Marcel the Shell

For ONE video upload:
Nearly 23 million views, over 51,000 subscribers, and over 1,000 comments on the channel asking for another Marcel the Shell video.

sMiLeS,

Who's on First?

Love Abbot and Costello in this routine!  =)
This is a video response to my mom's comment on The Ins and Outs of Baseball.
Routine starts at 1:20


sMiLeS,

Ellipsograph/Reciprocator/Trammel of Archimedes

Remember a few weeks ago, I had asked for help figuring out what this object was?
Well, it really is more than just a fun gadget to play with.  =)
Real ones are called an ellipsograph or recipricator, or on Wikipedia, a trammel of Archimedes.
It is used to draw or cut ellipses.
Wikipedia also says that what I have is a toy, or novelty item, sometimes called a "do nothing machine," hahaha!
See what this ellipsograph was used to draw!  →



sMiLeS,

Funniest Mother's Day Gift

It was a card that Rebekah made for me when she was little.  It was right after she learned that "ou" can say the "u" sound, as in country.

The card read, "Happy Mouther's Day." =D

She is 16 now. 
Yesterday she wrote this same note on my fb page. 
I saved the email notification. < sniff > =)

It was also one of my sweetest gifts as well.
sMiLeS,

Happy Mother's Day

sMiLeS,

♫♪ Moments Musicaux No. 3

Rebekah has been learning this piece, which is one of six short pieces for piano solo, the
Six Moments Musicaux, or musical moments.
These were written by Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828).
This piece is played in F minor.


sMiLeS,

The Ins and Outs of Baseball =)

This is a game played by two teams -- one out, the other one in.  The one that's in sends players out one at a time to see if they can get in before they get out.  If they get out before they get in, they come in, but it doesn't count.  If they get in before they get out, it does count.

When the ones out get three outs from the ones in before they get in without being out, the team that's out comes in and the team in goes out to get those going in out before they can get in without being out.

When both teams have been in and out nine times, the game is over.  The team with the most in without being out before coming in wins unless the ones in are equal.  In which case, the last ones in go out to get the ones in out before they get in without being out.

The game will end when each team has the same number of ins out, but one
team has more in without being out before coming in.

Now... read this to your family.  =)

sMiLeS,

A New Car For Women

Hahahah!


sMiLeS,

Biology, Module 14, Kingdom Plantae: Anatomy and Classification

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M14

Videos, etc. for M14  

Kingdom Plantae!  Yeah, I know what that is.  =)
This module has words that I recognize, lol.
We learned about xylem and phloem, the "straws" that transport things the plant needs.  Those may be new words to some, but I did already know them. 
We learned about the macroscopic structure of the leaf.  Macro means something you can see with the naked eye, and micro means you'd need a microscope.  Which means your eye isn't naked then -- it has a microscope lens covering it, lol.  =D

palmate venation, serrate margin

Experiment 14.1, Leaf Collection and Identification
We had to classify leaves as well as observe the type of bark and the fruit, if any.

There's a lot of parts to a leaf, including many shapes, as well as various types of edging on the leaf, called margins.  We also learned about the different vein patterns, called venations.

dentate margin, pinnate venation

whorled mosaic

I ended up having the kids to bring small branches so we could also see whether the leaves were simple or compound leaves, as well as be able to tell the mosaic -- the pattern of the placement of leaves along the branch.



We did about 9-10 classifications, including drawing the leaf, and they were to finish the rest at home. 
►Here's the page I typed for them:  Experiment 14.1, Leaf Identification 
(My printer feeds the page back in and prints on the back side, so I just did 2 of the same page in this document so I could print a batch without turning the pages over.  Am I lazy or just very clever?  lol)

We also learned a little about the microscopic structure of a leaf.  Since we have naked eyes, lol, we just looked online.

For Experiment 14.2, How Anthocyanins and pH Help Determine Leaf Color, we just discussed it a little, and looked at pictures from when we did the pH Experiment in Module 5.

Experiment 14.3, Cross Sections of Roots, Stems, and a Leaf
We were to look at the stems and roots of dicot and monocot plants.  The words dicotyledon and monocotyledon  tell how many cotyledons the plants have.  A cotyledon is the part of the seed that contains "starter food" for the plant.  A seed with two cotyledons (like a bean) is called a dicotyledon, or dicot, and can be split into two pieces.
Again, our poor eyes were naked, so we looked at pictures online.
►Links are at Homeschooler's Resources.

