Live and Learn Farm

  • Home
    • About Us
    • Contact Us!
  • HomeSchool
    • All Inclusive
    • Apologia
    • Arts
    • Bible
    • Civics
    • Current Events
    • Curriculum
    • Elementary
    • Geography
    • History
    • Language Arts
    • Math
    • Middle School
    • Montessori
    • Other
    • Practical Life Skills
    • Science
    • Writing
  • Link Ups
    • Monday Middle & High School Link Up
  • Montessori
  • Teen Blogs
    • Gage – 13 Years Old
    • Chase – 14 Years Old
    • Blake – 10 Years Old
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Free!!!
  • Other Topics
    • Blogging
      • Facebook Series
    • Farmstead
      • Chickens
      • Cows
      • Permaculture Garden
    • Mom
You are here: Home / Archives for HomeSchool

I Have a Power

January 22, 2014 By: Gage4 Comments

I have a power, a power that many people desire. A power that places me in danger. If I could see through walls!The power to see through walls. At first I thought it was just going to be something fun, being able to flick on and off the ability. Then, when the black unmarked car followed me through the city, I knew I was in danger. And it’s not a total secret. My secret, the fact that I can see through walls, has been leaked. And It appears someone or something wants me, and I believe they’ve found me. I need to find people who will help me, maybe there are people like me and maybe there being hunted too.

So I start my quest, looking for people that will help me, or people like me. But where should I start? There is a whole world to search. So I’ll just start by strolling the stre- a black car floors it around the corner and straight at me! I start running, I then turn on my ability, to look into the car as I run. Four men, in black suits, are in the car. I then use my ability to spot an almost-invisible ally and dart down it. It was too narrow for the car to follow.  So when I reach the end of the alley, I jump on and over the wall. I think I lost them, when I see the black car at a stop waiting for me.

Suddenly, a blue car stops right in front of me. Three people are in the car, two about my age, and one about 25 who is at the wheel. “Get in, there’s not much time” says the driver. “Who are you?” I ask. “People just like you” says one of the teens. “as in you can see through things?” I ask. “Yes, now quick get in before they see you!” says the driver. So I get in the car and we floor it back the way they had come. “We work for the government trying to stop those people who were chasing you.” says the driver. “Who are those guys?” I ask. “Those people want to use our abilities for evil, like seeing the combination to a gold safe or things like that”. “I have an idea, lets follow them since they did not see me get in your car and see where they go. We can then contact the police and they can arrest them.” I say.

So we followed the black car, until they stopped at an old abandoned store. The men got out of their car and we stopped across the street at a coffee shop and watched. One of the men revealed a secret panel with buttons that was hidden on the wall by the abandoned store’s door. “A code lock!” said Keith, who had introduced himself while we followed the car. “This should be easy” said Luke. After the man clicked four buttons the door opened. “The code is 2962” says Katherine the driver. “Let’s phone the police” I said. But Katherine already had her phone out and was talking to them. She hangs up and says “they will be here in five minutes shall we stay and watch?” “Yes!” we all screamed. Those five minutes seemed like the longest ever. But then the police silently pull up and surround the building. After making sure there were no secret exits all thirty-five charged in.Fifteen minutes later the police come out with twenty men who were all brought to jail. After the people were arrested who were trying to hunt us down, we all settled down together like normal citizens and resign from our government work. We made a promise we would not use our abilities again, unless it was an emergency. 

I hope you all enjoyed my story: If I could see through walls!

See ya soon!

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

All Seeing Eyes.

January 22, 2014 By: Chase4 Comments

Seeing through walls: what a useful skill. There are a million useful things that could come from this trait, from being able to look at your presents before you opened them to security.  So the question becomes, what would you do if you had all seeing eyes and would you use it for good or bad? This whole concept of seeing through walls is a little hard to think about, and there are a ton of ways you could add a twist to the plot.  For instance, what if you didn’t want to see through walls, maybe you wanted to keep something a surprise, how would you do that?  Those are the types of questions that intrigue me.

Seethrough

So the first question I would ask myself would be something along the lines of “Would I use this for good and practical use or for mischievous and bad use?”  It seems to me that mischievous use, such as looking at my gifts early, would ruin the surprise. It seems the same can be said for all uses of that sort. So I would probably use it for something practical and useful. Maybe I could become a plumber, I could easily find any leaks in pipes and patch them without much trouble. Or, maybe I could become an architect, I could see flaws in designs and fix them better than your average person.

