Blog-N-Tell: March 2009 - HS Basics

Our February theme, only brought in one nomination so rather than set up the polls for voting, the Blog 'N' Tell award for history went to Our Journey Westward.

PLEASE help spread the word about Homeschool Blog 'N' Tell so that we can find all of the wonderful blogs that make homeschooling our children so much easier.

Homeschooling Basics



I apologize for the delay in getting out the post for this month's theme. I have a lot to share about all that has been happening in this adventure called life, however, finding the time to share it has proved to be a challenge.

Do you know of a blog that is dripping with advice for new homeschoolers? Is there a blog you visit when you are in a rut or when you have lost sight of why you have chosen to homeschool your children? Homeschooling Basics is our theme for this month's Blog 'N' Tell. Take a moment to nominate your favorite Homeschooling Basics Blog for a Homeschool Blog-N-Tell award and recognize them for thier efforts.

Five generous bloggers will recieve the following award for sharing their "How to" of homeschooling with us.

To nominate your favorite Homeschooling Basics blog, please leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday, March 22nd. On Monday the 23rd, I will create a poll for the top ten blogs and allow readers to vote for the top 5. Winners will be posted on February 31st.

If you would like to read more about Homeschool Blog-N-Tell, click on the banner at the top of this post.

Make sure to promote Homeschool Blog-N-Tell by grabbing the graphic code at the bottom of this blog and posting about it on your blog.

Checking In.

It has been a while since I have had time to post anything. I will be updating Homeschool Blog N Tell this evening and then I will try to take some time this week to update on what has been happening in our very busy lives.

Stay Tuned!

Unplugged Project(s): Float

We are not a completely Unplugged family. In fact we are really not even close, but we really enjoy the time we spend unplugged by participating in these weekly challenges. This week the theme was float and as usual, we couldn't decide on just one project

A Shoebox Float:



It just so happened that we needed to find a way to wrap up our study of Medieval Times this week so we can begin our Explorers unit next week. So, we decided to make a shoebox float. It is a bit like a diorama, but resembles a parade float in the end. Isaiah had so much fun making it that he is already planning one for the end of our explorer unit.


Layered Liquids:

We spent some time talking about density and why things sink or float. To illustrate the concept, we decided to complete the Layered Liquids project from Science is Fun.

We began today's experiment by discussing why oil and water don't mix. To help us understand it, I found this video on You Tube:



Once we had a better understanding of immiscible liquids, we decided to give the layering a try.Step 1:

Begin by filling a clear glass jar 1/6th of the way full with honey. Be careful not to get it on the sides of the glass.
Step 2:

Next, add about the same amount of dish washing detergent to the jar.
Step 3:

Mix food coloring and water and slowly pour it down the side of the jar being careful not to mix it with the detergent.
Step 4:

Add a layer of vegetable oil.
Step 5:

Mix rubbing alcohol with a couple of drops of food coloring and slowly pour it over the oil.

If you want to see how it works, but don't have time to try it you can check out this video:



Ice Cream Floats:



Of course, Isaiah's favorite project for this week were the Ice Cream Floats. We made it a family event and decided to do a taste test to see what flavors we liked best.

Dad decided that rootbeer was definitely the way to go, Isaiah liked the orange soda the best and I liked the Big Red.

Unplugged Project(s): Color

It has been a while since we have participated in the weekly Unplugged Project, but when we found out this weeks theme was COLOR, we decided to jump back in. There were a couple of projects that we had been wanting to do that were a perfect fit. As usual, we got a little carried away, but it was so much fun!

While trying to decide which direction to go with this weeks theme, I thought about the songs Isaiah learned in Kindergarten that taught him how to spell the color words. To this day, whenever he has to spell white, I can see him singing through the song in his head. Although that seems like a lifetime ago, I know it was a great tool for helping him to learn to spell, so I decided to share a couple of links for those of you with little ones that can benefit from them. Do you think I could find a song to help spell every word of the English language? It sure would make my life easier since spelling seems to be our biggest challenge. Since I doubt that is a possibility, I guess it is back to the good old Spell to Write & Read curriculum that I am determined to learn how to use. More about that later, this post is about color not spelling.

Color Word Songs
Color Songs
Frog Street Press Audio Clips



Ice Marbles:


Isaiah has been beggin me to try this project since we saw it on another blog a few days ago. It was a bit messy, but that is part of the fun, right? I must say it was a hand numbing experience.

Step 1:

Gather some small latex balloons to use as your molds.

Step 2:


Add a few drops of food coloring to each ballon and then fill it with water and tie it off. Hint: If you are trying to make a color wheel like we did, I suggest numbering or labeling the balloons ahead of time. It was really difficult to tell some of the colors apart.

Step 3:


Once your balloons are full, either put them in the feezer to freeze, or if it is cold enough outside, set them outdoors to freeze.

Step 4:


Once the water has frozen, remove the balloons. This is the messiest part.

Step 5:


Display your ice marbles for others to enjoy!



Edible Color Wheel:



Since Isaiah is much too old to sort Skittles or M&M's, I had to find an edible alternative. However if you have tots that would benefit from sorting activities, I encourage you to check out Tot School and Totally Tots. I only wish I had a toddler running around here so I could benefit from the ideas that are shared by these moms. I guess if I am still watching the princess in a couple of years, I will have an excuse for stalking them, but until then, I will just live vicariously through them. Actually part of our edible color wheel was adapted from a toddler color theory activity that I found here.

