'17/18 Week 12

      Fall is finally showing its colors. A short-lived cold spell started turning some trees yellow and orange and red. But now the air conditioning is running again and so are kids in short sleeves and flip-flops. 
      The week started off with us carving pumpkins. Next, we found ourselves at the doctor's office where Andrew got his vaccination shots. Poor thing could not lift his arms for a whole day, they were so sore. After that, we visited a local animal shelter. A sweet pup showed up on our porch, and we took him in. Actually, we wanted to adopt him, but the shelter found his owner, and we were more than happy to reunite the the owner and the pup. Finally, the kids had a taste of the early polyphonic music we have been learning about at a concert they enjoyed very much.
      Quite a week.

Girls finishing up the carving while boys play. Typical.

Science. Andrew's crystallization experiment is working. Water is producing sugar.

Yes, the humidifier is out again. The fluctuating weather which can not make up its mind took its toll on the kids.

Volleyball. One but last game.

On our way to take Pudding back to his owner.

A wonderful singing by a group from Estonia.

'17/18 Week 11

The orange belt training has begun.

      One of the reasons why I love homeschooling is because I learn right alongside with my kids. Most of the time the things I learn, are just facts and stories I have forgotten over time. Often, I am thankful that I have been given a second chance to visit the long-ago lessons because now I understand them better and, what seemed so boring back then has turned out to be very interesting now.
      But there have been a handful of times I've stare at the lesson plan with a blank expression, and the more I stared the more convinced I'd become that thirty some years ago they did not teach that stuff at school. Like this week, I tried to recall the time when they covered Scientific Notation or Binary Charts at my middle school. I failed to remember. So, one evening, I spent the better part of my math preparation improving my choppy knowledge on both subjects.  
       I was a little weary about if Andrew, who had to learn these things, would actually understand them. I should not have been worried. He grasped both subjects easily. In fact, we talked about binary system before dinner while we were waiting for our food to cool a little. By the time we started eating, he was easily converting decimal numbers into binary and vice versa. Truly, numbers can make a very lively dinner conversation.

Science. Saara's at it again - mapping, drawing, and building circuits.

Only two more games left.

At a fall fest in town Andrew's favorite was the foot race area.

Science. We were trying out yet another crystallization experiment. This time, the book promised we could eat it the end result.

Supersaturated sugar water.

BV Rodeo and Fair

      This was our third time to go to the rodeo and fair that is held annually at the local Expo center. Last year, we were not able to see all the shows we wanted. So this time, we decided to arrived early and planned our timetable carefully. I am glad we did! We had the time of our lives watching a show after a show, tasting yummy food, and, of course, the kids were running from one carnival ride to another, braving to try new faster rides.

Our tour of the fair grounds started with the 4H chicks and other animals we were able to pet.

This baby camel became my friend as long as I had food.

A very educational show about how milk ends up on our table. 

My kids make new friends wherever they go. These two were equally scared when they tried our new carnival rides.

One of the fair's celebrities: Sara Carson and her dog Hero. They finished in the 5th place in AGT show.

'17/18 Week 10

      There were two big events that the children were looking forward to in the beginning of the week. One of them made them very nervous, the other hyper-excited.
      On Thursday, both children were tested on their knowledge and skills they had learned in two months of taekwondo classes. Both of them were very nervous, but they did well and earned their next belt. 
      We took the celebration mood with us to the annual rodeo and fair that was held this weekend. Among all the fun carnival rides and shows, I squeezed in something educational as well. A dairy farm had a short class and demonstration on how milk ends up on our tables. I had to reach for a pen and paper to jot down some interesting facts I did not want to forget. The kids eyed me suspiciously thinking they would have to write an essay on cow facts. Well, maybe. It is not a bad idea, is it now? 

Math. Drawing circles, measuring angles, etc. 

LA. Creating our own crossword puzzles with the week's spelling words.

A morning visit.

Science. Still no experiment, but more circuit building.

The kids received their first badges as a part of passing their orange belt test.

My favorite nine-year-old on the court brought the last winning points to the team.

'17/18 Week 9

      Fall is finally here! We have had some cooler mornings, and once even, the northern wind was rather nippy forcing us into long sleeves. The school week went by rather uneventfully which was fine by us. The weather was inviting us outside.        Shorter days also mean longer evenings which we often spend reading. Andrew, my reluctant reader, finds himself so engrossed in his book, he often reads more than he is supposed to. He just finished The Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson, and is currently reading Theras and His Town by Carolin Dale Snedeker. I, too, find myself reading to them more chapters than I am supposed to (The God King, another brilliant book by Joanne Williamson). The stories are just so captivating. This is one of many reasons I like our Sonlight curriculum - I would not have found all these great books on my own.
     Cooler weather, longer evenings, and a stack of good reading material makes up for the lack of 'earthshaking' happenings during our study hours, I believe.

Taekwondo. It is getting harder.

The children were so excited when they were introduced to ssang jeol bongs (the Korean nunchuck)

Science. Andrew separating pharmaceutical powder from iron sulfate. 

Separating the mixture from its residue.

 

Pure iron sulfate.

Saara did not have any experiments this week. She learned how to draw electrical circuits instead.

LA. Alphabetizing over a dozen words with identical consonant clusters proved to be one of the toughest challenges this week.

Volleyball. It was a picture day and a good game for Saara on Saturday.

We ended the week attending a beautiful wedding. It should count as a Big Event of the week, I suppose.