Writing For Real ~ T #4~ page 110

When the earthquake hit Chile, I followed the story. I watched news stories on the Internet about how bad damages were and when tsunamis were expected to hit other places in the world because of the earthquake. As more information became available, it became evident that the predictions about the tsunamis were not correct. They were not traveling as quickly as predicted and therefore hit places later than anticipated and lost some of their force along the way. The secondary impact of the earthquake in Chile was not as bad as expected. I think that having unfolding news stories as it was happening helped because it brought more awareness and there were more people prepared for the possible tsunamis and therefore less loss of life. Also, I believe because of the news reports, more people prayed and God answered our prayers.

Do You Get The Message ~ SB1 ~ page 90

In co-op we are doing a sign language class. I have learned several phrases including: I love you, my name is, my phone number is, my favorite color is, and how to call a dog. I am also learning to sign Love in Any Language by Sandy Patti.

Do You Get The Message ~ SB1 ~ page 90

Right now in co-op we are learning sign language. I know several phrases including: I love you, my name is, my phone number is, my favorite color is, and how to call a dog. I am enjoying learning sign language and I hope to learn more.

Reading ~ CE #3 ~ page 106

While we were in GA, I watched the movie How to Eat Fried Worms. The other day, I read the book.

Writing both the book and the screenplay might be easier because the author already knows the story. Then again, the movie might need to be different from the book, so it would be harder to write it differently from what had already been written because the author knows what it going to happen in the story and wants to still make it interesting, but he might have established ideas about how the characters and the setting should look and it might not be possible to do those things on screen.

I would rather write a book because then I am not responsible for deciding how each scene should look, but I am able to still put a picture into the readers' mind about what things look like.

Reading ~ SP #7 ~ page 106

I swap books with the girls in my homeschool co-op regularly. Beginning last September, we each decided to bring books that we have that the others might want to read and trade.

Reading ~ SB #5 ~ page 106

In homeschool co-op, we have formed a book club. We are reading Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield. Every Friday, our group meets to talk about it from 1:30-2:30.

Reading ~ SB #2 ~ page 106

I learned the meaning of many literary terms at the beginning of this school year. Some of them and examples of their use in things I have read are listed here.

Climax (the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action): In Lord Brocktree when he and the wildcat, the enemy in the story, were going out to fight and Lord Brocktree was almost killed because the wildcat had cheated.

Conflict (the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction): In Pig Scrolls, Thanatos and Cosmos planned to destroy the world like it had never existed.

Comic Relief (a relief from the emotional tension especially of a drama that is provided by the interposition of a comic episode or element): In The Reptile Room, that would be when the narrator of the story repeated the word ever for several pages.

Haiku (an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively): In The Austere Academy, Isadora recites a poem that she had written in the form of haiku.

Irony (the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning): In The Reptile Room, Uncle Monty says that if you are careful and follow his instructions, no harm will come to you in this room and then in the end, Uncle Monty is killed in the reptile room.

Family Living ~ T5 ~ page 26

We invited four girls for a spend the night. While we were preparing for it, we designed and printed the invitation cards. We picked the design off the Internet and chose whether it would be printed in b/w or color as well as what color paper it would be printed on.

Visual Arts ~ SB #5 ~ page 144

While we were in GA, we walked around Athens to find the Bulldawg statues. The Bulldawgs are sculptures made by different artists and they portray different aspects of life in Athens. Thy are decorated using various mediums including paint and mosaic tiles.

From Shore To Sea ~ CE #5 ~ page 62

I drew a picture of a fish that we saw at the aquarium.

From Shore To Sea ~ CE #5 ~ page 62

Our family went to the zoo and I drew a picture of a Garibaldi fish.

On the Playing Field ~ SB6 ~ page 164

When I went skating with my friend, I taught her how to do a dip. I also taught her some other basic skills.

