A Favor To Ask, and Homeschool Contests

I have a favor to ask. Don't worry I don't want money, or your first born child. One of the goals DJ has for his photography lessons this year is to interview a photographer to critique his work, and get input how to do better. Sine we do not know any photographers here where we live, I would like to ask one of our online friends if they would be willing to look at his pictures and give some input. It isn't ready yet, I haven't uploaded all the pictures yet. But when they are I will let the volunteer know. I would be most appreciative.

A fellow homeschooler at Homeschool World, shared with me and gave me permission to share with all of you, their homeschool contest page. I have not had a chance to go over them all yet, but I will, and hopefully we will get to enter some. Check it out if you want to.

Lesson Plans For 09/30/2011:

One thing you will notice, if you follow along in our lessons, is that I have added religion to our Health curriculum. I did this because even though I have my own personal misgivings about the Bible, I do not wish for them to wear off on my children. I truly believe they have the right to learn and make their own decisions in life, and that includes where religion is involved. By the way I really hate Geometry, and am very glad DJ is picking it up with ease. Another thing you will notice is that we have not been doing any sign language. I just can't seem to squeeze it in this year, with all the stuff we need to get done. I am hoping maybe next semester when things quiet down.

DJ:
Health: Religion, The Nervous System
Math: Saxon 65, chapter 36
Writing:
Language Arts: Periods
Reading Comprehension with worksheet
Handwriting: Cursive
Analogies
Spelling

Caitlin:
Head of the Class: 3 cycles, this will be scaled back to 2 cycles beginning Monday
Health: Religion, caring for your teeth
Math: Ordinal numbers, Saxon 1, before after and between, fractions
Sight Words
Language Arts: V or W words, apostrophes, I or me, singular and plural words

Why I Homeschool: The Bus Ride

Welcome to the weekly homeschool meme, Why I Homeschool. This is sponsored by Miss Moe. One of the reasons I love homeschooling, is because the bus ride here in our small town is very long. I mean very long. There are only three bus stops in the whole city limits. We get to avoid all that bus riding nonsense, because we homeschool. Yay! I hated riding the bus when I was a kid, yucko.

Now, yesterday we had a playdate at the park. I was invited to join a new homeschool group, which I did and 4H has started up again. We had our group award dinner Monday night. DJ got two certificates and a pin, Caitlin got one certificate. She couldn't get perfect attendance because she missed the manners dinner due to illness. This year the group activity is pre-flight, so that should be interesting and fun. Looking forward to it.

There are a lot of videos shared below. Because we missed Science yesterday, we are playing a bit of catch up. The videos are all for Caitlin's age group, right around 7. The rabbit video is to reinforce for her how to properly pick up her rabbit. He is not cooperative and does not like to be picked up. Another 4H member suggested wrapping him in a towel to pick him up to trim his nails. We are going to try that too. She thinks she wants to show him, she has plenty of time, but she needs to get practicing. He is friendly and adorable, but very stubborn about being picked up or held.

Vote For Me For Mayor!

OK I am not really running for mayor. While politics fascinate I have no interest in being a part of them. Each Monday, OK most Mondays, I give DJ a writing challenge that I do also. Some I make up and some come from a writing book that gives me great ideas. I join in so I can expand my writing skills, and so DJ can see how we differ in our writing styles and perspectives. If you want to read DJ's it is here. It is definitely from an 11 year old perspective. Here is mine. The assignment is to make a short advertisement about yourself running for Mayor, highlighting your agenda, experience, and why you should be voted for.

Hello, my name is Melissa R. I am 42 years old, married, with two beautiful children. I am running for the Mayor of Trenton. I am an Independent with a fierce loyalty to what is fair and right. I am a fiscal conservative, that can stretch a dollar from here to Canada. Really, just ask my husband. I believe in family, parental rights, child rights, homeschooling, and using the taxpayers dollars for the best benefit of the community. I will not waste your money, or ask for a raise. I will do away with burning in the town limits, expand animal leash laws, and enforce the animal cruelty laws. I will propose a law to give a fine to all violators of the burn laws, and animal leash laws. I will attempt to bring more business to the area, so workers can find jobs closer to home. So head to your local voter booth, and Vote For Me!!!