Actually, I would probably become a form of security or join an intelligence gathering agency, such as the FBI or CIA.  If I became FBIbank security, for example, I could keep an eye out for suspicious characters, robbers, and more.  I would most certainly become employee of the month in no time.  If I joined an intelligence agency, I could help stop many of the various crimes that could harm people and property.

This special ability could cause problems as well. Maybe I don’t want to see through walls all of the time, maybe I don’t want to spoil a surprise for myself or maybe I would get tired of it and want to take a break. While thinking this over, I came up with a simple design that could allow me to see normally, sometimes. Simply get a pair of decent looking shades, pop out the lens, and replace them with solid, non-transparent lenses.  I would see through the new lens, but since that was acting as a wall, an ordinary wall would not appear transparent. Yes, this whole design is based upon the principle that I can see through only one wall at a time. If that was not the case, I don’t know if it would be possible to see normally.  

openplainfinalI would probably want to live somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere with nice scenery.  It would be creepy seeing people outside of my house, even if they couldn’t see me. Probably some deserted island or long forgotten plain where no one would disturb me. There is one problem with this, and that would be food and supplies.  If you live on a deserted island, I’m pretty sure you won’t find a Wal-Mart or Dollar General down the road.  I’m not sure how I would solve this problem, other than get a taste for fish, and eat fish for the rest of my life.

These are just a few of the many possibilities that I could do if I had the ability to see through walls. Who knows, maybe one day in the future this will become possible.  Maybe we all could actually have all seeing eyes.  I know it sure would make life easier in a lot of areas!

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

What I Would do If I Could see Through Walls

January 21, 2014 By: Blake3 Comments

Hello and good morning, this article is for our 3rd Middle and High School linkup. For the first linkup I posted My bucket list and the second one was What would I do if I was locked in Wal-mart Overnight? Finally, this one is “What would I do if I could see through walls”.  It sounded like a fun, but harder subject for us to write about. But, as I thought of what I could say, it became even harder in my head.

I moved to a remote desert location. Why? So I couldn’t see into stuff that was not my business. Once I got settled, I needed a job. So, I contacted a government official and told him about my power to see through walls. I asked for a job as a spy. If he hired me, I would go to wherever he needed me to be. I would spy on the targets, then return to my remote desert home for rest.

wasteland

I was hired by the CIA to be their spy. I traveled around the world and saw many things for many years. It was a lonely life. I really wanted to live a normal life. A life with neighbors and friends. As the days rolled on I decided to give this life up. I quit my job and moved back to my desert home. But, it was just as lonely out here. I had to figure this out!

One day I realized that I could choose when to see through walls and not! Why wouldn’t it work when I was spying for the government? I tried many times then and it would not work! This means I no longer have to live out in a remote wasteland. I can move into civilization and become an average citizen. I can go eat out, make a friend or two and a ton more stuff I never could do in the remote area I had lived.  I love the life of having friends and fun but it still seems like I am missing something. I don’t know what it is but I feel like it’s big.

I kept on every day, but my life still seemed empty. But one day a young man offered me a job at a store. I thanked him for his offer, but I declined. As I slowly walked away, the man called and said “Wait there is a job for manager too!” I turned around and looked at him and thought this might be what I needed so I accepted his offer and joined the store as a manager. I had found it, what was missing… it was a job. But no one, knew my power, not even my best friends knew that I could see through walls.

I hope that you enjoyed this post! I had fun writing it. I got a little creative on some of it LOL. For the next linkup, I’ll be writing about “What would you do if you were President of the United States of America” this one was hard but fun too :-).

 

 

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

FREE Kindle Books 1.19.14

January 19, 2014 By: Live & Learn Farmcomment

I am always on the lookout for free kindle books for my boys.  They are voracious readers and so the only way I could really keep them supplied with books was to get them used kindles… which I did last year.  It has saved us a ton of money and has accomplished exactly what I wanted to do… allow them to continue to read to their heart’s content without breaking the bank!

As I search for our kindle books, I always stumble upon other books that I think my friends would appreciate knowing about.  Until this past week, I did not know an easy way to share them with you.  One of the other co-owners of Hip Homeschool Moms helped me figure out how to do this.  So, now, I’m able to share these finds with you (thank you Leann).

