HCA - Our Homeschool

We're moving! (And so is this blog!)

2009-11-05T20:46:00.001-08:00

I am condensing my multiple blogs in to one...read it here: http://wearefollowinghimhome.blogspot.com/

I will no longer be posting on this blog :)

Rocks, paper, pneumonia...

2009-09-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

Do homeschool teachers get sick days? Is it fair for mom to take one when she made her kids work through the same bug?

I did lighten the load today...and the girls have spent a good portion of the day watching TV. But, they've also constructed a Polly Pocket city outside on the deck, and Kelsie I think has read through 2-3 books today. So it's not a total loss.

What have we been up to?

In history we are studying the time period around the Revolutionary War. I love how the two Sonlight Cores we are doing have lined up so well on the timeline. Sarah and Miranda are doing US History, and Kelsie is doing World History. Science for the twins has been magnetism and Early American farm life. (We are reading Diary of an Early American Boy. It goes over how different things were built and used on a farm back in the 1800's.) Kelsie is learning about the fossil record.

We have also learned how to diagram sentences, write biographies, all about square roots and exponents, and even a little sculpture and basket weaving.

We had a half-hearted attempt at a field trip this week to Ijam's Nature Center. I had planned it in advance...and of course it was raining. Just a sort of drizzle, so we braved the hiking trail. That probably was a poor decision on my part since we were all fighting off colds. I had one whining about the wet, one happily hiking, and one having to stop and catch her breath every few minutes. (That one turned out to have pneumonia...oops.) So we called it short and came home. Here are a few pics from the museum portion.

Our next field trip is an extended one to Williamsburg VA. We'll be there for 4 days, and I hope it doesn't rain.

Back to School Time!!

2009-08-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

We officially started school today. So it's back to blogging about us :) Here is a run down of what we are using this year:

Sarah and Miranda are in 4th Grade, and will be studying the following:

American History (Sonlight 3+4)
Electricity, Magnetism and Astronomy (Sonlight 4)
Math (Saxon)
English Grammar and Writing (Rod & Staff)
Spelling (Spelling Power)
Bible (Sonlight)
Geography (Various sources)
Keyboard
Art

Kelsie is in the 7th, and here's her line-up:

World History (Sonlight 7)
General Science (Apologia)
Math (Saxon)
English Grammar and Writing (Rod & Staff)
Spelling (Spelling Power)
Bible (Sonlight)
Keyboard
Art

She also goes to class once a week for Raptor Center.

We'll also be workng on Tennessee History this year using Notgrass. And of course the obligatory field trips!

Here's my find for today: http://www.squidoo.com/minioffice

I'm working on making one for each of the girls. It's basically a portable reference center. They want to move their desks back into their bedrooms, so it'll come in handy when they are working up there. In our classroom, I'm going to set up a table for games, working etc. I'm also going to work on setting up a writing center that is portable. (Yeah, ambitious, I know)

2009-06-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Summer Break!!

King Charles loses his head...literaly

2009-04-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

When Charles became king he made many bad choices,first he married a catholic princess. most English hated and feared Catholicism. On their coronatian she wouldnt go so he went by himself. then,parliment did not give him money. Soon a Civil war started. After sevaral years He surenderd and was beheaded in 1649.... Ouch...

Manchu and Ming

2009-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

In China The Ming Dynasty,( Why do they call it that. It sounds Like die-nasty.) was ruling when a lone group of people called the Manchu decided to try to take over china. A goverment official, Li Tzu-ch'eng ( lets call him Li) Rounded up an army and attacked the capital. When they got there the last Ming emporer hung himself. The Manchu then took over Li's teritory.

The Ottoman Turks

2009-04-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Ottomans live west of Persia.... My sister Sarah told me to fix the title but they are the Ottomans not Ottomen, because they live in Ottoman.... Anyway, the Ottomans had a leader named Murad who was known as a sultan. One day the citizens led a revolt, saying:"Hand over the vizier to us." Murad did not want to hand him over, but the vizier sacrificed himself. Later he made a man named Rejab the vizier, not knowing that he led the revolt. when he fond out, he beheaded him!

The spread of slavery (not good on bagels)

2009-04-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

In Jamestown people began to worry because there were no riches. They had little food. But John Rolfe had a few tobacco seeds. The people of England loved to smoke, but had to buy it from Spain. John copied the growing habits of the Indians to plant and grow the seeds. When he tasted them, he loved them. Soon they were growing everywhere. First the settlers used indentured servants to farm the tobacco. But then they began to use slaves to do the work, thus slavery spread to America.

Now I want a bagel....... Kelsie

Mmmmm Granola

2009-03-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

We love, love, love this recipe. Great for breakfast with milk, sprinkled over yogurt, or just dry as a snack!

