A poem, by Fanny J. Crosby

"Oh, what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy,
That other people don't!
To weep and sigh because I'm blind,
I cannot, nor I won't."


written at age 8 or 9 by Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915)



If you think you are too unimportant, too "little," too this or that, to do something for Jesus, think again!
This lady wrote thousands of hymns in her lifetime!
So maybe you can't write hymns.  But do you know someone that isn't saved?  Have you witnessed to them?
It is kind of scary if you've never done it.  Fear of rejection is scary.  But if you start praying and reading your Bible daily, with the intent of learning and getting something from it, soon you will begin to feel excited about what you are learning, and you'll really want to share Jesus with others!
If you are reading this post, and have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and the only way to heaven, please read these verses.  If you still have questions, or just want to talk more about it, you can email me at martysahm@gmail.com.

Are you thankful for your maids?

Do you have maids?  At one time, I didn't realize I actually do have maids!
Yes, several of them, in fact.
I have a dishwasher, a clothes washer, an indoor water pump, an electric stove, and lots more!
Why, I don't have to fetch water from the creek.  I don't have to wash my dishes by hand anymore. (Thank you, Travis!)  =D  I don't have to scrub my clothes on a washboard or beat them on rocks.  I don't have to gather wood for the stove or for heat for the house.
I do have to get my maids going every day, and make sure they're well taken care of, but it sure is a time saver to have these maids.  =)
What other maids can you think of that we have?

sMiLeS,

♫♪ It is Well with my Soul

My daughters and their cousin (center).
From left to right, Bethany - almost 14; Cousin A - 15; and Rebekah - 16.

sMiLeS,

Biology, Module 12, Phylum Arthropoda

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M12 
Videos, etc, for M12

Wow, these phyla and class names just keep getting better and better!
Arthropoda?  Well.....   okay.
We've got more stuff about invertebrates in this module, but only about a specific phylum.
The organisms of Phylum Arthropoda all have:

• an exoskeleton (that they shed/molt -- until they are adults -- as the body grows and needs a larger exoskeleton)
• body segments (head, thorax, abdomen, OR, cephalothroax, abdomen)
• jointed appendages (not just the legs, but also the chelipeds - claws)  Chelipeds (peds - feet) make me think of jelly shoes, lol.  We called them jellies. 
  So... arthropoda... arthro means jointed, poda is talking about a leg or foot... Yep, that word does mean something after all!
  
• a ventral nervous system (ventral means on the belly side) For more protection, that's where God put the nerve cord, unlike our spinal cord that has a protective backbone.
• and most interesting to me, an open circulatory system

I had never heard of an open circulatory system!  No, it does not mean that their veins are open to the air, or even that you can see their veins.  It means their blood is pumped upwards within short vessels, then allowed to just wash down over all the their innards instead of being enclosed in veins.  lol, I like that word.  Innards. 
This process was carefully designed, however, by the Great Designer.  These blood vessels empty into specific body cavities, not just a free-fall to where ever.  God knows what he's doing.  (And He did not need to use evolution -- He is Super-intelligent enough to get it right the first time!)  =)

"Sparky" - covered in dirt

The first organism we studied in this chapter was a crawdad.  The text calls it a crayfish, but admits it can be a crawdad.  Someone must have lived in the south!  lol.  =D  (Thank you, proofreader!) hee hee!
What was really cool was that right after we finished this module, the girls brought some dark dirt up from the creek to put in their flowerbed, and they found a small crawdad in the dirt.  =)

Jellies -- these are not his size.

It was missing one of its jelly shoes chelipeds and one walking leg, but we had learned that when that happens, a membrane seals off the opening so the crawdad will not die from blood loss.  Also, we knew that the crawdad can regenerate it's missing appendage!  Yay!
The girls were glad because Sparky needs his legs and chelipeds.
Yes, they named it.  =D  And yes, we did return him. 


