Learn to Draw, A in Science, Cool Parks

Science class this Tuesday, is about rocks. So tomorrow for Art class, Dj and Caitlin will be learning to draw rocks, using the short tutorial below.

I have blogged about our attempts to grow a garden, for a Science project. I am proud to say, that this year we got an A. We have been enjoying big fat tomatoes for some time now. I must say though, we bought tomato plants this year, rather than from seeds. It was easier, and worked much better. We have peppers, and cukes coming on right now, as I write this. Container planting, has been the miracle for the cukes. I have one pepper plant in the ground, in the other in a Topsy Turvy, that I purchased as an experiment. At first the Topsy Turvy appeared to be quite useless, but now is growing at a speed much faster than the one in the ground. I may buy another to put in tomatoes. My lettuce, and onions, while still growing, I think will not produce any veggies. I think I waited too long, and will have to try them again, come winter. Not bad, don't you think?

Yesterday, my husband had to take the kids, and the car back to the dealership to sign more paper work. Since I worked the night before, I was going to sleep. He told me he had found a cool park in Gainesville, he was going to take the kids to. Come to find out it was a park, with a huge swimming pool. In this huge swimming pool, was a huge two story water slide. Of course my kids wanted to go down it. Thank goodness the lifeguards have a test kids must take before they are allowed to do this. Caitlin was unable, but DJ had to be able to swim 50 yards, half a football field, without stopping or touching the ropes. My husband said he thought he was going to fizzle out at the end, but he did it, and he got to go down the slide. He said the first time it was kind of scarey because the steps were very steep, but after the first try it was ok. He said he had to get out of the way fast, because they do not make people wait to come down, until you are out of the way. That was probably the only negative thing I could say about this park. If you are going to implement safety rules, why not go all the way? At any rate, they had a great day, and then got to swim in our pool too.




Lesson Plans for 06/01/09:

Math: Graphs, multiplying two digits, division
Reading: Read pages 221-261 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Art: Learn to draw rocks
Music: I can play piano

Fun Friday 1969 The Year I Was Born

The topic for todays Fun Friday, is the year you were born. I was born in 1969, in upstate NY. The assignment was to look up the year you were born, and see how much things cost, way back then.

A Gallon of gas was a whopping .35 man oh man that is cheap.
Gallon of milk was $1.10 this seems kind of expensive compared to gas, and stamps
Stamps were .06
A new home was 40,000 this too seems high to me, unless this was a swanky, nice home. You can still get a home for that today, not a very nice one, but a house indeed.
A new car was 2,000 now that is my kind of price


Here are a few more things about 1969:

Minimum wage was only 1.60
The number one song the week I was born was, In The Year 2525, I have never even heard of this song.
I could not find the movie the week I was born, but Midnight Cowboy, was the Oscar winner for Best Picture, that year.
Of course August 1969 we landed on the moon.
Laugh In was the number one TV show.
Who could forget Woodstock.

I find it hard to imagine if minimum wage was only 1.60 how anyone could afford a home, car, or even a gallon of milk. Maybe it was an inflation year, but it just does not seem to add up.

If you would love to join in our Fun Friday topics, please join Blogging For Fun. We are a small group of bloggers, whose goal is to support each other. Click on the green square, on my sidebar, to join.

Summer Vacation, Blogging, Kindergarten Curriculum

I have had a few people ask me, if the new logo, means I do not blog through the summer. The answer is no. We will be on Summer Vacation, from lessons, but I still blog all summer long. I do some paid posts, and may explore other topics to discuss.

DJ is not feeling well today, so he is just going to read his Harry Potter book. We need to finish it up by the end of the year. He will make up todays work tomorrow, which is test day.

This time of the year, is when I start doing my curriculum for next year, and finding the info to cover the lesson plans. I am posting Caitlin's kindergarten curriculum, with DJ's to follow soon. Because I do my own, I add or remove things I do not want in there. Some of the kindergarten stuff was kind of dumb, and I took it out. If you are looking for a free curriculum for your kindergarten child, please feel free to use it.

