tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45005692298374018132024-03-05T00:18:26.741-08:00karmamatopoeiaThe Journal of the Super-Awesome School of Super-AwesomenessSparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-90931946177058321672016-01-06T19:49:00.005-08:002016-01-06T19:51:23.749-08:00A bunch of stuff happened in 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It started with this!</div>
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And this!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFzAYhNsCw3FLBest92nDgvd2akqtKMfYdlXcRD0tPVak83V1NHyepG-7Nx-W6qOCDUOxgN-hNlv21vOphug-ye6fi-jcdaNukW5rxQd2hNKhT08W2GaT2kFS2u_tx_ZBz8N_JA9tcXCQ/s1600/IMG_7649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFzAYhNsCw3FLBest92nDgvd2akqtKMfYdlXcRD0tPVak83V1NHyepG-7Nx-W6qOCDUOxgN-hNlv21vOphug-ye6fi-jcdaNukW5rxQd2hNKhT08W2GaT2kFS2u_tx_ZBz8N_JA9tcXCQ/s320/IMG_7649.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And then we visited this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieN_MUOFoDwS8m3mVyKt8swY_Hjz0D5cU8NNvK8PGSbVT8PsS2j07qawpOB4eV4qVqilIv_8bVOY96yf-7md46P62Ge4tR-V_hCFXBxheOSJO4ywYIS8g914wl7Sud-nySpVibxAmHQqOY/s1600/IMG_8299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieN_MUOFoDwS8m3mVyKt8swY_Hjz0D5cU8NNvK8PGSbVT8PsS2j07qawpOB4eV4qVqilIv_8bVOY96yf-7md46P62Ge4tR-V_hCFXBxheOSJO4ywYIS8g914wl7Sud-nySpVibxAmHQqOY/s640/IMG_8299.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBPNH3tiwnKu1hyphenhyphenHF21jMY8_DT1G-tNGkLJMzG1l5p6IFIbO9KGhF3PDY5kt9n-6BermPQqdTtbQH4VqPbsfevq4PtdwjIeIA5eC-NCfpw3DM2AkJInIz9fciophOq_dxS4P7ioAMvMnK/s1600/IMG_8279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBPNH3tiwnKu1hyphenhyphenHF21jMY8_DT1G-tNGkLJMzG1l5p6IFIbO9KGhF3PDY5kt9n-6BermPQqdTtbQH4VqPbsfevq4PtdwjIeIA5eC-NCfpw3DM2AkJInIz9fciophOq_dxS4P7ioAMvMnK/s400/IMG_8279.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Later we saw this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd9fstM3Px9VyLVzj8wvFKbkOvznvkD1nGl2Qm2yQgC8FUxV6H-OT1iG1tA9RN7-BP3-KRRNAgdxeTOsWUYvfrlVeaiqtalIYPtgLq5zJGzf8CZeWuVgwjhBFF6nvw1UFTETS0C_U_biC/s1600/IMG_8605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd9fstM3Px9VyLVzj8wvFKbkOvznvkD1nGl2Qm2yQgC8FUxV6H-OT1iG1tA9RN7-BP3-KRRNAgdxeTOsWUYvfrlVeaiqtalIYPtgLq5zJGzf8CZeWuVgwjhBFF6nvw1UFTETS0C_U_biC/s400/IMG_8605.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6uQ2n6_05TH4EK_MLZ80DOIXCCXlBtBy_sEZAxSLwhRgH_3IGWJsGbV9TAXHDWlKKX2_us9jrHxch-MAUKMk7dKcZjM7MFvSkdeWMhqHd7lXmdhL_5RB33po5tOni2hbzGJD5dk1sx2_/s1600/IMG_9923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6uQ2n6_05TH4EK_MLZ80DOIXCCXlBtBy_sEZAxSLwhRgH_3IGWJsGbV9TAXHDWlKKX2_us9jrHxch-MAUKMk7dKcZjM7MFvSkdeWMhqHd7lXmdhL_5RB33po5tOni2hbzGJD5dk1sx2_/s400/IMG_9923.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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There was some of this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaJUWriOHDEnUSxROTiF7NbzYi-PHhff6tLf16bSjBRQhJV_qTnADlZi04ZEjcPp-GScseEuhLMaa6708abZkzZ5Ljzv31eRXyToKVtVkHgn9EepEXs18MyLCzr0log9VzQ-KA4PaBbBC/s1600/IMG_1595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaJUWriOHDEnUSxROTiF7NbzYi-PHhff6tLf16bSjBRQhJV_qTnADlZi04ZEjcPp-GScseEuhLMaa6708abZkzZ5Ljzv31eRXyToKVtVkHgn9EepEXs18MyLCzr0log9VzQ-KA4PaBbBC/s640/IMG_1595.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And a little of this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QD8aeNwIW5hYnRthhkWg8SXY0TbxLF3hblhT5BSUKUlAjLWJ4BtyUESl69esNFZ_ff28s-DX8EbmI6NTQXu0dscdN4KCZmcLaJ9wxDDVPVAzNDW5pDAAc0ZNPL5UKcLbTkR70PQ5xHPA/s1600/IMG_0946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QD8aeNwIW5hYnRthhkWg8SXY0TbxLF3hblhT5BSUKUlAjLWJ4BtyUESl69esNFZ_ff28s-DX8EbmI6NTQXu0dscdN4KCZmcLaJ9wxDDVPVAzNDW5pDAAc0ZNPL5UKcLbTkR70PQ5xHPA/s400/IMG_0946.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And sometimes this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFEsanaZvTVHpHfLus4bQRwkLo3AiRrjdceDJ0XawKXmePhOFUUqQ7fRT85Rri51mmY5WrHf_IJCDGiuHkHcee8hOumVMbdaMHcurUu1trWpRs_mT2psTJBuML248Hygehsv55y-dRJxN/s1600/IMG_4446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFEsanaZvTVHpHfLus4bQRwkLo3AiRrjdceDJ0XawKXmePhOFUUqQ7fRT85Rri51mmY5WrHf_IJCDGiuHkHcee8hOumVMbdaMHcurUu1trWpRs_mT2psTJBuML248Hygehsv55y-dRJxN/s400/IMG_4446.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And as much as we could get of this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_ZcnwEAK5NT6hzC58Qm9edfH1jScz-MGGrRSe49QGITRAMXEqvkWtrpEIkFdqcvKzmH-yac8WmLr35ZzuH_fYW3khoBnn-BqJ7PxCAUdf-fIzoIvej8ztQgE9x1Vi9z8ukIX54tUh0XY/s1600/IMG_3696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_ZcnwEAK5NT6hzC58Qm9edfH1jScz-MGGrRSe49QGITRAMXEqvkWtrpEIkFdqcvKzmH-yac8WmLr35ZzuH_fYW3khoBnn-BqJ7PxCAUdf-fIzoIvej8ztQgE9x1Vi9z8ukIX54tUh0XY/s400/IMG_3696.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrI-55l33kC4YfF6XTekMHkRaNODLPxzMzd8R3QXz1RHyzKhyMRQzOeivg3uOdHngzkafXa7prGnK3nIBIVxtMTWIu30kSwM7KmwU5wQH1kVrOSh1fixVRUFdN3bWOKTzp2Tzl3-V0eMkH/s1600/IMG_3755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrI-55l33kC4YfF6XTekMHkRaNODLPxzMzd8R3QXz1RHyzKhyMRQzOeivg3uOdHngzkafXa7prGnK3nIBIVxtMTWIu30kSwM7KmwU5wQH1kVrOSh1fixVRUFdN3bWOKTzp2Tzl3-V0eMkH/s400/IMG_3755.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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How cool is this?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbnZisoB0H4rv4ULt6O63KsNFO1cUTTsRAUJCrlyKhELeuuEaz3LkENrlLPo6SSG9KV9NnWY1tyLFLuT00uxgsNbaeQUxB5qa-NbO4aH-LIC6cLf5otOs_XxtzBzmpqU1SjUaAJVmPXCR/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbnZisoB0H4rv4ULt6O63KsNFO1cUTTsRAUJCrlyKhELeuuEaz3LkENrlLPo6SSG9KV9NnWY1tyLFLuT00uxgsNbaeQUxB5qa-NbO4aH-LIC6cLf5otOs_XxtzBzmpqU1SjUaAJVmPXCR/s400/IMG_1728.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was a little of this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG4jEKltm8K_3trUPZ973p1myQ6AoBnTe3Bvjck9XsuvUcbmzhJaUHwqNCrlA9sANcRtkOEdZNpMwhLXEq_65L8dTPSss8G3g0wywiu0t-QrY15NciV-xL3r284ELdPb6Rbk-YXfxza5M/s1600/IMG_4194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG4jEKltm8K_3trUPZ973p1myQ6AoBnTe3Bvjck9XsuvUcbmzhJaUHwqNCrlA9sANcRtkOEdZNpMwhLXEq_65L8dTPSss8G3g0wywiu0t-QrY15NciV-xL3r284ELdPb6Rbk-YXfxza5M/s400/IMG_4194.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And quite a lot of this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX5oSSyeuyWISN6zXtMTdGuUWiIIyCymiDfCdNaXYmLzvH7goKlom5mQRw1b0k0a0BMMNOkRiVi_kVJIvTQgiNzN0QshDXDB9s1WbQxFJIzeHCZzZMPFqCzZc4KjLAtoa04HRtP9xnzpv/s1600/IMG_4043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX5oSSyeuyWISN6zXtMTdGuUWiIIyCymiDfCdNaXYmLzvH7goKlom5mQRw1b0k0a0BMMNOkRiVi_kVJIvTQgiNzN0QshDXDB9s1WbQxFJIzeHCZzZMPFqCzZc4KjLAtoa04HRtP9xnzpv/s400/IMG_4043.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Not too sure about this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhZMqoY6AbwDY1f0BY4dwL6FLwGfyf_ixTCOFN9HxJOrAzQWES7UOWBeMgdwxWz1ZuseMHHkklxpuPjMwfF83sl6UlZMlXvnc07uCmunL9eLy25NSBuHOSlLKCYIVVlLaKIU-lBMV30PV/s1600/IMG_3564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhZMqoY6AbwDY1f0BY4dwL6FLwGfyf_ixTCOFN9HxJOrAzQWES7UOWBeMgdwxWz1ZuseMHHkklxpuPjMwfF83sl6UlZMlXvnc07uCmunL9eLy25NSBuHOSlLKCYIVVlLaKIU-lBMV30PV/s640/IMG_3564.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Or this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMTAkaPs36Uf1a0b36BVWC9BiC8oRhiDaXc38ZW3gMbo-nU9cmWykPrGMyOGq8ce9hXlcYsb-jRgEXReS7iAwyPH_UH4nwXWsBItRrGY6PvLodofvpgA90KR7_geM6EMRLhkWvf8GmpPw/s1600/IMG_4632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMTAkaPs36Uf1a0b36BVWC9BiC8oRhiDaXc38ZW3gMbo-nU9cmWykPrGMyOGq8ce9hXlcYsb-jRgEXReS7iAwyPH_UH4nwXWsBItRrGY6PvLodofvpgA90KR7_geM6EMRLhkWvf8GmpPw/s400/IMG_4632.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And don't even ask about this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LLLVFGXdLQ_zSlbI7qunoa3usuh96ErKYRNADdljnM00lc0UyNOfUyLm77UDR2ua2MTfR5VYz0h4HwfghCV4a1bp7pwxt67eNtGZvJ7uyX0rKxfi-_XGb4Sm8lc10p_GAxbuASp2oLLJ/s1600/IMG_9162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LLLVFGXdLQ_zSlbI7qunoa3usuh96ErKYRNADdljnM00lc0UyNOfUyLm77UDR2ua2MTfR5VYz0h4HwfghCV4a1bp7pwxt67eNtGZvJ7uyX0rKxfi-_XGb4Sm8lc10p_GAxbuASp2oLLJ/s400/IMG_9162.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Not gonna say no to this!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjyZUuDbY18RuTf9HVHzUcmETJuac9FQqHl6KR-QOuOFnGIlph6vIAeTvyhKTXzfX8ib6lJ6oT0erGP-d5lN6Mujd1i_lEvG5LYcbTHZyGMkM1xdr_NwOwWgQhCYGNPFl5W_fMwlBASZ3/s1600/IMG_3171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjyZUuDbY18RuTf9HVHzUcmETJuac9FQqHl6KR-QOuOFnGIlph6vIAeTvyhKTXzfX8ib6lJ6oT0erGP-d5lN6Mujd1i_lEvG5LYcbTHZyGMkM1xdr_NwOwWgQhCYGNPFl5W_fMwlBASZ3/s640/IMG_3171.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And, ooh, definitely this!</div>
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And even this!!!!!!</div>
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Then we came home to this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN5ZesJyXABoqIa0Bolax0DM-SEQb42mlQ5Uieicvx8gmv1bt3uxzBvDWTn6jpbiK9jU4Jq-5bF-p_-SUGFjoEsuH0n4W3KDwZGWdCyxEtRF647kuNpFlMT8qTs6Eydifq292gXI2UXPv/s1600/IMG_4469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN5ZesJyXABoqIa0Bolax0DM-SEQb42mlQ5Uieicvx8gmv1bt3uxzBvDWTn6jpbiK9jU4Jq-5bF-p_-SUGFjoEsuH0n4W3KDwZGWdCyxEtRF647kuNpFlMT8qTs6Eydifq292gXI2UXPv/s400/IMG_4469.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjK04E6gjJDv-IaZxDNf89qnrvAWaBl2WCvTKYzSrqR-rM7QojI3alMTxiO3FymciwOQF-3e_JJGcwBb3qsLqP7k9zRkaPIrV3_QKM62N2J629DCOQv47I5FwnD81NREchCwqjMjdfuu6/s1600/IMG_4391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjK04E6gjJDv-IaZxDNf89qnrvAWaBl2WCvTKYzSrqR-rM7QojI3alMTxiO3FymciwOQF-3e_JJGcwBb3qsLqP7k9zRkaPIrV3_QKM62N2J629DCOQv47I5FwnD81NREchCwqjMjdfuu6/s640/IMG_4391.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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So, a bunch of stuff happened in 2015. We traveled to interesting places and did lots of schoolwork and spent happy times with family and beloved pets. We visited museums and menageries. We got home from Paris exactly three weeks before the terrorist attacks. Then we hugged our loved ones extra tight and wished for peace in 2016. </div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A Blessed New Year to You</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">from Karmamatopoeia</span></div>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-10248803524330874142015-01-13T21:55:00.001-08:002015-01-13T21:55:52.581-08:00Rabbit Trails and Slime Mold<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It wouldn't be homeschooling if we didn't head down a few rabbit trails! This week we are continuing our cell and DNA studies, and after reading a bit about diatoms and spirogyra, we wanted to check out a few more members of the fascinating Protist family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We began by reading this book by Rona Arato. It's a good introduction to Protists with lots of great photos and cool info about this odd group of organisms. The kids like this series of nonfiction because it's written for a young reader but, as Dude says, "They don't talk to you like you're a baby."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LygxeEwSEXS1eUuuiP1xOxgBplgM3sDPnCcdXjAJC2Gnfe3tnjQKmWuCMiupmU5yUtiOGIYfTHUFwbZiF_1ytvBI3qQalKMwsgzOQ4RGWNO-bqk7tIC57iLImSkbkleHFz30HJm26rIi/s1600/IMG_7232.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LygxeEwSEXS1eUuuiP1xOxgBplgM3sDPnCcdXjAJC2Gnfe3tnjQKmWuCMiupmU5yUtiOGIYfTHUFwbZiF_1ytvBI3qQalKMwsgzOQ4RGWNO-bqk7tIC57iLImSkbkleHFz30HJm26rIi/s1600/IMG_7232.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have to admit, we got a serious case of the giggles when we got to this page! We have four dogs and have seen our share of, uh, slime mold, over the years!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIhUluQvfVFL9nAj6z4DjQhenJCZYEcJrcU4qoOGN02avvpK-4S6HrLV7RdXmdLFtyPonHZfHiretXmCv9WY0t78H_Xdx0TvEZf1sbc2_OqRcvm7UYlnRoCDlJE82RuR-g1xlog02_PkL/s1600/IMG_7229.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIhUluQvfVFL9nAj6z4DjQhenJCZYEcJrcU4qoOGN02avvpK-4S6HrLV7RdXmdLFtyPonHZfHiretXmCv9WY0t78H_Xdx0TvEZf1sbc2_OqRcvm7UYlnRoCDlJE82RuR-g1xlog02_PkL/s1600/IMG_7229.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then it was time to get out the microscope and look at some protists. Super took these amazing microscope photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Amoeba, reaching with their pseudopodia...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jJdTN-Ep7C0Dx9J0zJlooaKqSwnTqmf12jKRmVIz43qNHcxXQyzdoOMhmb_Ikq-fCnsJ7b8MJopvUSj9CDkOSgMzTPxuYAQklvZ0HUTF5fP_Flz5KjwYsaUp7m_d_vAqzmk5ZU6wa7W3/s1600/IMG_7253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jJdTN-Ep7C0Dx9J0zJlooaKqSwnTqmf12jKRmVIz43qNHcxXQyzdoOMhmb_Ikq-fCnsJ7b8MJopvUSj9CDkOSgMzTPxuYAQklvZ0HUTF5fP_Flz5KjwYsaUp7m_d_vAqzmk5ZU6wa7W3/s1600/IMG_7253.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...Paramecia, dyed with such festive colors...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSqOhiwdHfthMkCxs_x4W0w39y04bTE022WTTGE5EPy-h7zviVs0OmUKR6a_92CDHII2QAasA0zPsYxeoKKS7I301zqLbYjr6wDFVH5XqBK1mR6aGdLqN0ncW0vQgKlXFYNTH_jXlye6i/s1600/IMG_7262.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSqOhiwdHfthMkCxs_x4W0w39y04bTE022WTTGE5EPy-h7zviVs0OmUKR6a_92CDHII2QAasA0zPsYxeoKKS7I301zqLbYjr6wDFVH5XqBK1mR6aGdLqN0ncW0vQgKlXFYNTH_jXlye6i/s1600/IMG_7262.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...and delicate, confetti-like Diatoms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We learned that malaria and African sleeping sickness are caused by protozoa (which are in the Protist family) and that when you use chalk, you are writing with the crushed silica shells of ancient diatoms. We read about the dinoflagellates that cause red tides, and about how important Protists are in the food chain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, we watched this very thought-provoking video:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you're having a great week learning with your family! </span></div>
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Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-10860566154871186332014-12-31T21:18:00.000-08:002014-12-31T21:18:04.910-08:002014 was an amazing year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40nGW29irdKnYWe4hxnwza6c91M6oXRynkmBBP6egq7T8S4u4DbdYziQEFmU2tqUl7CxotCT4CRcBx_34yV6mRlCvEveepWVqPaZXQMkR7upxsxgpOmxbu-KE-YFosVz3rb8IbU_OeuJC/s1600/IMG_3644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40nGW29irdKnYWe4hxnwza6c91M6oXRynkmBBP6egq7T8S4u4DbdYziQEFmU2tqUl7CxotCT4CRcBx_34yV6mRlCvEveepWVqPaZXQMkR7upxsxgpOmxbu-KE-YFosVz3rb8IbU_OeuJC/s1600/IMG_3644.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are a few (OK, more than a few) of my favorite photos from 2014. After such a busy, eventful year, it was difficult to choose, so please forgive the photographic overload! </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What an amazing year! We traveled to beautiful places, learned fascinating things, and had a lot of fun along the way! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for sharing 2014 with us. We wish you and yours a wonderful 2015!</span></div>
