World History: Argentina

Happy Saturday!  I am still on vacation, though our vacation plans changed dramatically, more on that in a different post.  Also, I believe I will do a half-year credit of Black  History, probably in grade 11, as World History is taking me some time to put together. You will see videos, and lesson ideas.  I am only in the country of Argentina, lol.  Caitlin quite likes to draw, to my amazement, so I think I will add some art into each country as well as the cooking of a traditional dish.  There are a few videos below, and one reading link.  You can always add more or less to each country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina

World History and Geography: Andorra

It has been an interesting week. I intended to add several countries to this blog, and yet it is Thursday and I have only done one. Today's country is Andorra, and what an interesting little country, and I mean little. This is another of the countries so far that I would not mind visiting someday. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be that easy to get into it.

Below are some videos I have selected for you to watch. You can always watch more, or even read more. There is a book at the bottom you can purchase through Amazon. Please note I do use affiliate links in this blog.  We will make a food dish from each country, as well as other projects that I have not yet determined.  This class will most likely be for her senior year, so I have plenty of time to put it together.

Art Project #1 Grandma Moses

As I stated in my previous post, Caitlin and I will be doing Art together this year. Probably once a week, we will study an artist, and do a remake of one of their paintings, or paint in their style. I chose Grandma Moses, quite by accident. I came across it while searching for something else. I didn't even know Grandma Moses was an artist. I often wondered where the term came from. The painting below, by Grandma Moses, is Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey. She was a folk artist, painting the images of her time when she was growing up in NY. We will do a Fall, or Halloween setting, using her method of folk art. If you would like to learn about Grandma Moses,
https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/grandma-moses-anna-mary-robertson-moses  The piece below, and more of her art work can be found at,
https://www.wikiart.org/en/grandma-moses/catching-the-thanksgiving-turkey-1943



 You can find more of her art pieces by doing a simple search on Wikiart, where the piece below is located.

Finishing Up the 2015/2016 Homeschool Year Plus Some Great Summer Deals

This is our last full week of lessons.  We will be doing Math over the Summer, plus my son has to finish Biology.  We will be doing two to three days a week, of about 2 hours of work.  Caitlin will be doing Writing along with her Math.  She is currently writing a book on Wattpad, but does not want that included in her school work, so that will be free time work.  DJ is also at a stand still on his second book, so that is also on hold until he figures it out.  Wattpad has helped encourage Caitlin and her creative writing.  Assigned writing assignments are still a hassle, but she is getting a hold of it.  So, over the next few days, I need to come up with final exams for each child, and each subject.  Biology, no final needed, he holds an average of 100, and Caitlin is finishing up her Science testing, and should be done soon. I, believe it or not, have next year's curriculums almost completely chosen.  I will be sharing those in the coming weeks.  I also have to start working on our portfolios, for  our yearly evaluations in August.   There are two websites I want to share with you, to use over the Summer months.

Nanowrimo is doing a Summer writing contest.  DJ did their Fall contest, and loved it.  However he is not interested in doing it over the Summer, much to my sadness.  It is completely free, and an awesome way to get your kids writing. He will be doing it again in the Fall.  Click this link to check it out. 

Second, I got an email, yesterday from Homeschool Buyers Co-op with their list of free for Summer class offerings.  There are several awesome options here.  I took advantage of Mathhelp.com and Emusic.  If DJ likes the Math format, and setup, then I will buy their Geometry course for next year.  Otherwise I will stick with Saxon Geometry, which I have not yet purchased.  Be sure to read all the directions when you sign up for any of the classes.  They are not complicated, but there are steps that must be followed.  You do have to be a member of the website, which is also free to get the deals.  Click this link, to visit and check out all the offerings. 

That is it for now.  Be back in a few days with more awesome stuff that I find.

Fun Fridays are Back

We have not done Fun Fridays, in a very long time.  We are halfway through our school year, and I decided we could do Fun Fridays.  What is Fun Friday?  Well, if we are not doing a field trip, it means we are doing some more fun and leisurely assignments at home.  I like it to be creative, and also to get some things done that maybe there isn't enough time for during the week, like DJ walking to the Barber to get his hair cut, lol.  It also gives us time to do experiments, and research.  DJ has to do labs for Biology, and since some of the Marine Biology experiments fit Biology, and didn't get done last year, we are doing them this year.  Once my roses have some nice buds on them, we are going to do a Hybrid experiment.  I will share all that, when we do it.  Yesterday, we did an experiment for Annelids, it was real simple, but they got the right idea.