Kindergarten Mathematics:

Simple counting to 20
One to one relationships
Concepts of less, and more
Sequence of events
Recognition of basic sets
Simple addition, and subtraction
Introduction to a number line'
Shapes- elementary geometry
Introduction to a calendar, and clock
Basic money skills
Basic problem solving strategies

Kindergarten Health:

Personal hygiene
Good eating habits
Care of teeth
Major body parts
Physical fitness
Safety

Kindergarten Science:

Observation of everyday, familiar things
Common animals, and plants
Classification of living/nonliving things
Farm Animals
Care of Pets
The sun, our principal source of energy
Weather, and seasons
Temperature
Light
Colors
Senses
Same/different
Simple measurement

Kindergarten Social Studies:

Meanings of Holidays, traditions, and customs
Understanding and appreciating other cultures
Individuals role in family, community, and church
Work and jobs
Safety rules, and symbols
Basic human needs
Self respect, and self awareness
Location of home

Kindergarten Language Arts:

Phonics
Sight words
Listening to music, literature, and poetry
Nursery rhymes, fables
Social listening
Constructing visual images while listening
Oral communication skills
Role play
Following and giving directions
Organizing ideas
Relating events, and experiences using complete sentences
Beginning handwriting

I also add Music, Art, and Spanish. These are add ons, and we try to do them at least one day a week.

Say Hello To Our New Car

Well we have been talking about getting a new car, for a while. Could we afford it, did we really want to do it? Well let me just say, I have owned two Fords in my lifetime, and they both sucked. I would probably never buy a Ford again, though I must say I have always wanted a Mustang. We have been getting quotes, and ideas, from our local dealers for some time. Ford, Dodge, and Chrysler. We kept waiting for these awesome deals they were supposed to be going to have, because they had to move their inventory fast. Bull, do not fall for it, it is a load of crap. We even went in on Memorial Day, get a great deal right? Wrong, they had increased all their sticker prices, and the lowest monthly payment was 400 dollars. Are you kidding me, who pays that? I am sure some will, but I will not, that is outrageous. So anyway, after some internet searching I sent my husband off to Gatorland Kia, in Gainesville. Not only did he get a brand new 2009, plus got a decent trade on the crappy Ford we currently drive, but all kinds of rebates, and discounts, on the first try. Plus we get the Obama rebate for buying a new vehicle, on our taxes, next year. The payments are around 300, which I wanted a bit lower, but it is doable. I drove it last night, and it is a nice, smooth ride, and plenty of room, for the four of us. I love it!

Today is our swim playgroup date. So far the weather looks lovely. Though it does say 80 percent chance of rain. Since we moved the time up to 10 we should be OK. DJ worked hard yesterday, to get most of his work from yesterday, and today done, so we really do not have much to make up from today. We only have two weeks of school left, and then we are on Summer Vacation.

Lesson Plans for 5/28/09:

Math: Graphs, multiply by two digits
Writing: Concepts of a paragraph
Language Arts: Sentence fragments, spelling practice
Spelling: Lesson 33- Put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 33- Write each vocabulary word, and definition, two times each
PE: 30 minutes

Swim Playdate, Manatee Springs State Park

Well we did get some sunshine yesterday. Got the grass mowed, the pool vacuumed, and we even got to get in it, and swim. I was getting nervous, because tomorrow we are having a swim play date, with our small homeschool group. The water is chillier than I like it, due to little to no sun, but kids do not usually care. It is us wimpy parents, that complain. Today for Science class we are again studying habitats. I am sharing this lovely video from Manatee Springs State Park, which is about 30 minutes from us in Chiefland, FL. I hope you enjoy the natural beauty of it.




Lesson Plans for 5/27/09:

Swim playdate
Math: Estimate products, graphs
Writing: Concepts of a paragraph
Language Arts: Skills review, questions and exclamations
Spelling: Lesson 33- Write each spelling word and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 33- Use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Social Studies: Way out West

So What Do You Do When It Has Rained 9 Days Straight?

