Wednesday, November 30, 2016

52 Lists #47 - Favorite Movies

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52 Lists #47 - Favorite Movies on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

I'm short on time today, so I'll have to make my list quickly! This week the assignment from 52 Lists at Beauty Full Slow is to list our favorite movies.

My all-time favorite movie is probably The Princess Bride! I never get tired of that one, and have lost track of how many times I've seen it. But there are a number of others that would make my list too, so I've divided them into a couple of categories.



Holiday Movies
  • It's A Wonderful Life
  • White Christmas
  • The Sound of Music (not sure why this is considered a holiday movie, but it's always on TV during December, so . . . )
  • A Christmas Carol (the Alistair Sim version)
  • Elf
  • The Santa Clause
    
Animated Movies
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Tangled
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • The Lion King
  • Chicken Run
  • Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

All-time Favorites!
  • The Princess Bride
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • The Hobbit
  • Rear Window


Mostly Serious Movies
  • Chronicles of Narnia movie series
  • The Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • Star Trek (the whole series)
  • Star Wars (not quite the whole series, but Episodes IV, V, and VI; and the latest one)
  • Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • My Fair Lady
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Forrest Gump
  • Babette's Feast
  • and basically all the superhero movies - I love all of them! I can't decide whether Thor or Iron Man is my favorite out of the Avengers movies.


Movies that make me laugh
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • Nuns on the Run
  • Uncle Buck
  • Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
  • Airplane!
  • Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels
  • Ghostbusters
  

Every great film should seem new every time you see it. ~Roger Ebert

I have a feeling that I'll post this and think of several more that I love and should have added to the list! What kinds of movies do you like best? Leave a comment and let me know a couple of your favorites, and visit Beauty Full Slow to see more!

52 lists with Chasing Slow
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 ©2006-2016 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 28, 2016

From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops

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From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

I'm later than I'd like in writing my Lesson Book post today, and I have so much more I need to get done today! One thing on my to-do list for this week is to gather some information and get my thoughts together in preparation for a meeting to discuss the possibility of our homeschool group's co-op expanding to offer some high school classes. One of which I might be teaching.

For the most part, I've found co-ops to be easiest when my kids were younger. After all, the academic schedule doesn't need to be as structured, so our small 12-week co-op was a wonderful break from the usual routine. We moms shared our interests and abilities so that kids could get art instruction or hands-on science even if their own moms weren't particularly good at those subjects. In those days, I taught a couple of geography and history type classes, and even a little bit of science. That wasn't too intimidating for me as a teacher, because I could choose to teach subject matter with which I was reasonably comfortable; and even if I wasn't an expert, I had a pretty good knowledge advantage over my students just because of their age.

From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
Middle school Finance/Economics co-op class

A few times over the years, someone would throw out the possibility of offering high school level classes during that co-op, but the idea never went very far. Practically speaking, we realized we couldn't offer something in one afternoon a week for twelve weeks that would have broad enough application and value for a decent number of the high school age students to find it worthwhile. Well now, the idea is being revisited, as we are now entertaining the possibility of doing the once-a-week co-op year round. That would open up the high school level course possibilities too. And so, this week, we will start brainstorming about how we might be able to make it happen and what classes we might start with. I've been asked to consider teaching a high school level Composition class, so by the time we meet this (already very busy) week, I need to have some idea of how I would organize that and if I really think I could pull it off.

Being involved in co-ops has been so rewarding for us in the past that I'm looking forward to this challenge. And it really would be a challenge as well as an opportunity! It would be a weekly commitment of preparing lessons and grading or evaluating student work. It would also be a weekly commitment to block out that afternoon each week and get to class, which would be about a 45-minute drive one way. So on a personal level, I need to be sure it's worth that time and effort for me and for Kennady. I'm sure it would be, but I have to be honest that losing the control over that portion of my calendar over an entire school year gives me pause!

From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
Elementary grades Art/Geography co-op class

From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
Gym class - ours is a co-op!
From the High School Lesson Book - Considering Co-ops on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
Middle school biology lab at co-op
 Do you participate in co-ops for high school level classes? Leave a comment and let me know! Then please link your posts about homeschooling high school here - I'd love to see what you are working on! (FYI - this is likely the last week that the High School Lesson Book will feature a link-up. I've decided to limit my link-up hosting to the Virtual Fridge and Homeschool Highlights for now. Thank you to all who have participated in this link-up in the past, or have joined the Homeschooling High School Blog Roll. As I think ahead with our co-op plans, I'm also starting to think ahead to what the High School Lesson Book might look like in 2017.)

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 ©2006-2016 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/


Friday, November 25, 2016

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving

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Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

Welcome to Homeschool Highlights! 
This weekly link-up is your opportunity to share some highlights of what is happening in your homeschool and in your world each week. If you write a wrap-up post at the end of each week, like I've been doing, we'd love to see what you're busy with from week to week. If you'd like to pick a favorite post from your week that spotlights a resource or activity in your homeschool that you'd like to tell others about, we're interested in those too. I'm keeping the guidelines as simple as I can, and they will appear at the bottom of each post, along with the link tool. I look forward to getting to know you, and I hope this will be a source of encouragement and good ideas for all of us.

