A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

My Son’s Favourite STEM Crates

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My son and I have been doing KiwiCrates for a while now, and last year finally upgraded to doing the TinkerCrates. Tinker Crates are for kids 9-16.  They are a bit more involved and have a fair number of projects available to them in the TinkerZine

I thought today I would talk with you about some of my lad’s favourite crates that have come to us via kiwi/tinker crates.  He’s done a lot of crates so it’s a tiny bit hard to choose. 🙂  Suffice it to say, he’s had lots of opportunity to do STEM projects.

Tinker crates are so much fun. Here are my son's favourites

First up: DaVinci’s Clock.  You know a good crate when it’s still being used long after it was made. 

 

There’s the planetarium, which he uses to light starts up on his ceiling at night.   I still remember his joy when he got it all put together. 

I haven’t written about this one yet, but the lad still plays games with the Tinker Crate Arcade game.  And some how unbelievably I can’t find a good picture of it to share with you!  GAH!!!   Sometimes.. oh sometimes I just want a different camera.  🙂   But hey… trust me.. he plays with it.  It’s like the toss the ball to get it into a hole…. except he’s made all kinds of interesting rules to go along with it.  🙂

What else does he still do stuff with?

There’s the claw and the fuzzy minions.  🙂  (at least that’s what I call them).  This made up a carnival type game where you have a claw and try to grab a stuffie.  These fuzzy minions have been a lot of fun in our household. 

The Fibre-optic Constellation he was quite pleased to have managed to figure out. It was quite complicated to build.   Took him much longer than most build.  You probably can’t see how the stars light up, but it looks very neat in a dark room. It’s another light he puts on while reading before bed. 

Ah before I forget, I must not neglect to mention the Spy Case.  This provided a lot of fun for the lad, sneaking around corners and peering into things.  🙂   And how doesn’t like writing in invisible ink?   

Anyways, Tinker Crates have been a boon to our household, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this peak into some of the favourites of my lad.   

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Review: Seized by the Sun

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This is the second book I have read from the Women in Action series.  I have to admit, if they are all of this caliber, I want to read all of them!   Seized by the Sun is the story of Gertrude Tompkins, a female pilot from World War II. 

This biography is well-written telling us about Gertrude and her life as a young child until the moment of her disappearance.   It was never discovered as to what happened to her ergo the title of the book “Seized by the Sun”. 

The author, James W. Ure, does an excellent job of showing the struggles that Gertrude had over her life.   I read parts of this book to my lad while waiting to see the doctor.   The ladies sitting across from us were astounded by the thoughts people used to have about stuttering.  I know the remedies suggested surprised me.  Makes me feel so sorry for the children who stuttered back in the day.

The love of flying seized ahold of Gertrude and many other young women of the day.  We learn about the injustices they faced as a civilian part of the army.  Not fully recognized for the sacrifices they made, it was an uphill battle for them, but as women in action, they paved the way for women in the air force today. 

This was an inspiring read, and closes out with the family still wondering whatever happened to Gertrude. The use of photos from the day that were inserted, just brought to life the struggles these ladies had as they learned to be the best pilots they could.  Following military standards so closely some thought they were part of the military.

The determination these young ladies showed, to serve their country, to work against the odds, and to hold their heads up high despite the opposition they faced.  Humour amidst the hurt. It was an excellent addition to the series.

It would be a great book to give to any young lady with dreams bigger than her reality, give her that same determination to win through.  Would be a lovely thing indeed you know?

Seized by the Sun
     The life and disappearance of World War II pilot 
        Gertrude Tompkins
James W. Ure
Chicago Review Press
Hardcover, 195 pages
Series: Women Of Action
Biography, women, pilot, world war 2

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press.

Where to find?   Amazon Link.

Other books on the wars that I’ve reviewed?

We will not be silent.  Prisoner of Dieppe.   Once was a time.  Torpedoed.

