Random Conversation

Most Conversations here are random, though.

Here is one from a few days ago:

ME (to my boys): "I emailed your schoolwork to you, so read it. If you have any questions, just ask me."

Gavin: " What if we have half of a question?"

Me: "Then ask Connor."

Gavin (turning to his brother): "Connor, what is.....?"

Connor; "15"

Gavin; "Nope, wrong. The full question was "what is your age?"

Connor; "And the full answer was "15 plus 2."

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I have been busy knitting and sleeping and running errands. not much exciting to share right now.

I would share the newest news about Brian's work move--- but it's lways barely 40% a sure thing and changes week to week, so it'd not be worth my time to write or yours to read.

3.14159

Happy Pi Day!!!

I said "HAPPY PI DAY" to my boys.

ME To Gavin: "HAPPY PI DAY! 3.14159!"
Gavin says back: "..265"

Yes, that's how we roll. Saying Pi to a measly 2 places is for wimps. But reciting Pi to 100 places may cancel onces chances at a girlfriend, so around 10 places is good.

Later I was reading someone who was doing something at 12:30 CST. We are in California; PST.
I ask Gavin "Is Central Time 2 hours different than us?"

he gives me an odd confused look.

So I clarify. "We are in the Pacific Time Zone. What would Central Time be?"

Gavin: "Oh Central time is Minus 6 (-6)"

Me: "and we are Minus 8, right?"

Gavin- "Yes."

(so, yes, CST is 2 hours different than us.)

Most people probably thingk in 'how many hours away from us" with Time Zones. Not Gavin, he thinks is Zulu Time. We are Zulu minuss 8 here... or maybe he is doing Greenwich Standard. I dunno.

Gavin doesn't really speak words and language. Gavin speaks numbers and math; and physics concepts. Hence Central time is just "Minus 6". not "2 hours ahead of us"

I went to the store to buy stuff for Chicken Pot Pie and Berry Pies. I thought of buying precooked chicken, to save on time. The small package was about $4, which came to $10.64 a pound.

Time IS money, but I work cheap. So $10.64 is unacceptable even as a time saver.

Ki is out washing the van to earn money to buy his ownn Minecraft Account.

Gavin and Connor lost After School Commputer but can earn it back. That's how it is here. With minor offenses one may do "Appeasement Work" to bail themselves out.

That's it for today.
OH, Brian has been out of town for 10 days; he gets home Thursday Night.I had a headache for a solid week, but am feeling better, but more than happy to take it easy to keep from a rebound headache.... which is why I bought refrigerated crust and thought of buying precooked chicken.

here they are.....

A picture of the boys at the Acupuncture Open House. They had Martial Arts demo, art display, tribal instruments from different countries, food, needles, message, and more.

Ki got Ear Points and a massage. I just got a massage.

The boys sent me their intended class plans for school. for a few months. We'll try it till our winter break and see if adjustments need to be made. Unless of course it REALLY doesn't work and we need to adjust sooner. I am hoping they will self adjust. Ki is usually good at self-adjusting.

Connor's List:

3600 seconds of math statistics and probability a day
- www.khanacedemy.com
- TopShelf Statitstics (Book *click here to see)

- Possibly, Standard Deviants supplement and brushing up on Alg if needed

read "Lord of the Rings" before next year

1 chapter of science a week (*until finished with the Chemistry Course, but I think it takes 2 weeks to do a good job on a chapter. I'll let him try 1 a week and see how long it takes to change his mind.)

learn Japanese for 2700 seconds a day - with Gavin. (program TBA)

Computer Illustration class at Allan Hancock College 8 hours a week(inc lab)

----------------------------------------------------------------

GAVIN'S LIST:

2 chapters 3rd edition calculus and analytical...geometry (Brian's College Book)
*Supplemented with the following if needed:
-google
-khan
-dad
-Standard Deviants, other online or library sources as/if needed

30 minutes Japanese a day
-unless it has chapters on the program.
-May use flash cards and google

*We have not chosen our program yet. and I will suggest 45 minutes, but 30 may work. He'll be working with Connor.

Drawing livestream it from about 6 to 10+ pm Tuesday Wednesday and maybe Friday
(*he needs to show me he can have his morning work done by 9Am without reminders and with getting up on his own before I will permit computer drawing until 10PM)

Read one book of "LOTR" by end of Sept

Computer illustration at AHC

(he will be finishing up Chemistry, too)

___________________________________

KI'S List of "EVIL SCHOOL"- as he put it

-math 1 Khan video and 30 min of work a day *(I will ask him to follow a course, in order)

-read 3 pages a day in LOTR

-get to 3 pull up in a row (*he also makes sure he rides his bike a few times a week)

-register for acting class at Pismo- * not sure what the dates/times will be for that.

-you were going to give me science. *He will be doing Apologia General Science CD-Rom. I will have him look up extra experiments (that are more fun that theirs- which are boring) and videos.

*And I have him cook a couple meals a week as part of his school- since he wants to be a chef. but he usually asks to, so it's not really like making him.