There what do you think? Would you vote for me for Mayor?

Social Saturday Helping The Needy

Well I didn't get any papers graded, LOL! I did get a whole bunch of other stuff done though. One of the things I would love for my children to learn is to be thankful for what you have, and to help others who are not as fortunate. My husband has recently joined the volunteer fire department, and is currently working his way through the fire classes. This is such a great example he is setting for our children. It takes a lot to volunteer your free time to help others who need it, even when they are not always grateful, or even kind to you. Some of you probably know that I make jewelry with gemstones I have been collecting. You might even notice the big banner at the top of my blog. 10% off all my Etsy store sales, through December 31, will be donated to the Hunger Site. So far I have been able to make sales and have five dollars to donate. Not bad, but it could be better. I am not trying to plug my store, I have another blog for that lol, but it is one of the ways we have decided to help the needy. I try not to call them poor, because any of us could be needy for many different reasons and variables. You might also remember that each year at Thanksgiving we donate food to the local food bank, which is a church here. This year, and for the next year too, we have decided to purchase a little bit of extra nonperishable items and add them to a box. Once the box is filled it will be delivered to the food bank. After all people are not just hungry at the holidays. I can not take credit for this idea. DJ read something similar in a magazine and suggested we do it. So we are. I did notice one thing. I was going to put peanut butter in there. It is healthy and lasts a good long time. But, most food banks don't want peanut butter because so many people are allergic to peanuts. So keep that in mind if you decide to join in too. It would be great if some of my readers joined. Plus every year we give toys to children who do not have as much. Usually I would give to Toys for Tots, and I do usually still put one item in their collection box, but since my husband started working at the prison we have been donating to children through a program that they sponsor. Now until the beginning of December I add an extra toy, CD or other item to my grocery shopping days to donate to this program. By doing just a little bit at a time, I don't feel overwhelmed by doing it all at once. Oh, by the way Walmart is bringing back layaway for Christmas. It doesn't start until October 17 and you can only put on Toys or Electronics, and yes I will be using it. Kmart also offers a layaway service, unfortunately we are not close to one. I also offer a layaway service in my Etsy store, and have had a few people that have used it, and they loved it.

Lesson Plan Catch Up

Well it has been an interesting week. I think my husband has IBS and we are adjusting his diet, and it seems to be helping. That means no cola, caffeine, and other diet adjustments. I am already dying for a Pepsi. We got a lot of schooling done this week, which is good because next week we have a playdate, 4H dinner, and a possible field trip to the planetarium. While I love the activities they do take away from regular lessons, but it breaks up the monotony of those lessons. Tomorrow DJ has tests in Math, Science, and Spelling. Plus a writing assignment on his blog. Caitlin will get a day of fun computer games and reading. I get to grade all the papers I have been putting off.

Lesson Plans For 09/21/11:

DJ
Miracle Babies
4H photo assignment
Spelling
Social Studies: Middle Ages chapter three
Math: Saxon 65 chapter 32

Caitlin:
Head of the Class three cycles
Social Studies: Fire safety, Plymouth colony, community workers
Math: Addition
Language Arts: S or Z words, prefixes
Handwriting
Clock work, calendar work, sight words

Lesson Plans For 09/22/11:

DJ:
Baking Cookies: Following directions
Health: Anatomy and Physiology
Math: Saxon 65 chapter 33
Analogies
Handwriting
Language Arts: Periods in abbreviations
Reading Comprehension
Writing

Caitlin:
Head of the Class three cycles
Math: Addition, before and after, graphs, simple geometry
Health: Taking care of your teeth
Language Arts: M or N words, opposites, verbs
Spelling: Alphabetical order

