Author Archives: Kay Pelham

The tuning fork tree

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Kay Pelham

We spent some time in a local park yesterday enjoying a fairly warmer day. I took several pictures of trees and tree parts. This one in particular I found interesting. Anyone care to play “Name the species?”

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Handwriting skills not a dying art

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Last fall the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “How Handwriting Boosts the Brain.”  The author addresses the fact that in spite of our ever advancing technological world, the ancient skill of handwriting still has real value. For the … Continue reading →

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A poem of true things

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Kay Pelham

What are heavy? sea-sand and sorrow: What are brief? to-day and to-morrow: What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth: What are deep? the ocean and truth. ~untitled poem by Christina Rossetti

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Lost in Promotion or For the sake of the Institution

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Kay Pelham

While watching the local PBS station’s showcasing of high school choirs from across the state, I observed that the performances these kids were giving were ultimately being used to promote the schools.  Whatever may have been the motives of the … Continue reading →

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Things I learned this week from 2nd grade

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Here’s a brief list of things I learned, or at least was reminded of, as I prepared and then taught our lessons this week. Arithmetic is spelled with an E in the 3rd syllable and not an A. Even the … Continue reading →

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James explains Shakespeare’s Cymbeline

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Kay Pelham

James explains our stick figures representation of Shakepeare’s Cymbeline. We do this as we’re reading along to keep all the characters straight — who’s who and who belongs to whom and who wants to belong to whom. Over a period … Continue reading →

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James narrates “The Story of Marco Polo”

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Kay Pelham

James will be spending next school year with Marco Polo and his travels. This week he got an introduction to the man in a chapter from M.B. Synge’s The Discovery of New Worlds

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I must know why

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Yesterday I was reading Chapter 1 “Fingerprints” from Tobias Dantzig’s NUMBER: The Language of Science. Very fascinating stuff to me about primitive ways of counting –or not– and theories of how different numbering systems developed. I got stuck on pg. … Continue reading →

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And a little child shall lead them

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Kay Pelham

I have found myself regularly recalling and admiring one episode from James’ earlier life that it seemed time to write it into the record. James was 4 years old and we were at a large family holiday gathering. After an … Continue reading →

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Kids do say the darndest things

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Earlier today when the neighborhood kids were still in school, James asked if they wanted to play at his house (meaning yard), would that be okay. I told him it would be fine, but they probably should not go in … Continue reading →

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