Robin Hood by Pyle Black Beauty Sewell We also really liked: Tika Liktak although it is out of print Oh, there are so many more. How many do you want?!?!?! Ruth in NZ

I see you are new. Welcome to the board. There is an extensive thread on the logic board covering this question that is well worth your time to read. It is called science...again...someone shoot me now. (I like the title!) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=263107 Ruth in NZ

Biozone has modular textbooks that cover many different biology topics including ecology, evolution, and environmental science. They keep the costs down by making thing black and white so that they can update them for little cost on a regular basis. The website has nice samples to look at and quite a few of them are available on Amazon US for $10. I have used the evolution book and was VERY impressed. http://www.biozone.co.nz/modular.php Ruth in NZ

I have not seen "the Planet Earth", but the science you describe is Ecology - how plants and animals interact with each other and the environment in which they live. Population Ecology asks what affect the size of populations - weather, competition, or factors internal to the species. Behavioral Ecology asks what affects the behavior of animals. Community ecology asks how all the different aspects of a community work together along with the environment. Environmental Science has more of a human focus than Ecology, and thus is more political. My PhD is in Ecology, so if you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them. Ruth in NZ

I am starting to get all the articles together from the internet, and more than half so far lead nowhere! (Can you tell I am frustrated?!) I have contacted CAP, but I was wondering if anyone has already put together a new list of current websites? Ruth in NZ

I am starting to get all the articles together from the internet, and more than half so far lead nowhere! (Can you tell I am frustrated?!) I have contacted CAP, but I was wondering if anyone has already put together a new list of current websites? Ruth in NZ

My dh works full time and is doing a part time PhD. So he does less than he used to (he used to do all the cooking): He earns the $$$ He makes bread 2x/week, and cooks 1 dinner/week During his lunch break, he does all the errands in the city (he can walk to all the stores) He photocopies or prints anything I need He does all the history read alouds at night for 45 minutes 5 nights/week He drives the boys to violin lessons on the weekend (2 different times) He practices violin with the younger boy 4 nights/week As for chores, he is in charge of all things financial, all computer problems, mowing the lawn, and fixing anything that breaks He also listens to me talk about homeschooling! Wow, writing it all down makes me feel very lucky! Ruth in NZ

Only 5pm here. Kids are watching in the other room. Ruth in NZ

I believe that Beth in SW WA has used both with her daughters. She posts frequently on the accelerated board. I have just started it with my 3rd grader. So far, both of my children like the games and my younger has enjoyed the reading and related activities. My 7th grader just asked today if he could play the first memory game again even though he is doing 10th grade chemistry this year. So that says a lot. The focus of the curriculum is to become incredibly familiar with all the different elements of the periodic table, so there is quite a bit of memory involved, and a lot of the games reflect this. There are cartoons, which both of my kids like, and good clear descriptions with metaphors to cooking. Just an FYI, there are not a lot of labs. I have found the curriculum to be easy to implement, but it was a pain in the neck to copy all the different game pages onto card stock. I am getting my 3rd grader to cut out all the pieces (there are a lot!). I always supplement our science reading by doing an 8-week long science fair project each year. As far as I can tell, it is secular. I do not ever work with religious science material, and am very sensitive to any perceived references. Ruth in NZ

We have also started a dystopian unit. May I suggest 2 books that we both really loved: The Crysalids and The Day of the Triffids both by John Wyndham. Ruth in NZ

