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Nov. 20, 2009
The Beginning of Our Ocean Boxes
J-- and C-- have finished up Apologia Botany and have started studying Apologia Zoology II, which is the study of ocean animals. As part of our studies, the kids made "ocean boxes". As we complete chapters in our text, we will make painted salt dough seals, whales, sharks, and other animals to create a diorama inside our boxes.
A-- found some really neat wrapping paper at Walmart last night. It's shimmery and looks more like water (rather than flat, blue construction paper). We painted Elmer's Glue onto the pieces of wrapping paper and glued them onto our boxes, leaving the bottom section cardboard brown for the bottom of the ocean.
Here's C--'s finished Ocean Box. Well, finished for now! LOL We have to read more about the different animals before adding wildlife, plants and even an island to the top of the boxes. It should be a fun project for the kids over the next few months!
S-- has started his Listening Therapy at home for his Sensory Processing Disorder. LT consists of listening to modulated music (with various frequencies) on specialized headphones 2 times a day for 30 minutes each. We've been doing LT during meals and preschool time. His mind must be engaged and active during these times, but his body somewhat calm. S-- started OT the first week of October and LT at home a few weeks later. It's making a HUGE difference in his ability to cope with sensory input!
Here he is playing with homemade peppermint-scented play dough:
And here he is doing his turkey dice picture from www.makinglearningfun.com. He would roll a die then color in the section of the turkey with the matching written number. Both his OT and I have been working on his fine motor skills. It is hard for S-- to write because of his Bilateral Dysfunction, but this is also improving with OT. (Oh, and he did write his name in the final photo, but I swirled it out.)
Oct. 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Oct. 23, 2009
Fall Scenes (at Least the Few That I've Captured)
Oct. 23, 2009
Our NEW Student...
Isn't Stripe getting big?! She's been with us since mid-August and arrived just the size of my palm - a curled up softball - but now she's BOOK size! She decided to join us during Botany this afternoon - we studied woody and herbaeous stems, transpiration, and auxins and phototropism. (I think she found it boring though as she fell asleep ON the text...)
Oct. 23, 2009
The Electronics Expert
Do you remember that we did Snap Circuits: Electronics projects last year for part of our science studies? Well, S-- discovered the set again and was SOOOOO excited to start building circuits and testing them out!
First, S-- put together Project 2. (We had to skip Project 1 as the tiny lightbulb wasn't put away properly in the spring and broke.)
Using the drawing of the parts and assembly, S-- made this DC Motor and Switch. He LOVES the ones with the "fan" because stopping the power to it quickly sends it flying off into the room!
Second, S-- built Project 3: Sound Activated Switch. This project is a little more complicated, but he built it in no time!
"Mom! I'm ready to test it!" (Note the focus and anticipation in his expression...) Did it play music?
Yup! S--'s "victory dance"!
Well, J-- and C-- have been playing recreational soccer again this fall. Both are on the BLUE teams and doing well! They have 2 more weeks left in the season and a week off before basketball starts! (Basketball is something new for BOTH of them, so it should be interesting!)
J-- continues to play "defender". I don't know the exact position's name (or maybe it IS defender), but he plays defense in front of the goalie. It is his preferred position and he does a good job getting his feet in there to deflect shots.
Here's J-- in the "thick of things". He's the one doing the crazy dance to the left! LOL
And C-- plays whatever position the coach puts her in at! Because she's in 2nd grade, the rules are a little different - the field is smaller, there isn't a goal, scored aren't kept, and the girls rotate positions.
Unfortunately, I haven't been doing well with remembering to bring the camera along to games so I don't have a lot of photos. And tomorrow's games have already been canceled due to fore-casted heavy rain. Perhaps the LAST games on Halloween?
Oct. 9, 2009
What's S-- Up To?
Well, S-- has started back to OT twice a week. We decided to discontinue his OT with a previous center as well as the Developmental Preschool there. His OT there was inconsistant and minimal at best and he learned very little at the preschool, where group settings (4 "classes" using 1 room) only added to his SPD stress.
We found a new center and an AWOESOME OT who S-- enjoys! (We've already seen some subtle changes in behavior after only 2 sessions!) She is working on "self modulation" (controlling his behavior, sensory reactions and emotions) through vestibular play as well as tactile and oral sensitivities and bilateral dysfunction (the ability to use hands and feet together and to cross them over the middle of the body). She has introduced Therapeutic Listening Therapy for his Auditory SPD and is using Handwriting Without Tears Pre-K curricula for his weak fine motor skills. We're very excited about her plans for S--!
S-- began his school day by watching an episode of Magic School Bus on TV about snow and the bounced on his trampoline for a few minutes.
And yes, he's still in his Batman PJs. Some days are made for PJs! LOL He also practiced reading Bob Book "Mat". (He asked to learn to read last week, so we're slowly working on letter and sound recognition.)
He played on www.starfall.com, learning the names and sounds of several letters. He's getting very good at using a mouse!
He loves building "structures" with the magnetic balls and rods. I'm not sure what he was building here...