My boys are taking Spanish, so I always try to pick up a few books that are completely in Spanish to give them practice.  I also try to get books that expand or will add depth to something they are already studying (such as weather, fungi, sound).  I always grab classics as I find them.  Both Chase and Blake are reading Classics right now.  And, then just books that I know will interest them.

NOTE: PLEASE verify that the books on this list are still FREE before you download them.  Obviously, these lists will be time sensitive.  So be sure to grab them now if you are interested in them (but still confirm the price before you download them).
 

An InLinkz Link-up



 

I hope these will be a blessing to you and your homeschool.

Free Kindle Books 1.19.14

signature

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

A Review of The Amazing Caves at The Pink Palace

January 17, 2014 By: Gage1 Comment

It all started about 2 months ago when I watched a video on deep, underwater caves called blue holes. It has sparked a huge interest in caves and diving for me. One day I was telling mom about all the different caves when she mentioned The Pink Palace has a movie about caves playing right now. About the same time, I was working on my bucket list for our creative writing class blog posts, so I asked mom if we could go see the movie soon and she said absolutely.

Disclosure

After hearing about the movie, I started researching it.  It is called “The Amazing Caves”. The movie is about two cavers, Nancy Aulenbach and Hazel Barton who travel to three different remote areas of the world to collect samples of extremophiles, which are bacteria that have created immunity and adapted to their harsh environments. They hope to study these to help identify cures for diseases.

On the day before we go to The Pink Palace, mom researched the time of the movie and discovered that it is going to play at 1:00 but it will be going into the vault (storage of past movies) on Saturday! The next day when I woke up, I was filled with excitement, I quickly got ready and headed downstairs to eat a quick breakfast so we could get on the road!

Pink Palace

When we arrived at The Pink Palace, we went to the ticket window where we were greeted by the extremely polite staff. After getting our tickets, we decided to stroll around since we had a few minutes before the movie started. We found ourselves looking at their amazing collections of skeletons from snakes to a tiny hummingbird, they had a ton!

Soon it was time to go downstairs to the IMAX.  We all went and chose our seats in the back but inline with the giant IMAX screen. After we got situated, I went around photographing the humongous screen and movie player, and the vast room. After a while, the movie hostess came in and told us all the rules (like stay seated, please don’t take photos, turn off your phones, etc.).  After waiting a few more minutes, the lights dimmed.

The movie starts in the Grand Canyon with you suddenly flying over the breath-taking canyon! With a bird’s-eye view of the canyon, you see every stone in the enormous formation. After soaring through the canyon a while you see two floating Amazing Cavesspecks on the side of a cliff. Slowly, as the camera zooms in, you can see two people dangling from ropes!  Under them is a hole into the side of the mountain, a window where you can see the inner beauty of this rock formation. The two people on these life-preserving ropes enter the cave, here we meet Nancy Aulenbach and Hazel Barton.

Grand pillars stand tall in this vast cave, which formed over thousands of years ago. This cave might have started as a small hollow hole in the rock, but as water seeped in, it cut away at the rock which turned it into the massive cave we see today. Then, when the cave mass is formed, the mineral-rich water that drops in, leaves sediment that builds up into pillars and spikes called stalagmites and stalactites.  Stalagmites grow from the floor and stalactites grown from the ceiling, and if two meet together, it’s now called a column. In the very bottom of the cave is some water which the two cavers take samples of in search of extremophiles.

Next we see Nancy and Hazel in cold weather gear getting ready to travel to Greenland to get their next sample of extremophiles. As their helicopter approaches camp, Nancy describes it as a few specks on the frozen horizon. When they land, the helicopter leaves and they start talking to the man who has ice caved deeper than anyone alive, Janot Lamberton. They can not go to the cave they want to explore for a week, because when the water melts it flows straight down the ravine-like cave. After 4 days of the temperatures dropping, they head to the cave.

ravineThe cave does not look like a cave at all. It just looks like a crack in the ice.  However, it really leads to a steep, ice ravine that drops hundreds of feet. They have to use cliff climbing gear to repel into the ravine to obtain the samples they want. Janot goes first, breaking away all the stray or weak ice. He is also the one who is going to go to the bottom of the cave and actually gather the ice sample that Nancy and Hazel want. After he collects it from the bottom of the ravine, he starts the long climb up. When he gets back to the surface, they take their samples and start preparation to leave. Nancy explains why cavers have such a strong bond… “When you and another caver depend on each other for your life, you get an unbreakable bond that will last forever”.

