Kids Say the Cutest Things.....

I just had to share this cute thing my daughter shared at the breakfast table this morning. As we were watching the weather forecast for the next few days they have predicted yet a chance for more rain for this Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Yikes!! As many of you have read from one of my latest posts we have had more rain this season than Seattle, Wa. Well, my daughter pipes up at the table and says, "Well, we have been praying for rain. Maybe He doesn't know when to stop!" All of us had a good laugh this morning at her cute and insightful comment. Just had to share this with you.

Have a great Day!

Slavery and the Undergound Railroad

This past week we continued our US State and Region study. We learned about just two states this week Louisiana and North Carolina. The rest of the time we spent learning about slavery and the Underground Railroad. We had fun this week and I have a few ideas and projects to share with all of you.

For the state of Louisiana the kids learned about the Louisiana purchase and the history behind the name Louisiana. We listened to blues music and tried to speak Creole. The kids got a kick out of the book Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell. I didn't get a chance to have them learn about the life cycle of a shrimp. I just had them color a page of one to add to their books. I did have them watercolor a swamp while a read some fun books on swamp life.


For slavery we have reading some historical fiction books on slavery and some historical books. It's hard to stomach some of them. It so disheartening and at time hard to fathom what life was really like back then. I thought of a great writing assignment for my kids this week since we took a week off of our CQLA studies. I had my daughter who is in second grade write one to two paragraphs about Harriet Tubman's life. She had to include her Godly character that she displayed and a map of her escape route. We them found a pattern to a paper doll folding craft. I had her decorate it and add her story to it. I help edit it and add more adjectives with her.

For my eldest son who is in fourth grade I had him write a three to four paragraph paper on his life as a slave. He wrote out some really good ideas as a slave what his life was like. How he escaped by using the Underground railroad and was a free man. What his story was lacking was feeling. I read some black spiritual songs to him that were popular at the time and he was suddenly hooked. He changed his whole story into a song. It was very clever and cute. I helped him with a few lines to add. He wants to submit it to the local paper. I need to check into that. It would be a great addition to Black History month in February.

I also had the kids make a paper Underground slave quilt. Here is a picture of one that is still a work in progress. A great book to read with this idea is Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopskinson.

A great science idea that went great with our slavery and underground study was I ordered cotton bolls from a website. They sent two different types of cotton upland and pima. Pima is more off white antique color and upland is white. I had them dissect each cotton boll. To do this I had them pull apart each boll and find the seeds. I had no idea there was so many seeds in each one. They had to predict how many. Find them and figure out with a scale which was heavier the seeds or the cotton boll itself.

We tried spinning our cotton on chop sticks too. This was an adventure. To do this you need to have something to anchor your stick down with. This helps with the spinning. My youngest son loved this but he like to spin it as I pulled gently on the cotton.

Later my daughter wanted to dye her cotton. We just used food coloring with little vinegar for this. She wanted pink of course. She's convinced that she will use her cotton for something.

I also had the kids make a lapbook for slavery and the underground railroad. This was a total last minute idea due to our co-op being canceled. They each wanted to make their own. I gave them the list of things I wanted them to include and some pictures form Google of course to get them started. They came out great! I'm looking forward to trying this again with the Civil War unit.

Well, we have yet to finish our North Carolina pages for our states book. This may be a great rainy day activity for them today. I wonder if they will want to. We shall see.

Here is the list of books we read this week:

-An Apple for Harriet Tubman by Clennette Turner

-Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

-Welcome to the USA Louisiana by Ann Heinrichs

- Cajun through and through by Tynia Thomassie

-The Sea, the Storm and the Mangrove Tangle by Lynne Cherry

-Mama Don't Allow by Thacher Hurd

-Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell

-Welcome to the USA North Carolina by Ann Heinrichs

-Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter

-Brown Paper School US kids History Book of the American Civil War by Howard Egger-Bovet

***** This book has a great Plantation game that the kids can play.

It's Raining, It's Pouring.....

