Liz found this little guy in our yard waste can. Someone left the lid open.
She rescued him.
So, we called all the kids to come and see!
Katie was so excited and gentle.
Isn’t he cute?
We sure hope he found his family and is safe and sound.
Learn about quails:
Hummingbirds are probably one of my favorite animals. I feel so delighted watching them. They have such personality!
So, we have Mr. King Hummer who sits in our maple tree and guards the feeder. He chases away all other hummers and twitters at them. Sometimes, he’s so feisty he sounds like a hissing cat when he chases those others away!
I like to sit on the deck with my morning coffee and watch him chase the lesser hummers. He often comes to eat and I was so pleased to get a few good shots of him at the feeder!
And we have this lovely trumpet vine that attracts hummers and bees. Do you see her? I think she’s a broad tailed or black chinned.
The girls are more difficult to identify. The rufous chases her and all others away from the feeder, but he leaves them alone at the vine.
I like to sit on the deck most mornings, drinking my coffee and watch the hummingbirds. They come to my feeder that is no more than a couple feet away from me.
They twitter at me and frolic and chase each other. I love it.
My husband captured these shots. They sure are fast!
I got these with my iPhone.
I’m pretty sure these are black chinned hummingbirds.
Check out this Outdoor Hour Challenge at Handbook of Nature Study blog
I only had ruby throated hummers in Georgia and Texas. I missed hummers in Hawaii (they’re not allowed there due to ruining the pineapple crops) and we have thoroughly enjoyed all the varieties the last couple summers here in Utah.
The kids are as excited as I am about hummers.
We completed hummingbird notebooking pages.
I printed some pics from the Internet and they wrote out their names.
Tori likes to draw.
The girls had a half day nature camp all week long. I brought PB and Nutella sandwiches to have a little picnic when I picked them up.
What’s with the head tilt?
This guy wanted a sandwich too!
Alex was quite terrified.
And the turkey was quite persistent. He’s a big guy. He just watched and inched closer and closer. We finished and he was so disappointed.
We’re all pretty excited about Apologia General Science.
The water, oil, and corn syrup layered themselves and the rock sank and the grape floated. cool.
We’re following a great schedule and notebooking plan.
It’s been an eye opener for her. We explained the plan and showed her the plan and got her notebook organized and the schedule printed out.
Then she thought she could skim through like she always has.
Not so much. She got a 64 on her first test.
I warned her that 7th grade was going to be different, harder.
Now she knows.
Her uncle is visiting with his family this week and he teaches 7th grade science. This has been great for all of us. He told us that “she’s just like a 7th grader” (the good and the bad). And he’s been able to talk to her about her studies. It’s given her a new perspective. You know, moms and dads know nothing, but uncles can be cool.
So, she knows that she has to actually work at something.
A new concept. A first step toward maturity.
General and Physical science are reviews of elementary material, preparing for high school lab sciences.
We read many living books about scientific topics, watch documentaries, go on nature hikes, visit museums, and more.
Brush up on the laws of motion, force, speed, and the transfer of energy. Students should understand the effect of friction on objects, as well as the difference between friction and inertia. Kids have the opportunity to learn about the properties of a range of materials, studying size, weight, and shape. They should conduct experiments, use tools to gather and organize data, and learn how to make graphs to present their findings.
The life sciences include everything from the human body to ecology. With so many topics, at any given time students in middle school might be immersed in studying a particular insect, or observing a terrarium or aquarium to learn about ecosystems. Junior life scientists also learn about plants, including the basic processes, like photosynthesis, that allow them to thrive.
Middle school earth science lessons review how the earth was formed. Kids should review how the earth orbits around the sun as well as the moon orbits around the earth. Make connections between orbits and time. Understand that a year is the length of time it takes the earth to orbit the sun and a day is based on how long it takes for the earth to make one rotation on its axis.
Teachers may include a geology lesson that focuses on a single point of interest like the Grand Canyon. By studying the Grand Canyon, for example, students can follow in the footsteps of professional scientists, learning to read geologic lessons in the rock, and discern the effect erosion has on the earth’s natural features.
Many schools emphasize the relationship between science and technology. These technology-focused activities might include a study of bridge design or a discussion about robots’ value to society. Lessons should give special attention to the way science and technology can be used to solve human problems and meet human needs.
While studying science, your child will also be learning about the process of scientific inquiry — how to ask incisive questions, design experiments, gather evidence, formulate answers, and communicate the results. It’s not uncommon for students’ ideas and misconceptions to be challenged or changed.
By contrasting and comparing, students hone their critical thinking skills, analyzing errors and making summaries of what they’ve learned. Many other soft skills should grow and develop while studying science. For example, students might begin to learn the importance of recording their observations or recognize the limitations their own memories.
Rock solid math skills are crucial to success in science. Whether students are being asked to create a new calendar for an imaginary world or calculating sea rise from an arctic ice melt-off, they’ll use a wide variety of math skills involving basic arithmetic, geometry, and pre-algebra.