While we were trying to get pictures of Sparky in his sour cream container, he got turned over.  I told Bethany to make sure he stays upright.  Rebekah knew that because of the open circulatory system, he needed to stay upright or his blood would pool up in his dorsal side (back side -- opposite of belly -- not backside like its rear).  Gravity, ya know. 
So now Bethany will not need this to be explained when she gets to Biology.  Younger siblings' exposure to older siblings' discussions is really beneficial in homeschooling!  =)
JohnDavid already knows so much about various aspects of science that since I'll have already studied Physical Science and Biology, I'm looking forward to effortless science for the next few years.  Effortless?  Well, one can hope!  =)

We also leaned about Sparky's respiratory system, circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, and reproductive system, only we didn't know it was about Sparky at the time.  His poor kin-folk!  lol.  
There was also a dissection to be done, but I, personally, have never done a dissection.
I guess I could follow the directions, but not remembering anything about Biology except those leaves I've mentioned before, I opted to simply find pictures online, or maybe even a virtual dissection.  (Links to those are at Homeschooler's Resources).  I think when the twins do Biology, I might try it.
Maybe they won't remember Sparky.

This is what Rebekah thinks of pictures of dissections.  =D

I'm glad we had not found Sparky yet.


Next in our module:

• Class Arachnida (spiders)
• Classes Chilopoda (centipedes) and Diplopoda (millipedes)  Again with the poda - foot. 
• Class Insecta (bet you can't figure that one out!)  =)

►These all have exoskeletons, segmented bodies, jointed appendages, ventral nervous systems, and open circulatory systems.
The module went into more detail with the insects than spiders, millipedes, and centipedes.
We learned the specifications to be an insect, (I didn't qualify, although I think I did have wings once... along with my halo, hee hee!) and what kinds of wings they might have, their respiration, circulation, feeding habits, reproduction and development.
We also were to classify some insects the way we learned to in Module one.
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.  We only did the ones in the book. 

Would you have ever thought of an ant as being in the same phylum as a crawdad?

sMiLeS,

They buried my supper???

I was starting to fix supper, and realized the girls had buried part of it in the back yard! lol.
What!?!   
Yep, what I was gonna fix was potatoes!  They planted 'em.  lol.  I knew those potatoes were gettin' near the end, but was gonna peel 'em anyway.
Well, I did see the girls cutting them up earlier, but it just did not register.  My mind is like that sometimes!  So here I go, hunting for potatoes, and can't find any. I didn't realize they would all be gone!
So... buried treasure -- should yield more suppers later, yeah? =D

Things to do with potatoes:

Hashbrowns

Creamed Potatoes

Oven Potatoes

Or if you have a few extra, shoot them out of a potato gun!  =)
My younger brother, his wife, and JohnDavid.  Thanksgiving, 2009 sMiLeS,

Who Made This Mess???

And right after they look at him, Blondie and Brownie confer, and agree:
"He did it."
"Yeah."

hahaha!

My Sweet Bethany

Just turned 13, summer/fall of 2010.

sMiLeS,

My Twins

JohnDavid and Bethany, 13½ years old.

sMiLeS,

17-month-old twins...

L♥ve it! 


Oh, and my twins are 13.  Sometimes I think they still sound like this, haha!  =D   
They do get along great, though.

sMiLeS,

Biology, Module 11, The Invertebrates of Kingdom Animalia

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M11
Videos, etc, for M11

In this module, we learned about animals that have no backbone - li'l squishy fellas!  =)
Some not so squishy, and some protected by an exoskeleton to protect their squishy li'l body. 
Well... some invertebrates have a big squishy body.

Exo- like exit - gives you an idea that the exoskeleton must be on the outside.  And it is!  Insects have an exoskeleton to protect them.  That is why they crunch if you step on 'em!  (ugh!)
Other invertebrates are worms, snails, crayfish (crawdads), shrimp, and more.
In the kingdom Animalia, there are way more invertebrates than there are vertebrates.  In fact, all the phyla in kingdom Animalia except one are invertebrates!  That's quite a few!

We also learned whether these various organisms had radial symmetry, bilateral symmetry, or spherical symmetry. 

• Spherical symmetry is when an organism can be cut into two identical halves by any cut that runs through its center.  A ball has spherical symmetry.  That's easy, right?
• Radial symmetry is when an organism can be cut into two identical halves by any longitudinal cut through its center.  This might be from the top, any cut.  Like an oatmeal box can be cut from the top by any cut, front to back, right to left, or diagonal, etc., running straight down through the center.
• Bilateral symmetry is when an organism can be cut into two identical halves by a single longitudinal cut (only one option, not "any longitudinal cut" as in radial symmetry) along its center which divides it into right and left halves.

