Homeschooler Savvy

It's Greek to Me!

Not long ago, Aussie Kim called me and whispered those three magical words that every homeschooling mother longs to hear, "FREE GREEK LESSONS!" No kidding. After pausing for an intense period of drooling, I happy danced around the living room. Free Greek lessons. Sigh.

Butterfly, my cheerful eternal optimist (not), asked WHY she needed to learn Greek. "Aside from the whole expanding your mind thing, as well as the whole your-Mama-said-so thing, think of how it will help your S.A.T. scores!" The eleven-year-old remained unmoved. One day she'll thank me.

Last night we attended our first lesson. It was fun. We start off learning the alphabet. Alpha, Beta, Gamma... The Greek characters were a bit intimidating at first, however the combination of auditory and visual input helped greatly.

The program we are using is Koine For Beginners (Year One).

You can buy the complete set directly from Open Texture or extra textbooks through Amazon (to help us fund this website!).  Make sure you also have a look at the Speaking Shakespear series on the Open Texture website - a must for anyone studying the Classics.

The package includes a textbook, a workbook, an audio companion CD and flashcards. It looks fairly straight forward. One of the things I like the most about it is that, while it is good to have someone knowledgable to turn to if questions arise, in theory the course is self-directed. That may come in handy if gas prices keep going up. That twenty-five minute drive once a week could get expensive!

So, I'm off to study my Greek! Either Kim or I will keep you posted as to how it's going.

Adio,

Sue

(Koine Greek is "Common" Greek as was spoken and written around the time of Jesus.  The New Testament was written in Koine Greek.  You can read the original version of the New Testament yourself if you can read Koine Greek.  Other Classics also written in Koine Greek include: Homer, Aesop, Aristotle, Plato, Plutarch, Euclid, Epictetus...............)

Pause for a Peaceful Sunset

Interesting cloud formation and sunset combo!

Sausage clouds formed due to the winds.

Clouds formed frm burning wheat stubble in Mississippi, Summer 2008.

A combination of regular clouds, wheat stubble burning clouds and one of those beautiful sunbeam type sunsets.

Ever wondered HOW a scout is trained to Be Prepared?

The scouts who recently lived through the tornado were praised for their for their preparedness.  For those of you not in scouts I thought it might be enlightening to see exactly what 9 and 10 year old boys are taught in the Webelos Scout Program.  These boys are still cub scouts, around the end of Grade 5 they can transition into the boy scout program.  Emergency and First Aid training are taught to all ages of scouts.  Below is the program for the Webelos Readyman badge (courtesy of the USScouts.org site).  For those of you not enrolled in scouting - these make excellent homeschooling tools.

               Readyman

Webelos Activity Workbook

Scout’s Name: ________________________   Pack: ________   Activity Badge Counselor: ___________________________

Do all of these:

1.___ With your parent, guardian, or Webelos den leader, complete the Courage Character Connection.

a. Know: Define the importance of each courage step:

Be strong; _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Be calm; _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Be clear; _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Be careful. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Explain how memorizing the courage steps helps you to be ready. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Commit: Explain why it is hard to follow the courage steps in an emergency. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Tell when you can use the courage steps in other situations (such as standing up to a bully, avoiding fights, being fair, not stealing or cheating when tempted, etc.) ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Practice: Act out one of the requirements using these courage steps: Be strong; Be calm; Be clear; Be careful. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2.___ Explain what first aid is. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

           Tell what you should do after an accident. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.___ Explain how you can get help quickly if there is an emergency in your home. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

            Make a "help list" of people or agencies that can help you if you need it.

            Post it near a phone or another place with easy access. __________________________________________________

4.___ Demonstrate the Heimlich maneuver and tell when it is used. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.___ Show what to do for these "hurry cases":

● Serious bleeding _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Stopped breathing _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Internal poisoning  _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Heart attack  _______________________________________________________________________________________________

6.___ Show how to treat shock. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

7.___ Show first aid for the following:

● Cuts and scratches _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Burns and scalds _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Choking _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Blisters on the hand and foot _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Tick bites _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Bites and stings of insects other than ticks _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Poisonous snakebite _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Nosebleed _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Frostbite _______________________________________________________________________________________________

● Sunburn _______________________________________________________________________________________________

8.___ Tell what steps must be taken for a safe swim with your Webelos den, pack, family, or other group.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

            Explain the reasons for the buddy system. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

And do two of these:

c 9._ Explain six safety rules you should follow when "driving" a bicycle.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

c10.Explain the importance of wearing safety equipment when participating in sports activities (skating, skateboarding, etc.)__________________________________________________________________________________________________

c11. Make a home fire escape plan for your family. _______________________________________________________________

c12. Explain how to use each item in a first aid kit. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

c13.Tell where accidents are most likely to happen inside and around your home.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

c14.Explain six safety rules you should remember when riding in a car.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

c15.Attend a first aid demonstration at a Boy Scout troop meeting, a Red Cross center, or other community event or place.

                               

Do your kids know this stuff?  Boy Scouts and Girl Scout learn this.

