'15/16 Week 29

This week went by very fast. This year, Andrew and Saara do not have their baseball practices on the same day, so every evening one of them is at the ballpark. Baseball has made our days longer. Often times, Andrew gets home before 9 pm. His bed time has changes, and so has his wake-up time. This is another reason I am thankful I am homeschooling my kids - I can let them sleep in the morning and start our school day a little later. 

Science. Andrew dyed some onion skins to see the cells better under the microscope.

Preparing a wet mount.

We also looked at some tiny roots under the microscope.

Another fun thing that Andrew did: he built his own -and rather accurate - compass.

He used the compass to solve some letter mysteries.

Friday night after dinner. I did not mind the messy table nor did I ask the kids to clean it up right then, because they both were deep into their books. I love these moments.

We had a visit from Mr. Drake and Mrs. Duck.

Box Day!

We ordered and received our Sonlight materials for next year pretty early this time. As I am deviating from the history curriculum next year, I wanted to have plenty of time to compile my own materials. 
For the 5th grade, Sonlight offers studies of the Asian countries which, I am sure is very interesting. A lot of the read-aloud and reading practice books are written or set in Asia. I am looking forward to reading them all. However, after finishing the two year introduction into the American history, I considered teaching Andrew the history of our home state instead. Visiting the Capitol and the Story of Texas exhibition were a great inspiration and confirmation that changing the curriculum up a bit was a right decision.

'15/16 Week 28 Day 5

We spent the whole Day 4 on a field trip in Austin. We had a wonderful time wondering through museum exhibitions and the Capitol. 
We finished the week with Saara's first softball practice. She did really well and was happy to be on the field again. Also, she already made a couple of new friends.
We will take a few days off for Easter, and after that, nine more weeks before the school year is over.

Science. Saara building a switch.

Her assignment called for a scary face, like Jack o'lantern, but Saara chose something better.

Art. We read about Pollack and his splashing art. The kids tried their hand at making similar paintings.

Softball. It was a windy but warm evening for Saara's first practice.

The Texas Capitol

As we entered the impressive building of Texas Capitol, we did not expect to arrive just in time for one of the last tours around the facility. I am glad about the timing though, because we were introduced to so much history and information about the past and present, plus we learned a thing or two about the building and people one cannot read in guide books. 

The Rotunda was awesome.

Our fantastic tour guide.

The Texas Senate.

That is where the Lieutenant. Governor sits.

Henry Arthur McArdle, Dawn at the Alamo, in the Senate chamber.

Henry Arthur McArdle, Battle of San Jacinto, in the Senate chamber

The House of Representatives.

The flag in the background is the actual battle flag from the battle of San Jecinto. The man in the blanket on the right is Sam Houston.

All door hinges here look like this.

Descending to the basement of the Capitol.

The underground extension is filled with  light and very pretty.

Even the elevator doors have stars.

And the door knobs have stars.