"Buy me a map!"

We've been studying U.S. and World Geography all year using Mapping the World by Heart. This curriculum has some drawbacks and is not exactly what I thought it would be. HOWEVER, we have stuck to our study and are nearly done studying the geography of the world.

One benefit of doing this intensive study is that we've learned that James, age 13, loves maps! When I went to the homeschool convention a couple weeks ago, he had a request. "Bring me back a blank map!" He wanted a large map he could label.

So, I found a lovely large two-sided laminated map for him - world on one side, US on the other. Armed with a colorful set of permanent markers and a fine-tipped black Sharpie, he has (completely on his own) worked on labeling and coloring these maps. FOR FUN!

James's Soccer

What Does a Ten-Year-Old Boy Pack.??

What does a ten-year-old pack to spend the night at his cousin's house?

Let's see, shall we?

A Transformer
A toy train
A notebook
A belt, neatly rolled
1 pair dirty underpants
1 pair clean underpants
1 wadded-up dirty sweatshirt
1 wadded-up dirty t-shirt
1 wadded-up pair of twice-worn PJ pants
1 pair neatly rolled socks

I think that's it. I was speechless. And then I was NOT speechless.

"I can't find anything clean to pack!"

So, what? You just were going to go with NO CLEAN CLOTHES? And somehow you missed the instructions Thursday night to bring down any laundry you needed me to do???

Needless to say, there is laundry being done now.

And let's not even talk about the toothbrush that apparently has been missing for two days.

Well, OK, let's!

"So, what have you been USING to brush your teeth for the last two days?"

He raises one finger and moves it back and forth in front of his teeth.

Yeah. OK.

Going Coco-nuts!

Suzy wanted to see what was inside a coconut.

So we bought one and there it sat in the fridge for weeks.

She kept asking, "When can we open it?"

I kept putting her off.

But yesterday, we finally went for broke.

I found a good website with pictures (and a creative name, lol).

They got out their supplies. Do you know what you need to open a coconut?

Hammer, nail, towel, bowl, knives.

James read the instructions aloud to Suzy and they did it all themselves. At least until it came time for the tedious cutting and peeling.

They didn't find it especially tasty.

Enjoy our adventure to the tropics!

Check the SLIDESHOW for even more pix!

First Two Recipes

Our first two recipes were Fudge-Mint brownies and Orange Cream Cookies.

I can't find the brownie recipe online but it came from this Betty Crocker Christmas cookie magazine. I asked the kids to each choose two recipes from this magazine that they'd like to try.

The brownies are a fudge brownie mix marbled with mint-flavored marshmallow creme. Then they are frosted with vanilla frosting mixed with white chocolate and more minty marshmallow, then crumbled mint Oreos on top.

ORANGE CREAM COOKIES
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix (I used my own sugar cookie recipe.)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
5 drops yellow food color
2 drops red food color
1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips (2 cups)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients except baking chips until soft dough forms. Stir in baking chips.
2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough with 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or just until dough is set (do not overbake). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.

Both recipes turned out well. I immediately packed them away for Christmas. Didn't share even a bite! LOL

James Soccer Pix

This past Saturday was the last game of the fall soccer season for James and Suzy. The kids play again with the same teams in the spring.

James is a strong soccer player and I think he will do great in the spring. He has a very strong kick and he often kicks left-footed. David tells me James is ambidextrous. Not sure if that's true, but he is skilled at left-foot kicks. He also runs hard and thinks ahead. He is very solid and plays at a consistent level. He also gives everything he has and plays hard throughout the entire game.

James with his team:












Here is a slideshow of some photos from this last game and an earlier game. You can tell the difference - Saturday's game was FREEZING and even James wore a long-sleeved shirt under his uniform.

Don't miss the other post with pix of Suzy!

A Whole New World

From 09-01-2009

The boys have needed their room to be painted for a while now and a few weeks ago we took the plunge. The girls had removed all their belongings from their horribly messy room in preparation for painting, but were unable to agree on whether or not they actually OUGHT to paint. So, we put everything (well, not EVERYTHING) back and then decided to do the same for the boys, whose room didn't QUITE equal the girls' in horribleness, but came close.

So, we pulled everything out and bought a gallon of sand-colored paint. Why sand colored? They wanted to paint Tatooine on their walls. What? Tatooine doesn't ring a bell? It's the home of Luke Skywalker, of Star Wars fame.

Anyway, the sand color apparently was just for the BOTTOM of the walls. This concept was not communicated clearly to the buyer of the paint (me), but seemed quite clear to the actual painters (boys). They wanted a gallon of sky blue too. That seemed pricy to the keeper of the finances (dad), so we paused for a few days. Remember, everything was out of their room, except their beds and some scattered debris.

Finally, I had the idea to ask on freecycle if anyone had some leftover blue paint. JACKPOT! Two different people had about half a can leftover and kindly donated it to my sons' painting project. Bob mixed the blues together with a little white, I think, and the boys headed up to paint some more.

Did I even go upstairs? NO! Do you know how much I detest painting projects? A lot! lol But David is meticulous and James is energetic and they accomplished it with little distraction.

So, now we have a room as blank canvas - smooth sandy landscape for the bottom half and a restful blue sky to top it off. Now, David can get creative and paint his favorite Star Wars scenes all over his room. Every Star Wars fan's dream room....

Stay tuned!
More PIX

Invented Spelling Grocery List

I dictated a shopping list to James in the car the other night on the way to soccer camp. I dropped him off and headed to the grocery store.

When I looked at the list, this is what I saw.

Aic
Water
Napkins
towelt paper
Diet Croke
Dads water
Ckcrey
yougt
tocosienine
dish saop

Would you have known what to buy?

