Happy New Year!

We are still on Christmas Break.  Our first day back to homeschooling, will be Jan 6th.  I need to start blogging more, because it looks like all I am blogging about is time off, and changes I want to make, lol.  I used to blog, on this blog, at least three times a week.  What happened?  Not sure, but I think as they get older, there just isn't as much stuff to share.  They don't like their pictures taken anymore, unless they take it of themselves, or their friends do.  Good grief! 

I will be making some changes in my daughter's Math curriculum.  I had mentioned previously we used Life of Fred last year, and she pretty much loved it.  However, this year we didn't have time to squeeze it in, and I feel it is a good curriculum, but not where I want her to be, so I didn't use it.  I also mentioned, since my mom's car accident, almost one year ago now, I thought it was best if I started incorporating Common Core into our curriculum, in case I ever had to return to work full time.  For my daughter, Math and Writing, would be her biggest issues as far as Common Core goes.  Her writing has improved immensely, and I am not so worried about that one, but her Math still needs much work.  We have been using CK12, and though that is going fine for most of the Math lessons, some of their lessons just are not clicking with her.  They don't seem to explain it well enough, or on a child's level of understanding.  So, I will be moving off of CK12, only for her Math, the Biology for my son is excellent, and going to Homeschool Math, Teachnology, and OpenEd.  With these three resources I am sure I can find what I need to get her where I want her to be.  I still say that on all online format, for learning, is not the way to go.  For some subjects it is fine, but not for all.  Both of mine struggle with an all online Math curriculum.  If none of these options prove successful, I will move to Math U See. 

Tax On Sugared Drinks, The Five Senses

I am going to get on my soapbox very quickly, and then get right back off. As a nation, we are the fattest in the world. We have high obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rates. We eat portion sizes, including sugar, like 6 times or more, over what is recommended. There is all this talk about the government putting a tax on soda, and juice. There are those that have put out commercials against this, and how it would hurt families. I disagree, I think it would be great for families, if it gets them to stop ingesting so much sugar. Juices, that are healthier, with some vitamins, and minerals such as V8 Splash, or Tang, there are others, those are the only two I can think of, should be exempt. Soda, and juices, or Koolaid that are just sugar, with absolutely no nutritional value what so ever, should be taxed in my opinion. There that is my soapbox episode for the week.

Tomorrow for Health we are covering the five senses. I find this cute video, done for a class project. You can view it below. Plus we will be covering more about the family, and how families can differ from each other. We also have our next play date tomorrow, at the park. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. I love Florida this time of year. I still have not gotten DJ's report card done for the first quarter, hopefully this weekend.

Lesson Plans For 10/22/09:

DJ:
Health: The five senses with experiment, my family home
Math: Division, addition and subtraction review
Language Arts: Apostrophes, prefixes, homographs review
Spelling/Vocab: Write each word two times each
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet

Caitlin:
Health: The five senses, my family home
Math: Counting to twenty by twos
Pioneers: Worksheet
Alphabet book: The letter X
Printing Practice
Site Words
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat

Yuck I Don't Like Insects!

I really don't like anything with more legs than me LOL. Here in Florida, we have more bugs, than I would care to admit. Of course my kids are fascinated with them. There are so many ways to let your kids explore Science, that is free. My kids are constantly exploring the yard for bugs, leaves, and any other interesting things. They look at them under the microscope, research them in books, and online. All these activities are free, and require just their curiosity, and will to learn. I really love these old education videos, this one is on insects. If you need a lesson plan for insects, I used Lesson Snips. There are many others out there available, but I chose them this year, for basic lesson plans.

