Thursday, December 6, 2012

It's a Wrap! Session 2 Week 5 - Countdown to the Holidays

In My Life This Week
A peak at winter! A fine, dusty snow fell all day Saturday. Balsam Fir was quite excited to see snow! Accumulations were only about an inch before the temperature warmed up and freezing rain fell early Sunday morning. I had a slippery walk to the chicken and duck coop. And then it turned to rain and Autumn again took winter's place. For now.

L. to R. The ducks swimming hole among the evergreens, an icy imprint of shovels left on the
ground overnight, and ice-coated spruce needles

What We're Cooking
Yummy, cheesy Lasagna Soup from A Farmgirl's Dabbles with some homemade crusty French bread. But the saplings didn't help me with this one. ::sigh:: Sometimes I should cook, right? 


Homeschool High School
Labs, labs, labs! I finally got the supplies White Pine needed to complete his labs, so he spent the week completing 4 Biology labs. He moved onto Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I've never read this book and by the moans from White Pine I think I'll skip it. ::wink:: And he'll skip the 2nd Conrad book in his Honors English unit. I think it's a GOOD THING to experience challenging literature, but the frustration doesn't have to continue through a 2nd book. And he wrapped up his 2 modules for Grammar on clauses and predicates and World History for this session. What didn't happen was Algebra! Guess who's doing a lot of Math next week??

Accomplishments
Heart of Darkness (Conrad), Dumas Approach Paper, Dumas Persausive Paper, Grammar Module 2, Meiosis Modeling Lab, Cell Growth Lab, Genetic Modeling Lab, pH and Fermentation Lab,  Genes, Biology Coloring Book, South America History, Culture and Religion

Homeschool Elementary
Nicole at Journey to Excellence shared her favorite resource, StudyJams, last week, and wouldn't you know it - they had VOLCANOES and the ROCK CYCLE. So, we started our week off with a StudyJams review before studying rock forms and filling out mini books, learning about plates and the Ring of Fire, and watching "Mount St. Helens: Back from the Dead" and "Ring of Ring" on Netflix. And we started to create a volcano model out of a plastic bottle, flour-vinegar paste, strips of newspaper, and chicken wire. Our unit study should wrap-up early next week!

Did you know that Nebuchadnezzar (NEH buh kud NEH zer) created the Hanging Garden of Babylon for his Persian wife Amytis (uh MYE tis) around 650BC to ensure that Babylon wasn't attacked by Persia? Yeah, me either! ::laugh:: 

Sugar Maple's Accomplishments
Black Beauty (Sewell), Venn Diagrams, Comparing Two and More than Two with -er and -est, Sequential Spelling Day 25-26, Cursive, Decimal Points on a Number Line, Centimeter Scale to Tenths, Roman Numerals, Type of Volcanoes, Plate Tectonics, Ring of Fire, Rock Cycle, Nebuchadnezzar and Amytis, 

Balsam Fir's Accomplishments
Henry and Mudge and Annie's Perfect Pet, Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend, Creative Writing Notebook, Handwriting, Addition with Carrying, Number Estimation, Type of Volcanoes, Plate Tectonics, Ring of Fire, Rock Cycle, Nebuchadnezzar and Amythis, 750 Piece Puzzle

For the Love of Books
Some afternoons we settled down with mugs of Hot Cocoa and I would read books to the saplings.  Winter just seems like the perfect time for this! What was their favorite? The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and our National Parks (Rosenstock)! We read about Teedie and Johnnie camping out in Yosemite and how it inspired Teedie to create natural, protected spots in the US. We didn't view these, but Netflix has a documentary series called "Ken Burns: The National Parks: America's Best Idea" that would go perfectly with this book. Such stunning pictures of our natural parks with rich historical narration!

With Our Hands
How could we not do something Christmas-y! Our handicraft this week was Paint Chip Christmas Tree ornaments. (Pinterest photo here but link no longer valid). 


Field Trip Fun
On Wednesday, the Saplings and I went to the Public Theatre with some other homeschoolers and enjoyed an adapted version of "A Christmas Carol". This play was performed by 6 players and a fiddler for a new twist on a classic. I'm amazed at how much the saplings are enjoying music and play performances this year!