It has rained for the last nine days, and counting, days. Not just a afternoon shower, which is completely normal in Florida this time of year, but all day rain, with no sun to speak of. Grr it is awful. My dog has cabin fever, my kids have cabin fever, I have cabin fever, it is awful. The pool needs vacuuming, we are having a playgroup pool party Wednesday, and I can not even get in the pool to clean it. The way things are going it might rain. When I was a kid, a million years ago, we used to come home from school, and watch The Land of the Lost. Today, there is all day marathon of the original show. My husband is using Tivo to catch all the episodes. My son is watching it right now. So at least if it rains again, we will have something to do. Yesterday, we watched Hotel for Dogs. My kids, and husband thought it was great. I liked it but liked Beverly Hills Chihauha much better. My husband also rented Mall Cop which will probably get viewed tonight. Saturday, during the rain out, they watched Bedtime Stories. I listened to it, as I was working, but they loved it. I do not remember the last time we have stayed inside, and watched so much TV, and movies. I really need some sunshine. It is peeking out right now. I will keep my fingers crossed, I would even settle for a quick shower later. Below is the trailer for the new Land of the Lost movie. This is probably the summer movie we will go to see. I hope everyone has a safe, and happy Memorial Day.





Lesson Plans for 5/26/09:

Math: Graphs, multiplication, division
Science: Habitat Hunt
Language Arts: Statements and commands, creative story
Writing: Write a story about a new star
Spelling: Lesson 33- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 33- Look up the definition of each vocab word
PE: 30 minutes

Mexican Lasagna Recipe

I have to share this recipe with all of you, is it so good. It has been chilly, and raining, for the last 10 days, here in Florida. I do not usually run the oven this time of year, but it has been cool enough. This recipe is so easy, and good, you will love it, especially if you love tacos. I personally would make it smaller the next time, as I did not like it rewarmed. My husband, however did, and he managed to eat all the leftovers.

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1 can refried beans I left these out
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp garlic powder
uncooked lasagna noodles
1 jar salsa
2 cups water
2 cups sour cream
1 can sliced black olives
1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese. I actually used Velveeta because that is what I had
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
I also cooked the ground beef in taco seasoning, which the recipe does not call for. It added lots of extra flavor.

In a nonstick skillet , cook beef over med heat until no longer pink. Add the beans, oregano, cumin, and garlic powder heat through.

Place three noodles in a 13x9 baking dish, coated with non stick spray, cover with half of the meat mixture, repeat layers top with remaining noodles. Combine salsa, and water, then pour over the noodles.

Cover, and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes, or until noodles are tender. I actually found it to be more like 40-45 minutes. Spread with sour cream, sprinkle with olives, cheese, and onions. I also added a layer of crushed corn chips to the top, you could use tortilla chips also. I think the next time I make this I will also add a layer of lettuce, and diced tomatoes.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and there is no school. I have no lesson plans to post.

Fun Friday: Dum Laws Where You Live

For this weeks Fun Friday topic, we are looking at dum laws, in your particular state. Since I live in Florida, those are the ones I will target. These are pretty funny, and though still on the books, and fineable they are overlooked and not paid attention to. These were found at dumblaws.com Please note the humorous comments are all mine LOL.

The state constitution allows for freedom of speech, a trial by jury, and pregnant pigs to not be confined in cages. We must take care of them pregnant pigs.

Unmarried couples may not commit “lewd acts” and live together in the same residence. Half the state would be in trouble for this one LOL

It is illegal to sell your children. Darn this one stinks LOL

Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner. Wow are you kidding me.

A special law

prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing. I would not parachute on any day, so I am safe from this one.

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle. Hmm I just saw an elephant tied to a parking meter the other day.

It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit. Wow think of all the money they can make at Spring Break, ticketing all them party goers. It could probably balance the budget.

Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown. Oh well, my husband will be heart broken.

Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal. Again, I am so disappointed.

You may not fart in a public place after 6 P. Ha, Ha, how many of us would pay a fine for this?

It is considered an offense to shower naked. Hmm I just do not get this one. When is the last time you showered with your clothes on?

You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers. Well if it is my property, why can I not break, or chip it?

Well there they are. I had a lot of fun finding these, and making fun of them. I hope everyone has a safe, and Happy Memorial Day weekend.

Now I Play Catch Up!

Well May has turned out to be a crazy month, so far. Last Sunday we did Mothers Day, and Caitlin, and Felicia's birthday. It was nice out, so we got to swim. Then the rains came. It rained the last three days she was here. My mom, and her went shopping, and other things. This is their cake, and a picture of my sister, Caitlin, DJ, and my husband. I know my other sister wanted to be here, but could not, so I am posting them for her to see. Felicia got on her plane this AM, and is heading home to NY. I miss her, and my kids really enjoyed spending time with her. Now, we play catch up though. We got behind on our school work, and even though we are at the end of our school year we still have to finish up our work. Tomorrow is test day, but will also be a catch up/make up day. Luckily we are only about one day behind. The volcano kit will be done on Monday, which is actually a no school day, but we did not get to it Tuesday. We will be all caught up, in time for Summer Vacation LOL.

On a quick note about American Idol. congrats to Kris Allen for pulling off a huge upset win. I do not think he is the better singer, and was very disappointed by the outcome. Best wishes to him, though, and to Adam.

American Idol Finale, Tragedy In A Small Town

Last night was the Season 8 American Idol finale. Each contestant sang three songs, I think Adam clearly won, but Kris has improved so much you never know. Adam's second song was a blues type song, that was amazing. I can not find a clip on it, but if you did not see it, you should. I did not like the song written by Kiara, the judge, much at all.

Last night was a major tragedy, here in our small town. My daughter somehow lost her blanket, that she has had since she was born. She sleeps with it every night, and used to drag it around everywhere. Well it has disappeared, and I mean literally. We searched everywhere, even in cupboards, and dressers, every nook, and cranny. It was a long night of crying, sobbing, and even screaming. Finally we convinced her it was after all just a blanket, she was not convinced until everyone else gave up something too. My husband his pillow, a teddy bear, and my comforter, then she finally fell asleep. Attachment to objects is great, don't you think?

History of Memorial Day, Investigating Inventors

Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis, know that I like to use videos as an addition to our lesson plans. This day is no different. Memorial Day, is next Monday. Do you know why we celebrate Memorial Day? Why did it start, how did it start? Watch the short video below to find out. I am looking for a more complete video, but anyone who searches for info, knows it takes a great amount of time. Also tomorrow, for Social Studies we are studying inventors. I picked Benjamin Franklin to start with. Watch the short video below, to learn about this great American inventor.






Lesson Plans for 5/20/09:

Math: Graphs, fast facts
Writing: You are a butterfly coming out of your cocoon
Concepts of a paragraph
Language Arts: spellamadoodle, adjectives
Social Studies: Investigating inventors, history of Memorial Day
Spelling: Lesson 32- write each spelling word and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 32- Use each vocab word in a sentence.

Learn To Draw Flowers, and Volcano Construction

Tomorrow for Science class is the day my son has been waiting for. We are going to build a volcano, or I hope we are. He got the kit for Christmas, and I finally got it into the lesson plan. I have added this short video to watch some great volcanos erupting.

Art class today is learning to draw flowers. Watch the tutorial, and soon you will be drawing flowers too.





Lesson Plans for 5/19/09:

Science: Build a volcano
Math: Graphs, fact families
Writing: Write a letter to Aimee and John Henry
Language Arts: Make a match, adverbs
PE: 30 minutes
Spelling: Lesson 32- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 32- look up the definition for each vocabulary word.

