More Educational Links

• Vital Core - making sure your kids know the basics will enable them to teach/learn themselves.  As of right now, that link will pull up all the posts; in case more are added later, here are the current posts listed individually: History, Less is More, How Does it Work?, Why is the SAT so Important? 
• KidPort, US History - click on the links for what part of history you want to see.  For some links, there will be timelines.  Be sure to look at everything on the sidebars of each link! 
• KidPort, Science - many links about different topics.  Just watch for evolutionary references.
• KidPort, Language Arts
• KidPort, Reference Links to other websites on assorted subjects, including Biology, science, astronomy, geology, history, mathematics, and more.
• Homeschool Buyers Co-op - Nearly seven thousand homeschool families helping each other by buying in groups to get the best deals.  Get email updates on current savings.  My favorite was getting David Barton's The American Heritage Series for 48% off!  =D
• Handbook of Nature Study - One family's online nature journal using Anna Comstock's book Handbook of Nature Study as their textbook and the great outdoors as their classroom.  (playlist at the bottom if you want to turn it off.)
• Nature Study as Part of Highschool - How the "Handbook of Nature Study" bloggers used Apologia Biology as a Nature Study.  Ideas/suggestions are listed by Module.  (playlist at the bottom if you want to turn it off.)
• Pond Study ideas
• Pond Viewer Instructions
• Apologia Biology on Squidoo - Some is the same as above, but more resources listed, including books that were helpful.
• Teaching Highschool at Home - Audio CD by Dr. Jay L. Wile.  Listen to a sample.
• A Trip Around the World - links to resources
• Civil War Resources
• Multiplication.com - many things to click on, including teaching individual multiplication facts that may be difficult for your child to remember.  Click on the fact you want in the sidebar.

When I have time, these links will be listed under Educational Links.

My kids use something and don't put it back...

"Kids, where are my scissors?"
"I dunno. I think (sibling) was using them yesterday."
(To Child) “Where are my scissors?"
"I thought I put them back."
"Well, they're not here."
"Yeah, but I thought I put them back."
"Well, you need to find them. Now, please."
"I don't know where they are."
"That's why you need to find them."
........
"Mom, I don't see them anywhere...."

Aaaaaaaah!

(four days later...)

"Hey, I found my scissors. Right here in the couch cushions."
"Child, did you use my scissors in the living room?"
"Mom, I don't know; that was last week."

(sigh)

Grinning 'cause one day they'll have their own kids.  😉

Something to think about....

You doubt that 2=1?  Consider the following:

     a = x            [true for some a's and x's]
   a+a = a+x          [add a to both sides]
    2a = a+x          [a+a = 2a]
 2a-2x = a+x-2x       [subtract 2x from both sides]
2(a-x) = a+x-2x       [2a-2x = 2(a-x)]
2(a-x) = a-x          [x-2x = -x]
     2 = 1            [divide both sides by a-x]

So then, 2=1, right?  =D

Impossible!  So where is the mistake? Think about it.
You may not like the first step (a=x). But we do this kind of thing all the time in Algebra. It's true for plenty of a's and x's. Assume that a is the number of ears on my head, and x is the number of ears on your head.  In that case a=x.  (if a is not equal to x, forgive me for mentioning it)
Anyway, all of the steps are perfectly legal except for the last one, dividing both sides by a-x. What is a-x? Well, a=x (step 1), so a-x=0. In the last step, we divided by zero. That's not allowed. And this puzzle is a good example of why it is not allowed.  =)

Google Accounts

If you have a google account, you have gmail. 
Do you know what else you already have???

►You can start a blog that is public or private, that only invited people can see.  I have several blogs and they are  a lot of fun with easy-to-add gadgets and more.

►You already have a calendar that can give you reminders when an event is near.  You can post the calendar on a blog.  It can be public or private.  If private, only certain people will be able to view the calendar you've posted.  You can allow others to invite people to certain events.

►You have a Picasa Web album.  If you have a blog, the pictures you've posted on your blog are already in your Picasa Web Album.  You can add a slideshow with new pics to your blog.  This is helpful if you have several pictures (or a lot!) and you don't want to post them all individually on one blog post.  Whether you have a blog or not, you can invite people to see albums right in Picasa if the album is not private.
Sample slide show.  (HTML code from Picassa was embedded in the blog post)

►If you are followers of several blogs, you can read all the updates in one place with Google Reader.

