Just Hanging Out...

sMiLeS,

History Pen Letters

Last year, my oldest daughter Rebekah had a really cool idea!  She loves history, and one of her main interests is the Civil War.
Her Cousin A is interested in it too, so last year they started writing letters to each other, pretending to be someone from history.
They each chose a historical last name, but not necessarily one from the Civil War time period.  For example, Rebekah chose Rolfe.  They weren't really trying to include exact details, but just having fun.
They dated their letters with the current day's date, but with 1861 instead of 2010 (although they did write 2010 somewhere else on the letter.  I thought this was good so later they could remember what year it really was and how old the girls were.)
They "live" in different places, so that they would have a reason to write letters.
In their letters they are married and have children.  They write about their families and occasionally  historical events that occurred during the Civil War.  Mostly it is for fun, so there's not too much of this in each letter.  =)
Sometimes it's more hysterical than historical.  =D

Once they were both expecting, and thought it hilarious!
The letters are sometimes funny, or not always about things that are historical, but they're having a good time. I am not directing this in any way, and just let them have fun with it.  It was their idea, after all.  =)
They may do some research however, just when they want to know something for a particular letter, so they're learning a little bit here and there.
My daughter has a "husband" in the war, and she writes about him being gone, and where he is, and a little about the battles.
Once my niece was in the middle of writing a letter to Rebekah and her writing got faint and illegible as she wrote, "I can't see" and the pen trailed off...
Then the writing on the paper changes styles and it's her husband writing (later) to my daughter telling that Cousin A had fainted and that the doctor came.  This was during her "pregnancy."
I thought that was clever how she did that in the letter! 
The girls are making copies of each other's letters to put them all in order in clear sleeves in a binder.  They have enjoyed reading back over them.

I got to thinking about how a group might do this for
educational purposes, and I decided to put my ideas here.
If it was a group of kids rather than just two individuals, I wasn't sure about how to decide who would answer whose letter... and some kids might be close friends, and others kind of be left out of all the action.  So maybe they could have a buddy for a few weeks, then switch up each time they move on to a different time frame.
It only needs to contain just a couple of real facts, and the rest could just be made up about their own "life."
I'm thinking this will work well with American History, as it can be more ongoing, being that it is typically studied for a year.  But other specific historical eras may lend themselves to this type of study as well.
 
But they should brainstorm and write down a "profile" of their character to begin with. 
This will end up being a history lesson in itself! 

Rebekah said the hardest thing is keeping the characters' ages, kids, and other details straight. It's a lot like writing a book.
Each "character" needs a profile so details will not mistakenly get "changed" from one letter to the next. Each child should keep their own profile handy, as well as a list of things s/he "learns" about her historical buddy.
What kind of family? middle class? poor?  Jew?
What kind of occupation? Shipping?  printer?  businessman?  laborer?  watchmaker?
Also, she said the setting needs to be clarified, as in what time period.  Clothing and customs could be studied a bit. 
Also, where does each character live? It will obviously need to be in different places because they are writing letters.  What kinds of day-to-day things they write about will depend on their location.  Talk about hardships or accomplishments of the time.

This should probably be done like writing... after brainstorming and figuring out a few things for profiles, let it "rest" a couple of days before going back to it.
Assign some easy children's books to read, even for older kids, so they can get an overview of what time period they are studying.
Copies should be made of the profiles for at least one main person to keep; someone who could help with assignment suggestions if some are having a harder time figuring out what their type of character would do/see every day.  As their character develops new facts about themselves, these should be added to the profiles.  Things like an injury, moving, getting a dog, etc.  Just anything, really, that should be kept in mind.
(A blog would be an excellent place to keep ongoing updated material like this!  For assignments, too.)

You could assign the dates each week, like the month of July, 1776, or preceding months. That would be a huge one!  
Or July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.  What would one have heard in the news about it?
This would obviously be a one-time assignment, and not ongoing.
Before beginning the assignment each week, let the kids discuss where they live and what was going on at that place during the time assigned. They could write down a few notes to research at home.
They could just mention a few details of what happened in their town, etc. and ask a few questions to the one they're writing to.

A note about boys:  They probably would not want to write letters.  Some girls may not either.  So maybe they could pretend to write for a newspaper, or to be a spy who is finding out information from the enemy. 