The Fun Parts of Homeschooling

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Welcome to, what I think, is the last week of the Virtual Homeschool Fair hosted by Susan. Last week I spelled out the curriculum that we use.   You may remember week one of Homeschool Reason: Bullies and More, and Week Two of Give Us... As I’ve finished this series I realize that I have forgotten two important parts of our schooling: Do it Differently Fridays, Cultural Events, Field Trips and the few odds and ends that pop up. 

The Fun of Homeschooling with the Virtual Homeschool Fair. Field trips, coop, sports and more.

Do it Differently Fridays:

Fridays we drop everything we’ve been doing and do things differently.  No Friday is ever the same.   Sometimes the lad uses the day to get caught up if it’s a been a crazy week, but most of the time he works on a research project (for example Caribou, CN Tower) or a Tinker Crate (for example 3d Viewer, DaVinci’s Clock).  Sometimes we’ll read tons of books as everyone needs a book reading day, or other times we’ll play around with our lego (Lego Pulleys and Castles).   The point is to learn and think differently. 

 

 

C0-op:

Coincidentally, Co-op Days always falls on Fridays.  So six weeks every spring and fall co-op days happen.   Days filled with art, phys ed, science, history and so much more.   The lad almost always has a great time and the learning mostly goes smoothly.  They also host other events such as Lego Nights, Teen Events, and Project Fairs.  

Field Trips:

We haven’t done as many of these lately as I would have liked to have done, but sometimes life intervenes with overall plans.   We still try to stay involved in learning about our world and the community, encouraging things like Culture, and Museum visits. 

Critters:

We have a fair host of critters running around our place.  They all provide ample opportunity to learn new skills like animal management, kindness and compassion, reading body behaviour, conduct research and so much more.  Currently we have ants in our cold storage hibernating, a new cat learning to mind her manners, rabbits earning us dollars, a snake that entertains and more.  Life is fun!  🙂

Art Lessons: 

A former member of our co-op group regularly teaches art classes. WaterColours, Acrylics and more.   It’s always fun and very interesting.

Outside of homeschooling my son picks up things like Karate classes, Archery and Cadets.   

And in the midst of it all..   I find a lad playing minecraft and making games to share with friends.   Time for snowball fights and sledding.  Walks and theatre and times to read and relax. It’s a good life this homeschooling life don’t you think?

 

This is the final week of the 7th Virtual Homeschool Fair. Our topic is:  Enriching Our Learning.

Note: All posts will be live after 8 am EST on Monday, Jan. 29th.

Celebrating 7 Years of Homeschool Support & Encouragement by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

All of the Extras by Christy Schaefer @ Unexpected Homeschool

How To Explore Special Interests In Your Homeschool by Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine

Learning outside of the box by Dana @ Life Led Homeschool

Putting the Heart Back into our Homeschool by Brittney @ Mom’s Heart

Adding in the Fun by Michele @Family, Faith and Fridays

The Electives We Use in Our Homeschool by Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool

The Fun Parts of Homeschooling by Annette @ A Net in Time

How we add in the fun stuff. by Kim @ Good Sweet Love

Running – for fitness & fun by Lizzy @ Peaches@Home

Adding in the Extras by Jen @ A Helping Hand Homeschool

What About the Fun Stuff? by Laura @ Four Little Penguins

And the Learning Goes On, And On, And On by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

Let’s See What’s Out There! (Electives and Extras) by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

Review: Whoosh, Boom, Splat

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STEM is all the rage right now eh?   How can we encourage the learning of engineering, science, math and technology?   Whoosh, Boom, Splat takes the love of launchers of all different sorts, to encourage hands-on experimentation in your middle school and up youth.   11 different types of launchers, with variations for several of them.   It’s a rather neat book!

whoosh boom splat, an excellent hands-on STEM experiments book

Whoosh, Boom, Splat is a revised and expanded second edition.  In it you can learn to build jam jar jets, elastic Zip Cannons, clothespin Snap Shooters and more.   These aren’t your average experiments.  Things CAN go wrong and you might get hurt IF you don’t pay attention and follow the instructions.   Lots of pictures and text accompany the instructions so if you take your time and follow the directions well, you can make a good variety of launchers to amaze and delight each other.   This book is meant to be done with adult supervision (often as a safety measure) but also because some of the builds are harder to do.

