Reading For Charity and Fun

I hate reading, but I did find a great way to make reading a good thing. http://www.wegivebooks.org 

Since I have to read to mom every day anyway, this a great reason to do it. For every book I read online at this site, they give a book to kids who don't have them. I feel bad for kids who can't learn to read. It is a very important. I don't like to read because it is hard. Some kids can't read because they just don't have books. I have always had books. Books can help you learn facts. They can also help your imagination take you to far away or magical places. I don't really think they take you to places but I love a good story.

The books on We Give Books are for babies to fifth graders and they are fun books to read. There are fun stories and educational books. I have three different books on volcanoes in my library. Plus, we can pick who we want our books to go to by choosing different campaigns. I have already been a part of two campaigns.

There have been over a million books read and donated. I am really proud to be a part of that. I am starting my summer reading list early this year.

You can find out more about We Give Books by going to these places

http://www.wegivebooks.org
http://www.facebook.com/WeGiveBooks/info
https://twitter.com/#!/WeGiveBooks
http://www.youtube.com/user/wegivebooks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wegivebooks

Making School Fun: Sign My Yearbook

I finally got my yearbook page up. It has been open since before April but our camera is broken so it was hard to get a good portrait picture. Our neighbor was nice enough to take some for us but I think Mom took this one.

I think it turned out really great. There was a competition to for students to design the cover and the person who won did a really great job. Next year I want to win. On my page, there is a place to show off my family and another to talk about what activities I like to do. I told all about this blog. There is another whole page for my interests and a place for my friends to write. I had a lot of friends write in my book last year.

 I am glad that we got it done. The first year I was here we missed the deadline and I didn't have a picture. I still liked signing everyone's books but I really like having my picture in the yearbook.

 Here is mine! You can sign it here if you want to.

Making School Fun: Little Victories (guest post)

Guest post by Shelle Perry (Lian's Mom)

 

I was really surprised to see a big deal being made by Connections Academy over Learning Coaches this week.  April 30 - May 4 is LC Appreciation Week and May 3 is LC appreciation Day. Way to go CA!

For those who don't know what a learning coach is, it is what it sounds like. The person who is responsible for seeing that the student does his lessons. In early grades it is a bit more time consuming and involved with daily lessons and with independent learners and higher grades it is more about just making sure everything is turned in. With Lian it is very hands on with every lesson.

When we realized that a traditional school was not a good fit for our son we felt trapped because while we believed that home school was a viable option, neither my husband nor I felt we were qualified to find, put together or teach a curriculum that would meet his particular needs and still teach him everything he would need to know to be successful in higher education and beyond. We were excited to find virtual school options. After exhaustive research we chose to go with Connections Academy. It provided all the hands on benefits of a home school environment and the support of a state approved curriculum, and (we would soon find out) an incredible team of teachers who were really willing to work with Lian and all his learning issues.

I will be the first to admit that it isn't at all easy. Despite what he writes here in his blog, school is never truly fun for Lian and it is rarely easy. Basic reading and writing are obstacles that at times seem insurmountable. It is a constant struggle to accomplish even the simplest goals on some days. I have thought about giving up on more than one occasion.

Then there are the days of small victories. Like when he reminds me that despite his frustrations with reading the material, his need to know everything he can possibly learn hasn't diminished in the slightest. Then there was the day that he tried to look up every word in his vocab book in the dictionary just because it was fun and the day he finally passed a grade level reading test with very few mistakes and the days I catch him actually writing little stories. I have learned to appreciate that small things aren't really all that small.  Last week his school asked him to give a reason why he appreciates his learning coach. I was blown away by his answer. 

"I appreciate my Learning Coach because I get to spend time with my mom." 

 Which small victory should I celebrate here? The use of a complete sentence? All the words spelled correctly? That he likes spending time with Mom even when that time is often spent in battle? Or, how about that his school gave me a chance to see that our daily journeys are really worth the time and effort spent?