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Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-51324462442421438342014-12-31T16:00:00.000-08:002014-12-31T21:26:25.027-08:00More cell study...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wJyUtbn0O5Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think I have mentioned this video before, but we watched it again today and it just amazes me every time! </span></div>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-8703740627939611512014-12-30T14:57:00.001-08:002014-12-30T14:57:40.135-08:00Thinkwell Biology Review and Cell Activites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82JAoBTp0wjx65OHWfVC_k3S-k0F8oiz7MY1PBAFATnItcNXJ6Q8dN_YZeW6NSIBjqNxDvA5cWXWG10B8jyqbnVMlsY9nzrTnpK888aub3zPhtOUdH19mHAHN3Su6567q7u9vVzAyougO/s1600/IMG_6838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82JAoBTp0wjx65OHWfVC_k3S-k0F8oiz7MY1PBAFATnItcNXJ6Q8dN_YZeW6NSIBjqNxDvA5cWXWG10B8jyqbnVMlsY9nzrTnpK888aub3zPhtOUdH19mHAHN3Su6567q7u9vVzAyougO/s1600/IMG_6838.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are really enjoying our Thinkwell AP Biology course, but we are moving at a much slower pace than I had anticipated. This is partially because we keep going down rabbit holes and discussing side topics and doing supplemental reading...and partially because there is just so much information to cover. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's December and we have just finally finished Unit One, so we will definitely be extending our subscription!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The lectures are great because the instructor takes big topics and breaks them down into manageable pieces (about 10 or 15 minutes instead of a typical hour-long college lecture.) We never watch more than one video a day because we like to discuss the video, go over the course notes, and delve into supplemental information. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My only criticism is that the video quizzes are useless; they are too short, not at all thorough, and awkwardly worded. We never do them anymore--I make the tests using the excellent notes that come with the course (above.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I made a vocabulary matching game to help the kids review for the unit test. I also had them put some terms in order from least to most complex.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After testing, I thought it would be nice to take a short break from our usual routine. The kids are always enthusiastic about microscope work! We don't have the greatest microscope in the world so I often print photos of what we're looking at as well. Today we looked at Spirogyra, Dinoflagellates, and Chlamydomonas, and read a little about each. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then we prepared onion slides because, well, it's easy. And fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Onions work well in microscope slides because it's easy to peel off a very thin layer. We dyed them with regular food coloring. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Note to self: remove the extra onion pieces immediately so you don't cry while trying to use the microscope! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh WOW! I can see a nucleus!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We've never been able to make this work well, but just for the heck of it we looked at cork cells. They always look clumpy, not at all like Robert Hooke's drawings, and I would imagine that our microscope is more powerful than what he used in 1665! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's OK, we still had fun messing around with the microscope. And the kids did a fantastic job on their biology unit tests!</span></div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-47481393250510544532014-12-29T17:44:00.001-08:002014-12-29T17:51:08.087-08:00Solstice Celebration<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpJlsl-8yseqIpDhoxg4lZqbsUr_jrLi4GI0QLVDJVooBwmrHWwio2fo0daWG-KGPlmoBcaJjf6pDNt-mdKhhrsshC2lPQOp4ZTtAvtFepTrcna35efR8w3qZQdgaBArQD8qApafWY_ze/s1600/IMG_6432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpJlsl-8yseqIpDhoxg4lZqbsUr_jrLi4GI0QLVDJVooBwmrHWwio2fo0daWG-KGPlmoBcaJjf6pDNt-mdKhhrsshC2lPQOp4ZTtAvtFepTrcna35efR8w3qZQdgaBArQD8qApafWY_ze/s1600/IMG_6432.jpg" height="400" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The kids always enjoy lighting the candle-powered Christmas pyramid.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Each family member shared a Solstice story aloud.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We ended our meal with a "mushroom-covered" chocolate Bûche de Noël!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One little beeswax candle can create so much light!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The longest night of the year...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">...and the first sunrise of the lengthening days!</span></td></tr>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-52720563269980513882014-12-15T14:29:00.003-08:002014-12-15T14:29:39.758-08:00Video Explaining DNA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zwibgNGe4aY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a good basic explanation of DNA. We have found these Stated Clearly videos helpful as a supplement to our Thinkwell Biology course. Super did not approve of the dinosaur's choice of snack, however. </span></div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-81868958954893009222014-12-14T10:23:00.000-08:002014-12-14T10:23:39.123-08:00Lazy Blog Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We went places and did stuff! </div>
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Mesa Verde is one of our favorite places on the planet. </div>
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I love all things Southwest. </div>
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If you've never seen Newspaper Rock, it's worth the trip.</div>
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This was our first time to actually go into Monument Valley and do the park drive.</div>
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It's amazing how life can find ways to thrive in the desert.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxI14iwprb02Eu1Mpxv2fLNlURvlJ1roJ4NWvy8HEkff0-ioMM1mkdXO4oEJ4LtPk6t9NjK6AX2CcpZtgybbH96MrxvSbvq79G-g3WNbLKv5nTvV75gxegeNqpqOsxLBPR8Ru2IOJtDBl/s1600/IMG_5610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxI14iwprb02Eu1Mpxv2fLNlURvlJ1roJ4NWvy8HEkff0-ioMM1mkdXO4oEJ4LtPk6t9NjK6AX2CcpZtgybbH96MrxvSbvq79G-g3WNbLKv5nTvV75gxegeNqpqOsxLBPR8Ru2IOJtDBl/s1600/IMG_5610.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was a very quick trip--just a long weekend--but I'm thankful that there is so much beauty near us.</div>
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Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-70499384453853356902014-08-10T10:48:00.000-07:002014-08-11T23:03:21.964-07:00Middle/High School Room<span style="font-size: large;">When we decided to take our kids out of public school, we knew we would need a dedicated space for them to work. Otherwise, as my husband said, "School stuff will take over the whole house!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Six years later, we have a dedicated school room AND school stuff has taken over our whole house! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfPSv6_rSiFyEDN-E5KaYH0daIZNHnTFNRRwVTuUlZ7mvgT3jVQuwfNEppy9k4ieOB7vPzjPJ4YZkYAm9Jqe-0V8gYnSOeBDGvtyW591KYUCHnqOpCIRzBm80X0WGyt14M5LFXbTbyJYi/s1600/IMG_3949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfPSv6_rSiFyEDN-E5KaYH0daIZNHnTFNRRwVTuUlZ7mvgT3jVQuwfNEppy9k4ieOB7vPzjPJ4YZkYAm9Jqe-0V8gYnSOeBDGvtyW591KYUCHnqOpCIRzBm80X0WGyt14M5LFXbTbyJYi/s1600/IMG_3949.jpg" height="640" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids arrange the daily schedule</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, it's nice to have a semi-organized work area. It helps the kids stay focused and it does cut down on SOME of the clutter in the rest of our home.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our basement is the official headquarters of the Super-Awesome School of Super-Awesomeness. Meditation, discussions, read-alouds, and independent reading happen here:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibk48a9KEoZ_JSntrfSZ5htQVyW2TqdE84TzG9fXvRUv871lUT7arkAAQir-rqNsgauqUN3TvC_QhgTInhHjJKTiO8cGjM97ceYp4KQJSfwRlMkO0mGPt8OFUm9ClEhFe6KiGO_-pnJvWO/s1600/IMG_3944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibk48a9KEoZ_JSntrfSZ5htQVyW2TqdE84TzG9fXvRUv871lUT7arkAAQir-rqNsgauqUN3TvC_QhgTInhHjJKTiO8cGjM97ceYp4KQJSfwRlMkO0mGPt8OFUm9ClEhFe6KiGO_-pnJvWO/s1600/IMG_3944.jpg" height="640" width="460" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Note the BOSU bouncer, an excellent helper for kids who need to MOVE while they think. It's also helpful for my early-finisher: he can be active-but-quiet while his methodical (and much neater) sister completes her work! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the book work and writing happens here:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7Bogonbe7sfVCd0-3MWM8MIOtW5eBVe9xl57rMNAdjBbGrdKJzUDgEYTN9rF5jLkM8LZEnIZALC6uw_LlsmafNiEA3l2oHNzlSRFKz4D9UWwVSq_SYUYaqSJWXuZlcoqXQ1hyHGspS1p/s1600/IMG_3946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7Bogonbe7sfVCd0-3MWM8MIOtW5eBVe9xl57rMNAdjBbGrdKJzUDgEYTN9rF5jLkM8LZEnIZALC6uw_LlsmafNiEA3l2oHNzlSRFKz4D9UWwVSq_SYUYaqSJWXuZlcoqXQ1hyHGspS1p/s1600/IMG_3946.jpg" height="400" width="315" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Again, here is a solution to keep squirmy legs and feet busy so the mind can focus:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gRI_95HcX666sMFp1_hNSektcoa_Hu-s6tnmVpdC9cqVt8NaBpKIxJZuuTK3sRw4xrcI5dnf9YTePhpSIxMpfYQLiKw8Ti4n_5RuyuoYuOIXiuiwh176s98X7eEYrRj4EQsq6ZOWPOLi/s1600/IMG_3947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gRI_95HcX666sMFp1_hNSektcoa_Hu-s6tnmVpdC9cqVt8NaBpKIxJZuuTK3sRw4xrcI5dnf9YTePhpSIxMpfYQLiKw8Ti4n_5RuyuoYuOIXiuiwh176s98X7eEYrRj4EQsq6ZOWPOLi/s1600/IMG_3947.jpg" height="400" width="327" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The stuff we use frequently is stored here. Mom's shelf is on top, students' shelf is below. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45DZFjqkr7SJrcs2lho_HbHcIkcRXflMTqM5143PAQweLTYB8ngYuyWUGgqFjtwPeVypli4HG4OYfFVl5UuKJaWdaZ0W4vFaPkXx-CDmzkSE5wuEjcpPha3_Sklh2N4EO-d9utW9hCECa/s1600/IMG_3948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45DZFjqkr7SJrcs2lho_HbHcIkcRXflMTqM5143PAQweLTYB8ngYuyWUGgqFjtwPeVypli4HG4OYfFVl5UuKJaWdaZ0W4vFaPkXx-CDmzkSE5wuEjcpPha3_Sklh2N4EO-d9utW9hCECa/s1600/IMG_3948.JPG" height="313" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, darn! Looks like I forgot to take a picture of my desk!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's too bad because it's in absolutely <i>(cough cough)</i> PRISTINE condition going into the 2014-15 school year. Wish you could see how neat and perfectly organized it is...oh, well, you'll just have to take my word for it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">;-)</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Linked to iHomeschool Network's <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/6th-annual-not-back-to-school-blog-hop-school-room-week/" target="_blank">NBTS Blog Hop</a>: http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/6th-annual-not-back-to-school-blog-hop-school-room-week/ </span><br />
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-13580612229822401762014-08-09T22:29:00.000-07:002014-08-09T22:29:02.398-07:00Sticking to a daily schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-2Wfh3XGwGk7ZkGkZZNM6Ep4DQo3vU5lMWiGwp5bDQF29aDFwmzwvQ2xT4Yj_DbDWs4L0lIDoKFOZ8jOTo5-gBe4WHYXU2cyEkCcJDJQGQpi7XeJWSZjEQXQvCmkr0cJPiOPnO2sW8zM/s1600/IMG_3940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-2Wfh3XGwGk7ZkGkZZNM6Ep4DQo3vU5lMWiGwp5bDQF29aDFwmzwvQ2xT4Yj_DbDWs4L0lIDoKFOZ8jOTo5-gBe4WHYXU2cyEkCcJDJQGQpi7XeJWSZjEQXQvCmkr0cJPiOPnO2sW8zM/s1600/IMG_3940.jpg" height="400" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Schedule, routine, time map...whatever you want to call them, I'm just no good at sticking to them!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes life gets in the way. We have every intention to do what we call "book work," but then an opportunity to go somewhere or do something interesting comes up. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9j2c8yande6ncngY6iw4UyHapf5su1OHS8mgL6AYAcpXYbjbfTn-WZF8EhW2WVhWLWdVg5tz74e3ofK8T8OivUq9FLFIrT6TsCiFtrJSV_OoMR4xajO0z5_bfzHSbO2-GXlAdXKf3qZf1/s1600/IMG_3312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9j2c8yande6ncngY6iw4UyHapf5su1OHS8mgL6AYAcpXYbjbfTn-WZF8EhW2WVhWLWdVg5tz74e3ofK8T8OivUq9FLFIrT6TsCiFtrJSV_OoMR4xajO0z5_bfzHSbO2-GXlAdXKf3qZf1/s1600/IMG_3312.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field trip to butterfly nursery!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, that's one of the great advantages of homeschooling--schedule flexibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes a kid gets fascinated with something and we end up going down a bunch of rabbit trails that weren't part of the plan. (Our never-ending unit study of WWII led us down lots of unexpected paths and that's why we've never been able to call it finished once and for all!) </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuik2b5Av7EfKL6vvsV4GbmD7ssCm5ebXHnbZ_B2aq5JvMs9Bs-mik6pA7O0pEtM_TusMtsFE4NNohMkWC76CpDA3iGtsQL_ndBsgqPo7f0UKRLSZWwsJPHK-GT0KwrhFd-MvXh92hjAA/s1600/IMG_3399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuik2b5Av7EfKL6vvsV4GbmD7ssCm5ebXHnbZ_B2aq5JvMs9Bs-mik6pA7O0pEtM_TusMtsFE4NNohMkWC76CpDA3iGtsQL_ndBsgqPo7f0UKRLSZWwsJPHK-GT0KwrhFd-MvXh92hjAA/s1600/IMG_3399.JPG" height="281" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature study</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Again, this is a great advantage of homeschooling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But sometimes we get off schedule because we just can't seem to stick to one for more than a week or maybe two at the most. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm an obsessive planner. I love plans. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Plans make me feel secure, but carved-in-stone plans make me feel claustrophobic. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I love learning along with my kids and I love checking things off the plans I've worked so hard to prepare...but I'm simply not capable of doing the same subjects in the same order every day!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkE4GIvsUIR0LHhrS5NCeB3pmHzZfeYrWD2V7kN7wSPgQaGEyoVaKN_OEn1xNLYy3PTyNgag8Hwv47vFYK1XnoOIOjXA23ecC8plqJfP7YNgUYteY-q1pWkq3QlO4H2eKWlggBzNqSxyrf/s1600/IMG_3845.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkE4GIvsUIR0LHhrS5NCeB3pmHzZfeYrWD2V7kN7wSPgQaGEyoVaKN_OEn1xNLYy3PTyNgag8Hwv47vFYK1XnoOIOjXA23ecC8plqJfP7YNgUYteY-q1pWkq3QlO4H2eKWlggBzNqSxyrf/s1600/IMG_3845.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peach cobbler and family read-aloud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For that reason, I just keep a subject list and we pick and choose from it, cafeteria style. Here is our typical planned-but-not-carved-in-stone routine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The ONLY things that never change:</b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Morning Stretch<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Planting-Seeds-Practicing-Mindfulness-Children/dp/1935209809/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407641581&sr=8-2&keywords=mindfulness+for+kids" target="_blank">Morning Mindfulness</a><br /><a href="http://karmamatopoeia.blogspot.com/2014/07/literature-list-for-7th9th.html" target="_blank">Poem of the Day</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkE4GIvsUIR0LHhrS5NCeB3pmHzZfeYrWD2V7kN7wSPgQaGEyoVaKN_OEn1xNLYy3PTyNgag8Hwv47vFYK1XnoOIOjXA23ecC8plqJfP7YNgUYteY-q1pWkq3QlO4H2eKWlggBzNqSxyrf/s1600/IMG_3845.jpg" imageanchor="1"><br /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NnSEjYlqfgUYTbCbae4V9mMu-DJVlhDVUmINSSP3jzRttYLDoxodQ6y9c6SXvewKor2_qc9MdJVKcLHZh-6Y2PEpLc80ycTJxpTI7ZqlUVmbvtO6aqLpgpjQSqADo4IpWF7W8jzazgEa/s1600/IMG_3935.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NnSEjYlqfgUYTbCbae4V9mMu-DJVlhDVUmINSSP3jzRttYLDoxodQ6y9c6SXvewKor2_qc9MdJVKcLHZh-6Y2PEpLc80ycTJxpTI7ZqlUVmbvtO6aqLpgpjQSqADo4IpWF7W8jzazgEa/s1600/IMG_3935.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our "cafeteria-style" subject choices</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Stuff we do about four days a week, in whatever order </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>the kids prefer:</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://www.borenson.com/" target="_blank">Math</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://karmamatopoeia.blogspot.com/2014/07/literature-list-for-7th9th.