Lesson Plans for 09/15/09:

Caitlin:
Reading- HOP Dad and Sam
Alphabet book- Letter E
Printing practice
Number Identification- Worksheet
Site Words-
Shapes and colors- worksheet
Science- Insects

DJ:
Math- Adding, multiplication, division, place value
Science: Insects, changing colors project
Vocab/Spelling: Write each vocabulary word, and definition, two times each
Language Arts: Capitalization, prefixes, synonyms, and antonyms
Reading comprehension: worksheet
Cursive writing

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

Disco Week on American Idol, and Stranger Danger

Last night on American Idol, was kind of funny for me. Adam came out on top for me, with Allison second, the rest I really just did not care for at all. They can all sing, but I did not care for the way they changed, or interpreted the music. Most of them didn't even sound like Disco. I think Lil, or Anoop will probably go home this week. How did your favorites do?




Tomorrow for health class we will be talking about Stranger Danger. Aside from going over safety tips, phone numbers, addresses, how, and when to fight back, and other information, my kids will watch this short video on the topic.




Lesson Plans for 4/23/09:

Health: Stranger Danger
Writing: Write a story about a germ
Spelling: Lesson 28- put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 28- Write each vocab word, and definition 2x each
Language Arts: Capitalization, action verbs
PE: 30 minutes

The Moon and Stars Themed Unit

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



Lesson Plans for 3/31/09:

Half day all this week, yay

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

Pool Safety Keep Your Kids, and Grandkids Safe

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

Explorers and Pioneers Social Studies

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





Lesson plans for 3/4/09:

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

Manatees The Mermaids Of Florida

Spanish explorers thought Manatees were mermaids, that is why they are called sea mermaids, and sometimes sea cows. Manatees are gentle giants, that are becoming endangered due to human encroachment. In the winter they come into the warm springs, to sort of hybernate until the warm weather returns. There are some places that will actually let you swim with them, however it is mostly considered harassment of the animal to do so. Here are some cool facts about Manatees:

Manatees can be more than 12 feet long, and weigh more than 3500 pounds, that is a pretty big mermaid.

They eat at much as 100 pounds of vegetation per day.

It takes 13 months for a manatee calf to be born, and females only reproduce every 2-5 years.

Manatees can hold their breath up to 24 minutes.

Manatees are closely related to elephants.

We have actually seen them in person, and have pictures of them. I wanted to share them with you, but they have been developed, and removed from the computer. This video below, is a beautiful example of the gentle giants. My kids love to watch them, almost as much as the birds.


Lesson Plans for 2/18/09:

Reading: Chapter two of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone
Social Studies: Flat maps and globes
Language Arts: End marks, proof reading
Math: Tally charts, multiplication, division
Writing: If I was a teacher for the day, I would do this
Spanish: Review
Spelling: Lesson 21- write each spelling word, and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 21- Think of a synonym for each vocabulary word
History channel: Abe Lincoln part one

Tomorrow Is Presidents Day

Tomorrow is Presidents Day, and I found some cool stuff to help teach your kids about this holiday. Go here to see the shows that will be showing, and their times, on the Biography channel. They start tomorrow at 7 AM, so be sure not to miss them. This website also has teaching ideas, and you can sign up for their free idea magazine, which I did. Then if you click on the Bio4Kids link, you will go to a website with games, and ideas for teaching kids about History. I love this site. Last is this cool video showcasing all the US Presidents from beginning, to recent.





There is no school tomorrow, but we will be using all these tools, for History this week. Have a great Sunday, everyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day.

Bicycle Safety, Prevention of Illness

Health class tomorrow will focus on prevention of illness. Good hand washing, manners when coughing or sneezing, and throwing out your tissues, are all excellent ways of preventing the spread of germs. We will also be focusing on good tooth brushing skills, and bicycle safety. Below are some cute, and excellent videos high lighting all of these topics. Feel free to watch, and share them with your children.








Lesson Plans for 2/12/09:

Reading: Read chapter 10 of Ghost Town at Sundown
Health: Prevention of illness, bicycle safety
Language Arts; Capitalization, punctuation
Math: Using tables, multiplication, division, units of capacity
Writing: Valentines Day is about?
Vocabulary: Lesson 19- write each vocabulary word, and definition 2x each
Spelling: Lesson 19- put your spelling words in alphabetical order
PE: 30 minutes
Spanish: review

Spanish Review, Valentines Day History

Why do we celebrate Valentines Day, and what is the history. Go here to watch a short video from the History Channel explaining it. This will be part of our History lesson for tomorrow.