I'm sure there are many more ideas, and can get quite specific.  I guess if a co-op or group wanted to do this, they would need to also brainstorm and find more new ideas and discard others.
The beauty of homeschooling.  =)

sMiLeS,

Thanksgiving Football, 2010

I don't know why I never added these pics at Thanksgiving!
It is the kids' and Dads' tradition to have a football game every Thanksgiving.  The big kids play football, the Dads quarterback, and the little kids run around.  =)

These girls only wear mascara BELOW their eyes!  lol

Run, JohnDavid!

I like this one!

Kicking a Puff Mushroom

Bethany caught it!

Rebekah caught this one!   AND Bethany's arm, haha!

Nice catch!

She actually caught this one! 

Rebekah -- Umm.... why are you hugging me in the middle of the game??

Bethany -- To keep you from going after the ball!  😂

sMiLeS,

"5 before lunch"

Would you like a method that will get kids to go on to another subject even if you're busy with his/her sibling?
I mean, if Mama is helping one child, and it's taking a bit, and is not available when you get stuck on #11, um...  you do not have to sit staring at #11 or daydreaming for 10 minutes.  Please can you go do typing or silent reading?  Or times tables?  Or even listen to Bible online?  
Or maybe Mama isn't looking, so you go into a sibling's room and then the two of you goof off...
10 minutes here and there can quickly add up to an hour or more.....

Well, that has not been happening here for awhile (not too much anyway). 😁

I decided to assign point values for each subject, depending on how long it should take to complete.
The kids have to get 5 points before lunch, and if they're done early, they get to take break/lunch early.
If they somehow have not gotten 5 points, they still get lunch, but not quite as much break as they would have.

We usually start around 9:00, and have at least a 1-hour break/lunch around 12:00 if necessary, but usually before.
(My kids are all teens, so they can go longer w/out a break than little ones can.)
As soon as they get 5 points, they can take break early if they wish, and still have break until 1:00.
They usually get to 5 points before 12. 😊

If they only have a little left, they might decide to work a little longer, or break only for lunch, knowing they can have a longer afternoon. Sometimes they start school early if they are planning to go somewhere w/ Grandma or cousins, etc.

I give 1 point for subjects that take around a half hour, give or take. The kids don't really know my system, so they don't argue if they think something should be worth more. They do see that harder subjects have more points.  They don't read my blog. 😁

So spelling, typing for 15 minutes, and silent reading (for dyslexic ds) are each ½ point.
History is 1 point per lesson for the twins (they do a block schedule and do 2 lessons a day), English is 1, math is 1½, Bible is usually 1, Dd16's Biology is 1 or more, Spanish is 1, Practicing piano is 1, etc.
Remember though, these are not all exactly half an hour.

Also for one child, practicing piano for X number of minutes is worse than practicing a song X number of times.  Once we switched, it was much easier.
Sometimes I change the number of times depending on the difficulty.

Sometimes it takes them a little longer for a subject, but unless it is obviously harder, I don't change the point value.  Occasionally if 2 or 3 subjects all seem to be just a little longer, I might grace them an extra ½ point completed.
Sometimes math is super easy, and I change it to 1, but they know this ahead. But only if it's really super easy. I try not to lower points if possible. Don't want to discourage them if they think they're nearly finished, then have an extra ½ point to make up.
►(I remember the story of a lady whose kids got up early, worked hard and got their work done early nearly every day. Another hs mom observed and suggested they do more work since they were able to get it all done so early. Um... way to unmotivate them??)
If it's harder, I'll change math to a 2. Usually it stays at 1½, though.
(But not if they take an hour and a half because they like to talk a lot. lol.)

We do kind of have a schedule of what order we do them in, but if something gets off a little (disruptions, etc.) they know they can fill in with another subject and still get their required amount done before lunch.
No one is sitting waiting, because they know they get their break as soon as they get 5 points.

This just helps keep things moving along.

And a subject is not DONE until all work is corrected, and I say it is done.
It has to be crossed off MY copy of their weekly schedule. 😊
And after lunch, the "light at the end of the tunnel" (or any activity they plan to do) encourages them to finish up. 