I expect school will never be as fun and easy for Lian as it was for me but at least I know we have made the right choices for him and he is beginning to see that he can succeed. I know he doesn't hate me for making him read just one more page or write one more sentence.  That is victory enough for today.

Making School Fun: Virtual Field Trips

We had two really neat events at my school this week. On Monday we got to talk to NASA engineer Mark Branch. He works at Goddard Space Flight Center, in Maryland. He even answered a couple of my questions. He was really nice and I like that he always wanted to be an engineer, just like me. It was so great to have him answer our questions and I can't wait until they do it again.

Today we got to visit an egg farm in Arizona. It was really amazing. We learned that their chickens lay 3,000,000 eggs a day. Really! Dad thought they meant a year but it was every day! We got to see their packing plant and see how they feed the chickens six times a day. We also learned that when hard boiled eggs are hard to peel it is because they are really fresh. They can be sold in stores only a couple of days after they are laid. There were lots of fun things to do on the website afterwards too. http://educationstation.discoveryeducation.com/

Real field trips are lots of fun, my favorites were visiting the La Brea Tar Pits and the class picnics, but these were great because I got to see and talk to people who were in other parts of the country. It was fun learning new things. It has been a good week!

Trying to move tar at the Page Museum

Me and my teacher

W/ my Dad

A Mid Year Picnic

Year End Picnic

W/ my teacher at a Mid Year Picnic

(oh yeah! I got  90% on my year end reading test! 90% I usually score really low, but this year I am kicking it!)

Making School Fun: Book It

I really hate to read. It is hard. The only thing worse is writing. The letters don't always stay in the same order and some words no matter how hard I try, I always get wrong. I love a good story. My friends at school are always talking about books they have read. I want to read them too. Last summer mom read my reading list to me while I tried to read one book. This summer I want to read all my own books about everything.

I have had to do a lot of extra tutoring to work on my reading. Mom and me work on extra reading almost every day. My school participates in the Book It program. If you read so many minutes every month you can get a free pizza. I would do anything for pizza. 

I was reading on their Facebook page about how it started and I think it is cool. My dad would think like that.

The BOOK IT! program was created by a former Pizza Hut president who was searching for a way to motivate his child to read. Each time the son met a reading goal, he received a trip to Pizza Hut with his father. The motivation worked and the son began reading more and spent quality time with his father.

In 1985, Pizza Hut officially adopted literacy as its corporate cause and established the BOO K IT! National Reading Incentive Program under the guidance of an advisory council that included the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of School Boards of Education and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 1989, Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress created National Young Readers Day to highlight the importance of reading.

I haven't always made my goals. Some months it's just hard enough to get school done. I try really hard. My teacher makes a big deal about it too. Not just pizza. Sometimes she gives stickers or a bookmark for making goal.  Next year I am going to be super good at reading. 

There are lots of ways to get information on the Book It program.

http://www.bookitprogram.com/

http://www.facebook.com/BOOKIT1985

https://twitter.com/#!/bookitprogram 

Water Bottle Sub

According to National Whatever Day, April 11 is National Submarine Day. Some sites say it is actually supposed to be March 17th and others say it is April 17th. No matter what day it is, submarines are so amazing.

 A submarine works because it has ballast tanks. To sink it fills the tanks with water and to surface it fills the tanks with air. Last summer I made a submarine out of a water bottle. It was a great time.

 It took us a couple of days to make it work but it was really neat. All the kids liked to take turns pumping air to make it rise. 

(In the video I said the rock is ballast but really the water is ballast.)

We got the idea from education.com
http://www.education.com/activity/article/make_sub_in_your_tub_third/

Adventures in Geography: Ireland

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_ei.html

Today is Saint Patrick's Day.  That is a good time to learn about Ireland. People in Ireland have read my Bubble Painting! and Education.com Challenge posts and My Favorite Things About School: First In Math post, a lot. Did you know that my ancestors were Irish and that I love Irish dancing. I want to learn to dance like that. My great great grandmother once kissed the Blarney Stone in Blarney Castle.

