First Day Success

While summer is technically still here, summer vacation is officially over. Yesterday was our first day and we got the year started with a bang. I remember loving the first day of school...new outfit, new backpack, new crayons (I loved the crayola box with the sharpener), new lunch box...and I want my guys to have happy memories too.

We began the day, as usual with chores and breakfast. Chores come first because I am seeking to instill in my guys that if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat. They have a tangible goal to reach and a time frame to work within. Next was the Pledge of Allegiance, Bible reading, a hymn and prayer. I then spent time with each one discussing our schedule, expectations, goals, behavior, attitude etc...

Next came the fun stuff. As I said, I like to give them something fun to remember. Last year we began with a study of the military, and the first 3 days were spent in boot camp. Well, this year we kicked off with a treasure hunt. I hid a few special items (cute pencils, pencil grippers, small dollar store toy, sports notebook, snack, $5 ChikFil-A gift card) around the apartment. I made up clues for them to follow and sent them on their way. They had a ball. Here they are with their loot.

They were so geared up that by this time they were ready for math drills. There was still extra loot, so for each correct answer they could choose another "prize" (erasers, pencils). Other than a little journaling and letter writing, the boys had not done much composition for awhile, so they each wrote a paragraph about their first day of school. My academic goals for the day included Bible (check), math (check) and writing(check). All of this before lunch!

Speaking of lunch, if you've read this blog before you know that food is very important to me. My kids are also inheriting this trait. First day festivities around here included a meal of their choosing. They had been asking for months to make paninis. IJ bought me a panini press for Christmas that had yet to be used. Why did I wait so long? If you don't know, a panini is really just a grilled cheese sandwich, however there is something about the use of that caste iron weight that makes the bread so absolutely golden and delicious! Take a look. This sandwich was made with roast turkey breast, provolone cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, salad greens and pesto (made with basil from our garden). Yummy!

What would the first day be without a picture of those happy faces, full of anticipation for all the wonderful knowledge to be gained? Here they are.

First day of 4th grade

First day of 2nd grade

If you've had your first "official" day of school for the year I would love to hear about it. I'm praying that all of you homeschoolers will have a great year of guiding and directing your children and that their hearts will be turned toward God.

Wild Days in the Animal Kingdom

We have been doing some really interesting things with our unit studies. Science is not my strong point, so I've really been stretched as we've studied animal classification. Thanks to Jessica Hulcy (Konos author) and the other Konos moms for the tips and encouragement. As a side note, Mrs. Jessica was in an awful car accident last week and suffered some very serious injuries, including broken ribs, torn diaphram and punctured lungs. Please be praying for her as the Lord is healing her a little every day. You can visit her Caring Bridge site here.

The character trait we are working on for this unit is orderliness. God has created an orderly universe and it is so evident in all of nature. First let me say that I am not orderly by nature. In fact, keeping entropy (I love this word) at bay is a great challenge for me. God is truly working on me as I work on training my children to tame the clutter that invades our home.

Animal classification has been wild in more ways than one. Oh the stories I can tell. We began our unit with the Tree of Life. I was not at all sure how this would turn out, but have been very happy with the results.

I used a seperate posterboard for each phylum, adding a picture and characteristics (given by the boys) as we studied each one. This worked well because it gave them a quick reference when they went to write about any given phylum. Learning the classification system was fun. I even made up a rap to help them remember Kingdom, Phylum, Class.... Anyone want to hear it? I'll spare you, but they won't ever forget what comes next.

We collected earthworms to observe, and tried to count their segments. The most fun came on a day when we were babysitting my 2 year old god-daughter. She was thrilled beyond belief that she could hold the worms and look at them with the magnifying glass. The following week when she came over she looked at our Tree of Life and pointed to the worms. She wanted to see more!

Things began to get creepy when we tried to combine this unit with lunch. As we were studying mollusks we decided to purchase fresh clams. We observed them, watched them shoot out water when touched, close when they felt threatened, looked at all parts etc... All was fine until I cooked them. They looked great. I prepared them in a garlic and wine sauce and tossed with pasta. Sounds good doesn't it? What we discovered is that you can't eat science projects and that we need our food to be dead before it comes into our home. Just know that we will not be purchasing any more food that has to be killed before eaten. We just couldn't do it. A lot of food went to waste that day.

I would have liked to look at more insects but the boys were not okay with "putting them to sleep". The one thing we have actually mounted on a foam board is a very large crane fly which did not go to sleep without a fight. Seeing this was a bit disturbing, so I put it in another room. We captured several spiders to observe and spray painted a few webs gold so that we could see the intricate designs woven by the spiders.

