tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10098051818242131372024-03-13T12:10:30.976-07:00A Child's Garden... because the outdoors is our classroom...AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-51497430317198658862017-04-12T17:47:00.000-07:002017-04-12T17:47:27.275-07:00Signs of Spring... <h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zdOSxTxIv8/WO7JaqNYKMI/AAAAAAAAiwo/tsyDWz7yxisgCt9QffMvQ7bcHFLzGvQhgCLcB/s1600/Robin%2Bby%2BKen%2Band%2BNyetta%2B2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zdOSxTxIv8/WO7JaqNYKMI/AAAAAAAAiwo/tsyDWz7yxisgCt9QffMvQ7bcHFLzGvQhgCLcB/s400/Robin%2Bby%2BKen%2Band%2BNyetta%2B2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robins are singing ... what signs of spring are YOU observing? <i>{Image credit (c) Ken and Nyetta, 2015 via <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode" target="_blank">Creative Commons</a>}</i></td></tr>
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</h2>
<h2>
Spring has sprung...</h2>
With the weather near 90 degrees
yesterday, we have been enjoying hearing robins singing and other signs
of spring nature activities the past few days. Open windows, fresh air,
and daffodils... ahhh...<br />
<br />
I spent some time taking inventory of our
science plans for the spring, and wanted to share a few of the
resources I was mulling over today:<br />
<br />
If you're into citizen science projects, <a data-mce-href="http://www.learner.org" href="http://www.learner.org/" target="_blank">Journey North</a>
has some excellent lessons and projects you can do. The fun part is
being able to say you are working on real research projects with people
from all over the world! Check out the <a data-mce-href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/robin/spring2017/robin-migration041217.html" href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/robin/spring2017/robin-migration041217.html" target="_blank">robins</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/weather/aborn/spring2017/update041217.html" href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/weather/aborn/spring2017/update041217.html" target="_blank">songbirds </a>and <a data-mce-href="https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tulip/spring2017/update041217.html" href="https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tulip/spring2017/update041217.html" target="_blank">tulip test garden</a> projects ~ even download their <a data-mce-href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/mobile/index.html" href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/mobile/index.html" target="_blank">mobile app</a> so you can log in observations on all the signs of spring while you're on the go in your area!<br />
<br />
The <a data-mce-href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com" href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/" target="_blank">Outdoor Hour Challenge</a>
provides great links to printables and resources to use in nature
study. A free subscription gets you the monthly newsletter delivered
right to your inbox. This month's focus is on spring ephemerals and
other early spring wildflowers that are signs of spring in so many parts
of the United States. Consider a <a data-mce-href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/join-us-today/" href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/join-us-today/" target="_blank">membership </a>to gain access to enough materials to fill your science needs for the entire year, for the whole family.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're also creating a unit on crystals for this month... Stay tuned for more details!</td></tr>
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<h2>
What signs of spring are you observing now?</h2>
Leave a comment below, and tell me how you know that spring is on the way, where you live!<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-44944442153378859632016-08-31T13:09:00.002-07:002016-09-05T04:26:51.419-07:00Starting School Smoothly: Tuesday Review {Aug 30}<h1>
Starting School Off Right ~ Science Tips, Strategies and Resources</h1>
By
now, most of you are back in the classroom, either preparing for the
arrival of students, or greeting them during their first week. Starting
school off right is a goal for all of us, whether teaching at home or in
a school building. So, here are some helpful posts on starting school
on the right foot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MN3R-U6DyiA/V8XKl6fJKLI/AAAAAAAAd8E/HFASfPcLknclbJae3i01xnRDLRlFYPqCACLcB/s1600/globes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MN3R-U6DyiA/V8XKl6fJKLI/AAAAAAAAd8E/HFASfPcLknclbJae3i01xnRDLRlFYPqCACLcB/s400/globes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's Back to School Week! Starting school smoothly is easy with these tips. {<i>Photo via Creative Commons</i>}</td></tr>
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<h1>
Back to School with Science</h1>
First, its important to remember that Back to School week can be stressful for children -- and adults! In "<a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/5-tips-for-a-peaceful-back-to-school/" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/5-tips-for-a-peaceful-back-to-school/">Back to School: Are YOU Ready</a>?" I shared tips from psychologists on how to make the transition from summer to school year smooth and peaceful.<br />
<br />
Next,
we need to get our students hooked into the school year. Being a
science lover, I always liked to use science as a Back to School hook.
In "<a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/10-tips-for-teaching-science/" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/10-tips-for-teaching-science/">Get Started Teaching Science: You, Too, Can Be a Science Teacher!</a>" I offer ten easy ways to choose science topics that will engage your students and start school off on a science note.<br />
<br />
Then, we check our materials. Teachers often start school off with the earth sciences. Check out "<a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/earth-science-strategies-models/" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/earth-science-strategies-models/">Earth Science Strategies, Pt I: Using Models</a>" for suggestions on classroom supplies every early childhood classroom should have when teaching geology and geography.<br />
<br />
Now, it's time to plan. I love organizational tools, and know you do, too. So, download my <a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/10-tips-for-teaching-science/" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/10-tips-for-teaching-science/">FREE Science Unit Planner </a>to help you organize your science lessons. Or, if you like to study apples in September, here is my botany e-book, "<a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/the-simple-science-store/#axzz2B3nCZi5f" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/the-simple-science-store/#axzz2B3nCZi5f">A is for Apples</a>" (13 pages, $1.95).<br />
<br />
I am constantly adding science posts to the <a data-mce-href="https://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/simple-science-strategies-on-pinterest/" href="https://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/simple-science-strategies-on-pinterest/"><i>Simple Science Strategies</i> on Pinterest</a>
board ~ check it out, and start pinning! Or, subscribe directly to my
Simple Science Strategies blog for updates right in your inbox.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teach land and water features using outdoor walks and models. {<i>Photo credit (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2015</i>}</td></tr>
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<h2>
Ministry News</h2>
We
know that starting school can be stressful for families who can't
afford school clothes for their children. In order to help ease this
stress, our Christian Kindness in Action Ministry recently sponsored two
events. These events helped families find low-cost or no-cost solutions
to the school clothes dilemma.<br />
<br />
~ Our first event was our <a data-mce-href="https://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/upper-room-christian-center-ct-tag-sale/" href="https://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/upper-room-christian-center-ct-tag-sale/">Annual Upper Room Christian Center Community Tag Sale</a>,
where families could find school and church clothing for infants
through adults. Families could fill a bag of baby clothes for $5 or
purchase a backpack for $0.25. Grown-ups could go home with a $5 pair of
jeans, or a men's suit for $10. {Proceeds went to our Christian
Education Department, for purchasing desks and chairs for our new
Education Building}. In addition to helping families start school with
the right gear, this event allowed community members to showcase their
own businesses by renting a booth.<br />
<br />
~ Next, we gave. Twice a year, we sponsor a <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1117797028303268&set=a.724520380964270.1073741826.100002189442589&type=3&theater" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1117797028303268&set=a.724520380964270.1073741826.100002189442589&type=3&theater">Clothing Give-away</a>. We gave away strollers, shoes, fall jackets... even soccer cleats! See for yourself!<br />
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<iframe align="middle" allowfullscreen=" allowtransparency=" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBlessedSabrina%2Fvideos%2F1334899063188822%2F&show_text=0&width=400" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" true="" width="400"></iframe>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pin <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/152418768618397709/" target="_blank">this image</a> to your Science board!</td></tr>
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You can also follow our other ministry news on Pinterest (<a data-mce-href="https://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/winning-1000000-souls/" href="https://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/winning-1000000-souls/">Winning 1,000,000 Souls</a>).<br />
<br />
Finally, I would be wrong to not thank you for being a loyal follower of <a data-mce-href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/" href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/"><i>A Child's Garden</i></a>! Here's a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Autumn-Leaves-A-Plant-Study-390028" target="_blank">freebie</a>, just for being you!<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-76469765389372077572016-08-16T04:42:00.000-07:002016-08-16T05:08:48.455-07:00Homeschool Curriculum: What are YOU Using This Fall?<h2>
Homeschool Curriculum ~ Make it Work for You!</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
Over the seven years we have homeschooled, we have used many different curricula. Sometimes it was Ambleside, sometimes Well-Trained mind, sometimes I made it myself. You can see our choices, by grade, in our "<a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/p/homeschool-schedules.html" target="_blank">Homeschool Schedules</a>." Usually, we started with one idea, and ended up with another one. We've gone to the library, used free materials, and purchased many items. It always changes.<br />
<br />
This year, we are going totally boxed. This is the first year we have purchased an entire grade-level homeschool curriculum kit. We're excited, but also a little apprehensive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PbRvDtJVUpc/V7Ime47UqfI/AAAAAAAAdac/ZYGsLTa9LCYs8ZANwD_dFBJZV2U9KfUQwCLcB/s1600/homeschool%2Bcurriculum%2Bgrade%2B8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com homeschool curriculum" border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PbRvDtJVUpc/V7Ime47UqfI/AAAAAAAAdac/ZYGsLTa9LCYs8ZANwD_dFBJZV2U9KfUQwCLcB/s320/homeschool%2Bcurriculum%2Bgrade%2B8.jpg" title="Sonlight 100 Homeschool Curriculum" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Un-boxing our Grade 8 homeschool curriculum: Sonlight 100. Exciting! {Photo credit, (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2016}</td></tr>
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For me, it was the fact that all my homeschool curriculum was conveniently in one box - the student materials, the teacher materials, the books... And, although I love writing my own lessons, it takes time. Since my small business takes me out of the house a few days a week, I need more time in the day, not less time. So, we paid more and purchased Sonlight Level 100 as our Grade 8 homeschool curriculum for Fall 2016.<br />
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<h4>
What Did We Get in Our Homeschool Curriculum?</h4>
First of all, since this was the first year we used Sonlight, we used Sonlight's built-in "SmoothCourse" tools when <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool/curriculum/smoothcourse/" target="_blank">selecting the proper homeschool curriculum</a>. The tool bases your box on the history course you select for your child. In our case, it recommended American History. Curriculum selection was quick and easy, and gave us the following selections for our Grade 8 box:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i><b><u>History/Geography and Bible Study</u></b></i>: American History, Bible </li>
<li><u><i><b>English Language Arts: </b></i></u>American Historical Literature (including grammar, spelling, writing and vocabulary work)</li>
<li><u><i><b>Math: </b></i></u>Algebra I</li>
<li><u><i><b>Science: </b></i></u>Physics *</li>
<li><u><i><b>Humanities Elective: </b></i></u>Dating with Integrity</li>
</ul>
To these, we will add homeschool gym, swimming lessons and swim team for PE, and, perhaps, some cooking and/or technology classes at the local community college. We may opt to postpone Physics until our son's junior year, when it comes up again. This is for two reasons. 1) I want him to be more confident in math before we hit physics. 2) We have <i>Exploring Creation</i> materials that we haven't used from the elementary years (Zoology 2, 3 and Botany).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1tYCa3x8JkI/V7Ixa3oRthI/AAAAAAAAdas/kSvzQEkfMlY5ZjyxAko6QeTwPJ3utxsRQCLcB/s1600/history%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1tYCa3x8JkI/V7Ixa3oRthI/AAAAAAAAdas/kSvzQEkfMlY5ZjyxAko6QeTwPJ3utxsRQCLcB/s320/history%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't feel obligated to a particular homeschool curriculum ~ feel free to modify as you go! {Photo credit (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2016}</td></tr>
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<h3>
Need Help with Homeschool Curriculum?</h3>
One thing I love about the homeschool community is how collaborative we are. It's nice to be able to "get by with a little help from my friends." If you're still thinking about creating your own homeschool curriculum for your kiddo, take a peek at the following posts:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>If you are using Apologia's <i>Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, </i>here is a <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/04/scheduling-zoology-1-flying-creatures.html" target="_blank">daily homeschool schedule</a> we developed (instead of the provided twice weekly schedule).</li>
<li>I love the book, <i>One Small Square: Backyard. </i>Here are some tips on <a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/biomes-teaching-with-the-one-small-square-series/" target="_blank">using living books</a> to teach about biomes.</li>
<li>In fourth grade, we built a <a href="https://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/creating-a-theme-basket-the-swiss-family-robinson/" target="_blank">theme basket</a> based on the classic tale, <i>Swiss Family Robinson</i>.</li>
<li>My son loves to write, but hates to be given the assignment. To calm myself, I created a list of <a href="https://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/writing-for-life-10-things-kids-should-be-able-to-write/" target="_blank">10 things all kids should know how to write</a>. We cycle through the list each year, adding elements as age-appropriate.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
For More Homeschool Help...</h3>
Katia Hornor offers an online course on <a href="https://madmimi.com/p/ad1388?fe=1&pact=33441-133433599-7166216854-2819f9c4d9a176a2d477d65d7856bca2ca0417aa" target="_blank">organizing your homeschool curriculum</a> at Paradise Praises. For tips on dealing with back to school nerves, see my post, "<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/5-tips-for-a-peaceful-back-to-school/" target="_blank">Back to School Time: Are YOU Ready</a>?" And, as always, keep up with all of our homeschool posts on the "<a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/search/label/homeschool" target="_blank">Homeschool</a>" tab at the top of this page.<br />
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What Homeschool Curriculum Will YOU Use This Year?</h3>
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Leave a note in the comments, below, and share how you chose your homeschool curriculum this year. Have an awesome week, friends!</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-5667560886250066852016-08-10T08:58:00.000-07:002016-08-10T10:50:05.266-07:00Welcome to "A Child's Garden!"<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
Hello, friend! My name is Kim, and I am so glad you stopped in at "The Garden."<br />
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What You'll Find in "A Child's Garden..."</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JMYt8d_6bHE/V6sllqXS8WI/AAAAAAAAdJY/HhVyvijyD1cP0IDCXjl-wHgUIwfmb2yfQCLcB/s1600/ant%2Blion%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-study-1-antstermites-and-ant.html" border="0" height="199" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JMYt8d_6bHE/V6sllqXS8WI/AAAAAAAAdJY/HhVyvijyD1cP0IDCXjl-wHgUIwfmb2yfQCLcB/s200/ant%2Blion%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Ants, Termites and Ant Lions at A Child's Garden" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-study-1-antstermites-and-ant.html" target="_blank">"Ants, Termites and Ant Lions"</a></td></tr>
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Here on my blog, I will share a lot about me, my family, and the things that make my heart glad!<br />
<ul>
<li>ideas and plans for homeschoolers, including sample schedules </li>
<li>tips on balancing homeschool, home life and a home-based business</li>
<li>celebrations of our spiritual life as missionaries</li>
<li>helpful hints and articles for being a better science teacher, including a list of nature study ideas</li>
<li>posts on ways to teach history through a hobby (in our case, geneology)</li>
<li>free stuff, stuff for sale, and so much more!</li>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ASHZ6HLGYq0/V6s0nP75iyI/AAAAAAAAdKY/9MrhlHdDdnkQ1BEYgARzwI_qQgUb4zIRwCLcB/s1600/hummingbird%2Bmoth%2Bbutterflybush%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/08/hummingbird-sphinx-moths.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ASHZ6HLGYq0/V6s0nP75iyI/AAAAAAAAdKY/9MrhlHdDdnkQ1BEYgARzwI_qQgUb4zIRwCLcB/s200/hummingbird%2Bmoth%2Bbutterflybush%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Hummingbird (Sphinx) Moths" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/08/hummingbird-sphinx-moths.html" target="_blank">"Hummingbird (Sphinx) Moths"</a></td></tr>