►I love Google Books.  A lot of times I'm able to read the first chapter of a book before I decide to buy.  Since I'm already signed into my google account, I can add books to my library and go back to them when needed.
There are many more, and some I've not even tried yet!
Note: When I click on any of these, I'm usually already signed in.

Arrow back to March and April, 2010, to click on the events to see how this calendar works.
If an address is put in the event, google maps feature will locate it.


Have fun learning about google applications!

Friends and Family! What a Blessing.

Ladies' Meeting

My kids have had an extremely busy summer!
The girls started singing with their cousin about 2½ years ago, and this year have really started singing often at surrounding churches. They even got to sing with Kay Chandler!
Bethany keeps a calendar, and highlights the days of the month that they are singing. I have flipped through that calendar, and have often seen 5 or 6 highlighted days in one month.
Many times when we go to one revival, another preacher will hear them sing and ask them to come sing at his church, too. Sometimes they are asked to come back and sing again during the week in the same revival. We end up attending more services than just the ones where they sing.

Also there has been camp and many Bible Schools this summer, as well as several ladies' meetings the girls and I have attended.

Now school has started, but the weekends are still staying full. Today my husband and the kids have gone off with a church group, and also will be going to a youth service tonight. We didn't know about this too far ahead of time, and I'm staying home to clean and cook for company tomorrow.  My son is supposed to go shoot paintball in a few weeks, and there is an upcoming hike we need to check the dates on.  

My kids are homeschooled, and some say hs'ers are unsocial.
Really? We are busier than ever!

Going to Dollywood

Because of singing and being at church, my kids have made tons of friends and have been invited to lots of places, including a trip to Dollywood. They sing in a youth choir group comprised of teens from local churches, they go to prayer meetings on Saturdays, and sometimes there is a choir practice there.  They get invited to go swimming at one church's pool (girls together, or boys together) that also has fishing and watersliding.  They get invited to cookouts, various youth outings, and so much more.

I'm so thankful that my kids have so many friends!
And I'm thankful for a husband who really wants his kids to be in church and serve the Lord.  What better friends could we have than those in the Lord's Family?  =)

Anne Frank - Virtual Tour

I've always been touched by the story of Anne Frank.  I've seen one of the movies, read the book several times, and have gone to the play.  At AnneFrank.org, you can read more about the Frank family, and take a virtual tour of the rooms in the Secret Annex where Anne, her family, and others hid from the Nazis. 

The Monks' Riddle

Got this in an email from my mom.  =)

A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery.  He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, “My car broke down.  Do you think I could stay the night?”
The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car.  As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound; a sound like no other that he has ever heard.
The next morning he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, “We can't tell you because you're not a monk.”
The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way.

Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.
The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.
That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he had heard years earlier.       
The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the monks reply, “We can't tell you because you're not a monk.”        
The man says, “All right, all right.  I'm dying to know.  If the only way I can find out what that sound is, is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?”
The monks reply, “You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles.  When you find these numbers, you will become a monk.

The man sets about his task.  Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery.  He says, “I have travelled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and have found what you had asked for.  There are 371,145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth."
The monks reply, “Congratulations, you are correct, and you are now considered a monk.  We shall now show you the way to the sound."
The monks lead the man to a wooden door where the head monk says, “The sound is behind that door.”
The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked.  He asks, “May I have the key?”
The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.  Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone.  The man requests the key to the stone door.  The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby.  He demands another key from the monks who provide it.  Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire.
And so it went on until the man had gone through doors of emerald, silver, topaz, and amethyst.
Finally, the monks say, “This is the key to the last door.”
The man is relieved to be at the end.  He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is astonished to find the source of that strange sound.  It is truly an amazing and unbelievable sight.
But... I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.

Don’t get mad at me; I’M STILL LOOKING FOR THE IDIOT WHO STARTED THIS.
But I bet you are passing it on!!!!
ROFL!

LOL!

A lady on a commuter train was reading a newspaper article about life and death statistics. Fascinated, she turned to the man next to her and said, "Did you know that every time I breathe somebody dies?"

