Learning Log of September 2012

Healthy raw cereal!

This month we did a lot of History informally. We also did a lot of Math. The children blossomed in unexpected areas by their own accord.

Everything in BOLD and BIG letters are my favorite picks and 

the ones I recommend you check out!! 

Enjoy! 

Books Read Out Loud to All

* Bible everyday. We are reading the Gospel of Luke.
* Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judy Schachner - Dad has read this before and it's a favorite series at our house. Skippyjon Jones thinks he is a chihuahua instead of a Siamese cat. My DH gives him a funny Mexican accent which makes the book even funnier. I highly recommend all Skippyjon Jones' books.
* SkippyJon Jones by Judy Schachner - the first book that gave origin to the series.
* Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner - the link is for his website with games, downloads, videos and information about the author.
* Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
* I don't like to Read! by Nancy Carlson
* Animal Rescue Adventure - Look and Find
* All the Better to See you With! By Margaret Wild - I love this book. We have read it a few times. It tells the story about this little girl that couldn't see well, she needed glasses. But because she was no trouble, her parents didn't find out she couldn't see until one day at the beach. I like to read it again and again because this is similar to how we found out DD9 needed glasses almost 2 years ago.
* Will you Read to Me? by Denys Cazet
* Lola at the Library by  Anna McQuinn and Rosalinda Beardshaw
* Martha in the Middle by Jan Fearnley
* A Lot of Otters by Barbara Helen Berger
* George Washington Carver by Margo McLoone
* My Tow Hands My Two Feet by Rick Walton
* Llittle Loon and Papa by Toni Buzzeo
* Following the Great Herds - The Plains Indians and the American Buffalo by Ryan P. Randolph - Our library has the series of these books. I am reading them to my children slowly. Vintage photos illustrate the book and they make the book so much more real. We are really enjoying this.
* The Wild Little Horse by Rita Gray
* The Spider and the Fly by Toni DiTerlizzi - based on the cautionary tale by Mary Howitt 
* Ten Boys who didn't Give In by Irene Howat - Inspiring stories of martyrs. We are continuing reading this from last month. We are really enjoying this series.  The link is for the set of 5 volumes. Ten Boys who didn't give in is just one of the volumes. The stories are in chronological order so I am using the opportunity to talk to the kids about timeline and historical events.
* Emily's First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells - all about numbers,,, really fun book for Pre-K and kindergarten age.
* S is for Show me - A Missouri Alphabet by Judy Young - We are reading this as we do Missouri State Printables from Living Life Intentionally. I highly recommend the book and the website.

DS7 independent reading list:

DS7 playing soccer and scoring lots of goals.

* Kindle for FREE.
I have a whole list of readers in our Kindle. He read some there.
*Coyote - A trickster tale from the American Southwest by Gerald McDermott
* Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley
* The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
* Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
* I completely know about Guinea Pigs by Lauren Child
*  The Spider and the Fly by Toni DiTerlizzi

DD9 independent reading list:

* Ruthless - Genghis Khan 13th Century Mongolian Tyrant by Enid A. Goldberg & Norman Itzkowitz - A Wicked History
* Wanda Gag - The Girl Who Lived to Draw by Deborah Kogan Ray
* Moby Dick by Herman Melville - The Great Classics for Children
* Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Haunted House by David A. Adler
* Cam Jansen and the Ghostly Mystery by David A. Adler
* Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones by David A. Adler
* Stanley, Flat Again! by Jeff Brown
* All the Better to See You With! by Margaret Wild
* The Flying Dragon Room by Audrey Wood
* The Barefoot Book of Princesses retold by Caitlin Matthews

Having too much fun on the dragon ride.

* Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi
* How Did we Find Out about Vitamins? by Isaac Asimov (Twice a year I hit the Thrifty Store closer to us and buy lots of hardcover books in so many subjects: science, fiction, biographies, textbooks, artists' books and more. This book was one of my finds.) You can read this book for FREE in PDF format HERE.
* Cam Jansen Double Mystery: The Mystery of the UFO and The mystery of the Dinosaur Bones by David A. Adler
* More Cam Jansen Double Mystery: The mystery of the Stolen Daimonds and The Msytery of the Baby Ruth Baseball by Adler
* Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Monkey House by David A. Adler
* Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams
* My Grandmother's Stories - A Collection of Jewish Folk Tales by Adele Geras
* A New Friend for Eddie Eagle - Part II of the Adventures of Eddie Eagle by Margaret Ann Smith - DD9 read the first book and loved it. She was so happy when we found part II at our library.