Another Snake Story

Anyone who knows me, knows I am petrified of snakes. The snake pictured is an Eastern Indigo snake, and it was the snake that was on my porch last fall. I wanted my husband to kill it, but I am glad he did not because it is endangered. I will not lie when I say I was glad to see it move on to somewhere else, it was a really big snake. So I went the whole winter with no snakes, not a surprise since they hibernate. The other day, my husband, and I were standing on the front porch looking at all the water from the rain. I heard a strange noise. From watching tons of animal planet shows, the noise sounded kind of familiar. I said to my husband, do you hear that, it sounds like a baby alligator. Of course as soon as I said it, I was already thinking how fast can I put the house on the market. Well come to find out other creatures make that some distinctive noise, when they are in distress. As I was looking up at my garage, there is a very small hole, and trying to squeeze out of that small hole, was a very fat frog. I said to my husband, look at that crazy frog, trying to squeeze out of that little hole. Well it did squeeze out, and it was what was making that distinctive noise. Then it looked like its leg was stuck, and it was struggling to get free. I said OMG it is not stuck, a snake is trying to eat it. Now I can tell you my heart was racing, for sure, and my brain as I was thinking how I really hate snakes, and what am I going to do, another snake, and this one in the garage roof. Agh I wanted to run, what good would that do, right. So instead I watched. The poor frog did get away, and fell kerplunk right down into the bushes. I waited with my weapon of choice, my broom to see if the snake would let himself fall to get his very fat dinner. He did not, and I do not think it was an Indigo. It was real small, and appeared to be a garden snake, but why was he up on the roof? I really can not take it, I am constantly looking for them. When I went out to take out the garbage, I swear it was looking out of that hole at me, taunting me. LOL I know that is not possible, but I am just a tad paranoid now. I mean I grew up in rattlesnake country, in NY, and in all my 35 years there, I saw maybe two snakes. I have lived here in this house, two years, and I have seen two, with one on the neighbors porch. We live in town, and I find it strange for them to be here. Well there is my horror story for this month, and I hope the last. They really can just move on to somewhere else. I am sure there are snake lovers somewhere, but it is not me.

Lesson Plans for 5/18/09:

Reading: Read pages 160-180 Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Math: Graphs, multiplication, division
Arts and crafts- drawing
Music- karaoke machine

Fun Friday Two Things I Can Not Live Without

Beer, and pretzels, Ha Ha, just kidding. It is Fun Friday, on Blogging For Fun, and the topic is what are two things you could absolutely not live without. Without picking kids, or spouse, I have to say a clock, and toilet paper. In a disaster, or crisis situation I would not be able to live without those two things. A clock, because I absolutely can not stand not knowing what time it is. When the power goes out at night, I have to get up, and get my wristwatch and flashlight so I can see what time it is. Also toilet paper, I mean what would you use if you did not have any? If you have small kids you might have baby wipes available, kleenex, napkins but eventually those will run out too. Then you have very limited options of what you could use, that creeps me out, the thought of not being clean or dry. Matter of fact when it is hurricane season, and you have to have a bag ready for evacuation, I always have extra toilet paper in there. I guess it is a kind of Neurosis for me. If you would like to join in on Fun For Friday events, you can join our group at Blogging for Fun by clicking on the green box on the side of this blog. Come on you know you want to.

I really must add one more thing, I think I could not live without, and that is sunshine. Now obviously none of us would live, if there was no sun, but I mean living in a dreary, gloomy place that rains all the time. I think I would be very unhappy, and miserable in such a place, with little sunshine. Speaking of the sun, I am posting this now, so I do not forget about it. There will be a total Solar Eclipse on July 22nd of this year. The last time I saw one, was when I was a teenager, my son is very excited about it.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. My sister from NY will be here on Sunday, and we are very excited about that.

I Won, Nurses Week, and Phonics Song

Can we get a Woot Woot, Go Melissa, Go Melissa I won the American Idol pool. Because Danny went home last night, that left me the only one with Adam, and no one picked Kris so I win. Ha, yay for me. What a tight race, and kudos to Kris for making it to the top 2. I do not think anyone expected that.