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Literature</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.writeshop.com/" target="_blank">Writing</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Five-Minutes-History-Resources/dp/0743930517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407640937&sr=8-2&keywords=take+five+minutes+proofreading" target="_blank">Proofreading Sentence of the Day</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Handwriting</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Thinking-Visible-Understanding-Independence/dp/047091551X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407640979&sr=8-1&keywords=making+thinking+visible" target="_blank">Thinking Skills</a><br />Foreign Language<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Kids-Questions-Wonder-Everything/dp/1882664701/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407641010&sr=8-1&keywords=philosophy+for+kids" target="_blank">Philosophy for Kids</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Direct-Hits-Vocabulary-Edition-Volume/dp/1936551136/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407641045&sr=8-2&keywords=sat+core+vocabulary" target="_blank">SAT Vocabulary</a>/Spelling/Word Origins<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Kept-Teaching-Secret-Conversations/dp/1452268630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407641083&sr=8-1&keywords=written+conversations" target="_blank">Written Conversations</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0PgFJ8bb6hK4os3mdULNRuoudjaP34Jgdx-94mT099GZHtyQz0je_7fWcIltEVqDeaBiWSVcH8GYG6YG0XDNxPTzWm_dy2qG27lwkEIeBZrJgDXB-0SySS4Bn2DXfbU5iNRauWRilTno/s1600/IMG_3834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0PgFJ8bb6hK4os3mdULNRuoudjaP34Jgdx-94mT099GZHtyQz0je_7fWcIltEVqDeaBiWSVcH8GYG6YG0XDNxPTzWm_dy2qG27lwkEIeBZrJgDXB-0SySS4Bn2DXfbU5iNRauWRilTno/s1600/IMG_3834.jpg" height="400" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daily(ish) proofreading sentence</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rotating subjects that we typically do daily for a week or so at a time:</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/History-US-Eleven--Set-Paperback/dp/0195327276/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407641860&sr=1-1&keywords=a+history+of+us+joy+hakim" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">History</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thinkwell.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Science</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.growingwithgrammar.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Grammar</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Current Events</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Projects-Children-Step---step/dp/1562903500/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407641815&sr=1-2&keywords=art+projects+for+kids" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Art</span></a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPA3eVGTqwqIK-Y3qec_JWXcE8SjhW1cSt9cqkWyPG6Z7zqLkFvYToo4x45Rlx8tJzGAJrSvZMDL0mrsW4fLwV95YcIdB58_eQ35Z8A-YYXuO7VtZwMvQ42AJqGy22kh3wEn2LEBbER8R/s1600/IMG_3839.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPA3eVGTqwqIK-Y3qec_JWXcE8SjhW1cSt9cqkWyPG6Z7zqLkFvYToo4x45Rlx8tJzGAJrSvZMDL0mrsW4fLwV95YcIdB58_eQ35Z8A-YYXuO7VtZwMvQ42AJqGy22kh3wEn2LEBbER8R/s1600/IMG_3839.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super's latest masterpiece!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other stuff we work around:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Music lessons and practice</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Volunteering</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Occasional tutoring</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our homeschool group's activities</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Letting dogs in, letting dogs out, letting dogs in...</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNGtFksUc16hnFSs1iel6C3GAWpAM6tP7KNGDKGQ1XZsge9_GZdSfeF4SsbkPJfodGMUxwU33T09OLqEGtm7dHIJE8CAqCfj3gwU2_Ntr9Dg5PIROMFIDVUN1HBIx-adCwzgWzPI3tjbH/s1600/IMG_3838.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNGtFksUc16hnFSs1iel6C3GAWpAM6tP7KNGDKGQ1XZsge9_GZdSfeF4SsbkPJfodGMUxwU33T09OLqEGtm7dHIJE8CAqCfj3gwU2_Ntr9Dg5PIROMFIDVUN1HBIx-adCwzgWzPI3tjbH/s1600/IMG_3838.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm NEVER a distraction during school!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't write dates on my plans anymore. I used to make files with math worksheets, graphic organizers, etc. for each school day, collated, stapled, and complete with a dated sticky note. </span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, when we inevitably got off track, I would feel stressed that we were running behind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now I just use a couple of crate hanging files for whatever printed material we are using. They are ready to go when we need them but there is no such thing as "behind" because we are getting it done at our own pace.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwbjfej4wGgh0r_toB_wwKbQh0tBW41f_KOtXKR58m_751SlIA2YDZ1CUUwYVyyJX3BHTIN177_uiUvQkoLouibYwky9NPrWOfJVA6aczhTMofIwtSPhdHFscBIVuFVY6D7MFOgvA2e0a/s1600/IMG_3936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwbjfej4wGgh0r_toB_wwKbQh0tBW41f_KOtXKR58m_751SlIA2YDZ1CUUwYVyyJX3BHTIN177_uiUvQkoLouibYwky9NPrWOfJVA6aczhTMofIwtSPhdHFscBIVuFVY6D7MFOgvA2e0a/s1600/IMG_3936.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ultra-complex filing system</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I do make monthly goals. By the end of August I'd like the kids to finish up their Hands-On Equations kit. By the end of September it would be nice to have a couple of books crossed off the reading list. And by December I'd love to see major improvement in a certain kid's handwriting...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And I have made a <a href="http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/hischl.htm#planning" target="_blank">four-year-plan</a> for Super now that she's at the high school level. I want to make sure she meets our state's graduation requirements, is prepared for college, and has a good transcript for her college applications, so I think it's important to at least have a list of goals. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN065zamzleiSr6bEwGyXmq7CDGcovwcxu4s9taUbpgJ7lqYv62WYL-AKvOpgHiDMhPpTsVn5VP8iI3bvEJTMJL5TYn4rTgyZqxhzV045rGgi_r-HOE2nCwvalsn7aYOeEoR_CKfRlQ2t/s1600/IMG_3922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN065zamzleiSr6bEwGyXmq7CDGcovwcxu4s9taUbpgJ7lqYv62WYL-AKvOpgHiDMhPpTsVn5VP8iI3bvEJTMJL5TYn4rTgyZqxhzV045rGgi_r-HOE2nCwvalsn7aYOeEoR_CKfRlQ2t/s1600/IMG_3922.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer wildflowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But if we spend a couple of weeks doing a big block of science and then do history for a week and then focus on grammar for a bit and then get really into a book and just read for three or four days...that's just fine. We can go in the general direction of the plan even while straying from the details (and I can absolutely guarantee that we will stray from the details!) </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwugMerlwXy3T57FdoRwDVwSxrxsmJwtFu195b84jfg7nndxQmALhfSnTr3bakyAiV5BiAxMqgmB0dKxGRlp97Pk2DtwaOduIxXNXuBHGRiuQAGcedwcko4EyXoZEJ2Ghxb9hUUFKjFnp/s1600/IMG_3937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwugMerlwXy3T57FdoRwDVwSxrxsmJwtFu195b84jfg7nndxQmALhfSnTr3bakyAiV5BiAxMqgmB0dKxGRlp97Pk2DtwaOduIxXNXuBHGRiuQAGcedwcko4EyXoZEJ2Ghxb9hUUFKjFnp/s1600/IMG_3937.jpg" height="400" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under-desk solution for squirmy feet!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Scheduling, yes, but on our own terms. Another great advantage of homeschooling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-71512908330206695652014-08-04T07:08:00.000-07:002014-08-04T10:20:23.039-07:00Our "Book Work" for 2014-15<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGupP_BQnRia93ejXEXvM2EutsuQGf0OBddaleimlimueVfu_nHkUjtlYTwspvwoI2pX222RdRZe9-wvlgFKAOAZDee1Q9RpNCCNtj7GkZh4WcZNIwlBKusEleRYgPlCgedbo_msz4JCnR/s1600/IMG_3802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGupP_BQnRia93ejXEXvM2EutsuQGf0OBddaleimlimueVfu_nHkUjtlYTwspvwoI2pX222RdRZe9-wvlgFKAOAZDee1Q9RpNCCNtj7GkZh4WcZNIwlBKusEleRYgPlCgedbo_msz4JCnR/s1600/IMG_3802.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I'm not sure which family member first used the term "book work" but that's what we call our formal academics around here. We do lots of experiential learning as well, but when we sit down at a desk or table and get serious about putting specific information in our brains, we call it "book work."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So here is the basic outline of our 7th and 9th grade "book work" this year...</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Poetry </b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We always start the day with a poem. I've already posted about my initial poetry choices <a href="http://karmamatopoeia.blogspot.com/2014/07/literature-list-for-7th9th.html" target="_blank">here</a>, but I'll add that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Grammar-Perfect-Middle-School/dp/0439923328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407123666&sr=8-1&keywords=grammar+perfect+poems+for+middle+school" target="_blank">Teaching Grammar with Perfect Poems for Middle School</a> was a good resource last year. We got about halfway through it so we'll finish it up this year.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Math</b> </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFBnpxruJkTS2fcphb0lzNDD4jmnV3cAXovR_vkHTtOQMBoL55aT4bOZmGTmY_9oCrXRSOSWeEiwMOQIgzIcNMDXuXzBxKqHMp82PKjsxpqA3FPCoE3PAU9piT2VicRsKEPbmnspDPvSo/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFBnpxruJkTS2fcphb0lzNDD4jmnV3cAXovR_vkHTtOQMBoL55aT4bOZmGTmY_9oCrXRSOSWeEiwMOQIgzIcNMDXuXzBxKqHMp82PKjsxpqA3FPCoE3PAU9piT2VicRsKEPbmnspDPvSo/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" height="293" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hands-On Equations workbook, disc, and manipulatives</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">My kids typically want to do math early in the day. To
wake up their brains, I give them a challenge problem, and they either work
together on the dry-erase board or independently in their math notebooks. I
get the challenge problems from our old Singapore word problem
workbooks, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Math-Starters-10-Minute-Activities-Standards/dp/1118449797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407126802&sr=8-1&keywords=math+starters" target="_blank">Math Starters</a>, or a fun book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Perfectly-Perilous-Math-Mathematicians/dp/0761163743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407126842&sr=8-1&keywords=perfectly+perilous+math" target="_blank">Perfectly Perilous Math</a>. There are tons of resources for challenge problems out there, and I'll bet I've used nearly all of them at some point! </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSeCS7qmmanIVweCp48GGiBjlPajRCClKcJJB0ptRQdwGJBto_IserEywBQTWlQmwgBfziA_E9FNjmQ9w8TBOU-CnRhrk3LOX7BKQXbnOBbG5wKB2XNjMjE2yocwHaQ5VNvlwRc_7m1Fl/s1600/IMG_3810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSeCS7qmmanIVweCp48GGiBjlPajRCClKcJJB0ptRQdwGJBto_IserEywBQTWlQmwgBfziA_E9FNjmQ9w8TBOU-CnRhrk3LOX7BKQXbnOBbG5wKB2XNjMjE2yocwHaQ5VNvlwRc_7m1Fl/s1600/IMG_3810.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We have a few lessons to finish in <a href="http://www.borenson.com/" target="_blank">Hands-On Equations</a>
before moving on to Saxon Algebra I. We typically do a Hands-On lesson
or two, then a review lesson from their old Saxon 7/6 or 8/7 books, and
then a practice packet. I make the packets in advance (I have 21 ready
to go!) but not too far in advance so I can customize them based on
what the kids need to review.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The practice packets are five or six pages and typically
contain a Hands-On worksheet, practice pages from Saxon or Singapore
workbooks, worksheets I've found online, and at least one logic grid
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MindWare-90448W-Perplexors-Level-C/dp/1892069164/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407124346&sr=8-2&keywords=perplexors" target="_blank">Mindware Perplexors</a>. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_20JPWExr6e9HTpSiVYmP-zh6s8u3YHK0-hd8gmlrTC_RSLxjaJ-CgD327f2OBKPXeiQ9cNiFPl_aFl_816Qeti8xzsfDDLZzaSFl-p1aRsnrpKa6TdEJHacwUITP8hyZjhBCJQvu0oms/s1600/IMG_3811.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_20JPWExr6e9HTpSiVYmP-zh6s8u3YHK0-hd8gmlrTC_RSLxjaJ-CgD327f2OBKPXeiQ9cNiFPl_aFl_816Qeti8xzsfDDLZzaSFl-p1aRsnrpKa6TdEJHacwUITP8hyZjhBCJQvu0oms/s1600/IMG_3811.JPG" height="400" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mindware Perplexors logic puzzles</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Grammar and Punctuation</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Last year we worked our way through the very silly and fun <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sentence-Day-Proofreading-Exercises-Students/dp/1877673730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407129277&sr=8-1&keywords=middle+school+proofreading" target="_blank">A Sentence A Day</a>. This year the kids will learn some interesting history facts from their daily proofreading sentence. I'll just make a copy of the sentence from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Five-Minutes-History-Resources/dp/0743930517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407129118&sr=8-1&keywords=take+five+history+editing" target="_blank">Take Five Minutes: A History Fact A Day For Editing</a> and the kids will tape or glue it in their
