Memorable Moments in Our Life This Week:

Sunday...Zachary and I went outside to enjoy this beautiful fall weather. The colors were vibrant and the air was crisp. The only sad part about this day was that Bucky had to go out of town and we missed him on our walk.

Nature Walk with Zachary

Monday....we learned about the Water Cycle in class at our Monday Co-op. We made rain in a jar, which all the kids thought was pretty cool.

Makin' It Rain

Tuesday....I took this photo of Gizmo just because he's so darn cute! Gizmo is the Pekingnese puppy that my husband and I got as a wedding present 14 1/2 years ago. He's lost most of his sight and hearing, but he still has a bit of spunk left in him.

I love my little Gizmo!

 

Wednesday....we started our geography study today. I want to focus on the states as we study them in our American History lessons this year. Today was all about Florida. Last week we studied about Ponce de Leon and other Spanish explorers, so it worked well to start with Florida. The rest of the year the states we cover will follow along with the founding of the 13 colonies.

 

Books we used for Geography

Zac working in his Geography Notebook

Thursday....we finally got our life size human body traced out. In our human anatomy co-op, Ronda passes out the parts of the body that they covered and Zachary gets to attach them to his own body. We got our bones and digestive system attached today too, but I forgot to take a picture.

Making our Life Size Human Paper Doll

Friday...we've been looking forward to today all week! I love our Friday co-op day. We have so much fun!! The kids have all been studying about Jamestown, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas this week, so for our activity we made a model of the Jamestown Fort. The project came out of Easy Make & Learn Project - Colonial America. To be honest, this wasn't exactly "Easy", but I think the kids enjoyed it. I wish we could have split it up over two meetings. There was a lot to color, and they were all taking there time and wanting to do a great job. Then, it was time to cut out and put the model together. By this time, we all felt a bit rushed and the parents had to jump in and help everyone get finished. But, the final results were great!

Zac's Model of the Jamestown Fort

Friday Night....Zac took his friend, Cade, to the Karate Halloween Party. Zac dressed up as Peter, King of Narnia, and Cade dressed as a Ninja. It was a wild and crazy group of kids!!! Let's just say it was a VERY long two hours for Bucky and I and not nearly long enough for the boys.

Peter and the Ninja

Saturday Morning....we had a football game (Zac is #14) and they won! Yeah, Pirates!!! They came in second for the regular season and now we start play-offs next weekend. It's funny how Bucky and I can be just as entertained at this Under 7 Football as we are going to an Auburn game. 

Zachary #14

Saturday Night....Church of Joy was having our annual Hallelujah Hoedown. Zac helped make the Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars that we took to donate to the cake walk. I was able to sneak in some math here, because I was doubling the recipe and he had to figure out the multiplying of fractions by two. Zachary doesn't get to each much sugar or white flour, so when I promised to let him sample his cooking he was pretty excited. The ladies (namely, Amy Osborne) did such a great job putting together the Hallelujah Hoedown. I can't believe I didn't bring my camera. It was a great time for hundreds of kids and their parents. Thanks, Amy, for all your hard work!!! 

Helping in the Kitchen

Thanks for taking a peek at our week. If you want to join in the fun, click on the link below and link your blog up too.

Looking forward to lots more fun next week,

~Vicki~

Expecting Rain - What We Can Learn From the Water Cycle

This week at our Christian Fellowship Co-op, the kids were learning all about the Water Cycle.

Here is some information from Weather Wiz Kids, which is a fabulous website developed by Crystal Wicker, a meteorologist, who wanted to provide kids with a way to learn more about the fascinating world of weather. 

What is the Water Cycle?

Earth has a limited amount of water. So, that water keeps going around. We call it the water cycle. The water cycle begins with evaporation. Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers, lakes or the ocean. Then turns it into water vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the body of water and goes into the air. Transpiration is the process by which plants lose water out of their leaves. Condensation is when water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into water to form clouds. Think of it this way, when you open a cold soda on a hot summer day, your soda will start to sweat as water droplets form on the outside of the can. Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air can't hold it anymore. This is how we get rain or snow. Collection happens when the precipitation falls and is collected back in the oceans, lakes and rivers. When it falls to the ground, it will soak into the earth and become ground water. This is the water cycle and it just keeps repeating. 

