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Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Ninja And The Bee















It is October 31st, and a full moon. That does not happen very often. Matter of fact according to my research it won't happen again until 2020. That is so cool. Here are my two monsters, aren't they cute. You have the bee, and the ninja. I hope everyone has a safe, and happy Halloween.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fun Friday The Letter E: The Ear

Guess what? It is Fun Friday, at my Blogging For Fun Group. We are doing a A-Z meme, and we are up to the letter E. We have been studying the senses, in school, so this weeks was quite easy to choose. All this info posted today, will be a lesson plan for Health, next Thursday. If you homeschool, or just want your kids to get some cool info, please feel free to use it. If you click the picture to the left, it will enlarge, and you can print it. Be sure to check out the videos, they are short, and neat. DJ is posting a cool post on Bald Eagles, be sure to check it out at his blog.


Here are some very cool facts about the Ear:

1- The middle ear bones are the smallest bones in your body.
2- The amplitude of their vibrations for just-audible sounds is comparable to the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
3- The cochlea is encased in the hardest bone in the body, so cool!




Thursday, October 29, 2009

Blog Advertising, Teaching Social Skills

Since tomorrow is test day, I get to post whatever I want today. That means I get to talk about blog advertising, and an interesting article on teaching socialization skills.

First let me say I agree with the writer who said that kids learn social skills by what they see, and imitate in their every day lives. Common sense would say, if you want your kids to have good socialization skills, then we as parents should set a good example. Of course your kids do not just see you, and they way you act. They see other adults, and children, and they way that they deal with situations that occur. I once heard someone say it takes a whole society to raise a child. While I may not agree with that 100 percent, I do believe all adults should set good examples whenever children are in their presence. Whether it be their child, or someone elses child. Of course that is wishful thinking, but that is my thoughts on the subject. Here is the particular article on teaching homeschool children social skills. This article is on Homeschool.com one of my most favorite homeschool sites on the web. They have so much information, and useful links, it is amazing.

After one and a half years of blogging, I have finally made my 100 dollar Adsense payout. Now I have absolutely no idea if this is a common rate of earning, but I hope it goes faster as my blog becomes more popular. They have very strict rules, so people can not cheat, to earn money faster. If you have Adsense, how long did it take you to reach the 100 dollar payout?

Entrecard, the free service, that will drive traffic to your blog for free. They are under new ownership, but I still love the service. It is basically a traffic exchange. For every blog you visit, you should get a visit in return. It is not 100 percent, as some people do not drop every day. I like the diversity of the blogs to choose from, on their large database of blogs.

Adgitize, if you do not yet use this free service, you should. You can purchase ad space, and become a premier advertiser, or can have the free account. The leader board has 500 blogs, you can choose from to visit, and you get paid for your effort. That is the biggest difference between Entrecard, and Adgitize. While they are both free, Adgitize does pay you for the visits you make. It is not a ton of money, for free account holders, but it is something, and payout is 10 dollars. Yes, I have been paid by them. Plus I would say at least 75% of Adgitize members, also have Entrecard, so you could actually kill two birds with one stone. If you use Adgitize you must visit the blogs from their website, or your credits do not count. If you would like to join Adgitize, just click the widget at the very top of this blog.

I also use Traffic Swarm, and Twitter, for blog advertising. I don't have time to do these everyday, but they are somewhat effective. If you don't have Google Analytics, I would recommend it. It is free, and will break down, where your traffic comes from, and other elements for you. This blog, now gets almost 30% of its traffic from search engines. That is way up from the 5% it used to get. What methods of blog advertising do you use? Is it free, effective, or cost money?

Tomorrow DJ will be reading Chapter 10 of Dolphin Diaries, with summary. He will be moving on to Little House on the Prairie, starting Monday. I have added software work to Fridays, plus testing. Caitlin currently does no testing, but she does use the software. Tomorrow will be the first day DJ will be doing the software as part of class work. This software was purchased from Southwestern, and I paid 120 dollars for six discs. It is a complete curriculum for grades up to 5th grade. We finally have them all installed, and are ready to start using them. I will let you know whether we like them, and if they are worth purchasing again.

Monday, I will be starting a new contest. Sylvan contacted me again, and offered me a first grade workbook, to be given to one of my readers. So be sure to bookmark, and come back to enter.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

History Of The Dairy Industry, and Where Does Milk Come From

Click the images to make them bigger, and printable. These came from our Social Studies workbook. They are for two different days, but we do them in one day. You will need to use the internet, for research. We are also still doing Pilgrims, and colonial days, and we got this weeks lesson from Instructor Web. It is 30 dollars for a year subscription, with total access, to all their lessons. This is my first time using them, and I like it very much. If you homeschool, you know how extremely expensive curriculums, and books can be. You do not need to spend a fortune, though. Down at the bottom of this blog, are links I have accumulated through two, and a half years of homeschooling. Most are free, or very inexpensive, plus other resources homeschoolers will love. I will be adding more, as I continue to clean out my favorites, and add them here to this blog. I can not believe how much info I have accumulated over the years. Be sure to check them out, none of them are affiliate links, just me sharing info I have found, through many hours of searching. I have used most of them myself, or intend to use them in the future, that is why I saved them. By the way if you go back in my archives, to last year at this time, there is a cool set of videos on The First People, we will be using it again this year.