notebooks and then write the sentence correctly underneath. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchH_e4pQO7uLlci1ylunW5y_8k-Opf2pzJGSG2dIPcvRpWtMnge1ZHMMuBe2CUgZKQ-BXIMT-EGe8K3QhaNFbaNKp7p2X2sk9fZfC-jXoyazFivJlg18xvtIAJDpNqnzSg3vzQii1tDlN/s1600/IMG_3804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchH_e4pQO7uLlci1ylunW5y_8k-Opf2pzJGSG2dIPcvRpWtMnge1ZHMMuBe2CUgZKQ-BXIMT-EGe8K3QhaNFbaNKp7p2X2sk9fZfC-jXoyazFivJlg18xvtIAJDpNqnzSg3vzQii1tDlN/s1600/IMG_3804.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wnNkt7yr0OUpBWVjGmIo6PatGXk6FW0SWW42enNnFQZXpj950VTxEjLBiOkuULUgzHmLPm5hBbhB4gVRHlQHc7QH5inSGFs5qpiceWnhTmwCnvQk4uTPE_Ukn8xpKfGXEcmyAT7x5w1i/s1600/IMG_3806.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wnNkt7yr0OUpBWVjGmIo6PatGXk6FW0SWW42enNnFQZXpj950VTxEjLBiOkuULUgzHmLPm5hBbhB4gVRHlQHc7QH5inSGFs5qpiceWnhTmwCnvQk4uTPE_Ukn8xpKfGXEcmyAT7x5w1i/s1600/IMG_3806.JPG" height="200" width="151" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Literature and Writing</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This year we are using Oak Meadow's Introduction to Literature and Composition I. They have recently reorganized their curriculum and I'm not sure if this specific course still exists, but it includes <b>To Kill a Mockingbird</b>, <b>A Wizard of Earthsea</b>, <b>Animal Farm</b>, and <b>Our Town</b>, plus grammar lessons from <b>The Least You Should Know About English</b>. The course manual suggests discussion questions and writing assignments, and we also use the <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Notice-Note-Strategies-Close-Reading/dp/032504693X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407127896&sr=8-1&keywords=notice+and+note" target="_blank">Notice and Note</a></b> method whenever we are reading literature.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTXRRNHefP6WHWaI4J0X-rlKQIUCS5QttjkhWujy-FU3vAiPoyvJn6Huy4Keyl1BOqOBmHtZItLVrHfQ6x7QNPdfcsqdZYV_47wTzINMqKFJ_jJPKMjTYdkyzqojBQeBIxgfr_OEJSveR/s1600/IMG_3819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTXRRNHefP6WHWaI4J0X-rlKQIUCS5QttjkhWujy-FU3vAiPoyvJn6Huy4Keyl1BOqOBmHtZItLVrHfQ6x7QNPdfcsqdZYV_47wTzINMqKFJ_jJPKMjTYdkyzqojBQeBIxgfr_OEJSveR/s1600/IMG_3819.JPG" height="308" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Notice and Note signposts for close reading</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">By the way, I can't recommend <b>Notice and Note</b> highly enough--it's a fantastic way to help young readers move beyond the basics of characters and plot and get into the deeper themes of literature. Come to think of it, <b>Notice and Note</b> strategies are worth a blog post of their own...I'll get right on that! ;-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After I wrote my post about <a href="http://karmamatopoeia.blogspot.com/2014/07/literature-list-for-7th9th.html" target="_blank">our literature choices for 7th and 9th</a>, the kids requested two more books, and I added three more, so we are going to be doing lots of great reading this year!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05-6hGoPBUEDYTVjV-TDJH4X5w7zv6hLekPXMDM1BuJkhalH17xCH1xeqr1eZ-OP7oCqiSYDqeNlPkXE8HBuoSur29YauNe3S0b4tUi4yIWfFvf7g-3VpdhMGO-zZuJHXVu06dJWS9PCV/s1600/IMG_3817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05-6hGoPBUEDYTVjV-TDJH4X5w7zv6hLekPXMDM1BuJkhalH17xCH1xeqr1eZ-OP7oCqiSYDqeNlPkXE8HBuoSur29YauNe3S0b4tUi4yIWfFvf7g-3VpdhMGO-zZuJHXVu06dJWS9PCV/s1600/IMG_3817.JPG" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Science</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My science-loving kids have already started their Biology I course from <a href="http://www.thinkwell.com/" target="_blank">Thinkwell</a>. The lectures and course notes are great. The quizzes, on the other hand, are kind of confusing--they appear to be written by someone who didn't actually watch the lectures. After some frustrating experiences with poorly-worded questions, the kids decided to just watch the lectures and study the notes, and I'll make unit tests based on the course notes. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Vocabulary</span></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijopfDntjT1igUyHEoLFKzokxxlc4YjnRlWa027gdoF1gci6xfqYDg7ELZnsyGKBRvBBBAuqjTZTJmvL3J9epP-ETLp79zv39YD_HRIAJ3c6qdbhHNUJG_zXC0wCkbxG-5rYOkQVYQ4v0G/s1600/IMG_3808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijopfDntjT1igUyHEoLFKzokxxlc4YjnRlWa027gdoF1gci6xfqYDg7ELZnsyGKBRvBBBAuqjTZTJmvL3J9epP-ETLp79zv39YD_HRIAJ3c6qdbhHNUJG_zXC0wCkbxG-5rYOkQVYQ4v0G/s1600/IMG_3808.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Vocabulary graphic organizer from TeachersPayTeachers.com</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I believe the ideal way to develop a good vocabulary is from reading and from hearing scholarly speech. However, it never hurts to build on that foundation! In addition to collecting any unfamiliar words they come across while reading, the kids can choose interesting words from SAT vocabulary books for their vocabulary study. They really like using graphic organizers for new words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Philosophy </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1GHlRxLQg1FM_8X9OfolQg8U4Fqfsf_Nhw8Hdx0TIfQd736y-uwBcy3ORN9nfFpI2eX6z0wCarJA2AYlLhDCfRfTOfsab3-UEqzw7U-WGwUU4zH8e9MNJYRkJysh45OGp3pjQkMgJU7J/s1600/IMG_3809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1GHlRxLQg1FM_8X9OfolQg8U4Fqfsf_Nhw8Hdx0TIfQd736y-uwBcy3ORN9nfFpI2eX6z0wCarJA2AYlLhDCfRfTOfsab3-UEqzw7U-WGwUU4zH8e9MNJYRkJysh45OGp3pjQkMgJU7J/s1600/IMG_3809.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Philosophy is a favorite subject around here. We have read about two-thirds of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Kids-Questions-Wonder-Everything/dp/1882664701/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407125501&sr=8-1&keywords=philosophy+for+kids" target="_blank">Philosophy for Kids</a>, and the kids have enjoyed it so much, I ordered <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Examined-Life-Advanced-Philosophy-Kids/dp/1593630085/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407125351&sr=8-2&keywords=philosophy+for+kids" target="_blank">The Examined Life</a> so we can continue discussing Deep Questions! Philosophy is a good subject to do before or during lunch because the questions always spark a lively conversation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>History</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have been working our way through the wonderful <a href="http://www.amazon.com/History-US-Eleven--Set-Paperback/dp/0195327276/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407133147&sr=1-1&keywords=joy+hakim" target="_blank">A History of Us</a> series for several years. I really like the author's approachable writing style, all the great maps and graphics, and the short-but-detailed chapters. We typically read and discuss two or three chapters a week. If a topic really fascinates the kids (our never-ending unit on WWII comes to mind) we do some supplemental reading and maybe a mind-map or other hands-on project.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNkDZo1zjrIxNHsNMTd5oEJ2CdcS53iuI7-pVlZ90EJiPiCZfK4gAdwDuNyu7emivR4z0ojzaei8pcZ_2pWkewtKVJsqu0NVSTJnv0jT0Vq3tYnC90LL9ax5wJNYlW1OVAQQBL-KYzTzm/s1600/IMG_3795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNkDZo1zjrIxNHsNMTd5oEJ2CdcS53iuI7-pVlZ90EJiPiCZfK4gAdwDuNyu7emivR4z0ojzaei8pcZ_2pWkewtKVJsqu0NVSTJnv0jT0Vq3tYnC90LL9ax5wJNYlW1OVAQQBL-KYzTzm/s1600/IMG_3795.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X_ydT8_5onZi_949X3hltBKQGRgLWDAa2k53R-QLcFzqcHj8AUGgCNMNiMiErxcnQOlYKOV3o-xiesWsKqV_XpTNs48WCV3ZNqY3QX-Cq3vd0xTyjF03RX4h0lfMMB2tky80tyefgNSW/s1600/IMG_3796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X_ydT8_5onZi_949X3hltBKQGRgLWDAa2k53R-QLcFzqcHj8AUGgCNMNiMiErxcnQOlYKOV3o-xiesWsKqV_XpTNs48WCV3ZNqY3QX-Cq3vd0xTyjF03RX4h0lfMMB2tky80tyefgNSW/s1600/IMG_3796.jpg" height="400" width="310" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thinking Skills</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm adding a new subject to our routine this year: thinking skills. After reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Thinking-Visible-Understanding-Independence/dp/047091551X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407126033&sr=8-1&keywords=make+thinking+visible" target="_blank">Making Thinking Visible</a> this summer, I really wanted to try some of the "thinking routines" described in the book. (One example of a thinking routine is called "See-Think-Wonder." After silently observing an object or a work of art for a few minutes, students are asked "What does this object/image make you wonder? What questions come to mind?") Trying out would be an interesting transition activity to try once or twice a week. It's an experiment, but it should be fun, and I'm sure it will spark some interesting conversations at the very least!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfSOSJoXLiQOOaSTg7Lwn7Gj2MYjkbIRC3xWSc2VSOzzZAGw-WFz0jVhCIDBijJ7-rxYEcEE4BlEYH6Wf3rEGQcTLg3t557oMcFdeZDW4PO8baKhVjJ_9C5S4CBwwIdOp3QK_8B9yMKzA/s1600/IMG_3821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfSOSJoXLiQOOaSTg7Lwn7Gj2MYjkbIRC3xWSc2VSOzzZAGw-WFz0jVhCIDBijJ7-rxYEcEE4BlEYH6Wf3rEGQcTLg3t557oMcFdeZDW4PO8baKhVjJ_9C5S4CBwwIdOp3QK_8B9yMKzA/s1600/IMG_3821.jpg" height="286" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's the story here? What does this image make you wonder about?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Foreign Language</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My 9th grader will continue her German studies. She started with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/GERMAN-10-minutes-day%C2%AE-CD-ROM/dp/1931873038/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407158837&sr=1-1&keywords=german+in+10+minutes+a+day" target="_blank"><b>German in 10 Minutes a Day</b></a> two years ago, and last year she took a German course at our local community college. This year will be her first year to work with a private tutor, so we'll see how that goes.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My 7th grader decided to switch to Greek this year. He'll start with Pimsleur Greek and <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-First-100-Words-Greek/dp/0658011391/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407159458&sr=1-1&keywords=your+first+100+words+in+greek" target="_blank">Your First 100 Words in Greek</a></b>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrVMW9jBWJbnKown6wZ9tktildjrxQeSePT2BCgmnm1yy0-oHqol7QT9j5CR3gv5jmmhG050dLRU8rrMpHaW07wYI7nzUNNmtIeeR6MsaO8yu_u8YiuBs9TNsO1ML6W5VI-9revlMuKaq/s1600/IMG_3805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrVMW9jBWJbnKown6wZ9tktildjrxQeSePT2BCgmnm1yy0-oHqol7QT9j5CR3gv5jmmhG050dLRU8rrMpHaW07wYI7nzUNNmtIeeR6MsaO8yu_u8YiuBs9TNsO1ML6W5VI-9revlMuKaq/s1600/IMG_3805.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Written Conversations/Journaling</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We usually end our "book work" days with a journal entry. Last year, I found this really cool idea in a book called <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Kept-Teaching-Secret-Conversations-Activate/dp/1452268630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407159627&sr=1-1&keywords=written+conversations" target="_blank">Written Conversations</a></b>. The night before, I write a brief letter to each kid in their journal, always including a personal question or two, and then they answer</span> <span style="font-size: large;">my questions in writing. These journals are not graded or corrected in any way--they are just an opportunity to put thoughts and opinions on paper with zero judgment. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGb9PtaaxJOS__z0pS_VERfLDxPe-n6WBGWxGIERIUdfd5en5iZMZDSwCRCNSgAISYTm509ulUfCvjS6RBm7iTaltJUWmbVWOOWlSyHJDl8OkbLkG26UF_1vC2W3OOib5cEjuQxwPDrc/s1600/IMG_3820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGb9PtaaxJOS__z0pS_VERfLDxPe-n6WBGWxGIERIUdfd5en5iZMZDSwCRCNSgAISYTm509ulUfCvjS6RBm7iTaltJUWmbVWOOWlSyHJDl8OkbLkG26UF_1vC2W3OOib5cEjuQxwPDrc/s1600/IMG_3820.jpg" height="171" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So that's pretty much the gist of how we'll be spending our school days this year. Of course there will also be music lessons, handwriting practice, note-taking practice, volunteer work, travel, museum visits, camping, geocaching, and activities with our local homeschooling group. We're looking forward to a great year of learning together!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This post is linked to the <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/6th-annual-not-back-to-school-blog-hop-curriculum-week/" target="_blank">6th Annual Not Back to School Blog Hop</a>! Stop by to see what my homeschooling blog buddies are doing in 2014-15!</span> </span></div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-6892405351178922852014-07-31T10:24:00.000-07:002014-07-31T10:24:48.048-07:00Literature List for 7th/9th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">My kids love books, but they approach them in very different ways.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfd16vt1bUAtqjOxcj3Tce3CXtOV2GS7LGX8JvQZADZoqbGQ1PhVQjCjClrBCKrtofqc5ntm7bxdc0W_9CvwQuN3crlUyCcHcFNxFCepLanioNxFrIIvXGqDSSFOkJnpyk6rfOQu839RP/s1600/IMG_3382.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfd16vt1bUAtqjOxcj3Tce3CXtOV2GS7LGX8JvQZADZoqbGQ1PhVQjCjClrBCKrtofqc5ntm7bxdc0W_9CvwQuN3crlUyCcHcFNxFCepLanioNxFrIIvXGqDSSFOkJnpyk6rfOQu839RP/s1600/IMG_3382.jpg" height="400" width="310" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>Typical random pile-o-books at the Sparklee household</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Super enjoys fiction, especially stories with animals as characters. Her early independent reading started with Thornton Burgess animal stories, Bill Wallace books and the Akimbo series by Alexander McCall Smith. Later she blazed through the Warriors and Seekers series and even started writing her own animal adventure stories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the moment she is reading the Wildwood series, which is penned by Colin Meloy, the lead singer of the Decemberists. How cool is that? She really enjoys this series--sometimes I have to insist that she stop reading and go to bed! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dude is more of a just-the-facts-ma'am reader. While he will happily listen to me read fiction for hours (and in fact is always the first to suggest a family read-aloud session) when he picks up a book on his own, it's going to be nonfiction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>One of Dude's favorites </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dude has always preferred nonfiction to fiction, and these days he prefers to get his information from electronic sources. He's a wellspring of facts that you didn't even know you didn't know, mostly from YouTube channels like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/vsauce" target="_blank">Vsauce</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics" target="_blank">Minutephysics</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/MentalFlossVideo" target="_blank">Mental Floss</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Finishing these to wrap up last year's WWII Unit Study</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm thrilled that he loves collecting arcane knowledge, and I know videos can be very educational but...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is something about really getting into a book--a real, paper-and-ink book--that just can't be replaced by any technology. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I believe there is immense value in reading fiction, too. Not just any fiction, but fiction that deals with big themes, fiction that makes you think, fiction that teaches important lessons about life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think it's reasonable for a 7th grader to read at least a novel a month, and that's the goal I'm setting for Dude. He'll be keeping an independent reading journal for his own choices and doing a variety of projects based on the books I assign to him.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of our many packed bookshelves </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's no shortage of great YA literature. The hard part is choosing what to read and when. So here is our tentative book list for the 2014-15 school year:</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fiction</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hatchet</b> by Gary Paulsen</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Forge</b> by Laurie Halse Anderson</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tuck Everlasting</b> by Natalie Babbit</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Island of the Blue Dolphins</b> by Scott O'Dell </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Wind in the Door</b> by Madeleine L'Engle</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chomp</b> by Carl Hiaasen </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fahrenheit 451</b> by Ray Bradbury</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Animal Farm</b> by George Orwell</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Wizard of Earthsea</b> by Ursula LeGuin</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>To Kill a Mockingbird</b> by Harper Lee</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Requested by the kids because they loved <b>Chains</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last three books on the list are part of Oak Meadow's 9th grade Intro to Literature and Composition curriculum. We are using Oak Meadow for the base of Super's high school English, with some supplemental reading and writing projects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> This is a new one for me, highly recommended by Dad</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dude will read from the same book list, with the possible addition of the Artemis Fowl series for his independent reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As always, we will open our school day with a poem, but this year I won't be choosing all the poems. I want the kids to take turns choosing their own favorites to share. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trying to overcome my "fear" of poetry</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've always loved poetry but I'm also a little intimidated by it, so I've chosen some fun and approachable sources for this year's poetry reading.</span><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Poetry</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>all the small poems and fourteen more</b> by Valerie Worth</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pug and Other Animal Poems</b> by Valerie Worth</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Poetry Speaks: Who I Am</b> edited by Elise Paschen</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dog Songs</b> by Mary Oliver</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ubiquitous</b> by Joyce Sidman</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear </b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Valerie Worth and Mary Oliver, accessible and not a bit scary</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We'll read nonfiction related to Super's Thinkwell Biology I course and whatever history topic the kids decide to jump into. (We're about halfway through <b>Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl</b>, but we're reading it in small doses because the kids find it so sad.) I'll also save interesting news and opinion pieces from a variety of sources, and I just subscribed to <a href="http://www.cricketmag.com/CIC-CICADA-Magazine-for-Teens-ages-14+" target="_blank">Cicada</a> and <a href="http://www.cricketmag.com/DIG-DIG-Magazine-for-Kids-ages-9-14" target="_blank">Dig</a> so hopefully the kids will find those interesting as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure we will add to and edit our reading lists as we discover great new literature during the year. We are looking forward to lots of great reading!</span><br />
