Little Blue School

• What I Talked About in 2009

  
  Here's my Tweet Cloud for 2009. It's a graphic generated from my most-repeated words in my Twitter feed. I kind of love this. I can see all the elements of my life here. You can get your own Tweet Cloud here. You can follow [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 29, 2009, 11:15am EST
  

• Happy Homeschool Science: One Photo at a Time

  
  Have you met The Happy Scientist? Robert Krampf is a former museum geologist and instructor turned science showman. His special million-volt tesla coil is the star of his traveling show, and he has taken his show all over the country, including the Discovery Channel [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:57pm EST
  

• Jungle Book Week 11

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Quiz:
  
  The quiz this week is about henna, the ancient art of dying your skin with smushed up plant juice. Please tell me which of these statements are true?
  
  1. Henna is a flowering plant .
  2. Henna can be used on [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 27, 2009, 2:10pm EST
  

• Latin Club Week 11

  
  This is a class report for week 11 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classical Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. There was no quiz! Chapter ten was review, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 27, 2009, 1:17pm EST
  

• GUESS Homeschool Science Fair: How Can You Help?

  Thank you for participating in the science fair this year! It was a great day, and you and your children helped to make that happen!
  
  It’s time to look ahead to next year, and part of that is thanking our sponsors so that they’re happy to help us out [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:46pm EST
  

• Steal This Post

  The sponsors of our 2009 GUESS Homeschool Science Fair generously provided our young scientists with exciting prizes for the winners. Their donations also allowed us to underwrite the cost of all the kids' science fair day at the VASC, including an age-appropriate science class, an electricity demo, and an IMAX' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 23, 2009, 4:22pm EST
  

• GUESS Homeschool Science Fair 2009

  When Shez and I first talked about organizing a science fair for homeschooled kids, we were actually sitting in a bowling alley. Our kids were in a homeschool league, which they loved, and we were suffering through waiting out the bowling, which we did not love. Being the supportive homeschooling [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 23, 2009, 12:44am EST
  

• Folkmanis Puppets: The Best Educational Toys

  We have always loved Folkmanis puppets. I'm convinced Folkmanis makes the best stage puppets, the best animal puppets, the best finger puppets, in the world. They use really interesting fabrics, very realistic designs, and somehow their puppets work as stuffed animals as well as puppets. All six of' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 15, 2009, 8:16pm EST
  

• Norfolk Karate Academy: Perseverance on Both Sides of the Mat

  
  
  Benny got his brown belt on October 30. Can you believe it? It was a great day for Benny, an enormous day for me too. Benny has been doing karate since August of 2003. It has taken him at least a year to get through every [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 15, 2009, 6:51pm EST
  

• Jungle Book Week 10

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Quiz:
  
  The quiz this week required students to correctly identify ten map elements: The Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges River, Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Bangladesh. They did pretty well! Good job studying that at home. :)
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 1:38pm EST
  

• Latin Club Week 10

  
  This is a class report for week 10 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classical Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:53am EST
  

• Jungle Book Week 9

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Quiz:
  
  Here is the quiz for this week. Which statements are true?
  
  Himalaya Quiz
  Circle the numbers that are true.
  
  1. The word Himalaya means “Home of Snow.”
  2. The Himalayan mountain range is contained entirely in the country of Nepal.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2009, 1:09pm EST
  

• Latin Club Week 9

  
  This is a class report for week 9 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classical Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 9:27am EST
  

• Latin Club Week 8

  
  This is a class report for week 8 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classical Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:19am EST
  

• Jungle Book: Week 8: Meditation for Kids

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Meditation Exercises:
  
  Today we were joined by local writer and yoga teacher Grace Tazewell for some practice in meditating. First we discussed the story, "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat," and I introduced the Himalaya and Sunnyasi fast facts. Then Grace took us [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:45am EST
  

• Latin Club Week 7

  
  This is a class report for week 7 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classial Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2009, 12:07pm EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 7: How to Make a Sari for a Doll

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Today we got right down to business because we had so much fun stuff to do with our Sharpie Saris. However, in the academic track class, we made the time to take our Punjab region quiz:
  
  Quiz: Which one of the following statements [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2009, 11:36am EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 6

  
  This is a class report for week 6 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classial Academic Press.
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework.
  
  Chants. We took turns [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 16, 2009, 9:27am EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 6

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  We may have started the enrichment track class with an India dance party. We may have also ended it that way. The academic class, however, started with a very serious quiz. And ended with an Indian dance party. Rawr!
  
