Noah's Ark

J3 loves the story of Noah's Ark. Who doesn't? It's got loads of animals, plenty of water, a huge boat, and the promise of God in the form of a rainbow. I had been searching for some graphics and pages to do a Noah lapbook with him, but hadn't found anything until Carisa over at 1+1+1=1 posted about her tot book on Noah. Thanks Carisa!!

Two of our favorite versions of the story- one is the Usborne book of Bible Stories (which comes with a CD) and the other is the picture book by Lucy Cousins which bugs me because it leaves out the rainbow. What?! How can you tell the story of Noah without including the rainbow?? I don't. I add it in. But a rainbow at the end would add to the experience visually. Lucy...what were you thinking there?

J3 colors his arks- there's a little book inside with different colored arks.

He helped me glue together his little Bible verse which says, "Noah did everything God commanded him to do." What's nice is the big book version has the very line in it.

His finished book-here's where I found the elements.

I think the only thing we have left to do is to decorate the cover and I think we'll go with some rainbows.

It's Official. Really! Congratulations Dan!!

Some of you know about my husband Dan. A wonderful guy...chosen just for me and the father of four awesome kids. A loyal blog reader and fan. The love of my life!

Warning: unabashed bragging ahead!! Dan is a chemical engineer.and he works in the field of semi-conductor processing. You know...he processes computer chips and other small devices using specific tools and technologies to do so. Before we moved here, he worked at Lockheed Martin making radiation hardened computer chips that go into satellites and space probes. For example, chips he helped to make are in the Saturn Cassini probe which arrived at Saturn within the last year and half or so.

In his current job, he helps with lab management and safety in a Nanoscale Facility. He maintains tools and trains students to use the equipment that makes these small devices. He gets to work with a lot of graduate students and faculty. The best part is that he can pursue his own interests and work on projects of all kinds. The lab also does a fair amount of outreach seeing as they have a grant from the National Science Foundation. Part of their charter requires educational outreach. That's how we've been able to hook in to LEGO FIRST and he is teaching a class at our local homeschool co-op this fall.

He's just excellent at what he does and we are very proud of him at our house. The two oldest boys currently want to follow in their father's footsteps and be engineers. We recently talked about generational things from the book Arabella. It might interest our readers to know that Dan is from a long line of engineers...his father and his father's father are/were both engineers. His sister is an engineer as well- she's a practicing attorney now but we won't let her renounce the engineering degree- at our house anyway! Who knows...maybe we'll have some more engineers in the family. I dare say I hear little engineering minds at work often.

The reason for all this bragging on Dan is that he has recently accomplished something grand and it has been duly noted that my blog has not yet reflected this achievement. My apologies Dan... I didn't want to announce it in blogland until all the details were tidied up. I have it on good authority that we in the clear zone. So...without further ado:

Congratulations to Dan on the successful defense of his masters thesis!!!

This is just to show you that the finished product is actually a bound book.

Title page: His thesis is titled Process Development to Create a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Microcoil- I bet you guys want your own copy!!

I made the dedication page...one of the primary reasons we moved so far from home was so he could go to school.

Table of Contents- Just in case you want to find out more...

You did it honey! 8 years and three more children later...you met your goal! We are proud of you!! Now you can relax and dabble and who knows...PhD might just go with your name some day too. Love you!

Ocean Study

For the past few weeks we've been doing a study on oceans using a unit study by Amanda Bennett. We've combined it with two FIAR titles- Night of the Moonjellies and Arabella. We are still working on this study, but here is what we've done so far.

E9's notebook cover

R8's notebook cover- she likes to layer

I-6's cover must involve Batman in some way

For Night of the Moonjellies we made menus to our favorite hotdog stand Mar-Gra's and we reviewed hot and cool colors with a collage.

Each day we discover something about a new sea animal

For NOTMJ we reviwed New England States. We talked about things we'd find in the ocean. Here I-6 dictated a few things to me.

The older kids have to define some words related to the ocean and draw pictures. For the ocean study, there is a quote for everyone to copy each day- makes for great handwriting practice.