Creating graphs and tables, measuring to scale, calculating ratios, determining weight, distance, and volume – all these are math skills needed for science. Source: Great Schools
Daddy took Alex to Toddler Nature Camp! Two mornings of muddy and dirty boy fun!
Alex did excellent with color matching with colored worms found in the mud tub
Worms! Mud! ew!
And, Alex made our local newspaper! So excited! Of course, we bought several copies of the paper and emailed it to everyone we know! Fame!
mud painting!
Alex loved this and told Dad that Mom won’t let him do it. I guess I need to do more messy art!
Digging for bugs
more bug digging
and rocks, too, I guess.
snack time! Oreo dirt cups. Alex loved the gummy worms!
detachable lizard tail=tail tag! (kinda like flag football)
making a tail!
Looking through the duck blind at the lake
story time
exploring the “bear cave”
feather color matching in the tall grass
Alex had so much fun and was such a good boy for Daddy! So happy they got some boy time!
Alex can’t wait until the end of July when he goes back to camp for two more mornings!
Independence Day is a fun holiday, but most of the festivities are late at night for young kids.
We often have a fun meal with our little family, maybe some friends.
I’ll get sparklers and popits for the kids to play in the driveway.
As the kids get older, I want them to understand history and not just think of US holidays as fun days for BBQ and parties.
I want the kids to learn the history of the USA and our flag, the Constitution, and Star Spangled Banner.
A privilege is a certain entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. By contrast, a right is an inherent, irrevocable entitlement held by all citizens or all human beings from the moment of birth.
“Freedom” is predominantly an internal construct. Viktor Frankl, the legendary Holocaust survivor who wrote Man’s Search For Meaning, said it well: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way (in how he approaches his circumstances).”
On the other hand, “liberty” is predominantly an external construct. It’s the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views. The ancient Stoics knew this and so did our Founding Fathers, who wisely noted the distinction between negative and positive liberties, and codified that difference in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The distinction between negative and positive liberties is particularly important, because an understanding of each helps us understand these seminal American documents (plus it explains why so many other countries have copied them). The Bill of Rights is a charter of negative liberties – it says what the state cannot do to you. However, it does not say what the state must do on your behalf. This would be a positive liberty, an obligation imposed upon you by the state.
We study world history and US history throughout our homeschool cycles, especially the hard moments and events that are most eye opening. They ask great questions and I often don’t have any answers.
When we moved to Germany, obviously no one celebrated American Independence Day. It became a day that came and went like any other. The base didn’t even really do much due to budget cuts. Now that we’re living back in the States, in Ohio, we still don’t do much even though it’s often a 3 or even 4-day holiday. We catch up on household chores and grill food and play in the yard. We avoid the crowds at local lakes, pools, parks.
I loved celebrating holidays with themes when my kids were young!
I made a Fourth of July sensory bin and the kids loved it!
A flag bucket, star ice cube trays, some red bowls, sparkly pom poms, jewels, an eagle beanie baby, some ribbons and bows made for lots of happy independent sensory play time.
Alex loved putting the pom poms on the spots
Alex loved the most: covering up the Ff’s for fireworks.
I was so impressed he knew both the capital and lowercase F’s!
Fireworks displays don’t begin until 10 or 10:30 PM so we didn’t go for years because the kids were so young.
The girls saw fireworks over Pearl Harbor one year when they were very little. We could walk to the water from our house so it’s wasn’t too bad with a wagon.
We could watch fireworks from our driveway when we lived in Utah.
Alex didn’t see fireworks until he was 5, because he would always fall asleep between 7-9 PM.
We went to our friends’ house to celebrate Rhine in Flammen in 2015:
My kids are older now. The girls are all teens! We play with sparklers and popits and watch fireworks from our yard or local parks.
Now that my kids are older, we learn about colonialism, American Independence Day, the Revolutionary War, and all the differing stances of that time period. Most history books and shows really dumb it down.
We still go watch fireworks in our town, usually from a local park so we can make it back home sooner.
Ever imagine that you want to quit homeschooling and throw enroll your kids in school?
The thought has occurred to me.
When my eldest was 11, she started expressing that she wanted to attend public school.
She struggled in math. I worried about her attitude and time management. I felt she was often lazy.
She excelled in Latin and history and language.
My youngest daughter has a similar personality and also wanted to attend school.
Sometimes, I wonder if it would be easier if they had attended school.
Easier, how, though?
Ah, escapism. Let someone else be responsible, right? Let someone else deal with her snarkiness and possibly instill some character in her! Because, obviously, I was failing miserably at this. Let her learn from failing, because I feared so much that’s what she’ll do…
Would it be easier to rush my kids out the door each morning?
Easier for me to keep track of the school’s schedule, dress code/trends, lunches, fundraisers, extra-curricular activities, homework? Oh, the stress…
And what about my middle girls?
They are just a year apart in age. But here at home, they both have always done the same academic work. Would they like being separated?