"Really!?" he said. "Have you tried mouthwash?"

(from GCFL)
 

Rebekah's hair - lovely!

Physical Science, Module 16, An Introduction to Astrophysics

This module had only one very simple experiment.
Very simple.
We almost did not meet for class.  I decided to go ahead since I needed to go over some things for our upcoming Biology instead of waiting until Monday.
First thing, Cousin C asked, "Do we get to blow something up?"
He has asked me this all year.
I said, "No... um, wait!  Yes, you do!"
"Really???"  <big grin>
"Yes, you get to blow up a balloon!"  I tossed it to him.
He laughed and blew it up right away.  =D

Exp. 16.1, An Expanding Universe, is very simple.  With a marker, the kids placed dots all over the balloon, leaving a space for one dot in a different color.  The different colored dot represented our Milky Way galaxy.
They blew up the balloon and watched the "galaxies" get farther away from each other.
This is to represent how most astronomers think the universe is expanding, based on observations of the red shift, but we don't know this for a fact.  If it is expanding this way, the universe has no center.  Yes, it appears other galaxies are getting farther from ours, but if you look at all the dots, they are all getting farther from each other.
In this module, we learned the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission and the tragic accident at the Chernobyle nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in 1986.  We learned about classifying the stars, and the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.  Also about measuring the distance to stars, light years, different kind of galaxies, and the red shift.
This was an interesting module, and now I am ready to begin Biology!  =)
--Videos we watched for Module 16.
--Play  Quizlet.  Scroll to find the Module you want.

Printable Planners - you fill in the subjects and weekdays

This is really awesome.  There are 2 types of planner pages for school, but you type in the subject titles, and the days of the week.  Even Saturday if you want!  This could even work for chores.  =)
The planner creates as many rows and columns as needed.
There is also monthly calendar, and a vertical or horizontal yearly calendar that can start on any day, any month.  So if you want one to run from August to July, you've got it!  =)
There is a Bible reading chart (save to your computer first), where you can cross off which chapters you've read.
All this is at Homeschool Classifieds.

Physical Science, Module 15, Light

-- Videos we watched for Module 15.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

Light Waves!
Unlike sound waves which need air to travel through, light waves do not need a medium thru which to travel, but can travel in a vacuum. 
Not a vacuum cleaner, heehee, but a region containing no matter.
A light wave consists of energy in the form of electric and magnetic fields. The fields vibrate perpendicular to each other, and perpendicular to the direction of the wave. Because light has both electric and magnetic fields that oscillate back and forth, light waves are typically referred to as electromagnetic waves.

Our first Experiment 15.1, Seeing Different Wavelengths of Light, said it was difficult to perform near noon.
Everyone got here at 12:05, haha!
So we tried with a flashlight.  It worked a little.

But I can't take a picture of a flashlight refracting a rainbow onto a white paper.  My camera makes blurry pics if I don't use a flash, and with a flash, I don't get any rainbows.
Just get a blank white piece of paper.
←This is how it is supposed to be done, so we may try it again sometime.
Just place a mirror in a pan of water and adjust it until you see the color spectrum on the wall or a white piece of paper.  We used card stock.


So then we made this:

This was really cool.  I found it here.  Just scroll down for full instructions.
We placed a sheet of black construction paper in a pan, and covered it with about an inch of water.  I carefully poured a medium drop of clear nail polish on the water.  It immediately spread into a large oblongish circle.
After a couple of minutes, the edges of the nail polish circle were crinkly and it was ready for the next step.  One of the kids carefully pulled the paper out, making sure the edges of the circles caught on the paper.
We placed it on several layers of napkins to dry.
Cool, huh?



