Crazy December Month!

See that picture of the beach? That is what I need right now. What a month December has been, and next week is even busier. On a relaxed note, we will be having a family day Saturday, to do something relaxing. Our Singing Christmas Tree Choir, has the grand finale tonight. What an experience, and blessing it has turned out to be. When we first started this, I thought this is a huge commitment, every Sunday for 3 months to practice, then 4 nights in a row for the actual event. But, we have met some amazing people, and I hope we are bringing blessings and joy to those who come to see it. My son is doing Mary Did You Know, as a solo. No solos for me, no one needs to be deaf, lol. I am keeping track of hours, plus his Praise Band, and Reading Music, he should have enough hours for a whole credit. I am hoping my daughter, and husband will join us next year. With 59 other people in the choir, you really don't have to worry about being able to sing great.

I am behind on my record keeping, on this blog, but it is all in my trusty calendar. We ended our first quarter, last week, and I am still working on grading, and getting a report card done for DJ. DJ opted to change his Chemistry from textbook format, to CK12. It just wasn't working doing the textbook, and already he is moving along faster, and improving his grade. We will be taking off a full 3 weeks for Christmas break. This will give me time to catch up on grading, re-evaluate where we are so far, and get some much needed Winter yard work, and storage issues taken care of.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Christmas season. If you are blue, or feeling lonely, I encourage you to visit your local church, or get involved with a charity. So many people need each other this time of year, maybe you will find something new and beautiful.

Christmas Around the World for History Class

For the month of December, we will be studying Christmas Around the World, for History class. We have done some Christmas for other religions, in the past, this time we will focus on traditions and the holiday in other countries. I am sharing some links for you to pick and choose which ones you would like to use. Below is a video for your kiddos to watch, after you have completed the study. We will be doing one or two different countries each day. For our purposes their activity will be to read about Christmas in a specific country, write Merry Christmas in their language, say what the weather is like at Christmas, find the country on the map, songs, and symbols. Both my kids will be doing this. I probably won't do all the countries listed, as time is limited. After Christmas break we will be doing Virtual Tours of the United States. I am still working on getting that all together, but will share it when it is completed. In my archives you can find the popsicle stick game to help learn the states.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/christmas_around_the_world.php

http://www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/xmas/world1.htm

http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson041.shtml

http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/

Breaking Traditions!

This was my weekend off, and we had no plans, believe it or not. It was so beautiful yesterday, in the eighties. I got a ton of yard work done, dogs washed and even sat in the sun for a bit. Today it is like 50 and windy, ugh! If the weather stays as predicted, this will be the coldest Thanksgiving week since we have been here in Florida. Usually it is hot, humid and baking the turkey is torture. This year might be much different.

Last year, my husband bought a new Christmas tree, a huge one. I mean huge. It is so tall the top can not accommodate a topper. But, I did get to display all my ornaments this year, none got left off. I have a second small tree, that was my angel tree, it now has the advent calendar on it, which I will share in another post, it isn't quite finished yet. For as long as I can remember, starting when I was a kid, the Christmas tree went up Thanksgiving night. My husband and I have continued the tradition, until this year. He asked me if we could put it up early, yesterday. I really didn't want to, but you know what it worked out nicely. No one was over stuffed, tired, grumpy or wanting to watch football. Everyone participated and you can see the beautiful results below. Maybe breaking traditions is OK after all.

We are on Thanksgiving break all this next week.  We will be doing Run Club Monday, cleaning and food shopping on Wednesday.

Martin Luther King Jr Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. It is a national holiday, here in the states, to pay respect to the great civil rights activist. The History channel sends me emails, to tell me about cool programs they will be having on, and today at 4PM Eastern time, there is a documentary on the great Mr King. If you have a DVR record it, and use it in your lessons. I love the History channel because they have done all the research for me, and put it in a nice little documentary. You can also go to the History. com website, to see clips, lesson plans, etc. Instructor Web also has lesson plans on Martin Luther King Jr. These are not free lessons however. I paid 30 dollars for one year, but I get complete access to all their lessons. I think it is a good deal. Here is a whole page of resources for crafts, for kids to do, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day. Do you have a dream? Mr King had a dream, that all people, of all races could someday live together in harmony as equals. Do you feel his dream has been met? As a writing assignment, you could have your child, or students write a story about a dream they have, and how they think they can make that dream come true.




Martin Luther King Day Comments
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The Nativity Story For Kids

Tomorrow is Christmas so I thought I would share these cute videos from Stories of the Bible, the Nativity. Enjoy, and may all my readers have a wonderful, and blessed Christmas.

Help Grant A Wish This Holiday Season

I know this time of year, people are always looking for donations. It is hard to decide whom, you should give to. Which organizations, are really helping those in need. Well now you can help Military families, and Veterans of wars, through the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry,
to see how you can help.

