Incongruity

 When we hike in the woods or on logging trails, we often see people out walking with their dogs ... but only in Connecticut...check out the dog we saw in the woods today!! Funny :)

Weird car thing

 Want to hear something weird? There's a place where my daughter and I go for a hike a couple of times a week. In the little parking lot, the power locks (unlock) NEVER wqrk on my car! In other parking lots, it works fine...just not in this little lot in the woods! It never does seem to work there! So strange...

Anyone have ideas? 

Fork in the road...errrr...path

 Such a funny thing to come upon in the woods!! When you're out hiking...you never know!

Equations

 Here's another little algebra tip...

EQUATIONS means equal on both sides!!! Boom, that's one key that you need to remember ALWAYS! :) 

Okay, was that meaningful to you? :) 

Please remember, if something is an equation, both sides are equal, so you need to make sure that if you do something to one side of an equation, you need to do the same thing to the other side of the equation to keep it equal.

Here's what I mean:

SO when I multiplied the left side of the equation by 2, in order to keep the equation equal on both sides, I had to multiply the right side by 2 as well.

Remember this clue and it'll help you with equation work for all kinds of problems!

Just a little tip for the day :) 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com -- my REVIEW

Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew

 I have written in previous years that we have used SchoolhouseTeachers.com for some of my children's homeschool courses--this year I again have the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership and my daugher has been using it all schoolyear. Some of my previous reviews of this huge collection of courses and resources are here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017. Today I'd like to tell you about using this membership as a part of a high school curriculum.

I am on my third high school student and...though I like to think that I am flexible...I am kind of rigid about a few curricula that we use every year, and have worked well for our family. Other subjects I am a bit more flexible about. Each of my kids have had different interests and have taken different electives than the others have taken. 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a source for full courses that will fit in nicely with a high school college-prep curriculum. It is one price for access to all of the resources, and the Ultimate PreK-23 Annual Membership is actually on a special sale right now (until the end of January 2021). 

My daughter is using a few of the courses this year in 11th grade. Her history/social studies course for the year is entirely from SchoolhouseTeachers.com. It is the Medieval to the Renaissance 

high school history course. The course itself is made up of readings, map work, questions, and quizzes. There is an answer key for the parent's use, and links to recommended videos that enhance the course.

From my point of view, it is a very independent course--she can easily see what she needs to work on, thanks to the handy lesson plan which is provided for each of the courses. She can just check that on a daily basis and complete the assignments for that day.

Okay, so that's history. You may be asking about other classes, or other ages/grades of students. Well, there are a lot of different ways to find some great courses for your student to use! 

One way that many people like to choose courses is to look at the "view by subject" tab along the top of the page: 

  Others prefer to utilize the "view by grade" tab at the top --

There are even collections of courses for each grade level, known as Schoolboxes, which are also available with the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership!

For our part, we really like to go straight to the "all courses" tab and view all of the options. Courses of interest can be clicked on and you can explore what that course is about and who it is for. 

When you get to look at the entire listing of courses, you may be surprised by the hundreds of courses that are listed there! Here's just a sampling from the "all courses" list:

There are so many classes, from basics like math and science to electives like photography, Excel, Breadmaking Devotional, and more! There are courses for every grade, including preschool ages, and there are even courses and resources for parents!

We have used a wide range of courses from SchoolhouseTeachers.com -- some of our favorites were Geology (maybe my daughter's MOST favorite!), photography, economics, Foundations for Teens, Apologetics: Creation vs Evolution, and many more. My daughter has a list of about seven that she wants to try to cover this year and next year..."just for fun." :) (I can still put these on her transcript!)

Besides just the courses, there are many other benefits to being a member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com. First of all--did I make this clear that the Ultimate Membership gives you access to all of these courses? It is not a pay-by-course type thing--you get access to them all. From the preschool classes up through high school science and math...and everything in between! Alright, besides the courses, you also have access to World Book resources and to a large video library by Right Now Media. There are also planners, many articles about homeschooling topics, recordkeeping helps, seasonal content, and so much more! 

I encourage you to read some reviews that were written by other review crew members, so that you can get a broader feel for all of the wonderful offerings of SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Please click on the graphic below so that you can access their reviews!

Math tips...simple one variable equations

 Okay, are you one of those people who are afraid of algebra? Let me burst your bubble...I think you know a LOT of algebra...and for those who told you that you'd never use algebra in your daily life...they were WRONG!!

Hear me out...here's an example from life! :) 

So right? You have 5 tide pods and you know that you'll need two next Monday to wash the weekend clothes...how many can you use up this week? You just figure that naturally in your head, but guess what...you're doing algebra!! :) Yay! Great job! You decide that if you start with five and need two left, you can use (5-2) three this week!

If for some reason you'd like to see how this one plays out algebraically, or as I tell my students, to write out every single step! ... you are solving for x, so:

So there you have it, solving for a single variable.

Yay, algebra! :) 

Sounds on a hike

 Some cool sounds from this past Sunday's hike! Rocks on ice and whistling stick. Beautiful walking day with fun interruptions.