Lesson Plans For 10/29/09:

DJ:
Health: The fat group
Math: Multiply by 10's, division, add 4 digit numbers
Language Arts: Sentence structure, prefixes, verbs
Spelling/Vocab: Write each word two times each
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: History of candy corn, with ws. I will post this tomorrow.

Caitlin:
Health: Body part identification, sense of hearing
Math: Food count, animal count
Letter sound recognition worksheet
Printing practice
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat
Site words
Sequencing: Worksheet

Both my kids have decided they no longer want to learn Spanish, but would love to learn sign language. So I will be changing that part of the curriculum, and if anyone knows of free sites that teach sign language, drop me a note.


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Melting Ice Science Experiment



Since I couldn't find a cool video on the milk industry, I am posting this cool, and easy science experiment on melting ice. If you click the images, you can make them larger, and easier to read. Tomorrow I have a couple more fun things to share with you, on the milk industry, and pilgrim craft.






Lesson Plans For 10/28/09:

DJ:
Social Studies: History of the milk industry, coming to America a Pilgrim story
Math: Subtraction, multiplication, multiplication facts
Language Arts: Nouns, subject of a sentence, prefixes
Spelling/Vocab: Use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension with worksheet

Caitlin:
Social Studies: History of the milk industry, Pilgrim craft
Math: Food count, Pioneer counting at pioneer village
Letter sound recognition: Worksheet
Printing Practice
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat
Site words
Alphabet book: Letter Z

Monday, October 26, 2009

Subtracting With Zeros, Plant Life Cycle

Do your kids have a hard time subtracting numbers with zeros? DJ is having a bit of a hard time getting the concept. This short video should help him, and your child too. He explains it simple, and easy.

Tomorrow for Science we are studying the plant life cycle. The short video below will help your young learners to understand the concept. If you have the time actually planting some seeds, and carrying out the cycle, will further help their understanding. It is a cheap, and easy experiment to do. We plant seeds every spring, and we are going to try some winter ones this year. I must say if we had to live off the fruits of my labors, we would surely starve LOL. Practice makes perfect, that is what I always say. Tomorrow I will post an easy melting ice experiment you can do right from home.


Lesson Plans For 10/27/09:

DJ:
Melting ice experiment, the plant life cycle
Math: Addition, subtraction, division
Language Arts: Subject/verb agreement, prefixes, nouns
Spelling/Vocab: Write each spelling word two times each
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet Lost

Caitlin:
Letter sound recognition
Printing practice
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat week two
Site words
Math: Food count
Science: Plant life cycle
On and off: Worksheet
Alphabet book: Letter Y


Science:








Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Grumpy Song by David Weinstone

If your kids watch Noggin, then you have probably heard this song. My kids have decided to dedicate this song to me. It seems on Saturdays, after working 11-7 on Friday, I am not the happiest person to be around. I must admit I am a little grumpy, when I don't get a whole lot of sleep. Those of you who have ever worked the graveyard shift, I am sure you understand. If you have never experienced The Grumpy Song, by David Weinstone, check it out below. It will put a smile on your face, even if you are grumpy, I promise.





DJ and Caitlin are having a playdate tomorrow, with a friend from church, so school will not begin until after 2 PM.

Lesson Plans for 10/26/09:

DJ:
Spelling/Vocab: Look up the definition for each vocabulary word
Art: Learn to draw a pumpkin, and a car part 2, use the video below for pumpkin
Reading: Read Chapter 9 of Dolphin Diaries, with summary
Arts and Crafts: Bear pumpkin
Math: Addition, subtraction, multiplication
Language Arts: Prefixes, homographs review
Cursive Writing
Writing: Write a conversation between a cat, mouse, and duck

Caitlin:
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat week two, this book has been a challenge for Caitlin
Pioneers: Worksheet
Math: Counting to thirties by ones, and twos
Arts and Crafts: Bear pumpkin
Printing Practice
Alphabet Book: Letter X

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Simple Saturday Pumpkin Spice Cake With Maple Frosting

This came from 2008 Woman's World magazine. I actually made this last year, for my coworkers. It is easy, and oh so good. A great substitute if you are tired of plain old pumpkin pie. Click the picture to enlarge, and read the recipe. There are two others there too, that I have not yet tried. Happy Saturday, everyone.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Fun Friday The Letter D: Dreaming Of Diamonds


Well today is Fun Friday again, at Blogging For Fun. Today the letter of the day, is D, and I am dreaming of Diamonds. Anyone who follows me, knows I am a gemstone geek. However, I am not a diamond girl, unless they are colored. I love colored diamonds. Unfortunately they are rather expensive, as you can imagine. Take for instance the lovely Hope Diamond pictured above. Said to be the largest natural blue diamond in the world. I won't tell you what it is worth, as it might make you cry. I do have some blue diamonds, I set in a wedding band. They are small, but I cherish them. I also have a vintage WG blue diamond ring available for sale in my Etsy store, if anyone is interested.

Black Diamonds, I love them too. Black goes nice with other colored gemstones, especially pink, and yellow, and of course white. That black diamond ring is not mine either, I know it is a bummer. That is the largest black diamond ever found, according to the picture.

