Posting to this blog again!

Thought I'd start posting some of the quizzes and so forth that we're giving Double-EE for schoolwork done at home.

Note: When we post a quiz (feel free to use!), we'll show the answers in a separate posting. Helps a little! If these new postings, especially the quizzes, are helpful to you at all, please let us know.

We'll work to post to this blog at least once a week, mostly concentrating on schoolwork since our days are filled to the brim these days!

Family Fun Time Begins

Remember the problem we'd been having with Son, who didn't want to do schoolwork, and would procrastinate an unbelievable amount? Turns out Son has been having a hard time because he was lonely. He wanted to spend more time with us Parents, rather, more quality time. Even though we would hug and kiss and play, he wanted more time specifically devoted to having Family Time.

We made a deal. He agreed to do his schoolwork and chores by 3:00 p.m. each day, and if he did, we (Parents) would spend 2-3 hours that night having Family Fun Time. Board games. Karoake. Walks with the Dog. Tug-a-Rope with Dog. Puzzles. Go out and do something fun but cheap.

We counted our board games, puzzles, cards, karoke music disks, etc. We have enough to do a "new" thing each night for 2 months without repeats.

Today was our first day of this Agreement. He was finished with his schoolwork by 12:30, so we left the house by 12:45 to get some more karoke music, looked at books, etc. Came home, took a walk, ate dinner, and sang Elvis tunes with the karoke machine. Yes, we had fun.

Day 1: Successful.

Schoolwork: Trees

Trees are woody plants that have one main trunk and have many branches. They usually grow quite tall, and are part of our living world and natural environment and everyday life. There are many kinds of trees, like maple and oak. A tree's leaves are as light as feathers. If you cut down a tree, it would become a stump. Not only that, but you would also see something called tree rings. They are the layer of wood made by trees during a single year. It's their annual ring and it's also possible to figure out the age of a tree that has fallen or has been cut down by counting their rings. We need to save all trees from being cut down.

If you want more paper, try tearing up a newspaper, put it in a blender, add a little water, turn it on. When it's done, take it off, put the goop into a bowl, add two spoonfuls of glue, stir it up, then spread it on a screen and let it dry. Then peel it off.

Double-EE
11/20/08

Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's a little behind. Here were his schoolwork assignments today .. .. .. Math: Multiplication and division worksheets. LA Basics: Punctuation worksheets. Geography: States/Capitals CD. Writing: Look up the word "simile" and use it in a paragraph about trees. Did you see his example? What grade would you give this writing assignment (Please use the comment section.)

Schoolwork: Earth

Mother Earth's name comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "land". But earth isn't all land. It's also water too. Many astronomers think Earth's water came from a giant storm of icy coments that hit the Earth when it was forming. Before this, Earth was very hot, then it cooled down, forming a lot more land then what we have now. Then the storm came, and Earth melted the ice, and formed - duh - water. After that, plants grew on the super continent called Pangea. It was ready to give birth to life. We people need to take care of our mother of life forever. This is how life should be. This is how our Planet is meant to be. LIVED BY TAKING CARE OF IT.

Double-EE
11/19/2008

p.s. This was his schoolwork for Wednesday; in addition to writing a paragraph about Earth, he had to memorize and present it to us, his parents. Did excellent - messed up a couple of words and fidgeted, but still, making progress. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: Imagery

Imagery is images that are created in the mind while reading a book or looking at art. When you are reading, you can see pictures in your head that tell the story. If it's a junior novelization, you can watch the movie before or after you read it. Tip: read the book first, then see the movie (if it is one). You'll see that some things that were in the book couldn't get into the movie. Sometimes people do the opposite. It may not be smart, but it makes the imagery more correct and stronger. Now, art is different. It can tell a story, or just sway in front of you. So everyone has their own imagery. From books to art, your imagery pics can be ... anything!

"Double-EE"
11/18/2008

p.s. We're changing our 12 year old boy's name from ******* to Double-EE per his request so we're going back and changing them all. Anyway, this was his writing assignment for yesterday. A bad bout of flu prevented us from typing it in yesterday. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: Barack Obama

The 1st President of the USA was elected in 1789. Now we're in the 21st century, and we have had 43 Presidents so far, and this 2008 election of choosing the 44th President is most of war than just original.

John McCain and Barack Obama were the people who were competing against each other. No wonder there were so many commercials on TV! Jeez!

Anyway, Obama won, and I feel great. Can you believe that in January 2009, Obama is going to be into the White House? I can! And it's going to be the best. BEST DAY EVER!!!!