In my experience, kits inevitably take up my time. Lots of it. I have had luck with electricity kits and some construction kits, but with those exceptions, kits have never been independent. I have to help set up, or clean up, or interpret instructions. Each activity is only about 30 minutes, so by the time I help with set up and clean up, my son is only working independently for about 15 minutes. Or possibly working for 30 minutes independently if it is an hour long lab (especially with a 10 year old that has some trouble reading!) I have found that larger science projects (like a month long), require more of my time for set up (like 2 hours), and more of my time for graphing or table making (2 hours), but then my son is independent for HOURS. In 5th grade, he did a microbiology project where he compared the diversity of organisms in different water sources. It took us probably 5 hours to collect the water, learn how to use the microscope, learn how to make slides, and find a website with all the organisms in it. Then, it required 20 hours of data collection, which was completely independent. This is from another post I wrote last week: "I think that biology is EASY. Just go outside, look up and look down, and ask a question. Are there more worms in the dirt under the trees or under the bushes? Do the birds only sing in the morning? How long does it take for my tomatoes to grow depending on how I care for them? Then have her come up with a WAY to test it. Then collecting the data is for her to do. This can be easy and independent. Just make it outside (no clean up) and in your yard (no travel). Keep a notebook, make a data collection sheet, graph your results, and write it up. Don't overcomplicate it. She just needs practice. And the more independent the better as far as I am concerned. Your job is to make sure that she has not missed some major factor, that she has replicated, and that she has a control. That is it. You do not even have to have her do chemistry and physics labs if you are too overwhelmed, she can get that in high school. So, IMHO you could do only biology experimentation regardless of what she is reading." Years ago I read a homeschooling book that described a 6 year old that did just this. It is not hard. It does not have to be complicated. And it is a powerful tool to get a kid doing science without constant help from a parent. You might need to help her set up the experiment, but then the data collection is independent. Don't just put it in the too hard basket. Think about it. Like teaching a child to do chores, you might have to spend the time for a month to teach her the ropes, but you have the potential payoff of years of independent experimenting! Ruth in NZ

For any toddlers, I recommend little bells sewn into elastic that they wear around their ankles. Also, long socks so that you can stuff their trousers into the socks to keep the mosquito or sand flies out. I agree that an extra adult makes a world of difference! Ruth in NZ

Where do you think her weaknesses are? Can she study? Does she understand the scientific method? Is there a topic she is weak on? Is there a topic she loves? Have you worked backwards from 12th grade and what she wants to accomplish? Often this informs 7th and 8th grade plans. Ruth in NZ

well, that should keep you going. :D As for judging and awards, we really don't. Our judge is only for kids interested in entering the regional fair. She evaluates the poster to make sure it meets the requirements and is up to standard. And she interviews the students and writes up suggestions. Students are allowed to make changes before entering their poster in the regional fair. I make sure that the parents of these students are clear on what is involved, so that our judge does not have to tell a kid that their poster is no good. We have space for 2 students from each grade level 7th through 12th to go to the regionals, so unless there are 3 students in a grade, there is no competition. The students do not know this. As for all other posters, we give each student a very nice certificate and a book that we buy with "points" earned by homeschool parents buying books from a certain educational company. If that makes sense. Our buyer gets the on going list of the age of the participants, so that she can make sure to have books of an appropriate level. HTH, Ruth in NZ