There are green, yellow, pink, champagne, red, and of course white diamonds. Most colored diamonds are irradiated to get their color. Thank goodness because the natural variety are out of this world expensive. Diamonds are the hardest gemstones known to men, with a 10 on the Moh's hardness scale. They are almost indestructible, though I have seen them crack, and chip at times.

If you are cheap like me, LOL, there are lovely diamond simulants on the market today. As long as you stick with a 1/2 or 1 carat no one but you will ever know it is not real. If you insist on a 3 carat or larger, well then most people will probably say there is no way she can afford a diamond of that size, and beauty. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, and make lovely pieces of jewelry.



Thursday, October 22, 2009

Essay Writing Workshops At Currclick

CurrClick - Curriculum at a Click!

Introducing Essay Writer's Workshop - offering fun, thematic, and effective writing skills to homeschoolers. Plus, an essay from one of our Essay Writer's Workshop Students, Kaitlyn Adams.

Don't miss this Christmas-themed Writing Workshop!

Classes begin M-F, November 30-Dec. 4 from 12-12:30 ET

This is a festive workshop designed for children ages 6-10. We will learn the art to writing a thoughtful letter of request to Santa. I will also stress the importance of appreciation as we learn to compose letters of thanks to Santa and other important people in our lives. Popular children's literature will also be incorporated into the lessons. This is a great way for your child to learn a valuable skill while having loads of fun.

If you have any questions about the class, please email me at darbyshea@hotmail.com.

Click here for more information...
Regular Price $30, Our Price $25.00

Do a fun Turkey Day project and share it with the rest of the class!


Classes are Monday-Friday beginning

November 9-13th from 12-12:30 p.m. ET

Paragraph Writing Workshop: The tools you need to write a fantastic Thanksgiving-themed paragraph!

This is a workshop specifically designed to give students the tools they need when writing a paragraph. The class is designed for early writers between the ages 7-10. The child should know how to write a complete sentence before taking this course. Feel free to email me directly if you are concerned about the level the of this course or if you have any questions about the format. darbyshea@hotmail.com

In this workshop, we will go step by step through the writing process. We will create paragraphs together using gotomeeting.com. This will allow the students to participate in creating, revising and editing paragraphs.

This is a 5 class course. Each class will last 30 minutes. Parental support is necessary for this course due to the ages of the students. The class is regularly $30.00 for five, ½ hour classes but it is being offered at $25.00 as a special offer to my customers. There are 24 available slots for this class.

This class will use the CurrClickLive Virtual Classroom. Computer microphone and headset and a high-speed internet connection are required. Instructions for using the virtual classroom will be sent out to all students before the first class.

If you have any questions about the class, please email me at darbyshea@hotmail.com.

Click here for more information...
Regular Price $30, Our Price $25.00

Sign up Now for the December session of the 5 Paragraph Essay


$60 for 10 hours of instruction

M-F from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern

Dec.7-11th, Dec. 14-18


In this workshop, we will go step by step through the writing process. We will create 2 five paragraph essays using pre writing strategies, thesis development, drafting, revision and editing techniques. Daily seminars will be held for one hour, outlining the skills being taught for that day. The students will work on completing two five paragraph essays during the course.

This class is for students between grades 8 and 12. Throughout the week the student will work on various projects given and submit it before the next scheduled seminar. The cost of the class is $60.00 per 10 hours of instruction. There are 24 available slots for this class.

This is a workshop specifically designed to give students the tools they need when writing a five paragraph essay. Essay writing is important when taking exams and formulating answers to specific questions. A good essay writer is able to organize their thoughts in a way that guides their reader through their thought process and answers all parts of a question with accuracy and specific details.

If you have any questions about the class, please feel free to email me at darbyshea@hotmail.com.

Click here for more information...

Regular Price $75, Our Price $60.00


For the Inside Scoop on CurrClick Live, follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Keeping your Body Healthy, Spiritually and Physically

By Kaitlyn Adams, Age 12

It is very important to keep our bodies fit, spiritually and physically, because it keeps us connected with our body and with God. Food and nutrition are important to our bodies because that is what our body will run on. Exercising is also a huge necessity because it makes our bodies stronger and it keeps us internally and externally fit. Keeping our soul fit is the most important of all because it is important to keep our spirit pure and important to keep in touch with our creator, Jesus Christ, our God.

What we put into our bodies is a very important factor of our health because this will determine what our bodies are going to function on. It is absolutely essential that we eat healthy. Putting nutritious foods into our bodies are like fuel to keep our bodies running. Eating candy or “junk food” is okay every once in a while, but if we continually fuel ourselves with “junk food”, our bodies will start to slow down and eventually die quicker than normal. The food pyramid is a great way to prioritize what we eat. It helps us keep on track and realize how we should be eating rather than what we are really eating on a daily basis. Another thing that helps to keep our bodies healthy is vitamins. Taking assorted types of vitamins can benefit the internal and external parts of our bodies and help boost our immune systems. I want to stress how important it is to take vitamins to keep our bodies healthy and strong when we are young because our bones stop growing when we are old. Keeping our bodies healthy as a youth can really affect how fit our body will be when we get older. Eating healthy is an essential part of our lives because nutrition and good eating habits will put us one step closer to healthy living.