The class did an experiment that really helped the kids visualize the concepts of evaporation, condensation and precipitation. What's also cool about this experiment (and the teachers in the class) is that it accidentally helped the kids understand how molecules move around more in hot water. I say accidentally, because the water wasn't hot enough the first time they attempted the experiment, so it didn't work. The teacher didn't miss a beat (I tend to panic when the experiments don't go as planned!), she just went on to explain the science behind the molecules moving around in the water and that they weren't moving around enough - because the water wasn't hot enough - so they weren't separating off into steam.  After they got the really hot boiling water, the experiment worked as planned, and the kids got to see the steam rising and mixing with the ice cold air at the top of the jar and actually forming a little cloud and then droplets of rain. You had to look really closely, but the kids thought it was great.

photo from icanteachmychild.com

My favorite part about this was watching the expectant looks on all the faces of the students. I love that they are so eager to see new things and learn about the why and the how behind how it works too.

~~Vicki~~

Outdoors Enjoying this Fall Season

Last year, when I was thinking about how I wanted to approach our science studies for the coming school year, I ran across the Outdoor Hour Challenge Nature Study and knew this was something I wanted to participate in.  If you aren't familiar with Barb at Handbook of Nature Study and her weekly challenges, I would encourage you to browse through her beautiful blog, take time to enjoy the gorgeous photos she has posted of her own family outings and get inspired to get outside and discover the world around you.

This week, our Outdoor Hour Challenge (OHC) included reading pages in the Handbook of Nature Study, which is available online if you don't own it. "The chief aim of this volume is to encourage investigation rather than to give information." Barb goes on to point out that "This is where many people misunderstand the HNS. It is not a field guide but it teaches us how to help our children with nature study."

 Here is this week's challenge:

"Before setting out on your walk, sit with your children and explain to them that when you remain quiet during your nature time, you are more likely to hear interesting things. Brainstorm some sounds they might hear and build some excitement about remaining quiet during their nature walk this week. Take your walk and if they get rowdy, use the universal finger over your lips sign to get them to quiet down. Set a good example and be quiet yourself, modeling how to listen carefully."

I really like how she incorporates language building skills:

"After your walk, challenge your children to come up with words to describe the following things:
One word to describe something they heard. (For example: rustling, snapping, crunching or chirping)
Two words for something they saw. (For example: tall trees, frozen water, red birds)
Three words for something they felt. (For example: freezing cold wind, rough sticky pinecone)" 

Zachary has always been extremely observant anytime we've gone outside into nature.  The point of these challenges is that each time we take a nature walk, he will develop more and more vocabulary that will trickle down into into his nature journal and into his ability to communicate his thoughts about nature verbally. Also, once we start identifying, discussing and journaling about objects we see on our nature walks, he should easily be able to remember the specific names of plants, trees, and birds.

Follow up with discussion and the opportunity for a nature journal entry.

This is Barb's view on journaling:

"I always leave it as an option for my boys and I would say about half the time they draw. I feel like the nature walk and the discussion is the meat of our nature study and that it is the most important part of what we do. "No child should be compelled to have a notebook." HNS page 14 "

This really took the pressure off of me to try to convince my son to journal about everything we saw on our nature walks. He, like her boys, would choose to journal about half of the time. But, if I leave it up to him, when he does choose to work in his journal it is an enjoyable experience for him and that is really what it is about for me.

This is what I found him doing, all by himself, on a Saturday morning 

at our dining room table!

Here are some easy ideas for nature journal pages other than drawing:
 

1. Make leaf rubbings.
2. Tape small flat things into the nature journal. (leaves, flower petals, seeds)
3. Print out a photo that you took while on your nature walk and let the child write the caption.
4. Press flowers or grasses between pages of a book and later add it to the journal. (We will learn more on that in a future challenge this spring.)
5. Outline an object with a pencil and then color it in.

Important to Remember:

"Nature journaling is meant to be a follow-up activity and not a replacement for your time spent outdoors. Please feel successful in this challenge whether you end up with a nature journal page or not. If they don’t draw this week, maybe they will want to make a page next week."



So get on out there this fall season, it's the perfect time to start a new habit with the kids and accept Barb's challenge to get out into nature for just one hour a day.


Blessings,
Vicki

Versatile & Stylish .... wow, who knew?

