Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Old '57 Chevy


Well, I’ve had lots of adventures with that old ’57 Chevy sitting abandoned in the field behind the barn, but perhaps I could tell you about those later. For now, let me tell you about how I got the Chevy. I actually started with the Chevy, but I didn’t want it. So I started a huge chain of swapping that all ended with me getting a newer car and my Chevy back. The car is a really old model that they don’t make anymore, so if I sold it right now, I would get a lot of money, but I really like the white color, the old radio, and the bumper sticker from the ‘50’s. The car has lots of rust on it, but it’s a great attraction for people who like old things.

My Favorite Place

MS has had several more different types of paragraph assignments in his Grammar Ace workbook. Today was the first day we'd had to get them edited and posted, hence the proliferation of new posts.


My favorite place is the Dead Sea Spa, were our family often goes on vacation. It’s a lovely place, not anything like a forest, (because most people’s favorite places are forests) but very peaceful in the nearby hotel, and nice and refreshing in the cool waters of the pools. The Dead Sea Spa is an area with several different pools, that all have amusements. With a nearby snack shop, and the fancy hotel, the Dead Sea Spa is the best place to go on vacation in Jordan.

Lego Star Wars


Last night, from eight to eight thirty, I helped the Republic in a huge battle against the Empire. I fought and defeated Count Dooku, then I played in a huge arena where you had to get 1000,000 Lego studs to win. I won, and got a gold brick as a reward. After that, the republic had a huge victory party!

Lego Star Wars Figures Bill of Rights


1. Every Lego figure is to be repaired immediately, if any parts are lost.
2. All Lego figures should be armed, unless not in war.
3. Any created lego figures can choose whether or not jump into pits.
4. Lego figures have the right to jump into dangerous substances.
5. Fights are allowed in the Cantina or anywhere else.
6. Lego figures have a right to destroy anything destroyable.
7. All varieties of powers can be used in battle.
8. Lego figures have a right to take any money found in a level.
9. Lego figures have a right to open every door in a level.
10. Lego figures have a right to use all defenses to keep from getting killed.

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Blog Read 'Round the World

Sensing the opportunity for a geography lesson, after I added a "ClustrMap" gadget to this blog, I asked a my e-maginary friends from the Sonlight International Board (where moms [and a couple of dads] homeschooling outside their home country gather) to visit here.

The kids, especially MS, were blessed to see so many dots appearing on their map, and we took some time one afternoon to take turns finding out which countries (and States in the US) were represented. We used our dining table map to determine the name of each country, and MS made a list.

Today, we finally had time for him to type up (and alphabetize, because I couldn't resist the opportunity to add another educational skill into the activity) the list. So, here it is.




Countries:
Argentina
Belgium
Bermuda
Brazil
Cambodia
Canada
China
Ecuador
Finland
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Japan
Jordan
Malaysia
Mexico
Mongolia
New Zealand
Philippines
South Africa
Thailand
U.A.E.
United Kingdom
Vietnam

States:
Alabama
California
Connecticut
Florida
Maryland
Massachusetts
New York
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington D.C.

(If you want to see an up-to-date map, you can always click on the ClustrMap icon on the right-hand side of the blog to see a larger version.)

Persuasive Paragraph

MS's assignment in his Grammar Ace workbook today was to write a persuasive paragraph about one of his parents. In spite of much campaigning and flashing of dazzling smiles by his maternal unit, he chose to write about his father.

My dad is the greatest dad in the whole world, for a lot of reasons. For example, he’s always there to help me. And we’ve gone on lots of fun trips, like to Wadi Dana, or to the Dead Sea Spa with the huge waterslide. He’s always willing to play Wii with me, and, as a matter of fact, he would rather play games with me than go to work.



Thursday, November 20, 2008

Movin' on up!