We learned some more about classification, and plants that have seeds, and those that don't.  Those that have xylem and phloem and can grow really tall because of the ability to transport food and water through their stems, and those plants that don't have this system, like moss.  And of course, we learned a little about seeds and reproduction.
I really learned a lot in this module.  God's creation is amazing!

sMiLeS,

ning y ning

What is this thing? 

I googled "ning y ning" and all other combinations and descriptions I could think of for this gadget. I bought it probably more than 10 years ago at a novelty store. The store owners didn't know what it was either, haha. =)
My niece wants to buy one from eBay, but we don't know what to call it.
Help, please.

sMiLeS,

My twins again

I like this one better.  They looked too white in the other one.  =)

Age 13, summer of 2010

sMiLeS,

Tim Hawkins - "The Government Can"

sMiLeS,

Biology, Module 13, Phylum Chordata

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M13 
Videos, etc, for M13 

Bones!  The members of phylum Chordata have some kind of backbone.
Mostly, we think of a backbone as being made up of hard bones, but there is also a kind of backbone in some animals called a notochord, that is like a very tough, flexible cartilage. 
There are also some members of this phylum that only have a notochord for the first part of their lives.  Some of these notochords disappear, and some harden into a true backbone.
So phylum Chordata is divided into three subphyla:

• Subphylum Cephalochordata - has a notochord their entire life
• Subphylum Urochordata - only has a notochord through the larva stage, then disappears
• Subphylum Vertebrata - has a notochord during early development, then hardens into a true backbone

Which one are you?  hee hee!  (I'm guessing you didn't have a larva stage.)

In subphyla Urochordata and Cehpalocordata, we learned a little about one organism each. 
Because humans fall into the subphylum Vertebrata, our studies were concentrated there.
We have an endoskeleton, (in) rather than an exoskeleton (out).  Wouldn't that look funny!

Since the majority of my class may not take the advanced biology course, The Human Body, I decided to go a little further than what the text introduced, and at least have them learn the names of the bones.
My birthday was the week before, so I decided to make it a party.  I had all the siblings and Moms to come, too.  They talked and/or played while we had class, (It was a very easy day) then we had cake, chips, and pop.  Not soda, or coke.  Pop.  We had Mt. Dew, Dr. Pepper, and Coke.  It's all pop.
Every party needs a game, so we had a game.  Pin the Tail Bone on the Skeleton, or um... Stick the Post-It Note on the Bone.  Yeah, that works!
I bought this skeleton at Dollar Tree this past October.  Wasn't that brilliant strategy?  =D
This is what we did:

 

Came in close second.

 

Winner!

Since this Contest is Every Man for Himself, they each had to label Oscar individually.  No teams.  Yes, he has a name!  =)
The names of the bones were written on sticky notes (that's what we call Post-It Notes).  I got super sticky ones so they'd last a few times.  We had 2 rounds (one at 3 min; one at 2 min.) multiplied by 4 kids, and time to check answers before pulling the sticky notes off between turns, then tally scores, and a few giggles here and there, all took about 30-35 minutes.  I should have bought two skeletons.  They could have raced.  =)
Whichever ones were labeled wrong or were just not labeled when time was up, counted off their points.
It was a good thing to do before the quiz.  Some got radius and ulna mixed up (the two bones in the lower arm), and one student put patella (kneecap) in the middle of the sternum (chestbone).  Um... that would be difficult if your sternum bent when you started to kick a ball!  hahaha! 


Labeling Oscar helped them review for the quiz.  =)
Something must have been funny. ↓ Something is always funny with these girls!  I know they weren't overjoyed at a quiz, haha!

Even the little boys got to play w/ Oscar.  =)

spiny puffer

We went on to learn about the circulatory system, the nervous system, and reproduction.
We learned several classes in this phylum, staying a little longer with class Osteichthyes (ost ee ICK thees), which have bony fish.
There are some vastly different fish!  Some do not look like regular fish, like the spiny puffer and, at certain angles, the lionfish.

lionfish

We learned about the major internal structures and the circulatory system in fish.  Can you tell there was another dissection coming?  Yep, perch.
Class Amphibia called for yet another dissection.  Frog.
We didn't do either of these. 
Some girls students were glad.  =)

sMiLeS,

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,