* Lexi's Homeschool Diary by MacKenzie Moeller - on the Kindle for FREE
* A perfect Time for Pandas - Magic Tree House #48
* Escape to the Hiding Place - The Imagination Station # 9
* Back to School - Rachel Yoder Always trouble somewhere by Wanda E. Brunstetter
* Jesus Freaks - Stories of Those that Stood for Jesus - This book belongs to my DH. When I married him I got to read it and was waiting until the right time to introduce this book to my children. DD9 began reading it. There was a lot of good discussions and thinking going on. The link takes you to the site where other books and excerpts are listed.

Audio Books

* Jonathan Park - Volume VIII - The Copper Scroll - DD9 loves Jonathan Park. She has been listening to Vol. 1 to 7 for over a year now. Every night she turns her MP3 on and listens to episodes until she falls asleep. Last month vol. 8 finally came out and Jonathan Park and crew are in Israel making new discoveries and unveiling new treasures. So of course, we bought the digital files and she has heard it all and is still hearing it. I highly recommend this series. It's family friendly, loaded with Scriptures, good morals, life lessons, history, science and more... 

The Mule Day Parade.

* We are also listening to the Little house in the Big Woods on CDs in the car as we drive to and from soccer and karate lessons.

Activities at Home

* We are still using The Dig for Kids. I download it to my kindle and I am using it with the kids. So far they are enjoying it very much. We are actually reading sections of our Bible and answering questions and memorizing verses. I highly recommend this.

Give Thanks for Our Hands!

* This month for ART study we did Grateful Hands and we prepped our old books with Gesso and painted some empty egg shells for a future craft.


* Playing music: DD9 is teaching the younger ones how to play piano: placement of fingers, scale and some songs like "Mary had a little Lamb" and a few worship songs. DD9 hasn't had formal piano classes in over 8 months but she still practices now and again.

* Composting; planting greens; harvesting green beans; harvesting herbs and drying them; planting squashes and planning for fall crops. My okra and eggplant have been producing an abundant crop.

* Lots of cooking: trying out new recipes that are wheat free; making green smoothies for the kids every morning; increasing our nuts, seeds and greens intake. Look at Mom's eclectic for lists of websites with recipes and other links.

* Playtime outside and enjoying the last of the swimming season. Lots of running around, trampoline, playing in the dirt and writing with sidewalk chalk.

* Games: Red Crucible 2; Mushroom Age (although this game covers history, time line, lots of puzzles and mind games, it is VERY VERY pagan. I do NOT recommend it. I used the opportunity to discuss what the Bible says about the topics presented.)

* Lots of reading aloud: DS7 reading to little ones and to Mom and Dad, DD9 reading to all of them; Dad has been reading more books before bedtime by children's request.

* DD9 is studying SPANISH with Rosetta Stone software. I am fluent in Spanish and English; my native language is Portuguese. I learned the first 2 languages by being immersed in the culture. The Rosetta Stone uses this methodology to teach a foreign language: there are no translations or explanations. Just like a baby learns to speak by listening to parents and family talking to them everyday, the Rosetta Stone method will imprint the language into the student's brain by using sound and image.We didn't buy this, we borrowed from a friend. I wanted to experiment before I took the leap and purchased the Portuguese Curriculum. I am surprised at how well my daughter is learning Spanish. Phonics in Spanish is so much easier. Vowel and consonant sounds are always the same, so even her spelling is turning out really well. :)

* DD5 is doing a lot of art: coloring, drawing, cutting. She got an ink pen and a pad or notebook with her at all times. She is either copying letters, tracing her sister's old drawings or making her own.

DS7 first journal entry in a tiny notepad.

* DD7 wrote his first journal entry on his own. He found the tiny notepad and wrote about going to the pow wow and the fair, spending his money and the things he won. I get a kick out of seeing them take the initiative of trying new things and doing it so well. So proud of him!

* DD5 still using  Walking by the Way Bob Book Printables. and now I also printed out worksheets from Living Life Intentionally Unit Study on States. I bought a map of the USA and put on the wall by our kitchen table. With the older 2,  I am doing the sheets that cover data and other topics of each state, with the little ones I print out the color, number and letter worksheets and let them "play". I don't require that they do them completely or perfectly. I let them use them as they want to. I explain the directions and leave them free to do what they want to. I am also reading books on each state as we do each unit study. We are doing Missouri now.


* Lots of sewing, fort building, playing with boxes, treasure hunting, monster and animal games.

* I love Singapore Math books Intensive Practice Workbooks. Instead of buying the Student Workbook, I bought the textbook (which contains exercises and word problems) and the Intensive Practice books only. The Intensive Practice books are more challenging and have many fun out of the box exercises. So I use them to challenge the kids and I pay them money for pages accomplished sometimes. The catch is: they can't have tantrums or complain about the work. They can ask for help, they can even get the answers wrong, but they can't have bad behavior about it. It's working like a charm. The kids are enjoying the challenge and are doing it on their own without me having to remind them. Behavior has been the best too. They earned a lot of money to use at the fair this month. As for math, we covered division, multiplication, subtraction and addition with carrying over and lots of fun word problems.