  Quiz: Which one of [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 15, 2009, 10:56pm EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 5

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Today we had so much to do that we immediately launched into the quiz. The quiz was a blank version of the Fast Facts map, which the children had to fill in, matching the name with the ten locations we learned from Kotick's travels.[...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 11, 2009, 8:56am EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 5

  
  This is a class report for week 4 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A.
  
  In class:
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 10, 2009, 2:02pm EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 4

  
  This is a class report for week 4 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A.
  
  In class:
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 01, 2009, 11:20am EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 4

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Today to warm up, we practiced our Johar greeting. We're getting fast, but I know we can be faster. I attribute our slowness to extreme giggling caused by people calling each other the wrong name. Which never fails to amuse.
  
  Quiz:
  
  1.' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 30, 2009, 10:38pm EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 3

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Decorated Elephants Art Project. Because our project was so involved and I wanted the children to have the maximum amount of time possible to work on it, we started right away.
  
  Each student started with a blank elephant outlined on a half sheet [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 23, 2009, 12:35am EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 3

  
  This is a class report for week 2 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A.
  
  In class:
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz. Everyone [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 23, 2009, 12:15am EDT
  

• The children are the future. Let them worry about it.

  I am not worried about my children's future. There. I've said it. Sure, I worry about whether they'll find nice people to marry, or if they'll be fulfilled in their jobs, be happy in their choices. But I am not worried about the future of this [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 21, 2009, 12:52am EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 2

  
  This is a class report for week 2 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A.
  
  In class:
  
  Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz. We [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 16, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 2

  
  
  Namaste.
  
  Johar greeting. We tried to go faster than last week. Maybe by the end of the semester we will just be zooming around the room. With the enrichment track class we just did the girls today; we will do the boys next week. We [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 15, 2009, 4:17pm EDT
  

• Latin Club Week 1

  
  This is a class report for my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A.
  
  In class:
  
  Meet and greet. We all Latin-ized our names, so Benny became Bennimus, Stephen became [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 08, 2009, 10:52pm EDT
  

• Jungle Book Week 1

  
  
  CLASS SUMMARY:
  
  Discuss the meaning of the word "Namaste." Practice saying "Namaste" to each other.
  
  Do a "johar" greeting. In every child exchanges name with every child. So, the child whose turn it is says each of the other children's names around the circle,' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 08, 2009, 4:48pm EDT
  

• Latin for Children Syllabus

  
  This is a syllabus for my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op.
  
  Assignments:
  
  We will be tackling one chapter per week in the Latin for Children Primer, with accompanying exercises in the Activity Book. I will be assigning [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 08, 2009, 12:41am EDT
  

• Jungle Book Class Syllabus

  
  
  Text: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, unabdridged edition.
  
  Reading Assignments:
  
  Week 1: Rikki Tikki Tavi
  Week 2: Toomai of the Elephants
  Week 3: The White Seal
  Week 4: Quiquem
  Week 5: The Undertakers
  Week 6: The Miracle of Purun Bhagat
  Week 7: [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 07, 2009, 7:48pm EDT
  

• Obama's Address to School Children: Reality Check!

  REALITY: From the Department of Education:
  
  At 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address to the students of America. (Please note that this is a change from the originally scheduled time.) During this special address, the president will speak directly [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 04, 2009, 2:17pm EDT
  

• Fiddle Fever Summer Camp 2009

  This year Benny and I tried something completely different, the Fiddle Fever camp hosted by the Academy of Music. The camp is taught by local music star Carol Thomas Downing, director of the Virginia Children's Chorus, Suzuki teacher, and fiddler!
  
  Because of Benny's tendency to be [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 29, 2009, 11:46pm EDT
  

• Suzuki Summer Camp 2009

  I have no superlatives left for the Suzuki teachers at the Academy of Music. Over the years I have ranted and raved about their greatness to the point that I must sound like a broken record, both to them and to the people I'm informing about them. I will tell' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 29, 2009, 11:09pm EDT
  

• Emlenton Summer Festival

  Part I: Emlenton's Got Talent
  
  Part of the Emlenton Summer Festival this year was a non-competitive talent show called Emlenton's Got Talent. This show took place on the stage in the Crawford Center, which used to be the local school where our family's previous generation of Pennsylvanians went [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 29, 2009, 6:47pm EDT
  

• Living Treasures Animal Park: The Weirest Petting Zoo Ever

  In the old days, anyone with a mangy bear, a mostly tame raccoon, a donkey, and an exotic chicken could set up a zoo and charge a penny to see the animals. If the bear could dance, so much the better. Anybody with a camel could give camel rides, and [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 29, 2009, 11:37am EDT
  

• Stone Skipping Tournament in Franklin, PA 2009

  Is there, no kidding, a professional stone skipping tour? Yes.
  
