Chapter 3- Genie of Genies

Chapter 3

“I thought I told you not to come to the Soda Fountain! Especially at my girlfriend’s party.” said Brad.

“Yeah, your dead meat…hamburger!” One of Brad's gang members said.

Hamburger. That made Buck's stomach turn. Then the gang jumped on him. Buck dropped to the floor and crawled into the shop's kitchen. The cooks just stared at him. Then a familiar voice cried out, “Buck, come to the back door and you can escape!”

The voice had come from Madeline Hoover! Buck ran to the door and thanked Madeline. When he rushed out the door, the gang came into the kitchen.

Buck knew that he wasn’t safe yet so he kept running. One thing that Buck was afraid of was that Brad was the fastest runner in Elko Middle-School. But before Buck could get away, Brad and the rest of the gang came out the door, not far away.

All Buck’s life he had been running, either from his dad or other kids his age.

They were gaining up on him now. They screamed and cursed at Buck while they ran. Chaos, Chaos, Chaos…

The Importance of Memorization

This is an article I read recently on memorization. I usually write Scripture or poems on a paper and hang them up so we are constantly reminded of them. This helps the visual learners in our family! :-) Hope you enjoy this.

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Memorization: a simple, effective, and often-forgotten method of learning.

Why should your child memorize Scripture and poetry? Memorization stocks the mind with beautiful language. It influences the heart by providing fodder for meditation. Besides, it's fun!

Getting Started

Begin by reading aloud the passage you would like to memorize. Read it again. And read it once more. Do this frequently: at mealtimes, before rest times, or at other times that work well for your family. Soon, your child will be able to say the passage along with you. Keep doing this, and someday you will hear him recite the passage to a friend, grandparent, or even to himself as he plays. After introducing one passage, you can add another until you are working on several simultaneously. When the passage has been over-learned, the frequency of reading (by now, reciting) can be reduced. You can find a more thorough explanation of this method in Ruth Beechick's book, A Biblical Home Education (B & H Publishing Group, 2007).

Memorization stocks the mind with beautiful language. It influences the heart by providing fodder for meditation. Besides, it's fun!

For our family, I print out the Scripture passage or poem we are memorizing and place it at the beginning of my notebook (right behind the attendance chart). We start our lessons each day by reading and reciting poems and Scriptures.

Memorization Practice

I suggest that you begin your family habit of memorization with one of the following poems:

The first comes from Sing-Song by Christina Rossetti (Dover, 1968).

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

October's Party

by George Cooper

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came-

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.
The Chestnuts came in yellow,

The Oaks in crimson dressed;

The lovely Misses Maple

In scarlet looked their best;

All balanced to their partners,

And gaily fluttered by;

The sight was like a rainbow

New fallen from the sky.
Then, in the rustic hollow,

At hide-and-seek they played,

The party closed at sundown,

And everybody stayed.

Professor Wind played louder;

They flew along the ground;

And then the party ended

In jolly "hands around."

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Genie of Genies- Chapter 2

Chapter two-

Koa Buck was mystified. Who would call his home and not say what his/her name was? Maybe his Dad was playing a joke on him, but over the years Buck had not known his dad to be humorous.

Brad Gueffer. Maybe it was that kid. The 9th grade bully had made many prank calls to the seventh grade kids like Buck all the time. Maybe. Anyway it was still mysterious.

Well, Buck was just going to read a litt-. Oh wait! Buck had been invited to Madeline Westwood's (the cutest girl in school) party. And it was going to start in thirty minutes!

Oh! He was going to be late this time! Buck raced up the stairs to take a shower and change clothes. Killing time was his top priority, but he still needed to be clean. So he washed his hair and hopped out of the shower. Buck quickly dried himself and got his clothes on. He ran to his moped. He jigged the engine and rode off. Buck had been given this mini-motorcycle on his tenth birthday. He had been riding it ever since.

