Thursday, September 27, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: Session 1 Week 4

In Our Life This Week
Blue Spruce was away for additional job training this week, so I was on my own with the Saplings. It's always strange having a family member away! But you know us - we were "busy beavers" and the week flew by!

What's Cooking?
It's the Girl Scout Bake Sale Fundraiser tomorrow, so Sugar Maple and I whipped up some quick, easy sweet treats to bring to the sale. Looking for something yummy? How about some No Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies? Or Peanut Butter Bars?

Homeschool Elementary
So, what's our fun way of reviewing our Botany? Why, we go on a hike of course! ::wink:: During our stroll near the lake, we discussed and found samples of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms, Vascular and Non-vascular plants, and Monocots and Dicots, and explained photosynthesis and chlorophyll to Balsam Fir while looking at fall foliage and saw several species of fungi. Then we found animal tracks along the water's edge and followed them. Later, we searched through our nature books to ID those tracks. And the rest of the week? Well, we dissected flowers, watched phototropism in our Plant Maze Box, measured the growth of bean seeds in light and non-light environments, and made a list of all the tree species in our yard (just because the kids were curious).


This week's handicraft project was Brown Paper Bag Autumn Trees. (You can find the instructions here.) But they didn't follow the instructions to the T. ::wink:: They created paper bag FORESTS, complete with logs, bushes, people, and birds. Our favorite resource this week! Are you doing any fun, creative fall crafts?



Sugar Maple read Children of the Lamp (PB Kerr) and Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson), and Balsam Fir continued on with Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail (Marjorie Weinman Sharmat) and The Lorax (Dr. Suess)

Sugar Maple
English - Personal Narrative Writing, Using Time Words, Past Tense, Reading, Cursive, Spelling with Samson
Math - Geometry (Line Segments/Points), Tally Marks, Word Problems, Money, Missing Number Problems
Botany - Flower Dissection, Phototropism, Carnivorous Plants (Pitcher/ Venus Fly Trap/ Bladderwort/Sundew)
Ancient History - Gilgamesh, Indus Valley Citadels
Extras - Nature Hike, Lowe's Build and Grow, Soccer, Clarinet/Band, Girl Scouts Outdoor Day, 3D Art, ZooWhiz (computer), Spanish (computer)

Balsam Fir
English - Personal Narrative Story (with I/me), Nouns, Sight Words with Samson, Oral Reading, Handwriting
Math - Subtraction, Writing Equations, Logic Puzzles, Number Lines
Botany - Flower Dissection, Phototropism, Carnivorous Plants (Pitcher/ Venus Fly Trap/ Bladderwort/Sundew)
Ancient History - Gilgamesh, Indus Valley Citadels
Extras - Nature Hike, Legos, Lowe's Build and Grow, Soccer, 3D Art, Baking (Frosted Brownes)

Homeschool High
So, White Pine continued on with his studies. I wish I could put something new and exciting here, but his days pretty much look the same: he piles his books and laptop on the sectional sofa beside him, puts ear-buds in his ears with music playing to block the noise from the rest of us, and he quietly and intently goes about his learning in his PJs until he gets ready for soccer in the afternoons. Very college-like! ::sniffle:: He's certainly growing up!



English - Walden (Thoreau), The Further Adventures of the Swiss Family Robinson (Defoe) Approach Paper, Grammar (Adjectives/Adverbs)
Algebra - Multiplication/Division of Signed Numbers, Inverse Operations, Perimeter/Radius, Geometry (Lines/Segments/Area), Order of Operations
Biology - Water Molecules, Water Properties, Acids/Bases, Carbohydrates, Carbon Compounds (Macromolecules/Lipids/Nucleic Acids/Proteins/Enzymes), Ecology
World History - Africa
Extras - Scout Mountain Hike, Corn Maze, Soccer, Scout Meeting

Ponderings
Have you ever seen a molting chicken? Poor things! Our hens are about 15-16 months old now...and starting to go through their first molts (after chick-hood). They'll lose all their old feathers and grow in new ones for the winter months. New feathers are better for keeping the chickens warm. We've got a coop full of flying feathers and grumpy girls! But most of them are still laying!