--MID MAY-- Hi again, 5 weeks to the science fair. You need to tell me if you are coming so that I can organize the supplies for the activities! You absolutely still have time to do a project, or you can just come to view the others' posters and join in the activities. We currently have 26 families coming with 29 posters! There are 18 people who have volunteered to make this event a success. But we still need a few more, so please read my previous posts asking for volunteers! The science fair will be held on Friday 15 June in the gymnasium of the xxx from 10:00 to 12:30 (9:30 start if you are bringing a poster). The cost will be about $8 per family (depending on final numbers). Take the time to do some science with your children! Ruth *Volunteers:* I LIST ALL THE VOLUNTEERS WITH THEIR JOBS HERE *Running activities during the fair* AGAIN I LIST EVERYBODY TO MAKE SURE THEY REMEMBER THEY AGREED TO DO THE WORK! *Families bringing posters* I KEEP A RUNNING LIST EACH TIME I POST SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THEY WILL KNOW SOMEONE THERE *Families just viewing* ANOTHER LIST HERE ------------------------------------ We are hoping to offer fish dissection for the 11+ crowd this year. If your students are interested, please e-mail me. I do not know the cost yet, as I have not priced the fish. If the fish are too expensive, we can have the students working in pairs. My guess is $5 to $10 per student. I may have limited space depending on if I can get another parent to help. So it will have to be first come, first served basis. Ruth ------------------------------------------------------------------- Is your student working on a Regional-Fair level project? If so, you need to tell me ASAP as I need to get the judging organized. Johanna has kindly agreed to act as judge again this year. Thanks, Ruth -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Science Fair is 3 weeks from today! The Science Fair will be held on Friday, June 15 from 10 to 12:30 (9:30 for students bringing posters) in the gymnasium of the XXX. It will cost about $8 per family ($10 if you are a non-WHEN member). It is NOT too late to decide to come, in fact it is not too late to decide to do a poster/project. Take this opportunity to do some science with your children! There are 35 families currently coming with 39 posters! *PLEASE E-MAIL ME: * 1) if you are coming (# and ages of your kids). I really need to know since we are starting to buy supplies for the shared activities 2) if your 11+ student wants to dissect a fish (extra cost of about $5-10 per student) 3) if you are available to help with an activity as we still need 2 more helpers (best for parents of kids who are independent) 4) if your 11+ student wants to make a formal 2-minute presentation to an audience of 200 with a microphone. * What you need to bring* 1) A box to put your kids' experiments in (the ones they will set up during the activities) 2) Morning tea/ early lunch for your family (we will not do a shared morning tea as in previous years) 3) Your poster(s) and someway for them to stand up on a table (nothing on the walls please) 4) NO BUGGIES! Sorry, but 200+ people in a hall with lots of tables makes for no room for buggies. 5) Entrance fee 6) a cutting board (if your student is dissecting) *Schedule* 9:30 to 10 Poster setup 10 to 10:50 View posters 10:50 to 11:10 Presentations 11:10 - 11:30 Morning tea/early lunch and activity setup and poster take down 11:30 to 12:20 Hands-on science activities 12:20 to 12:30 clean up - you really need to do a job before you leave! * Hands-on Science Activities (and people running them during the fair)* LIST HERE THEN I ADD ALL THE OTHER LISTS TO THE END OF THE EMAIL PEOPLE NEED REPETITION, SO I CONTINUE TO LIST THE ACTIVITIES, PURPOSE, SCHEDULE, ETC. PLUS SOME PEOPLE IGNORE THE EARLY E-MAILS, DELETE THEM, THEN DECIDE TO COME AND STILL NEED THE INFORMATION. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Science Fair is in less than 2 weeks! The Science Fair will be held on Friday, June 15 from 10 to 12:30 (9:30 for students bringing posters) in the gymnasium of the XXX. It will cost about $8 per family ($10 if you are a non-WHEN member). It is NOT too late to decide to come, in fact it is not too late to decide to do a poster/project. Take this opportunity to do some science with your children! There are 39 families currently coming with 39 posters! *PLEASE E-MAIL ME: * if you are coming (# and ages of your kids). I really need to know since we are starting to buy supplies for the shared activities *What you need to bring* I TACK ALL THE LISTS ON HERE. ACTIVITIES, PEOPLE COMING, VOLUNTEERS ETC.... -------------------------------------------------------------------- As in past years, we will have time for short presentations to the whole group. These presentations must be 2 minutes or less, and there will be time for 1 minute of questions if the student wants them (some don't). The students will be using a microphone and be talking in front of a group of about 200 people. These presentations must be practiced and timed at home because we don't have time for long-winded talks! If your 11+ student wants to give a formal presentation, please e-mail me ASAP as I am starting to plan the time-management of the fair and need to know how many presentations we will have. ------------------------------------------------------------------- XXX has kindly agreed to print certificates again this year. Each student involved in a poster will receive one. She needs: 1) The name of your student as you want it to appear on the certificate 2) The title of the poster 3) If you are doing a family poster, each student will receive a certificate, but you need to tell Ocean which family members should get a certificate. She needs this information by FRIDAY so she can print them over the weekend. Her e-mail address is ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone, Yes, the Science Fair is on Friday! I have just found out that the construction activity is a bit fragile, so we really need a supervisor for this activity. Chris has dipped 700 (!!) cotton buds in rubber cement to make them sticky. But she has found that if you are not careful, when you take them apart to redesign your construction, the cotton tip can pull off. I need an adult or teen to watch over this activity so that the first kids to do it don't ruin it for the later kids. Are you able to help? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --put out Wednesday, 2 days before the fair -- The Science Fair is on Friday! You NEED TO READ this e-mail. 1) If you are coming to view, please come at 9:45 or 10 at the latest --this is not one of those events where people come fashionably late. It will take 15 minutes to get 30 families the door, and the fair starts at 10am sharp. I will be running a tight schedule so that we don't have 130 children with nothing to do for even 5 minutes! (people setting up posters come at 9:30 or slightly earlier) 2) Please feed your kids something right before you come. Morning tea/early lunch will be at 11:05, which will be too late for many kids. 3) The gymnasium will be full. Please do not bring buggies, jackets,extra bags, etc. After you pay, each family will be told where to put their box and will make a sign and hang it, so your kids know where to put their stuff. Everyone must bring: 1) $8 per family (+$6 for each child dissecting, $10 for non-WHEN members). Exact change would help a lot! 2) A large morning tea/early lunch for your family (we will NOT do a shared morning tea this year) 3) A box to put your experiments in from the activities Also to bring depending on what you have signed up for 4) Dissectors: cutting boards and a sharp knife 5) Your posters - they MUST stand up on their own - nothing on the walls 6) Activities - whatever you volunteered for - check the list below!!! See you on Friday! Ruth TACK ON THE DIRECTIONS, ACTIVITIES, VOLUNTEERS, PEOPLE COMING, SCHEDULE, ETC -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Science Fair is tomorrow (Friday). You can come even if you have not told me you are coming. Just come. It is from 10 to 12:30 in the Gymnasium of the XXX. All you need to bring is $8, your morning tea, and a box to put your children's creations in. See you there! Ruth DIRECTIONS ATTACHED --------------------------------------------------------------- If you have not read the MUST READ notice that I sent out on Wednesday, please do so before you come. You can come even if you have not e-mailed me previously. We have extra supplies for the activities, so there will be plenty. Looking forward to seeing everyone. Ruth ------------------------------------------------------------------------- We had a great turnout today. More than 40 families and I don't know how many posters -- a LOT. There were so many volunteers who put in lots of time. You know who you are, and you can pat yourselves on the back! I am open to suggestions for how to improve the Science Fair for next year. Let me know what you think worked well and what you would change! See you next year! Ruth