When he got to the Soda Fountain, where the party was, there were many people there. Buck stopped and parked. He walked in and sat down at the only empty stool.

From what he had heard, this old Soda Fountain was founded by a man that had wanted the youth to have a 'hang out'. Well, the founder's dream had come true. Lots of people were gathered in this place like Tommy Carter, Daniel Robinson, and Jenny Sonya. Buck scanned the area for Madeline… and Brad Gueffer. She was no where in sight.

Then the door swung open and a familiar voice cried out, “Buck Maine, you better run because I’m comin’ for you! And you won't like it!”

Buck turned around and his heart dropped. Brad Gueffer was standing at the door with the rest of the Tiger gang. There was no escape from the gruesome Tiger gang. The match was so uneven, like a 'giant against a boy'. This would be a long night.

Genie of Genies- Chapter 1

Nehemiah is writing a book and wanted to share some of it here. Below is the first chapter. Leave a comment and let him know what you think!

Chapter one-


The rain is pouring in a dark valley. At least it was for the boy on Cherry Lane. This boys name was Koa Buckley Maine. Weird. That’s what your thinking. Well you’re just like Koa. He thought that any other name was better than Koa. So Koa prefers being called Buckley or Buck for short(so we will call him that). Buck was tall and skinny, had freckles on his face. He didn’t have many friends and was lonely.

Today was actually warm and bright in Elko, Nevada. But Buck did not care because he was always inside. What he did inside is what you are doing right now. Reading. Buck did not want to go outside and play ball with friends. He couldn’t because he had no friends. Now my dad would say “Then go and make friends!”

But Buck did not have a father like mine. His father was always away on business trips. But he still had a mother that loved him.

Today for some reason Buck was unusually tired. So sometimes he would nod off into sleep as he read. Then a disturbing noise filled the air. The noise was coming from his bedroom. Buck put his book down and walked quietly to his bedroom. What was the noise? He walked into his room and discovered the 'thing' that was making the noise. It was... the telephone. Boy was he relieved that it was that. Buck answered the phone and was surprised that the person on the other line was his father.

“Is mom home?” Said Bucks father.

“No she is at that club she goes to.” Said Buck.
Bucks father said something off the line.

“What did you say, Dad?”

“Nothing. Any way tell your mom to call me tonight.”

“Good-b-.”
Beep! Bucks father had hung up.

Did Bucks father love his own son? Did he even care? It was just Buck's mom and he. They were all alone in the world. So now Buck sat down in his chair and started to read. But he didn’t read very long until the phone rang again. Buck answered.

“Go get your mother.”
Beep!

“Hello… Hello?” Said Buck
The Caller had hung up.

Handwriting Tip: b and d

I read this tip in a newsletter recently and thought it was so smart!

Make Your Bed

Letter reversals are common for children who are learning to write. The worst culprits are b and d. To help my children remember the difference between these two, I write the word bed on a three-by-five card and explain that bed begins with b and ends with d. I try to make the word look like a bed with a small diamond over the circle of the b as the pillow and a bedspread sketched in lightly.

To help with reversals while practicing reading, I teach each child to "make your bed." Circle your fingers as though you are pretending to look through binoculars. Then raise the pointer finger on each hand. Your left hand forms a b, your right, a d. The three-by-five card containing the word bed has reinforced the first letter. When reading aloud, if your child is stumbling over b or d, a simple reminder to "make your bed" usually clears up any confusion.

School Attendance

Gwinnett County requires home schooling families to turn in monthly attendance records, and by the end of your year all your days must add up to 180. It doesn't matter if you have a 10 or 12 month school year, as long as you satisfy the 180 days.

Yesterday I turned in our October attendance, and so far we have completed 56 days this school year! Yay! I must say that I assumed we wouldn't get much done in October, with a new addition to our home. But, Chris stepped right in and kept us on track! He has been amazing! It's been great for us all. So, Chris, if you're reading this.......Thank you, hunny!

I Climbed Stone Mountain!

by Nehemiah.