We have been studying some Spanish words, for a whole quarter. I have a disc I purchased, but I do not care for it much. I do like the feature where I can print off the words, and their meanings. We studied, and wrote them every day until we memorized them. Now we need to learn to speak it properly. Below are three videos we will be watching everyday, until the end of the school year. They are numbers 1-10, colors, and food and utensils. We also learned body parts, but I can not find a video for it yet. Feel free to use them as you wish.




Lesson Plans for 2/11/09:

Reading: Chapter 9 of Ghost Town at Sundown
Social Studies: Flat maps and globes, Valentines Day
Language Arts: Capitalization, punctuation
Math: Using tables, multiplication, division
Writing: The best thing about school is
Vocabulary: Lesson 19- think of a synonym for each vocabulary word
Spelling: Lesson 19- write each spelling word, and circle the vowels
Spanish: review videos

Dealing With Stress For A Healthy Heart

Keeping on the subject of heart health, lets talk about Stress. I think a lot of people forget about Stress when managing their health, and Heart Disease. Stress is one of the risk factors you can control, but it is not always easy. Meditating, counting to 1o, taking a relaxing bath, a walk, reading, crafts, writing a journal, deep breathing exercises, and listening to music are all things that can help relieve Stress. Relieving Stress is important because it causes your blood vessels to constrict, increasing the pressure in your blood vessels. If you already have Heart Disease this can bring on chest pain, shortness of breath, or feelings of anxiety. If you do not yet have Heart Disease managing your stress, can help decrease your risk of getting Heart Disease.

You probably do not think of children, and Stress. But they experience Stress too, and very often do not know how to talk, or deal with it. That can lead to mood swings, depression, behavior changes, drops in grades, and worse Suicide. Finding ways for children to deal with Stress, is just as important, as for adults. This site is a favorite of mine for all kinds of Health topics for kids. The page will take you to all kinds of subjects kids face, about feelings, that can cause them undo Stress. Check it out with your kids, and teach them the importance of handling Stress early in life.

Lesson Plans for 2/4/09:

Reading: Chapter 5 Ghost Town at Sundown
Social Studies: Flat maps, and globes
Language Arts: Predicates, punctuation
Math: Problem solving, multiplication, division
Writing: 3 wishes for my birthday
Vocabulary: Lesson 18- think of a synonym for each vocabulary word
Spelling: Lesson 18- write each spelling word and circle the vowels

The Month Of Hearts

February is all about hearts, love, and of course Valentines Day. Which got me thinking, about health care, and taking care of your heart. As a nurse of course that subject, is near, and dear to my heart. Heart Disease is still considered one of the leading causes of death for men, and second in women. Our kids are getting heart disease at much younger ages, due to inactivity, and poor diets. Heredity of course always plays a part as well, but that is not a risk you can control. One of the most important things I think one can do, if they have a loved one with known Heart Disease, or increased risk for Heart Disease, is to learn CPR. CPR can help you keep enough oxygenated blood circulating through the body, for the ambulance to administer advanced life support, and increase the chance of survival. Plus you will learn about symptoms of a Heart Attack, Stroke, Angina, and Choking situations, and what to do. If you have children, these classes are especially beneficial because they teach you how to handle a child who is choking. Most children will not require CPR, but they do suffer breathing problems from choking, ingestion of chemicals, or other airway ailments. These classes will teach you what, and how to react in these situations. You can even take these classes online. If you are a first time learner, it probably would be best to take a hands on class at the Red Cross, or American Heart Association. Some local hospitals, and fire departments also offer these classes. If your CPR card has expired, and you feel comfortable with your skills, you can take an online class. I use www.procpr.org Their videos are excellent, and complete. Note this is not a paid post, it is for informational, and educational purposes. I will be adding other informational heart tips, through Valentines Day.

