Do You Get the Message? ~ page 90 ~ T#1

I made a display of Barbies dressed in outfits conveying these messages. The first Barbie is "I want to be noticed".  The second Barbie is "I want to relax".  The third Barbie is "I want to impress someone".  The fourth Barbie is "I want to blend into the crowd.  

Car Sense ~ SB4 ~ pg 16

I requested a driver's manual from the local DMV when we went to get Mom's tags renewed.  In the manual is a copy of a form to use when applying for or renewing a permit or license.  Forms for other things, like registering a vehicle, are available on the website.  To register or renew a vehicle's registrations, someone must present proof of financial responsibility such as insurance. The documents must be original, no photocopies will be accepted.  Also required are proof of sales tax and; if the car is leased, a copy of the lease.  A person must have a driver's license if they are registering a vehicle. 

To apply for a Learner's Permit, a person must be at least 15 years old.  They must take a written test reviewing information found in the manual, and they have to take a vision test.  Practice tests preparing for the written test are available on the DMV's website.  A learner's permit allows the holder to operate a car only when a licensed driver over 21 years old is sitting in the front passenger seat.  It also allows them to practice for a Provisional Operator's Permit (POP), a Motorcycle Permit (class M) or an Operators License (class O).  Driver's Ed courses can be taken at any public school administration building.

To apply for a POP, a person must be at least 16 years old.  They must have held a Learner's Permit for at least 6 months.  They must either complete a Driver's Ed course or a 50 hour certification form before applying.  Tests required are as follows: vision test if taking a Driver's Ed course, vision and drive test if presenting a 50 hour certification form.  1/5 of those hours must be between sunset and sunrise. 

To apply for a license, the individual must be at lest 17.  They must have held a POP for at least a year if they are under 18.  If they have held a POP and they are 17-21, they have to take a vision test.  If they don't have a POP and are local residents over the age of 18, the applicant must take the vision, written, and drive tests.  Out-of-state residents only have to take the vision test. 

Car Sense ~ SP4 ~ pg 16

On Saturday, we helped at Christ Community Church's car care clinic.  We checked fluids on several cars.  There was a Honda, a VW, a Chevy, and a Ford.  They are all different. 

Family Living ~ SB2 ~ page 26

Our family worked together to create a family budget.  We used the concepts suggested by Crown Financial Minisries.  Our family's expenses equals our family's income.  A budget helps you to avoid overspending.  Sometimes, when a family doesn't make enough money, money must be tranferred from a non-neccesary portion of the budget such as Entertainment to cover nescarry expenses. 

Math, Maps, amd More ~ SB #1 ~ page 64

I want to own an I-pod touch. To do this, I will have to save up my money. Right now, I have been saving my money for a year and a half. I spend $5 to $15 dollars total on gifts or other things. I need less than $100 to get the newest version. At this rate, I think I will have an I-pod before next Christmas, possibly in the next 6 months. The newest version costs anywhere from $215 to $240 excluding tax. The cheapest place to get it is amazon.com they sell them for $215 with free shipping. Other costs might include a cover, this would be to help keep your I-pod safe from dents or nicks and keep it newer, longer. The cost for an I-pod cover, would run from $.01 to $20. You could also get apps. These are for things to do with your I-pod. Games, music, weather, or Skype to name a few. Apps run from free to about $5, depending on what you get. There are no monthly costs, this would only apply if you had an I-phone. To find out all of this information, I enlisted the help of Mr.D. I also searched online and went to several different stores. Amazon is the best place to get the things that I have listed.

Paper Works ~ SB3 ~ page 134

Today I made two paper cut outs.  We have a kit that tells how to make things and provides a pattern.  Tools can be as simplistic as scissors and paper or you could  use a special knife.  Paper cutting is one of the oldest art forms. 

Creative Cooking ~CE4 ~ Pg54

Today we job shadowed a self-employed cake maker and decorator. To do this job, you need to be able to hold yourself accountable. You should be able to budget your time. A cake might have layers or it might be a sheet cake. It might be frosted or it might have fondant over the top. Fondant is type of icing used to make the cake look smooth. You have to be good at decorating; but you also need to know when to stop decorating. Sometimes, you have to be willing to start over when you make a mistake, or you need to try new things or different cakes.