Why I Homeschool: Flexibility

Welcome to my weekly Homeschool meme called, Why I Homeschool. This week I am going to talk about the flexibility that homeschooling allows me to have. Some of you know I work in the medical field. I am lucky enough, for the past two years, to be able to only work one night a week. This was not actually intentional, but has been a true blessing in our homeschool adventures. Not so much my pocketbook, LOL! Nursing affords me the flexibility to work a variety of shifts if I needed to. Because I stay per diem, which means I get no benefits, means I work when I want or they need me. So, if I needed to work more I could. I could do any of the three shifts, and homeschool. Why? Because homeschooling allows me to school when I want to. For example if I had to work full time third shift, my kids are old enough now that I could come home nap for a few hours, then homeschool in the evening. You could homeschool anytime of the day you want, even over night if you needed to. You could just school on the weekend if you had to. Whatever works for your family. I love this part of homeschooling! Now with that said, I do have to realize that someday they will need to live on their own schedule and be able to get up and go to a job and function in the real world. DJ very often hates doing a five day in a row school week. He will sometimes ask me if he can have say Wednesday off, and he will school on Saturday. As long as he does what he is supposed to do, I do not object to this. Homeschooling allows me to be a mom, teacher, and nurse all at the times I need to be. Why do you homeschool? Be sure to stop over to Miss Moe's blog to see why she homeschools. If anyone else joins in, leave me your blog name so I can include your blogs in the next post.

Here is part three to the Middle Ages. I think there are ten parts all together, so not even halfway done yet. Be sure to check back each week to see the rest. Lesson plans will be posted tomorrow, for the past two days.

Florida Dung Beetle

Here in Florida, we have this nifty little doggy poo cleaners, and no I don't mean my husband. When we got our first dog, I noticed that every morning the yard was cleaned of all poo. I thought my husband was cleaning it. He said I was crazy. Then one day Caitlin and I noticed a beetle dragging poo into a hole. We watched in fascination as it quickly and efficiently cleaned up the yard for us. They do hibernate in the winter, so we are on our own then and they only like it fresh, LOL! So why am I talking about this? Because the kids are thinking of doing a presentation at 4H County Events on the Dung Beetle. Watch the beetle at work in the video. No that is not me filming the event.


Lesson Plans For 09/19/11:

Caitlin:
Reading: Opposite Safari, Going Places chapter one
Writing: Sight words
Language Arts: B or D words, statement sentences
Head of the Class: Three cycles
Room cleaning chore
Math: Addition and subtraction
Calendar work, clock work, sight words

Darien:
Analogies
Writing: Story plot beginning, middle and end, for story he is writing
Reading: Chapter two Elements of Literature with questions
Handwriting: Cursive
Spelling
Math: Saxon 65 chapter 30

5 Resources For Homeschoolers

This is a guest post, and I am so happy to put it up for all my readers. These sights are ones I have never heard of, and can not wait to use them myself. Show some love for Sarah's article.

5 Resources for Home-Schoolers

Sarah Fudin currently works in community relations for the University of Southern California's online Masters in Teaching program, which provides students the opportunity to earn a teacher certification online. Outside of work Sarah enjoys running (she is currently training for the NYC Marathon), reading and Pinkberry frozen yogurt.

In today’s world we are very lucky to have access to great educational resources on the web and we are even luckier to have access to most of these resources for free! Here are five extraordinarily useful resources being used across subject areas that should be implemented in homes across the country:

1. Books Should Be Free
Books Should Be Free is a website dedicated to offering thousands of audiobooks for free! Books are downloadable in a few file format types: MP3, iTunes, and iPod. On booksshouldbefree.com you can find thousands of free audio books of all genres and types – you’ll want to bookmark this site! Happy reading!

2. Braineos
Braineos is a great site for both students and teachers promoting creative problem solving, inspiration and idea generation. Braineos makes studying fun and fast by allowing users to create decks of flashcards (or use already created decks by the community) and learning them by using a selection of games. Braineos is most effective in quick and dirty learning of vocabulary and facts for exams.

3. Google Body Browser
Google Body Browser is a 3D model of a human body, both male and female, available in Beta. You can “peel back” different layers of the human body to learn about the different human systems: muscular, vascular and nervous. You are also able to identify and search different muscles, organs, nerves and bones as you click through the 3D model. This great resource is free, but requires the newest versions of either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

4. Game Classroom
Game Classroom is an enormous collection of the best and most trustworthy educational games to provide students, parents and teachers with the best interactive homework help on the web! Games are for students in grades K-6 and are sorted by grade level as well as content area. You’ll find this site easy to navigate! Have fun!

