Wrapping Up The Stinky Week

We were challenged last week with a snotty, clingy 2 yr old and we managed:)

But this week was literally "stinky".... messy, poop on the floor, cruddy attitudes, lots of cleaning and even a visit to the doctor... I mean VET. Yes, the source of most of the mess was the puppy:/  I don't even want to remember how many times Brian walked through the door coming home for lunch or for the night and the kids were parked on the couch or in their beds for "quiet time"... aka, Momma-has-had-it, everyone needs to lay low so she doesn't go crazy .... LOL!!

Anyway, the flow of the mess has slowed down and we are praying Jack will soon be back to normal stealing all the kids' toys and laying around. He hasn't been acting sick, just bummed that he is tied up in the kitchen (on the laminate flooring) until his tummy recovers!

We did have 2 GREAT school days... productive, lots of learning:) And then three days of just staying sane (and clean!) with a music class, a giving opportunity and bits of schooling stuck in;)

Bible
We started the week strong. But when 3 mornings required scrubbing either the dog (and crate) or the floor where the dog spent the night.... as school time slipped away so did our Bible time. Thankfully we still read Bible stories when we read in the afternoon! So we still were learning:)

I plan to continue the #12 Way until next week.... why rush? We missed a few lessons that will easily be completed before our small Thanksgiving break.

Math
We did some:/  I think each kids completed at least 3 lessons... so not too bad.

I had them attempt to do a lesson at the vet office, but the friendly three-legged cat was a LOT more interesting than math... who knew?

Language Arts
Some of the highlights this week were

• reading 2 small passages from  The Trumpet of the Swan for writing:) We all loved reading that book aloud years ago... I was amazed how much the kids remembered.
• Anna doing a Grammar lesson orally in the car heading to a funeral visitation. Trying to sneak in a lesson that was on the list to be completed this week:) Daddy was driving;)
•  finishing The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Flieshman. We loved the book with all the twists and turns and very  memorable characters. Definitely glad we continued to read it after we finished with the Gold Rush topic weeks ago!

Science
With all going on I"m not sure how we got in soo much Science?

We started with showing Chris the water pressure activities from the end of last week.

 We did an extra water pressure experiment demonstrating that water likes to level itself out. We used a plastic tub that was bended in half. It was clear that the water levels on either side of the tube were equal to one another.

We also talked about density and floating. For the first activity I filled a bowl with water and told the kids to bring back 2 objects - one they thought would float and one they thought would sink.

They had a blast guessing whether the items would float or sink. We talked about the types of objects and reasons that they didn't float.  And then we added the definition of density and the list of items that sank or floated.




And then I changed the rules by showing them how to make an egg and a pencil with a tack float by adding salt to the water which changes the density of the water.


Nate got into the fun a little, too!! Some of our "tools" came from a water kit from a community resource. I gave Nate some of the water toys and he went to town.

New toys are always fun and they kids enjoy them.... for a minute:)

And then he was back to the measuring cup and spoon... who can pass up those "tools"??


History
We started the week with more review questions from SOTW vol3! It was a good review that we all needed. And then we pulled out the binders for SOTW 4!! Very exciting to be starting a new book and hoping to add a few more changes to our history times.

We only read the 1st section this week. And an appendix of a library book that was very informative about the Victorian Age in Britain. We have a couple of novels to choose from for the next couple of weeks whose authors were writing during this time period. And before Thanksgiving we'll have a map, chapter outline and hopefully more readings.

Music
The kids had a double music lesson last week. The music teacher asked that all the kids come to the first class so she could teach the kids hand bells:) It was very cool to see all the ages together playing their first hand bell song... a Christmas song to hopefully share at the rehab center around Christmas!  The second hour was devoted to recorder... so now I'm hearing Jingle Bells at home;)

Linking up to Weekly Wrap-Up and Science Sunday!

Creature Science

Our new location has proven to hold many creature treasures:)

We have caught/seen some of the most common and coolest creatures since moving here in July. Some of our favorites have been turtles, lizards and dragonflies:) Then we had the giant grasshopper.

A friend watched the kids one afternoon and they caught a praying mantis in their insect habitat (at her house just miles away)! Definitely cool points with this creature science family:)

But this week, as Daddy was leaving for work he found a true creature treasure;)


The kids moved the crayfish to a larger habitat with some water and vegetation (hmmm... weeds they had pulled up). We kept him there until we could investigate more about crayfish before letting him go;)

It always amazes me what we get to discuss and explore during these unplanned investigations... like invertebrates, exoskeletons, nocturnal, mating, swimmerettes, etc!

This was our favorite website resource. Definitely on our level. And then we googled more questions, like if they breathe underwater and on land??.... very interesting;)

And having the live animal there makes it super hands-on and cool:) I mean you can read about how to tell the male and female crayfish apart. But what about reading about the differences and then figuring out what gender the crayfish in the habitat is!!

Memorable!! LOL!!

After all the crayfish conversations and questions, we let the little guy go near the pond (aka... swamp) in our yard.

As usual, I learned a lot... and I'm guessing the kids did too;)

Linking to Science Sunday!

Grandparents, Spiders & Turtle CPR

Spending time with grandparents is something our kids are blessed to do often.... well at least more often than I ever remember seeing either set of my grandparents. They come to visit us and we try to make trips to see them (although they always seem too short).

And grandparents are special. They have learned through life to value the small things and are willing to set "aside" the work of kids to enjoy their time with their grand kids.

I laugh as I think of the antics that go on when grandparents are around. The things that the kids talk them into (like shoe shopping trips or biscuits every morning) , the fun side trips, and the things they all get into together!!

And then there's Grammie!! I adore my momma but I tell you her real calling in life was probably in natural science. She just knows soo much about the little creatures that she finds (spiders, birds, caterpillars, and the list goes on). And she's definitely my local go-to person for identifying local plants.... she found a little plant in our wild grass the other day that people PAY to have in pots and hanging baskets. We'd just been mowing over it all;) LOL!!

Being at the house over Labor Day weekend.... we got plenty of hands-on science Grammie-style;)

First she introduced us to her Garden Spider. A huge spider that lives in one of her back gardens.



The funniest thing though is that my mom routinely catches bugs and throws them into the spider's web. The kids were in awe watching the spider wrap up the latest bug Grammie tossed into the web.

 It became even more educational when the beetle wiggled out of the casing the spider had wrapped him in. So the kids saw the spider rush back over and re-wrap him.... gross but cool!!

The spider was BIG. But I had to laugh when a visiting friend told us that "Grammie's spider" looked a little fatter than other spiders she had seen before. Obviously she didn't realize that Grammie keeps its web full;)

BTW... she also emailed a large amount of spider information:) Keep us learning!!

And it seems that educational (and just plain  strange) moments just pop up all the time with Grammie!!

Like her finding a tiny snapping turtle in the pool skimmer. She said that it was just spinning and spinning.... a "goner" :(

But in true Grammie-style... she flips the tiny turtle over and gives it CPR.

After a moment or two she holds it between her two fingers, letting the kids look at it. And then she notices an open eye looking at her. And then the little turtle is moving and kicking around.

It was crazy... just amazing and funny all at the same time. Who would have thought you could resuscitate a turtle??? Seriously, we will never forget Grammie giving CPR to a turtle and it actually working.... it will be a story told to children and grandchildren!

Our children are blessed to have  Grammie, Pey, Grandma and  Grandaddy!! They each add so very much to our children's lives (and ours too)!

Happy Grandparent's Day!!

Thank you for all you do!!

Linking up to Moments to Remember and Science Sunday!!