College Classes start on Aug 23 (for G&C). I suggested C watch some Pre-Cal vids on Khan before he starts in his book (Sept 6)

Ki likes to ease into school, so I will leave that up to him. I will tell him he needs ti figure out what he needs to do to ease into school, becuase we will be starting 'full day' on Sept 6. he is good at making his own plans for stuff like that.

Had The Talk....

So, I has to have the talk with my young men today. That talk parents have once the children reach a certain stage in life. I gathered them together and handed them notebooks and pencils and then proceeded to give The Talk.



The "What do you plan on doing this year in your education?" Talk



Ki has requested an acting class and will be doing the Apologia General Science this year (to get a firm base from which to choose his science next year).For Science I asked if he wanted to make the syllabus or if he wanted me to make. He wanted me to. Then I asked if he wanted me to just tell him something like "Start on Chapter 1 and there is a test in 2 weeks over chapter 1" Or if he wanted what to read daily or weekly. He asked for a Weekly Plan, He asked for a WEEK PLAN. So instead of "Monday:read pages 1-4, Tuesday read Pages 5-6 and do experiment, WED: read pages 7-10.." He wants me to plan "Have read pages 1-15 by Friday and have done the experiment listed on page 6".



I told him that he has reached that stage of life and education which requires me to keep a transcript of his classes and what he's learned, so I want him to chose 1 area (in science or math or whatever) and work through it, so I will feel comfortable saying he did, in deed, take "Biology" or "Algebra" or "Culinary Arts" or whatever. I asked him to make a decision on what he wants to learn in math and then to make a plan on how to do it. He said he'll probably choose KHAN academy for math. I told him to give me a plan. To write something like how much time each week or each day. Or he can plan to learn "X" amount of sub topics each week"....



I asked all the boys, yes even the almost 18 yr old, to give me a short term reading plan. A few books they want to read and their personal goal of when they plan to have them finished. Again, Ki prefers the almost-daily goals, like "read 45 minutes a day" instead of just "have the book finished by Thanksgiving"



I gave the older 2 the same talk about Math- Choose something to learn (Trigonometry, Prob & Stats, Calculus, etc...) Then figure out what resources (KHAN, Take a Class, Use a text, etc) and then a game plan,. It can be general like "complete the course by March" or as specific as "Do 1 section in the book a day" or "Complete 6 online tasks at the particular website a week"The older 2 are doing Computer Science. Their Computer Illustrations class at the local college is 8 hours a week and whatever they need to work on at home.



I told G&C to think of something else to learn.. a language, a new art they don't know, a time in history, a country.... make a plan of how and when. (Ki's Acting Class fills this gap for him)I also told them that this plan does not have to be for the whole school year. We'll try their plan for a couple months then they can decide if it is working (or I might have to step in with some structure)

Gavin already decided on Calculus and Japanese and, I think, Lord of The Rings. (we'll see if that changes by Friday)



They are to have their list, plans, goals, schedule ready by Friday and we'll go over what they come up with. They can hand write or email it to me. Gavin prefers to email me these things usually.

YO!

Oh My.
Where have I been?
Not here in the blog world.
I have been in my van. Driving.
But the play is over. The kids were great. I am tired of driving. And paying $4.15+ a gallon for gas. I think I filled up the van 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Once it was $4.32 a gallon!
LAST WEEK: In the midst of the Play Frenzy I had to make a stop at my acupuncturist's. I had an awful migraine with sensitivities and tingly/numb arms and face. I sure feel LOADS better when I came out of there, after some massage and hitting some major points. I had about 5 needles in my head. I normaly only have 2. I left there with 6 ear tacks. 4 in my ears and 2 in my back.
Hector is a Mexican guy in town that always comes by our house looking for work and money. Always trying to get paid way more than his work merits and it seems he often is pulling our leg.All is fine with his family until he thinks we didn't pay him enough then his baby is in the hospital. But, he is out working to get money and I am ok to pay for hard work. But when we were gone Saturday he cam by and pulled weeds when we were NOT here. Gavin got home and Hector talked G into paying him for the work and letting him in the backyard to do more work, which he insisted Brian pay his for doing. And he pulled out all my Asparagus Plants. I was NOT happy about any of it! And Gavin forgot to tell Brian he had Paid Hector $20 already. Hector got paid and paid again then had Brian give him a lift to the store and got dropped off. A liquor Store and dropped at a bar.
THIS WEEK: I have little planned. Bible Study is on Tuesday. I will be here every night to make dinner! I have to pick up my sewing machine so the boys can work on their amtgard stuff.I assigned them an hour of reading and an hour of math. I wanted to get back into Apologia Chemistry, but I can not find our CD-ROM. So we'll watch some Standard Deviant DVDs and take notes. **FOUND IT! but still gonna just watch the Standard Deviant DVDs this week- then seriously Buckle Down with Apologia in June & July.
Ki is reading White Fang. Connor is reading The Adventures of Tom Sayer. Gavin is reading Two Spies and a General. They are to do 1 hour at Khan Academy daily- with 15 minutes of that being watching videos. and Ki has 15 minutes of review.
TODAY: I watered my garden. We have to tuck seeds in here & there where we have room. So my garden is in bits and pieces around the yard. I found 18 sunflower starts in back and 9 in front. I planted the ones in front a few days after the ones in back. I ate a strawberry from last years plant. 2 of the new plants (24) from this year didn't survive. (there is a chance one of those might be revived..).
NEXT WEEK: We will be headed out to Yosemite for hiking and pictures! We'll cross a BIG BRIDGE and then cross it to come back. We'll visit a friend on the way home, then attend a 4 day Amtgard Camping Function. We MIGHT stop by Pinnacles on the way home.
Then we'll have 3 days to unpack, do laundry, repack for 4 days in LA for a gaming convention.
So I won't be blogging much this month I guess.
That iPad is looking better and better.... I looked up iPad 2, was impressed (the guy says ALYOOMINIUM... that gets me every time). Talked to Gavin, who totally shot it down and said I'd be better off just getting my laptop upgraded. Then he said if I gave him $600 he could make a really good computer for me.