Something to Share

Well, that's a wrap from Our Side of the Mountain this week! Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT week!

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20 comments:

  1. Aw what an amazingly fun week with your younger kids! And Sniffle is right! Your eldest is truly growing up! <3 Such a fun week .. cute crafts! Have an amazing weekend!

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  2. Your week sounds amazing and your pictures are great. Your hubby is away for training, so is mine. Funny, right? Something we have in common. Where does your hubby work?

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  3. Another owl fan! It is hard when family members are away. We try to do it as little as possible. :) I'm not sure if my Google profile goes to my WP blog or not, so here is my blog-
    http://samsnoggin.com/2012/09/homeschool-mothers-journal-week-four.html

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  4. Sounds like a lovely week! We made a tree this week too. :) Our leaves don't turn nearly as quick as everyone else's do so we are having to add fall to our house our own way ;) We took a hike as well on Monday and it was sooo nice! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

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  5. I love your quote from Plato -- so so true.

    The picture of your son with his laptop cracks me up. They don't really grow up, do they? I refuse to believe this!!

    Thanks for linking with Collage Friday!

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  6. Jessy I LOVE the Plato quote so much. Love all the fun nature things you did with the younger kids. Is that a raccoon track? Love the paper bag craft. I saw that on Pinterest and like the forest idea much better than one ole' tree. :) White Pine is indeed growing up huh? Happy weekend!

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  7. Those paper bag forests are AWESOME! My kids are wanting to build a fairy house, and making this would be so much better than me hotgluing a bunch of sticks together!

    Do you miss White Pine? I mean, well, I think you know what I mean. I know I miss Dawson with him being at school all day now. At least White Pine is over on the couch where you can stop by and give him a kiss on the cheek or hand him a cookie.

    Have a great weekend.

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  8. I always wanted to do the plant maze experiment. We are always missing a box when the idea arises. My highschooler's days look very similar to yours. I like his line up of studies!!Thank you for sharing.

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  9. My high schooler's days are very similar to your high schoolers days. Mine gets up and dressed because he can't do it any other way and he heads off to theater practice.

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  10. I think it's very exciting that he can do it all on his own. lol

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  11. So creative! LOve the ideas you've done here!

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  12. Those paper bag tree projects are fabulous! I know a couple little girls who would love making those. Thanks for the link!

    Thanks for linking up again to HomeSchool High!

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  13. You all are having an amazing time. Your nature hike looks like a wonderful day of exploration.
    Blessings, Dawn

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  14. That's the best way to review botany!
    Love the paper bag forests :) Thanks for linking at Favorite Resources.

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  15. Just LOVE the quote as well as the paper bag forests. So cute and creative! Hope you are having a great weekend! Many blessings, Lisa

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  16. I guess I didn't realize chickens do that! Enjoy your week. :)

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  17. Love the paper bag forest and thanks for the link. I've been looking for more projects to do around here.

    You have such great hikes and nature studies. I'm always impressed.

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  18. You weren't kidding, you were busy beavers! I always like your weekly wrap-ups, you inspire me to get these lil' kids out into nature :) poor chickens! I can't wait to have chickens and I tuck away what I learn here for later... Have a great week!

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  19. Congrats! Your post was picked to be featured today in Homeschooling on the Cheap! We love your lessons and those trees totally ROCK! Stop over and see your feature. We will pin your post later today to Pinterest.

    Our new linky is up and running! Stop in and link up more of your ideas! You can link up older post, too! No limit!

    Have a super day!
    Kelli
    http://3boysandadog.com/deals/2012/homeschooling-on-the-cheap-october-3-2012/

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