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-31958146618763744372014-07-22T22:04:00.001-07:002014-07-22T22:04:32.312-07:00Big Picture, Small Picture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you slow down...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...and stop and look...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...and really pay attention...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...you never know...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...what you might see. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">:-) </span></div>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-25491727117308113102014-07-20T10:02:00.001-07:002014-07-20T10:02:23.146-07:00Gearing Up for High School (And by the way, we're still here...)<span style="font-size: large;">What?! A new Karmamatopoeia post? I know, crazy, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We're still here, still homeschooling, and I still need to be three people to do it all as well as I'd like, but I'm determined to get back to my long-neglected blog. I've missed the regular journaling, I've missed having a record of our school activities, and I've really, really missed keeping up with all my blog buddies! </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Summer daisies in full bloom</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm setting an intention here. (That's a new thing I'm working on--setting intentions.) Watch for more posts and we'll see how well it goes, but my intention is to revive this blog and post, oh, let's say once a week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So here's our super-quick update. 2013 was rough. I will be honest. Life was stressful, work was intense and home was very neglected. It was enough to drive a person who struggles mightily with perfectionist tendencies over the edge (not that I know anyone like that.)</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nature hike discovery: dragonfly emerging from nymph stage</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So we're starting the 2014 school year "behind schedule." And also ahead of schedule. We didn't finish our math curriculum, we only read half of our book list, etc. But the kiddos also learned very important lessons about independent learning, being responsible for themselves, and picking up the slack when Mom and Dad are overwhelmed. Good life lessons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We can always catch up in academics. Or not--the world won't end if we don't finish that book list!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Feeding lorikeets at the zoo</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Daughter Super will officially start 9th grade soon, and son Dude is technically in 7th but he's all over the map academically and will likely do much of Super's 9th grade curriculum with her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The kids have always preferred to school together, even though their styles are very different. Girl wants silence, boy wants music. Girl hyperfocuses and hates distractions, boy jumps up every few minutes and walks around humming and thinking (yet somehow always manages to complete his work before I'm ready for the next thing.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can't convince them to do different things at different times or to do their work in different rooms--they absolutely insist on sitting together and working together even while driving each other crazy! </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Home-grown mint makes delightful mint lemonade</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm spending the next few days finalizing our official high school plans. Most of it is in my head but not on paper, virtual or otherwise, and I really like to see things written down, even if it's constantly getting revised. I'm a planner. Plans make me feel secure. I'm working on the other half of that equation, which is being flexible and letting go of plans when life intervenes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Independence day celebration with friends, food, and fireworks</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We'll start school soon, maybe even this week if the kids' social schedule will allow a couple of days of "book work" as we call it. Dude has been pestering me to get started--he tells me he's had a nice, long break with plenty of swimming, playing video games, and watching stupid videos on YouTube, and is ready to get back to academics. That's my boy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you are all having a great summer (or winter, for you southern hemisphere homeschoolers.) I can't wait to visit your blogs and catch up with your latest adventures! </span><br />
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Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-26233659293498219042013-01-14T15:13:00.000-08:002013-01-14T15:15:46.323-08:00A New JourneyYeah, it's been a while. And I've been missing this blog and all my blog buddies terribly! <br />
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Do you even want to hear my excuses or shall we just move on to the new plans? :-)<br />
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Oh, OK, here's the first excuse. I lost my camera. Happily it has been found, but for several weeks I wasn't able to take pictures of our daily work. And without loading the photos every evening, I wasn't prompted to post about our activities.<br />
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The second excuse is that our adoption did not go as smoothly as we'd hoped. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here; I'll just say that November and December were hard months for our family.<br />
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Third and final excuse: I have recently become a working mom. Well, sort of. I'm spending several days each week helping out at our family business, and it has thrown our entire schedule out of whack.<br />
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Not that I wasn't sympathetic to working moms before, because I was. But now I <i>really</i> get it. My hat is off to those of you who work full-time, because just going in part-time has been overwhelming for me!<br />
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My kids are old enough to do a lot of their schoolwork independently, but I still feel like academics have suffered here at the Super-Awesome School this winter. Besides, I really miss doing school with them every day.<br />
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And we are all eating way too many frozen dinners and dinners out. (The waitress at our favorite local Mexican restaurant doesn't even take our order anymore, she just smiles, waves, and tells the cook we're there.) <br />
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So why all the upheaval in the Sparklee family?<br />
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Because it will be worth it!<br />
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In the coming months, we are transforming our family business (a small hotel) into a natural history-themed resort, complete with art galleries, science exhibits, classes for kids and adults, a spa, the coolest pool you've ever seen, and a restaurant that serves fresh, local food. It's an exciting project that has captured the imagination of our entire family.<br />
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Researching and developing our business plan has been an amazing opportunity for our kids! They are now on a first-name basis with some of the leading scientists in the country. They've enjoyed behind-the-scenes tours of multiple museums. They have sifted through style boards, choosing their favorites from among the carpet and wallpaper samples. They have worked with professional artists, brainstorming ideas for everything from logos to pool design. <br />
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They have sat through some very, very boring meetings as well. Because any big idea worth pursuing takes a lot of planning and coordinating, budgeting and compromising. <br />
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So even as I say academics are suffering, I'm not too broken up about it. We're perpetually behind in math, just barely keeping up with history and science, and grammar and German went out the window some time ago. But they are getting an amazing education as they watch an idea go from "wouldn't it be cool" to "let's make it happen."<br />
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I still plan to dedicate this blog to our daily homeschool activities, especially our unit studies and hands-on projects. But I'll be starting a new blog as well, so I can journal about the new business.<br />
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Can't wait to share our new journey with you all!<br />
<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-38797948759489654342012-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:002012-10-20T13:21:07.951-07:00Summer to Fall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our backyard "mystery tree" in August</div>
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September</div>
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First dusting of snow, September</div>
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October</div>
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After a huge windstorm, October</div>
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Today, October 20, with a front moving in</div>
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It's hard to believe it's the same tree. It has changed so much in only three months!</div>
<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-75861647520333345742012-08-30T21:26:00.001-07:002012-08-30T21:38:49.214-07:00Our Week in Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Also known as the lazy mom's guide to homeschool blogging...</div>
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What we're reading.</div>
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Vocabulary Bingo. </div>
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A few more things for our Time Capsule.</div>
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Measurements, and three things that represent you.</div>
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Nature, knowledge, and creativity.</div>
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And pugs in the sun.</div>
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A reference I made for the kids using bookmarks from <a href="http://www.abcteach.com/" target="_blank">abcteach</a>.</div>
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Practicing multiples...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVESTEcAjNA3Fwg3vnzSRj3V8ytagTvRPMlo1gu6row3MM_hHh64AGmguI_DYzqTSLTyaqGHltvJRYm4Aazryw3BNLYgrFygfio5QklG_oxFmkWErF7S0_0Z9nFrhUMkVhfX6vr7I2-bEj/s1600/DSC02167.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVESTEcAjNA3Fwg3vnzSRj3V8ytagTvRPMlo1gu6row3MM_hHh64AGmguI_DYzqTSLTyaqGHltvJRYm4Aazryw3BNLYgrFygfio5QklG_oxFmkWErF7S0_0Z9nFrhUMkVhfX6vr7I2-bEj/s320/DSC02167.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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...and playing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Seat-Centers-Grades/dp/1557998523/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346387756&sr=8-1&keywords=evan+moor+math+games" target="_blank">integer games</a>.</div>
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Korean food! </div>
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Cereal and sign language.</div>
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No matter how busy we are...</div>
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...there's always time to be a smart-aleck!</div>
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Hope you had a great week, too!</div>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-37617607661021089132012-08-26T21:25:00.000-07:002012-08-26T21:29:19.259-07:00Our Cell Unit Study So Far...<div style="text-align: center;">
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We began our unit study on cells by watching this amazing video. If you haven't seen The Inner Life of the Cell before, it really will blow your mind. (The one below has music but there is a <a href="http://youtu.be/GigxU1UXZXo" target="_blank">version with narration</a>. We plan to watch it later, once we're more familiar with some of the vocabulary.) </div>
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Then we quickly reviewed a book we read last year: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Enjoy-Your-Cells/dp/0879696125/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346009264&sr=1-1&keywords=enjoy+your+cells" target="_blank">Enjoy Your Cells</a> by Fran Balkwill. (This is a GREAT series, but for some reason the books are getting harder to find!) Looking through the book one more time refreshed our memories so we could do a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWL_table" target="_blank">KWL chart</a> together.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjSYJx5yku1kV0nYh0wWZvYu8xS-sYNrZwytBgS-lL7bYEJqSyakuUcXnk3uxfhu5b-yWNGDP2h9St9eafY7b72_o4MV_W5LNll39U9sheAK8VWd45weZZtiZkxzCkytPods66oyRPl8s/s1600/enjycell_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjSYJx5yku1kV0nYh0wWZvYu8xS-sYNrZwytBgS-lL7bYEJqSyakuUcXnk3uxfhu5b-yWNGDP2h9St9eafY7b72_o4MV_W5LNll39U9sheAK8VWd45weZZtiZkxzCkytPods66oyRPl8s/s320/enjycell_f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After we jotted down what we already knew, we wrote down what we wanted to learn about cells. Our questions were:</div>
