Ready for 2015-2016!

Last week was not our official first week of school. Tha actually happened back in August when the kids begged and begged for two weeks straight to start school, and I finally gave in. Really, we were just taking a break anyway, so it wasn't difficult to jump back in. I had decided that with morning sickness and our Florida trip in the spring, and knowing that things could get overwhelming when the baby comes, it would be best to do school like normal through the summer. We usually do school through summer anyway, but I tried to keep up our schedule like the other months as well. I'll have to explain that better sometime. 

Here are a few pictures from last week, since I didn't get any first week pictures. The first two are photos of a 15-family co-op we joined this year.  The kids each get to choose from several different classes. Trevor was sick last week and stayed home with Sean, but this is a scripture and craft class that Conrad and Abigail have together. Trevor and Conrad will also be doing drama together, Conrad has a book making class (learning about writing, authoring, illustrating, etc.), Trevor has a weather science class and a Spanish class, and Abigail has a nursery class as well. 

Full group shot:

It really was an amazing week, and the kids kept asking for more!  For biology we learned about cells, watched a documentary on the beginnings of microscopes (van Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke), took out our own microscope and looked at prepared slides. It really got me excited to purchase a more powerful microscope and look at some living cells rather than the prepared slides. The kids would love that!

We also started a new math history book that I've been dying to crack open, Mathematicians Are People, Too. We read about Thales. This book makes me want to go read a full biography on each mathematician!  We're also doing Life of Fred, which the kids all love, of course.  I can't wait to post about our "Math Room" that we've been working on! We just have way too much fun! 

For our actual history class, we read about Justinian and Theodora, and watched a documentary on the Hagia Sophia and how seismologists are trying to keep it from likely earthquake damage. We're also using random scraps of paper to make mosaic art like the inside of the Hagia Sophia.

I've learned so much lately about homeschool scheduling. It's always an evolving concept with needs that arise and kids growing and changing, but I'm getting a better handle on how to get ahead of the needs. 

Hello Fred!!

One of my big goals this year was to do more math. It just so happens that Conrad has a newfound love of math. He has been telling me he loves numbers, so I naturally thought he might be ready for harder math, and he truly is. I bought him his own Miquon books and he enjoys those. And look what came in the mail a week ago!!!!

You know you're a homeschool mom when you ask for educational materials for Christmas! We've been loving these books! 

The Nutcracker

Today we listened to Tchaikovsky's music, read The Nutcracker, did a ballerina snowflake craft, and then joined our homeschool group for The Grand Rapids Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. We met up with Emmy Liu and her kids and hung out with them the entire time. 

The kids loved every minute of it (except waiting for the ballet to start!).  Trevor's favorite part was the mice and soldiers battling, and Conrad liked the snowflake dance. Abigail clapped so much and just enjoyed it thoroughly. Conrad was so happy to get a chance to walk the city again and kept telling me he misses Minneapolis. I know how he feels!! I think The nutcracker dances really made an impact on him. When we got home, he kept trying to do the same moves and asked me all the way home about getting ballet lessons again. If only I could find them as cheap as we had them in MN! It was a great day. 

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. 

Solar Day!

See our family blog for details.