Some pros to being a cake decorator are that it is flexible. You can do it over a period of three days, or you can do it all in one day so long as you have it done before the deadline. Another pro is that you can mostly do it in your style. The customer may tell you some basic ideas, but you can be creative.

Some cons are that it takes up a lot of time. One little cake took 4 hours plus baking and clean up time. It could take longer if you made your own fondant or icing.

Cakes are needed most on the weekends. This is both a pro and con. It is good if you want a weekend job for any reason, but bad because your weekends are always filled with work. As a cake decorator you can choose to be self employed or you can work for somebody else. All of that said, I would choose to be a cake maker, but my sister, FigNewTon would not.

Travel ~ T5 ~ page 40

At the airport, there are metal detectors that everyone has to walk through. If the machine beeps, you are asked to remove anything that might be a problem and walk through it again. If it beeps a second time, you are asked to go to another spot where you are given a pat down to feel if you have any knives or guns. Also in place, you set your bags and shoes in buckets to go through a different machine. If there is an excessive amount of metal or anything concerning, they may open your bags and search them. Another thing is that only the people who are boarding a plane can go past the gate except for special circumstances. Only a certain amount of liquids are allowed on board the plane. The limit is 3 oz per bottle or container and all liquids must fit into a quart size bag. The newest technology in airports is a full body x-ray. The people for this are selected at random.

Travel ~ CE4 ~ page 40

I wrote an article that I submitted to Family Fun's monthly feature Let's Go.  Every month, they feature an article about a destination in the US.  My article highlights places I visited and some I wish I had been able to visit.  The article and accompanying pictures I submitted are below. 

If you're making a list of places to visit, Detroit, MI should be one of them. This fantastic city has many things to do. An easy way to get around downtown Detroit is riding the People Mover. At just 25 cents a ride, you can see almost all of the Downtown area. It is a great form of transportation, especially if you've already parked your car for the day. It is also fun just to ride.

It's no wonder Detroit's nickname is "The Motor City". Home to such attractions as The Chrysler Museum and the Henry Ford Museum, there are tons of things to do in and around this city. The Henry Ford Museum houses exhibits like the JFK limo, the Rosa Parks bus, and Thomas Edison's Library, as well as many others. The Chrysler Museum is a bit of a drive and highlights the history of Chrysler.

My favorite of all the places we visited was the Detroit Zoo. The zoo is small enough to get through in a day, but exciting enough that I wanted to go again. One of the things that I liked about the zoo is that the exhibits are really good quality, allowing the animals to live in an almost natural habitat. My favorite part was that there were tons of hands-on exhibits. They also have a really neat polar bear exhibit where you can walk under the water that the polar bears swim in!

One thing that is a must do in my book is crossing the border into Canada, but to do this you MUST have a passport. Once you cross the border, you can spend a day looking around Windsor. There are two ways to travel between Canada and the US in Detroit. Make sure when you go, you cross the bridge going one way and use the tunnel going the other. Both are an experience in and of themselves. John Freeman Walls Historic Site & Museum this museum tells the story of a slave who traveled along the Underground Railroad. It is also a memorial to all of the slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad. The museum is located in Windsor, Canada. To visit, you must make an appointment.

If all you have is one afternoon to spend in Detroit, be sure to visit the Riverwalk and the GM Renaissance Center. Along the Riverwalk, there is always something going on. There are also signs that educate and inform about the history of the Underground Railroad. The Renaissance center is a nice way to finish off the day, strolling inside looking through the shops. After walking around the Renaissance center, we rode the elevator up 72 floors to the top and visited the Coach Insignia restaurant. The view was wonderful. Definitely worth the trip!

The Detroit Science Center is the largest science center in Michigan, and it has programs for both scouts and homeschoolers. the Science Center has various hands-on exhibits covering many subjects. Among them are exhibits about health and outer space. It also has several theaters for live performances and demonstrations.

Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is home to more than 250 hands-on exhibits. Housing many different activities, the museum has lots of things for kids of all ages. some of them are an exhibit on how solar panels work to collect and store energy and an exhibit showing how trash in landfills can be transformed into energy, reducing our dependence on other forms of fuel.