The idea for the edible color wheel came from here and here. We had a blast making it, yes I said we! By using the baggies to mix the colors, all we had to do was snip off the corner and we had a perfect way to frost the cookies. When it was all said and done, I asked Isaiah what he learned from doing this activity. His response, "Don't eat too much of the icing or you will get sick." Well, I guess he learned something. LOL

Originally, I had started keeping track of how many drops of each primary color it took to make the secondary colors and so on, but it was in vain. Part of the fun was trying to figure it out by mixing and adding more color.

Step 1:


Add white frosting and food coloring to a Ziploc bag and mix well.

Step 2:


Squeeze all of the icing to one corner and snip the very tip off with a pair of clean scissors.

Step 3:


Frost the cookie.

Step 4:


Enjoy eating your color wheel if you aren't already sick to your stomach from eating too much frosting.


A Favorite Colorful Treat:


Fruity Pebble Marshmallow treats are a favorite around our house so we couldn't resist making a batch to go along with this week's theme.

Ingredients:
1/4 Stick of butter or margarine
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 (13oz) box of Fruity Pebbles.

They are made just like rice crispy treats and can be done in the microwave or on the stovetop.



YUMMY!

To find out about another colorful treat we enjoy, click here of course, these can be made in whatever colors you choose.


The Colors of the Gospel:



I couldn't miss the opportunity to teach Isaiah about the Wordless Book as we spent time talking about color this week. There are so many versions of it out there and some use more colors than others, but I chose to use the colors that are part of the Wordless Book Song. Of course, I created a few Lap-N-Note elements to go along with it so make sure you click on the links below to download your copy.

Here are instructions for making your own wordless book.


Fold an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of black, red, white, yellow and green paper in half.


Adhere one side of the black paper to 1 side of the red paper so that both open in the same direction.


Adhere one side of the white paper to the other side of the red paper so that all sheets open in the same direction.


Adhere one side of the yellow paper to the other side of the white paper so that all sheets open in the same direction.


Adhere one side of the Green paper to the other side of the white paper so that all sheets open in the same direction. You can store your Wordless book in your notebook by using the pocket page that you will find in the Lap-N-Note elements available below.

Learn more about what each color represents and memorize some Scriptures for each color to help you tell the story of the wordless book by visiting one of these sites or by searching on-line for The Wordless Book:

Kidology
The Wordless Book

Here is a clip of the Wordless Book Song that I found on You Tube, the words differ a bit from the version I used, but it will give you an idea how it should sound. You will need to pause the music player in the right sidebar.



Enjoy these free resources to help your child learn more about The Wordless Book.

Wordless Book Lap-N-Note Elements 1
Wordless Book Lap-N-Note Elements 2

Here is a slideshow of our notebook:

Wow that was an extremely long post!

Praying for Eric

It has been a while since I updated about Eric, so I thought I would take a few minutes to do that. After his last surgery, Eric was able to come home and spend some time with his family and finally open Christmas gifts. I know that more than anything, his family just needed a few days in their own home, so I am so thankful that he was finally able to come home for a while.

Two Sundays ago, He walked into church and the narthex erupted in applause. Since I was away on Winter Retreat with the youth, I missed it, but I was able to give his mom a big hug last Sunday when I saw her. Eric looks great and although he still has a long tough road ahead of him, his smile is evidence of his motto: Pray Hard and Trust God.

He had his first radiation treatment this morning. They will continue Monday - Friday for the next six weeks. Please pray for Eric and his family during this time, I know that every prayer is heard and I know that this family has felt the love and faith of a family they may not fully know until we all get to Heaven. I know that they are eternally grateful for each person who has spent even the smallest moment standing in the Gap for their son. If you would like, you can still sign up to TAKE FIVE for Eric - the words of love and encouragement that have been left on those pages have seen this family through some of their toughest days.

Blog-N-Tell: February 2009 - History

History

Have you discovered history blog that is worth its weight in gold? Take a moment to nominate them for a Homeschool Blog-N-Tell award and recognize them for thier efforts.

Five generous bloggers will recieve the following award for sharing their knowledge of history and their favorite history related links and resources.

To nominate your favorite History related blog, please leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday, February 22nd. On Monday the 23rd, I will create a poll for the top ten blogs and allow readers to vote for the top 5. Winners will be posted on February 28th.

If you would like to read more about Homeschool Blog-N-Tell, click on the banner at the top of this post.

Make sure to promote Homeschool Blog-N-Tell by grabbing the graphic code at the bottom of this blog and posting about it on your blog.

Thank you for the Awards

I have been blessed to receive three blog awards the problem is that I must choose whether to spend the time forwarding them on to very deserving bloggers or spend the time working on lapbook and notebooking freebies. I have decided to break the rules and post my appreciation to the generous ladies who presented the awards without forwarding them on. If you are waiting on Zoology 1 lapbooking elements, I am sure you are breating a sigh of releif. In fact, I should have chapter 6 done today! I know it has been an extremely long time in coming, but sometimes life gets in the way.

The first award was presented to me way back in December, so I must apologize to Elaine from Commotion from the Ocean of Life for my rather late acknowlegdement. You read more about this award by clicking on the image below.





The second award I received was The Lovely Award from Laura O at Day by Day in our World. You can read more about this award by clicking the image below.



The third and final award was received from Debbie at Debbie's Digest. It is the Kreativ Blogger award. You can read more about it by clicking the image below.



Thank you for thinking of me ladies, I genuinely appreciate your kindness. I only hope you can appreciate why I have chosen not to forward them along.