Dawn K Homeschool

Just email me your address, and I will mail it this week! Enjoy.

Okay -- this one is for homeschoolers. I'm tired, cranky and just plain over doing it all. So, I decided to give something away. I find a great way to get my eyes off of myself is to direct them to someone else. So, here is a book I will give to someone who posts a comment on any of my blog posts. I will randomly choose a name tomorrow night (Tuesday) at midnight EST and post the winner on my blog then. The pages have been removed (I bought it used), but I never ended up using it and don't plan to. I sincerely only ask that if you post to be the winner, you post because you actually want to use it -- not because you want to try to sell it. The resale value isn't high anyway, but I really don't want to choose a poster who is only looking at monetary gain. So please, respect this. Thanks! Each book of Great Science Adventures includes: Multilevel teaching for Grades K through 8 24 lessons, with 2-3 lessons completed each week 24 Lots of Science Library Books Detailed ex...

I used this cool random number generator http://www.random.org/integers/ and came up with # 4 which was Leslie. Congratulations. Just email me your address, and I will get your stamps out tomorrow. :)

I have been unmounting my Stampin' Up! stamps and organizing the rest. I have sorted all of my Studio G dollar acrylic stamps into CD cases according to type. For example, all "Happy Birthday" stamps go in one CD case, all cupcakes and cakes go in another, and so on. I love it! I bought these great CD cases that have no insert in them from http://www.rima.com/ Item # 6220 -- 200 CD Cases for $26.00. http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=R&Product_Code=6220&Category_Code=CP1 While organizing, I found two duplicate stamps and a few little clear acrylic stamps from the dollar Studio G sets that I will never use (things like party girl, her majesty, it's a girl thing, happy spring, spring is in the air, good luck, believe in yourself, etc). I figured I would offer them up here on my blog. All you have to do is make a comment on one of my blog posts. Tomorrow (Thursday) at midnight EST, I will randomly choose one name. You will then ...

I admit -- I can think of things I'd rather him do on a Saturday, but I guess he could be doing worse. :) So, here he is!

The first five cards were made with Making Memories "Cheeky" paper line -- from a 6x6 paper pad I found at Big Lots. I just love the number paper and the red circle paper. Such rich colors! I added some stamping and other embellishments -- oh, and lots of foam mounting squares. This card was made with paper scraps (as are most of my cards), a new Hero Arts background stamp (Floating Leaf Pattern) and a new A C Moore Dollar Stamp (Studio G, wood-mounted). This card was made with some old Making Memories patterned paper scraps (Cosmopolitan collection), a Heidi Swapp "love" stamp and a new Hero Arts stamp (Quote Background). This card was a quickie using K & Company's and Brenda Walton's line " Neopolitan " and a new Stampin' Up stamp (So Many Sayings). This SU set is fabulous because there are 34 sayings or decorative border stamps in all (set on 3 actual stamps). I chose one "thanks so much." Finally, I am cheap. I love to bu...

Someone posted this on a homeschooling forum a while back, and I just had to mention it. You can read it (and print it) from here: Grammar-Land or Grammar in Fun for the Children of Schoolroom-Shire by M. L. Nesbitt (copyright 1878). http://books.google.com/books?id=iXgSAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPP11,M1 Of course, Ruth Heller's books are also nice for this:

I posted a list of free printable mazes on a homeschooling site the other day, and I thought I'd post it here as well. http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes.html http://krazydad.com/mazes/ http://abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/puzzle_fun/maze_fun/ http://www.amazeingart.com/free-mazes.html (very cool history mazes here) http://www.mazoons.com/Mazes.htm http://www.worksheetworks.com/puzzles/maze.html (you can create your own mazes here) If you have any other favorites, please feel free to share.

This is the history read-aloud I will begin this week. We are currently studying the Middle Ages, using Story of the World, Volume 2 as our guide. This book, When Knights Were Bold, by Eva March Tappan, can be printed from this website: http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=tappan&book=bold&story=_contents You can access the display options to alter the font to 12 ppt which results in fewer pages.

Our current read-alouds are: Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Poppins-Odyssey-Classics-Travers/dp/0152017178/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221336536&sr=1-3 Wagtail by Alice Crew http://www.amazon.com/Wagtail-Alice-Crew-Fleming-Gall/dp/B000KZ9X9E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221336730&sr=1-1 Linnea in Monet's Garden by Cristina Bjork http://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Monets-Garden-Cristina-Bjork/dp/9129583144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221336919&sr=1-1

Click to enlarge.

