Autumn Treasures E-Book is a delightful little science toolkit!  My younger four children, ages 3-9, enjoyed going outside and collecting leaves, twigs, berries and undergrowth for the many projects, including making a fall wreath and doing crayon rubbings.  As a mom with many children, I really appreciated all of the work that went into finding all of the links for videos and activities on the internet.  All I had to do was click on the link, and institute the activity.

There are activities, book suggestions, on-line videos, discussion questions, recipes and crafts for each day. Honestly though, with all of the content included in this e-book, you have several weeks worth of science you could do!  We spent several hours on it the first day alone, learning about the seasons, equinoxes and solstices! Even my older boys got side-tracked from their work and enjoyed watching the videos.

Comments from my 7yo and 9yo included: “This is fun, Mom!” and “Look at my folder, Mom!”  They beg me to do science each day.  I just have to get myself organized so we can jump right into it in the morning!  Thanks for making science easy and fun for all!

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Here is a Chickadee that fed at the feeder this morning that Ivan made at Cub Scouts.

This is called a Dark-eyed Junco, and they appear to be nesting at the edge of the woods, right behind this picture. They nest on the ground, and we think we have spotted their nest.  We are going to  keep our eyes on it in hopes of seeing some babies!

Last summer, we had some woodpeckers nest in a tree right at the end of the driveway.  We haven't seen them yet this year, but are hoping they return.  One thing about woodpeckers, they aren't too hard to find when they are in the area.  Just listen for the rapping!

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The kids and I have been enjoying the spring here in Alaska.  We have identified two different birds today, and can recognize them by their songs.  Above is the White-crowned Sparrow.  I was able to get a great  picture of her sitting way up in a tree at the end of our driveway, singing away.

The other one we identified today is called a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  This picture I just found on the internet.

We will try to post more pictures  of the birds we identify.

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Yet another reason to keep our children HOME!  I found this on Dr. Laura's blog.  I don't read it very often, but this one caught my eye in my email.  What are these administrators thinking?!?!  Grrrr....I have neices that go to these...hmmm...I better stop writing before I say something I shouldn't.

Cover-up in Oregon - viewer discretion advised

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Here is our entry for the 12 Blogs of Christmas contest through Trivium Academy!  We had so much fun doing this.  I had the kids help me with it.  Please leave us comments to let us know what your favorite parts are!  Thank you!

On the first day of homeschool my mother said to me, "Here are your new pencils."

On the second day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the third day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "What are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the fourth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the fifth day of homeschool, my father said to me, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Mom said, "Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the sixth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the seventh day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the eighth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Let's have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the ninth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Good job finishin' your math, let's have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the tenth day of homeschool, my mother said to me,"Let's have a p-j day, good job finishin' your math, let's have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the eleventh day of homeschool, my mother said to me,"Who is my prep chef, let's have a p-j day, good job finishin' your math, let's have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the twelfth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, I'm so proud of you all! Who is my prep chef, let's have a p-j day, good job finishin' your math, let's have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where'd the baby's diapers go, what are you doing up again, where's your science book, and here are your new pencils."

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Well, I had planned on starting math this month, as that seems to be our biggest area of struggle.  I was feeling at a loss of what to do with them, as it seems to take them FOREVER to finish three pages of math.  Dh and I discussed it and we decided that it would be a good idea to practice their times tables every morning, so from now on, here is what our routine will be for math each day:

Three pages in their workbooks

15 minutes on MathBuilder (a computer math program)

Saying the times tables for three numbers twice daily

Saying the number progression for three numbers twice daily

For example, on Monday's, they will do 2's, 3's, and 4's in MathBuilder, do 2x1, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4 etc., and 2, 4, 6, 8 etc.  Each day of the week will have their designated numbers.  Hopefully doing this will cement it in their minds a little better and will help them do their worksheets more quickly.

That's what we are going to try anyway.  I'll let you know how it goes.

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