sentence

Look Mom I Am Holding A Tiger!

I would like to update everyone on the contest for the Sylvan books. There is still 7 days to enter, rules are posted at the top of this blog. It is simple to enter, and I have three entries so far. On my jewelry blog you can win a brand new Gemstones of the World book. There are 8 days left in that contest, so be sure to check it out. Details are at the top of that blog, as well. My humor blog, I have transferred over to Melissas Garage Sale, though it still has the name melissashumor. I will be listing all items, that we would normally sell at a garage sale. Check it out at http://www.melissashumor.blogspot.com

This cute picture was taken yesterday, when we visited a very small local traveling zoo. While they travel all over, they are local to this area. They were offering pictures with a baby tiger cub. I was not real sure, seeing how spunky, and growling it was. But the keeper assured me it was safe, and you see the results. My kids were thrilled, and would not mind getting a picture with the huge python they had. I had to say no to that one. It was a good time, and we took a walk through the flea market after. Which is what gave me the idea for Melissas Garage Sale.

Lesson Plans for 3/24/09:

Science: Animals and Habitats
Writing: Explain how you would push a car up a hill
Spelling: Lesson 25- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 25- look up the meaning of each word
Math: Multiplication, division, graphs
Language Arts:
Spanish: review

Learn To Draw Batman

Tomorrow for art class, we will be drawing Batman. My son loves superfriends, and I try to keep his artwork targeted at his interests. This one is kind of tough, so it will be interesting to see how he does. My younger child does more simple artwork. I purchase a large craft box, from Walmart, for them to make gifts, such as bookmarks, picture frames, and other crafts. It cost less than 5 dollars, and has over 100 projects. It will save me on computer ink. We are really enjoying the new Monday lesson set up. We do reading, arts and crafts, music, and math. It gives my son more time to read, the harder books, he has chosen to read. I hope everyone is having a marvelous Sunday. We are off the the flea market, and a small zoo they are having there today. I have never been, so I will let you know how it is.

Leave The Sunscreen Off!

I get a medical magazine every month, plus I read about 300 blogs per day. Some are health blogs, and the topic of Vitamin D, has been popular lately. A thousand years ago, when I was in nursing school, we were taught about Ricketts. A disease that is pretty much no longer seen, due to the fact that so many foods are fortified with Vitamin D. Ricketts was a childhood disease caused by a lack of Vitamin D, causing bone deformities mostly of the leg bones. We were taught that one of the treatments, for these children was to let them play outside in the sun, with minimal clothing on. Now today we hear about Osteoporosis, in both young children, and especially women. Why, because of hormonal changes in women, during menopause, plus if they take birth control, and or smoke that increases their risk as well. Young children because anytime they are out in the sun, we have them covered in sunscreen, or sunblock. What is my point? My point is, even if you are taking in enough Vit D through your diet, or supplements, your body can not properly absorb the Vitamin D without sunlight. You need sunlight to absorb the Vitamin D, it is a simple solution. Now I am not telling you to let your children, or yourself, out in 99 degree heat without sunscreen, that would be irresponsible. What the health magazine suggested was that your children, and yourself go outside with your arms, and legs exposed for at least 10 minutes three times a week, without the sunscreen. Obviously this would be best, in the least hottest part of the day, to avoid the risk of burn. Then apply your sunblock, or sunscreen which has been shown to help prevent skin cancer. You can protect your skin, and still have healthy bones, by just following that simple equation. Women of menopausal age, also need weight bearing exercise to keep their bones strong. Weight bearing exercises, are exercises where your feet actually make contact with the ground such as walking, aerobics, jogging, etc. Bike riding, swimming, and air walkers are not weight bearing exercises, while they are great for weight loss, they are not great for bone strength. Happy Friday, everyone! Be safe, and have a great weekend.

