Eiffel Tower - KNEX

They HATCHED!!!

The Triops actually hatched - I was get a bit concerned that they were not going to, but they did!

Now they might just look like specs, but they are there and they are swimming -

Tidal Pools at Night -

Just about a month ago KM went with some of her friends to a morning Tidal Pool class at a local nature center and loved it. So last night some of them returned to see what they could find at night!

They saw quite a few creatures including lots of crabs, periwinkles, dog welches, moon snails, sea urchins, and over 450 sea stars!

It was a beautiful evening to sit on the beach!

and we even got to see some tugboats pushing barges out of the canal.


For more scenic views be sure to check out our nature blog!

Science Thursday - Animal Classification

So for our animal classification project she did a lot of simulations on Adaptive Curriculum and we started our Triops Kit -This is the fossil replica that shows what the triops will look like.

So we are waiting for the water to absorb the nutrients and to get to the right temperature.

While one crazy child was waiting to see what happens -

she took some model magic and made some pets.
I will be sure to post on the progress of the Triops....

What to do, what to do?

I think as we move forward in our homeschooling journey, we have begun to discover more and more how much learning takes place outside of the daily "school hours" of 8 to 3. However as I am looking ahead I have been struggling with the combination of what to sign KM up for and what to pass on and hope to do next year. I think that it can be VERY enticing to sign up for great classes that are being offered during the day that are geared to Homeschoolers and also to feel very thankful that these classes are available, but at the same time it can be good to step back and think about what our priorities are for our children and how we can best accomplish our learning goals.

I have made a commitment to work on our local coop program and I really feel like this is something that I need to stick to for the coming year. I have also been looking at one or two other things that I would like KM to participate in, but I need her to make the decision and the commitment for herself. She also needs to understand that some things may have to be sacrificed for others to happen. I think she is old enough to make the decision of where her priorities need to fall. She needs to understand that the commitment has to come from her and she must do the work in order for it to be a successful and worthwhile endeavor.

We had a very long discussion about what she wants to accomplish and what her goals are going to be for the coming year and I think that she really is starting to understand that her education is based on what she wants to make of it. We have both come to realize that in order for something to be truly learned, it needs to be much more ingrained into your being - to have content and connection to the things around you, rather than just random facts memorized in order to fill in the correct bubbles.

As we get farther and farther away from our old ways of thinking and that tape that constantly plays inside my head seems to get quieter and quieter - she seems to be learning more and MORE. Of course not just learning it for the moment, but really retaining and recalling the information in situations that relate to it. The transformation has been so amazing to me!

Over this summer we will be working on a more independent study approach to things. I will not be reading right along with her or standing over her shoulder until it is done. I need to know that I can give her an assignment and she will complete it. If this can be done, then I am more than willing to allow her to commit herself to more classes and outside activities in the fall. If not than we really will need to look at what sacrifices she is willing to make in order to obtain the goals that she has set for herself...not sure how this one will turn out, but I am truly keeping my fingers crossed for it!

More little critters!

As part of our nature study unit we have been participating in the South Shore Quests and have a great time doing so. It actually has been one of the highlights of this wretched raining as it has been perfect weather for hiking!

On our hike today we came to spot in a meadow that had snails EVERYWHERE. SC, KM and her "bestest" friend ~who wishes she was homeschooled and states this EVERYTIME we are out somewhere~ wanted to bring some home. I am always hesitant about taking things from their natural habitats, but there were SOOOOO many of them so I agreed, they grabbed 2 each and some grass and shoots and put them in an empty sandwich keeper...

and off we went to finish the quest.

Upon getting home they realized that they had not 4, but 7 little cuties ~ three had been hidden amongst the gathered weeds and reeds.

Then they remembered that we had an old fish tank in the garage, that would make the perfect little habitat for them! So we put in some dirt, collected some weeds from the yard, labeled and named them all!
Now we need CJ make a frame for some screen we just happened to have hanging around the recycle craft closet and we should be all set to see how our little biome comes along.
As of right now the little critters seem to be enjoying themselves!

Science Thursday - Plant Cycles

This week's unit was on the Life Cycles of Plant. This is something we have been learning a lot about with our nature study and garden as well, so we just briefly glanced at the book and focused more on the adaptive curriculum experiment and hands-on projects which were pretty interesting...

Her favorite unit on adaptive curriculum was a demonstration of aerobic respiration in a plant.

Then we started on soaking different types of seeds in different containers and under different conditions and we will check on them through out the next week or so to see what happens.

We also peeled the skins off some beans that had been soaking and took a peek at them under the microscope, as well as some prepared slides of different pollens, spores and plant parts.after just two days they were already sprouting...

The sun was FINALLY OUT

and it was the perfect time for a swim!



I don't know what is with the arm thing, but everytime I take a picture of the two of them lately they stick their arms out....weird!

Visit to the allergist...

YIPPPPEEEE it was the last one!

For those of you have been around here a while you may remember some of my rants and raves about KM's allergies and asthma issues. Well we went to see her wonderful specialist today, and though he has been a wonderful physician, I am very happy to say we don't have to go back unless there is a serious issue that arises! The doctor said that he has been seeing this same thing more and more - children having serious adverse reactions to household chemicals and once those chemicals are removed - poof the asthma is gone! Just another wonderful reason to homeschool!

Science Thursday - Molecules and Microbes

We are suppose to still be on break this week and next, but it has been so rainy and cold that we decided to work on some of our projects that we had planned for later in the summer, so that once the warm days do finally come we can just hang out and enjoy them!

KM wanted to do LOTS of science this summer, meaning experiments and kits that we had collected throughout the year and just hadn't gotten to them yet, so we started this week and boy did we get a lot done!!!

First we started with our Pop-Bottle Science kit - now I have seen a lot of various styles of this kit and really if I hadn't found it on clearance I probably would have just purchased a book or searched websites as the experiments are simple, but great and we had everything else that came in the kit at the house already.

Alright so I don't want to risk any copyright issues, but if you see anything you want to know more about feel free to ask in comment or email! We did the first chapter which was called Mysterious Molecules and focused on the structure of air & water and its various states and properties.

Paper Magic - can paper stay dry in water?

the trick is to keep the bottle vertical -



then we made a lava lamp...

then we inflated and deflated a balloon with science -

Finally we made underwater fireworks -


We also started doing some work in the book we are using as a summer review -Homework Survival Guide - Science and Usborne Kid Kit Science Experiments - and made Microbes Work -

Yet another rainy morning...

We painted some toes...
and hunted around...

choo-choo tracks were wavy...

then crooked...

and then round...

Then they colored for a while.

We are REALLY getting sick of the rain, we are going to try to get outside this afternoon if it clears off at all! It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a little bit warmer. Hope those of you in this neck of the woods are holding up alright - WE HAVE JUST HAD ENOUGH!