Homeschool View - Dealing with Loneliness in an Only Child

A good read for those rising super singletons from Alpha Omega.

Question of The Day Fall Edition or FQOTD

I really should document Ironhide's questions but there are so many it is hard to keep track. They are good questions. Questions that make you go .hmmmmmmm.

Last night we as a family watched Bizarre Foods on Travel Channel. The host was in Japan and sampling the lunch favorite of Chanko-nabe.

Which is a dish of s a Japanese stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) it contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base with sake or mirin to add flavor. One thing we found interesting was that the Sumo wrestlers take turns cooking. They also cook in sumo gear…that's right no clothing except for that little underwear thingy. (So says my son Ironhide.) The food look good but the abundance of sweating cooks kind of spoiled the experience for me.

This morning Ironhide asked "Are there any women Sumo wrestlers?" Good question and off to Google went for the answer. And yes Virginia there are women Sumo wrestlers.




Mom how much do they weigh in pounds? Well let's covert (This morning Mom used the online converter after 20 minutes of trying teach it.) with Online Converter. These ladies have to be big to do their jobs. The largest are over 300lbs.

So for the rest of the morning ds is doing his version of Sumo wrestling with the sofa cushions while inserting some Russian folk dance. That is another blog. Oh you got to love homeschooling.

Wordless Wednesday: Living Science

Online Reading Log

We read so many books here at the Sandbox it is hard to keep an updated list. I feel the need to capture that experience to help plot our future reading choices. Our library's summer reading program had an excellent online tool that allowed Ironhide to document what he read and review it. I was able to print out a list at the end of summer for our records. The log also provided him with a sense of accomplishment at the end of the summer.

For the school year I wanted something along those lines to keep up with everyone's reading list. I could have done it on Amazon but I wanted a commercial free zone to capture thoughts and feelings without market forces coming into play. So we are trying Goodreads.

"Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. We have more than 3,500,000 members who have added more than 100,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more. Goodreads was launched in December 2006."

This is a great place for the avid reader. I love the founder message about why he started Goodreads.

"When I was in second grade, I discovered the Hardy Boys series. Ever since, I've loved to read — both for fun and to improve my mind. And I'm always looking for the next great book. Reviews on Amazon and other sites are helpful, but I thought there might be a better way.

One afternoon while I was scanning a friend's bookshelf for my next great read, it struck me. When I want to know what books to read, I'd rather turn to a friend than any random person, bestseller list or algorithm. So I thought I'd build a website — a website where I could see my friends' bookshelves and learn about what they thought of all their books."

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Field Tripping Again National Zoo

We visited the world famous Smithsonian National Zoo. My camera was not charged up so I have to borrow stock photos to share the experience.

I love this zoo for the up hill walk which leaves the kiddo happy and tired at the end of the day.

You can visit virtually via their zoo cams.




Just a little advice if you are going to the FONZ:
-Go early if you are going to drive and get parking.
-Pack your lunch in a rolling cooler so you or the kids can drag it around the park. It will save tons on food and water prices, not to mention the ick factor with the water fountains.