I found some Play Doh Snake letter cards at www.makinglearningfun.com last night. I swapped out Play Doh for Modeling Clay as it's harder to manipulate and will encourage finger strength and promote better fine motor skills for handwriting. After a few letter cards, he decided that he would to get out the Play Doh scissors, cookies, rollers, etc and created for another 20 minutes or so, but he made a mess on the floor and had to sweep it up. (He had also steam-cleaned the floors. It's his REWARD for sleeping in his own room ALL night! Yup, he LOVES that steam mop! LOL)
I also printed out some counting and number recognition cards using clothespins at www.makinglearningfun.com and we used those today. (Pinching open and close clothespins is great for his pincher grasp and fine motor skills.) S-- would count the number of nails on the card and then place the clothespin on the correct written number at the bottom.
And finally, I cut out a tree and had him glue it to a blue piece of paper. Using Q-tips and tempera paint, S-- created a beautiful tree with rainbow-colored leaves!
Oct. 7, 2009
What's C-- Up To?
Most of our Science, History, Geography, and Fine Arts are done together. J-- may complete his readings and projects quicker, but C-- also does similar work. (Only Language Arts and Math are done almost exclusively separate as they are at significantly different levels.)
C-- is studying world geography through www.sheppardsoftware.com and www.eduplace.com as well. She's finished her Canada map and is almost finished labeled her USA one.
She's also working on Ancient Civilizations. Here is the front of her book of pockets, her Mesopotamia postcard and her Mesopotamia vocabulary.
She's also studying Botany with Apology Sciences. (J-- does his notebook and journal independently then shares, but C-- and I do hers together.) Here's some pages from her notebook about Monocot and Dicot plants, flower anatomy (which we also dissected flowers), 4 ways of seed dispersal, and her 5 leaves labeled with venation, margin and shape from her journal. (The leaves are shiny because we coated them with Elmer's glue, which is supposed to preserve them.)
C-- is also using First Language Lessons (for memorization, grammar, copywork, handwriting, and spelling), www.spellingcity.com (for spelling), www.superteacherworksheets (for grammar and reading comprehension), and Little House books (for reading). And she's working her way through Horizons Math 2. Double phew!
Oct. 7, 2009
What's J-- Up To?
J-- is progressing through a poetry unit. He's studying and writing "formula poetry" such as Haikus, Tankas, Quatrains, Couplets, and Limericks, and copying and illustrating some of his favorite poems. (I'm enlarging these photos in the hopes that you'll actually be able to read them...)
Here's J--'s Couplet poem:
J-- is studying Ancient Mesopotamia using History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations. Using folded sheets of 18x12 construction paper, we created a book of pockets where information sheets, vocabulary and various activities are placed. J-- has almost completed 2 pockets this year.
Here's his Mesopotamia postcard and puppets:
He's also learning about Botany through Apologia Sciences and keeping both a notebook of information from the book and a Nature Journal. Although the book is supposed to last one school year, J-- will complete it by the end of October and start Ocean Animals.
Here's a photo of his notebook Leaf Anatomy page and his Nature Journal with the venation (type of veins), margin (type of outside edge) and shape of various leaves inside and outside our house:
Using www.sheppardsoftware.com, J-- is learning the countries of the world. When he scores a 100%, he fills in a blank map from www.eduplace.com. He's already learned all the provinces of Canada and the states of the U.S. and recently scored a 90% for Central and South America, so it won't be long before he's filling in those maps.
And he's doing research projects this year. He chose "volcanoes" as his first topic and created a "spider web" of information before writing a rough draft. He just finished his final draft today - a 500 word typed paper with 1 map, 2 photos, and a simple bibliography.
And yes, J-- does Math. He's continuing to work through Saxon 76. (He started it last year.) He's reading classical literature and is currently reading "Sherlock Holmes". He's working on grammar and spelling through his poetry and research projects. Phew!
Oct. 7, 2009
On the Menu: Apple Dinner
It's apple season in Maine! The kids and I have visited and brought home a variety of apple from 2 orchards. What to do with a bushel of apples? Apple Dinner! I found a bunch of recipes at www.bettycrocker.com, so the kids made us a balanced dinner using apples in all components - main dish, side dish, dessert, and drink.
Cheesy Apple-Bacon Brunch
1 pound sliced bacon
1 cup peeled and diced apple
2 T sugar
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 11x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Cook bacon until crisp, drain, then crumble and set aside. In a small bowl, mix apple and sugar then spread in the baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix Bisquick with milk and eggs until blended. Pour over apple in baking dish. Sprinkle bacon and cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Apple Cole Slaw
3 cups chopped cabbage
1 unpeeled, chopped red apple
1 unpeeled, chopped Granny Smith apple
1 grated carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
2 finely chopped green onions
1/3 cup mayo
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
In a large bowl, combine all veggies. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, brown sugar and lemon juice. Pour dressing over veggies and mix well.
Apple Crisp
4 cups peeled, sliced apples
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup softened butter
3/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
whipped topping or ice cream if desired
Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease bottom and sides of 8x8 pan. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg until blended. Sprinkle over apples. Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.