5. 21st Century Lit
21^st Century Literacy is a site that provides students with the skills necessary to succeed in school and the workplace in today’s world. They focus on reading and writing skills that teenagers need and can be taught using journalistic methods and state of the art digital tools. 21^st Century Lit focuses on text – it’s a great resource for both Middle and High School level homeschool teachers to explore!

As our online community of teachers continues to grow, resources will only continue to grow with them! For a one-stop-shop for great resources, check out eduTecher, a site created to track the growing number of web tools available for classroom use (whether your classroom is in your home or at a physical school)!

Ah I Love Going To The Pediatrician

Today got off to a not so great start. DJ had his annual physical this morning. Since my husband has to go to work, I always make our appt the very first one of the day. So we were there at 8 AM sharp when they opened the doors. There was no other patients but us. Two walk ins came in, that got taken in right away. If you know anything about the doctors office walk ins do not go in ahead of appointments. So after 45 min of still sitting in the waiting area, and an angry call from my husband, I asked the receptionist if something was wrong, we had already been waiting 45 min and there certainly was not a room full of patients. She said no it is only 8:30 and your appt was at 8:30. So I looked at her with an odd look, since the clock right on her very own wall said 8:45 and the watch on my very wrist said 8:45. I said why did you tell me to be here at 8 then? She said because you had to fill out the paper work, and we need to scan your card. It is a new system. OK fine, but we have been coming here six years, have had the same insurance for four, and the paper work only took five minutes. It takes 40 minutes to scan an insurance card, and why did the others go right in? Again the ugly looks ensued. But obviously it worked because I didn't even get to sit my backside back in the chair and we were called in. Normally I do not let these things bother me. But don't tell me what time it is when I can very blatantly see the clock. And please don't tell me to be here a half hour early for five minutes of paper work. And please don't make an appointment for my child to see the RN for a yearly physical, when we only come once a year. I will see a doctor that is what my insurance pays for. Plus the RN did not ask any of the routine questions the doctor would ask. She was too busy getting on her soap box about video games. So I left all this on their advice form they give us every year to fill out, and went home.

Since school didn't actually begin until almost eleven, after all that nonsense, we watched Miracle Babies, and did some other relaxed schooling. If you have never seen the show, it is on Nat Geo and is about endangered animals that scientists are trying to save. They featured this episode the panda, some monkey, and the Indian rhino. I love Pandas they are so sweet and cute, but I am of the opinion that if the species is flawed and does not show interest in breeding, then maybe the species was not meant to be, it is nature after all. The amount of money spent on these animals is amazing, just to get them to breed. That got me a round of boos from my children, and angry looks from my son. Then came the monkey. This particular monkey is endangered due to loss of habitat in the Amazon. OK I can understand why we would want to stop that behavior, we need our trees and I am probably a tree hugger. But the female featured had for some reason attacked her babies after they were born. Now anyone who knows animals, knows that animals of all species do this. There is a reason, and it is a part of nature. So of course they take the babies away perform surgery and feeding by syringe. I don't know, again this is not natural, and I think it should be left to be natural. The Indian rhino was the only feature that bred normal and gave birth normal, though in captivity for protection. No artificial insemination, or forced breeding, just nature doing what nature does best. My son and I had a deep discussion about all this. Though we don't agree with each other on all parts, we agree that we love animals and wish them all the best. What do you think about all this stuff? Maybe tomorrow will be a normal school day. I wonder what that means sometimes, LOL! By the way the National Zoo, has an awesome section with free curriculum most of which is on the Giant Panda. DJ is doing them this year for school. Take advantage of their great resources, and the live animal cams are fun too.

Why I Homeschool

Welcome to Why I Homeschool Wednesday. This is a weekly meme sponsored by Miss Moe. Since we have been doing this since the end of last year, I might actually run out of reasons, but as of right now I still have lots of reasons to love homeschooling.

