Cold day in Oklahoma

Well, we missed the BIG storm we were warned we might get.  Thank goodness.  I am not a big fan of snow.  Call me weird.  It is cold and makes my bones ache.  My girls on the other hand were very disappointed that the snow we were getting last night was gone this morning.  Just mud everywhere now.  I understand we need the cold so that our Oklahoma summers will not be so miserable.  We also need the moisture because we are in a drought situation. We also need it to get super cold to kill all the fleas, ticks, Mosquitos, etc. so our animals don't suffer this summer as well.  So, what have we been working on this week.....so much to tell.

First, got notification from Monroe Works that my European Nightcrawlers have been shipped.  You might be wondering what I am  planning to with a pound of (about 300) worms? I am starting my own little worm farm. First, I love to fish and as weather permits, the girls and I will be hitting the lakes with our worms and rods to fish for spring, summer and hopefully enough for winter food.  Also, we plan to use the castings (the worm manure) in the garden this spring and summer to feed our garden organically. The worm castings are supposed to be superb food for tomato plants and boost growth by bounds.  This will be my first go around so we will see about this but I am still excited. Worms are fun and we dabbled a bit in this when we lived at Grand Lake a few years ago.  I had a worm farm unintentionally and it was so super fun and easy. Plus, what an awesome science lesson.

Here is how to make an inexpensive homemade worm bin http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qlmvJ1t42Q8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqlmvJ1t42Q8

Second, I purchasesd a new supplement to our Bob Jones Press History Heritage Studies .  I found a fun add-on called Famous Figures of the American Revolution by Cathy Diez-Luckie.  They are movable paper figures that you cut out and attach brads to for visual aid to your studies.  We are such visual learners this is going to be such a bonus.

Third, through Homeschooler Buyers Co-op  I purchased for 50% off, the The Happy Scientist curriculum.  It is a 24/7/365 available science curriculum for K-8 that looks awesome and just downright fun.  After all, who wants to learn dull stuff.  At the price of only $10 (+$1 fee) how can you not try it.  Use my referral code  and try it for yourself. The Co-op offer end February 28th so you need to act fast.

Ok, well so much to do and so little time.  I am in the process of making homemade chicken noodle soup so I better get back to it.  I was watching the Worst Cooks In America on the Food Network the other night and they had to cut up a whole chicken.  I have to admit that is not my favorite thing to do (#2,573 on my list of faves).  Those poor people were horrible. Well, looks like they weren't the only ones that can mangle a poor defenseless bird.  Thank goodness mine will be de-boned and shredded so the only proof is here on this blog. So sh-h-h.!  Don't spread it around that I can't cut up a chicken. I can make a mean chicken pot pie though but that is for another blog.

Blessings to all!

WE ARE BACK!!!!!

February 21, 2013

Been gone awhile with health issues but we are back and strong as ever....and still HOMESCHOOLING.  Everyday we learn more about what works and what doesn't :-(  However, isn't that just life.  Things we try work and then they don't.  I don't look at it as disappointment or failure but adventure and growing.  What about you?  What did you learn about yourself, your homeschooling, or even your children today?

We are finishing up a fun unit study about Puffer Fish from This Old Schoolhouse's Curiosity Files: Puffer Fish .  This was so fun as we learned about the poison in a Puffer fish - Fuju.  So don't eat that in your sushi.  So many fun facts about puffer fish, it is unreal.  So check it out...it is only $1.  You can't beat that.  Now we are doing a paper mache of a puffer expanded and normal.  Then we will create a science tri-fold project to display.  We visited the Oklahoma Aquarium and saw two puffers in real life.  So much better than we could have expected.  I just wish something had threatened it so we could see it expand and get all fat. 

Started some indoor tomato plants this week using homemade greenhouses made from two liter soda pop bottles.  This was cool.  Check out this website at My American Farm.  The link is to the greenhouse project but the website has tons of agriculture games and facts and information for your children.  We played their games for an hour yesterday.  Educational games I might add. 

I also ordered our worms for our worm farm from EarthWormWorks.com. We are going to start working on the bins this weekend and get their environment ready. We are ready for Spring and ready to fish and maybe make some money on the side selling some worms. 

India Market



Today, we explored an Indian market called the New India Bazaar, in Tulsa.  Sharon was nice to explain the foods, spices, art, jewlery and the clothing that is used in India.  She was such a joy.  We bought some Indian snacks, a mango drink, and some Indian jewelry. 

Toe ring decorations

Dreamer in her Bindi art

They have a wonderful treat at a local church tomorrow called The 11th Annual Christmas Around the World at Victory Christian Center in Tulsa. We are going to experience different holiday cultures, culinerary samples and ethnic dance and music.  Sharon from the India Bazaar will be there and we are excited about seeing the beautiful holiday cultures.I will try and take some pictures.  Tonight we are going to do henna art on ourselves.  This is a body decoration that is used in India. We have some stencils to use but we may try some freehand stuff. 

Sparkles with her Bindi Art

The food was different but we really only tried their sweet foods.  The Peanut Balls are the best.  They contain Cardamom, which is a spice from the ginger plant family.  It is used in teas, coffees, baking and medicines.  It is delicious.   The following is also a sweet tasty treat but not sure about the texture.  I am a texture person when it comes to food.

