The Formal Ball

Our wonderful friends planned a Formal Ball for families. We had a BALL!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black

We are addicted to following Leinad! Here's the 2nd book in the series by Chuck Black.

Today's Joy-Hammy!

So these new chairs have created MANY opportunity for FUN! Here's Sarah today...just can't help herself! Hammy!

Dan The Lego Man

John has been sorting Dan's Legos into little bins over the past few days. This makes it much easier for Daniel to build! He's been really drawn to his Lego counter lately!

Typing With Sarah

Both kids are having fun with their typing program...here's Sarah in her jammies working on typing!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black

My friend Christi suggested this series...I LIKE IT a lot! The writing is great and the story is REALLY developing by chapter 4! Looking forward to more Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black!

Homeschool Essentials-Plastic Page Protectors

What IS it about office supplies...don't you love them, too? All those packs of pens and pencils? Tape, glue and adhesives? Composition books? Binders? ...I love 3-ring binders! Maybe that is for another post...but I can't live without plastic page protectors! They are SO useful!

I bought a box of 100 of the matte, flimsy ones in a futile attempt to save a few dollars-and they ripped! Now I get the glossy, heavy weight and though they make the binder weigh more when it is full, it is SO worth it. If I'm going to bother to put something in a protector, that means I actually want to view it at some point in the future and have the page PROTECTED...these heavy-duty ones do the job!

How do we use them in our homeschool? I have a huge 3" binder for each kid's writing and I use these page protectors for those. Sarah started a recipe binder-need page protectors! I also use them in my crochet journal where I store patterns and notes about each project...now I'm starting a sewing journal, too. I keep a box of these along with several different sizes of binders so when I need a new topic, I can grab and go!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Night of the Ninjas by Mary Pope Osborne

Daniel had chosen Magic Treehouse #1 "Dinosaurs Before Dark" by Mary Pope Osborne for our next read aloud but instead we read #5 "Night of the Ninjas"...we'll be done by tomorrow.

Dashing Daniel and His Interests

I've been thinking a lot about Daniel recently. I've been thinking about him turning 12 this coming March and thinking about his interests. I want to help him discover who God has made him to be. Sarah is very solid in her learning process and this is evident because of the numerous things she produces each week.  I've noticed that I have many pictures of Sarah doing all the hands-on things she likes to do, but not so many of Daniel. This is because many of Daniel's interests are "virtual"...they exist in his mind, there's no physical product to hold. How can I help him develop, explore and improve when much of what he's about is in his head?

Here are some things Daniel likes to do:
-play board games
-play card games
-read comics
-read books
-make movies with the camera
-play with Sarah
-play with Legos, especially a new set
-do puzzles
-draw
-use his imagination
-use Lego Builder online
-visit the LOLACHE Kids Forum
-type his Christmas wish list in Notepad
-use his powers of persuasion and negotiation

This last one made me think about getting him that Fallacy Detective book...I think he would REALLY like that...and it might spur him on to things he enjoys in that arena. Maybe he would enjoy debate? I've often thought he would be an excellent lawyer because of his persuasive negotiating and reasoning skills. I'm going to get the book and see what happens.

Sarah's Photography

Sarah is 8 and she took this picture. This effect is called "bokeh". I don't think Sarah knew that, she just snapped a picture...but it is beautiful, isn't it? I put the vignette and watermark on it.

Finished Rascal Today

We finished Rascal by Sterling North today. I'll never view raccoons the same way again! Daniel gets to choose the next book which we'll begin on Monday.

My Master Negotiator

Why did Daniel take these photos? He thought if he took photos of words maybe I wouldn't make him WRITE any words today...yes, that's right, he was hoping to persuade me to accept the photos for his writing work today! Uh, nice try (and very creative I might add), but...no.

Sarah Wraps It (All) Up!