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Morning Mathy-ness

7:28 AM - Ki completed 29 minutes at Khan Academy. I was still asleep. (Ki plans to earn his Ludicrous Listener Badge today)
8:42AM- I read a few current news articles. School Shooting in Rio De Janeiro. SuperBug Gene found in Delhi Drinking Water. More earthquakes/Tsunamis in Japan.
9:07AM- Connor does 2 minutes of math exercises at Khan in 3 different areas? FOCUS!! What can you accomplish in about 45 seconds in Logarithms?? (he ended up spending 80 minutes there. 45 is the required amount. he'll probably just do 10 minutes tomorrow to make up the difference-in reverse)
9:19AM- I am in my PJs in my bed, enjoying new bedsheets. They are so pretty. It is overcast today. I have tea........... I may not leave this spot today.
9:37AM- I Finally achieved Proficiency in Division level 3!!
Ki seems to like the little badges he can earn at Khan Academy. He likes that there are videos to watch. I challenged him to earn some of the Listener Badges this week- for listening to/watching certain videos. I have never seen him just get up and do math. Also- he has been riding his bike everyday. Physical exercises always helps him school. I wonder if the 2 things are related.....
My math abilities are pretty non existent. I'm plan of kinda sticking to doing the stuff Ki does. Ki's other challenge this week is for a badge for reaching level 4 in add., sub., mult., and division. I am working on that badge, too. I have 2 level 4s and 2 level 3s.
My goal is to avoid Alzheimers and Dementia by keeping my brain learning new things. At least I have a goal.

The men in the house are going to a Gun Shooting Church Function Saturday.

My friend andher daughter might spend the night Friday, because they have somepleace to be in the area at

9AM and will be down here friday night anyway.

So I plan to make a yummy breakfast Saturday Morning

Caribbean French Toast

(3 servings)

• For The French Toast:
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 dash of ground nutmeg
• 6 slices French bread - about 1-inch thick
• butter or margarine for frying

• For The Coconut Syrup:
• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3 Tablespoons white sugar
• 3 Tablespoons shredded sweetened coconut

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-ISH

Some school-ISH things going on around here lately.

• Today, Ki decided for his research he'd watch Our Town on DVD. Our "Three R's" are Reading, 'Rithmatic, and RESEARCH. They have to 'research something'. Ki decided Our Town counted as research for his acting class.
• Gavin announced his math (online course) had gotten to where he needed a calculator. I responded with; "so, get one." I'm not sure what math it is exactly. He does whatever he wants from their site for math.
• I had Connor explain logarithms to me, as I saw he had gotten proficient on the website at them. I have no idea what they are. Well, I do know. I asked Connor what their purpose was and he said "It's just one of those "learning for the sake of learning" things. Ah, I taught him well........
• Ki finished his menu and grocery list for Friday's dinner. Sub Sandwich Buffet. (plus he made waffles today and that awesome pancake buffet)
• Gavin will be doing the programs for the Play that Connor and Ki are doing. Windows Publishing 2007 or an equivalent. here's hoping it pans out well.
• I finally passed Subtraction level in Khan. It took 2 glasses of White Zinfindel. Maybe if I drank in high school my math grades would have been better....
• I challenged Ki to 26 Lat Pull Downs on the workout bench. He met that challenged and upped it to 30. So after my 26, I had to do 30. My arms will be SORE tomorrow! I need to have him agree to a Pilates Challenge. Maybe that will motivate me.
• Ki & Connor are doing TAG TEAM writing for their writing assignment. They each write a little on the same story. Connor wants the aliens to be good and Ki wants them to be evil. This could be a very interesting story!
• I cleaned out the chest cavity of the stinky, boobless mannequin today. The pastor's mom gave me some industrial odor spray stuff.
• I like asparagus. I never did before living here.

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falling......

