New Skateboard

We purchased a skateboard for my son this past Christmas along with a helmet.  He had outgrown a smaller one that he had as a little boy when he was just learning how to ride in the driveway.   He had been borrowing our neighbors & has learned how to ride really well.  We have a steep hill in front of our house & he goes down that at a quick speed & it takes him quite a distance down the street. 

The skateboard we got for him is a Tony Hawk Huckjam Series & it is really cool...nice green color on the bottom.  Besides looking good it is big & the surface of the board is really rough (almost
 like sandpaper), so it grips the shoes really well.

As you can tell this post is not really about skateboards (all my vast knowledge showing through...LOL).  It is about what happens when they fall off.  As a mom that is what is more important to me.   

Science Fair for Homeschoolers

We went this morning to our homeschool groups "class day".  We did art & a Think It class, ate lunch with the group & came home.  We had been doing science fair classes at the beginning of the year, then realized that we really couldn't do justice to the projects with the time alloted, so those classes were cancelled. 

I am always looking for things that interest my son & science is one of those areas he really enjoys.  When we arrived home I checked my emails & saw the notification for CurrClick's science fair & thought I would share it with you.   Enjoy!
Sign up for CurrClick's Earth Day Science Fair! Live coaching sessions, teamwork, prizes and loads of fun. 6 individual contestants will win a "My First Lab Duo-Scope Microscope." Click the title above for more information or to join a team. (Hurry, teams are filling up fast!)

For information on science fair projects & to get ideas for different age groups go to http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/     Even if you decide not to do a group project online these would be great to try at home on your own or with your homeschool group.

Does Your Middle Schooler Hate to Write?

Do you have a middleschooler who hates to write? I homeschool my middle school child who is a whiz at everything except...you guessed it...writing!  For some reason he has a terrible time putting thoughts on paper or doing any creative writing work.   He has a high comprehension score in reading & can read way beyond his age. He has a vivid imagination but cannot put it in ink. 

For the past 2 years it has been a non-stop battle as I have tried to come up with different approaches to conquer this problem.  So I thought surely there must be something out there, some course I could order for him to do that would help. 

At first I found systems that I had already been using, without success.  Then in my search I stumbled upon "Jump In: A workbook for reluctant and eager writers".  As I looked at the samples online I got really excited by what I saw.  Not only was it written in fun terminology with step by step building blocks, but it is also written for middle schoolers who have had trouble writing.    That way I did not have to start him on a course geared for elementary children that might seem silly to him.

There is a student workbook (Jump In) that they work in & then it also comes with the parents/teacher manual called "The Lifeguard's Locker".  In the parents manual are these great 10 minute plunges for your kids to do.  

The 10 minute plunges are a writing assignment for your child & you give them a choice of topics.  For example in week one the topics are: 1) You have just created a new dessert. Name it and write a short description of it for the menu. 2) "I just can't stand..." 3) "I'll never go there again!" (what happened and why you won't go back)  4) Kryptonite made Superman weak. What is your kryptonite?

These choices are interesting & imaginative to help promote creativity.  Plus these writings are not graded!  No checking spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.   Just get them to write!  Then at the end of the week they get to choose their favorite one & then at that time they rewrite it in correct form. 

The first week my son struggled a little but this week he sat & wrote a great report in just 5 minutes!  I wanted him to do the full 10 minutes so he went back to writing & added some more sentences to it.  I was so happy & proud of him.

So if you have a middle schooler who has trouble writing or who LOVES to write, this is a great course.  It is produced by Apologia Press, but I purchased mine from http://www.rainbowresource.com/.  They seem to have the best selection & prices for this.

Free Atom's Class

I have found a really neat website that provides online classes for all different ages & in all different subjects. Most have a VERY reasonable cost while others are totally free. One that I have signed up for my son to do is a science class on "Atoms". This class is FREE & comes with a downloadable PDF file for your study. This class will be held on September 15th at 11am. To sign up & to view other classes you may find interesting, go to http://www.currclick.com/index.php?affiliate_id=72839

Japan: Make Your Own Origami

We have been studying Japan for Social Studies, so today we did an origami project. At first my son moaned about doing it...he is 11 after all! But I know he loves doing art projects & this would be right up his alley.

We found a great website with tons of patterns & animated videos that take you through each step. They also have their patterns categorized from easy to difficult so you can chose a pattern that suits your skill level.

My son chose 3 different ones: A cat, a penguin (his favorite animal), & a snake. All of these were from the easy level & took less than 15 minutes to make each one. We used construction paper that we had on hand & then he finished off the details with markers.

After you have finished you can display them by hanging them from the ceiling of your school room. So if you are looking for a project to do with your study of Japan, try this & get in some art at the same time. Their website is http://www.origami-club.com/en/

Make Your Own Catapult

Today for science I wanted to do an activity to finish off our study of machines. So I looked at putting together models of complex machines (cars, planes, etc.), or at putting together our own working machine...the catapult.

We decided on a catapult that was easy to put together & only required items that we could find around the house. Any project that doesn't cost money is fine by me! So I found a design that uses office supplies & within 30 minutes we had a working catapult.

All you need for this are pencils, rubber bands, tape & a bottle cap (from bottled water). For more information on how to make this & other cool projects, go to http://www.stormthecastle.com/

From their homepage look on the left hand side under "Projects" & you will see a link for "Make a catapult".