Have you ever heard the expressions “use it, or lose it”? It’s true! If we do not use our body, our muscles and skin will become weak and flabby and our hearts and lungs will not function efficiently. Eventually, we will not be able to move at all. Our bodies were made to move, they actually crave it. Regular exercise is necessary to prevent the probability of getting a disease. Over 95% of people that don’t exercise are more prone to disease. Exercising is very important if we want to control our weight. If we do not exercise at all, we gain unnecessary calories that tag onto our skin and make us fat. Exercising can also build our stamina. For instance, if you want to be a professional biker, you have to work on it every day. You cannot complete a marathon on your first day because your stamina has not been built up yet. This goes for any sport. Exercise is extremely important because it keeps our bodies externally fit as well as internally fit!

Most importantly, it is essential to keep your mind spiritually fit. Having a good relationship with your family is a definite plus because they are the ones that live with us and know our struggles. If there we develop a good relationship with our families we can rely on them to keep us accountable for our decisions. Making god choices in friends is also important. They can keep us accountable and they’ll always be there whenever we need them. In Proverbs 17:17 it says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Most importantly, it is necessary to have a one-on-one relationship with your Lord, Jesus Christ. Praying to Him and reading your bible everyday can refresh your soul to His word. In the Book of John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”God will listen to our every cry, but we have to tell him things in order for Him to talk to us. God’s love is so deep for us. He loves us no matter what and he will always be there for us. In 1 John 4:19 we are told, “We love because He first loved us.” It is very important to have special relationships with friends, family, and most importantly, God, so that our spirit will be spiritually fit.

Being physically and spiritually healthy is very important because the bible tells us to make good use of what he gave us. He gave us bodies, and to live physically productive lives. Eating healthy and keeping track of what we eat is beneficial to our body Exercise is important because it helps prevent disease, control our weight, and increases our stamina. Spiritual fitness is the most important because we are communicating with our very own creator and feeding our soul the Word of God. If we keep our body and spirit fit, we can succeed in every which way in life.


About Toni Williams of Essay Writer's Workshop

My name is Toni Williams and I am the creator of Essay Writing Workshop. I became interested in Currclick after I tutored the dyslexic daughter of one of my homeschooling mothers. I found that I had a lot to offer parents that may struggle with reading and writing difficulties that their children may be having. This experience gave me new insight to the world of homeschooling and the unique benefit it has to a child.

I have worked as an elementary school teacher, curriculum designer, college instructor and independent tutor. I have a bachelor's degree in education from the University of South Florida and a master's degree in language arts from San Diego State University.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Tax On Sugared Drinks, The Five Senses

I am going to get on my soapbox very quickly, and then get right back off. As a nation, we are the fattest in the world. We have high obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rates. We eat portion sizes, including sugar, like 6 times or more, over what is recommended. There is all this talk about the government putting a tax on soda, and juice. There are those that have put out commercials against this, and how it would hurt families. I disagree, I think it would be great for families, if it gets them to stop ingesting so much sugar. Juices, that are healthier, with some vitamins, and minerals such as V8 Splash, or Tang, there are others, those are the only two I can think of, should be exempt. Soda, and juices, or Koolaid that are just sugar, with absolutely no nutritional value what so ever, should be taxed in my opinion. There that is my soapbox episode for the week.

Tomorrow for Health we are covering the five senses. I find this cute video, done for a class project. You can view it below. Plus we will be covering more about the family, and how families can differ from each other. We also have our next play date tomorrow, at the park. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. I love Florida this time of year. I still have not gotten DJ's report card done for the first quarter, hopefully this weekend.

Lesson Plans For 10/22/09:

DJ:
Health: The five senses with experiment, my family home
Math: Division, addition and subtraction review
Language Arts: Apostrophes, prefixes, homographs review
Spelling/Vocab: Write each word two times each
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet

Caitlin:
Health: The five senses, my family home
Math: Counting to twenty by twos
Pioneers: Worksheet
Alphabet book: The letter X
Printing Practice
Site Words
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat





Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Live Webcast At History Classroom

One of my favorite websites www.history.com is having a live webcast, tomorrow. You still have time to sign up for it, if you want to use it for your homeschool class, or even public classrooms. Here is the official letter they sent me. You do have to register, to be able to see the webcast.


Tomorrow for Social Studies we are doing family values, sharing and caring, and Flag Day. Below are two videos you can use with whatever lesson plans you use to cover the topics. Tomorrow I have a morning MD appt, so I will be playing catch up tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great day.

Lesson Plans for 10/21/09:

DJ:
Social Studies: Flag Day, Family values sharing and caring
Math: Numbers to one million, subtract with zeros, multiplication
Language Arts: Apostrophes, prefixes, homographs review
Spelling/Vocab: Use each word in a sentence, and write each word two times each
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet

Caitlin:
Printing Practice
Social Studies: Flag Day, family values caring and sharing
Math: Graphs
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat
Alphabet Book: Letter W
Site Words
Spiderweb cutting craft






Monday, October 19, 2009

Animals Of The Past: Cats

We finished our experiment on digestion, from last week, and what did we find? The meat barely digested at all. So meat takes a long time for the body to break it down, and digest it. Tonight we will be doing the same experiment, with two slices of apples. Follow the same procedure, and in a week see what the results are, then discuss your findings. Tomorrow is Science, and this week we are studying animals of the past, the history of cats, to be specific. The cute Disney video below, is great for younger learners.