Ki made Breakfast today. He had a Pancake Buffet. I love pancake buffet! I skip my 'protein/fruit smoothie' for Pancake Buffet!. He makes the batter and has bowls of chocolate chips, blueberries, pecans, cinn. coated diced apples, etc...- we order what we want and he makes them!
I know you are all jealous now.BTW- I always order the Apple Pecan pancakes! they are SO GOOD! Not too sweet, and have fruit & protein!
Having a child who wants to be a chef when he grows up is very beneficial!
***********************************
30IN30 update:I've been wearing different earrings and tops/outfits daily. a few skirts even, and more than 1 pair of shoes for the whole week. it is tiring. but Brian seems to like it. Probably cause I am wearing my black heels more often.... and skirts.
here some of the things from the past week:Nevermind. I can't find them. and the ones I took with Manual focus are OUT of focus- so I probably need glasses or something. I will post Sunday's outfit now and get the rest up later,




AND I have pictures of last Wednesday top & Earrings



************************************ SCHOOL:
All 3 boys have finished (what they had as their goal) for www.ALEKS.com and have moved to using KHAN Academy. Aleks is very good! but cost money. too much with 3 kids. But, I do like Khan even better. And not just because it has a better price. (free)

• the boys can log in with google or facebook- 1 less password/login name to memorize
• It loads MUCH faster. With ALEKS I always had wait for the page to open, then wait for each boys info to be gathered to open their own pages.
• It keeps track of JUST time spent DOING the actual math, unlike ALEKS with counts all time they are logged-in, even if they are sidetracked to pet the cat for 20 minutes.
• even Ki likes it.
• I'd mention it's free as a PLUS, but I did say 'reasons not just because of it's free price'

Connor asked to go to the Library today to do reading and KHAN. Ki liked this idea, too, so I grabbed my knitting and biked with them to the library. They did math and reading. I knit.

When we got back home, Gavin was almost done with his schoolwork. He thought he did enough math, until I showed him that he had not, according to the Khan Website. So he much have been counting- all minutes on the site'- not how many of those were DOING math.

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fancy food

I ordered the Molecular Gastronomy Kit for Ki.It's a School Purchase.
Making watermelon caviar is much better than some workbook or cooking text.
(picture from toastable.com website)
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I plan on driving to the river. It is usually a dry riverbed, but with out week of rain , there is a muddy steam flowing in part of the riverbed. It's a rare sight here.
*******************************************
Tomorrow is Brian's Birthday. We're making a yummy Indian Dinner.Tandoori Chicken, homemade naan, and chocolate cake. The last part may not be fare from India, but it was requested. and what's a birthday with out cake?
*******************
Connor is so close to being done with his ALEKS math. Then we switch to KHAN Academy!Connor seems to be doing math at KHAN a lot, so his ALEKS is moving slowly. If he weren't SO CLOSE to being done there, I'd just have him go ahead and switch. But there is something to be said for sticking with something until it's done. (so I have been told)
****************I am in a sewing and knitting mood.
******************I have to take a bunch of pictures of the weeks 30IN30 challenge outfits
********************
I bought some pants at the thrift store- for Connor. They are VOLCOM brand (which is big in his youth group at church, but Connor couldn't care less).
They are called (on the label) "Friggin Slim Chinos". They look like girl pants on him. but I looked them up online and they really are mens
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school? What School?

I felt the need for a schoolish-type entry.
The J-term entries and the Fun Science entries are, well, fun. Entertaining. Great Blog-Fodder.
But it seems that often our educational experiences of the day just aren't as exciting as those cool posts like about Autopsies or Smoke Bombs or even just awesome plans & schedules.
I sometimes fell not much school happens. But I guess that isn't true. or maybe it is. A lot of learning, fun, research, and freedom to find their passions & goals happens. But maybe not lot of 'school' happens; not a lot that looks like typical-school, anyway.
So, here are some things that are going on at our house:
KI -

• Ki has not been too interested in Life Of Fred (for math). It is a great math book, written as a story. I think Ki is just taking a break from it. Though I not require certain things to be done at certain times for math, nor the completion of something that's not working for them at the moment, math. of some sort, is required. Ki is doing some Aleks Quicktables online daily. It's a TimesTablePractice. I have been looking over KHAN Academy lately and had the boys try it out. It has a great math area; videos and exercises, tracking of progress and earning of badges. It was not assigned to do the math, I just asked them to register and try it. Ki went through a couple sections and earned a few badges. (check out the Khan Academy- it is really good and free)
• Ki has decided he wants to read Lord of the Ring books, finally. Brian has a rule of 'read it before watching it'. Ki's very eager to watch it, but has not been ready to read it. A few weeks ago he asked for the LOTR books from the top shelf so he can read them. He's also reading books from The Series of Unfortunate Events and a Warriors series. Plus he reads his Bible daily. He's more consistent at it than I am.
• He likes to watch Doctor Who on Netflix or NCIS online. (we still do not have a working television)
• Ki loves acting and cooking. they are his passions. He is in a play. He has practice twice a week. This is his 4th or 5th acting session since we've been here. Sometimes he reads skits or watches acting 'lessons' on YouTube. He was a Junior Chef at the local cooking school, but they moved. Now he just has fun planning meals or treats to make for us. I sent a video to him yesterday. It's from Molecular Gastronomy. It is awesome! He lloved what they did and wants to give it a try. I'll be ordering the Molecular Gastronomy kit for us to make creative culinary confections. Seriously- Watch This!