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<i>What is the largest cell in our bodies?</i></div>
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<i>What is the smallest cell?</i></div>
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<i>What do the different organelles do and how do they do it?</i></div>
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<i>What is the cell membrane made of?</i></div>
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<i>How do cells move?</i></div>
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<i>What the heck is a motor protein? (That big crazy structure in the video above.)</i></div>
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<i>What do microtubules do?</i></div>
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<i>How do cells reproduce? </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK7D0BoV6VBkL7SWG1V8H2iZ6QspO5WF1oOk5VxL-7fYNYMWs6ODinfH6KuawC8kvVI7YSNwtXnCmQRd2AoFIbAMrdegHKyDJ3YZf844mpY7SRaOimuZ99-uHK2ILr6JusDTqG4j0cC6k/s1600/DSC02136.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK7D0BoV6VBkL7SWG1V8H2iZ6QspO5WF1oOk5VxL-7fYNYMWs6ODinfH6KuawC8kvVI7YSNwtXnCmQRd2AoFIbAMrdegHKyDJ3YZf844mpY7SRaOimuZ99-uHK2ILr6JusDTqG4j0cC6k/s400/DSC02136.JPG" width="400" /></a><i> </i></div>
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We got out the cell models that we made just before the summer break and referred to the organelles as we read <a href="http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidelifescience/inside-the-cell.html" target="_blank">this article</a> from The National Institute of General Medical Sciences.</div>
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Then we watched a couple of <a href="http://www.brainpop.com/" target="_blank">BrainPop</a> movies about cells.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaoAWB7MvzXf11Z5imGx4sSdX4YNpJleFsM2t1S4d7qt_U2WFSGN_rwPzaNJtZtY_gEc_GBjNCEF4onHghtDIsLbvFFgsSJHuO820KZcL-JNk_CfaiVmWlOSmW8t9x-Vtol7kNWAbMlGS/s1600/DSC02152.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaoAWB7MvzXf11Z5imGx4sSdX4YNpJleFsM2t1S4d7qt_U2WFSGN_rwPzaNJtZtY_gEc_GBjNCEF4onHghtDIsLbvFFgsSJHuO820KZcL-JNk_CfaiVmWlOSmW8t9x-Vtol7kNWAbMlGS/s400/DSC02152.JPG" width="400" /></a> <br />
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We read the first four chapters of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Plant-Microquests-Rebecca-Johnson/dp/0822585308/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346010235&sr=1-1&keywords=powerful+plant+cells" target="_blank">Powerful Plant Cells</a> by Rebecca L. Johnson and completed a plant cell labeling sheet from <a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/" target="_blank">Enchanted Learning.</a><br />
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Super remembered seeing something about a dancing plant, so we searched for it and finally found information about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmodium_gyrans" target="_blank">Desmodium gyrans.</a><br />
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APSM_V18_D524_Desmodium_gyrans_in_diurnal_and_nocturnal_state.jpg" title="See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="PSM V18 D524 Desmodium gyrans in diurnal and nocturnal state" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/PSM_V18_D524_Desmodium_gyrans_in_diurnal_and_nocturnal_state.jpg/256px-PSM_V18_D524_Desmodium_gyrans_in_diurnal_and_nocturnal_state.jpg" width="256" /></a>
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We found three YouTube videos showing the plant moving. <a href="http://youtu.be/Ta4I5Uwv9m0" target="_blank">This one</a> is probably the best.</div>
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We ended the first day of our study with this fun video. We have the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Science-Might-Giants/dp/B002FKZ4UO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346009177&sr=8-1&keywords=here+comes+science+cd%2Bdvd" target="_blank">Here Comes Science</a> DVD-CD and we absolutely love it! </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LgYPeeABoUs" width="480">The nex</iframe><br />
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If the neighbors didn't already think we're crazy, I'm sure they do now. Come on, everybody! Sing along! Photosynthesis! AAAA-AAAAH!<br />
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-45535893276120992912012-08-22T17:07:00.000-07:002012-08-22T17:15:30.967-07:00Our August Tree Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYcfRKT05aEs7uA1xkDEIAGrRsf340xKZBdIen6w7fOJKSL4AmuxSV0de_4PjTNEVGD-polw9kpMN4d398anqV9CQz_t2Vfc6yiqGfL8AGFm08rxNevX04Mm6oCyChy_8zLqJgBWp-r1p/s1600/DSC04310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYcfRKT05aEs7uA1xkDEIAGrRsf340xKZBdIen6w7fOJKSL4AmuxSV0de_4PjTNEVGD-polw9kpMN4d398anqV9CQz_t2Vfc6yiqGfL8AGFm08rxNevX04Mm6oCyChy_8zLqJgBWp-r1p/s400/DSC04310.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We spent this week's <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_9182.html" target="_blank">Outdoor Hour</a> studying a tree in our backyard. When we first moved here 11 years ago, we actually considered removing this tree. It was so scrawny and sickly, we didn't think it would make it through the first winter.</div>
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I'm so glad we kept it! It's a wonderful shade tree now, and a lovely place to sit. We have never known what type of tree it is...so we decided to <a href="http://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/" target="_blank">find out</a>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGQ3TJoJUYpZBcF8AlxSNS4trF07wdGgV3gu8_qobg3FyO0ZMaSjxao_F4YFs3QN7L0RpkugXUi4VyyHkgpRmuHC-X2dQOVjquoECjcRlNHlKeH799SNRS_QLliyT_qH5TvV6IPTuS0Cn/s1600/DSC04317.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGQ3TJoJUYpZBcF8AlxSNS4trF07wdGgV3gu8_qobg3FyO0ZMaSjxao_F4YFs3QN7L0RpkugXUi4VyyHkgpRmuHC-X2dQOVjquoECjcRlNHlKeH799SNRS_QLliyT_qH5TvV6IPTuS0Cn/s400/DSC04317.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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The leaves are dark green, simple, and toothed. They alternate on the twig and have small veins coming out of a central vein. The tree makes fluffy yellow-green catkins in the spring, and these long "fruits" in fall. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHIfZIMbrHxTeHY16YXHfuwwRjF8eKJKgT7u5I2AHRdQxFO6-maX-F1NAIXXyQWPKpWO3lkY80mSDhxDhTWhV_4z6jthneqcwEsK9DIc-MEEy3WWHq5xdy9tEvz5aurniwS4dcQaMtYFD/s1600/DSC04318.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHIfZIMbrHxTeHY16YXHfuwwRjF8eKJKgT7u5I2AHRdQxFO6-maX-F1NAIXXyQWPKpWO3lkY80mSDhxDhTWhV_4z6jthneqcwEsK9DIc-MEEy3WWHq5xdy9tEvz5aurniwS4dcQaMtYFD/s320/DSC04318.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The bark is rough and papery. This made me wonder if the tree was in the birch family, but our tree book only listed "white birch," and the trunk is definitely not white. This photo isn't the best (standing under a shade tree on an overcast day) but the trunk is reddish-gold with some black spots. </div>
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We were surprised to see that our tree already has a few yellow leaves. Our nighttime temps haven't been cool enough to change the leaves...I suspect the yellow ones are just an anomaly. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSk7fhJ3m_O4l5dQAvPCWXcF6T1a2Cm8MPi-2W9FFHq5N-UraGUXnBHL7I9PMm-VZdDOqzE070KgWxL5upaqx-AsYBx7yuOfS1iffMdjNXzk014LNw_nQ7yd77WFpatmz6IaQ0kHZjQyB/s1600/DSC04322.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSk7fhJ3m_O4l5dQAvPCWXcF6T1a2Cm8MPi-2W9FFHq5N-UraGUXnBHL7I9PMm-VZdDOqzE070KgWxL5upaqx-AsYBx7yuOfS1iffMdjNXzk014LNw_nQ7yd77WFpatmz6IaQ0kHZjQyB/s200/DSC04322.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpExb0fQSANyZnBag2VMesspjjEwj48zKczpYYtLQ7fNNRVbfdduG3pheYCv7kK7QdiPOp8dqip8g7nlJfhNCXNLg3hTvumNyEiIbPHxO0xIPNxR9vXZVtshOfVt-uYSoJZ0cBcQg4Ub9M/s1600/DSC04323.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpExb0fQSANyZnBag2VMesspjjEwj48zKczpYYtLQ7fNNRVbfdduG3pheYCv7kK7QdiPOp8dqip8g7nlJfhNCXNLg3hTvumNyEiIbPHxO0xIPNxR9vXZVtshOfVt-uYSoJZ0cBcQg4Ub9M/s200/DSC04323.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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We also observed some strange-looking leaves. We pulled them off for further inspection. We couldn't find any insects on these leaves, so we don't know what caused the bumps and discoloring.</div>
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We did find insects other places, however. Hi, little guy!</div>
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This mosquito hawk was so well-camoflaged, it actually startled me!</div>
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We brought some leaves and bark inside to look at them under the microscope. The bark was sparkly, bumpy and whitish under magnification. The leaves were interesting--under 10X they were shiny and we could just make out the cell walls. Under 20X we could see individual cell walls! </div>
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The kids did leaf rubbings but weren't happy with how they turned out, so they glued leaves and bark to their notebook pages. Then we visited the <a href="http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/WhatTree.cfm?ItemID=w65d" target="_blank">Arbor Day Foundation</a> and tried to identify our tree. Based on all the identifiers, we have a water birch (red birch.) </div>
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I'm not convinced...our tree is very tall and according to Wikipedia, the red birch is a "shrub or small tree." Also, our tree doesn't match any of the red birch photos that I found. </div>
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Oh, well, we'll just have to keep trying to identify our "mystery tree." In the meantime, the rose bush next to it is getting ready for a fall bloom. Dude fashioned a flower press from two heavy books and pressed a rose for his nature notebook.</div>
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We'll revisit our tree in September and see how it has changed. Hope you are finding time to enjoy nature, too!</div>
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-45474716747337453152012-08-20T22:51:00.002-07:002012-08-26T22:33:04.734-07:00First Day of 7th and 5th!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>7:30 am</b></div>
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Mom is caffeinated, has a load of laundry going, and is pulling today's work out of the files...</div>
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<b>8:15 am</b></div>
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Kids are up, dressed, and having breakfast. Then Dude feeds all the animals while Super puts away clean dishes and gives the dogs fresh water. </div>
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<b>9:30 am</b></div>
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Gomez is all settled in for the first school day!</div>
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We start by filling out a fun First Day Questionnaire. This is one of several things we'll put in our Time Capsule (to be opened at the end of the school year.)</div>
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<b>10 am</b></div>
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First Day goodie bags!</div>
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Some new school supplies, Tic Tacs, a cute little journal, a mini Slinky, thinking putty (a.k.a. Silly putty) and a note from Mom.</div>
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<b> 10:30</b></div>
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Kids happily organize their workspace...then we head out for Nature Study. (More on our Tree Study in another post.)</div>
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<b>11:40</b></div>
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Lunch...and an impromptu science experiment. Dude wants to see what would happen if:</div>
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he measures exactly four inches of Silly Putty...</div>
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...uses a pen and the Slinky to hang the Silly Putty off the table for five minutes...</div>
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...and then measures it again. Amazing what a couple of cheap toys can inspire!</div>
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<b>12:30 pm</b> </div>
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A few math review sheets and a sorting activity.</div>
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Uh, Gomez? Trying to work here...</div>
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<b>1:30 pm</b></div>
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Grammar Voyage: the introduction. Then a nostalgic voyage for me. We read one of my childhood favorites: <i>The Captain's Dog</i>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqwjxYcX-NCfTC_x0VhgLzSg1AS9F1s-Z2c8LxY51Ro517QKEIleiagNxBN9Om7tSD-05OeLiGnWzq_FPMPUR2T5eIgZ3BXq-SiO4jWKeBRECoyLWFh_1llud2fdfuVuak0UwVLBf52Uu/s1600/DSC04367.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqwjxYcX-NCfTC_x0VhgLzSg1AS9F1s-Z2c8LxY51Ro517QKEIleiagNxBN9Om7tSD-05OeLiGnWzq_FPMPUR2T5eIgZ3BXq-SiO4jWKeBRECoyLWFh_1llud2fdfuVuak0UwVLBf52Uu/s400/DSC04367.jpg" width="343" /></a> </div>
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Super is in charge of jotting down the adjectives and Dude records the verbs. Until they get tired of it and just listen to the wonderful story. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ2KUv_sQJBpNdGKk1eNCuo5-ETfT6H254Q7CuR5marOzaJrFWyL94E2K3ETrSEosZ3aAY1KRHzxiczZP4GDDhc_DOI_jRytaOAbzVf-TzYXH4BV-zOjqmrXv5tAClkdWBlzeE30Wx_ku/s1600/DSC04366.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ2KUv_sQJBpNdGKk1eNCuo5-ETfT6H254Q7CuR5marOzaJrFWyL94E2K3ETrSEosZ3aAY1KRHzxiczZP4GDDhc_DOI_jRytaOAbzVf-TzYXH4BV-zOjqmrXv5tAClkdWBlzeE30Wx_ku/s400/DSC04366.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<b> 2:15 pm</b></div>
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Kids listen to <i>Raptor Red</i> while doing handwriting practice. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-upVsz-PTdZi3yIeFCaPhXhBngyeecTg6_Y5FbV1nbQkXylZfwiB4kW8XDkl5mh0zq0DYBxNz6Y88cZSIGtDk0_c7Srz6U639vEkgPUbeOE6v0pkC8sPa9q0d5qvGk50WZuNACX2wR_S/s1600/DSC04369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-upVsz-PTdZi3yIeFCaPhXhBngyeecTg6_Y5FbV1nbQkXylZfwiB4kW8XDkl5mh0zq0DYBxNz6Y88cZSIGtDk0_c7Srz6U639vEkgPUbeOE6v0pkC8sPa9q0d5qvGk50WZuNACX2wR_S/s320/DSC04369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b> 2:30 pm</b></div>
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A snack and free reading time. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3J_BBnERKIcNCWCQdsfcuh7rZ0aJxRzloZrf2pvwDp4S0vhImC5vikM2sPeSxV4polb3gwKBCOEdwO45-HLlEJcYo_GYnRVGJ2iFSmpDVdlxE4211jmcUb9Tznylz8vn5kl4QLCkazeVe/s1600/DSC04372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3J_BBnERKIcNCWCQdsfcuh7rZ0aJxRzloZrf2pvwDp4S0vhImC5vikM2sPeSxV4polb3gwKBCOEdwO45-HLlEJcYo_GYnRVGJ2iFSmpDVdlxE4211jmcUb9Tznylz8vn5kl4QLCkazeVe/s400/DSC04372.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wake up, Gomez, it's almost time for karate!</div>
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Other than the goodie bags, this is a pretty typical day for us. We alternate between nature study, science, and history. We do math, reading and language every day. </div>
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Between karate, swimming, scouts and our homeschool group, there is usually something going on in the afternoon. And Gomez always joins us for school!</div>
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Hope you had a great day, too!</div>
