Reading, Cursive & Pronouns - Oh my!

I know . . . the title is cliche . . . but you have to admit, 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic!

Ok, so we have had some big accomplishments since the first half of the year.

Here's some pictures of school today.

[This is a nice quick post.]

Cursive

He started cursive last week.  He was so proud to be able to write dad and add today.

Reading

This little guy went from stammering for upwards of 20 minutes through an 8 page book to being able to complete one in less than 3 minutes.

And Pronouns:

We have been working on pronouns since last week.  The list came fairly easy to him, but that could be because he heard his sister & brother reciting these earlier in the year.  Either way, he knows his pronouns!

Well, I'm done bragging on my kids . . .

for now. hehe!

Microscope - Fabric & Paper

Today we looked a little more closely at fabrics and papers.

What does the fabric of a bandage look like close up?

What do our clothes look like?

Couch fabric?

Natural materials (cotton) versus Synthetic materials (polyester or nylon)?

How does newspaper differ from writing paper?

Is there even a difference?

What about toilet paper?

Why does toilet paper absorb, yet writing paper does not?

All good questions.

Today we will find the answers.

(I'll try not to go picture crazy, but there are no guarantees.) ;)

First a look at fabrics:

Cotton Versus Polyester

A cotton T-shirt versus a polyester top.

Cotton is very fibrous because it is a natural material.

Since polyester is man-made, it is smooth.

 

The Fabric of a Bandage

How can it absorb the blood, but not stick to the wound itself?

The answer: Because the padding is made out of polypropylene (manmade), and it is made with little holes that allow it to absorb blood.  On the surface of the bandage is a polypropylene netting with much larger holes that do not absorb moisture, so that part doesn't stick.  It's all about layers, the material and the weave of the fabric.

The Fabric of our Couch

(The material is microfiber)

My daughter said, "Ew, we sit on that?" haha!

And now a look at paper:

Newspaper
All colors printed on paper are used with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black

A white building with a black background (sideways)

The 'Y' in print appears as just red while viewing it normally.

The letter 'm' (sideways) at the edge of a ripped newspaper (to show the fiber).

Newspaper is very absorbent.  

So how do they keep the ink from bleeding into the paper?  

The ink is made with alcohol which dries so quickly, it doesn't have time to bleed.

Writing Paper

Writing paper, like in notebooks, is very fibrous (more so than copy paper - see below)

Inkpens aren't made with alcohol so why doesn't it bleed into the paper?  Writing paper is not absorbent because it is covered in a waxy liquid called size.

Copy Paper 

The kind of paper you'd put in your printer or copier machine.

Pieces of pine & fir trees cut and mixed with chemicals, then flattened to form copy paper.

Toilet Paper 

The kids were amazed at how 'holey' toilet paper is.

The fabric of toilet paper is spaced apart so that liquid can be absorbed easily.

Another fun-filled day in Science!

The answers to our questions were found in the book "The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope Internet Linked" by Kirsteen Rogers

Pictures are from us. :)

Microscope Fun - Outdoor Things

Last time we donated our bodies to science.

This time we went looking outdoors for science.

What the kids gathered:

A Red Wasp wing, Dandelion seed, Flower Petal, Weed leaf, Blade of grass, Dandelion Petal, Pollen (& stamen), Pool water, Dirt & Fingernail (hey, it was outside at the time!)

The Red Wasp wing at the lowest magnification

Red Wasp wing at the middle magnification

Red Wasp wing at the highest magnification

Dandelion Seed - Low

Dandelion Seed - Mid

Dandelion Seed - High

Flower Petal - Low

Flower Petal - Mid

Flower Petal - High (Sorry for the blurry pic. It's hard to take a pic down a microscope lens.)

Weed Leaf - Low

Weed Leaf - Mid

Weed Leaf - High

Blade of Grass - Low

Blade of Grass - Mid (Kinda looks like a cucumber)

Blade of Grass - High

Dandelion Petal - Low (What really shocked us was that it didn't look yellow under the microscope.  It was more of a green color with yellow specs.)