CONNOR-

• Connor's been plugging away at his ALEKS math. I assign a certain numbers of topics to be done each week. Sometimes he gets stuck, so I tell him to have his dad help him. Next thing I know he's figured it out on his own. He also tried the KHAN Academy. I think we'll switch from Aleks to Khan when C & G are done with their current ALEKS. Probably in 2 weeks I guess.
• He's been using Gavin's Bamboo Pen Tablet to do some drawing.







• He's looking up stuff online and reading his books (and from Proverbs).
• He's enjoying acting and is the play with Ki.

GAVIN-

• I don't know what he is reading.
• He is spending a lot of time with his Bamboo Pen Tablet- working on his sketching. He's looking into getting 2 online illustrator programs. He & Connor are thinking about making a mini-animation video.

• He's doing his Aleks Math and has earned a few KHAN Badges.
• He likes to read current events and tell us about it.

ME- I send the boys an email with what I want them to work on through out the week. I also write a few things on our Dry Erase Board- but not this week. This week I just sent the email and some links.

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Bones fer me Hearties!!

ARRrrr! It be a Piratey Day on the quarter deck, so don't be caught asleep at the helm! Time to leave yer landlubbin-ways marooned. Pillage the galley and Splice the mainbrace!

Why be it a Piratey Day? because I am getting mentally ready to play PIRATE FLUXX!! This game is not yet at your local game stores, but as a Demo Rabbit I can teach you how to play before the game hits the shelves so you will be ready to play the very day it comes out!

And because it is fun to have a Piratey Day. So Learn to Talk like a Pirate and join the fun!

***************** SCHOOL UPDATE ************

Now for the latest on the homeschool front; as that is what some of you come here to read.

Today we learned about bones. More specifically, how a forensic anthropologist can approximate the height of a victim. This involved math. and more than just 1 step. here is the formula for the Fibula:

MALE FEMALE

(bone length X 2.44)+78.36) (bone length X 2.71)+65.26

Humerus:

Male Female

(bone length 2.99)+72.42 (bone length X 3.22)+61.32

That is in centimeters. To convert to inches- divide by 2.54.

To get feet, divide that by 12.

The first problem was just 1 bone, they found male &female height. Ki did not have to convert to inches.

The next problem had 2 bones found during a house construction. They were given the length of each bone (one a fibula, one a humerus). Then they were given information about 4 missing people. They had to find the height for both male and female for each bone, convert to inches, convert to feet, compare to the case files of the missing people to make a match.

Not once did Ki complain about doing math. For those of you that know anything about Ki & math, you know what a HUGE FEAT that is!!! HUGE I tell you!!

(if you want to do some on your own, the length of the humerus was 40cm. The Fibula was 35cm. These formulas are acurate within 4cm)

The missing people are:

Ryan Wegner 6'3"

Rob Graber 5'11"

Cheryl Harth 5'3"

Cindy Moll 5'10"

find the male & female height for both bones.

YESTERDAY was another math success!

The Lab yesterday was determining angle of impact for blood drops.

They had to measure the width and the length of the blood drops (in millimeters)

Then they had todivide width by length, then check a Trigonomic Ratio chart that gave the angle.

So a blood spatter drop that measures 16cm by 24 cm= 0.6667

check th chart and see that a 41 degree angle is .6561 and a 42 degree angle is 6691.

Our answer is closer to the 42 degree angle- that would be the answer.

They had 8 samples to figure. G&C were done when Ki was on #3. He got to #6 and I told him he could stop there,but he wanted to finish. He did a good job and didn't complain about the math.

Maybe forensic math is the key to Ki's math success.

(the book I have been using for these CSI lessons is: CSI Expert (lessons for kids grades 5-8)

PAST Forensic Posts for this month:

** Pics of making our own Fingerprint powder and using it: CLICK HERE

** Click to see our "real Crime Scene Processing" CLICK HERE

** Check Out Pictures from our Cake Mystery and Shoe Impression by clickingHERE (shoes, foam, & cake).

** Our Tool Mark Analysis Activity -> CLICK HERE

** Blood Forensics --> CLICK HERE

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Good Chemistry

It was a good day. Ki made Breakfast, as it is Friday. He had Banana Muffins that he & made last night & he cooked bacon. He also made tea for me and brought it all to me in bed.

Nothing like Breakfast in bed on a Friday! In the shape of a HAPPY FACE!

We started our day by lighting our Hanukkah Candles. We do not have a real Menorah. Just votives. But It works for us. And we have no idea the real day Hanukkah started, but that is OK with us, too. We are learning about Hanukkah.