2 cups oats (quick cook is fine, but rolled is better)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 cup nuts (I use pecans)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbs water
1 cup dried cherries (or other fruit, optional)

Heat oven to 275. Combine the dry ingredients (except fruit)in a large bowl. Bring the honey, oil, syrup, and water to a simmer in a pot. (I added about two tbs of molasses tonight and it was good too) Remove from heat, and at this point you can add some vanilla, or other flavorings if you like. Pour the mixture over your oat mixture. Stir thoroughly. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Use a spatula to stir it around a bit, then mix in your dried fruit. Bake for another 10 minutes or so, or just until the mixture begins to brown a little. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Guess What!

2009-03-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

We got a ferret. he is a albino that we named Sir Coconut Columbus . Coconut for short.He is Soooooooo cute.......Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! I souned like a teenager!...

BYES!!!
Kelsie :)

Henry Hudson 3-31-09

2009-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

You don't know stubborn till you hear this. Henry Hudson was trying to find a trade route to India . But he went a different way. He was going to try to go through the arctics and over to the other side! Sadly after a mutiny threat, he turned back. But he did not give up. After several attempts, he tried going through what is now the Hudson bay.But a mutiny sent him, his son, and six sick men out in a life boat with no food or water. No one ever saw them again. Spooky.

The French in the new world

2009-03-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today I learned about The French in the new world. Samuel Champlain found the St. Laurence River and decided to settle there. After three tries to settle, Champlain landed in modern Quebec. After major progress,Champlain died 32 years after he arrived, on Christmas day.

Oops! I forgot to write this on Friday

2009-03-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Friday I learned about king James VI. He ruled over two lands , Scotland and England Funny right? Yeahhh.... Well King James is the one who sent John Smith ( Think Pocahontas.) to America to find gold. The Indians helped the settlers through the winter. Pocahontas married a man named John Rolf.sadly John Smith got terribly wounded and had to sail back to England.

A Murder For Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner

2009-03-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

I just got done reading a book called A Murder For Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner. In this book Alice Tuckfield watched her father's murder and flees to York. There she meets Geoffrey, a choirboy, who sneaks her into the choir. She ends up falling in love with being there and stays. But some people are still after her.

I rate this book:kkkk only four out of five Because I think that Kenton (Read about him in the book.)should have adopted Alice. I really liked this book because there was a lot of action and changes of heart.

Kelsie
Kelsie
Kelsie
KELSIE
Kelsie

Today 3-25-09

2009-03-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today I learned about William The Silent. William was born 6 years after king Charles the fifth. After a while William became the kings favorite page. but when Phillip the second became king, they disagreed on many things. For example William was a protestant. well Phillip was going to massacre all the protestants and they started a war about it. the war went on even after William was murdered.

History

2009-03-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today in history I learned about Christopher Columbus. Did you know that he had another name: Cristobal Colon. As you know Christopher Columbus Is the person who discovered America. He begged king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to let him go to find a new trade route to India, little did anyone know that he would not find India, but America.

Kelsie A. Herrell

This week's reading

2009-03-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

This week we are reading:

Kelsie is reading The King's Fifth , Murder for Her Majesty, The BBC Manual, and Don't All Religions Lead to God? She will be studying 15th Century History.

Sarah and Miranda are reading Om-kas-toe, American Indian Prayer Guide, and Walk the World's Rim . They will be studying about Early American History this week.

In math, Kelsie is working on Decimals in Life of Fred, and Sarah and Miranda are still learning about square roots and measurements.

For science, Kelsie is working on Science History and Fossil Record, and Sarah and Miranda are studying the nesting habits of birds!

Today's history summary 3-24-09

2009-03-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Today I learned about King Charles. King Charles's father was the king of the Netherlands, his grandfather ruled over lands in Germany, and his other grandfather was the king of Spain ! Then all of them died leaving him king of them all and plus, he was only 19 years old!But Charles wanted more. He wanted the title of "Holy Roman Emperor" He told a pope to name him that. The pope teamed up with the king of France and the princes of Italy to fight against him and his armies. Charles sent out a group called the German fury to take them down then lied abut it. Finally the pope crowned him the "Holy Roman Emperor"

Kelsie A. Herrell

p.s hiya everyone!

We're late! We're late!

2009-03-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

So, with the time change I decided to have a lazy sleep in kind of day. We slept in a little, had breakfast, then went on a bike ride. When we get home I see my computer flashing a reminder at me. Kelsie's ortho appointment...15 minutes ago! Thankfully they went ahead and worked us in. So much for our relaxing morning!

