You’ll get no excuses from me.  In a nutshell, we cranked out the final months of our school year with vigor.  I had signed the boys up for summer camp, and since it was slated to begin June 10th, we had to really buckle down to complete the lessons on time.  Who says homeschoolers don’t stick to a schedule??

The boys had a blast this summer though.  They complained that it was “too much like school” in the beginning, but they quickly got over that idea.  Big props to the United Methodist Church in Cape Coral for a great program!  This was their first official summer program, and they did a great job.

So here we are…August 8th, 2011.  Today was supposed to kick off our new school year, but unfortunately, the boys’ computers aren’t ready yet.  So we’ll be starting a week later than public school.   The good news is that I have decided to implement a 4-day school week, with Fridays being our ‘Reading Day’.  The boys are really on board with this idea.  Even if we’re starting a week later than our public school peers, and with the shortened week, we’ll still end around the same time.  How is that possible?  Easy.  We don’t take as many breaks during the school year as the public school does.   My boys would drive me, and each other, crazy if they had two weeks off for “winter break”.  We take a couple of days before and after Christmas off.  We also forgo the ‘spring break’.  My boys have no idea what ‘spring break’ is anyway…why disrupt the rhythm and routine?

So, hopefully this time next week I’ll be updating this blog with our first day of school! 

The Canary List

First, let me say that if you are Catholic, this book is not for you.   This book attempts to do what Dan Brown did in The DaVinci Code – use the Catholic church as a backdrop, then throw mud and muck all over the Vatican.  It will offend even the most liberal Catholic.

The story is about a young orphan girl (Jaimie) who supposedly can detect demons inside of people, a psychiatrist (Dr. Mackenzie) who is trying to help her,  a teacher (Crockett), and the Catholic church.

On the anniversary of his daughter’s death, Crockett is drowning his sorrows at home.  The girl shows up on his doorstep fearing for her life from “evil”.  And then the story takes off.

But not really.

None of the characters are fully fleshed out, and the result leaves the reader unaffected.  I kept reading hoping to get to know these people.  The author only gives us small glimpses of what motivates these characters, but never really gives us an opportunity to understand them.  It was no different than reading the local newspaper – you feel badly about the tragedies, but since they don’t really affect you, they don’t stick with you either.

The whole story is disjointed and even with suspending any sort of disbelief, it just didn’t flow well.  Crockett must be some sort of real-life Superman, as he is beaten, tasered, hung, kidnapped…you name it, and still continues on with the energy of a teenager.

There isn’t one redeeming quality about any of the priests portrayed in the book.  This author really has an axe to grind with the Catholic church.

It also felt like the author rushed the final third of the book.  There were so many loose ends, and instead of tying them up neatly one-by-one, they just ended, without much thought or substance.

Plot aside, the editors really failed on this book too.  There are disjointed sentences, and typos all over this book.   It was a real distraction at times.

This book was a disappointment for me, and I probably won’t be passing it on to anyone else.  It’s a shame because the basic story line had a lot of potential.

The boys are both doing well in their subjects.  Some new things we did this month:

• Cam is learning multiplication
• Ty is learning about matter
• Cam is learning about writing a friendly letter
• Ty is doing better just writing (lol)
• Cam is learning about verbs
• Ty is learning two-digit subtraction
• Cam is learning about the human body
• Both boys are doing very well in spelling
• Both boys had a ton of fun at the Naples Zoo on Valentine’s Day
• Both boys had a blast at the Fort Myers Imaginarium
• Both boys had an amazing time with their cousin Will, Grandma Jean, and Grandpa Bill at the Ringling Museum of Art and the NHL hockey game we went to
• Cam was excited to watch Space Shuttle Discovery lift off successfully
• Both boys enjoyed competing in the Awanas Olympics
• Both boys are doing very well in hockey this month too

It’s been a crazy month!  In addition to our regular schooling, we went on a lot of field trips, Scott got very ill (which worried the boys), and we are in the process of …well, I can’t say just yet.  Crazy!

So, here are some pictures of what we did:

Awanas Olympics:

You’ll notice that I didn’t include pictures from our trip to the art museum or the zoo.  I’m going to post those in separate blog posts.

I can only hope that March is a little less hectic than February was!

I’m not interested in hashing out the political ramifications of what will happen if the Egyptian citizens achieve their goal, so I will only pray for the preservation of life and the protection of the historical artifacts that reside there.  I hope you will join me in this prayer.

Since we’re taking next Monday off for Cam’s birthday, I wanted to make sure we covered as much as possible in school this week.  It’s been a blur, honestly.  We start around 8:30am, and the next thing you know, it’s 2pm already!

Anyway, Cam has been learning about writing letters, and addressing envelopes in his English class.  He tells me that this is currently his “favorite” lesson.  He had an English chapter test this week, and scored 100:

In Math, he’s learning about adding 3-digit numbers.  The past month or so, Cam has been struggling a bit with this.  We’ve been doing some math drills to sharpen his addition/subtraction skills, and he’s been doing GREAT on those.  For some reason though, he’s struggling with the “re-naming” (carrying over – for those of you who learned to name it that).  He’ll get it though.