We light our Candles, then read from Daniel and then do our Book of Daniel Lessons. I am doing a Beth Moore study with a group of ladies, then I teach some if to the boys. Then we pray and blow out the candles.

MORE PICTURES FROM TODAY CLICK HERE

Chemistry Class was divided into Part A: the hands-on-not-so-mathy- part [done with KI] and then Part B: The mathematical application [done w/o KI]

Part A was talking about the proper way to take measurements. Terms like Meniscus, Accuracy vs. precision. Then they took measurements of different things. a group of graduated cylnders & beakers and then a stash of stuff for length.

Gavin found a science experiment online to do, so he did that with his brothers.

Light a candle in water, put a glass over it, watch the water level rise under the g;ass as the fire creates a vacuum.

{after lunch we did Part B: G&C finished the sections and practice problems then did their ALEKS online math ....while K did worksheets}

I printed a LOT of worksheets for Ki and sorted them into [math], [science], [language arts]. He put them into their own folders and went to work. He was told do to a couple from each folder. He got a 4th folder for finished worksheets to turn in at the end of the week.

THIS seemed a very good compromise for doing chemistry with all them at their different levels from the same High School CD-Rom. How Great to avoid a Sensory Meltdown!

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All About (my) Ki

My youngest son is downstairs in the kitchen using his mad-unschool-chef skills to make banana bread. he is making, not a half double batch, but a 1.5 batch. We have 4 bread-ready-bananas.

I write this 2nd blog of the day b/c I have been thinking a lot about the learningful ways of young Chef Ki.

Ki just seemed to be born to unschool. I like a lot of the unschool concepts, but not enough to fully embrace radical unschooling. Sometimes, I think Ki would do well with full-on radical unschooling. But I don;t see how I can do that with 1 when the other two would not thrive on it like they do with our current, Quasi-Unschool, relaxed schedule.

When Ki was 3 he could count.

to 3.

When Ki was 4 he could count.... all the way to.... FOUR.

When he was 5 and counting to 5, I asked him when he would use the rest of the numbers in his counting. (I knew he could count if he really wanted to, so didn't want to make it sound like I thought he couldn't count)

Ki told me; "When I am six, I will count to 6. When I am ten I will count to 10. When I am twenty I will count to whatever number that it."

When Ki was about 5 and half he had training wheels on his bike. I could tell he didn't really need them as they were high enough up that they barely touched the ground.

I asked Ki when he wanted to take his training wheels off.

Ki told me; "When I am 7 because 7 is the age you take your training wheels off."

When he was 7, we took them off and he rode just fine.

I started homeschooling the boys when Ki was almost 5. Half way through the year I asked him when he'd be ready too do school stuff with us. (He sat with us and did the fun experiments but wanted nothing to do with "school")

Ki told me; "When I am 6 I will learn and do school because 6 is how old kids are when they start school."

When he turned 6 he all the sudden was ready to 'do school.'.. because he had decided it was time for it.

Ki had dyspraxia, Dyslexia, and Sensory Processing Disorder and a few other little things that made learning a struggle. I found what worked best was to give him a list of topics (like math, history, spelling, etc) and ask him what he wanted to do that day and in what order.

He actually would do what he needed. He'd make lists of what he needs to be doing to spell the words he had put on his list (like 'yellow', 'iguana', 'there', -- he chose good words). Like he'd say "Today I think I should write them shaving cream, them out the make letters out of clay to spell those words, then spell them in sign language."

so, you see- he actually chose to do good learning activities. (My others maybe have said "O, draw a picture and ride my bike"- for their school if left all on their own)

When I make a plan and decide what Ki should be learning, it ends up a HUGE MESS. I keep forgetting that he learns well on his own. Sometimes I forget because I get convinced that he needs to learnt he same subjects other kids learn... like math and spelling. Those things just don't seem to be Ki's Cup of Cocoa.

He loves to cook, learn about Church History, make up games, and acting classes.

Ki decided he didn't like his morning chore of laundry and asked if he could make a deal. If he cooked breakfast Instead. So we cut a deal. He makes breakfast M/W/F and does Laundry T/Th. He makes French Toast, Pancake Buffet, Waffles, Bacon & Toast, Pumpkin Scones....

He was asked to cook dinner for a friend of ours. She is supplying the ingredients and buying him DelTaco Tacos....LOL. He loves their tacos and doesn't get them nearly as often as he would like.

He also told someone at church he'd cook for them, too.

He volunteers to be a greeter in the morning and helps with the Children's Services once a month- all on his own.

He doesn't want to be a scientist or a teacher or to build robots. He wants to do be a chef or a pastor or be on a travelling drama team. And he seems to know what kinds of things he needs to be learning to meet his personal goals.

Ki had asked to learn Chemistry. So did G&C. So I got a High School Chemistry Course (Apologia) and made lesson plans to teach all 3 boys.

After 2 days of meltdowns I finally admitted to myself that Chemistry for Ki is very different than Chemistry for my 2 Engineer/Math boys.