The Sears Heroes at Home Program, was developed to assist military personelle, their families, and veterans through joint efforts with non profit organizations. Now you can be a part of it too. I know so many people who are currently serving, or who have served this great nation. They give their time, sacrifice their lives, and time with their loved ones, so we can all be safe, and have all the freedoms we enjoy every single day. Often, they are injured, or miss births of their children, birthdays, and other holidays, all for each and every one of us. Now you can say Thank You, and help them have a wonderful holiday season too. Maybe you are thinking you can not afford to give money, but just the smallest amount of money can help.

Help grant a wish this year, and give to a worthy cause at Sears Heroes at Home program. They have expanded their program, this year, so they can help to assist more military personelle, their families, and veterans. If you want to have that warm, and fuzzy feeling this year, then you surely must check their program out.

Maple Butter Recipe For Your Turkey

Well it is the day before Thanksgiving, and both my kids have managed to catch a cold. They are both 100% better with forced fluids, lots of rest, steam baths, vitamin supplements, and absolutely no milk products.

A while ago, when I posted my Thanksgiving menu, I posted about Maple Butter, to put on your turkey. I forgot all about posting the recipe, until last night when my husband was making it. It really is pretty easy. You should make it tonight, to be sure it is solid by tomorrow, to put on your turkey. You will need Pure Maple Syrup, the whole bottle. Put it in a pan, and let it cook down on medium heat, for approximately 25 minutes. Then add 2 sticks of real butter to the pan, and let it melt. Put it in a container over night, and you have Maple Butter. You can add Rosemary, but we do not, because I dont like it. This glaze makes the best drippings, for homemade gravy. If you do not know how to make homemade gravy, it is the easiest thing. Use equal parts flour, and butter, to make a Rue. I have no idea if that is spelled correctly, but that is what it is called. So if you use 3 tbsp of butter, add 3 tbsp of flour, once the butter has melted. Whisk them together, and let them cook, on low heat for approximately one minute. Then add your turkey drippings, right from your roasting pan. Whisk and watch it, until it is nice and thick. It does take a few minutes so be patient. If it is too thick add more drippings.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow. We decorate our Christmas Tree, after dinner and dessert. It is a family tradition, carried on for many years.

Parental Rights Are They Being Violated?

I received an interesting email today. It was from a member of one of my Homeschool groups. It was about Parental rights, and a petition to pass an Amendment to include parental rights in the US Constitution. Now I have saved this link, and have read the petition. I am considering signing it, but will probably do a little more research. The group http://www.parentalrights.org is the group promoting the Amendment. You can go here, to read the full article that I read, http://www.parentalrights.org/learn/the-attack-on-parental-rights

I guess I never really thought about it, mainly because I have not encountered problems like were stated. It seems most of them them stem from children upset with parents rules, and regulations, then complain to a school Guidance Counselor who in turn directs the child to CPS. I think no child should be abused or neglected. I believe that whole heartedly, and firmly. However, I do not think that rules, guidelines, and restrictions would fall under that category, unless they were way to the extreme putting the child in some kind of danger. I think these rulings, that were stated on this website are way over the bounds of Government rights. I do not understand why we are allowing the Government to have the ultimate say in what is quote in the best interest of the child. The one I found most shocking, was the one about the babysitters getting custody of a child, when the parent was never found to be unfit. They felt they had some kind of rights, as the childs babysitter. I find this absurd, and outrageous. Now they only gave an exerpt of the case, so there may be things that were not told. These rulings are from extremely Liberal judges, and courts, and are taking away the rights of parents to decide how their child should be raised. I find this to be absolutely beyond the rights of the Government. I must note, that there was a case stated about parents making their child attend church. The child complained, and the parents were forced by the courts to pull back on making the child attend church. Now for me Religion is a very personal choice. I believe in God, and feel I have a very close relationship with God. I do not force religion on my children. I expose them to it, and let them choose how much they wish to explore it. I was forced to attend church, and other religious type activities. I despised it, and it affected my relationship with God. I do not intend to do that to my children. I think they should be able to have some say, as to how their life is going, within the rules of the home. I have to say I agreed with the courts on that decision, to allow the child to pull back from such a rigorous religious regime. That is just me, and I am sure others will disagree with me, and that is of course your right. I will be researching this group more, and studying the Amendment. The general language, is a little vague for me, as I do feel children do deserve some basic rights, and responsibilities. Check it out, and see how you feel about it. I always say, be knowledgeable, know the information, and then make an educated decision.

My Lesson Plans for these next couple of months, are going to be a little different, due to the Holidays, and days off from school.

