Some Things We Do

Here are a few things we have done recently for the organization and fun of homeschool.

We made these fun journals out of composition books. Nature journals, piano book for assignments, and B has one for his Reading Made Easy handwriting journal. We enjoyed stamping on cardstock then gluing our creations to the cover. We also enjoy filling them up.

In the nature journal we write about the things we find outside, and print pictures of the critters we identify.

The kids love to do Creative Writing. We cut photos from magazines and make up stories about what could have happened.

Reading Made Easy is the phonics/reading program I am using with B-6. It is a wonderful curriculum. It involves learning special symbols for phonics and then writing out sentences with the phonics clues. Then you get to read books and listen for the phonic of the day. He loves snuggling up with me and reading books. He also likes to draw pictures of the sentences he writes for handwriting practice.

This is the kids' first drawing lesson. It is a picture of a banana, a nectarine and a plum on the table in front of the window. They both did very well. Their teacher was really impressed. We are so thankful she has donated her time and talent to bless us.

We "rowed" the book They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson last week. It was a great story about family. We learned a little about our family history as we completed a family tree. We also learned about industrialization. Just a little, not too overwhelming. We talked about the Civil War, and what times were like right after the war. It is wonderful to see the innocence of my children. I love that they cannot imagine the people being afraid of the old slaves. To me, it shows how far we have come in showing that all men truly are created equal. I love that my kids see everyone as God's children. Anyway, I will stop there before I get too sappy.

Luna Moths and Butterflies

When we went to the football game Friday night, we came home with a pretty beaten up Luna Moth. Some children found it, and were showing it to us. Then M wanted to keep it, so they let her. They said that their parents wouldn't let them take it home. We saw an opportunity for an excellent science project.

We have learned a lot recently about butterflies, and moths. So, this was a special treat. We came home and read all about the Luna Moth and M and I were debating on whether or not it was a boy or a girl. I was unsure about how big the antennae needed to be to be a boy. Well M won the debate on Sunday when we found little eggs all over her bug barn. Flutterby, the Luna Moth, is now in moth heaven and in about 10 days we should have lots of little moth larvae to feed sweetgum leaves. We are eager to see if they will emerge now, or wait until Spring. I am thinking that it will be Spring, although I would love for them to emerge soon, so we could have our bug barn back!!

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a nature study on butterflies. M and B love nature and everything in it. We have several butterflies who love our zinnias, and a some that frequent a wildflower patch by the house. We took lots of pictures and video, then came inside and identified them. We had 2-3 Gulf Fritillary, and a small little bugger we are not sure about. But he gave us quite the show with his proboscis.

We think the yellow ones that likes the wildflowers are called Cloudless Sulphurs. I can't get the video to load of them though. Sorry. They moved to fast for a still photo.

We sure enjoyed learning about moths and butterflies. We hope you get a chance to learn something too.

Mailing May

We had a great time with our Five in a Row book Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnel. It is about a little girl who is mailed to her grandmother's house via the US Postal Service on a train. It is really cute.

My kids were most excited that the setting was in Idaho. We have some good friends from there, so the lights went on in immediately with this one. The kids both talked about what it was like in Idaho with our friend, and we viewed photos from the Idaho tourist website. They both learned that you can do lots of cool outdoor sports in Idaho. Also, that potatoes are grown there.

We had a wonderful visit with Nana at the university post office where she works. Not only did the kids enjoy the mail cart rides, they also learned about how Nana does some of her job. It was neat to see how it is sorted. We watched a video on the entire process of the mail and also learned more about postcards. We enjoyed a postcard exchange with all of our FIAR friends over the summer. I put those postcards to good use in a geography/mapping activity. We put the postcards in a lapbook, and identified where each one came from on the map, using our map skills. We learned about North, South, East and West. We learned about grid maps, and how to use the index of an atlas. We are continuing this throughout the month.

The Security of This Blog

I have changed this blog to be more private. Only invited viewers may see this blog. I am doing this to make sure that no freaks or wierdos can fantasize about my kids. But I want to share our homeschool journey with my family, so I sent out invitations. If you are reading this, you have been invited!

Gone Fishin'

A couple weeks ago we started rowing Higgins Bend Song and Dance by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. This is a tall tale about a man who has to find just the right bait to catch the biggest catfish in the river. We really enjoyed this book. We read it with our family's most accomplished fisherman, PAPAW! The kids and I especially liked hearing about all the real catfish that he and Nana have caught over the years. We looked at lots of pictures and couldn't believe how big some of the fish were. If I remember correctly, Papaw caught one that was 58 pounds. That is a large fish!

We learned about 2 different types of fishing. Bass fishing with lures, and Brim with bait, crickets of course!

Our family enjoyed a visit to our Bishop's house where he taught the kids about all the different kinds of lures you can use for fishing. Then he let them try their hand at bass fishing at his pond. B caught two bass! It was so exciting when he was reeling those fish in! M was saving all her luck for the lake!

Papaw took the kids fishing at our local lake, and they caught a mess of fish! Brim and some sun perch. Papaw's friend caught a catfish, which thrilled the kids! It was such a strong fish, that he had to use his net to get it in the boat! Papaw says to hear the kids talk you would think they caught it!

We released the sun perch in the creek by our house. The kids wanted to keep them, but we didn't have a tank set up. So, we will get a tank ready for our next fishing trip, and see if we can get some sun perch to bring home.

They also enjoyed the race against Papaw's friend. B came up with a plan to win. They passed off some bait, then raced off to the finish! I think we are going to have to keep an eye on that competitive spirit of his. :)

It is such a blessing to be near family. We love getting to make these special memories!