I can not believe I forgot about Nurses Week, shame on me. To all my fellow nurses, all around the world, Happy Nurses Week. I hope you get the appreciation, and love, we all deserve.

Below is a cute phonics song, for young people learning the sounds of their letters. I like this video, because it also teaches some sign language. I actually used to know quite a bit of sign language, but like with anything else if you do not use it, you lose it. This is an awesome learning tool.

Tomorrow is test day, so there are no lesson plans to post.

Only One Week Left

There is only one week left to American Idol season 8. I think it is going to be one of the closest years ever. They were all good last night. Not even one did poorly. At first when Adam did One, I thought maybe he would be in trouble, but when I listen back to it, it really is phenomenal. The video can not be shared yet, but you can listen to him singing it.



DJ is starting to learn concepts of a paragraph. I found this helpful short video. If you, need a little help understanding the concepts of a paragraph, you might find it helpful too.



Lesson Plans for 5/14/09:

Health: none curriculum is complete
Math: Graphs, multiplication, division
Writing: Write a letter to Nonie
Language Arts: Concepts of a paragraph, sentences, adverbs
Spelling: Lesson 31- alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 31- Write each vocab word, and meaning, two times each

Its A Matter Of Science

Today for some reason, we have two Science projects planned. I am not sure how that happened, but my son certainly is not disappointed. Yesterday, I posted a supplemental video for conservation of Florida plants, and animals. Below is a supplemental video you can add to your lesson about Matter. They are geared towards kids, and easy to understand, and view.





Tomorrow is an early release day. Lesson plans are:

Math: graphs, multiply, divide
Language Arts: Write it right, adjectives
Spelling: Lesson 31- write each spelling word and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 31- Use each spelling word in a sentence.

History of Mothers Day, Central Florida Endangered Plants

Yes, yesterday was Mothers Day, but I thought my kids might like to know the history of how Mothers Day began. This is a short documentary, explaining the tradition of Mothers Day.



Tomorrow for Science class we will be examining local endangered plants. I found this 25 min video on endangered plants in Central Florida.



Lesson Plans for 5/12/09:

Math: Division, multiplication, graphs
Science: Conservation of Florida plants
Writing: Write a letter to Aunt Norma
Language Arts: adjectives, word studies
PE: 30 minutes
Spelling: Lesson 31- Write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 31- look up the definition of each word

Have a great Monday, everyone

Happy Mothers Day, Mother Of The Year

Happy Mothers Day, to all you moms in the blogosphere. My husband made me this cute video, click the link to watch it. It is a mock news cast naming me Mother of the Year. My kids thought that was so cool, and real. I do not know where he got the idea to do this, but it was pretty funny.
Since I have two kids, I want to share some of my most favorite pictures. I delete a lot of them, after they have been printed, but these are some of the best ones I have on my computer. Have a great day, everyone. Be sure to relax, and get pampered.

Mother Of The Year Video Clip

Happy #5 Caitlin

I can not believe my baby turned 5 today. It is funny, both of my kids were born at almost the exact time of the day, 9:30 PM You can see her on her new bike, she was so excited. We did not give her all her presents, because next Sunday, my sister is coming from NY, and we are having their birthdays together then. We did get her a small cake for today too, and her big princess cake next week. My kids would never say they got too much cake LOL.The video clip was taken by DJ on his kids camera, that we did not even know did such a thing. My husband added the music.

Fun Friday Ask Your Kids This

Today on Fun Friday, at blogging for fun, we are honoring moms. So ask your kids this question, if you do not have kids, you can borrow one. What one thing did mommy have to know about daddy, before they got married? My kids responses were:

DJ age 8- he is kind, handsome, and was not as chubby. Last year I asked him the same question, when he was 7, and he said he had to be good at doing dishes.

