Homeschool Highlights ~ 8.11.11

I had to break out the hot glue gun last night! =)

Making magnets out of pony beads, pom poms & glass beads so the kids can use our new sight word flashcards on a cookie sheet and trace out their letters. And now I'm making some Montessori-style counting bars with the pony beads and some chenille stems. I will post pics of the bead chains when I'm all done! =)
{facebook sneak peak}

The kids liked playing with the magnets but noticed the bowls of glass beads on the table with them & wanted to explore those more! =)

They each had a bowl of glass beads, many with different colored glitter inside. Then there were really slim brightly colored, heart shaped buttons mixed in. We had a magnifying glass handy, for looking closely at the glass beads & buttons. 

We also had 2 small Play-doh "Ice Cream Shop" Sundae Spoons and a pair of tweezers for each of them. They were to each sort thier bowl of mixed beads & buttons into a bowl for the glass beads and a tall $ spot shot glass for the hearts. They learned quickly which tools most easily picked up each of the different shaped items and breezed through this task in no time! =)

 

 Next, they were ready to break out the glitter pens! =) 

3/$1 in Micheal's dollar aisle. 

 

 

Caleb always loves to use his hands :)

{excuse the painters tape} 

Julie was having some difficulty getting the glitter out but we showed her which end to "write" with and she picked it up quickly! =) 

Braden has recently started enjoying working on some crafts with us! 

He has never liked any thing artsy or crafty so I'm excited to have him join in with us! I think he likes the break too! :)

{just painting}

After the glitter pens ran out we broke out the new tempera paints! I got these at Micheal's a few weeks ago 16oz bottles for $1.99 each. We got 11 different colors! =) I thought that was a steal but then I was in there this week and they have {what is left of} the tempera paint (a rather good selection) clearance priced at 4/$5!!!   

^^ we have new window markers to try out too! ^^

Breaking out the ice tray for a color palette ! =)

Caleb has been into color mixing so I just put out "Primary" {-ish} colors today so he could work with mixing colors.  

Julie's works of art

Caleb's artwork 

 busy babies :)

Then they all rushed off to play {littles}and finish independent schoolwork {bray} while I cooked lunch for the fam! =) I know I had already had a great day and it wasn't even lunch time! The rest of our day was fairly low key -- no formal "school" for the little ones and Bray worked on his normal load for the day. I think by the time we start "fall classes" on Monday he will be going into his 7th week of 5th grade! =) I am so proud of everything he accomplishes each day!! I only pray the little ones follow his lead! ;o)

Homeschooling ~ Week 5

Ok, I'm going to attempt to post a homeschooling thread weekly to highlight some of the things we do each week. Summer is slow going for schoolwork and last week we only had 2 days of actual school (to finish up week 5 ~ we'd done 3 days the week previous)... the swimming pool keeps calling our name!!!

Braden is studying the structures of the earth in Aha! Science on www.learning.com. Monday's interactive activity was identifying the different types of volcanoes and finding out what characteristics help define each type. He sketched each type of volcano & made an informational video about what he learned :)

Not sure if journalism is in his future, but everyone has to start somewhere!! :)

We also got registered for our fall co-op classes and we're looking forward to our Fridays at Master's Enrichment Co-Op. Some of the classes offered for the 4th-6th graders this semester: Poetry Study, Spelling B, The Masters (Art History & Appreciation), Apologia Zoology, Bible, Knitting, Creepy Crawlers Study, Choir, Etiquette, PE & Flower Arranging. :) 

We also got paid up and re-enrolled with Everest Academy, our Homeschool Cover School. :)

Next week's homeschooling post should have much more activity! LOL We started with our preschool morning board today and it was a huge success! I think I'll create a post all about our morning board, for other moms of preschoolers looking for an easy way to get school into the routine. :)

I just about burned down my house

What a great title for my first "official" blog post, huh?! See, I was planning on grilling burgers for dinner. I reaaaaally didn't want to cook but we've been eating out too much lately and so I was trying to be a good wifey, save some money, and cook at home.

I had Braden go out and start the charcoal in the "charcoal chimney" thing(ie-ma-doo-ger) that is oh-so very handy. Braden is 10 and thinks he's the grill master. He did exactly as he was asked ~ he went outside and started the charcoal. He said it was "looking good" and I saw some smoke coming around the house, out the kitchen window, while I was cutting up potatoes to go with our burgers. I had my reservations because this particular chimney full of charcoal had been sitting out on top of the grill all week because we were going to grill burgers earlier in the week but it started raining so we decided against it. I figured I would have to go back out there and start the charcoal myself since it had been rained on previously. Braden goes to get in the shower, I get the potatoes & onions cooking, and go out to check the charcoal. When I open the door it is POURING rain. Of course, the charcoal chimney is not doing anything. Not smoking, not hot to the touch. I pick up the bag of charcoal and move it over towards the house to get it out of the rain, then I go back and get the charcoal chimney to do the same ~ try to save it from the rain. Since I already had the sides for our burgers cooking I just decided to cook them indoors on the stovetop.

We all ate dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and when Braden went to take out the trash he asked me, "Mom, what's with all the dusty stuff outside?!" I go look and don't really know what to think of the dusty stuff. All of a sudden Braden says, "Ommuhgoodness! The house is melting!!!" Yep. The charcoal caught back on fire during the two hours since I'd moved it and had been burning a big hole in our siding and even got so hot it burned the end of our eve and it's melted too. Thank goodness we went out there and found it when we did ~ I could have seriously burned the house down and not even realized it!!!

No, my hubby was NOT happy. =/ And, yes, of course I'll post pics ASAP! =)