Goodbye To Alexis Grace, So Sad

Alexis Grace was voted off of American Idol, last night, and to say the least I was shocked. I thought her performance, though not the best, was much better, than Meagan, Michael, and Kris. I also could not believe Allison was in the bottom three. I did not hear any criticism from any of the judges, about her performance. This result has kicked my husband out of the contest. He is not happy about that. I think the judges would have saved her, if she had sung the song better, last night. She did not, matter of fact it was worse. So sad, it is always hard for parents, with young children back home. May be a blessing, in the end. Best wishes to Alexis Grace.

American Idol Top 11 Review

Did you watch last night? It was country night, and I think they all did awesome. I am not a fan of Kris, and Lil Rounds continues to struggle. Michael could have been a little more active, and Alexis Grace, was just OK for me. My two picks Allison, and Adam were awesome. Adam sang Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash, and it was creepy, weird, and awesome all at the same time. I think he did a wonderful job with making a rendition for his genre, see the clip below to decide. Allison just never seems to have a bad night, I love her.




It will be interesting to see who goes home, Wednesday night.


Tomorrow is test day, as we have no school Friday. So there are no official lesson plans to post. Have a great Wednesday everyone.

History of St Patrick's Day

Do you know the history of St Patrick's Day? I did not know, or remember the real history of the day. Mostly it is just a day for drinking, right? No not at all, view the video below to see. These are my kids dressed in their best green duds, aren't they cute.
Did you know that the traditional meal, is Bacon, and potatoes, and that it is ok to cheat on your Lent promise for just this one day? I will have to see if my husband will be tempted. I do not like corn beef, and cabbage, so we will not be having that. However, I did find a clover cookie cutter, and I am going to make clover muffins for dinner. I hope everyone has a superb St Patrick's Day.

Pilates For PE, and Report Card Time

We have started doing Pilates for PE class. We do it twice a week, and it is not easy. The first week we did it, I thought I was going to die, for real. I am 39, and have not followed a strict exercise regime since before my son was born, nine years ago. Today when we did it, it was easier, and not nearly as painful. I have a reason for doing this, one it is a great option for PE class, and two my back has been hurting me lately, and the stretching helps strengthen, and feels better. We will probably continue with this for the remainder of the school year, supplementing swimming when it is warm enough, and the pool is clean enough.

We have finished our 3rd quarter, of 3rd grade. Here is DJ's report card results:

Language Arts, Spelling, Vocab: 91, from a 97 in 2nd quarter
Reading: E
Reading Comprehension: 98 from a 97 this has improved greatly from the second grade
Writing: Much improved, but still needs to concentrate on capitalization, and sentence structure
Math: 92 from a 92 in second quarter. I have added harder multiplication and division for 4th
Science: 93 from a 96
Health: 94 from a 97
Social Studies: 95 from a 94
Art: S to E

These are posted for record keeping reasons, and so family, and friends who live out of state can watch our progress

Caitlin continues with preschool work, and is progressing nicely.

Lesson Plans for 3/17/09:

Science: Energy and its sources
Writing: Write a story about planting a garden
Spelling: Lesson 24- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 24- look up the definition for each word
Math: variables, multiplication, division
Spanish: review
Language Arts: Antonyms, compound subject

All Dressed Up For Dinner

These are my beauties DJ, and Caitlin all dressed up, and ready to go to dinner, with Mom, and Dad. We went to the Macaroni Grill, for our anniversary, and I have to say I recommend it to anyone who loves pasta. It was very good, and their prices were definitely fair. It was dressy, but not too dressy. I thought for sure my husband would have steak, but he stuck with his Lent commitment, and had chicken. All in all, it was a splendid day. I hope everyone is having a super Sunday.



Lesson plans for 3/16/09:

Reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Math: Multiplication, division
Music: I can play piano
Arts and crafts: St Patrick's Day Rainbow, coloring page

Flat Headed Snakes, and Contest Winner

Today is my one year anniversary, for this blog. I had a contest, for one winner to win 1000 Entrecard credits, that winner was Eryn from http://www.homeschooledyear.com
her account has been credited with 1000 credits. Be sure to stop by, and congratulate her.