Finally they travel south to Mexico Quintana Roo where there are underwater caves running under a lot of the peninsula. Some of the water in these caves is fresh water, but there is also salt water. When the two meet there is a blurry wall called a halocline. They hope to find some extremophiles living in the halocline there. Only Hazel and their guide will be diving because Nancy promised her family she never would cave dive.

The first place they are diving is in a pool of water that leads down into a deeper underwater system of the cave. After searching for quite a while, they reach a dead-end. Later they return and explore another cave with a pool that leads to a deeper system. When they dive in this one, they find a guide line already laid. A guide line is a long strand of thin rope that cave divers release so they can find their way back out, sort of like bread crumbs. Most cave divers give themselves a set of rules that they do not break. One is always set down a guide line and hold on to it. The reason they hold onto the rope is, if stray mud and particles blur the water and cause a blackout, you can easily lose sight of the line and you may never be able to find it again.

After a while, they enter a bigger chamber where in the back they see another passage, in the passage is the blurry wall. Finally they found the halocline.  After collecting the samples, they head to the surface. Now, seven years later, they have developed several cures for leukemia from their samples and they hope to find more cures to different diseases.

Boys pink palace

I also have an interesting fact about Nancy. She is a teaching assistant at a Montessori school in Georgia. The entire time they are exploring caves, she is reporting back using her website to teach her class about caves and all the interesting things they were doing. Before we started homeschooling, we attended a Montessori school in La Grange. The fact that she is a teacher in a Montessori school, is extremely cool!

If you want to visit The Pink Palace you will have to wait a couple months because they are now in the middle of renovating and changing the IMAX projector to be digital and 3D. I am excited about these changes happening at The Pink Palace, I don’t know what all they are doing except what little information the hostess shared about what is happening to the IMAX. But I do know the first movie playing is called The Flight of The Butterfly in 3D. I can’t wait to see it because my favorite butterfly is what the whole movie is all about, the Monarch butterfly, and it’s migration!

Have you ever been to The Pink Palace? If so, tell me about your visit?  I recommend You go see Flight of The Butterfly. It looks amazing from the trailer!

So, I now have only six things on my 2014 bucket list instead of seven … and I still have 11 months to do them!

See ya soon!

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

Locked in Wal-Mart Overnight

January 14, 2014 By: Blake3 Comments

Hello and good morning, this post is about “What would you do if you were locked in Wal-Mart overnight”, which is our second link up. This is one I chose.  My mom showed me the whole list and this one was the most appealing to me so this is what I chose. I think it’s going to be a fun subject.

Blake Walmart

 

I would first find something to eat then I would round up TONS of boxes and make a castle and a throne! If I was alone I would probably wander the store looking at all the stuff.  If Gage or Chase was there, we would play around and have a Nerf war in the whole store which would take an hour or more.

When it was almost midnight I would pitch a tent and get something soft to sleep on. If I wanted to make it feel like I was outside I could move the cricket pen closer. Once I woke up, if the store wasn’t unlocked yet, I would get breakfast and go have some more fun!  Then when it would be about 8:00 I would start putting the stuff I took out up and put it in a grocery cart to buy once the store opened.  I’d leave it in the garden section for later.

I would then hide and wait for the store to open. Once the store opened, I’d follow around some customers and walk out with them. Then I would go to the nearest building and ask where the phone was so I could call Mom and ask her to come pick me up. By then it could be getting close to lunch and I might be getting hungry.  So I would find a McDonalds and go there and eat and wait for Mom to pick me up. We would then go back to Wal-mart and get the cart out of the garden section and pay for the items I used. When i got home I would tell the story to Chase, Gage and Dad.  Then it would go back to normal.

Out of all those things I might have done, my favorites in order would probably be the castle making, then the Nerf war, then the escape. Although I really doubt that would happen…but if it did, I would remember this post and do the exact same things.