MS received his Taekwondo green belt on Sunday. His thoughts:

Well, the greenbelt test wasn't much of a challenge. It was just a list of moves (about ten) that I had to memorize. My score was 6/10. Since the test (before getting the results), I've been sparring with greenbelts, which I believe to be part of the test.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Room-Cleaning Robot


(example photo; not actual robot)

MS's Language Arts assignment a couple of weeks ago was to state a problem and develop an invention that solved the problem. The second week, he was to do a brain- or cluster-map, which was a free-flow of his ideas with words and/or drawings related to his invention/solution. He then wrote out his solution from the prewriting.

Here’s the problem: to clean a room takes a really long time. The solution is to build a good robot that can clean rooms. If everything goes well, I’ll have a robot that gets more work accomplished and does the job in half the time a person can!

Of course, there are cons to this dream machine too: people will lose jobs and get less exercise (Although, the robot could remind people to exercise, and people could get jobs fixing the robot
The robot can do so much more than cleaning rooms, though. If it works well, the robot can work in garages, fix things; clean other places, just about anything!

My plan for the robot is that wires take information from the programming disk inserted to command central to different parts of the robot.

The outside will be lightweight and durable, and a “Job Done” light will flash when the job is completed. The robot also has small wheels on its feet that let it scoot quickly around the work area. The grabbers on its hands let it grip any kind of tool. Rubber on the robots arms and neck allows it to stretch.

All in all, the robot is a highly advanced and useful machine that, if invented, will help many people, and could be useful now and in the future.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Venn Diagram: Kit and Ruthie

MS's writing assignment last week was a Venn Diagram and then a Comparison/Contrast paper based on the prewriting in the diagram. All three older kids have been very taken with the American Girl books lately (don't worry, the boys are reading baseball and astronaut hero books to balance it out :-), so MS chose to compare and contrast two characters from one of the series.



Two kids that are so different, yet so the same.
Kit and Ruthie are the main characters for the Kit books in the American Girl series. Kit’s favorite book is Robin Hood, while Ruthie would prefer a fairytale any day. Kit likes to play catch or read on summer days, whereas Ruthie would do anything involving princesses. Kit admires Amelia Earhart, and Ruthie likes any princess character.
In many ways they are different, but in any situation, they are always there to help each other, and they don’t need to talk, because many times they just sit and think.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Fantasy Wars





Introduction


A dark villain known as Shracath, who has been hidden for years, finally emerges, attacks, and destroys a nearby town. Having heard about the attack, a young hero gets his sword, puts on his armor, and rides out on his horse into the dark night.
His name? Palono.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Riding fast on the dangerous road to Shracath’s castle, which he built on the ruins of the village, Palono is almost thrown off his horse when an unseen beast in front of him makes a deafening roar. The beast lunges, but Palono is an expert fighter and leaps above the monsters arm, defeating him easily. Then, he gets back on his horse.
An arrow whizzes over his head, and another one, which he barely dodges. He turns, and sees some archer knights who work for Shracath. He rides fast, through a gorge, turning to shoot at the archers with his own bow every once in a while.
Finally, he makes it to the bridge to Shracath’s castle. A knight is at each corner of the bridge, plus two at the entrance. Palono is hidden from their sight, so he manages to shoot the first two soldiers, but that alerts the other four.
Palono defeats the next two by giving them a double slash and knocking them off the bridge. The third one he defeats by leaping above him and slashing him; he then defeats the other with a full slash around.
Upon entering the castle, Palono sights Shracath, who quickly swings his sword, knocking Palono down. He then runs up to the roof. Palono swiftly follows, beginning a fierce sword battle.
Soon, Shracath is forced to leap onto a balcony further down; Palono follows, using a rope. There, Palono attacks the momentarily stunned Shracath and quickly gains the upper hand. Palono then knocks Shracath into the pit, and he screams his rage all the way down.
When Palono returns home, he will be a hero.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Descriptive Words


A black and white skunk looks ugly, small and mean. It has a tail that squirts out a really stinky, smelly substance. I think its taste is really…well, I don’t know. I’ve never tasted a skunk. It stamps its feet, which sounds like a thump. I like what it feels like, though. It feels soft and furry. But of all the things I hate about a skunk, its smell is the thing I hate most.

