Homeschooling a Junior

My favorite time of day is the evening. Homeschooling a high school junior has been difficult. I honestly don't know how I'm going to get Kirsten to graduation day. Completing all of her required subjects is taking all day. At this phase in the older boys' education, they had graduated early and were taking courses at West Valley. So, this is a new adventure for me.  By evening, both Kirsten and I are spent. It's refreshing to sit outside and enjoy some downtime. Here's to quiet evenings!

Coins

Daveo has had fun learning about coins. Today, he built a scale out of household items to find the different values of coins that might weigh the same. In the process, he learned how to "balance" a budget. I love incorporating scouts and Faith in God with school.

End of the School Year

 School is officially out for us. Kirsten has been super busy completing final projects for three subjects. One that she had the most fun was designing and building a playground for Geometry. She measured all of the shapes in the playground and wrote a report about the theorems used and how she solved them. After showing it to our ES, she unselfishly gave it to Loni, who is beyond thrilled to have a place for her toys to play on.

Biology Lab

Today is Kirsten's last Biology Lab. Honestly, I was dreading her taking this class because it is all the way in Morgan Hill. However, Daveo, Loni, and I have had fun exploring for the two hours she is at her class. We typically go to a grocery store first to get some snacks (usually Pepperidge Farm cookies) and then hang out at a park. Kirsten has loved the class. She has no problem dissecting squid, frogs, grasshoppers, a pig fetus, etc. I will miss our Wednesday routine.

Gemini

 This constellation box is so cool! I helped Daveo make it for his science experiment today and we can't stop looking through it. Daveo picked out five of his favorite constellations to view; one being his astrological sign, Gemini.

To Infinity and Beyond!

 Blastoff!! 

This last half of the school year, Dave-o is studying the universe and loving every minute of it.

Pop Art

Inspired by the American pop artist, Jim Dine, Daveo made this Valentine artwork using tissue paper, white glue, and oil pastels. 

Castles

 When William "the Conqueror" gave parts of England away to his knights, the English pheasants were furious! They didn't like all of the foreign soldiers claiming England for themselves and telling the English farmers what to do. The English pheasants rioted by burning their Norman overlords' wooden houses down. So the Normans started to build stone castles instead. They were the first English buildings made of stone. 

After learning about castles, Daveo built his own out of rice crispy treats using toothpicks to hold it together. I cut up some smaller pieces for Loni to play with, but she quickly became frustrated each time her tower toppled over.

We have had many rainy days in a row and have been feeling a little stir crazy. So, the kids and I decided to carry on with the castle theme and drive to Castle Rock in the Santa Cruz mountains. We didn't get far up the mountain before seeing the road blocked off. I'm assuming there was a tree blocking the road or a mud slide. So, we turned around and stopped off at Vasona Park, which was on our way home. That was closed due to flooding. Our hopes of enjoying nature seemed crushed. Then I had the thought to try Belgatos park. To our delight, it was open. The kids played for a bit on the playground, then we explored the muddy trails and creeks flowing with lots of water. 

Iceberg

 Daveo has been learning about the different biomes. Today he read about the arctic tundra and learned how icebergs are formed. The day before, I had Daveo fill a balloon with water to be put in the freezer. This now frozen balloon made the perfect iceberg. Daveo filled the sink with water and dropped the berg in it to record how much of it sits below the surface of the water. 

Election Day Fun

 A second grader's wish:

"If I were president, I would keep us safe. I would not lie. I would teach people not to say bad words. And I would make my birthday a holiday."

This has been such a fun election day. Dave-o, along with the rest of our family, has really gotten into the spirit of the occasion. I took Dave-o with me to vote and was surprised when the volunteers handed him a "practice ballot". The presidential candidates that he got to choose from were, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Andrew Jackson. Nice choices! Dave-o loved voting with me and being able to put his ballot in with mine. 