We did make some changes in the recipes. For the Cheesy Apple-Bacon Brunch, we used skim milk and low fat cheddar cheese, and for the Apple Cole Slaw, we substituted Olivio for the butter. (And we all thought that the brown sugar could've been reduced in the slaw dressing. Perhaps 1/4 cup instead?) Overall, VERY good! (And the kids did most of the clean-up!)
(Oh! And the kids served apple cider with ice for drinks.)
J-- loves Legos!  C-- thinks they're so-so.  And S-- has discovered them!  So, after S-- did his school work today - Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Lesson 10), www.starfall.com, Link Math (Recognizing numbers and counting), coloring pumpkins and writing "S--" and "pumpkin" on them - he built some detailed spaceships! I couldn't possibly take photos of ALL of his creations, but I did get this one!
(Now I'm just hoping he'll pick up ALL the Legos so I don't walk on them!  )
Sep. 25, 2009
Arts and Music Day
Arts and Music Day! This morning the kids and I explored Johann Bach and Piablo Picasso. We also began learning to read musical notes and play the Recorder, and read about the life and times of Shakespeare.
Using "Meet the Great Composers" and some CDs we have, we read about the life of Bach, learned about the characteristics of the Baroque period, and listened to some of his more popular music. We created a notebook page of information and photos.
We then read about Picasso and googled his works. (J-- and C-- thought Picasso did some "weird stuff". LOL) Using ideas from www.deepspacesparkle.blogspot.com, we created Picasso-inspired paintings!
J--:
C--:
And S-- decided that he wanted to do HIS own creative interpretation of Picasso (i.e. mixing all the colors together to see what would happen).
In a couple of weeks, we continue to learn about Picasso and do collages and read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from Shakespeare Tales, but we'll study Scarlatti for classical composers.
Sep. 24, 2009
Apples! Apples!
The kids and I joined our "old" homeschool group for a field trip to an organic apple orchard today. The owner spent some time talking to the kids about what "organic" means and how they protect and grow their apples using more environmentally safe means. Apples at this orchard are sprayed with a clay-compound that leaves a coating on the apples that insects do not like. After the leaves have fallen from the trees, the owner mows, mulching the leaves so that they can decompose over the winter and kill any molds that may leave "rust" on apples. It was interesting to hear that pesticides aren't the only way to protect apples!
J--, C-- and S-- headed out into the orchard to collect their 1/2 peck of apples. They tried REALLY hard to get 10 or more varieties of apples, but the trees were not labeled and some varieties were not ripe.
The boys loved the red antique tractor that they could play on! The orchard had several old tractors lying around for exploring as well as Ben the Goat and a flock of VERY friendly chickens.
After having freshly made donuts and cider (made right at the orchard), we went to a local playground to run around and have some lunch. A nice, warm fall day!
Sep. 22, 2009
Lost River Gorge and Caves
We drove through the White Mountain National Forest on the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire this afternoon. The turning foliage and mountains were beautiful (even though we're not at "peak" foliage time).
We stopped at Lost River Gorge and Caves to walk the 3/4 mile wooded trail (with 1000 wooden stair steps) and explore the glacier-made caves there. The kids have a blast crawling and climbing through the caves!
I get a chuckle out of the Lost River Weather Rock. It says on the sign: "Dead On Weather Predictor"...If Rock is: wet, it's raining...warm, it's sunny...white, it's snowing...moving, it's windy".
S-- posed inside this rock last year. Somehow he fit MUCH better last year! LOL
Here the kids are watching the waterfall. S-- pointed out an apple by the rock at the bottom of the fall. Can you find it?
This is the rock formation of "Faris the Dog". There is a story about this rock that says at night it howls through the empty gorge.
This is the "Needle". We thought the orange lichen growing on the rock was really neat. (We're learning about plants in Botany this fall.) And the 2nd rock is called the "Guillotine".
I didn't take many photos of the kids INSIDE or going in or out of the caves. My camera did not like the poor lighting conditions and the kids were QUICK and I STILL am not sure about tight, dark spaces with millions of pounds of rock 6" over my head. C-- was the only one of use who did ALL the caves. One cave, the Lemon Squeezer, has a size gauge, and only S-- and C-- could fit through it. S-- didn't want to go without A--, but C-- went (and decided NOT to do it again). At the conclusion of our walk it a covered bridge over a small mountain stream that leads to a wild garden.
We couldn't do a trip to Lost River without buying some bags of dirt to "sluice"! J-- chose a bag with fossils. C-- chose one with shark teeth. And S-- chose gemstones. Lost River provides an identification pamplet, so when we returned home the kids spent some time figuring out the names of their treasures.
After a Chinese dinner, we headed back on the Kancamagus and stopped to stretch our legs at the Lower Falls rest stop. I knew the kids would LOVE this place and they did! There is a shallow, moderately moving river down the center of THOUSANDS of smooth-as-glass blouders with some very small waterfalls. It was getting dark and we couldn't explore very long.
This is what happens when you tell BOYS not to get wet! C-- waded across a section of water with only a few drops on her shorts, but J-- slipped and fell into the same section and S-- just trudged right on through without a worry. (S-- had to wear MY sweatshirt home!)
As you can see, it was already DARK DARK when we left the Lower Falls rest stop. We arrived home late, but we had a GREAT time!
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