DJ's Art project, he has two, both have to do with the upcoming 4H fair.  He is doing a cover design, and a wood burning project.  Caitlin will be making a matching painted paw print shirt, to go with her pants, for the fair, and she still has to pick a photograph.  Speaking of photographs we saw our first Monarch caterpillar of the year, this week, and it made a chrysalis already.  So, we will be watching that.  I told Caitlin if she wanted to do Art on Fun Friday, that she had to pick an artist she wanted to study, and learn about.  She chose Robert Bateman Wildlife Artist.  She drew, and then used colored pencils to complete her first remake of his Lynx painting.  He really does beautiful work.  She will have to do writing assignments, along with art for her projects. 

The new SAT, is interesting, lol.  There are actually five sections, with the essay writing now optional.  I don't know why anyone would not do that part.  Even if you got a low score, it will still boost your overall score.  DJ is very strong in writing, so it will work well for him.  We took a practice SAT, full exam, he took the old version at the end of last summer.  We did not do the essay part, because it is self graded, right now, until it goes live in March.  He actually improved quite a bit on the Reading, which was already pretty good, and the Math, which is his weakest are, he improved 30 points.  Heads up there is a lot of Geometry.  So, if you have not started Geometry yet, which we had not, you might want to.  So, for now Business Math will be awarded to him a half credit, he started Geometry, and will work through the rest of this year on that, and finishing up Algebra 1.  That way when he takes the actual SAT, at the end of this school year, hopefully we will get a real good idea of where he is.  He will be at the end of 10th grade.  The SAT, can be taken as many times as you want to pay for it.  Colleges only get the highest score you get.  So, there is always room for improvement. 

Using OpenEd for Math Lessons and Turning Some of Our Favorite Nature Photos Into Awesome Gifts

Well, it has only been a week since my last post, lol.  I just don't have as much time, it seems, to blog.  I have been using OpenEd, the Math lessons, with my 6th grader, and right now it is going well.  She does the lesson, then plays a game, and watches videos.  Then we do Math flash cards, on an app, and she is finally getting division down.  I would still like her to be a little faster with her multiplication facts, but I wont quibble that.  With more practice she will get it. 

Since it was a little bit warmer today, I went out and got a lot of gardening done.  We are putting up a privacy fence, in the back yard, long story, so I had to dig up several plants.  They were successfully relocated, and I got to pick a spot for Caitlin and me to plant our 3 Sisters garden, in the Spring.  I got it dug, and added some good soil to it, and I will start composting it as well.  If you ever decide you want a privacy fence, do one panel a paycheck.  We didn't do it that way, but I wish we had.  Buying it all at once is extremely expensive. 

If you have been reading this blog, for any length of time, then you know we love to be outside.  We love nature, animals, visiting all our local parks and zoos.  Though, we have by no means visited them all, it takes a while, lol.  We also love to take pictures of all the beautiful, and fun things we see, and find.  Some of you might even recognize this picture.  The male lion, who let us take his picture several times.  Now, you can purchase some of our favorite, and best photographs, by shopping at my new Society6 Art store.  You will also find my paintings.  You can buy prints, canvas, or lovely gifts.  So far, along with this lion, I have uploaded flowers, manatees, deer, dolphins, springs, and other beautiful pictures from our travels around Florida.  I do not have all of them loaded, yet.  It takes quite a long time to edit and load them.  Plus, I have to find them in all my storage places.  We have been doing this for 9 years after all.  These make great, quality gifts.  You can also just click the Society6 banner, at the top corner of this blog.

Some Thanksgiving Art, Wood Burned Gifts, and End of First Quarter of Homeschool Year

I just realized I had not posted on this blog in a few weeks, good grief. Today, was the last day of our first grading period. I will be working on report cards over the next few days, and evaluating if we are where we need to be.

Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, and the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special is on ABC tonight, at 8 PM. That means it is time to start thinking of Christmas specials, something my children and I enjoy immensely. Even at 15, and 11, this is a tradition they still love to do. This year, we are actually having no company for Thanksgiving, a first I think. Normally, we also decorate the tree Thanksgiving night, however this year, we are starting something new. We are taking the kids to the movies on Thanksgiving eve. I might regret it, lol, but we are going to give it a whirl. I am not sure when the tree will get decorated, maybe on Black Friday, a day I refuse to ever leave the house. I will be doing some shopping this week.

Speaking of shopping, some of my readers know I have an Etsy store, where I sell jewelry, crochet items, and art. I am having a BOGO sale, buy one get one free, that goes all the way through January the 1st. Click here to visit my shop, and I offer layaway too. The first three items below are made by me, and the last two wood burned pieces are my son's. He made them for two friends who turned 16 the last couple of weeks. Him, and I both love wood burning.