So I am redoing my plans for our group Chemistry Class. It will be a 2 part class on Chemistry Days. FIRST-The fun, experiment, basic notes will be done with Ki as part of our class. Then while C&G get into the math and other complex areas, Ki will read or research his interests or do worksheets to review math basics.

C is for COOKIES (and clouds) (THANKS)

Saw this on another mom's blog (Curious Georgi) and thought I'd participate:

10 things for which I am thankful.

1. colors. all the colors in the sky and the foothills (being from Ohio, they look like mountains to me)as I drive up down the highway. The colors of the trees and clouds and the ocean.

2. culinary. I am thankful my son, Ki, loves to cook. I am extra thankful when he makes us each our own mini-loaf of banana bread! (guess what I had for lunch today!). And I'm grateful when Gavin makes a double batch of Potato soup (or veggie soup) for us to have for lunch.

3. clouds. this goes with today's #1. I love looking at the clouds. Morning-dawn clouds. Evening orange and purple clouds. Fluffy clouds Mid-Day. I love when I can see multiple layers of clouds. Or clouds reflected in puddles. I am surprised I have driven off the freeway yet- getting distracted by those clouds.

4. cookies. need I say more? yes. I need to say "Warm from the Oven Molasses Cookies".

5. curriculum. (seems I have boxed myself with the first 3 being "C"s and deciding I can not break that pattern....) I am thankful their are many different curricula from which to choose to meet the varied needs of the varied children and their varied parents. I am also thankful that I can choose to not use a curriculum , thus meeting the needs of my varied children.

6. calculators. Yes. Really. I am thankful for calculators. For those of us that know which formula to use but always mix up the numbers when we write them (thanks, dyslexia, for that quirk). And for Ki, who is NOT a math-brain like his dad & brothers and just wants to cook or be a pastor- so a calculator will be his best friend later in life.

7. C...C...c...... hold on..I'll think of one...C..C..CARS! no. I am not thankful for cars. I hate cars. I hate driving. Hate is a strong word and one I would never use to describe a person, but it works with cars..... and socks....

7. (take 2) Caramel Lattes. Yes in-deedy!! They are warm, smooth, calming...... and sweet!.. and Caramel-y. and yummy!

8. CONNOR! I had to save him for #8 because his name is full of roundness, just like the number 8. I am thankful for my Ronnoc(k)ity! My middle son. Who will be 16 next month. He is full of giggles and funny comments!

9. Cindy. My new friend I met here in California. She helps me learn to new knitting techniques and comes over (with her husband) to play games or eat- or both.

10. The Letter "C"- without which this entry would not be possible... sp, special thanks to the letter C and the number 8 for today's post!

You can go HERE for another THANKFUL blog

Trying Something New

I really don't need votes to feel loved or good or popular- I just wanted to try joining a Blog Community- to be able to reach more homeschooling moms. To get ideas and to share them. And it seems to get listed easily one needs to have a few votes.. .So I Need readers to get readers. Such a Catch-22.

I figure I've been homeschooling for 10 years and have had to figure out what things work with my boys & their 'quirks', that I have plenty of experience and ideas to share. And now that we have transitioned to getting the boys ready for college and figuring out what to do from here to get them to there- that I could use some tips from homeschool moms have done the High-School-to College homeschool thing.

So- I guess my blog is now at TOPMOMMYBLOGS- but I really don;t care for the 'mommy'. My boys didn't even call me that much, esp Connor, who I don't think ever called me Mommy. just mom.