  You mean that grown-up people throw rocks at a river and count how many times the rock jumps and compete against each other to see who can skip the most times? Yes.
  
  Does this alleged "pro tour" include [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 28, 2009, 11:48pm EDT
  

• How to Teach a Child to Write a Novel

  Welcome, visitors from Homeschool Freebie of the Day! Scroll down for your link to this free course!
  
  This spring, I formed the Junior Secret Noveling Club, a small group of kids who wanted to learn to write novels. The kids were between ages 7 and 9, and all homeschooled, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 16, 2009, 11:19am EDT
  

• HSLDA Pits Homeschoolers Against HR 3200 and Health Care Reform

  Let me first say that I support Obama, I support HR 3200, and I strongly support Health Insurance Reform.
  
  As a liberal homeschooler, I have complex feelings about HSLDA (the Homeschool Legal Defense Association). I believe that a lot of what they do is good, watching legislation and helping [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 11, 2009, 1:47pm EDT
  

• The Jungle Wolf: A Story to Read Aloud

  
  I'm writing this down as part of my curriculum, How to Teach Your Child to Write a Novel. This is a part of Lesson #3: Villains. "The Jungle Wolf" is a story my mother told me when I was little. I always imagined' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 25, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
  

• How to Make Chess Team T-Shirts Using Fabric Spray Paint

  For full instructions on this project, see my other blog post about making t-shirts here. I used the same general technique for making the chess team shirts but with some specific embellishments.
  
  
  
  Materials:
  
  Aerosol fabric paint. Something like this. In black.
  White [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2009, 9:28am EDT
  

• Benny's First Crush

  Benny has had a serious crush on a little girl named Cecelia for almost a year. He has had dear, close friends who are girls before, girls he's planned to marry, girls he's been devoted to -- like his deep abiding love for Zoe since he was four years old. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 10, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  

• Leroy

  My friend Susannah took this awesome picture of my dog Leroy.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 03, 2009, 9:03am EDT
  

• North Carolina State Tang Soo Do Championships

  On May 9, the children competed in a Tang Soo Do tournament in Fayetteville. It was Sadie's first tournament and Benny's second. Sadie was the littlest little warrior there, with a pink mani-pedi, pink sparkle gel in her hair, and a sparkly butterfly hair tie holding her braids together. She [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 31, 2009, 8:59pm EDT
  

• Homeschoolers in the Semi-Finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee

  For a list of all 41 spellers who made the semi-finals, click here.
  
  For a list of the nine *homeschooled* spellers who made the semi-finals, scroll down:
  
  #16 Josephine Kao, Sacramento, California.
  
  #36 Claudine Broussard, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  
  #40 Veronica Penny, Ontario, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 27, 2009, 7:55pm EDT
  

• This is the Face

  This is the face of the boy who rode Griffon by himself today. We went to Busch Gardens to pick up Dan's phone, which fell out of his pocket while he was upside down last week. We thought we'd hang out for a few hours and just do some kiddie [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 23, 2009, 1:10am EDT
  

• Rush Limbaugh Says Non-Profits are Bloodsuckers

  In a commencement speech at Arizona State University, Obama encouraged graduates to find ways to help their country outside a mainstream career track. Rush Limbaugh used this as a springboard to announce that non-profit organizations are parasitic bloodsuckers, not worth of attention from this year's graduates. Better find a real' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 15, 2009, 8:39am EDT
  

• How to Make a Magic Carpet

  The study of Persian rugs is an interesting way to get into Persian history and Islamic culture. Why are Persian carpets so beautiful? In a culture where iconography is immoral, a functional object like a rug is a place where art can be expressed "legally." Like calligraphy, Persian carpets are [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 14, 2009, 12:32am EDT
  

• Strawberry Picking at Three Sisters Farms

  For years Veronica and I have taken our kids to the Three Sisters Strawberry Farm in Suffolk, VA, to pick organic strawberries. The reason we drive a long way to get strawberries that are organic is that this person...
  
  
  
  and this person...
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 10, 2009, 8:59am EDT