It is very wet and doughy but with a rice consistancy but not bland like rice EXTREMELY sweet.  The other thing we tried was a tortilla type bread that you heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds on a paper towel.  It is very thin but dense however when heated becomes very thin and brittle.  Extremely salty.  It has a strong taste of baking soda but would be good with a type of dip or one of the curry paste.

I just love Urgent Care....I guess

Ok, we have been absent for awhile.  First we had alot going on last week with Thanksgiving.  We moved our homeschool room downstairs and doubled up the girls in their bedrooms so that Sweet Tea can move back home.  Well, since I am a person who is literally allergeric to EVERY animal, tree and grass on God's green earth (I have been tested), I really should not have pets.  But, not only do we have a inside extremely sheddy labrador, Sugar Bear, but we have two indoor cats, Toni and Smoke.  Then last week, we added a new addition to the family, Percy Jackson, the guinea pig.  Oh, yes, a guinea pig.  I guess my body decided to protest and shut down.  After moving the furniture, vacuuming and shampooing carpet, I became very ill.  It took a few days but it got me.  My asthma kicked in and with it came bronchitis.  So I was sick all weekend, again, laid upright in bed begging for air.  Equipped with anitbiotics, steriods and a rescue inhaler I survived the weekend.  Thanksgiving was a blur because I was not feeling good but my nieces kept Sparkles and Dreamer very busy and I was blessed for that. So, after another trip to doctor today, we are on the road to recovery and ready for a new week.

Geography
India  Week one 
Language Arts
Writing with Ease "Charlotte's Web" and proper nouns
Math
Mulitplication Tables for Dreamer
Addition and Subtraction of 13's for Sparkles

Operation Christmas Child

Today we went shopping for our items for our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  The girls were so excited about buying something for someone they did not know that was from a different country.  They wrote letters and sent a photo with their boxes.  If you are not aware of this organization, I urge you to check it out.  It sounds phenomenal and is endorsed by Dave Ramsey (the Christian financial author).  Hurry just a few days to get your boxes in time for Christmas.

God Bless

Thank God for Doctors

What a weekend!  I went to urgent care on Saturday feeling VERY bad.  Verdict...extreme urinary tract infection AND Strep.  I am sent home with a prescription of 875 mg of antibiotic twice a day.  Sunday, Dreamer wakes up, saying she feels bad.  Thankful she had her tonsils removed as a toddler meaning her chances of strep are rare.  As the day progresses she feels worse.  Mr. Science takes her to urgent care and finds that she has a "raw" ear which explains the headache and the earache.  She comes home with antibiotics and ear drops.  Needless to say, we need a doctor in our family.  Everyone, has been sick this week and been to the doctor. 

We did not get our Sunday Science completed this week. We will try to make it up during the week.

Dreamer is learning the Commutative Property of Multiplication  (0x4=4x0) this week.  She was skeptical at first but now says "Easy peasy, mom."  The rest of the week will be just continuing to memorize her multiplication facts. Dreamer loves the site http://www.multiplication.com/ to practice on.  The Diaper Derby Race is a riot.

Sparkles is doing so well on her reading.  She is reading alot of her Dick and Jane books.  Plus she practices at http://www.starfall.com/ as well. 

Continuing on with China this week......

Ships's Ahoy!!!

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at Hobby Lobby picking out fabric and do-dad's for their sewing kits.  It was so much fun.  I am like a kid in a candy store.  We finally got back on track with our Time Travelers New World Explorers study. We are having the most fun with this.  We made our own Captains Log to document our travels.  Last night we tore the edges of the paper to make them look rough and dipped the pages in a tea bath.  I think our paper had a finish of some sort because they did not yellow so much but they did look worn.  We made a cover with poster board covered with some fall themed fabric (on sale at Hobby Lobby).  We then sewed the pages to the binding.  It looks cool, I must say.  Then we created a flag for each girl.  Dreamer discovered "Madison-topia" and Sparkles discovered "Australia" on their first voyages. We were not able to find a old refrigerator box so we put two dining chairs together and put a brown blanket over them for our ship. We will be adding an entry in our captain's log daily for the next few days.  Tomorrow we will be learning the parts of a ship ( for example: the crow's nest, the bilge, the bow, the rigging, etc.)  We are going to dress up as sailors and sing the the Sea chantey "Blow the Man Down" from the 1800's.  Sparkles practiced her money facts at the site internet4classrooms. 

Yesterday, we finished our China unit with going to National Geographic Kids and watched videos on the Terra Cotta Warriors, Giant Pandas, the Great Wall and the Yangtze River.  The girls loved the Chinese Horoscope and the fact that Momma was a "Pig".  Sparkles is a "Monkey" and man, did that fit her literally.  Dreamers is a "Horse" and she did not fit the description very well.  When Mr. Science came home, he explained the Three Gorges Dam in China to the girls.  He used their base ten blocks to build the dams and explained it perfectly.  That is why we call him Mr. Science....McGyver was already taken.  :-)

Have a great evening!!