Friday, October 29, 2010

Nouveau Professeur de Francais




Nous avons un nouvel enseignant français (notre autre a eu un bébé si nous n'obtenons pas de la voir autant). Son nom est Chantal et elle avait l'habitude de vivre à Paris. Elle nous a appris beaucoup de choses en un court laps de temps (nous avons seulement l'ont eue pour un couple de mois). Si vous êtes à la recherche d'un bon instructeur français consultez son site web.

Translation:
We have a new french teacher (our other one had a baby so we don't get to see her as much). Her name is Chantal and she used to live in Paris. She has taught us a lot in a short amount of time (we've only had her for a couple of months). If you are looking for a great french instructor check out her website.

Some of our favorite french sites and You-Tubes:
French in Action - free 1/2 hour video instruction on-line
Avez-Vous Deja Vu - funny You-Tube videos
T'choupi et Doudou - short french cartoons for kids
Mango Languages - computer language programs (free through some library systems)
Rosetta Stone - computer french language program

*Note - First French Tutoring (Chantal) is a vendor for Sky Mountian Charter School

Friday, October 22, 2010

Space Center





(as dictated by Nate)

We went to the Columbia Space Center in Downey. It was awesome! You got to fill up a bottle with air pressure and then press the other button to launch the rocket. It went so high up I thought it would land straight onto my head!

We programed a robot. Then we tried to make them pick up the magnets. It worked and it was awesome!

The space suit smelled really really bad but it was fun to climb up into it.

I got to land a space shuttle. It was fun.


Thursday, October 21, 2010

Math in Nature



This is a great video that Aunt Jamie shared with us. It reminded us to look for Fibonacci numbers in nature!

Here are some of our favorite math resources:
G is for Google - A Math Alphabet Book by David M. Schwartz (F is for Fibonacci and N is for Nature)
Khan Academy - math videos
Agnesi to Zeno - Over 100 Vignettes from the History of Math by Sanderson Smith
All the Math You'll Ever Need by Steve Slavin
Family Math books by Stenmark, Thompson, and Cossey
Games for Math by Peggy Kaye
The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Math by Tori Large
Math for Smarty Pants by Marilyn Burns
The I Hate Mathematics Book by Marilyn Burns
Read Any Good Math Lately? by David J. Whitin and Sandra Wilde
Math for Every Kid by Janice VanCleave
Mathematicians are People, Too by Reimer
A Waldorf Approach to Mathematics for Homeschoolers by Barbara Dewey
Living Math - website
Cash Flow For Kids - board game
Dr. Mike's Math Games for Kids - website

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Thunder & Lightning

~Written by Allie

It is raining so hard and there is thunder and lightning. I am a bit scared. I am hugging Gracie. We made a poem Nate, Carly, my mom, and me, here it goes...

Boom crackle boom
the rain is coming down down down
Buckets full
lightning splits the sky
boom boom chaka lacka boom boom
thunder rumbles
I'm so scared I'm hugging Gracie
I am Imagining that .....
lightning splits the house and pulls you up in the
sky you fall onto a puff of clouds and quick as a wink
the thunder rolls you back on the
wind landing you right back
where you were before
Boom Boom.
The End


Friday, October 15, 2010

Spatulatta Remote Reporter Halloween Edition!

Here is our special exclusive Spatulatta cooking show video, for Halloween. It's full of surprises! Enjoy! :)


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Poetry Tea Time




(by Micayla)
We had our first Poetry Tea Time! This one was for Fall, the next one that we do will be for Winter. We had little tea sandwiches, a salad, some yummy fruit and peach cream tea (from The Vintage Tea Leaf - our favorite tea house). We all picked our favorite poems and shared them. Then we all read Halloween poems together. Nate and Allie even dressed up for the occasion!

This is one of our favorite poems that we shared - It is the one that kept Nelson Mandela alive while he was in prison for 27 years :

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

(We got the idea for Tuesday Teatimes from the Brave Writer blog)