Field Trips/ Activities Outside the Home

Return to the Cold Water Dancers!

* We went to Oka Kapassa Festival in Tuscumbia, AL. - I will be making a future post with a photo tour of our trip there.

* Visit to Helen Keller's birthplace. I created a special post with a photo tour of the place. You can see it HERE

* Soccer Games - my 2 oldest are playing soccer for the next 2 months. They really enjoy it. I hate the running around because of practices and games outside town BUT they enjoy it and it only lasts 2 months so the sacrifice is worth it.

* Karate: DD9 and DS7 conquered another belt.

A Civil War Ball with dresses of that time and all!

* Mule Day - our local yearly fair. We got to decorate and ride on a float. Afterwards we enjoyed the fair rides and everyone (except me) attempted the junk food and found it not so yummy anymore since we have been eating green smoothies and healthier for the past couple of months.We also, later that day, went to see a re-enactment of a Civil War ball. Everyone was invited to join in and we did!!

Websites/ Links we discovered and perused.

* Skippyjon Jones website: videos, downloads, games and author information. There are fun games that teach words in Spanish.

* Sheppard Software Math Games: We have used this website before and I really like it. there is so much here: from animals, biology, math, grammar, US government, history and more. Most of everything is interactive either in video format or game format with some text. I used the Math Games section to have the kids practice their math facts and multiplication tables. DD5 played games about colors and numbers and colored some animal scenes too.

* Math is Fun - This was a helpful site to help with division. There is an explanation and then exercises to practice.

DD9 practicing cursive handwriting.

* The HEV Project Website - A christian based website with videos teaching a variety of things from crocheting to science. DD9 watched the videos on cursive handwriting. She did 3 lessons. DS7 began watching the chess videos and that led to the kids having a chess match after another. If you remember they already know how to play chess, they improved their skill this past summer with Granpa. 

I highly recommend you check this website. There are also video testimonies of adults who were homeschooled and parents who are currently homeschooling. A great encouragement to all!

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube findings.

* The Woodcarver - a WWJD movie. Unapologetic Christian. We enjoyed it. Deals with divorce and trouble teens; second chances; strong ethics and family.
* Barbie - A Christmas Carol

Making friends during soccer games.

*  Florence Nightingale - DD9 and I watched this together one night on YouTube. It's an animated version of Florence's life, but so much information that I did not know. So educational.

* One Lucky Elephant - the story about Flora, an elephant rescued in Africa and raised as an circus elephant. As the elephant got older, her owner needed to find a place for her to live. Interesting story. DD9 really enjoyed learning more about elephants and how social they are.

* The Praise Baby Collection - Praises and Smiles - oh, what a nice surprise this DVD was! I got it at our library and the whole house enjoyed it. While the DVD plays worship music the images are soothing with babies and toddlers playing and dancing around. So we fill our house with beautiful music and images. :) I highly recommend. It was so calming to us! The link will take you to their website so you can preview some sample videos.

* Mars Needs Moms - another highly recommended movie. I just picked this one at random at our library and it turned out to be just what we needed. My kids had been misbehaving and had been nagging. Well after the movie was over the first time, my DD5 was teary eyed and full of love toward me. So sweet. The kids watched it 5 more times!!! in 3 days. Here is a Review to help you decide. 

* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - the Walt Disney old version.

DD9 playing soccer.

* The Slow Mo Guys - 2 crazy guys who like to videotape stuff in slow motion. Super Cool!! Kids love this!

* Song of the South - Based on the Uncle Remus' Stories. This is the full Walt Disney movie on Youtube.

* Baby Einstein - Baby Van Gogh - World of Color - These videos are supposedly for babies but my kids like to listen and watch them. Sometimes we put them on as a background as we do crafts in the living room. Of course, DD2.5 is there too watching the video. :) The link is for the video on YouTube.

* Baby Einstein - Baby Bach - Musical Adventure - you can find this video on YouTube too.

* The trouble with Angels on DVD. - Interesting movie. It sparkled a lot of discussion about drinking, smoking and reckless behavior as well as compassion and charity work.

* WWJD movie

* Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Mom's Ecclectic Reading List

Decorating our patriotic float for Mule Day.

My DH and I have gone wheat free this month. So I am slowly incorporating the lifestyle to our whole household. Check out some of the books, websites and articles below:

* The whole new Mom - I made her oatmeal cake and it was a huge success at our home. So good! I also learned how to make food that is soooo expensive at the grocery store for mere cents like Homemade Coconut Milk. Who knew??

* Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko - If you want to find out why greens are so important in our diet, you must read this book. Then search YouTube for videos showing how to make a green smoothie. Not hard at all!

* Healing Promises by Joseph Prince - I recommend anything from him. Through his ministry I finally understood the Grace that God has poured our for us through the life of Jesus.

* Eat your G-BOMBS everyday!! 

* A great article on Quitting!

* Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD - very controversial, BUT if you are a fast food junkie, or cookie or packaged food junkie this book will revolutionize your life. I have decided to abstain from wheat and I have lost 4 pounds in just 2 weeks. I weigh less now than when I got pregnant with my first daughter over 10 years ago.

Bronze statue of Helen Keller.

Generation Cedar and Visionary Womanhood had some very interesting articles this past month. Also Chris Jeub challenged and offered help to anyone on government help to dare to get off it!!

I also found Christy Tomlinson and have been watching her videos on YouTube. 

I am working on my first Mixed Media Canvas. I will share it soon.

What have you been up to? If you found anything interesting in this post, please let me know. You have questions? Ask away.

Blessings,
Tereza



Linking to:

Snippets from Unschooling


and 

Collage Friday at Homegrown Learners

Helen Keller's birthplace: The tour

In the beginning of September we headed to Tuscumbia, Alabama for the Oka Kapassa that happens every year. As we were entering town almost to the park, it began raining. We circled the park brainstorming what to do since we didn't come prepared to get wet. That's when we saw it: a sign to Helen Keller's birthplace. So we decided to go visit it while waiting for the rain to stop. What a surprise!

 For this post we invite you to come see Helen Keller's birthplace with us. Feel free to show this post to your kids when you read books about Helen Keller and if you have a chance do visit the site. It's amazing to see this remarkable woman's background.

Here we are heading for the 

Main House.

To the left of the house, there are fountains and benches circling a bust of Helen Keller.

As you continue on down, there are displays of gifts that were given to her as she traveled the world. 

There are artwork, sculptures, collections of pins, photos and other memorabilia. 

Helen was involved with the Lions Club.

Behind the main house, there is a big open theater where every summer, they put on The Miracle Worker production for about 6 weeks. 

We are definitely putting that on our calendar for

next summer.

As you enter the main house, you sign up the visitors log book and pay a small fee. Someone will give  you a tour and show you the rooms of the house and give you bits and pieces of information. 

Here our tour guide is showing us pictures of Helen Keller and her parents and Ann Sullivan, the famous teacher who taught her sign language.

To the right, the dining room where Helen had a tantrum and Anne Sullivan stayed with her until she finally gave in and learned how to eat with a fork and fold her napkin.

One thing I noticed most rooms had a fireplace. That was their only heating device then.

I kept thinking how small everything looked and how we have SUPERSIZED everything nowadays.

One of the back rooms was turned into a museum with displays of memorabilia and this replica of bronze statue that sits in the National Statuary Hall at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. 

Helen Keller was the first female child to grace the floors of the hall.

Here is another display of typewriters and other memorabilia: photos, books, newspapers' clippings and other records.

Helen Keller inspired many. Although she had disabilities she influenced many and traveled the world.

 

She met many influential people, Presidents, Kings and Queens. She was honored by many. She has written a few books and the couple I have browsed she mentioned the Lord.

Our tour guide said that she always began the day by reading her Bible. The first book she wanted to read once she learned Braille was the Holy Book. 

I don't know how the social turbulence of her time transformed her but I like to believe that she kept her faith in the Lord Jesus in spite of them.

Many of the original parts of the house have been preserved. The windows, furniture, floors are still original as you can see on this photo. My DH said that a runny window pane is proof that it was handmade. On the other side, a modern window keeps the house well insulated since it does have AC.

The houses in those days did not have electricity or an indoor bathroom or kitchen.

Imagine the drafts and cold floors or water they had to endure.

On the back of the main house, you will find a little cottage that contains the kitchen and the maid's quarters.

In the kitchen you will find the cast iron pots, the big fireplace where the food is cooked, the butter churn. 

There isn't much light - just a tiny window.

Here is the other side of the kitchen. More utensils and kitchen tools and the china were food was served. Everything was very proper then.

Where is the refrigerator and the sink? They didn't have any.

Imagine a camping site indoors!

Here is the maid/ cook's quarters. 

It's right next to the kitchen so she can be available at all times to do her job.

Here is the other side of the maid's room.

Again a fireplace to keep her warm in the winter months and a spinning wheel.

Are you enjoying the tour so far?

Would you like to see where Helen was "sent away" to be by herself with her teacher?

This is a grinding wheel for sharpening those kitchen tools just outside the kitchen house. I guess sharpened tools were important.

