Our November Neighborhood

If March blows in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, then November in the South (this year at least), came in like a lamb and blew out like a lion.  We had both temperature spikes into the 80s as well as dips below freezing!  Our backyard birds disappeared with the early cold snaps, but somehow the ladybugs managed a mid-month raid. 

Our season-confused Purple Hearts

So, the HNS Outdoor Hour Challenge to observe and sketch what November looks like to us was a good fit, especially since we took it on one of the warmer days.  We set up our chairs in the front yard and observed the field across the street.  E also made note of our own Purple Heart plants which dropped at the first temperature dip but had a few perks with the surprise heat.

You know what I realized as I looked over their pages?  These nature studies have given me some nice mementos of how my kids write and think. 

Z is right.  It is "a nice place to live near."

I'm glad we took the time to do this when we did.  Today the lion is roaring and his breath is freezing!   We'll do our observing through the window panes today.
As a family, we want to try to attract some of the winter birds to our yard.  It is so lonely out there with our summer friends gone.  If you have any suggestions, please pass them on. 

See?  Pitiful.

In the Spirit

A poem here; some history there; and a paperback or two.  The  weather is cooler, and the weekend is here!  Let's celebrate!

I love home-school bloggers.  I have been getting ideas from them for seven years.  Over the weekend, I was reading one  which mentioned a poetry program she loved.  Poetry!  Yes.  I want to add poetry to our days, too.  However, I cannot justify buying a program right now.  So, a-searching I went.  Thanks for the inspiration, Jamie. 
Free poetry plans are not abundant, but I found some ideas.  We already had the Random House Book of Poetry for Children to start, and I found a poetry unit using that book at Homeschool Share. 
The kids both enjoyed reading poems together.  And they didn't groan when I asked them to try to write their own poem using repetition.  Here is one:

More good news:  About two weeks ago, I needed to find a new spelling plan for Z(9).  He had gotten bored with dictation and wanted "real" spelling homework and tests.  His sister is using the Phonetic Zoo which is working out great, but it's her thing.  She needs her own things.  And again, I'm not buying a spelling program.  It's not that complicated. Right?  I found a free spelling course at Splashes From the River for grades 6-8, and I love it!  The words are well-organized with simple, not silly, activities to work on as you practice the words.  It's perfect for us for now.

Fun finds:  I needed some books for our Bible study and for our Science study that I didn't want to buy. I found TWO on paperback swap and one through Inter-Library Loan! 

The grand finale:  On Friday, we took some time for a truly history-based field trip.  Now, it's not Ancient History which we are studying, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience that we had to see.  
It's called the Spirit of Freedom.  It's a plane used after World War II to lift supplies into West Berlin between 1948 and 1949.  The plane has been made into a traveling museum of the Berlin Airlift, and this weekend it is in Montgomery, Alabama!  I learned a lot about this "battle" which preceded the Cold War I grew up in.  We met two women who grew up in Berlin during that time as well as Colonel Gale Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber."  What kind, generous people they all were.  I am blessed for the experience.  If the Spirit ever comes your way, don't hesitate to visit it.   

This 1940's radio was playing while we toured the plane.

The cockpit. 

The German "girl" who remembers the supplies the Allies delivered, The Candy Bomber (Col. Halvorsen), and us.

A Mid-Week Diversion

Tuesday night, I decided that we needed a little break from our routine.  Tensions had been getting a little high and spirits were falling.  What should we do?

Callaway Gardens came to mind. It's a large park in Pine Mountain, Georgia filled with gardens, a couple of lakes, trails, a butterfly pavilion, and other things.  We had never been there, even though it was only about a 90 minute's drive from home.  There is usually a cost to get in (which might have led me somewhere else on Wednesday), but in honor of September 11th, admission was free!  With that, I knew we had to go there.  

Mind you, just because we were taking off for fun, the tensions did not completely melt away.  We had bickering, grumpiness, and disappointments which started before we even left the driveway.  That's life.  I cut our adventure short to make it home in time for our regular afternoon sports, which decision I now regret.  A day off should be a day OFF!  I'll have to give myself a second chance some day soon.
We saw some beautiful sights and had a memorable day in the midst of it all.  Before we left, we all agreed we'd have to come back to see and do more at this new place - especially when they have their Christmas lights display!  

Z is trying to feed the turtles in the water before the fish steal the food.

