Some Science Projects -

We are using the Thames & Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit to incorporate some extra science projects into the Story of Science Series by Joy Hakim. This week we showed how the universe expands with a balloon and made a telescope that showed everything upside down as the first telescopes didn't have mirrors in them -

Beach Days of Summer

During the summer we spend a lot of days by the pool and some at the pond, but the days that KM always seems to remember best are the ones we spend at the harbor with our extended family. In my grandparents family there were 12 siblings, so when I say extended, I mean extended. It always amazes me how most of these cousins don't see each other more than once maybe twice a year, but they talk about things that happened last year, or the year before, as if it was yesterday!

Besides getting to see each other, the best part for the parents is remembering playing with our cousins in the same way and being grateful that our children get have such a wonderful experience and make great memories!

Giveaway from Friendly Chemistry: A $100 Teacher & Student Curriculum Set! - Freely Educate

Giveaway from Friendly Chemistry: A $100 Teacher & Student Curriculum Set! - Freely Educate

An A-Mazing Project

For the summer we decided to pick and choose some different art projects from a book that I had gotten awhile back -

Here was this weeks pick -

Giveaway from Salem Ridge Press for 5 Winners! - Freely Educate

Giveaway from Salem Ridge Press for 5 Winners! - Freely Educate

Freely Educate has an ENORMOUS wealth of educational resources and they are have a great week of giveaways as well!

Be sure to check it out!

Newest Experiment - Canning

I have been convinced by one of my very close friends to try canning some of the fruits and veg from my garden and grown locally during the season to save for the winter months. KM has been very enthusiastic in helping with this and we have had a great time experimenting with different recipes.

CJ's parents sent us up some peaches from South Carolina so we made some peach syrup and peach preserves.

We also made some raspberry jam and syrup last month from the berries that grow in our yard and I made a HUGE batch of baked beans from scratch - even used dried beans!!!

Once our tomatoes start turning red I will have some more to add with some sauces and salsas, but for now we have a nice little stock pile going...

The one thing that I am finding that I really still need to freeze though is the zucchini and squash. I slice them up in various measures - discs, matchsticks, and grates - and freeze them to use over the winter in breads, soups, stir fries and even quiches!

History Projects -

We did two fun history projects today from Story of the World. First we built a cannon that after several failed attempts ...

did finally work...

Then we built a Black Plague Doctor's Mask using recycled paperboard instead of foam----

that she then wore around the house like a crazy chicken for the afternoon!

Another MOS Trip

We tend to stay away from museums and such during the summer because we are just NOT big on crowds and as I have mentioned before, often feel spoiled because it is generally so quiet when we go during the school year, but I decided that we needed to brave it before my passes ran out and the kids needed something extra to do this week!

We specifically went to see the Whale Exhibit and Omni Film as part of KM's ocean film study she is doing over the summer and although I couldn't take any pictures of those two things, I did take some of others. I have to say that I really like taking just the older kids to the museum, as it allowed me to not have to count heads as often and be able to enjoy the exhibits myself as well as pointing things out to the kids along the way. I can't believe after all the times we have been to this museum there were still things that I hadn't noticed before, some were new and some were not, but here are some of my favorite shots -

Adjusting Story of the World for the older crowd!

I have gotten many emails from people asking me how I use Story of The World with KM and make it challenging for an older child. I have tried to explain it several times, but people still keep asking, so I thought I would show an example of what we do so here is our history lesson this week -

We are working on Volume 2 and KM read Chapters 21 -23. She then does the mapwork by using from the Activity Guide, by using the maps that are given,but transposes the information onto blank maps from different free websites. This seems to be the part that parents are having the most difficulty understanding so I thought I would show the work here -

These are the pages that are given in the student book -

And here is what KM's completed mapwork sheet looks like -

By following the directions given for the predone maps, she is showing that she understands the actual location and uses landmarks (seas, oceans, etc) to locate the things on a different map of the same area. I also try to find maps that have varying scales as this can also be a challenge to determine the correct locations.

After the mapwork is completed KM does the activity sheets, that have multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and/or open-ended questions. She also really enjoys historical fiction so I try to keep lots of books around that have stories about kids her age at that time. Right now she is reading and completing a book report on King Arthur, as well as reading about the Norse Viking Myths.

I give her choices of other projects and things to do out of the activity book or I will come up with other kits to supplement with for hands on projects. This happened to be a week that we didn't have one - she really just wanted to get out to the pool!

I hope this has given you a little insight into how we do it. As always, this might not work for your family, but it does for us!

Air conditioned induced comas...

are happening quite frequently around here. The heat and humidity have been so intense that we put the air conditioners in this week for the first time in almost 4 years. The kids have been sleeping late and when awake can be found in the pool. Lessons started back up this past Monday and KM has been finding some shady spots outside to get her work done in between dips in the pool -

She has been getting things done very quickly and I have been thoroughly impressed! She actually seemed excited on Monday when she walked into the work room and to check her assignments for the day. I think she was getting a bit bored with the nothing planned month and honestly seems to be glad it is over. I think from now on we will stick with our two to three week breaks and not push it to the full month.

FREE - NASA KLASS Program and Curriculum

I honestly don't know how I ever missed this incredible program - NASA KLASS Program and Curriculum.

It has over 40 hours worth of lesson plans for 6th through 10th grade students and a full simulation program TOTALLY FREE!!!

I haven't downloaded it yet, but had to share this incredible find! I will be sure to post more when I get to play around with it a bit!