Complete Knowledge

Curriculum 2011-2012

2011-07-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

I am posting this now because I am finding that I would like to purchase more items and I have to keep reminding myself that it is DONE. I can relax! The crazy part is I actually like researching different school curriculum. Don't you?

The boys want to study American History and after much thought we decided to try a new curriculum. Now don't get me wrong...we loved Story of the World and Mystery of History, both of these made history come alive! I just felt for what the boys wanted to learn we needed to switch it up. We decided on the literature approach curriculum, Beautiful Feet.

We have been doing a little bit of Geography with Beautiful Feet this summer. When reading Mom's Mustard Seed's Blog she mentioned she was also doing the Geography this coming school year. BUT, she had a writing resource to go with it. I was like a kid in a candy store! Right away I purchased the ebook and said, 'DONE'.

I also added Total Language Plus. TLP is a literature based program. Thing 1 will start out by reading Charlotte’s Web. While Thing 1 is doing TPL he will not be doing his other Grammar items because with TLP you are given spelling words, spelling rules, copy work, parts of speech, drills, enrichment activities, comprehension and vocabulary {hopefully I am not missing anything}. Now, in all honesty, we did try this last year. However, this program was too hard for a child who did not have much comprehension. After spending a year working on his comprehension, I think he can take this on and be successful at it.

Both Boys Together

Bible~ How to Study Your Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur

History ~ Early American History (Beautiful Feet) We will also supplement with lessons from Lesson Pathways and GuestHollow

Geography ~ (Beautiful Feet)

Writing ~ Beautiful Feet and Institute for Excellence in Writing put together a writing program to go with the Beautiful Feet Geography.

Science ~ R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey - Chemistry

Human Body

Art ~ Artistic Pursuits

Electives ~ Sign Language

English from the Roots Up

Music Lessons

Spanish

Character Sketches (this is a bible/science/character study)

Vocabulary

Thing 1 (5th grade)

Math ~ Teaching Text Books

Grammar ~ Spelling Power

Total Language Plus

Writing with Ease

Language Lessons for a Well-Trained Mind

Critical Thinking ~ Reading Detective

Thing 2 (3rd Grade)

Math ~ Teaching Text Books

Grammar ~

Language Lessons for a Well-Trained Mind

Language Lessons for Little Ones {review}

Pictures in Cursive Primer

Learning to Spell Through Copywork

Writing with Ease

Road Trip 2011

2011-06-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

Day 2

Well, we didn't get far. The first day was a hard 9 hour drive so we could get half way to our destination. Now, the motivation isn't as strong as it once was! I really do not have to be in GA until Wednesday and it is Tuesday. Technically, I could make it to GA no problem. I just don't feel like driving that far today. So, we go half way, again.

We pull into Nashville, TN. Hey, why not go to the Grand Old Opry? What! Sold out on a Tuesday night? No worries...Lets go ride the Go Carts! Thing 2 is actually tall enough this year to drive his own. So excited. Such a good mom, forgot the camera for this HUGE moment in his life.

Back to the hotel. We decided to watch the finality of American Idol. Tomorrow we will wake up early and head to GA to see my sister!

We might not be taking many pictures - but we are collecting rocks from each state. I know, very exciting.

Stay tuned for more adventures, maybe!

Road Trip 2011

2011-06-28T21:19:00.003-05:00

I did something I never thought I would do. I suggested to my husband that I drive our two boys from Minnesota to Georgia for our nephew’s high school graduation. Not sure where the idea came from but it was there and I did it! Yahoo for me!!

The 19 hour road trip was not that bad. Nothing like the road trips of my childhood. Both boys had saved up their allowance to purchase their own iPod Touch. They each purchased various TV shows, movies, games and music to prepare for the trip. My plan: when batteries needed to be re-charged or bickering started we plugged in my old simple iPod. I had gone to the library and downloaded a few audio books I wanted to read to the kids during the school year but had not gotten too. Time flew by.

We did have two flat travelers accompany us on our travels. They arrived from Texas a week before we left. In Minnesota, we were in between seasons. No more snowmobiles, playing in the snow or ice fishing. It wasn’t warm enough for fishing, boating or swimming. So, we brought them with us on our seven state trip. Here they are in the front seat ready to go!

First stop – St. Louis, MO. Nice view driving into the city. We also had the same view from our hotel room. My sweet hubby booked the boys and I a VERY NICE room while traveling without him. He takes such good care of us.

After arriving at our hotel we ate, walked over to the arch and then went swimming. The next morning we ate and walked back to the arch for a ride to the top.

Stay tuned for more!

Thoughts...

2011-06-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

I am going on my third year of homeschooling. WOW! Has time flown by. I still feel at times that I have no idea what I am doing but at the same time I have a level of confidence that I did not have three years ago. I, like most homeschooling parents, don't want to miss anything. I quickly have to refocus because I know even at public or private schools something would get missed. I know this is what God wants for our family otherwise it would not work. It feels odd at times, homeschooling. Many of our friends and no one in either of our families have ever gone down this road. I keep telling myself: God put me on the path less traveled by and he put me here for a reason. Do not fight him just keep going until he tells you to get off! It is hard to get off when everyone keeps climbing on. That is what happened last year. My oldest asked to join his brother at home. I thought maybe this year he would want to go back to public school because he would be at the Middle School, he wants to stay home. He wants to stay on the path less traveled.

Homeschool Resources

2011-06-08T22:10:00.015-05:00

Have you ever gone to look for something and could not find it because you had too many great resources? I have. My 'favorites folder' is so full it is starting to stress me out! I mean, I do not want to get rid of it because one day I might actually need it. That is why I put it there to begin with, it was important, right? So, to destress me a bit I decided to post some of my free resources that I saved the past few years. I figure as I go through this home school adventure I will keep adding to the list below.

Enjoy!

