Week 12

Hulk and Ying had their Promotion Ceremonies at Choi this week. They were very proud!

 Science this week was a winner. The kids loved the Mentos coke geysers. We expanded on the experiment in the book. Each kids got 3 bottles of soda to explode. We stored them at different temperatures so everyone had a cool, room temp, and sun warmed to compare the difference reactions. The ultimate winner for our experiment was sun warmed Diet Coke. If i can every figure out how to upload the videos we made I will.  We used Slo-mo to better be able to compare each geyser.

 Ying also did her presentation this week in Co-op about her " Ancient Wonder"... She was assigned Stonehenge. She made this model and a facts pamphlet in Word. I know he teacher wondered if she made this herself, but I promise she did. The edge in looks just comes from mom's years of crafting and set building giving me a knowledge  what products exist. So this is made of  white Crayola "Model Magic" that was dry brush painted gray. Foam board is cover in $4 grass mat used for model railroads. The stone pieces are then held into the foam by toothpicks.   This model was extremely light and durable.

 I am liking the Beast Acadmey's use of puzzles and games. Here are some examples of  of multiplication puzzles. There are lots of "problems" within the problem but it doesn't look like 20 problems on a page.

week 11

Our avian neighbor during school. Hulk was fascinated watching it build its nest in the tree above the picnic table.

This week school moved outside due to bathroom renovations at Grandma and Grandpa's house to help accommodate Grandpa's wheelchair. The house is on the smaller side with just this single bathroom. I won't lie and say that the kids got creative at times this week., especially Hulk. The girls more often then not walked the 2 blocks home as we tried to disturb the work as little as possible. God blessed us with some absolutely gorgeous weather. Hulk greatly enjoyed to freedom to run "wild" during his breaks.

The kids really enjoyed this weeks SITB. The spent almost 30 min making water droplets "dance" on the hot pan. We aren't doing all the notebooking but I really think they are understanding the concepts and I love the way this curriculum breaks things down. Its simple but in depth. It's hitting just the right mix for them.                       

Our new math's are working well so far! The girls are loving the Beast Academy's comic book and game approach. SO far tons of logic games and problems using multiplication, area, and perimeter. We've even taken the recommendation for the company that some days you only work on one puzzling problem. I have had to do more hand holding then with TT but we are working light years ahead in "thinking it out." Its going to take them time to get used to  being asked vs told how to do a problem. Here's and example of a "3rd grade " word problem. I am really impressed with the # of skills intertwined in this one problem!

In other news: Hulk and Ying tested for their new belts during co-op this week. We now have a Yellow Senior and White Senior belt in the house. They are very proud.

Hulk also gave me his sweet art project. He was very proud of himself. I am proud of how much effort my no nonsense boy is putting into his art class. I think the fact that its all boys and the teacher's assistant are 2 older ( MS/HS) boys is having a real impact. Something I LOVE about our co-op is how our older kids are taught to treat and mentor the younger ones. Our co-op is close to 300 kids and its routine for me to see a group of older boys stop my 1st grader in the hall just to see how his day is going or to close his overflowing backpack. In many places that 1st grader would be apprehensive about being approached by a group of older boys, but not here. I am so thankful for the foundations laid in those boys and how its challenging my little man to take his first steps into being a man by helping those weaker and smaller then himself.

Week 10- Pharaoh Pharaoh...

This week we studied about the Pharaoh. What was a Pharaoh? How were they "more than" a king to their people. I get the impression from reading further along this is to help lay the foundation for how God used the Pharaohs to show his His power and glory.  The curriculum called for making Egyptian costumes, but we just had other things to do. So we made Pharaoh headdresses instead. Beauty of Homeschool Make it work for your life!

Hulk is very excited about his science porject for his co-op science class. We really don't get into this class too much outside of the experiments they do in class, but this one he insisted on. Usually its just too much on top of SITB for the little guy, but we SOOO proud of his beans! I love the log they sent home.

We made a HUGE change this week... I switch all 3 kids Math curriculum. We had fought the battle with  Teaching Textbooks over and over. I could never tell if they were getting it or not because they would get 70's in the workbooks on daily assignment, but would immediately be able to correct the wrong one accurately within 5 min. No effort. I tried making it an lesson in diligence and commitment but it just wasn't working.... So the girls are going to try The Art of Problem Solving's  Beast Academy. It's significant different from TT in scope,sequence, and methods, so we are dropping back to the 2nd quarter of  their "3rd" grade. Lesson's are presented in comic book form and then have several activities in the practice book. This curriculum is not "open and go" and is going to require more planning and diligence on my part, but at least they are interested.  Beast Academy is currently only available  for 3rd and 4th grades with 5th grade coming later this year. I had been researching new math curriculum for a few months for the girls and was stuck until I saw this one. A light bulb just went off and I felt God nudging my hand. So I ordered less then a day after I first heard of it.... SOOOO we will have to trust heavily in his guidance. Hulk also got a new program. He was 3/4 of the way complete with Saxon Math 1 and was so beyond it. It was a great starting point but its time to move on. I had given all the kids Singapore placement tests a few weeks back. He easily placed in Singapore 2A and was very close to 2B but I figured that might be too much of a jump so we are starting with 2A.  Please pray for us over the next few weeks as I learn 2 new curricula and hope I haven't bitten off more then I can chew!

Week 9 repeat---Where mom goes on vacation...

 This was an odd week.... I went on a 3 day trip with my mother and left the kids at home with DH. I left detailed checklists and lesson plans. Some stuff got done..lol. Gotta give hubby props for what he did accomplish. HE worked, did his own schoolwork, and monitor/taught the kids. It was very odd for me to have 3 kidless days.  Even when I go to work on the weekends I am surrounded by kids. I haven't had that much "adultime" since the girls were born. We had a great time visiting my Brother and SIL in Florida. They recently moved from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic side. The beach was beautiful but a bit rough.

My SIL always jokes that she can't bake so we spent our girls night in ( after my brother had to fly out for work) making a Salted Caramel Oreo Pie. It came out alright. The carmel and crust are fabulous but the topping needs work..lol We had to take photographic evidence to prove to her mother that she make our creation. It was great time. The girls did not take my absence very well in attitude though. I think I am going to have to do more trips so they get more comfortable with it. Daddy worked through the tears and gave the special treats like a  night of bowling.