Living Math--Estimation!

Earlier this week I was blessed to be able to attend a homeschool seminar that was filled with inspiring speakers and creative ideas. And the neat thing about this seminar in paticular was that it was completely on-line! So where ever you may be around the globe, if you had access to internet, a computer, and speakers, you could attend this seminar.

This was a last minute plan for me--I had actually never even heard of this seminar and then ended up having my name drawn for a free ticket for it--literally two days before it started!

Anyway, one of the neat topics that a speaker talked about was what she called "Living Math". Basically taking math off of a workbook page, and into real world applications. She had all kinds of examples of things she had done in her homeschool, and it really inspired me to try and be a little bit more creative in this area with Alison.

SO. Not having planned ahead for anything in paticular, after listening to this wonderful talk I looked around my house. "What do I have in my hand?" I thought to myself. Ah, I have canning jars! So I gathered up four canning jars, and then went looking for "something" to put in them.

I ended up filling jars with crayons, cotton balls, ballons, and "gems". Then I put a piece of paper next to each jar, asking Alison to make her estimation of how many of each item was in the various jars.


We let the jars sit on the counter for a day, giving her a chance to examine them and make her estimations.

Then it was time to find out how close she really came to the actual count. This was a good time to throw in some skip counting, so cotton balls were counted out in groups of 5.






Balloons were also counted into groups of 5--along with time for blowing up a balloon too, of course!

















Gems were counted into groups of 10. I didn't have enough gems in the house to completely fill up the jar, but decided to just use what I had since I didn't want to go to the store and spend any money for this activity. I do not think it detracted from the learning any, even though the jar was not filled.











Crayons were also counted out into groups of 10. And of course, decisions had to be made about crayons broken in half--do they count as 1 or 2?

Overall, Alison absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED this activity, so I was pleased. :) Her estimations came surprisingly close to the real counts, except then I discovered that for two of the jars she had written down more than one estimation answer! Ah well. I don't really care, it didn't make a difference at all in the learning that took place. And she came away from the activity with the feeling that math is FUN and practical. Exactly what I wanted.

If anyone out there is interested in attending the next seminar, I found out they will be holding another one August 8-12, 2011. Information will be posted on www.heartofthematteronline.com The conference I attended was a shorter one, three days with three speakers a day. Tickets for it were $14.95, so I am assuming the ticket price for the August seminar may be more since it is a longer conference, and they are going to have fifteen speakers instead of nine. But whatever it is, I can honestly say I think it will be inspiring and you will be blessed by attending. If you cannot catch all of the seminars at the time they are going on live, they are all recorded and included in the price of your seminar ticket you will get mp3 files of each so you can listen to them later when it is a good time for you. If you can listen in live, though, it was really neat because up on the screen next to the speaker's power point slides there was a chat box, and you could see different comments that other seminar attendees were saying, as well as type in your own comments. I learned about some really great educational web sites from the other homeschool moms who were also listening in! And at the end of each talk, there was also a question/answer time, so if you had any specific questions that you wanted to ask the speaker you had a chance to. Those little parts you would miss if you were only getting the mp3 files later.

Oh, and I almost forgot! You can also purchase mp3 files for seminars later, even if you didn't buy a ticket and attend the seminar at the time it happened. So if anyone wanted to purchase files and listen to the Winter seminar I just attended, for instance, you could--though I have no idea what price they would charge for the files in that case. I'm sure it's on their web site, and honest--I'm not connected with this business in ANY way, other than that I just attended their Winter seminar! So all my enthusiasm is purely from my own positive experience as a seminar attendee.

Now. Go out there and find some Living Math for your homeschool students! :) And have fun!

Bible in 90 Days--Day 47!

Did you know that the Bible talks about quilting??? And not only does it talk about it, it actually says that it is a good thing to do?

Well, o.k., so maybe I am adding my paticular viewpoint onto things as I read, but this days reading included Proverbs 31. You know, SuperMom. The woman who does everything, and does it all well. We've all read this Bible portion before, and quite frankly I haven't been buying and selling any fields lately. Or planting vineyards either, though I have planted blackberries here in our yard.....I like blackberries. Once you get them going, you can't kill them if you try, so they get along pretty well with my not-very-green-thumb! But I guess I just hadn't realized that the Proverbs 31 woman was also a quilter, until I was reading it through this time as part of the 90 Day program. And there it is, right in my Bible in black and white.

Proverbs 31:22--She makes coverings for her bed...

That sounds like quilting to me! Now a days, quilting does not make any sense at all. I mean, pioneer women used to faithfully gather scraps of cloth from worn out clothes, and when they had enough they would sew the scraps together into large enough quilts to keep their family warm at night. But today's quilter, more times than not, is purchasing large pieces of fabric from a fabric store, bringing it home, and cutting it all into little tiny pieces! Kind of the reverse of what old time quilters used to do!

However--be that as it may, I still so much enjoy making quilts--even though my time is limited therefore my quilt output is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w! I love working with pretty colors. Seeing how they blend together. Creating something completely different and beautiful.