---End of March-- The Home Educator's science fair will be held mid-June (date TBA) and the NIWA Science and Technology Regional Fair will be held from 29 August to 1 September. If your student is interested in entering the Regional Fair this year, he or she needs to start now. For details and rules see http://www.sciencefair.org.nz . Look especially at "about", "rules" and "hints" on the toolbar on the left of this page. Please let me know the name and year of your student so that I can determine how many judges I need. Thanks, Ruth ----------------------------- Beginning of April I finally have a date! The Science Fair will be held at the xxxx on Friday 15 June from 9 to 1. So start thinking over the holidays about your project, and then you will have 8 weeks to get it (them) done!!! I have already talked to so many people who have told me that they are coming, but would you please e-mail me and tell me 1) if you are coming, 2) the ages of your kids, and 3) how many projects you will be doing. Also, tell me if your 11+ student is interested in attending the regional fair. For those of you who have never been to the science fair, any student from age 5 to 18 can do a project. You can do individual projects or a family project. You can do a very simple project (celery stalk in colored water) to a very complicated project. The project is written up on a poster and displayed. It is all about learning to LOVE science (or at least like it). The first half of the fair will be for viewing projects, and the second half will be for doing hands-on science activities. Start thinking now, don't delay, Ruth ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End of April Hi again, The science fair is in 7 weeks! It will be held on Friday 15 June in the gymnasium of the xxxxx from 10:00 to 12:30 (9:30 start if you are bringing a poster). The cost will be about $8 per family (this depends on numbers). Please e-mail me if you are coming! The science fair has 2 parts. Part 1 is for viewing the posters and talking to the kids about their work, and Part 2 is for doing fun science activities, some of which you will finish at home. The activities are: setting up a mouldy bread experiment, setting up a composting experiment, planting seeds in a stocking (these first 3 projects will be brought home to watch for a month), making paper, measuring lung capacity, predicting and testing what sinks in salt water, filtering dirty water, constructing towers, and hopefully dissections for the teens. So I need you to: 1) TELL ME IF YOU ARE COMING (I need the # of posters you are bringing, and the age of ALL children coming) 2) VOLUNTEER FOR A JOB! Jobs outstanding (many can be done by teens): 1) I need 18 volunteers to run the science activities during Part 2 of the science fair (great for families with school-aged children who will not need help doing the shared activities, can also be a teen). I need 2 or more people per activity (listed above). 2) Set up tables (9:15, can be a teen) 5) Two families to help clean up after (just the last minute sweeping as everyone will be cleaning up, from 12:30-1pm. ) 6) Someone to organize poster set up. Standing at the door, directing people where to go and put their things (be there at 9:20). 7) Two families to bring playdough and cutters for the little kids. 8) Someone to bring preschool toys and books. Ok, that is it! If you have any questions, please contact me at .... And please forward all my e-mails to any homeschoolers who don't receive the Yahoo notices. Kapiti and Wairarapa families are invited, so let your friends know!! Good luck with your projects, Ruth ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - beginning of May-- Hi Everybody, The science fair is in 6 weeks. It will be held on Friday 15 June in the gymnasium of xxx from 10:00 to 12:30 (9:30 start if you are bringing a poster). The cost will be about $8 per family. We currently have 20 families coming with 24 posters! It is absolutely not too late to start a project and bring a poster. Take this opportunity to do some science with your children! *Please tell me if you are coming: *I need the number of posters you are bringing and the ages of ALL kids coming. *Please volunteer! *I need parents or teens to run the activities for the kids attending the fair. All supplies will be given to you on the day. 1) Make paper with the kids 2) Dissect fish with the teens 3) Set up composting experiment: bury items like apples and plastic in dirt for kids to bring home 4) Set up mouldy bread experiment: put different kinds of bread in plastic bags. Have kids write down a hypothesis 5) Plant seeds in a stocking: these make the cute heads with growing "hair" 6) Measure kids' lung capacity: have kid blow into a straw and "bubble"out the water from a 2L bottle. 7) Filter dirty water: put dirty water through rocks, sand, and then coffee filters 8) Help kids decide if items will sink or float in salt water Volunteers: HERE I LIST ALL THE VOLUNTEERS SO FAR TO SHAME EVERYONE ELSE INTO DOING SOMETHING :001_smile: *Families bringing posters HERE I LIST ALL THE FAMILIES, BECAUSE IT ATTRACTS MORE FAMILIES *Families just viewing ANOTHER LIST HERE