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

It has been raining here now in Southern California for more than a week now. As I write this our roof is being pounded on by yet again more rain. Our backyard is now beginning to flood. Our ground is just so saturated. The weather reports say that this is the last of the storms for now but we shall see. I guess this is what we get when we have been praying for rain.

Our state in a drought and officials have warned that water rationing would take effect next year if water conditions didn't increase. So far God has answered our prayers. Last night they announced on the news that here in Southern California we have had more rain than Seattle, Wa this year; hard to believe that.

The reason I write this is to not only thank the Lord for answering our prayers but to share with you some photos from last Sunday just a few hours of what our family got to do before the rains hit here in the Southland. What a difference a week makes.....

Last Sunday we took the kids on a local hike here in the foothills. The weather was crisp, just perfect for such an outing. We took the kids to an area that my hubby and I had our engagement photos taken some 13 years ago. I can't believe how time just flies by.

Our kids enjoy it when we share old stories of our childhood or of our early engagement/married life. It is so important to share your stories with your kids. It helps in the molding of their own lives.

Finding a past time to share with the family is another great thing. Our family enjoys hiking. Our favorite place to be is in the mountains. My boys love to climb big trees and throw rocks in streams. My youngest son right now has a fascination with Davy Crockett. He has fun reenacting the parts of his adventures in the woods. My daughter loves to look for various animals. I'm hoping to start a nature book with them someday soon.

I can't wait for this rain to go away soon. Who knows I may be having to teach a homeschool class on ark or boat making if we don't dry around here. I also am looking forward another family hike.

Enjoy your Sunday !!

Peaches, Peanuts and Cotton...OH My!!

Today was a school holiday here, Martin Luther King Jr. The timing worked out great with our Southern region State Study. It was a complete God thing. When February rolls around and Lincoln's birthday is celebrated we will be deep into our learning of the Civil War. I'm looking forward to that one because Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents.

Well, this past week was certainly packed with learning, a field trip, a Biology dissection and some attitude problems here at home. Without further due I will give you a brief review of things.....

On Monday we visited the Yellowhammer state....Alabama. We learned about George Washington Carver, the peanut scientist. A remarkable life story of his and how he later helped the cotton farmers with teaching them about crop rotation and by planting peanuts and sweet potatoes to replace needed minerals in the soil that were lost. I had the kids label a peanut plant and make homemade peanut butter. Baba loved it. The others didn't think it was sweet enough.

On Tuesday we took a steamboat along the Mississippi river in Mississippi. This was our day of struggles and bad attitudes. I had the kids map out the river route on a USA map. They also learned how cotton is grown and picked. Just briefly due to the fact that they will be learning about this more in depth next week in co-op. We read a book about Eli Whitney. I pointed out that his invention of the cotton gin transformed the world.

Then we were off to pick peaches in the state of Georgia. We read books about Martin Luther King and did a few crafts. I don't know if you can tell what this picture is but it is two hands shaking. One is of lighter skin and the other is darker. The kids had such a hard time with this study on discrimination. They though it was silly to have separate playgrounds, schools and bathrooms just because of some one's skin color. They were saddened to hear of all the hatred that resulted too because of this.

On Thursday our park group went on a double field trip. It was the field trip of food. It was quite yummy too! First we went to Krispy Kreme Donuts. The kids got to watch how donuts are made and sample a glazed donut.

Next, we went to the Rain Forest Cafe and took a tour and ate lunch there. Here are some photos to share. The ones in the Rain Forest Cafe turned out a little dark. It was a neat place. The kids loved it and want to take Daddy soon.

Friday, the kids participated in a dissection of a star fish. Coco loved it and took it home to share with Daddy that night. Chip begged for us not to take it home. He was reliving the horror of last years' dissection of a rat. Coco took it home and shared it with friends and family to look at. Most girls hate this type of thing but not her, she loves it and finds it fascinating. I was the same way as a kid.