Tomorrow is a half day.
Lesson Plans For 10/20/09:

DJ
Science: Animals of the past, history of cats
Math: Greater than, and less than, numbers to one million
Language Arts: Apostrophes, prefixes, homograph review
Spelling/Vocab: Look up the definition for each word
Cursive writing

Caitlin:
Printing practice
Science: History of cats, three little kittens nursery rhyme
Math: Number comparison, bigger and smaller
Reading: HOP Ann's Hat
Alphabet book: Letter V
Site words

Last Friday was the end of the first grading period, and I will be posting DJ's grades as soon as I calculate them up. Caitlin is not graded at this point.










Sunday, October 18, 2009

Some Cool Things To Do In North Central Florida

We do not have school tomorrow. Matter of fact this week is kind of a mixed up week. We will be doing school, in the afternoon, most days, due to morning activities. So, I thought I would share some of the fun things going on in North Central Florida, for you, and your kids to do.

Yesterday my mother, and I, took Caitlin to the Loomis Bros Circus, right here in Gilchrist County. This is a small circus that is over 50 yrs old, and travels all around Florida, and other states. Tickets were 12 dollars per person, and free for kids. Of course they had stuff you could buy, that was kind of expensive, but proceeds went to the local Character Council, so it was OK. They had a pretty good turnout, since it was freezing out. Today they are off to Alachua County, so be sure to catch them why they are there. Caitlin had a ball, it was her first circus. They did not allow picture taking, but my mom did get a picture of her riding the ponies. I will post it, as soon as she sends it to me.

Also, in Marion County, which is a bit of a drive for us, is Silver Springs, located in Ocala. DJ and Craig went last night for Fright Night. It runs from Oct 2nd through Oct 31st, on Fridays, and Saturdays from 8 PM-11 PM. Tickets are only 12 dollars, with two dollars off, if you bring 2 canned items, to donate to the needy. They had a good time, though DJ said it wasn't real scary. We are considering getting the year pass, so we can use the water park, and all events that they have.

The last cool thing I found in our local paper this week, is a fossil dig, right here in Gilchrist County. Unfortunately we can not do it, because you must be 15 yrs old, but hopefully someone else reading this can take advantage. It will be at the Thomas Farm, near the town of Bell. The dig will take place from October 24th- November 24th giving you plenty of time to participate. Time is 9AM-5PM, on Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tues. You must be able to give at least three hours of your day. For more info you can go to http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/fall_2009.htm

Have a great Sunday, everyone.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Simple Saturday Spider Cookie Recipe

Click on the picture for it, and the recipe to enlarge. These are cute cookie sandwiches, with spider webs on them, very simple, and perfect for Simple Saturday. This recipe came from one of my Womans Day magazines.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fun Friday The Letter C


This week was easy to choose. As soon as I saw this, I knew it was what I was going to do. Anyone who knows me, knows I love Christmas. I love everything about it, the decorating, family, friends, religion, gifts, tags, bows all of it. But probably the thing I have always loved, are the Christmas specials. I still watch them, and it is kind of a tradition to my kids too. On ABC Family they have the twenty five days of Christmas. Every evening a Christmas special comes on. Sometimes we have to Tivo it, but we watch them all. One of my absolute favorites is A Christmas Carol, from the book by Charles Dickens. I have seen so many variations of this movie, my two favorites being the Flintstones, and Mickey Mouse versions. This year Disney is releasing a new version, starring Jim Carey, one of my favorite actors. It will be released on November 6, and I hope we can get to the theaters to see it. It should be so good. If I don't get to the theater, it will definitely be on my Netflix list, for as soon as it is released to DVD. Check out the trailer for A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carey, below.

Wow I managed to get a lot of C's in there. Here is just two more. Below you will find a picture of Caitlin, with her cat, Bandit. This is one of the kitties we have been taking care of since the mom abandoned him in our bushes, months ago. He has turned into the most friendly kitty, from a scared, and mean kitty. It is not the most flattering picture to him, as I think the camera scared him. We were messing around trying to make fancy backgrounds for pictures, and he got in it. My camera skills are much lacking, and practice is my mode LOL.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

All Saints Day, Halloween

I must do a follow up on yesterday's post. I must thank Anne from Small Town Mommy, for reminding me to look for an animal rescue, rather than trying the County shelter. I did find one, in the next town over, it is fairly new, and takes only cats. I had already taken the kitten to the shelter before I found it, but I am putting it here, as I am sure there will be more. I was assured by the County Shelter that they are a no kill shelter, and that they have no problem placing kittens. Hmm not what I was told the last time I called, and asked about them taking kittens. Not to mention, it is a nice, shiny, brand new building, bought and paid for by us the tax payers, that they claim they will no longer serve. I must say I was quite astonished yesterday, at one of the responses I received when trying to find a suitable, safe place for this poor animal. I was basically told that I probably was the real owner of said non fixed cat, that keeps breeding, and I just simply did not want to feed, or care for the kitten. I can tell you I was angry, and gave the person a rather not nice verbal spout off. If I did not care about said kitten, I could easily drown it in my swimming pool, and no one would be the wiser. I could have left it out in the elements, alone without nourishment, to be eaten by a dog, or hit by a car. The person on the other end told me that would be abuse, and I could get in trouble. Obviously fool, I was being sarcastic, I said really, what do you call why you guys will not fix this problem that has been here for years? Then I reminded him that I had spent hours on the phone, trying to find a place for this kitten, only to get accused, the run around, not to mention I still have two male cats from the last litter that I am still feeding and caring for, so please don't tell me I am just trying to rid myself of kittens that are mine, because they are not mine. Technically they are the towns, she was here when I moved here two years ago, breeding ever since. This will be a battle, I can already tell. The town has no intentions of giving in, and providing animal services, and the county does not appear to want to give in either. I made it very clear that I think the town is neglecting these animals, and something needs to be done. I have no intentions of fixing, feeding, and caring for all these animals. I am not the town pound, nor am I the Cat Lady.