And that white house in the back is the main house. This is how close the kitchen/ maid's quarters were to the main house.

Here is the famous water pump where Helen finally realizes that everything has a name and a word for it.

To the right of it is the main house, to the left is the house were Helen stayed with Anne Sullivan away from her family so she could learn to trust and rely on her teacher.

To the back of me is the kitchen.

This funny building is the cellar - the underground dark and cool place where food was stored. 

This is the closest they had to a fridge or pantry. It's located to the right of the kitchen.

See that little while house on the left of this photo? That is the house where Helen stayed with her teacher. it's right next to the main house. Right behind it you can see the cellar's roof.

Helen went on a buggy ride so that she would think she was going somewhere far away from her home. Sullivan did not want her running to her Momma at the first huddle. It worked!

Here you go: the one room house where Helen and Sullivan spent time together living, getting to know each other and learning to communicate.

See that nice pot by the bed? You know what that is??

Can you locate their heating source??

Here is the pretty sunny area of their one room house.

Could you live in such a simple house?

What would you do for entertainment?

Do you think time would go slow or fast?

Here is the house from the outside.

Doesn't it look cozy?

There are many Magnolia trees on the property. They are majestic.

What makes some people succeed against all odds and other succumb to their circumstances?

I know that there were many that were in the same situation as Helen Keller but we haven't heard of them. Many didn't have the opportunities that she was handed.

What opportunities are we passing by today? 

What mountains that we are refusing 

to climb?

What scenery are we missing out on enjoying?

The Magnolia tree fruit looks like this. See those red M&Ms?? They are the seeds.

There are seeds of opportunities in our lives every day. 

Dear Jesus, help me not to ignore the opportunities. Help me to be brave to conquer paths that haven't been walked on before. Help me to be courageous and faithful. Amem!!

So did you like our tour? 

I would love to hear from you in the comments' section.

Oh, one last photo. I promise. 

This will be the first thing you will see as you walk into the main house.

Blessings, 

Tereza

Bottom left: Helen Keller

Bottom right: Anne Sullivan

On the top: Helen's parents.

Learning Log of August 2012

Mushrooms everywhere!

  
August was another full month: birthdays, a trip to the beach, saying good-bye to the grandparents after a 3 month long visit (it didn't seem that long, really!) I am realizing daily that my children are growing way too quickly. Where is time going? So many things to do, so many places to go to, so many dreams to fulfill...

Everything in BOLD and BIG letters are my favorite picks 

and 

the ones I recommend you check it out!! 

Enjoy! 

Books Read Out Loud to All

* Bible everyday. We are reading the Gospel of Luke.
* The Legend of GID the Kid and the Black Bean Bandits - Doing the Right Thing Ain't Always Easy by The Miller Brothers - (Heroes of Promise Series -  Book One)
* The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado - Beautiful Book. Highly recommend! Even DS7 who has a hard time sitting still and listening, sat quietly and took every word in. :)
* Because I love you by Max Lucado - another beautiful book by Lucado that portrays the truth of God's Word.
* Hooray for Grandma Jo! by Thomas McKean
* Count on Culebra - Go from 1 to 10 in Spanish by Ann Whitford Paul
 * Ten Boys who didn't Give In by Irene Howat - Inspiring stories of martyrs. We are really enjoying this series.  The link is for the set of 5 volumes. Ten Boys who didn't give in is just one of the volumes. The stories are in chronological order so I am using the opportunity to talk to the kids about timeline and historical events.
* Who Moved My Cheese? for Kids by Spencer Johnson and Christian Johnson - my DH read this book about 3 times to the kids at bedtime. He and the kids enjoyed it very much. It deals with attitude and what to do when things don't go our way.
* How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

The Hangout with a huge sand dune just for the kids!

DS7 independent reading list:

* Brittle Bones by S.E. Pearl on the Kindle for FREE. ( see more about this link below)
* Hariball goes to a Baseball Game by Zavier Temporal on the Kindle for FREE
* Six-Donner Sid by Inga Moore - DS7 read this on his own and then asked if I wanted to hear him read it out loud to me. Score!!! :)
* I am invited to a Party! by Mo Willems
* There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems

A sunflower without seeds.

* Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems
* Small Wolf by Nathaniel Benchley - an I can read History Book - DS7 read this one out loud to me in one sitting. He enjoyed the adventure, and how courageous the little Indian boy was because he wanted so much to be a man like his father. It was a good read. We discussed what makes a boy a man and the differences between the American Indian and the "white man". (I got our copy at our library. They were getting rid of older books and I got me 30+++ books in the process. You might want to check out your library for the books they are selling.)