Each of the 11 chapters has a good introductory section where they give you a real life application.. for instance with the jam jar jet we learn about the V1, a Nazi built cruise missile, that used a pulse jet.  These jets are still used in cruise missiles today.  With the mechanical toe we learn a bit about football and talk about Newton’s Second Law of Motion.   We get to learn about a famous engineer Gianibelli with the clothespin snap shooter. 

A complete tools and a separate materials list, plus step by step instructions walk you through each build.   Numerous pictures accompany each set of instructions helping to make each step easy to follow.

I have to admit how much I appreciate the attention to safety and the clear instructions.  It makes this book easy to use.  We were able to build this explosive device!  I also want to make the vortex launcher and clothespin snap shooter. 

 

The lad had a lot of fun helping me make this, and if we could have gone longer we would have but what with having a new cat in the house whose a tad bit skittish, we thought this length worked and proved the lesson works.  It also gave us a chance to talk about chain reactions and the atomic bomb. 

My thoughts: 

The strong emphasis on safety, along with the troubleshooting tips, and the historical origins of each machine made this a fascinating book.   The experiments range in experience needed, but all can be accomplished by any teenager and up as long as they take their time to read and understand the instruction.   The good images just add great instruction. This DIY projects will help teach STEM to your students. 

Whoosh, Boom, Splat
    Build Jam Jar Jets, Elastic Cannons, Clothespins
Snap Shooters, and more Legendary Launchers. 
Revised and Expanded Second Edition
William Gurstelle
Chicago Review Press, 154 pages, softcover
STEM, engineering, technology, science, math, 
Middle school, high school
Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press.

Where to buy: Amazon Link.

Review: Dawn’s Early Light

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If a book can hold your attention without making it seem like you are fighting falling asleep when lying in bed with the influenza virus coursing through your system, what would that tell you about the book?   If you said to me “I’d say must be an interesting book” I would agree with you.  🙂  Dawn’s Early Light the “first war of liberty” in the United States.    Humour and humanity fill the pages.   

This is book a reprint, it was initially published in 1943 and billed as a romantic fiction.  Today I would be more inclined to call it a piece of historical fiction with a romantic overtone.  Dawn’s Early Light is the first of seven in the Williamsburg Chronicles, following the families of the Days and the Spragues.  

I liked it!  🙂  The attention to detail in the writing, the dress, the customs, and all things historical, Ms. Thane did a great job of bringing Williamsburg of the 1770’s to life.    We meet many of the notables of this time period: Washington, Jefferson, Lafayette, Patrick Henry and many more.  Their personality, dress and mannerisms becoming a great addition to the characters played out.  I would happily read the rest of the series, and if you are interested in this time period, grab it up.

I have to admit, I did need to adjust to the time period, the mood and flavour of the day.  It wasn’t too difficult as I’ve read other historical pieces from this time period.  I loved her attention to detail without going overboard for instance when she writes: “The fabrics were the color of old gold”. The gossip that bantered back and forth, it was like sitting at a family gathering that you were welcomed in on.  

This book made me feel as though I were at home watching friends talk, and welcoming new ones as I moved around town kibitzing with them.  🙂  I don’t know if a book should make you feel like that, but this one did.  AND as I write this I’m sick and headachy and wishing I had another book friend like this one, to while away the hours.  

Dawn's Early Light
(rediscovered classics)
Elswyth Thane
Forward: Leila Meacham
Chicago Review Press, 
trade paperback, 318 pages
Fiction, historical

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press.

Where can I find it: Amazon Link.

Setting Goals, Regain the Love

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Recently on a forum that I am part of, a gal mentioned that she “has lost the love of blogging”.  Or at least in essence that’s what her comment seemed to say to me.  People offered advise, which is well and good, but it got me to thinking.  What does one do if they lose that love of blogging?  Is there a way of bringing that love back? Set a goal in writing, find yourself regaining your love of doing so.