Just remember, it might be you they have to help!!!  Be selfish and teach them all about it!

Here's another option to help you be prepared!  I live with mine on my hip during tornado season.  They stay off until a warning is issued for your area and then they beep loud enough to wake you up, and issue the weather warning statement for your specific area. 

Aussie Kim

Ag Kim Kam - Agricultural scenes from the Mississippi Delta

What's the action down on the farm now?  It's all go, go, go at the moment, until the rain inturrupts that is.  The last of the soybeans are being planted.  Baby cotton is emerging.  The first of the baby corn cobs can be found, and the wheat is ready for harvest.  Rain is good or bad depending on if you have already harvested your wheat or not.  Enjoy the Kim Kam photos.

A beautiful wheat crop in the Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

Wheat being harvested Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

 

Baby cotton, Mississippi Delta, June 2008

Slightly bigger baby cotton, Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

 

Corn, verandah view, Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

Baby Mockingbird pretenting to be made of stone

I walked all the way around this little fellow, and he remained motionless.  Quite amazing.

There is a game called Predator - Prey you can play with kids.  One child is the predator, and the rest are the prey.  The predator goes out of the room while the kids hide (in full sight) by assuming frozen positions.  The predator walks around and sees if he can spot any movement.  Whenever he does, that person is caught, eaten and then becomes the predator.  This goes on until there is no more prey left. 

 To add some interest - let the kids act as specific animals.  You can also explain to them that this is the best defense if they ever happen to be in the woods and meet a bear......

Photo from the front

Photo from the side

Photo from behind

Back round to the front again - he still hasn't moved!

I wonder how close we can get............

Closer?

Closer?

OK, I zoomed in, but at this point Melvin the Mockingbird decided to run...the camouflage works just as well as his freeze position!

Where? Right there...........

I outlined him so you could see better..................

Happy birdwatching!

Aussie Kim

Camp Theme: Knights of the Round Table

To get us in the Camp Spirit...........We're Knights of the Round Table..............

Yes, I know it's a commercial, but still, it's very cute and it mentions ticks and mosquitos.......

Aussie Kim

Poison Ivy Identification (or, We're off to Summer Camp)

Poison Ivy is endemic in the Mississippi Delta.  It's just here and in your face (or on your legs, hands....), most of the year.  As a community service, here are some photos from the many poison ivy plants emerging or leafing back out within a 2 minute walk of our house. 

Here is THE rule:  Leaves of 3 let it be, Leaves of 5 let it thrive

Here are some other rules: 

Leaves of 3 let it be, leaves of 4, give me more

Leaves of 3 let it be, leaves of 5, you can jive

OR, more to the point :  Leaves of 3, You'd better flee!!!!

Not everyone is allergic to poison ivy, some people have not been exposed to it, and others just never developed allergies to it.  I never really knew what poison ivy was (growing up in Australia where it does not exist), except for THE famous camp song by Spike Jones (Hello Mother, Hello Father) .....

Hello Mother, Hello Father lyrics

Spike Jones

Hello muddah, hello faddah, Here I am at Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining, And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining!   I went hiking with Joe Spivey, He developed poison ivy. You remember Lennard Skinard, He got tomain poisoning last night after dinner!       All the counselors hate the waiters, And the lake has alligators! And the head coach wants no sissies, So he reads to us from something called 'Ulysses'.   No, I don't want this should scare ya, But my bunkmate has malaria! You remember Jeffrey Hardy, They're about to organize a searching party! Take me home, oh muddah, faddah. Take me home, I hate Granada. Don't leave me out in the forest, Where I might get eaten by a bear!     Take me home, I promise I will not make noise, Or mess the house with other boys, Oh please don't make me stay; I've been here one whole day!     Dearest faddah, darling muddah, How's my precious little bruddah? Let me come home if you miss me; I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me!     Wait a minute; it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, guys are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's bettah. Muddah, faddah, kindly disregard this letter! When we get into poison ivy by accident, suspect we may have been near poison ivy, or breakout in a rash, we take a shower with Tecnu Skin Cleanser 32 Ounce. This adheres to the poison when you lather it on your skin and poison and all goes down the drain with it when you wash it off.  It's also not a bad idea to squirt some in the washing machine with your contaminated clothing.  You can get it in small quantities from some of the drug stores, or walmart, but for some reason the bottles seem really small.  Way too small for Mississippi anyhow - I get the bulk size online. Often, poison ivy is transfered all over your body by scratching the first spot where you got some, getting the poison on your fingers and then scratching somewhere else.  Another way to get poison ivy is from patting your pets after they have been rolling in the stuff (usually doesn't affect them!).  Happy Camping! Aussie Kim

Educational Anarchist

I believe in Anarchy - Educational Anarchy that is!  Go checkout the chat on all this at life on the planet; principled discover and CoD

Pause for a Peaceful Sunset

Here's a lovely sunset over the wheat crop which is almost ready for harvest in most of the North Mississippi Delta.  This was taken before the rain we got this afternoon (good for baby cotton, beans and corn but not good for the drying wheat!)

Here's a close up of the wheat...

Aussie Kim