The funny thing is: he IS quite good at spelling. Evidently the summer break has been slightly too long! LOL

So, here's what I needed: ICE, water, napkins, toilet paper, Diet Coke, Dad's water (distilled), Kashi, yogurt, taco seasoning, dish soap.

Read to me....

From Summer Sun and Fun

James is holding.....

I never told you what James is holding, did I?















It's a Milky Way bar that he mashed up into a ball.

What? You never thought of doing that?

Your life has been boring, hasn't it?

Omagles

A couple weeks ago, James got a set of large building toys at a garage sale for $5. When I looked on the internet, I found they are called Omagles and they were quite expensive new ($150 or $250, depending on which set you got.) They don't appear to be available anymore. Here are some of the things he's built.

Picasa slideshow. If you can't view it, click on it and it will take you to the web album (I hope).

James' Curriculum

The unusual thing about James is that he started kindergarten in January just after he turned 5. That's when he was ready, so that's when we started. However, that means he has changed grade levels (as much as that matters to me, which is to say NOT much) in January. So he is in 4th grade now and will continue to be in 4th grade until Christmastime.

MATH - James will finish Gamma over the summer and start Delta as soon as he is done. He finds math pretty easy, but still struggles with a few of the multiplication facts, so we'll make sure those are memorized perfectly by fall.

LANGUAGE ARTS - James will continue with what he's been doing. Reading real books and writing about them in his literature journal. Some written comprehension questions. Spelling Power. Penmanship (cursive). Writing letters. I'll increase the amount of work and the difficulty, as well as expect more.

SCIENCE - I don't know yet what James and Suzy will do for Science. It won't be Apologia! lol

SOCIAL STUDIES - We'll continue with Mystery of History 2 and hopefully move into volume 3 before the year is out. We'll be resuming our chronological study somewhere around the year 1000.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION & HEALTH - James will play fall and spring soccer at the U10 level again next year. He will likely take a PE class at co-op (every other week). I am thinking about putting him in wrestling, and if you've ever seen him, you know he's built to play football. I know we are not ready for that level of commitment yet though.

VISUAL, PERFORMING & APPLIED ARTS - James will continue his monthly art class with Mr. West and probably take an art class at co-op. Other than that, we'll continue with our home art projects and crafts. We do lots of singing around here, but formal music lessons aren't a priority for any of us. If James shows an interest, we'll follow up.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE - Probably none, but maybe I'll get brave and start doing Spanish again.

Dino Dig Photos

James went to a Dino Dig yesterday. It was really good! The program is 3-1/2 hours long and is good for all elementary ages. James was put in a small group and they worked together to uncover six bones from a box of sand. Beforehand they were given instruction on what they were looking for and how to work like a paleontologist. Afterwards, there was a long but engaging presentation on how the bones fit together, the anatomy of the dinosaur, and how a paleontologist can use the clues from the bones to discover how the dinosaur died.

And the phrase we never ever heard? "Millions and millions of years ago" Way cool! The woman who did our program goes to the church where the program was held

If you can't see the slideshow (connection issues), click on it and you can view the pictures (and captions) in my web albums at Picasa.

Paper Airplanes!

My parents sent James a stack of paper airplane sheets from a daily calendar they have. He was THRILLED to receive them and folded up EVERY SINGLE ONE. Here he is working on one of them and then with the bin full of the cute little planes.

And yes, he is wearing a cape. That's the norm around here.

From 05-19-2009

From 05-19-2009

From 05-19-2009

I think this is the calendar.

GOAL!!!

James SCORED a goal last night in his soccer game.

I missed that game due to an event the girls had last night. I was BUMMED that I missed it!

I asked him to tell me about it and he drew me a picture of it so I thought I'd share that with all of you.

I believe this is his third goal with this team. He's been playing better and better as the spring progresses. He has two more games - Saturday and Tuesday. I hope he'll be able to score again so I can see it!

GO JAMES!!!

A Reader in the Making?

Yesterday morning James (age 9-1/2) came downstairs into our bedroom reading a chapter book.

I always thought my kids would be readers, since I've always been a voracious lover of books of all sorts. Now, our kids all like books. They browse through books daily, enjoy library visits, don't mind books as gifts, and do their assigned reading without (much) complaining.

However, only Emily (age 12) has been reading novels for pleasure. David (age 14) prefers listening to audiobooks since he can work with Legos or other hands-on things at the same time, and he listens to something just about every day. He has read a few novels, but it isn't something he does regularly.

So, when James came sauntering in with a book in front of his face, I was cautiously hopeful. As the day progressed, he was reading just about every spare moment. He even took the book to a party we went to and finished reading it there. A whole chapter book in one day! By choice! Wheee!

And this morning? He's reading the second one in the series! I am overjoyed!

So, what's the magic series he's found? Hank the Cowdog by John Erickson. He got the first two for Christmas. Happily there are bunches and bunches more for him to read! A big THANK YOU to whomever it was that mentioned these books to me. I'd like to give you a big HUG.

Eruption!

[NOTE - Michele asked where David was during this activity. He is doing a different history text this year, so he usually doesn't participate with the other kids on their history. If it strikes his fancy, he may do the activity. He's usually in the room listening to me read the MOH lesson aloud, so he does get the info. But, his Sonlight U.S. history keeps him plenty occupied!]

As part of our Mystery of History 2 studies, today we erupted volcanoes in the backyard. We were studying Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. The kids buried bottles containing baking soda, red food coloring, and dish soap. Then they poured in vinegar and WOW! An eruption!!!

I found a cool website to enhance our learning.

Pompeii: Unraveling Ancient Mysteries (Harcourt)

Also, just a warning - lots of extremely inappropriate pictures were painted on walls in Pompeii. If you just google image-search "Pompeii", you'll probably want to preview the results. A word to the wise!