MOLD!

Sweet Pea is studying Apologia Biology this year. Those of you who have studied with this curriculum know how intense it is. It is listed as a college prep course but in my opinion it is even a notch above that.
Sweet Pea is doing most of her labs & discussions with a friend in our co-op/family group. She enjoys this interaction & sharing of information. Today after the class was done she & I decided to keep learning & exploring on our own. She had never guessed mold could be so fascinating!

THIS is OUR pantry?

Sweet Pea had set aside a blueberry muffin & allowed it to grow mold. This is a sample from it that she put on a slide.

Studying hard!

Writing up her labs

Yummers!

My future scientist.

A figure of what we were observing.

It was really cool because we could see exactly what was drawn in the figure. Wow!

I love learning with my kids!

It really was fascinating. I'm very grateful to my Mom for purchasing this amazing microscope for our family. It is a treasure, a blessing & a valuable learning tool. Thank you, Mom/Grannie for investing in Sweet Pea's, Boo Bear's, Elvis', Bugsy's & Princess' educations! We love you! And a thank you to Jody too for lending us her Apologia books! Another big blessing! Thank you, friend!

Our Day

It was a GOOD day today.

We started off with MOH. The kids colored their coloring page while I read Mystery of History aloud. We did a lot with the white board too.

Princess wanted me to take her picture. So I did.

Word problems at 2 years old?
This was part of our Zoology lesson.

I put up the new world map today. The kids were all over it.

She loves painting with her watercolor paints.

She's all smiles!

Time for a few chores!

Every day Sweet Pea has an hour with Princess. They do crafts, have a snack & play. They both look forward to it.

Elvis worked on his Zoology notebook journal. I think his favorite subject is science.

General Science, anyone?

Night School!

I started Elvis in his Basic Winston Grammar tonight. At first he wasn't too thrilled but a few minutes into the lesson & he was loving it! He even asked to do a second lesson. =0)

Princess kept herself entertained. And mama amused.

Peek-a-Boo

My little ham.

Handsome knight

Daddy & Princess had some snuggle time.

I wuv you, Daddy.

The girls had a quiz in Winston Grammar tonight.

I'm going to ace this, Mom!

I love days like this!

Hitting the Books

Vacation is over & it's back to the books. We're hitting them hard as we want to be able to have flexibility to enjoy the spring weather when it returns. We would like to be able to get out as early as possible too! So as the snow covers the ground & the cold weather keeps us huddled in layers we are studying hard.

Princess plays with some of her new toys (and some old) in her corner of the living room.

Bugsy works hard at his math. He is learning to write addition & subtraction problems in different number sentences. It really makes him think & stretches his mind beyond memorization of the facts.

The Learning Corners went back up.

Boo's still isn't finished but she wanted to use it anyway. =0)

Sweet Pea choose to study in her room snuggled in blankets. Sky is there to soak up learning too.

Working hard!

Next Bugs moves on to some coloring time while watching "Between the Lions". He really soaks up a lot from these PBS shows!

Princess had more interest in throwing crayons than she did in coloring. Lol!

He has recently started to enjoy coloring. Yay!

Day of Washing, Churning & Learning

It's taking me a bit of time to get some of my photos posted. I have no idea why. It's not like I have anything to do during the week. Okay, I can't say that with a straight face. ROTFL! Anyway, these are pics from our field trip in late September. We went with several friends from our co-op group & church homeschool group. A local museum had a "Day of Washing, Churning & Learning". It was fantastic as it was set up for the kids to have all hands on learning. It was set in the 1800's & taught the kids what life was like. I learned a lot too. The price was right too at $5 per participating child. I only had to pay for the middle 3! They were able to make things to take home too. What an amazing field trip! I am already looking forward to going back next year.

The children were each given a cup of seeds to plant at home.

They learned how it was to write with ink & a quill pen.

Weaving was a favorite activity

They made potpourri sachets.

They learned about quilting & other needlework.

I thought it was very clever how this quilting frame was suspended from the ceiling. If they needed the room for a dance or such it was simply raised to the ceiling & out of the way.

Coffin squares.

Carding & spinning the wool.

The Weasel

Ever wonder where the song "Pop, Goes the Weasel" came from? Well, this is it!

Dipping candles

Doing laundry in the washtub.

Almost all the guides & helpers were in period costumes.

The laundry must be hung up to dry.

This was a favorite of Elvis'. He enjoyed beating the rug!

Mrs. Jen entertains Princess.

Sawing wood with a partner.

It is not as easy as it looks!

Beans cooking over the fire.

A peek in the soldier's tent.

Hardtack

He showed it to the kids & they were allowed to touch it to see how tough it really is.

Boo gets a turn with her best friend.

Conferderate Money

Corncob pipe

Homemade lantern

Wooden blocks

My clown!

There were clothes to dress up in. Fun!

The kids were able to play games of the 18oo's.

Sack race!

Other toys ~ LOVE the hands on opportunities!

Tops

This was the boys' absolute favorite. They were able to be soldiers. The commander explained to them their training & responsibilities. He told them waht their daily lives would be like.

They were allowed to hold these guns & taught how to march with them.

The commander was a perfect blend of acting his part (gruff & rough) and being kind to the children.

See what I mean? Here he is helping Bugs hold his gun correctly.

Ready! MARCH!

They marched around the square in formation.

They learned both how to pick up the gun from the ground & how to lay it down properly.

I was proud of my little soldiers!

I really enjoyed talking with this lady.

Stilts

Because of the age of the toys these were for looking only.

What a fun day!