The End

Sunday, October 12, 2008

How to Make Applesauce


MS's Language Arts assignment this week was to write a set of directions. He thought about "How to Win Lego Star Wars for Wii," but he hasn't yet (although he's trying...), and he said it would take too long, so he settled for "How to Make Applesauce," which he can do from start to finish.

The first thing you do to make applesauce is to buy two kilos of apples at a local fruit store. Then, you wash them, and you get out your apple peeler corer slicer. And, of course, you core and slice them (we don’t peel them, because it’s healthier).
Afterwards, you put them in the crockpot and add cinnamon. Leave them in the crockpot for 6-8 hours on high. If you want to make it smoother, use a hand blender.
Finally, you enjoy them for breakfast or in recipes. I would suggest eating it for breakfast with yoghurt on top, or in muffins.

When he e-mailed me his final draft to post for him, MS commented that this is the quickest he's ever completed a Language Arts assignment, including edits. :-)

Monday, September 29, 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

If I could meet someone from the past, it would be the inventor of the very first 3D video game. And we would talk, and I would ask him lots of questions like why he decided to make videogames more realistic, and then I would go back to my time, come back, and show him how far 3D games have gone and that there aren’t many 2D games on the latest consoles. Then, I would get my Wii, step back into my time portal, and warp back to my time.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Team Retreat


The next day, MS had to flesh out his outline by writing a paper on the experience he'd outline (which he found easier than the outlining himself).

One time, a few weeks ago, our team went on a retreat (hence the name). The hotel we stayed at was called The Olive Branch. We did a lot of things there, but I can only mention a few. Anyway, let’s start with our packing and getting there…

The first thing we did was to pack all our things: swim stuff, entertainment, like Leapsters, game boys, Legos, and blocks. We also packed things we needed, like clothing and snacks. Then, we loaded the car, started it, and drove to the McBride’s house. There, we helped our team load their cars and vans and drove to the retreat place.

After that, we got our room keys, went to our room, and unpacked. Afterwards, we went downstairs and had lunch, which was chicken nuggets, soft drinks, and French fries and went back upstairs for a meeting. At the meeting, the fun really started. We had entertainment, like game boy, leapster, and DVD’s (the electronics) and building toys such as Mega Blocks and Legos. We also started two clubs, one of which I will mention later. Afterward, we went swimming, had dinner, watched a movie, (Waterhorse Legend Of The Deep) in the meeting room, and went back to our rooms to sleep.

The next morning, we got ready, went downstairs, and ate breakfast, which was cornflakes with milk and sugar and toast with apricot jam. After which, we went upstairs to a meeting. At the first part of the meeting, we went down to the game room. Nearby, we found three kittens and named them Ben, Didi, and Sasha. Then, we went upstairs and continued the Daredevil Club. In the club, you do “daring” things (same as the name) like being swung by your wrists back and forth and landing on a cushion. Also, you get swung around and land on a cushion. Then, we finished the meeting, ate lunch, had another meeting, packed and left.
I really enjoyed my weekend that time. I can’t wait until the next retreat.

Team Retreat Outline

MS was supposed to "Outline an Experience" for creative writing last week. This was an introduction to the concept of outlining and had to be at least three levels deep.

I. Getting there
A. Packing
1. Swim stuff
2. Entertainment
a. Electric
i. Computer
ii. Leapsters
b. Non-electric
i. Plush toys
ii. Books
3. Needs
a. Snacks
b. Clothes
B. Leaving
1. Loaded the car
2. Started the car
3. Drove to McBride’s house
4. Helped friends with loading
5. Drove to retreat
II. Day One
A. Arriving
1. Got our room keys
2. Went to our room
3. Unpacked
B. Activities
1. Lunch
a. Chicken nuggets
b. Ketchup
c. Soft drinks
2. Meeting
a. Entertainment
i. Electronics: game boy, leapster, DVD’s
ii. Building: Legos mega blocks
iii. Gymnastics: cushions
b. Exercise
3. Swimming
a. Dinner
b. Movie:” Waterhorse, Legend of the deep”
c. Back to rooms
d. Sleeping
III. Day Two
A. Breakfast
1. Got ready
2. Went downstairs
3. Ate
a. Cereal
i. Cornflakes with milk and sugar
b. Toast with apricot jam
B. Meeting
1. Went to game room
a. Found kittens
i. Ben
ii. Sasha
iii. Didi
2. Went upstairs
3. Continued Daredevil Club
a. Got swung back and forth and landed on cushions
b. Got swung around in a circle
c. Rode on the bucking bronco: Nathan
4. Finished meeting
C. Lunch
D. Another meeting: same thing
E. Finished meeting
F. Packed up
G. left

