ugh.. nasty bug

We.ve all been down with a nasty cold bug. I don't know if it's flu, but a friend had swine flu. will write more when we are well...

Frescoes and prints

Today we were studying the Sumerians, they were a very advanced culture possibly the basis of the Atlantis myths. They made beautiful frescoes and had indoor plumbing. Today we made a valient attempt at recreating frescoes, which were beautiful if a little brittle. We also made prints of paintings the girls made. We discussed how the print is a mirror image of the original. Renee thought it was really nifty that her initials appeared backward on her print. I love how much my girls love art!!

woodworking and spray paint

We decided that since we have an inadequate amount of storage space we would do a woodworking unit study and build bookshelves for the girls school books. We got kits from Walmart... after a trip to Lowe's and an improptu lesson on economics. We grabbed a few cans of spray paint, cut out stencils and let the kids and their friends express their creativity! I think that the bookshelves definitely speak for the girls personalities and ages.

Pharoahs abound

For part of our Egyptian studies the girls were mummified today! It was SO funny. EB is the Mummy with the mummified pet. EB enjoyed mummifying Renee (we left out the part about throwing away their brains), but wasn't so sanguine about being mummified herself. After mummifying her bear (The Pharoahs mummified their pets) she agreed to be mummified. We also worked on our paper mache projects. Renee made a wonderful pharoah death mask, and an Egyptian bowl. EB made a paper mache globe, and mask and bowl as well. The girls did a wonderful job on their projects! When they are dry and painted I will add more pictures.

Stonhenge and Pumpkins

Today we all got a slow start... We put out our Pinwheels for Peace and the girls worked on an essay about peace. Then we started lessons. I don't hav any pictures of Renee today as she was doing mainly book work. However today EB had loads of interesting things to do! In Mystery of History she learned about Stonhenge in England and we talked about it and made a replica of the standing stones. We couldn't use monoliths as there aren't all that many here in Suffolk :) So we used popsicle sticks in lieu of monoliths. Also, as it is Fall we dedicated our story time to "Five Little Pumpkins". EB loves that poem! We did a coloring flip book of the poem and a flannel board craft. I think we will be pulling it out quite a bit this Fall.

SCCA

Today was our first day at the Suffolk Center For Cultural Arts. Renee is taking karate, Theater, and Art. She enjoyed herself immensely pronounced all of the classes as "cool" and when we were leaving said "I can't wait until next week!" Powerful praise from a taciturn 12 year old. EB is taking Ballet, Art and Theater. She had a little more to say... The teachers accidentally placed EB in the 2nd grade Karate class instead of 2nd grade Ballet. Oh the HORROR! Lots of tears, they came and found me, and EB ran to me and exclaimed "PRINCESSES are in ballet NOT karabe!! I am a princess Momma!" We got her in the right class and all was well, she loves her ballet teacher soooooo much! They are both looking forward to next week with one caveat... "they need to make sure I am in ballet, NOT Karabe"

Nature walk for this week

This week for our Nature lesson at Sleepy Hole we were joined by both of my friends named Debbie and their children. We learned about autotrophs and heterotrophs, producers, consumers and decomposers. The kids all enjoyed the walk (except for the spider webs) and seemed to learn something with one exception... Renee told us on the way home that the walk was nice and she got to see stuff but she already knew everything we went over. So much for Mom the Magnificent teacher. lol it was good for humble pie...

Here are the pictures from yesterday! That is EB's name in hieroglyphics :)

Cuneiform and Math castles

Today Renee was working on a different approach to math. We made a castle with bricks that are different math problems that reach the same solution. (144) Renee really got creative and expanded her knowledge of math facts! The girls are both learning about ancient cultures in History. ErinBeth is learning about the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian cultures. Today she made a clay tablet. we mixed red clay and water and then she used a stylus to write her name and Renee's in hieroglyphs. Fun day! Pictures will be forth coming. my computer is being slowwww...

8,000 years...

At the dinner table today the girls were regaling Drew with the exploits of their day, and once again I was tickled to hear the 6 year old translation of my lessons... So, here goes 9/11 attacks EB version:
EB:"Daddy, know what?"
Daddy: "No, what EB?"
EB: "8,000 years ago some naughty people STOLE 2 planes and smooshed them into a big huge building and people died because of the naughty people! So, today we prayed for the families of the people that were killed and for the police officers too"
So, she got the main idea but the timing was a smidge off...

Science: Habitats :)

Today was a beautiful day... not too hot, not too cold. Our HS friend Samantha was over for our crochet class and stayed for our 9/11 memorial lesson and prayer and our science lesson.We talked about what happened 8 years ago and then we had a group prayer for the families of those who lost their lives and the first responders. We went to Sleepy Hole park here in Suffolk and observed and recorded data on plants and critters found there. The girls had a great time and really did a good job with their Nature Journals. When we got home Renee went straight to her book on amphibians and looked up what kind of turtle we had found... an Eastern Painted turtle. The inch worm was a big hit. :) We also saw quite a bit of poison ivy... I stayed FAR away.

Creation and US history timelines and our new student

We are hosting an exchange student again this school year. Her name is Julia and she is from Germany. She is really a nice kid. She is going to Isle of Wight Academy. We have been working on timelines today... Renee's timeline is on the history of the US and EB"s is on creation.

burned into steak...

I love they way 6 year olds process the world around them... Renee was a fount of funny missteps and odd word usage and EB is the same. Tonight at the dinner table we were talking about which would be the best thing to be; a princess or a King or a knight. We were saying that most knights were boys, Renee said Joan of Arc was a knight and EB informed us all that "Joan of Arc was a girl knight who was burned into steak". Makes you wonder what visual accompained that thought in her little 2nd grade mind.

To the Zoo!

We had a good trip to the Zoo with fellow homeschoolers and a few friends and one exchange student! It was blazing hot outside, but we made the best of it. EB was a little wilted in the heat, so first Debbie carried her then she rode in style in a zoo carriage. I let Deb's son Robert take charge of the camera, with pretty good results, except for the prairie dog butt... not sure what that was about.