One of the reasons I love to homeschool, is because I get to appreciate this beautiful Florida weather whenever I want, on my own schedule, not someone elses. Yesterday we went to one of the local parks for a playdate with friends. I had mentioned before that our small homeschool group was beginning to fizzle out due to families placing their kids in public school. Yesterday we met up with one of our old homeschool friends, and met some new homeschool friends. Another playdate is set for two weeks at another park. The weather is glorious this time of year, and I love it. Since DJ takes most of the pictures now that we share, he hardly ever gets to get in any. I do have a tripod but I have to find it, so his happy face can appear too. Be sure to hop over to Miss Moe's blog to see why she homeschools her children. As promised here is part two of The Middle Ages. I have actually watched this on the History Channel, and I find the period fascinating. We did full lesson plans today, and had a great day.

Homeschool Meme

Before I get into the meme, we had a playdate at the park today, which was awesome. We met some new homeschool friends, and some old ones too. The weather was lovely, though still quite warm by noon time. We did no lessons when we got home, but that is typical for park day. We make it up don't worry.

I was tagged in a homeschool meme by Adventures in Mama Land. I am supposed to send it on to five homeschool bloggers, but I don't think I know that many. At any rate, here are the questions and my answers. If you would like to play along you are more than welcome. Some of you may be surprised, some not so much.

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed: Hmm I am probably weird but I don't actually read a whole lot of homeschool books. Gasp I know it is true. I did just read, What About College, and found it very helpful and knowledgeable.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without: I guess I will go with my computer. Though I am think we would do fine without it, there is such a thing as the library after all, it is more quick and convenient to have a computer in the house. My kids use it, and DJ is very good at doing research.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought: Since I don't really believe in a bad resource, or wasting them, I use everything I buy or am given. I might not like it, but with supplemental stuff on the web I can make it work. I really did not like Spectrum math or their language arts and would probably never use them again.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year: I discovered Head of the Class, last year, and it helped Caitlin with phonics, spelling and reading immensely. She is using it again this year for second grade along with all the other resources I use.

5. One resource you will be using next year: Saxon Math. Though I can not say anyone in my house actually enjoys math, Saxon works for all of us. We have tried others and it just never suits our needs.

6. One resource you would like to buy: I might consider buying the Teaching Textbooks if math gets to the point where I just can not teach it anymore. So far I have been lucky. They are a little pricey for my taste too. Also Apologia Science. My kids saw this at our evaluators home and really want me to purchase for next year. I probably will.

7. One resource you wish existed: Hmm I am not sure. I really can find anything I want with a little time and searching. It is hard finding homeschool groups in a very rural community, that suit our needs, but it gets better every year.

8. One homeschool catalogue you enjoy reading: I love them all, I really do. Rainbow, Timberdoodle, Christian Books, and so many more I can not even remember them all. Even since I started homeschooling, five years ago, the resources for homeschoolers continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

9. One homeschooling website you use regularly: Homeschool.com love it, love it, love it. I also frequent Head of the Class, Edhelper, Dositey, Scholastic and so many more. We use our computer a lot, in case I didn't mention that.

Monday Writing Challenge: Your School

This is the first Monday writing challenge for the new school year. The book we are using can be found in an older post, if you are interested in using it. Each Monday DJ will get a short writing challenge assignment. I wanted to do these on Fridays but he likes to do Fishy Friday, so I let it be. If you care to join in just go ahead. I decided to do the Monday challenge with DJ, because I want him to have something to compare to, and because I can always use improvement in my writing as well. So the assignment is to describe your school, in detail, to make it appealing to students who may wish to attend there. This is an added challenge because we homeschool. Describe the courses available, and any extracurricular activities that may be appealing. Here is mine. I was going to write mine on the school I attended as a child, but I decided to write about DJ's school instead.

I attend school at Melissa's Homeschool, in Florida. There are currently two students, and one teacher, so you get the benefit of a small classroom and lots of attention from the teacher. You can take all the courses you love, and some you don't. There is Math, History, Language Arts, Reading, Science, Art, some Sign Language and a bit of Spanish. You get to learn at your own pace, without much stress. If a class does not work for you, you can change it or amend it to suit your learning style, and needs. Melissa's Homeschool offers many field trips and playdates for socializing. There is standard textbook style learning plus lots of hands on learning. Cooking and chores are included in the curriculum to help teach responsibility and character. I get a nice long lunch and recess almost every day. That is what my school is like. What about your school?