Okay, the formatting didn't come out at all, and I don't know enough about Blogger to fix this. I'll ask ML when he gets home, and hopefully, come back and fix it.

The Serpent of Ka


In relation to studying the period of time in which Germany became a single state (when the Brothers Grimm were collecting fairy tales), MS's history assignment this week was to write a fairy tale based on a family story.

One fine day, the adventurer M****** and his friend S*** are looking for some excitement. Suddenly, a great quake rises from inside the earth! But then it fades just as quickly as it started.
“What was that?” asks S***.
“Ahhhhhhh!” yells S*** as he is yanked back by a long, slimy tail.
M****** leaps into action and grabs the creature’s tail and pulls hard on it. The serpent drops Seth and rears up above Malachi, ready to strike!
MM****** jumps over the creature’s head and strikes it with a blow from his sword! The serpent roars with fury and starts chasing the adventurer. M****** leads the creature around until it gets tied up!
M******strikes the final blow with his sword!

(The family story was one in which ML and MS were exploring the B./G. family ranch. S*** G. suddenly pointed out that there was a rattlesnake directly in MS's path, as in, MS would have stepped on it and possibly gotten bitten. The dads halted the hike and took care of the snake, and all was well (except, maybe, for the dads' nerves). I suggested to MS that maybe he took a little too much glory for himself in the fairy tale version, given the original course of events, but he chose to leave it as it was.)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Science Recollection


JW's Language Arts assignment this week was a Science Recollection, something fun or interesting or something that had gone wrong. He, of course, chose something that had gone wrong.

A science experiment to test which parts of the body feel correctly went wrong. I was better with feeling things with my feet than with my hands. It's supposed to be my hands that can feel the most things correctly. It went right for the other two people, though.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Man in Black


One of JW's assignments today was to write a simple dialog (Sonlight Language Arts 2, Week 3). He was given some potential conversation starters. Instead, he chose to write a story incorporating all of the sentences given (listed at the end). Together, we did some light editing once it was done, and I helped out with an idea or two, but this is all JW, all the way. His imagination, creativity and way with words amazes me!

Joe, on the way into the restaurant to meet his cousin Jerry for dinner, suddenly passes a man carrying an animal that is extremely strange to him.

“What in the world is that?” asked Joe.

“An orangutan,” said the man in the yellow hat.

“Oh, is that what one looks like! Where did he come from?”

“He came from Asia, I bought him in France, and now he lives in America.”

“Then, what are you going to do with him now?” asked Joe.

“I’m going to feed him this mango,” the man in the yellow hat said.

The man in black whispered, “Put down that mango."

Joe pleaded to the man in black, “Don’t take the mango from the man in the yellow hat! It would really upset my cousin Jerry. He loves orangutans and hates it when people don’t feed them. He’s just in the next room, and he might hear you and get upset.”

The man in black didn’t answer. Instead, he smashed the octopus’ tank.

The octopus swirled out of the remains of the tank, grabbing Joe.

LaRonda raced into the room. “Yikes!” shouted LaRonda, “Who’s the whiz bang who thought it was a good idea to taunt the octopus?”

LaRonda leaped to the octopus, punching the arm that held Joe. It loosened its grip just enough for Joe to slip out.

In all the commotion, the man in black had slipped out of the room.