As I was reading in Pep Talks for Writers, I came across this chapter which spoke to my heart on this topic.  When I struggle with blogging, wondering what I can write about, I find myself starting to set goals for myself.  What can I blog about on Mondays, what love of mine can I share on Wednesdays, anything special I can come up with that fills a need in my heart, and perhaps might fill a need in the hearts of my readers?

And you know what happens?

It’s amazing.. because it happens EVERY TIME.

I feel inspired.  I go ah…. Wednesday I need an art post.. what can I talk about?   OH.. and Thursdays is my book study day …. and oh.. music, sharing music with others.. I gotta do that on Sundays, it’s a day of praise and worship.  Having goals ignites my creativity.

Having goals though leaves me with this question… what happens if I miss a week.  Will my readers become unhappy?   What if they miss me?  What if missing me a week means they don’t come back?  What if, what if?

Cause you know?   Life happens.  It does.  Kids get sick, symphonies need attending, husbands need loving, critters and laundry and weather… they all play a role in our lives and what gets done (or doesn’t). 

You need a plan

This creates a need for a plan if I get diverted, so what does one do?

I know what I do….I schedule like mad. Finding myself writing book reviews, hymn studies, and art books up WAY ahead as much as I can.  That leaves me with usually just a couple (or three) posts that I somehow want to/need to, fit in over the course of a week and since I spread out those “need to days” it’s easy enough to write half a post one day if necessary, and then another half post another day and bam.. it’s done!  NO STRESS… 

You know what else I’ve learned?  People are OKAY if you miss a day, they are.  Some might even ask “hey, you okay girl?” (which seriously is AWESOME).   So again.. NO STRESS.  

Goals are still set, creativity is still inspired, but the end result is my love is rekindled.   

Regain your love in writing. (if indeed writing is a love of yours). Regain it through setting goals, seeing the creativity that brings as you find what you are passionate about, share that passion with your readers, but set that goal.  Even if it’s just 250 words a day that you can write about, and by the end week you have one article, or perhaps even two… it’s a goal worth pursuing don’t you think?  A goal worthy of finding your love again?

As always, I made up a simple sheet to help you in your goal making…your desire to find your love in writing, cause having a goal, setting your deadline… brings about the magic of loving your writing again.   Really.. it does. 🙂   Download here.

 

Art Book: How to Draw Comics

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Want to learn how to draw comics, all the ins and outs and how to’s?   Ilya gives us the motion, adventure, suspense, action, pacing, character, mood and drama that is comics.   Presented in a comic book form, How to Draw Comics is bound to not only delight, but teach budding Cartoon Artists new skills in comic drawing. 

ILYA presents a very informative book written in a compelling style for comic artists.  This oversized trade paperback starts off by showing us how comics are art with attitude and humour.  🙂 

Each concept is brought to us in comic form. I loved the clear illustrations, as well as the explanation as to why some older comics were hard to read. Controlling the ink was a task for highly skilled individuals, so sometimes it got messy and hard to read the printing. 

Step by Step instructions, in comic book format, lead the reader through the skills needed to be a successful comic book artist. Learn how to develop your own style as you learn the principles and techniques of creating cartoons, graphic novels and manga. Learn the differences between these styles of cartooning.   Learn to create action, show mood and pacing, development of your characters and so much more. 

My Thoughts:

Fantastic book for those looking to develop their skills in writing comics. Doesn’t matter if you are 8 or 9, How to Draw Comics is a great guide to cultivating your skills and mastering the art of comic making. Ilya uses a wide variety of styles to convey technique and principle, often using humour to do so.  It’s a wonderful book for anyone to learn comic timing, creating cliffhangers, and movement. ​

How to Draw Comics
Ilya
Chicago Review Press
128 pages
Art, Art book, Comics, Cartoons
Trade Paperback, Full colour

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press

Where to buy: Amazon.