Experiment 15.2, The Law of Reflection didn't work too well either.  It needed to be done in a dark room, and my small bathroom is the only room I have without a window.  Since there is no counter space in there for this experiment, we had to do it in the kitchen. 
They drew 2 lines perpendicular to each other on a piece of paper, then taped the paper down flush with the edge of the bar so they could brace a mirror against the edge of the bar (making it perpendicular to the paper).  Then they used a flash light covered with black construction paper with a small slit cut out, and directed the light ray into the mirror at the point of intersection of the perpendicular lines, and compared the angles of the light ray going in, and the light ray that was reflecting.
We could see it a little, and were able to see evidence of the Law of Reflection:  The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.  In other words, whatever angle the light had as it went into the mirror (the angle of incidence) was the same as the angle of light reflecting from the mirror (the angle of reflection).
Again, no pictures.  =\

Experiment 15.3, Refraction of Light
Okay, did I have a FAIL sign on my forehead that day?  I didn't see it in the mirror that morning!  =D
This experiment needed a dark room also.  Sigh.  I should have scheduled these at night.
Using a protractor and a ruler, they were to draw more lines.  Perpendicular, then 45°.
We didn't tho, and I'm glad, haha.
They mixed a small amount of milk in a glass dish of water, so the light beams would show up.  Then using the same construction-paper-with-a-slit covered flashlight, they shone it at an angle thru the side of the dish.
We used too much milk.
So we emptied some into the sink, added more water, still could not see the light beam.
Watered it down again.  After the third time, we could see a faint beam, and could barely tell it was refracted (bent).  But we did not see a beam refracting from the other side of the pan, and it was not a large pan.  I think the flashlights weren't bright enough, or the slits that were cut were too large, or the edges didn't get covered well and light was escaping there.

I suppose we could have watered the milk down more.  But 5 kids and 1 adult in a small bathroom gets kind of crowded!  They were ready to get out of there.  Plus the toilet seat came unhinged because someone was standing on it, and it slid over.  lol.
← This is what it was supposed to look like.  You can see the light entering the solid glass block at the dotted perpendicular line (called a normal like in the image above for exp. 15.2).  This is not a real, visible line, but it is a line that is always perpendicular to the object, and is drawn at the point light enters or exits a substance. 
Light speed in a glass slows down, so it will refract toward the normal.  When the light exits the glass (there is not a perpendicular line/normal drawn here), the light goes back to the regular speed of light (300,000,000 meters/sec, or 670,000,000 mph!), and refracts away from the normal.  You can also see at each of the points where light hits a "wall", there is some light reflected.  Watch here to see why light refracts.

Experiment 15.4, The "Magical" Quarter, er Nickel! 
This experiment was the most simple, the fastest one that day, and it worked.
It did not need a dark room.
It did not involve cutting or taping.
It did not involve a protractor, ruler, or measuring.
We had no time invested, and it worked.  (of course)
It only needed a bowl, a coin, and water.
They placed a nickel in the bottom of a large non-see-thru bowl, then backed up until the nickel was juuust out of their line of vision.  I poured in a pitcher of water, and as the water level rose, the kids were able to see the nickel without moving from their position.
The water refracted the light ray, enabling the nickel to appear in a different position.
Just like when someone is trying to catch a fish with their bare hands or a spear!  Try it.  You'll see the fish is not where it seems, since light refracts in water.


The last experiment worked, too.
Again, few materials.  Paper and a red marker.
Experiment 15.5, How the Eye Detects Color
The kids colored a red cross on white paper, then stared at it for 60 seconds.  They were allowed to blink, but not move their eyes away.  After 60 seconds, they removed the paper with the red cross, and looked at the blank paper underneath.  They were amazed that they could see a bluish-green cross appear on the paper.

See?  They're looking at it right here. →
I can't see it, can you?  haha.  =D
They look funny,  concentrating on a blank page!
There are three primary colors in light - red, green, and blue.  Together they make white light.  (These are not regular primary colors which are red, blue, and yellow, which together make all other colors.)
This phenomena  happens because of certain cones in your eyes that are sensitive to the color red.  Other cones detect colors with different frequencies.  Blue and green. 
After a while of seeing a color, the cones for that particular color cease to continue transmitting signals to the brain.  The brain then holds the same image in your mind until new signals come along.
When the top sheet with the red cross was removed, the low-frequency (red-detecting) cones took a few seconds to realize there was a change.  (Just like me sitting at a traffic light, lol!)  If red light is removed from the color spectrum, bluish-green light is left, so at first the brain only got the signals from the cones that there was blue and green light present.  So for a few seconds, the kids were able to "see" a bluish-green cross.
This one is simple and easy to try.  Your kids will love it.  =)
One more Module!  Then on to Biology.  =)

My sweet Rebekah =)

This is what Rebekah brought to me the other day when I had been on a (necessary, evil) phone call for over an hour during lunch.  =)
What a sweet daughter!