--Mid March-- As in previous years, the science fair will be held mid-June. I am still trying to confirm the date and location. If your student is interested in entering the Regional Fair this year, he or she needs to start now. For details see http://www.sciencefair.org.nz . Look especially at "about", "rules" and "hints" on the toolbar on the left of this page. If your student is interested in plants, you also need to begin soon, so your plants have time to grow! More soon.... ---------------------------------------------------------- Hi again. Below I have listed who can do a project, what kind of project a student can do, and a list of previous projects (just to get you thinking). You have three months to think about what to study and then do a science project. If you are planning on growing anything, you will need to start soon. The Science Fair is for children/teens presenting science projects and for families wanting to look at science projects. In past years, the science fair projects ranged from celery stalks turning red to electricity catching steel wool on fire, and everything in between. Students from age of 4 to 17 have presented their work. *The Project* Start early! Things always take longer than you think, and if your child is going to physically write up their project (rather than narrate it to you), the write-up can take some time. How long your project will take depends, but typically it takes about as long to write up as it takes to do the study/experiment. The range is from a 1 hour experiment and a 1 page write up to a 1 month study and 1 month to write it up. If you want to have the child do the writing, make charts, draw graphs, take photos, print them, glue everything to a poster, and practice presenting their work, this will take a number of weeks (at least in my house), especially if you child is young and you don't want to rush, or if you are doing a project for the NIWA Regional Fair. *Types of Projects* There are many different types of projects that you can do. There are 5 topical areas (see the list of past projects below): Biology Earth and Space Science Chemistry Physics Technology And there are 4 styles: 1 Observational - a display about a science project 2. Guided Experimental - an experiment where you followed instructions from a book 3. Novel Experimental - an experiment that you have designed yourself 4. Technology - an innovative piece of technology that you have designed yourself. *11+ Students* Students (years 7 to 13) are eligible to enter the NIWA Regional Science and Technology Fair, and have two options for the home educator's science fair: 1) They can present their work at the home educator's science fair only. If they chose this option, there are NO restrictions on what they study or how they present it. They do not need to be judged (but can ask to be, if they just want to practice). Simply, we would love to see what kind of science they find interesting, and what they have learned. 2) They can choose the path toward the NIWA Regional Science and Technology Fair. They can request to be judged (by myself and another parent), and if they are found to be competent concerning their project and the project is found to be of high quality, they may enter the Regional Fair along with the school children from the region. If they chose this option, they MUST follow the guidelines and restrictions of the Regional Fair found at http://www.sciencefair.org.nz/ , and must do either a novel experiment or innovative piece of technology. We have an agreement that home-educated children may enter, and we can send 2 students at each school year level. *Young Children* The projects can be basic! It is all about getting kids excited about science. My son presented a project at age 4. He just drew the weather for 2 weeks (rain, sun, rainbow, clouds etc) and then dictated to me what he wanted to say in his report (1 paragraph). I taught him to measure the wind speed (Beaufort scale 0 to 8) based on if the leaves were moving, or the trees swaying etc. He loved it. There was a 5 year old who just went into the garden and found all the bugs she could find and then had her dad help her look them up in a book to see what they were. They took photos and mounted them on a poster. You are also more than welcome to just have a family project, rather than individual projects for each child. If you have any questions or are unsure where to start, please e-mail me Start early! Start now! and below is a list of previous projects to get you thinking! ruth * Past projects* Here are a list of previous projects to get you thinking. I have noted projects that were done by very young children or 11+ students. There is huge variety here, from simple to complex, and experimental to descriptive. *Biology* The effect of water on a walking stick's breathing holes. What is the most common mushroom in Mt Vic? How does colored water get pulled into a flower? (very simple: flower in red water for a day) Bugs in my backyard. (5yo who photographed bugs she saw) How do different drinks affect your blood-sugar level? (11+ project) Studying colour vision with benham disks. How successful are spider webs? Where do plants grow best? Studying a sheep jaw bone. (5 year old who found a bone and wrote a paragagraph) How does gastric reflux work? How does colour affect taste? (11+ project) Making an earthworm garden. Why do we feel hot or cold? Studying rain forests. How does osmosis work? What ferns grow in my forest? (5 year old who took photos and Identified ferns) *Earth Science* Scale model of the earth to the moon. How much salt can you get out of salt water? and how is salt used in preserving? Measuring earthquakes. Predicting rain using cloud formations. Observing weather (4 year old who checked a rain gage, and drew clouds and rain each day) How volcanoes work? And baking soda and vinegar reactions. *Chemistry* Which color candle burns the most quickly? Making slime with corn flour. How dilute is vinegar? How does salt and acid affect rusting? (11+project) Does water have a surface? What combination of chemicals makes the best silly putty? Is it an acid or not? Using yeast to inflate balloons. *Physics* What kind of battery is needed to set different grades of steel wool on fire? (11+ project) What appliances use to most electricity (both when on and when switched off)? How do magnets work? How do different shaped instruments create different sound? Do sound vibrations travel? Making batteries with vinegar. What materials block the magnetic pull? How do bike gears work? Do 10 speed bikes actually have 10 speeds? How does weight and size affect buoyancy? *Applied Science* Which cooking spray is the most effective? (11+ project) What is the best temperature to hard boil an egg? Which insulation mater is the most effective? Dying cloth using purple cabbage skins.