After the dissection we had a quick study on Arkansas. We learned that Arkansas is the only state that diamonds are found in. They actually have a mining area open to the public to dig for diamonds. Chip is already planning a family vacation to this state. He is planning on finding the largest diamond and selling it on EBAY. Where he found out about EBAY, I may never know!!!

I hope all of you had a great week. Tomorrow I'm hosting co-op. It should be nice we haven't gotten together with friends for learning for weeks. Sadly, today we had a family pull out from co-op for a short while. It will prove to be a challenge to act out Civil War scenes with only two families. Maybe one family will be the Union and the other Confederates. I know my kids will ant to choose the rebels. We shall see on this one.

May God continue to bless you where ever you are reading this from. Here is a list of books that we read this week:

-Welcome to the USA Alabama by Ann Heinrichs

-Y is for Yellowhammer: An Alabama Alphabet by Carol Crane

- George Washington Carver: The Peanut Scientist by Patricia Fedrick McKissack

- I like Peanuts by Jennifer Julius

- Peanuts by Selsam

-M is for Magnolia: A Mississippi Alphabet by Michael Shoulders

- Welcome to the USA Mississippi by Ann Heinrichs

-Cotton by Millicnet Selsam

-The Inventions of Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin by Holly Cefrey

- Welcome to the USA Georgia by Ann Heinrichs

- Happy Birthday, Dr. King! by Kathryn Jones

- P is for Peach: A Georgia Alphabet by Carol Crane

-Picture book of Martin Luther King Jr. by David Adler

-N is for Natural State: An Arkansas Alphabet- Michael Shoulders

- Welcome to the USA Arkansas by Ann Heinrichs

Southern States

We are now learning about the Southern states. The Bible belt of America. We will taking the next three weeks to learn about this region as well as slavery.

On Monday we stopped off at Kentucky otherwise known as the Bluegrass state. We read books on Daniel Boone and added a writing page in our state notebook on him. Chip's favorite place in Kentucky was reading about Louisville. Home to the famed Louisville Slugger bats. I read a book called Louisville Slugger: The Making of a Baseball Bat by Jan Arnow and the kids made a bat out of construction paper and personalized them. Here is a picture of Coco's with hers.

We also learned that Corvette cars are made in Kentucky and ate at KFC for lunch. Baba liked this. We enjoyed reading about Kentucky and hope to visit there one day.

On Tuesday we headed off to the two Virginias. There was much to read about and write in our notebooks for Virginia. Many historical events took place in Virginia. I had the kids make a small folded book. Here are a few pictures of Chip's Virginia book.

The first page I had the kids draw the Native American and list the tribes that lived in that region. The second page they drew a page of Jamestown.

For the third page I had them draw Yorktown with General Cornwalis' surrender; ending the American Revolutionary War. The final page was the Civil War. I never knew that West Virginia was formed as a result of the Civil War. I learn something new each day as their teacher.

On Wednesday we were off to the Country music capital of the world...Tennessee. The kids and I learned out the king of the frontier, Davey Crockett. Baba loved to wear his coonskin cap and act out the scenes of the movie. We also learned out the Grand Ole Opry and the history of it's roots. They also drew pictures and wrote about coal mining and sang Clementine.

Thursday we basked in the Florida sun. It is known as the Sunshine state. We had fun making and drinking orange julius'.
The kids learned how to make a key lime pie from scratch. Baba had fun using the juicer for the limes.

The kids also made construction paper alligators and we read about the other animals that live in a swamp. I didn't get to do all I wanted to do with this one. I still need to teach them the difference between the Everglades and swamp. What is a habitat and ecosystem. Maybe when we study Louisiana I can revisit this again.

Friday we played hookie from school in the morning and went up to the local mountains with Daddy to play in the snow. We had a big storm here last weekend. It dumped a lot of snow on our mountains. We had our perfect spot all to ourselves. There is a great sledding area for all of us.

The snow was fresh and deep. Just like powder. I even used the orange slices I brought to make slushes for the kids to eat.

All of us can't wait to head up there again after another big storm.