The other day, our elderly neighbors, stopped over to tell us they had found a large, brown, flat headed snake on their porch. They killed it, but did not call animal control. This is very concerning to me for several reasons. 1- I did some research, all flat headed snakes are venomous, yay. 2- this is the second large snake found in the neighborhood, the other was an indigo snake that was not killed, and is not dangerous on our porch, in the last 5 months. 3- we are in town, it is not normal for these snakes to be here, especially the venemous ones that are usually more secluded. 4- Why are the snakes acting so strange. Are they looking for food, water, or is it some other strange omen. No matter what the meaning, I am very uhappy about it. I loathe snakes, and with a dog they should not even be here. Snakes are supposedly scared of dogs. I really wish they had called animal control, and at least made them aware.

Good Bye To Jasmine and Jorge

It has been a great, and relaxing week for us. Well with the exception of my husband's job, which might drive me completely crazy, but I am trying not to focus on that. We have had beautiful weather, and great time spent together. We have testing, for school, today and tomorrow, then back to a regular schedule.

Last night on American Idol was the first elimination. We said goodbye to Jasmine, and Jorge. I was not at all surprised by Jasmine, but Jorge surprised me. I thought Anoop or Kris would have gone home this week. Did your favorites make it through? For our little contest, we are having with friends, and family everyone was safe. No one had picked either of these contestants, yay!

To Standardize Test Or Not? Contest Updates

First I want to update on the two contests running on this blog right now. March 13th, is my 1 yr anniversary for this blog. Anyone who signs up to follow this blog, will be entered into a contest to win 1000 Entrecard credits. The second contest is for the Sylvan 4th grade workbooks. I have three contestants so far, all from Twitter. You have until March 30th to enter, please see the top of this blog, for contest details.

Now to the topic of Standardized testing. Here in Florida they take the FCAT. It is this week, and like other third graders, the public school, offered for my son to take it. I contemplated it, as you can use it for your yearly evaluation, and save 65 dollars, but then chose not to. Why, because I do not think at this age standardized tests are accurate. Test tasting is hard enough, and a test that could effect whether or not you can go on to fourth grade, I just do not agree with. Now I must say for the 5th grade FCAT I will probably have him take. As he gets older Standardized tests can be very useful, especially if you feel your child will be college material. I am fairly certain my son will go to college, so he will eventually have to be skilled at Standardized tests. If your child is not college material, or learning disabled, then Standardized testing, probably is not appropriate nor even useful. The sad part, and one of the problems I have with these tests, is that they use them to decide which schools get better funding. They should be used as a learning tool, to see how a student is progressing, not a funding option. I really do dislike that. So what do you think about this subject? I would love to hear from other people who homeschool, as well as public schooled parents.

With all that said, we do, starting tomorrow have testing, made from material we have covered. They are timed, and specific. I use them for grading purposes, as well to see how much information has been retained. It is a tool I like to use, for both strengths, and weaknesses.

Happy 3rd Anniversary

Yes I was married 3 yrs ago today. It was 95 degrees, and I thought I would melt in our outside wedding, with my gown on. I got out of it faster than I got into it. We have been together 7 yrs, married 3. Here is to many more to come.



Happy Anniversary MySpace Comments & Myspace Comments

American Idol Top 13, Did You Pick Your Favorite?

OMG it was such a beautiful weekend, I completely forgot to do my American Idol post. The top 13 have been chosen, Anoop got in as a surprise extra pick. Every year my husband, myself, and some family and friends have a contest to see who wins. We all put in 10 dollars, and whichever contestant goes the farthest, that person wins the pot. I have won twice, and it is great fun. This year was extremely hard for me. I like them all with the exception of two. This year I picked Allison, and Adam. We pick two so that if one goes out the first or second week, you still have a chance. I really like Scott, Michael, Lil Rounds, and Matt. It will be fun to see how it plays out. So have you picked your favorites. Share in the fun, and see how far you go. I will try to do the post on Fridays, so we have the weekend to discuss it. Have a great Monday, everyone, we are on vacation today through Wednesday.