Ty is learning to add 2-digit numbers in Math:

Ty had an end-of-unit test in his Language Arts class.  He continues to baffle me.  During the day he seems like he’s not paying attention or just doesn’t care about the work, but when it’s time for the test, he takes his time and aces it.  Maybe I need to push him harder…

Here is a picture of a scroll Ty made in his Composition class:

Both of the boys are enjoying their Science lessons.  Ty is learning about Matter, and he wanted to make sure I got a picture of him doing his science experiment.  In this experiment, he’s learning about gravity.

Earlier this week I took advantage of the Scholastic Dollar Deals and downloaded half a dozen eBooks for the boys.  One of the books was about The Human Body, and has some really great craft/activities in it.  Here’s a picture of Cam’s “Brain Hat”.

He was so proud of his hat that he took it to Awanas this week.  Unfortunately, one of the other kids tried to wear it and it got torn.  No biggie though…we’ll print out another copy. 

Ty practiced his spelling words by spelling them with playdoh:

Random photo alert!  This is a puppet Cam made LAST week in his math class, that I had forgotten to upload earlier:

Here is Ty’s Bible verse for this chapter:

And what would First Grade be without making “crazy crayons”?

We finished the week strong, with both boys getting a 100 on their Spelling tests!

The boys really loved everything you bought for them!  Thank you so much! 

The boys also enjoy Tim Hawkins, and yes, they sang along with Tim during his show.  Their favorite song being, “Smells Like Kansas”.

Here are some pictures and video of the event.

Scott told me that it was the best birthday present ever. 

Metaxas does an amazing job of describing who Bonhoeffer was, where he came from, his faith, and his ultimate execution.  By allowing us to read personal letters, his diary, sermons, and see personal photos of Bonhoeffer, the author really lets us get to know the heart and soul of this man.  Metaxas doesn’t just stop with Bonhoeffer though.  He really brings to life the culture of Germany and answers the question:  how could this have happened?

In reading this book, it is clear that the work of Bonhoeffer continues today.  If you are a Christian, this book will inspire you, and it will really make you reflect on your own faith in Jesus Christ.  Bonhoeffer’s biography should be read in Sunday School classes around the world!  This is a man who proclaimed his faith in Jesus Christ, lived his life as his faith dictated, and put his life on the line for it.  I recommend this book wholeheartedly!

Since I homeschool my boys, I plan on incorporating this book into our curriculum when they are old enough to understand the material.  This is a ‘hero’ my boys can look up to!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This week’s topic was, “Florida Marine Life”.  The Imaginarium was transformed into a beautifully overwhelming, underwater extravaganza!  Truly, it was amazing.  I told my friend Lisa that I was going to bring Scott back to it – it was that incredible.  If you all live in the Southwest Florida area, I strongly urge you to go check it out!

We started out with a scavenger hunt:

Then it was off to the Sting Ray tank (again):

After that, it was break time, and they were off exploring:

Cam doesn’t like the noise of the hurricane simulator, so while Ty was in the hurricane simulator, Cam chose to play with the hurricane exhibit (brought to us by a local hurricane shutter company LOL).

SHARK ATTACK!

After break time, it was time to get back to class.  Miss Annie didn’t disappoint!  They got to dissect a squid!

They located and pulled out the squid’s “backbone”:

In Cam’s Science class this week he’s learning about fossils.  Here is a fossil he made:

Here’s is Cam learning about silt:

And Ty spent some time practicing his spelling words by using M&Ms:

I wanted to add pictures of the box of Christmas presents we received from Grandma Jean here.  But I can’t find the SD card!  So frustrating!  As soon as I find it, I’ll upload those as well.  Grandma Jean, Grandpa Bill,  Aunt Naomi and Uncle Dan (and “the cousins”) sent the boys a box full of science kits, experiments, and puzzles.  To say that my little science nerds LOVED them, would be a drastic understatement.

Here is a picture of the Amphibian Rover that Cam made (BY HIMSELF!):

This picture is a little blurry (oops).

For those who are wondering, yes, it worked perfectly! 

Here is Ty making his magic wand (to be used for performing magic science tricks):

Cam wants me to inform you all that the next Space Shuttle launch is scheduled for February 24th.    I don’t think we’ll make this one, but he sure is angling for it. 

I wanted to send a special THANK YOU to my wonderful husband for being the ‘substitute teacher’ for me on Thursday.  This allowed me to go grocery shopping SOLO, and I thoroughly enjoyed the morning off! 

Have a great week everyone!

As I mentioned last week, Cam is doing a BookLink unit study based on  the book, Pulling Together.  Each day he has to write in his ‘Horse Journal’, read the book, do a craft, and sometimes a worksheet.  On Monday, his teacher suggested that maybe he could have apple pie for dinner one day.  So that is how we came to eat apple pie for dinner on Monday.

