Califoregon Living

We took a hike with homeschool families from a different group in our area.  A guide spoke to us about the different plant life in the area.

Here is our guide, Dave, showing us an arial map of the area…

I love forget-me-nots…

This is Japanese Knotweed.  It was brought from Asia to Europe, then America.  It is now considered an invasive weed.

The most common blackberry in our area is actually not native.  It is the Himalayan Blackberry. This make fat, juicy berries, and the vines grow everywhere.  Native blackberry runs along the ground and makes small berries.

I always thought ivy was pretty to look at growing on trees.  But, we learned that these trees will suffocate and die from the ivy over time.

A fork of the Snoqualmie River…

Another way of looking at things…(A)

Bleeding Hearts AKA Dutchmen’s Britches…

The end of our quest.  This is a 100(?) year old cedar tree.

Turning his face to the weird, shiny globe in the sky…

Enjoying the moss pillow…


Heading for Home

In front of the Science Center, waiting to go inside…

Having a good time outside…

Liz and Kim

Learning how a toilet flushes…

‘Nekkid’ mole rats 🙂

You can actually see Elliott Bay from the periscope!

Trying to lift some sort of metallic rock (I don’t recall if it is from space, or not)

Playing in the space shuttle…

My favorite part of the Science Center.  The Butterfly Exhibit!




One landed on ‘R’…

(Speaker at the Homeschool Conference)

Writing is not like other academic subjects

• There are no right or wrong answers
• It is not based on the memorization of facts
• It is a creative art

God’s creativity is different from ours.  We need necessary ingredients:

example: Baking a cake

• Purpose and recipe
• form, design and style
• flavor, liquid, leavener, sweetener

1. Content-Signifigant topic and purpose for writing.
   1. Determine your audience
      1. Have a real audience to whom you are writing
      2. Writing for the sake of writing and not for communicating is fruitless
      3. Why would you write something if no one is going to read it!
   2. State your purpose in one concise sentence  (inform, cheer, persuade, instruct, appeal, prepare)
   3. Choose a general topic
      1. choose a broad subject area, then limit in that area
      2. Conform to God’s righteouse standards
      3. part of your own experience or eprsonal story
      4. intended audience of interest
      5. God honoring; real ideas to real people
      6. Have kids write letters to relatives.  Reports and research can come later.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 5:4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

1. Limit your general topic
   1. to fit purpose and desired elngth
   2. can be analyzed closely and carefully
   3. look through the eye of an artist to see what others do not see
   4. Narrow the topic to where you can describe it in depth
2. Check attitudes about writing
   1. Please the Lord
   2. Examine attitudes and motives for writing and make sure they are conformed to God’s Word.
   3. Simple letters are a great start for younger kids

Psalm 121:3  He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;

2. Style-choosing words and assembling

Writing needs to be coached up to high school.

1.  Before writing: choose type that suits content (learn/teach these in order)

1. Descriptive
2. Narrative
3. Informative
4. Persuasive/Argumentative (high school)
5. Combination of these

Writing fiction is not great for kids.  let them write about real things that od puts in your life.

In Middle and High School, have kids write Letters to the Editor.

Reference: Author John Piper, "A Godward Life"

2.  Before writing: Choose the form

1. Letters, social notes, business letters
2. book reports, research reports

3.  During writing: Skillful and appropriate word choice

1. Concrete- choose words that are vivid and specific

ex. ‘The animal went away’  vs. ‘The raging, snorting Brahma bull charged down the narrow cobblestone street.’

2.  Concise- saying as much as possible in the least amount possible

ex: ‘the man in the western shirt, levis, chaps, and large-brimmed hat skilfully threw the long rope with a loop in the end of it over the head of the brown and white shaggy-headed steer’.  vs. ‘The cowboy skilfully lassoed the Heifer steer.’

3. Graciousness-only say what’s necessary: be gracious indescription.  Non offensive.

1. Ask: Will my writing bring glory to Christ?

4. Mechanics

1. penmanship
2. spelling
3. punctuation
4. grammar

Your writing:

1. will effectively accomplish a purpose
2. will bless others
3. will glorify God

Get started: Dictate with early writers and write for them

 

Bible
We read a devotional that talked about helping around the house.  We read Luke 22:7-13
and discussed how the disciples helped Jesus prepare for the Last Supper.

The Last Passover Luke 22:7-13
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, "Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"’ "And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there."   The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

We read Eyes on Nature: Sharks
Here are new things we learned about sharks….

39 of the 350 species of sharks are over 10 feet long.

Nurse sharks sleep on the bottom of the ocean in piles of up to 40 members.

No one knows how long a shark lives.  Most anticipate 30-100 years.

Plankton  is a mix of plants and tiny shrimplike creatures that the larger sharks eat.

Bottom dwelling sharks eat crustaceans (crabs and lobster) and mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters)

Migrate-traveling longs distances.  Some sharks migrate thousands of miles.

The oil in the sharks liver is lighter than water.  This helps the shark float.

Sharks are cold blooded; their blood changes temperature as the water changes temperature.  But a few sharks have a special heat system that keeps their blood warmer than the others.  They are called "WARM BODIED".  Sharks that have this are the Great White, Thresher, Salmon, Porbagle, and 2 kinds of Mako.

The jaws of the shark is the most powerful on earth.

Scientists can tell the shark species by their teeth or their bite marks.

A shark can go through 7-12 sets of teeth in one year.

Dogfish are pregnant for 2 years. (Glad you are not a dogfish, Liz, Megan, Julie, and Alyssa? :))

Sharks typically attack where there are alot of people in warm, waist deep water. (They speculate that this is because the motion in the water resembles schools of fish). (Leigh’s note: This contradicts what the other book said.  The otherr book says to swim with others because the shark is less likely to attack a group.)

Divers can wear a steel mesh suit which can help againt shark bites.

The Mako shark is the fastest shark  at 43mph and can leap out of the water.

Rays are the closest relative to the shark.  They are pretty much sharks flattened out.

Shark skin is 100% stronger than cowhide.