Supplemental Work or Homework Help for 3rd Grade

This is a post by request, for a friend of mine.  These should all be free, and either printable or online.  They have limited internet due to where they live, so if that is your situation as well, you might like some of these.  I will not share any apps, or purchased items for this post. 


Reading:

http://www.k12reader.com/subject/reading-skills/reading-comprehension/3rd-grade-reading-comprehension-worksheets/

http://www.smarttutor.com/free-resources/free-reading-lessons/third-grade-reading/

http://worksheetsplus.com/ReadingQuizGrade3.html

http://www.jumpstart.com/parents/activities/grade-based-activities/3rd-grade-activities


Math:

http://www.softschools.com/grades/3rd_grade/math/

http://www.mathblaster.com/parents/math-games/3rd-grade-math-games

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/grade_3.php

http://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/third-grade-3

Science/History:

http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/subject/science-games/

http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/subject/science-games/


Arts and Crafts/Hands On  for Math/Reading:

http://www.happinessishomemade.net/2014/06/20/lego-learning-activities/#_a5y_p=1868496

http://www.teachingblogroundup.com/2014/01/its-1-4-14-its-time-for-snowmen-day-100.html

http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/09/26/paul-klee-art-lesson/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/124552745919638125/

http://www.mamamiss.com/2014/10/31/science-art-math-learning-candy/

http://ourjourneywestward.com/nature-journals-important/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/201465783307378905/

http://www.teachingwithamountainview.com/2013/04/top-10-tips-for-building-fluent-readers.html
 

Pinterest Boards for Homeschool and Education

Today, I am sharing a few of my Pinterest boards that are related to homeschool, or education.  Check them out if you want.  There is tons of info there.  It is easier to do it this way, then for me to sift through, pick and choose, and then you sift through my blog to find them all.  I love Pinterest!  It is a giant filing cabinet.

https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/eclectic-homeschooler/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/books-worth-reading/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/upcycling/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/artsy-fartsy/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/earths-kids-club/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/fun-things-to-do/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/volunteer/
https://www.pinterest.com/iaminterested/higher-education/

How To Train Your Dragon 2 with Printables Plus Art

The kids and I have not sat down to watch a movie for school, in a while. So, today we sat down to watch, How To Train Your Dragon 2. I read another blog post that said this movie was a lot about diplomacy, and politics. There was only one little section where I would say that was true, and that the whole of the movie was may more than that. This was in 3D in the movies, so it wasn't as exciting on our plain old TV. Both kids had a writing assignment after they finished watching, and next week will get an Art assignment. All of us, yes me too, will design and draw a dragon. I already have ideas for mine, and I think it will be fabulous, lol. Here are some worksheets to go along with the movie. Be sure to check out the rest of that website, for some other cool items they offer.  We have Netflix, and watched the movie on there.  But, if you don't have Netflix, you can always purchase the movie too. 

Draw What You See Microscope Fun

When I bought the Apologia Marine Biology books, I didn't realize they had slides for the labs. I bought a dissection kit, and a microscope. The microscope came with some slides, but not Diatoms or Unicellular organisms. So, I had to improvise for this weeks lab. First we took some water from our pool, that has had no chemicals put in it since the beginning of September. There is no algae in the pool, so we found no organisms. We will try that again, when the algae starts to grow. So, I found a website that shared images of unicellular organisms under a microscope and had DJ draw them. We also put a broccoli slice under the microscope. The kids kind of saw the both things. I saw more lighter striations than them, but you get the idea. The edge of the broccoli, where I had cut it with scissors was glittery looking and beautiful. Neither of the kids drew that. So, I has to remind them to draw exactly what you see, all the details. This week, the kids did not get in their perspective Art lesson. I have done it twice, and will share all of them when the kids finish theirs. DJ is learning the flute and will start guitar lessons soon. So, those are taking up his Art time.

We had a very good week of lessons, and fun. I am ready for the new week to start.

Earth Kids Meeting: Mediterranean Monk Seal and Making Water Colors

Well all my pictures would not load again, but you will get the idea. When we do Earth Kids, we have two teens, and then two younger kids. So I try to do an experiment one month, and then an art project, or craft the next month. This month was both an experiment, and an art project. DJ picked the Mediterranean Monk Seal, as the marine topic. You will find links below, to learn about them and repeat the project too.

