Homeschool Lessons and Games for Free or Low Cost

I have been a member on Pinterest for at least two years now, maybe three, and I have compiled quite a list of things on my Homeschool Board. Some of them I have used many times, others I have completely forgotten about. We are nearing the end of our third quarter in this school year. That means it is time for me to start planning for next year. Since typically I make my own curriculum, it takes me a long time. For DJ, who will be in High School next year, I have decided to buy some curriculums rather than trying to make my own credits for those subjects. I still have to decide for American History, Language Arts, and any elective he wishes to take. I really wanted to buy My Father's World, for Caitlin next year, but my oh my it is way too expensive. I have no idea if it is worth what they charge, but I am not in the position to pay that much money for fifth grade lessons. So, in the next weeks, and maybe months, I will be sharing websites from my Pinterest board, that actually work or are good for what they say they do. Caitlin loves the Evan Moor books, so I probably will buy the one shown below for her next year. The Astronomy web page is for us to try to follow along in the night sky with major events. My kids really enjoy this, and in April you should be able to see Jupiter. Hopefully by putting it here I will remember.

http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/index.html

http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2014.html

http://www.gameclassroom.com/4th-grade

http://www.multiplication.com/games

http://www.teachercreated.com/free/interactive-whiteboard-activities/

http://www.thestorystarter.com/jr.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.

9th Grade Science and Math Books Purchased

We went ahead and bought some of DJ's books for 9th grade, next year. We knew we wanted these sets, so these ones are taken care of. American History will probably be online, and I found where he can learn Japanese, and the Ocarina online as well. Those are both his choices, not mine, lol. I just need to figure out for Language Arts, and what books I want him to read. He already read a bunch of 9th grade literature this year, for 8th grade, so I am probably going to give him 9th grade credits this year for Language Arts. He read The Outsiders, A Separate Peace, and is currently reading Romeo and Juliet, and I think I will have him read To Kill A Mockingbird for his last book. We will watch Romeo and Juliet first and discuss it in great length. He also does book reviews for each book, on his own blog. So, he can do 10th grade Language Arts next year, and I would really like it to focus on writing and research. So, that is what I will be looking for. Over the Summer we will be doing some Math, Geography and he wants to do a video game making class.Oh and the dissection kit shown is not the one I bought.  I can not find the link to the one I bought, but I assume any would be OK.

I am still undecided for Caitlin.

Migraine on Monday, and Celery Experiment

Our celery experiment is complete. As you can see from the images the leaves did in fact turn pink, not red though, but pink. The stalk however did not change color, as I was lead to believe they would. I think a darker color, like blue, would have stuck out more, the pink was very faint. But, the kids did get to learn through, a hands on lesson, how plants get nutrients from their roots to their leaves. The second part of the experiment, I won't know if it worked, until the other family lets me know how it went. I will report on that later.

Yesterday, I had a terrible migraine, so there was no school. Today, was a normal and full day of school. Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we will have Run Club and school, plus church later in the evening.

Starting next year, this blog will again take on a record keeping mood. My son will be in High School, and rather than losing papers, or discs, I can record everything I need right here, and it will never get lost. I will of course continue to blog about all our fun stuff, and my daughter will be in fifth grade, so there is lots to talk about there.