Grammar/Language Arts
KISS Grammar - You learn to analyze sentences using classic literature.
KISS Workbook -
Intermediate Language Lessons - Google Books: Written in 1941 for 4th through 6th graders. It has picture studies, narration, poetry, dictation, outlining, composition, memorization and grammar.
Writing Prompts
Spelling - Dolch words and worksheets
Spelling City -type in your own list for on-line games and worksheets
Handwriting practice sheets
Spelling list by grade at HomeSpellingWords
Daily Grammar for grades 4-6

American History
GuestHollow - 2nd through 6th graders. Literature based.
Powerpoint Presentation from pppst
On-line movies at Archiving Early America

Science
GuestHollow - Human Body 2nd to 6th grade, can be used up to 8th
Handbook of Nature Study
Mr. Q - Elementary Life Science curriculum

Living Books
Browse books by grades at Simply Charlotte Mason
Living Math Book List
Applie's Place - Living Science book list
Penny Gardner - Living Science book list
AmblesideOnline Library
A Book in Time
Classic Scholar- kids books
Penny Gardner
1,000 Good Books

Art
Drawing curriculum from Five J's

Math
TimzAttack

Scott Foresman's Curriculum
Reading
Science
Math

Full Curriculum
Lesson Pathways - You can use this as a full curriculum or you can supplement it with your current studies
AmblesideOnline

Workbox
Tons of various Workbox downloads at The Beehive blog
Homeschool Share

Lapbooks/Unit Studies/File Folder Games
Homeschool Share
School Express - sign up for the newsletter and each week receive a FREE thematic unit every week
Bible Story Printables

Character Lessons
A variety of weekly character projects at the Doorpost blog
KIDS of Integrity - "Suitable for ages three to ten, Kids of Integrity is designed for maximum kid appeal! Each lesson features Bible-based discussions plus crafts, games, and object lessons from science, nature and even home cooking." per the Focus on the Family site.

YouTube
School House Rocks

Homeschool Forums
Hip Homeschool Moms
Homeschool Lounge
Well Trained Mind
Simply Charlotte Mason

On-Line Magazines for Homeschool Parents
The Homeschool Handbook
Heart of the Matter

Meal Planning
Eat at Home - She gives you a weeks worth of recipes and a shopping list!

Geology ~ Resources

2011-05-15T15:30:00.003-05:00

Books, books and more books! Just as long as they are not dry and boring we will get along just fine. These are the books that we have read or are reading. I have a few more in my pile, not sure yet if they are any good or not so if they are I will update this post later in our study. We have also watched a few DVD's but have not been impressed with any of them. Unfortunately, most are geared to older kids not elementary school age. I now know of a market that needs help in the homeschool world if someone out there LOVES rocks - please make something fun and entertaining for these young kids!

Electronic Snap Circuits

2011-05-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

The boys love these, I mean LOVE these things. I bought the snap circuits just because I thought they looked easy to use and fun. It was going to be a bonus that they would obtain a hands-on learning experience in how electrical circuits run.

The kit includes snap wires and other fun stuff that you snap onto the plastic grid. No tools needed. It comes with 'map' type directions to follow. If you do not follow the directions correctly, it does not work. The boys have made a light switch, door bell and the most favorite is the radio, so far.

Once they have 'mastered' this we can order an upgrade to the kit so they can move to the next level in their learning process. Create their own circuits!

Geology ~ Rock On!!!

2011-05-03T17:07:00.000-05:00

Rocks, rocks and more rocks – UGH! I did not have a good teacher in school with this subject. I went from a kid who LOVED rocks to totally hating them and thinking – why do I need to know this? I need to find my inner detective and love for rocks on this subject!

Our first examination is the earth’s crust. Let’s get some experiments going on here. Or just some sort of visual because this earth is huge!

For starters – let’s boil and egg. I had the boys peel the shell off. This is our earth’s crust. How exciting! Look at how thin it is from the rest of the egg. We will come back to the egg later when we learn about the next layer. I bet you are just on the edge of your seat about this, right?

Back to the crust {shell} is only 3 miles thick under the ocean and 45 miles thick under the mountain ranges. Not too thick – right?

What is this crust made of? Dirt/Soil

What is dirt /soil made of? Decaying leaves, rotting plants, grounded rock and sticks.

Next, let’s put some dirt/soil into a glass jar and cover with water. Tightly screw on the lid and shake for a few minutes. Leave this overnight to see what happens to your soil. It would be neat to compare different soils from different areas but we are not going to do that. The next morning you will find all organic matter floating at the top and the heavy mineral particles at the bottom and it may even form layers –if you’re lucky.

State Capitols Song

2011-05-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

Planting a Garden?

2011-04-26T18:01:00.000-05:00

I would first like to point out that we try to garden. We really have no idea what we are doing. Each year it's the same thing. We buy some seeds, tomato and pepper plants. I call my parents and ask the same questions each year, "What way do the potatoes go into the ground again?". We are excited, this year will be different, we will weed and care for the garden. Yes, this year will be different.

So, here we are picking out our seeds when the love of my life suggest a science project! Let the kids start growing the plants inside, record the growth and then we will all transplant them to the garden. I tried to get excited, I mean he suggested a project for the kids. I secretly wished he would do the project with the kids. But, he is lucky enough to be out of town and the little and I mean little seeds need to be planted. There is no way the kids can back out of this project, the seeds are to small for my hands!

To my surprise the boys enjoyed planting the seeds. We had a few laughs because Mom read the directions but forgot what she read! I had to dump the cold water out and put warm water in. I had to keep adding water because I never bothered to actually measure the water...Yep. I am so into this project! Then the lid does not seem to stay shut or latch shut. I was told to leave it, quit messing with it, it is fine...who is the teacher here again? Let's not forget that I cannot figure out if I need to water these things or not. It seems to look like I don't, there is a lot of water at the bottom of the pan, moisture (green house type) and I dumped some water out. Anyway, if it fails I am off to the store to buy some plants...

Lego Creation Thursday

2011-04-21T10:21:00.001-05:00

My little THING 1 had his birthday in March. He specifically asked his Grandma and Grandpa for the Lego Kingdom's Jail. He was so excited that they found it and gave it to him. He chose to put it together a few Saturday's ago when his dad was told to stay off of his foot. Thing 1 asked dad to sit by him while he put his creation together. Dad sat and sat and sat...didn't need to help him one bit but Thing 1 loved that his dad was there---watching.

Flat Travelers - Washington

2011-04-20T17:27:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the state of Washington is the only state named after a President? I bet you did, you just never thought about it! Our flat traverler's went to visit folks in Washington. A few of the things the travelers did while visiting in Washington were:

Lewis and Clark trail

Wild life park in Oregon

Going back to Washington

co-op carnival

The flat travelers also went to puppy training class, visited a reptile in a cage and crossed the Columbia River. Over all, our traveler had a blast on their trip. We enjoyed hearing about what they did when they were gone.

