3 Ring Binder

See you Friday! I hope.

Even though I’ve seen plenty of movies over the last year and a half, there hasn’t been a time when we had a big movie feeding frenzy about which my limited memory could report.   In the last week or so, I’ve seen all five of these movies and am therefore pleased to finally present another installment of 5 movies in 5 minutes. Red , 2010 Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich Did you see that cast? I had to like this movie! But I really did. I thought Mary-Louise Parker was completely charming as the kidnapped government worker looking for love, Bruce Willis still makes a convincing action hero, and I really can’t say more about Helen Mirren than what I’ve already said (which amounts to this: I love her). The movie is about a retired black-ops agent who is suddenly marked for assassination by an equally skilled working CIA agent.   In his desire to root out the enemy, the Retired Extremely Dangerous Willis character begins...

Found in the ephemera of my daughter's constant doodling, here is a curious list of scattered historic statements and slogans. I thought some of them were random ideas without historical significance, but, as she so gleefully explained, I was wrong. Your task is to put them in chronological order - bonus points for telling me the historic significance of each. For those of you not fluent in reading my homeschooler's lamentable handwriting, here is the list: Eureka! No taxation without representation Let them eat cake! Et tu, Brute? Liberty or death! Blood and iron Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Know thyself HA. H and A spells "HA." Thus, with a kiss, I die. They ride on sticks! The die is cast.

A friend sent me this blog for my daughter who hates math. First, a Gaussian Christmath. Eating candy buttons in a mobius strip?!?! What is not to love? I hope you enjoy her work almost as much as my daughter and I have. Have a great weekend.

1.   If you Ask Jeeves why are children educated at home  you see an immediate set of excellent reasons as eloquently expressed by Lisa VanDamme and as reported in this very blog . 2.   Field testing cold water wash-and-wear wool (they’re still working out some snags). (REUTERS/Nigel Roddis) # http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/let_it_snow.html 3.   I have recently discovered that the less I volunteer, the more I hug. Who would have guessed? Watch out world - this could get scary.

Saxon Invasion, A.D. 400 - 600 by Rudyard Kipling WHEN Rome was rotten-ripe to her fall,   And the sceptre passed from her hand, The pestilent Picts leaped over the wall   To harry the English land. The little dark men of the mountain and waste,   So quick to laughter and tears, They came panting with hate and haste   For the loot of five hundred years. They killed the trader, they sacked the shops,   They ruined temple and town– They swept like wolves through the standing crops   Crying that Rome was down. They wiped out all that they could find   Of beauty and strength and worth, But they could not wipe out the Viking's Wind   That brings the ships from the North. They could not wipe out the North-East gales   Nor what those gales set free– The pirate ships with their close-reefed sails,   Leaping from sea to sea. They had forgotten the shield-hung hull   Seen nearer and more plain, Dipping into the ...

Lisa VanDamme  discusses a motivational technique used in the classroom and at home.  I can say without reservation that my children love when I tell stories about things I've done or thought when I was younger, and I agree that they learn much better from these stories than from lectures. Sadly, I sometimes feel like I'm running out of stories, but never lectures. Enjoy. If the formatting is off, you can watch the video here .

Last week my favorite student at our homeschool was assigned to write a brief poem combining alliteration, end rhyme, internal rhyme, and near rhyme.  The first two are favorites around here, but the third can be tricky, and the fourth almost always escapes me. The subject was of her own choosing and clearly reflects our book of the month . I was quite impressed by her efforts. Fire by Vabulous Me The fire will flicker in a jolly way, Glowing, not knowing where to stay. T’will light up every house on every street, Living and giving the warmth that we need. And, oh! It’s so dangerous when out of control, It’ll cackle and crackle and burn till it’s cold. Humans, all different, have one common rift, Hating or 'preciating Prometheus’s Gift.

If you liked the way she said describe , you should hear her say ardor . I like a kid that can make me laugh as well as have very strong feelings about the main character's lack of character.

To ensure your safety when casually reading through curriculum materials don't gesticulate wildly while your full cup of black coffee teeters on the edge of your lap desk as it rests across you in bed. Three out of those five circumstances might be okay, but adding the other two added approximately two hours of laundry and hard labor to my day.    On the plus side, my folly did generate this priceless juxtaposition of the trappings of homeschooling and some fabulously clean, lavender scented bed linens.

“But, but, but, but,” she stammers, beginning each new play. Some answers are worked out, but most are locked away. Heavy breathing, hand-wringing, pencil tapping, a final sigh; My adoration of graphite figures divides my daughter and I. The daily order of operations occurs something like this: A pencil scrapes, an eraser abuses, some screaming, then a kiss. Mathematics, not blood, is after all, what I’m after. Our mornings would be better with the addition of some laughter. So why can’t I the find humor in her intent to distract? Why assume nothing positive in her tendency to overreact? Her ability to “do the math” is not lacking by any mean, But her strength multiplies as thespian: my calculating drama queen.