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

A Night in Walmart

January 14, 2014 By: Chase3 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a department store, like Walmart? I have, so I’ve decided to put my thoughts on virtual paper.  What would I do if I somehow got locked in and had to spend a night in Walmart?

A Night in Walmart

Well, first of all I would find the food aisle and set up a feast for myself and any poor soul unlucky enough to be locked in there with me (I’m using my imagination here, there’s some fun stuff to do in a store all alone, but with a few other people, a whole new window of opportunity opens.)  Once we had a sufficient amount of food for dinner, I would begin searching for the ovens and microwaves, the kind that you see chicken and pizza cooking in.  I would expect by the time Walmart closes, the chicken would be cold, so I would have to get them heated up again.  Then me and my comrades would have a feast, and eat until we could eat no more.  

Once I’ve got the necessities out of the way, I would set up camp.  By that, I mean I would find the most luxurious bedding and the ideal spot for them.  I would most likely pitch a tent, and an inflatable bed.  I would place the tent in the TV aisle, where, if I couldn’t get to sleep, I could watch a movie or two instead.  Then the real fun would begin.  

Nerf Gun To start off the long night, I would probably have a Nerf war. I would break out the big guns and go hunt down other people with my chain gun, offering them the chance to join me.  But if they refused they would have to be… removed from the game.  You may be wondering, why I was trying to recruit men to join me?  Well, there’s bound to be someone else in the store also doing the same thing.  In the end, both teams would have a huge battle in the center of the store with Nerf guns!

I imagine with all of the other players I could play this for hours, but eventually I think everyone would get tired, and at that point I would probably play board games such as Monopoly and Uno for a few hours more.  I would also spend time learning how to play new games, and even games that I’ve never heard of that I would most likely find.  Once everyone was good and tired, the thing that I’ve wanted to do my whole life would begin: a hide and seek match in Walmart, with the lights out and at night.  This one thing, would make all the trouble of being locked in a store at midnight worth while.inside walmart

If I was still awake after all this, I would spend a bit of time exploring the back of the store. I would check out all of the stuff like toys, game, movies, and more that weren’t out on the shelves yet.  I might even get a wild hair to raid the candy aisle, or build a huge fort out of various items.  The possibilities are almost limitless.

After all this, I would probably be on the verge of passing out.  So, I would retire to the peaceful boundaries of my tent and possibly read for a bit, but at that hour I wouldn’t remember it anyway.  In the morning, when someone decided to open up and prepare for another day of work, I might just hide away into the back for a few hours and repeat the whole process again.  Maybe, just maybe!

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

If I were trapped in Walmart over night.

January 14, 2014 By: Gage3 Comments

If I were trapped in Walmart over night. Intriguing thought. Have you ever thought about being locked in a store? I’ve never really thought about it before.  But, now that I do think about it… it would be kind of strange and interesting. The first thing I thought of was… Walmarts don’t close at night. But some close around the holidays. So I’m going to just pretend that they were closing this night.

Trapped in Walmart

As  I crawl out of the tent I was testing, I think to myself “all the lights are off.  Hmm… strange maybe the power is out.” But as I look around, I realize no one is in sight. “HELLOOO???” I yell out.  No response, just eerie silence. “I guess everyone’s on break”. But wait, it’s dark outside and then it dawns on me, OH MY GOODNESS I’M TRAPPED IN WALMART!!!! Wait, maybe I can call mom.”

As I dash to the front of the store I glance out the front windows and I now know, for sure, I am all alone.  There are no cars in the parking lot.  None!  I turned my attention back to looking for a phone, and notice the steel gate.  “Dang, the phones are Swiffer_Sweeperblocked off.” I look through the thick steel bars and see the phone on the counter just a few feet away. “Maybe I can use a broom to reach it!” and I quickly run to the cleaning aisle.  I grab the first long-handle tool I find, a Swiffer Sweeper.  I race back to the cage and I stick the end of the sweeper through the opening. I barely am able to reach the phone. As I start trying to drag it to me, the phone falls and bounces out of my reach. As I groan out loud “Mom’s going to be worried sick”, I plop down to contemplate my situation.

“Wait, maybe this isn’t so bad, I mean, I got a whole Walmart to myself!” I stand up with excitement, and then slowly sit back down as another thought crosses my mind ” What if  am here for weeks? I’ll get dehydrated.” While sitting there on the floor pondering this new thought, I hear the hum of a nearby refrigerator.  I start laughing out loud as I realize I am sitting against a drink refrigerator! I reach in and grab me a Sprite. After hunting down and eating a bag of chips with my sprite, I decide to stroll over to the toy aisle to pass some time.

