Pretend Passports:Our adventures around the globe

This week we started a Social Studies project that we will continue for the rest of the year and maybe even beyond - we made passports :) Every time we study a new place (any place, even ones we wouldn't need a passport to get to), the kids will be able to add a new "stamp" to their passport. I found the printable passport here and some cool printable stamps here. I even purchased some clearance stickers with city names on them at Hobby Lobby. Our first areas of study? Georgia and Africa.

I decided to start with Georgia and just go over some basics - the state flower, bird, Capitol city, etc. I integrated in some map skills with a couple of worksheets, new for Sydney and as a review for Nicholas. It was nice to see Sydney raise her working level to try and meet with Nic's, and to see him step up and help her when she needed direction. Both kids made a GA collage, pulling images from magazines that could be found in the state.

We spent some time on the couch for the Africa unit, watching Youtube videos about the cultures and animals in Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa. A new kid safe browser that I downloaded,Kidzui, helped us find safe videos quickly - and it's free to download! A printed traditional African fable made for a great story-time with us all piled on the couch. Later on they branched into separate directions, Nicholas playing some African puzzles and trivia online and Sydney making a safari picture and paper doll in traditional Kenyan clothing.

I'm really enjoying this project so far and hope that the kids are too. My time isn't split between the two of them when we study together, so I am looking for more ways to bring them both to the table at the same time :)

Scientists in the HOUSE!

Somehow, in the whirlwind of chaos that I like to call my life, I have lost sight of SCIENCE in our home curriculum. I paused one day while going over the lesson plans, realizing I'd neglected the subject. I was never a big fan of science class as a kid, but all of my experiences revolved around reading from textbooks and not understanding WHAT they were trying to tell me. Nicholas already has an interest in the sciences and I want to encourage that in both of my children. To make up for the oversight, we spent much of the past two weeks submerged in science.

In my original lesson plans, I should be through the Magic School Bus Germs kit by now. Instead, Nicholas and I did the vast majority of the experiments just last week. Too bad for us, the yeast that came with the kit had expired (no date on the package, GrrRrRR) and so had the yeast in my cabinet. Needless to say, the experiments did not do what we wanted...the yeast did not react better in warm water than cold because it didn't react at all, it didn't release carbon dioxide to make the balloon fill, and the bread was super dense. Nic still learned a lot, but active yeast would have really SHOWN him what I was telling him. I'm proposing a do-over next week and will also include Sydney - I think she'll like participating. Instead of participating with us this failed time, Sydney instead had her own curriculum about the human body using books in conjunction with a workbook I found on the Fernbank Science Center site , a valuable resource!

In another and much more successful science adventure, the kids and I went to visit the Bio-Bus, brought to us by the University of Georgia. The day consisted of a power point presentation as well as demonstrations and experiments all about the phases of matter. Both children have heard the basics of chemistry and matter before and I am excited to see that they both were able to pick up a few new pieces of information and also came away with their curiosity sparked. Nicholas mentioned perhaps becoming a scientist and was heartbroken when the instructor told him that, no, he could not buy his own liquid nitrogen at Walmart. Sydney sat (mostly) still while listening to the lecture, remembered to raise her hand to answer a question, answered a question about density correctly and got the experience of being in front of the class while demonstrating how tightly knitted molecules in ice are. We all really enjoyed watching the chemical changes made in the experiments.

My plan is to follow up this field trip with some of our own experiments, perhaps getting out some more polymer to play with and also getting some growing foam from a hardware store. I also have an episode of Sid the Science Kid all geared up for Sydney to watch that shows irreversible chemical changes in easy to understand examples, like cooking pancakes. HmmMmM...maybe I should get both kids in the kitchen to show them that same example. Sounds like science and home ec. rolled into one breakfast!

Story + Art = stART

This idea come from another homeschooling blog, A Mommy's Adventures. I think it's pretty cute, so we are joining in on the fun. Today we read "What Makes a Rainbow" as well as "What is a Rainbow". I gave Sydney a rainbow template with cut up construction paper and she made a rainbow, complete with raindrops to be the prisms and a shining sun. And if you look closely, you will see that her headband coordinates with the rainbow theme - hehe, I couldn't help myself!

"Read, read, read" ( ~ William Faulker)

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
~ Joseph Addison ~

Our school year has just begun and we are all slowly learning our new routine. For me, this looks like waking up earlier than I want to and heading out to the gym. I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled to be using an alarm clock again, but it is what it is. I am happy to have a workout buddy, and to feel like I am making some progress toward my goal of finishing the Warrior Dash this coming May. I really don't want to have to skip any of the 11 obstacles because of physical ability, so going to the gym is very very necessary, however early it is when I get there.

Our new routine also includes the addition of 2 new bookclubs, one for me and one for Sydney. This means that 3 out of 4 of us are in a bookclub now - I think my love of reading is filtering down :)



This month Nicholas will be reading Jeffrey Strangeways by Jill Murphey. We haven't started yet, so I really need to make it a priority as his bookclub meets in just 2 weeks. We are still reading his books together and I like the quality time it gives us.





Sydney was the hostess for the younger bookclub and her selection was Princess Hyacinth: the Surpriseing Tale of a Girl Who Floated. This was the first meeting for the new group, so I was really unsure of how it would go or what to do. Being me, I tied the snack into the story - popcorn and tea turned into popcorn and apple juice served in tea cups. I also transformed Sydney's Chutes & Ladders game into a story themed game of Kites & Balloons. 16 children showed up for the meeting and it went really well - I think this is going to be a great group!

Not to be out read by our children, our group now has a moms bookclub as well. Classic books for classy moms :) I mentioned to a friend that I was going to read Emma by Jane Austen and that is now our first pick. I am really looking forward to being able to read classic literature and discuss with this bright bunch of friends that I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by.

Summer vacation: Charleston, SC

This summer we were fortunate enough to vacation in one of the most historical cities in the U.S., Charleston, SC. Or Charles Towne as it was originally called. We spent 7 days soaking up the sun at Folly Beach, just a block away from our beach house, and soaking up history as well. I watched my son as he turned into a fish, never wanting to leave the water. I watched him grow up a little, allowing him to walk to the corner store by himself (I know, I know, I am a clingy mother). I saw my daughter create her own masterpieces, no matter what her surroundings she has to have her artistic outlet. I saw her become a student, curiosity peaked at every museum with her little hand in the air for questions and even sounding out her first word (FOOD, on a local grocery store). I learned so much in 7 days, about family and friends and life. Much of what I learned cannot be shared here, but I can say that I missed home and was happy to come back :)

Start of a new year

I can hardly believe that today was the 1st day of another school year at home. I have 2 students, a Kindergartner and a 4th grader. Some days, like today, I look back to that last day of public school for Nic and wonder where the time has gone. And I also remember to take a minute to reflect on how happy I am with the changes we've made to get us here, learning from the dining table.

Hot off the press: Our yearbooks are here!!

I have started a new tradition for our homeschool, one that we all remember from our own public school days...yearbooks!! I'm so proud of my creation, truly! It does have one error, I didn't catch the fact that my text box ran out of space before I ran out of words, but it was like 2am when I finished this book of awesomeness to commemorate our year, so I forgive me :) Using photos that I took throughout the year and my scanner for the kids artwork, I was able to fill out the 20 page photo book easily enough. I used a Buy-1-Get-1 code and was able to get these delivered to my door for under $50 total for the pair. Each child has their own book and they are planning on having friends from their weekly playgroup sign them, so cool! Here is a glimpse, a page of history and science.