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<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/category/not-back-to-school-blog-hop/"><img alt="Not Back to School Blog Hop" height="125" src="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nbts-blog-hop-2012.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-60106000886024933622012-08-13T20:17:00.001-07:002012-08-15T11:59:04.796-07:00This is what happens...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">...when you spend the day at the museum, then totally cave in the gift shop and let your kids take home a couple of souvenirs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vbBWvbZUnXW-d8qDRzzaxAZQFkt_AX2-oE-xqfvt6bCI1TnJXPZA7mm3a4eRRC1wHWdWpI0HlyvmE27PouW9ZS-ZgefXfAbuNMiFaAZHDNDQ88aP_Sh2NU_qFm_FpbOicy3hC_UCKYfE/s1600/DSC04274.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vbBWvbZUnXW-d8qDRzzaxAZQFkt_AX2-oE-xqfvt6bCI1TnJXPZA7mm3a4eRRC1wHWdWpI0HlyvmE27PouW9ZS-ZgefXfAbuNMiFaAZHDNDQ88aP_Sh2NU_qFm_FpbOicy3hC_UCKYfE/s400/DSC04274.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I didn't ask them to make these diaramas--in fact, I didn't even know they were doing it until they showed me their finished projects!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMmtiHMOJxATzWkrp0g0cu36U3IbqWk1koGKY8R-tCuF2ibjgw74kzKJdtxgjIZZdXNyVe0nYhkGhNZcHVvPaSz1iK4-3KShlxDyYpQvX8_vf_Jcqd_YzDZP9-RjDn8o2kbxxobljkA_n/s1600/DSC04273.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMmtiHMOJxATzWkrp0g0cu36U3IbqWk1koGKY8R-tCuF2ibjgw74kzKJdtxgjIZZdXNyVe0nYhkGhNZcHVvPaSz1iK4-3KShlxDyYpQvX8_vf_Jcqd_YzDZP9-RjDn8o2kbxxobljkA_n/s400/DSC04273.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> So maybe it's not such a bad thing to be a pushover sometimes?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> :-) </span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMmtiHMOJxATzWkrp0g0cu36U3IbqWk1koGKY8R-tCuF2ibjgw74kzKJdtxgjIZZdXNyVe0nYhkGhNZcHVvPaSz1iK4-3KShlxDyYpQvX8_vf_Jcqd_YzDZP9-RjDn8o2kbxxobljkA_n/s1600/DSC04273.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-40564863324535976492012-08-11T18:18:00.000-07:002012-08-13T05:28:50.309-07:00Super-Awesome Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Welcome to the Super-Awesome Classroom of the Super-Awesome School of Super-Awesomeness!*</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVpkpKBpEKDhW8keBh4IRxO1BMAYDr5ssijCWIaX2zhSeQXLrexUOMaAatuoo-RTqd7hADBwkqcg72Ntg3K_Vcq9gqBv_B4GOS8xDqlh-YovwcEW-5h7pvBDGZTPIEwfwIgxJJ4gT2JQy/s1600/DSC04260.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVpkpKBpEKDhW8keBh4IRxO1BMAYDr5ssijCWIaX2zhSeQXLrexUOMaAatuoo-RTqd7hADBwkqcg72Ntg3K_Vcq9gqBv_B4GOS8xDqlh-YovwcEW-5h7pvBDGZTPIEwfwIgxJJ4gT2JQy/s400/DSC04260.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our classroom has changed a lot over the years. Not surprising, since my kids have changed a lot over the years, too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYqxdSBEteKeU21uftRlZkq_ilMooSpTIh1l-5wka6mzjtUJtk3Pa1kh9dEgb0TEy34WumIojPxia2YQJB51Me5QOSh-B7dY7Vx8zNATjjK7NOhRXyyM1m09wCFirul2b75FQ1JXNHUYV/s1600/DSC04261.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYqxdSBEteKeU21uftRlZkq_ilMooSpTIh1l-5wka6mzjtUJtk3Pa1kh9dEgb0TEy34WumIojPxia2YQJB51Me5QOSh-B7dY7Vx8zNATjjK7NOhRXyyM1m09wCFirul2b75FQ1JXNHUYV/s320/DSC04261.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
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These tables used to be lined up so the kids could do most of their work together. This year, they each requested their own workspace, so I put them corner-to-corner. You can just make out the empty clothesline on the far wall, waiting to display this year's art and other creations!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyiVPbuhu7brPSApI5wqxqPBzho9LQrM8850PeEbqv36PHzDN4iYkjDorJFS2jE28Yla4zICHOcMaMaUR5oXyW3sTrr_vCL2Pm4IXy4PdpU34LVcshptMcLrgVaPVWDRaFY3bgHuDPoAJ/s1600/DSC04256.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyiVPbuhu7brPSApI5wqxqPBzho9LQrM8850PeEbqv36PHzDN4iYkjDorJFS2jE28Yla4zICHOcMaMaUR5oXyW3sTrr_vCL2Pm4IXy4PdpU34LVcshptMcLrgVaPVWDRaFY3bgHuDPoAJ/s400/DSC04256.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKbFRvlC51s49H_CzTS4ORGhmoDmSzRxKAk5nXIEca1CYTv-GfvEsnVdNuI1AShpSPFif-ix2U4XNFEqmVw8KZDYOcRVlxmkm3y3SzkD-Z5Z_PB5Xe4wuLZ3YoPX73HhiLjgUwhrfWeFP/s1600/DSC04272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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We try to keep the tabletops pretty simple. A placemat works as a pad to write on. Most of their supplies are kept elsewhere so they have plenty of space to work. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKbFRvlC51s49H_CzTS4ORGhmoDmSzRxKAk5nXIEca1CYTv-GfvEsnVdNuI1AShpSPFif-ix2U4XNFEqmVw8KZDYOcRVlxmkm3y3SzkD-Z5Z_PB5Xe4wuLZ3YoPX73HhiLjgUwhrfWeFP/s1600/DSC04272.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKbFRvlC51s49H_CzTS4ORGhmoDmSzRxKAk5nXIEca1CYTv-GfvEsnVdNuI1AShpSPFif-ix2U4XNFEqmVw8KZDYOcRVlxmkm3y3SzkD-Z5Z_PB5Xe4wuLZ3YoPX73HhiLjgUwhrfWeFP/s320/DSC04272.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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Here is Super's tabletop. She has a placemat, a new box of 64 crayons (yay!) and a few German flashcards. Apparently she decided to tape a reminder about the order of operations here, too. (Dude keeps a multiplication chart on his table.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuU5MF8EiTA_xAe61qjMccih-UVWY6_kYw5jvDWhlqrrez8GPVh9E_LJdPA3UpjnwAcbLsfVoVsVBgm1Q_xkNlMpMBY6-cicH-HnEIbaCz76NqUASGjqcu-bYSgqV0tAdvXhkRlo6IxNer/s1600/DSC04271.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuU5MF8EiTA_xAe61qjMccih-UVWY6_kYw5jvDWhlqrrez8GPVh9E_LJdPA3UpjnwAcbLsfVoVsVBgm1Q_xkNlMpMBY6-cicH-HnEIbaCz76NqUASGjqcu-bYSgqV0tAdvXhkRlo6IxNer/s400/DSC04271.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div>
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A dollar store napkin holder keeps reference cards handy: shape properties, poetry response prompts, flashcards for making plural nouns, etc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2mwdDUIrTVQ1MsNdK9O2210nQQyD0KAEueqzO3mWxKpvlqpcUzlTQlsGjrGifRpdTRHWdz5RH_dIsVzw2Mq0xXhXn9u_KExRPB_DuLR_y5wiqyphlzZ1UyhtIR23zJ2dvbD4HTc4J8kL/s1600/DSC04269.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2mwdDUIrTVQ1MsNdK9O2210nQQyD0KAEueqzO3mWxKpvlqpcUzlTQlsGjrGifRpdTRHWdz5RH_dIsVzw2Mq0xXhXn9u_KExRPB_DuLR_y5wiqyphlzZ1UyhtIR23zJ2dvbD4HTc4J8kL/s400/DSC04269.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Super's table is closest to the heater because she is always cold in the winter! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VAtfRz-T6f2_xfQSR0oz29a7ru_H6_dhKYLgfhFRITLO2tDU_UkzUyRnFQDZexUhUGTTSozpo7BvGlhyphenhyphenYJ38CgVGY7DRW9VnbQDd7OpBQfrPm5lksXcnh4ck71V0YdQYN-N5W91PmFX1/s1600/DSC04257.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VAtfRz-T6f2_xfQSR0oz29a7ru_H6_dhKYLgfhFRITLO2tDU_UkzUyRnFQDZexUhUGTTSozpo7BvGlhyphenhyphenYJ38CgVGY7DRW9VnbQDd7OpBQfrPm5lksXcnh4ck71V0YdQYN-N5W91PmFX1/s320/DSC04257.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The table in the middle holds each kids' filebox, nature journals, the hole punch, and their giant history binders (looking kind of empty after we cleaned last year's stuff out!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIHh-_QA3aj6uj18jwgRL9NJjSMRMQNdmOz1rWXzntVAKDa5jGE9h1PkgzUPfMz-Jg92ZzNte6rAA37_ceYAyQ6O76iKOI0PR7X6I5xkfesTSK4qSs3XAYwstSe18iLgKVgKRDVv7eZeE/s1600/DSC04259.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIHh-_QA3aj6uj18jwgRL9NJjSMRMQNdmOz1rWXzntVAKDa5jGE9h1PkgzUPfMz-Jg92ZzNte6rAA37_ceYAyQ6O76iKOI0PR7X6I5xkfesTSK4qSs3XAYwstSe18iLgKVgKRDVv7eZeE/s400/DSC04259.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Other everyday supplies are kept in this area. The blue drawers hold lapbooking supplies, markers and colored pencils, rulers and tape measures, empty folders, new composition books, etc. The white bookshelf has reference books, a couple of workbox-type activities that I put together, the microscope, and our "brain breaks." </div>
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(Those are the little activities we do when we need to refocus or just take a quick break.) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyjqlqfwmwNzdOgkNL6n9qBrV8d_BweE6_UCTLrmgjAjx94E_wOl3-F9A6wU6E9sqJZX6q4z_A6pwcqPp9ZqmjRPIZGlcKEUHcMZf2B6U8giAp7XK2soicKztG_e58rjW7xhIVVOTnAMo/s1600/DSC04258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyjqlqfwmwNzdOgkNL6n9qBrV8d_BweE6_UCTLrmgjAjx94E_wOl3-F9A6wU6E9sqJZX6q4z_A6pwcqPp9ZqmjRPIZGlcKEUHcMZf2B6U8giAp7XK2soicKztG_e58rjW7xhIVVOTnAMo/s320/DSC04258.jpg" width="240" /> </a></div>
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This was quite a find! A local bookstore was going out of business (very sad) and I asked if they had any shelves to sell. This awesome rotating bookshelf shows off the beautiful covers of our art books!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfDoQx1Bo_tNEz4VyqtDnjwN0HI5kmAUWdlQM4ABa9_QyzRwhOlCuLRCo8bqtNeCRxCxjxxfTVKz9lYqj3LQ0_Il-OqIt0xmxmhW445sKhPcqoPuyjsNrgTZYQv3LZaPiXhVbIVN347Fq/s1600/DSC04270.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfDoQx1Bo_tNEz4VyqtDnjwN0HI5kmAUWdlQM4ABa9_QyzRwhOlCuLRCo8bqtNeCRxCxjxxfTVKz9lYqj3LQ0_Il-OqIt0xmxmhW445sKhPcqoPuyjsNrgTZYQv3LZaPiXhVbIVN347Fq/s320/DSC04270.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This messy bookshelf holds all kinds of things: a few art supplies, some of my teaching materials, the kids' binders, and other random stuff. Past projects of every kind are displayed on top. You can see my disorganized pile of posters and maps in the corner, plus a comfy reading chair covered in a beloved blanket.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dRRJcxzgnMwBUUWd1fXKHImaIIL1H1EFMlk_4j3vmyVEh2DUy7QToz4F7cJg6gX3BIh85AW9xWpYbz0vjmJ6NKw5V8nPdPewVzMNy6LU9N0IB6JcsnLVE_o3sX5hi3BFEqVEYqA6iNjK/s1600/DSC04255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dRRJcxzgnMwBUUWd1fXKHImaIIL1H1EFMlk_4j3vmyVEh2DUy7QToz4F7cJg6gX3BIh85AW9xWpYbz0vjmJ6NKw5V8nPdPewVzMNy6LU9N0IB6JcsnLVE_o3sX5hi3BFEqVEYqA6iNjK/s320/DSC04255.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the extent of my planning "system." I use a Word document to plan our days, normally about a month in advance. This year, to my complete surprise, I'm actually prepared through November! Everything I need for those plans (worksheets, manipulatives, books, whatever) goes into these files. On the left: math up to 11/16. On the right: everything else up to 11/16.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLaN_BY6RnqZYX-dPbA9WiEmbDK64n3bo_xN3Std9A4W38OiODivUhQDn3u9xXuzLbnDfGCusXvV_BZauwg5AOL8aBX2UZtq442XbhYjh1ShICWlQ0RX8KmPPbPxwZGjmv1Gw9HUCwjRp/s1600/DSC04264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLaN_BY6RnqZYX-dPbA9WiEmbDK64n3bo_xN3Std9A4W38OiODivUhQDn3u9xXuzLbnDfGCusXvV_BZauwg5AOL8aBX2UZtq442XbhYjh1ShICWlQ0RX8KmPPbPxwZGjmv1Gw9HUCwjRp/s320/DSC04264.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This shelf is right next to my desk and it holds a few math games and whatever books we are using at the moment. As we finish a science or history unit, these books will get put away or returned to the library, and new books will reside here.</div>
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Culling a ton of books over the summer allowed us to add this great reading nook. As you can see, Gomez really enjoys hanging out here. He doesn't read (as far as I know) but he enjoys cuddling with readers! </div>
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I'm not posting a picture of my desk because it's so clean and organized, it would only make you feel bad. In other words, it's a total pigsty at the moment! And every moment. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei5iqQhVTo70zF8qtSQciEdLu-Q9KsRxJBPNqiPO1D3yrFYH2E7i-Xl24WDmUaEU0g0fpEf1GJiTAD4a4qHyXCPI4U3xQ9_EllVVPiJ1-73fqdnyLMaoKWvv-qXeICCZr4p7nyF-drn1x/s1600/DSC04268.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei5iqQhVTo70zF8qtSQciEdLu-Q9KsRxJBPNqiPO1D3yrFYH2E7i-Xl24WDmUaEU0g0fpEf1GJiTAD4a4qHyXCPI4U3xQ9_EllVVPiJ1-73fqdnyLMaoKWvv-qXeICCZr4p7nyF-drn1x/s320/DSC04268.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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We love our classroom, but like most homeschoolers, we can learn anywhere we want! As long as the weather is warm, we'll be spending plenty of time here as well.</div>
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Can't wait to see all the other amazing learning spaces on the blog hop! Have a fantastic year learning with your families!</div>
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<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/category/not-back-to-school-blog-hop/"><img alt="Not Back to School Blog Hop" height="125" src="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nbts-blog-hop-2012.jpg" width="125" /> </a></div>
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*This is what you get when you let a 1st and 3rd grader name their school. </div>
Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-21751744929042057322012-08-09T22:44:00.001-07:002012-08-11T02:09:34.367-07:00Our Goals for 2012-13<br />
This is going to be an unusual school year for us. Or, should I say, even <i>more</i> unusual?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">;-) </span></div>
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We will be adding a toddler to our family sometime after the first of the year. We'll definitely take a month or more off to bond with him and give the entire family some time to adjust--only, we don't know when he'll arrive, how he will react to us, or what his medical needs will be. Try planning around that!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ2khMdf0H1ibZZK7lSFk2I6eyi5eHl53V_vZjDzypWmGeUp9oGeCxIWkrKtG4Nl0pF7rxVwO940DVExWQSA_r1mZ7EWwmLtH4Uc72ztTYeafg9l7BlVlvLRznjqwE2jldAmxUKA352UI/s1600/DSC04250.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ2khMdf0H1ibZZK7lSFk2I6eyi5eHl53V_vZjDzypWmGeUp9oGeCxIWkrKtG4Nl0pF7rxVwO940DVExWQSA_r1mZ7EWwmLtH4Uc72ztTYeafg9l7BlVlvLRznjqwE2jldAmxUKA352UI/s400/DSC04250.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The next two care packages, ready to go!</span></b></i></div>
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And this is a testing year for both of my kids. We don't normally do much test prep, but I do want to give the kids a fighting chance to do well. <br />
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So...I decided to "frontload" our academic year a bit. We are starting earlier (August 14) and taking on a bit more daily work than we did last year. Once Little Guy arrives and we are feeling up to it, the big kids can go back to their more relaxed schedule, and they'll have a little more freedom to follow the rabbit-trails that they invariably find! <br />
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Knowing me, I have over-thought and over-prepared, but here is the plan for our academic year:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Math</span></div>
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As usual, math is our most eclectic subject. I hate to think of how much money I have spent over the years on various curricula that just didn't work for us...I finally got wise and invented my own, using ideas from <a href="http://www.theeducationcenter.com/tec/" target="_blank">The Mailbox</a>, <a href="http://www.teacherfilebox.com/" target="_blank">Teacher Filebox</a>, <a href="http://www.abcteach.com/" target="_blank">abcteach</a>, <a href="http://www.brainpop.com/" target="_blank">BrainPop</a>, <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/" target="_blank">Teachers pay Teachers</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Math-Jean-Kerr-Stenmark/dp/0912511060/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344581331&sr=1-1&keywords=family+math" target="_blank">Family Math</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Elementary-Middle-School-Student/dp/0967991552/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344581380&sr=1-1&keywords=challenge+math" target="_blank">Challenge Math</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw30rvfpMZWUIYWfTGmP_3_D3XqhKzJbU2xula2pDeSp0t6lw51B-f75-rTZ6-HNI4pvavV0C4BwI-zhVK1TLtPXLcV673GQFwSoIY5LdZ1UPRpeHqLZLYlopu3Y25Kb-R-DtqaGx-T6h/s1600/DSC04242.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw30rvfpMZWUIYWfTGmP_3_D3XqhKzJbU2xula2pDeSp0t6lw51B-f75-rTZ6-HNI4pvavV0C4BwI-zhVK1TLtPXLcV673GQFwSoIY5LdZ1UPRpeHqLZLYlopu3Y25Kb-R-DtqaGx-T6h/s400/DSC04242.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Card games and other math games, many from TpT.</i></span></b></div>