I woke up Tuesday morning, clearly tired from the night before. I went down the stairs and into the kitchen. The calender read "August 19th, Dad and boys go to Stone Mountain". Yes!

Today was the day that my Dad, Mordecai, and me were going to hike Stone Mountain! But there was one more question: Was my face red and swollen?( You see, I have had a rash that comes often for about a year now. It makes my body red and itchy). To answer my question, I went into the main bathroom were there was a mirror. OH NO! My...face...was...red and swollen!

"Why?" I asked myself. "Why did I have to have this rash over and over again."

After we had breakfast, made our sack lunches, we got our clothes on and woke up 'sleepy-head' Dad and tell him to get ready, we were ready to go to Stone Mountain Park!

So all three of us-Dad, Mordecai and me- got into the truck my dad owns.

When we got there we noticed that EVERYTHING was closed except the Sky Ride up the mountain. So instead of riding the train and going around the mountain to the hiking side, like we had planned, we rode the Sky Ride up the mountain. Then we hiked down the mountain.

That was one of my favorite times of my life. It was soooooo much fun!

Mordecai noticed that there was a yellow line that we were supposed to follow so we wouldn't lose our way. I said we were like Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion when they were following the yellow brick road in "The Wizard of Oz". When we got down Stone Mountain our stomachs were growling! We pulled out the lunch we made earlier in the day and prayed. Amen. Then we dug in... Yummmmm!

We saw that there was a museum and decided to look around in it. My Dad said we should come back and make a field trip out of it. Finally we got out of the museum.

"What do you think, are you up for going up the mountain?"asked my dad.

Was I up for the challenge my dad gave me and my brother? I felt good about it, so I said, "I am."

Part Two- The challenge

So we went up the mountain, without any hiking gear. The Mountain was very steep and was a great challenge. First was what I call "Forest of The Mountain". Trees and bushes covered the Mountain, where squirrels lure in the shadows and birds hide in the trees, is where we hiked.

The only thing I could hear was our steps on the stones we stepped on. Finally, we got out of "the forest of the Mountain", and into the open. Then I slipped, but caught myself at the last minute.

"Are you okay?" asked my brother, Mordecai.

"Yeah, are you okay?" added my dad.

"I am okay. Are we almost there?" I said.

Now we had hiked about half the mountain. So we took a break. We drank the water in our water bottles and sat there.

Now we faced the hardest challenge yet. I call it "The stairs with no steps". It was the steepest part of the mountain. There were rails up this part of the mountain so you would not fall.

When we got to the top we went down on the Sky Ride. When we got to the bottom my dad bought one hat each for us, he said we earned it.

Now I can say "I climbed Stone Mountain!".

Here is a picture of a bug we found on our way up the mountain!

Reading Curriculum - 2008-09

Deborah:



Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
By S. Engelmann, P. Haddox & E. Bruner / Simon & Schuster Trade Sales



Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers
By Samuel L. Blumenfeld / The Paradigm Co

Hadassah:

McGuffey Pictorial Primer By: William Holmes McGuffey

McGuffey First Reader

We will continue on with the whole set (4 books) of McGuffey Readers.

Handwriting Curriculum - 2008-09

Nehemiah, Mordecai, Hadassah, and Deborah:



Italic Handwriting: The Instruction Manual
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University


Italic Handwriting: Book A
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University


Italic Handwriting: Book B
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University


Italic Handwriting: Book C
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University


Italic Handwriting: Book D
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University

Science Curriculum - 2008-09

Nehemiah and Mordecai:

Jonathan Park Volume 1: The Adventure Begins, Audio CD

By The Vision Forum, Inc


Jonathan Park Volume 2: No Looking Back, Audio CD

By The Vision Forum, Inc


Jonathan Park Volume 3: The Winds of Change, Audio CD

By The Vision Forum, Inc


Jonathan Park Volume 4: The Hunt for Beowulf, Audio CD

By The Vision Forum, Inc


Jonathan Park Volume 5: The Explorer's Society, Audio CD

By The Vision Forum, Inc

Spelling Curriculum 2008-09

Nehemiah and Mordecai:

Spelling Power, Fourth Edition with DVD and CD-ROM

By Beverly L. Adams-Gordon / Castlemoyle Books

Math Curriculum for 2008-2009

In this post I'm going to list the curriculums we use for Math this year. I'll do the same for the other subjects in future posts.