Versatile & Stylish .... wow, who knew?

It was so sweet for Danielle from Raising Little Rhodies to give me two blogger awards. I've been lurking around Danielle's blog for ages and she's awesome - she's like a cyberspace STAR to me! So, it was especially exciting for me, because this is the first day I went "live" with my blog. Thanks, Danielle, for thinking I'm a Versatile & Stylish blogger!!

 

The Rules

• Thank the person(s) who nominated you and link back up them.
• Tell Readers 7 things about yourself.
• Pass this award onto your favorite newly discovered bloggers and let them know.

Seven Things About Me

Wow...I didn't realize how much I hate talking about me! 

1 – I traveled to Hong Kong with a missionary family to home school their four boys when I finished high school at 17 years old.  

Little did I know that 25 years later, I'd be home schooling my own little one!

2 – I traveled with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) to Switzerland for discipleship training and then to Kenya for a 3 month missions trip. 

What an awesome experience!!

3 – I wanted to be an architect before changing my major to interior design.

4 –I met my husband at a bar while in college at Auburn, University. 

War Eagle!!

5 – I'm a beach bunny. 

I grew up in Florida and still love to get back there every chance I get.   

6 – My friends mean the world to me!!!

7 – My hope is that my home will be a place of peace, love and laughter.

I want it to be the kind of place family, friends and strangers

can feel God's love and acceptance, the kind of place 

you just want to sit down, kick your shoes off and stay awhile.

Tag You’re It

I’m gifting the following ladies with both The Versatile Blogger & The Stylish Awards because these are newer blogs I read and really enjoy!  Please check them out and see why I've chosen them to receive these awards.

Adam Ant Academy - Our Science
My Special Gifts from God
Serenades and Solace

Atelier: Color & Hot Air Balloons

Today, we finally got a chance to try out the new art program I purchased for this school year. It's called Atelier and it's by the same people that produced Arts Attack, which is used in public schools across the country. Atelier was developed specifically for the home school community. I bought it when it went on sale through Home School Buyers Co-op. My hope was that, with the videos and specific lesson plans, I'd be more likely to work art lessons into our busy days. Don't get me wrong! I love art and come from a family of artists, but it still seems to be one of those things that I put off until we've finished other subjects, and more often than not that means it doesn't get done.

Our first lesson was on primary colors and how to mix secondary and tertiary colors. It featured hot air balloons and taught the kids how to sketch the basic outline and then they were encouraged to draw their own decorative pattern onto their hot air balloon.

The video walked Zachary through the entire class, but I still stayed by his side to help out and encourage him to keep going. He tends to get frustrated pretty quickly if it doesn't turn out just like he wants it to. Hmm...wonder where he gets that from?!!

Atelier is designed to stimulate the right side of the brain, which is one of the reasons I chose this program.  The goal is to teach the child how to express himself through art. My son is extremely left brain dominant and struggles with all types of self-expression. I feel like it is important to challenge some of his weaker areas and through encouragement, let him see that if he doesn't give up he can get better at anything he tries.

After he finished the sketch of the hot air balloon, they reviewed the primary colors and walked them through the process of mixing the colors to make the secondary and tertiary colors.

He had a lot of fun with this part. He liked mixing his own colors. I always pull out dozens of bottles of paint for us to choose from when we are painting, but obviously, that isn't necessary. So much of the enjoyment came from mixing the colors and experimenting with the colors.

 As an interior designer, I especially liked that this color wheel was helping him to really understand how the colors are all just blends of the primary colors.

He finished his color wheel!  Yeah for him!!  Next, he is supposed to paint his balloon using all the colors that he learned about on his color wheel. We ran out of time today, but it gives us something to look forward to next week!

Here's an Overview of our Year with ECC

Seeing as how we have been a bit sickly this week and we haven't been doing much more than lounging around, I think I'd like to share with you some of what we were doing last year.  We were using My Father's World's ECC (Exploring Continents & Cultures.) I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this program. For those of you who aren't familiar with ECC, you can check it out here. Basically, it is a fun-filled trip around the world, where the student explores diverse countries and learns of the people, their food & customs, the geographic area and the environment that makes up their ecosystems, It is a complete curriculum, including Bible, Social Studies, Science, Art, Music and Read-Alouds. We thoroughly enjoyed our year doing ECC.