September is Blue Morpho month at the Day Butterfly Center

These butterflies hardly stopped fluttering, but this one actually landed on Z's shorts for a minute. 

At the Birds of Prey show, the birds flew back and forth right over our heads!  It was the coolest birds show we've ever seen. This hawk had been injured while catching road prey.

Check out this handsome Black Vulture.

I'd love to know what the rest of you do when your "class" needs a break, so feel free to leave a comment.  Then, if you want to see highlights from other home-schooling families, check out the Weekly Wrap-Up from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers here. 

A Natural Surprise

Not being much of a weed puller, I am rarely happy with the results.  This summer, however, what I might have pulled as a weed turned out to be a wonderful surprise.
We live in Alabama, mind you, where the "soil" is mostly red clay.  We can barely get the grass to grow in our back yard.  Weeds, though, seem to love it.  
At first, since the mystery weed started growing right beneath our hummingbird feeder, I thought the hummingbirds who sip there must have dropped something they picked up.  You know, literal birds and bees pollination going on.  
Within a few weeks, I realized this was no weed.  It was some kind of flower.  In fact, it reminded me of the pumpkin plant flower.

A few days later, my son decided the plant was no pumpkin, but a watermelon.

How in the world...?  Well, when the kids had their camp-outs in June they had watermelon.  Maybe someone dropped a seed?  Wait a minute!  I thought the seeds from those so-called seedless watermelons couldn't reproduce?  
It doesn't matter now.  There's a watermelon plant growing in our yard!  That will have to suffice because the melons are not thriving. We still love them no matter how they got here.
 

Homeschooling is ... for the Mummies

Four weeks into our school "year,"  we are mostly on track.  That is, we just finished week 4 of our Mystery of History study.   Much of the lessons have been review so far since it is organized in much the same order as My Father's World was.  (We completed the first 14 weeks of MFW's Creation to the Greeks unit).  
This week, we finally put our timeline figures on one of our timelines.  (The kids each wanted their own timeline!)  

I spent a lot of time making this visual aid!  To save the expense of having it laminated at the office store, I tried taping the poster board strips using the recommended double-sided tape.  This did not work.  So I taped the strips onto the board with packing tape which served a dual purpose: adhesion and lamination. 

The kids opted to make their own timeline designs. 

And we had a little fun with mummies and toilet paper.  Mind you, this activity was recommended for the younger set, but I just knew this would keep my middle set engaged just fine.  

Owl mummy

Brother Mummy

 

Sister Mummy

 

The post-mummy toilet tissue battle!

This is what our house looks like after school - today, at least. 

My sister once told me a messy house is a sign of happy kids.  I'll take that. 

  

Some Things Old, Some Things New

Yes!  It's my favorite time of the school year - the time when I'm excited about all the things we are going to do; the time after I've spent weeks looking for what I think is just right, and then more weeks finding the best deals on them.  This year I even committed to parting with some estranged curriculum pieces and earned some curriculum spending money to boot.  
While I still have a couple of weeks before we ease into the new school year, and I haven't accumulated all of my goodies yet, I have the plan.  
Some oldies but goodies:
MATH - This is the first year that both kids are continuing the same math program.  
The first is Math on the Level for E (11).  This is the most teacher-intensive subject and curriculum, but I am a huge supporter of MOTL for my daughter.  It does not assign grade levels to any concept which removes a big hurdle for my "relaxed" math learner, especially when her younger brother is a more "hyper" learner.  
The second is Horizons for Z (9).   This workbook-based program couldn't be more opposite MOTL, but it has worked for Z. 
SCIENCE- Ugh.  

Unlike math, I have not found just the right science for all of us.  This year, we're all going to use A History of Science.  I had bought this last year but couldn't make it fit.  This year, it is one of the first subjects I have planned out through the first nine weeks. These lessons tie in very well with our history focus on the ancient world.
And now for all the new things: 
HISTORY- This summer I reconsidered Mystery of History which starts with Ancient History as our current My Father's World curriculum. I had thought MOH would just supplement our MFW studies, but I think it will be a total replacement.  To top it off, I scored a good deal on a used copy at homeschoolclassifieds.com.  
LANGUAGE ARTS- 

We're going to use Easy Grammar for our first year of formal grammar.  I like the way it starts with learning to identify prepositional phrases in order to identify the basic parts of the sentence.  