Nehemiah:

Saxon Math 6/5 Home Study Kit Third Edition
By Saxon Publishing

Mordecai:

Saxon Math 3, Student Work Kit & Fact Cards
By Saxon Publishing

Hadassah:

Saxon Math 1, Student Work Kit & Fact Cards

Deborah:

Various workbooks to work on math concepts and flash cards for addition and subtraction.

Books, books, and more books! Part 2

Remember this post? Here is Part 2:

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by: Nehemiah

In the Jordan household we are still reading more and more books. Our lists are so full that we had to get new pages. Like I did last time, I will list my three favorite books or series of books. here we go:

My favorite series of books (so far) is the Left Behind . This is the younger version of those Left Behind in the end times. Judd, Vicki, Ryan, and Lionel are the main characters in the book series. The Christians in the book can tell what will happen next by studying the book of Revelation that is in the end of the Bible. These kids try to stay alive through the seven year tribulation. This is a very exciting book series!

Book 2 is called Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing. This book is about a fourth grader that has (what he thinks is the biggest problem ever) a younger brother named Fudge! The fourth grader's name is Peter. The grown-ups think Fudge is an angel. When Fudge broke his two front teeth trying to fly. Decides that he wants to be a dog and even swallows a turtle! This is a funny book. Both my Mom and Dad read this when they were little!

Book 3 is Wayside school gets a little stranger. For 285 days, Wayside school has been under construction. Now it is opened up! Wayside school is a thirty story building with one classroom each story. But there is no nineteenth floor. Mrs. Zarves is the teacher of the nineteenth story. There is no Mrs. Zarves. The kids have many adventures in the thirty chapter book. It is a cool book!

Nehemiah, 5th grade

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by: Mordecai

I liked Stuart Little because he got to go down the drain! It was really cool because he was looking for Mrs. Little's ring!

I also liked Little House in the Big Woods. I liked it because Pa got to hunt for bears and other animals!

Mordecai, 3rd grade

Tax-free weekend

(this post was written by Nehemiah)

A few weeks ago my Dad, Mordecai, and me went to buy new clothes and school supplies. First, we went to Target to look for jeans. We were surprised at how many different varieties there were. Like carpenter wear, normal wear, loose wear, and more than I cannot even think of.

My Dad told me about this comedian that was chunky that once said, "I was twenty-one before I knew that 'Husky' wasn't a name brand"!

At this Target we only found jeans that fit Mordecai, so we went to another Target. There we found jeans for Mordecai and me. We both got two pairs of jeans. Then we found itty bitty jeans for Barnabas. When we were walking through the "Boy's clothes" section, we saw polo shirts that were on sale. So we picked two kinds for all three of us . One was red and black with white stripes. And, the other was blue with white stripes.

After we paid for everything and got in our truck, my Dad told us that it was Tax-Free weekend. Mordecai asked, "What is tax?" So my Dad told Mordecai what tax is. Then we went to Office Depot to get school supplies. We got five composition books, glue, map pencils, pencils, highlighters, index cards, 6 one subject notebooks, pink erasers, and college ruled notebook paper all for only $6.50 and no tax!

Before we went home I treated us out to The Varsity! We got three chili dogs, drinks, and the orange smoothies. And, I paid for it all! We came home full. Above is a picture I took of the school supplies.

Books, Books, and more Books!

For our summertime reading, we have been keeping a log of the books we read. Nehemiah and Mordecai's lists have been growing quickly! They both love to read and are fast! It's been great to keep a log, for many reasons. They think it will be fun to look back on in a few years, and even when they have their own children! I agree!