Social Saturday: Gainesville Art, Remembering 9/11, and Einstein

Wow I got a lot to share today! Happy Saturday, everyone. If you live in the Gainesville, FL area, and would like a fun and affordable activity. Today from 12-6 you can visit Corks & Colors for a fun painting projects. Projects start at 5-6 dollars.

Tomorrow, of course, is the ten year anniversary of 9/11. If you live in the US you will never forget this date. The History channel has awesome resources for teaching this day to your students.

HISTORY Commemorates the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001

This fall, people throughout the world will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. HISTORY will observe the anniversary through on-air programming, curriculum, and on-line resources, including classroom guides for schools. We are proud to be working together with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, The Flight 93 Memorial and Newspapers in Education to commemorate 9/11 and honor those who lost their lives.

HISTORY will simulcast the Emmy®-Award winning commercial-free program 102 MINUTES THAT CHANGED AMERICA across all A+E Networks, on History.com, and globally in more than 150 countries on September 11th starting at 8:46AM ET. View a teacher's guide for this program.

HISTORY also has numerous classroom resources available, including classroom guides for Making the 9/11 Memorial (Premieres on 9/11 at 8/7c) and a general guide for How to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary. View classroom guides and more from History.com including short videos, timelines and a useful info-graphic.

HISTORY will also webcast the dedication of the Flight 93 Memorial live from Shanksville, PA on Saturday September 10th, 2011 starting at 12:30PM ET. This webcast is free of charge and no registration is required. Visit us online to learn more.

Be sure to Tivo it so you don't miss it. Also why you are at it Tuesday the 13th is a whole historical episode on Einstein. This episode will be airing at 3/2c.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Last night my mom called me to tell me my sister in upstate NY had to evacuate her home again, due to the rising Mohawk River. She did get to go back today and the water has crested, but lots of worries about the Lock system along the River. In Binghamton which is right on the border with PA, the city is inundated with water. I have friends on vacation there right now, from FL, with family. I hope they are safe. I am so happy to have Twitter because I can follow everything going on as it happens, without being there. Irene, now Lee has just devastated the area. To all my friends and family there, please stay safe. My mother, I think, broke her foot wrestling with a really big snake the other evening. Thank goodness for her dog or she might have been bitten too. My mother wrestles snakes a lot, I think she needs a gun, she is getting a bit old for that.

School is going well, and the kids have done great. Today was Health class, and DJ started a ninth grade Health course. He is only in sixth grade, but I want to see if he can do it. Since health is my thing, I am certain I can get him through it. It is an elective for graduation, and if he does well, I will continue with tenth grade next year. That way he will be ahead of the game with credits.

Caitlin is done with school work within 1 1/2 hours, so she obviously is not being challenged yet. That is not a surprise since most of the time the first semester is review from the last one. I am going to try and give her some harder work next week. Tomorrow is reading and writing, and the day we kind of have laid back school. Since DJ will be writing about his Summer vacation, the writing challenge will start next Friday. Monday is writing too, for him, but he gets to choose the topic on Mondays, and he is working on his short story.

The Middle and Dark Ages

Second day of homeschooling was much smoother. Since DJ has now moved on to the Middle Ages, I will be sharing videos and educational links for that time period. Caitlin is studying the Plymouth Colonies with a new book that I love. I will share that one later. I love the Middle Ages, it is a fascinating time in History. The video below is 1 of a 10 part series. Check them all out as I share them. Next Wednesday I will begin again with my, Why I Homeschool, posts. If you care to join in, please feel free to do so.

