Thursday, September 13, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: No Longer Land Lubbers - Session 1 Week 2

In Our Life This Week
::paddle:: ::splash:: ::paddle::

Guess what?! We're 'yakers! Funny name, huh? ::laugh::

We spent every chance we could loading up our new sit-on-top kayaks into and onto the van and heading to one of the many lakes nearby, paddling around. We saw wood ducks and loons and fish...and sadly, trash, during our water explorations. And I became the "coolest Mom ever". ::grin::


Homeschool Elementary
Well, it wasn't such a smooth start to our 2nd week. Perhaps the kids were tired from a busy-busy Sunday? ::sigh:: Fortunately the rest of the week went better! Phew!

The Saplings really enjoyed Balsam Fir's handicraft: straw and paper planes. (You can find the instructions here.) A very simple project, but with lots of possibilities! Sugar Maple and Balsam Fir tested out different wings (i.e. width and diameter of paper circles) and body lengths (i.e. straws) to find just the right combination - medium-width circles with longer straw length - for the longest sustained flights. Heads were ducking with planes flying! ::laugh::

And we made Grass People inspired by Of Primary Importance here. Instead of using her printables, the Saplings made faces and bodies from whatever their creativity lead them to...mostly construction paper, gray duct tape and straws. We're waiting for their "hair" (i.e. grass) to grow.



Sugar Maple
English - Writing Process, Reading Comprehension, Spelling (/in/ and /e/ bases), Vocabulary, Plural Nouns
Math - Multiple Addends, Ordinal Numbers, Fact Families, Money, Place Value
Science/Computer - Vascular/Nonvascular Plants, Angiosperms/Gymnosperms
History/Geography - Colonial America
Extras - Kayaking, Latch-hook, Straw and Paper Planes, Clarinet, Plant People, Girl Scouts, Library, Soccer, Spanish

Balsam Fir
English - Exclamation Sentences, Punctuation, Printing, Nouns, Spelling, Complete Sentences, Handwriting, Types of Sentences
Math - Tally Marks, Skip Counting (5s), Numerical Order, Sets, Money, Addition/Subtraction, Roman Numerals, Odds/Evens
Science/Computer - Vascular/Nonvascular Plants, Angiosperms/Gymnosperms
History/Geography - Colonial America
Extras - Kayaking, Cub Scouts, Straw and Paper Planes, Grass Person, Library, Soccer, Spanish

Sugar Maple read The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, a cute tale about a mouse, a spoon of thread, and a princess, and My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, a tale about a young boy living in the NY mountains alone, and Balsam Fir continued to follow Nate on his quest to solve a mystery in Nate the Great and the Lost List by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. 

Homeschool High School
I'm quite impressed with White Pine! He's taking his high school studies seriously this year and staying on track (mostly) with the goals we set together. But he has fallen behind a little. I can't blame him though. He'll never have a more challenging teacher than his Mom! ::wink::  For me, having TOO MANY GOALS is better than NOT ENOUGH. (I'm flexible though; I know I'm asking a lot. ::laugh::)

White Pine did some real life Biology on Tuesday. Our Pekin duck Opal developed "Bumblefoot", a foot infection. We worked together to treat and watch her condition the rest of the week. (I'll spare you the treatment details, but if you're interested read this post from Fresh Eggs Daily. You aren't squeemish, right? ::wink::)


English - Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss, Persuasive Essay, Approach Paper, Nouns
Algebra - Sets, Absolute Value, Number Lines, Angles, Diameter/Radius, Area/Perimeter
Biology - Chemical Reactions, Lab: Microscope, Animal Husbandry
World History/Geography - Africa, Egypt
Extras - Kayaking, Walking, Soccer, Boy Scouts, Computer, Word Processing

Ponderings
I am amazed at the devotion and companionship between our two Pekin hens, Opal and Olive. Olive LOVES to swim and forage, but she has not strayed far from Opal's side as walking is difficult for her right now. You should have heard them "chatter" back-and-forth after Opal returned to the run following her morning inside during her first day of treatment! How worried she sounded! I can't imagine what would happen if one should "leave" the other behind. They are most definitely a couple!



A Something to Share

Blog Hops
Favorite Resource This WeekHomegrown LearnersScience SundayHip Homeschool Hop Button3Boys&aDog DEALS!Photobucket

20 comments:

  1. I love your Something to Share today -- I just might have to share it!

    Thanks for linking with Collage Friday!

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  2. Great week - those kayaks look like lots of fun!

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  3. That looks like a blast! Isn't it great when you get to be the coolest mom ever? LOL Have a great weekend!!

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  4. Looks like a fun variety of hands-on activities and learning experiences.

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  5. Yay for new kayaks!!! They look great. Enjoy<3

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  6. What an adventure your family has, I love it! Thanks for sharing

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  7. Wonderful week! Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Jessy I always love reading about your weeks. Love the kayaks. How close are you to water? Seems like you are always splashing about. ;) About to check out the Grass People and Straw and Paper planes. What is all of those pictures of what White Pine is doing? Is it pre drawn things? It looks wonderful!! What curriculum? Happy Weekend Jessy! Love your sweet Pekin hens!

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  9. IWhat a great adventure you all had. I love the picture of the hens. IT is great that they have each other.
    Blessings, Dawn

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  10. I want to do school at your house! It sounds like you are having loads of fun!

    Thanks for linking up to HomeSchool High!

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  11. Those kayaks look like a blast!! I am going to have to show those to my hubby- I might see some in our future. "My Side of the Mountain" was my son's favorite book- he would tell everyone who would listen about it. Great read! Those ducks are awesome. I hope the treatment works!

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  12. We love our kayaks, too! And I love your ducks - that's so sweet!

    Becca

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  13. Wow, kayaks! You ARE cool! :-))) You always do so much with your kids. The ducks are just too cute, too. Hope you have a great weekend!

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  14. You are most definitely the coolest mom in my book.

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  15. we have those kayaks! LOVE them - the boys stand up - sit down- paddle all day long- looks like y'all are getting the hang of it! enjoy

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  16. Those straw and paper planes are cool! Don't you just love projects that take normal materials you have around and make something the kids can play/experiment with for a long time?! Thanks for linking Jessy :)

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  17. you really are the coolest mom ever! How excellent that the kids recognized that! ;-)

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  18. I love the phrase "yakers," lol. We like to kayak, but we rent ours when we go. Hopefully, we can start buying them one at a time soon! Loved the photos and seeing what your kids are working on. Looking forward to coming back! :)

    Katie
    Mom to two boys; trying to tip-toe my way into high school homeschooling. :)

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