Daily Calendar

Every day we add another star to the calendar. We've got months, seasons, days, and how many days are in each month down pat.

Science: Volcanoes

Labeling a volcano, we learned that magma turns to lava when it comes out of the earth. We had some dried lava rocks from when we went to Hawaii to add to the effect.

How many times can you push up tinsel from inside a cone to make it "sploosh" out the top? I guess it was fun...because we had to do it about 6 times.

The Israelite Tabernacle

One of our lessons was about when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, after God sent the 10 plagues to Egypt. The Egyptians were so tired of being plagued, they released the Israelites from slavery. They then wandered in the desert for 40 years, I think because they didn't yet trust God. They had to be out there, being provided for by God's manna until the second and third generation of Israelites grew up trusting God. During this time they created a tent to worship in, and it was portable since they were wandering. We made a little tent in our school room, and made the Holy of Holies - a secret room that only the high priest could go in. This contained the Arc of the Covenant, a box containing the 10 Commandment tablets, a bowl of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded.

Cool enough, a couple weeks later the traveling life size tabernacle tour came to our town! It was a 2 hour tour with the meaning behind the tabernacle. Absolutely fascinating how every piece of the tabernacle was a prophecy to the coming Jesus. We got to see a re-enactment of a lamb being slain for sacrifice, and Avery was excited that we got to go into the "secret room" where only the priest was allowed. What a great field trip!

A miniature version of how the tabernacle is set up, with a mural behind it. I believe every month the head of each household would come in and be attoned for their family's sins.

After telling this kid that the lamb they brought was more like a pet to the people who brought it, we saw how painful it would have been to sacrifice it.

This is where the slain lamb's would be tossed, after smearing their blood on each of the four horns on the corners. Of course, this was a prophecy of the coming Jesus, the Lamb of God who would shed his blood for the four corners of the earth.

The Arc of the Covenant. They believed that God actually lived between the two angels carved at the top. Since Jesus hadn't come to save us yet, He couldn't yet live inside our hearts like he can now. The Arc was in the room that only the high priest could enter, and it contained the tablets that God inscribed the 10 commandments on, the bowl of manna (bread that God provided on the ground every morning), and Aaron's rod that began to bud miraculously.

A lesson in vegetables

A trip to our local farmer's market brought us a lesson in vegetables, officially "tomato day"! We learned how to plant fall vegetables, what a row cover is (and that it can't be touching the plant, and how you need to put it on when it is still warm outside since the purpose is not to keep cold out, but to keep warm in). We learned that when they run out of chicken eggs, they pull out the duck eggs. I asked "So....do you eat those?" and I bought a dozen and made duck egg quiche. They are exactly the same as chicken eggs except the shell is harder and they are bigger. Who knew??

The kiddos got to make tomato creatures out of green tomatoes, pipe cleaners, beans and glue. How creative - he made a spider.

Homeschool Convention

Every year hundreds and hundreds of families from all over Kansas come to listen to dozens of speakers and browse for hours through learning games, curriculum, books, videos, and art supplies at the homeschool convention. This was our first one, and I learned so much from the seminars, got completely inspired from the keynote speakers, and spent way too much money on stuff for our school!

This was a 3 day adventure, and while I was off learning and networking, Avery got to be in the Adventure camp onsite where they solved a mystery, learned about what it means to be a Christian, and prepare a program for the last day for parents.

I came away inspired to keep education what it originally was meant to be, and keeping it centered on the bible. There is no better teacher in the world for your child but you, and I plan to do everything I can to keep myself in that position as long as I can. What a gift that we can do this as a family!

Science break

A buggy science lesson. Our 'other kids' from next door came over with two toads, so we kept them in a terrarium. Every day they catch grasshoppers and crickets in the yard and feed them to the toad. They watch how he stands really still until the bug walks in front of his face, and then in a split second sticks out his tongue and bites the bug. One time the grasshopper was a little too big for him, and he jumped out of his mouth! The kids are learning that he won't eat crickets that are too small, and he prefers the bigger crickets to grasshoppers. And I think he ate one of the tiny toads we had in there too!

This was after an intense bug hunt when they brought in about 6 bugs to feed the toad. A popsicle reward quenched their thirst, and they said they are all acting like popsicles here. I think they just got worn out!

Tomato day

We took a trip to the Farmer's Market and were surprised to find Tomato Day. A and his friend made tomato critters - I thought that was pretty creative to make a spider. He even made a little snail friend for his spider out of a shell noodle.

We learned about planting fall vegetables, and how to make a row cover out of pvc pipe and light material. It's not to keep out the cold, but to keep in the heat - so put it on during the heat of the day. Didn't know that! And I learned to leave the poor plants alone if they are cold, so the leaves can keep it warm. Awww.

Chris built me a garden space this spring, and I have been preparing the dirt and dreaming of a composter...so I will try to plant some fall veges in a couple weeks. After I buy a hoe and chop down all the weeds that have so lovingly planted themselves all over my nice dirt.

We also learned that you can eat duck eggs. Who knew? They were out of chicken eggs, so we got a dozen duck eggs and made a quiche out of them. They look and taste exactly like chicken eggs, but are a little bigger. We also learned where food really comes from...not just the grocery store.