At 3:00pm, Dave-o set up a voting stand in front of our house with a sign that read, "Vote for your favorite cookie." Earlier on in the day, he, Kirsten, and I made Chocolate Chip Cookies and Double-Rich Chocolate Cookies. He rounded up some of the neighborhood kids to vote, which got them really excited. Who wouldn't love to eat cookies and vote on their favorite! The kids got their parents involved and before we knew it the children were running up and down the street, knocking on doors to invite people to come to the cookie voting table. They were able to round up 30 people. At 5pm, I was ready to close up shop. This had lasted longer than I thought. The kids were all disappointed and kept saying, "Wait! we can get more voters!" It was so cute to watch, This whole experiment began as a school project for Dave-o, but it ended up bringing our neighborhood together on a day that most of the country feels will be divided. 

The results? 

14 votes for the Chocolate Chip Cookie

16 votes for Double-Rich Chocolate Cookie (The winner!)

It looks like this is going to become a tradition for our neighborhood. My neighbor across the street has challenged me for the next election. We will make American desserts and she will make Israeli desserts for everyone to vote on. I can't wait!

Lego Earth

Can you guess what David is learning about in Earth Science?

Legos make for a great teaching tool.

This is a representation of the four layers in the earth; inner core, outer core, mantel,and the crust.

My Celtic Warrior

My Celtic warrior made a double-headed war axe using cardboard, aluminum foil, yarn, and a wrapping paper tube. He's having fun learning about the Celts.

Mooning

School with a seven year old is the best! Dave-o and I have so much fun together. He's an eager learner and is young enough to enjoy silly things. For science, I used Oreo cookies to teach him about the phases of the moon. 

Great Happiness

We've been fiddling around with school this week. Officially we are supposed to start, but mentally, none of us are ready to say goodbye to summer. 

Everyday, Dave-o works in his Spelling Workout workbook. The directions on one such page read:

"Write the list word that matches each clue."

3. great happiness

Dave-o's answer was "boys". (The correct answer is "joy".)

I love my boys. They do bring great happiness.

Dave-o's 2nd grade self portrait self portrait.

Mr. Bones

Dave-o is learning about our body's skeletal system. He put together a human body skeleton and has memorized the names of the bones for it.

Blood Thirsty

Dave-o learned all about the make up of our blood. 

Red water beads=Red blood cells(that carry oxygen)

Ping pong balls=White blood cells (that fight germs, bacteria, and viruses)

Craft foam pieces=Platelets (that help heal cuts)

Water=Plasma (helps move blood around

I thought that Dave-o would love playing in the water beads. I was wrong. He was turned off by the smell. Loni, however, loved the sensory bin. It kept her occupied throughout our school time.

Full of Air

Dave-o's lungs. 

I love teaching this little guy. He's a joy to have with me all day and everyday. 

Fungi

A plethora of mushroom and other fungi made for a great subject matter for Dave-o's science this week. He collected a few samples, some for dissecting and others for a toadstool print (see picture below). He learned that mushrooms release thousands of spores per hour. To show him the spores, Dave-o placed the cap of a few toadstools on white pieces of paper. We made a mistake of forgetting out this project. We should've checked on them the next day, but it turned into two days. To our shock and horror, as we lifted a couple of them away from the paper, dozens of maggots emerged from the gills. That is an image I won't be able to get out of my head. The smallest of the toadstools, however, was maggot free and Dave-o was able to get a nice print from it.

Jellyfish Art

David finished his weeklong study of jellyfish with this under the sea art project. I used a mask to outline the jellyfish. Then, Dave-o used watercolors to bring it to life. He sprinkled salt on the background paint for the bubbly effect. When it was all dry, he peeled off the mask which revealed the white paper. He's very proud his jelly.

Jellyfish

 Our recent trip to the aquarium inspired this week's science lesson of jellyfish. Dave-o made a jellyfish model out of trash bags. (Would have looked more realistic with clear bags, but we used what we had on hand.)