Here is the long list of books that we read:

-B is for Bluegrass: A Kentucky Alphabet by Mary Ann McCabe

-Welcome to the USA Kentucky by Ann Heinrichs

- Louisville Slugger: The Making of a Baseball bat by Jan Arnow

-Daniel Boone: Frontier Scout by Tracy Borass

- The Legend of Daniel Boone by Eric Blair

-Welcome to the USA Virginia by Ann Heinrichs

-Welcome to the USA West Virginia by Ann Heinrichs

-Welcome to the USA Tennessee by Ann Heinrichs

-Sally Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett by Caron Lee Cohen

-A Picture book of Davey Crockett by David Adler

- S is for Sunshine: A Florida Alphabet by Carol Crane

- Wild and Swampy by Jim Arnosky

- Swamp Life by Theresa Greenway

- Welcome to the USA Florida by Ann Heinrichs

- Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

January 7, 2008

No more lazy mornings or late nights. It's back to school this week in our home. It's always hard after a long break. We have been off of school now for three weeks. I don't think homeschoolers ever do take a real break from school and learning though. We have played several board games, drawing practice, sewing, crafting, cooking and reading. This week we will have to crack the books once again. The kids are looking forward to it but they are also sad that the lazy lounging holidays have come to an end.

This week we are heading to the Southern states of our learning. Monday we will be focusing on Kentucky and the life of Daniel Boone. Tuesday we are doing double state fun by learning about the tale of two Virginas. Wednesday it's off to Tennessee. Thursday we have our weekly co-op and Friday we are learning about swamp life and oranges in Florida. I will have much to share with photos too!

I still need to post about our week of learning about Oregon. I have many great photos to share about dam building when the kids learned about beavers.

May God be with you this week wherever or whatever your plans are. It should be a busy one around here once again. I don't know if I'm ready for this yet!!

Blessings and God Speed!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I appologize for neglecting my poor blog this Christmas break. We have been a busy bunch lately. Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to....

A picture of our Christmas dinnner gathering. We hosted 16 people in our home. It was great to have my brother and his wife here with us. They had just traveled from Alaska. They are in the process of relocating to South Carolina with the Air Force. Sadly, I never did manage to get a picture of them in the midst of all the business of the evening. I did manage to have someone take our family picture which I tend to skip every year. I'm always running around entertaining and socializing. Pictures are always the last thing on my mind. Shame on me.

My hubby and I finally got to schedule a date with our daughter. It was a surprise and she loved it. We have been trying to do this with each of of kids either on our own or with mom and dad. It gives the kids a great example of what proper dating is like.

We surprised her by taking her to Princess' on Ice. She has been begging to do something girlish. She has endured quite a few sporting events. It was a real treat for her. She loved it.

Here are some photos of our New Years Eve. Every year we have a tradition in our home since the kids were just babies. I set up a fancy dinner in the living room by the fire. When the kids were babies we would even drag the high chair in there for the little ones. I usually serve steak and seafood of some sort. Last year and this year we have been doing a crab bake. Eating lots of crab legs with shrimp. I also serve yummy cheese bread. I use a cheese spread that is found at a popular fancy resturant in town. The kids look forward to this every year and always beg for more bread.

This year we also played flashlight tag with the kids in the backyard and went on a walk with our flashlights. The kids loved it and want to do it every year.

The evening is topped off with board games and movies.

Another fun tradition we have is on New Years Day. We leave the table set up from the night before and have breakfast there in the morning watching the Rose Parade. We eat french toast and sausage.

Well, sadly the holidays are over. It is always disappointing seeing the neighborhood Christmas lights slowly begin to vanish by the passing of each day. Clean up has been in full swing this week in our home. My hubby purchased and built some needed bookcases for me. I finally got to drag in a load of books from the garage. For the past few days I have been putting them into the bookcase according to theme.

As any fellow homeschooler knows one can never have enough bookshelves. This one shall soon be full too in given time. I'm just estastic to finally have all of these out of the garage .

I hope everyone is off to having a great New Year. May God bless you with a great one!!