Sarah occasionally get a bee in her bonnet about wrapping gifts. I'm not sure what that's all about...whether she's inspired by GIVING or WRAPPING or both. But here she is with her stack of wrapped gifts for Christmas, collected from items around the house. We put the tree up last night and she got all twitterpated today about wrapping. Sigh, that's the end of another roll.

Sarah's Cardboard and Tape Bathroom

Sarah spent some time making a toilet (excellent design and the lid opens!) and a bathroom for Black Kitty (which was later designed smaller for Mrs. Nesbit), you can see the drain, shower and curtain but you probably can't see the darling little Irish Spring soap inside! She's so creative and loves to build! I think Daniel read 3 books over this Thanksgiving weekend.

Sarah's Eiffel Tower

As I was cleaning the living room, I found a few of these wood models I purchased at Michael's last year. Sarah snatched hers and got right to work. Right up her alley!

Sewing Machine and Slime!

Sarah has been asking for her own sewing machine so we got the Janome Mini Sew for her. It has great reviews and though it is a mini, it is a REAL sewing machine. And under 5lbs we can move it easily. She is a total NATURAL with the sewing machine, I was astonished at how adept and confident she was using it the first time!

The kids love playing with homemade slime! It is water, glue and borax and I also put in a few drops of fragrance oil.

Here's the recipe we use:
Slime Silly Putty Recipe
Buy a large jug of Elmer's glue at Staples (about $20)
Box of borax
food coloring
water
two mixing containers
wooden spoon
1/4C measuring cup

Container #1 for glue mixture:
1 - four cup Pyrex measuring cup or similar size bowl
1/4C measuring cup
wooden spoon
Container #2 borax mixture:
1 - four cup Pyrex measuring cup or similar size bowl
1/4C measuring cup
wooden spoon
In Container #1:
Mix 1/4C water and 1/4C Elmer's glue with one drop of food coloring, stir well
In Container #2:
Mix 1/4C borax with 1C water, stir the borax solution so the borax is suspended and pour some of this solution into a 1/4C measuring cup and
QUICKLY (so the borax doesn't settle to the bottom)
pour into the glue mixture
You'll need to be stirring the glue mixture while the borax solution is poured in
Stir well for 1 minute or less, then reach in and knead and squish it all together above the container allowing the water to drip off.
When it is not so wet, give to your kids on a dinner plate! (I found this recipe online but I can't remember where, so sorry to the person who deserves the credit)!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Rascal by Sterling North

We finally finished "The Toy Campaign"! Now, for something different! We are already enjoying this pet raccoon, Rascal! I've never been to Wisconsin, but it sounds beautiful. Excellent writing.

Miss Marilyn And Preserved Spider Webs

When Marilyn visits, she makes an effort to bring something stimulating for the kids. (Thank you!) This time was Kathryn's notebook displaying her preserved spider webs, wow! Sarah took Marilyn upstairs to share her plushie collection. I always seem to miss Marilyn's face!

Surprise Read Aloud-The Color Kittens

I think we're all a little tired of The Toy Campaign, so it may be time for something new. Daniel read this outloud to Sarah and I today...The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Alice Martin Provensen. Delightful!

Miss Marilyn and Writing

My sweet friend Marilyn has blessed me so much today. She brought notebooks her kids did years ago and talked to me about writing, especially with Daniel. Right now they each write three sentences per day with a photo of something they did (or they can choose a copywork sheet). I've been feeling like it is time to bring that up a notch but wasn't sure what that would look like.

She showed me how to gently proofread their work and take them deeper by helping them with detail. Thank you SO much Marilyn!

Surprise Read Alouds

These are library books which are due back to the library. So we read them this afternoon instead of "The Toy Campaign". "The Light at Tern Rock" by Julia L. Sauer was wonderful. We continue to visit lighthouses. I need to set up a separate blog for that.

Sarah Monkey

This was a happy result of Mr. Cowboy Underwear playing...those are Darth Vader gloves. Makes me chuckle when I look at this photo!

Mr Cowboy Underpants

Kids did so many creative things today. One of them was "Cowboy Underpants".  Yes, they're clean.