Caitlin age 5 tomorrow- she said she was not sure maybe because he was silly, or gave me a lot of money. I asked her how much is a lot of money, and she said 10 dollars. Wow I am cheap LOL.

Mothers Day is this Sunday, don't forget to honor your Moms. Blogging for fun, is a new yahoo group to support fellow bloggers. If you would like to join, you can comment here, or contact me at melissaruede@yahoo.com

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Curclick Live Summer Classes

I love Currclick, I have used them several times. A lot of their items are ebooks, but they do offer other products as well. One of the things I did not realize they have, but am very excited about is live classes, taught by either a teacher, or homeschooling parent. Their prices are very reasonable, in my opinion. I am very happy because the public schools have done away with summer school, and I have a friend that can not afford a tutor for her son to take summer Algebra. Currclick is offering the live class for 9.99 for 50 classes. I will be very happy to refer my friend to this. Some of the other classes they are offering, live, are music appreciation, science camp, basic spanish, American girl book club, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There are a total of 37 classes being offered. To check them out you can click the big Currclick banner above, which will take you directly to their site. I hope everyone can find something they like.

Tomorrow is test day, so lesson plans to post. A quick note about Idol last night, I was crying when Allison left. I hope she find success in whatever she does. It was really touching that she was crying while she sang Cry Baby, very fitting.

I Am Speechless!

Trust me that is not often that happens LOL. Last night on American Idol Allison, and Adam did a duet together, and it was so awesome. I can totally see these two in a band together, rocking it out, and selling millions of records. Our dumb Tivo didn't get the judges comments, so I have to watch the clip to see if I can see what they said. Their single songs they each sang, were just as awesome. Kris, and Danny struggled this week. I was very surprised by Danny, he totally was not good. He picked a very hard song, and it was a mess. I knew Kris would have a hard time, because he does not have a big range, for rock type music.

The other think I am speechless about is Lil Kim was kicked off Dancing With The Stars, last night. I dont ever watch the results shows, but I was shocked this AM when I read this. She is one of the best dancers there. I have no idea who is voting for Ty, but someone is. He is the most improved, and I love him, but I think in all fairness he should have went home.

There now my post had nothing to do with education, or homeschooling, now isn't that just grand LOL. Have a great day, everyone.




Lesson Plans for 5/7/09:

Health- to be determined curriculum complete
Math: Fast facts, graphs, division
Writing: You are on the Mayflower write about your day. This is a review writing to see if info was retained from earlier in the year,
Language Arts: vocab review, adjectives
Spelling: Lesson 30- put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 30- write each vocabulary word, and definition, two times each
Playgroup: Bike path walk, will cover PE also

Mothers Day Sale, and Citizenship

I am having a huge Mothers Day Sale in my Etsy shop. From now through May 10th you can get 15% off, anything in my store. Please contact me using the contact button, or comment here and use code mothers so I know to mark the item down before you purchase it. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Tomorrow for History class we are covering Citizenship. We have covered this several times through out the year, but it never hurts to remind kids of what being a good citizen means. Tomorrow we will be discussing the homeless, and the issues that surround it. This short video talks about the homeless issue, by kids.




Lesson Plans for 5/6/09:

Social Studies: Citizenship
Math: Graphs, multiplication, division
Writing: Write a story about a homeless child
Language Arts: Adjectives, money matters
Spelling: Lesson 30-write each spelling word and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 30- Use each vocabulary word in a sentence

