Sept. 4, 2012

Happy Labor Day--- we canned:

Here is Dd back at her lessons; doing AAS (All About Spelling).  I thought I would put in some new pix of her doing that, since I haven't in a while:

Okay, so this pix has nothing to do with our lessons.  You should see these 2 love birds in action.  I never have a camera when they are sickly lovey; but this is proof that they do adore each other!!  They literally snuggle together day and night...to the dismay of our other cat (that is left high & dry!!)  Sophie did have the whole blanket as hers to lay on...until Smedley came along and somehow he managed to get most of the blanket??!!  How?  Smedley is the boy cat, btw.

We reviewed this past lesson on the 1-1-1 Rule and then started a new lesson.  This one lesson is a tough one to remember, so we have reviewed it almost once a month for the past 3 months.  Here's hoping it will stick soon!

Now, we have put the 1-1-1 Rule aside, and are doing our lesson.

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Sept.1st, 2012 Caterpillars & Garden Highlights

Sept.1st, 2012 Caterpillars & Garden Highlights

I brought in new fennel folliage for the caterpillars today; and also found 2 large and 1 tiny caterpillar on the new folliage.  I did a rough count; and it looks like we have at least 13 caterpillars now (maybe more!).

It is hard to believe how TINY they are when you first see them; and how fast they get HUGE!  You can see why I have such troubles counting how many we have! Can you see the tiny black dot on the green needle shaped/dill shaped plant?  The black with the white little stripe?  That is the baby caterpillar!

I counted 6 caterpillars when I took this photo--they are so camouflaged that it is hard to see them now.

From the tiny speck to this huge guy in such a short amount of time!

Dh brought in a new batch of produce from the garden on Sat. and I took pix of what he brought in--yes, that is a cantelope!  We should have about 4 more to come!  I'm glad we compost b/c we get new produce from the seeds we throw away!

Zucchini, pumpkin, and cantaloupe

Lots of various red tomatoes

We are going to can some green tomatoes (for winter fried green tomatoes) and Dh wants to make a green tomato dill thing--sort of like bread & butter pickles; but with green tomatoes.

Green peppers, peppers, and green tomatoes

And Dd got to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY in the rain!

Dd got on her bathing suit and played in the back yard.  She found all the puddles and had a great time! 

Aug. 27-31st, 2012 -Week 4- Lessons for Core E

August 27-31st, 2012

We finished up the IG for week 4.  It is hard to believe we have already finished 2 books; almost 3!  We worked at "The Giving Tree" again this week.  It is the food pantry that our church owns.  I am so glad we are working there and volunteering our time and effort towards good things.  I'm really glad that Dd is excited to go and work!  I hope her attitude stays this positive.  Dd has been practicing her basketball skills.  She has been baking cakes, cookies and making lots of ice cream from scratch.  She is getting carried away!!  We had a nice tea party with some friends and brought cookies to contribute.

Let's see - for our lessons:
Bible:
John, Matthew, and John
Starting Strong

Math:
Skip-Counting 7 & 8 families
TT Lessons 2-6
TimezAttack

Science:
SL Week 28 and Week 29
worksheets 142-147
Plus, gardening & watching our caterpillars grow!

AAS 3:
Step 22-lesson & test-passed
Step 23-lesson & test-passed
Reviewed Lesson 13 again the 1-1-1 rule

FLL 4:
We started level 4!!
Lessons 1-3

History:
The Story of the USA-Book 2
Landmark (3 chapters)
Sounding Forth the Trumpet
Wee Sing America

RA:

Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Moccasin Trail--we have only 1 chapter left (maybe 2)-- We are really enjoying this book!  I really don't want it to end!  We could have finished it; but I kind of don't want to!  I know, I know!  I will finish it soon...but, I will miss visiting with Jim Keath!  I really like his character.  He left his white parents.  He was attacked by a grizzly bear, and was found 1/2 alive from some Crow Indians.  They nursed him back to life and finished raising him for around 6-9 years.  He left his Indian parents - again running away from things.  He eventually realizes he doesn't fit in the white world or the Indian world.  He is walking on the line between both and an outsider to both cultures.  Who among us doesn't sometimes feel the same way?  He decides to pick one over the other and try to make compromises to fit in. 