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Popular Posts </h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/08/experiments-in-flight-lift-thrust-and.html" target="_blank">"Experiments in Flight"</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf7A8EgIIhA/V6slsyQKTnI/AAAAAAAAdJk/0KeIdFMlxZoYxPCQXUUWD78jATk85BUVACLcB/s1600/DandelionSeedhead%2BNature%2BStudy%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/07/dandelions-bilingual-lesson-on-plant.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf7A8EgIIhA/V6slsyQKTnI/AAAAAAAAdJk/0KeIdFMlxZoYxPCQXUUWD78jATk85BUVACLcB/s200/DandelionSeedhead%2BNature%2BStudy%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Dandelions: A Bilingual Lesson" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/07/dandelions-bilingual-lesson-on-plant.html" target="_blank">"Dandelions: A Bilingual Lesson"</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/09/citronella-ants-go-marching.html" target="_blank">"Citronella Ants Go Marching"</a></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Wsq05fqPdU/V6sl8-KCtdI/AAAAAAAAdJw/bmVqBdJUNqww3hDX880Bqhe2vfxgiLxtgCLcB/s1600/swiss%2Bfamily%2Brobinson%2Bcover%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/02/teaching-science-and-nature-through.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Wsq05fqPdU/V6sl8-KCtdI/AAAAAAAAdJw/bmVqBdJUNqww3hDX880Bqhe2vfxgiLxtgCLcB/s200/swiss%2Bfamily%2Brobinson%2Bcover%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Teaching Science Through Literature - Swiss Family Robinson" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/02/teaching-science-and-nature-through.html" target="_blank">"Teaching Science Through Literature"</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olv8juWiBdI/V6smvrXP3-I/AAAAAAAAdJ4/u5cDGgQ2II4zVAMA-6GdeAfl48GmC-szACLcB/s1600/nature%2Bstudy%2Bthreadleaf%2Bcoreopsis%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/p/how-we-conduct-nature-study.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olv8juWiBdI/V6smvrXP3-I/AAAAAAAAdJ4/u5cDGgQ2II4zVAMA-6GdeAfl48GmC-szACLcB/s200/nature%2Bstudy%2Bthreadleaf%2Bcoreopsis%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Nature Study" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/p/how-we-conduct-nature-study.html" target="_blank">"Nature Study"</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PptghaBMuTM/V6slsx4SMiI/AAAAAAAAdJg/URF7CD-Ahvk5xy3MWvkequyR7P8skN3HwCLcB/s1600/bumblebee%2Bcomp%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/04/scheduling-zoology-1-flying-creatures.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PptghaBMuTM/V6slsx4SMiI/AAAAAAAAdJg/URF7CD-Ahvk5xy3MWvkequyR7P8skN3HwCLcB/s200/bumblebee%2Bcomp%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="Scheduling Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/04/scheduling-zoology-1-flying-creatures.html" target="_blank">"Scheduling Zoology 1: Flying Creatures"</a></td></tr>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-60172586693158696772015-01-25T17:14:00.001-08:002015-01-28T09:00:43.723-08:00Snowballs, Snowflakes and Snowmen: Winter-Themed Lesson Plans<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqpjVGuaLiE/VMVcYfYMaqI/AAAAAAAACCc/cSA9Mb8DU4s/s1600/one%2Bwinter%2Bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqpjVGuaLiE/VMVcYfYMaqI/AAAAAAAACCc/cSA9Mb8DU4s/s1600/one%2Bwinter%2Bday.jpg" height="375" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"That Grand Old Poem called 'Winter'..." </i> <i>Henry David Thoreau. Photo credit (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2015.</i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Building a Snowman: Engineering and So Much More!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm not sure what your weather is like lately, but it appears that it is finally winter here in New England. On Saturday, we enjoyed about 7" of packy snow, and delightful winter temperatures in the 30's -- great for outdoor play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Has it been snowy where you live? Instead of staying cooped up inside, why not get everyone outside for some fresh air and winter fun? The natural excitement of fresh snow can be an instant hook for any homeschool or classroom lessons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And it's not just kid stuff, either: fun, familiar winter activities, such as snowman building, can teach important engineering ideas, and offer great opportunities for developing mathematical language.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-utnWZtpfGh0/VMVgeXDfgCI/AAAAAAAACCo/kLz9AscYeio/s1600/ohcblogcarnivalbuttoncopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-utnWZtpfGh0/VMVgeXDfgCI/AAAAAAAACCo/kLz9AscYeio/s1600/ohcblogcarnivalbuttoncopy.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/2014/12/outdoor-hour-challenge-blog-carnival-december-2014.html/" target="_blank">January 2015 OHC Blog Carnival</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Snowmen, Snowman Stories and Fake Snow: Winter Weather in
the Elementary Classroom</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><i>Building Snowmen and the Engineering Design Process</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our recent snowstorm was a great opportunity to practice the Engineering Design Process in our homeschool classroom (on a SATURDAY, yet!). Although our youngest homeschooler is a sixth grader, the engineering design process can be used with even preschoolers. Any time we solve human problems using science, we are using the engineering design process. Here are the steps:</span></div>
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<li><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Ask: </b>Our question was, "How can we make a bigger, better snowman than last time?"</span></i></li>
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<li><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Plan: </b>We quickly divided the tasks among ourselves (snowball rollers {Mom and son}, materials gatherers {ditto}, photojournalist {Mom}, cheerleader and evaluator {Dad}).</span></i></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ibauuh9bJw0/VMV_LZ6SfUI/AAAAAAAACEU/YTHIu0OCuZE/s1600/January%2Bsnow%2B035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ibauuh9bJw0/VMV_LZ6SfUI/AAAAAAAACEU/YTHIu0OCuZE/s1600/January%2Bsnow%2B035.JPG" height="320" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out our <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_25.html" target="_blank">engineering design process in photos</a>! (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2015</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connecting Snowman Building with
Literature</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Snowman building fun doesn't have to end once the snowman is built. There are many classroom connections to literacy, social studies, health and mathematics that can be used both before the snowman engineering and as follow-up extensions of the outdoor activities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Interested in building upon the snowman experience? See <a href="http://bbsoulful2.hubpages.com/hub/snowman-lesson-plans#">"Building a Snowman: Lessons for Preschool and Kindergarten"</a> for cross-curricular connections that can be used for young snowman engineers and other winter enthusiasts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Enjoying Snow, Any Day of the Year</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We were fortunate enough to have a warm, wonderful snow-play day, which included our dog wearing his doggy sweater (which he loves) and a sneak-snowball-attack on Dad, who was shoveling. However, some winter days just are not hospitable for outdoor play, or your snow isn't packy enough for snowballs and snowmen.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you find your winter weather just a little too wintry for comfort, check out Isaac Saul's <a href="http://aplus.com/a/asia-crito-fun-at-home-with-kids" target="_blank">"12 Most Fun Activities You Can Do With Children,"</a> including winter-theme treasures as <i>"Magic Dough Snowmen," "Rainbow Ice Towers"</i> and <i>"Magic Puffing Snow"</i> - great sensory table ideas for homeschool and classroom. Try these, and other, ideas, when the weather outside is frightful, or you are thinking wintery thoughts in June!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99ABLKIYLuY/VMWPaS9w-xI/AAAAAAAACFA/xLHuuN1Ca7w/s1600/snowflake.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99ABLKIYLuY/VMWPaS9w-xI/AAAAAAAACFA/xLHuuN1Ca7w/s1600/snowflake.PNG" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo credit: (c) Microsoft, 2010</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add Sparkle to Your Winter Lesson Plans – Get Out in the
Snow!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A sudden change in weather can be an exciting way to add
pizzazz to your lessons in your homeschool or classroom. With a little advanced
preparation, you can create powerful learning from familiar, fun outdoor winter
activities. Why not plan some for your winter instruction?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Need to build a thematic library for your snowman studies? Here are some great picture books to include in your snowman activities: </span></span></div>
<script charset="utf-8" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwidgetsamazon-20%2F8010%2F860484f9-c8e8-4779-b285-b94b4b6b556a&Operation=GetScriptTemplate" type="text/javascript"> </script> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwidgetsamazon-20%2F8010%2F860484f9-c8e8-4779-b285-b94b4b6b556a&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>
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</xml><![endif]--><b>More Winter Learning... </b><br />
<br />
If you have toddlers in your home, Erica Loop has a great list of <a href="http://www.thewomentalk.com/10-winter-themed-books-for-toddlers" target="_blank">10 Winter-Themed Books for Toddlers</a>. They include some of my favorites!<br />
<br />
Deb Chitwood has a raft of <a href="http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com/2013/01/montessori-inspired-winter-math-activities.html" target="_blank">Montessori-Inspired Winter Math Activities</a>, to use as an indoor extension to your snowman-building. <br />
<br />
Miss Kindergarten connects the seasonal weather to some lovely <a href="http://www.miss-kindergarten.com/2013/11/winter-activities-literacy-and-math.html" target="_blank">winter activities</a> for literacy and math activities. Very cute downloadables!<br />
<br />
Mrs. M. has amazing, creative <a href="http://www.thedailycupcake-akindergartenblog.com/2013/01/winter-writing-display.html?showComment=1422464318133#c1132026291409571451" target="_blank">Winter Writing Display</a> ideas on her kindergarten blog, <i>The Daily Cupcake.</i> More inspiration for reflecting on our snowman engineering project!<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking at the Weather...</span></b></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">"</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This, from the Channel 3 Weather Center: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tuesday</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Periods of snow with heavy snow at times. Windy with
near-blizzard conditions possible. Low: 22. High: 27 inland, 29
shore."</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Groceries? – Check</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Snowblower ready? – Check</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lesson plans? – Yes, indeed…</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do YOU use the winter weather in your homeschool or
classroom lessons? Leave a comment below, and share your favorite winter ideas.</span></span></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-69742717179177363742014-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:002014-10-07T05:32:12.975-07:00Studying Fruit Ripening: A High School Biology Homeschool Lesson<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wi0RYSpYOQ0/VDPYjuWyI1I/AAAAAAAAB-U/tV5xKDOZBTQ/s1600/Simple%2BScience%2BLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wi0RYSpYOQ0/VDPYjuWyI1I/AAAAAAAAB-U/tV5xKDOZBTQ/s1600/Simple%2BScience%2BLogo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See more simple science experiments at <a href="http://www.simplesciencestrategies.com/" target="_blank"><i>Simple Science Strategies</i></a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<br />
<h2>
Kitchen Science!</h2>
</div>
<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<div id="fb-root">
Are you studying plant biology with your high school homeschooler?</div>
<div id="fb-root">
<br /></div>
<div id="fb-root">
Check out this easy-to-do experiment on plant growth regulators (hormones) that you can do right on your kitchen counter.</div>
<div id="fb-root">
<br /></div>
<div id="fb-root">
<i>Bonus: You get to eat the experiment when you're through!</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>{This post was included in <a href="http://www.lifewithgarnish.com/teach-tuesday-linky-party-24/" target="_blank">Teach Me Tuesday #24 Linky Party</a>!} </i><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<div id="fb-root">
</div>
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<br />
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/bugsandstuff/photos/a.119531524871100.24026.119287831562136/394000194090897/?type=1" data-width="466">
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/bugsandstuff/photos/a.119531524871100.24026.119287831562136/394000194090897/?type=1">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bugsandstuff">A Child's Garden</a>.<br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.lifewithgarnish.com/teach-tuesday-link-party/" title="Life With Garnish"><img alt="Life With Garnish" src="http://www.lifewithgarnish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LInkyPartyButtonCombo-3-500x500.jpg" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-32747492681413552442014-07-12T06:45:00.000-07:002014-07-12T06:45:00.814-07:00"An Apple a Day" Notebooking Pages<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDMIwGtiHm4/UBPYwwTZJXI/AAAAAAAAAyM/Kj5bEPqTxDg/s1600/eat+an+apple+a+day.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDMIwGtiHm4/UBPYwwTZJXI/AAAAAAAAAyM/Kj5bEPqTxDg/s320/eat+an+apple+a+day.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i>{First published in "Books and Blooms," 7/12/2012}</i> <br />
<br />
Right
now, in New England, we've pretty much finished picking strawberries,
and are now heading into blueberry season. It will be a minute before we
will be out collecting bags of apples.<br />
<br />
But I noticed
at Wal-Mart the other day, that there are shelves and shelves of
notebooks and lunchboxes on display, and I just got my son's school
supply list from his fourth grade teacher, so can September be too far
off?<br />
<br />
For those of you preparing curriculum for the fall, come see my new science journaling pages. <br />
<br />
"An Apple a Day" is the first in a series of science journaling pages that follows the <a class="zem_slink" data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple" rel="wikipedia" target="_blank" title="Apple">apple tree</a> throughout the year. This first set focuses on the formation of the apple fruit from the flower.<br />
<br />
The next set will focus on the fall colors of fruits and leaves.<br />
<br />
For more information, see the Store at <a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=113#axzz21lG0ObFd" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=113#axzz21lG0ObFd" target="_blank" title=""An Apple a Day" Botany Journaling Pages, Sept 2012">Simple Science Strategies</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="mceTemp">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-mce-src="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/apple-a-day-logo1-226x300.png" height="300" src="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/apple-a-day-logo1-226x300.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title=""An Apple A Day: Botany Journaling Pages" width="226" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See <i><a data-mce-href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=113#axzz21lG0ObFd" href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=113#axzz21lG0ObFd" target="_blank" title="An Apple a Day Botany Journaling Pages">Simple Science Strategies</a></i> for details!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></dt>
<br />
<dl class="wp-caption alignnone" data-mce-style="width: 236px;" id="" style="text-align: center; width: 236px;"><dd class="wp-caption-dd"><br /></dd></dl>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-31600590556862607752014-07-02T06:37:00.000-07:002014-07-02T06:37:00.757-07:00New Garden Additions! June Updates...When you live in a family of horticulturists, plants just... happen. I
spent the last week acquiring new additions to my front garden. Here
they are!<br />
<br />
<b>My New Garden, in June...</b><br />
<br />
I'm participating in the "<a href="http://www.ourgoodfamily.org/2012/06/3in30-link-up.html" target="_blank">3 in 30 Challenge</a>",
and one of my goals for June was to install a new flower bed in my
front yard. My dream was a kitchen garden, where I had a smattering of
veggies, herbs and flowers to bring in to the dining area for cut
flowers.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1pGBzHEnXeA/T_GFG6r84yI/AAAAAAAAAwY/ELDtAd_NEkU/s1600/June+things+029.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1pGBzHEnXeA/T_GFG6r84yI/AAAAAAAAAwY/ELDtAd_NEkU/s320/June+things+029.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hydrangea</i> - we're still trying to figure out<br />
which one this is...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
This hydrangea was one of a
batch that was not in flower, and had not been labeled, so it was
impossible to identify (or sell) at the nursery. We're still trying to
figure out what variety it is -- we had thought it would turn out to be
'Endless Summer,' but the colors are wrong. You should see how it looks
today! Each flower head could actually be cut and floated singly in a
low dish as a centerpiece -- they are just enormous.<br />
<br />
I
have several hybrid tea roses, which I share below. The yellow is not
yet identified. The red, 'Don Juan,' fairly glows at dusk -- my husband
was admiring it from the front porch one night, and said it just screams
out, "Alive!" Very poetic guy... The third rose is called 'Love,' and
I'll have a photo of it next time -- white buds, edged in red, opening
to red on the inside.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AN3L19M9HFI/T_GFLlfo3TI/AAAAAAAAAwg/iT8ZGKBlU-A/s1600/June+things+030.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AN3L19M9HFI/T_GFLlfo3TI/AAAAAAAAAwg/iT8ZGKBlU-A/s320/June+things+030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hybrid Tea Rose -- no label so your guess is as good<br />
as ours!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My son brought more roses home yesterday -- I don't know their names yet, but here is what will come home to Mama (!) today:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>another yellow, with the most amazing scent...</li>
<li>a red that's nearly lavender...</li>
<li>one called 'Joseph's Coat' that my son knew I'd like, just because
of the name, but it is beautiful, with yellow buds tinged in orange, and
red edges to the petals...</li>
<li>a coral-colored one...</li>
</ul>
He had an orange-orange one, but, before I could point and say,
"Ooh! I want THAT one!" he said, "And you can't have the orange one,
because I want it!" Darn it. Those cut-throat gardeners...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KLYHt2qqsA/T_GFOQ8zWvI/AAAAAAAAAws/9Bc-3Xz0cOo/s1600/June+things+032.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KLYHt2qqsA/T_GFOQ8zWvI/AAAAAAAAAws/9Bc-3Xz0cOo/s320/June+things+032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hybrid Tea Rose - 'Don Juan'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some people avoid hybrid teas as "too
finicky," but I find roses to be no trouble, at all. Sometimes you have
to watch for mildew, especially on the fuller ones and especially if
your weather has been sultry like ours has. But I don't consider cutting
back spent flowers and removing spotty leaves to be a big chore -- it's
kind of therapeutic at the end of a work day. Maybe that's what people
are considering "high-maintenance?" Don't know. I call it "puttering,"
and it makes me happy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XBeL4K0rxjo/T_GFXbRy7oI/AAAAAAAAAw4/aVf3ZkU2S-k/s1600/Summer+Time%21+017.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XBeL4K0rxjo/T_GFXbRy7oI/AAAAAAAAAw4/aVf3ZkU2S-k/s320/Summer+Time%21+017.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New roses, cleaned up and ready for planting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
I love to
rescue plants and resuscitate them. I have been known to frequent places
like Lowe's and Home Depot, looking for the carts where they stack the
unsaleable plants. If you know plants, and "big box" stores, you know
that something becomes unsaleable when it is out of bloom. I don't care
if I have to wait until the next year, when I can buy up a bunch of the
same things for a mass planting, and only pay $0.25 (or nothing!)
apiece. I acquired an entire planting of ornamental <i>Solidago </i>at Lowe's one year, simply because the flower heads had gone to seed, and the employees thought they were all weeds!<br />
<br />
My
new roses cleaned up nicely. The next batch are some interesting
(mis)shapes, so I'm thinking I'll cut them back hard after they finish
flowering.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3b2RfxPtYc/T_GFalIRPxI/AAAAAAAAAxA/nrjQCDS0KE8/s1600/Summer+Time%21+021.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3b2RfxPtYc/T_GFalIRPxI/AAAAAAAAAxA/nrjQCDS0KE8/s320/Summer+Time%21+021.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siberian wallflower - a wonderful wildflower<br />
that is easy to start from seed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
My neighbor had a pot on her
front step. It contained the remnants of a plant long since expired, in
petrifid peat moss. She is a very nice lady, a retired nurse, and I told
her one day that I was going to plant something nice in her pot and
leave it on her step. <br />
<br />
<br />
I had this package of
Siberian wallflower that came (I think) as a freebie in some gardening
junk mail. I never throw any of those seeds away. Usually, I save them
all up (wallflower, cosmos, viola, herbs, all those other things they
send you), buy a nice wildflower mix, mix them all together and then
broadcast it somewhere that needs color but not gardening. Most
wildflower seed shouldn't be covered, as they need sunlight to
germinate. Wallflower comes up right away, but it's a nice surprise to
come back a couple of years later and find a lupine or other biennial
flowering.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_4ij2xaLJ4/T_GFd4jNTQI/AAAAAAAAAxI/N4mMfTWO3KM/s1600/Summer+Time%21+011.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_4ij2xaLJ4/T_GFd4jNTQI/AAAAAAAAAxI/N4mMfTWO3KM/s320/Summer+Time%21+011.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bidens, </i>or Beggarticks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have many different types of <i>Coreopsis. </i>This is not actually one of them, although it looks like one. This close ally is one that I bought at Wal-Mart, called <i>Bidens</i>, or Beggarticks. Like <i>Coreopsis,</i>
it is very durable, and hasn't once withered or shown signs of stress
during our incredible heat wave. My rosemary also has enjoyed the more
Mediterranean clime we've had lately.<br />
<br />
My middle son
teased me about the containers that have placed in spots around the
garden. Until the plants grew up, I wanted some more vertical elements.