Now onto my next bit of irritation. I have said before I respect everyone's opinion, we all have one after all. However I must take a stand when someone calls me a downright sinner, and betrayer of God, in a public forum. Now I will say I do not generally care what people think of me, but this was really out of line. We were discussing Halloween, and costumes for kids, and she said she does not celebrate Halloween, because it is evil. I said OK, that was your right, but that I thought it was just harmless fun, for kids. She came back and said I was sinning, and basically worshiping the Devil. So ok, I did some research. If there are people who have made Halloween into something bad, that does not mean the rest of us are sinners. All Saints Day, is a religious holiday celebrated by many Catholics. It is celebrated on Nov 1st with, Oct 31st being All Hallows Eve. It is celebrated basically to honor all the Saints, both known, and unknown. It is not a Devil worship holiday. It was never intended to be that, nor has it ever been that in my own home. It is fun to dress up, and be someone else for a night, and pretend life is just a lot of fun. What is wrong with that? If you would like to read about the actual history of All Saints Day, you can go here.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Animal Control Frustrations Grrr!!!

For those of you who have read my blog for any length of time, know I have been fighting with Animal Control for years to get these ferell cats under control. To make a very long story short, we found a home for one female kitten the last time the mother had a litter. We are still tending, and feeding to the two males that no one wants. The mother appears to have had another litter, though not in my bushes this time. However a very tiny kitten was found wandering around my yard this morning, looking very haggard and hungry. This kitten weighs no more than one pound. Of course my kids make me feel like a cad, so I can not just ignore it, but I am not the town pound either. I put it in the pet carrier, with a blanket, fed it, and gave it some milk, and tried to figure out what to do. Animal control has never been helpful, if you remember when I called the county humane society I was told no kittens, but if I wanted to pay for some very expensive tests, and have them spade, all out of my own pocket they would send them to another shelter. Outrageous I know, so I figured calling them would be no good. So I called the next county over, and they told me they would not take them from another county, to call the county administrator. Which I did, he referred me to someone else, who referred me back to animal control, who told me they no longer have a contract with the town. Grr I am not happy at all. So then she told me if I wanted to pay 25 dollars, and transport said kitten to her, she would take it to the animal shelter on my behalf. So now I am either stuck with this very tiny, needy kitten, or I have to pay 25 dollars out of my own pocket. What I would really like to know is if the City of Trenton decided to sever their ties with the Gilchrist County Animal Control, then why are they not providing the service themselves. Well I was told because tax payers already pay for the service, and the county should be providing said service. Seems tax payers were actually being charged twice. I really do not care about any of this, but I do care that I can not afford to feed, and take care of every stray that wanders onto my property. I can not kill it either, or just drop it off in the woods, as many have suggested. No one wants to deal with these ferrell animals, and it is getting out of control. There is a meeting Monday evening, and if I can make it I will. If not I will call the city manager back on Tuesday to see what happened. If anyone has ever dealt with this sort of stuff in your neighborhoods, I would love some good advice.

Lesson Plans For 10/15/09:

DJ:
Health: Healthy food choices, label reading
Language Arts: Quotation marks, prefixes, homographs
Spelling/Vocab: Write each word two times each
Math: Division, greater than and less than, subtraction
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet

Caitlin:
Health: Healthy food choices
Alphabet Book: Letter U
Math: Telling Time
Reading: HOP Tag
Site words
Printing Practice
Address and phone number learn to write them


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Chinese New Year, Place Value

Tomorrow for history class we are doing Betsy Ross, and Chinese New Year. Watch the cute story below explaining Chinese New Year. I found the Betsy Ross lesson plan, at Instructor Web, which I just signed up for yesterday. Next week, we will be making American Flags, to complete the Betsy Ross lesson. Do your kids understand place value? If not I have added a useful video that helps explain it.


Lesson Plans For 10/14/09:

Caitlin:
Alphabet Book: Letter T
Social Studies: Betsy Ross, Chinese New Year
Math: Adding food
Putting things in order worksheet
Reading: HOP Tag
Site words
Printing Practice

DJ:
Social Studies: Chinese New Year, Betsy Ross
Language Arts: Prefixes, homographs, quotation marks
Spelling/Vocab: Use each vocabulary word in a sentence
Math: Multiplication, rounding numbers, subtraction
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet






Monday, October 12, 2009

Easy Digestive Discoveries Health Experiment

We were supposed to do this on Thursday, and I completely forgot it. So, we did it last night. This is easy, and it could be used for Health class to explain digestion, or for a Science experiment. I am going to tell you how to do it. What you need: small piece of cooked lean beef, bottle with a screw top, dark cola. Place the beef in the bottle. Pour cola into the bottle. Screw on the lid, to seal the cola, and meat. Observe the cola, and meat for one week. Do not open the bottle during this time. Then discuss the following questions. Do you think that meat is easy to digest? What other foods might be easier for your body to digest? With what other foods could you do this experiment.