On the way to the toy aisle, I stop at the candy aisle and grab me a pack of gum.  As I unwrap the lego citygum, I think to myself “I should not open a bunch of toys cause I might have to pay for them later.” So when I get to the toy aisle I immediately spot the Lego section and open a Lego City kit which I assemble in 30 minutes. “Well I’ve passed 30 of my minutes and it’s…. hmmm where is a clock?  So I have who knows how much time left till morning, better find one.” On my way in search of it, I happen to spot the video games, “well… a minute or two won’t hurt” as I get detoured and start looking through the video games. “I’ve always wanted to try a Nintendo DSi.  Oh here is a green one, how cool and look, it comes with a Mario game!”  

I continue looking for a clock while I try to figure out how to play the DSi.  I find myself a wristwatch and notice it’s midnight so I guess I’ll figure out what I can use for a bed… “I know, a blow up camping bed!” I try to remember where the camping area is and if that is even where the blow up beds are located.  When I finally find the camping area, I hunt the aisles for a blow up bed.  I can’t find any anywhere.  So I decide to settle for a soft sleeping bag. I haul the sleeping bag over to the TVs star warsand roll it out in front of the largest.  I find the newest Star Wars movie and put it in. I climb into my sleeping bag.  Not far into the movie I’m asleep.  

The next thing I know, I hear the hum of lights as they flicker on. “Morning? Already?  I pull myself out of the sleeping bag and stretch.  I see the lights again and realize… that means somebody is here!!  I dart to the front of the store where I find two ladies busy getting the store ready to open. I startled them as I approached.  And I said “Boy, I’m so glad to see you!  I got locked in here last night!” They both looked at me with large eyes,  “How?”  I started explaining and suddenly stopped… I ask “can I call my mom?  She is probably sick with worry over where I am!”  The ladies immediately opened the gate so I could use the phone. Not 30 minutes later I’m riding home thinking “What an experience”!

I hope you all enjoyed my story of what I would do if I were trapped in Walmart!

See ya soon!

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

8 Must-Have Grammar Books

January 12, 2014 By: Trish Corlew2 Comments

As you all know, I don’t have girls, but I was the Chairman of the Board for our local Montessori School for several years and learned a lot from just being around all the Montessori teachers and consultants!  One of the series the Montessori Consultant from Houston Montessori Center recommended was by Ruth Heller. It is FABULOUS!  The pictures in the books are so bright and beautiful and the language so vivid that it really does spark an interest with the children.  This series is fantastic for girls and boys, especially in the elementary years … but my boys, being a bit older, prefer a little bit more boyish series now. I will write an article about their favorite grammar books soon. In the meantime, let’s get to the 8 Must- Have Grammar Books for Girls!

8 Must Have Grammar Books for Girls b

Kites Sail High.  A Book About Verbs by Ruth Heller.

Amazon: “Kindergarten-Grade 5 Heller gives beautiful treatment toKites Sail High verbs in singing verse with vibrant illustrations which fairly leap from the pages in double-page spreads. While verbs do not lend themselves easily to two-dimensional illustrations, and many of the concepts here are too advanced and abstract for the usual picture book age child, these illustrations and the design of the book have such appeal that even children to whom the words seem mostly gibberish will enjoy the rhythm and visual impact of the book. Older children will find it a painless and concise grammar lesson as well as a visual treat. Most of the verse flows smoothly, and the meanings are clear. This book should be a boon to language arts teachers in the upper elementary grades as well as fun for all children and adults who love to play with language!”

A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns by Ruth Heller.

A Cache of JewelsAmazon: “In light verse and brightly colored pictures, Heller provides an introduction to a specialized part of speech, the collective noun. She lists and depicts more than 25, including such familiar terms as “batch of bread” and “bunch of bananas,” as well as more unusual phrases: “gam of whales,” “muster of peacocks” and “parcel of penguins.” The concept will stimulate the curiosity and imaginations of children with an ear for language. The illustrations, containing large, bold objects in simple yet striking compositions, ensure a visually inspiring exploration as well. Ages 4-8.”