Plus, terracotta is cute. He later admitted that he really liked it and
was just giving me a hard time.<br />
<br />
Then he went out and
installed a slammin' garden of his own. I like to think that his mother
inspired him! Plus all those beautiful plants he and his brother work
with all day -- it would be hard for me to bring home any money. My
family would have to learn to live on beauty, alone.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kiSa6lQv-yM/T_GFhX2300I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/m0J_-qHXNh8/s1600/Summer+Time%21+012.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kiSa6lQv-yM/T_GFhX2300I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/m0J_-qHXNh8/s320/Summer+Time%21+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eggplant 'Black Beauty'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I love interplanting veggies, herbs and ornamentals. I rarely have insect problems, because I use companion species, such as <i>Nasturtium</i> (which
is so tasty it lures the bugs to it instead of the veggies AND you can
put the peppery flowers and leaves in your salad), the ubiquitous
marigold (I'm partial to the dwarf, dark single-blooming kinds) and
others. I notice that the squirrels wait until my eggplants are about
the size of eggs, then, just as I'm beginning to fantasize about a good
"parm," they steal them. So I planted my eggplants in the front bed,
where the squirrels won't venture. We'll see.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j0KgSibazQw/T_GFmGG8A4I/AAAAAAAAAxY/WjSHk4erQ5A/s1600/Summer+Time%21+013.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j0KgSibazQw/T_GFmGG8A4I/AAAAAAAAAxY/WjSHk4erQ5A/s320/Summer+Time%21+013.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting solar patio lights in pots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I planted some different herbs this year. I have the
regular English thyme, and an ordinary (but wonderful) basil, but I also
have licorice basil and a wild oregano, some wild monarda, and I'm not
sure what else (because I sprinkle the seeds in places everywhere). Nice
butterfly magnets, and the sun on the basil by the front walkway smells
heavenly.<br />
<br />
I am trying something different with my
patio lights this year. Why shouldn't I get to enjoy my garden when I
sit out in the evening, too? I "planted" my patio lights to highlight
spots in the garden, and I love it! Here's something I discovered: if
you put a patio light in a hanging basket, it acts like a porch light,
without electricity! My little guy also told me the mom of one of his
friends started putting her patio lights in her hanging baskets, too.<br />
<br />
There
is a little toad that hides under the pot at night. Did you know that
one toad can eat 10,000 pests in three months? Love your toad -- plant a
toad house.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FZ4FyiKH3n4/T_GFpDhTHjI/AAAAAAAAAxg/zdm_qHg1ziA/s1600/Summer+Time%21+014.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FZ4FyiKH3n4/T_GFpDhTHjI/AAAAAAAAAxg/zdm_qHg1ziA/s320/Summer+Time%21+014.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The marigolds have not cared at all about heat, drought,<br />
or any other adverse conditions!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Speaking of toads... <a href="http://www.gardentoad.com/companionplants.html" target="_blank">Garden Toad's Companion Plant Guide</a>
lists a bunch of plants that can be planted as companions to your
veggie plants, and the way that they are beneficial. Lots of my things
are on there, but next year I'd love to do more purposeful planting --
I'm already excited...</div>
<br />
<br />
<i><b>My Current "Companions"</b></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">basil... catnip... cucumber... marigold... mint... nasturtium... oregano... parsley... rosemary... sweet pepper...</span><br />
<br />
I am making a list for next year, though!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7tADxY5PoQM/T_GFsAgfZwI/AAAAAAAAAxo/gJ5KIo2FKw8/s1600/Summer+Time%21+020.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7tADxY5PoQM/T_GFsAgfZwI/AAAAAAAAAxo/gJ5KIo2FKw8/s320/Summer+Time%21+020.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My
nasturtiums are tumbling everywhere! I like the old-fashioned, rambly
ones because they weave their way among the vegetables and flowers,
providing spots of unifying color all over. This planting is in a pot
that contained pansies (still doing well, in spite of the heat). My
thinking is that the pansies would fade in time for the blooming of the
nasturtiums, but it looks like they might co-habit, after all!</div>
<br />
I
found some nasturtiums growing in a place I don't remember planting
them. It's hard to believe that I spilled those humongous seed and
didn't notice. Do you sometimes plant things and forget that you planted
there? <br />
<br />
There are worse surprises!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6qbO8mfKzZ0/T_GFz3cjm3I/AAAAAAAAAxw/AMiXiFeiNhY/s1600/June+Projects%21+032.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6qbO8mfKzZ0/T_GFz3cjm3I/AAAAAAAAAxw/AMiXiFeiNhY/s320/June+Projects%21+032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hypericum </i>(St John's-wort)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have a little creamer pitcher that I
keep on my dining room table, that is the perpetual flower arrangement.
The other day, I noticed these <i>Hypericum </i>(common St. John's-wort) flowering by the edge of the driveway, and cut a few to add to the arrangement. <br />
<br />
If
you want a field guide that is friendly to kids and people who aren't
familiar with plant classification, then the Peterson guides are great.
Plants are organized by color, <i>then</i> you use botanical features to narrow the selection. This is the <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780395911723&type=2&subid=0" target="new">wildflower guide </a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780395911723&type=2&subid=0" width="1" />that I used.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wPx4EXb49s/T_GGPOwKkCI/AAAAAAAAAx4/Kgiq1rOuzBg/s1600/garden+flowers+and+basil.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wPx4EXb49s/T_GGPOwKkCI/AAAAAAAAAx4/Kgiq1rOuzBg/s320/garden+flowers+and+basil.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See my <a href="http://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/wordpress-weekly-photo-challenge-create/" target="_blank">Weekly Photo Challenge</a> blog entry for<br />
more about this photograph</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before the St. John's-wort came to live on
the table, I had trimmed some new perennials after they were
transplanted, and used the trimmings to create an impromptu arrangement.
Here are some of the <i>Coreopsis</i> that made their way to the dining area.<br />
<br />
You can read more about this photo in <a data-mce-href="http://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/wordpress-weekly-photo-challenge-create/" href="http://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/wordpress-weekly-photo-challenge-create/" target="_blank" title="Weekly Photo Challenge: Create">Weekly Photo Challenge: Create</a>. If you enjoy taking photographs, and have a WordPress blog, consider participating in this photo challenge.<br />
<br />
Another photo challenge I participate in is the <a href="http://pinterest.com/harmonyfinearts/summer-photo-challenge-ohc/" target="_blank">OHC Summer Photo Challenge</a>,
sponsored by the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Details about this challenge,
and how to join up, can be found on the blog link, above, or at Barb's
Pinterest board, <a href="http://pinterest.com/harmonyfinearts/summer-photo-challenge-ohc/" target="_blank">Summer Photo Challenge, OHC</a>.<br />
<br />
Next to blogging, I love taking photographs of stuff to blog about best!<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for updates on my garden. Until next time, happy gardening!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=www.notebookingpages.com/archives/30741" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/banners/npc_150_plants-trees.gif" /></a></div>
<img align="middle" border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=225319.10000809&type=4&subid=0" width="1" /><i>Even the tiniest flower bed or vegetable garden can be a rich source of nature studies for all ages. Even if you only have a sidewalk planter or a patch of vacant lot, you can learn great things about the plants that God gave us for food, beauty and shelter.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Check out the notebooking pages from my friend and fellow homeschooler, Debra Reed -- you won't be disappointed! </i>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-18072489788974436202014-06-10T06:27:00.000-07:002014-06-10T06:27:00.537-07:00Winged Garden Visitors<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"My beloved has gone down to his
garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and
to gather lilies." (Song of Solomon 6:2)</b></i></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div align="center">
---------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<br />
<br />
Over
a single day last week, there was an influx of all kinds of interesting
moths to the garden. I took pictures of a few of them that sat still
long enough. Here are my visitors:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeTXTd7APrI/T9UZZuyscdI/AAAAAAAAAuM/zGiTZ8ifR6M/s1600/Memorial+Day+2012+023.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeTXTd7APrI/T9UZZuyscdI/AAAAAAAAAuM/zGiTZ8ifR6M/s320/Memorial+Day+2012+023.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harnessed Moth [(c) 2012 Kim Bennett]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jq6LK2Nd1gw/T9UZcvN3tzI/AAAAAAAAAuU/6AIJ9Y8pVSM/s1600/Memorial+Day+2012+024.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jq6LK2Nd1gw/T9UZcvN3tzI/AAAAAAAAAuU/6AIJ9Y8pVSM/s320/Memorial+Day+2012+024.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosy Maple Moth [(c) 2012 Kim Bennett]<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vya9iGQ4L3U/T9UZfPINmGI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Mosf_iUeNuM/s1600/Memorial+Day+2012+025.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vya9iGQ4L3U/T9UZfPINmGI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Mosf_iUeNuM/s320/Memorial+Day+2012+025.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Gray [(c) 2012 Kim Bennett]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=www.notebookingpages.com/archives/1113" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=47&mid=1000" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great pages for insect study!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Stay tuned for nature studies on moths and butterflies in future posts on "<a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Child's Garden</a>."<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy moth gardening!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=227056.9035705461849726&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=225319.28482011120915938161&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=90987.10000011&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-9925973324198112962014-05-24T05:54:00.000-07:002014-05-24T05:54:00.182-07:00My Rock Garden Wish List<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>"He
is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God
of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." -- Deuteronomy
32:4</b></i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I
just finished putting together my shopping list for the rock garden I
want to install in the back yard. I am going to try some trench gardens
in the cracks and crevices that are in the ancient stone wall that runs
across my back yard. Here's my list, so far: </div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zeALq6xOpg/T75gE1rtmNI/AAAAAAAAAuA/tXGV0wXAPjs/s1600/pine+cone+feeders+158.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zeALq6xOpg/T75gE1rtmNI/AAAAAAAAAuA/tXGV0wXAPjs/s320/pine+cone+feeders+158.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old stone wall behind my house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-size: small;">
<li><i>Sedum - </i>creeping varieties</li>
<li><i>Thymus - </i>I have a lemon thyme -- looking for something different</li>
<li><i>Lewisia</i> - a new one for me</li>
<li><i>Saxifraga</i> - also new for me</li>
<li><i>Eriogonum umbellatum</i> - another newbie</li>
<li><i>Salvia pachyphylla</i> - a different <i>Salvia</i> from the ones I have</li>
<li><i>Campanula</i> - I saw a picture of a compact one in BH&G, but only have a tall one in my yard, to date -- would love a midget size one</li>
<li><i>Heuchera</i> - I collect these... </li>
<li><i>Alyssum</i> - an old stand-by for rock gardens</li>
<li><i>Dianthus</i> - the grass pinks...</li>
<li><i>Scabiosa</i> </li>
<li><i>Euphorbia</i> - compact ones...</li>
<li><i>Lobelia cardinalis</i> - I never saw a compact form until I saw BH&G's rock garden slide show; I have a shady, damp spot that would be perfect</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-size: small;">
<br />
<br />
I'm off to the garden center to look for landscape edging,
potting soil and wood chips to construct a flower bed in my front yard.
I'll keep you posted on the progress as part of my <a href="http://3in30.ashleypichea.com/" target="_blank">3 in 30 Challenge</a>. Click on the button to start your own challenge! And see my blog posts at <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Child's Garden</a> for updates on how I'm doing on all my gardening goals!<br />
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Peace to all!</span><br />
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<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=www.notebookingpages.com/archives/1113" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=34&mid=1000" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-84672053871345004692014-05-19T05:37:00.000-07:002014-05-19T05:37:00.851-07:00Birdies, Butterflies and Blooms<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i>"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield for them that put their trust in Him." (Proverbs 30:5)</i></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRys8jH0h6Y/T7e7_OyWqiI/AAAAAAAAAts/v2XNsUNj3VY/s1600/Wild+life+009.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRys8jH0h6Y/T7e7_OyWqiI/AAAAAAAAAts/v2XNsUNj3VY/s1600/Wild+life+009.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bugsandstuff.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/homeschool-ideas-on-pinterest/?postpost=v2" target="_blank">Love that fuschia!</a><br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=225319.718323518533&type=2&subid=0" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="new"><img border="0" src="http://www.plowhearth.com/plow_assets/images/shop/catalog/51719.jpg" /></a>I
was sent to Home Depot the other day to buy new blades for the weed
whacker. I told my husband that this hanging fuchsia somehow got into my
cart and I must have accidentally paid for it, because, LOOK! here it
is in my trunk!</div>
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My husband just smiled. He
lets me play with plants, because it's a lot cheaper than most vices
folks might have, it makes us happy, doesn't get anyone into trouble,
and makes us feel like we are continuing where Adam and Eve should have
left off.<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=225319.718323524431&type=2&subid=0" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="new"><img border="0" src="http://www.plowhearth.com/plow_assets/images/shop/catalog/65215.jpg" /></a>We
like to sit on our front porch in the evening. There is a common
"green" with a little gazebo in it, in the center of our neighborhood.
All the children (and their parents!) congregate there for frisbee golf,
cookouts, guitar and drum practice, and general fun. So we hung our
hanging baskets on the front porch.<br />
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Within a day, the
hummingbirds found the basket! My husband enjoys them immensely,
commenting on how loud their wings are when they whiz past your head,
and how unafraid they are. It makes me very happy to see them.<br />
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I have written in the past about other flowers that attract wildlife. See <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/08/hummingbird-sphinx-moths.html#links" target="_blank">Humming (Sphinx) Moths</a> for a list of other plants you can include in your garden, to attract birds, butterflies and other wonders.<br />
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<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=225319.718323518533&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
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<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780517577295&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=www.notebookingpages.com/archives/category/science/nature-study-birds" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=35&mid=1000" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-55954626837456544932014-01-01T11:06:00.002-08:002014-01-12T03:11:50.978-08:00A Craft a Month: 12 Gifts Kids Can Start Making NOW<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/crafts-for-kids/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xRLa9TESEcg/UsQ00ewUNqI/AAAAAAAABvI/JQx4dt3Mz_8/s320/School+Starts+038.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption">Get your kids started now on some<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/crafts-for-kids/" target="_blank"> great homemade gifts for 2014</a>. <i> </i></td><td class="tr-caption"></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/crafts-for-kids/" target="_blank"><br /></a></td><td class="tr-caption"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/crafts-for-kids/" target="_blank"><br /></a></td></tr>
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<h2>
Gifts Made by Hand... with Love</h2>
This year marked a year of big changes for many members of our family - new homes, new jobs, new families... And all of us have felt the pinch of an economy that hasn't kept pace with our basic needs and bills.<br />
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Many of us scaled back greatly on our holiday expenditures, in response to our precarious times. But what we discovered, when we cut back, was a blessing of gifts that were perfectly matched and perfectly made by the gift-giver. The LOVE made them perfect -- not the price tag:<br />
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<ul>
<li>a hand-crocheted "big" scarf...</li>
<li>home-made chocolates, in many flavors...</li>
<li>stained-glass Christmas cookies...</li>
<li>herb-infused cooking oils in beautiful carafes...</li>
<li>hand-made pathchouli-scented soaps...</li>
<li>bean-soup mix in a decorative canning jar...</li>
<li>woolens made from wool from the family farm...</li>
</ul>
This made me re-dedicate myself to creating hand-made gifts that show more than my ability to pull out a credit card the week before Christmas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vs5ccB75Zo/UriKSNRqHYI/AAAAAAAABuc/p6mqhD2KsuQ/s1600/List_it_Tuesday.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vs5ccB75Zo/UriKSNRqHYI/AAAAAAAABuc/p6mqhD2KsuQ/s1600/List_it_Tuesday.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See this post, and more, on <i><a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/four-tips-to-help-late-potty-trainers/" target="_blank">List It Tuesday</a> </i></td></tr>
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<h2>
Handi-crafts and Kids</h2>
If you are a homeschooler, and you follow Charlotte Mason, you know that handicrafts are one of the "subjects" she believed all children should study, believing that all children should be able to make beautiful, useful things with their hands. Perhaps you have a scout in your house who is looking for a project or two for a badge. Maybe you just enjoy crafting and are looking for ideas that are more than just the typical kid crafts.<br />
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Here is a list of 12 DIY projects and craft ideas that are suitable for kids to create. They can be finished in a month, giving you the possibility of doing all twelve just in time for holiday gift-giving in 2014. I have listed them by month -- but you can do them in any order you'd like.<br />
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Click the links to see directions to make these, or see more like them on my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/crafts-for-kids/" target="_blank">Crafts for Kids</a> Pinterest board. <br />
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<h3>
January: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/102070006/sea-glass-christmas-ornament-beach-decor" target="_blank">Keepsakes </a>from Old Glass Ornaments</h3>
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Do you have a bunch of old glass ornaments with the colorful coating peeling off? Don't throw them away! If you soak them in warm, soapy water, the remaining coating will come off, leaving a clear glass orb that can be re-purposed into these wonderful keepsakes.<br />
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Simply remove the hanger at the top, fill with small objects that remind you of a special time together (beach glass from a vacation, tiny hemlock cones from a hike, blue confetti to celebrate the birth of a baby boy...), return the top, and decorate with a ribbon. For added flair, use a permanent marker to note the special occasion.<br />
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Don't have any old ornaments? You can pick up clear ornaments at most craft stores.<br />
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Wrap them in bubble wrap and store in shoeboxes until next Christmas. <br />
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<b><i>Alternative:</i></b> Dribble several drops of oil-based model paint inside the empty globe (metallic-toned gold, silver, red and green look nice for traditional Christmas colors). Put the top back on, and gently turn the ornament over and over to coat the inside with paint swirls. I made these with third-graders one year, to take home as gifts -- they were a hit!<br />
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<h3>
February: Hand-folded Gift Boxes from Greeting Cards</h3>
Do you wonder each year what to do with all those Christmas cards you get each year? My ten-year-old gave gifts this year, presented in beautiful boxes that he created from folding old greeting cards.<br />