Lesson Plans for 2/3/09:

Reading: Chapter 4 of Ghost Town at Sundown
Science: Magnets
PE: 30 minutes
Language Arts: Subjects of sentences, commas
Math: Puzzle practice, multiplication, division
Spelling: Lesson 18- write each spelling word, and circle the consonants
Vocabulary: Lesson 18- Use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Writing: The most important person in my life

Inaugural Ball Pictures

Don't they look stunning, and happy. I love a ball. You get all dressed up, and feel like Cinderella, for a night. Congratulations to President, and Mrs Obama, and Vice President, and Mrs Biden. I had the Inauguration on through out the day, and saw bits, and pieces of it. I saw a little bit of the 10 Balls that were on last night. I really do not think, with the economy the way it is, that 10 Balls necessary. One sad story, that occured yesterday, was Senator Ted Kennedy had a seizure, and had to be taken to the hospital. Reports are, is he is doing better, and will probably go home today.


Lesson Plans for 1/22/09:

Reading: Read chapter 8 of Dolphins at Daybreak
Language Arts: Parts of speech, punctuation
Math: Multipliation, division, estimating
Writing: Robin Hood wants you to join his team. What special talent will you bring to the group?
Health: Exercising your mind- emotions
Spelling: Put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Write each vocab word, and the definition, two times each
Spanish: Food and utensils 3

Fun And Easy Animal Science Project

It seems like much of 2nd and 3rd grade, we have spent learning about animals for Science class. That is okay because my kids love that topic. It does get a little boring, though after a while. Anyway, I was sifting through one of our Science books, and I find this cool Weekly Puzzler, and I thought I would share it. This is geared towards 2nd and 3rd graders, though my 4 yr old joins in the conversation. Choose a live animal to watch, we have fish, birds, dogs, and cats that are easily visible from our home. Draw how your animal looks. Write what the animal is. Then compare the animal with yourself, with these things in mind: Its body parts compared to yours, how it moves compared to you, what it eats compared to you, sounds it makes compared to yours, where it lives compared to where you live, if it lives with others compared to you.

I have been asked to evaluate a new spelling program. I hope to get to that this week, and have the information posted.

Lesson Plans for 1/21/09:

Reading: Read Chapter 7 Dolphins at Daybreak
Language Arts: Parts of speech, punctuation
Math: Multiplication, division, round 3 digit numbers
Writing: You will be meeting Batman. What would you like to ask him?
Social Studies: Inauguration, flat maps and globes
Spelling: Lesson 16- write each spelling word, and circle the vowels
Vocab: Lesson 16- Use each vocabulary word, in a sentence
Spanish: Food and utensils 3
Arts and crafts

OMG I Have Forgotten Algebra, and I Am Freezing

As you can see from my picture I am freezing, again. We had almost a whole month of 80 degrees. Shorts, tees, open window, and now brr back to the big freeze. It is 48 degrees right now, here in N Florida at Noon time. Ugh it is awful. I knew I should have kept my snowsuit from when I lived up North. Unfortunately it is going to be this way all week, and I might be a popsicle by then.

It seems I have forgotten how to do Algebra lol. Math was one of my best subjects in school, and now poof I seem to have erased my brain. To my credit it has been over 20 yrs since I used the majority of it. Obviously not all of it is gone, but the harder stuff has magically disappeared. Good thing my son, is not yet learning this, it gives me time to re-teach myself. Grr it is so embarrassing.