DD9 independent reading list:

* The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B.White - I bought some used Abeka readers and DD9 read through them for fun. In one of them there was an excerpt from this book title and she was so interested in the story that she asked me to buy it for her. I found our copy at our library. It's from the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. The link will take you to Homeschool Book Review Blog or you can find it on Amazon. This was a good read!
* A Penny's Worth of Character by Jesse Stuart
* Come to My Tomorrowland by Jesse Stuart - The link will take you to Home School Book Review website so you can read more about the book. This was the perfect book for my DD9 who loves animals.
* Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
* The Shaman's Apprentice - A tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Chrry and Mark J.Plotkin
* Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long and David Shannon
* How I became a Pirate by Melinda Long and David Shannon
* Levi and His Magic Pants by Douglas Bradshaw on the Kindle for FREE 

Squeakums - DD9's newest creation.

* Rats on the Roof and Other Stories by James Marshall


* The Capture #1 by Kathryn Lasky ( Guardians of Ga'Hoole) - Here is a REVIEW I found helpful when deciding if my daughter should read this book or not. Here is a REVIEW of the movie which was taken from the first 3 books of the series. Here is another REVIEW about the books - this one even more thorough.
Here is a website with discussion questions for the first book. I used this with my DD9 to test her comprehension but also to talked about some of the themes discussed in the book.
* The Journey #2 (Guardians of Ga'hoole)
* The Rescue #3 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The Siege #4 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The Shattering #5 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The Burning #6 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The Hatchling #7 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole) 
* The Outcast #8 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The First Collier #9 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole) 
* The Coming of Hoole #10 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* To Be a King # 11 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)
* The Golden Tree #12 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole) 

Squeakums' bedroom in progress..

* The River of Wind #13 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole) 
* Exile #14 (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)

Audio Books

* Jonathan Park - Volume VIII - The Copper Scroll - DD9 loves Jonathan Park. She has been listening to Vol. 1 to 7 for over a year now. Every night she turns her MP3 on and listens to episodes until she falls asleep. This month vol. 8 is finally out and Jonathan Park and crew are in Israel making new discoveries and unveiling new treasures. So of course, we bought the digital files and she has heard it all. I highly recommend this series. It's family friendly, loaded with Scriptures, good morals, life lessons, history, science and more... 

* We heard Adventures in Odyssey episodes from Friends, Family and Countrymen #39

Activities at Home

* We are doing a new devotional. We are using The Dig for Kids. I download it to my kindle and I am using it with the kids. So far they are enjoying it very much. We are actually reading sections of our Bible and answering questions and memorizing verses. I highly recommend this.

Working on life size body maps.

* We made life size body maps. I first saw the idea HERE and just thought we had to do it since I had recently purchased some books on Anatomy for the kids.

More mushrooms... there are so many varieties.

* Harvesting our sunflowers; prepping our garden for fall; harvesting a lot of okra, tomatoes and our first broccoli crown; pruning bushes and tomatoes; sowing greens for the fall, prepping the ground for more growing; throwing out sunflower seeds to the birds;exploring the outdoors and mushrooms;

* Enjoying lots of swimming and mowing the grass. One night we had a pool party with cake and ice cream and glow in the dark sticks. We invited a few friends over and everyone had fun.

Practicing controlling the soccer ball.

* Practicing weaving with a soccer ball; jumping on the trampoline; playing outside with neighbors, playing in the rain.

* Playing school: DS7 and DD9 take turns teaching Biology, Reading, Math to all the kids. Lots of reading aloud to one another. Playing Monster Manners.

* DD5 said she wants to learn to read. So we began our Kindergarden Hooked on Phonics program. I have used it with my older 2 children with success to teach them to read. I do a page or 2 a day as the child shows interest. Just my child and me on the couch or on the bed with the book, sounding out the letters and putting them together to make words. Then we read the short stories and go from one page to the other. Once we finish the kindergarten we begin the 1st grade. Usually we don't finish the 2nd grade book because by then they can read and there is no sense finishing the curriculum. They got more important and interesting books to read. :)

* DD5 is also "doing school" with  Walking by the Way Bob Book Printables. We don't own the Bob Books and I am not using their curriculum. I printed Walking by the Way worksheets and put them into a binder. When DD5 wants to do school she gets her binder and her pouch filled with markers and sets out to do her school. Without schedule or strict rules, she is learning her letters and phonics as well as having fun.

Playing school and reading aloud to each other.

* Lots of sewing and making animals and their houses; coloring, cutting and playing pretend games. Building houses, apartments and other buildings with old diaper boxes.

* We are using our Singapore Math books again. We are working on addition with carry over, multiplication with single and 2 digit numbers, subtraction with borrowing and more.