I think you might have not read the ABRSM website correctly. The music theory workbooks start at the VERY beginning with Grade 1, appropriate for a complete and total beginner in music theory. They build step by step up the AP level (the grade 8 book). The workbooks are excellent and self explanatory. Ruth in NZ

I am just starting 7th grade with my ds, so I am no expert and I have no set plan yet, but I thought this x-post might be helpful to you. LoriD has some great posts and resources on that thread also: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=274229 Ruth in NZ X-post In 6th grade, we go for an hour walk (without the younger) with the purpose of figuring out a book. We work our way through the different methods of from Deconstructing Penguins looking for the underlining themes. I do NOT read any lit guides before this discussion, to make sure that we have a real discussion, not a guided discussion. I want to model the thought process that I go through to figure out a book. If I know "the answer" then I really can't find the thought process that I would have gone through, so I can't teach him how to think analytically, independently. Then, when we come home, we look up the book on the internet and read someone else's analysis. Sometimes we are spot on (The Time Machine), sometimes we miss a major theme (Frankenstein). Then, we discuss what clues we missed, and how we can make sure to find them in the future. This approach has been excellent. Now, in 7th grade, after we do the full discussion, we hunt for a small thesis that we could prove. We are orally composing a literary analysis paper of about 1 page. Short and sweet with 3 clear points with support. We will be using distopian literature because it is really easy to discuss and relate to the historical events of the time. Soon, it will be time to write them down.