First, Saint Patrick's Day. Here at my house, we wear green and we wear silly hats every year.

Me in Kindergarten

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated on the 17th of March. It is about Saint Patrick, an catholic saint who is known for bringing Christianity to Ireland.  Green wasn't always the color for Saint Patrick's Day. It used to be blue. Shamrocks are used because he used them to talk about the trinity. Ireland is one of a few places in the world that makes St. Patrick's Day an official holiday. It is celebrated by lots of parades, festivals and feasts. 

Ireland, or Eire, is a really interesting place. It is the twentieth largest island on earth, a little bit bigger than West Virginia. It is divided into The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is Part of The United Kingdom. It is across the Irish Sea from Great Britain and Scotland. It is part of Europe.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/maps/maptemplate_ei.html

There 4.5 million people in The Republic of Ireland and 1.8 million people in Northern Ireland. It's nickname is The Emerald Isle because it is so green.  It has four provinces and not very many cities. To become a city, the government has to make a charter, it isn't based on population like it is here in the US.

http://www.buyimage.co.uk/ireland/index.html

Here is a picture I made of my favorite pictures that I found while looking for Ireland stuff.

Thanks for looking at my blog. I hope no one pinches you today.

Super Science!

Yesterday, I went to an online science class, Supercharged Science. It was about light waves and so much fun. I learned how to make a microscope out of two magnifying glasses. Did you know that there is an owl on a dollar bill? I found one with my microscope.

 The teacher told us why a pencil looks broken in a glass of water. It is because light waves change speed when it goes from air to water. It looks different with different liquids because the light goes at different speeds in different liquids. I used water and dish soap for my experiment.

She also showed us how to see radio waves using a tv remote and a digital camera. It doesn't cost much but we can't afford to pay for the course every month. I wish I could though, there are so many neat experiments to do.

I can read!

I took a reading test today.

At the beginning of the school year I read at kindergarten or first grade level. I have worked hard all year. I do Headsprout reading and I read to mom, we have over 40 books downloaded on the computer. My teacher gave me special classes every week to help me read and spell better. She is always so nice.

I passed my test!

I can read at my grade level!!

 I love my school!
 I love my mom!

It is still hard and the letters get mixed up, but I am trying. I want to read all my own books this summer.

Happy Valentine's Day

XOXOXOXO For reading my blog!

My school, Connections Academy, tweeted a link for origami hearts this week and we tried it. It was easy and loads of fun to make.

Connections Academy @Connections4U

Need ideas for #Valentine's Day crafts? Get the little ones kids involved with this simple #DIY project. bit.ly/zDYjP0

Here is how ours came out. We used two sheets of colored paper since we don't have origami paper.

Adventures in Geography: Qatar

Qatar is new on my page views list today. I wanted to learn about it because it has a pretty name and it is so small it doesn't show up on my map. It is a small country bordered by Saudi Arabia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar#Geography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar#Geography

Qatar is considered the richest country in the world. It has a lot of oil and natural gas reserves It has a population of around 1.7 million people. The capital city of Doha is where most people in the country live. The mix of Arabic and modern buildings in this city is an amazing style that wows me.

http://www.shafallahforum.org/gallery/doha-qatar-images/

http://www.hauteliving.com/2011/09/a-look-at-qatar-%E2%80%93-the-world%E2%80%99s-richest-country/

http://www.hauteliving.com/2011/09/a-look-at-qatar-%E2%80%93-the-world%E2%80%99s-richest-country/

It has a really interesting history. It has been governed by the Ottoman's and Great Britain and been part of The UAE. Since 1971 it has been it's own country and the same family have been rulers of it since the 1860's.

This was a really great country to learn about. I am glad someone there read my blog today.

Making School Fun: France

This week we studied countries that colonized the New World. One of our exercises was to make a poster about one of these countries: Spain, Portugal, England, France.  I chose France because it's on my blog page views list and I don't know much about it.

Here is France's Flag

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France

It is across the English Channel from The United Kingdom and is bordered by Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. There are a lot of countries close together in Europe!