I think I enjoy creating because I was made by THE Creator. Don't you think that God enjoys creating? Of course He created everything, but maybe He enjoys creating humans most of all. Blending together different personalities. Yellow hair from one relative. Blue eyes from another. Creating someone completely different and beautiful.

I love all of the quilts I have made. Some are more simple than others. Some were made specifically for charities. Some for certain individuals to give comfort to in a time of stress. But a piece of me went into each one. I think a piece of God goes into each person as well. And we are all His favorite!

Bible in 90 Days--Day 46!

Proverbs. Written by the wisest man who ever lived. There are just too many to pick just one favorite from today's reading. So here is a little gathering of some of my favorites, in no paticular order other than the way I came to them in my daily reading...

Proverbs 12:10--A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

I think I liked this verse especially since we just lost our kitty Felix. I'm sure we were not perfect in our care for him, but we did our best and loved him for eighteen years. I know God made the animals for us. To help men with work, to be our friends. Elsewhere the Bible says that God sees even if a sparrow falls. So I know He loved Felix like we did.

Proverbs 13:11--Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.

This is a great finance verse! I don't think we will ever be in a position to have a lot of money to do something with--but here is a promise that by our taking care of the small, little amounts God will help it to grow, and it will cover whatever God needs it to cover.

Proverbs 15:1--A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

How true this one is. Our Pastor spoke today about being kind to each other. Jesus, of course, was the kindest person who ever lived.

Proverbs 16:3--Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Doesn't exactly say that God will help you do anything--but that if you have given YOUR will over to HIM, He will work out His will for you. And of course, we all know that as our Creator, He knows what is best for us way more than we ourselves know.

Proverbs 16:31--Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.

LOVE THIS VERSE!!! And it goes right along with this one--Proverbs 20:29--The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. So. My gray hairs that are cropping up more and more each day are not something to be ashamed of, but rather a crown of splendor!

And one last verse, one that makes me laugh:
Proverbs 17:28--Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Isn't that precious???? So. I think I have shared enough for today. So that I will be thought wise, I had better be silent now as I sit over in my little corner of the universe, crowned with my splendorous gray hairs......

Bible in 90 Days--Day 45!

Today I finished reading in the book of Psalms, and just like always it was filled with promises to hold close to one's heart. Today's reading was especially meaningful, as I was reading through Psalm 147, and verse 3 says:

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Yesterday we lost to death our sweet kitty Felix. We had brought Felix home when I was pregnant with our oldest son, so have had him in our life b.c. (before children) and he has been with us for 18 years out of our marriage of 21 years. During that time he lived with us in seven different homes, and he survived two other "cat siblings" as well as our son's service dog. Whatever animal we brought home, we were bringing it home to a house where we already had Felix.

You can see here him express his joy that it is Christmas time! Felix LOVED Christmas. O.k. So maybe he loved it when Christmas left and people didn't dress him up with bows. Same thing. He loved Christmas!

Here you can see his sleeping talents demonstrated. Felix and our cat Pumpkin are demonstrating their talent in syncronized sleeping. This is their "Sleep to the left" demonstration.
















Followed, of course, by their "Sleep to the right" demonstration.
















Seriously though, even though we would tease about Felix being grumpy, or sleeping all the time, the one true word to describe him was "Faithful". He was a stray before we adopted him, had been hit and suffered a broken leg, and was finally adopted into his forever home when he came to live with us. He soon adopted my husband as his "person of choice", and would follow him around like a dog would. Staying up to work on homework? There was Felix. Getting up early? There was Felix. If my husband couldn't sleep and got up in the middle of the night to work on his "to do" list, Felix would come and join him and just hang out together. I think Felix thought he was doing the work on the list! Even playing the piano, yes, there was Felix. Either sitting on the bench next to him, or if he thought the music needed improving he would walk across the keys himself, showing what the song was "supposed" to sound like.



So you can see, Felix will be deeply missed. That's why today's Bible reading was so neat, that it included the above verse. Jesus knows all about Felix. He created Felix, and knows what was in his little kitty heart. He knows how much we are going to miss him not being here. But He has promised to heal us. I look forward to having Felix back when we are in heaven. Pain free and healthy. And for now, may I be found to be as faithful as Felix was.

Bible in 90 Days--Day 41!

I LOVE reading through the Psalms! Yes, I'm still reading through my Bible in 90 days. I have just been busy reading and haven't been doing very many blog posts about it! There are SO many beautiful Psalms, and so many that are parts of songs I have learned before at Junior camp, church, etc.

Around a week ago I was reading Psalm 50, and I ran across this passage which is one of my long time favorites:

"I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honor me." Psalm 50: 9-15

I think I like this so much because it points out that God is not dependant on US. HE is not hindered or kept from carrying out His will because of US. It all belongs to Him. We do not have to carry God--it is He who will carry us! Just think about that for a while. We can relax, and totally depend on Him taking care of us.


And when we are in trouble--which in this world will definately happen, God invites us to call on Him and He promises to deliver us. He is not a fair-weather-friend. He is our all-the-time-friend. Our very best friend.