2 days before the meeting, we collected some flowers of different colors. We already had some daisies that we had bought, and put in a vase. So we saved a couple of them. They were already colored enhanced, so they were very vibrant. There was blue, purple and green. Then I got a hot pink Azalea and a light pink Camelia, from my garden, and one yellow rose bud, also from my garden. We had no orange, those roses had not opened yet. Then we crushed them up a little, using a rolling pin, put them in a zip lock bag with hot water, and let them sit until the meeting. Each child was supposed to guess which color they thought would be the most vibrant. Two picked the blue, one green, and one purple. You can see from the paintings that the blue definitely one. Of interest, the hot pink Azalea actually turned an orange color, very pretty, but definitely not pink. The light pink Camelia, released no color what so ever, and the water was clear. The green, and purple, though they looked very vibrant in the bag, were not so vibrant on paper, and the yellow rose bud was a very pale yellow.

All in all, a fun activity, and good learning experience for all. We also discussed who would have used this to paint and went over vocabulary terms in the reading.

The kids don't know it yet, but I am picking the topic next month.  We will be going to Cedar Key and we will study the Horseshoe Crab, and then do an experiment on properties of sand.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/pinnipeds/mediterraneanmonkseal.htm

3 Day Auction, and Crochet For Charity

Ever other weekend, I will be auctioning off an item from my Etsy store. People love auctions, and this is a fun way to move some inventory. If you would like to participate go to my craft blog at Melissas Jewelry and Gems.

One of the homeschool groups, I belong to, does a Warm Up America blanket every year. These blankets are handmade, and then given to families in need. I donated about 10 squares, and you can see the finished blanket below. I want to teach Caitlin to crochet, so she can participate too. If you can crochet, and you would like to participate, just click the highlighted link for details.

Homeschool Art the Pink Robin and A Special Easter Card

Today, Caitlin and I decided to paint the Pink Robin for the next bird in our bird painting series. She picked it, and DJ will be doing a colored pencil version later this week.  In case you are wondering the Pink Robin lives only in southern Australia, what a bummer.   I painted mine onto a gift bag, and hers is on acid free acrylic art paper. Mine is not exactly how I wanted, but I am my own worst critic. I painted an Easter gift bag as well, but you will have to visit my other blog to see that one. Caitlin then spent a very long time designing and painting a very special Easter card for her Nonie. She actually wants to give it to her this Saturday when she goes over to sew with her, so I guess it is a very early Easter card, lol.

As part of my desire to teach my children to do random acts of kindness, they have started their letter writing monthly to their grandparents, and weekly phone call to my mom, just to let them talk and hear from them. It is a very simple way to reach out to the ones you might not get to see all the time in your busy day. Let them know you are still thinking about them. Plus, for Caitlin it helps her work on her Grammar skills.  And without my prompting, Caitlin donated her gift card she won for learning the books of the Bible, to one of her friends that just had surgery.  This made me so proud. 

Russian Architecture: Onion Domes in Art Class

Well we did not get to go hiking at Poe Springs, because it rained, boo! But we did get to make our Onion Dome paintings. We are getting ready for the Winter Olympics and were studying Russian architecture. So, I decided we would paint onion domes on buildings. You can see the results below. We had quite a bit of paint left, so Caitlin and I did some other paintings as well. To see the others in better detail you will have to visit my other blog. I think Caitlin is going to offer up her abstracts for sale. Any money she makes will be put away for her personal use. She actually enjoyed abstract painting quite a bit. DJ's onion domes was firey and hot colors, mine a little softer with some cool geometrics, and Caitlin being the animal lover she is made her domes all look like animal paws.

We have picked our athletes to follow, each of us picked a boy and a girl.  Caitlin chose freestyle skiing for her sport, DJ snowboarding and me of course figure skating.  We have researched our athletes a little, following them on FB, read about Sochi and Russia, found them on the map, learned about the history of the Olympics, and traced the path of the torch.  Now we need to pay attention so we can watch the events we will be following.  I have a feeling some of them will be watched online, lol.

Painting and Drawing Penguins

Today was the kids first day back to Art class, with me. I continued to paint over the last couple of months, but they wanted a break. Caitlin picked the penguin, as her bird of choice. Caitlin and DJ opted to draw their penguins, and I painted mine onto a gift bag. You can see the results below. It was finally nice enough outside, to restart our Run Club as well. The kids are at the end of their mileage sheet, and are ready for the 5 Points of Life Kid's Marathon on February 15th. Tomorrow is a regular full day of school, with no outside activities. Tuesday is the only day we have no outside activities, lol.

Tom Turkey Candle Just In Time For Thanksgiving!