The reason I wanted to share a little bit of our experiences is because when I was using ECC I found it very helpful to see how other families were using the program and I would eagerly seek out any information I could find on the Web.

Today, I'm just going to share some pictures of how we got started at the beginning of our ECC year. We had another family, who was also doing ECC, that joined us every Friday for an activity day. Fridays were seriously crazy days. The boys were always so excited to get together, because, well one they are boys and they're just wild, but also because they knew we had lots of fun activities planned for them. We always tried to include one or two art projects, a quick review where we let the boys show off how much they'd learned that week, some music or cultural decorations, and lots of good food from the particular country we were studying at the time. Basically just a big party every Friday! What's not to love.

First, I have to brag on my dear, talented mother, who came and transformed this little hallway at the bottom of the stairs going into our basement into The Explorer's Express Airstrip in the middle of a lush, tropical jungle.

Using cut cardboard, she painted this adorable air traffic control station that is being manned by our friendly little monkey. But you know what's really clever about this? She attached magnet strips on the back of the cardboard so that it could attach to the big ugly metal fuse box panel that is directly behind that lovely work of art!!

 Below, you'll see the Destination sign for the airport. Each week a child got to place a giant thumb tack next to the country we would be "flying" to. This too cut from cardboard.

After marking the destination on the board, we would introduce the new country by showing them the location on the world map and letting them pin the country's flag on the map, and by reading a book about the country. And finally, we'd have the children go through "customs" to have their passports stamped, and they were allowed to board their little plane.

The plane is made out of two refrigerator boxes cut and pieced together. I spray painted it silver and just let the kiddos have fun decorating her.

We glued a world map inside at the cockpit so that they could take turns navigating. We asked questions like, "Which direction are we headed?" and "What country did we just pass over?"

Here's our sign post so nobody can get lost :)

The bulletin board is all finished now! I love it and can't seem to bring myself to take it down. Maybe I'll leave it up for future reviews?

  You can see we attached a piece of string from the country's flag to the  activity or artwork that went with that country.

 So, that is my not so short introduction to our year with ECC. I hope to be posting more about what we did last year. I'll just sprinkle in bits and pieces here and there as time permits. It's refreshingly nostalgic to go back and look at what we've studied and what all we've accomplished. I know you've got to feel the same way too. Sure, sometimes you probably ask yourself if they are getting any of this, but as time goes on, you can see little glimpses (and sometimes even amazing strides) of what's being absorbed.

After all, God's given us these little guys and girls that are miraculous little sponges - they just soak up all the experiences,  and somehow, over time it all comes together into this thing we call knowledge! Wow, what a privilege it is that we can take part in that with our children!!

Blessings out there,
Vicki

 P.S. If you fall in love with paintings and want some information about the artist, her name is Diane Knowles and her business name is Daystar Designs. She is a professional muralist and a positively, lovely Godly woman.

Let Me Show You Around our School Room!

Welcome to our our classroom - bright, organized, colorful - a fun place to learn (Check out our school mascot, Aubie, in the cuddle chair)

Zachary didn't want me to erase his First Day Welcome sign, so it will remain there all year I guess. The white board is just a $12 shower board from Home Depot that my DH cut and screwed into the wall and framed around it with 1x4's.

This is the playroom side of the room and the history center with timeline on the wall

I added section dividers to help me keep the history books in chronological order. This keeps them grouped according to the time categories that we will be using them. The spines that I like to have on hand to pull from are on the bottom shelf along with the red bin that is filled with videos and CD's. This is also where we keep the timeline materials, geography notebook, and the books on U.S. Presidents.

This is our basket of readers and read-alouds

You can see Zac wanted his science center behind him because that is his favorite area! His science fair projects are on display behind him, as well as his collection of wildlife specimens.      His workbox drawers are on the black shelves to his right. More on those later ;)

 Well....I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our school room. It is downstairs in our unfinished basement. The walls are just covered with bare drywall. We covered the seams from where the drywall boards come together with painted 1x4's. The ceiling is still unfinished so it adds to the overall "industrial" look - haha - you can see the insulation and everything!! But that's ok. It was cheap and a great use of a big unused space in our house. Who knows...maybe one day we will finish it out for real, but for now I know I'm amazingly blessed to have what I have.

Blessings,
Vicki