Earn free books

The Barnes and Noble summer reading program is available to school-aged children in grades 1-6. Just download and print a reading journal, read 8 books, and take the completed and signed reading journal into your local Barnes and Noble book store between May 21, 2013 and September 3, 2013 and they will let your child choose a book from the free book list. 
you might be asking what kinds of books could we get? 
Well, there's a wide variety of free books available for kids from the Barnes and Noble summer reading program, here are some- 
  

Grades 1-2:

Calendar Mysteries Series #1: January Joker by Ron Roy 

DK Readers: Lego Legends of Chima: Tribes of Chima by DK Publishing 

Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth by Jane O' Connor 

Jorge el curioso: El baile by H.A. Rey 

My Little Pony: Meet the Ponies of Ponyville by Olivia London 

National Geographic Readers Series: Dolphins by Melissa Stewart 

Pete the Cat: Play Ball by James Dean

Grades 3-4: 

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pikey

Ellray Jakes Walks the Plank by Sally Warner

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

Traitor in the Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery by Kathleen Ernst

Grades 5-6:

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Books of Beginning Series #1: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Esperanza renace by Pam Munoz Ryan

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Remarkable by Elizabeth Foley

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

Tuesdays at the Castel by Jessica Day George

Wings of Fire Book One: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

    

The Barnes and Noble summer reading program also has parent and educator activity kits. These kits include fun activities about reading that can be completed with a child.

Khan Academy for dummies: K-2nd edition

how to use khan academy for lower grades, kindergarten, first, second, :)

make a log in for each child / student: https://www.khanacademy.org/students
I like to use their name for the username and their birthday or nickname for the password.

log child in, put them to work and stay close so you can help them with any snags.

for basic addition and subtraction start here:   https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/addition-subtraction you can use the choices along the left side to move on to more challenging problems

number blocks:  https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/addition-subtraction/addition_carrying/e/representing_numbers

for telling time:  https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/telling-time/e/telling_time_0.5

place value:  https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/multiplication-division/place_value/v/place-value-1

more choices https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic

I hope these links help simplify and streamline your use of Khanacademy.org

Super Sweet Swimsuits

http://essentialswimwear.com/  is having a 8 day giveaway today is the last day :(
but I would still love to get one of there lovely suits.

they have an old fashioned and yet modern look with more coverage than most. super cute!

Faire Time 2012

Celtic Faire

Phil fighting a knight

Noah fighting a knight

rubbings

jousting

baby #6

ANNOUNCING the arrival into the outerbelly world of our newest baby boy, lovingly supported by the hands of his father, grandmother, and aunt at 3:12pm on April 2nd 2012. Our biggest weighing in at 9lb 4oz, 23in long! (our smallest was 7lb 4oz, 17in) lots of dark hair, gray wait-and-see eyes, and the longest eyelashes I have ever seen, he nurses like a pro and spends hours every day studying the world with his big round eyes... I could go on & on, he is just perfect.

1 week old

 no name yet- it never takes more than 3 months :P
I guess you'd say it was unassisted, but it didn't feel that way, my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and husband were all there.

-it was a hard labor, because of emotional issues, I just couldn't open up... got a blessing when I was pushing and was able to open, out he came absolutely perfect, with me intact... I felt like the baby and I were very connected all through labor & after he came out- we were feeling the same things, it was hard for him but he knew I was doing it with him, we weren’t alone.

... -I started to hemorrhage, had some herbs on hand for it and quickly got it under control.

-placenta didn't come, but pain did... it got worse, when it got to be too much we transferred to the hospital for some help. (about 2 hours)

-at hospital we got the help we needed but it was traumatic... the Demerol was nice and so were the 3 IV bags.

-stayed 24 hours, listened to the poor lady in the next room give birth, she screamed and screamed, she was full of fear she would yell "HELP ME" like she was being killed, when the baby came it screamed in the same way it's mom did... and they were both screaming together, and she was still yelling "HELP ME"... when I said something to my nurse she just smiled and acted like it was perfectly normal? when the Demerol wore off I was in pain again :(

-after I got home every thing "seemed" fine, but that night I was hit from left field by umm, secondary trauma induced shock? my body started shutting down and I couldn't hardly move or think, after it first happened I prayed and prayed, my mind filled with hymns trying to drown out the mental shutdown. the family rallied round and helped pull me back but recovery has been painful and long. I'm starting to feel more normal now the last few days, I've even started carrying the baby :)

I think this is as close as I can come to facing a birth story...

unSchool the begaining

beginning
ok, I'm going to do it!
...I think, if I'm brave enough ;)
I've been feeling the tug for years, but recently the whisper has turned in to a shout. So, I have prayerfully made the decision to try unschooling my children, kind of...
I have been homeschooling (to many types to count) since I was in third grade, now my oldest is starting high school... I don't want anyone doing the math but that gives me 18+ years.
The way that worked the best for me, I mean that I learned the most and retained the best, was unschooling... only they didn't call it unschooling back then, if I remember right I think they called it neglect...
My oldest is a descent student, although he refuses to spell correctly and his handwriting truly is like chicken scratch, he is bored with school. He has no desire to learn about his school subjects. I would really like to find things that spark his interest.
My 7th grader is different though, she is like me ...it drives me CRAZY... she gets distracted after just a few minutes. She needs a full post (or lots more) to describe her... at this point I need a whole new way of thinking, not just *out of the box* never been in a box is more like it. I'm going to try to get her more opportunities to unschool. I think she will be my most successful unschooler. I am going to start with a math program called Life of Fred, it is a totally different approach to math.

