Busy Times

So I finally steal away a few minutes to blog and for the life of me, I don't know what to write. I feel like I should give an update on our school year, my fitness journey, life in general, but how do I cram 6 weeks of school into just a few paragraphs? Guess I'll give it a try.





Overall, school is going really, really well this year. I attribute 95% of that to the new website planner we're using. Have I mentioned I love mywellplannedday.com? More than love really. It's revolutionized the way we school. I love being able to print out a schedule for each of the kids so that they know what is expected, but I also love that changing the schedule only takes a few mouse clicks. Making it easier to keep me and the kids accountable. We actually "had" school for 25 consecutive week days. Five entire weeks without missing a day of school. If you know me, you'll know that is an all time record.

From science to history to our new homeschool group, we've been having a lot of fun this year. I'll share a few things that we've been doing through the pictures below.


Joshua is focused



After reading about Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible from Russia, we painted Russian architectual eggs. The kids enjoyed painting the eggs, but watching me blow out the eggs was probably the best part. After the paint was dry, they added a small colored drawing of a Russian building. I hung them on strings and the kids want to save them to hang on our Christmas tree this year.

One of the eggs

 

Our new homeschool group has been a lot of fun.The kids just finished up Unit 1 and we'll be starting Unit 2 this week. The boys were both in the Knots class and learned how to tie various knots. They made a collectible shadowbox showcasing 8 of the knots they learned to tie. I was able to assist in this class and actually learned a few things myself! Their next unit is Spanish and once again they are both protesting it.

 

 

Joshua showing off a knot he tied



Leanna's unit was on Rocks and Minerals. She enjoyed learning about different types of rocks, how they are formed, etc. Next she will be doing a unit on Stencils and I will be assisting. I'm looking forward to learning about stenciling and the opportunity to spend time with just her.

 

He was not thrilled with picking everything off the bone



In science, we're learning all about the human body. For the lesson on bones, we dissected chicken wing bones. We were able to see the tendon connecting the muscle to the bone, cartilage, and the inside layers of the bone. It was pretty fascinating to see the spongy bone on the inside.

We also did an activity to demonstrate how important the fluid in our skull is for keeping our brain safe. We used an egg in a small plastic container to represent a brain in a skull without fluid. The kids took turns running around the house with the skull. As you can see, our brain turned to mush. Next, we filled the container with water, to simulate the fluid around our brain, placed the egg in the container and ran again. The water was enough to stop the egg from rattling around and our brain was safe! A great idea to show how God planned out each detail of our bodies.

That's it for now, just a small glimpse at the many things we have been doing. Check back for pictures of the "Digestion Theme Park" the kids will be designing later this week. Never a dull moment!





Skull with fluid makes a happy brain



 

Skull without fluid makes mush