happy 5th birthday, Sadie!

Sadie in Space, by JohnDavid, Nov. 11, 2008 (age 11)

NASA wanted to bring moon rocks down to earth, so scientists could study further about the moon and the substance on it.

The astronauts took Sadie in space to carry space rocks back and forth to the ship. They could not get their rocks from her because she would not release her jaws! When she was going back to one of the men gathering space rocks, she lost her way on the moon.

Space aliens captured Sadie and put her in a space prison. Sadie escaped from the space prison by digging a hole and escaping from underneath the cage. She needed to get back to the spaceship before her oxygen supply ran down.

The giant aliens were going to test out a new golf course. There was one hole at every planet. The aliens mistook Sadie for a golf ball and they hit her towards earth. When she entered the atmosphere, she was going 900 mph. She had magnetic boots to stick to the inside of the spaceship so she would not float around. She flew by an airplane and stuck to the tail. Then when the plane landed, the pilot recognized her and shipped her to NASA and NASA shipped her to us.

After we got her back, she was never the same again. Every time she chased a car, she stuck to the side because the boots had magnetized her feet! It took the whole family to pull her off.

Love this story!
More about Sadie

Colonial Life in North Carolina, est. 1653

Rebekah's assignment was to imagine she lived in the 1750's and was employed to write a brochure for a colony...

One of the four southern states, North Carolina is one of the beautiful original 13 colonies.

Geography
Beautiful waterfalls are located in southern North Carolina. Along with many rivers, the Roanoke River in North Eastern Carolina, the Albemarle Sound, The Neuse, and Tar Rivers drain in central North Carolina. In the Mountains the Appalachians are blanketed with snow in the winter. The climate is never too cold or hot. (World Book N-O)

Economy
The economy was similar to that of the Chesapeake Colonies. (World Book N-O) The production of tobacco and slave labor was on what the economy’s growth and prosperity was based. (Wikipedia) Also North Carolinians farmed on small, individual farms. They grew tobacco as well as cotton and wheat. (World Book N-O)

Politics
North Carolina was under the direct Royal Rule from 1729-1776. (SOS) They had a Bicameral Legislature, a legislature with two chambers. The French and Indian War was one of the wars to which North Carolina contributed money to help the troops in 1754-1763. (World Book N-O)

Society
In 1775, the population of this colony grew from 36,000 in the early 1700s, to 350,000. Settlements had spread from the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the Piedmont and the Mountain Regions. (World Book N-O) The Cherokee Indians were part of the people living in North Carolina in the 1700s. Of the 300,000 Cherokees at that time, there were over 12,000 in North Carolina. (Wikipedia) Farming was one of the main sources of income of people in North Carolina. (World Book N-O)

“Colonization in America.” World Book. 2001 ed.

“North Carolina.” World Book. 2001 ed.

Alexander, Dianne K. ”Middle and Southern Colonies.” Switched-On Schoolhouse. Chandler, AZ: Alpha Omega Publications, 2001.

Alexander, Dianne K. ”Colonial Governments.” Switched-On Schoolhouse. Chandler, AZ: Alpha Omega Publications, 2001.

“North Carolina History.” Wikipedia. 26 Dec. 2002. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 Oct. 2008. 

by Rebekah, age 13 

celery experiment, written by JohnDavid, age 11

We filled a glass ¼ full of water, and put in 10 drops of blue food coloring. Then we stuck in a stalk of celery. After 15 minutes, we looked at the bottom of the stem and saw blue dots on the bottom. After 30 minutes, it was still the same.
The next day, the leaves were bluish. When we broke the celery in half, it was blue on the strings. The xylem was transporting the water that had the food coloring up to the leaves. And when the leaves made food, it would transport it down the phloem where it be stored in the cortex so when the plant needs it, it would have food. The leaves were stained around all the edges.
This proves that xylem, phloem, and the leaves play a very important part in helping the plant grow.

by: JohnDavid, typed by Mom

Africa by Bethany, age 11

Root Observation by JohnDavid, age 11

In this experiment, the kids put a paper towel in a baggie, and put water up to the bottom line. We put several staples along the second line and the corn seeds on the staples so they would not actually be in the water. The paper towel wicked the water up to the seeds. We taped the baggie in the kitchen window where there's lots of sun. This picture is actually after 2 weeks. But after several days, when the roots grew to about 4 cm, we were to observe them with a microscope. We did the best we could with a sort-of microscope thingy. Then the kids were to report on what they saw. Well, we could see the root hairs only a little. With a microscope, they would have seen that the root hairs are hollow. They drew and wrote about what they had learned about roots. Here's JohnDavid's page.Ha, ha! Some red shows thru from the other side of the page. :o)They had to learn all the parts of the root and what they did.
Click on the picture to make it big enough to read.

South America by JohnDavid, age 11

Civil War Re-enactment

Today my husband and kids and cousin Alex went to the Civil War re-enactment near Ararat, Virginia. (2nd time going there) His brother's family went, too, as well as some friends from their church.

They got there just in time to see the Civil War! The kids said the cannons were really loud. A man was supposed to be dead, and his horse started to walk off, so he sat up and grabbed the reins! Then the people in the 'audience' started talking to him. ha ha.

The girls learned (again) how to tat lace. The lady made a lot of different designs, even hearts. There was a blacksmith; women making homemade ice cream and popcorn; some men making leather pouches, holsters, and other things; a woman was making hairnets, and a woman was putting beads on hatpins. A few women were quilting. There were people making apple pies, too.

There were tents that were 'stores'. A friend bought Abigail an old-fashioned dress, and she got an off-white shawl to go with it. Also to purchase were guns, swords, shoes, bonnets, dresses, bloomers, men's confederate and Yankee hats, women's hats and hatpins, hairnets, and fans.A lot of the things that were being sold were actually being made there in the tents.

Lol, there was a first-aid tent right next to the graveyard. (If we can't help you, go right on in!)

They had a really great time, and it was nice weather. 75 degrees. :o) They took a picnic lunch and had a great time with their cousins.

Seed Experiment by Bethany, age 11

In four clear, small jars, I put a wet and a dry seed in the dark, and a wet and a dry seed in the sunlight for two weeks. The seed that was wet in the dark tried to split open, but failed and got all gooey. Both of the dry seeds just dried out, but the wet one in the light grew a bean plant. The wet one started to split the second day, and grew roots the 5th.

I did not pay attention to the plant for a while, but by the 11th day it was 4 or 5 inches tall. The leaf on the bean plant was darker on the top than the bottom because chlorophyll is at the top and the sunlight made it turn more green. The top layer contains the chloroplasts, which has the chlorophyll.

God's leaf factory is created this way so plants can grow and live. Here is our plant.

Written by Bethany

Parts of a Leaf, by JohnDavid, age 11