One other thing:  I've learned that doing math first causes it to take longer.
What?
Yep, it really does.  Math is The Dreaded Subject.
The long school day looms ahead, stretching out into infinityyyyyyy.....  "And this is just my FIRST subject??? sigh....."
So we do it last before lunch.  Remember that light at the end of the tunnel!
And after lunch, depending on the child, any other Dreaded Subject is last as well.

sMiLeS,

My Mom is Pretty Special

My Mom has for several years written a monthly paper for her church.  It's not a newsletter, but rather an uplifting paper geared toward the Seniors - those who are getting or have the gray hair and wisdom.  =)

She takes the paper to the church secretary to make copies, but there are also quite a few that get the Senior Paper by email, and Mom always includes a cover letter.

I wanted to share the cover letter from this month's issue:

January 20, 2011

Hi everyone,

Did you get much snow where you live the last few weeks? We did here and I enjoyed it a lot -- since I didn't have to get out in it. But it was also good to see the sun shine again. I do appreciate all those brave people who go out in extreme weather to serve us, helping us to stay safe and warm and making life better for us.

  

I enjoy watching the seasons come and go, knowing that only a wonderful Creator could make such beautiful things for us to enjoy, like the blazing colorful leaves in the autumn and the snow in the winter.

Our lives have seasons, too. Our springtime of youth, the summer of young adulthood, the autumn of middle age, and the winter of old age. Some of us are now in our winter season, but spring will come again one day, bringing newness of life for those who know the Creator of Life and the Author of Resurrection.

I hope you are enjoying the seasons of your own life, and I hope you enjoy this month’s senior paper as well.

 Health Update:

First of all, though I am having to rest more along and take more pain medicine now, I'm actually still doing pretty good most of the time and I am very thankful for that.  

Second, in my last update, I told you that my cancer has started growing again. I didn’t write everything in that update but that was the gist of it. The only other thing was that the doctor has given me a timeline now, a rough guess as to how long I have left. I had just found that out and hadn’t discussed it yet with my family so I didn’t tell you then. Since family and close friends now know, I will go ahead and write it here.

The doctor said that her “best guesstimate” for me is from six months to a year. She said she felt it would lean more toward a year than six months, given my circumstances and present health in other areas. However, only God knows that for sure. And only He can call me Home, and that will only be when He is ready to do so. It is in His hands and that is where it rightly should be. 

On a more practical "here and now" aspect, I was enrolled with Hospice in December. A nurse comes out every week to check me and assess my needs at that time. Others come by every several days from Hospice, and service people come in to bring supplies. I am getting so much attention now that some days I'm worn plumb out from all the attention!

Seriously, I am thankful for this organization. I never knew before how many good benefits are available to Hospice patients, many of them free, after Medicare or other insurance pays their part. And no one is turned away, regardless of ability to pay, whether you have insurance or not. Much of the equipment and many supplies are free to the patient and are delivered right to the home. 

[omitted paragraph about different Hospice services]

Living in America with Hospice available and a Hospice home just a mile or so away from my home is a big comfort and I’m very thankful I live in the age I do. 

And having the Lord by my side every second is the most wonderful comfort imaginable. I don’t even have to call him as I would for Hospice.  “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24 There are times when one doesn’t even know WHAT to pray for.
Surprise! God “has an app for that, too.” It’s Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

And here’s a secret for those that glibly quote Romans 8:28 and say that “all things work together for good.”  Well…it doesn’t exactly say that, now does it? Most of you dear friends know what I am getting at here, but for those who don’t, let’s make it a mystery game and you go read it in context. And don’t forget to read “the rest of the story” in the verses that follow. All of Romans 8:28-39, if you please.

In reality, you are in the dying process just as much as I am. For that matter, you may go long before I do, so let's keep in mind that God gives us all every breath we take. Let's make every day count as much as in our power to do so. Today could be the last day we have to talk to a loved one. Or to even pray for one we love that doesn't know Christ. Or to just tell the Lord we love him and whatever is his will for us is our will, too. Believe me, being in the center of his will is the most safe, wonderful, peaceful, and fulfilling place there is!

Time is precious. Use it wisely. When you think of it, every day we live for ourselves more than for our Saviour is, in a way, wasted. Consider the poem below. It was in my files and I don’t even remember where I got it. There was no copyright with it, so I assume it is meant to be enjoyed by all.