And my son? What would he do without his sisters all day, every day? I think he would miss them terribly.
God slammed every door. in. my. face. when my eldest was four and I could. not. find. a. job. (I used to teach English – middle school, high school, college, public, private.) I was pregnant with my second daughter. We were certainly reluctant homeschoolers. Read about that here.
We thought there would come a time for us to hang it up and work our way back into the mainstream (real) world.
In a way, the thought makes me feel a little sick. Not just about all the supplies that would be wasted. All the curriculum that has been bought and saved that we’re just going to start to use next school year with the next child.
I want to know what goes into my children’s heads.
Also, I want to shepherd my children’s hearts.
Not that I always do the greatest job with that. Still working on that and dealing with my own issues. Issues with laziness and anger and selfishness. I’m an only child. Sharing is new to me. Having no privacy or free time to myself is still new to me. I don’t always like it. I’m an introvert.
We’ve had some slower years (like the years when Katie and Alex were born), but I’ve compensated by schooling year-round and having flexible schedules.
We’ve travelled and experienced some really neat things that school kids wouldn’t have had time to do.
I’m sure I could have done more with science experiments or history projects or writing assignments some years. My eldest has resentments.
My husband sometimes questions my methods and wants a more traditional approach and grades and products.
With four active kids, I’m worried there’s not enough me to go around.
My son is completely different from the girls and they sometimes feel resentful if they think he gets special treatment.
I don’t think school would work for us. I know we are counter-cultural and different for being at home. We get frustrated with each other sometimes.
There’s often isn’t much opportunity to get together with others who are like-minded. It’s hard to find unschoolers with teens.
I know my kids want activities and friends and to seem more normal. I try really hard to provide lots of chances for classes, lessons, camps, sports, art.
We won’t go back to participating in a homeschool co-op since it was a big waste of time and very stressful.
People fade in and out of our lives. We never seem very important to anyone.
Tori and Katie still love Draw Write Now. They’re working on geese this week.
That went well with our nature study and park time this week! We fed the ducks and geese and saw the babies and eggs!
Katie takes her time drawing on the dry erase board to make sure it’s just right before putting it to paper.
I’m impressed with their improvement in both skill and attitude with their handwriting and drawing. In the beginning, they would write only one sentence and that was like pulling teeth. Now they write the whole paragraph and do it independently and cheerfully!
Fun times at the park. This tree smelled so GOOD!
Tori loves the tangrams and she can do the advanced set all by herself now!
I found a critical thinking workbook at a yard sale for only $1! Dad did 3 pages with Tori and Katie as soon as I brought it home! They love it!
We pretty much love everything from the Critical Thinking Company! Some great books!
Then the girls and Dad had some crazy balloon races to test the helium levels or something. It sounded science-y, lol. They had fun anyway. That’s what counts.
Later, Dad is taking Tori and Katie to get their nails done! I found the cutest nail salon that has little girl pedicure chairs. I will make sure he takes lots of pictures!
We had VBS at church this week. We had dinner there each night and it was nice not having to cook or clean the kitchen. all. week. long.
Since I was working in the preschool VBS, I didn’t get to interact with my girls, but they told me they had loads of fun and learned lots about Jesus! I was pleased that they did so well with the bigger kids! I’m glad I made the decision to place Katie with the elementary kids. I thought she would be super bored in the preschool and I was right: we only had really little kids. She’s kind of in limbo right now, at 5 years old. Her behavior often leaves a bit to be desired, but academically, she is even more advanced than Tori in some areas. I was hoping she would rise to the occasion and be more mature around older kids and it worked out quite well! So proud of her! Of course, Tori was just about perfection. She’s the sweet one.
Tori gave me a card the other day, for no reason. She wrote it all by herself, sounding out the words as best she could. I do love that girl!
We’re taking a little break from school, for the most part. We still have Bible, reading, and science and the girls LOVE their math. (We had to confiscate Tori’s math book the other night: she was in bed under the covers after bedtime, doing her math – how can you really be mad at that?!)
I have some fun and frugal things planned, like the splash pad and science experiments and making yummy treats. We need to find a pool that doesn’t cost a fortune and that will allow Alex in his swim diaper…And we have family coming for a week in July and a fun camping trip (our first!) planned for the last weekend of July!
Tori did great on her last track meet Tuesday. All the kids had the option of competing in 6 events: 50, 100, 200, 400, softball throw, and long jump. Tori did them all. Only 5 out of 15 kids did all 6 events.
Getting ready to run!
Tori has learned well how to pace herself on the longer runs.
Throwing that softball! I keep asking if she wants to try to play softball, but she keeps saying no.
Jumping like a frog. This was a new event for Tori. She hadn’t even practiced before today. She jumped at a distance of a little over 4 feet.
Awards. A very lovely medal which we will get engraved with her name and year.
The coach was pretty awesome. Very encouraging. Tori already can’t wait until next season!