Field Trips/ Activities Outside the Home

* We went to the beach for a week. Oh, so much fun! This is our third time going to Gulf Shores, Alabama an it is our all time favorite place to go. Gulf Shores has great infrastructure with a Community Center and Park for the kids, a zoo, a water park, go cart tracks, arcades, State pier, lots and lots of restaurants and shopping, all within 10-30 minutes away from Gulf Shores West Beach. Here are some of the things we did:

The best Grandma ever (my Mom) at the Museum with us.

The Hang Out has such cool vintage decor. So much fun!

* fishing at the beach; swimming at the pool; visited the Nature Center at the State RV park; checked out the state RV facilities and drooled; went to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola; build sand pits and castles with the kids at the beach; the kids went boogie boarding at the beach; lots of walking on the beach; dancing and playing with glow in the dark sticks on the beach one night; eating out; we went to the The Hang Out for breakfast one morning (they have a pirate/ princess treasure hunt for the kids from 8-10:30am); played Uno and Black Jack and read books. :)

* We had never been to the Naval Aviation Museum before. It was divine providence and I am so glad we went.  It was FREE admission (when you have a big family you know how important that is!) and there is so much to see and learn in there. I definitely recommend and it's a half a day field trip at least! There is so much to see that I think it will be a place we will visit again.

Practicing soccer.

* karate and soccer.

* We had Animal Tales at our local library again. This time the program was on Reptiles - Scales and Tails. We also had McWane Science Center in on another day for a presentation and the kids had a great time learning about the Bernoulli effect, atmosphere pressure, acid and base and chemical reactions. All in all it was a fun learning time.

Websites/ Links we discovered and perused.

* Math 5 Live - DD7 and DD9 watched the lesson on Multiples, Factors, Primes and Composites; DS7 did a lesson on proper fractions; We tried the lesson on equivalent fractions but that didn't go as well. :(

Sand between our toes! Aaaaaaaah!

* IXL.com - got DD9 and DS7 doing 20 Math exercises a day on this website. The first 20 exercises are FREE, then you need to become a member or switch to a new computer to do 20 more or wait until the next day to do 20 more. Since my kids get bored easily, there is no sense becoming a member. I just use the site when they want to. DS7 worked on money (do you have enough to purchase up to $5); logic reasoning (guess the number); odd and even numbers;

* Pink and Green Mama has so many great ideas for crafts. If you are looking for hands on activities for your kids, do check her out. We found the life size body maps idea on her site.

Exploring Science

* Wallace and Gromit World of Invention - Build, explore and invent your socks off!! Lots of fun! The kids played on this website for a little while, AFTER we watched the movie (link below) they REALLY played on it. Really fun!

* Economic Systems - this is a Mom's study on economic systems - very easy to understand. I had just been talking to my DH about the subject so when I found this post I had to share with my kids and you. :)

* Blog that posts FREE children's books for the Kindle - This was a great find. On the first night I found this, I downloaded over a dozen FREE books that all my kids - 9 y.o. and under - would enjoy. Right away I got DS7 interested and he read a couple of books to himself and one to his 5 year old sister. I highly recommend you sign up for this blog. Even if you don't have a kindle you can still read the books on your laptop or computer. 

Animal Tales at the library again. Always fun!

 * Kathryn Lasky 's Studio - you can read more about the author of the Guardian of Ga'Hoole and find out about her researches to write her books, as well as her past works and future ones. I am trying to cultivate an interest in my children not only in books but in how they are written. I find it useful to learn  more about the authors, illustrators and artists behind the work we appreciate.



* Classic Reader - classic books for FREE online. I used this to find short stories like The Little Match Girl and the Glass Dog.

Below some websites we haven't used yet but they look promising:

* FREE Online Piano Lessons for Kids -

* Science Stuff Blog

* Science illustrated

* Simply Charlotte Mason website : help on how to teach different subjects.
This is a great site with help for the non-traditional non- classical way of learning. I always find helpful tips or ideas of how to help my kids learn.

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies

* Happy Feet 2

* The Tigger Movie

Getting the seeds of a mammoth sunflower!

* Nanny McPhee Returns - the kids watched this movie 3 times in 2 weeks. I watched bits and pieces of it, although not a Christian movie does have some positive values to it. You can read a Christian Review HERE. 
* Nanny McPhee - this is the first movie. I got this one from our library. Really enjoyable.
* Boomerang at the Beach: lots of retro cartoons - Smurfs, Scooby Doo, Poke mon, Flintstones and more.

* Beethoven 1 and 2 (on the way to the beach in the car)
* Shark Week - TV shows
* Wallace and Gromit World of Invention - we got this from Netflix. This is NOT an animated movie, but the characters are mainly the host to a program showcasing great and funky inventions. This is a great addition to your Science curriculum. You can go HERE to watch some of the clips of the episodes. This DVD contains 6 episodes, the DVD is almost 3 hours long. I highly recommend this DVD. We watched it a couple of times as a family.