Well, my camera was just sitting right there!

Physical Science, Module 14, Waves and Sound

--Videos we watched for Module 14.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

Sound waves!  
Exp. 14.1, The Medium Through Which Sound Waves Travel

The kids learned about transverse waves and longitudinal waves.  See this video.
They also learned that sound waves need a medium through which to travel.  They need something which they cause to oscillate (move up and down).  That would be air.
They made a "drum" with the 2-liter bottle, saran wrap, and a rubber band.  They listened to the sound wave, felt the oscillating air on their cheek,  then used the sound waves' oscillation to blow out a candle.  Think of how your eardrum vibrates when it feels vibrations and your brain interprets it as sound.

They had a GREAT time banging on pots and pans.  You'd think they were still three years old, lol.  =D
We even had to trash a small frying pan.  It was cheap, and Cousin A was very enthusiastic!  (Well, I was the one who, when it wasn't very loud, told her she should hit it a little harder, lol.)

They put saran wrap on bowls, and banged on pans held near the bowls.  The sound waves hit the saran wrap and made it vibrate, and the rice bounce.  They discovered if they kept doing it louder and louder, the rice would vibrate right off the bowl.
We did need to sweep.

Exp. 14.2, The Speed of Sound - we were running short on time, and left this one until last.
We ended up not getting to do it.  =\
Sound does not travel as fast as light, so at a distance, one would be able to see two rocks being hit together just before being able to hear them.

Exp. 14.3, Wavelength and Sound

When the kids blew across the tops of the glass bottles, they moved air around inside the bottle.  If they blew at a constant rate, air began traveling up and down, forming a wave.  Different amounts of water allowed the sound waves to travel at shorter or longer distances.  If the wave was allowed to travel all the way to the bottom of the large jug, it made a much lower sound.  Long wavelengths produce a lower pitch.
So then, shorter wavelengths make a higher pitch.
This is the same as when someone plays a wind instrument.  When musicians cover various holes with their fingers, they are changing the wavelength of the sound waves produced.


Exp. 14.4, The Doppler Effect
We didn't have time for this one either, but they had watched a video.
Scroll down to #7, The Doppler Effect.

Exp. 14.5, The Amplitude of a Sound Wave
With the stringed instruments, they plucked a string, then plucked it harder.  The sound did not change pitch, but it did change volume.  This shows that the amplitude changed, not the wavelength.
In order to change pitch, they needed to turn the key thingy (no, I don't know what it's called).  This would lengthen or shorten the string, which would change the pitch.

Overview:


With every item of expensive jewelry, famous paintings, a cleverly-written book, a very expensive car, we usually want to know who is the designer?  The creator of something we really like or admire.
Suppose someone told you, oh, that just happened by chance; someone just found it, and it was already like that.  Or that we had a bunch of stuff in storage in a warehouse for years and years.  When we opened it one day, we discovered all these things were put together, and no one really knows how it happened.
We would not accept that answer.  Most will be determined to find out who did this great work!
I just can't imagine that anyone who has studied science would believe it all came about by chance.  Creation is so much more complex than jewelry, cars, or artists.
No, there is a designer, and He is God!
I think this with every chapter I read of science.  =)

Error 1714

Have you ever needed to do a System Restore to your computer?
Hint:  If you have installed anything major, like, say the printer we bought this past weekend, System Restore will uninstall it too, and when re-installing, the "left-overs" from the previous install are still there, preventing successful re-installation. 

This entitles you to spend exactly 1 hour and 26 minutes on the phone with Paul from the Philippines!!! =)

New Resources for science and history

• United States History resources from BJU Press.  These are intended to go along with their history book, but can be great for anyone doing US History.
• Have Fun With History - a resource for American history
• Christine Miller's website, History on the Internet. 
• Space & Earth Science from BJU Press, meant to go along with their science book, but can be great for anyone studying Earth and Space. 

These are now added to Educational Links.