Reading ~ T #3 ~ page 106

Frindle
By: Andrew Clements

Frindle is about a 5th grade boy named Nick who comes up with a new word. In the beginning, his teacher is totally against it and tries to stop the whole process, even keeping kids after school as punishment if they use frindle in her presence! In the end, frindle becomes a word, and the uproar that Nick's word caused dies down. This is a really good book, especially for young readers.

Have you read it? If so, leave a comment to let me know what you think about it.

Museum Discovery ~ SB1 ~ page 130

We stopped at the Visitors Center in Athens, GA. It is at the Athens Historical Museum. It had previously served as the governors mansion in the early 1900's. It is in the process of being restored. Right now admission is free with a suggested donation. The proceeds from the sales at the visitor center also go towards refurbishing the mansion. The person working at the museum that day told us all about what was there and their efforts to refurbish it. We saw several other people stop and purchase things at the visitor center while we were there. My favorite part of the museum was the governor's office. It was small and simply decorated. It was lighted by only a candle and there was no heat in the room. It only held a desk and a chair, but had a great view from the window. At this point, the museum is completely inaccessible to those who need extra space to maneuver or cannot climb stairs. I would add some way for people who cannot walk or need assistance walking to get upstairs.

Fashion Design ~ SB #2 ~ Pg120

With the help of Mrs. Stephanie, I learned to knit a scarf using a knit around. I also used instructions to help me. When I finished my scarf, Mrs. Stephanie helped me to tie it off. The idea of a knit around, is for there to be a middle in whatever you are making. In my case, a knit around made a magic scarf. The yarn I chose was a cream color that matched my coat. I had to use two strands of yarn to make it thick enough.

Pets ~ SB3 ~ page 70

I trained Tank to sit, stay, and lay down. When we got there, Tank often would jump onto people and would ignore commands he was given. A dog could be expected to follow commands and listen. Forms of discipline might be, crating the dog, telling him NO, and with holding treats. Exercises might include taking the dog for a walk, or letting him run in the yard.

Travel ~ T #4 ~ page 40

I learned to read a street map and a road map on our trip. For our trip, I was sometimes the navigator. I would look at the road map and tell mom where to go. Usually I only did this if she was fairly sure of where she was going because I wasn't very proficient at it at first.

While we were in Athens, GA, we tried to find all of the Bulldawg Statues that they have on display. While we were looking for them, I was partly responsible for finding them on the street map.

Travel ~ SB #4 ~ page 40

Prior to going on vacation, I made a list of all the things I needed to take.

• clothes
• lotion
• specials
• play-doh
• rubber bands
• tooth brush
• face wash
• tooth paste
• deodorant
• moisturizer
• mom's b-day present
• brush
• comb
• pony tail holders
• head band
• flat iron
• hair spray
• hair clips
• shoes
• music for FA
• money
• swim suit
• floss threaders
• wax
• mouthwash
• contacts and cleaner
• heat mask
• pillow
• drawing pad
• pencils
• blokus
• notebook
• music

Before leaving home, I had to clean off my desk and organize my closet.

From Fitness To Fashion ~ SB3 ~ page 28

Right before we left on vacation, I got my hair cut. I chose to have side bangs with hair cut to frame my face. My mom wanted me to choose a haircut that I would fix my hair every day and not wear it in a pony tail all the time. Mostly, I fix my hair now and even when I don't, it looks better just because of the bangs. While we were on vacation, I chose to color part of my hair bright red. It looked really good. Maybe I will do purple next...

Family Living ~ SP5 ~ page 26

Once a week, each member of our family chooses a meal to cook. Each person is responsible for cooking their meal. They are also required to make a list of ingredients needed to be purchased at the store. This week, I chose BLAT's (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich). We don't have BLAT's normally, so it is a treat. Our family also likes to eat the bacon as soon as it comes out of the pan and is cool enough to eat. This was the first time I cooked bacon alone. After dinner, my sister and I clean up.