We need to sign up for the May swap over at the Facebook group: Homeschool Swapping Adventures to continue filling our geography notebook.

Lego Creation Thursday

2011-03-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

Last year we found some fun printables for Lego’s at Lego’s Family Time fun website! The thing I like is that they are step-by-step printable instructions! Teaching boys to follow printed directions is an art because most in the boy gender would rather use creativity to put things together {giggle}. Don't get me wrong, I am all for using creativity but there is something to be said for following directions.

I gave Ryan the duck and Jacob the leprechaun with the pot of gold. After much discussion the boys decided they like the store kits better than the printables. After probing further into the reason it laid on the foundation of laziness. They both do not like to rummage through the Lego's to find the pieces that are needed.

Flat Travelers - Our First Adventure!

2011-03-08T15:56:00.000-06:00

We joined a very active facebook group called the Homeschool Swapping Adventures. Each month our flat friends travel to a new state (or country if you choose to do so) for a new adventure.

To start this new fun adventure the boys needed to create their flat traveler.

Ryan chose to have a football player named Adrian Peterson #28 of the Vikings and Jacob decided to do a snowmobiler. I decided to print out a picture of our dog, Kramer, so she could tag along with the flat travelers and 'watch' them for us. We also decided to laminate the travelers so they can last for all 50 states!

We also created a journal page for the family that we visit to fill out.

Once we choose to travel overseas to other countries we will send our passport with our flat travelers.

Our first trip will be to the state of Washington. Our travelers and our family are excited to hear about all of the fun adventures our Washington family has in store for our travelers. We just need to brain storm what fun things to do with their traveler when they get here...

Lego Creation Thursday

2011-03-03T13:28:00.002-06:00

In our history book Story of the World we are studying the Assyrian's and their weapons of mass destruction! What did these folks in about 860 B.C. have as weapons to become a world powder?

Lets take a look at what the Assyrian's were facing as they conquered every country in their path so they could become the largest empire. Cities had walls around them. Well, the walls were only about 30 feet high (some higher) and some had an open space of about 15 feet, followed by another inner wall that was 12 feet thick. No big deal, right?

The Assyrian's used what is called a siege tower to attack the cities. For a project, the boys built the 3-sided tower with the 'battering ram' that was used to, well, ram the wall. Actually, the ram was shaped like an ax and was inserted between the stones of the wall. After many stones became dislodged the wall would collapse in that section. The archers stood inside the tower shooting arrows at the cities defenders on the wall.

Do you see the little solider peeking out?

I linked up with Michele from My Blessings from Above for her Thursday Lego Creation blog hop. Make sure you check her our if your children are interested in Lego's.

The Great Pumpkin

2010-11-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

We had friends over this weekend. It was so much fun to spend time with those that you just love to hang out with. We started our evening with all of the kiddos carving pumpkins. A few of the pumpkins did not make it to the photo shoot..

We ate lots of yummy food. Watched The Great Pumpkin outside.

After the show the kids played Ghost in the Graveyard and Football. At the neighbor kids request, we will do this again next year.

Eight Weeks of School!

2010-10-23T12:12:00.002-05:00

I totally lost track of time on that one. Here is what we have been working on the last eight weeks. I feel like I am missing a few things, but here it goes...

History ~ During our Egypt Unit we have made pyramids, food, colored, read a variety of books, watched a few shows on the pyramids, did an archeology dig, painted hieroglyphics on a cave wall, wrote our name in curtian and map work. The boys are also in a class at co-op where they have made a few projects about Egypt as well.

Spelling ~ We are trying a new curriculum. On the Homeschool Success blog she mentioned Sequential Spelling. I downloaded the sample lesson from their website and found what I have been looking for. I am super excited and the kids are too! We do a spelling test each day and by the end of 8 days they should be able to spell 20 words. The kids have not complained once about this which is a huge blessing. I can already see improvement with Ryan's spelling - yahoo!

Science ~ We are working on water animals and the solar system. Currently, the boys are working on a lapbook for the water animals, learning about water currents and air pressure. We have fun experiments we have been doing. The boys are also in a class at co-op where they are learning about the Earth, rocks, etc. We have also gone on field trips to The Works Museum and Underwater World.

Math ~ We just ordered the Teaching Textbooks math program for Jacob. This is an on-line math program that teaches the problems, test, and grades. Ryan is still in the Horizons 2 workbook and would love to be doing the Teaching Textbooks, but he needs to wait until next year.

Writing ~ We use the Writing with Ease program for both boys. I read a short story and ask the boys a series of questions. With this program Jacob’s comprehension has improved dramatically in such a short time. This program is helping Ryan more with putting his complete thought down on paper and using the correct punctuation during the writing segment since he already has a strong comprehension level.

Language ~ We use First Language Lessons. The boys memorize poems along with language rules, punctuation, look at art and I also have short stories to read and have the boys answer questions. Jacob says this is his favorite subject.

Phonics ~ Both boys do the on-line Explode the Code. I love this program. The kids have to type, spell, read and answer questions and ace the sounds. The program grades them so I do not need to worry. If they are having issues in a certain area the computer keeps adding that section back into the program until it is mastered.

Reading ~ Ryan has read his first chapter book! Jacob has quit complaining about reading and ask to read– progress!

Bible ~ We have been working hard on our morning routine. We have our calendar time where Jacob looks up the bible verse on his own and each boy reads the verse from the bible. We are also working hard on the Awana memory verses for their Wednesday classes at church.

Handwriting ~ Ryan has his A Reason for Handwriting book and he does a page a day. He also works on his handwriting with the Writing with Ease program. Jacob has an Abeka cursive handwriting book where he does two pages a day along with handwriting in the Writing with Ease program.

Art ~ Artist Pursuits. We had done the water coloring lesson. Our history and science classes seem to incorporate many art type projects. At co-op the boys are in a Cub Scout class doing a variety of projects for pins and beltloops.

GYM~ Jacob is in a Gym class at co-op where they play baseball. At home, they are outside a lot playing kick ball, football, catch, bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc. This is one area I do not need to ‘plan’ for.

Music ~ Jacob actually practices his drums now that he has the new set. Ryan is in a music class at co-op and he has his piano lessons. We have also gone to a few musical kid plays with the homeschool recess group.

Check out what other home school families are up to at Jamie's this week.

Edible Meteorites!