Dd is still reading Freedom Train--about Harriet Tubman. 

The other books she is reading right now:

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) by Jeff Kinney

  *book*

The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 3) by Jeff Kinney

 

 

Aug 29, 2012 Green Things!

Highlights from this weeks green things-- our caterpillars are growing nicely, our 5 new garden sections are doing well--most of the seeds have sprouted, and produce is coming in each and every day! 

New fall lettuce---I've been missing our salads!

The huge masses of green are all the tomato plants!!  No red b/c we pick them!

This WAS where a 'box' was, but now it is planted with turnips and kohlrabi for this fall.

Just an update on how well the strawberries are doing!  They are sending out runners like crazy!!!

On the left is a pie pumpkin; and on the right is the biggest tomatoe we've grown this year!  It is absolutely HUGE!

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First Language Lessons & Writing With Ease

 First Language Lessons & Writing With Ease
 by Jessie Wise

My good friend, Chelle (am I allowed to use your name?  tell me to change it and I will!) asked me to put this up on the blog (weeks ago); and if you know me I do try to do what I am told!!  I was telling our friend from Australia about our Language Arts programs (LA). I like abbreviations so I use WWE for Writing With Ease and FLL for First Language Lessons to save typing.  This is a little review of the Language Arts program we have been using for years....and I love it!  In college, my professors use to get so exasperated with me and my pitiful grammar!   I am hoping by the time Dd gets through 12th grade, my sentences will improve too!  This program has opened the door of grammar for me; and I had built up quite a high wall!

WWE (writing with ease) is just a writing program.  Each week you get a short story that you have to do Narration on Day 1, Dictation on Day 2, read another short snippet of a story and have Narration/Dictation on Day 3, and Dictation on Day 4...the end.  There is NO grammar, no diagramming, nothing but short stories that the student breaks down in his own words into a narration, and/or you dictate to him.  My Dd use to like this program; b/c they use many of the books we've already read for the snippets that we use to narrate--like Pinocchio, Little House on the Prairie, or Mrs. Piggle Wiggle...As I've mentioned, we do things usually in "chunks" b/c sometimes my Dd is open to certain things and other times she isn't.  Right now she is really open to FLL (first language lessons) so we have been doing at least a lesson a day--sometimes more.

FLL
I should say upfront that I have used no other grammar programs than WWE and FLL, so I have nothing to compare them to.  I should also say that writing and grammar are my weakest subjects and I wanted something totally Tracy-proof!  In both programs they spell out what the instructors says and type in examples of correct student answers.  We started with the First Language Lessons book that is Level 1 and 2 combined:  Level 1 & 2 has NO diagramming.  It is only when you move into the upper levels that there is diagramming.



First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind (Vol. Levels 1 & 2) (First Language Lessons) by Jessie Wise



and this audio that really is great--we use this audio still!

This is a cd that puts grammar terms to music!  It is great!

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Audio Companion for Levels 1 & 2 (Second Edition) by Jessie Wise, Mark Russo and Mike Smith

The Level 1 & 2 book and disc just go over the basics--nouns, verbs, adj., adv., prepositions.....and the disc puts all that information to very memorable music--yes, I have all these grammar songs memorized and I can sing them all of the top of my head and more importantly so can my Dd.  I highly recommend this program if you aren't already past the basic's.

Now for what you don't want to hear--FLL after Level 1 & 2 goes into diagramming. I have no idea why we were taught diagramming, and I have no idea why I am teaching my Dd diagramming!!!  Really!!!!!  But, it is helping her to break down each sentence to find the verb, find the subject, find the direct object......etc.  The most fun my Dd is having right now, is with these huge sentences that are 90 % prepositional phrases and you go through and cross-out the prepositional phrases and are left with a tiny, short sentence!!  She gets a big kick out of that!  Don't ask me why!

