Rocket Launch

Yesterday, one of the classes at my daughter's co-op launched rockets.

Getting ready to launch...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

 Blast Off!!!

Several rockets were launched and one of them headed towards the trees by the pond.

Oops! Now, how are we going to get that down???

And another landed in teh pond where students and a teacher worked trying to fish it out.

As far as I know, we still have a rocket in a tree and a rocket in the pond. And they were shooting from a pretty large field. Oops!

Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"

Sunday night we went and saw a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night put on by a group of teenage homeschoolers.

To prepare ourselves, Alex and I read Charles and Mary Lamb's version of Twelfth Night from Tales of Shakespeare which you can download free here. I know it is a book used by many who follow Charlotte Mason's teachings, but this was the first time we've used it. I thought it was a great retelling of the story. It took about 30 minutes to read.

A few nights later, we read Twelfth Night for Kids by Lois Burdett. We continue to enjoy this series which includes letters and drawings by Ms. Burdett's young students, many who are 7 to 9 years old.

We had never been to this particular theater and enjoyed the intimacy of the small room. They had a full house (it seats 99) and even had to move in extra chairs.

Twelfth Night is a comedy about a male and female twin whoo are shipwrecked and separated. Each twin believes the other is dead. The female, Olivia, ends up posing as a man to make a living. It is a complicated story of misplaced love. Olivia falls in love with her boss, but he thinks she's a man. The lady he is in love with falls in love with Olivia, thinking she is a man. It is a complicated story which finally untangles at the end.

I also want to remind you of Jimmie's "Shakespeare for Children" Squidoo. She has lots of great ideas, links, etc!

Why do you capitalize Chihuahua?

Alex is currently taking an online writing class through home2teach. Each week she has grammar, spelling, typing, and a writing assignment. We just completed 3 weeks and, so far, it is going pretty well. She is learning in all 4 areas, learning to hand things in on a deadline, and learning to be more independent as the teacher doesn't want me to correct her work - she wants to catch the errors herself so she sees where Alex needs help..

This week, her teacher sent back her assignment for edits (they always have you edit your work to improve it) asking her to capitalize Chihuahua. I wasn't sure why and I happened to be on the phone with my brother and he told me it was because they were named for a place - Chihuahua, Mexico.

I just hadn't thought that one through very well! This is one of our capitaliation rules: "Capitalize words derived from proper nouns." So, for example, "I must take English and math." So, because Chihuahua is derived from a proper noun, we should capitalize it!

Here are a few other dog breeds you would capitalize under this rule:

• Chihuahua - from Chihuahua, Mexico
• Great Pyrenees - mountain range in central Europe
• German Shepherd - from Germany
• Maltese - the island of Malta
• Labrador - province of Canada
• Jack Russell - named after a person - a dog breeder
• Saint Bernard- from the place, St. Bernard Pass, which was named after a monk
• Doberman - named after a German tax collector and dog breeder, Herr Louis Doberman. According to Purina's site, "Herr Louis was a night watchman as well as a dog-catcher and tax collector and needed the ultimate protection dog to accompany him on his rounds. Thus he spent 60 years in his native town of Apolda, in the state of Thueringen, South Central Germany, working on the perfect dog for personal protection."

Woodpeckers Part 2

There are 8, possibly 9, species of woodpeckers that live in the Eastern Texas Pineywoods. The reason the number is uncertain is because of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker which many believe is now extinct. It is a very large woodpecker that has not been confirmed to exist in many years. So, I'll talk about the other 8.

1. Pileated Woodpecker - I've never seen a live pileated woodpecker. (This photo is of a stuffed one where we went on our "talk and walk.") This is the largest woodpecker in our area at 16.5 inches. It has a prominent red crest.

2. Downy Woodpecker- This woodepecker is hard to distinguish from the Hairy Woodpecker and I'm not sure which type is on my feeder in this photo though I think it is a Downy. The Downy is a little smaller (about sparrow-sized while the Downy is robin-sized). Both woodpeckers have the black and white striped back with a white spot in the middle. And, you can tell the males from the females because the males have a red spot on the back of their head.