BIBLE- I thought that we would not have a structured bible subject this year, but my daughter actually asked to do Bible Truths (from BJU Press) again this year.  Far be it from me to say no to that kind of request!  Plus, again, good deals on used copies at homeschoolclassifieds!  
SPELLING- I am very excited to try a new spelling program for E (11).  After noticing that my avid reader still had trouble with spelling, I searched and found IEW's Phonetic Zoo.  I like that it is especially designed for auditory learners.   Bingo!  Z (9), my more visual learner, has been doing just fine with  Spelling Wisdom from Simply Charlotte Mason.  

ART & MUSIC- 
This is another one I'm very excited to add to our days this year.  It's the Ancient Art and the Orchestra study from Harmony Fine Arts.  We already enjoy her nature studies, and this unit ties into our ancient history focus, so this is bound to be a good fit for us.  Bonus: I scored a used copy of the orchestra book for $4.99 total on ebay!  

So many things to do - I almost can't wait!

 

Summer's Downhill

We are no year-round school fans in this family.  It is not that we do no school at all; we just do very little, although it's all too much if you ask the kids. 
How has it been going?  How are we filling our days?  When will we get back to a full schedule?
1.  I think the kids have been doing a good job of accepting their summer assignments; not great, but good.  For instance, I took some time to find a variety of book titles for them to read this summer - different types of books than they tend to choose.  I also found some book logs and report forms for them to fill out as they go. 

While they have been reading something almost every day, it hasn't been the variety of genres I had in mind.  And those logs and reports?  They have fallen to the wayside. 
On the other hand, E finished her language arts book and started on her poetry book which we never managed to fit into our routine during the regular year.  She is almost done with her cursive book, too.  

AND, she is on her last Life of Fred (Honey) book for the summer.  These are huge accomplishments. 
Not surprisingly, Z is moving a little more slowly academically.  However, he has made a friend in the neighborhood which is a huge answer to prayers.  He also still has gymnastics three times a week, Taekwondo twice a week, went to one flag football camp in June and will go to another in July.  So, he is moving a lot physically.  

2.  Since we are living in a sort of limbo in Alabama right now while we wait to see where Dad will get a job, we have been staying home more this summer than ever.  I had intended to use this time to clean up and pack up, but so far I've managed to clean out a kitchen drawer.  

My beautiful, newly organized kitchen drawer!

The kids have been relaxing, playing with friends, and yes, playing more video and computer games.  I have to add that we have all been enjoying our more active yard this summer.  This year we have had cardinals, doves, bluebirds, other song birds, and even humming birds!  We love to watch them through our kitchen windows.  

3.  School Plans!  I have had fun choosing some new materials for our coming school year as well as selling some old ones and finding deals on new old ones.  My next post will be filled with the new things we'll be trying this year.
We should be good and ready to get back into our school routine by the first week in August, even though September seems like a more appropriate first month of school.  We'll ease into things to try to avoid the effects of education shock on the kids.  First, we have a few more summer intentions to fulfill: a trip to the beach; more swimming; cleaning up and packing; and playing with friends. 

Get Mooing

It's coming.  July 12, 2013 is Cow Appreciation Day.  In honor of cows, Chick-Fil-A is having its annual dress-like-a-cow event.  You dress up and go out in public to Chick-Fil-A, and Chick-Fil-A will give you either a free entree or a whole free meal depending on how much you dress up.
We did it last year and plan to participate again this year.  

Cow  Appreciation Day 2012

And Z was a Chick-Fil-A cow for Halloween this year!  Unfortunately, we removed all the spots from the white sweats, though it is too hot to wear a white sweatsuit costume anyway.  

Halloween 2012

This week I thought we'd go a little bit further and learn something about cows by visiting the local Mooseum. 

 It's not much, but here's what we found:
1.  Cows have a 4-part stomach, not really 4 stomachs;
2.  Cows probably immigrated to the New World with Spanish explorers in the early 1500's.  
3.  The average weight of a cow is 900 pounds.  That is about 150 Es.  

One E

4.  Cow-related words -- calf, bull, cow, cattle, herd, heifer
5.  Cow parts may be used in crayons, soap, leather, and jello!  
6.  Cattle was, and still is, a huge industry for the southern states during the Civil War which made them a major target of destruction during that war!  

Now, get ready for some chicken!  Happy Cow Appreciation Day.