Here are some basics about the digestion process. Your digestive system works to break down foods you eat. While you chew, and swallow foods, different acids in your saliva, and stomach work to break down the foods. Acids break down protein that is found in meat. The experiment above will allow you to observe how the meat you eat, is broken down, or digested.

Let me know if you do this, and how your kids liked it. To view the cute video on digestion, check my archives from last week.

Lesson Plans for 10/13/09:

DJ:
Science: Plants and animals of the past
Language Arts: Commas, prefixes, homographs
Spelling/Vocab: Look up the definition for each word, write each word two times each
Math: Division, place value, rounding numbers
Cursive Writing
Reading Comprehension: worksheet

Caitlin:
Alphabet book: Letter S
Reading: HOP Tag
Site words
Printing practice
Science: Plants and animals
Biggest/smallest: worksheet
Math: Numbers


Sunday, October 11, 2009

How To Carve An Awesome Pumpkin

We have no school tomorrow, so I was going to do a super serious post on Swine Flu, Universal Health Care, or child abuse, then I decide ugh I don't want to think about any of those complicated issues. So I found this cool video teaching you how to carve an ultra cool pumpkin.



Saturday, October 10, 2009

Simple Saturday How To Apply Dark Fairy Halloween Makeup

This would not be my first choice for a Halloween costume, but it is cool. If you are thinking of a cool costume, learn how to apply this makeup, and you can be a dark fairy too.



Friday, October 9, 2009

Fun Friday The Letter B: Bats


Well again this week, I could not decide what I wanted to write about. I don't do well with so many choices LOL. So I decided to go with bats, since it is Halloween time. I do not find bats cute, not even a little. It looks like a big rat, with wings. But, they are quite interesting, and do serve a purpose. For example did you know that mascara, you know the stuff you put on your eyes everyday, contains bat poop? It is true, OK so it is only synthetic bat poop, still gross if you ask me. You can read all kinds of cool facts about bats, here. I also found all kinds of bat recipes. Like bat soup, yes bat soup. Here are some more cool bat recipes. These are all great for Halloween parties, or just fun to make with your kids. They will get a kick out of them.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/bat-sandwiches-recipe/index.html
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/recipe/famf0900batchips/
http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/halloween_dinner_recipe
http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/halloween_dinner_recipe
http://recipe.aol.com/recipe/worm-soup-with-bat-wings/78601

Some of these are very interesting, be sure to check them out. Let me know if you try any of them, and if you liked it.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Writing Prompts For Each Month, 4th Grade

Tomorrow is test day, here at Melissa's Homeschool. So I get to share a few other things with you, rather than just our lesson plans. I found the coolest site where daily writing prompts are already made out for you. I do not use every one, because there are other writing assignments I want DJ to do, and we don't do writing every day this year. They are good though, and you can find them here. If your child needs ideas for writing, check them out, or needs a little extra practice after school hours.

I also found a cool website where your youngster can learn First Aid for free. There is an age limit, so be sure to check it out. I can not tell you how important I feel it is for children to know basic First Aid. How, and when to call 911, should also be taught at a very young age that is appropriate. We will be adding it to our Health Curriculum, next year, when DJ is 10. I hope it will still be available by then, for now you can certainly use it.

Tomorrow is also Fun Friday, and DJ will be doing his writing assignment around our topic. If you would like to join our Blogging for Fun group, click on the green box, in the left hand column.

As soon as my printer is back up, and running again, I will be scanning some really cool Halloween recipes, from one of my favorite specialty books. Your kids will love these.

We have no school on Monday.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Kids Learn The Digestive System

Tomorrow is health class, and we will be covering the digestive system, plus more nutrition label reading. To see the cool video teaching kids to read labels, check my archives. Be sure to check out the digestive system video, below. The narrator does have a funny accent, but it is still good.

Lesson Plans For 10/08/09:

Caitlin:
Math: Numbers
Handwriting practice
Shapes: Worksheet
Alphabet Book: Letter R
Reading: HOP Pig Wig Can Hit
Site words
Health: Digestive system

DJ:
Health: Label reading, digestive system
Cursive practice
Spelling/Vocab: Write each word two times each
Math: Adding, multiplication, place value
Language Arts: Commas, prefixes, homophones
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet




Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Colonial Life, Christopher Columbus

Tomorrow is Social Studies, here at Melissas Homeschool, and because Monday is Columbus Day, we are including an extra worksheet for that. It is a short reading comprehension, with questions, and you can find it here. We are also starting a whole series on Pilgrims, and colonial life, and how it differed from today. Below is a short video from the Sandy Spring Museum, where kids can learn about colonial life. DJ will be doing a writing assignment soon, on the differences between then, and now. You could also have your kids do drawings comparing clothes, food, transportation, and housing.