Until next time,

My love and prayers to all,

Louise 

I LOOKED

I Looked upon a farm one day,

That once I use to own;

The barn had fallen to the ground,

The fields were overgrown.

The house in which my children grew,

Where we had lived for years -

I turned to see it broken down,

And brushed aside the tears.

I looked upon my soul one day,

To find it too had grown

With thorns and nettles everywhere,

The seeds neglect had sown.

The years had passed while I had cared

For things of lesser worth:

The things of Heaven I let go

While minding things of earth.

To Christ I turned with bitter tears,

And cried, "O Lord, forgive!

I haven't much time left for Thee,

Not many years to live."

The wasted years forever gone,

The days I can't recall;

If I could live those days again,

I'd make Him Lord of all.

          ~ Theodore W. Brennan

I think my Mom and Dad♥ are pretty special!!! 

Biology, Module 8, Mendelian Genetics

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M8 
Videos, etc. for M8

We had a blast today!  So fun. 
The kids did a Build-a-Spud Workshop.  =D

 Luther Fred, Lucy Faye, Spud, and David  (I would've said Spike.)
We're not sure how Luther Fred got that scar...  he doesn't like to talk about it.

Aaaaggghhhhh!!! Run from the MASHER!!!

We used these spud genes (from Applie) to see what alleles the parents of the Baby Spudoodle would have.  (There are enough for six students.)  They drew alleles from different cups to see the traits of each parent.

I printed two sets of alleles - one set for the mother on white paper, and one set for the father on some gray paper I had on hand.  I placed the alleles on corresponding labeled cups.  For instance, all the N's and n's (both gray and white) went in the "Nose" cup, and I had the kids draw two of each color from each cup.  They wrote these genotypes on the tops and sides of the Punnett squares for each (nose, mouth, etc.) of the mother's and father's genotypes, then completed the squares.

The completed squares showed which genotypes the Baby Spudoodles were likely to have, but since we don't know exactly which trait any given spudoodle will get from its parents, the kids rolled dice to get numbers 1-4 (5's and 6's had to be rolled again).  Counting from left to right, they circled the genotype their Baby Spudoodle got for that particular trait.  They did this for each square.  (nose, eyes, hair, tail, etc.)


On their worksheet, they listed the genotypes (such as Nn, or EE) and the phenotypes (such as 2 nostrils or 1 nostril, or large eyes or small eyes).  Hee hee, the genotype Bb was one large eye and one small eye!

They did their Build-a-Spud Workshop using the characteristics according to the chart, and weren't allowed any changes.

Click for my tweaked directions, and thanks for Mr. McClung for the idea and original directions.  Scroll down and see the slideshow of his student's spudoodles.  =)
See Michelle's, and Julie's student's spudoodles.  I love the peanut marshmallow ears! 
We had cap erasers, but all my students ended up with cotton ball ears!  Cotton balls apparently are dominant.  ;)  I had also meant to buy candy orange slices... would've been tastier.  (Kids tend to eat any extra goodies!)


The kids did the other experiments at home, most of which were something on paper.  In Experiment 8.1, Making an Earlobe Pedigree, we discovered that my immediate family all have attached earlobes, while my husband's immediate family all have unattached earlobes.  Our kids all have unattached earlobes as well.  One other student's family was the exact same as ours.  We determined that unattached must be dominant. 
We didn't get to do Experiment 8.4, about the radish leaves.  We don't meet every week, and I had the radish seeds at my house.  But due to snow and other unforeseen factors, we were unable to meet and get the seeds to them in time, so we skipped it.

It was a very interesting module, seeing all the different possibilities for just one genotype.
Just think of all the possibilities -- not only hair and eye color, but shade of skin, freckles, shape of mouth, nose, chin, face, ears, teeth, smile, as well as placement, width of face, eyebrows, eyelashes -- and that's just in one small area!
Think of the almost infinite number of combinations of alleles for the wonderful variety of mankind, made in God's image.
He sure knows what He's doing!  =D

"North is 90 miles southeast of Due West" (Bill Cosby with Marcia Brody)

Oh my!  This cracks me up! 