Merry-Go-Round A Book About Nouns by Ruth Heller

Amazon: “Kindergarten-Grade 6– Nouns of all kinds are the subject of Heller’s latest in her series of books onMerry go round parts of speech. Common, proper, abstract, concrete, compound, and collective nouns are all defined and shown by example in usually lilting verse. Singular, plural, and possessive forms of nouns are also thoroughly covered, and determiners are explained and demonstrated. The rhyme form is used with amazing skill but now and then seems forced as in, “Nouns are highly effective./ The last kind of NOUN is . . . COLLECTIVE.” How and why they work are not explained. Striking graphic design with large clear objects in bold colors overflowing each double-page spread make the book a visual treat. The use of bold type for all the nouns is particularly pleasing and will make for easy reading aloud. Heller’s language books challenge users’ creativity since the concepts are difficult for the picture-book format. Conversely, the verse and illustrations can delight very young children while older readers are sure to find the concise definitions clearer and certainly more entertaining than any grammar text.”

Disclosure

Many Luscious Lollipops A Book About Adjectives by Ruth Heller

Many Luscious LollipopsAmazon: “To further a child’s grasp of the meaning and function of adjectives, this gorgeous picture book provides enrichment and depth of understanding. As in her other pictorial explorations of parts of speech, Kites Sail High (verbs) and A Cache of Jewels (collective nouns), Heller uses a rhymed text in juxtaposition with bold, brilliant, double-page spreads. These books are a visual and auditory feast, designed to make language discovery appealing and rewarding. Young readers will certainly enjoy–and benefit from–Heller’s elegant elucidations, and perhaps all should heed her parting advice: “Whenever you find yourself in doubt / be cautious and be wary. / It’s often very helpful / to consult your dictionary.” Ages 6-8.”

Behind the Mask A Book About Prepositions by Ruth Heller

Amazon: “Grades 2-4. this volume explores yet another part of speech: prepositions. It provides many Behind the Maskexamples of prepositions (printed in large, blue type) as well as some rules of usage. Large, colorful drawings illustrate the words imaginatively. While a child alone might find the text confusing, the many teachers who use the series will probably enjoy reading this book aloud to introduce or illustrate prepositions in their classrooms.”  And another “Heller’s survey of prepositions provides early learners with basic grammar insights, using rhyming text and colorful illustrations to define prepositions and how they’re used. Parental intervention will assist in the process of a child’s understanding of the ideas; but the color and rhyme goes a long way towards solidifying a somewhat challenging concept.”

Fantastic! Wow! And Unreal! A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions by Ruth Heller

Fantastic Wow and UnrealAmazon: “Grade 2-5.   This title is a must-have for school media centers as it provides sheer enjoyment and stimulating instruction for both students and teachers. Learning about interjections and conjunctions is fun with this dazzlingly illustrated book from Ruth Heller’s World of Language series. The spare yet information-packed text is brought to life by eye-popping artwork. Colorful dragons, mysterious sea creatures, and rainbow-striped zebras leap from the pages. Simple yet clever, this inventive book will have readers saying “Yippee! Whoopee! And Hallelujah!” “Youngsters will delight in the rhyming text, which artistically weaves information through vibrant illustrations.”

Mine, All Mine A Book About Pronouns by Ruth Heller

Amazon: “Grade 1-6. Once again, Heller has taken a part of speech and made its function perfectly andMine all Mine entertainingly clear. This time it’s pronouns?personal, possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, reflexive, intensive, interrogative, and relative. From cover to cover, the stylishly drawn, brilliantly colored, double-paged illustrations grab readers and don’t let go. The exceptionally fluent, rhythmic text is printed in an unobtrusive font with pronouns highlighted in bright blue. Mine, All Mine is at its very best when read aloud. “Demonstrative pronouns make it clear. Those are far. These are near. They point out decisively. This is she and that is he.” While younger readers are an obvious audience, be sure to introduce this title and its counterparts to elementary-grade language-arts teachers and their students. Who would have thought pronouns could be such fun?”