Places We Went and People We Saw
☃ Scouts (All) ☃ Basketball (SM/WP) ☃ Play (All) ☃ Clarinet/Band (SM) ☃ 

Helpful Homeschool Hint
My favorite resource this week is: ESL Writing Wizard's Writing Workbooks. Each 10 page D'Nealian or Zaner-Bloser handwriting booklet has a specific theme. Perfect for combining handwriting with other subjects. Free!

Around the 'Net
Paper Plate Snowman Garland
Paper Santa Countdown to Christmas Beard
Popsicle Stick Christmas Tree Ornaments

Well, that's a wrap! Only 1 more week before we take our holiday break! As always, linking up to these great blog hops. Why not click on over and join in the fun! Have an awesome week!


Favorite Resource This WeekHomegrown Learnershttp://184.172.145.63/~savannah/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/savannahbutton2.pngHip Homeschool Hop ButtonDown Home Blog Hop

22 comments:

  1. Hi Jessy! Well, I learned a lot reading your post today. I need to find that John Muir book. Last year we went to Muir Woods in CA and we read Squirrel and John Muir, but I did not know about this book.

    The lasagna soup also looks wonderful. I need to plan that soon!

    Have a great weekend!

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  2. I LOVE your frosty snow pics! Wish we had some here in Indiana but it was warm enough to wear shorts over the weekend! We have to wait 'till January to see snow most years!

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  3. Love the idea for the snowman garland. I also like the paint chip trees. Who would have thunk? (poor grammar there) There are Home Depots and Lowes everywhere where the stock boys are scratching their heads and wondering where all the green paint chip cards are. ;)

    A friend of mine made that very soup a few weeks back. It was tasty.

    Your weekly wrap up was great and informative. You reminded me I need to buy something for our history study. Off to find it.

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  4. That soup looks delicious. I am so jealous you got snow. Here in Michigan fall is hanging on for longer than usual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Holly! Thanks for visiting and commenting! Do you have a blog that I can visit? I always like visiting our visitors!

      Delete
  5. What a complete and great week. I think the soup looks wonderful. My kids are dreaming of snow, but it is still getting into the
    60's here.
    Blessings, Dawn

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  6. I love everything you do with your children! Your homeschool is academically challenging, but so much fun, as well. I love the Christmas ornaments and reading on the couch with hot cocoa sounds awesome-- one of the best parts of homeschooling! :-) Your soup looks delicous! Hope you have a great weekend.

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  7. "I think it's a GOOD THING to experience challenging literature, but the frustration doesn't have to continue through a 2nd book."

    YES! I love that approach to learning and try to do that myself whenever possible. I also put the camping trip book onhold with our library - thanks for sharing!

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  8. I will have to check out that soup recipe. It looks SO good. That dusting of snow is so beautiful. I will also have to check out that National Parks book, too. It looks great. I love your beautiful tree and trimmings. Did you do the pasta snowflakes?

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    Replies
    1. We are, but we're still working on them. It takes a number of steps and they really aren't the easiest things to create. I'm hoping to share them next wrap-up!

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  9. A little bit of snow: My kids would be delighted, but I don't envy you. :-) Looks like a good week.

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  10. I love the Christmas tree crafts. What an awesome post!

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  11. I have been adding a lot of books to my Amazon list today - adding The Camping Trip That Changed America. Thanks! Looks like a lot accomplished this week for you :)

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  12. Love the paint chip Christmas trees:) And that soup looks delicious! My girls are anxiously awaiting the first snow of the year...it's in the forecast for this week, so maybe they'll get their wish!

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  13. Gosh darn you dropped off my blog feeder AGAIN! I have re-added you and am now catching up on the, apparently, three weeks I missed. Frustrating!! Of course you had another great week! Your read-aloud sounds great, and I might have to try to track it down.

    Have a great last week before break! We are finishing up next Friday as well. Ready for a break!

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  14. What a great week! Your soup looked really yummy :)

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  15. Thanks for linking up to, Its a Wrap. I will check out those free handwriting books.

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