No trip to Michigan would be complete without a visit to one of the great lakes that Michigan is home to. Whether you plan to spend a day, a weekend, or just a few hours, this is a wonderful thing to do any time of day or year. Dossin Great Lakes Museum teaches people about the history surrounding the Great Lakes. Located on Belle Isle Park, this museum was once housed on a commercial boat. When the boat became too run-down they moved it to Belle Isle Park. The exhibits include a hydroplane racing boat, the anchor of the SS Edmund Fitzergald, and one of the largest collections of scale model ships in the world.

Pets ~ SP* ~ page 70

My sister heard that our local Humane Society uses shredded paper as bedding for the animals. She told Mom about it and now instead of throwing it away, we're saving our shredded paper to give to them. I told the kids at co-op that the Humane Society takes shredded paper donations and told them if they bring it to co-op, we will take it there. Donating shredded paper to the Humane Society helps them and the environment. It saves the Humane Society money and cuts down on waste in landfills.

Travel ~ T5 ~ page 40

When my sister and I flew to Ohio, part of the security screening was a full body scan. The scan is a new thing, in the past airports have just used a metal detector. Some other things they do to promote safety are :

1. X-Rays for bags and other items like shoes.
2. Metal detectors.
3. A rule that all liquids must be no more than three ounces each.
4. People must have a ticket or a gate pass to get past the security checkpoint.

Creative Cooking ~T2 ~ Pg54

Thickeners include flour, cornstarch, and potatoes. Leaveners include baking powder, baking soda, yeast, and whipped egg whites. When baking a cake, the outcome would vary depending on which ingredient we changed or left out. For instance, if we left out baking soda, the cake would be flat. If we substituted applesauce for oil, there would be no ill effect. On Thanksgiving, we used turkey drippings instead of water when making dressing to make it more flavorful. We also substituted applesauce for butter in our sweet potato casserole. It remained moist and had a cinnamon flavor. It was also healthier because it had less fat. We also tried a different cherry pie recipe. The one we used called for corn starch as a thickener. It was thicker than the pie we typically make with flour, but we did not like the flavor or texture.

Creative Cooking ~SP6 ~ Pg54

My sister and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner this year. Mom was unable to cook because she's recently had surgery. When it was done, we set the table with our best dishes and enjoyed the meal with our family.

Fashion Design ~ SB3 ~ page 120

While in Ohio, I asked Nano how to adapt a unitard to fit me. She helped me lengthen the pattern. I also used two different pattern views for my unitard, and she taught me how to cut it out.

Paper Works ~ T3 ~ page 134

Using Power Point, my sister and I made two flyers for babysitting. After we designed them, we sent them to Mom so she could print them. There are times when black & white is better than color, but for this project we decided to use color.

Paper Works ~ SP3 ~ page 134

When we went to the papermaking class, we helped the Brownies and Juniors in Mrs. Autumn's group with their paper. We helped by giving ideas and gathering materials. We also helped some of the girls press more water out of the paper to assist with drying.

Paper Works ~ SB1 ~ page 134

We made homemade paper at a class with Mrs. Autumn's Girl Scout group. We used one business size envelope and part of a napkin and various other things. We put it in a blender and then we poured two cups of water over the mixture and blended it. After we pressed the water out of the paper, most of the girls pressed other things like flowers or beans into their paper. Mrs. Autumn worked on drying the paper with an iron. One of the things we learned is that anything we can tear, we can use to make paper. There was some trial and error with a few of the ingredients, but everything turned out pretty well. Everyone got to make one sheet of paper, and then the teacher showed us how to use a paper mold. I want to get an old blender and the stuff to make paper. I had a lot of fun.

Graphic Communications ~ SP1 ~ page 96

My sister and I volunteered to work on the school yearbook.

Digging Through the Past ~ CE2 ~ page 56

In science today, I learned about a guy named Eratosthenes. He figured out the size of the earth by measuring the angle of the sun at 12:00 in two different places on the same day. This proved that the earth was round. About the same time, Eratosthenes figured out how to use latitude and longitude to mark an exact place on a map. This helped sailors avoid obstacles when they were plotting their course. Latitude and longitude are measured in degrees, getting wider the closer to the equator they are and narrowing at the poles.

Backpacking ~ SP2 ~ Pg 150

With our homeschool co-op, we helped to clean up a camp near our city. While we were there, we did things like cleaning up the paint ball area, weeding, and cleaning windows. I had lots of fun.