* Going Places - a short 1948 cartoon about Entrepreneurship.  

* Terrified Terrier - Wishbone Inspired by The Red Badge of Courage.  - this was a VHS we bought from the library. I sometimes buy their old books and videos to help out. Once I am done with them, I donate them. The kids loved the Wishbone movies so I found this YouTube Channel that has a 129 videos all from Wishbone. Lots of movies/ episodes to watch without paying a dime!! Wishbone's episodes mix history, literature and adventure.

* What's in the Bible - Vol. 2 and vol. 3 - continuing on with this great series. The kids are really enjoying these videos. One think I really like is that you can get the digital copy of the video so you can install on your laptop or computer and watch it over and over without needing a DVD player. Read more on this on my learning log of July 2012.

The best Grandpa (my Dad) ever at the beach with us!

* Big Miracle - This movie was inspired by the true story of the 3 whales that were trapped in ice in Alaska. It was interesting to see the spin and the left bias the movie portrait. There were some golden nuggets: they mostly came from the Inuit people in the movie. We like to use family night movies to show the children the truth about movie making: that most of what you see on a movie is not true - it couldn't happen in real life. Many things are added to make movies more dramatic or exciting but it could never be done in real life. Here is an article that exposes one of the dramatic scene that never happened in real life.

Mom's Ecclectic Reading List

* Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham - I liked the format used to write this book. This is juvenile fiction. I proof read it to decide if DD9 could read it too. I think it's more like 13 and over audience.

* "Parenting is Your Highest Calling" and 8 Other Myths that Trap Us in Worry and Guilt by Leslie Leyland Fields
If you are a concerned parent, always worried about the damage you are doing to your kids or what you are NOT doing right, you must read this book. Written from a Christian perspective, you will find freedom and joy to learn that it's all about relationship and not rules. 
 

Fresh sauteed green beans from my garden! Yumm-O!!

* Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD - very controversial, BUT if you are a fast food junkie, or cookie or packaged food junkie this book will revolutionize your life. I have decided to abstain from wheat and I have lost 4 pounds in just 2 weeks.

*  The Growing Family Beats the Incredible Shrinking Dollar

* Tony Robbins - he is a very controversial figure but I really like his positive outlook and energy. I actually LOVE his energy. He is like a controlled tornado. Amazing! He has an amazing story too. For all the entrepreneurs out there and the kids and people that don't seem to fit the mold, his story shows that anything is possible. The link will take you to his show on Oprah divided in segments.

* Good and Angry - I am also re-reading this book. Really working on implementing some of the techniques.

* Economics for Everybody - it's a new DVD/ study taught by Dr R.C. Sproul Jr. After watching a few sample videos and the first lesson, this should definitely be in every Homeschool Curriculum. We are planning to purchase this. You check it out and decide.
 

Dare to take flight!

I hope you found some good links and ideas to add to your homeschooling or life in general. I have to thank all the homeschooling blogging Moms out there that share their insights and inspire my learning logs. Thank you, thank you!!

Blessings,
Tereza

Garden Update II

I am still working on the Learning Log of August. We did so much that I am still including photos.

In the meantime, I thought you might be interested in seeing what my garden is looking like.

On the left is the harvest of last week. Our second batch of green beans of our second crop, cherry tomatoes, okra (you forget to pick them just one day then the next day they are gigantic!), my wonderful eggplants and some banana peppers.

Here is what the raised beds look like. Behind this one with the eggplant, brocolli and okra,

I have another one with greens, banana peppers, cherry tomato going everywhere and more eggplants. 

Did I tell you I looooove eggplant???

Here is the raised bed with my 

greens and peppers.

Here is my cherry tomato plant that I started from seed.

It's going everywhere and 

it has crawled onto the ground.

Today I pruned it badly!!

it's all contained now inside a tomato cage.

I am hoping that it will bring more tomatoes before

fall gets here. It's Alabama so it might happen!

Here is today's harvest.

All those green cherry tomatoes 

came from the pruning of the 

wild tomato plant.

I will be making some green salsa of some sort. :)

And to make me even happier,

more eggplants!!!

How has your garden been doing?

I am really happy with my gardening experience.

I want to do it again next spring.

In fact, I am not stopping. I am planting some fall crops like greens, brocolli and lettuces.

Oh, and beets too!!

To your left fresh green beans 

from my garden!!

Just a little olive oil, salt and garlic. Sautee until they turn a darker green, probably 10 minutes and serve.

My kids who thought didn't like green beans have been eating their serving and licking fingers!!

Victory!! :)

What have you been planting??

Blessings,

Tereza