3. Hairy Woodpecker - As I said, this woodepecker is hard to distinguish from the Downy Woodpecker. The Hairy is a little bigger (about robin-sized while the Downy is sparrow-sized). Both woodpeckers have the black and white striped back with a white spot in the middle. And, you can tell the males from the females because the males have a red spot on the back of their head.

4. Red-Cockaded Woodpecker - Another type of woodpecker I've never seen. Alex and I once went on a field trip to learn more about these endangered woodpeckers. This is type of woodpecker is found in old, open pine forests. We didn't see any when we went on our fieldtrip.

 

5. Northern Flicker - Another woodpecker I've never seen - and another photo of a stuffed bird from the nature center. This is a large, jay-sized bird. He is brownish with a white rump and has bits of yellow on his wings and tail. Both the male and the female have the red spot at the base of the neck.

 

6. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker - Another I haven't seen, but I have seen their work! This type of woodpecker drills horizontal rows of small holes in live trees.

  

7. Red-Headed Woodpecker - I've seen this one only once. They are so beautiful! They are easily identified by their red heads, though their heads are grey when immature. There are no distinguishing marks between the males and females.

 

8. Red-Bellied Woodpecker - This type of woodpecker is a frequent visitor to our yard. For several years, we have had these drumming on the metal cover to our fireplace. The male has more red down the back of his neck than the female. He has a black and white ladder back and a white belly. Both male and females have red on the tops of their head.

 

Lastly, I'll leave you with a photo from our walk. I learned a new word from this class - a "snag." This photo is of a snag with woodpecker holes in it. A snag is a dead or partially dead tree... which are very important for many types of woodpeckers!

I hope you enjoyed this little 2 part lesson on woodpeckers!

(Note: This information was taken from lecture given at Jesse Jones State Park and a brochure published by Texas Parks & Wildlife. All photos are mine.)

P.S. I found "15 Fun Facts About Woodpeckers" on About.com.

Woodpeckers Part 1

Last Saturday, Alex and I went to a "talk and walk" about woodpeckers. I loved this class and learned so much! So, I thought I'd share with all of you a little lesson about woodpeckers. (Below is a photo of a stuffed pileated woodpecker which was on display at this class.)

How are woodpeckers unique?

• HEAD
• powerful bill
• feather tufts around nostrils to protect from debris while pecking wood
• specialized skull to withstand enormous impact of pecking
• TONGUE (I've posted about their tongues before)
• long (extremely long in some types)
• attached near the nose and wraps around the back of the head (wow! Google for images)
• tip is pointed and has stiff barbs so it can pull "things" out of the holes
• TAIL
• 6 sets of retrices (tail feathers) which are genearlly stiff
• inner pair of tail feathers is longest and pointed at tips - this helps support the woodpecker as it climbs up a tree
• FEET
• perching birds have 3 toes that go forward and one that goes backward while woodpeckers often have a zygodactyl foot - where 2 toes go forward and 2 toes go backward. This helps the woodpecker to grasp the bark of tree trunks (rather than perch on a limb). A more recent find is that some woodpeckers have ectropodactyl feet which means they can MOVE their toes into the position they want them!
• COMMUNICATION
• drumming - to mark territory or for attracting a mate
• calls - their songs
• NESTING
• many woodpeckers are keystone species (meaning of great importance) becasuse they are a primary cavity nesting species (meaning they actually MAKE the cavity in the tree which other birds and other animals will later use)
• WOODPECKERS & HUMANS
• woodpeckers cause lots of damage to manmade structures (and we chop down the dead trees they need for homes!)
• people used to eat woodpeckers - here is a great quote from John James Audubon regarding the eating of the Pileated Woodpecker
• Its flesh is tough, of a bluish tint, and smells so strongly of the worms and insects on which it generally feeds, as to be extremely unpalatable.

The Sick Bed

Alex is sick today. She has a fever, sore throat, ear aches, and a headache. She actually felt bad yesterday, but her fever didn't show up until the evening. So, I set up the sick bed for her on the couch for when she wakes up.