Up, Up and Away A Book About Adverbs by Ruth Heller

Up Up and AwayAmazon: “Grade 2-4.  Lively…The playfully rhymed text flows effortlessly as it discusses superlatives, irregular adverbs, and double negatives….Informative and fun.”– School Library Journal “Using expansive color drawings and catchy rhymes, Heller writes about words frequently and vividly and with an unmistakable flourish….A clever introduction.  This eye-catching book explains its perplexing subject well and clearly, and more memorably than could any grammar textbook. Teachers and children will find the clever presentation informative and fun.”

If you are enjoying this post and want to see more, please sign up for our newsletter, join us on Facebook and Google+, follow us on Twitter and Pinterest or sign up on the right to follow our blog.

I have been in a “simplifying, downsizing and purging” mode in our house and homeschool for the last six months, but these books are still here. That is my kitchen table in the picture above 🙂  And they will be here for a while longer… we still reference them regularly!  I hope you enjoy these books as much as we have!

Thank you so much for being a part of our community!  Until next time….

signature

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…

Almost Montessori Sentence Building

January 10, 2014 By: Trish Corlew4 Comments

I just love the way Montessori teaches children! It is such an amazing experience to watch a child have an aha moment! I’m addicted to them!  I’m sure that is why teachers want to teach 🙂 When teaching abstract concepts to children, those aha moments can be elusive… but with Montessori’s principle of using concrete material to teach abstract ideas, you will see those “aha”s regularly! I’m going to be presenting items this year that follow the Montessori foundation and pedagogy of teaching, but are not traditional Montessori Works… I’m going to be calling this series “Almost Montessori” so be watching for these posts! This is another way to make Montessori more affordable to homeschoolers.  So I will have two series this year.  One is Montessori Made Affordable, where I’m going to present traditional Montessori works that I find that are on sale and then Almost Montessori that follows the principles but are not Montessori works.  Today’s items that is in the “Almost Montessori” category is: Almost Montessori Sentence Building.

Almost Montessori Sentence Building

Sentence Buildings are so Montessori, yet not Montessori.  Sentence Buildings Create sentence cities with 9 durable parts-of-speech buildings and over 300 double-sided cards. Parts of speech include: noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, conjunction, article, preposition, adverb, and punctuation. Use many or just a few buildings to differentiate instruction.

If you are enjoying this post and want to see more, please sign up for our newsletter, join us on Facebook and Google+, follow us on Twitter and Pinterest or sign up on the right to follow our blog.

I love this!  It is very similar to the Grammar Boxes but at a fraction of the price!  Grammar Boxes are a set of eight grammar boxes in colors of the grammar symbols. These boxes are color coded with different parts of speech. These activities aid the child in analysis of grammar and development of interpretive reading.

Disclosure

So, you can see differences, yet the underlying principles are the same. To see how Montessori Grammar Boxes are presented, I found the following presentation from Island Video:

Here is a free language album to read how to give Grammar lessons.

While you are thinking about grammar, be sure to visit my article on 8 MUST Have Grammar Books.  These were recommended to us at the Montessori School I was involved in prior to homeschooling.  It is a FANTASTIC series!

I hope these will be a blessing to your homeschool!  Please share and pin these articles if they are beneficial to help us get the word out about our blog and series!

signature

If you like this post, please share it!

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • More
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading…
« Previous Page
Next Page »
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Sulia

Subscribe to our blog

Email

HHMTeamMember3-01

Winner-Top-Ten-BlogDesign10

Top Posts

  • But I Don't Want to be the Policeman!
    But I Don't Want to be the Policeman!
  • Hands-on Activity for Studying Globes and Maps
    Hands-on Activity for Studying Globes and Maps
  • Start a Home Economics Class in Your Homeschool
    Start a Home Economics Class in Your Homeschool
  • Brimwood Press Worldview Curriculum Review
    Brimwood Press Worldview Curriculum Review
  • nature journal post 2
    nature journal post 2

Affiliates / Sponsors

Give lynda.com

Shop Montessori Services

Newsletter Affiliate

We create and distribute our newsletter via MadMimi! It is SOOO easy to use! I highly recommend it!
Mad Mimi Email Marketing

Grab A Button

LiveAndLearnFarm.com Just select and copy the code below.
<a href="http://www.LiveAndLearnFarm.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.LiveAndLearnFarm.com/blog/wp-content/LiveLearnFarmButton.jpg" alt="LiveAndLearnFarm.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Blogger Pro Theme By, Pretty Darn Cute Design

Loading Comments...

    %d