2010-10-13T14:17:00.000-05:00

Dirt and Rocks left by comets and planets are floating in space. These are commonly known as meteoroids. Once these meteoroids enter the earth's atmosphere they burn up. We now call them a meteor (shooting star). It does not matter what it was called or what it was in space once it falls through our earths atmosphere it is called a meteorite. Most of the time these meteoroids burn up or land in the ocean. Every once in a while they land on land and can range in size from very small to very large.

What are meteorites made from? The easiest way to describe it is into three classifications of stony, iron and stony-iron. We decided to look at stony meteorites with chondrules (mineral deposit) and stony meteorites that do not contain chondrules which are called achondrites.

Our meteorites were made from marshmallows, chocolate and pecans. We made some yummy 'rocks' to eat after our school work: Rocky Road, Brownies with large chunks and Pecan Clusters.

We sliced them so we can observe the inside of each 'meteorite'.

Next, we drew pictures of our cross-section of the meteorite and labeled if the stony meteorite had was a chondrule or achondrites.

Once we were done with our drawings - we ate the meteorites! Our favorite was our Pecan Clusters.

The study of our solar system

2010-10-12T11:09:00.002-05:00

We did a few visual's today to grasp the concept of how small we really are. We took our basketball and a peppercorn and put them side by side. The basketball is our SUN and the peppercorn is EARTH. The kids as well as Mom were blown away about how ant like we are. Next, we used the basketball and a marble. The basketball is now JUPITER and our marble is EARTH.

For fun, we measured the planets our onto our driveway. Jacob has the acromin below memorized so he was able to let me know which planet came next. He was more interested in the size of the planet. Ryan was intrested in how far away from the Sun each one was. We used the book The Planets in our Solar System by Franklyn Branley for the distance in our driveway model. We started with the Sun, of course.

My (Mercury) 36,898,000 miles from the Sun --- 2 inches

Very (Venus) 67,084,000 miles from the Sun ---3 inches

Excellent (Earth) 92,752,000 miles from the Sun ---4 inches

Mom (Mars) 141,298,000 miles from the Sun --- 6 inches

Just (Jupiter) 482, 546,000 miles from the Sun ---1 foot, 9 inches

Served (Saturn) 884,740,000 miles from the Sun ---3 feet, 2 inches

Us (Uranus) 1, 779,152,000 miles from the Sun ---6 feet, 5 inches

Nine (Neptune) 2, 787,892,000 miles from the Sun ---10 feet, inch

Pizza'a (Pluto) 3,658,000,000 miles from the Sun ---13 feet, 3 inches

Yes, we realize Pluto is no longer a planet. But, we like Pluto.

Blogger Award!

2010-10-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

I am very grateful to Busy Bees Are We to nominate me for the Versatile Blogger Award. It was so sweet and thoughtful of the Queen Bee to think of me. She totally made my day!

To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:

•Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
•Share 7 things about yourself.
•Pass it along to 15 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
•Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

Now 7 things about me:

1. I have been married to the most wonderful man for 12 years and he and the good Lord have given two wonderful boys.

2. Since I was a little girl all I wanted to be was a Wife, Mommy and a Teacher.

3. I never thought I would become one of those home school families. However, God had a different idea on what my husband and I should be doing.

4. I have tendencies of being a control freak - home schooling has tamed me a bit. I am still a work in progress.

5. I obsess to much. Like what to put down for the 7 things about me and the 15 blogs. UGH.

6. I LOVE sweets. Pepsi is my drink of choice, even though its recipe is very close to battery acid.

7. I LOVE coconut milk. I do not like coconut.

And here are the 15 blogs that I am passing the love on too...So in no particular order here are several worthy blogs.

1. Homeschool Success

2. Journey to Excellence

3. The Homeschool Chick

4. Noggins and Nonsense

5. Debbies Homeschool Corner

6. The Sunny Patch

7. Learning Laughter Love

8. Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

9. Blog, She Wrote

10. Living Math Book List one of Mama Jenn's blogs.

11. Lagniappe Academy

12. Consider It All Joy

13. Confessions of a Homeschooler

14. Light, Liberty, and Learning

15. Sassy Down Home Mama

Science - Swimming Creatures!

2010-10-01T17:36:00.019-05:00

We are currently on an adventure of the underwater world!

In our first chapter we learned about the various types of mobility. Both the boys and I were having problems trying to remember the technical names for the various types of mobility. For a visual we used SpongeBob for the animals that swim, crawl, sit and drift.

Nekton: Squidward (swim)

Benthos: Mr. Crabs (crawl)

Benthic: Patrick (scoot)

Sessile: SpongeBob (sit)

Plankton: Plankton and Jellyfish (drift)

On Wednesday we went to the local aquarium for their home school days. We were able to see fresh water animals and salt water animals. On our behind the scenes tour we learned how the aquarium makes salt water for the animals on display, what they eat, how they arrive at the aquarium, how and when they are fed, if ill how they are taken care of and our favorite part was walking on TOP of the tanks. The Sea Turtle swam right up to us at the top and boy is he a big fellow! We were not able to take pictures of the tank area behind the scenes due to security. However, here are a few pictures of the animals we saw while walking though the tanks.

Ryan touching a starfish!

A few small sea horses.

A Stingrays beautiful old man face!

A freshwater turtle

The boys in front of a real beaver dam! Check out how tall the dam is.

The boys in the behind the scenes tour - kitchen.

While we were at the aquarium we were able to see all of the various animals with the different types of mobility's we are learning. We all had a great time and hope to do it again later this year.

Amy

Scripture Study On Positive Thinking

2010-09-30T13:42:00.009-05:00

I enjoy reading Norman Vincent Peale's book The Power of Positive Thinking, almost yearly. I can easily move my thoughts towards negative thoughts rather quickly. Unfortunately, it is more natural for me than those nice positive thoughts. I have noticed that one of my sons seems to have this same dilemma. So, we are going to try a Scripture Study on Positive Thinking for the month of October. Each day the boys will have a scripture to look up and read based on recommend bible verses from Mr. Peale's book.

With our Scripture Study, the boys will:

Learn how to look up bible verses

Read the bible verses

Color the square on the calendar

Copy bible verses to a note card

At the end of the month if all of the squares are colored in on the calendar, the boys can earn a book from the used bookstore in town.

Today, we made a trip to store to purchase a bible for Jacob. He was so excited to finally get his own bible!