Dandelion Petal - Mid

Dandelion Petal - High

Flower Pollen & Stamen - Low

Pollen & Stamen - Mid

Pollen - High

Our Greenish Pool Water - Low

Pool Water - Mid

Pool Water - High (The water appeared clear when we put it in the petri dish.  And nothing was moving.  But we did see little green specs when we zoomed it in on high.)

Dirt - Low

Dirt - Mid (Had to stop there.  Couldn't get it on high)

A child's ripped off fingernail - Low

Fingernail - Mid

Fingernail - High

We love microscope days!!

We spent 3 hours looking through the microscope.  So much fun!!

Helpful Hints

 Here are my 5 Helpful Hints for February 2013

1.  Why not use your tax refund to pay for next year's school books?  At least that's what we do.  We earmark $1000 of our refund each year to pay for our next year's school books.  You might gasp at $1000. Well, we have to  buy books for four kids. We are not using all that $1000 this year though, thanks to my next helpful hint:

2.  Shop around!!  You don't have to buy all your books at the same place.  It is a bit of work, but I think it is well worth it.  For example.  If I were to buy all my curriculum through Sonlight this year, even with my free shipping being an heirloom member, I'd be spending just under $600.  If I were to buy it all through CBD without using the shipping code (look at tip 5), I'd be spending $570.  And if I were buying it all through Amazon, well let's just say, even with super-savings shipping on most of the products, I would be spending well over $600.  Comparing all three of those sites, I figured out where it would cost us the least.  I worked it out so I'd have free shipping from all three sites.  My grand total to homeschool four kids for the 2013-2014 school year: $513!!  That's $128.25 per child.  (Much less expensive than private school!! - Can you find the oxymoron in that phrase? ha!)

3.  If you are using Teaching Textbooks (any level) it is a very good idea to go to their web page and click on the Errata link at the bottom of the page.  It will show you all the mistakes for each level in the book, CD and answer key.  That way you can fix them or warn your student about them before they do the lesson.  That will thwart any frustration your student may have concerning getting the answer right but the CD tells him/her it's wrong, etc.  I'm telling you this from first-hand experience. :)  Plus, if you find a mistake that isn't already listed, you can register it there.  Warning: Watch out for your Teaching Textbooks curriculum's year.  Newer purchased Teaching Textbooks curriculum (2010-2013) have different corrected mistakes than 2009 and earlier.  They list 2010-2013 first though.

4.  If you are planning on raising Painted Lady Caterpillars, now is the time to think about ordering.  You can order now for a future date to be delivered.  Friends in the south can have them delivered earlier in the spring while friends in the north can order at the same time and choose to have them delivered closer to late spring.  We order through Earth's Birthday Project.  <- The link I have available gives you a great description of the caterpillar's metamorphosis. I think their prices went up slightly from last year, but it's still a fairly inexpensive science activity costing $13.95 (for just the caterpillars & food) or $16.95 (for the beginner kit).

Edited 2/18/13: I just ordered my butterflies and shipping had to be 2 Day Fed Ex.  The cost of shipping live insects to my house was $12.95.  It made my final price ($13.95+shipping) $26.90.  Sorry if this has caused any inconvenience for any of you all!!  I had forgotten about the shipping charges when I originally posted this.

5.  Now through February 28, 2013 (11:59pm ET) CBD  (Christian Book Distributor) is having a Free Shipping promotion on orders over $100.  It basically saves you about 10% of your purchase price in shipping charges.  Use promo code 376265.

Ok, that's all I've got for now.  Hope you find some of this helpful.
God Bless!

He Can Read!!

My kindergartner was having the toughest time reading.  I almost gave up thinking I'd try again next year.  Books 1-8 were a real struggle for him.  But all the sudden, it seemed to click and on this book, he read through it fairly smoothly.  I'm so proud of his accomplishment!!

For my southern friends: "Pop" is a fizzy drink, much like your coke. =)