Good for you for doing this! I don't have any resources, but it really is pretty easy. I use our homeschool e-mail list to organize volunteers. Here is the last e-mail I sent out before the fair that gives you the overview of our science fair. We have 2 parts, one for posters and one for hands on activities. You do not have to have any activities if you don't want to. If you want to see more of my e-mails I can post them. (I have obviously removed all the names of people helping, but they were listed right after the different jobs). HTH, Ruth in NZ The Science Fair is on Friday! You NEED TO READ this e-mail. 1) If you are coming to view, please come at 9:45 or 10 at the latest --this is not one of those events where people come fashionably late. It will take 15 minutes to get 30 families the door, and the fair starts at 10am sharp. I will be running a tight schedule so that we don't have 130 children with nothing to do for even 5 minutes! (people setting up posters come at 9:30 or slightly earlier) 2) Please feed your kids something right before you come. Morning tea/early lunch will be at 11:05, which will be too late for many kids. 3) The gymnasium will be full. Please do not bring buggies, jackets,extra bags, etc. After you pay, each family will be told where to put their box and will make a sign and hang it, so your kids know where to put their stuff. Everyone must bring: 1) $8 per family (+$6 for each child dissecting, $10 for non-WHEN members). Exact change would help a lot! 2) A large morning tea/early lunch for your family (we will NOT do a shared morning tea this year) 3) A box to put your experiments in from the activities Also to bring depending on what you have signed up for 4) Dissectors: cutting boards and a sharp knife 5) Your posters - they MUST stand up on their own - nothing on the walls 6) Activities - whatever you volunteered for - check the list below!!! See you on Friday! Ruth Schedule 9:30 to 10 Poster setup 10 to 10:50 view posters 10:50 to 11:05 presentations 11:05 to 11:20 morning tea/early lunch and activity setup and poster take down 11:20 to 12:20 activities 12:20 to 12:30 clean up - You really need to do a job before you leave! Thank you to people that have already volunteered: *Volunteers* Judge for Regional Science Fair Collecting $ Buying books for participants Regional Fair Liaison Paper plates, tea, coffee etc. Certificates Organising activities Picking up tables Playdough and cutters Preschool toys and books Fish for dissection Clean up 12:30-1:00 Table Setup Organising poster setup Microphone * Running activities during the fair* Dissections Dry Ice Making paper Compost experiment Mouldy bread experiment Plant seeds in a stocking lung capacity Filter dirty water Construction with cotton buds Directions:

We spent 6 weeks making and remaking silly putty, trying to discover a recipe that would make the most pliable and the highest bouncing putty. There is a basic recipe on the internet, and then you just alter the ingredients - different kinds of glue, different quantities of Borax. My kid loved comparing the stretch with a big ruler, adding a bit more of this or a bit more of that for the next batch. The bouncing tests were also great fun. Some changes he made caused the putty to shatter. All this information he organized in a notebook. And at the end of the project, I helped him make a bunch of graphs. For example, as you increase the borax, how does it affect the pliability? It was a great chemistry project! Ruth in NZ

I have definitely used DP. In 5th grade, we used 4 of the suggestions from DP and I imitated the discussion from the book. In 6th grade, we go for an hour walk (without the younger) with the purpose of figuring out a book. We work our way through the different methods of DP looking for the underlining themes. I do NOT read any lit guides before this discussion, to make sure that we have a real discussion, not a guided discussion. I want to model the thought process that I go through to figure out a book. If I know "the answer" then I really can't find the thought process that I would have gone through, so I can't teach him how to think analytically independently. Then, when we come home, we look up the book on the internet and read someone else's analysis. Sometimes we are spot on (The Time Machine), sometimes we miss a major theme (Frankenstein). Then, we discuss what clues we missed, and how we can make sure to find them in the future. This approach has been excellent. Now, in 7th grade, after we do the full discussion, we hunt for a small thesis that we could prove. We are orally composing a literary analysis paper of about 1 page. Short and sweet with 3 clear points with support. We will be using distopian literature because it is really easy to discuss and relate to the historical events of the time. Soon, it will be time to write them down. HTH, Ruth in NZ

Years ago the city lined the streets in our neighborhood with olive trees. Every year my kids join others in harvesting the olives and canning them. We also have fig trees, lemon trees, and avacado trees on public property within 2 blocks. Ruth in NZ

DH and I came to NZ on a work visa (with Ernst and Young) and a visitor's visa (me). He requested an overseas transfer with E&Y and we agree to go anywhere that became available. NZ came up first and we moved here and never left (15 years). Right after moving here we began the process of obtaining permanent residency so that we would not be forced to leave the country if something happened to his job. While waiting, I got a work permit in "postgraduate studies" to work at Statistics NZ because I have a PhD. Once we got permanent residency, we began the process for citizenship, and became citizens 2 years later. The rules are stricter now, but still doable if you are 1) young, 2) well educated, 3) have a job offer in NZ, 4) are healthy, 5) speak English, and 6) are rich. If you score high in the other categories, you can drop one. HTH, Ruth in NZ

Thanks for this. Ruth