for sample pages:
http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/31samplepages.html

I am also planning to do this course myself, I hope to be able to go through the whole series to the college level work :)

My second grader is my humbler, my challenger,... he'll need his own set of blogs ;) in a lot of ways he is still doing kindergarten work, but I see jumps and sparks in him and have faith that he will do wonderfully.

AND this year I'll have a new school student, my fresh kindergartener, he isn't interested in school at all. I wonder if the baby will learn to read before him. I'll have to be careful not to spoil any love of learning I can eek out of him.

so it begins... I'll keep you posted on my failures (and hopefully my successes)


Changing Education Paradigms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award

I gave a talk at church

from a talk I gave in July of 2010...

We are each of great worth to our Father in heaven. In a resent article by Thomas S. Monson, which I will be quoting throughout my talk, it says "The world is filled with yellow canaries with gray on their wings. The pity is that so precious few have learned to sing. Some are young people who don't know who they are, what they can be or even want to be; all they want is to be somebody. Others are stooped with age, burdened with care, or filled with doubt—living lives far below the level of their capabilities.
To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, "How might we achieve these goals?" I answer, "By gaining a true perspective of who we really are!" We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that: created in the image of God. We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power." This past week I was talking with Rudy advising him to ask the Lord for the thing we were so in need of, Rachel wearing only her diaper was crawling back and forth between us happy as can be. I thought we are so much like her coming to the Lord with our simple understanding. the things she needs are so easy for us to give. I know her needs before she asks. I don't take away all her challenges, and I find joy in her every accomplishment. She is walking this week Oh, it's so cute the way she throws her little legs out and just go's for it. She laughs with pure joy as she makes it to my arms and throws herself into my lap. She is so wonderful, but her life depends on our care for her, all the little and big things we do. and I thought if the Lord love me, with all my simpleness when compared to him, like I love my children he will take care of me and help me. In my simpleness I have a hard time understanding his ways and his love for me. but I know that he is there with his arms outstretched to catch me if I fall as I try to walk to him and we both find joy in the little accomplishments.
Proverbs 8:29-30
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
  "Some are young people who don't know who they are, what they can be or even want to be; all they want is to be somebody." How many times as a youth I sat in the Oakland temple waiting room I can't say but my favorite move shown there was Johnny Lingo. Remember in Johnny Lingo...there was an island where men bought their wives with cows. It was something the women bragged about later, "well my husband paid three cows for me!" Four or five cows was a great honor. Well, poor Mahana...no one thought she would ever be married, they thought her so undesirable. When they found out that Johnny Lingo intended to ask for her hand, they thought he was a skin flint, just trying to get a "good deal", i.e. he could get a wife for one cow. But Johnny knew something they didn't. He could see her value. He paid ten cows for Mahana. . .a price previously unheard of in the village, and Mahana truly became a ten cow woman!
"The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7)
We are like Mahana, Satan would like us to think we are only worth one cow. But the Savior has already seen our worth, and has paid more than ten cows for us. He believes you are worth more than ten cows, worth the price he paid, the only question now is do you believe Him?
A number of months ago I had a dream, it is very precious to me. in my dream I was sitting in a meeting not paying too much attention to what was being said, I think it was going long, Rudy was sitting in the pew next to me. We were about midway back. There was a woman commenting that she would be unable to deal with the challenge given her. She was taking on enough. This challenge, a boy, would be put in another place and left there. abandoned. I felt something well up in my tummy, I touched Rudy's arm, as the feeling grew making me stand-up, as I did this something turned to words "I want him" the sound of me saying the words woke me from the dream. I knew that the dream was a gift from the Lord about my sweet Phil.

There is a song from the primary program this year that really touches me, called "I'll Walk with You"

If you don't walk as most people do,
Some people walk away from you,
But I won't! I won't!
If you don't talk as most people do,
Some people talk and laugh at you,
But I won't! I won't!
I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.
That's how I'll show my love for you.

Jesus walked away from none.
He gave his love to ev'ryone.
So I will! I will!
Jesus blessed all he could see,
Then turned and said, "Come, follow me."
And I will! I will!
I will! I will!
I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.
That's how I'll show my love for you.

As we learn to be like our father becoming extensions of his love we gain that true perspective of who we really are, We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Through this lineage our potential is truly awesome. To all faithful Saints He has promised thrones, kingdoms, principalities, glory, immortality, and eternal lives. (See Rom. 2:7; D&C 75:5; D&C 128:12, 23; D&C 132:19.)
I bear my testimony of his love for us and of the worth of each person to him, no matter what we see the Lord knows us, who we really are "We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created." as we learn this we truly will "experience(ing) a profound new sense of strength and power."