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We play a lot of math games. In fact, many games reinforce math skills, even if they aren't officially "educational." In addition to S'Math, <a href="http://www.mythmaticalbattles.com/" target="_blank">Mythmatical Battles</a>, math facts bingo, and other games, my kids like Monopoly, Minotaurus, Domination, Uno, and Othello. We used to avoid worksheets like the plague but as the kids are getting older, the concepts are getting more complex, and those practice sheets seem to be the only way to really make them stick.<br />
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We still do lots of hands-on math, though. For skills reinforcement, I really like The Mailbox and teacher-created games from TpT. For practical, real-life activities, I get lots of ideas from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Activities-Promote-Understanding-Jossey-Bass-Teacher/dp/0470471999/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344655419&sr=1-1&keywords=mathwise" target="_blank">Math Wise</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hands--Math-Ready---Use-Activities/dp/0787967408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344655522&sr=1-1&keywords=hands-on+math" target="_blank">Hands-On Math</a>, and a fun book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Math-Garden-Hands-On-Activities-Bring/dp/091587346X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344655073&sr=8-1&keywords=math+in+the+garden" target="_blank">Math in the Garden.</a><br />
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After Little Guy arrives, the kids will switch to <a href="http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/" target="_blank">Teaching Textbooks</a>, one of my favorite ready-made curricula. If only it had been around when I was a kid (along with personal computers, CD Roms, and legal homeschooling!) ANYWAY...we used it a couple of years ago and my kids were able to do the lessons almost independently, so I'm hoping that will be true for 7th and 5th as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYPiPVikDDbuwQZQ5VA0yGTCgwk4vw__f7joQajnz187c79IPZ87FtE-0S-zadr7S78fqWNyRID8JoRnBMLU1lFnWb9N8hAxixLo8v4DdrjerDlLQsEpZlwHsOuN-BZYUel5v8Y3SbreO/s1600/DSC04245.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYPiPVikDDbuwQZQ5VA0yGTCgwk4vw__f7joQajnz187c79IPZ87FtE-0S-zadr7S78fqWNyRID8JoRnBMLU1lFnWb9N8hAxixLo8v4DdrjerDlLQsEpZlwHsOuN-BZYUel5v8Y3SbreO/s400/DSC04245.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Never underestimate the power of Angry Birds stickers to transform ordinary flash cards!</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Science</span></div>
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We are beginning the year with a (homemade) unit study on cells and DNA. Then we're going to use Ellen McHenry's <a href="http://www.ellenjmchenrydownloads.com/The-Elements-Hard-Copy-CD-ELHC.htm" target="_blank">The Elements: Ingredients of the Universe</a>. Chemistry is not my strongest subject, so I am very grateful for <a href="http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/" target="_blank">Ellen McHenry</a>, as well as Gonick & Criddle's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Chemistry-Larry-Gonick/dp/0060936770/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344652254&sr=8-1&keywords=cartoon+guide+to+chemistry" target="_blank">Cartoon Guide to Chemistry</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7o6GHPZHF7h8gSyOP3qr8vj4b1VzBRLHpRvfkyzeaaL1DKdozGcybsb3Vx7I8yV_dU0ZJjd2XrFvw7tbjfxko7iksXdZpnBvX6bDPswniH6VseXioQn7n0HfKaodjqxhbw5t0-DRC2MNm/s1600/DSC04240.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7o6GHPZHF7h8gSyOP3qr8vj4b1VzBRLHpRvfkyzeaaL1DKdozGcybsb3Vx7I8yV_dU0ZJjd2XrFvw7tbjfxko7iksXdZpnBvX6bDPswniH6VseXioQn7n0HfKaodjqxhbw5t0-DRC2MNm/s400/DSC04240.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Better learning through chemistry...</i></b></span></div>
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If we still have time before the end of the year, we'll jump into <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/discover-the-oceans-lauri-berkenkamp/1102940947?ean=9781105694400" target="_blank">Discover the Oceans: The World's Largest Ecosystem</a>. Honestly, my kids are such science sponges, I almost don't have to plan anything "official" but I do enjoy doing science with them!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Letters, Language, and Literacy</span></div>
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We're using <a href="http://www.rfwp.com/series/grammar-elementary-program-by-michael-clay-thompson#book-grammar-voyage" target="_blank">Grammar Voyage </a>this year, with some supplemental games and practice sheets from Teachers pay Teachers and The Mailbox. I like <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sentence-a-day-samantha-prust/1100877693?ean=9781877673733" target="_blank">A Sentence A Day</a> for punctuation and spelling practice. We also discuss punctuation and parts of speech as we read together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l8JGY0MhACqaZWN5OXOPS2B90QchaXj235I5ohULJ02yyGhjzBF8l-zmYGNTRbAVrrspIdD5bE76qz73muOsKgls271PculK2aFC7EzmbzWWxXQ3Y65zmTVJt1offRfPOHweq8vTR1r9/s1600/DSC04238.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l8JGY0MhACqaZWN5OXOPS2B90QchaXj235I5ohULJ02yyGhjzBF8l-zmYGNTRbAVrrspIdD5bE76qz73muOsKgls271PculK2aFC7EzmbzWWxXQ3Y65zmTVJt1offRfPOHweq8vTR1r9/s400/DSC04238.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The LL&L shelf: grammar activities from The Mailbox, grammar books by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Heller" target="_blank">Ruth Heller</a>, Mad Libs, articles I saved for text studies, and books for reader response activities. </span></i></b></div>
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I prepared <a href="http://karmamatopoeia.blogspot.com/2012/06/behold-awesomeness.html" target="_blank">our literature units</a> about a month ago (so proud that I was organized enough to get it done early!) Our spelling and vocabulary words come from our literature units. The kiddos will continue studying German this year (their choice) but we're hoping to learn some basic Korean as well, since their little brother is coming from South Korea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEG0F3kMF2AuvkL5jHiDfZ_p0-0jIa668cdhMa131oORQbna009WwoRLatGo2n03UYwLWLBXAiAjbMnhQrvUjpNYdrnZe7gR4VhuTaa9j6oGFYYdxzTligO74d8LmDFM9_Jheovys4vV1/s1600/DSC03336.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEG0F3kMF2AuvkL5jHiDfZ_p0-0jIa668cdhMa131oORQbna009WwoRLatGo2n03UYwLWLBXAiAjbMnhQrvUjpNYdrnZe7gR4VhuTaa9j6oGFYYdxzTligO74d8LmDFM9_Jheovys4vV1/s400/DSC03336.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Lots of great reading ahead!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">History</span></div>
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We use Joy Hakim's <a href="http://www.joyhakim.com/works.htm" target="_blank">A History of US</a>, along with great living books on whatever topic we're studying. We read together, discuss the events, add dates and illustrations to our timelines, and do as many hands-on projects as possible.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nfRs1pk7-gR43cGJcegKu3MuFVgVAr1xUsIs39QSdFWdAfV-SsQ4x8rulrGNVBAE1_Ntt3nBzFtwpgTooKE4ApO-kv54tKf4gRL6S-alKvVVBWmiBvlPLBcTNxbblDngmUw4qkDwKRcp/s1600/DSC04237.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nfRs1pk7-gR43cGJcegKu3MuFVgVAr1xUsIs39QSdFWdAfV-SsQ4x8rulrGNVBAE1_Ntt3nBzFtwpgTooKE4ApO-kv54tKf4gRL6S-alKvVVBWmiBvlPLBcTNxbblDngmUw4qkDwKRcp/s400/DSC04237.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Some of our resources from last year...we'll do quick review before moving on. </i></span></b></div>
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I found a decent used textbook to use for our state history, but I'm only using it as a basic outline (and to educate myself, since I didn't grow up here.) The best way to do state history, in my opinion, is to get out and visit as many museums and historical sites as possible! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxZiOYbhXn943nkkxSf57f8VGM4nJ3Oyl3SBOnkcyimso5AOZTmuZD3YMNx7YGDTAtLDxTBgyfMpk2MMkJ2s5C1G1usxCEB8y7YDACxCSxZeSMPU43JFXjP6fgRfbjclcsgTku6xLfQfZ/s1600/DSC04235.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxZiOYbhXn943nkkxSf57f8VGM4nJ3Oyl3SBOnkcyimso5AOZTmuZD3YMNx7YGDTAtLDxTBgyfMpk2MMkJ2s5C1G1usxCEB8y7YDACxCSxZeSMPU43JFXjP6fgRfbjclcsgTku6xLfQfZ/s400/DSC04235.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">We've already started our history studies for this year, at the kids' request!</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All the Other Stuff</span></div>
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We do <a href="http://www.homeschoolart.com/" target="_blank">Atelier</a> art and occasionally I sign the kids up for an art class at our rec center. This year I'm hoping to add some informal artist studies to the mix. Something easy, like just reading a library book and then making something in the artist's style.<br />
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Super continues to enjoy guitar lessons. Dude tried piano and wasn't crazy about it, and we are between drum teachers at the moment but I'm hoping to get him back into music soon. Their P.E. consists of hiking, swimming, karate, going to the climbing wall, and walking our rambunctious dogs! Neither of them enjoys team sports, which is OK with me, but Dude has mentioned wanting to try track and field at some point. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Two more resources that I really love!</i></b></span></div>
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I used the word "goals" instead of "curriculum" in the title of this post because in most cases we cobble together many different resources to invent our own curriculum. We use a bit of every homeschooling style, too. That's the beauty of the learning lifestyle: you can customize every day to fit the child, the season, and the circumstances. <br />
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<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/category/not-back-to-school-blog-hop/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Not Back to School Blog Hop" height="125" src="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nbts-blog-hop-2012.jpg" width="125" /> </a></div>
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We're looking forward to a great school year! Good luck to all of you, and have lots of fun learning with your kids!<br />
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<br />Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-25882243917807005062012-08-09T21:30:00.000-07:002012-08-09T21:30:07.412-07:00Advice for a Young Utahraptor<br />
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AUtahraptor_Ryanz720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="By Ryanz720 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Utahraptor Ryanz720" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Utahraptor_Ryanz720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you happen to be a young <i>Utahraptor </i>living in the Early Cretaceous period, you'll need lots of important skills to make it through each exciting day.</span></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAstrodon1DB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="By Creator:Dmitry Bogdanov (dmitrchel@mail.ru) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Astrodon1DB" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Astrodon1DB.jpg/512px-Astrodon1DB.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, this <i>Astrodon</i> may look like a yummy lunch, but you'll need to use cunning and teamwork to down one of these ten-ton dinos. </span></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAcrocanthosaurus_size_comparison.svg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="By Acrocanthosaurus_size_comparison.png:Debivort at en.wikipedia derivative work: Malyszkz (Acrocanthosaurus_size_comparison.png) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Acrocanthosaurus size comparison" height="174" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Acrocanthosaurus_size_comparison.svg/512px-Acrocanthosaurus_size_comparison.svg.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And if an <i>Acrocanthosaurus</i> moves in on your hard-earned meal, it's best to just move on. I know, I know. <i>Utahraptors</i> are tough, but trust me. You are not tough enough to take on this megasized predator!</span></div>
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<img alt="Dollodon bampingi Steveoc86" height="307" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Dollodon_bampingi_Steveoc86.jpg/512px-Dollodon_bampingi_Steveoc86.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry...there will be other feasts, like this iguanodon. Just watch out for the thumb spikes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In addition to hunting skills, you will need to be flexible. Occasionally you are going to face something unexpected, like a flood. Your best change of survival? Learn a new skill on the spot! </span></div>
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTY4lGEP_H4BY8f_63PJ1KURWBXc4HNh-19GFWKuD6HELwpo5kuMVRBQLnFEN9wZV_DKTnHVzo_Ph3HDcwPgm7DpAF7uXJ7f377J9NFUtsnA3Vmw_wfou0aEowGj_qDOMUCvPM4DTRFsvr/s320/DSC03700.JPG" width="320" /> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are loving Raptor Red by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_T._Bakker" target="_blank">Robert T. Bakker</a>!* Told from the point of view of a female Utahraptor, this fascinating novel is definitely our favorite family read-aloud this year. We have cried for Raptor Red's lost mate, rooted for her when her survival was on the line, and laughed when her curiosity got the best of her. All while learning about the amazing creatures of the Early Cretaceous.**</span></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASkelett_von_Gastonia.JPG" title="Domser at the German language Wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Skelett von Gastonia" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Skelett_von_Gastonia.JPG/512px-Skelett_von_Gastonia.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One more word of advice, Raptor Red. If you happen to meet one of these armor-covered guys...don't even bother. He's not worth the broken teeth!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">*If you've seen Jurassic Park II: The Lost World, you might recall the character Dr. Robert Burke, who met his unfortunate end in the jaws of a T. Rex. That character was (somewhat loosely) based on Dr. Bakker! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">**The best part of all: Super got to meet Dr. Bakker today! He was very friendly, but instead of just talking about his own book, he asked her what else she liked to read. They ended up discussing the Warriors series (and, because he never talks down to a kid, Dostoevsky!) Thanks, Dr. Bob!</span></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADollodon_bampingi_Steveoc86.jpg" title="I,Steveoc 86 [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons"></a>Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4500569229837401813.post-49380061515516312432012-07-09T12:25:00.000-07:002012-07-09T12:25:15.699-07:00Oops!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">:-0</span></div>Sparkleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05738282395161764356noreply@blogger.com3