Lesson Plan for November 3rd:

Reading: Read chapter 2 Pirates Past Noon
Writing: Imagine you are an animal, what would it be and where would you go?
Math: Add, subtract, multiplication, division
Fire Prevention Week:
Language Arts: Phonics review, nouns and verbs
Music: 30 minutes
Spanish: Untensils and food
Themed Unit Study: Feelings

If time permits, we will do an Art class, and a virtual field trip.

Go Pink For October, Halloween Unit Study, Columbus Day For Homeschoolers

Happy Monday, everyone. I have been busy using my day off, shampooing rugs, and storing away toys that my children are not currently playing with. Now I am tired, and going to blog for a bit.

As you can see, my blog has gone pink. October is Breast Cancer awareness month. I am a little late, but better late than never. Turn your blog pink, and show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness. Mine will remain pink, until Novemeber 1st.

Love my blog, dont forget to join my reader, it will get you one entry, into the 10 dollar giveaway, and free advertising contest.

As stated in the rules at the top of my blog, if you submit a Fall related picture, you will be entered into the contest. My husband is real good, at deleting pictures off of my computer, so I had to go take one. The pictures are of my children, in their Halloween costumes, they will be wearing this year.

Speaking of Halloween, want a free Themed Unit Study, for free, on Halloween? Then go to http://www.schoolexpress.com/ and sign up for their free newsletter, and they will send you a new one every Sunday. They also have a whole curriculum based on just Unit Studies, it is not free, but the price is very reasonable. If you sign up, and it is too late, for you to get the Halloween Unit, I can email it to you.

Today is Columbus Day, and I am sure a lot of you are off. If you need some help finding a good lesson for your Homeschool, about Christopher Colombus, then I have some links for you. If you just want to learn more about Columbus Day, these are great for everyone. Here they are:

http://www.biography.com/columbus/ This one is a short video by Biography.com and is well done.

http://www.history.com/minisite.do We will be watching both of these on Wednesday of this week, as part of our Social Studies class.

Tomorrow 10/14/08 is a Half Day, here at Melissas Homeschool, and here is our lesson plan:

Writing: Imagine you have a potion, that makes people tell the truth
Reading: Chapter 3 Mummies in the Morning
Math: Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction
Spelling: Lesson 7 write each spelling word 2 times eahc, and circle the Vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 7, look up the definition to each vocabulary word
Art: If time permits, draw a Haunted House if time runs out, will do on another day

2008/2009 Homeschool Calendar, Fay, and Gustav

Ok I am ready for Hurricane season to be over already. Fay, which is still a tropical low, has now moved back to the east, and the severe weather is once again heading our way, ugh. Gustav, a newly formed Hurricane, is sitting just outside the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, and is set to make a beeline for Florida. So get your storm goggles back on and get ready.

Here is my 2008/2009 Homeschool Calendar. Our first day of school is Sept 2nd. I post this for several reasons. 1- if anyone else wants a free calendar, they can print it and use it. 2- To keep family, and friends that visit my blog, updated on what we are doing, and when we are in and out of school. 3- I actually use my blog as part of my evaluation. I just give my evaluator the address, and she can come see all the things I have posted. It is a great way to keep records, without having tons of paper lying around.

Sept 2nd- 1st day of school.
Sept 24th Early release day
Oct 13th No school Columbus Day observance
Oct 17th End of 1st grading period
Oct 20th No school
Oct 21st Early Release Day
Nov 4th No school
Nov 3rd-7thFire Drill Week, and Hurricane preparadness
Nov 10th Early Release Day
Nov 11th No school Veterans Day observance
Nov 26th-28th No school Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 19th End of 2nd grading period
Dec 24th-Jan 8th No school, winter break
Jan 9th Return from winter break
Jan 12th-16th Fire Drill Week
Jan 20th No school MLK jr day observance
Jan 23rd Early release day
Feb 16th No school Presidents Day observance
Feb 23rd-27th Fire drill week
March 6th End of 3rd grading period
March 9th No school
March 12th Standardized testing, we will be doing this for the 3rd grade
March 20th No school Good Friday
March 30th No school
April 1st and 2nd Early Release days
April 6th-10th No school Sprink Break observance
May 13th Early release Day
May 25th No school Memorial Day observance
June 7,8and 9 Early release Days
June 1oth Last day of school

Free Origami For Kids Patterns

This is a cool website I found. It has been on my favorites, and I forgot about it. It is Activity Village, and they have cool free patterns for Origami for kids. They are simple, age related patterns. They have tons to choose from, not to mention tons of other great kids activities. They have coloring pages, kids recipes, crafts, themes and holidays, puzzles, and so much more. Sign up for their free newsletter, and they will send you email when new stuff is added. Check it out at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/origami_for_kids.htm