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These are simple enough for even young children to make, with items you already have at home. Do you want a demonstration? Here's a great video to show you how...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dn6dbVkRlqw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />
You could make a raft of tiny boxes to fill with hand-made food treats, or to give as a gift, themselves. Pack them in a shoe box to keep them safe until next year.<br />
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<h3>
March: Hand-printed Wrapping Paper</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JlweQ_RR_J0/UsRAPtuYqKI/AAAAAAAABvY/xStI4WUhhoU/s1600/8082678043_cf2a70acd4_q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JlweQ_RR_J0/UsRAPtuYqKI/AAAAAAAABvY/xStI4WUhhoU/s200/8082678043_cf2a70acd4_q.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(c) 2011 The Firebottle</i>, via Creative Commons License.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay. I hate to throw ANYTHING away. Especially if there's a lot of it. Every once in awhile, I receive a package that is stuffed with yards of blank newsprint paper. Sometimes there is so much, I wonder if they realize how much good stuff they are throwing away in the packing materials! My boys always eye it for making huge battle maps, so we flatten it out and roll it onto an empty wrapping paper roll for someday.<br />
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You can use a cool iron to remove the wrinkles from this paper, which is now a "canvas" for some great hand-printed wrapping paper.<br />
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You can decorate the paper any way you want to, really, depending on the age of your kids: markers, finger paint, stickers, drawings, vegetable prints -- you name it. To make a really wonderful paper with a nice, repeating pattern, get a roller stamp (the kind you use to make a pattern border when you paint a room), and use a yard stick as a guide (I am not great with straight lines!). You can buy craft paint in a zillion colors at any craft store or Wal-Mart -- and get painting!<br />
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Hang your paper to dry.<br />
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There are endless possibilities to this project... all I can say is check out these <a href="http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=handprinted+gift+wrap&qpvt=handprinted+gift+wrap&FORM=IGRE" target="_blank">Google images of hand-printed gift wrap</a> for ideas.<br />
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<h3>
April: Hand-tied Bows</h3>
My first Christmas on my own, I was homesick and poor. I bought the last Charlie Brown Christmas tree available on the only lot that was on my way home from work, and the last stand. And cried because I didn't have any money to buy any ornaments.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kH-HOnm7kQM/UsRDNrwgMZI/AAAAAAAABvs/TVQrBOfsyqg/s1600/Christmas+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kH-HOnm7kQM/UsRDNrwgMZI/AAAAAAAABvs/TVQrBOfsyqg/s320/Christmas+2013.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand-tied bows and hand-painted ornaments <i>(c) A Child's Garden, 2013.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
BUT I did have a crafty mom, and her crafty genes passes along to me. So I headed to a local department store, and rummaged through the remnants of the fabric department for wide ribbon. A few simple twists, and I made a whole tree full of hand-tied boys, with two partial rolls of ribbon. Here you can see them, along with another hand-made ornament (courtesy of Little Man)...<br />
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If your child can tie, he or she can make these bows. I used wide ribbon - 2" wide. Don't until these to store them -- simply stuff the loops with rolled up paper, and put a set of them in a shoe box for gift-giving next year.<br />
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Martha Stewart has excellent <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/266642/bow-how-tos" target="_blank">directions for four different kinds of hand-tied bows</a>, for ornaments or gift-wrapping. <br />
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<h3>
May: Commemorate a Special Event with Photos in Hand-made Frames</h3>
We always give those studio photos of our kids that you take at department stores and school photo fundraisers. This Christmas, I handed out envelopes with Little Man's photos to the adult children, and the Nurseryman thought out loud, "I always wonder what to do with the old photos." I didn't have an answer for him. But it made me think about all the money we spend on those photo packages, and some of the photos I've found MOST wonderful, that DIDN'T ever grow "old."<br />
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When my parents lived in New York still, we would all gather on the Cape for two weeks -- a kind of an "open house," where people stopped in and stayed for however long they could stay, then left when they needed to leave. While we were there, my mom would snap photos of all the kids and grands doing all those fun beach-y things: body surfing, sand-castle building, eating corn on the cob, playing beach volleyball... She would also collect buckets full of tiny shells -- whole bunches of them.<br />
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Back at home, she would craft simple frames from craft sticks and thin sheets of clear plastic, hot glue the sea shells to the frame, and glue the photos to the back, and mailed them out to all of us at the holidays. <br />
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What a great way to remember a happy (and warmer!) time! Just imagine the conversations you'll have with your kids as they select photos and talk about the good times they had. Fun for both the giver and the receiver!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xkRqkd8W-Dg/UsRIVcvsBOI/AAAAAAAABv8/Vv2CgUyvduE/s1600/garden+stones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xkRqkd8W-Dg/UsRIVcvsBOI/AAAAAAAABv8/Vv2CgUyvduE/s320/garden+stones.jpg" height="305" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/152418768612761925/" target="_blank">Decorate smooth stones</a> for garden art or table decoration.</td></tr>
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<h3>
June: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/152418768612761925/" target="_blank">Garden Stones</a></h3>
This is NOT a gift I've made (yet) but it is on my list for this year! I love garden ornaments, and calligraphy. And what kid doesn't like smooth stones?<br />
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Here is a photograph that I found on Pinterest -- unfortunately, one of those that is no longer attached to its original website. Fineline permanent markers and imagination are all that are required (and a kid to forage for smooth stones). I would spray them with a water-repellant sealer (Modge Podge makes an acrylic sealer that I spray over my paper beads when they are finished - that would work).<br />
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<h3>
July: Bath Baskets</h3>
My family knows that I love bath items, especially if they are uniquely scented, or matched together. Call it one of my quirks.<br />
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And kids love to assemble gift baskets -- there's something about a collection of little objects that go together that is appealing to children. And this adult, by the way.<br />
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When my older kids were little, I used to send away for samples of fancy bath items (the kind you see advertised in the backs of health and gardening magazines -- the ones with herbs in them and interesting wrappers...). We would comb drug stores for travel sizes of organic bath products and add them to the collection all year. Then, at holiday time, we would find decorative baskets and bags, and assemble our gift baskets, including a few full-size products and things like loofahs or bath mitts to round them out.<br />
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If you want to check out a line of hand-made, all-natural bath items, see my Squidoo lens on <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/more-than-an-ordinary-bar-of-soap" target="_blank">Hugo and Debra Naturals</a> -- mmmm.... so nice.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRBnSnspF2M/UsRKe2Qt3cI/AAAAAAAABwI/ZLSsCSgcqoQ/s1600/Hugo+and+Debra+Naturals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRBnSnspF2M/UsRKe2Qt3cI/AAAAAAAABwI/ZLSsCSgcqoQ/s320/Hugo+and+Debra+Naturals.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hugo-Naturals-Handcrafted-Indonesian-Sandalwood/dp/B004OX8TYS%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAIAA4MWUJXHBYFRNQ%26tag%3Dsquidooa184239-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB004OX8TYS" target="_blank">Hugo and Debra Naturals Soap</a>, $4.99 on Amazon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
August: Hand-packed <i>Sofrito</i></h3>
I had a bumper crop of hot peppers this summer. And there are only so many that you can eat by themselves.<br />
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So I began making home-made <i>sofrito </i>-- a staple seasoning in Spanish and Latino cooking. There are many recipes for <i>sofrito, </i>but all are easy to make, right in your blender. And kids love food projects, especially if you are making something that they planted, grew, cared for and then picked, themselves. That's a lot of learning and a lot of love, packed into that gift!<br />
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Look at tag sales for fancy jars (I have a few of the old Mason-style jars with glass lids -- perfect for this). You will also need some plastic gloves for handling the cut peppers. Find a recipe for <i>sofrito</i> that you like (I have recommended a few that we like, from the <a href="http://theposhlatincook.com/" target="_blank">Posh Latin Cook</a>, below), get your blender ready, and start chopping!<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://theposhlatincook.com/2013/02/09/authentic-old-world-puerto-rican-sofrito/" target="_blank">Authentic, Old-World Puerto Rican Sofrito</a></li>
<li><a href="http://theposhlatincook.com/2013/03/12/authentic-puerto-rican-recaito/" target="_blank">Authentic Puerto Rican Recaito</a></li>
<li><a href="http://theposhlatincook.com/2013/03/21/ecuadorian-style-sofrito-ajo/" target="_blank">Ecuadoran Ajo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://theposhlatincook.com/2013/04/13/dominican-sofrito-recipe-sazon/" target="_blank">Dominican Sazon</a></li>
</ul>
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Because you will likely be making this in late summer or early fall, when you are harvesting your veggies, you can freeze your <i>sofrito </i>in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes into Ziploc bags to store in the freezer until you are ready to pack your gift. Simply thaw the cubes, fill your jars, label and dress up with a bow!<br />
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<h3>
September: Herb-infused Dipping Oils</h3>
Here is an easy gift to make in the fall, when your herbs are at their best. Even the tiniest hands can help prepare these. My daughter-in-law made these as gifts for us this year and I can't wait to try her Tuscany Blend on a loaf of crusty Italian bread!<br />
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Scour tag sales for decorative bottles, or check craft stores and the Christmas Tree Shoppes. These oils are best used after the herbs have steeped in the oil for a few months, so September is a great time to prepare them. Just sit them in a dark cool cupboard into you are ready to give them.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2011/12/homemade-gift-week-easy-herb-infused-dipping-oil-naptime-entertaining/" target="_blank">The Naptime Chef</a> gives a great basic recipe for dipping oil that she made in 15 minutes.<br />
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<h3>
October: No-Cook Fudge</h3>
Oh, my! We also received three (three!) kinds of no-cook fudge this Christmas. I had to hide it from my husband who, although not a chocolate lover, found them irresistible.<br />
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There are so many recipes for no-cook fudge available. Make one (or more!) and freeze it in a tightly covered plastic container. Thaw when you are ready to pack it in December, and place the pieces in holiday-patterned plastic bags (most grocery stores carry these in December), tied with a bow.<br />
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Check out this quick search of Pinterest for<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=no%20bake%20fudge&rs=ac&len=13" target="_blank"> no-bake fudge recipes</a>.<br />
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<h3>
November: All-in-One Soup Mixes</h3>
The kitchen-savvy daughter-in-law who treated us to homemade fudge also created soup mixes packaged cutely in canning jars. What a nice way to practice measurement and volume with your homeschoolers!<br />
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All you need is a recipe that is based on dry ingredients (ours was a bean soup recipe, that included dehydrated onions and other dried goods). Measure the dry goods into canning jars, adding each new ingredient to create pretty, colorful layers. Screw on the canning jar lid (don't seal), and add a piece of colorful fabric (fastened with a bow or rubber band) to decorate. Hang the recipe on a pretty recipe card, from the bow.<br />
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<b><i>Alternative: </i></b>I once received a hot chocolate mix presented this way, with cocoa powder, non-fat dry milk, sugar and spices layered into canning jars. For a tinier alternative, create single-serve mulled cider mixes in little jelly jars. Pretty and fun to make.<br />
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<h3>
December: Stained Glass Cookies</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained Glass Cookies - fun and oh-so-tasty!</td></tr>
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I used to make these cookies when my youngest brother (who is ten years my junior) was a little boy. It was one of those "big sister" moments he enjoyed. This winter, I re-introduced the tradition with my youngest son.<br />
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These cookies are so easy to make, and they didn't last long at all! (I think some of us even ate them as a breakfast food. Shh...). Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, a cookie cutter shape in two sizes (we made stars, but two different diameter glasses would work to make wreaths, too), a few packages of Life Saver candies, and the decoration of your choice.<br />
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Roll out and cut your sugar cookie dough, as usual, then use the smaller cutter to cut out the center of the cookie, to leave a hole. Place the candy in the center, and bake -- the hard candy will melt quickly and fill in the space left in the center, creating a "stained glass effect" once the cookie is completely cooled. You can make a few dozen of these in an afternoon -- great for those vacation days right before Christmas, or a surprise snow day earlier in December. I always make sure to have plenty of flour, sugar and butter on hand for impromptu baking in November and December. Add a bag or two of hard candy to this and you'll be all set for these cookies!<br />
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After making these many times, I have decided on a few tricks that make the best-looking cookies:<br />
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<ul>
<li> Wreaths made using two different sized glasses are the easiest for kids to make, and bake up nicely.</li>
<li>Many recipes tell you to crush up the candies, but the "glass" will be cloudy if you do -- better to just plop the whole candy in the center of the cookie and let it melt on its own.</li>
<li>You can use any flavor candies, but cloudy candies (like the "tropical" flavor lifesavers, or lemon drops) will make cloudy "glass." The really best "glass" comes from clear candies (regular Life Savers or Jolly Ranchers). My absolute favorite: hard, clear cinnamon candies. Now I'm drooling...</li>
<li>We tried to decorate our cookies using a "convenient" spray tube of frosting with different attachments. No bueno. It is hard for kids (and adults!) to control the flow, and my son was disappointed in his efforts (so we just spread it out like icing). Use a pastry bag or spread the frosting with a plastic butter knife, or just serve them plain.</li>
</ul>
After they cool completely, pile them onto holiday-themed paper plates, wrap with colored cellophane wrapper, and tie with a bow. Hand them to your guests as they arrive on Christmas Day!<br />
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<h2>
Craft On, My Friends...</h2>
These are only a tiny fraction of the possibilities for monthly craft projects that you can do with your children, to create really nice gifts for the holiday season. Besides teaching them how to make beautiful things with their hands, you will also be teaching them stewardship by showing them how to re-purpose items that might normally be discarded, and showing them that the value of a gift comes from the love, time and thought put into it, not the dollar amount on the price tag. You will also be building memories with the time you spend together -- something that is beyond priceless.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMU1smZUqfM/UsRlJI0UkWI/AAAAAAAABwo/CxARSdBvk00/s1600/Christmas+2012+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMU1smZUqfM/UsRlJI0UkWI/AAAAAAAABwo/CxARSdBvk00/s320/Christmas+2012+016.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Holidays to All! <i>(c) A Child's Garden, 2014</i>.</td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-22970520235696546392013-12-29T04:56:00.000-08:002013-12-29T04:56:02.136-08:00Scheduling Zoology I - Flying Creatures<h2>
<i>Exploring Creation with Zoology I: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day </i></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Kuwkmk6U0/URf0luFFdvI/AAAAAAAABaw/gg1_JCSimeI/s1600/flying+creatures.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Kuwkmk6U0/URf0luFFdvI/AAAAAAAABaw/gg1_JCSimeI/s1600/flying+creatures.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$39 at Barnes & Noble (click <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9781932012613&type=2" target="_blank">here</a>).</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.christianbook.com/flying-creatures-fifth-exploring-creation-zoology/jeannie-fulbright/9781932012613/pd/337010"><span style="color: blue;">Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the
Fifth Day</span></a>, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Jeannie
Fulbright (Apologia Science, Young Explorers Series) is written for use with
children grades K-6. It covers all the flying creatures: birds, insects, flying
reptiles (pterosaurs), and bats.<br />
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The course includes several components:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The textbook (required)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The notebooking journal (highly recommended)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lab kit (optional)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This page provides links to articles
and resources to help you implement this textbook at home or in the classroom.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9ISEz8b-4c/UP3e7FXhhBI/AAAAAAAABaE/uiukA3xi-ZI/s1600/Carnival+of+Homeschooling.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img align="middle" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9ISEz8b-4c/UP3e7FXhhBI/AAAAAAAABaE/uiukA3xi-ZI/s1600/Carnival+of+Homeschooling.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This post was submitted to the 2/11/13 <a href="http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2005/12/where-to-send-your-submission-for-next.html" target="_blank">Blog Carnival</a>!</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How We Came to Use <i>Flying
Creatures</i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We began using “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flying Creatures</i>” when our youngest son was a second grader. We
wanted a science text that went beyond nature study and observation to some
other science process skills, and we fell in love with the rigor, balance and
Christian foundation of the “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exploring
Creation</i>” books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We purchased the textbook and
notebooking journal. As the notebooking journal includes a lesson scheduler, I
did not purchase the daily lesson plans. I also did not purchase the lab kit,
as this course uses primarily items that you can find in your kitchen. <br />
<br />
Donna Young's Homeschool Resources and Printables has Table of Contents
Planners for every book in the Apologia Science series, including <a href="http://donnayoung.org/f11/apologia-f/elementary/ecw-zoology1-dy.doc"><i><span style="color: blue;">Flying Creatures</span></i></a>. For information on how to
use these planners to help you schedule and make lesson plans for this book,
see <a href="http://donnayoung.org/apologia/elementary-planners.htm"><span style="color: blue;">"What is a TOC Planner?"</span></a> I started out
using the TOC Planners, but found that the schedule included on pages 8-10 of
the Notebooking Journal were sufficient for us. So, if you purchase the
Notebooking Journal, you may not need another planner for this course.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQEnMgZDpDc/UsAa-PiDO6I/AAAAAAAABu8/Aw-FHU6E8Iw/s1600/Flying+Creatures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQEnMgZDpDc/UsAa-PiDO6I/AAAAAAAABu8/Aw-FHU6E8Iw/s320/Flying+Creatures.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/homeschool-science-flying-creatures-of-the-fifth-d/" target="_blank">"Flying Creatures" Pinterest board</a> for more resources</td></tr>
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Planning for Use of <i>Flying Creatures,</i> by Lesson Number</h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Below is
the Table of Contents for this course, with links to information on each
lesson, and links to the way we implemented each lesson in our homeschool day.