The older kids took a quiz on the oceans of the world

R8's drawing of Mar-Gra's on the beach

R8's menu and the inside of the state book- her book tabs match the color of the state map...clever

In both NOTMJ and Arabella the characters have a treasure. I asked the kids to each collect some treasures to share about. I-6 gathered up his best super hero gear!

R8 chose her beloved hippo, a flower book to represent her art, and one of her favorite books to represent reading. She decided representation was best because she couldn't possibly fit all her favorites into one bag.

Our FIAR theme meal from last week- lobster rolls and oven fries from the FIAR cookbook. I modify the recipe- no paprika for us! It's Old Bay all the way!!

The finished product- I'm thinkin' a real, live Maine lobster roll would taste waaayyy better than this one! It did remind me we need a trip to the Maine coast to get some yummo fresh lobster and butter sauce.

This week the kids have been studying Arabella. They've had a great time hearing this sailing story and we'll have a few more things to share with you.

Right now they have all chosen and island to research in secret and will report on them this evening at dinner. We may have to extend the deadline by one day since I think many salt dough maps of islands want to be made. I'm not sure how much longer these island studies will remain secret. I'll update with the remainder of our ocean study next week.

All Around Town

This game was a gift from the grandparents to J3. What a hit and so easy to play!

You have to pick cards and do what they say and try to get to stores.

Once you get to stores, you pick up a card from that category and see what you've bought. Then you put the card on its matching store. When you finished all your errands, you win the game!

There are a few twists and turns in the game like having to give some things away, but in the end it all turns out.

What a great game to go along with My Big Green Pocketbook- a Before FIAR book.

The Smile Award

Thanks again go out to Sheri at Shades of Pink and Hollie for nominating me for The Smile Award.


The rules of this one are a tad more in depth so I am copying them directly:

Here are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator (it's right on the award)
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must choose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award (see below.)
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human).
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

Now for the five blogs I will pass this one on to:

Jen at Little Things,
Ami at Walking by the Way
Candace at His Mercy is New
Shannon at Song of my Heart
Alana at Mommy Logic

My Blog Feels So Loved!

Sheri, Jen, and Lynn have nominated me for the I Love Your Blog Award. I accept girls...I accept!! I just love blog awards! Thanks for thinking of me.

The rules to this one are pretty simple: 1.)Link back to the person who gave you the award, 2.) Include the award on your blog 3.) Pass it on to 7 worthy bloggers (with links to their blogs on yours) 4.) notify those you nominated

In turn I will bestow this award upon seven more bloggers (quickly while my cable modem is still up- the whole street is having issues apparently and they are ON it):

Deleise at Deleise Overcome- love her funny stories and her fun attitude. Check out her new homeschooling blog as well. This one is gonna be a great read!

Barb at Handbook of Nature Study- has a wonderful blog dedicated to using The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.

Candace at His Mercy is New- I love Candance's schooling posts. She puts together the best studies for her kids.

Amanda at Hearts and Trees- this is Barb's daughter I believe and she has some awesome art and nature craft ideas on her blog. You simply have to check out her watercolor tutorial series. It is on fire!

Carisa at 1+1+1=1- this is homeschooling mom who really knows how to make a lapbook! Check out her fun tot school category and enjoy the lapbooking documents she shares.

Holly at This is Us- Holly does some really fun stuff with her kids. I can't wait until she is back in the game with her school because she has some really creative things to share.

Kathy at Art Projects for Kids- I love to check in here and see the fun projects she has lined up. We've tried a bunch too. Go there and see!!

It's About Time

For some time now, I've been thinking about using a timer to keep things going during the day. I tried once before but it largely failed because a) I kept losing the timer or it was taken and moved without my knowledge b) it would go off when I wasn't in the room and then I wouldn't hear it or could easily ignore it c) it could only time one event at a time.

I know what you're thinking...it can't be possible that this smooth running ship would need any kind of prompting to stay on course. But I can assure you that with four children all doing various things, laundry to switch, clothes to rescue from the dryer (because heaven FORBID I should ever iron!!), a 3yo to get to potty on time (because thus far, more often than not, he lacks initiative), dinner to start on time, and a daughter who likes to race the clock for her math (or it's just not worth it) a timer would be a bit helpful.