Here are some of the things we do on sick days:

...lay on the couch and stay in PJs all day

...watch LOTS of TV (we just got 2 movies in from Netflix, so that'll will be an added bonus!)

...I get out a TV tray and load it with anything she needs... thermometer, tissues, drinks, etc

...drink Sprite (she rarely gets soda at home) with a bendy straw (also drinks Gatorade and clear juices)

...have popsicles anytime she wants

...have "homemade" chicken noodle soup or Ramen noodles for lunch or dinner - depending on when she's up to eating

 

...we have a special pink tray to eat on the couch with or a wooden one with legs if someone is sick and can't leave the bed

...play board games & card games

...read books

...play computer (or DS) games - we'll probably play some on Webkinz World today - I have my own account (I have 3 Webkinz which Alex gave me... they're so cute!) and we can play in the "competition arena" against each other

It's 9:15 and I hear her waking up, so I'm off to see if she's ready to come to her Sick Bed! I'd love to hear what you do special for your kids when they're sick!

Countdown to Mystery Class: Less Than 2 Weeks to Go

Last year, Alex and I participated in Journey North's Mystery Class. This year's class will start on February 1st. Right now, you can go to their site and download Teacher's Packets #1 ("Discovering Latitude Clues") & #2 ("Discovering Longitude Clues") so you can practice with last year's data. These packets are new this year and I think they will be a GREAT help.

(photo of our graph at week 6 from last year)

If you are not familiar with the Mystery Class, you are basically going on a hunt to find 10 "mystery" classes which are "hidden" around the globe. You will first use sunrise/sunset data to help determine the latitude of each class. In late March, you will receive a special set of "longitude clues" to help you determine the longitude of each class. Then, you will start receiving weekly clues about each mystery class. These might include special holidays they celebrate, landmarks, history, etc. At this point, you will have narrowed down the classes to a latitude & longitude and are using the clues to help you locate the precise city.

These classes are a LOT of fun... and include a LOT of learning. We are getting ready to study the Olympics and then census, so I'm not sure if we'll be participating or not. But, I do want to encourage you to check it out, and I hope we will find the time to join in the hunt!

MLK Day

We watched one-half of the History Channel's movie, King, today. We'll try to finish it tomorrow. We were both learning so much!

We spent the afternoon at a local park and ended up playing volleyball with a dad, his 3 kids, and 2 of his neighbor's kids (3 teens, an 8yo girl - perfect for Alex, and a 5yo boy). I played for 2 hours!!! I'm SORE, but it was so much fun!!!

Alex also watched a movie we bought several years ago called Our Friend, Martin. It's a wonderful cartoon story of Martin Luther King's life. But, as a warning, there are real clips of his life AND some violent clips showing how blacks were treated during this time. So, be prepared and watch with your child! But, we have both learned a lot from this show and Alex has watched it many times.

Lastly, here is a post I made when Alex was 5 that includes some books we read about Martin Luther King when she was younger.

Chicken Enchiladas

I love to post my recipes because then I can make them even when I'm out of town and don't have my recipe file! I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Stacy.

Ingredients:
12.5 oz can white chicken (drained) (I've also used larger cans)
8 oz light sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 can green chilis (we use mild)
2 cups cheese (Mexican or Sharp Cheddar)
garlic salt
ground cumin
flour tortillas
green enchilada sauce


Directions: Mix chicken (break up chunks with fork), sour cream, cream of chicken, and green chilis together in bowl. (I add the green chilis later as Alex doesn't like them in hers.) Season with cumin (about 1/2 tsp) and garlic salt to taste. Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Mix together and fill tortillas. (I use about 10-12 tortillas.) Cover with green enchilada sauce and remining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375-400 degrees.

"King" on History Channel - Sunday & Monday

Martin Luther King

Leader

Preacher

Dreamer

Revolutionary

Man

You might want to watch the History Channel's 2 hour special about Martin Luther King. It airs this Sunday and Monday. "Go beyond the dream to discover the man. An unforgettable 2 hour event."