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.

Pictures from today...

Ancient Egypt and Creation... a good mix

This week we have one of the exchange kids visiting while her host family returns and settles in from a trip overseas. Sometimes having 2 different curriculae for my girls has truly funny results. The girls each had a project to do that involved clay, so we did them together. For Renee, who is studying ancient Egypt we were making clay writing tablets and "papyrus" (we used really big leaves) to show how papyrus revolutionized the spread of information. Erin Beth is studying Creation in her Mysteries of History Curric. so today she tried to make Adam from clay, like God did adn breathe life into him. Renee has decided that clay tablets "suck" and papyrus was easier, but she'll still take paper over both. EB has decided that she will leave the "people making" to God... He's got more practice. I think Rina enjoyed participating in our homeschool lesson. We will miss her when she goes back to her host family

Fossil Digging... homeschool edition

Today we had a lesson on the Christian theory of the fossil record. I read the kids an article about how fossils can be evidence of the Flood. Then we had a good time digging fossils out of our "rock". It was great. I made dough from flour, cornstarch and water added "fossils" (charms, beads and other little doodads). Then I baked it until it was hard. The kids have had a blast digging through the fossil rock. As I type, I keep hearing "I GOT one!" and "OOOH now I have 6!" I love that. Off to VBS again tonight. I will try to hop on here more often...

Baptising cats

Sometimes I feel like watching other people's children is like baptising cats... a little frustrating, very funny and inevitably someone gets "scratched". Today we had 3 "time outs" by 730 am. Not an auspicious beginning. Then, as the morning has progressed and the giggling gaggle of girls have had many "MOTO" (Master of the Obvious) moments and my sense of homur is restored. We have a litle sign we put up in the living room. It says "Cogitate before you Conversate". We should all apply that more often. Well off to baptise more cats... lol

Another Project

Hello to all. My friends, you are probably shaking your heads right now, because I have started yet another project...blogging. However, this one has good intentions. A few of my HS friends "Blog" (can that be used as a verb?!?) and I thought it was a good was to show what it is we do all day. This summer we have been derailed a bit by a not-so-hostile takeover... my friend's 4 children. I agreed to watch them for her over the summer. Their oldest daughter is homeschooled and the middle 2 go to school and the little one is only 3. So, it has been a busy summer, but a fun one. Today we had a botany/bible study. How do you combine those two? Actually, it worked out well... I began by showing the kids a seed (pattypan squash), and we talked about how from this small, little thing that doesn't look, taste or smell at all like squash God creates food. Then we went further and said that with just a little bit of faith on our part, God can do glorious things and mold us into wonderful and astonishing beings. The kids really got it, and asked loads of good questions. Then we got to the fun part and planted the seeds. They were all great about it... "ewww grosss... that's a cucumber seed?!?!?" They loved that they got to help get all of the pesky watermelon away from the seeds... :) Well, I think that's about it for tonight...