  

Phylum Porifera:  The Sponges
What?  A sponge is alive? 
Yes!  It meets the 4 criteria for life.
Though they're animals and not plants, they can't think; they have no internal organs, no blood, no eyes, or ears, but can reproduce, digest food, and protect themselves.
If you have a sponge from the ocean, it is no longer living.  It would need to stay in the ocean in its environment to be able to eat and stay alive.
♦ See more beautiful sea sponges.
The name of this phylum, Porifera, makes me think of perforate.  Something that is perforated has holes, and so do sponges.  That's how I can remember that sponges are in phylum Porifera.  =)
Sponges have no symmetry.

Phylum Cnidaria

sea anemone

Jellyfish, sea anemones, coral, hydra...
What is a hydra?  See that picture up there?  Picture a?  That is a hydra.  It has radial symmetry.  A jellyfish also has radial symmetry.  So does a sea anemone.  You know, the plant-looking thing in the ocean (that is not a plant) on Finding Nemo.
All members of this phylum have radial symmetry.  They have tentacles which catch prey by releasing nematocysts, small capsules that contain a toxin that is injected into prey or predators. 
This toxin can cause stinging or even paralysis.
The hydra's nematocysts are triggered by a pressure-sensitive device, but those of the sea anemone are not.  The sea anemone will only sting if it senses a specific chemical.  That is why it does not sting the clownfish that lives within and near it.

The nematocysts in some jellyfish are very toxic, and can even be fatal, like the box jellyfish.  

I have seen jellyfish before in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  It was so warm and we loved it, but because of the mild stings of the softball sized jellyfish, my friend and I didn't stay in long.
Some jellyfish are quite large, and look kind of scary!   




Phylum Annelida

Feather-Duster worm

Who comes up with these names anyway?  
Phylum Annelida has only one kind of worm, the segmented worm.
So right away, you may think of an earthworm.  Yes, that is the most common and familiar type of segmented worm.  Another one is the leech.  Also, among the segmented worms is a Christmas tree worm and even a feather-duster worm!
We aren't doing any dissections this year, but we did study the innards of the earthworm, and even looked at some really clear pictures online.
All these have bilateral symmetry.

Phylum Platyhelminthes:  The Planarian
A planarian is more commonly called a flatworm.  It's not exactly flat, but it isn't shaped like a cylinder like most other worms.  The most amazing thing about planarians is their ability to reproduce not only sexually, but asexually by regeneration.  They tear themselves apart on purpose in order to do this!  The two halves will then regenerate its missing half to make two complete planarians.
Other worms in this phylum are tapeworms and flukes.  All these have bilateral symmetry.

Phylum Nematoda
These are often called round worms.  They are not round like a ball, but their bodies are cylinder-shaped, but are much smaller than segmented worms.  The members of phylum Nematoda have bilateral symmetry.  These kinds of worms are found in many different environments.  Many are parasitic, and can cause diseases and permanent damage to organs.  In some cases, they are fatal.

Phylum Mollusca

Sounds like mollusks, doesn't it?  That gives you a clue about this phylum.  There are many organisms in this phylum, including mollusks, clams, snails, oysters, and squid.
They have several mutual characteristics, the most common being a shell.  We studied the snail and learned that is has one foot!  I would never have called the part of the snail that is used for movement a foot.

Who knew that invertebrates were so diverse?
God is indeed the Creator of all things.

sMiLeS,

My Favorite Block of Wood

My Dad made me this block of wood when I began homeschooling 12 years ago.
It is a very useful 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 block of wood.

This is what it can do:

For kids to copy and label.

Yes, I used a ruler.  =D

The dry erase board props up books so kids can copy & label drawings.

Isn't my Dad really smart!?!  =)

The block of wood, the clipboard, and the dry erase board all store neatly on a bookshelf.
I have a rolling bookshelf that I pull over to the table during lesson planning or during school, so it's handy to grab my block of wood at any time I need it.

