The Farmer and His Sons...in their own words.

The Great Treasure

by

Carley

There once was a farmer who had a great illness and was afraid for there was no one to care and tend his farm and family.  He did have three sons but they were lazy and too careless to tend and care for his land, he thought. He called his three sons to his bedside and told them, "There is a great treasure hidden in my fields." After their fathers death, they took their spades and shovels and thoroughly dug carefully the whole field. They stomped off frustrated, for they had found no treasure. That year they had an extraordinarily abundant crop.  They finally realized it was the fruit of their own labor. They lived happily ever after.

Laziness Produces Nothing

by

Hannah

There once was a farmer that was stricken by a deathly illness and he was afraid that his farm would not prosper.   The farmer had two lazy sons who sat around and ate sweets all day long so he was afraid that they would be careless tending to the crops. Before he died he beckoned for his two sons to come to his bedside. When they were by his bedside he told them that there were treasures hidden in his fields. So, the sons took pickaxes and mattocks and set to work digging everything in sight. Frustrated, they stomped back madly since they had not found any treasure. When they plowed and planted that year their crops were extraordinarily abundant and the family lived comfortably that winter.  Finally the sons realized the treasure was the fruit of their labor. The sons learned that laziness produces nothing.

The Second Writing Lesson...more laughs, more samples.

Killer Blobs

By

Carley

The sea wasp is the most venomous jelly fish whose poisoning ability is greater than any snake. Sea wasps search for their food, which is shrimp, near the beach. The creatures are so deadly that when a person is stung they have only seconds to stagger to shore before they drop down dead. They are mostly transparent so they are hard to see. You will not find sea wasps in the oceans of the U.S. or Europe because they are only in Australia's ocean. This blob uses neurotoxin to kill at least 50 people. They are sometimes called the most deadly creatures on earth. These blobs are killing machines.

The Neurotoxic Blob

By

Hannah

The sea wasp is the most venomous jellyfish alive, which has a poisoning ability greater than any snake. They search for shrimp along the shore near swimmers, who if stung by this deadly venom will stagger only long enough to get to shore before they die. They are almost transparent so they are very hard to see. In the oceans of America and Europe you will not find them for they are only in the waters near Australia. This blob of neurotoxin which can kill over fifty people is the deadliest creature alive. No one should want to meet a sea wasp.

Writing Samples.....Institute For Excellence in Writing

This year we finally bit the bullet and bought the Institutes For Excellence in Writing.  I have started watching the videos, but learned that you could begin the program after watching the first video.  Mr. Pudewa is so funny.  I found myself laughing often while watching him.  He is even funnier during the kids seminars and all three kids were cracking up.  Nothing wrong with learning being fun sometimes.  On Friday afternoon, while the Wild Child took her nap, we finally took the plunge and got busy. We all watched and the big girls did the workshop for 4th through 7th grade.  They LOVED it.  We haven't done any formal writing program, just what has been required in the Abeka Grammar books so I wasn't sure how it would go.  I am pleasantly surprised by the results and the best part was how much they enjoyed it. 

Insect Waltzers

By

Carley 

Dance Flies are found in North America. They gather in big mating swarms above forest streams. They gracefully twirl up and down. Another thing that is amazing about these flies is that they give courting gifts. To attract females, male flies capture small insects which are presents. The presents can get pretty fancy. In the Northwest males spin a balloon of silk because they have to tuck a small insect inside. If you ever see a swarm of Dance Flies think of it like a bunch of weddings in one. The balloons of silk are like boxes of rings and there is a lot of dancing.

Meat Mushifiers

By

Hannah

In the forests of Central and South America scientists discovered a deadly bee. This bee is called the vulture bee. They do not feast on pollen or nectar which means they consume the flesh of dead creatures. When they find a rotting carcass they spit out a chemical called enzyme which melts it into a gooey mush. This mush quickly goes into their stomach that is special for storing the mushified meat. Vulture bees are the world's best garbage men.