So, today I gave Nehemiah and Mordecai the assignment to go over their lists of books and write down which books were their favorite so far and why. Then, I told them we could post their "reviews" on this blog. So, here you go! I hope to have them do this several times this summer!

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This is Nehemiah's first post ever!

Since May I have been keeping a list of books I have read. I am going to write my three favorite books and tell a little about them.

My first favorite is: The Tombs of Anak, by Frank Peretti. When Jay and Lila Cooper enter the Tombs of Anak with their archaeologist father, they hope to find a coworker who has disappeared. Instead they stumble in to new mysteries. There is a villain named Ha-Raphah. They know they can't avoid this villain - whatever he is. The Coopers face lots of mysteries they have to unravel. This is a good book!

My second favorite book is: The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. This book is about a boy named Bastian that gets a book and reads it in an attic. When he reads it he discovers that in this world called Fantastica, there is a "nothing" eating up anything it can.. When you look into the "nothing" it is not a hole it is nothing. The childlike empress is sick so she sends a boy to find a cure for her. He has lots and lots of adventures. Bastian the boy reading the book, discovers he gets to be in the book and help to find a cure for the empress. This is a good book!

My third favorite book is: The House on the Cliff. This is a Hardy Boys book. The Hardy's discover many adventures. This was my favorite Hardy Boys book that I have read.

Nehemiah, almost 10 :0)

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This is Mordecai's first post ever!

I have read 13 books so far this summer. My favorite books were Charlotte's Web and The Horse that Played Centerfield.

I liked The Horse that Played Centerfield because it was very exciting. This was my Dad's favorite book growing up, too. I read his copy.

I liked Charlotte's Web because the animals can talk.

Mordecai, 8 years old :0)

Our Summer Race

The Jordan family is having our own race this summer!

We are trying to see who's sunflower can grow the tallest!!! The children and I worked hard on Saturday cleaning out flower beds and transplanting flowers. Then, we decided to have some fun! We each planted a couple of sunflower seeds and marked them. We have been watering them, and I'm happy to say that there are already signs of growth. Ahem...well...some of the family's seeds are growing. Can you tell who's isn't? Here are pictures from Saturday, then Wednesday. I know it's kinda of hard to tell because of the weeds.

Bee Study

Recently we borrowed "Bee Movie" (the one Jerry Seinfeld made) from the library and really enjoyed it. It sparked lots of questions about bees, so we decided to study about the different types of bees. We checked out lots of books and an informative DVD from the library. Here is a "bulletin board" we made in our dining room. Please excuse the flowery wallpaper..then again...bees love flowers :0) Nehemiah and Hadassah made the 3-D beehives; Hadassah, Deborah, and Barnabas made the paper bees (of course, the girls made the sparkly ones); Nehemiah and Mordecai wrote facts on paper that they learned. Barnabas and Jeremiah enjoyed the DVD and looking at the books. They also loved it when we acted like bees looking for nectar!(we would chase them) I took several pictures so you can click on them and make them larger to see the details. We learned quite a bit about busy bees, and enjoyed making our own bees and bee hives. I was just as fascinated by some of the interesting things we learned! Such fun! The great thing with this study was that all the children were a part of it. And, we did this for free! We didn't have to purchase any curriculum at all. :-) Oh, and we ate Honeycomb cereal for a snack!!! We also made the cells of a honeycomb inside a shoebox, but I forgot to take a picture of it. Maybe I will later.

The Art of Breadmaking

Our family loves bread! So, I have been testing out different recipes for whole wheat bread. I finally found one that we all agree is delicious! I decided to make some rolls and soon I had 3 big helpers in the kitchen. It was a fun lesson on measuring, rolling, and sizing the rolls. It was also a very silly and fun time!

Rolling out the dough!
Mordecai, Hadassah, and Nehemiah smiling
Some of the "knot" rolls