I will also continue to add links to our nature studies, as the topics lend
themselves to nature study. Check back often, as I update the links.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
organization is helpful if you start and stop within a given textbook (as we
often do), or have to suspend a course for a period of time, for some reason.<br />
________________________________________________<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/09/flying-creatures-lesson-1-what-is.html#links"><span style="color: blue;">Lesson 1: What is Zoology?</span></a><br />
<a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2011/09/flying-creatures-lesson-2-what-makes.html#axzz1XbfA7ehT"><span style="color: blue;">Lesson 2: What Makes a Bird a Bird?</span></a><br />
Lesson 3: Birds of a Feather<br />
Lesson 4: Flying Factuals<br />
Lesson 5: Nesting<br />
Lesson 6: Matching and Hatching<br />
Lesson 7: Bats<br />
Lesson 8: Flying Reptiles<br />
Lesson 9: A First Look at Insects<br />
Lesson 10: Insect Life Cycles and Life Styles<br />
Lesson 11: Social Insects<br />
Lesson 12: Beetles, Flies, and True Bugs<br />
Lesson 13: Interesting Insects<br />
Lesson 14: Order Lepidoptera </span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More With <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flying Creatures:</i> Planning, by Month</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Notebooking Journal splits each Lesson over four sessions (2 per week), with
the first session of each week mostly the hands-on portions and the second
session being journaling activities. Our son loves the experiments and
explorations, but the prospect of a whole day of journaling was daunting to him
as a 2<sup>nd</sup> grader. We also enjoy more extended and frequent nature
study, using the Outdoor Hour Challenges and other activities – we wanted more
time for that, and less time per day spent inside working on notebooks. When we
counted the actual number of tasks for the course, there were enough activities
to do one per day, and allow more time for outdoor study – a solution that
worked better for us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is a
look at this way of <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/04/scheduling-zoology-1-flying-creatures.html#axzz2KRES7HHS">scheduling
Zoology I</a>, which may be helpful for those of you who want to connect it to
monthly nature studies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click on the
links, above, to see related materials and nature studies for each lesson or
month. See also my Pinterest Board, <a href="http://pinterest.com/bbsoulful2/flying-creatures-of-the-fifth-day/">“Flying
Creatures of the Fifth Day,”</a> where I post links to helpful resources for
use with this course.</span></div>
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<h2>
Some "Flying Creatures" That Are NOT in This Textbook</h2>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSSukq4GuDY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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Online Resources to Use with <i>Flying Creatures</i></h2>
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We
have found these two websites to be extraordinarily helpful when
studying our feeder birds and doing independent studies on birds:</div>
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<a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/" target="_blank">"All About Birds"</a>
- from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. A
vast resource full of videos, photos, drawings and audio clips to help
with bird studies and ID in the field.</div>
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<a href="http://www.whatbird.com/" target="_blank">"What Bird"</a>
- from the Mitch Waite Group. An amazing online field guide that
actually uses audio recordings from the "O Lab" (Cornell Laboratory of
Ornithology). A bit more ad-laden that "All About Birds," but we like to
tab both of them and go back and forth between the two. </div>
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Contact Us!</h2>
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Let us know if there are other resources that would be helpful for you, as you study with <i>Flying Creatures</i>, and we'll be glad to link them up here. Just drop a line in the comment box, and I'll get right back to you!</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-17047086877809601682013-12-23T11:13:00.000-08:002014-01-12T03:18:53.167-08:00Winter Planning and Even MORE Poetry Resources!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DyN0TFwXPOc/UrhsnpbDTeI/AAAAAAAABtg/ojqmkuc_Hc0/s1600/Festus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DyN0TFwXPOc/UrhsnpbDTeI/AAAAAAAABtg/ojqmkuc_Hc0/s320/Festus.jpg" height="180" title="Home and Homeschool Planning" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Festus the Fish. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
"Be Ye Also Ready..."</h2>
We have a little betta (or Siamese fighting fish) that my youngest son named Festus. We don't know why. Festus used to live on my son's bookcase but we suspect his little fishy needs got neglected, amid soccer practice, LEGOs and other little boy activities. So I moved his bowl to the center of our dining room table, which might seem like an odd place, but he likes being the center of the action, and we kind of like him, too.<br />
<br />
Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they can breathe air directly, as well as taking in oxygen through their gills. This enables them to live in nearly dried up mud puddles in their native Southeast Asia, awaiting rains that will enable them to, once again, swim freely. It's always good to have a Plan B!<br />
<br />
When rain does arrive, it triggers a series of "hurry up before the weather changes" kind of activities in the males. The males begin to blow bubbles in clumps of weeds, which they use to attract eligible bachelorettes, who then lay their eggs in these floating bubble nests. {We see this whenever I change the water in Festus's bowl, because he will spend the next few days happily blowing zillions of bubbles, preparing for the mate he hopes will come.}<br />
<br />
It also causes the males to become even more colorful, and to fight intruders, which they do with an impressive display of gill flap flaring and fin raising. Our dinner forks have seen many a battle with Festus as the opponent. He's made a home for his family, and he will go down swinging to defend it!<br />
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<h2>
Winter Plans/2013-14</h2>
<br />
In the winter, I feel a little bit like Festus must right now. I am a summer girl, and winter makes me very restless (save this week, when our Connecticut weather soared into the mid-60's and I busted out the flip flops -- yes! -- and my cropped pants once again...).<br />
<br />
Thankfully, I like to write, so I make plans and list for the coming months. Here is my "to-do" list for this winter, for this week's "<a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/four-tips-to-help-late-potty-trainers/" target="_blank">List It Tuesday.</a>" How does it compare to yours?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vs5ccB75Zo/UriKSNRqHYI/AAAAAAAABuY/nxTz57sHJXc/s1600/List_it_Tuesday.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="List It Tuesday" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vs5ccB75Zo/UriKSNRqHYI/AAAAAAAABuY/nxTz57sHJXc/s1600/List_it_Tuesday.png" title="Top 10 Tuesday" /></a></div>
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<h3>
1. Make a Seed List for 2014</h3>
I miss gardening dearly, so I make plans and seed lists (I subscribe to the <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/garden-planner/vegetable-garden-planner.aspx#axzz2oJqjjzGv" target="_blank">Vegetable Garden Planner</a> at <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/" target="_blank">Mother Earth News</a>). My goal this year is to use all heirlooms, add companion plants (this worked so well last year), have my salad gardens in the yard, and my other crops in the five community plot beds I use (I wasn't good about getting to my lettuces and peas when they were not right there in front of me).<br />
<br />
Other plots include...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Tomatoes and tomatillos (with borage, cilantro and parsley)...</li>
<li>Black popcorn and fava beans...</li>
<li>Chili peppers with sunflowers and nasturtiums...</li>
<li>Potatoes, fingerlings, and sweet potatoes, with parsnips, marigolds and alyssum...</li>
<li>Carrots/parsnips/peas sharing a plot with okra/eggplants...</li>
</ul>
<h3>
2. Painting the Kitchen</h3>
<br />
I have countless household project lists. This winter, I decided to make monthly "to-do" lists, so that I could budget for purchases and schedule time for bigger things. Right now, I'm preparing to repaint my kitchen in THESE colors...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3xPC8lXpek/Urhv_0gkS4I/AAAAAAAABts/b4W7SskPGFc/s1600/New+Kitchen+Colors+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3xPC8lXpek/Urhv_0gkS4I/AAAAAAAABts/b4W7SskPGFc/s320/New+Kitchen+Colors+2013.jpg" height="309" title="Home and Homeschool Planning" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Kitchen Colors (via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/152418768612684772/" target="_blank">Chip It!</a>)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3>
3. Blogging, Once a Week (or More)</h3>
THIS has been successful this month! I have given up on being a slave to a complicated blogging schedule, since I have many other things besides blogging to do! It was stressing me, and taking me away from my family. No bueno.<br />
<br />
This month, I have been blogging about preparing poetry workbooks for next year. I finished the last poetry workbook for next year, which I also saved
in an e-book form to share with other teachers, parents and homeschool
friends. The third poet for Ambleside Year 6 is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbbE81Wk5TcEQ0RDA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Alfred Noyes</a> (the author of the famous poem, "The Highwayman").<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aVlfN4H6GgM/UrhzO7jpguI/AAAAAAAABt4/Lo_rFdMmQ1E/s1600/Poetry+Noyes+image.PNG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aVlfN4H6GgM/UrhzO7jpguI/AAAAAAAABt4/Lo_rFdMmQ1E/s320/Poetry+Noyes+image.PNG" height="320" title="Home and Homeschool Planning" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbbE81Wk5TcEQ0RDA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Poetry of Alfred Noyes</a>," (c) Kim M. Bennett. FREE.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The e-book is 32 pages long, and I will use it in conjunction with Barbara McCoy's <a href="http://harmonyfinearts.org/2011/10/poetry-for-high-schoolers-organized-with-free-notebook-pages/" target="_blank">poetry analysis pages</a>
(they are intended for high school students, but language arts is my
youngest son's strength, so will use them for his sixth grade studies,
modifying them as needed). I plan to bind ALL three poetry e-books into
one workbook, supplemented with <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/archives/1047?wppa-album=360&wppa-photo=770&wppa-cover=0&wppa-occur=1" target="_blank">Celtic design pages</a> copywork pages from the <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268" target="_blank">Notebooking Treasury</a> (see the banner ad at the bottom of this post for more information on this great resource).<br />
<br />
When
I get ready to bind it all, I'll share the specifics of how I made this
workbook (if you're like me, you need to know the steps!).<br />
<br />
In case you missed the previous posts, here are the links to all three poetry e-books:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbUUNXUTVySTZza1k/edit" target="_blank">Poetry of Robert Frost</a>" (54 pages)</li>
<li>"<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbekJKUVFkMUxCcDg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Poetry of Carl Sandburg</a> (32 pages)</li>
<li>"<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbbE81Wk5TcEQ0RDA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Poetry of Alfred Noyes</a>" (32 pages) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
4. Set Aside One Day for Business</h3>
When you own your own business, you can find yourself working every day, all day. So I set aside one day (at least an evening) for business work, whether it's writing, grading assignments, sorting email or doing invoices. That way, what needs to get done, gets done, but doesn't encroach on other areas of life. Like sleep.<br />
<br />
This winter, I have been working on writing a policy handbook for one of my clients. It's fun work, it's writing (which I love) and it fits well with my family schedule. From my mouth to God's ear -- this is the kind of work I'd like all the time.<br />
<h3>
5. Likewise, One Evening for School Work</h3>
I try hard not to take teaching work home with me. But we are encouraged NOT to email during instructional hours, so I allow myself one evening a week to do more than an "I'll check into that" email. AND to sort them. Because I hate a full inbox.<br />
<br />
<h3>
6. Take an Old Testament Survey Course</h3>
I've recommitted to my Bible course studies, and spent this morning
charting out a course of study for myself -- Old Testament Survey this
year -- and a schedule that (with God's help and my own dedication) I
WILL commit to. As the first step toward completing my Old Testament Survey in 2014, I am taking an Old Testament overview this winter, through <a href="http://www.christiancourses.com/" target="_blank">Christian Courses</a>. I need to put this as a priority.<br />
<br />
<h3>
7. Homeschool Plans for 2014-15</h3>
I'm also beginning the planning of next year's homeschool, partly
because we'll be changing up our arrangement next year, and because our
son will be entering sixth grade -- which seems like a "big boy" grade
to me. We are all excited about the many changes for our family for next
year -- we'll keep you posted as they unfold!<br />
<br />
As my son is entering 6th grade next year, I wanted more of his work to be independent, so that I could devote the "teacher time" to harder subjects or projects, where he will need more support. Hence, the development of workbooks to help guide him through the studies. This month, in addition to the poetry workbooks, I am developing a history workbook to accompany <i>The Story of the World</i>, Volume 4 (using activities from the corresponding activity book, and other things), and a geography workbook based on <i>The Life of David Livingstone</i>. Stay tuned for more on those in future blog posts.<br />
<br />
<h2>
And More on Thinking Summer Thoughts in Winter...</h2>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kdZRjb3uaw4/Urh_HPJYitI/AAAAAAAABuI/NAKym5nr5Mc/s1600/Grit+magazine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kdZRjb3uaw4/Urh_HPJYitI/AAAAAAAABuI/NAKym5nr5Mc/s1600/Grit+magazine.jpg" /></a>More wonderful ideas that keep me going until spring...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I WILL one day have a honey bee hive. Yes I will. Read about how to <a href="http://www.grit.com/animals/honeybee-hives-wintering-bees.aspx?newletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=TG%20eNews&utm_campaign=12.23.13%20Tough%20Grit#axzz2oK5jfB7n" target="_blank">winter your backyard bee hive</a> and <a href="http://www.grit.com/animals/feeding-your-honey-bees-in-the-winter-with-a-candy-board.aspx?newletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=TG%20eNews&utm_campaign=12.23.13%20Tough%20Grit" target="_blank">how to make a candy board</a> to feed the bees in winter.</li>
<li>Although our house is in the city, I long for a place to raise chickens ... one day. Here's more on <a href="http://www.grit.com/animals/feeding-your-honey-bees-in-the-winter-with-a-candy-board.aspx?newletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=TG%20eNews&utm_campaign=12.23.13%20Tough%20Grit" target="_blank">making a chicken coop</a> with re-purposed items, and <a href="http://www.grit.com/animals/feeding-your-honey-bees-in-the-winter-with-a-candy-board.aspx?newletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=TG%20eNews&utm_campaign=12.23.13%20Tough%20Grit" target="_blank">how to keep those hens warm </a>when your winter weather takes a frigid turn.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=www.notebookingpages.com/archives/1083" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=25&mid=1000" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-84758483558035350222013-12-16T18:43:00.000-08:002013-12-23T09:55:38.802-08:00More Homeschool Poetry Resources<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2wKsUj3lds/Uq-zsVMfQ6I/AAAAAAAABr4/Ht0aknzQVUk/s1600/Winter+Weather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2wKsUj3lds/Uq-zsVMfQ6I/AAAAAAAABr4/Ht0aknzQVUk/s320/Winter+Weather.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow, snow and more snow! (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
A Winter Wonderland</h2>
Since we last chatted, we've had about a foot of snow, temperatures down to the teens and up to almost 40 degrees, one vehicle stuck precisely two times, one backyard clean-up day, one early dismissal (and a possible closure tomorrow), and a dead battery on a thermostat. But the snowblower started on the very first pull!<br />
<br />
This has been a great week to get in a lot of work preparing workbooks for our youngest son to use next year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Next Up... Carl Sandburg</h2>
Ambleside Year 6 includes a study of Carl Sandburg -- one of my favorite poets. As with the Robert Frost pieces (see, <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2013/12/on-snowy-evening.html#axzz2nh6GMzMN" target="_blank">"... On a Snowy Evening"</a>), I compiled a number of recommended <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbekJKUVFkMUxCcDg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">poems of Carl Sandburg</a> into e-book format. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_F1nYoIlwg/Uq-1cFDa9zI/AAAAAAAABsU/vocjpKxNR14/s1600/Poetry+Sandburg+image.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_F1nYoIlwg/Uq-1cFDa9zI/AAAAAAAABsU/vocjpKxNR14/s320/Poetry+Sandburg+image.PNG" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click the link to download a<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbekJKUVFkMUxCcDg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> FREE copy</a> of this 32-page e-book.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
You can print the pages double sided or single-sided, with lined copywork paper on the reverse -- it's up to how you will use them. I will print them double-sided, and include pages from Harmony Art Mom's poetry analysis materials (see, "<a href="http://harmonyfinearts.org/2011/10/poetry-for-high-schoolers-organized-with-free-notebook-pages/" target="_blank">Poetry for High-Schoolers</a>" for links to the pages, which include excellent response to poetry prompts). If you want some great copywork pages to use with these poems, see the variety of blank copywork pages at the <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268" target="_blank">Notebooking Treasury</a>, including these <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/archives/1047?wppa-album=360&wppa-photo=770&wppa-cover=0&wppa-occur=1" target="_blank">Celtic design pages</a>, with lines for a variety of length of stanzas for copying or dictation work.<br />
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<br />
<h2>
More Poetry Planning</h2>
We will be studying Alfred Noyes for Term 3 next year. I was familiar with his poem, "The Highwayman," but not much else. Look for the next e-book with a selection of poetry by this English author.<br />
<br />
We are also having a GREAT time planning our organic gardens for the coming spring. We hope to make really great use of our mini-greenhouse, and to can a bunch of food for next winter. Stay tuned for more gardening details!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.accesshydroponic.com/"><img src="http://snapshackk.com/accesscouponcodeforbloggers.jpg" /><br /><br /> </a>Get 10% off <a href="http://www.accesshydroponic.com/gorilla/">gorilla grow tent</a> when you shop at www.AccessHydro.com. Valid until January 31, 2014.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-9519706212039471712013-12-10T09:45:00.000-08:002013-12-23T10:10:21.626-08:00... On a Snowy Evening<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EAyreuGPjNM/UqaIjW12IxI/AAAAAAAABq0/2xVGy1OF_5s/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Child's Garden" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EAyreuGPjNM/UqaIjW12IxI/AAAAAAAABq0/2xVGy1OF_5s/s320/014.JPG" title="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter nature walk find. (c) <i>Kim M. Bennett, 2013.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Winter Comes...</h2>
We had our first winter weather this week, awaking to a coating of snow and ice on cars, pavement, and tree branches on Monday. The day warmed up, after many delayed openings, and you could almost forget that winter is upon us.<br />
<br />
So, just to keep us remembering that we DO live in New England, even more snow came on Tuesday, closing most schools and sending the rest home early. The kids can't wait for their first real snow day. This flip-flop girl can!<br />
<br />
But the wintry weather makes for a great time to drink hot tea, wrap in a blanket, blog and think about school lessons and other cozy topics.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rhDHZSPQwH4/UqdlgH2ueGI/AAAAAAAABrk/EwR8skfEgpA/s1600/Carnival+of+Homeschooling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="homeschool blog carnival" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rhDHZSPQwH4/UqdlgH2ueGI/AAAAAAAABrk/EwR8skfEgpA/s1600/Carnival+of+Homeschooling.png" title="carnival of homeschooling" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click here for <a href="http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/04/carnival-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">more information</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2>
Homeschool Planning for 2014-15</h2>
<br />
I am an overplanner. It just makes me feel good to have something well thought-out, even if I end up doing something different. So I am systematically going through each subject area of next year's curriculum and preparing materials now, while we're staying comfy inside, instead of in the summer and fall, when I'd prefer to be at the beach or in the garden. Because my little one is heading into 6th grade next year, I want to make as much of his studies self-directed as I can, leaving direct instruction time for the more complex tasks which require an adult (discussions, chemistry experiments, music lessons, for example).<br />
<br />
Next year, we will combine materials from <a href="http://www.amblesideonline.org/index.shtml" target="_blank"><i>Ambleside Online</i></a> and <a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Well-Trained Mind</i></a> (I love the history texts from Ambleside, but also love the wee bit of structure of TWTM. This month, I am preparing the poetry materials for part of our literature studies. <br />
<br />
My son likes to read poetry -- it's great for teaching rich language, and visual imagery, among so many other things. I wanted to create materials that could be as self-directed as possible, leaving me time to assist more with the things that really need a teacher, such as chemistry or writer's craft. So I compiled the poems suggested for this term into a workbook, of sorts, allowing space to illustrate each poem or take notes. You can print the pages out double-sided, or print them single-sided, and photocopy simple lined stationery on the reverse, if you'd like.<br />
<br />
Ideas for how to use the poetry pages (from our own homeschool practice):<br />
<ul>
<li>Read & illustrate (the simplest response)</li>
<li>Highlight a vocabulary word (e.g., <i>shimmering</i>) - use only pencil to illustrate the meaning of this word</li>
<li>Highlight a hard word (e.g., <i>clandestine</i>) - create a concept web of the word </li>
<li>Circle specific details (words & phrases) - categorize them by part of speech</li>
<li>Circle words with your focus phonics or spelling pattern... </li>
</ul>
... anything you can think of or whatever goes with your current spelling, grammar or writing focus.<br />
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The first set is a collection of <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbUUNXUTVySTZza1k/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">poems by Robert Frost</a>. I will print them out double-sided, and add in a 12-page set of notebooking pages on Robert Frost, from the Notebooking Treasury's <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/archives/3265?wppa-album=2026&wppa-photo=1473&wppa-cover=0&wppa-occur=1" target="_blank">Famous Poets Collection</a>. I am currently waiting (with excitement!) for my ProClick Binder, which will allow me to bind my poems and other materials into oaktag and clear plastic covers to make soft-covered workbooks. The next sets will include the poets Carl Sandburg and Alfred Noyes.<br />