Meanwhile, in the dining area of the restaurant, Jerry, not knowing the chaos happening at the same time, was arguing with the waiter.

“No,” insisted Jerry. “I did not order the sesame chicken. And I wanted boneless, not meatless”

As he looked away from the chicken, a mysterious man quickly bumped the plate, sending it spinning towards Jerry. The plate crashed, and the chicken skeleton landed on Jerry’s head, sealing him inside it. Smashing his cage of chicken bones, he leaped up, just as the man in black sped into the room, looking for somewhere to hide.

And then, the man in the yellow hat, Joe and LaRonda leaped through the window into the room.

The man in black, not wanting to fight, rolled up his sleeves and got ready to punch.

As the man in black got ready, the man in the yellow hat turned to Joe.

“Could you please hold my orangutan?” pleaded the man in the yellow hat.

Joe said, “Sure!”

The man in black charged, but then he slipped on the water seeping from the smashed octopus tank in the next room. It splashed the waiter in the face, making him drop his ten kilogram dish right in the direction of Jerry.

As Jerry is too scared to move, Joe hands the orangutan to LaRonda, leaped to his feet and leaped once again, diving for Jerry. Joe swept Jerry off his feet, carrying Jerry to a safe place just in time.

The dish smashed on the floor.

Meanwhile, the orangutan, put down by LaRonda, so she could fight on the man in the yellow hat’s side, started throwing leftover food at the man in black. (So putting him down, actually probably was a good thing.)

The man in black, suddenly hit by pieces of the ten kilogram dish and various chicken bones, fell backwards.

When he finally regained consciousness, he raised a white flag saying, “I give up!”

THE END


And here are the sentences he was given as options:
- “What in the world is that?” asked Joe.
- The man in black whispered, “Put down that mango.”
- “Yikes!” shouted LaRonda, “Who’s the whiz bang who thought it was a good idea to taunt the octopus?”
- “Could you please hold my orangutan?” pleaded the man in the yellow hat.
- “No,” insisted Jerry. “I did not order the sesame chicken."

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

jakjakjkjakjakjakjakjkajjakjakjkajjakjajkjakjkajkajakja

(This post was apparently made by ZL, while the blogger screen was open for MS to put up a post. :-)

What happened yesterday

Well, not many things that were interesting happened yesterday, but I know that there is at least one thing. Yesterday was Magdalyn's first day of Taekwondo. Yes, she is going to Taekwondo now! Makaela is going too! Well, I think that's it. Just let me think for a second. :-\ Alright, now I realize there is a LOT more that went on yesterday. Well, i'll start with the things that I don't normally have everyday. Let's see, my friend Cameron came over yesterday and we had a lot of fun playing on our new cushions. Well, they aren't really new, but they have new covers on them. Anyway, we also watched an episode of Kim Possible on our computer, and afterwards we played a couple of games on the Internet. Then I had to go to Taekwondo. Because of that I had a lot of free time yesterday. Oh, and we had a meeting.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Science Saturday







Some friends came over to do science experiments last week. (And we had a great time playing afterwards, but that's not really what they came over to do.)

One of our experiments was testing items for how much they could hold. We used marbles in a foil boat and a green bowl. The foil boat held more.

Afterwards, we tried toys to see if they floated or sank. They were equal! I mean there was an equal amount of things that floated and sank.

The last experiment we did was to put a can in a bucket filled with water and let the can fill up and sink. Then we blew air into the can through a tube. It floated to the top. Well, that's all the science experiments we did.

Bye for now. :-)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

test

Testing the ability to type an e-mail that will post as a blog.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Valley Forge/my history report

Valley Forge

The soldiers couldn’t last much longer in this freezing wasteland!

General George Washington and his troops set up camp at Valley Forge, November, 1777. It was a cold winter night, and the troops were running out of supplies. The 11,000 soldiers that were left started talking about mutiny, but they were held back by their loyalty to Washington and the thought of freedom.