This is my 237th post...

Just so ya know.  hee hee!  =D

Sweet 16!

I can hardly believe it...

Mary and Joseph - Let the Whole World Know!

Even without facebook, the story of Jesus was known by the Shepherds.  The Wise Men knew.  Even Ceasar Augustus knew.  The story of Jesus is known more than any status update ever on facebook, and much more reliable.  =)  People are continuing to share His story over 2,000 years later. 
If you are familiar with fb terminology, this video is pretty neat.  Mary even changes her profile pic.  I love this.  =)

Let It Snow!

*★Let it★* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★Snow!★ 。* 。* ° 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛*__Π____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ * /______ /~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田｜門｜ ˚ *

Total Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice Tonight!

There is to be a total lunar eclipse tonight, nearly at the same time as the Winter Solstice.  It has been 372 years since these occurred on the same day.  The Winter Solstice is the moment at which the North Pole is tilted the farthest away from the sun.  This is the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
These two events are unrelated, but they do not usually happen on the same day.
You can see the eclipse if you don't mind staying up awhile!
I'm telling my kids that if they want to stay up, then they have to look up some information first and tell me a few things they've learned, hee hee!
The moon starts into the earth's shadow at 1:33am EST and will be totally eclipsed from 2:41 to 3:53 EST.   This is when the moon will be red. 
You lucky people in the Pacific Time Zone!  Your clocks will be three hours earlier than mine!
I hope I can stay up!  Maybe I need a nap.  Zzzzz....
Thanks to Apologia posting this on Facebook.

Total Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 28, 2007, seen from Kapiolani Park in Honolulu, Hawaii. Shot thru a telescope, about every 5 minutes.


Why does the moon turn red?  Simply put, it's for the same reason that sunsets are red.
White light is made of red, green, and blue. Our atmosphere filters out the shorter-wavelength light (blues, greens), so right on the edge of the earth's silhouette, the light from the sun that is hitting the moon is red.
If you were on the moon during a lunar eclipse, you would see a red ring around the silhouette of the earth.
The moon has no light of it's own and reflects whatever kind of light from the sun hits it.
--Last year in Physical Science, we did a very simple experiment (sheet of paper, red marker) that shows how the light spectrum works this way.  (Scroll down -- it would be the last one, of course!)



►At EarthSky.org, watch a video and/or read why "there won’t be a total lunar eclipse this far north on the sky’s dome until December 21, 2485."
Scroll down for specific times for different time zones. 
►More information on Lunar Eclipses, including a list of future eclipses, and from what region of the earth they can be seen.  Scroll down.
♦Learn more about light and why you see a rainbow the way you do. 

UPDATE: Here is the eclipse from yesterday.

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

JohnDavid made Deer Stew today! =)

He made deer stew all by himself, from start to finish.  I'm proud of him!
He's done it before, but usually the girls would join in and help.  Today, he did it all on his own.
and.... he let me take his picture!!!  And post it!!!  =D

And Bethany made chocolate chip cookies.

Ahhh, the deer stew smells soooo good! 

The CUTEST little snowmen!

Aren't these the CUTEST things???  Find out how to make this easy no-sew craft at BabyCenter.com.

You could even use a 20 oz. soda bottle; just rubber band the white tube sock to the top instead of tucking in.  Great to use as a centerpiece on a piece of batting.  =)

Frozen Pipes? Nooooo!

It's supposed to be 11º tonight! 
What do you do when the temperature is going to be reaaally cold? There are many things people do to keep pipes from freezing. Of course, good insulation is always great. You know, the foam pipe type stuff you slip over the pipes. But do you know any other tips, little tricks, that you do other than leaving the water dripping (in the other room where you can't hear it, ha).

I like to start a load of laundry right when I go to bed. That way, water will definitely be running through the pipes for a while.  Then I set my dishwasher to come on a few hours later.   That is at least another hour of water running. I know, the water dripping might be all I need, but these chores need to be done anyway.  And I normally do the dishwasher in the evening, and empty it the next morning to be filled throughout the day. So I just wait and set it when I go to bed.

We also have vents that let air flow under the house.  We close those when it's going to be really cold. 
If this won't work for you, what kinds of tips do you have? Leave a comment for me and other readers. Thanks!