From Homeschooled Twins blog, I'm pleased to share the information of the winners of the Book Arts Bash ! My daughter and I were among the lucky people who got to read the fabulous entries in one of the age categories. It was a thrill reading each of them and congratulations to the winners! Kindergarten and First Grade: Winner : A Big Problem by Brianna T. Runners up: Adventures of Big D and BMC by Emma W. Zoo With A Strange Zookeeper by Vivian L. Second and Third Grade: Winner: The Adventures of Blue Flame the Heroic Giant Squid-Fighting Hero by Sage M. Runners Up: Ruby, A Twisting Tale by Emilie M. Mittens the Cat by Melea von T. Fourth and Fifth Grade: Winner: 1 by Nicci M. Runners up: One Girl Revolution by Sadie Z. Blaze by Alexandra S. Sixth Grade: Winner: The Princess by Lena G. Runners up: Becoming Callie by Lena G. Trixie by Lydia A. Seventh Grade: Winner: Happy Ending is a Place by Mandy H. Runners up: Violet Fire by Bryn B....

me·tath·e·sis (mĭ-tăth'ĭ-sĭs) Transposition within a word of letters, sounds, or syllables, as in the change from Old English brid to modern English bird or in the confusion of modren for modern. My youngest and I are reading Ivanhoe together.  This usually takes the form of two books, one blanket, and one reader - we take turns.  More recently, we've been listening to the Librivox recordings ( thanks, Rachel ) and reading along with the speaker, who, so far, has been pretty good. We stop the computer (or iPod) whenever either of us has a point to make, or a question to ask.  It's been really enjoyable for us both. Today, I wanted to know a little more about a place, Ashby de la Zouch , mentioned in Ivanhoe  (not the least of which was its pronunciation: zeush, IPA  /ˈzuːʃ/).  In addition to information about the field where the Disinherited Knight's first tournament occurred, I discovered that Sir Walter Scott was responsible for the n...

What I Want by Vabulous Me (guest blogger and daughter)  As inspired by The River, Bennecourt (by Monet) Image from the The Art Institute of Chicago Yawning, I stretched my arms and rested against the tree. There was a river before me, glittering, reflecting the big blue sky and the little cottages beyond. It was a relief to get away from the noise of the city streets that I had been next to for so long. I had managed to escape, but not before my mother shoved me into a cumbersome, itchy dress, which she said was a good outfit for outside. My anger at this subsided slightly by the soothing sound of the chirping of the birds.  I noticed there were a couple of girls across the small body of water, climbing into a boat. After the boat floated in the water for only a few yards, one of the girls toppled out with a splash. I was feeling too unenergetic to do more than widen my eyes in shock. The young lady flailed her arms wildly as her friend was bending over the edg...

VanDamme Academy , a private grammar school in California, has an excellent approach to teaching academic skills.  Recently they've added videos in which the Head of School, Lisa Van Damme, explains their writing curriculum to a group of parents.  This is my favorite from that series.  Go check out the rest of their videos on  YouTube .

For whatever reason, my daughter needed to rewrite this story for her writing class (t he link is not the actual version of the one she read, but similar).  One of her final sentences read as follows, “Rambling merrily, the farmer led the horse to his stable leaving the bemused lion by himself.” Instead of saying that perhaps “bemused” wasn’t the best description of the lion, this is what her teacher said, “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense because the lion wasn’t happy, was he?”

As part of a homeschool co-op, my eleven year-old has had the opportunity to learn some things outside of our regular academic curriculum this fall. The group has focused mostly on outdoor activities and through it she’s done a ropes course, a map and compass class, and lots of hiking. She’s really enjoyed these little adventures with her homeschool friends, and she’s learned some interesting things. For instance, before she went out the door to meet with them yesterday, she turned to me and asked, “Do you have to sign one of those things – you know – to say you won’t blame them if I die?” Yesterday’s adventure: bowling.

I meant to post on this last week, but I forgot. In fact, I forgot it so thoroughly that it wasn't until I looked at it again this morning that I realized that I used the exact same clip-art in my recent bumper sticker art that they did in their logo. Does your homeschooler like to write? The Book Arts Bash is a writing contest for homeschoolers judged by actual authors. Click the logo above to get to this year's contest website. Since they are still working on this year's details, you can find the results and information on last year's inaugural event here . Keeping checking back for updated information. One of the organizers has more on her personal blog, Homeschooled Twins .

The above bumper-sticker art was inspired by a story in this month’s VanDamme Academy Newsletter entitled, Building Good Spelling Skills (it can be found on the last page). The brief article describes how giving a child the opportunity to correct his mistakes helps him build better skills, but it also mentions the importance of not overwhelming him or distracting him from the task at hand. The first helps the student develop proper self-esteem; the second can be detrimental to it. As a home schooling mother, I am constantly searching for that critical divide. Finding it is not a skill that comes easily to me, but one at which I must become better. I am confident that it is a goal worth pursuing and a skill I have the ability to improve upon.

Sitting outside the library, The bells are clanging ten, Daughter taught by “not me”; Feeling a little Zen . “Venti Mocha Latte, please,” Deserving of whipped cream, Small price of $3.88, To live an idyllic dream. Shady coolness, the sun, warm, Still-green leaves rustle. Enjoying the eye of the storm, Tutors amidst the hustle.