In case you are interested:
►I got my dry erase board at dryerase.com.  I've had it for about 10 years, I think.  Check out the FAQ's!
►Here's how to solve that algebra problem (videos #1, 2, & 3 teach Solving by Graphing).
►The block of wood measures 8 x 5.5 inches.  It is about 1.5 inches thick.  The back of the slot is about 1.25 inches from the edge and is about 3/16 of an inch wide.  It's at a 70º angle.  (or 110º, depending on which way you look at it.) 
At the front of the slot, there is a little of the edge cut off so the top of the opening is wider, making it easier to slide in the board.

Several years before he gave me mine, my Dad had made a bunch of these blocks of wood when my Mom was teaching a computer class at the Christian school I had attended.  She used the blocks of wood and clipboards to hold a brief typing assignment the students had to do immediately upon entering class.  I think it was usually something like a verse from Proverbs and an inspirational saying.  After being typed, it had to be printed with their name on it and placed in their folder.  No goofing off; just straight to their assignment.  If all assignments (not just the initial typing one) for the week were in their folders and accounted for, on Friday there was some free time for games.
My Mom is smart, too!  =)

sMiLeS,

Homeschooler's Resources on facebook

You can now follow Homeschooler's Resources on facebook.
Each time I post to Homeschooler's Resources, I'll also post the link on facebook.

sMiLeS,

Gymnopédie No. 1

JohnDavid is learning to play this song.  =)  It is on our keyboard, and the beginning sounds like the theme from the movie Up.  He heard it and started learning to play it.  His piano teacher found out, and since we have the music book that came with our keyboard, she has assigned it to him.  He is doing a pretty awesome job!  I'll have to sneak and video him after he learns the rest of it.  =D

Gymnopédie No. 1, the first of the three Gymnopédies compositions written in 1888 by French
composer and pianist, Erik Satie (1866-1925).


sMiLeS,

Happy Pi Day!

Pi day is March 14.
3.14
Pi  

Would you share some Pi with me?  =)

Pi (3.14) is used to find the circumference or area of a circle.
Pie is round, like a circle, but Pi are square.  πr² 
To find the area of a circle, use πr² (3.14 x radius x radius).
To find the circumference of a circle, use πd (3.14 x diameter).

The original recipe for Pi is 22/7, and no one has ever found the last digit of pi.  So it is an irrational number.
But an extremely smart person might be alleged to have discovered the last digit of Pi!  =)

Here is just a small slice of Pi.
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781...

But that's not the whole Pi!
To see more Pi, like the first 100,000 digits, click here.
Here's the history of making Pi.

Playing with Pi -- what it sounds like:

►Explanation by Lars Erickson who composed and performed the Pi Symphony in 1992.
How Lars Erickson perfected his Pi in calculus class.

Don't worry, there is plenty of yummy Pi to go around.
No one has ever gotten the last slice yet.  =D

sMiLeS,

My daughter's Biology book...

Hee hee!  This is what I found in Rebekah's Biology book.
I guess we can safely say she will not be taking Advanced Biology or Marine Biology...

Oh, and I have no more Post-it Notes left, either.

sMiLeS,

Biology, Module 10, Ecology

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M10
Videos, etc, for M10 

Ecology is "the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings."   Plants (producers) supply food for animals (consumers).  There are primary consumers that only eat plants, secondary consumers that eat the animals that eat plants, and tertiary consumers that eat animals that eat other animals.
You may remember that all food chains begin with a green plant.
Well, there are also food webs.  A food web, when drawn on a diagram, looks just like that -- a web.  Some animals can be more than one type of consumer.  A hawk is a tertiary consumer because it will eat a snake that eats mice.  But a hawk is also a secondary consumer because it will also eat mice.

We had planned to do a food web in class (I was gonna copy Michelle), and everyone was bringing stuffed animals that belonged to their younger siblings.  But due to illness (mine), we were unable to meet, and I had the kids do their own food webs at home and send me pictures.

I thought this was a clever use of a little sister's toys!

Animals and plants in a certain environment make up an ecosystem.  An ecosystem is categorized by climate, animals, and plant life.

We learned about different kinds of symmetry, and I had also planned to copy Michelle in this fun experiment, We Are Not Created Equal, but we didn't get to have our class.  (I rely on her posts, can you tell???)  =)
I guess I could always use photos I already have and bisect my student's faces, lol.  =D

sMiLeS,