Biology, Module 7, Cellular Reproduction and DNA

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M7 
Videos, etc. for M7  

Whew!  Talk about something over my head!  Well, I think I got it, thanks to Apologia's teachers being willing to email back and forth with answers to my questions.  =)  Thank. you. Andrea!  (I don't know who she is, but she has to be the most patient person ever!)

Last week we did experiment 7.1, DNA Extraction.
What???  Extracting DNA!?!  Yep.
But of course it was in clumps, or we'd never have been able to see anything.
In fact, it takes a powerful microscope to even be able to see the chromosomes, which are long strands of DNA in the nucleus that are coiled up and compacted.  See image. (source)

Let's see... how big is a chromosome?

Well, two thousand average cells can fit in a line across your fingernail.
Breaking that down, each cell of humans has 46 chromosomes.
One chromosome is made of a single strand of DNA, that when stretched out, is about 6 feet long!  And there are 46 of those in each cell!!!  (um... 46 x 6 x 2,000 = mind boggled)

Ummm... evolution did not do this.  God is our Creator, and he did not need to use evolution.  =)

Experiment 7.1, DNA Extraction
--We put dried split peas in very cold salt water, and ran it thru my food processor.  This was to expose the cells.  Salty water will help the DNA solidify and appear in the alcohol later.  We used cold water to help keep the DNA intact during the extraction process.  (More about that in a minute.)
After running the food processor for several minutes, the peas still did not really grind up or anything, but the water did turn light green (but was not see-through).  I wasn't sure if it should have been ground up more, but the experiment worked!
--Then we poured the pea liquid through a small strainer and added 2 Tbs. of clear, liquid hand soap, and stirred very slowly.  (Supposed to work better than dish soap.) 
But why add soap?  Well, what does soap do?  It breaks down fats and grease.  The plasma membrane of a cell  and the nuclear membrane are made up of phospholipids.  Lipids are fats.  The soap allows the cell and nucleus to open to expose the DNA.  The cell's contents will now be mixed together.

We allowed it to sit awhile -- longer than the book recommended because we were going over some other stuff.  Maybe 30 minutes!
--Then we added a little meat tenderizer, again stirring slowly.  The DNA strands are wound around proteins, and certain enzymes in meat tenderizer help break these down.   When we used cold water, it was to keep the DNA intact from the enzymes that are already present in the cytoplasm of the cell.  The cold slows down the enzymatic reactions.  (The purpose of enzymes being present in the cytoplasm is to destroy the DNA of viruses that may enter the cell.) 
But at this step, we were now ready to break down the DNA proteins with enzymes, so we added the meat tenderizer.
--Then we finally added refrigerator-cold, rubbing alcohol.  I found some 91% isopropyl alcohol.  Yay!  I'd read that a higher percentage would do better, and also that it would do better if the alcohol was cold.
We tilted the glass, and slowly poured the alcohol down the side (yes, the inside, lol), so that it would not mix with the green pea mixture.
We had instant results!  Clumps of DNA!  =)  These clumps also contain RNA.

After waiting maybe 20 or 30 minutes more, we checked the glass again and this is what we had.
See the thin strings near the bottom?  Those are not single strands of DNA.  They are tangled strands of DNA.

I found a lot of this information on this page of FAQ's, and of course some was in the biology textbook.  Those FAQ's had said for better results to allow more time for each step, which we unintentionally did!  =)
Here are instructions (PDF version) if any other blog readers need them, and an instructional video.  Neither are exactly like the textbook, but close.
I've found that if I look up the experiments we are going to do, I can find a tip here and there that might give me more insight as to the why of some things, and also maybe help prevent common mistakes.  (Yes, I am prone to those!)

We also learned about DNA and RNA (of which there is more than one kind).  Two kinds are messenger RNA (mRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA).  We learned about transcription and translation, the processes by which DNA makes proteins.
We learned about mitosis (asexual reproduction of cells) and meiosis (sexual reproduction), and about diploid and haploid cells.
We learned a little about how a virus uses human (or animal) cells to reproduce the virus, since a virus cannot reproduce itself.

This was a very interesting and complex module.  I've said this before, but I am always amazed at God's awesome creation, and how intricate it all is!  =)