We are shifting gears a little in our homeschooling. I have up until this point, been piecing together all of our curriculum. Time consuming, but worth it to have what we want. Well, I started looking into Sonlight. They had curriculum put together that ALREADY used pretty much everything I had pulled together on my own. Even better, they had all the lesson plans made for you and put into a schedule! Woo Hoo! (Yeah, I'm slow...I should have realized this a while back) Plus, they add in tons of great literature. So....we'll be winding down with our current history schedule over the next few weeks, and then we will begin Sonlight. I'm excited! I think the girls will enjoy it too.

I thought I'd share what we are all reading right now:

Last week I assigned The Giver to Kelsie to read. She read it in a day. So I gave her Hatchet. Gone in less than a day. So she read the sequel The River. She's also been reading Favorite Greek Myths. On her own time this past week, she has also read Jesus Freaks, Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus , Jesus Freaks, Revolutionaries
and Emotional Purity. This doesn't include the Animorph books she reads like eating popcorn. I'm going to have a hard time keeping this child in reading material!

Sarah and Miranda have been reading Wilbur and Orville Wright and Favorite Greek Myths.

I've been reading History of the Ancient World , The Lie of Evolution and reading along with the girls on some things.

Bird coloring book

2009-02-06T04:16:00.000-08:00

We are using Apologia Zoology 1 for Sarah and Miranda's science this year. It's about flying creatures, and there is a great deal of study about birds. Kelsie also is a HUGE birder, and has her room plastered in scientific birding posters and the like.

Anyway, this link was sent out in an email loop I'm on for an awesome birding coloring book. It contains exercises for each bird that help them learn to identify birds. There are 50 pages in this book.

http://homeschoolmate.com/blog/?p=559

Cute Website

2009-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

While browsing for a Bible lesson this morning, I ran across this website. The kids were cracking up reading about the Pharaoh and the Phat Cows.

http://www.essex1.com/people/paul/bible.html

Study Partner?

2009-01-27T15:13:00.001-08:00

Taking a break to enjoy our 'snow'

2009-01-25T10:39:00.001-08:00

It rarely snows here anymore. I do remember as a child actually having deep snow a couple of times a year. Now we are lucky to see a flurry....sigh. On this particular morning, we were having some beautiful flurries. The girls took the morning off from school to go enjoy it. (and yes ALL my girls have coats...some of them just choose not to wear them!)

A Chemical Reaction

2009-01-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Kelsie's science experiment to see what a chemical reaction can look like. First the pink cabbage water and vinegar turned blue when the baking soda hit it. Then, the baking soda and vinegar reacted with one another to carbon dioxide, which filled the balloon. Cool!

Drawing

2009-01-12T20:02:00.001-08:00

Since I'm about to start teaching a drawing class at our co-op, I thought I'd share this slide show of a portrait I drew a while back.

And some misc work.

Our new school room

2008-12-29T05:02:00.000-08:00

We've moved :) Not far though. We just moved our classroom from the laundry room side of the basement, into the family room side. It's warmer, and so cozy :)

This is really just one wall. We have the desks lined up. The computer station is on the same wall. The wall to the left is solid bookshelves. The half of the room I'm standing in is our family room with a big comfy couch, TV and a fireplace. My desk/office space is to the left, just out of the photo.

Maybe when I get things cleaned up again, I'll take more pics of the rest of the room.

ack..

2008-12-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

talk about behind! I haven't posted in forever...

We are still plugging along with school. Some major wrenches have been thrown in the works this month, but I'm hoping that we can get back in the groove after the holidays.

We have been sneaking in some neat projects though. Check out our butter making skills!

Recipe: Pour heavy whipping cream into a mason jar. Add salt to taste. Tighten the lid. Shake till it's butter!

Where do we get our electricity from?

2008-11-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

We did a small unit electricity and how it powers our homes. For this unit we were able to take a short trip down the road to the Bull Run Steam Plant The girls drew sketches, we made a rubbing on the plaque, and even got to peek inside (although it was offline at the time).

2008-11-13T12:53:00.001-08:00

Bumblebee Bats
By Miranda

I am doing a report on Bumblebee Bats. The reason I am is because I love bats. I want to learn about bats and what they do.

Rare

In 1982 at the Thailand Government they only found 160 Bumblebee Bats in three caves!

Small

It is the same size of a real Bumblebee! It’s “30-40mm” and it weighs about “1.52 grams”

Yuck

The Bumblebee Bat eats bugs like spiders, moths, crickets and other bugs.

Flying

It gets its food mostly from the sky so you will not see them in a castle or at the beach.

