Parachutes

We are down to our last week of school. :)

Today we learned about air and how it pushes up on objects as they are falling towards the ground. We made homemade parachutes out of plastic grocery bags, thread and a willing plastic toy. :) We had fun building it and watching it drop.

Well I tried upload a video but it just would not work. I will try to post later with help. I am not computer savvy. :)

Caterpillar update: They have continued to stay on the bush where we first spotted them and they continue to eat the shrub leaves and grow. I hope we get to see one make a chrysalis. The kids have been checking on them each day to make sure they are doing well. Yesterday Ashten checked on them before we had to go to Grace's ballet lesson and in the car Grace spotted a stowaway on Ashten's shirt. :)

Caterpillars and a school update

Today we got an unexpected treat in the backyard. Ashten and Grace discovered caterpillars hatching and coming out of their web. It was so neat to watch explore the web and then move down the branches of the bush and then start munching and crunching on some leaves. We spent about a half hour watching the beginning stages of their little lives. They will eat and eat and eat some more and then metamorphis in to a moth. After watching them and taking some pictures I looked up what they might be. I think they are Eastern Tent caterpillars. We are hoping to see a cocoon and see a moth in a few weeks. :) This of course led us to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The pictures did not come out that great but you get the general idea. ;)


Now a little school update. At the end of this week we will have 3 full weeks left of school. YAY We are excited to be nearing the end of a wonderful school year. Grace will be graduating 2nd grade and Ashten will be graduating kindergarten. The last few weeks have been full of learning about the Transcontinental rail road and the pioneers who ventured west in covered wagons. We finished Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The book gave us a great picture of growing up in the 1800's and what life was like on a farm. We have learned about 38 states so far and will finish up with Hawaii. I sure wish we could finish the school year on the beach in Hawaii. ;) We hope to do a driving tour of the US in the coming years to see and experience many of the places we have learned about. It has been a year full of history!

Looking forward to a summer filled with learning and growing and having fun exploring the world around us.

I leave you will silly pics of Grace and Ashten. ;D

Our homemade cell

Not sure if this will come out very well but we make a cell with a ziplock baggie, jello, clay and some beans. The baggie represents the cell wall and the jello the cell membrane, clay nucleus and the means the organelles. A great hands on project!!!! Taking microscopic a reality!

New Year 2011

Happy New year a bit late!!!! It has been a great start of 2011 as far as school it has had many starts and stops due to illness and just trying to get back on track after a long Christmas break.

We have finished our study of the first 13 colonies which then became our first 13 states. And now we are slowing down our study to move on the the rest of our great 50 states. We are currently reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. What a great perspective it is giving us on how people used to live on a farm. It has been an inspiration for work ethic in our family.

This week began some fun science experiments we are going to be building a cell model using jello! FUN FUN FUN!!! That will be today and pictures to follow. Tomorrow will be watching bacteria grow with milk in two different locations over 7 days. That aught to smell great!!!! Thankfully they will have lids on. We will report in 7 days.

We also learned about Eli Whitney and his invention of the cotton gin. What a neat invention. We did hands on learning with a cotton ball spread out and us adding green seeds and then making them into a ball again and pulling out all the seeds one by one. This was a great way to see what it must have been like before the cotton gin was invented. What slow hard work. Makes me thankful for all our modern amenities that we have today.

Christmas Break

We have been enjoying Christmas break for a week now and 2 more to go!!!! We have been working on a lot of baking this year. It is fun to do with the kiddos and a great way to get them involved in gift giving that keeps us on track with our budget.

This week will be making homemade Christmas cards for family for Christmas day from the kids. It will be fun to see their creativity.
Overall I hope to get much rest, relaxation and fun in this break before we hit the long stretch of school in the spring.

Starting state studies

We are learning about the founding of our country and the 13 original colonies which became states. Today began the first day of learning highlights about each state. Today was Delaware the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787. The found the state on the map, colored it and also worked on a fact sheet about the state.

We are also learning about the music of Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet. Have seen the ballet many many times over the years and the music of Tchaikovsky is timeless and brings you right back to the moments in the ballet each and every time.

Also in these weeks leading up to Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it is a time to think of our Lord and what he came to this earth as a baby to do. It is a beautiful picture and I am thankful to take some extra time to reflect on His saving Grace. We are able to give even more to those in need and think about the needs of others over our own needs and wants. This year has been a year to think about His provision in our tough times and that even in that there is abundance.

It is amazing that in a few weeks 2010 will have passed and 2011 is upon us. Looking for ward to the weeks and the year ahead. Many new and wonderful things to come!!!!

I hope to post our Christmas projects and pictures of fun times soon. :)

Our 9th week of school

This has been a great couple of weeks. We are already in our 9th week of school and my how it is flying by. This week we learned about George Washington, seasons and how the earth rotates around the sun and water colored trees and leaves from our backyard. We also made paper Tricorn hats like the men wore in George Washington's day.

We also were able to teach the kids about voting and a little bit more of how our government works. It was neat to learn about the First President of the United States and also learn about government process in the same week.

For the past few weeks we have also been memorizing verses and learning about them. Each day the kids share their verses and that is my favorite part of the day. :)

This week was Matthew 7:24 Jesus speaking
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man that built his house upon the rock. " This was a great opportunity to examine areas of our life where we may not have been putting His word into practice and prayfully with His help put them into practice.