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/fr.htm

The population of France is around 66,000,000 people.

The one thing I do know about France is the Eiffel Tower. It is over 1000 feet tall and was finished being built in 1889. It is really cool engineering.

Here is a great link for information on it. http://bestplacesforholiday.com/buildings/eiffel-tower-the-most-romantic-place-in-frace.html

France is famous for painting, wine and cooking. In Transformers 2, Sam's mom goes all the way to France just to eat snails! She thought they were gross. France is famous for mimes too. I really like mimes. I want to be one. I practice all the time.

France sent explorers to North America and made settlements in Canada. Some parts of Canada still speak only French. I would really love to visit there.

My great great great great great Grandfather Dameron came from France to live in Virginia. His two sons fought on each side of the Civil War.

New Art

I have added some new pieces to My Art Gallery. Stop in and check them out.

Falling

Today is Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

When I was really little mom got me the Baby Einstein DVDs. I saw my first favorite art. It inspires my heart. It makes me want to make something so beautiful for everyone to see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

I have wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. Whatever else I want to be when I grow up I want to be an artist too. I remember always having crayons or pencils and paper to draw with. My granny always has a notepad at her house for me to draw on when I visit. I know she is a really great artist too, but I don't have any of her artwork to share.

I really love to just draw whatever I want, but mom says if I am going to be great I have to take lessons and learn to do it right. I got a Udraw for my Wii and I am taking the art lessons on it. There is also a really fun art class and art clubs at my school. I am really learning a lot. It is hard to draw something on purpose though. I know that I will just get better if I keep on trying. Here are most recent tries.

Sailing

Tomato

Fruit in a bowl

Apples

Here is more information on today's holiday http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/January/heartartday.htm

My favorite Things About School: Clubs

I have as many clubs as classes at my school. They are all loads of fun. Mom made me wait two years before I could join Robotics Club, so I could get used to my classes before adding something so involved. It is so popular it has to meet three times a week so everyone can join in. I had to give up Chess Club this year for it, because Robotics is a busy club. I was in Chess club for two years before that though. It was so great. We got to learn all this neat stuff about chess and we could play games each week and there is a huge tournament every year and the winner gets to play a real chess master.

I already posted about First in Math. I am also in Science in the Kitchen where we do fun experiments each week. I love my Arts and Crafts club, especially since I can't take art this year. Pen Pals Club is fun. I have a great pen pal and we can do fun stuff at the meetings, like this month we are doing power points on our favorite foods.

Pens and Lenses is a fun club. It is the school magazine and we get to submit stories we write and photos we take. Last year my pictures from the La Brea Tar Pits were included in one issue. I am also doing Quiz Bowl again this year. I love it because I have to look up all these great facts and I learn lots of awesome things.  There are a lot of other fun clubs I can join when I get into older grades, like the School Newspaper, Digital Story Telling, Environmental Club and Art Club.


I have to give up a few of my clubs next semester though so I can start taking Chinese. My mom and my teacher think it would be too much for me to do all my clubs and take a foreign language. I really want to take Chinese so I will miss the clubs, but I am glad my teacher is looking out for me.











 Here is the link to Connections Academy's You Tube Channel. There are all kinds of great videos about their clubs

http://www.youtube.com/user/ConnectionsAcademy1

Making School Fun: Making A Cave

Today I made a cave. I love caves they have so many great shapes and colors. This project was for my January science portfolio. Every month I send in assignments from every subject to prove that I did the work and I am learning. My teacher grades those assignments and tells me and mom what I need to work on. 

For this assignment we studied limestone and cave formations. The patterns that water makes as it carves out the cave and deposits minerals is super neat.  My favorite formation is a pool spar. It looks like a gem flower. Here is my cave

A- Stalactites
B- Stalagmites
C- Column
D- Pool Spar
E- underground pool
F- Cave Bacon (very cool)

Here is a link to learn more about cave formations http://www.caverntours.com/KIDSPAGE_Formations.html