Dan found just the perfect one for me. I need a wider lanyard though because this one digs in a bit because it is thin. My other one doesn't have the right kind of hook to attach to the timer. It would have been fun with just a touch of irony. It's a lanyard with the elementary school down the street's name on it- from my former days of being on the PTO. Dan remarked no...that's not just a little ironic. It's VERY ironic! I'll be on the look out for the perfect lanyard. In the meantime, the MOPS lanyard it is...

Check it- four timers which can count up or down..this thing totally ROCKS and no complicated directions. It's intuitive.

So, what have I done with my timer?

• keep accurate control of media time (playstation, computer- including my own!

• alarmed when it was time to get those fries soaking (dinner prep)
• reminded myself it's time to take J3 to the potty
• set a timer for R8 to complete her math
• alarmed the time to check on my laundry
• set a quiet time for the kids when they needed it the other day

I am so on this! I hope the battery doesn't wig out on me!!

Six Quirky Things Meme

Sheri at Shades of Pink tagged me for a little meme. Here are the rules. First, link back to the person who tagged you (done). List the rules in your post and tell about your six quirks. Then tag six more people (this could be tough...).

So here goes:

1. I sleep with two rice socks. Two- heated up in the microwave every night for 2 min 45 sec and 2 min 10 sec or slightly less depending on the season. One goes on my back and one near my feet to keep them warm. Sometimes I vary it but mostly not.
2. I sleep with one or two small extra blankets on my half of the bed. I drop one or both in the summer sometimes, but nearly always I have a fleece throw up near my head. (both of these last quirks make Dan crazy, btw!)
3. I shave my legs every day. Even in the winter. All the time. Where ever we go. It's a must. (I don't wear make up but smooth legs are a priority!)
4. I begin my day by starting the decluttering thread on the FIAR boards. Seriously. My feet hit the floor thinking of a challenge for the day!
5. I mangle toothpaste tubes and butter sticks/tubs. Always. Forever. It can't be helped. No matter what Dan says. Yes, we have separate tooth paste tubes but only because we use a different kind of paste. I miss the days when he kept my tube nice and neat!!
6. I wear a watch every day. No amount of cell phones, PDAs or van clocks can take the place of my trusty elastic wristband watch. None. And it must be analog. Digital is for scaredy cats.

Ok now for the tags. Deleise at Deleise Overcome, Ivy at Hedging My Bets, Candace at His Mercy is New, Jen at Little Things, Melinda at Eager Eyes of Blue, and Shannon at Song of my Heart...YOU'RE IT!!

Aahhh Much Better

I'm happy to report that the new Scrabble game arrived today. Box intact. Box not bent. Box is beautiful. Box was so worth the wait. Box got me $11.50 off of my subsequent order from RR- (snagged that number chart and another forgotten item for less than the amount of the other number board).

Isn't the box amazing? I love my new box.

Check it out. Listen...I'm still waiting to do a word in the upper left hand corner and I have a K to after that C. Shhh...that is so gonna be a QUADRUPLE word score.

Hey this game is fun. When little kids bump the table- and they will- the letters stay in place. I always thought the deluxe turntable version was on a lazy susan. No indeed...what we have here is a large plastic board with ball bearings on the bottom- lots of them. So, look out if you have a nice table.

Puppetry

So, I've been working on some puppets. Here we have...


...a frog

...a super cool tie dye hippo

...an owl and a hare (don't mistake that for the former "bunny")

...another tie dye creation- a cow of course!

...a pig and the base of a mouse

...imagine what I'll make with this piece of felt!

Once again the book that began it all

On deck we have a fox, which is curiously missing...

We've got tons of patterns and for Advent I plan on putting together the Nativity characters. I'll let you know when the first puppet production is ready.

Thank you Rainbow Resource!

So, the game below arrived with a dented box. Ever had a stack of games get too heavy and the bottom box just warps. That is how our Super Deluxe Scrabble arrived. This is a game that retails over $50. Rainbow Resource sells it for $42.50. It came pre-dented because they put all those heavy books on top and sent it on its way.