We also took the time today to learn how to look up the bible verses. Jacob got it on the first try! I remember as a kid that it took me a long time to understand chapter and verse. I can't help but think he was actually paying attention to what I was doing and saying!

If you are interested in the bible verses we are doing for the month of October, see the link below.

I made a blog button!

2010-09-27T16:47:00.006-05:00

I am so proud of myself, I made a blog button! I figured I was not that techie but I found directions and I was able to do it all by myself {pat on the back}. This kind of celebration deserves some sort of treat -- ummm Chocolate maybe.

For those who would like to know how to make a button you first find a picture. Upload it to photobucket where you can then edit the picture. Finally, Shabby Blogs has directions on their site for the html code for the blog.

So, go ahead and grab the button. If you do not have a button I suggest you give it a try. If I can do it, I know you can!

Amy

Questions, Questions, Questions

2010-09-20T20:28:00.004-05:00

We all have questions. Silly questions, inquisitive questions and some that make you go huh? questions. Being a homeschooling family some questions can easily get you off track for the day. Especially in the middle of a math lesson when someone wants to know how earthquakes happen. Makes me wonder - is this question for real or do you just not want to do math right now? My boys also seem to ask questions when we are driving down the road and these seem to be the questions I cannot answer, we must look up the answer. Is it bad timing or maybe they just want to know exactly how smart is my teacher anyway?

The boys and I decided to put our questions in a box. Once a week we will pick a question out and research the answer on the internet or the library. Now wait a minute, what if one of the boys needs to know the answer right now? Well, as with all things in life, exceptions will be made. Now, the tough part -- trying to remember to bring pencil and paper in the truck to write the questions on!

We went on a week long field trip!

2010-09-19T10:00:00.012-05:00

In our History class we have been studying the nomads from our book: The Story of the World. The boys learned that a nomad wandered from place to place, looking for food {animals to hunt or berries to pick}. These families lived in tents or caves, they did not have the fancy houses we have today.

On our field trip we visited South Dakota. We learned about Indians and Mammoths.

The hut pictured above is a replica of a house in the plains of the Ukraine. More than 30 dwellings have been discovered in the area - preserved nicely do to a flood. This replica shown in the South Dakota Mammoth Site is made from 121 Mammoth bones, 8 bison hides, a variety of poles and raw hides. Some researchers believe that these huts were semi permanent - they believe the individuals would of followed the animals migration patterns throughout the year.

We went to the Mammoth Site off season. Unfortunately, our kiddos did not get to participate in the Junior Paleontologist Program. We did managed to stay for 3 hours! The tour was 30 minutes and the exhibit room would be about 30-45 minutes to view, so we could of been out of there in an hour and a half. However, my kids were so excited to see, feel and touch things we lost track of time! Not a bad thing when you are learning...

The site has about 20 more years of excavating before it is complete. Some bones are left in the site so you can see how they were found. Paleontologist are also there working as you tour the area.

If you give a kid a Mammoth what about all the rest of the Dinosaurs? So, starts a mini study on Dinosaurs...We are reading The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor. I highly recommend this book. This book answers questions that children as well as adults have about dinosaurs, how fossils are made and the Bible.

Scheduling

2010-08-26T16:42:00.006-05:00

I am starting with the schedule below. It will be tweaked within the next few weeks to see what runs smoothly in our home.

I teach both kids History and Science at the same time. Language and Phonics might seem like they are also at the same time, but they are not. One of the boys will be doing the On-line Explode the Code while I work with the other boy on his Language Lesson, then we will switch.

Workboxes are work at your pace and feel free to ask Mom questions we you need to. This will help the boys with independent learning and self starting. They will each know what to expect each school day and what is expected of them. This system also allows for me to be even more organized. When I put the Science project in the box, I will also put all of the supplies in the box so we are not wasting time during learning hours looking for items. I can also put the educational games we have laying around the house into the boxes for a nice break in the day. What I enjoy best about the workboxes is that it takes pressure off of me. It will keep the kids motivated to complete their work and complete it in a timely manner. Our school is closed at 3pm, workboxes must be done. This way the boys can rest then hang out with the neighborhood kids {once their homework is done}.

6:30 wake up/quite time for mom

7:00 kiddos wake up/eat/clean kitchen/make bed/start laundry

8:00 school starts with History and Science

9:30 start workboxes

10:00 – 11:00 snack and recess if weather permits

11:00 Language and Phonics

12:00 make lunch/eat/clean kitchen

1:00 Math and finish workboxes

3:00 school out or earlier no later --- time to be with friends!

6:00 dinner/clean kitchen

6:30 fall sports

7:30 start getting ready for bed

8:30 bed for kids --- time for me to hang with my man J

Fridays – we are at co-op. The boys will be expected to do Language and Math at home before co-op starts. At co-op they are taking a Gym, Science, History, Art and Cub Scout Beltloop/Pin class.

I also decided that I should try to do a monthly meal plan. I have a lot to figure out with homeschooling two young boys {last year I only had one home} schedule wise. I do not want to be standing in the kitchen at lunch time wondering what to fee the four of us. Why four? The love of my life is working out of the house in September. {Yahoo!} I made my schedule including snacks and how our schedule works for co-ops and such.

Geography

2010-08-24T17:38:00.006-05:00

The past few weeks the boys and I have been doing some morning school but not too school-ish. We are not doing a huge list of subjects, it is more for us to spend time together and get a feel for the various subjects we will be doing this school year {Okay, so I get a feel for the subjects!}.

A few weeks ago we focused on a geography lesson from A Child’s Geography. The style is very similar to The Story of the World series that we use for History. The publisher of A Child's Geography offers a free sample of the lesson right here.

For the activity the boys made a Paper Mache globe. The boys went outside and dipped newspaper strips into a mixture. The craft took much longer than I anticipated due to the humidity. It took a few days for each layer of strips to dry. So we only did 2 layers of newspaper. { I forgot to take the camera out for this messy project.}

Here is a picture of the globes – drying.

The boys enjoyed painting the ‘world’. We still have the globes laying around the house, I guess we need to find a home for them. Maybe they could be Christmas presents for the Grandparents!

FREEBIE OF THE DAY

2010-08-11T13:13:00.004-05:00

Check this out! If you choose to, you can register at the FREEBIE OF THE DAY website. Each week The Homeschool Freebie will send you an e-mail with all of the resources that will be available that week. Each resource is only available for a day so you need to go to the website and download the materials that you would like on the day it is available. Some examples are unit studies, lesson plans, classic books and much more.