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For a great deal on the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/archives/34250%22%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cu%3ENotebookingPages.com%20Christmas%20Sale,%20Freebies,%20and%20Giveaway%3C/u%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E" target="_blank">Notebooking Treasury</a>, see the coupon, below -- we have been using the Treasury for most of our notebooking needs for the past five years -- the pages are wonderful. Do check it out. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbNasLgKTV8/UqbshtHlCmI/AAAAAAAABrE/vXeuxS8UEfU/s1600/Poetry+Frost+image.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Child's Garden" border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbNasLgKTV8/UqbshtHlCmI/AAAAAAAABrE/vXeuxS8UEfU/s320/Poetry+Frost+image.PNG" title="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013. Click link for a<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbUUNXUTVySTZza1k/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> free download</a>. 54 pages.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<h2>
Holiday Preparations</h2>
My dear friend, Lisa Kowalyshyn, from <a href="http://www.kindredcrossingsfarm.com/" target="_blank">Kindred Crossings Farm LLC</a>, raises grass-fed sheep and cattle, and produces (among many other things) organically-produced wool. My eldest son has been spending the last several weeks helping her button up the farm for the winter, spreading an incredible amount of manure over the fields and the vegetable garden. He loves it, and she appreciates the extra set of hands for the winter farm work.<br />
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The collaborative she belongs to uses the wool to create beautiful wool blankets and scarves that are perfect for holiday gift-giving. There is a new blanket design each year. The scarves come in a variety of gorgeous colors. I told her I wanted to share her photos and a link to her blog here -- please like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kindred-Crossings-Farm-LLC/290626707662999" target="_blank">Kindred Crossings Farm LLC on Facebook</a>, too! {While my blog contains affiliate links, there are none for this listing -- it's totally a love thing!}. If you live in the Connecticut/Rhode Island/Massachusetts area, it's worth finding Lisa's products at the local farmer's markets, where she also sells her fresh, organically-produced lamb, beef and pork products.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mwBP7-E2rqM/UqbyJcpv38I/AAAAAAAABrU/Y6ljOV-_91A/s1600/Lisas+scarves+Kindred+Crossing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com" border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mwBP7-E2rqM/UqbyJcpv38I/AAAAAAAABrU/Y6ljOV-_91A/s320/Lisas+scarves+Kindred+Crossing.jpg" title="Kindred Crossings Farm LLC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kindredcrossingsfarm.com/wool_blankets" target="_blank">Beautiful wool scarves</a>, $15-$25 each, from Kindred Crossings Farm, LLC. Order now for delivery by Christmas!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<h2>
Next up...</h2>
Stay tuned for more homeschool materials sharing, and a sneak peak at our gardening plans (yes, the catalogs are already out! -- I miss summer...).<br />
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<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/archives/34250" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://notebookingpages.com/wp-content/uploads/npc-christmas-square350.png" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-15522061831410508082013-09-28T15:49:00.000-07:002013-10-01T02:23:22.711-07:00September: Wildflowers, Hot Peppers and Other Reminiscings<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FZGSvH8xzLY/UkdMRk7vYRI/AAAAAAAABlw/bfOkJeil6k8/s1600/School+Starts+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FZGSvH8xzLY/UkdMRk7vYRI/AAAAAAAABlw/bfOkJeil6k8/s320/School+Starts+031.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching bumblebees prepare for autumn. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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<h2>
What's New This Month:</h2>
My eldest son. Plant Guy, calls me (hands-free, of course) every day when he's on his way home from work. I, in return, answer his call (also hands-free, of course) and we chat about our day on the long ride home.<br />
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Yesterday, I happened to remark, out loud, how the trees here in Connecticut were suddenly putting on their fall attire. Plant Guy remarked, "Yeah, it's going to be October next week. I can't fool myself into believing that it's still summer anymore." <br />
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No, the sassafras are purple-red, the fields are ablaze with wild asters and goldenrod, and sunflowers are covered with birds fattening up for winter or a long trip to their winter home. It is, indeed, fall here.<br />
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We have been having fun in the fall weather, though:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJ4T5XA78Ug/UkdSbMTq-VI/AAAAAAAABmA/0SbmJqzQgFk/s1600/School+Starts+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJ4T5XA78Ug/UkdSbMTq-VI/AAAAAAAABmA/0SbmJqzQgFk/s320/School+Starts+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasted Vegetable Salsa. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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Canning</h3>
I have put up several different kinds of salsa and hot sauce, dilly beans and some hot pepper pickles. The last of the green tomatoes went into <i>ajo</i>, an Ecuadoran version of <i>sofrito</i>, a delicious paste made from garlic, peppers and other wonders that gets sauteed in oil before you cook anything. Mmm--mmm-good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-70xTJiljeF8/UkdSqVMH7fI/AAAAAAAABmI/ohwoXQjuazc/s1600/School+Starts+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-70xTJiljeF8/UkdSqVMH7fI/AAAAAAAABmI/ohwoXQjuazc/s320/School+Starts+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden bounty. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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<h3>
Gardening</h3>
Summer vegetables were pulled up and replaced with fall lettuces, peas and collard greens. We'll have to cover the lettuces, and the peas will be done by frost, but the collards will be a wonderful (and bug-free) treat next spring.<br />
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We had a bumper crop of hot peppers and pole beans this year. Our corn was a little disappointing - but we learn! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4zl1sPQU3Q4/UkdS_beWyEI/AAAAAAAABmQ/8JLcj1WnxN8/s1600/School+Starts+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4zl1sPQU3Q4/UkdS_beWyEI/AAAAAAAABmQ/8JLcj1WnxN8/s320/School+Starts+041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasting vegetables - the key to so many tasty sauces. (c) Kim M. Bennett 2013</td></tr>
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Cooking</h3>
Changing jobs sometimes means changing finances, and I have rediscovered the economical (and tasty) joys of homecooked meals each night. It's easy to take short cuts when you have more disposable income, but what wonders you can create in the kitchen with a little creativity and simple ingredients. My latest successes: white bean and chicken chili; gumbo; taco casserole; shrimp and broccoli eggrolls; and the world's sweetest pink lemonade cookie bars.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KSMHAMIJnuQ/UkdTa0kALqI/AAAAAAAABmY/aGuxp2Bthb8/s1600/School+Starts+035.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KSMHAMIJnuQ/UkdTa0kALqI/AAAAAAAABmY/aGuxp2Bthb8/s320/School+Starts+035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whimsy in a butterfly and hummingbird garden. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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<h3>
New Job!</h3>
I started a new job (which I LOVE!) as an instructional coach for science, technology, engineering and math. One of the best parts of my job is the organic courtyard garden where students grow vegetables that the chef uses in student and teacher lunches each day. How delicious!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjmlbAzB6kw/UkdVYj0iKOI/AAAAAAAABm8/g2CGb8dyqO4/s1600/Gladiators+001.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjmlbAzB6kw/UkdVYj0iKOI/AAAAAAAABm8/g2CGb8dyqO4/s320/Gladiators+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman gladiator puppets - a fun extension of our history work. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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Homeschooling</h3>
Each year, we exercise our rights to partake of as little or as much of the public school activities that we have paid for, as we'd like. Last year, our Little Guy attended all of grade 4 in public school. He has given himself an early October deadline for determining what he'd like to do about public school this year. He is leaning toward participating in band, music lessons (trombone & saxophone), chorus and some "specials," and leaving the subjects to home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIsKbmxNqhA/UkdU-xuuEeI/AAAAAAAABm0/V0MSrlSa-Fk/s1600/School+Starts+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIsKbmxNqhA/UkdU-xuuEeI/AAAAAAAABm0/V0MSrlSa-Fk/s320/School+Starts+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little sand, surf and sunshine goes a long way. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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<h3>
Healing</h3>
My husband and I have been invited to participate in an event honoring breast cancer survivors and their families, in Hartford -- an honor, and always an emotional time.<br />
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I'm trying to get back in the gym routine. But relaxing on the beach is much more fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TEo3unchw4/UkdWFldOqGI/AAAAAAAABnE/09HlVLao1ew/s1600/first+necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TEo3unchw4/UkdWFldOqGI/AAAAAAAABnE/09HlVLao1ew/s320/first+necklace.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up-cycling old magazines into beautiful jewelry. (c) Kim M. Bennettt, 2013</td></tr>
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<h3>
Crafting</h3>
I have made LOTS of my paper-bead necklaces, and am trying to find some time to set up my Etsy shoppe (or something similar). They are beautiful!<br />
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I have continued to use magazines, but have branched out to include some junk mail, and catalogs. It is a very meditative process, rolling paper beads. You should try it -- very relaxing...<br />
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I want to try paper-pulp round beads (like papier-mache), brown paper bag beads, wrapping paper beads and tissue paper beads. So many bead ideas, so little time!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aVlYxFwe0d8/UkdT-zhG5eI/AAAAAAAABmk/SnM7LdKDMso/s1600/School+Starts+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aVlYxFwe0d8/UkdT-zhG5eI/AAAAAAAABmk/SnM7LdKDMso/s320/School+Starts+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katydid love songs. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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Hanging With Bugs</h3>
We have an influx of katydids this fall. They love to hang out on our front door screen and scream in the evening. I guess it's a love song, but it is one of the loudest noises I've heard at night. They are very interesting, with their long legs. <br />
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Plant Guy's farmer girlfriend harvested her celery and discovered dozens of yellow swallowtail caterpillars. Yey!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UT40Nldk7Q/UkdYL6sGlaI/AAAAAAAABnY/J0oJ7baPl0U/s1600/Pete+Going+Home+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UT40Nldk7Q/UkdYL6sGlaI/AAAAAAAABnY/J0oJ7baPl0U/s320/Pete+Going+Home+005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye, Alfred D. "Pete" Long. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</td></tr>
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<h3>
Saying Goodbyes</h3>
My brother-in-law, Pete, passed away in our
arms early this month. It was a beautiful passing, Pete surrounded by
all of his family and friends, at home. And his homegoing was an event
to be celebrated - complete with a jazz band, a saxophone solo of
"Amazing Grace," and a military salute. He will be missed, but we know we will see him and his sax again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://datax.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Ten-Days-of-Wildflowers-098272400-1380403665-1380403763/original-901568-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ten Days of Wildflowers" border="0" class="preview_product_image" itemprop="image" src="http://datax.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Ten-Days-of-Wildflowers-098272400-1380403665-1380403763/original-901568-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$1.95 for 24-page e-book - click <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ten-Days-of-Wildflowers-901568" target="_blank">here </a>for ordering information.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Writing</h3>
I've been so busy with my new job that I have neglected blogging for awhile. But I just finished a new e-book, <i><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ten-Days-of-Wildflowers-901568" target="_blank">Ten Days of Wildflowers</a>,</i> that is perfect for a 10-day study of the wildflowers where you live. Check it out at Teachers Pay Teachers - only $1.95 for 24 pages (including lesson ideas - great for homeschool or elementary nature study).<br />
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<h3>
What's I've Planned for October</h3>
I hope to get some garlic planted next month (we LOVE garlic around here), as well as take in our yard furniture. The front steps are scheduled to be demolished and replaced (woot! woot! New steps...). And somewhere there are a couple of bushels of apples just calling our name.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pwq8ephf8a8/UkdXc6rcvLI/AAAAAAAABnQ/0XBejdnQPCc/s1600/School+Starts+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Check out this week's give-aways and networking opportunities:</a></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ow.ly/lCefQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="a mom blog community!" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/lMV7oYxTeI3aT3-TrL68h*hnfTb415zEXcJoecqKW073*mAdNcVPYBEJYmBd7OesNOC5kRkr-UqbOGGKpnf8tdsaThNS0ElN/September2013BlogHop.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Member - Click to visit!</td></tr>
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Have a blog? Join hundreds of other blogging women at <i><a href="http://www.bloggymoms.com/" target="_blank">Bloggy Moms</a></i>' September Blog Hop -- let us know what you've been up to this month. <br />
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<img alt="List it Tuesday at Many Little Blessings and Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5850" height="228" src="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/List_it_Tuesday.png" title="List it Tuesday at Many Little Blessings and Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers" width="300" /> </div>
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This post was listed in <a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/top-ten-tuesday-is-now-list-it-tuesday/" target="_blank">"List it Tuesday"</a> -- come see! </div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.696169299999994 -72.584112400000038 42.0743863 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-73011221039494709562013-05-11T10:08:00.000-07:002013-05-11T10:08:29.054-07:00Studying Amphibians in the Field: Using Approximate Measures<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUXiPq_684o/UY5B9Wh7ijI/AAAAAAAABgE/-1jym2hjl-o/s1600/2013-05-09_06-09-39_509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUXiPq_684o/UY5B9Wh7ijI/AAAAAAAABgE/-1jym2hjl-o/s320/2013-05-09_06-09-39_509.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Eft, the immature form of the Spotted Newt. <em>(c) Kim M. Bennett, 2013</em>.<br />
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Frogs and Toads and Salamanders... Oh, My!</h2>
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Here in Connecticut, we have just come out of the April showers that were not.<br />
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Oh, we had wonderful, almost summery temperatures, and the buds began to break. But, without any measurable rain in April, almost everything remained frozen in time, waiting. The spring peepers we wrote about in the last blog post grew a bit subdued in their calls, not having anywhere to lay their eggs. The peas and lettuces that we early gardeners planted begged for water to carry them through what is normally our rainy and wet time of year.<br />
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But we have rain this week! And, with that rain, spring is bursting forth rapidly! The amphibian friends that have grown rather hidden over the past few weeks are coming out in droves now.<br />
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Our frogs and toads broke onto the scene early this year, with a few brave spring peepers coming out during a warm snap in February, and our woodland frog and toad species making their debut last month (we haven't gone down to the pond to check out the more aquatic friends, yet... Stay tuned.) This month marked the first month we have seen salamanders.<br />
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Our Amphibian Survey: May 2013</h2>
Here is a photo gallery showing our survey of amphibians, to date:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sW5kVa_lwdY/UY5L9buzilI/AAAAAAAABgY/tGTC6WvPOQo/s1600/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sW5kVa_lwdY/UY5L9buzilI/AAAAAAAABgY/tGTC6WvPOQo/s320/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our amphibian survey, May 2013. <em>(c) Kim Bennett, 2013.</em> </td></tr>
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We created this survey form so we can observe the changes in the seasonal distribution of the amphibians in our area, over time, as well as to chronicle the seasonal patterns in each specific species over the course of a year. We like having all of the information on one sheet, which is posted on the refrigerator.<br />
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Even the adult children take part (the photo of the red eft, above, is courtesy of #2 Son, the Animal Whisperer, who dashed over to our house early [I mean EARLY] one morning after finding the little fellow in his driveway as he left for work).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odSG4ZUyN1A/UY5L9FvQ8rI/AAAAAAAABgU/wV213-KF2F8/s1600/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odSG4ZUyN1A/UY5L9FvQ8rI/AAAAAAAABgU/wV213-KF2F8/s320/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To get an idea of the relative number of frogs, toads and salamanders in our area, we decided to color code our entries so we could know, at a glance. Besides, at least two of us in the house (probably more) have a fascination with those 16-color Flair packs they sell in Staples.<br />
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Did I ever tell you I have a thing for office supplies? I think it goes along with being a teacher.<br />
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While there are three main groups of amphibians here on our chart, they actually are divided into the following groups, taxonomically [click on the name to see a photograph of a representative species - or the link, if we've already written about it]:<br />
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<li>Mole salamanders (here is our post on the <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2012/04/nighttime-surprise-spotted-salamanders.html#axzz2SzJTmKAl" target="_blank">Spotted Salamander</a> that the Plantsman rescued from the road one night after work)</li>
<li><a href="http://ctamp.homestead.com/Plethodontidae.html" target="_blank">Lungless salamanders</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ctamp.homestead.com/mudpuppy.html" target="_blank">Mudpuppies</a></li>
<li>Newts (see the image at the top of this post, courtesy of the Animal Whisperer)</li>
<li>Toads (here is our last post, showing a photo of a <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2013/04/frog-hunting-in-connecticut-our-10-frog.html#axzz2SzJTmKAl" target="_blank">Fowler's Toad</a> that was strolling across the driveway)</li>
<li>Treefrogs (there's a great video showing <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2013/04/frog-hunting-in-connecticut-our-10-frog.html#axzz2SzJTmKAl" target="_blank">Spring Peepers</a> on our frog survey post)</li>
<li><a href="http://ctamp.homestead.com/SpadefootToads.html" target="_blank">Spadefoot Toads</a></li>
<li>True Frogs (here's a little <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2013/04/frog-hunting-in-connecticut-our-10-frog.html#axzz2SzJTmKAl" target="_blank">Wood Frog</a> that somehow ended up in our living room) </li>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-picq2y0t3s8/UY5L9hYFFuI/AAAAAAAABgc/KF88jhsnnAU/s1600/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-picq2y0t3s8/UY5L9hYFFuI/AAAAAAAABgc/KF88jhsnnAU/s320/Amphibians+and+gardens+-+May+038.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Since tree frogs are arboreal, often the only way that you can observe them is to learn their call. When we identify a frog (or a bird, for our bird list -- especially our owls) by call, we mark the entry with a (c).<br />
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The Animal Whisperer found a Gray Tree Frog once and brought it to show us. We considered that a treat, since you are not likely to actually see them, most of the time. They were a lot bigger than I expected them to be -- not tiny like Spring Peepers.<br />
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It's always good to have a site that you can go to, to listen to calls of animals. <a href="http://ctamp.homestead.com/ctamphibians.html" target="_blank">Connecticut Amphibians</a> has excellent photos, descriptions, and audio files to help folks in our state learn more about the amphibians here. They also have a great discussion of the importance of <a href="http://ctamp.homestead.com/Vernalpool.html" target="_blank">vernal pools</a> to our local amphibian species, something that is an important part of any amphibian study, no matter where you live. -- <em>[Here is an</em><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b8WToJa0yNM/UXhnomYdK7I/AAAAAAAABd8/dzjJymrsq1g" target="_blank"><em> image of a vernal pool</em></a><em> in the nature preserve near our home]</em> -- The <a href="http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/vertebrate-zoology/herpetology/online-guide-amphibians-and-reptiles-connecticut" target="_blank">Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History</a> has a lot of great information, as well, but no audio files.<br />
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<h2>
Measuring Amphibians</h2>
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In our home, as well as in my classroom, we learn to handle wildlife gently, if at all, observe creatures for a short time and in a respectful way, then turn them loose. So we have to learn to observe them very carefully when we have them, so we can compare later. Having a digital camera is a wonderful asset to both homeschool and classroom, when it comes to reflecting on and studying things that we can't really hang onto for a long time.<br />
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If you are going to use digital images as a way to observe animals, try to make sure that you snap them with something in the frame that shows scale. See the images, below, for ideas:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRMFctrRFk/UXhk-hr7eMI/AAAAAAAABds/CMAOJVvRfiQ/s320/Gardening!+2013+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRMFctrRFk/UXhk-hr7eMI/AAAAAAAABds/CMAOJVvRfiQ/s320/Gardening!+2013+009.JPG" /></a></div>
This photo from <a href="http://kimbennett.blogspot.com/2013/04/frog-hunting-in-connecticut-our-10-frog.html#axzz2SzJTmKAl" target="_blank"> "Frog-Hunting in Connecticut" </a>shows a Fowler's Toad in the parking lot. I waited until it hopped closer to the parking space number (most of us can visualize how big those numbers are -- about a foot tall) so you could get an idea of how very large the toad actually was -- about 6 inches long, although adult Fowler's Toads can be up to a humongous 9.5 inches long! Wow!<br />
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I considered getting a ruler to place alongside the toad, but my dog was so excited about the toad that I was afraid 1) the toad would be startled and hop away or 2) the dog would try to eat it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUXiPq_684o/UY5B9Wh7ijI/AAAAAAAABgE/-1jym2hjl-o/s1600/2013-05-09_06-09-39_509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUXiPq_684o/UY5B9Wh7ijI/AAAAAAAABgE/-1jym2hjl-o/s320/2013-05-09_06-09-39_509.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's a great way to get a pretty accurate measurement of your amphibian, if it's one that slows down enough for you to gently pick it up.<br />
