Color Mixing with Droppers

Last week, we read My Blue Boat from our Before Five in a Row curriculum.  For an art activity, I combined some suggestions for exploring the color blue and an activity from The Little Hands Art Book for using droppers to mix colors.  I gave each girl several droppers and a muffin tin to which [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Many Luscious Lollipops

Many Luscious Lollipops is part of Ruth Heller’s World of Language series.  This title is all about adjectives, different ways to use them, different forms they take, general versus specific.  Rather than being dry like a book about adjectives could be, Many Luscious Lollipops, is written in fast-paced engaging verse and illustrated with brightly-colored humorous [...]

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Cybils 2009 Easy Reader and Short Chapter Books Panel

I am so excited to announce that I’m a panelist for the 2009 Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) in the category of Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books.  Panelists read all the nominations for their category and select five finalists.  Then judges choose a winner from those five. Meet the other panelists [...]

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What We’re Reading, September 22

M and her dad are several chapters into Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  He’s reading a chapter at a time every other night, making her savor it.  She is not keen on savoring; she’d rather devour.  She’s broken into tears twice over not getting to hear more.  That’s a powerful story! M and [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Awesome Ocean Science

M requested more science experiments for our homeschool days and when I ran across Awesome Ocean Science: Investigating teh Secrets of the Underwater World, I knew it would be a hit since it would fulfill her request and fit into our ongoing ocean study. All the experiments can be done with simple materials you likely [...]

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A Whirlwind of Fall Fun, Part 2

M started riding lessons a few weeks ago.  If only the crisp, fall air was still around in the afternoons.  Unfortunately, it’s still sticky, sweaty hot but soon it will be cool and the leaves will have turned and the weather will be perfect to be out on a horse. One of our favorite fall [...]

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A Whirlwind of Fall Fun, Part 1

Fall is my favorite time of year.  My birthday and my mom’s birthday fall in September.  M and my dad have the same October birthday.  On top of all those celebrations, we try to soak up as much of the crisp air and fall-themed activities (corn maizes, apple picking, harvest celebrations, fairs, etc as we [...]

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The Cybils 2009

Voting fort the 2009 Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) opens October 1 and runs through October 15.  Anyone can nominate books published between the end of last year’s contest and the beginning of this year’s.  Categories include fiction picture books, non-fictions picture books, easy readers, middle grade fiction, young adult fiction, fantasy [...]

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Our Daily Routine

Earlier this week, Maria of Dirt Under My Nails, wrote about the daily rhythms her family has developed and asked how other homeschoolers structure their day.  Like her family, we don’t keep a strict schedule but we do have a routine to fall back on.  More often than not, something gets out of order or [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Super Swimmers by Caroline Arnold

Continuing our focus on marine mammals, we picked up Super Swimmer: Whales, Dolphins, and Other Mammals of the Sea by Caroline Arnold. The opening pages describe ways marine mammals are designed to fit their environment: torpedo shaped bodies, blowholes, blubber, etc.  Then different groups of mammals like whales and dolphins, seals and walruses, are explained [...]

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