Our School Room?

2010-08-10T15:08:00.008-05:00

I would rather call this the Family Room! We just happen to have a couple of desk and a bar full of my teaching supplies down here. The school room is really all over our home so we have a School House! Part of the day the kids will be in the family room, kitchen and outside. I noticed some other blogs that have all sorts of school items hanging on the walls and special rooms. We are not able to do that at this end of the block!

Here are the desks the boys set up. The cart system is new to us therefore I have not had the time to make the tag system for the outside of the cart. I need to get a move on with that!

Here is my storage area in the bar. Do you like how I used the old workboxes as subject dividers for myself? I still need to sit down at the computer and make some pretty tags to hang on the boxes.

So that is it. A small School House to enrich my boys lives. To see other school rooms hop on over to the Heart of the Matter.

Dirty Coin/Clean Coin

2010-08-07T20:50:00.004-05:00

Ryan found a very dirty dime. In fact, it was so dirty the rest of us thought it was a penny! After cleaning it up, Ryan was correct - it was a dime.

Want to clean your coins?

What you will need:
Dark colored coins (up to 6)
Plate
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon vinegar

Put coins on plate, if using more than one coin, make sure they are not touching each other. Sprinkle salt on top of coins. Pour vinegar on top of the salt. After a little while they will start to look cleaner. You can also rub the coins around in the mixture.

Why and How?
The coins are not dark because they are dirty. They are dark because they are tarnished. The “dirt” is really a chemical that forms on the surface when it comes into contact with oxygen/air.

Vinegar is a chemical called an acid. Acids also react with metals. The vinegar dissolved the coating on the coins exposing the clean metal. The reaction can happen without salt but the salt speeds up the reaction.

Dead Sea Scrolls

2010-08-02T10:31:00.003-05:00

Friday we went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Science Museum. We were each given a hand held listening devise. There was a kids channel and an adult channel. Okay, I admit it - I enjoyed the kid’s channel! Every once in a while I would flip over to get additional information on my adult channel. Why did I listen to the kid’s channel? Nosey, I just wanted to know how they could present this information to keep the kids interest. The museum did a wonderful job at accomplishing that!

There were displays set up so we could see the pottery that the scrolls were found in, shoes, money and jewelry. I learned how and why the archeologist record there information and why they leave part of the excavation unearthed. It was so intriguing to me to just learn about the way of life over 2,000 years ago and actually see the items. They boys enjoyed the money cup and the story about a robber on the kids channel {I missed that story, I must of actually been on the adult channel}.

On the kids channel they made a big deal about walking around the corner to actually see some of the scrolls after we had gone through most of the exhibit. My boys are running up begging to go around the corner so they could see the scrolls! I was shocked. They were actually having fun at a Museum! Once around the corner the boys were shocked. The scrolls were small pieces. But, they enjoyed looking at them. When asked what their favorite part was – it was the money and the scrolls.

Overall, our family had a fun afternoon at the Museum.

2010-2011 Curriculum Blog Hop

2010-07-31T16:34:00.011-05:00

Heart of the Matter is hosting the Not Back to School Blog Hop this year. What a cool way for homeschoolers to get excited about school starting! We get to share our families choices for curriculum and various resources over the next 4 weeks.

Week 1 is Curriculum Week

Week 2 is School Room Week

Week 3 is Student Photo Week

Week 4 is Day-in-the-Life- Week

Well, this it it! After planning and planning and some more planning this is what we are doing for our 2010-2011 school year. Why so much planning? Well, like you, I have a strong desire for my children to enjoy school.

2nd Grade

Writing/Spelling
Complete Writer Level 1
Reason for Handwriting
Spelling Workbook Level B

Language

Explode the Code (on-line)

Daily Language Review

First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind

Math

Horizons Level 2, book 1

Electives

Piano, SpongeBob Typing, Sign Language

Subjects we will do together

Geography/Science
Children's Geography - Explore His Earth
Apologia Land Animals and Live and Learn Press Lapbook
Nature Study - Handbook of Nature Study

History
Story of the World

Art

Artistic Pursuits

4th Grade

Writing/Spelling
Complete Writer Level 2
A Beka Cursive Handwriting

Language
Explode the Code (on-line)
Daily Language Review
First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind

Math
Horizons Level 2, book 2

Electives
Drums, SpongeBob Typing, Sign Language

Take care!
Amy

Ants

2010-07-20T14:15:00.003-05:00

Challenge #4 - We need to focus on a subject. The boys chose Ants.

Did you know that Ants have pets? I had no idea and it never even occurred to me! Ants are like farmers, they milk their pet Aphid. Yes, they have aphid's as pets. Those pesty things that eat my garden. So here is the scoop, the ants keep the aphid's in their nest during the winter months. In the Spring the ants move them to a plant. The ants eat the honeydew that they milk from the aphid. How do they milk them? The ants rub their antennae on the back of the aphid and the milk or honeydew comes out of the tummy or if you want to be techinical the aphid's abdomen.

Also, the pet aphid is protected by the ants. If you are not a pet and you are a FREE APHID, the lady bugs are gonna get you!

Free Museum Day 2010

2010-07-14T13:20:00.004-05:00

Free Museum Day 2010 is quickly approaching! Mark your calendars and participate this year. On September 25th, you and a guest will get free general admission to hundreds of museums and cultural spots around the country. Important note! You can’t just show up and get in for free. They won’t let you in. You need to visit the Free Museum Day website and download a free admission card.

Smithsonian magazine is the organization you have to thank for this annual event. If you aren’t lucky enough to live near the plethora of free Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., this annual free museum day is the next best thing.

Washington D.C. Part 3

2010-06-25T11:55:00.010-05:00

Washington D.C. is a city that I do not think you can ever visit and say you did it all! The main goal of our trip was to visit Grams and Gramps. We had loads of fun with them. The kids did not complain once about all of the walking. Unlike their Mom who had a hard time keeping up with everyone.

Earlier I mentioned Ryan was looking for a snowcone at the National Zoo. None were to be found at the Zoo. However, when we went back downtown D.C. Ryan hopped off of the Metro and found a snowcone! {see him eating it in the picture above} It was 10 am, but who cares, both boys enjoyed their treat as they took the long walk across the Mall.