Grab a cup of coffee and let's get started!


Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com


Homeschool news  . . . As you might imagine, during Thanksgiving week, school wasn't the top priority every day. But thankfully (<-- see what I did there?), Kennady could get quite a bit of History and Health done on her own, and we got a bit of Math and Science in as well. Gym, choir, and guitar lessons did happen this week too. In addition, Kennady has been working on a large art project, as she will be painting the backdrop for the kids Christmas play again this year. She'll have to devote quite a bit of time to that over the next week or two.

Other news . . . Last weekend, the hubster and I were in Ontario visiting his family, and headed home on Saturday. Through some snow! None stayed on the ground though - so far, anyway. We arrived home in the evening, and Landon and Kennady had gone to the youth Save-A-Turkey Taco Party. I went over for the end of the festivities to help with rides, since a couple of friends came over for the night afterwards.

The calendar feels fuller as we get closer to December, and this week I had an extra choir rehearsal to fit in. On Wednesday night, I went with the hubster to his hockey league's Gobble In the Lot event. Basically, they play pick-up hockey and follow that with a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. We used to do it tailgate style out in the parking lot, but it can get pretty cold out there, so starting last year we moved the party indoors at the rink.

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
The Coveted Tin Foil Turkey Award
Yesterday we were privileged to share Thanksgiving dinner with a family from church that has "adopted" us as part of the extended family. And the hubster and I had another very special privilege yesterday too, which I'll explain in a moment . . .

Today everyone in our family is back to the usual routine. I don't think we'll do any Black Friday shopping at all, other than online! Well, I may go out in the late afternoon or evening to pick up some groceries, but that is about it. I have more than enough to do around here, and I'm not going to get it done if I don't hurry with this post! One of the things I will be doing is turning Kennady's hair blue - wish us luck! We bleached it yesterday in preparation, and I think it looks cute this way. I hope she likes the blue and it turns out well, because she will have it for awhile!

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com
Blonde - for today only!

What's Important . . .
 connections and coincidences that God orchestrates. This is the special privilege we had yesterday, which I shared on my Facebook page:
This happened today! We got to meet Reese and her family. Reese was injured in a house fire and while she was being treated at Johns Hopkins, she received platelets that Henry donated. He donates regularly at the Red Cross, and that was the one and only time that when they called to set up an appointment because they had a specific need, they gave any details. Usually they just set up an appointment, and on occasion they will say there is a shortage or an urgent need at an area hospital, but that time the lady told me they had a need for a 7yo girl in the burn unit at Johns Hopkins. Because we knew the extended family, we'd already been praying for Reese and I figured it had to be her. Perhaps it's a small world, but we believe God made it so in this case. What a special Thanksgiving blessing - to meet Reese and her family and see how God has been working to heal her, and to think that Henry had a part to play in it.
Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

I recommend . . . checking out the 2016 Blue Ribbon Awards on the Homeschool Review Crew blog! You can see the list of winners as voted on by the entire Crew here - 2016 Homeschool Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards; and a list of all the products we reviewed and the favorites from individual Crew members here - Homeschool Crew Review Favorites for 2016.

Meet the Homeschool Review Crew Curriculum Favourites for 2016

And don't forget CrossTimber's Christmas Giftaway that gives you a chance to win a personalized mug or plaque, or gift cards to use on CrossTimber products. Go check it out, chat with John and find out your name's meaning, enter the giveaway, and get some Christmas shopping done!

CrossTimber 2016 giveaway


In the holiday spirit . . . Here's a Flashback Friday post about our field trip to a greenhouse last year, when we learned a lot about poinsettias and how they are grown for the Christmas season: From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip)

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

Here's a few photos from that post to give you an idea:

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip


On my blogs last week . . .


Just A Second is where I share book reviews and other book-related things, and update on what's on my bookshelf. This week I finished and reviewed Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy, and I've been reading:

A parting shot . . . one of the reasons we went to Ontario was to bring this washstand back. It had been in my in-laws' house, and was the one piece that we asked for. It fits perfectly in our living room. Next job . . . figuring out where the full size Christmas tree will fit this year . . .

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving - Join in the weekly link-up of highlights from our homeschool week, hosted by Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

Grab the button and link up with Homeschool Highlights!
Homeschool Coffee Break

Homeschool Highlights guidelines:
  • Your blog should be family-friendly content, and your post should include something about homeschooling.
  • Please link directly to your post, not your blog's homepage.
  • Please include a link in your post to Homeschool Coffee Break - you may use the graphic above if you wish. 
  • Visit a couple of the other bloggers and comment or share.

I will be linking up my own posts at the following weekly link parties that you  may also be interested in: Weekly Wrap-Up hosted by Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers (on break this week) and Homeschool Blog & Tell at The Homeschool Post. 



The Homeschool Post

This post is part of The Homeschool Nook Link-up Party hosted by Chaotic Bliss Homeschooling and Busy Boys Brigade.

Chaotic Bliss Homeschooling


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 ©2006-2016 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/