Cool

It was found in 1973 by Thai biologist they were named after her in honor after she died because of her “British Colleague, John E. Hill

Bibliography

A look at the bumblebee bat: The smallest mammal by Angela S. Young

The New and Improved Book of Bats
author unknown

Jupiter - a report by Sarah

2008-11-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

Jupiter
By Sarah

Who discovered it?

The person who discovered it was Galileo Galilei. Galileo was one day looking out his telescope when he saw something. It was a new planet he called it Jupiter. Now Jupiter is a main planet.

How big is it?

The scientists don’t know for sure but they think that it is 142,800 kilometers. I think that it is a lot bigger than they think. So Jupiter has no exact size. I think if they had a better telescope then they could find the exact size.

What’s it made of?

Nobody could go on Jupiter because of what it’s made of. Jupiter is made of gas. The gas is made of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.

Jupiter’s rings

I think that Jupiter’s rings are made of little bits of dirt and rock because that’s what Saturn's rings are made of.

How many Earths can fit in Jupiter?

If Jupiter was hollow than 1300 Earths could fit in side of Jupiter.

Why I picked Jupiter

I picked Jupiter because I was going to pick the whole solar system but I shortened it to Jupiter.

Bibliography

http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html

Our solar system by Seymour Simon

Jupiter by Elaine Landau

Images from various websites.

Dairy Cows - A report by Kelsie

2008-11-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dairy Cows
By Kelsie

Are there different types of cows?

There are many kinds of dairy cows. I am only going to tell you about three.
• Holsteins are black and white. They can give the most milk.
• Jersey cows are light brown. Their milk is good for making butter and cheese.
• Ayrshires came from Scotland. They are brown with white spots
Despite their size these cows love to be petted and talked to.

Do cows have a nickname?

Bossie is a nickname for dairy cows From a Latin term: Bos Taurus meaning ox. Some farmers use this term to call in their cows from the pasture.

How much milk can a cow give?

A dairy cow can give about 5 gallons of milk each day. In one year a good cow might give over 2000 gallons!

What Do Cows Eat?

Cows eat a lot of grass. When the cow is done chewing the grass, she can send it to another stomach and burp it up later. At that point the grass is called cud. Sometimes cows might also eat hay, barley, or corn. Cattle spend about six hours a day grazing – or eating grass.

Do cows have horns?

Most cows grow horns. Some horns can be Short and curved or long and sharp. Horns can be dangerous so a lot of farmers remove them when the cows are little so the horns will not grow.

Bibliography

Dairy Cows by Cathy Henderson

Images from Various websites.

2008-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here!

Conjunction Junction!

Interjections!

Pronouns (Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla)

Verbs

Nouns

Maps and products

2008-10-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a unit on maps, and to incorporate a little hands on into it, we decided to find out what products each state produces. (Well, we ended up only doing around 25 states) Each strand of yarn goes from the product to the states that produce them. We learned that the US eats a whole lot of cow! We then made bar graphs to chart our results. A good site for this info is: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/brooklyn/america/products.htm

Cuneiform

2008-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

We've been learning about Mesopotamia, Babylon, and the Tower of Babel. To go along with our study, we made clay tablets and wrote in cuneiform on them. Here's a good website for Mesopotamia: http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/Sumerlife.html And here's one to write your intials in cuneiform: http://www.upennmuseum.com/cuneiform.cgi

Our classroom

2008-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

We are very lucky, because we get to have a dedicated classroom space! Here's where we do much (but not all!) of our classwork.

Here's some of the books we use on a typical day.

Can't forget the art/school supplies!

And lots and lots of books!

A trip to the art museum

2008-10-28T09:32:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, we took a trip to the Knoxville Museum of Art. Not everyone was excited about it at first, but once we got inside a good time was had by ALL!

They enjoyed the art center at the junior Exploritory Gallery.

Floods, Turtles and dirt...oh my!

2008-10-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

We've learned about how flooding creates sedimentary layers and fossils!

Hi Mr. Turtle.....

Hold your breath!

Poor Mr. Turtle.

See the layers? And poor Mr. Turtle who would be on his way to being a fossil?

Week One

2008-10-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of our first week of homeschool! We are still ironing out kinks, but our day goes kind of like this:

8:00AM Breakfast

8:30AM We gather in our 'classroom' for the pledge and bible lesson.

9:00AM-10:30 Various school work including science, social studies, and writing.

10:30-11:00 Recess (a snack and some sort of exercise...bike riding, etc.)

11:00 We work on math, followed by language arts and spelling

We wrap up with the main school day around 12:30, just in time for lunch.

After lunch, we read, then play.

Today, after our school work was finished, we collected acorns to leave on our deck so we could watch the chipmunks come get them. We estimated that we left over 300 acorns on the deck, and the chipmunks took them all!