We also saw Mount Vernon. Ryan was learning all about George Washington before we went to D.C. so this was his field trip.

We learned about how George looked to the Bible for planting his fields. He had outhouses for his slaves, gutters along the walking paths, and his slaves became free men, women and children when he died. He is also buried on his property -thinking ahead he put in his will that he was to be buried at Mount Vernon. {Smart man!}

This is the view George Washington had from Mount Vernon. Doesn't it just calm your soul?West Virgina has made a pack with Virgina not to disturb the landscape that is seen from Mount Vernon.

Mr. Washington also had various kinds of livestock.

We all enjoyed our trip and would like to go back soon.

Washington D.C. Part 2

2010-06-23T14:07:00.012-05:00

We were in Washington D.C. for Ryan's birthday. Ryan loves, I mean he LOVES animals. We decided we had to go to the National Zoo for his birthday. He was also on the look out for a snowcone the entire day {more on this later}.

At home we do not have elephants at our zoo so for our family it was a huge treat to see a elephant up close. Isn't she pretty?

Check out the Panda! We watched her for a long time. She just walked all over the place - pausing to pose for pictures. Then she would move on. I loved watching the kids get so excited to see the panda come close to them and pause for a picture then move on.

It was a fun day at the zoo. Ryan did not get his snowcone, but that is for another day.

Washington D.C.

2010-06-21T11:24:00.016-05:00

And we are off, to Washington D.C. that is. We were all excited to take a family vacation, something we had not done since 2005. We get to go hang out with my parents and see all of the fun 'Living History' school type stuff.

We went to the Natural History Museum. There we saw a Right Whale, Dino's, Mammoth and a bunch of other really cool stuff. At the Museum, it surprised me that it took the stance on Darwin's Theory. After all, we are a Christian Nation or at least those were the principles we were founded on.

For lunch we ate at the Museum, I really wish I would of taken a picture of my meal. Jacob and I shared a sandwich and drink for $15. This was not anything fancy either. I surprised myself by telling my kids to load up on the free refills of pop to make up for the cost of the lunch. Can you imagine?

We went to the Air and Space Museum at the airport. There we got to see the Space Shuttle and WOW! Is it ever big.

Don't you think that this flower is pretty? I do. I loved the Tulip Tree. If they could survive in the harsh winters that we have - I would have one in my yard. They were at the entrance to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.

This was on the top of Jacob's go see list. He had so many questions about the tomb. The really cool thing was he got to see the changing of the guard and the changing of the wreath. Here are a few of the pictures of the tomb that Jacob took.

Stay tuned for more of our exciting vacation!

Teeth and Coke

2010-06-15T10:56:00.005-05:00

Ryan lost his two front teeth this Spring. We decided to see what happens to teeth that are soaking in Coke.

Well, in less than 24 hours it was light brown.

7 days later is was almost black.

Let's not forget to mention that with in 14 days most of the coke evaporated and a syrup was left. {gross} One would think after this experiment that we would stop drinking pop, we have not.

Spelling Tricks

2010-06-13T16:40:00.001-05:00

Ryan has tried many different 'tricks' for spelling. This is the latest, from Home Grown Heart. So far it seems to be the best way for Ryan to learn spelling. I give him a word to spell he then builds the word with magnetic letters. When that is completed he writes the word. The sheet is laminated so he can wipe off the words he wrote.

Summer Fun At The Beach

2010-06-13T14:45:00.004-05:00

The beach is a fun place to go but what happens when the kiddo's get board - if that is possible! Here are some fun ideas when they just do not want to be in the water.

1. Collect items to make a wind chime when you get home.
2. Sandscrapers - see who can make the highest and most unusual towers.
3. Gilligan's Island - Pretend you are stranded on and island. You need to gather food, make a fishing pole, build shelter for just a few ideas.
4. Jewelry - Collect shells to make jewelry when you get home.
5. Bowling - Use a beach ball and either use empty water bottles or family members as the pins.
6. Hopscotch - Using a stick draw hopscotch in the sand.
7. Buried Treasure - Each take turns and bury an object under the sand. Start by asking questions, with each YES answer take a scoop of sand off of the pile.
8. Sundial - Make your own sundial in the sand using a stick. Place a stick standing straight up into the flat sand. Every hour make a mark.
9. Sea Science - Bring two cups to the beach and fresh water. Find out what sinks and what floats in salt water vs. the fresh water.
10. Scavenger Hunt - You will need paper and a pencil. Write the alphabet on the paper and then find items on the beach that starts with each letter.
11. Yacht Building - Using driftwood build a boat with a seaweed sail.
12. Pick up Sticks - Find sticks on the beach and then play a game of pick up sticks.
13. Bubbles - Bring bubbles to the beach, how long do they last after landing in the water? Dig a hole and blow bubbles in the hole and see how many you can catch in the hole.
14. How Hot? Bring a cooking thermometer, paper and a pencil. Take the temperature in various parts of the beach, which part is the hottest? Coldest? Try taking the temperature under the rocks, water, under your towel.
15. Sand Blast - Construction paper and glue needed. Start by making a design on the paper with glue. Then while glue is still wet gently sprinkle sand over the design. Let it sit for a moment, then tip paper so the extra sand spills off. (I would bring sand home to do this at home)

The Joy of Sunflowers

2010-06-13T10:08:00.010-05:00

Gramps and Grams sent the boys some really cool sunflowers to plant. This will go along with the Nature Study we are doing this summer.

I was amazed at how quickly they sprouted. Within 2 days after planting them in the container that was provided we had sprouts.

They are now planted outside growing like crazy with all of the rain. Because of the nice gift of the sunflowers we decided to do The Great Sunflower Project.

Ryan studied Bee's at the beginning of the school year so this will be a nice review for him.

UPDATE: The rabbits ate our Sunflowers.

Twins and Nature Study

2010-06-12T11:59:00.007-05:00

We went to our first Twins game as a family last night. I would never have dreamed that it could and would be a Nature Study! As soon as we parked on the 7th Street in Minneapolis, Ryan found a squirrel! Once seated in the stadium we had a great view of the city and of many birds that were flying around in the stadium. I thought I was the only one watching them but I guess Ryan was talking to his Dad about all of the Nature items throughout the game. Dad also taught Ryan how to read the scoreboard and what all of it meant. Shawn also had the opportunity to teach me about what exactly a ‘Ball’ is. Jacob was our quite one – he just wanted to watch the game in peace.