I made the world famous Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie.  I actually made two.    They turned out beautifully, as this recipe is pretty “no fail”.  See that darker, gooey stuff on the crust?  That’s caramel.  Mmmmmmmmm!  We added ice cream on top of our pie.

He also made an apple wreath out of the dried apples we worked on last week:

Ty finished up his Booklink unit study on Once in Blueberry Dell.  He really enjoyed this story.  Here is a picture of him holding his “puppet show” that he made:

Another fun craft he did during this booklink was to make cherry tea sandwiches, and drink mint tea.  He started out in his regular clothes, but quickly excused himself to put on his chef’s jacket:

In Science, Cam was learning about “The History of Earth”.  One of the things I like about BJU (so far) is that it doesn’t “hide” from the theory of evolution.  While they do stress Creation, they also bring evolution right out into the open at the beginning.  The reason I like this is because I feel it really teaches the WHOLE argument.  This is from the fist pages of the chapter:

“Ideas About the Beginning”

There are two main ideas, or beliefs, about how the earth was made.  One idea is called creation.  The other is called evolution.

People who believe the Creation theory believe that God made the earth.  They also believe that God changed the earth at least two times in the past.  The Bible says that the earth changed when God cursed it and when God destroyed it with a flood.  People who believe the evolution theory believe that the earth made itself.  They also believe that the earth changed many times in the past.  Each theory has a different way to explain the clues scientists find in the rocks.

Bob Jones Science 2

Cam’s science experiment was to create something; specifically, pudding.

Unfortunately, due to bad planning on my part, we had to temporarily suspend Science for the rest of the week.  I am waiting on a fossil kit to come in.  He will be learning about fossils as he studies the history of earth.

Both of the boys had tests this week:

Cam:  English – A
Math – A-
Spelling – A

Ty: Math – A-
Spelling – A+
Bible – A

Both boys are doing very well in their lessons.

SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT:

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Before I get to the science stuff we did, I thought I would do a quick recap of our other lessons first.

Ty is doing his first BookLink Lessons.  Booklinks are reading/language arts/art and crafts all rolled into one.  You take a book (in our case the book is,  Once in Blueberry Dell), have the child read sections silently, then do a few comprehension exercises.  We also play a game and do some fun crafts that coincide with the story.  It’s a nice break from the regular routine, and the boys just love “booklink time”. 

Cam is also doing a BookLink lesson.  His book is called, Pulling Together.  Like all of BJU’s stuff, it has a great moral to the story and some fantastic lessons are learned through the story.  Cam has really enjoyed reading this book so far.

Here is Cam drying apples for the dried apple wreath he will be making next week:

In Math, Ty continues to review subtraction facts, and Cam is diving into 3-digit numbers.  Apparently over the holidays Cam forgot how to tell time, as he was a little rusty on his worksheets this week.  Hopefully it will all come back to him as he continues to review it.  He had a Math recipe this week:  Chocolate Fondue (or at least, a second grader’s chocolate fondue LOL).  Amazingly, the boys ate all of the strawberries, and very little chocolate.  Makes a mother’s heart proud!  

Cam is still learning how to write in cursive in his Handwriting class, and is quite pleased with himself now that he can write his full name in cursive.  It’s the little things.  LOL

Ty’s handwriting is improving (thankfully), but he’s still a little too sloppy for my standards.  He will get better with time, I’m sure.  He also no longer wants my help when it’s time to write out his compositions.  He prefers to write his story, in his own spelling.  This is a time-saver for me, and I have actually LOVED reading his work – mistakes and all.  I know some parents prefer to teach them the right way to write and have the children do copywork, but I actually think that Ty is learning to spell better by seeing his mistakes after the fact.  It’s hard to explain.

Here is Ty’s “sweet sheep” from Bible class:

One of the Christmas presents Cam received this year was, Snap Circuits.  He was really excited to try them out, and he and Scott had a lot of fun going through the first few projects.

One of Ty’s gifts was a chef’s coat and hat.  And a bag of chocolate chip cookie mix.  So Ty and I decided it was time for Iron Chef Ty to make his cookies!

On to Science…

Ty’s lessons centered around the five senses.  For his first experiment, he had to use his sense of smell, and determine what was inside of an envelope (I had put a breath mint in it).  His second experiment had to do with touch and sight.  We picked a leaf off of one of the trees, and had to write what we saw and felt (smooth vs. rough, color(s), etc.).

And his last experiment was in smell and taste.  I filled four cups with water, then added:  lemon, salt, sugar, coffee.  He had to guess what was in each cup based on smell first.  Then, he tasted each one.  He decided that his favorite smelling cup was the lemon, and the one that tasted the best was the sugar water.

In Cam’s science class, he learned about annuals, perennials, and biennials.  He planted a bean plant, and learned how to read the information on the back of the seed packet.

While school was a lot of fun this week, the highlight of the boys’ week was going to Cousin Kendall’s Fifth Birthday Party!  When the Three Amigos get together anything can happen!