My brother participated in the 6 th N orth Face Ultra-Trail Tour du Mont Blanc -- an ultra-marathon -- at the end of August. It takes place once a year in the Alps, across France, Italy and Switzerland. The distance this year was 170 km (105.6 miles), with a total elevation gain of around 37,000 feet. The race is run in one leg. Some believe that it is the most difficult foot race in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_T..._du_Mont_Blanc My brother came in # 106 out of 2,873 participants who finished. (# 64 in his category). It took him 31 hours and 19 minutes. Way to go, Mike!

and have now begun reading Mary Poppins . It's rather pathetic that it was not until I was 35 that I learned the movie was actually based on a book. GASP! For now, though, let me recommend Esther Averill to you. You will most likely recognize this book, written by her -- The Fire Cat. Well, you may not know (as I did not) that there were so many wonderful books about Jenny Linsky , a cute black cat with a red scarf, written by the same author and illustrator who was writing in the 40's We just finished one of these: Jenny and the Cat Club . There are several others which you can read about here: http://www.nybooks.com/authors/10014 If your library does not carry these, do not be surprised! Mine did not either, but I requested that they order one, which they did, and I have now recommended others. We'll see. I am certain other patrons will thank you if you can convince your library to carry them. And if not, Amazon does carry them for your home library. I may actually end up...

We are still reading books about various amphibians -- focusing right now on frogs and toads. We will then just touch on newts and salamanders a little. I wanted to share my favorite books for this amphibian study. You can also download my complete plan for all vertebrates on the left-hand column of my blog, including information I hope my boys learn about amphibians. Normally, I really like the "Let's-Read-and-Find-Out-Science" series. I chose not to include the Why Frogs are Wet book because there was just too much evolutionary content. Now, onto what I did choose. You certainly do not have to use as many books as I chose, but I really like the power of reinforcement and review. I also like to choose a variety of styles (readers, narratives, pictorial, etc). If you want to limit your books to a handful, I have given my recommendation for the must-reads at the end of this post. Growing Frogs (Vivian French) My library actually had this picture book on DVD, so I opted to ...

We are currently studying amphibians (one of the groups of vertebrates we will study this year). After spending a day introducing vertebrates and a day introducing amphibians, we are now delving more deeply into one of the amphibian orders: frogs/toads. I thought I'd share resources we are using for this. Amphibians and Reptiles by Teacher Created Materials ISBN 1576903788 More fun reproducibles. Frogs . . . by Scholastic ISBN 0439051789 Lots of nice reproducible activities in this. The Amazing Animal Activity Book ISBN 0590964046 Nice paper-crafts for vertebrates with a section on amphibians. FREE Online Resources: Free Frog Lapbook (this is fantastic!) http://www.homeschoolshare.com/Frog_Lapbook.php Time for Kids Article and Reproducibles Article http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/wr/article/0,17585,1565833,00.html Teacher's Guide with Reproducibles http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2007S/070126_ns_all.pdf Quiz http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/reproducibl...

Nathan is reading Ben a bedtime story: Pickles to Pittsburgh . This is the sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs .

This song just makes me happy -- it has for years, but I have to admit I could not make out very many of the words. There's some lazy vocal action, but the song itself lifts my mood. So, I thought I'd post the lyrics for any of you who, like me, really have no idea what the song is about other than that it is a happy song. Reading the lyrics, I think of my kids growing up, of our homeschooling journey, of how I know that each of our boys has something special to give to the world, to others with whom they will be in more intimate contact, and also back to their Creator. I also think of myself -- that I am blessed and have much for which to be thankful. I also hope that I give back to the world, to others and to my Creator during my days here on earth. These are days you'll remember. Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this. And as you feel it, you'll know its true that you are blessed and lucky. It's true that you are touched by...

With so much homeschooling and so much keeping of the home, I just had to take a little break last night. I stayed up too late, though. These are the four cards I made. One was made with a pack of labels I bought (the "Thank You" one), while the other 3 were made with a set of pre-made cards from K & Company and some vintage stuff I've had around forever. Being the cheapo that I am, I actually cut the premade cards in half and adhered to regular, inexpensive ivory or kraft cards to allow the patterned paper to last longer. I don't normally do such shabby-chic, vintage-y cards, but here goes: Supplies: tag (K & Co "Classic K"), rubon ( www.royalbrush.com ), alpha stickers (Marcella by K, Making Memories), ink (Fluid Chalk Ink) Supplies: tag (K & Company "Classic K"), vintage cut-out (Hot Off the Press), button (I cannot remember) Supplies: tag (K & Company "Classic K"), rubon ( http://www.royalbrush.com/ ), stamp (Studio ...

First, let me say that I've been having a hard time forcing myself to bed early and getting up earlier. I actually got up on time today. With the boys not really getting to bed until 10, I am left with little time alone. I guess I will have to get them in bed by 8 and allow them to read until 9 rather than in bed by 9, read until 10. I'm just thinking out loud here. Ben has had a difficult time going to bed these three nights, though. He finally fell asleep around 11 on the floor next to his door. Our workload is much heavier this year now that Ben is doing spelling and grammar. Nathan has also started spelling this year. It is taking a bit of time getting used to Saxon math for K-3 as well. I used Saxon with Aaron, but we started in book 5/4. So far, I think the approach is perfect. The boys' attitudes have been quite pleasant, and I think the hours of attention from Mom have also helped. Ben has really surprised me as he also wants to listen in on Nathan's grammar les...