For the past 4 weeks we have had a painted turtle that the boys named Shelly. They have never had a pet, so we have learned about pet care and turtles at the same time. She is the one critter that is starting to grow on me, although the plan is to return her to the pond from which she came.

Although we were done with this unit, no one bothered to tell the critters. Since this little green guy saw fit to make his way onto our patio I figured the least we could do was take a picture of him. Isn't he cute?

So, now lets see. We've caught toads, frogs, turtles, slugs, worms, spiders, various insects, lizards, birds (shells at least), and clams. I think we've had a well rounded animal kingdom experience. Are we more orderly for our observations? The jury is still out on that one. I'll have to ask J when he gets home.

The perfect way to end this unit was with a trip to the zoo. I'll share the pics from that trip in the next post.

Spring is upon us

I love the change of seasons. The weather here has been awesome which allows for a lot of outdoor time. Last Friday we spent the afternoon at a park with some friends. There were six ladies, a bunch of boys and one little girl. Those boys had a blast running through the woods hunting down frogs and lizards. Being the sweet boys that they are, all treasures were promptly brought back to share with the moms. And for our part, we ooh'd and aah'd over those creatures to let our little men know how proud we were. This little guy in IJ's hand jumped in the laps of at least 3 moms before he was taken back to his home in the woods.

Today was another great day for being outdoors so we headed to the stawberry fields for some berry pickin'.




The berries are sweet and juicy. All I could think of was strawberry pie, so on the way home we stopped to pick-up the ingredients for this yummy treat. I found a super easy recipe that took about 20 minutes. I'll let you know tomorrow how it tastes, and share the recipe.

Konichiwa!

Hello from Japan...well it's really our dining area. However, for the past week it has been converted into our version of a Japanese room. There is so much to share about this learning experience. First, let me say that our theme is honor...showing kindness and respect to others because we are all made in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Yes, we are all made in God's image, even though at times we don't look like it! We have spent a good bit of time training ourselves to look for God in others. In doing this we are learning to treat people well, whether we think they deserve it or not. An amazing example of this was found in reading a biography of Mother Teresa. What an awesome woman of character. She always taught her fellow nuns to look for Jesus in everyone they met and to care for them as though caring for Jesus himself. Wow!

Ok, back to Japan. Last week was spent identifying and making a map of Japan, making the Japanese flag, and learning about Japanese culture. Clothing, homes, and of course food were all a part of the fun. We even picked up a few Japanese words in the process.

Me, wearing the closest thing I could get to a kimono. I borrowed this cute dress from a Vietnamese friend. It does have an obi (the belt that goes around the kimono) but you can't see it on this picture. JJ decided that he wanted to dress like Rick Flair (the wrestler) that day. Behind us is the Japanese screen JJ painted and on the floor our straw tatami mats. Ok, they're really sheets but they worked for our purposes.

Our tokonoma, a japanese style raised alcove featuring scrolls, flowers, candles and the boys names in japanese characters. No, we didn't do those. I purchased these last fall in anticipation of this unit.

Most of our meals and schoolwork have been in our newly remodeled room. I was surprised at how easily we adapted. We have eaten dumpling soup (these were really Korean, but very close) dumplings and rice, soba noodles and edemame and udon noodles, all using chopsticks. I think the boys are really good at it after so much practice. We even ate our spaghetti with chopsticks! In fact I think the eating was their favorite part. IJ commented on how cool it is that it's not bad manners to shovel food into your mouth in Japan. Spoken like a true boy.

While the whole week has been full of fun and learning, the most fun was the sumo wrestling matches the boys engaged in. Sumo is the national sport of Japan. It was really interesting to learn about these heavyweight wrestlers and even more fun to watch the boys imitate them. Did you know that these guys have to weigh at least 250 pounds? We found a couple of videos on youtube that showed them training and eating. Can you guess what they do after eating a heavy meal? Yes, they take long naps. Aah, what a life. Take a look at our version of sumo wrestling-african american style.

We will continue our exploration into "the Land of the Rising Sun" with a Japanese tea ceremony, ikabana (Japanese flower arranging) learning about the life of a samurai, and a new year celebration.

Do You Know Who...

George Washington Carver was? How about Lonnie Johnson? "IJ" and "JJ" chose these two gentlemen to learn about for their Black History Month projects. These projects were well done. The boys presented them at a Black History Fair on last Thursday before a group of smiling homeschool students and parents.

Have you ever heard of Lonnie Johnson? If not, I'm sure you know about at least one of his inventions. It brings lots of fun to many households, especially in the summer months. "J" and I owned a pair even before we had kids. Do you know what it is?

Yes, it's the Super Soaker!

Johnson is a mathematician and nuclear engineer who has worked for various companies including NASA.