feel free to check out the community if you are looking to connect to other moms. not just homeschool- all mom type and styles.

~~~~ THANKS FOR SITTING THROUGH MY ANNOUNCEMENT ~~~~

IN OTHER NEWS:

Ki got to play on the computer last night. (they have a no Computer Sentence until they could earn it back. Ki (the youngest-14) seems to be doing a good job.

Connor (15ys 10 months) is almost reached the 90% completion on www.ALEKS.com (math program)- which I told him is all he had to attain. I figure a lot of schools never finish up their math text for the year so as long as he's 'mastering' all the topics he can be done at 90% of the topics.

Gavin asked to change and take a break from the math he was doing on ALEKS (Alg 2) and to try Geometry for awhile. I said fine to that. Connor never had problems he just wondered when he'd be 'done'.

Speaking of Gavin (oldest-17), he's about done with the college class (Art Design) and is getting a B+ so far. He's never had a Big Test before for the end of a class, so I'm anxious to see how he does. And we get his results from the PSAT this month. That was his first real "testing"; overall testing. He's does end of chapter tests for his Science sometimes-open notebook.

We start our Chemistry Session on Monday! I originally planned to start Monday this week, but needed a break to get my brain together after the Thanksgiving Holiday. And the boys needed a Boring School-no Computer Week.

Sorry about this being a boring list of personal family data. I'll try for a more inspired entry next time.

RANDOM PICTURE:

banana-pansy... PANSANA

Chickenfeed

Ki likes me to write a story to go with the 'every-5-chapter-quiz' in his book. So I use the problems they have to create a story(often slightly changing or adding questions). He does LIFE OF FRED for math. (book 2)

Bridge to cross from Chapter 10 to Chapter 11:

show your work on separate paper.

The chickens have made their way through 10 chapters. The first few chapters proved a bit difficult to navigate, but they have made it, with the help of their Guide, Ki.

The chickens have come to a long bridge. In the middle of the bridge they see their grandma’s house.

“ Bawk-Bawk-BUCAW!”; they all shout in excitement! They love visiting Grandma! She bakes yummy treats!

They arrive at Grandma’s house and sit down to await their yummy baked goods. They each have a plate. Each plate has a Different diameter. The Red chicken has a plate with the diameter of 7.4”. The green chicken is on a diet and has a small plate. Its diameter is only 2 inches. The yellow chicken has a square plate that is 4.5 inches across. Grandma says she will serve their treats once they tell her the circumference of their plates. (or perimeter on the case of the yellow chicken with the mutated plate)

(1)Red Chicken’s plate ____________

(2)Green Chicken’s Plate ___________

(3)Yellow Chicken’s misfit, square plate ____________

As soon as they find the answer to their math problems, Grandmas gives them each one of her (in)Famous Seed Muffins.

recipe - each muffine requires:

65.3 grams stone-ground flour

4.75 grams cheese powder

2 Cups cement

1 small package bird seed

50.3 milliliters water

They use their knives to cut a slice of the muffin. Cutting a slice of Grandma’s (in)Famous Seed Muffin is both difficult AND a function. Does this function have an inverse?

(4)____________ How many ounces in a cup? (4b) _________

If grandma used 4 ounces less water that what the recipe said, how much water would she have used?

(5) ________________

Ki the guide appears suddenly and hands a paper to the Green Chicken. It is rolled up like a scroll and had a purple ribbon around it. It is a special quest, just for the Green Chicken. The Green Chicken unrolls his Special Quest scroll to reveal what he must do.

Ki the Guide has given him the following Question: Let “W” stand for the Set of WHOLE Numbers. You know that 5 Є W. Fill in the symbols for the following::

(6) Grandma’s (in)famous Seed Muffin _______ W

(7) 15/3 _______ W

(8) Pi _______ W

The Green Chicken passed his Quest and instantly vanished. Ki the Guide transported him to the other side of the bridge. Now there are only 2 young chicks and an old hen.

That makes 3 fowls in the house. On the floor there are 45,178,311 wiggling worms to be eat, Ki the Guide asks them if each fowl can get the same amount? (9) _________

The Red chicken answered, incorrectly. The yummy worms disappeared, much to the chagrin of the farm fowls.

Grandma Hen decided to make more muffins. She has plenty of all ingredients needed to make a huge batch of her (infamous seed muffins, all except the cheese powder. She only has 30 grams of cheese powder. How many muffins can she make with that amount of cheese powder?

(10) ______ . Will there be cheese powder left over? if so, how much? _______

The first chicken with the correct answer will be transported to the other side of the bridge.

*** SWOOOOSH****

Only the yellow chicken remained with Grandma; the yellow chicken and his square plate.

Grandma Hen now only needs to make 2 muffins. She puts the flour and the cheese powder for both muffins into a bowl. How many total grams is that?

(11) __________

After grandma Hen finishes mixing the ingredients for the muffins, Ki the Guide appears again. He hand a stone tablet to the Yellow Chicken. The Yellow Chicken does not have thumbs, so the stone tablet just falls to the ground. Luckily it is Face-Up and the Yellow Chicken can read it.

The Stone Table says; “In order to join your friends on the other side of the bridge, you must answer the following Questions about Grandma Hen’s (in)famous muffins:

(A) There are 63.573 milligrams of sunflower seeds in 1 package of seed mix. How many milligrams of sunflower seeds are in 2 packages. Round your Answer to the nearest hundredth. ______________

(B) There are 69.234 Milligrams of poppy seeds in 1 package of seed mix. How many Milligrams of poppy seeds are in 2 packages. Round your answer to the nearest hundred. _________

(C) Why are grandma’s (in)famous Seed Muffins so difficult to cut? ____________________________________________________________

The Yellow chicken passed the Quest and was promptly deposited on the other side of the bridge with the other 2 chickens. They happily skipped off to Chapter 11.

Got a Brand New Bag!

4 of them. I keep reallocating grocery bags then not having enough when I need to but groceries so I made 4 new bags.

I added holes/tabs so they can hang on the bagger stand.

the tab with which to hang the bag.

Peacock Fabric w/ Orange

The holes with which to hang the bag.

The bag made with lots of scraps and thread bobbin left overs.

and the ducky bag with pockets and hanging holes.

****************************************************************

in other news, I think I have figured out what to do with Ki's math for now.

Multiplying mixed numbers is a multi-step process. We will be focusing on just one step of that process at a time..... for as long as it takes.

He had the steps down previously, but seems to have have reverted to not. I think we just put the steps together too quickly for him.