Full Orchard Field Trip

I organized a full field trip with our homeschool group at the orchard that included a wagon ride, apple and gourd picking, cider and donuts, food to feed the goats, and the petting zoo.

History Fair

This was such a fun activity. Our homeschool group did a history fair, where each kid studied a topic, made a display, and some even dressed up. 

Conrad especially loved makng his display. He really wanted to do his on the history of rubber. We even made rubber band guns (ahem, Sean made the guns) and a target in the middle of his display so people could try out some rubber.

We had a timeline on the gym floor and discussed dates. 

Trevor did his on the Kraken, or its legend rather. At first he said he wanted to do boats on Lake Michigan, but changed his mind the morning of the fair and said he wanted to do his on a giant squid attacking a ship. Uh, say what? So we looked up sailor stories, talked about those, he wrote his own giant squid story, and since we started reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea that week, we added a quote from it. I think some of the moms were worried that he thought it was reality the way he talked about it. It was a really fun day.

Today's Snapshots

Trevor is the same person he was when he was just a little guy. I decided to put up a rough schedule last night and Trevor was so happy about it he gave me a hug. He loves routine and the predictability of a schedule. I like flexibility, but I also like to have some kind of goal. We'll probably be doing this from now on. There's a lot not included on the chart, and we did some other things instead of music today (read on), but just writing down the goals on the board helps as a visual for all of us.

Abigail has been doing an Eric Carle puzzle over and over lately. 

Conrad and Abigail wanted to fingerprint while Trevor did his history narrative in his notebook. It was a special lesson today because it happened to be about the birth of Christ.

Conrad's quote for today: "Mommy, you're supposed to cook beans, not do math with them." I love that boy. 

Trevor sighted a cardinal out the window and grabbed his binoculars, nature notebook, camera, crayons, and the bird cards that Grandma Arndt gave us (the ones she used as a child) and went out to birdwatch.

Conrad with the bird cards. These boys love to be together.

Afterward we read about cardinals. They eat fruit as well as seeds and insects. And they can have 2-3 broods per year! 

As Trevor was gathering his birdwatching gear, I reminded him that when he came back in we still had some school to do for the day, and he said, "Mom, this IS school." 

You are so right Trevor. Just the type of school we want around here.