Did you know that George Washington Carver had over 300 inventions, but was not concerned with patents? This was because his purpose for inventing was to improve the lives of poor black farmers. Did you know that he turned down lucrative job offers from Henry Ford and Thomas Edison because he wanted to stay at Tuskeegee where he knew black people would receive recognition because of his accomplishments. Did you know that he was a man of God who not only taught his students about agriculture, but about the God that made it all possible? "IJ" learned all of these things and more about this very talented and creative man. Our favorite quote from Dr. Carver is "It has always been the one great ideal of my life, to be of the greatest good to the greatest number of my people."

A Black History Fair would not be complete without a Soul Food luncheon. Yes, we ate well. There was fried chicken, mac n cheese, collard greens and cornbread (our contribution) and various desserts. The best dessert by far was a sweet potato cobbler. It was off the hook! I had never had this before, but I am definately a fan. Now I've got to figure out how to make it.

Tea Anyone?

Patience...waiting without complaining, was our character trait for last week and this week. We spent time reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which gives us pictures of opposing seasons in life.


Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.


The boys made some great drawings depicting this passage. Often I have them act out a Bible passage to help them remember some of the details, but had not planned to do so for this one. Well, when "IJ" heard the passage he begged to act it out. I should have known this would somehow lead to my two boys wrestling (kill,war,hate). However, I made up for it by having an extended time on verse 7 where there was silence. Yeah! We discussed how the varying seasons in life will bring about the need for us to be patient, since things are not usually the way we want them.


We each chose some situation where we needed to work on being patient. I have to admit that I was really convicted a couple of weeks ago while driving. My six year old was in the back seat wondering aloud why that lady is moving so slow. He then determined (with a very sassy attitude) "she's driving like that cause she's on the phone, look at her". There was no need for me to wonder where that came from.


Our focus within the unit was on grains, how they're planted, grown and harvested. We spent most of our time learning about wheat and rice. We explored the difference between white, wheat and whole grain. We did the same with rice. Both of these helped to solidify our desire and resolve to nourish our bodies with whole grains. We even baked some wonderful focaccia bread and the best vegan peanut butter cookies using whole wheat flour and wheat germ. Yummy!

We ended the week by hosting some friends for tea and sharing some of the wonderful cookies. This was a lovely formal tea where everyone dressed for the occasion. It was great fun and I was so proud of my boys and the manners they displayed. After about 30 minutes all of them were ready to head outside. "IJ" quickly removed his dress clothes, while "JJ" had to be called inside to take off his suit. Our guests had their pretty little dress shoes and tights nice and muddy by the time they left for home, but everyone was happy nonetheless.

Aviation Exploration

For the past two weeks we've been studying air, airplanes and how they fly. I got to see how much I missed in school. Science was not my strong point, but I'm enjoying it so much now. I think we did 6 experiments in one day. First the boys had to find out if air takes up space (blow up a balloon). Then they explored whether or not air has weight by balancing the full balloon on one end of a ruler and an empty balloon on the other. Two of the most cool experiments were also done that day.

Cool experiment #1

Stretch a balloon over the top of an empty water bottle. Put the bottle into a bowl of hot water (we boiled ours). What happens? Why?

The boys discovered that hot air expands and rises. "JJ" took it a step further and said "I bet if we put it in cold water the balloon will go down." He then repeated this experiment for "J" when he came home, explaining what happened and why. This from the child who often has a difficult time getting his thoughts and words to go together. I was so proud of him! This is discovery learning at it's best.

Cool experiment #2

You will need a peeled hard boiled egg, an empty quart size glass milk jar (opening should be just big enough for the egg to sit in), and a half sheet of paper. Roll the piece of paper and light with a match. Immediately place in the upright glass jar. Wait for all of the fire to go out. Set the egg on the opening of the jar. What happens? I won't tell you. Just think, vacuum.

From there we learned about the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and Baron Von Richthofen (The Red Baron). Do you remember the song Snoopy vs the Red Baron?

"IJ" thought it was unpatriotic to sing about him, since he was the enemy, but the tune got stuck in his head and he can't get rid of it. HA, HA! Lots of paper airplanes were made and most of them crashed shortly after take off, prompting us to try again and again to perfect our designs.

The most fun came last Friday when we joined a group of friends for a field trip to a local aviation museum. We saw everything from fighter to passenger planes as well as several helicopters. The real fun came when the kids were given the opportunity to be the crew on a Boeing KC-97. The pictures show "IJ" as co-pilot and "JJ" as flight engineer. Our tour guide, a retired teacher, was very knowledgeable and great with keeping the kids interested.

This was a great unit. Keep reading to hear about our next learning adventure.