However, the troops weren’t properly trained. So Washington sent for someone to train his troops. After a long time of training, the soldiers were finally ready to go into battle.

When the French agreed to help them, and they won the battle of Valley Forge, there was a huge celebration and parade. Although many died, after many battles, they finally drove the British back!

America was theirs now! Even though many had died from hunger, and starvation, cold and sickness, it was worth it.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

my latest history report

The Boston Massacre

The colonists would never forget what happened that fateful day.

The Boston Massacre was a brawl turned violent that eventually triggered the American Revolution. It happened because the British were staying in the houses of the American colonists. This was a problem because the British were eating their food, which they needed to supply the American army; it also meant that the British were going to take over.

Then, one night, under the light of the full moon, some of the colonists began throwing snowballs at a British sentry. Panicked, British soldiers at the scene responded by shooting into the angry crowd. Three people were killed during the shooting, and two died afterward.

Later, the British troops were tried for murder. John Adams—future president of the United States--defended them as their lawyer. The leader of the troops and six of his men were acquitted, but two of his men were found guilty, punished, and discharged from the army.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Birthday presents

My birthday was last month, and I got lots of presents from my friends and family. My first present is a Asterix Comic book from my mom and dad. I read it very often and I love it. My second present is a big book of how to build a tree house, make a slingshot and a lot of other stuff. This is also a book my friends have. I have not read it yet, but it seems interesting. I also got two games from my great grandma which my grandma is bringing. I was also sent (by e-mail) two iTunes gift certificates, which I used to buy ten episodes. I was also given a pogo stick, which I haven't tried out, yet but once I figure out how to get on it and get bouncing, I think I will have fun with it. I got a model airplane set, which I haven't had time to put it together and paint it but I think I will have fun with it. Another present I got was an electric motor set from three of my friends, which I think I will have fun with it since I like science, and that's why I think they got it for me. My last present is two dinar, which I put into my savings account for a Webkinz, which I already have, and he is watching me type this right now, although by the time you read this right now will have passed. Well, I've run out of things to say, so goodbye!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

George Whitefield

MS: This is my history report on George Whitefield. It also contains a bit of information about The First Great Awakening. Hope you like it! :-)

George Whitefield was a famous preacher who was born at the Bell Inn, in Gloucester, England. He was one of three men who started the First Great Awakening, also known as the Great Awakening, which was a series of religious events like people starting to read their Bible at home and becoming passionately and emotionally involved in their religion.

His stories were so realistic that people could literally see them before their eyes. Sailors felt as if they were on a ship, and real cries of ‘To the lifeboats, to the lifeboats!’ rang out from the crowd.

Not all people liked what he said though. Many churches were closed off to him.
But the few churches that were open to him became too full of people, so he began “field preaching,” preaching outside. Even though he preached many sermons, very few remain.

George Whitefield was a great religious man and strong in his spiritual beliefs. George Whitefield was also a good and faithful friend and will always be remembered, even by people who disagree with him.

Monday, February 4, 2008

JW's Alliterations

JW likes all things rhyming and has recently added alliteration to that. Here are a couple he came up with today:

Brown bears battle black beans with the help of brown badgers in a building.

Superstar senses Skittles.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Favorite presents


Here is what I got for Christmas and what I think of each present.

Lego Star Wars II The Original Saga video game: this was my very favorite present that I got, I just love playing it, and my friends like it too. I could tell you all about the game, but you would probably get bored, and I do not want to bore you, so on to the next present we go!

The next present is Star Wars too. I got a Darth Vader and Chief Chirpa Star Wars action figure. What I thought of it is well, I just love them and play with them quite often.

My last presents are The Knowledge: Spectacular Special Effects book, Magic Tree House: Afternoon on the Amazon,Guide to Afternoon on the Amazon, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush (a Veggie Tales DVD), Vroot and Vroom (a math game CD-ROM), Tintin in Tibet, Crafty Crime-Busting book,some LeapPad books, an iTunes gift certificate (which I got to buy five TV show episodes with), and a Star Wars Transformer. And, well I liked all of them!