Lesson Plans For 10/07/09:

Caitlin:
Math: Numbers
Matching: Worksheet
Alphabet Book: Letter Q
Reading: HOP Pig Wig Can Hit, Caitlin will be completing it this week, she was stuck on one word
Site Words
Printing Practice
Social Studies: Colonial life, New Years

DJ:
Handwriting Practice
Social Studies: Colonial life, New Years, Columbus
Spelling/Vocab: Use each word in a sentence
Math: Division, place value, rounding numbers, adding
Language Arts: Prefixes, homophones, commas
Reading Comprehension: Worksheet



Monday, October 5, 2009

The Boys In Pink, Undefeated, and Seasons

Wow how is that for a headliner. Yesterday the NFL, or National Football League, helped increase breast cancer awareness by wearing the color pink. Yes, big, burly football players in pink. Some wore pink cleats, pink caps, pink wristbands, pink logos on their jersey or helmet. As a woman I must personally thank the NFL, their players, and coaches for making breast cancer awareness, more aware. Speaking of football, I won yesterday, maintaining my undefeated status. It is so very exciting. Thanks to all of you who wished me luck, and to Peyton Manning, the best QB ever. Without him, and his average of 100 points per week, has made me unstoppable.

Tomorrow for Science we are going over the four seasons. DJ already did a post, on his take of the seasons, know he gets the lesson plan. Below are two cute videos, that help to explain the seasons, and the earth movements.



Sunday, October 4, 2009

Wish Me Luck, I Need It!

Ok so maybe I don't need it, but it wouldn't hurt. I am undefeated so far in my Fantasy Football league. It is week four, and I am hoping to win again. My star running back, is on a bye, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. A little luck thrown my way, would be greatly appreciated. Tomorrow DJ is learning to draw automobiles. Watch the very cool video, and see what amazing car you can drive.

Lesson Plans for 10/05/09:

Caitlin:
Rhyming words: worksheet
Alphabet Book: Letter O
Reading: HOP Pig Wig Can Hit, this one is a bit harder, week two working on it
Site words
Printing Practice
Numbers Math adding
Arts and Crafts: Complete the face

DJ:
Cursive Handwriting
Art: Learn to draw an automobile
Reading: Read chapter 2 of Dolphin Diaries with summary
Writing: Mountain Lion
Spanish: Book one meet Felipe and Margarita
Spelling/Vocab: Look up the definition for each word
Language Arts: Prefixes, homophones
Math: Numbers to one million

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Simple Saturday Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light

My most favorite artist, is Thomas Kinkade. I have been collecting his ornaments, and such, since I was in my early twenties. He is way more popular now, LOL Watch the video to see some of his famous, and lovely pieces of art.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Fun Friday The Letter A

Well it is Fun Friday again, and I have not heard from any of my members to know if they are going to participate this week. There has been a lot going on this week, with some of them, so possibly not. Anyway the assignment was to pick a word starting with the letter A, and then write about it. Now I must say I had a hard time choosing, so many choices. I thought about ants, fire ants to be exact, and how I could use an aardvark to eat them, since nothing else we try gets rid of the awful critters. Then being we live in Florida I thought of alligators, nah too scary. Then adorable came to mind, with pics of my kids as babies. How about awareness, for breast cancer awareness month. All of these would have been great options, but then I remembered it was Autumn, and what is a main staple of Autumn, but acorns. We do not get a whole lot of acorns here in the South, not many Oak trees. But we used to get them in NY, tons of them. We used to make crafts with them, all kinds of crafts. It is great fun to watch the squirrels, hunting, and gathering them. If you go here, you will read all about acorns. I had no idea there were so many different kinds, and some are sweet to eat. I did not know humans could actually eat acorns too. Native Americans used them in several recipes, and it is quite a process to store them, as they can get rancid, and grow mold, Yum. I am fairly certain the one tree we have in our yard, is in fact an Oak tree, however it does not produce acorns. This may be because it has not reached maturity yet. Acorns only grow on mature Oak trees. It is rather small yet, so I guess that would be the case. Watch this cool video, to learn about acorns, and the squirrels that collect them. They have some neat tidbits of info in there. Happy Fun Friday, everyone.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Top 10 Entrecard Droppers, Pink Blog

As you may have noticed my blogs are pink, and will stay pink for the month of October. Why, you ask? October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The pink blogs represents support, and education for Breast Cancer survivors, sufferers, and all women who need to take care of their breasts. Be sure to get your mammograms, if you are at high risk, or over the age of 40. Do breast self exam every single month, and report any lumps, or changes to your doctor. A lot of communities offer free breast exams, so be sure to check for them, if you are uninsured.

There is exactly one month left, to get your 5 dollar donation in, for my feed the needy campaign. Your five dollars will get you a chance to win the Pink Zircon ring shown at the top of this blog, and 6 months of advertising on the Kindness Hall of Fame, at the top of this blog. Click the donate button to donate. You can only donate once, and no more than five dollars.

http://www.computer-aid.com.au/blog/
http://businessphereconsulting.com
http://sasmyschool.blogspot.com/
http://beadedtail.blogspot.com/
http://www.threefatesdesign.blogspot.com
http://www.momslifestyle.com/
http://businesspherealty.com
http://melissasjewelryandgems.blogspot.com/
http://nukeit.org/
http://www.isamansworld.com


The blog that I got the best advertising by putting my widget on theirs was, http://gotakeittothelimit.blogspot.com/ with an awesome 78 clicks from their blog to mine. Now that is an awesome number.

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