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The fingertip joint of an adult's first finger is about an inch long. Actually, this joint, even in a child from about the age of 8, on, is about an inch long. I used to teach my third graders to use their first finger joint as an approximate measure, if they didn't have a ruler. In this photo, you can use this measure to estimate that this little eft (which is probably on the large side, for efts) is about 3 1/2 inches long, from nose to tail tip. Red efts range from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches long.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0Ft0OLZZmg/T4wPMjQsKsI/AAAAAAAAAqI/hgfK7Zej4ZU/s320/spotted+salamander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0Ft0OLZZmg/T4wPMjQsKsI/AAAAAAAAAqI/hgfK7Zej4ZU/s320/spotted+salamander.jpg" /></a></div>
Here's that photo of the Spotted Salamander from <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0Ft0OLZZmg/T4wPMjQsKsI/AAAAAAAAAqI/hgfK7Zej4ZU/s320/spotted+salamander.jpg" target="_blank">"A Night-time Surprise: Spotted Salamanders",</a> showing another visual cue you can use to estimate the size of one of your amphibian friends.<br />
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My son was carrying the salamander from one side of the road to the other, in the front of his tee-shirt. In the photo, you can see the hem of his shirt. If you are wearing a tee-shirt now, check out the hem at the bottom. If it's a regular shirt, the folded over and stitched part will be about an inch wide. Accounting for the semi-curled up nature of the little fellow, we can estimate its size to be about 8-9 inches long, from nose to tail-tip, so it's probably an older member of its species, which range from 5 inches to 10 inches long, depending on their age. They can live up to 10 years, if they don't get run over during breeding season.<br />
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Data Sheets and Notebooking Pages, for Your Amphibian Studies</h2>
In the last post, I shared a link to <a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1403#axzz2RTAXStKl" target="_blank">"Animal and Plant Surveys: 10 Reasons to Get Outside and Survey,"</a> which explained the science behind surveys as a learning task. I also included links to blank survey sheets, such as the one I showed, above, which you can use to keep track of your animal species.<br />
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An amphibian study is a great opportunity to compare animal species, too. For one way to study comparison using an interactive bulletin board, see "<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=995#axzz2SkmzLcG0" target="_blank">Comparing Nests: The 'Same and Different' Center</a>."<br />
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There are many sources of Venn diagrams (all kinds of varieties). At {.<a href="http://www.docstoc.com/search/venn%20diagram?catid=0" target="_blank">docstoc</a>}, you have many to choose from, all downloadable, free of charge.<br />
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We download a lot of our general nature study pages from <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268" target="_blank">The Notebooking Treasury</a> - we have been members since we began homeschooling in 2010. From now through May 31st, 2013, they are having their <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/memberships"><strong><u>NotebookingPages.com 7th Birthday Sale-a-Bration Event</u></strong></a>, with discounted merchandise, chances to win prizes, and specially priced memberships (for new members) and membership extensions (for current members).<br />
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Become a Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Member (as we are) during their <a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/memberships"><strong><u>NotebookingPages.com 7th Birthday Sale-a-Bration Event</u></strong></a>, and you get all this:
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<ul>
<li>Save $25 on your membership</li>
<li>Receive access to 150+ current notebooking products</li>
<li>Receive ALL future notebooking products</li>
<li>Receive up to two years FREE access to their notebooking (& copywork) web-app, The Notebooking Publisher™</li>
<li>Receive a $100 e-gift Bonus Bundle from various homeschool publishers</li>
<li>Earn a chance to win some great prizes … an iPad mini, $100 Amazon.com gift card, LIFETIME access to The Notebooking Publisher™, and a LIFETIME membership to MomsToolBelt.com.</li>
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How could you resist?<br />
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<a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268&p=notebookingpages.com/memberships"><img border="0" src="http://notebookingpages.com/wp-content/uploads/npc-bday2013-horiz600.png" /></a>
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Try Our Amphibian Study Pages - FREE!</h2>
During the next four weeks, you can enter to win a copy of <em>My Amphibian Survey</em>, a 36-page e-Book full of notebooking pages, centers ideas and curriculum extensions on amphibians. Two lucky contestants will get copies of this e-Book. Also, in honor of springtime, we are raffling off one copy of <em>Nests, Nests, Nests!</em> - our fall e-Book on nests of all kinds of animals (including amphibians) for one lucky contestant. Just enter using the Rafflecopter Form, below.<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dd33193/" id="rc-dd33193" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-70361500167710569742013-04-24T17:25:00.000-07:002013-05-11T06:58:30.137-07:00Frog-Hunting in Connecticut: Our 10 Frog Species<h2>
Jumping Jehoshaphat! It's Frog Season!</h2>
After what seemed like an incredibly long winter here, we finally have the most spectacular spring weather ever! Patio tables are being dusted off and set up, little cell packs of potting soil are showing up on people's front steps after work. Kids have ditched long pants for shorts, and knees are going to school skinned.<br />
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This month's <a href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2013/04/outdoor-hour-challenge-reptiles-and.html" target="_blank">Outdoor Hour Challenges</a> have been studies of reptiles and amphibians, and I almost thought we wouldn't be able to participate! While it's still a little cool for our reptile friends to show up, there are signs of amphibians all around.<br />
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Sing a Froggy Song...</h2>
WAY back in February, we had a brief warm period -- warm enough to leave the sliding door cracked so the cats could run in and out at night. On one of those nights, when we were walking our dog before bed, we heard a familiar, but very lonely, spring voice...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pzDhgU78l9M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<i>Spring peeper (</i>Pseudacris crucifer<i>)</i> <i>[Credit: Potomac Overlook Park, 2012 via Creative Commons]</i></div>
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I guess one little fellow thought he'd brave the elements and get a jump on the cutest spring peeper girls.<br />
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Now that we have temperatures in the 40's and near 50 most nights, we hear the wonderful chorus every night. <br />
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Other fun facts about spring peepers:<br />
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<li>My Caribbean friends say that our spring peeper is very much like the little <a href="http://www.elboricua.com/coqui.html" target="_blank"><i>coqui</i> </a>that folks from Puerto Rico love so much. </li>
<li>The call of the spring peepers is affected by air temperature. The warmer the air, the more "peeps" per minute. The Audobon society has a great article all about the song of the <a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/article.html?id=114" target="_blank">spring peeper.</a></li>
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<h2>
Frogs, Toads and Other Nighttime Friends</h2>
If you limit your nature study to daytime, you are missing lots of cool stuff! In fact, some of our best nature study happens by accident, when we are walking the dog before bedtime. Not long ago, as I waited for Lucky to find just the right spot in the woods along the driveway, I heard a deep snort. Not really wanting to find out if it was a young black bear (they demolish bird feeders in our town on occasion), or a buck that got surprised by the dog, we quickly found a more well-lit place to hang out. But what a story we had to tell when we got back in the house!<br />
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So, on one of these evening sojourns last week, we spotted the biggest toad I have ever seen, not hopping, but lumbering, first left front and right rear leg, then right front and left rear leg, across the driveway. The dog thought this was the most exciting thing next to a cat running by -- but I didn't let him catch the toad, because toads secrete something from their skin that makes potential predators vomit.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRMFctrRFk/UXhk-hr7eMI/AAAAAAAABds/CMAOJVvRfiQ/s1600/Gardening!+2013+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRMFctrRFk/UXhk-hr7eMI/AAAAAAAABds/CMAOJVvRfiQ/s320/Gardening!+2013+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fowler'sToad, <i>Bufo fowleri. [Photo credit: Kim M. Bennett, 2013]</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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We have so many toads where we live, that you have to take a flashlight when you walk down the drive at night, or you might step on one. During the day, they burrow under the woodchips in my flower bed. I have more than once been surprised while working in the flowers, when the ground erupts suddenly and hops away!<br />
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<i>[One of my kids' favorite books when they were very young...]</i><br />
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Froggy Went A-Courtin'...</h2>
My youngest son discovered a pond deep in the woods. Since the weather is going to be rainy tomorrow, then nice on Friday, we expect there to be a lot of frog activity over the next few days. So we're gathering our frog egg collecting materials to be ready.<br />
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We have a huge crop of skunk cabbage in the woods, which tells us that these are low spots that often collect water. If you have a low spot that is wet every spring, it may be a <i>vernal pool</i>. My eldest son, the naturalist, says that you can tell a vernal pool from a generic wet spot, because the leaves are gray and washed out, and look dusty during dry times of the year.<br />
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Vernal pools are important for amphibians, since all of them (that live in Connecticut) depend on water for their larval stage. Larger vernal pools are also frequented by migrating birds in the spring. These pools don't have to be very big, but, in our town, they are important enough that builders are not allowed to build over them.<br />
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When you walk in the woods, look for skunk cabbage, and ground that seems spongy and soft. After rains, check here for amphibian eggs.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b8WToJa0yNM/UXhnomYdK7I/AAAAAAAABd8/dzjJymrsq1g/s1600/Bark+Walk+March+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b8WToJa0yNM/UXhnomYdK7I/AAAAAAAABd8/dzjJymrsq1g/s320/Bark+Walk+March+2012+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vernal pools are important habitats for amphibians. <i>[Photo credit: Kim M. Bennett, 2012]</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2>
Our Frog Survey</h2>
There are ten frog and toad species native to Connecticut. Next to each, I have marked them to indicate their status (per the <a href="http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2723&q=325848&deepNav_GID=1655" target="_blank">Department of Energy and Environmental Protection</a>): <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>E = endangered</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>T = threatened</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>SC = special concern </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>D = declining</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>S = secure</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>U = uncertain</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I = introduced</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ol>
<li>Eastern Spadefoot (E)</li>
<li>Northern Leopard Frog (SC)</li>
<li>Gray Treefrog (D)</li>
<li>Wood Frog (D)</li>
<li>Eastern American Toad (S)</li>
<li>Fowler's Toad (S)</li>
<li>Northern Spring Peeper (S)</li>
<li>Bullfrog (S)</li>
<li>Green Frog (S)</li>
<li>Pickerel Frog (S)</li>
</ol>
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<ol>
</ol>
It makes me sad to see some of our froggy friends on the decline or endangered. Amphibians are so very sensitive to environmental changes and toxins.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dhmpLCXJJ3A/UXhtcxkqWeI/AAAAAAAABec/VVPSdaXuV6Y/s1600/April+gardening+2012+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dhmpLCXJJ3A/UXhtcxkqWeI/AAAAAAAABec/VVPSdaXuV6Y/s320/April+gardening+2012+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood frogs occasionally hitch a ride into the house, on the sliding door. <i>[Photo credit: (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2012]</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
We adapted our animal survey to use for our amphibian work this month. So far we have three critters on the list:<br />
<ul>
<li>Northern Spring Peeper (<i>Pseudacris crucifer</i>) (Feb/Mar/Apr)</li>
<li>Eastern American Toad (<i>Bufo americanus americanus</i>) (Apr)</li>
<li>Wood Frog (<i>Rana sylvatica</i>) (Apr)</li>
</ul>
<br />
We'll keep track of each month that we see each species, to get an idea of their patterns in our area, adding to the list as they wake up for the spring.<br />
<br />
If you'd like a copy of the <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0xXoC3SNzdbSnlEQXlmUW9sbUE/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">survey sheet</a>, click the link, below. Check out the "FREEBIES" tab for other pages we have made available for free.<br />
<br />
See also "<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1403#axzz2RTAXStKl" target="_blank">Animal and Plant Surveys: 10 Reasons to Get Outside and Survey</a>" (<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/" target="_blank"><i>Simple Science Strategies</i></a>) for more on the use of surveys in nature study. <br />
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<i>This post was linked to the following great carnivals and link-ups:</i><br />
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<i> </i><a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings" height="114" src="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/top_ten_tuesday_small.png" width="150" /></a> <a href="http://www.hiphomeschoolmoms.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Hip Homeschool Hop Button" height="130" src="http://www.hiphomeschoolmoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/HHH.png" width="130" /></a>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com2Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.6961698 -72.584112400000038 42.074385799999995 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-27346542035600398772013-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:002013-01-22T02:12:46.156-08:00A Winter Battle Re-enactment<br />
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Today was a very relaxed day in our household. We had breakfast for
lunch (hash browns, maple-y bacon, scrambled eggs and homemade
lemonade... mmm...), filled the bird feeders and sorted some laundry for
future washing, later tonight. My little guy and I spent time sorting
LEGOs for a blog post on patterns, and then he spent the remainder of
the afternoon creating and filming World War II battles in the back
yard, using a slew of little plastic Army men he has collected over the
years.<br />
<br />
While he was working, it began to snow. It made
for cold working conditions, but added to the authenticity of his little
battle scenes.<br />
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Here is a photo log of his afternoon (guest "blogged" by the cinematographer, himself)... We submitted this post to both <a href="http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2005/12/where-to-send-your-submission-for-next.html" target="_blank">Carnival of Homeschooling</a> and <a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/" target="_blank">Top Ten Tuesday</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings" height="114" src="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/top_ten_tuesday_small.png" width="150" /></a>
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<h2>
Ten Helpful Hints to Make a Perfect Stop-Motion Battle Re-enactment</h2>
<h3>
<i>by Guest Blogger, Malik B., Age 9</i> </h3>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vFk38IYBFOY/UP3RyjW6AMI/AAAAAAAABYg/YFMGBNPCVJM/s1600/Army+battles+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vFk38IYBFOY/UP3RyjW6AMI/AAAAAAAABYg/YFMGBNPCVJM/s320/Army+battles+10.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Hint #1: </b><br />
<br />
The key to stop motion is to have a camera with plenty of memory space, because you will need to take a LOT of pictures. If you run out of room in the beginning, it will take you a long time to delete extra pictures.<br />
<br />
I have a V-Tech Kidzoom camera. It holds thousands of pictures and also takes videos.<br />
<br />
Videos take a lot of space out of your memory, so I recommend not to have videos on your camera when you want to take stop motion photos.<br />
<br />
It was very cold and snowing, so I decided to name the movie, <i>Plastic Army Men: The Cold War</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHM7-DRl4wY/UP3Ryx2izjI/AAAAAAAABYk/QAYTnxkUToU/s1600/Army+battles+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHM7-DRl4wY/UP3Ryx2izjI/AAAAAAAABYk/QAYTnxkUToU/s320/Army+battles+2+.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Hint #2: </b><br />
<br />
The second thing you need to know is how to do stop motion. The way most people do it is to take a picture, move the figure a little bit in the direction you want it to go, then take another picture. When you're in Microsoft Movie Editor, and you put the photos together, it will look like the guy is gliding right across the screen.<br />
<br />
If you want to see a great stop motion video, look up <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClffzUrRDXk" target="_blank"><i>Plastic Apocalypse</i></a>, by Theakker3B.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dWNiK_dSlKI/UP3RzW8k63I/AAAAAAAABYw/R84gqCaWUsQ/s1600/Army+battles+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dWNiK_dSlKI/UP3RzW8k63I/AAAAAAAABYw/R84gqCaWUsQ/s320/Army+battles+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Hint #3:</b> <br />
<br />
The next thing you should know is how to make home-made special effects. I learned how to do these things by watching a You Tube video called, <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWZw55e2TAQ" target="_blank">The Making of 'Bricks of War,'</a> </i>by Kooberz.<br />
<br />
In the video, he shows a clip of how he makes "blood" splatter on his lens without messing up his camera lens. He suggested placing plastic wrap in front of your lens to cover it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sv5xmNyLB54/UP3R03VXRjI/AAAAAAAABZA/67EL24sNWJg/s1600/Army+battles+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sv5xmNyLB54/UP3R03VXRjI/AAAAAAAABZA/67EL24sNWJg/s320/Army+battles+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Hint #4: </b><br />
<br />
For blood spatter on the lens, I put paint on the plastic wrap covering the lens. You can also use red clay, which sticks better, but doesn't look as realistic as the watery paint.<br />
<br />
Since it was very cold outside, my paint wash container became a slushy, and the wet paint froze, too. I had to breathe on it to thaw it.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSaXEg9IHEM/UP3R2s2KS7I/AAAAAAAABZY/wtY-JMA4FYQ/s1600/Army+battles+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSaXEg9IHEM/UP3R2s2KS7I/AAAAAAAABZY/wtY-JMA4FYQ/s320/Army+battles+8.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Hint #5:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
This is what the picture of the blood spatter effect looks like, after I took the picture of the tan soldier (hint #4).<br />
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I realized I used a little too much paint, so I deleted this photo and took another one. If you wait to check when you get ready to edit, it's too difficult to set up your scene perfect again.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2Po0mfAda4/UP3Rz7dfYRI/AAAAAAAABY0/Wjfd8ngSnOs/s1600/Army+battles+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2Po0mfAda4/UP3Rz7dfYRI/AAAAAAAABY0/Wjfd8ngSnOs/s320/Army+battles+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Hint #6:</b><br />
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Like my favorite filmer, Theakker3B, I take various natural objects and turn them into other objects. Because I didn't have a plastic sniper post, I took the open cabin on my truck (see Hint #2) and used three sticks, taped together, to make a platform that I put on top of the cabin.<br />
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If you don't have something, you can always make a makeshift version. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RR4zlxPk-IE/UP3R1M9sSHI/AAAAAAAABZI/HB7lonrB5Dg/s1600/Army+battles+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RR4zlxPk-IE/UP3R1M9sSHI/AAAAAAAABZI/HB7lonrB5Dg/s320/Army+battles+6.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Hint #7:</b><br />
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This is the inside of one of my Army men storage containers. It's a mixture of landscape items, plus tan and green soldiers.<br />
<br />
Another key to stop motion battle scenes, depending on your scene, is to always have lots of Army men available, plus paint and water if you like my idea for the special effects.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zAgR1Xgipog/UP3R29nBtVI/AAAAAAAABZg/ayqLtVWjVzM/s1600/Army+battles+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zAgR1Xgipog/UP3R29nBtVI/AAAAAAAABZg/ayqLtVWjVzM/s320/Army+battles+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Hint #8:</b><br />
<br />
Here you can see that I have several tan soldiers out. Some of them are covered in red paint, due to "battle injuries."<br />
<br />
Sometimes I have broken pieces off my Army men, to make battle scenes look more realistic. Or, if you don't want to destroy your things, you can use two identical men, bury the chest and head of one partway in the dirt, then bury the legs of another in the dirt.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UyAboGV9zDo/UP3Rx_xrslI/AAAAAAAABYY/koTP4sGRgpE/s1600/Army+battles+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UyAboGV9zDo/UP3Rx_xrslI/AAAAAAAABYY/koTP4sGRgpE/s320/Army+battles+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Hint #9:</b><br />
<br />
It's always nice to have an audience while you work. This is one of my cats, Cody Bear, who is watching me work from under the patio table.<br />
<br />
Notice that she is getting covered with snow.<br />
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My mom was also watching as she filled the bird feeders.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uUaYswfAVg4/UP3R1ugIHvI/AAAAAAAABZQ/jOJS52t28xE/s1600/Army+battles+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uUaYswfAVg4/UP3R1ugIHvI/AAAAAAAABZQ/jOJS52t28xE/s320/Army+battles+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Hint #10:</b><br />
<br />
[From Mom!]<br />
<br />
You go through a lot of batteries during this process, so stock up.<br />
<br />
We discovered that you can buy bags of plastic Army men for a dollar at most dollar stores. We have tan, green and some pink (?) ones, plus a few blue. It's ok to have multiple sets -- you just make bigger armies.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
***There's Still Time!***</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Don't forget about the <a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1240#axzz2If24baxl" target="_blank">Mid-Winter Give-away</a>...</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Click over for more details on how to enter!</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-66686720891250166342013-01-09T03:43:00.000-08:002013-01-09T03:43:04.469-08:00Time for a Winter Give-away!Courtesy of our sister site, <em><a href="http://www.simplesciencestrategies.com/" target="_blank">Simple Science Strategies</a></em>, here is a great give-away to bring in the new year:<br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dd33191/" id="rc-dd33191" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<br />
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><br />