Spring Ahead This Weekend

This Sunday morning at 2 AM we Spring ahead an hour. Yes we lose an hour of sleep, but it means we are that much closer to spring. When we lived in New York, I could not wait for this date. It meant the dark, cold, dreary days of winter were just about over. Here in Florida all it means, is that I have to clean the green, slimy pool because we will need it by April. This is not my pool, but you get the idea, of what mine looks like. Yesterday I drug out the cover, that had fallen in, and all the algae with it. I thought it was going to get me, there was so much. After two gallons of bleach, I can actually see the checks on the bottom of the pool. I guess you know what I will be doing next week. Have a great weekend, everyone. Do not forget to sign up to follow this blog to win 1000 Entrecard credits, see the post below.

Blog Anniversary 3/13/09 Contest Win 1000 Entrecard Credits

March 13th is the one year anniversary for, this blog. You can win 1000 Entrecard credits in my Anniversary contest. You have to sign up to follow my blog, to qualify for the contest. Everyone who signs up to follow my blog from now until March 13th will get an entry, with the winner being chosen on the 14th. This post will stay, with no new posts until the 14th. All lesson plans, and other record keeping info will be updated on the 15th. We are off school next Mon, Tues, and Wed, so that is not a big deal. On Thurs and Fri of next week, we will be doing testing, to review information learned, and evaluate what has been learned.

Explorers and Pioneers Social Studies

Social Studies tomorrow will focus on Explorers, and Pioneers namely Lewis and Clark. I have a themed unit that you can get for free as well, from School Express. Of course I love to add videos to add additional learning material, and options for learning. There are two parts, both about 8 minutes long. History was one of my weakest subjects in school, mostly because I had no interest. Now I wish I had paid more attention, there is so much I either do not remember, or just do not know.





Lesson plans for 3/4/09:

Writing: Write a short fairy tale
Math: Pictographs, probability, multiplication, division
Language Arts: Subjects, there, their and they're
Spelling: Lesson 23 write each spelling words two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 23 use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Spanish: review

Science Light and Color

Tomorrow's science lesson is about color and light. To supplement our book lesson plan will be these very cool Bill Nye the Science guy videos. As I have stated I find combining reading, with visual, and auditory lessons helps my children retain information better. These videos are very informative, and entertaining for children, or adults even.







Lesson Plans for 3/3/09:

Science: Light and color
Writing: List 10 things to take on a trip
Spelling: Lesson 23- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 23- look up the definition for each word
Math: Probability, multiplication, division, pictographs
Spanish: review
Language Arts: capitalization, and punctuation review

My Top Entrecard Droppers for February

It is time to thank my top Entrecard droppers for February. If you do not know what Entrecard is, it is a simple, free, and fun way to advertise your blog. You can go to www.entrecard.com for more info.

http://www.picturetopeople.org/blog/blog.html
http://losingweightintentionally.com/
http://selcom60.blogspot.com/
http://renaescraftycorner.blogspot.com/
http://entreblogger.net/
http://smarterthanagrade5.blogspot.com/
http://www.videos4u.info/articlecat/3/Blog/
http://patromax.com
http://exchangeofrealities.today.com/
http://juice-smoothie.blogspot.com/

This is the blog that got me the most advertising clicks, by putting my card on their blog
http://sandiegobackroads.today.com/ with a whopping 117 clicks.

Tomorrow starts our last semester of 3rd grade. I have changed our weekly plan around a little bit to accommodate my son wanting to read some harder books. Starting tomorrow, on Mondays we will be doing Reading, Math, Music, and Art. I will evaluate in a few weeks how that is working. Since we have covered almost all our curriculum this should not be a problem.