This last Wednesday we went on a walk as a family for the Nature Study. Jacob found a tree root that resembled a balance beam and Ryan was looking for the dead bird from a few days ago. Ryan never did find the bird again. Either it was picked up or a dog ate it (hope it was not my dog!).

A few days have pasted since our Wednesday walk. I had the boys who are making forts write in their Nature Journals while in their forts. Ryan added his 'dead' bird that he did not find and the Twins Stadium. Jacob and I did discuss why the tree root was above the ground and not below. They both enjoy writing and drawing in their Journals, I am beginning to think that they do not realize they are doing a Nature Study at this point in time.

2010 Summer Curriculum

2010-06-11T10:40:00.006-05:00

On-line Phonics – Explode the Code
Horizon’s Math
Baseball Unit Study (Geography and History)
Nature Study Handbook
Individual Reading
Reading by Mom
Music
Baseball (June and July)
Basketball (June)
Swimming (June and July)
Track - (Ryan - July)

Nature Study

2010-06-09T12:32:00.003-05:00

I stumbled upon the blog: Handbook of Nature. Now, I am not that much of a nature person, but I really would like my boys, who love to be outside to just LOVE nature. What fun to tag along on the adventures with the Handbook of Nature group and instill the love of nature in all of us!

I chose to access the book online, one less thing laying around the house!

1. Read pages 1-8 of the Handbook of Nature Study. (online book)
2. So here is our challenge this week. Spend 10-15 minutes outdoors with my children. Go on a walk and discuss the things they see.
3. Make a big deal about whatever it is that they talk about.
4. After our nature study time with the kids, I need to pull out the Handbook of Nature Study and see if the item the children are interested in is listed in the index. If it is, I need to look up the information and then relate interesting facts to the boys sometime during the next week.

Bring on nature!

2010-06-04T15:45:00.004-05:00

Math becomes an adventure with this addition and subtraction game that takes kids on a journey through Sum Swamp. They'll make their way over the crocodile shortcut and through the endless loop by adding and subtracting the numbers rolled. For a bonus you learn your even and odds. Now, Ryan already knew all of these things but it sure is a fun way to review without knowing you are reviewing!

Lego's and Learning

2010-05-13T21:52:00.004-05:00

I found some fun printables for Lego’s at Lego’s Family Time fun website! Each month they release 3 new building instructions. The thing I like is that they are step-by-step printable instructions! Perfect for workboxes!

We downloaded the donkey from December, it was a great project with easy step-by-step instructions that he did very well following!

"Much like one can listen to and appreciate music, dabble with making sounds on an instrument, play music from the score or indeed improvise or ‘jam’ with others in a band – the LEGO System works in a similar way. We can play from the ‘score’ (building instructions), or we can compose our own music or jam with others (free building alone or together)." Taken from the Lego site.

Games are for learning....

2010-05-13T14:15:00.005-05:00

We played the Scrambled States of America today. I love this game for many reasons. The first one is obvious - learning the states and capitals. Second is the location of the states. Third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth is measuring, counting, directions, syllables, letters, colors and vowels. That sure is a lot of stuff out of such a small box! The best part is both of my kids love to play it. I really should take it out more - I even learn from it :-)

Mom, I LOVE this book!

2010-05-11T14:10:00.002-05:00

What great words to hear! I hope to hear them more often in the years to come. Ryan was excited - he read the book, "I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words" this afternoon. For him, this was a novel. It is the longest book he has ever read and he did not complain once - Yahoo! He also did not have trouble reading most of the words which was another great accomplishment! This young man has come a long way this school year and I am so proud of him.

School Dad's Way

2010-05-10T17:26:00.002-05:00

There are some things I just don't think to 'teach' the kids. Dad does fun school. The practical school. The cool school. The I did not know I was in school - school. What does Dad 'teach'? He teaches the boys how to cast a fishing line, hook a worm, paint a wall, carve with a knife, change a bike tire and the list goes on and on. Some things Dad's just 'teach' way better than Moms! Go Dad!

School Visitor

2010-04-30T20:00:00.005-05:00

We had a visitor at school today. Jacob came to co-op and did some school things with us today. Overall, he had fun. He says that he plans on being homeschooled for 4th grade. Yahoo! Shawn wanted them both home or both in school next year. I feel that God is working hard around here!

Ryan also chose which butterfly he was sending to the butterfly project.

It took us two days to release the butterflies! We even tried to tease them to come out by putting food in the doorway of the treehouse. Three left, two stayed. The next day we hung up the Butterfy Treehouse and left for the afternoon. When we came home they had left.

Boxcar Children and Butterfly Art!

2010-04-27T12:31:00.006-05:00

Our Butterfly Lesson is tying in nicely with the Boxcar Children Book #2 Lesson. In the story the children are collecting items for their museum. One of their items is a butterfly. We also decided to do the Food Pyramid because of the variety food the children are eating in book. We will also keep a log of the fruits and vegetables that Ryan eats this week. Instead of a Pyramid I had Ryan separate the foods into the groups. This is also one of the items in the Tiger Cub Scout book so we have an added bonus of completing that requirement for Scouts!

Today we decided to do an art project that we saw on Ramblings of a Crazy Woman. Ryan had loads of fun making the butterflies. We only stopped because we ran out of thick art paper.

After all of that hard work we needed a snack!

Butterfly Project

2010-04-26T12:46:00.002-05:00

Ryan's baby butterflies started to hatch today. When we left to run errands today they were still in hiding. We were doing some school work and I totally flipped out - there they were! I hope Ryan gets to see one out of the five come out.

Butterfly Project

2010-04-20T13:59:00.000-05:00

We are working on our butterfly garden. The darn caterpillars must have eaten part of the paper disk. I went to pull the lid off and we have large holes. The manufacture told me to lay the chrysalis on the floor of the tree house, right side up and that I do not need them hanging. My question – What is right side up? It all looks the same to me!

We also decided to add the life cycle of the butterfly in our Science Notebook. This was not a planned event. We took apart some easy readers we got on-line and cut them out (click here). Ryan also had to put them in the correct order. Ryan was the one telling me we needed to have two butterfly’s and I was like umm WHY? After he laid it out – I understood, he had the complete cycle of life. That’s my boy!