http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:12:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Sept. 1 We played Pig again. In turn, each player is handed four dice. He can choose to roll 1, 2, 3 or all 4 dice. He can roll as many times as he likes. Each time he rolls, he computes the sum of all the dice he rolled. That is his score. If ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/09/05/more-probability/ What a great program! Today was Sarah's first day of lessons. She chose the horse she will ride. They are teaching her to groom and care for "her" horse, Tiny, as well as to ride. I thought she might be anxious at first, since it's her first time on a horse ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/09/05/horseback-riding/ Discussion: We reviewed the six kingdoms of life and made a new chart -- kind of a "mind map" -- which the kids decorated with magazine clippings. We talked a lot -- again -- about how the animal kingdom is divided into phyla. We talked about how scientists divide animals into kingdoms (by ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/30/biology-week-2-6-kingdomsthe-diversity-of-the-animal-kingdom/ This is from this post -- We played "Pig," a simple probability game that has become a regular for us. This game provides practice with addition up to sums of 24 along with intuitive experience with probability. (math: computation & probability) In turn, each player is handed four dice. He can choose ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/27/a-little-more-probability/ Best laid plans of mice and men ... It seems the more I plan and the more money I spend on a unit or project, the worse I flub it up. :-) Our Biology unit is unfolding kind of like a big meal, with pots and pans on all the burners, ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/23/biology-getting-our-feet-wet/ After releasing our painted lady butterflies, we decided to put in a small butterfly garden. I bought several types of perennial flowers that appeal to butterflies -- bees balm, phlox, and yarrow. After an unsuccessful effort to get the older kids motivated to help, I settled into working on the gardens ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/17/post-from-81108-preschool-biology/ We continued our probability and statistics gig Tuesday by playing some simple games. In each case, the kids were asked, is this game fair? What do you predict will happen? (very easy) Flip a coin. If it lands on heads I get a point; if it lands on tails, you get ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/17/post-from-8808-fair-games/ We bought six painted lady caterpillars. Two are still in cocoons. Three have become butterflies, and have been released. Before we set them free, Sarah helped me research what kind of plants we needed to create an appropriate habitat for them, and we are starting a butterfly garden. Trishy particularly enjoyed ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/17/post-from-8808-butterflies-bunnies/ I can proudly say that I am not one of those home schooling moms who'll make you feel intimidated and overwhelmed. :-D My kids aren't making their way through all the great classics, translating Latin, or winning geography bees. But they are -- in most respects -- right where I ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/17/posts-from-8408-81208-jamess-writing-development/ I am one of the majority of people in the U.S. who doesn't "get" math. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I did learn some math in school, but it was all poorly understood rote procedures. I certainly never understood what was interesting about this subject. I eventually got ... http://tribeofautodidacts.homeschooljournal.net/2008/08/17/post-from-8408-31-flavors/