I am receiving such a blessing from doing this Bible reading program, I invite everyone to seriously consider doing this program sometime. I think it really does help to give a overall big picture of the Bible, since you are reading it through so fast and don't get bogged down so much in the parts that may not be your favorites. I will be doing this program again some time, and when I do it the second time, I will definately keep a notebook next to me to record favorite verses that pop out at me in my reading. Then later I can go back and spend more time studying those favorite verses.

Today I finished reading Psalms 108, so after tomorrow's reading I will be half way through! Can't believe it! The days really are flying by--I will be sad when I finish!

Happy Sabbath to everyone! Enjoy your day with your Creator!

Words

I ran across a wonderful little poem yesterday, that I just wanted to share. I am having my little one memorize this poem as part of her homeschool--specifically to help remind her to speak kindly to her older brother. She does have a way of bossing him around....then, of course, when I think about it, HE has a way of bossing HER around as well! Guess that's what happens when your kids are eleven years apart! Which makes them for all practical purposes, two first-born "only" children! Maybe I should have them both memorize this poem! Well, honestly, it is good for ALL of us to remember! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Words are Wonderful Things
by Mrs. E. R. Miller

Keep a watch on your words, my darling,
For words are wonderful things;

They are sweet like the bees' fresh honey,
Like the bees they have terrible stings;

They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine,
And brighten a lonely life;

They can cut, in the strife of anger,
Like an open, two-edged knife.

God Provides!

Happy Sabbath!

I couldn't resist a short post tonight, telling you all about God's provision for our little Princess today. I know God provides for us each and every single day, every hour and every second of the day--but you know how every once in a while there is something that happens that you just look at and say "WOW!" Well, we had a "WOW" provision happen to us today.

I had an errand to run--had to return some socks I had bought for the Princess that didn't fit. While I was down in the shopping area, I thought maybe I would pop into JCPenney's store and see if they might have some socks on sale that would fit her. So I was heading over to the socks area, but right before I got there they had these racks of clothes that were marked with big 80% signs on them. Well, what mom can resist peeking anyway, so I kind of broused through them but the prices were still higher than I wanted to pay, so I was just leaving that area when a sales lady came over to us and announced that she had JUST put everything that was on the 80% off racks down to $2.97. That's right, every single item on those racks now had the very same price--$2.97. I almost couldn't believe my ears. She left, and another sales person arrived with a price machine and started to change the pink sales tags on the clothes. I went back to take another look, and saw this one rack with some winter coats on it. I couldn't believe that they would sell winter coats for $2.97, so I went over to the lady who was marking the price tags and asked her, and she said "All I know was that was what I was told to do", as she continued to mark tags.

SO. I carefully searched through all the racks--lots of things were too small for my Princess, but I ended up finding not one but TWO winter coats and a new Sabbath dress--all of them in a size or two big to grow into, and every item was $2.97! Both the coats were originally $70, and the dress was originally $60--Praise the Lord! He knows what we need, and He knows what our wallets have in them!

I couldn't help but remember one of my favorite Bible passages--Matthew chapter 6. Here is the part that describes today's shopping trip:

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" Matthew 6:28-30

Isn't that neat? Love that chapter. Lots of other good things in it too. God wants to give us so much more than we ask of Him. I only hoped for socks, and He provided so much more.

Happy Sabbath! Enjoy your day with the One who never forgets us.

Olympus Mons!

We have been working our way slowly through Apologia's "Exploring Creation with Astronomy" book this year. This is my first time using one of their elementary level books, though with our older son we have already used their General Science, Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Human Anatomy books--all of which were excellent. I wasn't sure how the lower level books would compare--could they be just as good as the upper level books were? I am happy to report that they are every bit as good, and we look forward to using all of these books written for younger students. Excellent topics, neat projects, and most of all, always pointing the students to God our Creator.

As a closing activity to our study on the planet Mars, they suggest that the student build a model of Olympus Mons--which happens to be the largest volcano in our solar system. Alison quite happily mixed up the salt dough....

and formed her salt dough around the empty pill container. If it's a project that's messy, you can always count her in!

We had a bag of mixed rocks, so put those around the base of the volcano to make it look more realistic. She immediately sorted the rocks into color groups, and then proceded to circle the volcano each circle with a different color rock. I tried to gently suggest that it might look more like real life if the rocks were all mixed together
like they are in nature. To this she looks at me in amazement and declares "But MOM! This isn't NATURE, this is MARS!" O.K. So there you have it. Now you all know that Mars and Nature are not the same thing. Aren't you glad I told you this today? They say we are supposed to learn something new every day. So now you have your new thing for today and can stop worrying about it! ;) It's a good thing I homeschool, because just think of all the things I wouldn't learn if I didn't.

Alison did, by the way, change her mind later and go and mix up all her circles of rocks. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to her. It's a fine line between letting them do their own creative thing, and trying to teach them what it "really" is like. I mean, after all, how realistic a volcano is our model anyway? And maybe the rocks on Mars really ARE all lined up by color....

The hard part comes next--we have to wait a day for the salt dough to dry. But if all goes well, this volcano will errupt on Friday. So if you see any smoke rising from the direction of our house on that day, it just might be Olympus Mons errupting!