wrapping it up

Well I went through the different pages testing all the sites for accessability. It was successful. Still doing so some research for interesting sites. Alice the math sites you found are pretty comprehensive; do you have any other ideas about topics that you would like to see incorporated? Mike P - same goes for you. If there is anything you would like to see more about in s.s. or we missed let me know. Mike F if you could put some beautiful media- that you are so good at- on the math page where I added 2 new sites; that would be fantastic. Well, that wraps up about another 2 hours of work. Let me know if there is anything else I can do otherwise I will be sitting by my pool trying to keep cool! ;)

video game for learning multiplication facts

Hey guys!
Well I was thinking that not knowing your multiplication facts can really hinder your ability to succeed in math so, I have been doing research to find games which help students memorize and practice these facts in a fun way(2.5 hours). I have been playing the free version for a while (testing the product) and I am pleased to say that I am very successful at my 2 and 3 times tables! (I got the ogre!) The game does need to be downloaded to play but, I think they students will enjoy it tremendously.

Government page

Today I spent 1 hour reviewing and updating the American Government page. Hope the weather in New York has improved. Ran the Santa Claus half marathon (13.1 miles) in North Pole, Alaska, last Sunday.

Updates to math

Today I spent 4 hours doing research on math sites. I worked on the wiki and updated Alice's page to add some widgets that preview the sites she suggested.
I hope you all are having a great summer. Our summer has been very different from yours. Weather in the Interior of Alaska has been hot and dry with several days in the 90"s. We had no rain from the last week in June until yesterday. As a result the fire season has been bad.
Forest fires are burning in all of our favorite hiking places and around Fairbanks. Some days the smoke has been very bad, but if the wind is blowing right, we have had some beautiful days as well. My running is limited by the smoke but did manage to do the 16 mile Gold Didscovery trail run two weeks ago and hope to do the Santa Clause Half Marathon 12 miler tomorrow if the smoke allows. Cathy and I haven't done any backpacking due to the fires, but have done a lot of day hikes nearby. Photo at left is the Angel Rocks trail about 20 miles from our home.
Forest fires are part of the ecology here, and the years after a fire find the mountains a beautiful purple from a flower we call fireweed. The picture at the right is fireweed. Imagine a whole mountain thickly covered with this flower and you have an idea of what it is. Pictures dont do it justice. The wildlife adjusts quite well and even thrives after a fire. This year we have 2 million acres burning about the size of the state of Deleware. The worst year we had was 2004 when we burnt 6 million acres about the size of Vermont. That year he fires came within 8 miles of our home and that wasn't much fun. Otherwise it's all part of living in Alaska.





Cathy and I will be returning on August 20th, then leaving immediately for Virginia Beach to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Her family is throwing a party for us there.

Mike F, Mike P, Viv,

I just posted a new math site. It is one of the better ones. It provides practice on most of the curriculum that we cover. Now that the math test is in May- it is good to have the majoritiy of the topics on our site.
Summer is going well. No baby yet! I am due on the 24th, but it is going by very fast!! Hope you guys are doing well and will talk to you soon.
Alice

Wk Hours
2 hours 8/3
2 hours 8/5