Shifting Focus

Well it is almost the end of third grade, already. Now my focus, and attention shifts to making my 4th grade curriculum, and kindergarten curriculum. Kindergarten is pretty easy, Caitlin will be mostly focusing on learning to read, following directions, and math. She has pretty much covered most of the other things in preschool. As for DJ 4th grade is a big step for him. It is a time to wrap up everything he has learned, and expand on them. He has improved so much in his writing, I am impressed. He asked me the other day, when he could start a blog of his own. At first I was like hmm I don't think for a while. Then it occurred to me that he could use a blog, as an everyday writing assignment. Because he will pick the topic, and will have to stay on the topic, using proper writing, and grammar rules, it will actually be a good assignment for him. So for 4th grade his year long writing assignment will be his own personal blog. Of course he will need assistance for searching out topics, ideas, pictures, and other information he will need. I think this will be an interesting assignment for him, and I will not have to scramble to come up with writing ideas. I spend a good part of the summer making lesson plans, and researching information. I have really enjoyed this school year, and look forward to the next. We have started our own playgroup for children who both homeschool, and do not. So far we have 4 moms, and 15 children. I did this because I am not patient at waiting for other groups to decide whether we can join or not, are not active enough, or live way too far away from us. So far it is going well, and we are planning a pool party at the end of May.

Lesson plans for 5/04/09:

Science: Planets
Math: Factor turn arounds, graphs, division
Writing: You found a magic lamp, what three wishes will you make
Language Arts: Irregular verbs, mystery map
Spelling: Lesson 30 write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Look up the definition for each vocabulary word
PE: 30 minutes

Family Movie Day, Marley and Me

Today is family movie day, and we will be watching Marley and Me. We picked this movie because the dog in the movie I swear is my dog. I have the naughtiest dog ever. My husband very often does not join in the watching of the kids movies, but he wants to see this one. A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I watched Beverly Hills Chihauaha which surprisingly I liked. If you have seen either of these movies let me know what you thought of them. If not, be sure to check them out.




I did not know Youtube had full movies to view now. Their selection is growing, and I am very excited about this especially from a educational perspective.

Lesson Plans for 5/4/09:

Reading: Read pages 118-138 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Music: Kids songs see the video below your kids will love it
Art: Arts and crafts
Math: Multiplication, division, and graphs

I am adding some books that DJ has already read on his own, from the local library, for record keeping purposes. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mobey Dick, Animal Champions, Apes, Sharks, Crocodiles, Seals, Big Cats, Butterflies, Snakes, Trees and Flowers of Florida, Weather, and more that we can not remember the names of.

My Top Entrecard Droppers For April

It is that time of month again, to thank my top Entrecard droppers to this blog. If you have a minute, visit each of these wonderful blogs.

http://www.picturetopeople.org/blog/blog.html
http://myheartvoice.com
http://entreblogger.net/
http://smarterthanagrade5.blogspot.com/
http://www.smalltownmommy.com
http://smkserian.blogspot.com/
http://losingweightintentionally.com/
http://vanillaseven.com/
http://joanhatch.info/

The blog that I advertised my blog on, and got the most clicks from is http://www.heathenhomeschoolers.com with a whopping 41 clicks from her blog to mine.

Thank you for dropping on my blog, everyday, and have a great Saturday.

Fun Friday Gross Foods We Love

Today on Blogging For Fun, the theme is Fun Friday Gross Foods we love. I love macaroni salad, my macaroni salad. I load it full of all kinds of vegetables, and it has to have real mayo, then I pour over the top of it nice, warm, brown gravy. Yummo, I love it. While I eat macaroni salad a lot, I hardly ever put the gravy on it anymore, so it is more of a treat for me, when I do. This stems from my partying days when we would hit a greasy spoon after a night of dancing, and drinking. My friend Sondra introduced me to this, and yes I said eww gross for the longest time, before trying it.
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My husband, and kids also enjoy some eww gross foods. My husband put Catsup on Mac n cheese, cheese sandwiches, macaroni salad, not to mention tons of other things. He loves Catsup. My daughter loves to dip her raw carrots in Catsup, grilled cheese sanwiches, and cucumbers. She is following in daddies foot steps. She is offered ranch dip, but prefers the catsup. My sister loves to dip her Pizza in ranch dip, yucko that is awful. My son must be the only normal one in the family. He will not eat anything considered gross, and really does not prefer any of his food to touch anything else.

What gross things do you, and your family love? I hope everyone has a fun, and fabulous Friday. Tomorrow I will post my top Entrecard droppers.