I don't know if it is what you are looking for or not.  It really does have a lot of diagramming - but, she does do a great job giving fun things for "optional activities" to get to see what things are--like taking a stuffed animal and putting it all around a chair to learn prepositions...etc. those are fun to do when we do them.  I just rec'd my next level last week.  We will be starting Level 4 soon.  I am a bit of a Raymond Moore (better late than Early) girl so we are in lower levels in most areas.  But, Dd didn't score below her grade level in any of our testing--which I figured she would have--??  The program seems really good to me b/c for the FIRST time in my life I am understanding grammar! and that is extraordinary!

Let me know if you want/need any more detailed information on either of the programs.  If you go to christianbook.com and type in First Language Lessons  you can see inside the books to SEE inside and get an idea of the materials.  I just tested it out and they do show a bit.

*I should also mention (and forgot to on my first try posting) that for the levels after 1 & 2, you buy a "Student Workbook" and an "Instructors Guide" book.  So, each day we both open our individual books to the lesson we are working on and I read and she does what I tell her to do...as it is scripted.  The Instructors Guide's are not written in (or at least I don't see why you would); but each child would need their own "Student Workbook"--so for you, you would need 2 of the student workbooks.

Each level goes into more and more detail and gets more technically elevated about comprehending the terms.


Here is the set I just got from Rainbow Resources--but since Rainbow has high shipping charges to Aussie, you can get these books anywhere--amazon, CHristianbook....



First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 4 Student Workbook
Jessie Wise





First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Level 4--Teacher's Edition
Jessie Wise

Caterpillars, Cake, and garden highlights from 8-27-2012

As we brought in some fennel that looked like it was flowering, we noticed we had some Black Swallowtail caterpillars!  At first I only saw one, then found more as we went along.  We still haven't cooked up the fennel; but have eaten some fresh.  The fennel is new to us and we are not quite sure about all the details of it yet.  When we grew dill a few years ago we attracted a lot of Black Swallowtails, and their young but we've had a dry spell for 2 years now.  We brought out our fish tank for such an occassion as this!  We are elated to watch these caterpillars grow, molt, turn into their chrysalis's and eventually morph into beautiful butterflies.  Yay!  I LOVE NATURE!  Isn't the Lord so great to do all this?!  It so amazes me the deeper I look and learn.

Any who--here are our pix from the past few days.  Dd wanted me to take pictures of her making ice cream last night (from scratch); but I thought this chocolate cake would be enough of her making sugary desserts for one post.  She loves to cook & bake & make things--and hey, if you can eat it too; well then that is a bonus!

Pappa did help her with the icing; but she says she helped with it.  He is really a pro at icing!

These gords are all volunteers from last year!

One turnip on the left- a volunteer found in the blackberry section-from last year

We have tons more tomatoes; here are just a few.  They aren't turning red as fast as 2 weeks ago because it isn't as hot; but they are still producing very nicely.  Our 4 new areas that we planted are doing great!  We have lettuce up and growing-- I'll try to get pix of that soon.  Yesterday it was raining, so I couldn't get outside pix!  It rained!! YAY!

2 Pumpkins-volunteers too!  We have quite a few out there growing right now.  They are all small - I think they are "pie pumkins".  We throw our compost into a section of the garden and then we get surprises!  We have 4 cantalopes getting big right now from our spring compost pile!  I hope they turn out good--we've never grown them before!  The green above - with the small pumkins is the fennel plant that the Black Swallowtails like to eat.  Doesn't the fennel plant look like it's cousin the dill?!

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One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

I did finish a great book on our trip called " A Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp:

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp


It took me months to read this book.  But, it was one of those books where you could only read a little bit at a time.  I recommend this book to all of us ladies who might need a little cheering up.  The author finds some happiness by counting all her blessings each day.  She makes a point to recognize all the small and large, significant and 'insignificant' things that God puts in our path each day.  Little things like a flower blooming, a Harvest moon, a beautiful bird, our children's laughter, the smell of fresh bread, the berries on the vine....anything and everything - if only we SAW it and recognized it for what it actually is, a gift, from Him.  Anyway-- I finally finished this good book and can return it to the poor woman who lent it to me!  I've had to email her to make sure it was okay that I was taking so long 3 times!  She has another copy, so she was fine with me going my own pace...luckily!