"Double-EE"
11/17/2008

p.s. This was his writing assignment for today. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: Intuition

Intuition is the power to know or understand something without thinking it through in a logical way. It's like predicting something. I had intuition that my dog would be nice to me and I was right! You can use your intuition too!

"Double-EE"
11/14/2008

p.s. This was his Friday writing assignment. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: Imagination

Imagination is the act or power of the mind to form a thought, picture, or image of something or someone that is not present to the senses.

I use my imagination for so many things. I control it during the day but at nighttime, I let it run wild. Take charge of your imagination and don't let it take charge of you.

"Double-EE"
11/13/08

p.s. This was today's writing assignment. The first paragraph was the definition he found in his children's dictionary. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: A Poem

"Double-EE" 's writing assignment today was:
1. Pick a color, an object, and a place
2. Describe the object using the color.
3.Write about the object with the color in your place.
4. Find rhyming words for your description.
5. Write a 4-line rhyming poem about your color, object and place.

Here's what he wrote:

Title: White Ball of Fluff

This little white ball of fluff
lives in California along with its stuff.
It's favorite, Mr. Carrot, has lots of fun
with it underneath the sun.

Ok ... who can guess what or who he wrote about?

p.s. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: Spirit the Dog

Spirit the dog is a really cute dog. She's a mix of a USA and Mexican chihuahua. She's 4 years old (28 in dog years). She chases her tail, protects us, and she's a bottomless hunger-pit girl.

Sometimes when she's in a towel, she looks like a towel with a head and tail. She's been with us for 40 days, comparedto Scooter's 1 week. Scooter was my other dog. Mom had given him 3 chances and he blew them up because he bit me 3 times! So, we took him back. It wasn't until Oct. 3 we went back to get another dog. Spirit was perfect. But they said she was Star and she was 2 years old (14 in dog years). Then they noticed their mistake and changed her name and age back to Spirit and 4 years old. Before this happened, Mom didn't want our friend, Starr, to think we named her by her name! Boy! No wonder the dog didn't come when we called her!

Double-EE, age 12

11/11/2008

p.s. This is his writing assignment for today. Copyright (c) 2008.

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

Schoolwork: What is Friendship?

Friendship is the state of being a friend. Your friend(s) can be anybody (except strangers): Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, etc. Here's a poem about fun. It's called "F.U.N.":

F is for friends who do stuff together
U is for you and me
N is anywhere and anyone you like
.... down here on Earth, you see.

I know what you're thinking: it's from "SpongeBob SquarePants". Well, it makes a good song in friendship. And besides, I changed the last part so it not only tells about friends in the sea, but on land as well.

Now that's friendship!

Double-EE
11/10/2008

p.s. This was written as part of his writing assignment. Copyright (c) 2008

He's 12 years old. Due to a few learning problems, he's just learning how to write sentences, and paragraph structure. What grade would you give this assignment? Please use the comment section.

A Growing Boy

My baby's birthday celebration is finally over. We overdid his b-day this year - not with gifts but with time. Hubby took off from work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so we spent those three days doing fun family things. Saturday and today were filled with chores and watching movies.

But my regular Sunday phone call to a family friend helped me re-realize: my baby is almost a man. His voice has stopped squeaking and is quite deep. His chest is filling out and his feet are bigger than mine. He's also nearly as tall as I am.

We had a little talk this morning. Now that he's growing older, he needs to be able to better control the little sounds he makes and his pacing. He needs to help more with chores (although he is really helpful in the house, he needs to help more with yardwork and gardening), and concentrate more on schoolwork and learning. We have a lot to accomplish this year.

I think I'll have my boy resume writing a paragraph a day about anything (for the writing portion of his schoolwork), and will post his musings here. Need to go see if I can work it into his schedule.

Happy Birthday, Baby

My baby has a birthday today.

I woke up this morning, and began to cry. Over a decade ago (has it been that long?), contractions started at one minute after midnight. It was his due-date but he was huge, and all amount of persuasion from doctors and drugs went ignored by him. The pains felt intense but I handled it as long as they were spread out. I labored in silence, alone. Feeling my baby move within me, spreading out for his journey. Kicking and punching. Hiccup. A brief rest.

My birth coach picked me up around 5 a.m., pre-arranged for another induction-attempt. By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions had closed together. But my baby suffered. The cord had wrapped around his neck.

The doctors rushed me into a C-Section. Needle in my spine. Tears on my face. Hand held tightly. Background surgery noise. Then laughter. As the medical team lifted my baby out of my belly, he had let go a stream of urine that a horse could be proud of. They "vaccuumed" me out and sewed me up.

My swaddled baby in my arms. Strawberry red tufts of hair. Dimple in the chin. Beautiful eyes.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy.

Mom