Pioneer Children Played Too

It was a hot day as we celebrated Pioneer Day at our ward building. Pioneer Day celebrates the day that the LDS people arrived in the Salt Lake Valley after a difficult trek across the United States. You can read more about this uniquely LDS holiday here. J2 would not let me get a good picture, but he enjoyed watching M and B participate in all the fun pioneer games.

M and B both enjoyed the sack race. M jumped so hard she fell, but that didn't stop her! The three legged race was super fun!
B enjoyed the hoop and stick game most of all. He won and had to tell the Elders(missionaries) how much he enjoyed beating them!After getting all of our wiggles out, we enjoyed making our dessert of candy covered wagons and exploring a fun pioneer toy.
Andrew was asked to give a presentation on Pioneer Day. We all enjoyed learning more about this fun tradition in our faith. One thing that was pretty interesting, the pioneers began celebrating this holiday just two years after their arrival in the Salt Lake valley. One of the first floats in the parade was a miniature log cabin.

Roxaboxen - First Week of School

We have been having a blast with our first week of school. We are rowing Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Barbara Cooney, one of our favorite authors/illustrators.

M has sure enjoyed playing Roxaboxen in our driveway, B joins her sometimes.

Last night we made "Desert Glass" candy. We demonstrated all the stages of candy making to the kids as we brought the candy to 310 degrees Fahrenheit, the "hard crack" stage.

They thought "soft ball" stage was cool, but truly enjoyed "soft crack" more.
We think we need to add more flavoring next time. We added the tablespoon of raspberry flavoring, but it still tastes like cotton candy.
B says look at my tooth! Yummy!

We spent some time coloring the flag, flower, and state reptile of Arizona. I got a cool coloring book by Crayola of the 50 states at Office Depot. I am planning on using it as we explore the U.S. this year. We pasted some facts about Arizona in our lapbook, that I will post when it is done. We have also talked about what it means to be a mayor, and discussed what are some things that we would like to see happen in our city. Typical kids, they want everything to be FREE! Too cute! We used desert colors to work in the style of Barbara Cooney. Here is the original picture we used for inspiration.

This one is B's

This one is M's.

This one is mine (mama's)

Blackberries and Pico

I have been in the zone lately....the blackberry zone. Some friends of ours from church have an extensive garden. They cultivate blackberries too. I have personally picked over 6 gallons. I have around 2 gallons of blackberry juice to turn into jam today. I also have another 5 quarts to turn into cobbler throughout the year for my sweetheart. I have already made jam once this season, with about 2 quarts of juice. I am really really getting tired of black fingers and fingernails. I look like an automechanic. Oh, did I mention that I barely even like blackberries!!! The things I will do for my dear dear husband, and children. All who love blackberries!

Luckily I am making something I like today. We have an abundance of tomatoes, I am turning them into Pico de Gallo. I love mexican food, all kinds. So, this will go a long way.

My simple recipe, that you could google yourself and probably find the same one...

2 bunches cilantro coarsely chopped
4 tomatoes diced
1 red onion
juice of 1 lime
garlic 1-2 Tbls.
half to 1 jalapeno finely minced
salt

Toss all ingredients and enjoy with chips, quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, tamales....you get the idea!

A funny from B-6

B-6 told me the other day that he wishes he could marry me, while loving all over me. When I asked him why he wanted to marry me, he responded, "So, you can always take care of me." Yep, just like a man!!!

Hot Bikes, Cool Mama

Growing up we had a ton of bikes. My older stepbrother was always doing something cool to his bike. We loved to get chrome tire caps. We also loved to piece bike parts together and repair our own bikes. That is how I learned about channel locks and vice grips, and all kinds of measurements on wrenches. Who knew this little obsession growing up would help me in my much beloved career as mommy. My ds6 has had a problem with his chain falling off of his bike. I thought my dh fixed it, but I guess not good enough. While outside enjoying our beautiful weather, nice and sunny with a cool breeze, I called for a race down the long path to the mailbox and back after helping him get his chain back on for the 2nd time today. On the way back, that old chain fell off again!!! You should have seen my son's face when his mommy flipped that bike over and tightened that chain. He and my dd8 were so impressed at my skills!! Then I just couldn't resist flipping the bike back over with a fun flip with one hand by one tire!!! It was great! I was the rockstar of our house today. Hopefully it is fixed for a while. :)

Crepes S'il Vous Plait?

We had so much fun learning some cooking skills, as well as eating some yummy food when we "rowed" Mirette on the High Wire by Mary Arnold McCully. We especially loved the 2 sequels to this book, Starring Mirette and Bellini, and Mirette and Bellini Cross Niagara Falls.

SALAD! Yummy....Yummy!

M loves to make salad. She has made "salad" since she was about 3. We love springtime when all the mushrooms come out, and we get a lot of new ingredients! This salad is called "Potato Souflee"

This is our first week using Five in a Row way back in the summer of 2005. I was testing it out with the book The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills. It was great! We made quilt blocks with pieces of construction paper. B made arrows and M put 2 half triangles together to make a square (geometry, fractions). We also made banana bread together, using measurements and fractions again. We loved snuggling up with our special quilts (baby blankets) and reading the story each day.

My First Entry

I am unsure who will even come to my Blog, but I wanted a place to post things we do with our home school. I am going to try to put in our activities for using our Five in a Row unit study on the book Mirette on the Highwire. We made crepes and omelettes. We studied France again, and had fun doing a balancing act.