I called them to express my disappointment because well...I like to dent my own game boxes thank you very much. Plus, this wasn't the first time it had happened. A couple of years ago I ordered a bunch for Christmas and the Blokus box came dented the same way for the same reason.

Today they immediately offered to send a call tag for my game and send a new one on its way. I told her I'd think on it. After all, we'd waited all summer to make this order. I wasn't too keen on waiting longer especially when this was their error.

Later in the afternoon I called back. When I told the same story and seem unsatisfied with the option they gave me, the service rep wanted to know what I wanted. I told her I wanted credit on my account or something to make the dent less painful. She put me on hold while searching out a supervisor who could approve such things. When she came back on she told me the service rep who had helped me the first time had some information for me and would call me back.

She did so a few minutes later and proceeded to tell me that they were prepared to send me a new game at a discounted price of 25% off. They are still sending out the call tag and I still have to wait, but the game will now cost me $31.00 and I get one free of dents. Well that is the plan anyway. Also, the packaging department will be receiving the message that games really don't go on the bottom- even if they are the biggest box.

Thanks for doing the right thing Rainbow Resource! I will remain a loyal customer.

The Day Finally Arrived!

I thought it might never get here...our Rainbow Resource order that is. We had some setbacks, but finally ordered up the rest of our things for this coming school year. You know. The one we started this past Monday... FYI- I totally reserve the right to find something else absolutely fabulous as we progress, but the bulk of it arrived today.

This is a very exciting day in the world of homeschooling. It's like "back to school" shopping- only WAY better. When the UPS guy pulled in, the kids shouted, ran to get scissors, and told me to get my camera. Now whatever would I need that for? Observe the excitement:

E9 insists on opening the box himself.

It's not bubble paper, but everyone knows these make a huge, satisfying sound when popped!

Then of course, there is the box itself- very entertaining!

Even for the bigger kids...

Math stuff- Horizons Math for three kids, a math game book, and a 100s board book for which I do not have a 100s board. Long story involving a better one from somewhere else that in the end (after this order was made) was too much even for me to get. So, I guess I'm making my own or something...

More Cuisenaire rods and the primary and intermediate idea books for them.

Super DELUXE Scrabble in a crushed box. Would you believe that they put this game box underneath our dense stack of books. Geniuses. I'm working on compensation for this...
Plus, there's our foreign language experience for the year- Latin.

Exciting stuff here for our Explorers and Native American units. The Jim Weisse story telling CDs are a new favorite for the kids. These two are about Sir Francis Drake and The early stargazers. Fun stuff.

Maps and more maps and US Geography fun. Stay tuned for our Trail Guide notebooks for the year- part of E9's independent study for the year.

There are just a few items we are waiting on now... a model of the eye from Timberdoodle, our set of Narnia CDs from Focus on the Family, a super duper 3 way timer that I can wear on a lanyard so I can keep track of more than one thing at a time while trying to potty train (for good) our youngest, and finally we are now awaiting our first Cobblestone magazine.

Whew.

Getting Ready

So before the squirrel came to live with us- well made herself known I should say- I had begun some nitty gritty preparations for the new school year (which incidentally started yesterday). One of the items on my list was to clean off our school table. I'd been putting it off...

This is pretty bad, yes? Paper stuck to the table, marker everywhere, glue bumps out. of. control.

I began with water and took my nylon scraper and just hit it hard! I had a paper towel in hand to wipe off the glue residue. Piles of carelessly place gluestick glue ALL OVER! I had a great workout by the end. Who needs weight training? Clean a glue-y table. You'll be carefully sculpted. I have no doubt.

Everyone had a hand in the sponge work including J3. Scary water you say? Yes, it was.

Very scary

Aaahhh the finished product! By the way, this table is an old kitchen table that we've been hanging onto since we got married and it was handed down to us. Instead of spending money on an adjustable leg school table, Dan split and worked a four by four into three sets of legs. The shortest set are on now. We have two more sets we can put on as the kids grow taller. Note: it was two of these extra legs we armed ourselves with to beat the squirrel to death in our hallway. After using them through the rabbit wire to push the nest out of the chimney, they could use another sanding. I'm just sayin'.

And there you have it. The cleanest table around all set for meaningful conversations and brilliant homeschool moments.