Lesson Plans for 1/15/09:

Reading: Chapter 5 Dolphins at Daybreak
Language Arts: adjective and adverbs, punctuation
Math: Multiplication, division, count by 100's, 10's and 1's
Writing: Imagine you are a dolphin, write about your day
Fire Drill Week: Discuss fire hazards and prevention
Health: Parts of the body
Spelling: Put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 15- write each vocab word, and the definition 2x each
PE- 30 minutes

Practicing OPhotography Skills

Those of you that follow my blog, know that I make my own jewelry. Of course that would entail taking photos of said jewelry. It is something I have been practicing for years. What you may not know, is that I love taking pictures, they are the memories of our lives. My children have also taken up this hobby. DJ, my son, got a kids digital camera for Christmas. It was more of an investment thing, than an educational thing. He would buy those disposable cameras and then of course you had to have them developed, which no offense to him were more often than not, not very good. So this way, they can be downloaded to the computer, and deleted if not any good. DJ, and his 4 yr old sister have been having a ball taking pictures since Christmas, and they are fast learners. They are learning about good lighting, esp since the camera has no flash, up close vs far away shots, posing, outfits, etc. It was not my intention for it to be so educational, but they have decided to make it so. The first dark pic shown is the one my 4 yr old took of her brother. Not bad for her first shot. The two of her, were taken by DJ. It took him several tries to get the fish tank to show up in the picture, but he was happy with the end result. As for me, well I must be more of a slow learner LOL. The remaining pictures are my attempts to take shots of the full moon, on two separate evenings. The darker night picture one is far, and the other I finally figured out how to do a zoom shot, and you can definitely note the difference. The lighter one was when the full moon was just coming up. I was kind of disappointed, I used the zoom and it still did not look nearly as beautiful as it actually was. I will continue to practice, and encourage my children to practice as well.

Lesson Plans for 1/14/09:

Reading: Read chapter 4 of Dolphins at Daybreak
Language Arts: adverb and adjective review, capitalization
Math: Multiplication, division, numbers in order
Writing: You can have only one food x 1 wk, what would it be and why
Fire drill week: Discuss alternate exits, and safe meeting places
Social Studies: The continents, MLK Jr
Spelling: Write each spelling word and circle the consonants
Vocabulary: Write a synonym for each vocabulary word

Schools To Lose Millions In Florida's Budget Woes

One day after reporting that Florida's public schools, have showed vast improvement, it was reported that they will have to shave millions off of their 2009-2010 budgets. This means millions of dollars will need to be eliminated. Of course they do not want to cut teachers, but it is reported they will not fill positions of vacant jobs. Plus one of the first things to go will be extra curricular activities, such as field trips, art, music, and sports. There are rumors that Principals will be required to have more than one school, as well as possible school closures, with combined schools needed. This is a shame, considering all the progress that has been made. Hopefully it will not have a negative impact on education to children.

Lesson Plans for 1/13/09:

Reading: Chapter 3 of Dolphins at Daybreak
Language Arts: adverbs, capitalization
Math: Multiplication, division, greater than and less than
Writing: Aliens have landed on Earth, draw a picture story explaining life with aliens
Science: Animals-awesome adaptation
Fire Drill week: Fire safety
Spelling: Lesson 15- write each word, and circle the vowels
Vocabulary: Lesson 15- Use each vocabulary word in a sentence
PE- 30 minutes

OH Christmas Tree, OH Christmas Tree

I thought I would share some pictures of our Christmas tree. The two with the kids, is from Christmas last year. The other is this year. This years tree, is smaller, but fits in that little corner nicely. Don't mind the toilet paper in the pic, we all had colds, and the tissues were all gone.

We have some crazy weather here lately. It is freezing one day, and then 80 the next. We are in for some severe weather, later today, and tomorrow.

Lesson Plan for 12/11/08:

Reading: Read Chapter 8 of Sunset of the Sabertooth
Writing: Draw a map for Santa, to get to your house
Health: Germs and body defense
Spelling: Lesson 12- put your spelling words in alphabetical order
Vocabulary: Lesson 12- write each vocabulary word, and defition 2x each
Language Arts: Adjectives, capitalization
Math: Addition and subtraction problem solving, multiplication
Spanish: Food and utensils part 2
PE: 30 minutes