Despereaux and Marley and Me

After hearing our weather reports for the weekend, I thought that some movies sounded nice. We enjoy having "Family Movie Night" when we can, maybe once a month. No one is allowed to do something else, no playing on the computer, no reading a book; to be honest these rules are for the grownups though.

So Friday night, we popped some popcorn and settled down to watch Despereaux. All in all we enjoyed it, some parts were confusing - what was the deal with the magical man made out of vegetables? - but the kids gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. We may need to read the book. I was a little worried this would turn out to be a Ratatouille makeover since there is a rat and food in the beginning. It doesn't take long before you forget Ratatouille though.

Would I recommend it? Yes, we enjoyed this movie and there was nothing really objectionable.

The other movie was Marley and Me. I should have known better. Stacey had mentioned a language issue but you know different people have different definitions of words they don't want their kids to hear. And it is rated PG but they are apparently alot more lenient than I would be. Among other terms there was S.O.B. (not abbreviated), b*st*rd, B*tch, *ss, etc. Not to mention there was also discussion about "making a baby," activities that lead up to making a baby, and a scene with a squeaky bed. Yep, lottsa stuff I wanted to explain to my kids.

Actually Junior got bored and left the room, which is good because he wouldn't have wanted to see the ending. Daisy did watch the ending, but she didn't like it.

Would I recommend it? Ehhh, it was ok. If I was watching it with teens, sure. With younger kids, no.

Homeschool Freebies -- not just for homeschoolers

There is a great resource that is for homeschoolers but those who don't homeschool might find some interesting things. Each day there is a link to a new freebie and the old link doesn't work. You really ought to check it out. Here is what they are doing this coming week.

Monday, Feb 16th:
Great President's Day Resource Links! (links)

Want to make the most of President's Day? Check out these
Lesson Plans, virtual tours, poetry & the actual papers
of presidents Washington & Lincoln!


Tuesday, Feb 17th:
A Chinese Wonder Book (PDF ebook)

This fascinating collection of Chinese stories and legends,
edited by Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, is a great
literature-based introduction to the rich history and
culture of China. Includes a read-aloud guide.


Wednesday, Feb 18th:
"Harriet Tubman & the Railway to Freedom" (MP3 audio)

A classic old time radio dramatization of the story of
Harriet Tubman and the activities of
the "underground railroad" during slave years.


Thursday, Feb 19th:
Blessed Is The Man: High School Unit Study Sampler (PDF ebook)

"Blessed is the Man" is a wonderful High School Unit Study
geared to Christian young men, and based on Psalm 1.
Today's resource is this extensive 74 page preview
of the complete four year curriculum - normally $10 on the
publisher's website - but yours to download today!
If you have growing boys in your household, DON'T MISS THIS!


Friday, Feb 20th:
Creatively Simple: How to Make Butter in the Blender (PDF ebook)

Learning to make butter is something everyone should do at least once.
This simple ebook by Penny Raine can teach you how, using items you
probably already have in your kitchen. Detailed instructions and lots of
pictures.

You can get all of these on their respective days at

www.HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com

Die hard fan

Grateful for Grace has asked a question on her blog, which product are you a die hard fan of. Which products do you insist on having a certain brand, no other will do.

So I suppose I ought to confess.

I have a thing for hot tea.

I like a wide variety of hot tea for different moods, time of day, etc. Celestial Seasonings Peppermint tea makes me smile to smell it; their Tension Tamer tea is wonderfully soothing; I love the floral notes to a jasmine tea; gunpowder tea is just fun and flavorful; I have some wonderful green tea brought from China that tastes fresh picked. . . . and on and on.

But the tea that I drink every day, my absolute favorite is English Breakfast.

Not any English Breakfast, but Twinnings English Breakfast.

If I don't have any of it for breakfast, I will just have coffee.

So I am not completely loyal as in I buy no other tea; but for for my morning tea, no other will do.

Oh and I am completely with Grateful of Grace on the Luzianne thing. Their ice tea is way better, although I prefer it with caffeine.

Let's be scientists -- December Module

I just got the newest Old Schoolhouse Module -- Let's Be Scientists and it looks great. Rather than focusing on one specific branch of science, this gives you a great overveiw. There are sections on weather, astronomy, chemistry, and anatomy.

Let's Be Scientists also has great experiments like "Ice Cream in a Bag" and "How Do Your Taste Buds Work". There is also an introduction to gross science which most kids will love.

As always, there are great quizzes, copywork and coloring pages. There are also recipes included that I can't wait to try.

Check out Let's Be Scientists.

God's World of Extremes

I was looking for a way to enrich our geography lessons, make them more than just places on a map. The October Old Schoolhouse module is what I was looking for. God’s World of Extremes is full of amazing facts, such as the most rainfall happens in India with 500 inches! You will never guess what amount is the least average yearly rainfall.


God’s World of Extremes has learning opportunities such as maps of each continent; coloring pages for the younger ones; price comparisons for things like bread and gas; games kids play around the world; and a “which continent are we on” worksheet.


There are also loads of links:

• Easy foreign language
• More about countries such as Greece, Mexico, Chad and even the United States
• A penpal website
• An extensive resource list
• And more

In God’s World of Extremes my favorite is the copywork pages, one for each continent with a fast fact section that includes things like land size, largest river, and number of countries. These would be wonderful for lapbooking or notebooking.


My daughter can’t wait to start this one. This is a fabulous module that can be used with the Old Schoolhouse Planner; however, owning the planner is not necessary.



God’s World of Extremes will get your kids excited about geography.

Facebook

Well I did it.


I signed up for facebook the other day.



Ok, you need to sign up. I was able to make contact with people I haven't talked to in 8 years. I could talk to people I haven't talked to in 17 years, but . . . many of them are part of the reason I homeschool.



You can also keep up with current friends and family through Facebook.



Check it out.

Amusing Mathematics Old Schoolhouse November Module

I really enjoyed Amusing Mathmatics. which is pretty amazing since I have never really liked math.

Ok, the truth is I hated math.

I am still not too fond of math but I really enjoy Amusing Mathmatics. My daughter liked it too. In fact, I didn’t get to read through the whole thing at first because I had to stop so she could play with the tangrams.

Amusing Mathmatics. is a great ebook, even for confirmed mathophobes like me. There are activities such as

• tangrams - ancient Chinese puzzles of shapes
• jokes and riddles
• Pattern Blocks
• math puzzles
• sodoku.

Tips are hidden throughout, like an easy way to figure out the answer to 9 x any other number.

I love the copywork for Amusing Mathmatics.! It has rhymes to help remember the difference between coins; the difference in measurement between cups, pints, quarts, and gallons; and other math rhymes.

If you want to add a little fun into your math studies, look no further than Amusing Mathmatics.