See "<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1240#axzz2HCXrjh9G" target="_blank">Time for a Mid-Winter Give-away</a>!" for more details about these two great e-Books.<br />
<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-48054685831227116002013-01-09T02:23:00.000-08:002013-01-09T02:29:24.776-08:00Starting an Animal Survey: Winter Birds and Friends<h2>
Watching Our Birds, All Year Long</h2>
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We love to watch our birds. With each season, we change our offerings to suit the birds that come with that season: suet for the woodpeckers in the winter; berries and peanuts for the bluebirds in the spring; oranges for the orioles in June; hummingbird nectar for the hummers in July.<br />
<br />
It is exciting to see those birds (and other creatures) that signal changes in the seasons. To chronicle the visitors in our yard, we started a year-long animal survey to usher in 2013.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mbpp4q6hP1A/UOztdKNnK_I/AAAAAAAABVo/dvewUZyLHeE/s1600/Animal+survey+image.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mbpp4q6hP1A/UOztdKNnK_I/AAAAAAAABVo/dvewUZyLHeE/s320/Animal+survey+image.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0xXoC3SNzdbenpHYUVmd0ZfRGs" target="_blank">survey sheet</a> -- good for a year of viewing! <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett, 2012</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We put together an <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0xXoC3SNzdbenpHYUVmd0ZfRGs" target="_blank">animal survey sheet</a>, where we can list the visitors to our bird feeders, brush pile and water sources, then check off which months we have observed them. To mark shifts in populations, we are entering a number to show the greatest number of each species observed at any given time (similar to what is done to measure relative quantities of birds in Cornell's <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/" target="_blank">Project Feeder Watch</a>).<br />
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(<i>Click on link to download a copy for your own study</i>.)<br />
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<h3>
The First Week of Our Survey</h3>
The first week of January was a busy one. Here is our list of animal visitors (not counting our own pets, of course -- wild animals, only!), in decreasing order of their abundance (NOTE: We noted the <i>maximum number </i>of each animal that was seen at a given time, to monitor the relative abundance of the species for each month):<br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qr-MeqjJDZ4/UOzvV9jv2OI/AAAAAAAABWM/whzvm-Nro6Y/s1600/Junco+camouflage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qr-MeqjJDZ4/UOzvV9jv2OI/AAAAAAAABWM/whzvm-Nro6Y/s1600/Junco+camouflage.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark-eyed juncos were our most abundant visitors this week.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Dark-eyed junco (7)</li>
<li>Black-capped chickadee (6)</li>
<li>Tufted titmouse (4)</li>
<li>White-tailed deer (4)</li>
<li>White-throat sparrow (4)</li>
<li>Blue jay (2)</li>
<li>Great horned owl (2)</li>
<li>Mourning dove (2)</li>
<li>Carolina wren (2)</li>
<li>Northern cardinal (2)</li>
<li>Chipping sparrow (2)</li>
<li>Gray squirrel (2)</li>
<li>White-breasted nuthatch (1)</li>
<li>Red-bellied woodpecker (1)</li>
<li>Downy woodpecker (1)</li>
<li>Northern flicker (1)</li>
<li>White-crowned sparrow (1) </li>
</ul>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Nifty Sightings for the Week</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QVNuRCo7Tpo/UOz0_rq8_MI/AAAAAAAABXU/ChHPzucxJ4o/s1600/burgess_bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QVNuRCo7Tpo/UOz0_rq8_MI/AAAAAAAABXU/ChHPzucxJ4o/s320/burgess_bird.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768610701864/" target="_blank">link </a>for more information.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I always love having the chickadees perch inches from my nose and scold me when the feeder runs out of seeds. But there were some other noteworthy observations this week:<br />
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... the junco with <i>leucism</i> -- partial albinism that caused its head and cheek feathers to be completely white, and its sides to be tan in color {my youngest son and I spent a lot of time trying to identify it with our field guides before I found a web article about this form of albinism};<br />
... the great horned owls who perched in the hickory overlooking the feeding area during the night time hours and into the dawn, hooting and hunting {our cats are not happy about being kept in at night the past few weeks};<br />
... the pair of wrens that we watched exploring the inner depths of a
folded camp chair on our front porch (you know they'll nest anywhere). {My eldest son and I sat in the car after going to the gym, so we wouldn't disturb the busy pair}<br />
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<h3>
What We Offered Our Feathered and Furry Friends</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j0DFa6jxT3k/UOzyb1qJdkI/AAAAAAAABWw/w_CXhBZB9DY/s1600/burgess+animal+book+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j0DFa6jxT3k/UOzyb1qJdkI/AAAAAAAABWw/w_CXhBZB9DY/s320/burgess+animal+book+2.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768610511261/" target="_blank">link </a>for more information.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had run out of black thistle seed, so we had filled both our tube feeder and the regular feeder with mixed seed, and placed some stale pancakes in a suet feeder (as an alternative to putting them on the ground, which attracts our own dog before the outdoor critters get to the food). We bought some berry-flavored suet dough (loved by the titmice), and threw bread crusts out on the ground.<br />
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<h2>
Read-Alouds to Go With Your Studies</h2>
Our two favorite animal books, the <i><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768610701864/" target="_blank">Burgess Bird Book for Children</a> </i>and the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768610511261/" target="_blank"><i>Burgess Animal Book for Children</i></a>, are shown here. Click on the links in the captions for more information about these wonderful classics.<br />
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<i>[This post was linked to the following blog carnivals:]</i><br />
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<a href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2012/01/ohc-more-nature-study-book-2-winter_13.html" target="_blank">Outdoor Hour Challenge ~ Winter Bird: Chickadee</a><br />
<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1250#axzz2HS6zvSjc" target="_blank">Simple Science Strategies: Patterns</a><br />
<a href="http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2005/12/where-to-send-your-submission-for-next.html" target="_blank">A Carnival of Homeschooling</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com0Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.6961698 -72.584112400000038 42.074385799999995 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-2100842466689420762012-12-20T13:42:00.000-08:002012-12-20T13:42:21.372-08:00Squirrel and Bird Nest Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvdQsSORc64/UNIKRqwr1bI/AAAAAAAABQo/HXE9SvktgWo/s1600/squirrels+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvdQsSORc64/UNIKRqwr1bI/AAAAAAAABQo/HXE9SvktgWo/s320/squirrels+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bare trees reveal squirrel nests. (c) Kim M. Bennett, 2012.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Last month, we spent a lot of time exploring the world of fall, seeing treasures revealed when the leaves fall off the trees. One unexpected sighting was a massive squirrels' nest, in a red oak near our driveway.<br />
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Our discovery led my youngest son to request that we re-read <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burgess-animal-book-for-children-thornton-w-1874-1965-burgess/1103304993?ean=9780486437453&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-Fe%2flAR2NGuQ-_-2%3a9780486437453&r=1&" target="_blank"><i>The Burgess Animal Book for Children</i></a> (BABC), from the beginning. If you are following along in BABC, this study would accompany the section on squirrels (the third "study" in the book).<br />
<br />
Read along for a nature study on squirrels nests, which includes many ideas we've used over the years.<br />
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<br />
<h2>
Read-Alouds:</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr0Mkfn7YhA/UNJMa-q1FII/AAAAAAAABRM/ISZpDoOVLnc/s1600/burgess+animal+book+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr0Mkfn7YhA/UNJMa-q1FII/AAAAAAAABRM/ISZpDoOVLnc/s320/burgess+animal+book+2.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burgess-animal-book-for-children-thornton-w-1874-1965-burgess/1103304993?ean=9780486437453&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-Fe%2flAR2NGuQ-_-2%3a9780486437453&r=1&" target="_blank">Our favorite animal study read-aloud!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sometimes our natures studies happen by accident (such as our discovery of this squirrel's nest). Other times, a read-aloud piques our interest. Our favorite nature study read-aloud is <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burgess-animal-book-for-children-thornton-w-1874-1965-burgess/1103304993?ean=9780486437453&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-Fe%2flAR2NGuQ-_-2%3a9780486437453&r=1&" target="_blank"><i>The Burgess Animal Book for Children</i></a>. And it fits perfectly as a read-aloud if you are using the <i>Exploring Creation through Zoology</i> series, which focus on animal classification, as the BABC chapters are laid out to introduce children to animals as they are related to one another. And who doesn't like Peter Rabbit?<br />
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If you want to fill a book basket with books to go along with this study, here are some of our family favorites:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780723247715&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FTale-of-Squirrel-Nutkin%2FBeatrix-Potter%2Fe%2F9780723247715" target="new">The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin,</a></i><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780723247715&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /> by Beatrix Potter (my youngest brother was a big Beatrix Potter fan)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/miss-suzy-miriam-young/1103067592?ean=9781930900288" target="_blank"><i>Miss Suzy</i></a>, by Miriam Young (my own childhood favorite) </li>
<li><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780441013180&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FRakkety-Tam%2FBrian-Jacques%2Fe%2F9780441013180" target="new"><i>Rakkety Tam</i> (Redwall Series #17)</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780441013180&type=2&subid=0" width="1" />, by Brian Jacques (a favorite of my eldest son)</li>
<li><i><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780152050641&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FNuts-to-You%2FLois-Ehlert%2Fe%2F9780152050641" target="new">Nuts to You!</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780152050641&type=2&subid=0" width="1" />,</i> by Lois Ehlert (all my kids loved Lois Ehlert's collage illustrations - a great thing to try for your creative arts connections, if you use the "Five in a Row" approach to homeschooling)</li>
</ul>
For our squirrel nest study, we just enjoyed Chapters 4-8 of <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burgess-animal-book-for-children-thornton-w-1874-1965-burgess/1103304993?ean=9780486437453&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-Fe%2flAR2NGuQ-_-2%3a9780486437453&r=1&" target="_blank"><i>The Burgess Animal Book for Children</i></a>. Again!<br />
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<br />
<br />
<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9991104040107&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%2Fp%2Fnook-hd-barnes-noble%2F1110060426" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="new"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/194640000/194640822.JPG" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9991104040107&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /><br />
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My little guy grew up surrounded by technology, and enjoys reading books on our NOOK Color. The e-Books compatible with the NOOK are available at Barnes & Noble. We noticed that there are several free ones with great photos of squirrels:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-squirrels-of-summer-robert-mason/1111815596?ean=2940033277483" target="_blank"><i>The Squirrels of Summer</i></a>, by Robert Mason</li>
<li><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-squirrels-of-summer-robert-mason/1111815596?ean=2940033277483" target="_blank"><i>Everybody Loves Squirrels,</i></a> by Richard Gerard</li>
<li><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-squirrels-of-summer-robert-mason/1111815596?ean=2940033277483" target="_blank"><i>Gunshin Date, the Samurai Squirrel, </i></a>Max M. Power</li>
</ul>
If you don't have an e-Reader, you will love the NOOK products. (My youngest son uses it to listen to Pandora, watch videos, read books and do research). There are many apps available for our favorite online resources (Pinterest, Dictionary.com, Ancestry.com, etc), so it functions as a nice little mobile device when we don't want to carry the laptop.<br />
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<h2>
Lesson Ideas:</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OOxNKn6w5kQ/UNJ-bqhb2SI/AAAAAAAABRs/-0pwo_f53bc/s1600/squirrels+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OOxNKn6w5kQ/UNJ-bqhb2SI/AAAAAAAABRs/-0pwo_f53bc/s320/squirrels+002.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray squirrel nest <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett 2012</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We discovered the squirrel nest as one nest among three we found the same week: the other two were an oriole nest and an unidentified warbler nest. So it made sense to compare the three nests as part of our study.<br />
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We studied the two bird nests on the front porch (the squirrel nest, of course, was WAY up in a tree), discussing their similarities and differences, but you could also use a double bubble map (see <a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=995#axzz2FSkp7GCv" target="_blank">"Comparing Nests: The 'Same and Different' Center"</a> for examples of how to use a double bubble map with individual students or groups of students, or in a classroom).<br />
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We love the <i>Exploring Creation</i> series, and are using <i>Land Animals of the Sixth Day</i> this year. Pages 113-118 cover "Mouse-Like Rodents," including the squirrels. The material is very much like that of the BABC.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbXk4ObHM0Y/UNJ-gvbFWGI/AAAAAAAABR0/cclyyE39cFo/s1600/Snow+Day!+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbXk4ObHM0Y/UNJ-gvbFWGI/AAAAAAAABR0/cclyyE39cFo/s320/Snow+Day!+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nest of the Northern Oriole <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett 2012</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our other "go-to" resource, the <i><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780801493843&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FHandbook-of-Nature-Study%2FAnna-Botsford-Comstock%2Fe%2F9780801493843" target="new">Handbook of Nature Study</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780801493843&type=2&subid=0" width="1" /></i>, discusses the nesting habits of red squirrels on p. 235. We have mostly gray squirrels in our area. Red squirrels like forests with more evergreen trees -- our forests are mostly oaks and maples.<br />
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<img border="0" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&bids=239662.9780801493843&type=2&subid=0" width="1" />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=Fe/lAR2NGuQ&offerid=239662.9780801493843&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FHandbook-of-Nature-Study%2FAnna-Botsford-Comstock%2Fe%2F9780801493843" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="new"><img border="0" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/19720000/19729179.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image for more info.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we first started homeschooling several years ago, I read that many homeschoolers used this book as part of their homeschool nature study work. I borrowed it from the local library, but soon decided that it was well worth the approximately $25 it costs to buy a used copy on the Internet. Buy it!<br />
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<h2>
Other Resources:</h2>
My son and I created a set of notebooking pages to use in conjunction with our squirrel study. Since he was already working on another writing project, we mostly used the organizing tools (have I told you before that my son is NOT an avid notebooking enthusiast? He would rather fill notebooks full of action stories, so I choose my battles carefully...)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GFe4yLXg_3I/UNKG-SaSwTI/AAAAAAAABSU/wbmF-7B7KDM/s1600/Copywork+nests+image.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GFe4yLXg_3I/UNKG-SaSwTI/AAAAAAAABSU/wbmF-7B7KDM/s320/Copywork+nests+image.PNG" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1008#axzz2F8aIp5P6" target="_blank"><i>Nests, Nests, Nests!</i>, a 25-page resource. $1.95</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/?p=1008#axzz2F8aIp5P6" target="_blank">"Nests, Nests, Nests!"</a> reviews the e-Book that we created to go along with this study. This set includes both primary and regular-ruled science journaling
pages focusing on animal nests, as well as a variety of framed pages for
thematic writing, note-taking or nature study. Organizers for studying
and comparing nests of different animal orders, coloring and copywork
pages, and game cards for sorting and classification tasks make this set
versatile, perfect for direct instruction or independent learning
tasks. You may also download a <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nests-Nests-Nests" target="_blank">free sample</a> of some of the pages.<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
The resources also include copywork, which you can see to the right. We chose scripture from Genesis, as that we are using <i>Genesis through Deuteronomy and Ancient Egypt</i>, from Simply Charlotte Mason, for our Bible Study curriculum, and are currently reading Genesis. We are used to using scriptures for copywork, since that is what is used with the <i>Exploring Creation</i> texts.<br />
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<h2>
Discussion Ideas:</h2>
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Here are some of the discussion questions we used when studying about nests (I've marked each one to show what science discipline it relates to -- physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences, or engineering, technology and the application of science):</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<ol>
<li>What types of materials do different types of animals use in their nests? (L)</li>
<li>How do these materials differ from one another? How are they the same? (P)</li>
<li>What makes these materials useful for nest-building? (E)</li>
<li>What different ways do animals build their nests? (L)</li>
<li>How are different kinds of animals adapted to obtain protection where they live? (L)</li>
<li>How might natural phenomena (such as winter storms) and human activities (such as tree cutting and clearing for building) cause changes in animal nesting behaviors? (E)</li>
</ol>
For those of you with children at multiple ages in your home, these questions follow a general progression from K to grade 4, as you move down the list. But don't get stuck on that -- my son (a fourth grader) was fascinated with seeing (up close) the actual materials used for each nest, and for different parts of the nest (for example, the warbler nest was a very tight cup of birch bark, leaf pieces and grape vine bark, but it was lined so neatly with tightly packed pine needles -- fascinating. Learning is what you make of it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tO0BVz2NTw0/UNN9OsCYvGI/AAAAAAAABTU/mwWqylCOyLo/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tO0BVz2NTw0/UNN9OsCYvGI/AAAAAAAABTU/mwWqylCOyLo/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unidentified warbler nest from M's collection. <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett 2012</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ev8_Ut98SYI/UNN9RMBU1UI/AAAAAAAABTc/S5nVm7LIUIM/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ev8_Ut98SYI/UNN9RMBU1UI/AAAAAAAABTc/S5nVm7LIUIM/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside lined with tightly packed white pine needles. <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett 2012</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TpYaHIPlZ0/UNN9TOlM3II/AAAAAAAABTk/CmU7ZNEEep8/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TpYaHIPlZ0/UNN9TOlM3II/AAAAAAAABTk/CmU7ZNEEep8/s320/024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside was formed with bits of bark from paper birch. <i>(c) Kim M. Bennett, 2012</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We Love to Share...</h2>
This post and our ideas was shared on the <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_9182.html" target="_blank">Outdoor Hour Challenge</a> and <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_15617.html" target="_blank"><i>Simple Science Strategies</i></a> Blog Carnivals.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com1Willington, CT, USA41.8852778 -72.26138890000004341.6961698 -72.584112400000038 42.074385799999995 -71.938665400000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-41691497543466970482012-12-15T08:13:00.000-08:002012-12-15T08:13:10.937-08:00Love One Another...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Peace-shalom-salaam-300x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://simplesciencestrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Peace-shalom-salaam-300x300.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009805181824213137.post-5420759091176883302012-11-19T19:41:00.000-08:002012-11-19T19:41:11.778-08:00My First Ten Book Additions to Shelfari!I discovered Shelfari on a friend's blog just moments ago...<br />
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So my weekly edition to the Top Ten Tuesday Blog Carnival is my...<br />
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First Ten Books on Shelfari!</h2>
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<a href="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings" height="114" src="http://www.manylittleblessings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/top_ten_tuesday_small.png" width="150" /></a></div>
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These happen to be the books we are using for homeschool studies (with the exception of two, which don't show up on Shelfari). If you are new to homeschooling, we would highly recommend these as additions to your library.</div>
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Now that I know how to "work" Shelfari, I will be adding other books that we have read (or are reading) for homeschool. So check back often!<br />
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Look for the widget on the sidebar (you can't miss it -- it looks like a bookshelf!). Or check out the widget in this post (below). Want your own bookshelf? Check out the link at the bottom of the widget. It's so easy, and updates as you add books. You can filter what is visible by tags (in case you only want your bird books to show, for example), by whether they are on your wish list or are ones you already have read... Very versatile.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shelfari.com/">Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog</a><script language="javascript" src="http://www.shelfari.com/ws/230066/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.shelfari.com/books/2263483/A-Childs-History-of-the-World?widgetId=230066">A Child's History of the World</a> by </li>
<li><a href="http://www.shelfari.com/books/6848759/The-Burgess-Animal-Book-for-Children?widgetId=230066">The Burgess Animal Book for Children</a> by Thornton W. Burgess</li>
<li><a href="http://www.shelfari.com/books/106432/The-Burgess-Bird-Book-for-Children?widgetId=230066">The Burgess Bird Book for Children</a> by Thornton W. Burgess</li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://notebookingpages.com/dap/a/?a=1268"><img src="http://www.notebookingpages.com/store/affiliates/image.php?bid=17&mid=1000" border="0"/></a></div>AllKidsCanLearnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05076899893012518463noreply@blogger.com2