I did not intend to paint a Turkey, but I had this big jar already cleaned with two coats of blue paint on it. So, I went ahead and painted Tom Turkey on one side. The other side is just as cute, but I won't share that side until after Thanksgiving. This will be a candle and part of my Thanksgiving Day table.

Painting the Bluejay and JOY Hand Painted Christmas Gift Bag

We usually do Art Class on Monday evenings, but this week it was done on Tuesday. This week was Caitlin's turn to pick the bird, and she picked the Bluejay, a truly beautiful bird. DJ and Caitlin both decided to do colored pencil drawings this time, and I did mine in acrylic paints. If you go back, to two years ago, when we first started you will see the amazing progress we have made. Next week we are painting the Turkey, and then the kids are taking a break for a bit. I have not decided how long yet, but I want to get some more painted gift bags done for the holidays and birds are not necessarily on my mind for that. The bag below is my second gift bag. This one is JOY with Baby Jesus and his parents in the O. I really am pleased with the way it came out. If you are interested in any of my bags you can visit my Etsy store.

We had Run Club today, and then continued with our testing for the week. What do you think of our Art work?

Halfway Through the School Week

We are halfway through week nine of our school year.  You know what that means, right?  Next week is our last week of the first quarter.  One quarter out of the way already.  This is when I do report cards, and evaluate the lesson plans and curriculum we are currently using.  I honestly am not thinking anything needs to be changed, however for Caitlin I might be adding more stuff to hers.  She has progressed so nicely with her writing that I might push her just a bit more. 

So, what have we been up to this week?  Monday, while the kids did Science and History, I conquered one set of shrubs out front.  They really do need to be trimmed and cut back at least twice a year, or they just become a massive mess.  I always check for bird's nests and other critters that might be living in there, first.  We do have lizards that take cover in there, but there are lots of places they can do this safely besides the shrubs.  It is hard work, and I was plenty tired.  Since Caitlin is studying Simple Machines, in Science right now, I told the kids to come up with as easier way to move the trimmings to the fire pit using equipment we already had.  One of them held the wheelbarrow in the upright position while the other filled it with a rake and shovel.  Then after setting the wheelbarrow back down they pushed and then dumped them into the burn pit.  A simple machine that made their job much easier and faster. 

Since I have allergies, I should have known better than to play in dirt, leaves and shrubs for such a long time, as by Tuesday my head was congested and working towards my chest.  I guess I never learn, since I plan on doing the rest of the shrubs soon.  We did get in Run Club despite my tight chest. 

DJ's Language Arts class is working towards the quarter final next week.  I am making up his final exam myself, since we don't have access to that exam.  He read The Outsiders, and he has to do a book report in 300 words or less using proper punctuation, spelling, grammar and paragraph structure.. This is a challenge for him since he likes to write way more than is necessary.

Today, I didn't accomplish much, the phone has a funny way of sucking up my time, but the kids did awesome.  Pictured below are their Stellar Sea Eagle art work from Monday.  No extra things this week, as I have to work this weekend, but next week is another busy one planned.

Angler Fish Upcycled Bird Feeder and Sandwiches

So, we made the bird feeders using recycled milk jugs. We were supposed to do four but one jug got forgotten at home. If you don't know what an Angler Fish looks like, they are a hideous scary fish that live in the deepest darkest depths of the ocean. They have a lure on the top of their head that glows to attract prey. So we took milk jugs, cleaned and dried them of course, and cut a really big mouth opening. Angler Fish have large appearing mouths with long sharp teeth. Since we wanted birds, or squirrels to come and eat from the feeder we opted to leave off the long spiky teeth. We did cut the top of the mouth with scissors in strips and colored them in black to appear to be sharp teeth. They spray painted the jugs with yellow or green spray paint. Then after they dried, they added googly eyes, the lure which is just a pipe cleaner and a puff ball glued to the end of it. The lure is held in place by cutting a small slit in the back of the jug sticking in the pipe cleaner and then bending it over to hold it in place. DJ added a goatee to his, but since he was in the shade you can't really see his very well. I forgot the worksheets I had printed out, but thankfully DJ is well aware of the Angler Fish and was able to lead the class without them. Due to the holiday in November, our next meeting is in two weeks, and we will be going on a fossil hunt. There are very specific rules for this, and I will share them in a future post.  Oh I almost forgot the sandwiches.  I used a biscuit cutter to make them round, added the chicken salad, then made the lure with a pepper and olive.  An olive makes the eye.  I tried to use shredded cheese to make teeth but it was the fine shredded rather than the thicker shredded cheese so it wouldn't work.