Lesson Plans For 09/07/2011:

DJ:
Math: Saxon 65 chapter 26
Social Studies: The Middle Ages with test
Reading Comprehension: With worksheet
Map Work: Hemispheres and continents
Analogies: Synonyms
Photography
Cursive Handwriting

Caitlin:
Head of the Class: Two cycles
Social Studies: Plymouth colonies
Math: Adding money, before and after, addition
Art: Draw a ghost
Halloween Coloring
Congruent Shapes
Language Arts: Read long E and I
Clock work and calendar work

First Day Of School

Well our first day of school started good and then got sour from there. A friend of our family, had her dad die unexpectedly yesterday, and I just found out this AM. Then my husband came home from work with some mystery illness that I didn't want anyone else to catch. Ugh, our first day is always filled with drama, it seems. Last year our male Lab mix, without warning or provocation, bit my son in the face and we had to put him down. I still miss him and think about him. Anyway once everything calmed down, we got on with lessons, and had a good day of learning. DJ's first chapter in his Science book was about Archeology. I found this cool website for kids and Archeology, be sure to check it out. We also did our first chapter in 4H Entomology, that was fun, each kid designed their own insect. I forgot to get wings so pics will be shared after I get wings, LOL!


Lesson Plans For 09/06/2011:

DJ:
Math: Saxon 65 chapter 25
Science: Entomology, Archeology, animal classification from the National Zoo education site
Handwriting
Analogies
4H Photography book two

Caitlin:
Head of the Class: Two cycles
Science: Entomology
Math: Addition, subtraction, calendar fill in, telling time, sequencing
Language Arts: Spell long E and I words
Fall Coloring page

Last Day Of Summer Vacation

Well today is our last day of Summer Vacation. We get back to homeschool lessons tomorrow. Caitlin will be doing Head of the Class, second grade as her main curriculum with all the others I picked for her. DJ is beginning sixth grade. I intended to swim and spend a lot of time outside for our last day of Summer Vacation, but the weather thinks otherwise. We are now feeling the rain and wind of Tropical Storm Lee. It took all that time to get to us. So, instead I am lesson planning, cleaning and putting up our Fall decorations. I know it is a bit early, but we only put up the indoors ones, as we want to make scarecrows this year with pumpkin heads, and it is too soon for that. I love the Fall, even though we don't get a lot of leaf color change, there is some. I look forward to the new school year, and sharing our adventures with all of my readers. Oh and Happy Labor Day, too.

Social Saturday: Ocala Shrine Rodeo

Each Saturday I will try to remember to share a social event happening in North/Central FL area. Since our Saturdays are pretty much tied up right now, with other commitments, we probably won't get to do too many. But check out today's event. The Ocala Shrine Rodeo.

Ocala Shrine Rodeo

September 2nd & 3rd
8:00PM
Visit website for ticket specials

Cowboys Ride to Help Children Walk. It's rodeo time in Ocala again as the 29th Annual Shrine Rodeo is back at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion. There will be seven standard rodeo events: bareback horse riding, saddleback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, girls barrel racing and bull riding. All proceeds of the Shrine Rodeo support patients at the Shrine Hospital for Children.

Southeastern Livestock Pavilion
2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala, FL 34470
(352) 694-1515

www.ocalarodeo.com

FEMA For Kids

With all the hurricanes and flooding going on, it made me think about FEMA. FEMA has a website for kids to learn all about preparing and trying to avoid disasters. Plus how to help in a disaster. They even have games. It is all free, and your little ones will learn to be prepared. Of course it is hard to prepare for no power, no home, no toilet or shower.

Things are improving, so of course there has to be a system in the Gulf knocking right on my door. Ugh I am tired of all this already. Then that Katia down there in the Atlantic that was supposed to make a big right turn and miss the US, doesn't look like it might do that after all. Keep your eyes to the sky the ride might get a little bumpier.

Here in FL the storm in the Gulf will probably get to TS strength, but like Irene is going to be a massive rain maker. While a lot of the south is in a drought, and will welcome this rain, it is like almost a week worth of rain because it is just sitting there barely moving. We have not seen any rain yet, but the panhandle of FL has been getting nailed all day so far. Should make for a great Labor Day weekend. Anyone else notice that the last week of August and first week of September are not good weeks to plan a vacation in the South? It seems like every year there is some kind of tropical disturbance those two weeks to ruin your plans. Stay safe everyone.